Kartik's Korner

She is "The One"

2011-08-25T11:16:00.007+05:30

I knew she was out there somewhere
But where, I had no clue.
Tried to find her in every girl I met,
but "he" made someone like her too far and too few.

Parents arranging my meeting with her was a little awkward,
But subsequent meetings were something to which I was really looking forward.
What followed each day was talking to her for hours on phone
As I got to know her better, I found she was someone I had always known

Then came a day when we got engaged,
It didn't matter if it was love or arranged
for I knew that she was "the one" with whom I'll spend the rest of my life,
The girl whom I would soon call my wife.

Excitement is hard to contain, as I imagine my future with her,
Each minute, hour and day will be something I never experienced before,
The beautiful company that I will have, is more than what I ever asked for,
I hope I fit the bill and be her "sapnon ka rajkumar" :P

Word by word as we write our book,
Brick by brick as we build our house,
Step by step as we start our walk,
Stroke by stroke as we paint the canvass,
Breath by breath as we live our life,
May our bond become stronger and life will be an adventure as we base it on this strange emotion called "love"

PS: 16 hours is a long time to spend on a train,
I look at it as more of a loss than gain,
I didn't want this time to go in vain.
So I try to give words to my feelings, by taxing my brain.

PPS: As I post this on her Birthday (with her next to me), here's wishing her the most wonderful birthday ever. And I promise to make her feel on each day of her life as special as she feels on her birthday.

Marriage - Is a Relative Term

2011-01-26T22:52:00.005+05:30

What kind of a girl are you looking for to settle down in life??

I usually wake up in the morning to sounds/questions like, "Kartik, wake up!! Its 7 AM!!" or "Kartik, don't you have to go to office today??" and rarely to, "How come you are up so early?? Its only 12 O'clock". But definitely not to the question mentioned at the start of this post.

As soon as I am out of bed, I prefer to brush my teeth first and then talk. Keep asking me a hundred questions and I will just nod. I simply don't like to talk without brushing my teeth. Recently in Bangalore, when I got asked this question by a distant relative of mine, the first response that came to my head was, "Umm.. Maybe someone who brushes her teeth in the morning!!" But I resorted to a smile, because it makes other people wonder what you are thinking.

You cross 25 and all hell breaks loose in the family (extended family to be precise). All the relatives start behaving as if they were born to fulfill their ONLY (cant stress this word enough) purpose in life, which is getting you married off. Suddenly, even before you know that a particular person is somehow related to you, he has a marriage proposal lined up for you. The relative of mine who raised the above question was my mother's mother's cousin's husband's brother.. phew!!! (or something like that).

In a large family gathering, knowing that I had crossed 25 a good three years ago, caused a mini panic. There was a frenzy as if people had some deadline to meet and now they have three years of work piled up. I don't know why Indians are so obsessed with marriages. It is fun to attend a function where all the relatives have gathered to celebrate but imagine the state of the guy at whose expense all this occurs. On second thought, if the population of this country is any hint to go by, I now see the obsession with marriage ;)

Well, happiest people are those who are happy doing what they want to do. So its in best interest of everyone to not meddle with anyone's business. It is ultimately my decision to choose the person I want to get married to (provided that person chooses me too :P) and I just let all the weird stuff happen around me and enjoy while it lasts.

Not that I am getting married anytime soon, actually I don't even know whom I'll end up with. But I am sure everyone has to go through these weird times once in their life. Like I said, Enjoy while it lasts!!

Frustrations of a Daily Commuter

2010-10-09T19:22:00.010+05:30

Long long time ago man invented the wheel and there was a revolution (Pun Unintended). On second thought, I always wonder why is it called inventing the wheel and not discovering the wheel? I mean come on, circular objects would've existed since long and making them roll was just common sense.

Man's desire to go from Place A to Place B in less time and with minimal effort prompted him in putting a few wheels together. Like someone said, "The guy who invented the wheel was an idiot but the guy who invented the other three was a genius." Though some would beg to differ, so let me add here that the guy who put 2 wheels together was God :D

Well, my own set of wheels took some time coming. Until then I had to rely on the set of wheels dedicated for picking up and dropping school children (until I was in school) and those marked for public, a.k.a, public transport.

Travelling in school bus was fun as you know who your fellow travellers are (and they are the same everyday), you know how long will the journey take and where the bus will stop and how many people will get in or get off. My school bus used to pick up and drop kids to 3 different schools, so all the seats used to be occupied. Now picture a city bus (the red lines and blue lines), multiply the number of people by 5, all of them wrestling with you for space. So much so, that at all times u have to keep your lungs filled with air, you breathe out and it creates enough space in the bus for 2 more people to get in. I had to endure this for close to 4 years of my life which I spent studying engineering (60 KMs every day). Once there were so many people around me that neither my hands were holding anything nor my feet were on the floor, i was being supported by people pressing against me. Let me assure you, it was not a pleasant feeling at all. I still have nightmares about "that" day.

I was lucky to land a job very close to my home. So close, that I used to go home for lunch during the 1 hour lunch break. My 1987 model Bajaj Chetak took me to work. And every single day the parking lot security guard used to ask me "This old scooter doesn't look good on you. Why don't you buy a bike?" I thought maybe this guy is interested in buying my scooter, that is why he is after my life. One day about 8 months later, I decided to buy a Bajaj Pulsar and asked this guy, "I am gonna get a new bike tomorrow, do u wanna buy my scooter?" and nonchalantly he replied "Arre nahi, Kabaadi ko bech do" (sell it to a junk dealer). This was a WTF moment for sure!!!

I was lucky enough to enjoy the 3KM work-home distance for a good 3 years. Then I got a job in Bangalore and everyone knows that the distance is not measured in Kilometers there, it is measured in terms of time. The scaling is something like 6KMs equals a little more than an hours time on the road. So the less said the better.

Regular readers of this blog must be aware of my frustration regarding my travel to Gurgaon from Noida about 2 year ago. There used to be hell-a-lot of traffic and to make matters interesting, all the flyovers in that route were being constructed. And once they were done and before I could drive on them my company moved to Faridabad.

En route Faridabad there comes a crossing which is like a BLACK HOLE for automobiles. It seems that during the peak hours all the cars and the buses in the world want to come and get stuck in that Jam. Its like Mecca of traffic jams. And as always, the responsibility of supervising the construction of a huge flyover was bestowed upon me. Man, standing at 1 place for 3 to 4 hours at a stretch was a norm. And you know whats funny now?? My company is moving back to Gurgaon. I guess they want me to take some new road construction project. I can officially call myself the Supervisor of Construction of Flyovers!!!

I don't know how many years I have spent on the road. Sometime being stuck in the jam made me feel that I have aged a few years. But I have learnt to take all this in my stride and I look at it like something that can be looked back on and can be laughed upon.

All said and done, I have something to add here : GOD!! I can give an arm and a leg for Working From Home!!! Is anyone listening???

Tareekh Pe Tareekh

2010-07-20T22:48:00.012+05:30

For the last 2 months I have been driving around with a sheet of paper in my wallet which somewhat resembles the "American Declaration of Independence" that Nicholas Cage steals in National Treasure. Thanks to the multiple folds and exposure to moisture, I am afraid that this sheet will unfold only once now. Well, this sheet is my make-shift driving license from the time cops (oh yes, I am their favourite child) took my "actual" license away. My offence, you may ask, was that my PUC Cetrificate had expired. (Of course, my vehicles'. Good Lord, human beings dont have to have a Pollution under Control certificate... well, lets not get into it)

17th July was the day when I had to appear in court for my hearing. Being exposed to a plethora of court scenes since childhood (In Movies, where else??) I was expecting it to be "Objection My Lord vs Objection Over-Ruled/ Objection Sustained" kind of a situation but to my disappointment it wasn't to be. Like a VIP is welcomed by hordes of people when he arrives at a function, I too was welcomed by a few people but only thing missing was the red carpet. As I parked the car, the parking wala was like "license lene aaye ho? 1000 Rs dedo, hum nikalwa denge" next was the security, "Judge sahab aaj chutti pe hai, bas 2000 mein aapka kaam kar denge". Without paying much heed to whatever they had to say I moved on towards the courtroom.

The "courtroom" was just a small shack kind of a thing having a couple of tables with tea marks over them, a few cup-boards falling over each other, an empty chair where the judge sits when he is present, another table where the reader sat and tonnes of files and papers strewn here and there. I was sure that even the furniture must've learnt a trick or two in taking a bribe.

There was a lawyer, with the sarkari-est look. One look at him and you would know that he could sleepwalk to SAB TV studio and grab a role in Office-Office without an audition. He saw me and he would've thought in his mind "mil gaya bakra". Only question I asked him was, "is the judge going to come today?" and then had I not interrupted him after he blabbered about various charges against me for about 10 minutes, he would've definitely asked me to pay for NOT wearing a helmet while driving the car or worse, the guy sitting next to me in the car at the time of challan should've been wearing a helmet too. The funniest thing he said was, "aapka to 2000 Rs challan katega hi, aur gaadi aapke father ke naam pe hai to unka bhi 2000 Rs ka challan katega. Nikaliye 4000 Rupaye". What the @#$%!!!

After giving up on the court, while I was walking towards my car, the security guard was like "kaam nahi hua na?? achcha chalo 1500 mein aapka kaam kar denge" and the parking wala "bataya tha na sahab, chaliye 800 de dijiye". God help those who get caught in this web.

So, a couple of phone calls later I decided to get the Declaration of Independence stamped by the reader in the court for the next date, which is still a month away. And the poor Challan sheet gets to stay in my wallet for a few more days. And I am pretty darn sure that on 20th August the Judge will have a hard time in putting all the pieces of the challan together. That'll be my way of getting back at the system and to rub it in, I will ask him if he has a cello tape handy... ;)

PS: And if I dont get my license on that day too, this is what I am gonna say (Note: to be imagined in Sunny Deol's Voice)

Tareekh pe Tareekh, Tareekh pe Tareekh, Tareekh pe Tareekh, Tareekh pe Tareekh....Judge sahab agli baar na to license milega aur na hi license lene wala. Bas reh jayegi to sirf Tareekh.

Dont know what to Write about...!!

2010-05-31T21:30:00.005+05:30

There comes a time when days go by
and you dont know what to write,
banging your head on the walls,
to scribble something that seems right.

Then you look back on the time since your last post,
you reflect on the events that went by,
and you wonder in amazement that,
the time really did fly.

Trying to go one up on the last "funny" story,
putting undue pressure on yourself,
to come up with something that would create history,
but instead you end up with something that makes you feel sorry.

A couple of trips here and there, a few movies now and then,
You think, haven't I written about them before, so why should I write again?
Getting caught by a traffic cop again, and not involving any money,
but not every time can a cop story be funny.

A few ideas do pop up once in a while,
to elaborate on them, leaves you clueless,
and you do what is easier and still worthwhile,
so they end up being your Facebook status.

Not knowing what to write,
you think of writing something totally random,
you just put a few lines together,
and make it look like a crappy poem.

A Tale of Two Tickets

2010-04-05T21:21:00.018+05:30

Read the following two stories. One having a SAD ending and the other one with a HAPPY one. These stories contain so many emotions that they can be made into an awesome Bollywood potboiler. Curious?? Read on...

Story - 1

Driving can be fun. Driving can be exhilarating. Driving can give you an ultimate thrill. Driving is known to bring out sides in people which they didn't know existed. Whizzing past the traffic, leaving all the cars behind, driving at speeds which makes everything else seem stationary is something that every driver yearns for. All this is great until a cop stops you by jumping in front of your car like someone's shaking you and waking you up from a beautiful dream, and saying, "dude welcome back to earth"!!!

That's exactly what happened with me a couple of weeks ago. NO i am not a traffic cop and I dont even go about jumping in front of fast cars just to get the kicks out of it. I am a law abiding citizen of this country who sticks by all the laws only to break a few of them when I have to reach office on time.

Well yeah, it was a lazy Saturday morning I was rolling on my bed when it struck me that I work 6 days a week. A frenzied 15 minutes later I was still groggy eyed but ready to leave for office. Everything seemed to be the same as it had been for every single day for past 8 months. Only thing that was different was there were so many traffic cops on the road it seemed that the whole of the police station had decided to come out for a stroll. I was driving at my usual speed (or maybe less.. 68KMPH to be precise) and there jumped a man wearing White and Blue in front of my car. Thank god my old warhorse of a car has decent brakes else it would've been the last thing that cop did. Escorting me to the side of the road he politely asked me to get off. And here is the conversation:

Cop : Gaadi side me laga lo aur license nikalo. Aap speed kar rahe they.
Me (handing him the license) : #@$%!! Whatever that means!! (Speed kar rahe they???)
Cop: Challan katega. 400 ka. Insurance dikhao..
Me: (realising that insurance papers are missing.. In a sweet voice) : Kya baat hai? Aaj itne policewale ek saath??
Cop (giving me the topic-mat-change-karo look) : 400 Rs.
Me: Handing over the money and taking the receipt and dissappearing in a flash (doing more than 68KMPH)

Phew!! There comes the first blemish on the clean driving slate of mine. One mark in 10 years of driving is still pretty good I guess.

Story - 2

It seemed it was a day to break all land speed records. A day where I could've given Micheal Schumacher a run for his money on Indian roads on a bike. The usual 60-70 minutes of office to home distance took me just 35 minutes. Why was I in such a hurry?? I was going to cheer for my Delhi IPL Team at Ferozshah Kotla.

Reaching home I didnt even have time to bask in the glory. I had another lap to cover. Changed into casuals and I was off again. I still had a good 2 hours before the match but the friend I was watching the match with, insisted on reaching the stadium one day before the match ;). Oh yes, the cop story again.

Cops have a certain liking for guys on 2 wheelers. I think they have a 2 wheeler fetish. If you have been stopped by Cops and even if you have all the papers in place, you GOT TO pay. If you are really low on luck, you may even be fined for not carrying your Ration Card, Credit Card statements, Birth Certificate and maybe even Marriage Certificate (this applies even to bachelors).

In my quest to reach the stadium on time (which was way before time actually), I jumped a red-light and voila there was a cop. And here is what went between us,

Cop: Red light jump ki hai aapne. Dangerous driving + Red light jumping ka challan katega. 1100 Rs.
Me: Arey Dilli police hoke mujhe rok rahe ho. Main Dilli ka match dekhne jaa raha hoon. Aap chahte nahi ho ki Dilli jeete?
Cop (smiling) : Haan isliye to bol raha hoon, jaldi 1100 Rs do aur jao.
Me: Dekh lo aur kuch ho sakta ho to. (9 out of 10 times bribing works)
Cop: Aap batao kitna doge?
Me: Mere paas 550 bucks hai. 500 ki match ki ticket hai, aage ka aap dekh lo.
Cop: Itna mehenga ticket!!! Ghar pe kyun nahi dekhte?
Me: Stadium mein dekhne ka mazaa hi kuch aur hai.
Cop: Lao 50 Rs lao aur jaldi jao, match start hone wala hoga.
Me (sporting a sad expression) : 500 Rs ticket ke hai and 50 Rs mere khane ke. Aapne woh le liye, ab main kya khaoonga :(
Cop: Arey aisi baat mat karo. Aur yeh lo - Hands me a 100 Rs note :D

Some Traffic Cops also have a heart and I got to experience it first hand that day. I probably am the first one to take money from a cop.

And this my dear friends was A Tale of Two Tickets...

Kitne Dialogue They...??

2010-03-14T22:51:00.009+05:30

Note: This post is inspired by an article that appeared in Times of India. This isn't a word to word reproduction of the same article but my take on the topic.

With the "note" part done, I can now proceed onto the business end (or the beginning) of this post without much fear about plagiarism and copyright issues. I had this thought at the back of my mind since a long time but it took an article in the newspaper to get me to write about it.

Being a movie buff, I have a knack of quoting lines from movies in appropriate situations. This is funny for those who know these lines but those who don't, give me a do-you-expect-us-to-laugh? looks, most of the times my sister does that to me and the best part is that she knows what I am talking about. Well, without much ado lets us get to the topic. There have been innumerable movies that have left an indelible mark on me. Here is a list of few famous dialogues from a few of them:

1) Mogambo Khush Hua - Mr. India (1987) :
The first true blue, Made in India Sci-Fi movie had this larger than life villain who immortalised this oft-repeated line in the film. Such was Amrish Puri's prowess as an actor that he never said the line the same way twice.

My Take : Does using one's name in 3rd person have an intimidating effect?? Oh and by the way, Kartik never uses this line...ever ;)

2) Sara Shehar Mujhe 'Loin' ke naam se Jaanta hai - Kalicharan (1976):
The Subhash Ghai film did wonders for Shatrughan Sinha but it made Ajit one of the most popular villains of all time in Indian Cinema. The letters of LION read backwords spelt NO 17, an important clue in the flim. This is the movie that gave birth to the Galaxy of Ajit jokes, thanks to the accent and the nasal tang. Does Mona Darling ring any bell??

My Take : Firstly whats with him saying LOIN instead of LION, did the director even realise what LOIN means?? Thank god Ajit was properly dressed in the movie and we should thank Subhash Ghai for not making him wear a loincloth.
PS: I wonder if Himesh Reshammiya was conceived during the making/screening of this movie..

3) Mere Paas Maa Hai - Deewar (1975):
The famous scene where Amitabh Bachchan goes on ranting random lines about possessing random stuff (read Gaadi, Bangla, Bank Balance and what not) and Shashi Kapoor, listening to AB reciting lines from reams and reams written by Salim-Javed, seals the verbal duel by these four words. Game, Set and Match - Shashi Kapoor.

My Take : I just remembered this joke.

AB: Mere paas Buldingein hai, property hai, bank balance hai, gaadi hai. Tumhare paas kya hai?
SK: Mere paas bhi Buldingein hai, property hai, bank balance hai, gaadi hai.
AB: Arey!!! To Maa kiske paas hai???

4) Kitne Aadmi They - Sholay (1975):
The dialogues of this movie are famous to such an extent that it will not be surprising if somebody knows the dialogue but doesnt know the name of this film. Every single word that comes out of the paan chewing mouth of Gabbar Singh is immortal. Those who still dont believe me can search for Sholay on Youtube and be amazed by the number of spoof videos that show up.

My Take: So much fun has already been made of Sholay and its dialogues that its not funny. I remember this Raju Shrivastav's stand up act where Gabbar is Old and nobody obeys him anymore.

Gabbar asks Kalia: "Arey Kalia, tune bataya nahi kitne aadmi they"
Kalia : Kidhar??
Gabbar: Arey kal tum teeno kahin gaye they, yahan 3 ghode nahi they. Kya karoon kuch batao, Khali haath laute ho, shabashi doon. arey kuch to batao!!
Kalia: Tum jaante nahi ho.. humein bhej dete ho, yahan chale jao, wahan chale jao. Hum jaan bachake laute hai. Wahan Do aadmi they aur dono mamooli aadmi nahi they. Ek Sunny Deol ka baap tha aur Doosra ABCL ka chairman tha. ROFL!!!

5) Tumhe Kya Lagta Hai...Main Roz Is Takiye pe Baithta Hoon?? - Dil Chahta Hai (2001):
The movie that changed movie making in bollywood forever. The more I watch it the more I love it. This too had so many amazing lines but the one above was one of the funniest. Saif Ali Khan in his trademark style made these lines even more funny.

My Take: Dont have much to say about this dialogue but post this movie every Gori chick is "Christine". :D

6) I'll be Back - Terminator (1984)
Probably the most recognized phrase to come out of Hollywood. You listen to these lines and you immediately think of the Cyborg version of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

My Take: I included this line here coz there is a joke that I would like to share.
Once Steven Spielberg decides to make a historical musical docudrama starring all action heroes. He calls Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Arnold. Everyone gets to choose what role one wants to play. So,
Stallone : I'll play Mozart.
Bruce Willis : I'll play Beethoven.
Arnold (striking a terminator pose) : I'll be BACH!!

There are so many other ones that I would like to quote here but it'll only make this blog too long. So people, please contribute to this post. This area is for me to write, so I have the comments section for you to put in your thoughts and comments.

Yeh Dilli hai mere yaar..

2010-02-10T23:03:00.011+05:30

Dad being in defence services used to get tranferred every 2-3 years. Every transfer brought excitement to life as packing and unpacking was the best part about transfers. Yeah and there was a flip side too, having to lose all your friends. But well, that's not what I am gonna write about here.

I was 10 when I came to know that my dad was being transferred to Delhi. My happiness knew no bounds. This time there was a different kind of an excitement because we had to move to a city which had the biggest amusement park in the country, "Appu Ghar". Yes that was the only thing I was looking forward to.

Thus began our never ending train journey from Vishakhapatnam to New Delhi . I had no idea that Delhi was this far, it took 2 full days. So long it took that I was tempted to ask my mom if dad had gotten tranferred into the train...!!!

All excited about setting my foot on Sarzameen-e-Dilli, I got down from the train only to find that it was some random place called Hazrat Nizamuddin. I was like lets board the train again before it leaves... This isnt the place!!! But when I was told that this is where we were supposed to get off, I was utterly disappointed. I mean who wants to live in a place called Hazrat Nizamuddin after you have spent the last couple of weeks dreaming of living in New Delhi???

Stepping out of the station I was taken aback by the sheer scale of the city. Everything I set my eyes on seemed to be moving in its own way. Such was the hustle bustle of this city that I instantly fell in love with it. And finally it sunk in that we had moved to the capital and not to a random place.

I spent the first year of my life in Delhi living in Vasant Kunj. The now posh and upmarket locality was just a budding colony then. Rather a mere collection of discreet localities between Vasant Vihar and Mehrauli. Vasant Kunj was the place where neighbours hardly spoke to each other, let alone celebrate community Holis and Diwalis. We seemed isolated in that place. Qutub Minar and a fleeting glimpse of peacocks dancing in rain visible from my room window were the only things good about that place. School was about 10 KM from home and it seemed to be at the other end of the city. Missing the school bus was biggest fear as I used to leave home at 06:30 AM and in winter it was more of a pain. Winter was too cold and summer was the hottest I had ever experienced. The charm of Delhi was slowly fading away.

As I was growing up, the city grew around me too. Second year on, it was new place, new friends, and a new feel about the city. I slowly started to understand the dynamics of the city. Travelling in crowded public transport, shopping in markets where people fall over each other in festival season and even otherwise, having the awesome food that is available in abundance that you can die eating and still keep eating in your after-life, going through the widest and best of the roads in South Delhi, enjoying the cool breeze against your face in the evenings in summer, feeling the warm sun basking in winters, striking a conversation with absolute strangers, watching innumerable kites flying (around Independence day) which seem like colourful confetti falling from the sky, being awestruck by the sheer brilliance of the architecture (Rashtrapati Bhawan and the surrounding areas), circling the Connaught Circus by foot hundreds of times and I can go on and on about the city. All the stuff that I had hated about Delhi in the beginning , seeing them in a different light, made me fall in love with Delhi and every passing day I loved the city more.

I believe the city you grow up in has a major role to play in your development as a person. So I owe a lot to my being in Delhi for being the person I am. The city that gave me friends, the city that gave me memories to cherish, the city that I feel I am a part of, is the city that I call my Home.

Delhi turned out to be a lot more than just Appu Ghar. It became my home. It became a part of me as much as I am a part of it. I have been to and have lived in a lot of other cities but in the end I belong to where my heart belongs and that is Saddi Dilli.

Yeh Dilli hai mere yaar.. Bas Ishq Mohabbat Pyar...

All that Jazz....

2010-01-26T22:31:00.008+05:30

First post of 2010.

Yeah, Happy New Year and all that jazz!! I dont know why but sending countless mails (starting with Dear all), innumerable SMSes and Greetings is not my thing. So for all those whom I didnt wish a Happy New Year, I did just that in the first line (not that they'll read this post or something, but still..).

Looking back at 2009, it hasnt been a bad year at all. Yeah, not at all. Cant recollect a single event or happening that made me sad. I did so much of all that I love to do and I wanted to do, I think a lot of people dont do that in their lifetime. What all happened with me?? read on:

I almost got laid off - Only to be picked up before I got laid off, that too at a higher pay
Went on THE RIDE of MY LIFE - Have kept and will keep talking about it!!!
Reunited with long lost friends - Time has gained pace since.
Also met school buddies, and I was the tallest among them - Known me since 10 years??? and you know what am saying.
Made new friends - Increase in the diameter of the social circle is directly proportional to the increase in Fun.
Travelled - Agra, Bhubaneshwar, Puri, Konark, Mysore, Bangalore, Dalhousie, Amritsar, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Shimla, Manali, Ranthambore, Spiti Valley to name a few places visited.
Movies and loads of them - From the biggest hits to the collossal disappointments. Almost like a movie a week and sometimes 2 or 3 movies a week.
Watched Sholay @ PVR - Since its SHOLAY it needs a special numbered topic of its own. And watching it on the big screen is a significant achievement. Period.
Started working out - Made a resolution and stuck to it. Proud of myself.
Bought a House - Have a Housing Loan on my name
Ate and ate - Never in a year I have had so much food. I mean who goes to Amritsar from Dalhousie (it takes 5-6 hours) just to have Kulchas???
Didnt do a lot of stuff I wanted to - didnt learn to play guitar, didnt fall in love, didnt go to Goa, and there is a lot more.

Well, not a bad year, wasnt it?? 2010 seems promising, so just seeing it unfold day by day is exciting. So here's wishing this Year brings loads of luck, happiness and excitement in our lives and all that jazz.....

Sometimes...

2009-12-29T22:35:00.009+05:30

Sometimes I ponder.. Where life is taking me..
Sometimes I just want to break free..
Sometimes I wonder, why don't I let it just be..
Sometimes I ask myself, Is this really me?

Sometimes I want to do the things I really want to do,
Sometimes I am so Happy, it all seems untrue,
For times of happiness are so few,
Yet I feel, these times I really don't value.

Sometimes I dream of finding that true love,
But then whats not in my hand, I shall not think of,
Sometimes I wonder is there anything called true love?
So I leave everything in the hands of that man above.

Sometimes I feel like I walked a 1000 miles,
Sometimes I feel I can spread a 1000 smiles,
Sometimes I feel like fishing for stars from the skies,
But I know that the fishing-net I have, wont suffice.

Sometimes I question, why do stuff just for the sake of it?
Sometimes I let it go, as I just am doing my bit,
Sometimes I wonder, why dont I let it just be..
Sometimes I ask myself, Is this really me?
___________________________________________

Sleep......ZzzzzzZzzz!!!

2009-12-03T13:01:00.007+05:30

Wikipedia defines Sleep as a naturally recurring state of relatively suspended sensory and motor activity, characterized by total or partial unconsciousness and the inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. But for me, Sleep is absolute bliss. On a different note, one must give it to Wikipedia guys who define sleep in such a way that by the time one finishes reading that sentence, he is drowsy if not alseep.

Since, I cant remember when, sleeping had been a "hobby". And I didnt know when this hobby of mine became a "passion". I consider myself one of the forunate few, who can sleep whenever, whereever and however they want. By however, i mean not necessarily lying flat. Sleep gives so much pleasure that even the alarm tone in the morning seems to be the background music of some romantic dream ;).

Earlier in school days (Class 12th to be precise), my dad used to wake me up early in the morning so that I could study. Waking up at 5:30 AM to study was the hardest thing for me. Keeping eyes open at that hour is one thing, and then waking up to do something that put me to sleep a night before is completely different. My grandma used to make coffee for me so that I can stay awake. One cold morning, I was sitting on the floor with a book in one hand, and a coffee cup in the other. I had taken a few sips and then I dont remember what happened for the next couple of minutes. What I remember is that there was a huge brown patch on my T-shirt and it was burning HOT!!! People say that having coffee stops one from sleeping but I think I'll be only one in the world who was woken up by Coffee!!!

Another characteristic feature of my sleeping, is the Dobly Digital Surround Sound that I produce while being asleep. Before your imagination starts running wild, let me assure you, that I have heard that I snore. With the reviews that I receive from people, I can proudly say that this sound can be recorded and be used as an alarm tone :P. Well, whatever you read in this paragraph are the thoughts of other people because I seriously doubt if snoring happens, as I never got thrown out of lectures and meetings.

And then, there have been times when friends have left from my doorstep after repeated bell ringing and calling on my mobile, parents have never forgotten to take house keys along with them so that they dont have to face the consequences, I made plans of playing cricket with friends in the early morning and they had to play with 1 player less, and the list goes on. So well, now you know what sleeping means to me.

And lastly, did I mention that I didnt cry when I was born?? Because I was born on a sunday morning, and me being me.. what else do u expect???

Have I changed??

2009-11-12T20:12:00.004+05:30

Noticed how I usually start my posts apologizing for my absence and then I end the first few lines saying that I'll be more regular?? Whom do I apologise to?? No one comes to me and says, "hey, what happened?? Long time no post??" So none of all that this time...I have changed!!!

I used to be a simple, non-adventurous, I-stay-home-on-weekends kinda guy. But all of a sudden since the last 6-7 months, my weekends have been getting over in a blink. Its been like so much stuff n so little time to do. Yeah, its mostly due to the company of friends I have got now. But for my parents, its like a whole new Kartik they are seeing. So for them.... I have changed...

Earlier even on holidays and long weekends, staying at home, sleeping, and watching TV used to be on my to-do list. Maybe a movie or two thrown in here and there. But since November 2008, I have been on 9 or 10 trips!!! And one that I call "THE RIDE OF MY LIFE", a 2000 KM bike ride across himalayas, which was totally Adventurous. A very close friend of mine, after seeing my pics from the ride said, "Kartik Badal gaya hai (Kartik has changed!!!) ".... I have changed!!!

I was a shy, introvert and stay-within-myself guy until not so long ago. Singing in public, let alone speaking, was one of the biggeest fears. But now...none of that whatsoever. Whats the point of having a talent and not showing it off. And yes, I used to be modest too... I have changed...!!!

Talking to girls wasnt my cup of tea. Thats absolutely true (this line is for the girls who know me now :P)!! I used to shy away from doing so. In school, mostly the talk used to be limited to course work. But now...ask the girls who know the "present" me....their numbers are.... ;)
So I have changed...!!

There are a lot of things which didnt change and I am happy that way and there are a few which I would like to change, but all in all this is the way I am and you'll have to bear with it..

PS: I normally try to be funny in my post and to some extent succeed. But this time there is no fun element.. Why??? coz I have changed!!!

Spiti Ride - A Trailer

2009-10-07T09:53:00.005+05:30

This video was shot by me on our way to Spiti on Day 2 of the ride. Pics, description and Triplogue coming soon!!!

People in this video - Anshul, Arjun, Imran and Ankur (in the order of appearence)

Biking...Shiking

2009-08-10T12:13:00.009+05:30

Am I becoming insane??? This question sprouted in my mind after watching the reactions I have been getting from people off late. I think I would've gotten encouraging reactions had I told them that I am planning to run away from home to become an actor in Bollywood :P.

Ever since I returned from the Rishikesh trip this May, I have had this unbearable itch to go on a bike ride. A really long one at that. Next month end I have a ride planned to the virgin (well.. almost) lands of Spiti. If I complete it, it'll be the longest I have ever done and will surely be the best ride of my life. It'll be one of those tales to tell your grand-children kinda things. More on it later and even more on it when I return. (Trip Log Alert!!!)

As a part of the preparation (read, making the back-side stronger), I am riding to Lansdowne this weekend. Lansdowne is a small, nondescript place in Uttarakhand, about 300 KMs from Delhi. It'll be the first experience of riding in the hills and also it'll be a test to see how much strain I can take. I know that it'll not even be close to what i'll experience in Himachal but some preparation, nonetheless. Thats all I'll be able to afford before THE trip, thanks to me working on Saturdays. Let me not get into working on saturdays again.

So what are my expectations from the Spiti Ride?? Well, let me break it down into Pros and Cons.

Pros:

Beautiful Landscapes and Scenery
2000 KMs of riding - wonder how my bike will fare
A feeling experienced never before
Having great friends for company (Let me tell you, its more fun reuniting with Old buddies in real than on Orkut or Facebook :P )
Time away from the mundane routine life

Cons:

2000 KMs of riding - As much fun as it may sound, it will be taxing and treacherous
AMS - Dont know why but Acute Mountain Sickness worry is there at the back of my mind
No Ride experience whatsover - This wont be much of a worry thanks to the Been-there-done-that company that I have.
How much is too much?? - 2000 KMs in 5-6 days @ ~ 400KMs per day - need I say more??
Toll on the body - this is inevitable

Well in such a long ride there are ought to be a few cons, but I would not like to ponder on them now and tackle them as they come. I know there will be more Pros than Cons.. :-)

So here's me wishing myself a decent enough preparation and waiting for the last week of September with bated breath. Oh well yes, I need to apply for holidays and they need to get approved too.. That aside I am all set and raring to go!!

Kawariya Kawariya!!!

2009-07-19T18:35:00.004+05:30

Pondering on for the last few days about what to write, today while driving to Delhi it struck me. Normally I am not an "Opinion Person". I just try to ignore and not put my mental energy on stuff that generally people have opinions about. But the issue (IMO it is a big one at that) that I rise in this post has annoyed me no end.

Driving in Delhi as everyone knows is a pain and with each passing day its becoming even more painful. But every year, during this time there is another activity happening on Delhi roads where certain people, in the name of religion, create unnecessary nuisance. Kawariyas as they are called, collect Holy Ganga water from Haridwar and walk to their respective destinations. People going about their business in a peaceful & harmless way is one thing, but what irritates and annoys me most is the way they have complete disregard for the general public trying to lead their routine lives.

These Kawariyas, as I said earlier in the name of religion, block the busiest of the roads causing kilometers of crawling traffic. There is a lane demarcated for them to use, but do they use it?? NO!!! Of course there are some genuine devotees who carry their earthen pots and walk peacefully, but there are a few young people who run behind bikes, drive tempos which have huge speakers with Blaring (its an understatement) music (religious songs - C-grade songs from films remixed with religious lyrics), and block traffic out of no rhyme or reason. What is more shocking is that the Police instead of bringing them under control help them in their activity by stopping and diverting the traffic. I am not even touching upon the topic where these Kawariyas torched trucks and stoned police vehicles a couple of years ago. I was also one of the unfortunates stuck in the 40KM long jam on the Jaipur Highway.

Compare this with the ongoing Metro contruction in Delhi. Its so well organised and planned that there is seldom any problem. Of course, there are ought to be traffic snarls once in a while but one has to give it to the authorities as they go about their business in a smooth and efficient way. This is where I fail to understand that a major infrastructure project going on since more that 6 years has been running smoothly whereas the Kawariya activity which happens every year for just 10-15 days causes so much trouble for citizens. I dont know when the government will stop worrying about its vote bank and grow up.

I am sure there are a whole lot of people who will agree with me and it is high time someone does something about this. Every year in July-August rains create havoc in Mumbai and the whole thing gets so much footage on TV. People keep complaining and whining about the condition there and its stays the same every year. I think the Kawariya case is an apt comparision, its just that it happens in Delhi and not covered by the News channels makes it a lesser known issue.

If it takes collecting Ganga water from Haridwar and walking all the way to Delhi to solve the problem, then I am ready to do that :-)!!!!!

Whats been happenin...

2009-06-25T16:25:00.011+05:30

Hello people.. How have u all been?? Been a while since I posted. I celebrate one year of blogging and then I dissappear!!! So here I am back again and hopefully will be more regular.

Whats been happenin at my end??? Well, a lot of stuff. Both in professional and personal life.

Professional life had been hanging by a thread. Back in Feb I got to know that the company is shutting down its Engineering Services Operations and that everyone will serve their notice period for 3 months, starting April. Suddenly, I was also the Low Hanging Fruit (as someone had put it). I still cannot fathom why, but I never felt the proverbial pit in my stomach. Everyone else was unsure of their future (understandably) and I was behaving matter-of-factly. As my luck would have it, the client I worked for decided to set up shop in India and I was absorbed by them. Looking back on the past few months, the turn of events have been pretty dramatic to say the least but then I have no complaints now and I thank god for bailing me out.

On to the personal front now. So many changes at the work front tend to have their repercussions on personal life. For instance, I dont get saturdays off anymore. Its like half of the "fun" life being taken away. But life has a funny way of balancing the bad with the good by taking away a few pleasures and giving something more in return. So even with saturdays gone, I am having so much more fun. Thanks to the group am hangin out with these days, I call it "the new WE". Makes me wonder why I didnt meet them that often before, despite knowing them for so long. Movies, Dinners, Ice creams, Bike Rides, Board Game Nights, More Movies...phew!!! Saturday eves and Sundays (n weekdays too sometimes) were never so good... :)

(And you thought I was gonna write abt me getting married soon or something?? Well, thats not gonna happen soon for sure...)

Thats about it then.. Am happy being happy these days.. looking for happier days ahead, and for reasons to be more happy :D!!!

One Year of Blogging

2009-06-08T16:26:00.006+05:30

I just realised that its been a year and a week since I wrote my first post . Frankly speaking, I never had any inclination towards creative writing (i know this is nowhere close to being creative, but what the hell!!!), and the thought of joining the bandwagon had always been there at the back of my mind. One year ago, I gave in to the thought and its been a decent journey I suppose.

Am not gonna go on writing here and will stop myself from indulging. So this will be my shortest post till date to celebrate one year of blogging. :)

Whatever you have seen till now was just the trailer...Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost..

Unplanned Trip

2009-05-27T16:13:00.009+05:30

Sometimes it happens that things dont go as you plan them but then you dont know what's in store for you. So wasting no time writing about what should've happened I am fast forwarding to the point where all the fun started!!!

We guys had 5 days to spend, we were ready with our packed bags and moreover we had an awesome car to drive, but what we didnt know was where to go!!! Yeah thats how our trip began. Oh by the way, "We" consists of me, Imran and Sachin, the same gang that went rafting in Rishikesh (minus our bikes this time). We left Delhi just after the midnight on 20th May, with a map of Himachal in hand.

We had no problems with driving at wee-hours of the morning as we took turns to drive while the other guys rested/slept. After stopping over for a refreshing tea and butter toast at Jhilmil Dhaba in Karnal, we decided that we'll head to Dalhousie first and then decide as the days come.
Not too far from Dalhousie there is a pictureque place called Khajjiar, which according to a sign there, was Switzerland of the East. I cant agree with it more. Here I got the opportunity to try my hand at another adventure sport. I did Zorbing. (curious souls pls follow the link).

Then there was this place called Dainkund. One has to trek for about 30 mins to reach this place. The scenic beauty we encountered on our way cant be put in words.

We met a family on our trek back. The lady of that family asked, "What is there at the end of this trek?", we answered in unison, "there is a small temple" at which she asked again, "Is it worth??" and then our dear Sachin, being the staunchly religious guy he is, said, "Temples are always WORTH!!!!". The look on the lady's face was "unexplainable". :D

Our sojourn then took us to places such as Mcleodganj and Dharamshala. The small and serene town of Mcleodganj with snow-clad mountains watching over was a perfect retreat away from the Delhi heat. After spending a night at MacLoadGanj (Spelling/pronunciation courtesy Sachin) we were off to Ambarsar (Amritsar - as pronounced by the locals).

Our main objective of going to Amritsar was not to see the famous Golden Temple or the Jallianwala Bagh but to have the famous Kulchas at Bhai Kulwant Singh Kulche Wale and also dine at the 100 year old Kesar Dhaba, and we happily skipped lunch for the same. Reaching late didnt help our cause as the Kulche Wala closes at 4 PM, so we headed to Kesar Dhaba. We asked the dhaba guy if there was any food available & he said "Aap 1 hr baad ayiye". We were so hungry that we didnt move an inch and we sat at his doorstep. At which he opened the dhaba specially for us and we had a sumptuous meal cooked in Desi Ghee. While we were eating in, we could see the crowd building up outside the locked doors, wondering who these VIPs are. :P

After a visit to the Golden Temple, mind you it looks heavenly at night so make it a point to see it at night whenever you visit Amritsar, we were good to leave for Delhi. So 3 of us with contented hearts were back on our way to Delhi with a punctured tyre to boot.

The trip that began without a plan, turned out to be great one. We covered 3 beautiful places, Dalhousie, McLeodganj and Amritsar in 3 days, had amazing meals, enjoyed to the limit, sang a lot of songs and drove for about 2000 KMs.

Happy Birthday Sis.....!!!!!

2009-05-18T10:52:00.005+05:30

Birthday wishes are endless,
specially when it comes to you,
I have one wish, its simple,
I wish all your dreams come true.

I wish you all the success,
In whatever you pursue,
Happy birthday lil sis,
May all your dreams come true.

Thanks for being my best friend,
and there when I needed you,
though we had a lot of fights,
for reasons only you knew,

My childhood wud've been so boring,
if there hadnt been you,
Happy birthday lil sis,
May all your dreams come true.

How I came up with this,

I have absolutely no clue,

Writing a poem is not easy,
All I can say is, "phew"!!!

I am not gonna lie here,
I'll tell you what is true,
First 4 lines are copied,
Rest all are new :P,
Happy birthday lil sis,
May all your dreams come true!!!

Upcoming Hollywood Movies

2009-05-05T10:55:00.012+05:30

Off late there has been a lull at the theatres, thanks to the ongoing Multiplex strike. A friend of mine wrote a great post about the whole "profit-sharing" thing going on, so am not gonna write about it.

With no new movie releasing, the multiplexes are re-releasing old hits. PVR Cinemas recently released "Sholay". Yup THE original Sholay and not the crappy remake. And I wasn't the one to miss this opportunity to watch "The-best-hindi-film-of-all-time". Though there were not many people in the theatre and the print and the sound quality wasnt the best but I enjoyed every minute of it.

So with no hindi movies on the horizon anytime soon I am looking forward to watching some good hollywood flicks coming my way. And there are a few big ones in the offing. Here is a list of movies that I am wating for:

1)X-Men Origins : Wolverine - Being a super-hero movie buff and an X-Men fan, I really want to watch this one. This one apparently has been produced by Hugh Jackman who featutes in the titular role. Am sure he must have gone all-out to make this movie His movie (at least the rushes suggest so). I dont know when this one's gonna release in India. (Trailer, imdb, & wikipedia)

2) Up - Guys at Pixar have this knack of picking up a simple storyline and weaving a dream world around it. If you thought Wall-E was the best Pixar movie, wait for this one to come out. (Trailer, imdb, & wikipedia)

3) Night at the Museum : Battle of the Smithsonian - The first movie was set in the American Museum of Natural History. It was 2 hours of total fun. The 2nd movie promises to be bigger, better and funnier. This one is set in the world's largest museum, Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC. (Trailer, imdb, & wikipedia)

4) Terminator Salvation - Apart from Terminator 2 : The Judgement Day, I havent seen or been a fan of Terminator movies. But ever since I saw the latest trailer on the big screen, I have been wanting to see it. Our very own batman, Christian Bale as John Connor is an added plus. (Trailer, imdb, & wikipedia)

5) Transformers 2 : Revenge of the Fallen - I can go on and on about this one. I am crazy about transformer movies. First one was just awesome. Full on action with ample doses of humour and a hot Megan Fox thrown in for good measure. Again a bigger and better fare expected here. (Trailer, imdb, & wikipedia)

6) Angels and Demons : Based on Dan Brown's novel by the same name. The book is actually a prequel to Da Vinci Code but the movie has been made as a sequel. I found this book better than Da Vinci Code and I seriously hope that this movie is gonna be better than Da Vinci Code. I had read this book a couple of years ago, so I am reading it again and am enjoying it even more now. (Trailer, imdb, & wikipedia)

Thats about it then. Am not really sure when these movies are goin to be released in India, but these, mark my words, are to be watched on the big screen for sure.

For Rafting.....On Bikes!!!

2009-04-18T22:56:00.008+05:30

Me: A Three day weekend is coming, lets go somewhere.
My Colleague, Sanjay (All excited): Yeah Man, we should.

We go around asking other people in the office and everyone has some work or the other lined up for the weekend. We have no other choice but to be disappointed. I go back to my desk, sans all the enthusiasm I had before, and for a short while after, I got that (brilliant??) idea. I get back to my usual business of chatting (and you thought I was gonna say....work??).

Me (to Imran - A school mate of mine): What are you doing this weekend?
Imran: Going to Rishikesh along with a friend of mine for rafting. Wanna join us?
Me: You bet, I want to!!!

But there was a catch. Imran, being a hardcore biker, was going to Rishikesh (roughly 250Kms from Delhi) on his bike. And now I had to convince my parents to allow me to go. This part didn't take much effort and I was all set and raring to go on my first Road Trip on Bike, the Rafting part was the perfect icing on the cake.

We (me, Imran and Sachin) left early in the morning on Friday, the 10th of April and reached Haridwar at 11:00 AM. The ride was amazing. What was more amazing was the fact that we just did one halt in between for breakfast. The route we took was pictureque, a narrow road along a canal. What more can one ask for??

We were hosted by a friend of Imran's at Haridwar. I met Rachit and his family for the first time, and it never felt so. We had some good time and sumptuous meals at Rachit's. Plus the funny moments (sad part was I was at the wrong end of the jokes) we had with the Super intelligent girl with superb presence of mind and a superb vocab for a 3 yr old kid, she was Rachit's Niece (More on her on Kids Say...Version 2). After spending the day in Haridwar, we were all set to for the big day ahead. Me and Sachin had been waiting for the day with bated breath, partly coz it was our first time rafting and mostly coz of the description that Imran and Rachit had been giving us. We were really excited albeit a bit scared abt the whole rafting thing (did i, by any chance, say rafting was the icing on the cake??).

We reached the camp (Sea Hawk) at 10:30AM on 11th April and had the most amazing time. I dont have words to explain the fun we had. We did all sorts of R&D with a circular tube kinda thingy that we got. I got to do a bit of kayaking too. Post lunch we (Me, Sachin, Rachit, Imran, Rachit's dad, Amit Bhaiyya and Sheeba Bhabhi) geared up for rafting (some team that was). After a few instructions we were good to go. Rafting takes it toll on the arms but thanks to all the gymming for 2 months I was at ease.

Everyone took turns to sit in the front of the raft. Sitting in the front fills you with such a feeling that you alone are going to be the saviour, come what may. But this feeling was short-lived when the raft went through a terrible rapid and the raft almost became vertical. I lost my balance and I was lucky not to fall off the raft. There were 14 rapids in all, having weird names like Three Blind Mice, Roller Coaster, Initiation, Golf Course etc. Roller Coaster was the one that caused the most trouble. We did jump off the raft once, its called Body Surfing. This involves jumping off the raft and holding on to a rope called the life-line and floating along.

Then came the most thrilling part of the whole trip. The dreaded Cliff-Jump. One has to jump from a 30-40 ft cliff into open waters. For a non swimmer like me that was a huge ask. And once I had gone up I had no choice but to jump, after all I didnt want to be a coward in front of girls who were lining up to jump for the 2nd time. I went to the edge of the cliff, didnt look down and jumped. Those 3 seconds were the longest 3 seconds of my life. Man, that was the "Funnest" thing ever. I am gonna do that again for sure.

Back at the camp, we had a few Gaana-Bajana sessions and yours truly did sing a couple of songs :). After the delicious dinner under millions of stars, we spent the night in tents.

Spent a couple of hours playing in the water the next morning and we were all set to head back home. I was so not looking forward to sitting on the bike again as I was really tired. After about 150Kms, we stopped at Cheetal Grand for lunch and Imran asked me, "How are you feeling?" and I was like "I am feeling great about going back, its just that I can't feel my backside" :P

Like all good things come to an end, this full-of-surprises-at-every-turn trip too did. I made really good friends and had a whale of a time. I might get kicked on my already sore backside for saying this, but I would like to thank Rachit for the wonderful hospitality, Imran for taking me along, and lastly Sachin for taking care of me on his bike ;).

Hoping that this was just the beginning and there are many more trips to come, I am signing off......

Peg After Peg

2009-04-07T16:26:00.004+05:30

Had received this from a friend, couldn't stop myself from posting it.. Its too damn funny!!!!

________________________________________________

I never take risk while drinking

When I come from office in the evening, wife is cooking

I can hear the noise of utensils in the kitchen

I stealthily enter the house

Take out the bottle from my black cupboard

Shivaji Maharaj is looking at me from the photo frame

But still no one is aware of it

Becoz I never take a risk

I take out the glass from the rack above the old sink

Quickly enjoy one peg

Wash the glass and again keep it on the rack

Of course I also keep the bottle inside my cupboard

Shivaji Maharaj is giving a smile

I peep into the kitchen

Wife is cutting potatoes

No one is aware of what I did

Becoz I never take a risk

I: Any news on Chopra's daughter's marriage

Wife: Nope, she doesn't seem to be that lucky. Still they are looking out for her

I again come out; there is a small noise of the black cupboard

But I don't make any sound while taking out the bottle

I take out the glass from the old rack above sink

Quickly enjoy one peg

Wash the bottle and keep it in the sink

Also keep the Black Glass in the cupboard

But still no one is aware of what I did

Becoz I never take a risk

I: But still I think Chopra's daughter's age is not that much

Wife: What are you saying? She is 28 yrs old... Like an aged horse

I: (I forgot her age is 28) Oh Oh...

I again take out potatoes out from my black cupboard

But the cupboard's place has automatically changed

I take out the bottle from the rack and quickly enjoy one peg in the sink

Shivaji Maharaj laughs loudly

I keep the rack in the potatoes & wash Shivaji Maharaj's photo & keep

It in the black cupboard

Wife is keeping the sink on the stove

But still no one is aware of what I did

Becoz I never take a risk

I: (getting angry) you call Mr. Chopra a horse? If you say that again,

I will cut your tongue...!

Wife: Don't just blabber something, go out and sit quietly...

I take out the bottle from the potatoes

Go in the black cupboard and enjoy a peg

Wash the sink and keep it over the rack

Wife is giving a smile

Shivaji Maharaj is still cooking

But still no one is aware of what I did

Becoz I never take a risk

I: (laughing) So Chopra is marrying a horse!!

Wife: Hey go and sprinkle some water on your face...

I again go to the kitchen, and quietly sit on the rack

Stove is also on the rack

There is a small noise of bottles from the room outside

I peep and see that wife is enjoying a peg in the sink

But none of the horses are aware of what I did

Becoz Shivaji Maharaj never takes a risk

Chopra is still cooking

And I am looking at my wife from the photo and laughing

Becoz I never take Risk ...

Happy Birthday to me.......!!!!!

2009-02-20T11:26:00.007+05:30

I turned 26 today. Since the day little kids started calling me Uncle or their parents started introducing me to them saying "Say hi to Kartik uncle", I figured that I am getting older(or should I say, wiser) now. :)

20th Feb 1983 was the day I came into this world. Looking back, its not been a bad journey at all. 26 years have passed, and I have lived each day to the fullest. So here I make a list of some facts which people close to me may or may not know (and maybe when I look back at it after I get really old it'll be good fun to read).

1) I am a Typical Piscean. I dream a lot. Spend most of my idle time(office time too :P) doing that.

2) When I was born, I didn't cry at all. I guess there was something to that coz even in sad times I try to be happy and cheerful.

3) I am pretty good at remembering dates. I feel very guilty if I forget to wish someone on their day.

4) I was really short when in School. I think at some point, I was shorter than the shortest girl in class and I use to live in constant fear that I will not grow. But thank god, I attained a decent height.

5) I am CRAZY about cricket. I can go on and on about it.

6) I am CRAZY about Hindi music too. I have a knack of remembering the complete lyrics of songs after listening to them a couple of times. And I don't know how many song I know fully.

7) I love to sing as well n do a decent job at that :P. I was quite shy to sing in public when I was young (for those who missed, I-am-26-now part) but now I am not.

8) I love kids and kids love me too... :)

9) Never in my life I have been in a relationship. So I dunno if I am lucky or unlucky in that respect.

10) My full name is Sri Ranga Kartik. When I was being named, my Grandpa wanted "Ranga" to be in the name come-what-may n my mom wanted to name me Kartik. So Sri Ranga Kartik is my name as in I have no family name or surname. Weird???

11) I am completely petrified of wasps, bees and other stinging insects.

12) I wish to get a tattoo done on me someday.

13) I am a Harry Potter buff. At some point in time I knew everything about Harry Potter(Story and Characters) in and out.

14) I always wanted to be an Electronics or Computer Engineer, I had vowed not to study mechanical engineering but I ended up being a Mechanical Engineer and I have no regrets.

15) This point I think everyone knows and agrees with, that I am a nice guy. A guy you can take home to your mom :)

16) Though my dad was a Naval Officer, I cant swim for my life. :(

Of New Year Resolutions

2009-02-05T11:41:00.010+05:30

I know its pretty late to write about New year resolutions(& some would say its too early for next year). Actually I started this post way back in January(time really flies) and I have been way too lazy to finish it. I speak about having a kind of creative satisfaction after every post I write(its a kind of feeling that I have never experienced before) and I sometimes am so damn lazy that this post is an apt example of that fact. So here I go.

I have surprised myself lately by actually fulfilling my resolutions for 2 years in a row. Yup thats right. Normally people make resolutions just for the sake of making them, some just make the same resolution every year, and some just dont follow any by saying that resolutions are meant to be broken.

Every year I have the most boring new year's eve. When everyone else is partying away on the last night of the year, am either unwell, or watching TV at home or both. And like everyone else, I used to resolve to spend the next 31st Dec partying and same used to be the case every year. But it was not the case in the year that went by. After mulling over going to Goa, I made up plan to go to Mysore along with a dear friend. And man, did I party...!!! It was the awesomest party ever. Drank and Danced all night till 6AM and then we went to a 24hr Cafe and had Ice Cream (at 6.30AM). Some fun that was....

Next one on my list was to start excercising. This too, I am sure, everyone has on their list. Years were ticking by and I didnt want to look 40 by the time I am 30. So this year, starting Feb I joined a gym near my house. I was reluctant to join at first but a lil pressure from my sister helped. So not only I go to the gym religiously, everyday, even more surprising fact is that I go early in the morning at 5.30. Some dedication that is(aint it??). By the way, I am loving it.

Learning to play guitar is the next one, I still havent started anything on it. Its still March and I have ample time left in the year :D.

Lastly, being the good guy that I am, I dont have any bad habits such as smoking, etc(??), which I can resolve to quit. So am done with the resolutions for this year at least. :)

Note: Started in Jan, published on 13th March 2009

Kids Say....

2009-01-14T11:26:00.004+05:30

First things first.. A very happy 14 day old year ;) to all the readers..

In the last 2 months, I made 2 trips to Bangalore. I assume people reading this blog are familiar with the one in November. The second one was when I went to Mysore for the New Year and I had a blast, plus it was a welcome break from the Delhi shivers, albeit for 4 days.

In both those trips there were a couple of funny incidents involving kids and hence the title of this post.

I went to an old colleague's place. We had worked together in my earlier company. I had met his family while they were in Delhi, a couple of years ago. He has a cute little boy of 4. So I was sitting in the drawing room when this lil guy came in.
My Colleague asked, "Hey, do you remember this bhaiyya??"
And this kid goes, "No, the last time I met him, he looked different!!!!!"

On December 30th, I was on board a plane to Bangalore. There was a lady sitting next to me with her son. This kid looked to be about 10 Years old. There were routine safety demonstrations going on and there were routine announcements as well. What was different was, the Pilot was a Lady and everytime she spoke, this kid would chuckle. I wondered what was so funny. When the plane made a smooth landing, this kid laughed and said, "Not bad for a Lady pilot!!!". And you know how his mom responded?? Its the standard 2 words that every man has to hear from every woman, be it a mother, sister, girl-friend or wife, "Shut Up!!!"

This Day..Last Year...

2008-12-26T11:54:00.006+05:30

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.... :)

Bitter Sweet November

2008-12-02T14:03:00.005+05:30

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.

Marley and Me....

2008-10-30T10:51:00.008+05:30

....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.

What a Weekend!!!!

2008-10-21T17:12:00.004+05:30

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.

Joys or Sorrows of Net Banking

2008-10-07T16:29:00.009+05:30

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)

Mom!!! I can cook...

2008-09-30T14:55:00.010+05:30

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

HEROES : Season 3

2008-09-23T11:49:00.005+05:30

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

Morals of the Story....

2008-09-10T16:21:00.018+05:30

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

WHAT LUCK!!!

2008-08-28T22:29:00.007+05:30

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!!!!!

Independence Day!!!

2008-08-15T17:53:00.004+05:30

Of Shooting Star & Setting Sun

2008-08-13T23:49:00.004+05:30

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!!!

Hinglish or "Eng-di"

2008-07-31T20:56:00.009+05:30

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). :)

Useless Post!!!

2008-07-20T13:18:00.006+05:30

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.

Fun on Weekdays & Work on Weekend!!!

2008-07-13T19:17:00.008+05:30

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......

Miscommunication

2008-07-10T12:15:00.000+05:30

Weekend of Uncertainties

2008-07-07T11:31:00.006+05:30

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.
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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".
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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.

This Day...That Year

2008-06-25T10:01:00.007+05:30

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??

Get Smart

2008-06-23T10:22:00.012+05:30

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.

Random Bollywood Actor

2008-06-05T12:39:00.004+05:30

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:

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....!!!
Thought of presenting my views on this oft-written/talked about topic of-late. (thanx to all the news channels - barring a few)
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.

Without an H - whats in the name

2008-06-02T14:40:00.001+05:30

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.....