Tuesday, June 30, 2009

The End...

I was working in my office at 4 p.m. when I got this mail on my official mail ID. It said “From: The GoI” and the content said to watch the news (on any National or International channel) sharply at 8 p.m. IST. I was puzzled. Then the same mail came in my other mail boxes as well. Alarmingly I asked my colleagues if they too have got such mails. They had. All of us were puzzled. But had no idea as to what this was all about. After office, we were going home in our cab, when all of us could see that everyone on the road is rushing somewhere. May be to watch the 8 p.m. news. This is serious, I thought. I reached my place and sat in front of the TV to get some clue. All the news channels were highlighting to watch the live telecast of something at 8 p.m. I called up my parents. The line was busy, but I got through. They too were tensed.
Finally 8 p.m. arrived and our common room was packed. The news channel directed us to NASA press conference which was packed with media persons from all over the world. The President of US and UK and other nations were there along-with NASA’s top authority. The Chairperson of NASA cleared his throat and the room felt silent. He said “THE WORLD IS COMING TO ITS END”. WHAT!!!! Did he actually say that? There was a sudden uproar everywhere. The man waited for next 2 minutes and started again. He explained that “our planet is going be hit by 3 meteors after 14 days and the impact will not be on one city or nation but the earth. This fact was checked and re-checked in the last one week and finally confirmed”. Each of his words were hitting our ears but making all of us deaf. The earth is going to collapse... How is this possible? 3 meteors and they were identified just a week back. And he said that we, supposedly the most intelligent race- mankind, cannot stop it from occurring. “So, do whatever you want to do. Don’t go to office, pray to God, stay with your parents, meet your friends, eat whatever you want and don’t bother to pay or collect your money since everything is going to end”.
My knees were becoming weak to support my body to get up and run to my parents and brother and bhabhi, my friends, who all were posted in different cities, to those people whom I was fond of. I could not think anything. I was sweating. Then suddenly I decided to call my parents and brother. That all of us should come to one place and die. But all the lines were jammed. Another idea clicked my mind. I decided to run to the nearest cyber cafe and book my and my brother and bhabhi’s tickets to home. I will take my friend’s credit card to book them; I anyway don’t have to pay her back. But the cafe was closed. I could see that the roads which had deserted a few minutes ago was flooded with mad rush from all the directions. Meanwhile, I was trying each second to make the call. I went back in my room to pack my bag and rush to the airport. I reached there in 5 hours. It was mid-night. The auto driver did not take money and I knew why. But there was a curfew at the airport. By that time phone lines were getting clear. I called up my local friend and asked him to lend his bike so that I can go to my brother. He did. I bid him goodbye and thanked him to lend me the bike. It was 5 a.m. when I started on my journey. Reached his place at 6 a.m. the other day. By that time he has already tied up with our cousin who too had to go to Jaipur to be with his parents by his own car. Without waiting or talking we started driving towards Jaipur, driving turn by turn and on the maximum safe speed. We reached there and bhabhi’s parents and brother had also come there and then we had nothing to worry. 4 out of 14 days had passed. We talked and talked; hardly slept. We met all our local relatives by calling them at one place. Bandwidth of phone lines and internet has been increased to maximum. So, daily would talk to all my friends for hours.
Finally, the day arrived. We prayed in the morning and waited. Then, we saw it coming. The sky went dark. The breeze was now a hurricane. We held each other tightly. It hit us and we saw each other for the last time.
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And then I woke up full of sweat and heart beating faster. It was my ugly dream which was the result of watching too many Hollywood movies like these.
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Monday, June 22, 2009

Compare...

Dil Diwana, Bin Sajna ke....
Hai love mera hit hit soniye...
Aey Zindagi, gale laga le...
Aa khushi se khudkhushi kar le...
Daiyya re daiyya, dass gayo papi bichua...
Zahreeley (Rock On)... (The most annoying song I have ever heard in past few months)
Inn aankhon ki masti ke...
Beedi jalaile, jigar se piya...
Kabootar ja ja ja...
Dil kabootar khana hai...
Chup tum raho, chup hum rahe...
Shut up and bounce...
Hope you could make out the difference in the songs listed. If not, try and sing them one by one. Just few songs which make me wonder where the melody is. Why are the singers shouting at top of their voices? Are we supposed to listen to the song/lyrics or the band, which is supposed to be the background, supporting the singer but now is in the foreground? Lyrics... Did I say lyrics? Where are they?

Take few examples:
Marjani marjani (Billu), Dil mei baji guitar (Apna Sapna Money Money), Mind blowing Mahiya (Cash), Vacancy (Golmal Returns), Pappu can’t dance sala (JTYJN), Dance Pe Chance marle (RNBDJ), Zahreeley (Rock ON...sorry, but can’t stand this song), Talli hua (Sing is King), Chaliyaa (Tashan), dard-e-disco (Om Shanti Om)...
Now, another set of example:
Aane wala Pal ek sapna hai (Junoon), aey zindagi gale laga le (Sadma), Suno zara, suno zara (Bada Din), All the songs of Rajshree productions (except Main Prem ki Diwani hoon), Hum na samjhe the, baat itni si (Gardish), songs of Zubeida, Parineeta, Yes Boss, Guru, Iqbal, Qayamat se Qayamat tak, Chandini, Lahme, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Dil Hai ke maanta nahi... and endless songs of yesteryears by Lata Mageshkar, Mohd Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhonsle, Udit Narayan, SP Bala Subramaniyam, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Alka Yagnik...
Last week, I was reading an interview by Kumar Sanu, where he too expressed the lack of melody in today’s music. I was surprised to read the comments by the readers. They called him “jealous” of new generation since they were the reason for his downfall. Agreed that he too had the nasal voice but can’t deny the melody, if we are comparing his nasal singing with Himesh Reshamiyan. Not that all the songs now a days are full of drums, there are few songs which touch our hearts but they are so few of them. Kal Ho Na Ho, Parineeta, Taare Zameen Per, Devdas, Jodha Akbar, Sanwariya, K3G...
Ishq Kameena, Tu sala kaam se gaya, Kambakhat ishq, Bhootni Ke, Hoth Rasiley, Tha Kar ke, Marjani, Pappu can’t dance sala... Make sure to read the words in bold. Someone please find the meaning in these songs. They surely make you dance but easily forgettable. Ever wondered why you can remember the songs which were made far before you were born but can't remember clearly the one which released last year...

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Nostalgia...

I mentioned earlier that my cab comes too early in the morning and that all of us struggle to take a quick nap. But yesterday, none of us slept. Why? In front of us, there was this school bus, in which I saw a kid (must be in 2nd or 3rd standard) looking like a young Harry Potter with similar spectacles. He was reading a NOVEL, mind you, not a textbook, but a novel. My God. When that young I just knew the spelling of novel. I read COMICS... That started us on our journey back to childhood and our time pass. I will just write down few of them. I am sure, those reading this would also go back to their memory lanes and start missing those days badly:


1. Comic books of Chacha Chawdhary, Pinki, Billu, Champak, Motu Patlu, Bankelal. 2. Then some adventurous comic books like Nagaraj, and Super Cammando Dhruv. And there used to come advertisement on radio as well: “Raaj comics paish karte hai Super Cammando Dhruv ka naya karnama- Pralaya.. (James Bond type music)". Moreover, at times, these super heroes would come together in one comic in one story only. That used to be blockbuster hit as if Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan are coming in the same movie.
3. Those limited TV shows for which every Sunday morning we would get up early and arrange our meals and other chores to match them.
4. Starting with Rangoli in the morning, for old songs and just 2-3 new songs towards the end.
5. Then take a bath and get ready for Mahabharat/ Ramayan. Even the starting of Mahabharat is fresh in our minds. Mahaaaaaabharat... and then. "Main Samay hu..."
6. Cartoon shows. Duck Tales, Tales Spin, Donald Duck, Jungle Book, Aladin and so on. Uncle Scrooge, his three nephews and his swimming in his treasure. Ballu- the pilot, Launchpad, Mogli, Radha, Bhalu, Baghira, Alaadin, Jinni...
7. One of our cab mate took onus to remember the jingles of these shows. But of course, no one can forget the jingle of the Jungle Book and my friend took out her mobile, in which she actually had stored the Jungle Book jingle.
8. Then came the EPIC. CHANDRAKANTA, in which no one would die. We would THINK that he/ she is dead but would re-appear out of nowhere. And the most popular- YAKKU...!!!
9. Potli baba ki, Alif Laila.
10. We faintly recalled legendary serials like Hum Log and Nukkad.
11. Today, while talking to my bhabhi, I recalled, Flop Show.

12. Somewhere, I was recalling few songs which were repeated almost daily. Mile sur mera tumhara...,
ek chidiya-anek chadiya...
13. And the famous Doordarshan tone, which can make anyone sleep, but not now.


Phew, these were just the time-pass things. So many old advertisements are still afresh in our minds. But before we could start discussing them, we had reached our office :(

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Observation 2

Here I am with my second observation on my way to and back from Office.
Dogs.
Before I start this post, I must say sorry to all the dog lovers. But I hate dogs. More than that, yes, I admit, I am afraid of dogs. They are so unpredictable. Have learnt since childhood that the men’s best friend is a dog, but that dog is friend with only his owner. I have been in such situations many times where the dog of my host is sniffing me from top to toe, its heavy tail wagging and hitting my legs and the dog is growling at me, while the owner very coolly tells me to relax, “kuch nahi karega”. In my mind only one thought is going round, “kuch kar diya toh kya karogey aap”. So, sorry folks, but I don’t like dogs.
So, the observation that I had made during my cab rides are the dogs- stray and pet dogs. Ever since I have landed in this city, I have read four cases in newspaper and seen one case on television, where the street dogs have injured someone very badly. Bengaluru is famous for its street dogs. While my cab enters a new lane, the lazy sleepy dogs would all of a sudden become alert and chase our cab till we reach the end of “their territory”. But once we become the frequent traveler of that street, they no more care for our cab. Another peculiar thing to notice about dogs is that they each belong to a street. If some other dog of neighboring street dares to enter into another street, the owners of that street would unite and make sure to drag the intruder out of their area, scaring him enough so that he never ever dares to re-enter.
Apart from street dogs, yes, I have also become familiar of few pet dogs. Hard to say whether the human owners are taking their dogs on walk or vice-versa. One dog that I almost daily encounter is a big black German Shephard, high enough to reach just below the waist of its owner. Another dog is the complete black version of the “Vodafone dog”.
Today I decided to count how many dogs do I encounter on my way to office. In total, I counted 93 !!! Only two pet dogs, rest all street dogs. None of them looked lean or thin. And I always thank God that I am inside my cab, safely away from the deadly paws and jaws of these dogs.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

UNFORGETTABLE ...

As soon as I entered my PG, my room-mate’s sister broke the news that she could not get through the IBM recruitment process. I was left speechless but still managed to console from my end. I am very bad at consoling people especially in situations like this. Instantly it reminded me my placement time. How grateful God had been on that day and the most unusual thing that He did to me. So, thought of sharing it with you.
It was 1st October, 2007. My 3rd semester papers got over 3 days back, and I had already relaxed a bit. I was searching for my original mark-sheets and other documents, because 3rd October was the D-Day for me. Day 0 of our campus placement and I was to appear for the very first time for any company. Other friends of mine had already been a part of few pre-placement filtration tests and had been unlucky. On face of it, I was pretending to be absolutely cool. But I know how nervous I was to face my failure.
That day, I realized that I do not have the original mark-sheets of my 1st and 2nd semester and neither do I have their photo-copies. My father confirmed it. In the evening my mother called up and said that they are visiting me tomorrow and getting it to me, since 2nd October would be a holiday and courier won’t deliver it. I resisted once but I knew that I need them at this time, so succumbed to their persuasion. Next morning they came. We chatted for sometime and my father went to Delhi to his friend’s place. My mom checked my and my friends’ coat, shirts, buttons, and files and if anything required final touch. In the evening she took me to the temple. She made me sleep early without thinking much about next day.
The D-Day arrived. All of us (all the girls of the PG) got ready, prayed and my mom distributed prasad to each one of us. I left my mobile with her for contacting me. We entered college at 8:30 a.m. First pre-placement talk with Wipro left me disappointed since I was not eligible. Next was 3i Infotech. Process was simple. First level has to be cleared on the basis of CV short listing and then the interviews. First list of students came. My name was announced once but not in the repeat call. I was furious. I had a technical background as well as my specialization suits the profile. I had lunch. As soon as I was about to storm the panel’s room, my friend told me that another list has come and only my name was there and that I am being called for the interview. Before I could realize anything, I was facing the interview. First one was a cake-walk. I cleared it. For the second round, I had to wait till I was just the last one to be interviewed. Before I could go in for the next round, I saw the company people saying that since the list have already been prepared, no more interviews. But my placement co-ordinator arranged for it. I was disheartened but still maintained my composure. By the time, it was over; it was already 9:30 p.m. Almost 13 hours were over. My parents called me up on my friend’s mobile and told me that they are coming to see me at the college and then go back to Delhi, since its already late to go back to Jaipur. I met them and said good-bye with a heavy heart. I reached the waiting room on 5th floor and...
My friend tried to explain me something while talking to her mother on phone. I could not get it, but she was happy. Then I located sikgurum. She too was happy and talking to her mother. The moment she saw me, she declared that both of us have made it to this company. WOW. She was kind enough to disconnect her call and let me call my parents to stop the car. But they had already stopped. I ran downstairs to find chinchu. Hugged her and ran to find my parents entering the college!!! The watchman had allowed them to enter. I threw my heavy bag somewhere and hugged my mom. I could feel that she was crying and realized that tears were trickling down my cheeks as well. Then hugged my dad. He was overwhelmed. Immediately he called up my brother. He was so happy that he could barely speak apart from congratulations. This is brilliant. Now enjoy...and so on.
This was the most unusual gift that He gave me. Someone’s parents ON the campus at the time of PLACEMENT and on top of that, at the time of announcement of RESULT and again, their child appearing for the first company and getting lucky!!!
Thank God, can never forget that day and your gift of placing me in the first attempt and sending my parents at the right place, at the right time.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Observation 1

Hi, good "early" morning. Well, there are so many things that I observe while coming to office and going back to home, thanks to our cab. Every ride is equally same and yet different. Same, because of the same route, same traffic, same bumps, same time, same fellow passengers etc etc. Different because of finding new potholes in the road (or no road), new latest model cars and bikes on the road, traffic jams in unbelievable places and how our deft driver takes us out of that jam and so on.
There are so many observations that I make on my way. But won't burden you with all of them at once. So, would share them with you one by one.
Observation 1:
School Kids.
Some sleepy, rubbing their eyes, some full of excitement; some lean & thin, some obese; some very cute, some not so cute; some wearing carefully ironed uniform, some just got lucky to find the crumpled uniform in the cupboard. As they wait for their school buses, we also pass them everyday in our cab. They don't know me and I don't know them, but still, if any one of them is missing on some day, my mind automatically starts making wild guesses. The kid might be sick today, or today might a school holiday, or may be going on a picnic.
Now the observation, rather two observations.
The kids are either accompanied by their mothers or fathers or some are brave enough to wait for the bus alone. Mothers are always worried about something. You can make out from their faces. Have you completed your homework, have you taken your tiffin box, are you wearing right uniform and shoes, did I miss any note in your diary, are your nails trimmed, why has the bus not come as yet... The list is almost endless. Fathers are almost indifferent to the situation. They would standstill while the over enthusiastic kid is trying to tell his activities in the school. The fathers wait more impatiently for the bus to arrive than the kid, except for few of them.
The next observation. As a kid, my mother made sure that I and my brother carries our school bags and bottles by ourselves. But now, the mother or the father carries the heavy bags and the bottles and the kid is either carrying nothing or just a little handbag for may be a drawing book or extra accessories. The exceptions are the kids going to the government schools all by themselves on their foot. The excuse is that the kids are already overburdened with studies and they are too small to carry heavy bags. These “overburdened” kids have to just carry their bags from their flats to the pick up point, then they get on to the school bus, get down at the school and thats it. The other poor kids who manage to attend school somehow, carry everything by themselves and travel all the way to school on their foot. Why are the parents over-protecting their child by carrying their bags, even keeping their books and copies in the bag a night before. Let the kid handle it himself. He should know what to keep in the bag. Parents need to monitor them and help them out rather than making them focus solely on studies and get highest marks.
And yes, how did I forget this. The uniforms of the new age private schools are becoming more trendy. In my time, we had typical of white, or blue skirts in summers and steel gray in winters and white shirt. I got my first wrist watch when I came in 8th standard. But now, they are wearing the latest wrist watches. All this makes me feel how old I am. Aaaah !!!! It hurts.
Well, these are the two (or three) observations about the school kids. More to follow. CHEERS !!!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Nice short story...

Hi.. after a long gap (not very long). I had been unusually busy in lot of work at office. So much so that I worked even on weekend !!! Lot of work, some useful, most of all crap. But I am proud of my multi-tasking, that I could manage to take time off for Gtalk and a bit of Fwds management. Baring few of my friends, conversed with all.
Today, while I was still busy, my friend pinged me on gtalk once. Could not see what has been written there at first (my boss was sitting next to me, how can I?). As soon as my boss went back to his place (right beside my seat), I quicky read what was there in the tiny blinking chat window.
Sharing the beautiful short story with you people:
Once I had to walk on a rope bridge. It was very high, I was scared. I saw my friend on the other side and called him out for help but there was no reply . I somehow managed and crossed the bridge. There I was shocked to see my friend holding the end of the broken bridge...sometimes we think why our friend is quiet when we call for help.... he may not help you in crossing the bridge but he might be holding the broken bridge for you ... just trust your friends in every situations, bcoz they are your real asset.
Hope you like it. Will be back asap.. Till then, keep well.. CHEERS !!!