NULL and VOID

As they say life is a journey, and we need to find happiness in it ......But somehow there's no happiness in what ever I do these days and a unknown pattern of life going on in my life with no specified event to happen, no vision, no goal and just a selfish desire of staying alive and happy but again not assorted. Life seems to be missing some were in the winds with no connecting threads which would help me connect with people, the humor, the passion to be seen in one's life, the fire, the zeal.....

What I have is just the Anger, arrogance, with no soul to calm me down and get me peace within....and if the soul arrives, peace does comes, but comes with some conditions.....A directionless life with no strings attached, no belief in what I do , just there is a thought  "What ever happens, happens for good". And I think sometime the biggest problem with me is that I can not live with some conditions or boundations !!

When we were kids we were told life is about doing the right things, studying, getting a job and be a man/woman of dignity.....and as we grow up the things does not seems the same, it seems as if no one's bothered except the  person you were born to & the rest is just imagination

Happiness and peace are two  eternal and the most precious things in life, if it comes never let it go...
A page with no proper meaning, that's how my life's is revolving now with no event of anything. It is all "NULL and VOID"

Getting the other half...

Everything changes.
Everyone changes and I am no exception to this. From a very submissive personality to a leader, now I have changed to a very dominant personality.
I realized it a few days back when I observed that I am no more able to control my anger.
I have become more rigid and adamant. If I feel something is wrong than I don't listen to others.
I shout, knowing that it's not required, still I don't stop myself.
The consequences are that I am hurting people around me.
I am pushing away people who really matter.
I used to think it is all because of certain incidents in my life and thing will go right with time but no,
it had changed my nature very rudely and badly.

I always say that "When you know you are wrong, you are half right."
Seems to me that I have been satisfying myself by being just half right.
Lately I realized that the other half is equally important.
Now I can't go back and apologize to everyone, but if you read this and you feel that i have been this rude to you sometime, than I want you to know that I have realized where I was wrong and I will work on this attitude of mine.
A very special person said to me.

A Leader is always loved but a dictator is never.

Mummy and Sweaters

My mummy is fond of making sweaters and she make it very very well. I remember the varieties of sweater she made for me all through my childhood winters. Different designs , colors and patterns. Many of her sweaters were better than the ready made one. She always used to invent some new design and patterns which used to be much popular among other aunts, neighbours and they used to take reference from her and take away the sample designed sweaters for reference. And she had hell lot of varieties of knitting needles.

 

                                                                      There  are many events and memory attached with most of them.Memories like what I did with whom when I was wearing some particular sweater. And the weather in winter in north always feels like out of the world thing with foggy and misted air that makes a scary, romantic and adventurous scene in single shot. And people in such situation get recognized by sweaters. If somebody is coming towards you in such situation it is the fluffy sweaters first which get recognized than the face. And these are some such things that I am missing since last 4 years being in Mumbai having almost no winters.

Coming back to Mummy again. Instead of saying  "no" multiple times to her , she use to make one for whomsoever she feel like. It was a kind of time pass to her. Even she used to involve me in many of her sweater weaving process. Most of the times for making ball out of the Wool skein or unweaving of old sweater which I enjoyed the most as it was kind of game for me in my childhood (sometimes used to compete with my brother's ) which I used to enjoy while watching any matinee show. And these activities from mummy's side made me break away from studies without any scolding and enjoy watching TV or something along with it. I remember it was usually winter holidays after lunch time , sort of siesta , when some of the matinee show on TV along with groundnuts or some peanut stuff.

But gone are the old days. Now nobody is near Mummy. Everybody is busy in their own life and mummy too got bored of making it time again for Papa. So she had kind of left making all these sweaters and her favourite time pass since last 4 or 5 years. And now there is no one to appreciate her or encourage her for making sweaters. Even my brothers and relatives who are facing winters are preferring the ready made one and mummy too got older  by now to take initiative for someone. Even for herself. (She used to make beautiful scarf and cardigan for herself even.) Also along with growing tentions in life she cant give much time to it and nobody cares even. And I am sure she must be feeling bad and sad for this.

 But recently a call from my 6 year old nephew to my mummy just increased her smile quotient a lot. He requested his Dadima to make a sweater for him every year without even asking him. And this innocent request made my Mummy smile a lot and lot of other ways to stress away her tentions in her own way!!

Late Night , Office and Beer..

It is late 2:21 AM time and still I am in the office, absorbing the abuses being given by my colleagues to me just because they are also with me at this odd time, working in the office just because of one tender mistake of mine. If not shouting then I can feel the bloody abuses in their mind.

                                                         
All dark in office everywhere except at our side where light are glowing but shouting please let us go off, even we need a rest... and sound of music coming from many side of me from various bays ranging from bollywood to english to some native marathi songs.  People having  cigarettes with them having puffs of it in between the working break. We got dinner (read different varities of Biryani) as ordered by our kind client manager.

Amidst all these somebody offered me to have beer with him to cross the night as smoothly as possible while working and it really worked well. We have diferent kind of people over here with their own special talent. Some cracking joke to pass the time , or a guy helping others to limber up their body after some work by giving some physical massage to body , other one taking long naps and waking up suddenly asking where the work has progressed ??.

Thinking and analysing about my life and myself  I had passed hours and now I am writing this blog,  having nothing to kill time. Last two or three weeks of my life had been really messed up badly and going through hell. I dont know whether to cry or laugh in this situation but one thing I am sure off....

I might get influenced by them for some time but will never lose myself and will mend my own way further to my future dreams.

Smile

Although I myself dont smile much but this is for my friends...

Your smile can brighten the darkest day,

Your smile can take all the pain away,

And it changes your face,

Such joy and happiness,

Such dignity and grace,

Your smile does so much you see,

Your smile full of joy for everyone to see.

So SMILE baby SMILE!

Testers and Developers are from different planets

There is always a kind of natural friction between the testers and developers. Even when they were friends outside the door, professionally they seemed to be from different planets altogether. Testers would say bug and developers would reply, 'as designed'.

Like Woman, Developers belong to Venus

Venus is the Goddess of love in Roman mythology. Developers are “creators”. They write code and the code becomes 'alive' when it executes. This act of creation makes them fall in 'love' with their creation. It is difficult for anyone to find faults with their creation. Some developers are totally smitten by what they have created.

Like man, Testers belong to Mars

Mars is the warrior God in Roman mythology. Testers like to 'destroy' things. They like to 'break' the product to find defects. They take the customer's side (an outsider) instead of siding with the developers (an insider!). They are always coming up with suggestions on what can be done better.

No wonder developers and testers seem to be on opposite sides. However, without independence, testers will not be able to do justice to their role.

So how to bring them together?

Here comes the role of project manager who by his sheer diplomacy and attitude brings both of the world together. But then some natural friction will do creep in as the work demands it.  But this friction is needed to ensure quality. Conflicts need not get out of hand. They can be a positive force to improve quality as mentioned below:

                Feel it:

                Developers can review and unit test each other's code. Put them in the tester's shoes and feel the code by the tester's role and check how it can help. Similarly, testers can review each other's test cases and documents. Sensitizing them to each other’s feeling will make them understand each other better.

                Attitude:

                The key is to make sure the attitude of either party is right, let it be tone of communication, behavior etc. When people find fault with your work, it is easy to get defensive. It is easy for the critic to be seen sitting in judgment of the person instead of commenting on the work product. One should ensure the attitude is objective both in written bug reports and in meetings.

                Power Balance:

                Testers in many software teams feel powerless. This comes from historical reasons where project managers seemed to take sides with the developer. While testers are responsible for quality, they do not feel empowered to stop the release. When you empower your testing teams, your product quality improves and establishes a good balance in your team.

Whatever be the frictions be , With an ongoing project in time they will respect each other and keep each other honest. So they are two different mind sets of a team to function as a whole. Development and Testing are like the positive and negative terminals of battery, two opposing and complimentary forces that create great energy source to devices. Similarly they are the source of energy for software development.

Use of colors at its best!!

Although I never adore Karan Johar and Shahrukh together in any of their movie but don't know why I am somehow impressed by the picturization of KANK's "Tumhi dekho na" song. Whosoever idea it be but it really uses the different color in creative way. Although Shahrukh had been in single black dress whole through but with each fresh dress of Rani the whole back and foreground amazingly matches with each other. Starting from the blue-black to yellow-black combination and further then to orange , pink and green each dress of Rani matches with whatever surroundings it had , be it walking people , trees , leaves , cars or whatever.  Though song is soothing but this video just add an extra beauty to the song. 
You can see it yourself.

I can remember many more song which used some such concept earlier. Means they at least matched actor and actress's dress. But the prominent one I can remember is from Sarfarosh's Amir and Sonali's "Jo hal dil ka".(Although dont feel I should post the video of same here ;) )
It just feel good to see people putting their creative efforts in making atleast one or two of their song video worth noticing.

Breakfast for Bachelors!!

Being a bachelor , you can enjoy many facets of life being free and independent. But there are more problems waiting for you at the same time. One such problem is preparing something for yourself to feed your stomach. Specially breakfast. Other days our office canteen and later my bai saves me from taking any such tension but weekend morning gives me ample of time to take pain for preparing breakfast and sharpen my culinary skill. One fine day I decided to prepare my breakfast everyday by myself. I then tried many things but none worked. Means out of complexity or time constraint I was not able to continue it long. But on one of my dear friend's suggestion, I tried sprouted one day with glass full of juice. So healthy and delicious. I loved it more than anything. I made it a point to have sprouted and juice everyday. It hardly requires much time to prepare and is very easy.And if some other fruits or vegetables are mixed it just tastes more better.

After spending so much of bad living style I am looking for some healthier side. It has its own charm. Every time feeling healthy and active. Your health too is a kind of asset that you really need to take care of. And what else you can have other than proteinecious sprouted salad and juice to serve this asset.About juices you can have variety of flavors.  And I am stucked with apple. It has been kind of my muse these days. :)

Accountability and Responsibility

What's the difference between Accountability and Responsibility? As per corporate ethics and well agreed by learned persons "You are answerable in case of being accountable whereas same not holds true in case of being Responsible." The reason behind writing this blog is my own experiences where I found myself  in such scenarios where I was not able to distinguish whether I am Accountable or Responsible for any of the task provided to me. In real sense a Supervisor is Accountable and people working under them are Responsible for their task. In case of any task getting delayed or not up to date its sole responsibility of Supervisor only to intimate the final status or update and the proper reasoning behind it to the senior level. But problem arises when supervisor held resources under them for accountability too and use them as their armor and shield to save their own interest. This process of making some one scapegoat for saving your own ass is practiced very badly by those who themselves are not confident enough in themselves and always run for some or the other excuses. Although unethical but it has been a common practice now a days which is really ruining the healthy work environment. I would like to appeal all such professionals to be a man to accept any kind of responsibility or accountability.And have a sport for keeping team spirit and moral high , come whatever may!!
 P.S: The below differential picture may clear the role of each and clear some more vision of what is required and expected from whom.

Complexities

Recently watched couple of movies. There were two movie which really made me think about the complexities of relationship between a couple.
Although the movies were the representation of western culture but I guess it should hold good for ours too. That too at current situation when our whole generation is changing and adapting western at tremendous rate.

There was a movie "Indecent Proposal" where the couple had undergone a mutual decision that caused a lot of havoc in their later life. The story goes like this: A loving couple who were leading a happy life suddenly undergone financial crisis due to recession or something. They had no job, business or any other money source and the same time they lost all their remaining money in gamble. While they were hopeless in casino, a rich man offered them a proposal. Since the rich man was influenced by the beauty of lady (played by Demi moore) he asked a night alone with her in turn of Some million dollar money. It was inevitable but couple refused it at once as they said Love is above all. But it was a sleepless night for both of them and were thinking the same deal whole night. And after few days facing their pity situation the lady at last asked her husband "Its just a matter of 1 night."  Initially the men was not ready but then the amount of money involved and and her wife's seeded thought "Even if I am physical with somebody else, I am always yours from my soul." made him allow her for the same. But when the lady was gone that night he realized how big mistake he had done and run to stop her but twas too late. The next day when lady come back they promised not to discuss it again ever in their life. But the man was not able to live with this black truth and started suspecting her wife too due to her still being in touch with rich man. And their life became hell... although the ending of movie was happy but still it raises much questions about the complexities of relation.

It was still digestible, another movie "Closer" made me feel that how can this happen to any couple that too so soon in their relationship. It was story of two couples where I was not clear who was in relationship with whom as they change their preferences with time due to some or the other reasons..

 

So my basic question is , do money has such powers to come between your emotions,bonds and relations? Or if with time you get bore of your partner you can replace them? I would rather stop watching such movies and going into labyrinth of relation complexities. But as they say movies are reflection of real world , some thoughts do seed in to mind and then many question arises. Gawd save me!!

Three's group thanTwo's Company

Everybody has always preferred or heard  "Two's Company over three's Group" but I can cite an incident from my life where Three's Group was better than Two's company.

I along with my other two classmates used to cheat a lot(at least for one or two semesters of our graduation.). When two people cheat  there are chances that on few questions both have blank sheet (obviously due to unawareness.) , with more people getting involve in this process, the probability of having a question which cannot be answered reduces. But involvement of so many people in cheating company can make situation worse.Obviously you can fall on the eyes of examiner.  So I find three quite reasonable count for cheating.
Although we were not bad in studies ,but cheated for bringing the perfection in our answer sheets if any how we were not able to make it perfect by our own efforts. ;) We even had good reputation in our class and teachers as well so suspicion of ours as a cheater was less. (I guess this might not hold true for me but at least for my other two cheating partners.) But then again we were doing all these adventures in our internal sessional exams not in the main , being on safer side. And 'twas not possible to cheat there as our seats were apart there.(other two used to sit back to back in a row). But in internals I used to move myself a seat behind them by my influence/request/trickery or whatever. I just share a cheating experience. It was our third semester I guess. We had our first sessionals.
So after initial efforts of our own we dedicate the remaining time for sharing (better say cheating) our answers. We not only just peeped into each others answer sheets but used to discuss as well. The limit was when we stated sharing our papers with each others that too when the examiners were passing by.I don't know how my other partners shown enough guts for the same but I guess I had no option but to share our papers as I was not able to listen their fussing voice while discussion, that used to be very slow and cant look properly the small words written on their sheets that too when I had to look for the sheet of the partner sitting two seat away from me. It was a kind of big fun for us as we were fooling examiners blindly with having sheet of two different people with a single student.The examiner even come and signed many other supplementary sheets too in between but wasn't able to see two different sheets with one student. It was funny but we had some small fear so somewhere deep in our mind and that made the process more adventurous actually.  I remember even at the time of sheet collection, I had the supplementary sheet of one of my partners that I had to return her before the examiner reaches to her, it was risky but we had manged it somehow, I guess it was some good trick how we done it but I can't recall it.
Our cheating habit and group changed with time but none was better than this. Even in last year last sessionals I had no cheaters around me as I was giving with two or three people only as I was among those whose attendance was not good enough to give it on normal terms. But then again I had remembered my cheating partners and somehow managed to sms one of them my queries and to my amaze my cheating partner met my expectation and replied very soon. And with this my "cheating

fairy tale" ended on good note by being bit hi-tech with time.

God bless my cheating partners wherever they be!!

Aeroplane Ear

With my each trip via flight , I  used to feel intense pain in my ears while landing of plane. I had ignored it every time but this time my situation was like I will die out of pain. I caused much panic inside , that embarrassed me a bit but I couldn't help. It was unbearable. And this compelled me to visit doc soon after the landing. First thing first. And then I came to know that I have "Aeroplane Ear" syndrome.
And I suffer from it each time when there is sudden change in altitude that happens specially at landing of flight and doc asked me to avoid using airways , instead prefer other modes. :(  So sad!!
For all those people who share the same problem with me will find below information useful.

What is aeroplane ear?

Some people experience ear pain when flying in a plane. Usually this happens as the plane descends to land. The pain is worse the lower the plane gets and can be quite severe on landing.

What causes the pain?

The pain is caused by unequal pressure that develops between the air in the middle ear and the air outside the ear.

The small space in the middle ear behind the eardrum is normally filled with air. This air space is connected to the back of the nose by a tiny channel called the Eustachian tube. The air on either side of the eardrum should be at the same pressure. As a plane descends the air pressure becomes higher nearer the ground. This pushes the eardrum inwards which can be painful. To relieve this, the pressure inside the middle ear has to rise quickly too. Air needs to travel up the Eustachian tube into the middle ear to equalize the pressure.
 Prevention:
--Suck sweets when the plane begins to descend
--Try to breathe out gently with your mouth closed and pinching your nose
--Antihistamine tablet

What is the treatment for aeroplane ear?

Take painkillers such as paracetamol until it does go. Fluid sometimes accumulates in the middle ear for a few days after the flight, which may make hearing rather dull for a while. See a doctor if the pain or dulled hearing does not clear within a few days.

P.S. Although ways are there to tackle this problem  doc advised me "Prevention is better than cure!!"

Freedom at workspace

Happy 65th Independence Day. I wonder how and what it means to an individual and to be more precise to a working professional...

What does freedom mean to an Indian employee? The freedom to exercise the ‘open door’ policy and tell your boss that his business strategy is flawed? The freedom to enjoy an extended ‘paternity’ leave? The freedom to decide your own KRA? The freedom to take a sabbatical to pursue adventure sports and travel? Freedom means different things to different people or in this case, employees. “Freedom at the workplace is the independence employees need in order to be motivated and perform to the best of their abilities. Freedom encompasses flexibility on where an employee chooses to work from, the opportunity to voice their opinions freely and the freedom to exercise their creativity to achieve organizational goals.When people have freedom at work, they ought to give their best. They become emotionally committed to the organization, as opposed to being merely rationally committed. Emotionally committed employees go the extra mile in any assignment, actively seek new challenges and remain engaged with the organization through good times and bad.

Quarterlife crisis

Mid-Life Crisis. It literally means "middle life paranoia" and describes a period of dramatic self-doubt that is felt by some individuals in the "middle years" or middle age of life, as a result of sensing the passing of their own youth and the imminence of their old age. But these days they are happening at early stage of life , seems like with the fast paced life the crisis too are coming at earlier stage of life resulting into Quarter life crisis.There can be many other incidents in life or family which can trigger the above mentioned state of mind. And one has to undergo this state sooner or later in his or her life.The result may be a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of day-to-day life or situation, such as in career, work-life balance, marriage, romantic relationships.Although it happens in mid age of 35 to 40 but I am feeling it very soon in my life. There are many incidents and crisis pertaining to it.

As we get more stable in life our problems diminishes. Earlier we used to study, prepare for entrance examination,then job ,marriage,raising children and then one come across a situation feeling What next? Some people for the sake of physical worldly pleasure spend most time in changing job,building wealth and property but again even in their life, later the same mandate question arises. Till we see some height we tend to climb but when we reach at some plain stage of life we get paranoid and get confuse which way to go now!!

Uniformity in life, always having same faces,evaporation of interest etc distracts the mind to search for something new. So we do our bit to get anything new in life.

But this mid life/quarter life crisis at least makes a person think deeply about themselves,ask question to their own conciseness and some people even find something new in them.So the dilemma of either exploring ourselves or search for something new in life is kind of crisis in itself.

The problem will be faced by everyone, more or less in the same way. Take a fresh thinking in your life, maybe go find a new personality in you, maybe you should identify yourself. Crimping of new thoughts adds some life to this process.Paranoia finally do teach us something. As it relates to life all the knowledge we learn comes not only by our academic lives, but even our experience constantly teaches us many things. Many circumstances of life leaves many question to us. And we should check what already we learned from them? Ask yourself this question?

Having experienced it, they'll smile reading this. And who have not reached this stage yet, the dialogue will be meaningless. Those who relate this paranoia with me, they will re-read it..

Friends@GOA

This is my blog no Pachaas...(means fifty - 50...this is how I say it in my style.) I had reserved many topics to write for this post. Even wrote the draft notes for many but wasn't able to decide which one to post. Means I wanted to make this post something special but had no clue of any special topic for it. Then suddenly the piles and logs of Friendship Day posts and messages made me to just share some of my memories with my friends who just eloped away from Mumbai for their better career prospects or higher studies.But we all enjoyed our last trip to goa.
We all were fed up of our daily routines and office works. And wanted some adventure in our life and get rejuvenate our self. And result was GOA trip. I will not write more but will just share the pics...
 Just follow the link. Click for the slideshow.

Goa Gossip

Final Solution : Time Machine

Can't sleep whole night lying on the bed,
With Pain in all body and ache in the head..
Thinking of never ending problem thread,
"When all this'll end?" asks my eyes in Red.

Gone are the days of no worries and tention
How happy I used to be then, I can not mention
For every silly thing we get apprehension
Want to go back jst waiting for time machine invention!!

ग़ुम हो जाने दो

Just read a poem of my friend and soon I borrowed it from her to publish here..

आवाज़ ना दो हमको, ग़ुम हो जाने दो,ज़िंदगी के रंगो को आज़माने दो,

दुखते हैं मेरे पाँव इन सख्त राहो पर चलते-चलते,

अब कुछ देर इन्हे यूँ हि ठहर जाने दो,

आवाज़ ना दो हमको, ग़ुम हो जाने दो,

ना जाने ये धड़कने आज इतनी गुमसुम क्यों हैं,

रोको ना हमे अब ज़रा इन्हें मनाने दो,

हमें मालूम है कि इन आँखों मे ख्वाब ज्यादा हैं,

पर इन ख्वाबों मे आज सच को डूब जाने दो,

आवाज़ ना दो हमको, ग़ुम हो जाने दो,

रिश्तों कि राह में कैसे इतनी दूर हम आ गये,

पर हम इस काबिल नही, अब हमे लौट जाने दो,

आवाज़ ना दो हमको, ग़ुम हो जाने दो,

सितारो कि रोशनी मे हमे खोजने कि कोशिश ना करो,

अब इन्ही अंधेरो मे सिमट जाने दो,

इन आँखों में आज फिर कुछ बादल हैं,

छेड़ो ना इन्हे अब बरस भी जाने दो,

आवाज़ ना दो हमको, ग़ुम हो जाने दो……………

ज़िंदगी के रंगो को आज़माने दो………………

Benefits of Kitty Party to men.

Its an odd topic from a man's perspective and atleast for a bachelor and person like me. Still I have many things in my mind to write upon it. The point came to my mind as soon as one of my Project Manager was complaining about his wife's habit of having Kitty Party every now and then. Then there came a diplomat boy (me only) who seeking his frustration made him count points of benefits of Kitty Party to a man.
My experience of giving so much gyan on it:
I remember the usual sort of kitty party(cant be called as true kitty party, gathering instead ) that my mummy used to have with the aunties in my neighbourhood. Since all men used to be on their job during daytime , these ladies had made a point to have gathering everyday at somebody's place in a periodic manner. I used to wait for my mummy's turn. Why?
Well she used to prepare a lot of stuff for the party. And along with them I too used to get my share of eatable and all the time whenever my mummy was busy with the party I was free to do any thing at home, let it be watch TV(even on exam times), talk to some friend for long time aur listen songs etc.
Then when my papa used to come back from office he used to enjoy with whatever the leftover item was there to eat.. along with the normal meal. So it served as a kind of starter for him. Also if there was party at my home when my father was in then he also used to take advantage of that time and take out much time to visit his friend's home or talk long on phone with him which normally happen with much interruptions of my mom. So I have a decent experience of Kitty Party benefits to a man.
My points to manager:
1. Have patience and enjoy the Kitty Party eatables.
2. Take the Kitty Party as your leisure time and utilize it ;)
3. You are away from any kind of wife's shouting and atyachaar till she is in party.
4. You can watch whatever on TV for that time without any argue with wife.
So all men reading this , please take a note of it!!

Exam time and lucky charms!!!

I remember my school and college times where I used to get more religious and superstitious before my exams used to start. And I know this happens with most of us as deep down we have some fear in our heart getting dumped in exams. In this process of giving exam after our hard study (in some case) and superstitious activities if some goes well, we consider those activities as lucky charm for us. Or in some case we analyse that in some or the other exam we have done certain thing and both gone well.And in successive exams whether or not we study , we do follow the activity as our lucky charm. So today I will be discussing some such lucky charms associated with me that I used to follow before my exams.

The very first act of superstition was to go without having bath!! I know its something awkward but I don't know from where but a random thought came to my mind after analysis of lot of things while I was in school that "all the exams I used to gave with shower were fetching me less numbers and the one I gave without having it gave me Full marks" made me die hard non showering person on exam days during school time. Then in college thinking it as superstition I did a mistake and all my first years I took normal showers before exams which ultimately fetched me 64 percent with one back. I made it a point not to take shower on any of the exam days which eventually helped me to get Final result in seventies...

The second act of superstition was having eclairs before exams. Actually this habit came to me while I was in college. Actually my mummy used to feed me some curd and sweet before each exams. But in college as she was not there to do the same tantrum she just advised me to take some sweet before the exam. I tried all kind of toffees and chocolates but it was eclairs only that worked for me. I don't know what chemical they use to prepare it or it was just a chance, but after each exams that I gave after having eclairs , gone at its best.

And the final talisman was to come late in exam irrespective of the seriousness of the examination or subject. The late commence ranges from merely five min to fearful half an hour. This is from school day only.. I found it beneficial for me. How? Actually I was a kind of person who used to study just last night before the exam so my whole syllabus got completed by morning only and then I had to do revision also.So that revision process used to took a bit time in morning and made me late every time but that revision only helped me a lot to cope up very well with the exam. Even I had done much better than the people who came on time in one exam where I was half an hour late!! I know this was very risky for me but but in the end I was gaining from it!!

P.S: I could have shared some more charms, but it is a bit personal!! ;)

Mumbai Monsoon

The more I lived here,the more I seem to be in love with the city of dreams. But I have to admit it – I like Mumbai best when it rains. Put it down to living in a city that has no seasons; just hot, hotter and hottest. But when it rains, Mumbai comes in to its own; almost comes down close to having a change of weather. The streets become greyer, the skies full of dark clouds and there is love and thunder in the air.
The rains bring out the best in the city. Motorists stopping for stranded pedestrians. People sharing umbrellas; taking in strays; excusing late arrivals at work; turning a blind eye to bare feet and sock-less shoes.
Yes, I love Mumbai in the rains. Soggy raincoats and dripping umbrellas; rattling window panes. Schools closed because of flooding. Trains delayed or cancelled. Erratic power supply. Entire offices stranded with nowhere to go. Ah, you may love spring in New Delhi, summer in Kolkata, winter in Chennai; but nothing comes close to Mumbai in the rains. Urchins flashing in the flooded streets; cars stalled; bedraggled policemen; shanties covered with blue plastic; trees struck down by lightening; and roasted corn on the cob.
The rains in Mumbai. The hot chai and bun maska at the local tea shops.Sitting at the top front seat of double decker BEST bus. A drive down the Worli sea face. A walk along Juhu beach.A trip to Khandala; a hike to Matheran. A siesta at the club. There is nothing quite like Mumbai in the rains.
It’s a time when I want to listen every song about the rain that exists. Sit home and drink tea all day. Talk for hours to a friend on the phone.Wear faded blue jeans a battered slippers. Give rides to strangers. Exchange umbrella woes. Take in shivering pups.
A time for nature’s glory. Everything being washed clean again. The earth lifting its face to heaven in gratitude. An orchestra in the sky. Mumbai’s most blessed season. The rains in Mumbai take us back to school, where we splashed about in the mud to today in offices where we arrive very wet and very late.
Mumbai do not have a winter and never seen a fall. As for the spring, it seems to pass by. But what Mumbai has is the rains. And God – I love them!

From Palanquin to Palio.!!

Recently I attended a marriage of my friend and after her vidaai she gone away with her hubby in a newly bought PALIO. Many old ladies (too old) were discussing that there was a time when they were got see offed in PALANQUINS.And this became the driving force for me to write this blog.

Really time has changed very much. Advent of technology had not only affected our way of living but also our traditions and ceremonies.Now we rarely see any Palanquins used in any of the marriages and why one should?
Means for how much time the groom will wait for the bride after marriage? The palanquin will take so much time. Today in the fast moving world people are so impatient that this will be the last idea of a bride's Vidaai.
But then I think of the older time when it was in much use , how beautifully and carefully bride is carried away in the Palanquin just like the Royal Queen and the bearers themselves had great importance in marriage.And there was a dignity and serenity in this slow paced palanquin Vidaai ceremony and groom had to wait a lot for her. And this distance and separation for a little time create anxiety and curiosity in them unlike today's scenario where newly wed couple get to know each other just few hour after the marriage or sometimes even before. And at other side the bridegroom remains in the transition phase in Palanquin which gives her enough of space alone to make an inner transformaton in herself and be ready to face the new phase of life at new place. And at this moment I can just remember the poem "PALANQUIN BEARER" by sarojini nayudu that I read in my school time. It goes like...

"Lightly, O lightly we bear her along,
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song;
She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream,
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream.
Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.

Softly, O softly we bear her along,
She hangs like a star in the dew of our song;
She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide,
She falls like a tear from the eyes of a bride.
Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string."

Meaning: The bride is sad and is crying as she is seperated from her family. But simultaneuosly she is also overjoyed as she is going to start a new life.
In Indian culture earlier woman were considered as a burden. But when the palanquin bearers carry the bride as she is married..they feel no burden because of the ecstatic environment. In older times each and every parent wanted to get their daughters happily married. Carrying a palanquin of a bride was considered as a privilege.

An amazing competition.

Whenever I remember my college days and some extreme weird things that I had done at that time with my weird and maniac friends, there comes hell lot of things in my mind. Here I am going to mention one such of them which is a bit odd to share but then again only odd things are worth sharable and let us enjoy.
It was a kind of our(me and my friends at hostel) part of routine by then , to have a night patrolling of city on some old junky bikes. We use to do tripling at times if more people were there or if we had only a bike available for our adventure.
We used to have an odd but amazing competition which was introduced by a crazy friend of mine. After a long drive and having lot of tea at roadside shops who were a bit active in night and sometimes acquainted with some other beverages, we finally end at one of our favorite place which was a railway crossing where we use to standby very close to the passing by train to feel its speed and enjoy the the low intensity of earth shaking and high velocity wind left by the train. After all this our competition begins and we all align in a row side wise and we all...
start pissing... :) Yes we all urinate(w) and one of us check the length of the trajectory made by us. The one who use to have the longest of it at ground level wins it!! Even one friend of mine used to tell me the ways by which one can increase the length of passing liquid. Strange!!
I know this is something which is very yacky types and I myself cant think of doing it again in my life. But sometimes it is not bad to experience such odd things in our life just for fun.

Time Tested Beauty Tips by Sam Levenson

Time Tested Beauty Tips
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.
Remember, If you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!"
— Sam Levenson

Readymade Life -- A Bliss !!

A day as I wake up (as usual late) and was ready to brush up my teeth , I found no water coming from the tap. Also whatever remaining water I had expected in bathroom was all used up by my roomies who later told me that no water supply is coming today in our society. I was in dilemma how to get fresh up and how I will go office today. I thought of skipping office once but it was an important meeting where I needed to be present to answer my supervisor of all the undesired things that I had done in the project. ;)
Suddenly I saw our society watchman roaming down. I just inquired him from window only if some water can be made available. He showed his ugly face and disappointed me.
All alternatives were running in my mind. List of things that were mandatory to do before going office were few like lightening up my stomach , brushing the teeth and taking shower. The very former one could be done in office only , I thought, so focused on later one's only. I thought of teeth whitening chewing gum Happy Dent whose ads were like as if you will get so shining teeth whose flash can match halogen bulb. I thought of giving a try to it and it worked well. At lease there were no bad smell and I myself was feeling like brushed and contended. Now I was well aware that I was not going to take shower but even then I should look like fresh and for that at least some water is needed. But I was not having even a drop of it. I rushed to saloon and asked for shampooing my hair and problem was solved. The men at saloon gelled my hair and I got myself shaved too. Finally applied deo and I was looking like more fresh than everyday. Got compliments in office also and my undesirable things were too get appreciated.!!

Mothers love and care - found in my travelling bag!!

On the eve of mother's day I can share my story and observation where I have found mother's love and care. From last eight years I am living away from my parents , away from home for various stints of school, college and Job.
Every time when I used to visit home on vacation or leave I was welcomed every time with my favourite dishes. And while going, although I used to resist time and again, my mom used to fill my traveling bag by tons of eatable items. She used to fill it in my absence as she was skeptical about me that I will take them out to make my bag lighter. So those were kind of surprise to me when I used to open my bag upon reaching the required place (hostel during my academia or the flat during job.)
I can remember very well, while in my schooling time she used to fill it with fruits,malpuas,thekuas and even a small bottle having chocolate boost or horlicks in it(my favourite one) with a sticker on it having written "everyday with milk!!". Also how can I forget the bottle of ghee with instruction of having it with the Chapati of mess which if in case was hard will go well with it.
Then in college I remember lot of fruits every time along with groundnuts if it was winter.Packets of Biscuits and Namkeens(savour) had replaced the bottles of horlicks and ghee. But again there was one bottle of pickle which was mostly get finished by my motu motu roommates.These all changes were due to my gradual shift in my eating habits with my changing age and interest. And my mother knows it every time what I chose or not to chose to eat. What are my favourites and what I hate most.
With her growing age and her a bit trust on me that I am capable of own survival in my present job doing stage the presence of much eatables in my travelling bag had reduced a lot.She is now much aware that I will not let her take any pain to prepare stuffs for my journey or let her prepare something like laddu or some other eatables to eat it at my flat. So for last couple of years the process of forcefully filling my bag with eatables has stopped , but this time in my recent journey to home she took all pain to prepare various items for me and I have not resisted even this time although not feeling good of her taking pain at this stage just because I came to realise how can I and who am I to resist a mother's love and care.
I realized these things which used to irritate me in college were my biggest possessions while away from home. It is a mother's way to feed her child being away from him/her. Mothers are so much caring!!
Love you and miss you Mummy.
To all readers.. Happy Mother's Day.

Forever in our memories

Written by one of my dear friend , sharing with you people. Hope you will like it as I did.


Remembering my classmates after few years,
My eyes were filled with tears,
Everyone is busy a lot,
No one escaped the destiny's plot.

Saw the girl whom I thought as my best friend,
Oops ! Today she is somebody else's girl friend,
After months remembered about her for a while,
Heard she is happy made me smile.

Project reviews to campus interviews,
Nickname's to last bench games,
Cultural rehearsals to love proposals,
Short term crushes to class room blushes.

Everything is fresh in our mind,
Wish life could just rewind,
Lets laugh,play and rejoice,
Once again become college guys.

Chatting and Laughing we all were in relation,
Till the painful moment of separation,
When it was time to part,
We returned with a heavy heart.

Today life is full of commitments,
And too many worries,
But those cherished moments,
Will live forever in our memories !!!

Strings - My all time favourites

My all time favourite and I can hear them in any mood. I am their die hard fan since my school days only. The guitar work and song lyrics they have , I  never heard in any other Indo Pak artist. Right from their beginning with 'Sar kiye ye pahad' to 'Main to dekhunga'(although it praises Pakistan) I love them all. The duo have their own unique voice and I wonder how they choose who is going to be main lead of any song of theirs.
Both Faisal and Bilal have touching as well as  soothing voice. As far as lyrics are concerned they are very meaningful and as far as I know it is written by either one's father. He must be Gulzaar of Pakistan. Even in bollywood their numbers have been on top of the charts. And seeking their quality only, Spiderman-II's team decided to put their song as Spiderman theme in Asian region. And really it was awesome.
They have worked with many Indian artists like Palash sen, Shaan , Sagarika, Hariharan , Sanjay Datt, John Abraham etc.
Some of my favourite songs from them are

Sar kiye ye pahad
Duur
Dhaani
Titliyan
Na jane kyun
Kahani mohabbat ki
Anjane
Koi ane wala hai
Mera bichhda yar 
Akhri Alvida
Meri kahani

I will surely recommend you to hear them if in case you haven't given them time being addicted to west or masala bollywood.

Why not without ticket!!

I had no other option than to go home for having better health and living amidst my pity condition of health and office exploitation. I took a 2 week off that too very soon from my last leaves of 1 week last month only. Irrespective of result, work and aftermath I just took a train that too without ticket and gone directly to TC and asked him to provide me a seat in AC coach for the "proper" amount. To my amaze , he refused to take money and also hadn't asked me to show any kind of general ticket at least. He just said till 12 in night you can be in AC on a specified seat after that kindly go to general class as
all seats are booked tightly up till last stop.... so sorry!!
For the first time in my life and travelling span I have seen such a honest,innocent and civilized TC.And although I was without ticket he was saying me sorry for not being able to provide seat. Anyways I just rested on the specified seat thinking of what to do after 12 , where would I will sleep, how I will manage and what if my health will start deteriorating suddenly. In between came the attendant, he asked me about dinner. With dinner he asked me if I wish to have some beverages
(read as wine and whiskey). I was amazed. If he can do this he can surely provide me a seat I thought. I just asked one seat arrangement from him , and I was right , he provided me arrangement for three. There were special seats made for attendants only near pantry class. Lovely , now I had to made choice between three seats and pay him his required amount. It was really nice cabin kind of seat with facility to close yourself in cabin if you want. And although it was AC coach it had small AC
window inside the cabin. I was amazed. Seeking the quality and comfort I just overpaid him what he has asked for. On being happy he himself offered me complementary service of free Tea whole through the journey. Means I was treated as if I was prince of Persia. I was adjusted on my seat and before sleeping was enjoying watching a movie. It was 1 AM by then. The attendant came once again and offered me a service (although rate was very high) hearing which made me open my mouth for a
decent period of time.. I was shocked. He asked me if I want a lady companion in my cabin and that too young and beautiful.
My conscience, brain , heart , hormones and even stomach too started shaking and jumping on this deal. I was thinking what all things goes on in train and people do what not to make money. But at this time thinking this was not primary priority, It was the offer that was running in my brain. Something was wrong I thought. TC left me without saying anything , I got this special treatment then this offer. Gosh.. I smelled something was really cooking badly. How come everything was so easy.
Attendant fussed me again for my order but I refused it. An image of a man trying to hide himself from the cameras and people who got caught in some objectionable position (as shown in some news channels) came into my mind and if such thing happens to me what face I will show at my home.. thinking this I refused it at once. My conscience too denied me for any such thing. And this was also a fact that I had not the required amount in cash that he asked for.. ;)  Better try beverage instead indulging in this. But I slept soon thinking millions of things and thought if I have had taken the tickets , would I have been able to see this face of railway or enjoyed this kind of service. It was better to travel  this way boldly then be at safer side and take tickets. I asked myself "Why not without ticket?"

P.S: Even after all expenditure, my total cost of journey was far less than the real cost of ticket.

Falling sick.. away from home!!!

This is worst kind of situation when you fell sick and not at your home OR better say nobody to take care of. I was / am going through such similar pain these days. Not able to eat , do my daily routine properly , feeling very week , low and helpless. And if you were in between some important/urgent work of office , you need to devote some of your time over there either physically or via some network medium irrespective of your situation.And above all when somebody from your office thinks the sickness as a fake reason for taking a holiday.. the volcano inside the head bursts out.
But why to blame others when the reason behind my sickness is nobody else but me only!!!
Irregularity in life along with bunch of bad habits with overdose of carelessness toward health really makes JACK a very very dull boy , i should say. I hope you people can understand. But this corporate life is as such that if you are not caught in some habits you are safe but once you are in... it will not let you go so easily. You have to pay something and in my case it is my health.
In such situation one remembers their family persons but here i can not do even that also because of some circumstances and at the same time don't want to give any kind of tention to them.
Well not write more... Just one piece of Advice.... Always take care of your health..irrespective of anything.
Somebody rightly said health is wealth.
Just wish for Good health for me!!

Socialist Vs Capitalist

Although i have read this story in a magazine and its not my original idea but i liked to share with you all :)

 

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college.

Like so many others her age group in college, she considered herself to be very liberal, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more gove...rnment programs, in other words
redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch conservative, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a typical liberal professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The
self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father.

He responded by asking how she was doing in school. Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing?" She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over."

Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your
friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and
certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, "That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!"

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, "Welcome to the capitalist side of the fence."

If anyone has a better explanation of the difference between capitalist and socialist or progressive or neocon I'm all ears. If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!

If a capitalist doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a socialist doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a capitalist is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a socialist is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for
everyone.

If a capitalist is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
If a socialist is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.

If a capitalist is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A socialist wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a capitalist doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Socialist demands that those they don't like be shut down.

If a capitalist is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A socialist non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced.(Unless it's a foreign religion, of course!)

If a capitalist decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A socialist demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a capitalist reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A socialist will delete it because he's "offended".

Kurta Pajama

I have tried everything and finally I can guarantee nothing is as comfortable as Kurta Pajama. I don't know about the ladies but i guess for gentlemen it can be the most comfortable apparel. Anyways I had never wore kurta pajama much, thinking it as old fashioned and also couldn't imagine myself in it. But one day somebody compelled me to wear it and there after it become my clothing charm..
Although I am still not in the habit of wearing it regularly or daily but I never miss a chance of wearing it if there is some. Let it be some occasion or special day. Even lastly on 30th Jan it was Gandhiji's death anniversary and I had just thought of remembering Gandhi by buying a Khadi kurta. And now i have a new kurta wearing whom I celebrated and remembered Gandhi in my own way.On 15th Aug and 26th Jan when all my partners were sleeping and abusing my society people for celebrating the day with loudspeakers which was disturbing their sleep I was with them in kurta to watch the hoisting of the flag. :) The feeling of Kurta flamboyance was more in my mind than Patriotism. And now for every occasion I try to have a new kurta such as this Diwali , although I was not with my family but I celebrated it at my place with my friends again with a new kurta then it was my brothers marriage celebration last year , I got a Kurta for that occasion too then for my friends's marriage I had one... But latest it was my cousin's marriage and I was keen to wear a kurta only and even I was wearing the one but all my brothers and cousins were in Suite boot and tie and i was looking too odd in between them so on every body's suggestion I have to wear the normal suit and that too which i was not liking..
Anyways latest in this holi I again enjoyed wearing kurta and roamed the city , dined and slept.. all done in kurta....
 Just have a glance on my Kurta Love..

Holi special

Although i am not a holi maniac and now don’t play it even.But on the occasion of Holi I can’t resist myself remembering my childhood days when in school, I along with my gang of boys used to roam around and play holi. Our main motive was to some how have a look or a chance to play holi with the girl whom we wished to play with. We all used to roam and go to each of our friend’s home taking him/her out of the home make them colored from top to bottom. Then by increasing our gang size more and more we finally used to reach a common place where around 80% of our classmates were present. And then the biggest part of adventure was the big water tank where we all used to jump and splash water on each other. Obviously ladies were not ready to accompany us there as it was too bold thing for them to do at that time…I guess even today. I sometimes used to be sad for not having the glance of the girl whom i wanted to see as she used to be a shy one. Never mind i enjoy with others than.. thinking of “be happy with whatever you get”. But in the evening it was kind of ritual to visit each others home and eat the sweets and saviors.  I never left the chance to visit to my chosen one’s home. Not just to eat and enjoy but to impress their family member too. And the whole night we , with our near ones used to roam the town. No other night we can get such chance or offer where without any fear of being watched by so many uncle and aunties we can mange to have a quality and fun time with our close friend. Thanks to this festival and the big gang that was always kind of supportive and protective. Although with time ours holi activity reduced very much with increasing age , education and family pressure. The festival of holi has given many of us some great moment of life to cherish forever and some time to get nostalgic even specially in our high school spirits…
Wish you and all your family members a happy and colorful Holi. Happy Holi 2011..

Allahabad by my mobile after 3 years (Journey Part -2)

While coming back from my journey my train was 3 hours late and it was early morning there. I thought to roam the city as some crucial years of my life have been attached with it and I gone out on a rickshaw. Many places were reminding me many sweet old good memories… I just captured many places on my mobile. Just have a look on them..

Atlantis Mall

Indira Bhavan -- Old Building still Standing tall

Subhash Chauhra- With Subhashji still saluting people

Rotate and u will find Tandon Studio Although blurred pic.

Twas early morning so everything was closed so was EL Chico

Palace Theater , renovation going on.

Rotate after saving pic and u will find the unrecognized Tandoor

By the evening time Malviya bandhoo opens up here.

St. Cathedral Church

Civil Lines Police station.. I have some great storieds to share related to it. But in other blogs.

My walking steps toward my train to leave Allahabad.