I love you Mom

I fell
You put me back on my toes
I cried
You gave me a pat on my back

I hesitated
You filled the gut in me
I lost
You said, I almost won the game

I was in pain
You spoke words of solace
I panicked
You brushed my fears off

I prayed
You believed, my prayers would be first answered
I said not a word
You read my heart, my mind

I smiled
You shared the joy more than me
I won
You were proud you made me

I lived
You loved the way I did
Mom,
I owe it all to you, My Life.....

Auf Wiedersehen Panja Babu

Kunal left for good old land of Red (read Calcutta) last Saturday,back to his folks,back to his hometown.
I have known Kunal since my training days in Coimbatore,where he was no more than an new face for me.But some not so memorable events(I hate to call it destiny) made us take up a place to stay together.That's how Subir,Kunal and I began on a journey that started more as a convenience but blossomed into a friendship that was unique.We shared a camaraderie which did not rest on knowing everything about each other.It was not stifling,there were no conditions set nor too many questions asked.We knew that we would help each other out in any situtation,but we also knew when to keep our mouths shut.Kunal went through one of the most difficult phases of his life, and he coped remarably well during this time.I don't know what I would have done if I were in his place.I know he has come out a stronger person after this,but I fear he has lost faith in love.Then there were those innumerable moments of levity, all created out of his ingenuity in Hindi and sometimes in English too.So we had Kunal talking about his lack of ability to use a condom,watching movies such as "Son of Mask" and "Saws",and taking up smoking all brands of cigarettes from Marlboros to Flakes.It was the same stuff most of the evenings when we got back from work.Subir and me teaming up to laugh and make fun of anything he said.But to Kunal's credit,he never got touchy or irritated about any of our senseless jokes.
I didn't goto Hampi ;-) and Kashmir with him,but I will always remember our Hyderabad trip.Not because it was our first and only trip together,but because I finally found out the love of Man for his dog. I can't help smiling when I think about the "Incident of the Dog that made Kunal and Ranjan" prove their loyalties.
Jokes apart,I really had a wonderful 1 and a half years with Kunal and Subir.I am not a person who gets along with people very easily,but with them I didn't even have a single issue. I wish you the very best in life "Lotus Stalk".I hope you get all you desire.

PS-Don't forget ,Subir still gets to put his "Stamp" on your wife when you get married.

A week in SUN

13th-17th March were days that were a little different from my usual working days. I had been nominated by my Company to attend a workshop in SUN Identity Management during these days. My primary reason for attending this session was that I wanted a break from work. It has become quite tedious and monotonous, I don't know why I am still sticking to it. But "Work" might be the topic of a future blog. So let me go back to SUN training I attended.
We were a group of 10 people,7 from Bangalore,2 from Bombay and 1 from Delhi. The training began on 13th and finished on 17th. I will not delve into the technical side of things but will write about something that I have experienced earlier and which resurfaced again during this training.
I have never been a person who sits quietly in class, listens to lectures diligently, and belongs to the studious group. I have had my share of antics right from school to college. What has saved me from falling into serious trouble on numerous occasions,have been my grades. And this is where the experience I talked about comes into picture. I was not exactly a role model in school and college. People did not expect great things from me. For everyone I was the kind of guy who is neither here nor there. Neither was I a totally lost case nor someone with whom people attached great capabilities. But my ISC results surprised my teachers and fellow students alike,and my consistent good performance in college(inspite of the hours wasted in the last bench) shocked the lecturers.
The same thing happened in the SUN training also. I had played a fool throughout the course. And I bet some of them who attended the course would have thought I was a total jerk. On the final day everyone was asked to give a presentation for around 5 minutes. When my turn came I could see that most of them had a smirk on their faces. They didn't think I would be able to utter a word that sense. It would be some gibberish was what they had in mind.But I was the one with a smile by the time I was done. I surprised not only my colleagues but also the trainer.
So says the trainer ,"You did well!".
And say I,"Were you surprised?".
To most people I am a little too carefree and informal, someone who is cavalier about things and doesn't know what can be achieved with a serious ,demure attitude to life. I don't mind people having such a view about me. I don't want people to have any great expectations from me,I could do very well without this unwanted pressure. I don't want to keep striving only because everyone expects me to achieve something great. I just want to follow my heart and do what I want. As I grow I am finding it more difficult to do so. I am getting trapped in the usual rigmaroles such as job security and am moving at tremendous speed towards a mediocre life.I desperately want to get out of this,but somehow all the roads are leading to a dead end.
This one week in SUN showed me what I was(a carefree,jovial guy) to what I am becoming(serious and afraid to take risks).

Hyderabad Blues,Blacks,Browns,Reds and one Kunal!!!

There are holidays and there are holidays....I had a perfect weekend on 4th and 5th March.I went to Hyderabad with my roomies, Subir and Kunal.I had been planning to visit Hyderabad for some time,but it somehow never worked out.But this time it was different.I needed to get away.My mundane existence had left me void of enthusiasm.So this was a welcome break.This is what we did:

Saturday 4th March:Reached Hyderabad around 8 AM.Met Subir's parents at his home in Banjara Hills.I took an instant liking to his Mom.She is so similar to my Mom,spoiling us with delicious food all the time.After breakfast we went to Hyderabad Central University in Subir's brand new Maruti Alto.The car had done only done 250 kms.We drove around the varsity for some time.Subir's friend Ranjan also agreed to come over to the University.Meanwhile Kunal got down to his usual antics.He has a driving license so he wanted to try his hands on Subir's car.The only mistake he did was that he got confused between the brakes and the accelerator.Thankfully no damage was done to the car or the people on road oblivious to Kunal.I had some rice and dal at Gopa's after which we left the campus.On the way to the city,we saw Microsoft and ISB premises,albeit only from outside.We then met a friend of Subir's in Barista and went to Eat Street there after.Finally, with nothing more to do we headed back home.On the way back,cops caught me for allegedly jumping the traffic lights.But one of them thought I was a "Bada Saheb"(I want to believe that it had something to do with my long hair) and let us go.We had wine ,prepared by Shyam and Subir, at home.Spoke to Subir's Mom for sometime after which Subir,Shyam and Ranjan went to the roof to have beer.Just before this JoJo took a fancy to Ranjan and started to rub his privates against Ranjan's trouser.Before you go ahead and get all judgmental about this,lemme tell you that JoJo is Subir's pet dog!!This however makes the RUBBING incident funnier.Over beer ,Ranjan and Kunal had a debate on whom JoJo loves more?The night ended on this note for me.

Sunday 5th March:Woke up at 11:30 with Kunal shouting in my ears.It took me some time and a puzzled Kunal to realise that I was in Hyderbad.I somehow thought I was in Bangalore on a Sunday morning with nothing better to do than sleep.I quickly got ready and all of us left for Charminar along with Subir's Mom.On the way the cops again showed their friendliness and caught me for a second time in two days,this time for not fastening the seat belt.With characteristic Hyderabadi courtesy the extracted Rs200 from me as "fine".We reached Charminar without any more incidents.I bought bangles for my Mom and Sis.Today I realised the power of bargaining and saved Rs300 this way.We went back home and spent some more time talking to Subir's Mom before leaving to get into HELIX. Helix is a group that was formed by Subir's seniors from CBIT.I had heard a lot about it from Subir so I wanted to see how good it really was. And I was not disappointed.The members of Helix are good speakers.Kunal spoke about his trip to Kashmir and Punjab and Subir reviewed "Hung by my Family Tree", a book written by a guy called Ajit Saldana.This was followed by a round that required everyone to choose a colour and explain what significance that colour held for that person.So we had Reds(passionate),Blacks(Mysterious),Blues(cool),Browns(laid back) and Greens(Kunal) speaking their hearts out.In short it was great fun.The ideas ,the presentation was really top class.After this we had a game of MAFIA in a restaurant called Sarovar and returned home.Subir's Mom had prepared rolls for us for the bus journey back to Bangalore.We thanked her for the wonderful time we had in Hyderabad and left for the bus stand.............

P.S. -For all those who are driven crazy by the traffic in Bangalore, take a trip to Hyderabad.The roads there are amazing,especially around the Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills areas.It is a pleasure driving in Hyderabad,though the unruly way in which people drive over there leaves you cursing most of the time.Yet on the infrastructure front Hyderbad is way ahead of Bangalore.

"VINI,VIDI,VICI"

He came, he saw, he conquered. And by he I mean POTUS ,Mr.George Bush, himself.None of the ever-skeptical souls like me believed that any agreement would be reached in this visit of the most powerful man in the world(or thus that title belong to a certain member of the bin-Laden family?).However,I digress.So when US assured a supply of nuclear fuel to India's thirsty nuclear reactors ,I was left wondering about the cost at which we got this? And the answer lies in the fact that India has agreed to make 14 out of its 22 nuclear sites available for inspection.And now for the ever present debate in India....
Was this too much of a cost that we paid for the supply of nuclear fuel?Or, Does this mean that now we have a solution to our perennial problem?
What ever maybe the case, a couple of things do stand out:
1. This recognizes India as a responsible nuclear state.
2. The Indo-US relations have come a long way from the past full of mistrust.

A general feeling among some sections within India is that this also marks the beginning of the control of US over Indian strategic nuclear programme.Whether this is true, only time will tell.For the moment,however,Bush has achieved more than any other past US president could;despite(or rather,through) his Dubyaspeak.

"AGE" by Anacreon

Found this poem called "AGE" written by Anacreon.It beautifully expresses the joy of living in the present.
AGE
by: Anacreon (c.572-488 BC)
OFT am I by the women told,
"Poor Anacreon! thou growest old;
Look; how thy hairs are falling all;
Poor Anacreon, how they fall!"
Whether I grow old or no,
By the effects I do not know;
But this I know, without being told,
'Tis time to live, if i grow old;
'Tis time short pleasures now to take,
Of little life the best to make,
And manage wisely the last stake.
TRANSLATED BY ABRAHAM COWLEY (1618-1667)