A Tribute to Booze

Cn H2n+1 OH - Those who still have slight chemistry left in thier intellect will recall this formula as 'Alcohol'.However, this nomenclature is suspicious but most of physicians date back to Arabic lingo for such name.This olfactory perceptive, achromatic, volatile liquid formed by the fermentation of sugars etc makes mankind react and enact in unusual though hyper ways.It makes us happy; and sad. Optimistic; and pessimistic. Quiet as a lamb; and brave as a lion were few answers of human race to...'to this juice of the grape'.

My enchantment with this beauty for swig dates stamp to Mar 2004, when I being "pundit" cudn't save myself from this moral sin.Me and few of my comrades('in arms') to name few Mahipal and Sid took me in my full "hoshohawaas" to some pub in Jaynagar ,Blore where I got introduced this soak.Gustatory experience at first was not so good, but being in holy company and rocking ambience made me empty 2-3 mugs of beer, that's what I started with and MAN...coming out of that pothouse, we were shouting and laughing like ruffians.We walked 2 miles till our room in BSK(since no auotos in nyt and none of us had courage to ride a byke after those shots).Next morning got up with my head spinnin like top, hangover 'in guzzler's terms';had to take glasses of lime water and some breakfast which slowed down this scientific phenomenon going in my head.Days passed by and we went twice or thrice to pubs like NASA,Pecos,etc. for our fantasy sake.

Months later, in around March ,getting through TCS(my cradle company) made me land up in Coimbatore for my Initial Learning Prog..Attending classes,doing projects alomost 14X7 in those days left us with doing nothing ;if we save day or two but to njoi imbibing 2-3 pegs of lush. I made some very good friends like Nipun,Ashish,Kaushik,Suvy,Prateek who made me almost comfortable this spirit.I was not new for 'HER' now and on the day of our allocation results(bad n good for few) we were porting all the hotel after dinner;some pub-crawled and others tippled the cognac in place which we mange to get her in city like Cmbtr.Two months went across making us dwell in rounds of shaayriis,rum,and GM(gaa*#masti).

Coming to Mumbai opened land of opportunities for me, in every true sense, "city of night life","ale lovers" etc.Being bachelor and working for TCS were 2 very good infact best reasons we had to bib every weekend here.Got awesome company with pals like Abhishek,Prats...Saurabh C, Vikash joined later; for celebrating our we'a'kends.
Was lucky enough to joined the proj at time when I managed to attend few client parties thrown by our 'esteemed' customer,actually we even had some nice time within our module parties(credits to Gaurav,instigator..sir on +ve note) where drinks flowed like anything.Every vodka shot,scotch peg,or beer mug I gulp, provokes me to take one last, but it goes on until owner requests us to move.Come what may, I pledge next day...had enough I will never touch it;but it's effortful to sit in number without ONE in hand(doesn't looks good), be it beer or breezer.Now, have come down in terms of oftenness of fuddling, but will definetely like to write about my latest visit to Taj Lands End,Bandstand for Mentor show of "Johnnie Walker", producer of world's widely distributed brand of Scotch;where they made us sip labels like Black, Blue, Cream, Smoke etc. and their usual promotion demo.

Lastly, as I end up my most notes like to quote sonnet , teetotalers take note:


"For me thy color hath a charm,
Although 'tis true they call thee Pale;
And be thou cold when I am warm,
As late I've been - so high the scale
Of FAHRENHEIT - and febrile harm
Allay, refrigerating Ale!

How sweet thou art! - yet bitter, too
And sparkling, like satiric fun;
But how much better thee to brew,
Than a conundrum or a pun,
It is, in every point of view,
Must be allowed by every one."

Small party within module

Wetted our whistles, now guess...something to eat

Prats n Sam

Sameer n I

Not so "WEST"ern - WR(सुबुर्बन रैल्वाय)

"I'll be holding one bag, you hold one. He'll make a grab for the doorway; I'll push him from behind. You just cling to me. Don't, I repeat, DON'T let even a breath of air come between us or...,"
were the words of wisdom from my Mumbaite friend, who made me see MUMBAI on my very first day in this 'city of life'.True to his changed loyalties, any suggestion of taking a cab or some other decent means of transportation was brushed aside with an adamant NO-NO. And reinforced with 'If you have not travelled in a Mumbai local, you have not visited Mumbai, you have not lived, you don't have any adventure spirit...' and so on. Finally, we conceded. We took Borivili local from Dadar through W.R. i.e. Western Railway route, timings of our train were unfortunately matching with office timings of passengers on that line of rail. Looking at few trains which just passed by infront of my eyes, I got a fair good idea of the rush in and how I will board the train? But I was wrong, cos the trains which whisked by were in opposite directions(Bvi to Churchgate) and were still empty as per my friend's opinion, though I saw every single soul standing in it.

Our local came, we were at door, I was waiting for it to halt so that I can step in, but to my surprise, I was automatically propelled-in the compartment with a force from behind along with my airbag.Having no idea where my pal is, frankly speaking I didn't care about him that time because I was preoccupied with thoughts like,'Is my bag on my shoulder or somebody else's?' , 'Is he pushing me or is he pulling me?' , 'Which station and how will I get down?'etc.But then I recapitulated my friend's words which goes like, "one needed to force one's way through the people jammed against the entrance of the compartment; the direction you took depended on whether you needed to get in or out of a compartment. " Vibes inside the compartment were different, someone is reading newspaper in late evening hours, few others(lucky ppl who got the seat since, they boarded train at very first stop) sleeping...well nodding,elite one's listening to i-pod's or Radio Mirchi ..donno,few also manage to play games on their cell phones...I was struggling for standing there; forget about playing or reading stuff.Some govt. officials(easy to rcognise by there unique dress and talks) were doing which we Indians are good at...discussing politics,and above all we also had small group of people pulling-off their penchant for playing cards very well in that claustrophobic place making briefcase their multipurpose casino table.I don't have any recollection of what happened after travelling few minutes in that - adventurous trip. The next thing I remember is hearing someone scream in agony, only to realise it was me. Someone was standing on my foot. Now I was really angry; 'mera UP ka khoon khaulney laga'..hey..but the moment I turned behind towards one person , I pacified my vengeance and smiled looking at his scowling expression, I understood that this guy can give me worst trouble ,minute I utter a word. Besides, someone was pulling at my bag. Others were pulling my arms. Everyone was behaving as if mangling me would lead them to nirvana. But I was in the compartment in mute mode maintaining my equanimity with pleasure as I am returning from a holy tourney.
After pushing, shoving, twisting and turning -- it took a ride in a Mumbai train to
make me realise how supple the human body could be!.The spirit of man made famous in Hemingway’s “ Old man and the sea “ can perhaps be seen in real life in the Mumbai's trains.Praying to GOD with my open hands, that Almighty ..let my stop come before I lose my last breath.And as people say sooner or later your prayers will be answered, mine got too ;my stop came .I held on to my bag for dear life and frantically looked for my anchor, my friend whom I was supposed to 'stick to'. Seconds later, I found myself standing pulseless and dyspneal on the platform and my pal approaching towards me from next 'cell'.My hair and clothes were dishevelled, but I was beaming. Still holding on to my bag, I raised both my hands in the air in triumph. Everyone was staring at me curiously but I did not care. They had no clue how proud I was of myself. I had successfully accomplished my first journey on one of Mumbai's local trains.
Mumbai's lifeline took my life for a ride but I whole heartedly salute the spirit of people of this city who inspite of all odds, accidents - still have their eternal faith in this govt's efficient service for its people.The government's railway
machinery deserves kudos in what it continues to achieve through its excellent service, and the mind –boggling numberof passengers (I donno how many of us know, It holds the World record passenger traffic density) it serves with excellent frequency of trains in all seasons.Now I am a regular traveller in this mankind's greatest invention to Mumbaites (especially) and have made few train-friends who sometimes keep a seat for me, if not that at least the place to park my two legs; rest I wangle.Believe me, this article is too less to publish about much-famed local train culture which truly has a life of its own that it celebrates each day, in the midst of clamour, heat, perspiration, bone-weary exhaustion and no elbow room.

I did it 'My way'

XXX - my first company has given me everything (in every true sense)what one’s first organization should give him/her.Dating back to the day when I went for 'XXX walk-in' at Dr. AIT college, Bangalore cos my college(established late) was not among those lucky one's whom s/w firms short list for 'campus placements'.XXX conducted 2-day walk in at this college where students turn out in huge numbers(in figure of thousands) and I was one among them in this crowd with few of my class mates who reached the spot at early hours of 7 AM to avoid waiting in long queue which was more than expected .XXX conducted the entire thing in very a organized manner except some small feuds which was not surprising though because public made their presence there much before break of day(3 AM to be precise) and holdings were going on at normal pace.After sometime waiting in stand up I got a call,entered the premises, recieved the papers and can you believe YES I pulled off to finish it before time.Paper was not tough,and hence I did okay but my chances of getting selected was entirely depended on,"How bad others did...".Months passed by and one fine day while checking my mails(which was very frequent activity I use to do during those days...u know the reason...WHY)I saw one mail from XXX recruitment cell, that I have cleared the written round and I have to prepare myself for next battle which was yes you guessed right again...Interview round.There was nothing I could have prepared for this interrogation other than going through once again few of my electives,projects and gupshup with some of my seniors who were already there working for XXX.Since 'Time waits for none', how can it leave me, D-day has arrived...and yes I 'dressed to the nines' formally of course equipped for any unforeseen crunch."Mr. Pranjal", I was called and so I went...in one corner cubicle where one person who's already sitting there greeted me with conventional handshake tho' 'HE' was looking grim at me as if I've come for unspecified legal hearing acquitted in felonious intent.Enquiry(indeed that is WHAT it was for me) started with brief introduction about me,my intrests,qualification etc.and then he asked me few queries on C pointers,Unix OS,Socket networking etc and GOD knows what all.I responded most of them...in 'Yes or No' and few on paper justifications.Candidly, what I was thinking at that time was, "Why the hell have I put in so much in my resume; it pays you well correct...but 'through the nose sometimes'". For some reason , this catechism ended with another handshake not a 'bone-cruncher' this time.

I waited and waited but as I have mentioned above also 'hard work pays none...sorry one', I got additional mail for my final SELECTION in XXX."MY GOD, 'I' did it" were the words came from my mouth after reading the subject line(detailed mail was on same lines..not opposite) of mail.I told my family members,friends and enemies particurarly this news.Reactions were accommodating from everywhere.Though date of joining was not mentioned in mail, but few months later I got call from them that your date of joining will be Mar 7,2005 (tentatively...hhehe me kidin this time) which from sysdate was 4 months ahead.I had absolutely nothing to do than doing time-pass with leisure activities like chatting,watching movies on comp,listening songs and gossiping.March the 7 of 2005 has come and I have to report in Coimbatore ,my centre for ILP(Initial Learning Programme).Hot and humid the climate was there , but friends which I made there were cool and cooperative(even now...no literal meaning this time).2 months passed with feverish schedules but full masti,you can find other intresting things happened at link:



Almighty never gave me too many choices so I had to come down to Mumbai because that was the only location left for most of our ILP mates who fared equally well in end terms.We came here, and luckily had few friends here to stay with in new city like Mumbai, attended our induction which was again nice.

Unfortunately, most of us were not allocated to projects on induction day itself, reason being, they wanted to sharpen our skills for particular technology; projects on which XXX was expecting.Not a problem for me, but I was perplexed and amused when I found that after doing project on Web tech. in ILP ,made to join 3 weeks course by CMC in Microsoft tech. I am being put/allocated to Oracle tech. project(thanks to MATC!).The project was for GE corporate(yes BIG client for XXX)in Oracle Apps HRMS.Every technical term was Arabic to me that point of time(which my would be colleagues were communicating there) but heard from word of mouth that, I got very good project and client to work with and so was I contented.Since large was the client, so were there processes,we had to experience few mandatory procedures like BGC(background check), NASA agreement(no not that space agency but some n/w security act) etc. before entering GE premises.It took nearly 2 months to get everything done and me hitting the floor without any escort.I was fortunate(sometimes I am ;o)) to get in module like 'Configuration and Security' of this esteemed project 'OHR' where I had got best people to learn from.Our's was infact,OHR is very big team of around 60 members including Offshore/Onsite and several modules with some real good work to learn.Work environment is best here with adequate resources(hardware and ppl both...no pun intended)and some fun-at-work activities too which our team use to enjoy the most because, "NO we never participated" but we loved spectatorship(no yaar...no eye candy here). I have learnt lot both personally and professionally interacting with different team members whatever I worth today in market today I owe to XXX and OHR(I am serious now).Things were not always good but I am told it's same everywhere, initiative has to come from you.What Gandhi said is true, "Be the change you want to see in others" but practically speaking only a small populace really call for this theory(atleast I was not the one...and I repented).There were many other 'words of wisdom' I heard from grapevine that, 'It's not always how much or how you work that matters, it's what you work that's substantial'.Another important state of affair/word I came to know here is 'Visibility' is of utmost magnitude especially working with client;you have to 'beat the drum' with both the hands and stop working with them if you wanna grow fast(not sure...how true it is).List is endless; you will say now I am too a critic or discomfited person, but this is what I have learnt and told(true untrue ..no idea).

Hmmm...I guess I am getting too much distressing from humourous start but this is life in cyclic manner.My 2 years stint with XXX was undoubtedly like joyride in simple terms.I have yet not decided where I will be tomorrow(though have few preliminary things in mind) XXX or GMPK but I will decidedly add on to 'what I lacked' and improve on 'what I have'.One line for XXX and for all of us(not mine this one) would be "Try to be proactive than being reactive" and you might go places.Since this is ending and sounding like farewell note,the lyrics of the song ‘My Way’ popularized by the late Frank Sinatra resonate in my mind. In particular,

'Regrets, I had a few; but then
again, too few to mention. I did what I have to do, and did
it all without exemption ... I did it my way.'

Look thyself

As someone rightly said. "If you point one finger towards opposite ; three are pointed back to you"
When you start finding flaws in others, I personally feel that there's one in you.It cud be superiority complex,
attitude,selfishness,etc. If you hate them in others you have to get rid them off yourself.Have you ever thought ,
why it happens to you; well exactly happens to most of us but what we can do is learn from it instead of repeating it.
Reason is pretty obvious, no wonder our perception of good will is distorted.

I have seen ppl saying lot about others ..(I know what all u guys must be thinking ... I am doin same) ,
what dey think of them n how he/she should change their conduc,but , 'We morons ...don't ever think that what am I doing !!
Don't I have nything better to do than blabbering s*** about others when we can do something really worthy and virtuous...
involving ourself in some sensible work.

I am doing nothing different ,bcos at this point of time I can't think of doing 'penny' better than this...
u can call it vengeance,disappointment or dalliance.Working 8 to 8 or more ...does sometimes makes me ponder
..that, is this what I getting paid for?Is it really gonna help me in my vocation or we all are doin our work for the
only rational motive of our living...but the reason fewest of us give is - "this is what most of us do and we are
no extraordinary".Actually to certain extent I can't incriminate you all for this ...this is is how we are brought up
in and around ...n it's gonna be redound for another few coevals.If we as a mortal not going to do think about this,
day will come when we will be ruled by not our will but our greed/desires.We will more like machine having no feelins of
our own and do damn care about others,just pulling out levers to get the work started n let it move until it breaks.
And if any kinship respites, it's difficult to quick fix and patch it, so beware and start working on it from now.......


'Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently,
but life itself would come to be different. Life would undergo a change of appearance because we ourselves had
undergone a change in attitude.'

Production Support for me

Je suis venu, j'ai vu… J'ai conquis ! ! ! ...well dis is my rendition about 'Production Support' ...(Monitoring for those who are lil comrades of it in past n present..in home lingo) when I finally came out of it after feverish duelling of close to 10 months.

My dear friends ...those who are incognizant of this subject; to brief dem , dis is one of the MOST happenin(or shud I say avalanche) module of our Project Team, wherein we provide 24X7 support from Onshore-Offshore for 'THE jobs' running in Oracle Apps. Not getting into too much technical aspect of it, precisely it is keepin ur eyes "split wide open" for jobs running in application so dat if one of dem fails escalate it to Onsite (v hav our better counterparts der also).

Coming to core of the theme, \\XXX057017 (yeah u r ryt Monitoring Asset#) is always surounded by swarm of ppl(unlucky one's) who belong to PS squad.They are the ONE's who until 'hell freezs over' will always be der for der personal penchant for it."N/w link is down", "Automonitor tool malfunctioning", "ORA error","Other Runs" and much more (since the list keeps increasing with every new induction to team and job to ist) are the phrases which you will hear from word of mouth of those around this PC,which in there terms are few of the issues which team faces every now or then.To resolve them dey can either call any of senior members(those who have bore the brunt in past) or Onsite person(poor chap literally burning midnight oil).If the guy at Monitoring PC, luck favors him(no her's till now by God's grace) will get the problem resolved at Offshore(over and out) but if latter (onsite person'Satan') comes into picture ...gear up for the screwing part of it.You will be bombared with volley of questions say 'How', Why' and last but not the least '...and you are telling me now'...goofup up aptly it shud be 'Who gave you KT'(mostly).The poor soul on the other side of battle bears it all with patience...cos he did it.

Woh kahte hain,"Ek baar PS mein aa gaye to aaath mahine baad hi nikloge", so until den go thru dis joyride.It starts with KT about tool , jobs, exit test ...I mean same crap...but the real journery starts when you are put to test i.e. monitoring slots alloted to you.Day 1 you will feel this job is full of responsibilies,ownership and you are the chosen 'ONE'.Coming early morning before dawn breaks and starting that clumsy tool,sometime will make you realise 'Damn it' ! Don’t u hav anythin better to do???...but then you can't do anything except reprimanding and begining your day with checkin mails,files and coloring few rows in sheet etc.Passing on the HOTO to second slot(safest and most dumb one) person ur job ends der.Last slot u need to make some calls to Onsite for late running,pending jobs; who in turn will ask you to add some phrases in Summary ...which as we know goes to top persons of our business.If your day is bad you will get prompt reply on mail with notes like ,"Why the indentation was not proper","placing of text was inappropriate" and the latest one.."Any reasons..WHY???".Most of the time u get these mails as spontaneous as some autoreply.Conducting my survey with junior and senior members of this team I came out with following non sequitur feedbacks which they have recieved:

"This is really unacceptable"
"By doing such acts of total ignorance, you are not only setting a bad example for the junior members but also bringing disrepute to the renowned Production Support team."

and many more which erstwhile will make u substantiate as if u are part of great NASA team.One aspect of this esteemed module I forgot to mention above was "Crisis Management" ...where u r taught to fight sudden unforseen exigency where we get illustrations like 'July 26 rains', 'earthquakes','n/w link down' etcetera.This starts with calls to Onsite and concludes with sending minute to minute detais in Act sheet.

What I can reapitulate from my cognitive content about above is like it's all about passing the blame to your subordinate and listening the 'call on the carpet' from your supervisors.Atlast I would would like to end up by quoting Henry David's quote,"Men have become the tools of their tools."

Disclaimer: This was just an article not to offend anyone personally rather my adaptation of woes of our Production Support team

I am - whatever u say I am

I am - whatever u say I am

Hi... The name my parents gave me 'Pranjal' and my family name 'Mishra', which, needless to say, happens to be a family heirloom, made me 'Pranjal Mishra'. My pestering the creatures of earth began on nice (as I'm told) wednesday evening in the mid month of the year 1980,in the city of Nawabs.

The following eighteen years saw me wandering on the streets of Hazratganj,so called hep place of Lko. I was a part of the senior high school bunch graduating out of the school that holds the record for the maximum number of students in one city, namely "City Montessori School". Wasted 1 year preparing for JEE which most of the ppl from my clad do...I also joined them
but alas realised it wasn't for me;infact dis preparation managed me to get into CET, Karnataka.

The following four years of my life, which I brand as the most happening and memorable for me, were spent trying to grasp the babble of the professors at Vivekananda Institute of Technology Bangalore, studying Information Technlogy. Well... I was the one of the few in my class who did not have a deep rooted hatred for the profession before coming to this place... but as it
turned out I was not alone while graduating... we had little regrets on our choice while graduating.

Talking about graduation, our timing of the same wasn't really the best... but we had no choice but to graduate in the summer of 2004... a time falling midst the great global IT/economic turmoil.I still cherish most the college days of my life since, that was the era which made me realize of my responsibilities, joys and sorrows of staying away from home, importance of
friends and much more.As always said/heard, hostel life you just cannot forget(could be some 'not so good' reasons also...say ragging to name few) but you also do lot of 'Ga*&masti'.I did not got the chance to stay in Hostel for all 4 years of my engineering but yeah I did almost everything(including whacky pranks,night outs,...and whatever your wild imagination can
think of) in the first year I spent as hostelite. Made some very good friends who stood by me in whatsoever good or bad I had done that time, and learnt from them a lot.My second and third years I was fortunate to be roomie of friends like Simant, Arvind and Jha.To brief you about them ... Simant was always busy on phone calls which guess he is now also but caring and
ready to help guy. Arvind Sir as we use to call him since was few years elder to us always use to guide us n helped us in preparing some really nice dishes @ home.Jha-my roomie for 3 years was of accomodative nature which time says, bit centimental n typical Scorpion ... I realised late...whatsoever was good to me(Cancerian). Concluding year of my college I
shifted to Banashankari with Sid, Kaul n again Jha. Sid- u can ask any one...thorough friend can do anything for u.Kaul-fundoo MAN(caps intentionally) can do anything , anytime, anywhere..maverick in one word.

Preparing a day or two before exams(tryin to get Exam paper anyhow by God damn whichever means but of no use), in the end,sitting in one common room,mugging those lengthy notes(so called concepts), to just puke out next day same in paper(we're lucky...if it comes).Not to miss out Friday movie's evening show, which we punctually follow no matter it could be Practicals next day. In labs, we realized the importance of taking Networking as stream, coz codes/programs were present in one common system(shared/hidden "winsys" folder), accesible from all terminals, which did saved lot of our times and brain work.

This extract wil be bland sans the pinch of masti we did at "Utsav labs"(name given by genius friend 'Yoki' of mine for experimental cuisines made by our roadside mess), managing n njoin d delicacies made by Uncle.Mostly, what we use to do der is ummmmmmm...well nothing infact to relieve our ennui by drinkin gallons of tea.Food as already mentioned above was gud
nough to quell our hunger.There were some untoward incidents where owner asked us to eat 'LADDOO' instaed of rice as it got over along with dal.Met again some good friends der not to forget- DJ Murthy, always wants someone to appreciate music which sometimes was worth listening,Mahi- surd..always he n his English fundaes ...use to tease him for his passion about Fighter planes.Going back from Utsav what we mostly...well guess..always use to do was rent a CD/DVD and watch it on 'Kosta's 'system...(another grt frd of mine) .We had developed that habit of making fun of old Hindi songs ....which most of the times were more meaningful than present one's...par kya karein puraani aadat hai MAARNE KI.

Months passed by ...in final year we realised(better late than never)what we need now is job..since our college was in 'very few' institutes of Karnataka which didn't had campus placements...we use to say dat companies come till RV(top college in Blore)..at max Don Bosco(colleges on d way)but go bak from der itself...technically speaking VIT was way ahead of
RVCE's.Applied in almost all firms...small or big..my friends use to poke at me...I have name of all the s/w companies in B'lore at my fingertips .Travelling by bus early morning with pals like Sandeep, Arun ,Bhushan or sometimes along with my good old friend Kothari on his bike for every walk-in across B'lore(sometimes we were made desperate to move to Chennai,
Hyderabad).This all was so frustrating attimes that we use to go there and they use to send us bak by screening us on basis of College or grade or some unknown reason(GOd knows).Most of the times it so happened that walk-in got cancelled because of mass crowd waiting outside campus with/without references.Had enough of dat so by God's grace atlast, TCS conducted its
off-campus in AIT college...wrote OK...cleared it ..called for interview..asked me something about my final year projects and some stupid concepts of C,Networkin, OS etc...and hey I answered most of dem.

Again one terrible span of boredom of around 5 months after final results of interview were declared ..some sort of delay on der part until they called me to join at Coimbatore on Mar 7, '05 packing my bagaage and my friends sent me off on 6th.That was really another emotional duration in my life which I just can not forget..no matter ..however hard I try(rather...I have
not tried to do so). But as dey say, 'To win some, u ought to lose some'; there I met new friends waiting for me with open handed(hahahaa).First person I met was Shubham..who helped me lot in acquainting with others der.Ankur my roomie was introvert but chill n helpful guy.Kaushik was (in)famous by the nickname 'database' having records of all the girls in ILP(Initial Learning Prog..), den der was Suvy--ready with fag to smoke and always hungry to munch on some thing
edible.Prateek another great pal of mine was mature enough to mediate in our little scuffles .There were many others with whom shared amazing camaderie : Bond-Bishnoi,gaayak-Bansal,wataashiwa-Ranvir..real stud,and oders.Had blast during those days...in/out of classes.Well if u guys need more details go through another link of mine "Those were the (ILP) days".Days to come will take me hard to believe; what we did in those 2 months...but whatever starts good or bad comes to an end.Another saga started ...each of us going in different cities for placement ...sent them off ...and bid them farewell.Came to Mumbai, city full of night life, which blew few of my nights initially searching for place to live,food n
stuff.Finally got 1 BHK room in Raheja's next to office,which was the only good thing about my office n room.First few months worked with full dedication in my Project which was on Oracle Apps for GE as our client, but then i kind of started losing intrest in it infact ..I am bugged up not bcos same work but working in same domain...and dat environment...with systems
around n no sport.Another best part was I again got some very good friends..who though were not in my Project but I use to share my Breakfast, lunch time etc with them.To name few chirpy-Manika(poor girl ...thinks she is matured enough),little- Kanika(ready to do anything for Tarun)...another gud friend n roomie of mine,den Roopa n Tulika who though were
senior to me in terms on working in TCS but close pals.

My odyssey not ended infact it's still happening and as they say "Life goes on and on ..." it is moving with pitstops of ups n downs.Will definetely update this sometime in near future and end/start the new step by quoting :

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw
off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Between friends...

Disclaimer: This story is not based on anyone living or dead. Any resemblance, whatsoever, of anyone, with any character in the story is purely coincidental.

“But you know… when the day comes and I say those three words… she’s going to be mine”, said Shailesh. “How can you even think that she’ll ever be yours… one day soon I’ll go and tell her everything and then on… she’ll be all mine”, said Naresh. “You guys can go on saying all that you want… ‘cause you know and I know what the end is going to be like”, said Utkarsh and then it was the turn of Prakash and thus continued the rounds of ruminations between this group of best friends. This was a peculiar set of people… they had a lot in common… studying in the same college, in the same class… but the strongest thing that bound then was that they were all in love with the same girl. When they were together it looked as if there is nothing else these people think of or do… whole of the world revolved around her. No one took her name… she was just “her”… and they all lost their tongues when she was near. There were no words spoken… just the thoughts they so wished she could hear. They fought all the time and then too they were all the best of friends… and they kept on fighting… waiting for the day they would be able to say something... and thus the time went on.

May had just begun… and everything was dead still. The foursome sat on the roof top of their hostel with plastic glasses in their hands and a newspaper laid down between them. There was an air of gloom all around. No one was saying a thing… there was no time to say all that was to be said. They all just wanted to sit next to each other… quietly. This might be the last time they were sitting together… and it would soon be when they would see each other maybe for the last time… graduation was three days away… There was not one word said… neither now… nor in the passed years... and it would soon be the last time when they would be able to see her. There still was the fire inside… but it seemed to be dulled by the contents of the glasses. There was so much to be said… and so less time… But then there was still some hope left inside… there were three more days to say what could not be said in three years… but hoping was all they could do.
Three days later they all found themselves dressed up in black robes and going through the ceremony… trying to listen to what was being said on the podium amidst the loud noise within… the deafening noise within. It was near… very near… then they would all be gone and all that would be left would be the memories… memories that could never get lost in the sands of time… “This cannot happen… I will not let this happen”, there was a huge noise that seemed to come from everywhere… but no one was able to hear it… except the four of them.

The evening found Shailesh standing in front of a brown door, knocking. There was a call from within and he went in… He had hardly said a word when he realized that Naresh was already standing there. There was another knock on the door and in came Utkarsh and soon Prakash too was there. All four stood there and looked at each other. “What happened… you all look like your dog’s died.” “Nothing,” said Naresh, “we just came in to say goodbye.” “Yah Goodbye,” said Shailesh and so did Naresh and Prakash. “Goodbye,” she said, “I’ll really miss you guys.”

Five minutes later they were all standing outside the door looking at each other… not knowing what to say or think. Prakash was the first one and then the rest of them followed suit. I can still remember the loud sound of laughing that followed the silence… and the heavy and teary embraces that followed. Though they still struggle to forget her… they parted friends… the bond between them stronger than it ever was.

Team trek to Rajamachi

had enough...let's get clicked

Hum paanch

V did it

cam pix ...

Hum se na takraana; kyonki... hum saath saath hain

<--to refresh those mesmerising moments

Some more... getting into mood... >

Indian Accent
The recent years have seen the image of India rise, from a country of adept snake charmers capable of magically traveling through air unseen, to a country of technical experts capable of working on problems far across the globe. This progress, though slower than it should be, is there and one cannot help but notice and marvel. As was expected, we caused panic with lazy bums everywhere apprehensive of losing their job to a relatively harder working Indian. The lethargy vanished suddenly but instead of the new found zeal being directed towards their jobs, it led to the formation of zany organizations aimed at making India look bad and giving it bad publicity. I recently heard about an American who sells bumper stickers and T-shirts denouncing outsourcing to India! I’d say he’s one of those few lazy bums who had a bit of a brain and rode this wave of general sentiment making some money at the side! Then suddenly the Indian English became so incomprehensible that the need for companies offering translation from the Indian form of the language to the international form was felt! Everyone came up with his/her own account of inadequate English on part of Indians. If someone cares I’d like to present the most innovative account award to the person who came up with the one in which upon telling a customer support representative that she’s “lost her husband” the reply was that she’d “have to look for him harder”! I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with the Indian accent provided we can keep control of our speed. Talking to numerous people from many countries I never felt that I’m not able to get myself through to the other person. I don’t think I need an American or British of for that matter a Japanese accent, living here in Japan, for the other person to understand. What people fail to understand is that English is no more the language of only the British, Americans, Canadians, et al! It’s an international language. We Indians use it to talk to the Chinese and the Brazilians the same way we’d use it with the Americans. It’s a medium of communication and not the end. Anyone claiming to know English should know it enough to understand any accent. I often think how the Americans are able to understand the Japanese, who, incidentally, pronounce Load and Road, Writer and Righter and for that matter City and Shitty in the same way! It’s because they want to understand what they’re saying and not what we are saying. The Indian media needs to play a leading role in building a good image for India and bring out the facts and realities to the people. To make them realize how everyone stands to gain with globalization, how doing everything technology has enabled us to do today should be done to take get maximum benefit. Economy of scale is no new term. It has always been profitable for all to produce things on larger scale. Outsourcing is just an extension of economy of scale, it being production at a large scale where it can be produced large scale at lower costs. India’s huge human resources make it possible for us to do the same thing for many people more efficiently at lower costs. It’s just like the Chinese products that have taken the world by storm. Even here in Japan, big reputed companies have opted to shift production to China. It’s highly probable that when you buy the product of a Japanese company it would come with a “Made in China” label even when buying it in Japan. Why can’t a service similarly come with a “Made in India” label? The next time we give a service to someone outside India, why can’t we proclaim that the work was done in India rather than hiding the fact for fear of negative reaction? Why not build a brand India which everyone can trust, something so big and efficient that “Made in India” becomes a certification of quality? If Indians comprise of one-sixth of the worlds population, why can’t every sixth service provided be by an Indian? Stepping a little outside outsourcing appears emigration. Emigrants often get the lowest opinions, with people from other countries calling them “job stealers” and from their own country calling them “deserters”. Thankfully India is beginning to take emigration more as an export rather than a brain drain. Remittances to India stand as testimony to the fact that even after leaving the country emigrants leave their hearts in the country. Year 2001 alone saw an inflow of 9.16 billion US dollars into India in the form of remittances, with the only countries receiving higher remittances, Mexico (9.92 Billion USD) and France (9.22 USD), not being much farther ahead. Time is ripe for India to build its image as a global provider. We need to step outside the bounds of politics and international boundaries to develop our mother-land into a real super power. I don’t lie when I say that I found my Indian education more difficult than here in Japan. We have, both, people wanting to study, and places they can go to. All we need now is a direction. Unemployment in engineers and doctors shows that at this point of time we do not have need more engineering and medical schools. We need more technicians, better trained clerks and an international viewpoint. We need to open our minds understand what India wants and at the same time what the world wants. We should see scope of improvement in every complain people make about us and quiet every critic with sheer quality making them want to get the Indian accent themselves!

year end passed by from ILP(in TCS)

Hi folks,

Sorry for replying late but as dey say 'Better late than never'........As far as my reminiscience(other part of memory) goes Shubham,u left nothing to even 'chip in'
Lovely explaination; I must say...awesome job

From day 1(induction) to farewell ceremony...we did lot of sport...sometimes we got brickbats while at times accolades(though very few)
To name some- -
1) Watchin or celebrating late nyt parties(cud be b'day or anything) in Nipun's room(wetting our whistles...included) and knocking of Hotel boy on my door to thwart with warnings say...police next door or hotel owner's visit.
2) Making fun of Japnese classes(me imitating 'Watashi wa and monkey' ...included)
3) Occasional visits to roadside Tea-shop during late hours(i guess during...end term's)
4) Shouting at "Hotel Temptation's" late food serving(at time 2 roties to be shared b/w 5)...but next day (bak to sqr 1)we are again there with gloomy faces
5) Chadda asking for his "chutney"....minutes before the person serves the order(Prateek was at his best in imitating dis act).
6) Early morning "TREK" to tekno-turf with those knots on and waiting for yesterday's recap by either Mayank or Amit(was monotonous but ...v had accepted it :-)
7) Listening to Shainu's scoldings for running to T1(Mid term ratings or missing of class cos of swap in some schedule)...Preeti u must be remebering it
8) Waiting for break in Shanthi ma'am 's classes (1 coffee or ..........just a break will do)
9) Managing with Suvy's songs or Bishnoi's awesome remarks in b/w our sessions....not to be forgotten,Tiwari's spontaneous shayri,
Lovleen's late 70's songs(well sung..."uthe sabke kadam..tararum pum pum.........")
10) Small combats over the issue of AC in the class...those sitting in front(Lovleen,Preeti, Bishnoi...etc) locking horns with back benchers (Prateek, me,Kaushik, Bansal,Ranvir etc.)

Still der was much more , which were never revealed including hypothetical characters like Vampire, joota, Mr's Doubtfire etc etc...
As Preeti has already mentioned in her mail, some are in high spirits while some must be down, but frd's as said "Nothing remains permanent, except change"
so keep your tryst with destiny
At last, Happy Married life to those who have stepped in new walk of life ...Ruchi, Lovleen.....those who are engaged ...Parth, Ranvir....and finally to those from whom we'll get invitation very soon(what say...Suvy, Prateek,Neha)
Take care...n ...key in more of ur thoughts @--

--- http://crapgeek-wildimaginations.blogspot.com

chow.......