I am back to blogosphere!!! I really felt nostalgic and experienced goosebumps all around once I started back. After a brief absence (only 6 months long) there could not have been a better way to start off than answering a tag. Coming to the tag, the tagger Purnima has given me random - human traits, situations, values, virtues, vices etc. I am supposed to say how far or how closely I am associated with them and an incident that relates to it. I have tried my best in doing it, hope you people enjoy!!!
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1. Laughter ::Nothing can beat the amount of laughter that we friends (Roshan, Chinmay, Sandeep and myself) have induced in each others and also in the people surrounding us!!
Situation ::Out of the many situations, I would like to mention one big situation here. We were all watching a movie “Happy Feet”, the penguin movie. And incidentally, Chinmay’s nickname is Penguin. For the movie, my cousin Nikhil also was accompanying us, and he has an amazing sense of humour. Having coupled the humour of Nikhil the nick of Chinmay and the theme of the movie itself, we kept passing comments and cracking jokes throughout the length of the movie, that even people sitting around us were laughing to them. I don’t really remember what the theme of the movie was, but I definitely remember it to be one of those days, when laughter was in its peak in my life!!!
2. Embarrassment ::These are situations which though may not be the best to be in, but when you think about them in retrospect, these are the events which brings the widest smile on the faces
Situation ::When I was in school, maths class was going on. Theorems were being proved. The teacher said “Adding 1 and 2 we get…. “ Absentmindedly, I shouted “3!!” The whole class burst into laughter. The teacher actually meant Equations 1 and 2. After the noise settled down, from the look on the teachers face, I could not make out who was more embarrassed, me or her!!!!
3. Truth ::Truth, is an important part of life and I guess everyone agrees with me. I don’t know how much value each one gives for truth in their lifes, but in my case, I definitely am truthful to myself. In any scenario or situation, if I am countered with two options, and the stakes are high, I will ask myself, and only if I am convinced about the option, I’ll go ahead.
Situation ::There have been quite a few instances where I have listened to my conscience and done what my inner self has told, and I prefer not to write them down here. “Bhaavnaaon ko samjha karo!!!”
4. Lies ::Let me be frank. I have lied every day in my life, sometimes to escape something, sometimes to please someone, sometimes to make fun of someone or sometimes to make someone smile.
Situation ::
Now searching for this one big lie, would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. For me each of them are equally funny, equally witty and equally significant. And I am sure that you won’t be able to make out any sense of it, unless you are involved in that lie. Anyways, let me try.
One of the biggest lies in my life involves the project work I was doing. The groups for project work were divided such that no two toppers can be together. And for the project to be a success, there was a lot of lobbying going on for selecting the remaining 4 or 5 people for the team. The amount of lies that I have told in those days, to select a partner, the drama I had to play to convince people that I had no other option that this person, and further down, the lobbying and jugaad’s for the selection of a project guide, I will never forget for the rest of my life. As I said, unless you have really seen the events unfold, or have experienced the same, you will not be in a position to appreciate it!!
5. Loneliness ::This was something I was dying to write about. Being an introvert, I am generally one of those types who do not generally initiate anything. But that has put me badly at the receiving end, of late. I have friends, but each of them has their own priorities. Its morally unfair to expect each of them to be with me every time I want them to.
Situation ::My entire two and a half year stint at Hyderabad, has been more or less of a lonely affair. Though I would not like to describe it as the saddest period of my life, it hasn’t been joyful and enjoyable either. More often than not, I have felt lonely, ridiculous about things, have cursed ,myself for having taken the decision of coming here. Its not that I have not made friends here, I do have. But none of them, is really worth dying for. I know this is a very heavy statement, but then it’s the truth. In these 30 odd months, there have been many lows in my life. Be it on the professional front, or on the personal front. One of the most important one of them came in mid March 08, when things seem to have been going totally out of control for me, both in my personal as well as professional life. It seemed as if I never had any control over my life, and as if others were using me as a puppet. Even though I knew it, I could do nothing about it. Those couple of months were very difficult indeed and as if to rub salt on the wounds, my best friend Chinmay was also abroad. I had literally no way to connect to him and missed him a lot!!!
6.Pride ::I have not achieved anything so significant in life. But there have been moments when I have been proud. Of myself, my friends, my brother, my parents and so on.
Situation ::The greatest moment of pride I have felt is when my brother managed to teach my mother, on how to operate all new electronic gadgets. He has always had this amazing quality of patience in him that he will explain a thousand times, till the other person has understood. And making my mom understand the working of the mobile, the computer and all new gadgets, is definitely a great achievement. And mind you, especially the mobile teaching event, is really special. Because it was indeed mobile teaching. He was in Mumbai, and she was in Udupi. He had made a big manual, containing lots of pictures and instructions on how to make a call, how to store a number, how to send a message and everything. The surprising detail in which he has made the manual, will even put a Nokia or a Sony Ericcson to shame. I am indeed proud of my brother.
7. Forgiveness ::Forgiving is a virtue which not all people possess. My parents possess it in abundance, and as a result, I too have inherited a portion of it from them. I generally believe in the philosophy that all people are good. And no one will do a mistake intentionally. So I make a point that the person who has made the mistake realizes that, but also ensure that he is not embarrassed in public.
Situation ::I would like to quote a situation, where I was at the receiving end. And from that day on, I have inculcated that in my life and used it wherever I have gone. It was my first week in office. One customer came to office and started shouting at my company and all other people. I was one of the very few people present at office and most of my colleagues were on tour. As a result, I went and addressed his issues. Having newly joined, I was too overenthusiastic and I dealt with him politely. Having realized that he had found his Bakra, he asked me to give him something in writing, which I promptly did. He took it happily and left with a smile on his face. Others at office kept wondering as to what made him change in a matter of minutes. And I was patting my own back for having sent someone satisfied!! Only after a couple of days, did I understand that he had sent a legal notice to the company, based on whatever I had given him in writing. It was a blunder of sorts. And I was the culprit. Being a newcomer, my boss supported me immensely, but there was nothing to hide that the mistake was mine. He protected me from the consequences and also took a major part of the blame.
That was the first incident when I was brought down to reality. And having learnt from that incident, I have always been a team player, been with my people in difficult times, not let them alone for their mistakes and not let them suffer for their blunders. The same funda, I also use in my personal life also.
8. Hypocrisy ::Again, hypocrisy is a quality which everyone definitely has. There will only be a handful people in the world who can prove they have never been one throughout their life. I too have been a hypocrite, especially when I was in school and college. Even to this day, to some people, I do portray a picture of mine, which I actually am not. But in this world, in order to survive, you need to be smart, rather than being an epitome of truth and sincerity. And that demands an element of hypocrisy in the personality of everyone.Phew!!!! Now that’s only half the job done. I have to answer one more tag of Purnima’s, which I promise to do shortly. I hope to find enough time for that too.
@ Purnima: Hope I have lived up to your expectations in answering this tag.
@ Others: Anyone is free to answer this tag. I do not force it on anyone. But anyone answering it, please leave me a mail or a message, so that I too can see the fruits of your labour!!!!
And coming to title of this post, its really up to you readers to decide whether or not its justified!!!! Do let me know!!! Cheers!!!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Tagged!!!!
Well finally something to write about in these boring days!! Rachana has tagged me, she thinks I dont have anything better to do. And yes!! She is indeed right!! Thanks for this!!!
What was I doing 10 years ago?
Hmmm!! Interesting. 10 years ago, I had done a lot of crazy things and a few serious things.
What was I doing 10 years ago?
Hmmm!! Interesting. 10 years ago, I had done a lot of crazy things and a few serious things.
- I had become a union leader of our class in the representation to the principal demanding for cricket equipments.
- On I-Day, I did not attend the function at college, and when asked I told "I wanted to watch the happenings at Red Fort on TV" which was later communicated in the assembly as "I wanted to watch TV"
- Maths class was going on. Theorems were being proved. Lecturer said "Adding 1 and 2 we get....." I shouted "3!!!". He meant adding equations 1 and 2.
- I took my cycle to school for the first time after a lot of fight with Dad
- I drew the figure of a plant cell without a nucleus in the exam paper(I was the class topper, mind you)
What are top 5 things to do in my to-do list, today?
- Finish off with this
- Bug somebody online
- Bug somebody offline
- Bug somebody on sms
- If there is time left, update my blog!
Snacks I enjoy
- Pav Bhaji
- Goli Baje at Mitra Samaj, Udupi
- Charmure Upkari outside SLVT, Udupi
- Peanut Masala
- Masala Puri
Places I have lived
- Bangalore (My first home)
- Udupi (My major home!!!! Now dont ask what it means)
- Surathkal (That is where I did my engineering)
- Mumbai (My summer home)
- Hyderabad (My current home)
5 things I would do if I was a millionaire
- Start my own business (Fed up of working under bosses)
- Sponsor / Run an NGO
- Initiate scholarships for the poor in my school
- Improve the condition of laboratories in my institute
- Charity
People I want to tag
Going by the symmetry of this tag, I want to tag 5 people. Let me see how many answer!!! :D
Till my next post (releasing shortly), take care!!
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Work smart, it pays better dividends than working hard!!!
The topic seems too heavy at the top of the page, isn't it?? I felt the same when a friend commented that to me recently. But when I sat and thought about it, I felt, it really made sense, lot of it in fact!! I just recollected a lot of events in my life, and was convinced to believe that my friend had got it right in the bulls eye!!
As a kid, in school, I always used to religiously follow whatever was told to me. Be it the homework, or any other arrangements or sports or activities or anything. Frankly speaking, I did not really apply my brain to anything. So I was like a literal doer. There was this friend of mine. And he used to do exactly the opposite of mine. When he was asked to study, he used to play. When he was told to play, he used to watch TV. He was something like a rebel. And he used to fairly get a decent result in everything he did. Now the age I am talking about, is that when we were not too mature and were dependent to a large extent on the inputs of others. Being independent was only a dream. And in those days, this friend was like doing things differently. I was still respected for being the topper or whatever, but I always used to watch this guy in awe!!
When I went to college, I had this classmate who was the laziest bugger I have ever known. He never used to attend classes, paid the necessary money for obtaining the hall ticket and used to write the exams. He used to sleep all through the day and the whole night, he would prowl on the cyberspace, playing games all through the night. He was the perfect nocturnal!!! I initially used to wonder, how will he ever manage to clear the papers. But one fine day, what I found surprised me like hell. Just a couple of days (or rather nights) before the exam, he was going through the last few yrs papers, evaluating what to study and what to drop!! He had mastered the art so well, that after a couple of hours of research, he knew exactly what to study and what not to!!! Not that it would help him in the long run, but the shorter purpose of scoring in the exams is definitely achieved. And more surprisingly, he managed to score a distinction in almost all the semesters, which was sort of a jinx to break!! And the biggest irony was, when placements time came, the person, who literally slept all his way through the engineering career, got placed before even before the topper of the class did. Now thats what smart working is all about. This is where I had my first taste of the professional life!!
Coming to professional life, I had a colleague who quit almost a year ago. And the reason he gave to me was that he was plainly frustrated!! I was not too convinced and was sure this guy is upto something!!! I had known this guy for about 5 yrs then and he had been talking about quitting of late. So I thought he is only talking. But the day, he put in his papers, I was in for a real wild shock. I had never expected him to. From then on, I have been monitoring his every move. He has been such an excellent planner and an even better executor, that I cant do anything else than saluting him!!! He had some personal problems to take care in between, which he managed brilliantly. In the meantime he appeared for a couple of competitive exams, a few of which I also did. He had put in a lot of efforts, and I for a change dint!! And surprisingly, I did better in the exams than him. Again an example of smart working and hard working!!! In the end, I did not know what to do, but he did. He carried on and on and on, and today, he is happily enjoying in one of the premier B Schools in India!!
These are just trailers of what I have seen in my life. If I make a movie of it, I am sure it will run into hours together!!! I have slogged the last year, working across my territory for what is known as Customer Satisfaction, measured by a score. The whole one year, I have literally did nothing else other than that. You can imagine the amount of efforts, that has gone into it all. And when it was time for results to come out, I only understand, that the number implying customer satisfaction, has instead gone even down!!
Now I can correlate the above two examples, the one of my classmate in college and my colleague who quit. One was excellent in making analysis and strategies, and the other was a sheer brilliant planner!!! So when my friend said "Working smart is way too better than working hard", I just couldnt stop agreeing with him!!! What do you say??? Please leave your comments!!
As a kid, in school, I always used to religiously follow whatever was told to me. Be it the homework, or any other arrangements or sports or activities or anything. Frankly speaking, I did not really apply my brain to anything. So I was like a literal doer. There was this friend of mine. And he used to do exactly the opposite of mine. When he was asked to study, he used to play. When he was told to play, he used to watch TV. He was something like a rebel. And he used to fairly get a decent result in everything he did. Now the age I am talking about, is that when we were not too mature and were dependent to a large extent on the inputs of others. Being independent was only a dream. And in those days, this friend was like doing things differently. I was still respected for being the topper or whatever, but I always used to watch this guy in awe!!
When I went to college, I had this classmate who was the laziest bugger I have ever known. He never used to attend classes, paid the necessary money for obtaining the hall ticket and used to write the exams. He used to sleep all through the day and the whole night, he would prowl on the cyberspace, playing games all through the night. He was the perfect nocturnal!!! I initially used to wonder, how will he ever manage to clear the papers. But one fine day, what I found surprised me like hell. Just a couple of days (or rather nights) before the exam, he was going through the last few yrs papers, evaluating what to study and what to drop!! He had mastered the art so well, that after a couple of hours of research, he knew exactly what to study and what not to!!! Not that it would help him in the long run, but the shorter purpose of scoring in the exams is definitely achieved. And more surprisingly, he managed to score a distinction in almost all the semesters, which was sort of a jinx to break!! And the biggest irony was, when placements time came, the person, who literally slept all his way through the engineering career, got placed before even before the topper of the class did. Now thats what smart working is all about. This is where I had my first taste of the professional life!!
Coming to professional life, I had a colleague who quit almost a year ago. And the reason he gave to me was that he was plainly frustrated!! I was not too convinced and was sure this guy is upto something!!! I had known this guy for about 5 yrs then and he had been talking about quitting of late. So I thought he is only talking. But the day, he put in his papers, I was in for a real wild shock. I had never expected him to. From then on, I have been monitoring his every move. He has been such an excellent planner and an even better executor, that I cant do anything else than saluting him!!! He had some personal problems to take care in between, which he managed brilliantly. In the meantime he appeared for a couple of competitive exams, a few of which I also did. He had put in a lot of efforts, and I for a change dint!! And surprisingly, I did better in the exams than him. Again an example of smart working and hard working!!! In the end, I did not know what to do, but he did. He carried on and on and on, and today, he is happily enjoying in one of the premier B Schools in India!!
These are just trailers of what I have seen in my life. If I make a movie of it, I am sure it will run into hours together!!! I have slogged the last year, working across my territory for what is known as Customer Satisfaction, measured by a score. The whole one year, I have literally did nothing else other than that. You can imagine the amount of efforts, that has gone into it all. And when it was time for results to come out, I only understand, that the number implying customer satisfaction, has instead gone even down!!
Now I can correlate the above two examples, the one of my classmate in college and my colleague who quit. One was excellent in making analysis and strategies, and the other was a sheer brilliant planner!!! So when my friend said "Working smart is way too better than working hard", I just couldnt stop agreeing with him!!! What do you say??? Please leave your comments!!
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Accident!!!!
"Whats gonna happen now??", I kept wondering as I sat outside the ICU at the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences(NIMS), nervously aware, that everything was in God's hands alone now. Kiran, my childhood buddy, had met with an accident and was battling for life. I have been trying to inform his dad about the accident, but have so far not reached him.
Kiran has been very close to me right from my childhood days. We studied in the same class, lived a few blocks away from each other, enjoyed cycling together, played pranks together and what not!!! We were literally like two brothers, with both of us having unrestricted access into the others house. We always yearned for similar things in life, our tastes too were similar. It was like if someone screwed me, he would react and viceversa. Such was our uniqueness in tastes, that at one point of time, we both fell for the same girl!! All jokes apart, we were very very close, and this togetherness meant that we would anything for each other.
Kiran is the son of a big businessman in my town. He had lost his mother very early in life. And his dad's everyday flourishing business meant that, most of the times he used to be out of town. This meant, Kiran had all the luxuries in life; the costliest toys, the latest gadgets and gizmos, the most sophisticated equipments and everything that was new. What was missing was only the mothers love, and fathers affection. The time he spent with his near and dear ones, was literally minimal. He missed that too much in life. And in spite of all these things, he never showed off anything in life, as many others in such a situation tend to do. What attracted me towards him, was his modesty and simplicity. And when I came to know about his family background, I was simply stunned. I was not able to utter a single word and was shell shocked when he had first taken me to his house.
Kiran has been this adventurous kind of a guy. Always wanting to be different from the crowd. He has been more into extra curricular activities. Photography has been his most favorite hobby, and he is such a great photographer that, by his 15th birthday, he was the proud owner of a SLR!! Studies and marks have never kept him interested at all. That's probably the only place where we differed in tastes.
After our high school, I joined the science stream and he jumped into commerce. His taste of cycling had now been escalated into motorcycles. He was the first person, to own a motorcycle in college. When he had brought his Yamaha RX 100 to college, I still remember the way, heads kept on turning!! The adventure seeker and fun lover that he has been, he has always loved exploring the unexplored places, along not so great roads, into villages where there has not been any transportation facilities for miles together. And another thing that always thrilled him was speed. He always used to tell me, "Whatever happens, I am not going to cut down on my speed!!" There have been certain occasions, where I have been riding pillion to him, and have had my heart in my mouth. Two or three times, I literally had given up and started saying what I thought would be my last prayers!! But such has been his control and response that I just sat behind him, every time he called me, on the basis of sheer faith in his controls!! I have always warned him, that it need not necessarily be his mistake. Looking at his speed and stunts, someone else may lose control, and if his stars are not right, anything may happen even without his mistake!! But he would never relent. Once after a near miss accident, he told me something which I still remember "Even if something happens to me, I ll ensure that you escape unhurt!!!"
Our careers meant that I had to go and stay in the hostels, and that meant we had to go apart. And our frequencies of meeting each other reduced drastically. But emotionally, we were still very close to each other. After my studies, I got a job, which required me to shift to Hyderabad, whereas he was still not sure what to do. He was still freelancing and enjoying life, seeking new destinations and enjoying new places. And as an icing on the cake, his hobby of photography had literally turned into a profession for him. Though he would never really admit it, facts were always speaking otherwise.
During one of these days, I just asked him to come down to Hyderabad, as I had not met him for a long time. And immediately he was in Hyderabad, taking the next available flight!! When he landed in my office, I literally had tears in my eyes!! Such was his commitment to friends, that I was speechless!! As the weekend was about to start, I just completed my work in a jiffy, and set out early. He insisted on driving the bike, and I without even resisting handed over the keys to him. But I wanted to warn him, that Hyderabad is different. The traffic here is too complicated and be careful for at least a few days, watch the same and then show your heroics. And before I could say something, he rushed off to the nearest petrol bunk without even wearing the helmet (which is supposedly mandatory), to fill the tank, asking me to wait back!! I just smiled at myself. He did not want me to spend even on that!!
Within a few seconds, I heard a big sound. Anxiously I went out, only to find a lot of people gathered at the intersection!! I rushed towards the place, praying that its not Kiran. Only to be proved wrong. Having made my way through the increasing crowd, I saw Kiran on the ground!! Blood was trickling down his head faster than water does from a tap on a lazy day!! I was literally out of control, shocked, not knowing what had happened. With a couple of people around, we took him to the nearest hospital, where they only put him on oxygen and advised us to take him to NIMS as it happens to specialise in head related injuries!!
I have been sitting outside the ICU for the past 16 hours. And there has been no signs of any improvement. He has lost a lot of blood, his brain is badly injured and one of his legs too has been badly messed up. And to operate on his leg, first he needs to gain consciousness, without which anaesthesia doesn't work. I still cant believe whatever happened in the last 24 hours, whether it is only a dream or it has really happened in reality around me!!
Kiran has been very close to me right from my childhood days. We studied in the same class, lived a few blocks away from each other, enjoyed cycling together, played pranks together and what not!!! We were literally like two brothers, with both of us having unrestricted access into the others house. We always yearned for similar things in life, our tastes too were similar. It was like if someone screwed me, he would react and viceversa. Such was our uniqueness in tastes, that at one point of time, we both fell for the same girl!! All jokes apart, we were very very close, and this togetherness meant that we would anything for each other.
Kiran is the son of a big businessman in my town. He had lost his mother very early in life. And his dad's everyday flourishing business meant that, most of the times he used to be out of town. This meant, Kiran had all the luxuries in life; the costliest toys, the latest gadgets and gizmos, the most sophisticated equipments and everything that was new. What was missing was only the mothers love, and fathers affection. The time he spent with his near and dear ones, was literally minimal. He missed that too much in life. And in spite of all these things, he never showed off anything in life, as many others in such a situation tend to do. What attracted me towards him, was his modesty and simplicity. And when I came to know about his family background, I was simply stunned. I was not able to utter a single word and was shell shocked when he had first taken me to his house.
Kiran has been this adventurous kind of a guy. Always wanting to be different from the crowd. He has been more into extra curricular activities. Photography has been his most favorite hobby, and he is such a great photographer that, by his 15th birthday, he was the proud owner of a SLR!! Studies and marks have never kept him interested at all. That's probably the only place where we differed in tastes.
After our high school, I joined the science stream and he jumped into commerce. His taste of cycling had now been escalated into motorcycles. He was the first person, to own a motorcycle in college. When he had brought his Yamaha RX 100 to college, I still remember the way, heads kept on turning!! The adventure seeker and fun lover that he has been, he has always loved exploring the unexplored places, along not so great roads, into villages where there has not been any transportation facilities for miles together. And another thing that always thrilled him was speed. He always used to tell me, "Whatever happens, I am not going to cut down on my speed!!" There have been certain occasions, where I have been riding pillion to him, and have had my heart in my mouth. Two or three times, I literally had given up and started saying what I thought would be my last prayers!! But such has been his control and response that I just sat behind him, every time he called me, on the basis of sheer faith in his controls!! I have always warned him, that it need not necessarily be his mistake. Looking at his speed and stunts, someone else may lose control, and if his stars are not right, anything may happen even without his mistake!! But he would never relent. Once after a near miss accident, he told me something which I still remember "Even if something happens to me, I ll ensure that you escape unhurt!!!"
Our careers meant that I had to go and stay in the hostels, and that meant we had to go apart. And our frequencies of meeting each other reduced drastically. But emotionally, we were still very close to each other. After my studies, I got a job, which required me to shift to Hyderabad, whereas he was still not sure what to do. He was still freelancing and enjoying life, seeking new destinations and enjoying new places. And as an icing on the cake, his hobby of photography had literally turned into a profession for him. Though he would never really admit it, facts were always speaking otherwise.
During one of these days, I just asked him to come down to Hyderabad, as I had not met him for a long time. And immediately he was in Hyderabad, taking the next available flight!! When he landed in my office, I literally had tears in my eyes!! Such was his commitment to friends, that I was speechless!! As the weekend was about to start, I just completed my work in a jiffy, and set out early. He insisted on driving the bike, and I without even resisting handed over the keys to him. But I wanted to warn him, that Hyderabad is different. The traffic here is too complicated and be careful for at least a few days, watch the same and then show your heroics. And before I could say something, he rushed off to the nearest petrol bunk without even wearing the helmet (which is supposedly mandatory), to fill the tank, asking me to wait back!! I just smiled at myself. He did not want me to spend even on that!!
Within a few seconds, I heard a big sound. Anxiously I went out, only to find a lot of people gathered at the intersection!! I rushed towards the place, praying that its not Kiran. Only to be proved wrong. Having made my way through the increasing crowd, I saw Kiran on the ground!! Blood was trickling down his head faster than water does from a tap on a lazy day!! I was literally out of control, shocked, not knowing what had happened. With a couple of people around, we took him to the nearest hospital, where they only put him on oxygen and advised us to take him to NIMS as it happens to specialise in head related injuries!!
I have been sitting outside the ICU for the past 16 hours. And there has been no signs of any improvement. He has lost a lot of blood, his brain is badly injured and one of his legs too has been badly messed up. And to operate on his leg, first he needs to gain consciousness, without which anaesthesia doesn't work. I still cant believe whatever happened in the last 24 hours, whether it is only a dream or it has really happened in reality around me!!
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