Friday, December 26, 2008

This Day..Last Year...

Disclaimer: This is gonna be a helluva long post!!!

December 26th 2007 was a day in my life that I'll never forget. Words cannot describe what I went through on that fateful winter night.

Before questions start hovering in your minds, let me take you back to Friday the 21st December 2007. I had planned to spend my Christmas in Italy. No, I am not one of those privileged souls who spend their holidays abroad, I was in France last winter, so I thought of paying my Italian friends a visit for Christmas.

Before I bore you with my story, you will need to be familiar with the names of a few French and German Cities/Towns.

Orbey, France - Home and office in this small village

Colmar, France - Nearest town, and Railway station

Strasbourg, France - The Nearest city.

After the office hours on Friday, I went to Colmar with a colleague and spent the night at his apartment. Got up at 6 in morning to catch the first train to Strasbourg. Reached Starsbourg in about an hour, and waited for an hour for the Lufthansa Bus to Frankfurt. After a 2 hr bus ride, through thickest fog ever, and with a 10 min stop at the Franco-German border, I reached Frankfurt Airport. I was happy as I had 4 hours before my flight to Italy. But as my luck would have it nobody knew from which terminal RyanAir (the Air-Deccan of Europe) flew. As it turned out, it didnt fly from Frankfurt Main Airport at all and that it flew from an unheard-of airport called Frankfurt Hahn. To make matters worse, that friggin Hahn airport was 150 Kms from the main airport. From that point my adventure began.

I managed to find the bus to Hahn airport. Boarded it and let out a sigh of relief. I thanked god that people in Germany were conversant in english. And I thanked god for one more thing, I had a Brazilian beauty for company all this while and some more time. Beauty is an understatement, Bombshell is the right word ;).

What followed after that short-lived scare was the awesomest time of my life. Met all the people I knew in Italy at a party. Those guys had arranged a trip for me to a near-by city called Ferrara. Then I stayed with some Indian guys whom I had made friends with in my last trip and played cricket with them. Had a rocking time in all. Four days went by in a blink of an eye.

But what was to follow this was nothing short of an ordeal. From here on, me catching every flight or bus was touch and go. The flight back to Frankfurt got delayed. Reached Frankfurt friggin Hahn at 8:25 PM. Rushed out to catch an 8:30 PM bus to Frankfurt Main (this was the last bus by the way). Had to reach Frankfurt main by 10:30PM at any cost so as to avoid spending the night at the airport. To make proceedings interesting, there was a traffic jam on the freeway. The bus stood there for what seemed like an eternity. Reached Frankfurt main at 10:28 PM. I dont know how, but the driver spotted me running towards the bus and stopped it, I boarded it and dozed off.

I was to reach Starbourg at 1:00 AM. I didnt have any issues with that as I already had booked a hotel and the bus was to drop me at the doorstep of the hotel. But when I am involved, how can things go perfectly?? I reached Starsbourg at 1:00 AM, I went to the hotel reception and to my horror, the hotel was full and the receptionist didn't budge. So there I was, on a Snowy december
night, all alone on the streets of Starsbourg, no where to go. I had to find a place to spend the night as I had to catch a train to Colmar in the morning. Unlike in India, train stations in Europe dont operate at night.

I roamed and roamed on the deserted streets of Strasbourg till the wee-hours of the morning seaching for a hotel and to top it off, it was snowing cats and dogs!!! I finally found a hotel at 3:30 AM, I went to the room and crashed. Got up at 6AM took the train to Colmar, met the colleague at the station (had tied-up with him) and he took me straight to the office. So much for going to the office.

To sum up the experience, I felt like a contestant on the Amazing Race. Only difference being the winner of the Race gets a million dollars. And considering the fun I had in Italy, I already had won my prize.... :)

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Bitter Sweet November

Here I am after a month long hiatus. It was not a planned one though. Just that I was a wee bit lazy to blog.

November month came and went by. The month that started in anticipation and excitement. Everything was going good on the work front, had a couple of marriages to attend, had a long holiday trip to Bangalore planned, and last but not the least India was doing bloody well in cricket. An unplanned/unexpected thing happened too, and it made me pretty happy. No no i didnt find a girl, but I got a mid-year hike :D. Man, what a month it was going to be!!!

After ages I went on a trip with my whole family. My cousin was getting married in Bangalore. Had the 2nd most awesome train journey of my life ;). Well the most awesome was when I was coming back from Bangalore 5 years ago and had this gorgeous girl for company. Coming back to the present, train journeys are always fun provided you have the right company. Here we were 5 guys and we had loads of fun. Laughing aloud at stupidest things, playing cards, singing and what not.

We all landed up in a place in Andhra called Anantapur for the groom's side gathering. There we had an all boys outing. Before your imagination runs wild, let me tell you that we went to the Anantapur Club and played snooker. I cannot recollect the last time I laughed so much. In the process, me and my bro got named as Steve and Mark, after the famous Australian Waugh Twins. :)

This marriage was one of the best ones I had attended. After all the closest cousin of mine was getting married, it HAD to be fun!!!

Post marriage, my family with very close family friends drove down to Tirupati. What a wonderful trip it was. Catching up with those family friends after about 15 years was like going back to childhood all over again.

These 10 days were the best 10 days in a long long time.

As not everything that starts well ends in the same fashion. The last week of November saw something that India had never seen before. 10 armed guys wrecked havoc in Mumbai. I am so sad about whatever happened there that I dont even feel like writing about it.

Just as any sweet stuff leaves a bitter aftertaste, so too did November 2008.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Marley and Me....


....a book that made me laugh (out loud, that is) and cry. Yeah, I admit that I was teary eyed and the throat was all choke-y by the time I finished reading it. I had never imagined a book could bring out so many emotions in me. I must say, all the people who love dogs, or let me just broaden the group a bit, all those who can read, must read this book.

Marley and me is about a Dog which, according to the author, John Grogan, is the World's Worst Dog. The kind of humour the author has incorporated and the kind of emotions he has weaved into the story, its hard not to get totally involved with the proceedings in the book. The book is not a work of fiction, it is a personal account and experience of the author with his dog, written in first person by the author (of course). The book journeys from the time Marley is a little puppy to his death. The best part about this book is that I knew what was going to happen in the end, but I still ended up teary eyed.

And now am excited about the movie that is being made on this book. The trailers are out and they look good. Owen Wilson is playing John Grogan and Jennifer Aniston, his wife Jenny. Heard it'll be out this Christmas. Cant wait to watch it!!!

I have never been a fan of autobiographies till now but this book has changed that opinion of mine. I recommend this one to everyone. Read it and you'll not regret.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

What a Weekend!!!!

So many things have happened over the weekend (have taken the liberty to include friday as well), that this blog post was inevitable.

First of all, SACHIN TENDULKAR finally (can't stress this word enough) became the leading run scorer in test cricket. Every single human being who has even an iota of knowledge about cricket can assert the fact that this is THE most significant achievement any cricketer can aspire to achieve in his career. The highest number of centuries in both forms, maximum runs in One-Day Cricket (limited overs crickets - according to the new terminology), a few 100 wickets, catches, sixes et al just fade in front of the latest feather in the Master Blaster's Cap. Hail Tendulkar.. You have brought back the record to India.. !!!

Next in is Dada or Dadi as he is lovably called by his team mates. Just imagine the situation of a man who has put in his papers and still earns the best employer award, due to his sheer determination, knowing the fact that this was his last job and promotions and appraisals will be things of the past in a few days. That is exactly what Saurav Ganguly did, when he scored a century in the 2nd test of his Final series. This time he wasnt fighting for a place in the side or answering his critics. He was playing for his own self. A poster in the audience said, " Dada, you will never retire from our hearts" and I second that..

Am not even touching upon Dhoni and his Captaincy part. He has given the term "leading from the front" a whole new definition.

Away from cricket now.

I went to Jaipur last Saturday. A completely un-planned trip. Maybe I could define it as sitting-over-a-coffee-discussing-n-hey-lets-go-somewhere trip :). What a trip it was!! Had loads of fun. Am not an early morning person, getting up early in the morning is like pain in the places I cannot mention here :P. But getting up for this trip was worth every minute is spent being awake (made up for the lost sleep in the cab though). The best part about highway getaways is the Dhaba food and not to mention, a trip with friends is always fun.

Life has a strange way of balancing the good with the bad. The weekend also saw the now infamous Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) goons attacking people from UP and Bihar, in Thane, and wrecking havoc. These people had come for their railway services examination, knowing little about the other examination that Mr Thackeray was planning for them. A news said today that one man perished due to the attack. In my opinion, people like Raj Thackeray should be sent to an isolated island far away from any signs of human habitation. Or maybe tying him to Chandrayaan, which is going to be launched tomorrow, will not be a bad idea.

To sum it up, it has been an eventful weekend. A few occassions that gave me happiness and a few that made me sad.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Joys or Sorrows of Net Banking

Internet has made our life so easy, especially when it comes to banking. Having to stand in long queues in the bank is the last thing one looks forward to. I am sure everyone will agree with me on this.

Last week while I was transferring some money (infact it was quite a lot of money) from my HDFC account to my ICICI account, I realised that, the account which I was tranferring to, was not mine. And then the revelation dawned on me, as to why I didn't get any intimation when I had transferred the money the last time. That was back in July. I had transferred about 5000 bucks and forgot to check my account then and conviniently forgot the whole matter.

After a flurry of frantic calls to the Customer Care of both the banks and listening to your-call-will-be-answered-in-3-minutes crap for close to an hour, in my opinion Customer Care Service should be called as "We-Dont-Give-a-Damn-about-the-Customers" Care.

But then having a friend working for a bank always helps. I called her up and gave her the account number to which I had tranferred the amount. She spoke to the guy, and luckily for me, the guy was generous enough to return the money. Apparently he stays so busy with work that he seldom has time for all the worldly stuff like Banks, money etc.

But getting back the money required me to go to the ICICI bank a couple of times. I was reminded of the foregone days of manual banking. A few calls and e-mails between ICICI and the generous guy, the manager told me that I am extemely lucky (am I?? I don't agree Mr Manager) coz the account holder whom you gave the money lives in Noida. Saying this he asked me to get the guy's signature on the print of the e-mail that was exchanged between the branch manager and the account holder.

I went to meet this Mr Generous in his office last sunday. He works as a Sr Producer with India TV and he happily told me that he was responsible for whatever we watch on India TV. No wonder he is super busy!!! And man, am I lucky or what, to meet the MAN behind all the breaking news shit ;). I joked* saying that I won't be surprised to see a breaking news on TV which says, "Anjaan bank account se 5000 Rs credit hue" dekhiye yeh sach theek 7:30 baje!!!

Producerji, if you happen to read this blog and are offended by the preceding paragraph, I apologise for saying what is true. But what matters to me most is that I got my MONEY back and am indebted to you (pun unintended)!!!

* with due credit to Rajat Singhvi (No i am not confused abt the 2nd name of Rajat Sharma, the chairman of India TV)

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Mom!!! I can cook...

When I was busy a couple of months ago, with a lot of things happening on a lot of fronts in life, I had so many ideas and topics to write about. Now that I am relatively free (read not many things playing on my mind now), I can't think of anything to write..

These days there is not much work happening in the office, so I get a lot of time to think. After racking my brain and delving deep into my past (well not so distant past), I came up with the following story.

Last year I had an opportunity to travel to Italy. This was my first overseas travel. On one hand I was excited and looking forward to the 3 months I was gonna get to spend in a foreign country, but on the other I was a bit apprehensive and wee bit worried about what lied ahead for me. I had never been away from home before, always had been lucky that way, be it college or job. And here I was all set and raring to go.

Being a vegetarian is the last thing you want when you are travelling abroad. So food stuff occupied most of my luggage space. I carried rice, spices n all kinds of Dal. I am sure the airport security-check guys must've been thinking, "yeh restaurant kholne jaa raha hai kya??".

Before this trip, I couldnt cook even if my life depended on it. But then, I was surprised, and pleasantly at that, at my culinary skills :). In the beginning it was all about being careful while adding even salt but towards the end of the stay I could cook blind-folded. I could now call myself a decent cook if not an expert at cooking. All this self appreciation and boasting lead to, me falling in a trap. Fed up of my going gaga over my trysts with cooking, a colleague (poor guy, working on the same project as me, was my only listening board), one day decided to call me to his home. His invite was as follows,

Italian (speaking english in italian) : Hey Kartik, there is a party in my house this weekend and I'd like you to come.
Me (happy at the fact that i'll get to eat authentic, home cooked italian food): Thanks, that's so nice of you. I would love to come. What's on the menu??
Italian: Well, I am planning to have Indian Food.
Me (uh..oh, i see where this is going): So where are you going to order the food from?
Italian: No no, you got it wrong. You are going to cook!!!!
Me: #é'@\^**$$!!!

But then, it went off really well. That was the first time I had cooked for someone else (there were 10 people that night). I thought my mom would be so proud. :)

If the trip to Italy was about learning to cook, the trip to France that followed was all about experimentation. I learned to make Chappatis, used to make Aloo Ka Parantha on weekends and made a whole lot of other stuff as well. Even had the French colleagues over for dinner and cooked a variety of dishes.

My mom was worried about my eating while I was away from home. But now, my critical analysis of food that she makes at home, annoys her no end. :D

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

HEROES : Season 3


Heroes is gonna start again!!!!! Yay!!!!

Volume 1 : Genesis

What a beginning it was.. One helluva show.. Got me completely hooked...

Volume 2 : Generations

A season that started on a damp note but by the end of the 11th episode (post which the show ended abruptly - due to the writer's strike), the show had reached the peak. The episode ended on such a high that I could hardly wait for the season 3 to start.

Volume 3 : Villians

Remains to be seen. The rushes hint at an awesome journey ahead.

Why am I going ga ga over this?? Its the only show i follow religiously, plus it was my only solace while living in the remote village in France. I would watch episode after episode till wee hours of the morning and would end up going to office all groggy eyed :P

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Morals of the Story....

Coversation between 2 guys:

Guy 1: Dude, i have applied for a credit card.... finally.

Guy 2: Cool.. from now on you will not have to run after me for online transactions.. BTW, Which one??

Guy 1: ICICI

Guy 2: Have u applied for a simple card or a photo card?

Guy 1: What is a photo card??

Guy 2 (Opening his wallet to take his card out) : Hang On!! Lemme show u..

and then...

Guy 2: Holy Shit!!!! I cant find my card. (He calls home to check if he has left it on the desk, but no success there.) Dunno where i have kept it. Bloody hell i dont even remember when and where i used it the last time.

Guy 1: I think u should call-up the bank guys ASAP and ask them to block the card.

Guy 2 does that and asks the bank to send a New Card.

Circa a week earlier @ a movie ticket counter,

Guy 2 (to the pretty girl at the counter) : Can i have 2 tickets for Phir Hera Pheri for the evening show, please?

Girl: Sure.

Guy 2: Please give the seats as far away from the screen as possible.

Girl (with a naughty smile): Sure sir. Last row from the screen, corner 2 seats.

Guy 2: Ahem, actually am gonna watch this movie with my mom :)

At this the Girl laughs and says "that would be 300 bucks sir" and the guy thinks, "man!!! she is so beautiful". The guy uses his credit card to pay. The girl hands over the tickets to him and he leaves. He watches the movie that evening, with his mom, of course.

Almost a week goes by. One morning in the office, Guy 2's colleague tells him that he has applied for a credit card.

Then it dawns upon the Guy 2. The smart chap forgot to take the card back from the Ticket Counter girl when he booked the tickets. He was so engrossed admiring the beauty that he couldn't care less for his card.

So after work hours he rushes to the ticket counter and meets the same girl. He informs about his goof-up and after a lil searching and some friendly chat with the girl, she hands him over his card, but this time the girl has an even bigger smile on her face and looks even more beautiful.

The guy gets his card back, which is now of no use as it has been blocked by the bank, and moreover, as usual, forgets to take the girl's contact number.

Morals of the story: While admiring the beauty make sure all your valuables are securely guarded and whenever you meet a beautiful, friendly girl, make sure you get her contact number. :)

Oh, by the way, wasn't that a good story?? Now you must be thinking how did I come up with such a story. To tell you the truth, I received my New Card from the bank a week later. :D

Thursday, August 28, 2008

WHAT LUCK!!!


Had been waiting for this day since, "i cant remember when". After close to 4 months of slogging and the last one month of literal isolation, I was really looking forward to this day as this was my G-Day. For those not in the know, this was the day i was taking GMAT on.

The day arrived, really bright and sunny. After so many rain marred days, i thought, "what a day!!". Couldn't sleep properly last night as I was in the anxiety mode. Thoughts racing in my mind as to what'll I do if X happens or what would my plan be if Y happens. I reached the test centre 1 hour before the scheduled time. Met a couple of guys there, had a chat abt various B-schools, shared some gyaan and finally we were called to enter the centre.

When my turn came for security check (Palm Vein Scan - some hi-funda new gen method - straight out of a spy flick), the lady at the counter had a look at my passport and then made a cross check on her database and simply asked me to wait. This time I was in "hey-bhagwaan-mujhe-shakti-de" mode. I thought since it was only 8:30 n my test was supposed to start at 9:00 maybe she was just passing time. After everyone else's turn was over, mine came. I couldnt believe my ears when I was told that you are being turned away as the names on ur ID proof and the appointment receipt dont match. Can you beat that?? Passport says "Sri Ranga Kartik" and receipt said Kartik S R.

I felt as if someone had punched me with all his might in my stomach (pictured The Great Khali to be that someone). After a lot of discussions, arguments, requests, numerous calls to the customer care n what not, I had to give up on my fight and return home. Apart from Khali's punch there was an accompanying kick as well, this was the fact that I would have to forego the fees that I had paid for the test. And that is friggin $250. I still am not sure what my next course of action would be. Hey bhagwaan mujhe shakti de!!!

I dont know why this happens with me every single time and that too without fail. I was all excited abt my first trip abroad and my German Visa got rejected. Similar was the case with first job, college admission and even such petty things as Exam form submission etc etc. But the good thing is I get everything after a bit of a struggle and it is better than what I think it would be. For instance, I didnt go to Germany for 15 days, went to Italy instead for 3 full months. I hope it'll be the same this time around as well.

As written in the first post on this blog, my name was again responsible for my downfall, so to speak.

Log kehte hai, "mere naam ki laaj rakh lena" aur ek main hoon, mera naam hi meri laaj nahi rakhta!!!

PS: The picture correctly shows my state. Sad on one hand but happy on the other (maybe I shud replace Hand with Foot :P ). Jo bhi hota hai...ache ke liye hota hai!!!!!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Of Shooting Star & Setting Sun


Finally a GOLD!!!

118 years have passed since the modern Olympics began and finally, we have an individual gold medal. So, I guess the "monkey is off the back" now. Man, 118 years is a pretty darn long time to put one's name in the Gold Medal Column. So its time to rejoice and celebrate the elusive gold and not think about India getting home only 18 odd medals in those 100 odd years.

Abhinav Bindra's feat is no routine affair, well one might argue whether it can be routine when Olympics are held once in 4 years ;). Kudos to him. All the news channels must be grinning from ear to ear coz he has given them enough fodder to last till the next event. Almost Every state government has been showering him with moolah. Even MCD, yes you read it right, has announced an award of 5 lacs. (MCD - Municipal Corporation of Delhi).

Winning a Gold in Olympics is no mean feat, given the facilities, state of sports(other than cricket, that is), politics and what not. Abhinav has been lucky to be born in the Bindra household and to have a generous enough dad who got a practice facility constructed in his own backyard. But I cannot fathom the logic behind him taking up Shooting, of all sports. Let me explain, Abhinav is 25 now. Cricket became a religion exactly 25 years back. Every child growing up in those times must've been crazy about cricket. I wonder how one decided to take up Shooting, and i am glad he did. (Dont ask me how i thought of this, its almost 1 AM and am half asleep).

So 4 years back India had a shooting star, but this time around we have another one but WAY brighter.

Now comes the Setting Sun Part. On that very day, as a star was shining in one sport, the Sun was setting on a few people on a slightly different sport. Making no bones about it, India lost the 3 test series to Sri Lanka or should I say the-eternal-good-players-of-spin had been "Mendis-ed". The Fab Four (Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman) were a collective failure. As they are getting older, maybe they should be re-christined as The Flab Four. They should thank Abhinav (probably by announcing a prize money) coz he made the Loss and their failure, a less talked about topic, for a change.

The fate of the Fab Four seems to be pretty clear but whatever happens to Abhinav remains to be seen.

PS: Was chatting with a friend and a fellow blogger about India winning the GOLD. And I said, Dude this calls for a "POST" and here it is!!!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Hinglish or "Eng-di"

Listening to FM (for those into all the inflation related stuff, steer clear as i am not talkin abt our Finance Minister but abt our good ol' FM Radio), which i do everyday or should i say, "I have to do" coz its the only solace I get while driving to office in the Delhi Traffic. Before i go any further let me be forthright in clarifying that this post has nothing to do with my travelling between Noida and Gurgaon :)

The link between the topic of this post and FM Radio is that one gets to hear all the RJs blabber away in Hinglish. Mixing English with Hindi (i dont know if its the other way round, such is the extent) is like corruption of both languages. The whole point of using this lingo is to cater to the 'Generation Now'. Now I dont know if thats a good idea. I say this because I am not proud of the fact that I cannot speak even a single language perfectly.

My mother tongue is Telugu. I dont speak that perfectly because i have been brought up(well.. almost) in Delhi. Ideally i should speak perfect Hindi but thanks to the lingo we people use these days, even that is ruled out. English, well i am not a native english speaker, so this one's gone too. I wonder if anyone from my age group, whom i know, speaks any language perfectly. But one thing I am proud of for sure is that I consider my Hindi to be pretty good.

Even the film songs these days have english all over the place. Unnecessary Rap is added to each and every song to make it sound "cool". Wonder how that'll help improve the Rashtra Bhasha. In my opinion, most popular source of entertainment, read All-things-bollywood-if-not-cricket, should be used to spread social messages and care should be taken at least to save the language.

But we can take heart from the fact that a lot of hindi words are finding their place in everyday english in the west. Words like Mantra, Pucca, Guru, Pundit, Jungle, Loot, etc etc.. These words are used as they are, no changes in spelling or pronounciation. Plus there are a few more which have been adapted/altered a bit. One word belonging to this category surprised me in particular. It is Juggernaut,"a term used to describe a force regarded as unstoppable, that will crush all in its path", which actually comes from the tradition of pulling the "Jagannath Rath" (Chariot) at Puri, Orrisa. This word was definitely worth a "dekko".

One more word, i'd like to mention here is "Doosra". This word is finding its mention in modern cricket these days.

All said and nothing done. So from now on I will make a conscious effort to find ways to improve my language(s). :)

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Useless Post!!!

Another Sunday and am in the office again.. I think the company head whom i spoke about in my previous post read my blog and made sure that I came to office on this Sunday too.. I guess "Fun on Weekday" part didn't go down too well with him.. and to top that he too came to office today, maybe to check whether i really work on sundays... Arey bhai, seedhi si baat hai.. Jo banda weekday pe kaam nahi karta, woh sunday ko karega kya?

The thing is I have been coming to office on Sundays to conduct CAD tests for candidates for a position that is open in my team. Today has been a special case, as the guy coming for the test happens to be from Noida and yours truly had no choice but to bring him to office. And the best part is that the guys have to slog their backsides off to finish the test in a stipulated time when I sit next to them and blog my way to glory!!! :D

Genius, as they say (i still havent figured out who they are but mind you, they do say a lot of things), is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. So, the other day i was reading a blog of a friend's friend, she had written about time travel, wormholes, and an interesting phenomena called grandfather's paradox, and also about "portkey". This word took me back to the time when i was reading Harry Potter. So i thought what if i had certain interesting stuff from the magical world and started thinking about how i would use them. Lets see, (i am not going to explain what is what - I have posted links for those interested)

Portkey: With this I would not have to spend anything for travelling. I would be content even if it worked only for travel between Noida and Gurgaon (which i do each "working" day, sometimes on sundays too) .

Floo Powder/Network: Same purpose as that of the portkey, but at an additional cost of constructing fireplaces near my workstation and in my home(wonder if my house-owner will let me do that).

Pensieve: This would be of a lot of help for blogging. Taking a look at any memory at any time without having to put too much on the brain wud be so much fun. I will not have to rack my brain to find topics to blog about. Writing anecdotes would be so easy. I am sure other bloggers will agree.

Marauder's Map: This would be so useful in the office. I can know beforehand as to when the nose-poking head is going to poke his nose ;).

Invisibility Cloak: Need I say more..........

There are loads of other magical things which can be put to different uses..I would appreciate if readers comment on other stuff.

By now you all must've guessed how much I crib about travelling to Gurgaon everyday. Had it not been for the carpool (a dedicated post on this..for sure), i would've lost it by now....completely. Driving is one thing i used to enjoy, i still do, but the sheer mind-numbing number of cars on the road takes away all the charm. There is no point in crying more about stuff that is not going to change, so its better to stop here.
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Just had a conversation with colleague(he is in the office too) who lives in Gurgaon and had been going to Noida over the past week for some training,

Me: Aur bhai, kaafi din baad dikha.. kaisi rahi training??

Colleague (sans his usual cheerful face and sounding a bit low) : Theek hi thi..

Me: Itna dukhi kyun hai??

Colleague: Kya bataoon, Noida Jaane mein halat kharab ho gayi hai... 1 week mein hi.

Me: Usmein kya hai... mujhe dekh, main to roz jaata hoon..

And there he was laughing out loud at my Kismat. :(
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To sum it up, another sunday gone by and another totally useless post.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Fun on Weekdays & Work on Weekend!!!

Considering the fact that i had written all my previous posts while in the office and that too not in the lunch-time or free-time - but taking time off in between to finish the project work - it comes as no surprise that I am writing this post too on my office workstation (sounds cool ain't it, calling it a PC would be an insult, and what if it doesn't let me post in the future??). Actually I have 2 workstations, a "Work" work-station and a "fun" workstation. And no prizes for guessing where i spend most of my "Work Time".

But what makes me happy today is that there are not many people around (read the "nose-poking" head) to see whether am on the job, and i don't have to feel guilty about not working on the project. You ask me why?? Well...Its a Sunday!!!!!!!!!

I am sure the next question (from the ppl who know me) would be , "dude, you crib about going to gurgaon everyday then what the hell are you doing in the office on a sunday???"

All my life i have longed for having a 5 day week. I went to one of those schools which makes students come on Saturdays as well. Before getting into engineering college, i got myself admitted into B.Sc - Maths (Hons) course in Delhi University (South Campus) as a stop-gap thing. The whole university functioned for 5 days a week and to my shock, this particular college i went to, for 6 days. Till the time i was in that college (only for 2 months), i believed that they had a 5-day week until then and administration had thought, "lets wait for Kartik to join and then we can have a 6 day week".

After a hell of a wait I joined this engineering college which would eventually become my alma mater. I got to know that there would be a half day on saturday. Hurray!! God had finally listened to my prayers but alas, the 2 hour travel to get back home would again make it effectively a 6 day week. But in college there were no complaints as "those were the best days of my life"!!!

Then came my first job. Also a 6 days a week affair. I was there for 3 years. Considering today's scenario thats a pretty long time to stick to a single job. Picture this :

Me (beaming) : Hi, i got a job!!!!!
Mr X: wow, cool!!!! which company??
Me (still beaming): XYZ Co Pvt Ltd.
Mr X: Great, all the best!!!

1 year later,

Mr X: So.. where r u working now??
Me : XYZ Co Pvt Ltd.
Mr X: What?? Till now???

2 years later,

Mr X: There you are..Dont tell me you are with the same company till now..
Me : Guess what..?? I am.
Mr X: What the hell has happened to you?? Why dont u change jobs?
Me : ?%$%$%

3 years later (finally when i quit),

Mr X (beaming): Heard you've changed jobs.
Me : Well, Yeah!!
Mr X: Great!!! Had you stayed any longer, the company guys would've thought,"when is this guy gonna go??"

In fact it is true, i had seen many people come and go in the 3 years that I spent there. I think i can dedicate a post on the whole "job changing" thing but for now let me get back to the weekend thing.

A 2-day weekend does make a difference. The work week seems to be so much smaller now, a lot of house chores can be dealt with and one does get ample time to laze about and rest.

This is the first time in my life that i have got a 2-day weekend (not just the current weekend, i am talking abt the present job) and i get called to office on a Sunday. I guess i have put that time to good use by writing this post ;). Time to go home now......

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Monday, July 7, 2008

Weekend of Uncertainties

The weekend gone by will be remembered by many as one with a few uncertainties.

India were being touted as the favourites for reigning supreme on Asian Cricket but Indian team stuck to its habit of losing in finals. In the league matches they play as if there is no tomorrow and i dunno what happens to them in the finals. India has the credit of appearing in most finals and losing since 1999 (2 wins out of 22 appearances - 2 matches got rained out) ,that's not something to be proud of. Sunday's final against Sri Lanka turned out to be a one sided affair and by now you must've guessed whose side it went. Everyone was saying that Indian team is stronger than Sri Lanka n all and Sri lanka emerging the Asian Cricket Champion makes this the first uncertainty.
_________________________________________________________________
This has nothing to do with 'uncertainty' thing that i am writing about but its definately worth a mention.

During the post-match presentation yesterday, Rameez Raja (RR), looking really happy (thats what he does when India loses a match), asked MS Dhoni (MSD),

RR: MS, let me give u a statistic. Since 1999 India has appeared in 22 finals and lost 17 of them. Today's match being the 18th. What do u have to say about this?

MSD: Well, we can take heart from the fact that we at least make it to the finals unlike some teams which dont even qualify.

Thats what i call, "giving it right back".
___________________________________________________________________

Lets move on to tennis now. Rafael Nadal defied all odds to beat the World No 1 Roger Federer at his favourite hunting ground. It was one hell of a match that lasted 4 hrs and 48 mins. Federer, after the match was quoted as saying, "It was a disaster". I am sure it was. Federer's dream of taking the Wimbledon Title winning streak to 6 had been quashed.
Here too, everyone thought that Federer will walk home with the coveted wimbledon title but the trophy wanted to go to Spain (Nadal is a Spaniard) this time around. This was uncertainty #2.

Again in tennis, Venus Williams beat her sister Serena to take home the title. It was the seventh clash of the sisters in a Grand Slam final, but, ever since Venus won the first of those at the 2001 US Open, it had been Serena all the way in those big matches, including two previous Wimbledon finals. So uncertainty #3.

Coming to Formula One. Though i am not much of a Formula One watcher but i do check after the race to see who won. I was surprised to see Rubens Barrichello making a podium finish, his first since 2005. Man thats a long time. My surprise level was even higher coz i had thought that the Brazilian had retired. This man, who almost always got over-shadowed by his team-mate at Ferrari (no prizes for guessing here), now with Honda, used all his experience to prove that he's still got it in him. Uncertainty #4.

To movies now. This weekend saw 2 Big releases clash at the box-office. Love Story 2050 and Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na. The promos suggested that Love Story 2050, being India's first SFX movie and Harman Baweja having the perfect launch vehicle, will hit the bulls eye. But Jaane Tu.. has been raking in good reviews and seems to be winning the box-office race. This was not really an uncertainty but distributors were banking more on the success of Love Story 2050. So uncertainty #4.5 (coz it was not really an uncertainty).

Last but not the least, I had thought of taking a break from blogging for a while and here i am writing this post. I guess this can be #5.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

This Day...That Year


25th June 1983, the day when Indian cricket team rocked the cricketing world by beating the formidable West Indian Team and winning the Prudential World Cup. Since that day, cricket has not been just a game in India, it became a Religion.

Nobody gave India a chance to qualify for the Semi-Finals, let alone win the Cup. The event that probably inspired the team was Kapil's surreal knock of 175 not out (then the highest score in one-dayers) against Zimbabwe. India was staring down the barrel at 17 for 5, when this man walked in and played out of his skin to take India to 266 for 8 and won the game single-handedly (well with a little support from Syed Kirmani). Unfortunately, that match wasn't recorded on tape as BBC was on strike that day. This knock was even more significant in re-grouping the team as it came after 2 straight losses and rest, as they say, is history (i always wonder who THEY are).

Before the Final, the West Indians were so confident of taking home the trophy, that Malcom Marshall went ahead and booked a BMW car, thinking to buy it with the Tournament Prize Money. But destiny had different plans.

Today, 25th June 2008, marks the 25th anniversary of India winning the World Cup. To re-live the memories, the entire team of 1983 has gone to Lords Stadium in London.

By the way, I forgot to mention., In 1983 one more important thing happened........... I WAS BORN. :D

PS: Do you think Australians would celebrate the same way in 2012, 2024, 2028, 2032??

Monday, June 23, 2008

Get Smart

Get Smart.... I watched it last saturday @ Spice, Noida and simply loved it.

I don't remember the last time i saw an intelligent comedy. This one came as a breath of fresh air amidst all the crappy, mindless comedies(i dont mind watching them though). I liked this movie more coz i went in with zero expectations.

Steve Carell is awesome. This guy enacts his part so effortlessly that you cannot imagine anyone else playing Maxwell Smart. I read somewhere that initially Jim Carrey was being considered for this role, but in my opinion, casting Steve as Maxwell Smart was the best thing that the makers of Get Smart could do. His comic timing is Impeccable. Get Smart marks Steve's arrival on to the big stage.

I never used to like Anne Hathaway much. But i was impressed by her potrayal of Agent 99 (we dont get to know her name in the movie). She matches Steve Carell in every scene and she has a decent comic timing too. It was nice to see, unlike other spy flicks, a female character that is not there just as an "Eye Candy". I say this coz she does kick some serious ass in this movie.

It was good to see Dwayne Johnson coming out of "The Rock" mould and a playing a character (Agent 23) as it should be played. In other movies(The Mummy Returns, Walking Tall, Rundown, The Scorpion King etc) , it always seemed that "The Rock" was trying to act, and whenever he came on screen i anticipated that he would do a "if you smell, what The Rock is cooking" routine. For the uninitiated, he used to do the "If u smell thing" when he was at WWE.

All the other cast gives a decent support. I particularly liked the "Shtarker" character, the villian's side-kick, and also the Dumb President Cameo.

Coming to jokes in the movie, there is an ample doze of humour. One has to be smart to understand all the jokes in the movie (and i did understand most of them ;) ). The one that i liked the most was "the man from the easter island". That was slam dunk. I dont want to give away too much as it'll spoil the fun for those who want to watch.

Here's another one they show in the trailer:

Siegfried: How do I know you're not from CONTROL?
Maxwell Smart: If I were from CONTROL, you'd already be dead.
Siegfried: If you were from CONTROL, YOU'D already be dead.
Maxwell Smart: Neither of us is dead, so I'm obviously not from CONTROL.
[long pause]
Shtarker: That actually makes sense.

I hope this is a beginning of a new franchise and if it is, i am sure Maxwell Smart is gonna give Austin Powers a run for his money.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Random Bollywood Actor

After pondering on what to write for my 2nd post for long(read 3 days), thought about this while taking a shower this morning.

These days every other person seems to be taking a dig at this random bollywood actor whom i happen to share my initials with. Spare a thought for this guy.

Firstly, Mr AB mentions on his blog that Mr SRK's show "Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hai (KAPPSTH)" is not doing well and then goes on to compare his KBC to that of SRK's

-- Do u think that with the whole country swaying in the IPL phenomenon, "Paanchvi Paas" could've garnered enough viewership?? And in the case of KBC, i dont think even Mr AB's KBC - 2 or Junior KBC achieved the same amount of viewership as did the first one.

Secondly, Mr Aamir Khan, on his infamous blog(made famous by all the news channels), tells the world that his Dog's name is Shahrukh. I was left aghast after reading it. I mean, having a sense of humour is one thing but using it to insult someone is another. A person whom i had admired for his ethics, profesionalism and conduct had done something which was not expected of him.

And now one can see the hoardings, advertising the latest Sony Television game-show "Dus Ka Dum". It will be hosted by Salman Khan and the ads contain gimmicks like "Kitaabi Keeda nahi chalega" or something like that. Isn't that one directed at SRK's "Paanchvi Paas"??

Lastly, Sahara Channel is coming out with a spoof on Paanchvi Paas called "Kya Aap Paanchvi Fail Champu Hai". Earlier they were airing a sad show called Kaun Banega Champu. I can't really comment on these as i didn't have the courage to watch them despite having an appetite for poorest of poor jokes. (I happen to be a Suresh Menon fan)

There have been many other cases before, like the one where SRK was banned from attending cricket matches as the board thought that his sole aim was to promote his films (and he ended up buying a cricket team) and then the whole "smoking-in-public" stories, and the subsequent tussle between SRK and the Union Health minister about freedom of expression and all that crap.

Why is all this happening to person who has seldom commented on anyone publicly? Is it because of the jealousy among his peers or because it is the easiest way to cash in, as SRK is really popular?

SRK isnt my favourite actor or something. I just like the way he handles himself and presents himself . I chose to write this blog coz of the following reasons:

  1. I wanted to find some topic to write on and wanted to do that fast, as I am new on the blogosphere and was craving to write more and Man am i enjoying it....!!!
  2. Thought of presenting my views on this oft-written/talked about topic of-late. (thanx to all the news channels - barring a few)
  3. Lastly, this gentleman found a mention in my 1st post. So i thought why not write something concerning him.
If you are reading this line then i assume you have read the whole thing and i wish to thank you for that.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Without an H - whats in the name

Sigh!!!!

"and there goes one more drop in the vast ocean ."

"Without an H"

Why name my blog like that???

the thing is, being a South-Indian and having a name without H in it - don't go hand-in-hand. Invariably people end-up writing my name as KartHik and more often than not send e-mails to kartHik@xyz.com.

I switched jobs last year and joined this company called think3 and this HR female in the company sent me the offer letter and guess what my name was in the letter.... no not Kartik or KartHik, it was "karthink".. what the @$%&!!!!!

this isn't the only "issue" i have with my name. I write my full name as Sri Ranga Kartik (yes i share my initials with some random bollywood actor). Kartik being my first name, which unfortunately for me, is the 3rd after S and R. Imagine my plight when i have to fill forms which say "First name - Second name - last name" and more so when all the documents/certificates of proof i have, show my name as S R Kartik.

All that aside, this blog is abt me and my views on all things bloggable (if such a word exists).

so folks.. happy reading!!!!

cheers for the new beginning.....