Long time since anything made me sit back and think. Not that my life has been uneventful, but mostly what is happening now a days is stand and think kinds. I have written a blog earlier about how unpredictable life is and how taken for granted we take it and I did take that seriously, started filling up my own bucket list. I think am already half way there, lets see whether and when the other items on the list get a done mark besides them.
Yesterday when I got the news that my cutest cousin is on the death-bed, I couldnt digest it for a while. Since mom was here took out all the sadness that I felt on her and even scolded dad without reason. It was so saddening that I just couldn't understand how to react. Let me introduce you to this great guy Jagat.
Jagat, or jaggu dada as I teased him when we were very young is a bundle of joy. Always smiling and really shining at that. He has got a little crooked teeth. Dimples on both the cheek that are look like huge pit holes on his chubby cheeks. You cant resist to smile back if he looks at you. He does not make an effort to smile, the smile is always there. Always happy, always smiling, always making fun, always enjoying life...
When he didn't score well in the school boards, I thought oh no is his career going to go down the drain, like my other cousins did. But no, this guy stood up to the challenge. Did his bachelors and masters in biotechnology and had started doing well in his career. Almost 4 yours younger to me, I cannot imagine loosing him at this age. I know uncle and aunt have already registered to the fact but their pain is unsharable right now. I didn't know what else to do, thought writing a small para on Jagat is all that I can do right now.
Salute to his spirit of life which hasn't gone down even after cancer has destroyed him physically. He is still the same smiling cute guy, minus the hair which has gone away after the rigorous chemo sessions. I am still hoping and praying and believing that a miracle will happen and we will have Jagat around for many more years to come....
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Monday, October 5, 2009
Mes Histoires Voyage...
Oh, did I miss something? Yup, I did... the title means "My Travel Stories". Just in case you didn't know french. Just trying to show off my french skills. (psst... forgot french word for "stories", Google translator helped ;) ).
I have been traveling a lot between cities since second year of my graduation. My parents shifted to ahmedabad and I stayed back in baroda to complete my graduation. Its since then that I got wings on my feet and flew from one city to another. The "getting to know people and listening to their stories" bug got into me since those travels. Here are some stories and fun filled facts from some of my travels from Baroda to Ahmedabad and back. I take these as a first part of many more travel stories to come :) ....
The Prospective Bride
Initially I didn't know what to talk or even whether to talk to strangers sitting besides me in the bus, so I would simply keep to me. Generally ladies or girls traveling alone would come and sit over. On one of those journeys there was this one aunty who came and sat beside me. When she took seat, she gave me a strange smile. As if she was saying "arrey wah, kinni soni kudi hai!!" lol, obviously she wouldn't have thought with this punju accent it would have been in hard core gujju... Even before the driver could start the engine, the 40 something aunty started interviewing me. What age are you? What do you study? Who else is there at home? What caste are you... I was totally speechless, what sort of questionnaire is this! Then came the cloud clearance... dear, are your parents looking for a guy for you? I asked no aunty why? She replied, "beta, I really like you for my son!!" OMG!! arrey baap re! aa to jabri aunty che! Thank god, the journey from ahmedabad to baroda was only 2 hours then else I would have been kidnapped... Gosh, after this brief scary encounter I thought I will always ask first, aunty do you have a single son for whom you are looking for a bride. I will talk to you only if that's not the scenario...
The Gangster Story
This one is the most fantastic and longest one and since the good writer in me is sleeping, I will try hard not to make it boring. I was sitting with an uncle in the bus when someone patted on my shoulder. I looked back and it was again some 40+ aunty. The first thought that crossed my mind, "Oh God!! not again". She requested me to sit besides her and let the man in that place to take my seat. Courtesy sakes I said yes.
I was feeling miserable. Didn't want to undergo one more interview and didn't want to get into trouble. But as usual, the God of stories didn't want it to be a dull journey. So the aunty started talking... The good part this time was she was least interested in knowing who I was or what I did or go into my family tree. She was telling her story.
Here it is, translated into English. "I was very beautiful when I was young. (don't start laughing now, there are loads of other twist and turns coming up). I fell in love with a sindhi guy. My parents were against it but still I dated him. After some time I realized he was over possessive and that I was really hurting my parents so I left him and said yes to another guy, chosen by my parents. Before I could get married, my old lover came to my house with a gun and kidnapped me. (are you serious, do you think I am fool. what a story man!!) He forced me into marrying him. We have two children now. He shows me that gun even after so many years. He keeps a constant eye on me all the time. Doesn't allow me to go anywhere alone." I was curious, I asked how come you are alone? She pointed to another uncle sitting ahead of us saying, "that man is my distant relative and my husband has allowed me to travel alone as he is in the same bus".
She went on and on about her story. As many years have passed I have lost touch to the entire story. But trust me, at that age and with no love experience I was amazed with the fiction coming in from real life. Okay so now time for another one....
The Rich Wife Bitcher
After the gangster story happened, I rarely stayed awake during the travels. Preferred to go into deep sleep even before the bus driver started his engine. But sometimes you are lost in thought and forget whats cooking. A very sophisticated man took the seat besides me. As I was drowned in thoughts I completely forgot my schedule. So this guy started talking. Started with a Hi and all. I never gave out my real name to stranger guys in the bus. So he introduced himself as Mr. Zaveri from bombay. I said, Hi my name is Ami (I love this name). The first thing he said after then was, "wow, you are traveling alone. That requires guts". I laughed it out, the feminine sixth sense in me told that this guy was just being flirtatious. What do you study? I told him was doing my graduation in Physics. Another compliment popped in, "Oh that's great, girls doing Physics is unheard of" (Pata nahi kaunse jungle se aya tha) I thought now this is going to keep constant. I am going to get compliments in KGs. But thank god that ended when I inquired about him.
He said (I wasn't interested actually), I just got married a couple of months back. I thought aloud, how come you are not at home and if not why are you traveling alone. Hey wait, before you think that this thought was not necessary, let me remind you I was in graduation. Life's harsh truth were not much out yet for me. Okay back, he replied and I was shocked to hear that - "I don't like traveling with my wife, She is too dumb". My reaction got jammed totally!! Now started the process of wife bitching. She is not as smart as you. Does not know how to talk to people. Has very poor English. Cannot handle my business clients. Does not like to come to the pub with me... blah blah blah... All that I saw in TV serials was going on live out here.
He was sounding as if he is going home and going to give her a divorce. I felt sad for his wife. There was no one at that moment that could defend her or show her side of the coin. I told him a couple of times to stop and think before expressing but he didn't. I simply slept off, without worrying what he would think. When we reached ahmedabad, he gave me his card saying - Please come to my home in mumbai and teach my wife the smartness you have. I was so angry that I took the card and shred it to pieces (in my thoughts :D ) Didn't take the card, told him - I would not like to keep in touch with you. Thank you.
Rest of the stories are not actually stories they are more about strange personalities that I bumped into. Like there was this guy who was like, wow I like your personality... hahahahaha, why don't you come to our place. He gave me his business card as well as home address. :D
Then there was this family, who practically adopted me on the journey.
Whatever they were, it was great time traveling. And I thank god for all the good and if not good not bad travel companions. I wish my travels continue and so do the many stories that I could gather from my co-travelers. Finally, long time since I wrote a blog, so I guess it might have got boring and as usual at places the story continued in my mind then on paper...
Okay I cant end this without a quote :- "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move. "
I have been traveling a lot between cities since second year of my graduation. My parents shifted to ahmedabad and I stayed back in baroda to complete my graduation. Its since then that I got wings on my feet and flew from one city to another. The "getting to know people and listening to their stories" bug got into me since those travels. Here are some stories and fun filled facts from some of my travels from Baroda to Ahmedabad and back. I take these as a first part of many more travel stories to come :) ....
The Prospective Bride
Initially I didn't know what to talk or even whether to talk to strangers sitting besides me in the bus, so I would simply keep to me. Generally ladies or girls traveling alone would come and sit over. On one of those journeys there was this one aunty who came and sat beside me. When she took seat, she gave me a strange smile. As if she was saying "arrey wah, kinni soni kudi hai!!" lol, obviously she wouldn't have thought with this punju accent it would have been in hard core gujju... Even before the driver could start the engine, the 40 something aunty started interviewing me. What age are you? What do you study? Who else is there at home? What caste are you... I was totally speechless, what sort of questionnaire is this! Then came the cloud clearance... dear, are your parents looking for a guy for you? I asked no aunty why? She replied, "beta, I really like you for my son!!" OMG!! arrey baap re! aa to jabri aunty che! Thank god, the journey from ahmedabad to baroda was only 2 hours then else I would have been kidnapped... Gosh, after this brief scary encounter I thought I will always ask first, aunty do you have a single son for whom you are looking for a bride. I will talk to you only if that's not the scenario...
The Gangster Story
This one is the most fantastic and longest one and since the good writer in me is sleeping, I will try hard not to make it boring. I was sitting with an uncle in the bus when someone patted on my shoulder. I looked back and it was again some 40+ aunty. The first thought that crossed my mind, "Oh God!! not again". She requested me to sit besides her and let the man in that place to take my seat. Courtesy sakes I said yes.
I was feeling miserable. Didn't want to undergo one more interview and didn't want to get into trouble. But as usual, the God of stories didn't want it to be a dull journey. So the aunty started talking... The good part this time was she was least interested in knowing who I was or what I did or go into my family tree. She was telling her story.
Here it is, translated into English. "I was very beautiful when I was young. (don't start laughing now, there are loads of other twist and turns coming up). I fell in love with a sindhi guy. My parents were against it but still I dated him. After some time I realized he was over possessive and that I was really hurting my parents so I left him and said yes to another guy, chosen by my parents. Before I could get married, my old lover came to my house with a gun and kidnapped me. (are you serious, do you think I am fool. what a story man!!) He forced me into marrying him. We have two children now. He shows me that gun even after so many years. He keeps a constant eye on me all the time. Doesn't allow me to go anywhere alone." I was curious, I asked how come you are alone? She pointed to another uncle sitting ahead of us saying, "that man is my distant relative and my husband has allowed me to travel alone as he is in the same bus".
She went on and on about her story. As many years have passed I have lost touch to the entire story. But trust me, at that age and with no love experience I was amazed with the fiction coming in from real life. Okay so now time for another one....
The Rich Wife Bitcher
After the gangster story happened, I rarely stayed awake during the travels. Preferred to go into deep sleep even before the bus driver started his engine. But sometimes you are lost in thought and forget whats cooking. A very sophisticated man took the seat besides me. As I was drowned in thoughts I completely forgot my schedule. So this guy started talking. Started with a Hi and all. I never gave out my real name to stranger guys in the bus. So he introduced himself as Mr. Zaveri from bombay. I said, Hi my name is Ami (I love this name). The first thing he said after then was, "wow, you are traveling alone. That requires guts". I laughed it out, the feminine sixth sense in me told that this guy was just being flirtatious. What do you study? I told him was doing my graduation in Physics. Another compliment popped in, "Oh that's great, girls doing Physics is unheard of" (Pata nahi kaunse jungle se aya tha) I thought now this is going to keep constant. I am going to get compliments in KGs. But thank god that ended when I inquired about him.
He said (I wasn't interested actually), I just got married a couple of months back. I thought aloud, how come you are not at home and if not why are you traveling alone. Hey wait, before you think that this thought was not necessary, let me remind you I was in graduation. Life's harsh truth were not much out yet for me. Okay back, he replied and I was shocked to hear that - "I don't like traveling with my wife, She is too dumb". My reaction got jammed totally!! Now started the process of wife bitching. She is not as smart as you. Does not know how to talk to people. Has very poor English. Cannot handle my business clients. Does not like to come to the pub with me... blah blah blah... All that I saw in TV serials was going on live out here.
He was sounding as if he is going home and going to give her a divorce. I felt sad for his wife. There was no one at that moment that could defend her or show her side of the coin. I told him a couple of times to stop and think before expressing but he didn't. I simply slept off, without worrying what he would think. When we reached ahmedabad, he gave me his card saying - Please come to my home in mumbai and teach my wife the smartness you have. I was so angry that I took the card and shred it to pieces (in my thoughts :D ) Didn't take the card, told him - I would not like to keep in touch with you. Thank you.
Rest of the stories are not actually stories they are more about strange personalities that I bumped into. Like there was this guy who was like, wow I like your personality... hahahahaha, why don't you come to our place. He gave me his business card as well as home address. :D
Then there was this family, who practically adopted me on the journey.
Whatever they were, it was great time traveling. And I thank god for all the good and if not good not bad travel companions. I wish my travels continue and so do the many stories that I could gather from my co-travelers. Finally, long time since I wrote a blog, so I guess it might have got boring and as usual at places the story continued in my mind then on paper...
Okay I cant end this without a quote :- "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move. "
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Love, not (yet) by chance!!
The topic on which I am going to write today is a bit of a sensitive issue currently in my life. Love!!
Well, as one of my friends mentioned, Marriage itself is a bit of a controversial term. His opinion was that it's just a license given by the society to a couple for staying together for the rest of their lives. Well, "Rest of their lives" is a passé now. I have seen as many divorcees in my friend circle as the number of weddings. Anyways to start with I don't agree that the term "marriage" is just a social term. It means a lot to any relationship. It signifies the highest level of commitment. In this materialistic world these too is a materialistic angle to relationship. Whether you like it or not, you do want it as a part of your life.
My problem is a bit on different level. It's like this way or that way, how do you find the right person and as I had mentioned in my yesterday's status message on gtalk - "…not to find the perfect person, but to find the person perfect for you".
I have tried my hands at both the ways - Let start with Love!! Sigh!! I have not been successful in this way. Not that I haven't had crushes. But nothing ever worked out. Strangely it was always one-sided. Crushes never converted to love coz all the time either I was running after the guy or the guy was running after me. I am simply amazed by my inability to do so especially when friends around you are constantly admiring you. There is not a single person, who hasn't told me this - "Hey gal, you are great! I am sure you'll get a great life partner". I smile and secretly hope that they are right!!
Well that's my story, but on a general perspective. I see more of love marriages in the present ERA rather than arranged. But strangely if you check out the media they are saying something else. According to some studies conducted recently people are going for arranged marriages now. Well, well!! I have not seen the fact behind such news/statistics. Okay, one question here! How do people fall in love? No idea how they do, but my guess… its pure chemical reaction. I call it "ghanti bajna". What say? ;)
Now let's see the other side of the coin and that's "Arranged". Hmm, now am an experienced player there too with no difference from the result of the earlier one. I have been unsuccessful here too, voila!! : . I have loads and loads of experience over here.
I have had an opportunity of meeting guys with different mindsets. Mostly have one thing on mind - sex. But yeah have met one guy who was all the time thinking and expressing too that how would our physical relations be. Whether our pasts will affect that…!! Huh!! Dumbo, that's all I can say! Here are some stories -
The business man - A couple of guys where making business strategies when we met. "Hmm, see Beena I have got this entrepreneur in me who wants to go into business soon. I might succeed or might fail but that time you will have to work as you would be the only person earning for a while"! That's a good business plan, get married to a working girl so that you can risk some time in business!!! Oh well, that didn't go well with me, not that I wouldn't be earning or not willing to support just that it cannot come as a pre-condition.
The indecisive man - The first statement I hear from him. "Beena, this is an arranged marriage scenario. I don't know why we are sitting alone. We should be with our families and let them decide whether we should get married or not. After all if we could decide for ourselves we could have gone for love marriage" Uff!! Ye banda to puri zindagi koi bhi decision lene se pehle bolega, "Let's ask everyone what should we do!! Pani pina chahiya ya Beer!!" Gosh!! As if that was not all, he gave me his business card at the end of the meeting saying. I am a very busy guy so wouldn't be able to call you. Call me if you want to talk!! :-O
The pseudo passionate - I gave this name to one of the guys who was passionate about something and suddenly that passion vanished when he started liking me! We talked for an hour, (ya that's big for the first time and that too with families sitting in the other room). 45 minutes of that I got a lecture on how passionate he was about his work. I thought wow that's a good guy even if he is a sissy but so what!! Some things can be ignored. Okay, one more big statement - "I don't believe in love in arranged marriage." I tried to convince him that without any kind of love or liking you would never say yes to a girl. Well, that went down the drain as he had counter and counter arguments. Okay, you win. (I never mentioned that I lost. I don't care what he thinks right now ;) ). I said NO for that guy as I thought our professions were two ends of a pole which never coincide. Now, here's where the "Pseudo" word comes into picture! He offered to leave his job and get a job wherever I am. :-O Passion kidhar gaya? If he can leave something that he has been passionate about all his life just in one meeting, there are chances he will leave me if he finds something else that fires his passion!!
The total hypocrite - "Beena, I don't like hurting people so I will never tell them anything that they would not like even if they are hurting me". How sweet!! Yeah yeah!! You'll always burn in your heart and kick the other guy's ass from behind!!
Well, those are some of the stories. Stories that highlight how difficult it is! People say you have to be practical. My friends who are married through this system constantly advice me on how you have to make compromises and say yes if the guy sounds/looks good, family is good, financial situation is good. Just go for it. I am sure many will defer with me on some of the scenarios mentioned above. But yeah, you have to be in someone's shoes to understand that. And that goes for me too. I am not against this system. Just that it isn't doing any wonders for me. It's like a goody good date arranged by your family. Where everyone is prim and proper and people talk only about good things that happened to them in life!!
I guess I sounded like I am against arranged and in for love. No re, for me it's not against anything. Life has surprises stored for you at every turn of the road. Just that now it's a long road and with lots of turns my cars petrol is running out. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping to find that special one. Love still hasn't happened to me by any chance!! Or as my friend says it…. Love is still to happen!! :D
Well, as one of my friends mentioned, Marriage itself is a bit of a controversial term. His opinion was that it's just a license given by the society to a couple for staying together for the rest of their lives. Well, "Rest of their lives" is a passé now. I have seen as many divorcees in my friend circle as the number of weddings. Anyways to start with I don't agree that the term "marriage" is just a social term. It means a lot to any relationship. It signifies the highest level of commitment. In this materialistic world these too is a materialistic angle to relationship. Whether you like it or not, you do want it as a part of your life.
My problem is a bit on different level. It's like this way or that way, how do you find the right person and as I had mentioned in my yesterday's status message on gtalk - "…not to find the perfect person, but to find the person perfect for you".
I have tried my hands at both the ways - Let start with Love!! Sigh!! I have not been successful in this way. Not that I haven't had crushes. But nothing ever worked out. Strangely it was always one-sided. Crushes never converted to love coz all the time either I was running after the guy or the guy was running after me. I am simply amazed by my inability to do so especially when friends around you are constantly admiring you. There is not a single person, who hasn't told me this - "Hey gal, you are great! I am sure you'll get a great life partner". I smile and secretly hope that they are right!!
Well that's my story, but on a general perspective. I see more of love marriages in the present ERA rather than arranged. But strangely if you check out the media they are saying something else. According to some studies conducted recently people are going for arranged marriages now. Well, well!! I have not seen the fact behind such news/statistics. Okay, one question here! How do people fall in love? No idea how they do, but my guess… its pure chemical reaction. I call it "ghanti bajna". What say? ;)
Now let's see the other side of the coin and that's "Arranged". Hmm, now am an experienced player there too with no difference from the result of the earlier one. I have been unsuccessful here too, voila!! : . I have loads and loads of experience over here.
I have had an opportunity of meeting guys with different mindsets. Mostly have one thing on mind - sex. But yeah have met one guy who was all the time thinking and expressing too that how would our physical relations be. Whether our pasts will affect that…!! Huh!! Dumbo, that's all I can say! Here are some stories -
The business man - A couple of guys where making business strategies when we met. "Hmm, see Beena I have got this entrepreneur in me who wants to go into business soon. I might succeed or might fail but that time you will have to work as you would be the only person earning for a while"! That's a good business plan, get married to a working girl so that you can risk some time in business!!! Oh well, that didn't go well with me, not that I wouldn't be earning or not willing to support just that it cannot come as a pre-condition.
The indecisive man - The first statement I hear from him. "Beena, this is an arranged marriage scenario. I don't know why we are sitting alone. We should be with our families and let them decide whether we should get married or not. After all if we could decide for ourselves we could have gone for love marriage" Uff!! Ye banda to puri zindagi koi bhi decision lene se pehle bolega, "Let's ask everyone what should we do!! Pani pina chahiya ya Beer!!" Gosh!! As if that was not all, he gave me his business card at the end of the meeting saying. I am a very busy guy so wouldn't be able to call you. Call me if you want to talk!! :-O
The pseudo passionate - I gave this name to one of the guys who was passionate about something and suddenly that passion vanished when he started liking me! We talked for an hour, (ya that's big for the first time and that too with families sitting in the other room). 45 minutes of that I got a lecture on how passionate he was about his work. I thought wow that's a good guy even if he is a sissy but so what!! Some things can be ignored. Okay, one more big statement - "I don't believe in love in arranged marriage." I tried to convince him that without any kind of love or liking you would never say yes to a girl. Well, that went down the drain as he had counter and counter arguments. Okay, you win. (I never mentioned that I lost. I don't care what he thinks right now ;) ). I said NO for that guy as I thought our professions were two ends of a pole which never coincide. Now, here's where the "Pseudo" word comes into picture! He offered to leave his job and get a job wherever I am. :-O Passion kidhar gaya? If he can leave something that he has been passionate about all his life just in one meeting, there are chances he will leave me if he finds something else that fires his passion!!
The total hypocrite - "Beena, I don't like hurting people so I will never tell them anything that they would not like even if they are hurting me". How sweet!! Yeah yeah!! You'll always burn in your heart and kick the other guy's ass from behind!!
Well, those are some of the stories. Stories that highlight how difficult it is! People say you have to be practical. My friends who are married through this system constantly advice me on how you have to make compromises and say yes if the guy sounds/looks good, family is good, financial situation is good. Just go for it. I am sure many will defer with me on some of the scenarios mentioned above. But yeah, you have to be in someone's shoes to understand that. And that goes for me too. I am not against this system. Just that it isn't doing any wonders for me. It's like a goody good date arranged by your family. Where everyone is prim and proper and people talk only about good things that happened to them in life!!
I guess I sounded like I am against arranged and in for love. No re, for me it's not against anything. Life has surprises stored for you at every turn of the road. Just that now it's a long road and with lots of turns my cars petrol is running out. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping to find that special one. Love still hasn't happened to me by any chance!! Or as my friend says it…. Love is still to happen!! :D
Friday, September 19, 2008
My (Our) Symantec Moment
A little late for the contest, but not late enough for sharing…
When the contest came out some months back and closed last month I really had no special Symantec moment to share. But today morning I along with four others (Alpa was one of the four) had our Symantec moment.
I call it “The 45 minute ordeal”.
Me and Alpa had gone for our daily breakfast (now, if I start describing that, it would be pages and pages of dull, boring yuck food). On our way back just when we were entering the new building or to be more precise I was opening the glass door with the “Please Use this door” label, I saw the second lift opening and a office boy entering. I ran for the lift. (The reputation of lifts in the new building is already not a rosy picture – they just don’t come) As we entered I saw that the lift was going to the first level basement.
I told Alpa, “Arrey!! let’s get out this is going down”. She said “no, no it’s ok. It’s better than waiting…” (sigh!!!, that was our last chance) Three more people joined us from the lower basement. (They never got a last chance)
All were talking in tandem with each other, when suddenly there was a jerk and the lift stopped.
We thought may be some problem the lift will start soon. 2 minutes and then the panic started sinking in. The lift wasn’t responding to any of our requests, wasn’t going down, wasn’t going up and the display as it is doesn’t work so we didn’t know where we were.
Hmm… there is some problem.
Here I would like to introduce you to my fellow ordeal-mates, Alpa, A guy in red tee, a guy in pink shirt and a tall slim girl. The guy in red reacted instantly started pressing the alarm. The pink shirt also started pressing the alarm from the other side. 5 minutes more and still no response. We started checking our signals – this is when the difference sets in .. Idea ho ya Airtel no one works at the time of crisis.
I had to put in my views in action now, so I told the guy in pink that we should bang the door. We both started banging the door, nothing happened again!! 5 mins of more banging and alarms… Almost 15 mins gone by now (don’t add up the minutes this is rough estimate, you don’t know the time when you are hanging :D ). It was too much no response, what the …!! Okay so now again I got an action plan, lets open the doors… the two guys open the door and then me and pink shirt started shouting…“Koi hai, koi hai..helllooooo hellooooo !!” Somebody responded after some time, we asked him to call someone and also asked, hehehehe this was the first time we knew where we were, “where are we?” Got the answer, you are hanging between the 1st and the 2nd floor. Ooops!! Took a step back and saw it now!!
But thank god, somebody is listening to us. The feeling that at least some one knows that we are stuck was a heavenly one. Then the jokes cracking started. I would have never ever gone and asked who they were and which team do they work on etc etc.
See, the positive thing about being stuck in the lift you get to expand your network… (and people say, you can’t be positive in a crisis) The red tee guy was Avik Shau, pink shirt Chaitanya and the tall slim girl Prachi. All the three from CDPR –NBU group. So after the small introduction it was time to get back to work. What?? Work?? Yes fellas, current work assignment was contact people. Due to the opening of the door, some Idea signal peeped in. The problem with airtel is, it is everywhere. Sab jagah jaoge to work kaise karoge. So people with idea started calling up whoever can help.
By that time people had gathered outside the lift. Every time we opened the door we had smiling faces looking at us giving us hidden reassurance that we would be out soon. I feel that was hidden coz for some time I felt they were having the funny moment with us jokers inside the lift. Had a round of snap taking, videos and joke cracking sessions.
I forgot to mention how helpful the music of soldier was, it just pepped up our moods for a moment. Before “soldier soldier” started playing there was the usual music playing, the music from down south. No bias against it but when you are stuck the least you want to hear is someone playing slow karnatic music. A small reminder over here we were not in there for meditation.
Ok, ok so now people started working on getting it started. The facilties team was here. We knew there was some work going on coz the fans started, the lights went on and off for some time.
I had to request the facility team to stop the fan. It was either we’ll be stuck all day or get ill with pneumonia. After this the moment of Symantec had gone and all 5 of us were concentrating on checking out whether the lift is moving. Oh, that reminds me. One of Avik’s colleague was giving us second to second update on the lift fixing activity. The best was, for 5 mins he kept on saying “Arrey, kuch hua!! Kuch to ho raha hai!” Well, none of us felt anything happening.
After around 10 mins the lift seemed to be moving down, then up and then down.. finally up. And and it opened… hallelujah hallelujah!! We were on the 4th floor now. Nobody gets out of the lift as fast as the five of us did. There were different activities that happened after that, finding the stairs, then going down to the basement and then the bravery of coming to the 2nd floor by the same lift. Phoooooo!!! Over is the ordeal.
I would really like thanking people who got the facilities into action. At least I know of Tejas doing that. Thanks Tejas. Oh yes few more!! Thanks to all those people who were out there when we called out and for kept our morale up. Also thanks to all the people with me Alpa, Avik, Prachi and Chaitanya. Thank you guys for making it fun! :) Hush hush!! there’s a secret to share over here (except for the initial moments, it was a fun experience) ;)
I love the old lifts with those grill doors more now and using the stairs seems to be a more healthier than ever. :-) Well, that’s it for my Symantec moment. THE 45 minute ORDEAL…
Cheers,
When the contest came out some months back and closed last month I really had no special Symantec moment to share. But today morning I along with four others (Alpa was one of the four) had our Symantec moment.
I call it “The 45 minute ordeal”.
Me and Alpa had gone for our daily breakfast (now, if I start describing that, it would be pages and pages of dull, boring yuck food). On our way back just when we were entering the new building or to be more precise I was opening the glass door with the “Please Use this door” label, I saw the second lift opening and a office boy entering. I ran for the lift. (The reputation of lifts in the new building is already not a rosy picture – they just don’t come) As we entered I saw that the lift was going to the first level basement.
I told Alpa, “Arrey!! let’s get out this is going down”. She said “no, no it’s ok. It’s better than waiting…” (sigh!!!, that was our last chance) Three more people joined us from the lower basement. (They never got a last chance)
All were talking in tandem with each other, when suddenly there was a jerk and the lift stopped.
We thought may be some problem the lift will start soon. 2 minutes and then the panic started sinking in. The lift wasn’t responding to any of our requests, wasn’t going down, wasn’t going up and the display as it is doesn’t work so we didn’t know where we were.
Hmm… there is some problem.
Here I would like to introduce you to my fellow ordeal-mates, Alpa, A guy in red tee, a guy in pink shirt and a tall slim girl. The guy in red reacted instantly started pressing the alarm. The pink shirt also started pressing the alarm from the other side. 5 minutes more and still no response. We started checking our signals – this is when the difference sets in .. Idea ho ya Airtel no one works at the time of crisis.
I had to put in my views in action now, so I told the guy in pink that we should bang the door. We both started banging the door, nothing happened again!! 5 mins of more banging and alarms… Almost 15 mins gone by now (don’t add up the minutes this is rough estimate, you don’t know the time when you are hanging :D ). It was too much no response, what the …!! Okay so now again I got an action plan, lets open the doors… the two guys open the door and then me and pink shirt started shouting…“Koi hai, koi hai..helllooooo hellooooo !!” Somebody responded after some time, we asked him to call someone and also asked, hehehehe this was the first time we knew where we were, “where are we?” Got the answer, you are hanging between the 1st and the 2nd floor. Ooops!! Took a step back and saw it now!!
But thank god, somebody is listening to us. The feeling that at least some one knows that we are stuck was a heavenly one. Then the jokes cracking started. I would have never ever gone and asked who they were and which team do they work on etc etc.
See, the positive thing about being stuck in the lift you get to expand your network… (and people say, you can’t be positive in a crisis) The red tee guy was Avik Shau, pink shirt Chaitanya and the tall slim girl Prachi. All the three from CDPR –NBU group. So after the small introduction it was time to get back to work. What?? Work?? Yes fellas, current work assignment was contact people. Due to the opening of the door, some Idea signal peeped in. The problem with airtel is, it is everywhere. Sab jagah jaoge to work kaise karoge. So people with idea started calling up whoever can help.
By that time people had gathered outside the lift. Every time we opened the door we had smiling faces looking at us giving us hidden reassurance that we would be out soon. I feel that was hidden coz for some time I felt they were having the funny moment with us jokers inside the lift. Had a round of snap taking, videos and joke cracking sessions.
I forgot to mention how helpful the music of soldier was, it just pepped up our moods for a moment. Before “soldier soldier” started playing there was the usual music playing, the music from down south. No bias against it but when you are stuck the least you want to hear is someone playing slow karnatic music. A small reminder over here we were not in there for meditation.
Ok, ok so now people started working on getting it started. The facilties team was here. We knew there was some work going on coz the fans started, the lights went on and off for some time.
I had to request the facility team to stop the fan. It was either we’ll be stuck all day or get ill with pneumonia. After this the moment of Symantec had gone and all 5 of us were concentrating on checking out whether the lift is moving. Oh, that reminds me. One of Avik’s colleague was giving us second to second update on the lift fixing activity. The best was, for 5 mins he kept on saying “Arrey, kuch hua!! Kuch to ho raha hai!” Well, none of us felt anything happening.
After around 10 mins the lift seemed to be moving down, then up and then down.. finally up. And and it opened… hallelujah hallelujah!! We were on the 4th floor now. Nobody gets out of the lift as fast as the five of us did. There were different activities that happened after that, finding the stairs, then going down to the basement and then the bravery of coming to the 2nd floor by the same lift. Phoooooo!!! Over is the ordeal.
I would really like thanking people who got the facilities into action. At least I know of Tejas doing that. Thanks Tejas. Oh yes few more!! Thanks to all those people who were out there when we called out and for kept our morale up. Also thanks to all the people with me Alpa, Avik, Prachi and Chaitanya. Thank you guys for making it fun! :) Hush hush!! there’s a secret to share over here (except for the initial moments, it was a fun experience) ;)
I love the old lifts with those grill doors more now and using the stairs seems to be a more healthier than ever. :-) Well, that’s it for my Symantec moment. THE 45 minute ORDEAL…
Cheers,
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Friendship - Love, Warm, Care, Sharing, Expectations???
After the long vacation, my brain was almost out of variety of thoughts. All it had was general family concerns. When I woke up today all I had in mind was what to do today, its been ages since I worked on anything. Today is also going to be same routine. Go to office, sleep, play, chat and come back home - cook and go to sleep. But finally, a friend (is she is a probable close one?) got upset over her friends and gave my hungry brain some food.
What does friendship mean to you? Difficult question to answer truly and frankly. What does it mean to me? Obviously apart from the cliche stuff like, love, warm, sharing and caring. do you actually start being friends? There is no demarcating line where you can know that yes we are friends from this moment onwards. No you cannot know how and when and the most important WHY. Why you choose to be friends with some and stay away from others is a little difficult to answer. The actual truth is hidden behind the very existence of human life.
Expectations - a dreaded term by all. I have heard people saying and have been inadvertently been saying the same stuff to others that expectations is the mother of all fights. Expectations along with Need is a deadly combo. Oh well, I have some different thoughts about it now. Its expectations + need + completeness which brings people closer or even throws them apart. When all this meet you are bound to be close for the life time. We always tend to find people who have something which we would wish to have and are lacking. Its generally said that like minded people become friends easily but thats because like minded people always feel that the other person has more knowledge on the similar stuff and you are excited about knowing it.
You expect the person to share her knowledge/feeling. You need her to be supporting you. And you together indicate completeness in terms of skill/feeling. I know its difficult.....
There, I had ended to write on this blog almost a year back. I dont have the same enthusiasm right now to continue on this topic so thought even if its incomplete I'll publish it. Maybe some day it might trigger some of my nerve cells.
What does friendship mean to you? Difficult question to answer truly and frankly. What does it mean to me? Obviously apart from the cliche stuff like, love, warm, sharing and caring. do you actually start being friends? There is no demarcating line where you can know that yes we are friends from this moment onwards. No you cannot know how and when and the most important WHY. Why you choose to be friends with some and stay away from others is a little difficult to answer. The actual truth is hidden behind the very existence of human life.
Expectations - a dreaded term by all. I have heard people saying and have been inadvertently been saying the same stuff to others that expectations is the mother of all fights. Expectations along with Need is a deadly combo. Oh well, I have some different thoughts about it now. Its expectations + need + completeness which brings people closer or even throws them apart. When all this meet you are bound to be close for the life time. We always tend to find people who have something which we would wish to have and are lacking. Its generally said that like minded people become friends easily but thats because like minded people always feel that the other person has more knowledge on the similar stuff and you are excited about knowing it.
You expect the person to share her knowledge/feeling. You need her to be supporting you. And you together indicate completeness in terms of skill/feeling. I know its difficult.....
There, I had ended to write on this blog almost a year back. I dont have the same enthusiasm right now to continue on this topic so thought even if its incomplete I'll publish it. Maybe some day it might trigger some of my nerve cells.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Trip to Ahmedpur-Mandvi
I had spent almost 15 days planning for a trip to konkan. My parents and sister were to come to Pune and then we were planning to leave from Pune for Srivardhan-Harihareshwar. But somehow dad's health made me rethink over it. If we were to go to a place with beautiful beaches, why not somewhere in
Ahmedpur-Mandvi is more of a resort than any place name. Situated on the outskirts of
I started from Pune on
We passed the village 'Talaja'. My mom and dad both have stayed there during their teen years. Mom showed us the river bank where she used to go for a swim. That time the river was full with water. They used to take empty plastic tins with them during the swim to save them from drowning. By this time we were too hungry. I was starving from the long journey already. We decided to find some shade and have lunch. Mom had already bought roti-sabji from home. Dad stopped the car near a shady tree just outside a cotton field. It was soo cool, we all thought of catching a small nap under the cool shade. Had our lunch, roti-sabji and sukhdi (Its a sweet made out of Wheat flour and Jaggery). With little help from the local people, we reached Ahm-Mandvi at
No trip is complete without some trouble shooting up from here and there. On reaching the resort we came to know that there was a group booking done for the other day and no cottages would be available on Sunday. But the Non-AC rooms were available for the other day. After some roaming around here and there we decided we would adjust. The resorts prime location attracted us so much that we were ready to adjust. We got the cottage for Saturday. I and Preeti couldn’t stop ourselves from getting into our bathing gears and just running down to the beach. The cottage was just too awesome. We already felt at home the moment we put our bags in the cottage. We ran down to the beach while mom and dad had their tea and dad relaxed after a looong drive. The beach was soo beautiful. Calm, peaceful, and crystal clear water. Wow!!! The waves were not so big but the sound of the waves was thunderous. We played in the water and made sand castles till late. Mom and Preeti had a small tortoise making competition. Although it was decided beforehand that Preeti will win, but in the end it seemed she deserved it, mom's tortoise didn’t look like it was one.
Once back to cottage we dressed up well, decided on the menu and placed the dinner order. We all chit-chated on the cottage porch. The sound of waves in the background and the calmness of the resort was soul-soothing. Once dinner was served we went to the dining area. It was beautifully lit with colorful lights, paper lanterns and paper stars. It seemed as if it was a Christmas celebration. I didn’t expect much out of the dinner, but it crossed my expectations like a zooming 400cc bike. Awesome, finger licking food. All 4 of us were so hungry and nothing better than great food. We didn’t talk for the first 15 minutes. All were busy licking fingers. Once back to the cottage we were dead tired. We decided that I and Preeti would sleep at the lower level, while mom-dad would take the upper level beds. Hey I missed telling you, it was a two storey cottage.
There was something sitting on the window besides my bed and it kept on making squeaking noises like a rat. It was later on that we came to know that it was a local bird. I was unable to take its picture as it was lost amongst the coconut leaves. As night fell, the thunderous roar of the sea waves grew louder and louder. At night all we could hear was waves, just a few meters away from our cottage. Amazing feeling!!! At around
Somnath, one of the twelve jyotirlings in
Some good snaps and shouts from mom marked the end of our tour to the point. We started back towards the resort. The best part of that evening was sitting on the moon-lit beach and just hearing the waves coming upon us. Later we sat on the hammocks for some time to decide our next days plan. We decided to check out from the resort the other day and make a night halt at
Friday, February 8, 2008
Music and me... hmm... Guitar and Me!!!
Its been a long time (as usual), since I threw out my thoughts on this blog. I always have an excuse for not writing, this time am out of ideas for that. Well, again this series of thoughts poured into my mind with super speed when a friend after seeing my orkut profile asked - "From when did you start playing Guitar?" I had the same answer I have when this question is popped out at me, used to play long back.
Music and me have been inseparable since childhood. But for me music is more of songs ... singing, even if its bathroom singing, thats built in. I love to hear songs, hindi, english and the most gujarati. Playing Guitar was never thought of. It was only when my sister joined her medical and couldnt play it, did I get this thought of playing it. Also having crushes in life inspire you to do such crazy things. ;-)
I started going to a professional class thinking it would be a great stress buster. We software programmers are so used to getting into a rut that now and then we do go hunting for escape routes and playing music is the proven path.
I was quite passionate about it initially but then the work load at office started taking a toll. I missed one class a week, then two and gradually it was totally gone.. pooofff!!! Later I left that job and came to pune. I had decided that I would not admit defeat, Guitar will be learnt and for that if I have to take out time from office, I will. Sighhh!! That was like those "To be broken" new year resolutions. I was so passionate about it that I used to talk about Guitar now and then with a new found friend. He thought I was into playing it like crazy. Poor fellow got me bronze strings as a gift. I am still sad about the fact that I would never be able to give it its right place.
Guitar and me are like pals who are not able to talk to each other but still consider each other to be close. For whatever time I played it, I got a sense of peace, happiness. But then like all good things in life, the fun part is over. My guitar has got a non-working position in my room, besides my bed. Everytime I see it I think that I'll play it this weekend, but somehow that weekend never turns in. Well, lets see what happens this weekend!! :D
Music and me have been inseparable since childhood. But for me music is more of songs ... singing, even if its bathroom singing, thats built in. I love to hear songs, hindi, english and the most gujarati. Playing Guitar was never thought of. It was only when my sister joined her medical and couldnt play it, did I get this thought of playing it. Also having crushes in life inspire you to do such crazy things. ;-)
I started going to a professional class thinking it would be a great stress buster. We software programmers are so used to getting into a rut that now and then we do go hunting for escape routes and playing music is the proven path.
I was quite passionate about it initially but then the work load at office started taking a toll. I missed one class a week, then two and gradually it was totally gone.. pooofff!!! Later I left that job and came to pune. I had decided that I would not admit defeat, Guitar will be learnt and for that if I have to take out time from office, I will. Sighhh!! That was like those "To be broken" new year resolutions. I was so passionate about it that I used to talk about Guitar now and then with a new found friend. He thought I was into playing it like crazy. Poor fellow got me bronze strings as a gift. I am still sad about the fact that I would never be able to give it its right place.
Guitar and me are like pals who are not able to talk to each other but still consider each other to be close. For whatever time I played it, I got a sense of peace, happiness. But then like all good things in life, the fun part is over. My guitar has got a non-working position in my room, besides my bed. Everytime I see it I think that I'll play it this weekend, but somehow that weekend never turns in. Well, lets see what happens this weekend!! :D
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