What’s your priority??

After all the crazy commercial ad that we see these days… here is something which caught my attention……..the chocolate shampoo!!! The parachute company as released its new “chocolate shampoo”!!!! Gosshhhh!! I wonder who gives them creative ideas like this!!
Was even wondering if it was really a shampoo or some something else!!

I saw the chocolate shampoo ad on a large poster put by forum mall…. I showed it to my neighbor in the bus… He saw it for a while and with a confused look on his face he said, “lets c that ad again tomorrow while passing this road”. His reply made it clear that he too was in a dilemma…

We are all living by using few products which makes no sense if we think otherwise… The product companies are trying their best to publicize their products as “the best/the popular” to make profits... While the advertising agency perhaps waits for another new product to be released so that they can commercialize it…

Considering few commercials which we get to see and hear regularly:
The dog biscuits - the ad say, “The dog biscuits with improved taste in 5 different flavors and extra nutrition”… (Can anyone say who tasted it?? Off course humans.. lol)..
Colgate toothpaste with salt…taste it before using it coz the ad says – kya aapke tooghpaste mein namak hai??
The height of commercialization is gone up to a state where we get lemon/orange juice with artificial flavors and dishwasher liquids with real lemon and orange extracts… Get gold coins in the soap bar is another such ad…(sadly none of them seem to have got it)
The pug breed of dog got more popularized than the hutch network…(a healthy pug costs nearly Rs.30K)

We really live in a funny world... Here we get education loan at the interest rate of 12 -15% with the processing time of 10-15 days while we get car loans at 8-9% interest rates plus the processing time of just 2 days!...
In the race between an ambulance and a pizza delivery, its always the pizza which reaches earlier….

Seems like we have prioritized the value-addition or freebies on products more than the main product…. Like the saying in kannada says- “gubbi ethu anta hosa shirt holsidha”(just coz he had few buttons, had got stitched a new shirt)…
Simple in the case of chocolate shampoo…Shampoo is important here but the ad focuses on chocolate flavor more!! Sad but true…

God fearing ??

Its 10.32 am here at office on a Tuesday morning… The busy hours when we get to hear only tic-tic of the mouse and the tapping of key board…. Amidst of this today I heard a religious song playing in the background… I was wondering who it could be… Out of curiosity, I walked to the next cubicle..
I saw a guy playing all religious songs in his mobile with the lowest audible tone… I knew that he loved listening to Kannada and Tamil songs (not religious though…).. Once again out of curiosity I asked him, “wassup with u?? Listening to religious songs today…instead of those tangy dance numbers”…… and the reply he gave me stunned me for a while… He said, “mom went to purohith yesterday….and it seems I have got shani dasha in my horoscope… so to reduce the shani effect, I decided to listen to these songs”… I smiled and came back to my cubicle after hearing the genuine prompt reply….

Haahh!! Can anyone explain me, how on earth the bad luck would shoo off if we listen to music of Lord Shiva…which is sung by the man whose voice resembles to a man who has been strangled to death and is weeping yet singing “brahma muraari suraarchita lingam….”

Then I realized that its not only him who is god fearing or rather horoscope-fearing guy around … There is another devotee in the other side ODC who has decorated his work space with photo frame of a deity… (I still haven’t recognized which deity it is), sai baba’s pic stuck on his name plate… A flower offered to lord ganesha’s idol next to his pen stand… Radha Krishna’s photo as his desktop wallpaper!! & finally a small pic of goddess laxmi affixed on his writing board!!!! Devotion in extremes… :)
Am not supposed to mention his name, but frankly telling his first and middle names are also of deities…. :) When I first entered his cubicle for a project related discussion, I felt as though I need to remove my sandals and enter coz it looked to me more like a temple…. The only reason given by him for keeping so many pics and idols was “Google cannot answer all our questions right?? So…”.. Hmmm.. witty answer :)

Another strange behavior people have got while traveling is touch the forehead and heart simultaneously / softly slap the cheeks on either side thrice / remove their sandals and fold their hands for 2 seconds - all these once they see a temple…strange!! This is seen very commonly in Bangalore…no matter they pray at home or not.. Devotion comes automatically on road :)

I seriously don’t understand whether people are trying to impress god by doing all such activities or giving themselves a little time… Prayer should not be an attempt to change God’s mind….it should be an attempt to let God change our mind…


PS- Devotees…plz don’t mind on the comments abt the pics and idols..

Love at first sight :)

I am in love….. Yes.. true…….. I fell in love just few hours back…. It was no hushhrushh, no gossips, no following up, nobody got even the slightest doubt…. Its love at first sight!! A simple love :) Just the way I wanted it to be :)….

It all happened so fast you know…….. I fell in love after I entered the office, in my cubicle :) … that too with one, everyone waits to c…. and ppl expect the reason incase of absence!! Oh my god!! I am so excited to tell you all abt this news :)… My love :)

Let me give the prelude of it….
As usual I was drafting my “good morning” email to all my near and dear ones…… and a lovely GM quote was copied from one of the text message which I got it on my cell - “U cant make someone love u.. all u can do is be with someone who can be loved, the rest is up to the person to realize ur worth…”.. I was looking for one of the perfect flower to attach in my email….. and by the time I finished drafting and the mail was ready to be sent, I was in love……..
Well, to break the suspense and to let u know who the lucky one with whom I fell in love….. It’s nonetheless than the flower what I found in Google search……. It’s the lovely rose!! The moment I saw it, I wished to see it in real (which I couldn’t).. So, I quickly added it in the email and sent it to everyone… Within ½ an hour I got replies telling “lovely rose/ nice quote/ nice background/ mood changed / too good rose….etc”..
Though I couldn’t see the rose in real, I really enjoyed seeing it throughout the day as my pc wallpaper and in the replies to that mail…..

So, this was my love story……. Love at first sight :)… On the way back home, I decided to grow a rose plant which would yield beautiful roses which I can see and enjoy right from the bud till the rose blooms and finally until it withers….

Mixed Emotions!!!

Some times, smile turns to tears when we are sure that things are happening for good…. It’s when ppl are too happy, the tears fills the eyes for a moment…
Smile turns to tears when the parents see their first baby…...... When farmers see the most awaited monsoon after a long time…...... When the most loved person is seen after many years…...... Bidding bye to friends on the last day of college…...... When ppl get the offer letter from their dream company…...... When grandparents see their kith and kins after many years…...... When we see that ppl are happy and we were the reason behind their happiness…...... When ppl look back to the time when they struggled and worked hard to reach to good heights today…...... When the kid pulls back his/her mothers arms and says plz don’t go to office today…...... When the daughter is bidding bye to her parents after marriage etc…………….

There are few disappointing situation and ppl force themselves to have a smile on their face… That's when they don’t feel comfortable in other’s presence. More than a smile on the face :) , ppl get to see an unpleasant curve :s…
Times when 10marks question is asked for 3 marks!!!…...... When none of the old question ppr questions are repeated in the exam!!(Students sit and pray- bhagwaan kaise bhi karrke pass karrdo even after knowing that there are no hopes to pass)!!!…...... Teachers distributing test papers in front of juniors!!!…...... HoD sitting next to us on a tour (hard to pretend as an obedient student)!!!…...... Extremely good looking girl/guy crossing the way when ppl are with their parents!!!…...... When ppl realize that all their personal sms’s are already read by parents!!!…...... When the most innocent guy/girl who are considered next to sages…are caught with their gf/bf in cinema theatre by their friends!!! :) etc………………

In life there are many times when we don’t know how to react… Kind of confusion arises whether to smile or cry or feel sad or get anger…. When heart says Yes and mind says No… And that’s when mixed reaction comes in picture :) Smiling but not heartily.. Crying by hiding tears…. Sad and yet shadowing the sorrow with the smile… :)...... :s........ :(

//Nostalgic Thoughts//

Something abt the rainy days that we are having these days makes me turn inward.. May be the heart and soul subconsciously react to rain in that way so I opt to stay indoors… The chill weather, a tea kettle… hot pakodas….the pitter patter of rain drops… to stare out of window at the rainfall… to watch the raindrops on the perennial trees… the occasional lightning and thunder….sitting back in the cozy nest of the comfort….. listening to songs which can change the mood of the entire room to romantic… and incase we don’t have that someone spl in our lives, imagining the invisible man/woman holding our hands tightly…
Is there anything i can think of to make the feeling better… ahem ahemm… let me not exaggerate on it now :)

Well, rainy seasons somehow reminds of many things……. Most of us carry volumes of stories and every story has some feelings attached with it… Common memories include the sweet memories of the childhood… Memories could be of the first bicycle…or the time when we fell from the swing... or the first soft toy whom we named as Bruno…or the first Barbie doll as the birthday present…(childhood role model) …. the first remote control car… or the first pink colored birthday frock!! Hmmm….. our good old nostalgic days!!!!
And then the memories of our first school teacher (Ms Marie)… Our best buddy beside us in class and school van… The scent rubber… The hand made greeting cards…. The first ink pen… The sports day… school day function…..The first high heel sandals and action shoes… First day in college… New friends…… Teachers renamed as lecturers… Stepping towards the professional life… first company…….The first project… first appraisal etc ……

I guess after I grow old, I will have many more things to add on in this space !! Why only me, everyone else will have their own thoughts to combat the their boredoms and to have a reason to get cheerful……which they would recall on yet another rainy day. . .

Pursuit of time . . .

Its was a Wednesday morning at 7am when I was in the office bus looking outside the window, the pleasant Bangalore winter... Everyone had shut their windows tight to avoid the cold breeze in the speeding bus.... As always, my affinity towards window seat made me look outside... The view wasn’t clear coz our breath was warmer and it made the window glasses appear blur.. I opened the window for a moment as i was feeling suffocated inside… and the other reason is I wanted the view through the window to be clear :)

The misty air just blew on my face and my mood completely changed.... Aah, what a feel it was!! Commendable:)
I remembered my college days when i was traveling in the local BMTC bus without caring if I would catch cold... It was nice... My good old days. . . .

I was lost in those thoughts with my headphones tucked in my ears and was enjoying the songs... I was listening to James Blunt's- You're beautiful.. its true... Then the next song was - Tum itna jo muskurarahe ho, kya ghum hai jisko chupa rahe ho.... I was moved by this song... I felt as though the cosmic force around me were questioning me.... I surely dint want to answer!! I quickly shuffled the songs and played the next song...
It was the KK's Pal song - Hum rahe ya na rahe kal.. kal.. yaad aayenge yeh pal... pal.. yeh hai pyaar ke pal.. chal aa mere sang chal.. chal soche kya... choti si hai zindagi..... kal mil jaaye toh hogi khushnaseeb hi.. That song almost made my eyes wet!! I remember singing that song for my dear friend Ayesha..... I had sung it just for her on the last day of our college... I had told her that whenever we hear that song, it would remind us about each other... And the song just did that!! Its never too late to tell anyone that we truly miss them..
Finally with my heart filled with emotions... it was time for me to get down as we had reached office... I walked to my block in the cool breeze and then to the AC hit cubicle!! I gave her a call on mobile, but I guess the she was still sleeping, so I messaged her on cell waiting for her prompt reply (after she wakes up) and I silently went out for a cup a coffee and later got back to work. . . . I wish I could go back to my good old days… when I never bothered to see my schedule if my friends called me out…
Remembered the time when we always said “Lets meet and then plan something” and now we land up saying, “Lets plan and meet someday”… Friends are the same….. It’s just the priorities which have changed… :(

Experience with doctors :)

Today morning my colleague was narrating her experience with doctors… she said me abt the strange phobia that she has…. She is scared of medicines coz she always feels that it will get stuck in her throat!! Even worse what I heard from her was, she grinds the tablets and mixes with sugar and swallows!!! Yakkk shackkkkks…….!!!

I learnt that she is scared abt anything that doctors give and use – syringe for example…. No doubt most of them(girls) are scared of syringes...

Then all of a sudden I remembered my blood donation experience in my 1st yr graduation.. I was in the 2nd sem when there was a blood donation camp in our college.
It was when me and my friend were coming back from lunch that I saw the crowd in the college cellar and was curious to know abt it……
My friend, Ayesha said me that it’s a free medical camp from BKF (Bangalore Kidney Foundation).. So, after learning that it’s one of the reputed hospitals of the city, I decided to go for it…
Though I dint like the mere smell of medicines, I decided to go.
After the doctor checked my BP, heart beats, weight etc and she declared I am normal and I assumed that it was the routine check up… Then the next doctor asked me to show my nails which was neatly painted, so he couldn’t do any calcium test :) and he held my finger.. I dint know for what good reason… He said blood test… Then I realized that it was a blood donation camp in my college!!
For a moment I thought I can run away saying I am feeling dizzy….. But the next thought which I got was, it’s a noble deed to donate blood….. Frankly telling, That was just the last thought that I got……I donated blood coz it was my first time blood donation… Secondly till that day, I dint know my blood group, so I was happy that I would know.. Thirdly, the slogan stuck in my mind was “Was it you who saved my life? Help save another, give blood”…:)

I donated my blood with ease and no rona-dhona after the syringe was injected in my veins!! I was abt to take a quick nap there when the doctor came rushing to chk if I fainted… I was fit and fine…. and by then the blood bag was filled with my holy blood..
Then doctor offered me lot of stuff to eat and advised me not to climb the stairs…
As always, I love breaking rules… so, I went happily to attend classes in 1st floor…

The class, 2-3 session was really boring and suddenly I felt dizzy… The lecturer saw me sleeping on the desk and came near me (out of concern or to scold me) .. I almost fainted there and the lecturer was in panic… She called the doctor while I was still lying on the desk.. The doctor held my face and sprinkled or rather poured water on my face!! Sick fellow!! All my face powder gone in a minute!! He tapped my face or rather it was kind of slap for me.. Till date no one had dared to touch my cheeks… and the day someone touched, it was a kind of slap!!!! I will never forgive that doctor!!!
Anyway, I got my conscious back with the doctors grace and I saw everyone around me… After the doctor left, Ayesha whispered, “thanks for suspending the class” :)..

I removed the band-aid on my hand after 3 days when someone sarcastically asked me if I was donating blood daily!!! Gosh… sick question!!!!

Parting is painful!!!!

Two months back, our project had taken 6 new members which contributed to make our development team size considerably big. Yesterday two of my team mates got released from our project. Both of them were good resource in the project and I had lot of interaction with them in terms of delegating work and clarifying project related issues… It was a nice learning and working experience in the project as few of them were new to the technology.. They were new to our team 2 months back and I had the full privilege of giving KT(Knowledge Transfer) to all of them…
We were a team of happy-happy members with lot of unity and fun even though we worked on weekends!!

Parting is something which I don’t like… Be it in movies or real life… I feel so sad when my neighbors switch their residence…though I wouldn’t have ever spoken to them and only smiled each time i saw them.. So, when it came to my own team members, i really felt for them... I knew I shouldn’t be sad but I couldn’t even pretend that I am happy or normal.. I couldn’t say my feelings to anyone coz who knows, even I am not born-for this project…. So, one fine day our team has to split, once the project gets over… I knew this is a fixed project, so would get over after a particular duration… But I dint realize it until my PM sent a mail to the whole team informing abt the release of two members!! The subject of the mail clearly said me that it isn’t a mail which I can take as a good news!! I read the mail carefully and had to bid bye to those two members, so I did that after thinking for a while…
For sometime I dint turn up to either of them…coz I dint know what to say… Finally, I knew I shouldn’t run away from my responsibilities being their team mate… So, I gathered all my courage and respect, and congratulated them heartly and wished all the best…. It was difficult for me to hide my emotions but I had to, so I did….

Saying Bye is difficult, and its intensified after saying Bye and seeing them go.. Its just that we have to console ourself that the world is small and we would meet again… Far from truth, but it’s the only thing which we can blindly assume…..

On the way back home, I really thought about how many times I have faced this situation… It’s a mixed reaction… I was happy and unhappy at the same time….
I was sad & happy when my sister parted from me after her marriage; When my friend left for her higher studies for 3 long yrs; When my friend decided to quit this company leaving me; On the last day of my college etc……… The thoughts were countless!! But this is the way of life… Kabhi khushi kabhi ghum :)

Power of progress is change and its inevitable…. So, be it so…

Life in IT.....

I am writing this post coz I hear several folktales about our industry and it doesn’t seem like anything better is happening around..

As per the assumption, IT industry is the place where people can draw high salary and people need not sweat nor work in the cramped places. I totally agree that generally we are made to work in well furnished and plush AC environment with spacious cubicles.. Yet most of the employees feel that the this industry is exploiting them..
Its true that the IT boom in India bought a lot of positive changes in India.. We could say that India is a fast developing country due to the rapid changes.. Today, most of them aim to work for a MNC and not an Indian company, which is an unpatriotic thing to say!! But everything that matter to the young Indians is salary and work environment.. Indian companies never match the MNC salary, though the salary is fair enough to fulfill the requirements of a family.

Today, the IT work culture in India is totally messed up.. People are working for 12+hr a day which is more like a rule than an exception!! The consequences of this are majority of us (IT people) have bad health, high stress levels, less social life and huge debts..
Though the majority of the workforce is formed by youngsters and might not have health issues presently, they are sure to face it when they reach 35 to 40+.. Hardly the IT people have time to mingle with their families as they feel that office is their new found asylum. Buying things which are charged heavily though they know that its not worth!! People go to malls to buy the monthly ration though they get it in other stationary shops as well!! Sounds ridiculous!!
Its true that the IT people are making more than their parents did at the age of 22... Most of them are well aware of this, so they work for unreasonable time and get unreasonable money.
People should understand that heavy package, plush offices and latest technology at home are not all that a person wants in life… There is lot more than the materialistic needs!! Being occupied in acquiring all these, people have almost forgotten/ missed out to enjoy their life.. I guess people have to realize what they planned about their future when they were in their schooldays..

I guess the Darwin’s theory – “The survival of fittest” is the “The guru mantra” of all the companies in India.. and that’s the reason why company pressurizes its employees to make their day and night as one! and the key to get projects flowing in is, wrong estimation!! If the optimal time for a project to complete is 6 months with 10 resources, the companies bid for 3 months with 6 resources and get projects!! That’s not all……… And the team which will work on that project will be told as “this is a critical project with strict deadlines”… I pity on that team which would be forced to show their productivity and get bashed up for 3 months with no comp offs and leaves!! Many times I see that after completing such “critical project”, people love to come on bench and relax before getting into another such hyped project….
At the end of the year, the company boasts about the profits made and proudly says, “we were successfully able to execute this project with minimal time and good quality” and acknowledging the resources who are almost close to almighty while completing that project!
I doubt if there is anyone who hasn’t worked on “critical project”… In my case, I have worked on 3 such projects in just 2 yrs!! I remember the lines of an article which I read recently which metaphorically said about the unreasonable timelines…. “If given 9 months and one wife, we can expect a lovely baby………. But the company expects for 9 wives and 1 month’s time to deliver a baby which is impractical” This simply explains the idiosyncrasy of person who bid for such a project!!
When I discuss with my colleagues, they generally say, “we are not happy for many reasons but it’s the same in all the companies.. and this is what IT Industry is!!” I don’t understand how to convince people to- be the change; rather than expecting things to change.. That’s the reason I never compliment someone is who spends/works for 13+ hrs a day and 7 days a week @office!! Coz it might simply kill the morale of the employee who works for 8 hrs and completes his work in that span of time.. When the company boasts about the employee welfare, people should understand that it’s not only about getting salary…. its something else also.. The approach in which we are working, will keep us as only the offshore outsourcing/service-oriented company rather than a technology leader or a product based company…. Let’s not emerge as a “low cost labor” country!!

I am not imposing people to quit this industry and plan for other… Every industry has its pros and cons…. So, quitting the job is not the solution… Its high time, people should think about why they opted this industry over others… Was it for a career or just a job or slavery?!! That’s something to think about :)

Think out of the box!!

Luckily or unluckily my PL had assigned no work for me till 11.30am yesterday, so there I was... reading all the mails which my friends had forwarded and few company internal mails :)
I was in the “think out of the box” mood…. So, it was easy for me to solve few math riddles and which my friends had sent in the mails.
I read few company internal mails… First was from the HR and the second was from Internal service provider…
Happened to read one of the mails from HR which introduced us to the three newly appointed Business experts… I had no interest in knowing them, as I knew I would never be directly reporting to them :) Still, I read it for the heck of knowing who they are…
I don’t know if I can call that mail funny or the way I interpreted sounded funny to me! Anyway, let me tell u…..
The common details what was given abt all the three hifi techies were: University in which they completed Masters; Their total experience as business experts; Their re-allocation to other state in US; and about their family…
Since the last point was of no importance to us, I was wondering why someone would mention such details!! I felt few sentences funny…to mention a few:
“… will be relocating to California with her husband, son and their three dogs.”
“… is the proud parent of three girls and is a native of Washington DC”
“… recently married this past April and has adopted a retired racing greyhound named Aries”
Now, let me tell u my interpretation from these statements…
First one is ruled out from all the guys list as she is married and the last part is a warning!! Beware of dogs!!
Second one, he has three daughters… Hmmm… he has enough… now start thinking...
Third person is a victim of late marriage was the impression.. For all those who don’t know abt the lovely greyhound….well, it’s a breed of dog!! :)

In the second mail, there was a cooking contest sponsored by Gemini cooking oil. The subject of the mail was “Do u have a KILLER recipe”!!
The obvious answer was Yes!! In fact, most of us who are new to cooking will have a doubt in the corner of their mind about the result of their experiment. Anyway, getting back to the mail, it said “win exciting goody bags” i-e if the recipe is short listed… I was thinking about the plight about the person who is going to taste the Killer recipes…lol!!
I have got strict orders from mom to test my recipes before serving others… So, quickly I realized that my recipe won’t be considered :( as I cook only vegetables which are edible and non poisonous :) (That’s why I am still alive….)

By the time I could jump to other mails, my PL was back to his seat… This obviously meant that he had plans to load me with work which I was waiting for since 3 hr! My intuition said me that this 3 hrs is going to be compensated in the later part of the day :(… Yet another long day was welcomed with a smile and a sad heart:) :(

Free food function :)

Its Sunday and we find people inviting us for all the family functions… Be it Birthday celebration or Durga pooja or Engagement party or Naming ceremony of a child..... Most of the functions are planned on Saturday and Sunday… I find this trend more in our Bangalore…
Initially people used to plan the functions as per the holy days and now as per holidays!!!
Rarely any functions were arranged on Saturday as its “Shani-vaar” and now as long as there is no “grahan” (eclipse), weekends have become most auspicious days..
The intention behind arranging all the spiritual rituals on weekends is that- to gather as many people as possible for a nice get together…
And in case someone misses out for the function on weekends, then they will be tagged as “western culture influenced”!! Elders blame saying, “BPO has spoiled our youth”.. No matter if someone is working in IT or Bank or Retail industry etc… All thanks to BPO to take the blame over…
I was recently invited to one of the engagement party… Mom had asked me to dress in ethnic… I had no mood to go, but because it was on Sunday evening, I had no other go :( I asked my mom whose engagement we are attending… she politely replied to me as “It’s your aunt’s brother in law’s daughter’s engagement”... I nodded my head as I dint understand how I am related to her.. Finally I came to a conclusion that the bride is my cousin’s cousin…
I dint break my head more coz I was already late to the function!! I thought may be she will recognize me if I can’t :) I knew I would be late and by the time I reach there and they would be serving food :) Before even I get any guilty conscious for being late, I realized that I am going there to avoid the tag in my name and for delicious Food :)
At the entrance of the hall, a man with fat belly smiled and welcomed me… I had no clue who he was, so I was searching for few known faces…. Guys were enticing me as though I am the next forthcoming bride.. Few parents turned around and snared, as though they were hunting a bride for their potential son!! This type of gazing was common to all the unmarried girls of 20-25 age group… I made my way in between ladies who were gossiping, giggling and discussing… In the whole crowd, it was only my mom whom I was searching… Finally tracked her and found few known faces around her… I was happy that my attendance was registered after the photographer took our group photo..

We started our dinner in next 10 mins of my arrival… On the way back, I was thinking about the Gulab jamoon which I ate, when mom interrupted me, and asked, “Did u see the girl? The pair was nice.. Isn’t it?” I dint know what to answer coz I dint even bother to see the bride and the groom!! Finally I confronted that I was least bothered abt the function and that they had invited lot of strangers.. I was also a stranger to the bride!! I said her if next time I am invited to any such function of very far relative, I will name it as “Free food function”. Mom knew that I was forced to attend these types of functions!! Perhaps mom knew that I was irritated, so neither did she force me to attend the next weeks function nor we landed up with argument!! Mission escape successful :) Yuppie!!!!

Confusing revelations

I was popular in college for having friends in almost all the branches… In fact I had friends from other colleges too whom I met in bus stop:).. Most times people knew me as the bubbly happy and easy going girl... I carried the same attire and attitude when I happened to visit my college recently, just to refresh my sweet memories.. It wasn’t a surprise to me to see few known faces as I had friends from the junior sections too :)..

I met a girl with a broad smile on my face... I said “Hi, How are u??” Quickly she responded “I am fine. How abt u?” I was happy that she too remembered me…still I could see a muddled look on her face… For a moment I thought she is unable to recollect my name, so I said “U don’t remember my name right?” She said NO!! I dint feel bad… I replied in kannada “Nanna hesru Prathima… Ninna senior… Nenpaitha?” (*Myself Prathima… Ur senior.. remember?)
What!! She was flabbergasted and said “Can u speak in English or Hindi”..
I again confirmed from her, if she doesn’t recognize me… She asked me, "Who are u?".. With a grin on my face I blasted her telling, “Jab meri practical record ya notes chahiye tha.. tab toh badi yaad aa rahi thi meri… U ppl are sick to the core!! Just shoo off from my way now!!”
Later I went to meet my HoD… On my way back from CS department, I again met that girl… This time I seriously had no mood to talk to her… But she interrupted me and asked “Tell me what’s my name” !!
I politely asked her with strong words – Lady… have u gone nuts?? Do u want me to confirm ur name with the HoD or the college register?
This time she pulled my hands and said “Tell me my name!!”
I was shocked at her reaction… I had no clue if she was a psychic patient or if she has escaped from the rehabilitation camp!! I just knew that she was one among my college juniors who wanted inputs to get selected in campus interview!! All thanks to the HoD who had popularized our names to the juniors... Back then I also enjoyed my status for being the person who had 3 companies offer letter:)
My HoD came to my rescue and said to her, “What are u doing here in the class hours!! Y aren’t u in class Archana?”
Archana!!!! Now that was the shock of my life… Is she not Reshma!! I had a sinking feeling for blasting her for no fault.. May be she bunked her class just to meet me again:( May be she really dint understand kannada:(
She dint speak anything much later… She dint dare to turn back also….. I quickly bid bye to my lecturer and went in search of her…
I had to confront my mistake… I finally found her in college canteen… She was sitting with her head bent down… It was my turn to console her and I just did that…. She was fine after sometime :) I dint want to buy anything in our canteen coz I am too skeptical abt the food there, so I took her to the lassi center opposite to our college… I took a lassi for myself and she preferred a chocolate milk shake…
She said me that she is from Assam and she doesn’t understand kannad.. (This is how she pronounced Kannada).. We spoke for sometime and then left from there…

I got a new friend that day:) It was Archana… After reaching home, I thought abt the whole incident for sometime and then finally fell asleep… Hope to meet her someday again and meet her as a friend and not as a stranger :)

Show off could be risky!!

It was 5.20 pm when I was in the bus after finishing the exam last Tuesday. Since the bus was from city market, it was fully loaded with ppl and goods… I saw a lady sitting in the 2nd seat.. The details I got to know just by looking at her were:
Name : Shobha

Name of the company where she is presently working : TCS

Blood group : O +ve

Marital Status : Married

Amount of gold she was wearing : More than 60 grams!!

Mother tongue : Telugu

Mobile model : Nokia N series
Wrist watch : Fastrack

Huhh!! Too much details.. isn’t it??!! Nope, I am not planning to kidnap her…:) I got to know so much abt her just by looking at her… Now, imagine how much more information I could have gathered incase I had spoken to her… She had wore her company id card and was flaunting it in the ordinary BMTC bus!! That too in a bus which starts from city market in which we can find all the categories of people.. (I am scared to wear even my Titan watch when I travel in that route) May be she wanted to proudly show off her id card and get noticed that she is from the one of the top IT company!! But showing off in front of ppl who are making their day and night one to lead their life, is bad:(.. Isn’t it??

College and school students in the bus were looking at her as though they are seeing a celebrity while others were getting jealous that she had a good job and all expensive items on her and were wondering, what on earth had gone wrong for not being like her!! :(
I had two thoughts in mind; firstly I can blog about her :) Secondly, shall I show her my id card to tell her that I am also from the same industry!! I stuck with my first opinion which was definitely better than the 2nd thought. :)

Wearing the id card tag in our company bus would hardly matter anyone but wearing it in ordinary bus or outside the company campus would prove risky.. Anyone with a keen eye can easily judge that she is from the IT industry!! Upon observation, one can even know her name, address and other details too!! Isn’t all this risky??

I have heard ppl blaming that this city is not safe, but if someone prompts to get looted, who can help!!

All I want to suggest is that – plz don’t wear id card tag outside the campus or flaunt with the mobile that ur wearing in public places like bus stop, chat corners, roads, pavements, shopping malls etc… We never know who is noticing us from distance.. Better be safe and simple in public places. Self safety should be given more priority than expecting the police to rush towards us when in panic..

Can we slow down??

Fast life, fast food, phatafat generation etc…. Hmmm… Is there anything called slow life, slow food!! I am tired of hearing the word fast and other synonyms of FAST..
Why everyone wants to go so fast?? Doesn’t anyone want to stay back and enjoy every bit of life??!!
I was on my way back home, yawning in the cab at 8 pm ( 12+ hrs at office had drained my energy!!) and I had tuned in the radio so that I don’t sleep off without realizing my stop!! Radio jockey, Pallavi was speaking so fast and the Radio1 punch line being - “94.3 radio one for the phatafat generation”.. This made me think for a while as to why everyone is in hurry!! Why are ppl expecting us to do or get things phatafat!!

Why can’t everything go on in optimum speed?? Ok, now I am not asking everything to go on slowly but at least at optimum speed can be expected right?

In the morning when we come to office, I see the private cars arranged in a row close to exit point.. I guess people who come early had parked it there…. But isn’t it that they have some time to park their vehicles a bit away from the exit, so that the latecomers who have less time can park it close to gate and rush in??

We often get to see hotels named with suffix as “fast food”.. Don’t we have time to even have breakfast/ lunch/ dinner? Earlier ppl used to work hard so that they would get a plate full of food and better shelter… But these days ppl are working so hard that they are not finding time to even peacefully have food.. Then why are we working so hard??

Our cab driver also drives very fast and at times breaks the traffic rules but no one in the cab complaints coz all of us are used to travel in office cabs… I am not blaming the cab drivers of our company coz it’s the case with all other company cab drivers too. They have a pressure to drop us at our stop in the least possible time, so they speed up… While we have spared to spend 12+ hrs at office, another 15 mins hardly matters.. Isn’t it?

The RJ in the radio stations speaks so desperately and land up misspelling words and sometimes jovially fights with the co radio jockey with almost all the slang in kannada, just to make sure their show keeps going, no matter what non sense they speak!!
The adds that they play in between the songs also sounds like tongue twisters at times, especially adds related to mutual funds are the most confusing one. Till date I have deciphered it only as “Mutual funds are subject to market risks..plz read the offer documents carefully before investing” Is this sentence said so that no one understands what is the warning all about??

All I want to say is that, let everything go on in optimum speed.. In the verge of going fast we are missing out something which we are searching for and we miss out to see many beautiful things around…

Bangalore Rains...

Yesterday night it rained very heavily here inBangalore… In the 13 yrs of my stay here, yesterday was the first time I heard the thunder so loud and the lightning so powerful…. Evening there wasn’t any clue of rain and suddenly at 8.02pm it started raining… I was standing in the portico enjoying the cool breeze when it rained… For a moment I felt as though someone was trying to pour water from the spraying kettle… Angrily I looked at the terrace assuming someone was watering their plants and simply showered it on me too!!
I was wrong… It was actually raining… Quickly I rushed inside and was looking out of the window to get the glimpse of the graceful rain… The direction of rain was changing continuously in the direction of wind…. I enjoyed watching rain :)
Soon there was a power cut, all thanks to the KEB for it!! They just wanted a chance to cut off the power in most of the areas in Bangalore…
I still enjoyed the weather coz the lightning was so bright that every time I saw the sky from the window, I felt as though the sky was taking my snap :) My neighbors had closed the doors and windows out of fear as they had never the lightning to this extent… But I had seen yet more powerful lightning in my native, Udupi… So, this dint matter me more…
The only moment I got scared was at around 10.30 pm when I heard a loud thunder… It lasted for 8 secs.. I almost felt that our window panes were vibrating while I was comfortably seated on the chair… I went closer to my mom… She sensed my fear and gently smiled…. After seeing her smile, I comforted myself that it was nothing when compared to the thunder sound in my native.. After 10 mins it again thundered and my heart started pounding again… this time I dint wait for mom to smile… I asked her, what incase the building collapse!! My question sounded weird to her as I had never questioned her this way… She said, nothing like that would happen… Still I asked her many questions about the disaster and death and finally her voice roared at me… Her tone was louder to my ears than the thunder… I kept my mouth shut and went inside the room.. Quickly the KEB board people showed mercy and the power was back…. All my fears vanished when I switched on the lights and turned on the music…
Still I must say that my experience with the lightning and thunder was memorable :)
Waiting for the next rain :) Hope mom will let me play in rain…

Greetings!!

Greetings…. Now don’t assume that I have planned to make my hand-made greeting card to gift to someone special…. No… It’s not what I meant when I said greetings… Let me narrate on what made me to think about the general gesture to greet people…

Yesterday, Monday – I happily entered the office with almost 8 tasks in my mind to be completed by end of the day…(Yes, I do make a list, so that I don’t miss out few things of high priority).. As I entered my cubicle I wished my colleague who sits in the adjacent cubicle… I said, “Good morning” with a broad smile.. He wished me back… I have a hurrying feet, so dint chat with him.. I logged in to my pc and before even I opened my mail box, my friend pinged me in the communicator as “Early bird!!! GM”.. I greeted her GM… After I finished checking my mail box, the chat window again started blinking in orange… I knew someone else had pinged to say “GM”…. But no.. It wasn’t for that… My colleague pinged me with the usual phrase “Hello… How was the weekend madam?”
I knew he would ping the same…I gave the usual reply as “It was fine”.. He asked, “What did u do?” (This question sometimes makes me feel guilty as sometimes I spend my weekend doing nothing) I replied him, “I saw a movie – The other Boleyn girl”..
And so our conversation continued for next 5 mins…. Frankly telling, I lied to him about the movie as I had seen it a week back….
I simply don’t understand y some people simply greet us and ask few question which hardly matters them…

One of the questions is “Had lunch???” Sometimes, people ask this question with so much energy that it sounds as though they are planning to treat us… But its not true.. They would be waiting to tell us what they had for lunch!! Generally if this question is asked by someone who is close to u, then it sounds like concern, else its sounds strange..

The other question is “What have u bought for lunch?” If this question is asked by close friends, then it seems like they are concerned about our health or may be they want to share the lunch… But if this has been asked by a stranger, then it sounds as though they are eying at our food!!

The most common question, “How are u?”… The common reply is “I am fine”.. No matter if they are fine or not.. the answer remains the same… This is just like – question & answer which we have in our schools… Ppl are acquainted to tell “I am fine” that ppl never bother to say the truth even if they are unwell..

Ppl or colleagues who meet u after a long time tend to ask the question, “How is work going on?” Most times, they wouldn’t be knowing what ur actually working on… and in case they are really concerned, they will give u time to speak abt ur work else most times, there is a spontaneous change in the question…. The most common reply to this question is either “its going on well” or “as usual” with a pale voice :( ..

Other most common question as the weekend approaches is “So…. What’s ur weekend plan?” When a stranger asks this question, perhaps seems like they want to take us out or spend time coz they also don’t have any plans…. And close friends never ask this question coz they know the first thing that ppl would say is “sleep till 11am”..

Once the weekend is over and when ur back to office on Monday, the first question is “So… How was ur weekend?” 65% of ppl reply as “as usual…. Nothing spl”.. 10% of ppl would lie when they reply to this question as they don’t want to feel guilty for not doing anything.. 10% of ppl would tell the truth (only if they have done anything good) and remaining 5% of ppl would start thinking on how exactly did they spent 48 hrs!!

And the question will start cycling every week :) It all depends on how we consider these questions… and who asks these questions…. It can be either considered as question out of care & concern or simply nose poking behavior….

Self inflicted misery :(

Hmmm… Its been high time my friend is fond of a guy and hasn’t told to him nor given him any kind of hint that she likes him so much!!
I doubt if he even knows that this girl is mad behind him and his voice!!
Strangely she doesn’t want any of us to somehow tell him that there is a girl waiting for him:( …
I don’t know if this is her infatuation or love for him…. No matter if he also loves her not, at least she should give a try was the opinion of me and other friends..
She sees him regularly in cafeteria, sits in the direction in which she can see him to the content of her heart, unnecessarily walks till the corner of the cafeteria though she can get the water near by. She loves listening to the songs when he sings.. In fact any song that he sings will become her favorite song :) She never takes his name as per Indian custom:)
Often blushes when we ask her or tell others about him :) She says that his thought is enough for her to spend the rest of her life!! (Though this girl is a complete stranger to him) I doubt if she has ever heard him speak as we all have seen him only singing… Often waiting for a chance to go to the other block so that she can get a glimpse of him… Sadly he sits in the other block and works in different technology, else the extent of this strange love would have still got exaggerated..
Recently I deciphered why she wasn’t facing him or trying to speak to him…. The major concern was caste!! The other reason is society…. She is a Hindu and he is a Christian..
By choice she would never go against her parents and society.. So, she decided to sacrifice her so called “love life” as the love was never from both the sides… I can sense the inward self-mastery and an urge to claim that she doesn’t feel anything for him… I know she will always deny the fact coz she doesn’t want her feelings to be shown or known to anyone… It’s a prison which she has built for herself!! Yes, she is a strong girl… She will hide the truth forever… Like the saying which says, “Woman’s heart is stronger and greater than all”.. I feel I have seen this in her unmistakably..
Even though I keep teasing her about him, today I want to give her warm handshake and say her “I am indeed your friend, never doubt it...... I respect ur feelings sweetie”..

Colloquial English :)

I was stuck in one of the boring session at office… My manager had asked me to attend it!! It’s like a torture to me whenever I am asked to attend such sessions… The very next minute my minds starts ticking faster to find the ways to escape.. But since I dint have much work today, I couldn’t get rid of it :( It was in the noon from 2.30pm-4pm. I made my mind and entered the training room in time.. Slowly crouched to one of the corner seat and sat calmly.. I was almost falling off from my seat in the mid of the session.. To stay awake I had to divert my mind, and I just did that :) I started noticing the way the facilitator was pronouncing few sentences. It sounded as though he did a direct translation from his mother tongue..
Here in Bangalore, we can find people from all the cities of India… So, most of them speak in different accent…
Here goes the local version of the good old English..

We can also cummmaa? [Can we also come? ]

Project ka document is complete. [Project’s document is complete.]

Is it aaaa? [Is it so? ]

I also going late only to home.. [Even I am going late to home.. ]

They simply giving files.. [They are simply giving files. ]

Waat time is meeting?[What time is the meeting? ]

Afterwards solution not coming means? don’t tell me.. [If we don’t get the solution later, then don’t blame me.. ]

We will do it no, now only...[Lets do it now.. ]

I am there no.. (Sounds like- Mein hoo naa)

I am writing the code no..[I am writing the code right.. ]

Chumma do what I say..[Simply obey my words.. ]

Ayyo!! Not like that, I said.. [I dint mean it.. ]

Ayyayyo!! I left my Tiffin box in car only and came off..[I left my Tiffin box in car and came. ]

What are u doing I say?[What are u doing? ]

Now, listen to what I say, I say..[Now, listen to whatever I say.. ]

Waat folder you created? [Which folder did you create?]

Elabratedd[Elaborated]

[Postponded ] Postpone

Pickuping[Picking up ]

Stuckkedd[Stuck ]

Mixudu[Mixed ]

Forgetted [Forgot]

Anti[Aunty ]

Ungle[Uncle ]

Falder[Folder]

Wouner [Owner]

Hyandal [Handle]

Pics from South Canara :)

Recently my friend purchased a Nikon D60 camera... It has a resolution of 10.2 mega pixels.. The processing speed and the image quality is pretty good :) The cost of it in Indian currency would round up close to 40K.. He seems to be enjoying his new hobby - photography and that’s the reason he spent more time in our native with his new camera :) I took few snaps from his album which I liked :) These pics are taken in Parampalli which is near Kundapura, Karnataka, India…. I wish I was with him to c those images in live...

I love the bud in this pic :)

The is called Daasavaala in Kannada... The Hibiscus flower...

This is my favourite flower in the garden that i used to pluck in my childhood... It looks so pure and good.. This flower had the same size as that of my palm back when i was i guess 2yrs...

This is my current wallpaper ;)

I dont know the name of this flower:( but its the flower i get to see often:)

Grasshopper.. I had hardly noticed it...

Beautiful dark brown butterfly with dotted edges :)

We call this flower as "Abballige" in south canara..

Another beautiful hibiscus flower :) Pretty pink :) Often offered to God... It has some medicinal value...

This pic is taken in the vicinity of the temple...

A bird sings not bcoz she can sing, but bcoz she has a song :)

A better view of the sweet bird perched on the stick...

If i am not wrong, these are mango leaves :)

Beautiful flower buds... It blooms into yellow color flowers :)

Jackfruits!!!! Arranged in a row:)

Full of jackfruits :)

Deep fresh lung cleansing breathing :) This is what i felt after i saw this pic :)

Serene environment :)

Three awesome sounds in nature are; sound of rain, sound of wind and the sound of water ...

Missing my days in Goa :(

I love this quote : "One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach; one can collect only few, and they are more beautiful if they are few"..

I admire the color of sky when sunsets....

Crab comming out from its dwelling....

A close look of the crab.... Look at the tentacles!!!

Waves ....

Minutes hasten to the end of the day.....

Beautiful nature :)

Dipping sun.... Yet another end of the day or rather let me put it as the sunrise in other part of planet earth :)

Lonely bird on the lonely shores . . . .

End of another beautiful day :)

Head Hunting - The job consultancy term

Today I got a call on my desk number at office… It was from a job consultancy firm.. It’s the 2nd or 3rd time that I am attending such calls over a period of time…The lady with the shrill voice asked me if I have planned to change of my job?? I was wondering how dare she to call at my extension number and ask me this question!!
First question I asked her was, “How did u get my desk number??” Confidently she said me that she got it from “Job sites - Naukri.com”…
As far as I remember, I have never updated my job profile in any of the job sites… I said, its chanceless!! Then I asked her if she knew my name… There I caught her!!! She said she has missed out the name while getting the number!!
Cleverly she got back to her question and asked me which technology I am working in and my total experience..
(How on earth had she missed out to c my technology in the profile!!! Uhhh!!!)
By then, I had lost my temper and since I knew that she was randomly calling all the numbers of our floor, I thought of telling her that I knew her trick!!! It was Tit for Tat from my side coz she lied to me about my number and this was my turn to trap her in my prank…
Politely I said her, “Lady, do u know whose number u have dialed?” This time her voice sounded a bit concerned and she remained silent… I said “I am the Project Manager, and I c that u are persuading my employees to quit the job for some other company!!”… Next I asked her, “May I know ur name lady?” … With the guilt in her voice she said “I am Chaitanya”…
I said to her in the same tone the way she had spoken initially to me… “Now that I know ur name and I can easily find out your consultancy name by tracking the number, I can sue your firm!!”
Next thing that I heard was “Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, seriously sorry to call u ma’am… Plzzz don’t do that… sorry ma’am”…
(I don’t know what logic she had by uttering the word sorry so many times)
Sweetly I said her, “The word sorry looses its meaning when u utter it so many times”
She again said, “Sorry ma’am, I was just head hunting”
Then I said “Don’t try any other desk numbers as it’s a unethical and kindly keep the call as I am busy”

Huh!!! She kept the call in no time and I saw the expression of my cubicle mates and another person from neighboring cubicle… Everyone saw me strangely… Soon I gave a faint smile and the next scene was incredible!! All of us laughed so loudly that our Project Manager actually got up and saw what was going on in his team :)
Then on, everyone says – Don’t mess with her on the phone… She can actually cause u an heart attack!!! Ha ha ha :)

Unleashing honey from beehive

Wow..... I saw few people who were looking like ruffians, trying to pull down the bees nest from the roof of our college..... Pheew!!! I felt like whistling when i saw him standing on the bars of the corridor in 6th floor, with the knife in his hand.... For a moment I imagined him like a deity who kills the sinners!!! My very next thought was, “are the bees Sinners”!!! :( Definitely no!!!

The ruffians killed their larvae, their food, and their shelter!! In fact, they killed few bees to by setting fire, to get them away from beehive!!!! I closed my eyes for a moment and remained silent as though showing my condolence :(
For a moment I looked like an animal rights activist who was condemning the effort made by people to kill the bees…
But soon the look faded off from my face when I got to c the honeycomb closely coz the analytical side of my brain was working more than a merciful heart..
I must say that the bees had a beautiful signature in the honey pot. Every cell in the honeycomb is a perfect example of symmetry in nature.. I was amazed to c the hexagonal structure filled with honey in every cell…
Luckily I got the chance to touch the honeycomb after confirming that the bees are not going to harm us… Later one of beekeepers said that the bees are poisoned and that’s the reason they will not harm us as they had lost conscious!!! It sounded disgusting!! This time my mind and heart were forcing me to hit those beekeepers and tell them how painful it is when livings beings are poisoned!!
The beekeepers kept the honeycomb on a platter and patted on it to extract honey out of it.. Finally they poured the extracted honey into the cans..
The staff of the college came flooding to a small room to get honey in their water bottles… They paid Rs. 100/ litre to the beekeepers and still argued that the beekeepers had mixed sugar syrup in their cans before pouring honey into it…
Those ruffians were showing some kind of demo to prove that the honey was pure…
Myself and my friend, came out silently and saw the dead bees on the floor:( Few were struggling with their life as most were already dead:(
I thought to myself, is this what the people valued life of the creatures who lived serving the purpose of their lives… I understand that the death is certain to every living being, but this kind of terrifying death was least expected :( !!!

Where is the company's name!!!??

These days I seem to be enjoying my bus journey on my way back home :)
As usual I was staring out of the closed window of my bus, stuck in the traffic and noticed something peculiar... Like most times where people outside the bus, try to get the glimpse of the people inside, this time they hardly did that.. Most of them were looking at the poster on the bus, which looked more like a News channel add or magazine adds (Dataquest, CNBC etc..)
For a moment I thought that they are bored to c us asleep so they finally found a new way to pass their time in traffic signals by reading what is written on our bus.. But No, it was not the reason I guess.. It was the poster that caught their attention!!
The poster regarding the accolades of the company is so big on the company bus that the company name is hardly seen!!:(
Soon I realized that I have never paid attention to what exactly is written in the poster... I had just a glimpse that it’s about the several awards that the company has won in previous years and a quote stating “Get on board with the bus full of happy employees” (No matter if all the employees are happy or not)
Next day when I keenly observed what is written, I realized that something which seemed missing.. And yes, it’s the company’s name!!! The company’s name and logo is written in the right top corner in small font..
Then I comprehended what was creating so much curiosity or confusion among people... After reading Ranked # 1 in Dataquest-IDC as Best Employer in 2008, Employer choice award in 2007 and The 2nd best company to work for award by BT-Mercer....( I guess shortly they will again change the poster by adding the Ranked #1 in Black Book for DW/BI.. ) who will not want to know which company is this !!!
What I promptly feel is that the company name, “iGATE” should be clearly shown rather than posing that we have won so many accolades... The identity by name is more important rather than many awards that we win.. Awards are just another feather in our hat… Identity by name is something which we should never loose...

Go green...

Last night when we left the office there were no plants been planted in the indoors of our block, and today morning when I entered the block, I saw well grown pruned plants standing upright..... Many liked it coz it made the place look more lively and green while I dint appreciate it much- though I always prefer greenery……
Our campus has won awards for being one of the green campuses………and has many rare species of plants and trees within the campus..
But, these new plants which are planted here last night, looked like the cloned version of the plants!! The new plants, which are planted here have life but they look like artificial plants:( I noticed few people checking it closely to confirm if it was original..
The joy of seeing the seed sprouting, the sight of seeing the tender leaves growing from the delicate branches, the happiness of seeing the first bud and finding the beautiful flower after few days…..All these things were completely missing with the new plants here:(
This is the major reason y I couldn’t appreciate this way of "go green" initiative taken in the company…

Moments of Silence

My friend asked me why I remain silent sometimes.. Why I seem to be lost in my world and I give a blank look.. Well, I go silent not because the lack of intimacy in the relation, but lack of time or paucity of words sometimes :( I realized that silence is the best way to know our true self.. There are so many moments that we can think about when we remain Silent...
We can even connect back to them because the feelings are so close to our heart… Memorable are the moments when I actually remained s i l e n t. . .

The moment when I got better marks than I expected; those numb moments of ecstasy and confirming from others “is it true”
The moment when I parted with my friends and the bus had just started; standing near the door and waving “bye” with my heart beating faster..
The moment after the HR had just called me and said “You are through!! Ur joining date is 6th of next month!! Congrats”
The moment when I left home for the first time for my job and I looked back at my parents who were worried that their daughter was leaving home, yet they seemed to be happy that I took the first step towards independence..
The moment when my manager said “Ur into the project for one of the big clients of our company” after my training period was over in the company..
The moment when I sat alone in my room after having said everyone that I cleared my exams for which I was preparing since 6 months..
The moment when the guy I liked most, smiled at me; I dint say anything, I just smiled back :)
The moment when my sister hugged me and said "bye munnu" after her marriage; I was clueless how to react, i had so much to tell her, i had hundred thoughts swirling in my mind, and i only gave a smile and said "ok" :(

I wonder y I dint say anything at those moments of happiness, joy, anger, pain.. all feelings just flowed ceaselessly in those flash moments... They say – The best way to communicate is through “Silence” Joy, Love, Grief, Surprise, Anger, Hope, Expectations, Support, Non-cooperation etc...

Imagine the importance of silence for a moment; when Ronan Keating gives a pause in the song “U say it best...when u say nothing at all” or when Bryan Adams pauses for a while along with music in the song... “Please forgive me, I can’t stop loving u...”

Think about the moment when u got tired and u reach your bed.. Instead of dozing u keep your eyes wide awake to simply stare the roof or some corner of the room silently.. Surely u were thinking.. Those moments when we listen to our own heart.. the decisions we make.. the promises we take.. So, next time when u go silent, listen to your heart.. feel the joy.. feel the pain.. listen to the desires.. feel the happiness.. feel the bliss.. Be cheerful :) Good luck :)

Way back home....

Last 2 weeks had been kind of tiresome…. It was only in the evening when I am seated in the bus that I relaxed.. Like most evenings, I let go off the time reading novel, listening to music or recollecting the memories or simply taking a nap in the bus and dreaming :) But yesterday I was in a different mood, to overcome my boredom, I thought of looking outside the tinted glasses of bus..
I saw few so called sophisticated “IT guys” spending their time with other class of people near the petty shops smoking…..who always boast on spending their time and money in costly restaurants and malls preferred to forget their sophistication for a while coz as per the recent rule imposed by the government, smoking is prohibited within the campus..
I saw many things like other BMTC and Company buses, shopping malls not crowded unlike other years, may be due to recession; showrooms where there were offers like “Buy 2 get 3 free”.. Old women scaring to cross the traffic hit roads.. Small business like sweet stalls, meat stall etc across the roads running dry, perhaps due to lack of customers.. Sadly I also saw kids selling books, towels, sun glasses, belts etc at the traffic signals.. Drunken men lying on the footpath.. Few others innocently watching the vehicles that were going past them… I saw other company buses which were going parallel with our bus.
Suddenly I remembered my sister’s question which she had asked me few years back… Why is that the bus full of IT ppl so silent, dull and sleepy… I know it contrasted the other industries bus traveler’s coz at least there was faint cheer on their faces or at least something to share and talk about…. And I finally got the answer, though it dint sound pleasant to me coz I am also from the same Software industry…
Here people simply ignore the person sitting beside perhaps coz most times they land up in social engineering incase they talk… This is probably the main reason why nobody prefers to sit beside each other.. Well, if the employee is married, then they have lot to think about their family and sometimes about the many loans they have done to save their tax or other personal reasons.. Other reason could be, the inferiority complex.. Well, there is another category of ppl who simply think that the bus journey is the time to sleep as the journey time is never less than an hour.. Few others set all the telephone appointments during traveling, so that they keep their cell phones intact to their ears until they feel warmth in their ears!!
Rarely ppl make friends… On the other hand, there are few ppl who become best buddies in bus journey itself…. In fact, I myself have friend for a lifetime whom I met in bus :)

The world is not a sugary mundane, but if we think it so, it can be :) If not as sweet as we expected it to be, at least not sour :)
Not all the office bus journeys are boring, unless we make it that way…

Just 2 more years

As a student of correspondence MCA in IGNOU, I have to attend the classes every weekend... After long working hours in weekdays at office, weekends are the only Sabbath....

Till the 3rd week of February, everything went on fine coz the classes had not started :) So, I got lot of time for shopping, roaming around and pampering myself.. As the saying goes, “All good things comes to an end”… My good days also came to an end in the last week of February when the classes actually kicked off :(

So, Saturday afternoon I picked up my bag and rushed to college as a sincere student.. By the way, I don’t bunk classes…the reason for which u will find out as u read on.... Classes got over early on the 1st day coz the lecturer was on leave… So, I happily went out to celebrate my friend's birthday :) Sunday morning I woke up late so I was late to college. After the lunch break we had lab session... & I must tell u that it was the most bugging time.
I noticed that it was not only me who had got irritated with the classes.. Everyone were frustrated.. It was the 1st lab session of the semester.. Generally practical sessions are supposed to be interesting, but on the very 2nd day where we don’t even know the syllabus properly and we were in the lab, sitting clueless!!
While there is nothing for us to practice, what the heck we are supposed to do was the question of the day!!
We were all waiting for only one thing in the lab… & that was attendance sheet :)

Yes, many might be thinking, why we wait for attendance sheet… The reason is simple. Attendance is compulsory (Lab – 75% and theory – 60%) Any student who has attendance shortage has to either pay the fine to the university or bribe the assistant in charge for each subject… bribe amount nothing less than Rs.1500…

So, there are many feel-good and feel-bad factors about the classes.. Let me mention a few..

Reasons why I get irritated:
1. The elevators don’t work on weekends.
2. The classes are conducted in 5th and 6th floor (I look like a wheezing patient by the time I reach class room)
(1st and 2nd are the major reasons why I don’t bunk classes in mid of the day once i'm in class)
3. Sunday’s schedule is from morning 9 to night 8!!
4. Poor hygiene in wash room…
5. Cafeteria next to the mortuary!!! As the college shares the campus with the hospital…
6. Busy bees buzzing busily around 2 huge beehives in the corridor of 6th floor, which is just opposite to the entrance of the lab rooms....
7. Even when there is nothing much to practice in lab sessions, students are made to wait till the attendance sheet is given... (A signature on attendance sheet is considered as end of the class)

Few feel good factors:
1. Classes are conducted regularly as per the schedule.
2. Justice is done to viva and the exams.
3. Internet in the systems in lab which doesn’t block gmail, orkut, yahoo etc…;)
4. College is close to the VV puram chat street.. So, anytime you feel like having something good, just hop on the bikes with your friends and go around ;)

These are few of my opinions. I’m sure if I ask others opinion, I would get few more reasons to exaggerate this post. Moreover I have to spend 2 more years of my weekends in the same college.. So, don’t want to point out any more reasons… After 2 years I will proudly come out of that place with master’s degree – MCA..
Like my friend who always reminds me to have a positive approach towards life, I finally decided; let me not think 2 yrs as 208 weekends rather let me think 2 yrs as “Just 2 yrs” :) and finish it off without much perplexity.....

The big question.. Y government is not printing more money!!!

Repeatedly I heard many people asking, “Why isn’t the govt printing more money”..
I only knew that there are some rules and regulations which has to be followed to print money... and thats what i said them though it never served as an answer to their question... This post is my attempt to anwer the question...

Money should not be printed just like that. Money is essentially a promise to deliver something of its value. Societies had relied on the systems where currency used in trade was either composed of a physical commodity such as precious metals like gold, silver or copper or other commodity items such as crops, food etc..
But its not any more- Its just the belief that people will give goods and services in exchange for money.

If the government simply prints more money, the only effect will be to devalue it. The more they print, the less will be the worth…..
Still if they are printing more money, they are making more promises which they can’t fulfill!! People will start using this extra money, to pay back the debts and will start spending it, and buying stuff that the other people want. And since they have so much of this extra money, they will pay over rates, and prices will rise. Which means, that the money becomes worth less :( the effect is called Inflation.

Corrupt politicians have tried this many times in the past, and each time it brings inflation, it actually takes about two years for the new money to work through into inflation.
The rich can move their money into investments like land, stocks etc... But people on fixed wages, pensions etc...are the people who get screwed:( This is the reason why people are suffering coz of sick inflation :(

Never Give up:)

The pic that i liked most:) It simply inspired me to say "Never say die, untill u succeed"

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

Layoff in our company.. True??

Yesterday I noticed that everybody in office started talking too much about the layoff… Yes, this latest news has created lot of waves… People from Hyderabad unit also were buzzing me to confirm if the rumor is true in Bangalore……….

Fresher’s were comforting themselves that they will not be fired coz they are not costing much to the company :) There were seniors who were scaring the fresher’s that since they don’t have experience, they will b fired!!!
There was a question in my mind as to what they call a employee who has 1.6yrs experience, which was implying myself….Fresher or Senior??

I spoke to one of the senior who was very much tensed… She was ready to work in any technology after having 5-6 yr experience in Oracle Apps because she is on bench now!!

Later even in the company bus, everybody seemed to have the common topic to talk-“Layoffs”

After long tiring hours of work, when its time for us to take a nap in the bus, this discussion simply ruined the peace in the bus… I could see nobody dozing and strangely discussing on “what next” in case the company kicks them out…
Few people decided to write some bank exams whereas others were planning to continue their fathers business.. There were bunch of fresher’s who were planning to continue their studies and were discussing on cat exams….

After reaching home I was wondering why our CEO has decided for layoffs while the company poses to have done profit even during recession in the previous quarters.. The CEO even had plans to merge with Satyam incase Satyam agrees to do so…

Strange are the ways… So, I’m just hoping and praying that there won’t be any layoffs and the company manages to survive even in this tough time of recession. . . . . .

I keep waiting. . . .

Its 6.44 a.m. and I stand here in the bus stop waiting for the office bus to arrive. I stand here in the same manner as I did a few years back waiting for BMTC bus in the bus stop. Back then i used to always see many office buses going right in front of our stop with good velocity and i dreamt that there would be days when i would also travel in one of those office bus comfortably seated, which was contrasting the BMTC bus travel in all the ways..
When the dream came true, little did I know then that things would change so much in 2 years; Sky is perhaps the only thing that has acted as a witness.. Watching the transformation of casuals to formals, loud and bubbly girl into a quiet professional...
I wouldn't blame the professionalism for the change though. It is destiny, or may be you could call it life. Yes Life, mysterious in the true sense, for one does not understand why you meet hundreds of people everyday, work with so many, and still remain lonely...
I am now in one of the corner seats in the bus, looking out of the window watching people trying to catch up with "life".. It's an hour's journey in the morning and two hours in the evening due to traffic, and the only company that I generally have is the chatter of the RJ. I seldom notice the person sitting next to me, for its going to be yet another stranger or may be you could say another acquaintance. It is annoying at times when the radio is switched off, not because I am cut off from the melody but because I would now be thrust with thoughts of the solitary journey ahead for 32kms.
I can't help thinking about the short bus journeys to college... well it's a paradox to call a 15-20 kms journey "short", but that is how it always seemed. A typical college day always begins in the bus with all the familiar faces; you look forward for all your friends to get in from the various stops, the reasonless giggles, the loud laughter that was enough to disturb the senior citizens and other fellow travellers in the bus, yet never not bothered to remain silent...well as I said it was a different life then... Recollecting the sight of trying to escape from few lecturers when they called us to attend seminars!! Hoping & praying for some strike in the nearby area so that the internals get postponed; Eating the sliced mango, bhel puri, outside the campus... .The pleasant memories of college are in itself good enough to save me from the misery of the bus journey...
I notice that it is time for me to get down and flash my smile of acknowledgement to all the known strangers that I see as I approach my cubicle. A few of my colleagues greet me with their morning wishes and as always, we exchange our pleasantries. Discussions jump to the weekend plans and I wonder what I'd do over the weekend... It would be just another day staring at the mobile, wishing it would ring and bring back some wonderful moments that are now missing in life or may be the safer option would be to come to office or attend classes, for it's my new founded asylum these days..
A few years back, weekends or weekdays didn't matter to me, I was always busy. I always stood doubting the authenticity of the wall clock that seemed to be in running too fast to perceive its movement. Now, it seems as though my clock is suffering from some kind of paralytic attack. There is a time in life, where one needs to go ahead, leaving behind your friends and carrying along only memories. You do make new friends, but then you never get the old close ones... You do meet people who'd be so good to you that you could tell them anything and everything, but you do not find a person to whom you needn't say things... friends who just know you.
Occasional calls from such friends, have been the only thing that I seem to look forward to... However, I cant help but notice the uneasy pause that lingers around the conversation.. A pause not because of the relationship, but because it is too short duration to say everything, and of course you cannot completely rule out the paucity of words!
As I sip coffee from the coffee mug, watching the drops of rain, trickling down the tinted glass panes, hiding the scenic beauty outside, I tell myself, may be there will be a day when things will change, when life will offer a rewind, a recap of all the events and I just have to wait. Unpredictable are the ways of life, for I know there would be many who'd be able to empathize with me, ironically, even the dear ones that I miss this moment, waiting perhaps...!! And I continue waiting..........