Wednesday, November 30, 2005

108

I am excited today-- its my successful completion of 108 days at Kolkata. Everything had and has been absolutely fine - no hassles, no frills, no jhan-jhats! On the top of it, coincidentally I ve done with the project I've been alloted with! Means, w.e.f today i.e 30-Nov-2005, I am no more in this project. Anxiously awaiting for the 'What Next' signal from the HR.

Today morning an old friend of mine called from Hyderabad. He did with his training at Infosys, Hyderabad. Looks like he got his allocation to Chennai for maintanance. Though his home is at Chennai, he seems not to be interested at the offer as he preferred Implementation stream at Hyderbad. And he is desperate to 'swap' locations with someone who prefers Chennai.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Logging in after a Break!

Lots of events have happened after my last post.

First, I ve developed a real penchant for cooking. Of late, I ve learnt to cook rice in a pressure cooker properly! I should now say that I ve become proficient in sabji cutting...Last week, Pankaj, my roomie taught me to prepare Vegetable Pulao. And at the end, it came out well !

On friday, I went to the Eden gardens here to have a glimpse of the India vs. SA One day-ODI atmosphere. Man, it was electrifying - Big crowd, Cars, Security, band-baaja.. Crowd were mostly of Ganguly's supporters. But, but... sadly, I didnt see the match actually.. Just had been there to accompany Satish and Saptha(till the Stadium entrance gate!), who had shelled out heavy bucks for the tickets. And I came back happy heartedly! Bad luck, India lost at the end.

Last weekend was really an eventful one indeed. Apne junta had brought Bat, ball, Stumps for playing a perfect cricket match . And yeo, we've started our first match last saturday in the ground few blocks away from our house. There was a good response from our circle of friends and had a good play indeed.

Same evening, had been to Belur Math and Dakshineshwar (this being the second time!) with friends. It was exciting with the exotic boat ride from belur to dakshineshwar at the early dusk...

I ve started reading the Book "The Monk who sold ferrari" by Robin Sharma and I find it quite good. It really has influenced me quite a lot and I made an introspection- soul searching of myselves. And I brought another book - " A night @ the Call Center" by Chetan bhagat. Just waiting my hands to keep on it and vrooom.. start reading. I personally liked Bhagat's previous work "Five Point Someone"- It was cool with the musings of three 5 pointers of IIT-Delhi.

Finally the D-day came yesterday with my PL telling me that I am released from the project w.e.f 30-11-2005 (btw, that is tomorrow). Is that all over? Have I finished my karma here? I am blank about what is gonna happen next. Just keeping my fingers crossed till I'd my next project allocation. New Project, I am excited! Lets see...

Latest News: Rains in tamilnadu have shattered the routine life. Places near my native place are flooded with water inundated everywhere. Coastal areas of tamilnadu were affected heavily.

Friday, November 25, 2005

The Martyr

I was deeply disturbed over Manjunathan episode. It certainly had shocked everyone. Sadly, it is yet another Satyendranath Dubey chapter.

For those who are'nt yet informed, do go through these News Links:

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1051122/asp/frontpage/story_5507028.asp
http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/11/bye-machan.html
http://masalaspice.com/index.php/2005/11/24/iim-graduate-killed-for-exposing-corruption

Friends of Manju 'Machan' have created a blog in his memory. I've left my condolence message to the bereaved family there.
http://manjunathshanmugam.blogspot.com/


Wanna do something. Just go to the link below and sign the petition-online to the PM of India
http://www.petitiononline.com/manju005/

I salute you Manju. You are the epitome of honesty, uprightness and courage.
May your soul rest in peace.

Monday, November 21, 2005

Lessons in Logic

I happened to read this interesting lessons in Logic from a fwd mail. sharing them ;-))
Disclaimer: These are not my personal thoughts !

If your father is a poor man,
it is your fate but,
if your father-in-law is a poor man,
it's your stupidity.
..........................................................................
Practice makes perfect.....
But nobody's perfect......
so why practice?
..........................................................................

If it's true that we are here to help others,
then what exactly are the others here for?
..........................................................................

Since light travels faster than sound,
people appear bright until you hear them speak.
..........................................................................

How come "abbreviated" is such a long word?
..........................................................................

Money is not everything.
There's Mastercard & Visa.
..........................................................................

Behind every successful man, there is a woman
And behind every unsuccessful man, there are two.
..........................................................................
The wise never marry.
and when they marry they become otherwise.
..........................................................................

Success is a relative term.
It brings so many relatives.
..........................................................................

Never put off the work till tomorrow
what you can put off today.
..........................................................................

"Your future depends on your dreams"
So go to sleep
..........................................................................

There should be a better way to start a day
Than waking up every morning
..........................................................................

"Hard work never killed anybody"
But why take the risk
..........................................................................

"Work fascinates me"
I can look at it for hours
..........................................................................

God made relatives;
Thank God we can choose our friends.
..........................................................................

The more you learn, the more you know,
The more you know, the more you forget
The more you forget, the less you know
So.. why learn.

..........................................................................
A bus station is where a bus stops.
A train station is where a train stops.
On my desk, I have a work station....
what more can I say........

Courtesy: Nemai, who fwded this to me!

Sunday, November 20, 2005

The New Arrival

At last, I brought that. That was the only thing left uncompleted post my arrival at Kolkata. Perhaps that would bring back colour to the otherwise deliberate void made by me. Weighing just a mere few grams with the length of a 1 Re. Coin diameter, it certainly is the most sought after possession for junta relocating new places. It's really infectious and I was prepared for the consequences.



Necessity became the order and transitions motivated me to buy a SIM CARD! With it, came the end to the saga of my 3 month old penance. Yeah, I brought a naya Hutch prepaid sim card. Had my Nokia handset had mouth, it would have said unquestionably --"Enough is enough. Dont exploit me anymore". I had really bothered it using as a Phone-book prior to buying this sim card. Anyways, sooner or later I brought back cheers (as well as life) to my nokia-ji.
Inspired by one of my friends mail, I want to record all its firsts statistics.

First Incoming Message: Hutch Care
First Incoming Message(Non Hutch): Mukunth (my collegaue)
First Incoming Message (STD): J.P.Arun (classmate-friend from Mumbai)
First Incoming call (missed call) : Santosh (colleague)
First Local call (received) : Vishnu(roommate) from office
First STD call (received) : Sakthi Kumar (friend) from Chennai
First dialled no. (missed call) : (Err. dont remember)

Well, the counters are yet to begin for the first outgoing call and first message. Oh ya, made a call to the customer care, which happens to be the first outgoing call!

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Hello-Salaam-Namaste-Vanakkam

Lots of things have happened over the last few days since I've posted my first entry. Yippe, I am fully immersed in the blogging world.. More than posting, all these days, I am more into going through other's blogs!

Well, I should say I started rather uncoventionally with a travel write-up and lazed away without posting any new stuff. Chalo, I am posting this which actually should have been my first post. I know I may lack in some aspects -- be it content or language; but do pour in your thoughts and opinions as and when you go through (this crap!). After all, I am yet another imperfect-normal-homo-sapien.

Alright, I salute you with my personal offerings of Hello-Salaam-Namaste-Vanakkam-Vandanam-Welcome-Swagatam- to my blog. Read at your own risk!

Saturday, November 12, 2005

The Trip


23 members from the Adventure and Trekking Club went for a North Bengal tour on the 3 day holidays...

Just tried my hands on a travalogue of our recent trip from the Adventure & trekking Club...

What would you expect from a group of 23-some enthusiastic junta from their trekking expedition? Well lots, lots, lots of fun and 'real adventure', of course! Exactly, that's what we experienced in the Lava- Rishap- Kalimpong sojourn during 3/11 to 7/11 with around 86 hours of excitement and making friends all the way. And boy, it was awesome!

Going chronologically, the members started to Siliguri through the NBSTC Rocket Bus on 3/11/2005 (Thursday) at 8 p.m from the Esplanade Bus Station (Pls bear with my date and time details then and there, as I intended to capitulate these details too in this travelogue)

4/11/2005 (Friday)
We reached Siliguri at around 10 am amidst all the thuds along the bumpy road sessions of the rocket. After getting fresh and having brunch or lunch (as applicable to the individual), close to 1.30 pm, we started our scenic trip to Lava through a Swaraj Mazda van. Took a small stopping at the water falls after the Dantak Valley with some memorable snaps! The van reached Lava by 5 pm after heaps of hair pin bends and curves. The co ordinators Sujoyda and Dipakda benevolently took care of hotel and lodging arrangements as well as synchronized the team all the way through . After the garam samose and chai, in clusters, evening walk started among us. People did flock the STD booths and did simple shopping of hats, bags etc. Then we had congregated back at the Unique Inn Hotel for the adda and dinner.

5/11/2005 (Saturday)
After the super-chill-thick-blanket-covered sleep followed by morning walk, lots of us had a darshan of the monastry with its striking landscape at Lava. By 10.30 am, we assembled at the Lava Jeep stand and a guide (Prem) was arranged. Debi da, Anita di steered the group all the way and co ordinators profusely guided us through the 'Mission Rishap'. Accompanied with gossip, fun and photos, wading through the jungle, we reached the interim point Tiphandhara (donno if I've spelled right). From a podium over there, an astounding view of Kanchanjunga delighted us. From there, we moved down the hill to reach Rishap by ~ 4 pm. Rishap, being less inhabited, looked as though specially made for a group like us. No doubt, the serene and calm environs gave tranquility to the mind. In fact, the entrance to Rishap itself was beautiful with its flora. We then went to our Lodge Hotel Snow View on the face of a dazzling valley. Yeah, by this time all of us were pretty hungry. A walk around the valley bypassed the time and hunger when the lunch was being prepared by the Snow View people. On returning back, we certainly were delighted with food which was worth the wait. Later, the evening started with the eventful masti bhari Antakshari around the campfire. I guess it certainly is still afresh in all of us. Veterans of gaane - Subhashish, Debashish, Anita di et. al added more glitter the event. Debi da constantly extended the camp fire with his periodical wood block inputs into the flames. Finally, antakshari ended in a neutral verdict. Post dinner, everyone slept only to wake up soon to see the sun rise.



6/11/2005 (Sunday)
Time: 5.30 am. Most of the people flocked outside their rooms to see and capture the spectacular sun rise and sun rays through Kanchanjunga. As somebody rightly told, it certainly was 'a feast to the eyes'. Later by around 10 am, by means of 3 jeeps, we started to Lava through the narrow muddy hill roads (literally showered!) with stones and gravels. Yippee, these drivers were really talented! From there, we headed towards Kalimpong and reached there by around 12 noon. Armed with 3 vehicles, we went around the 7 minus 2 points sight seeing - Forest Musuem, Cantonment Golf Course (it remembers me how we took the snaps in a hurry burry there), View point (yeah that suicide point only!), Monastery and finally the Nursery. After lunch, by around 3.30 pm, we started to Siliguri in a Swaraj mazda van again. It felt as leaving something behind and going... Siliguri was reached within 2.5 hours. Had enough time to hop around the shops outside Siliguri Bus Station as the Kolkata Bus departure time was at 7.30 pm. Some of us had been to the famous Hong Kong Market there and lots many bought Chai Patthi. Later we boarded the Kolkata Rocket bus, which was more spacious and comfortable than the one with which we came. Nevertheless, the roads were the same to give us the same disco shake! Raghu da promptly provided all with gangajal mineral water packs. Tarun and co. entertained the people with their bhoot stories in the back of the bus!

7/11/2005 (Monday)
Dawn came. As Kolkata was nearing, every one started bidding adieu at their respective destination. Really it was touching to part with the sweet memories cherished...

Still the vivid memories of the bus ka discotheque, garam chai and momo, monastery,trek to Rishap, expedition to valleys, camp fire, Antakshari, Sun rise and rays thru kanchanjunga , jeep ride from rishap-lava-kalimpong, 5 points trip, 'Punjab restaurant experience (!)', and not to forget the Bhuter golpo...continues to hang around (in all of us).