Summer Vacation Travelogue - Part 4

Today, we were scheduled to travel to Pune. Once more, we had an early breakfast and started off. Traffic was sparse and we made quick work of the Amboli-Belgaum road, which we had traversed a couple of days earlier. But, the real fun started after Belgaum, when we got onto NH-4. Towns were dispatched in a flash and Kolhapur was reached in 45 minutes. A quick lunch, and a petrol top-up later, we were on our way to Pune. We were there in another 2 ½ hours. The best part about this drive was the reactions of the hapless drivers puttering around in their Jeeps/Esteems/Altos/Omnis, when a beauty like Scarlette zoomed past at 160 clicks. Some just braked, while others panicked due to the gust of wind and swerved wildly to the left! It sure felt nice to know that I was now one of the people I called maniacs, back when I drove our old M800! Tomorrow morning, we get back to Bombay.

Summer Vacation Travelogue - Part 3

An early breakfast, and we were off to Sawantwadi. Nice road to Sawantwadi through a twisting and turning ghat. We reached the place in an hour’s time. There, we saw an innocuous looking signboard which proclaimed that Panaji was 62 km away. Dad and I looked at each other and in a trice, we were off! NH-17 is an excellent road which tests your overtaking and cornering skills. Brilliant piece of tarmac if driving and hobby come in the same sentence for you! The Goa govt. seems to take the upkeep of its roads very seriously. Looks like the other states could learn something here.

Lunch was a much laid back affair on Miramar beach and consisted of brilliantly fried Surmai (Kingfish) and Chilly Crab. I would have loved to wash this down with a glass of local port wine, but I was driving. Half a grand exchanged hands for a kilo and a quarter of cashews, and we were back on NH-17.

We also stopped over in Sawantwadi on the way back, as originally planned. It seems that this is the place to visit for all sorts of wooden handicraft. We also found Alphonso mangoes being sold here for Rs. 90 a dozen! All the appropriate purchases were made and a couple of hours later, I am back writing this.

Summer Vacation Travelogue - Part 2

Since we were knackered after yesterday’s drive, we got up late today. Turns out that most of the points provide a beautiful view early in the morning. Since that was not an option at 11 am, we decided to visit Mahadevgad point and then, drive to Belgaum. In the process, we made a discovery that it is NOT a good idea to execute a 3-point turn when the road is uneven. A scary wheel-spinning moment a few inches from the edge of the ravine later, we made our escape from the point, leaving behind the smell of burning rubber! The drive to Belgaum was pretty uneventful in comparison. In Belgaum city, we had lunch and purchased a few packets of ‘Kunda’, which is the local speciality.

We spectacularly got lost on the way back, thanks to a political party’s poster stuck over a signboard! A 30 km detour later, we managed to find our way back!

We have decided that we will visit Sawantwadi tomorrow. The only problem is that I will have to get up early for that!

Summer Vacation Travelogue - Part 1

Finally! I woke up an unemployed man! I never thought that the day would dawn when I would be happy about this! But hey, shit happens!

It was also the day when we would finally take out Scarlette on a long holiday – stretch her legs, so to speak. We had a nice and early 7 am start and thankfully, there was no traffic till Kharghar. Scarlette responded beautifully on the expressway too, and we were in Pune, come 9 am. Satara came up a couple of hours later. This made us decide to skip lunch at Satara, and take a call when we reached Kolhapur. Little did we know what sort of impromptu entertainment we would be subjected to! We went to a nice looking hotel in Kolhapur, which advertised an AC Family Room. We discovered that there was indeed a family room. The only problem was that the AC was not switched on. We pointed this out to the waiter and he told us that there was a power cut. When asked whether they had a generator, he replied in the negative. Now, this was extremely puzzling, especially because I could easily see a couple of fans working! When I pointed out this anomaly, the waiter scratched his head and went to his boss for clarification. He returned with the explanation that the AC was not working. We protested and told him that if he was not prepared to provide us with AC comfort, we would look for a different restaurant. One more visit by the waiter for confirmation later, the AC remote was produced from some alcove and the AC was finally switched on! A few minutes after we had taken our seat, we began to feel a distinctly warm breeze, which was definitely not coming from the AC. Further investigation revealed that the windows in the room were still open! No harm done, right? We called the waiter and told him to ensure that all windows were closed. He was successful in this endeavour as far as the first window was concerned. When he went to the second one, he discovered that the window did not have any shutter at all!!! The less said about the food there, the better!

A couple of hours later, we were finally in Amboli. Nice place, cool weather. All in all, a nice getaway from hot ‘n humid Bombay! More later.

A Step in the Right Direction???

I had been to Sterling Cineplex last Friday to watch U, Me aur Hum. Once the show let out, we were waiting by the side in order to let the crowd pass. Suddenly, a family of HUGE people passed us on their way to the snacks counter. Now, people might say that being the person I am, calling people huge is like the pot (in this case, quite literally!) calling the kettle black! But, believe you me, in front of those guys, I would have qualified as 'nice and lean'!!!

But then, that's digressing from the issue. They were carrying a baby that was chooo cute!!! I know...I know, me calling things cute is unheard of, but hey...there's always a first time for something! Anyway, this kid had huge eyes which were EXACTLY like mine, down to the minutest of colour detail. I was totally mesmerized and kept on staring at the poor baby like it was an animal in the zoo. Said baby decided to return the favour without flinching!!!

Later, when I was driving home, it struck me that finally, a baby didn't burst into tears after looking at me! Some achievement, eh?

Results...aarrrghh...results!!!

So, finally all my interviews are over. Now, the excruciating wait begins. However, there is one piece of good news. I am certainly going in for management this year, coz I already have a GIM convert. However, the biggie is XLRI - fingers crossed for that one.

A lot has happened since I last wrote.

• I had my first bike accident...nothing serious, but man, it sure is scary when you start aquaplaning and wonder whether your shoulder is gonna pop out again, after a good 4 years.
  
• India won in Australia and the media promptly dubbed them as world champions.
• We continued to suck at hockey, with Mr. Gill spouting out one idiotic statement after another!
• Force India made a horrible debut, and the Iceman didn't have better luck.
  
• Another one of my classmates (V) is tying the knot. Kinda makes me feel old. SSV will know what I mean!
• The 'old' feeling is accentuated by the fact that in no less than 3 interviews, the interviewers had a hearty laugh at my expense, making wisecracks about how I must already be a 'manager' somewhere, or how I don't have a girlfriend!
• I flew 4 times with Kingfisher and frankly, the air hostesses are not all they are hyped to be! I mean, it's like they are half a mile beauties. Occasionally, you may find one who is really pretty, but then a closer look tells you she's wearing those horrible coloured contacts! Eeewww!!!
• I was convinced that Bombay still has the best public transport system in India, after visiting Bangalore.
  
• I found a nice joint in Bangalore called Chicken County in Gandhi Nagar, where you get a whole Grilled Chicken for just Rs. 110! That's cheap, man!

More after the results are out!

Read a Newspaper for information??? You must be joking!!!

With all the management interviews coming up, everyone I meet recommends reading newspapers. Definitely good advice, but I can't help but recall this excerpt a friend mailed a few months ago. The setting is the British Prime Minister's Office, where the PM, the Cabinet Secretary (Sir Humphrey Appleby) and the Principal Private Secretary (Bernard Woolley) have gathered to discuss an impending national crisis about which they have precious little information.

Finished with Bernard for now, Sir Humphrey turned back to the PM and wiping his mouth with his handkerchief — “I suppose we could leak this to the press and hope that they can dig up more information for us.”

“Don't tell me about the press, Humphrey” countered the Prime Minister, “I know exactly who reads the papers: the Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country; The Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country; The Times is read by people who actually do run the country; the Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country; the Financial Times is read by people who own the country; the Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country; and the The Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is — none of whom we can trust with this crisis.”

“Prime Minister, what about the people who read The Sun ?” asked the Cabinet Secretary.

“ Sun readers don't care who runs the country, as long as she's got big tits” Bernard shot back.

What a Month!!!

Phew! What a month it has been. It all started with me giving the best competitive exam of my life. Then, came the various entrance exam results. The proverbial feline which haunts the dreams of many a management aspirant had spat and clawed at me, causing me to emerge badly scarred. Never again am I going to go near that one! JMET was decent enough that I could harbour expectations of getting calls from at least some of the lesser fancied IITs. SNAP yielded what I thought was a good result. Unfortunately, SIBM and SCMHRD did not concur.

Then, on a nice and wintry Friday evening, PG started flashing that XAT results were out. With increasing trepidation, I checked out my performance. My confidence at the beginning of the month was vindicated. I had a call from XLRI! Whew…my first call! I immediately enrolled for GD/PI prep at the same place RMLR attended last year. Little did I know that they were %#^%#$#* slave drivers!!! I could kill RMLR now! ( I know…I know, it will help me blah…blah…blah, but hey, that doesn’t mean I wont enjoy killing RMLR if I see him anytime next month! :-D)

And now, for the icing on the cake. I just found out that I had secured an ‘A’ on the BEC Higher exam, conducted by the British Council! Come to think of it, I don’t think I have had a better month, ever!

Happy New Year

So, we are finally into 2008. Now, as I look back at 2007, I feel that I didn't really achieve much. I mean I missed out on getting into a good mgmt. institute, there wasn't much value addition in terms of my job, either. Hell, even the New Year's Eve party I attended last night seemed lame. But, that is probably because I am sub-consciously comparing it to the fun I had during Christmas with SSV and SSV(female).

But then, there is a whole new year, with a whole new basket of opportunities to look forward to. Maybe, I will finally get into mgmt. Whatever the case, I hope the year makes me a better person. Here's to 2008!!!

Life on the IIMC Campus (Part 2)

The last time I wrote, I had mentioned about a big celebration on Christmas night. It turned out to be the GGP! (Err, in case anyone wants to know what GGP is, please contact me separately.) That turned out to be a lot of fun. It somehow gives me an insane amount of pleasure to watch others get stoned and make complete fools of themselves. One time during the party, SSV, SSV (female), their guests and I decided to go and make ourselves comfortable on the jetty. Now, this jetty is like a raft of planks fitted on pontoons floating in the lake. Since it was reunion time, it had been nicely decorated with yellow lights, making it seem as if it were Diwali instead of Christmas! When we reached this place, there was a solitary fellow sitting right in the middle of the jetty, trying to get further intoxicated by the swaying motion of the jetty. At first, he looked bored, but he immediately "perked" up when SSV (female) narrated a tale of having seen two females make out during the same event last year! A simple suggestion of swinging the jetty even more resulted in SSV and I managing to put out the lights. Needless to say, we left soon after, causing the poor bloke's high to all but disappear.

We decided to call it a day, erm...night...err, early morning, and head home. The path home takes us over the "Howrah Bridge". That night, the fog was extremely bad. The visibility was down to five feet. The entire setting seemed to have been picked straight out of The Hound of The Baskervilles. At any time, we expected to see a hound jump out at us! (Well, if not a hound, at least a ghost or two......naah, I suppose Bong ghosts are too genial for such early morning haunting jaunts.) So, we all managed to reach home safe and hound - I mean sound - at around 0430 hours (4:30 a.m.)....Man, Bengal is famous for unions....but I will probably remember IIMC for this re-union!

The last paragraph has been practically written by SSV.

Life on the IIMC Campus

Arrived here @ the IIMC campus on vacation yesterday. SSV's place, to be precise. Have been enjoying life since then. Life here seems to be pretty laid back. Nobody seems to be in any hurry whatsoever. Anything and everything can be done sooner or later, the latter being more likely! There is also an Alumni Reunion taking place at this time over here. It sounded like fun when SSV mentioned it yesterday, but the DJ Nite, which we attended yesterday, was extremely disappointing. Maybe it was because the oldies who had gathered there were too tired to dance. Maybe it was well past their bed time! The youngsters seemed to be more interested in the booze. And to top it all, the DJ seemed to be an amateur picked right out of last October's Durga Puja!!!

Anyway, I hope today will be better. There is a play scheduled to start in an hour's time. It's supposed to be an adaptation of the Audrey Hepburn movie, Wait Until Dark. The least I can do is keep my fingers crossed.

Finally Free!!!

Yes! The day has finally dawned! I am, as of today, free from the shackles of my first project. It has been a horrid, yet interesting experience. I have suffered and enjoyed, learnt and forgotten, and if someone were to ask me whether I would exchange it for anything else, I would probably reply in the negative.

But, nostalgia aside, it's time to look ahead. Let's see what new opportunities come calling. RMLR, dude, I am FINALLY FREE!!!

Order in the midst of Disorder

The British do seem have made a profound impression on our collective psyche. I suppose this can happen only in Bombay!!!

Corporate Actions

Well, CAT is over and I have basically screwed up my chances of making it into an IIM. Well, it was at least worth a try! But when I get chance to think about this all alone, I sometimes wonder whether all this is worth it. I mean the general perception is that in order to get into a good management college, one has to work really hard...blah blah blah. But, what after that? Is all this hard work going to guarantee an easy life for me?

After having spent a good two years in a corporate project, complete with all the highs and lows of belonging, what have I achieved? Everyone I meet outside congratulates me on landing such a good job in campus placement, but sometimes I am left wondering what is so good about this job? And is it to get a better one that I am trying to get into a decent management college? Who is to say that it wont be worse? Forget the job conditions for a minute. Think about the people that make up the team. Why does everyone have to pretend that all is well and that we are all a well-oiled unit, when there are obviously glaring problems existing just below the surface? Is this what being a part of the corporate world involves? Being a hypocrite who blurts out the truth only when totally pissed?

She

She came and sat next to me in the bus, at Opera House. Her hair was a radiant brown and it gave off a nice and flowery fragrance. She had fixed it atop her head with a nice butterfly clip, but a few stray wisps fell around her small face, framing it nicely. A hint of a smile played on her lips as she swayed slightly to the tune of the music on her Walkman phone. She answered a call in a lilting feminine voice which, for no reason, brought a smile to my face. She accidentally brushed my foot and apologised with so much sincerity in her soft brown eyes that I couldn't get a coherent word out! Suddenly, I was glad I had a big office bag in my lap.

All too soon, VT arrived and she got off. The bus sped along mercilessly, hurrying me to my office two stops ahead!

Lessons in Two-Wheeler Riding - A Dummy's Viewpoint (Concluding Part)

Well well well. The day finally arrived. I finally went to office on my own with the bike. And it felt good. True, I was a bit rusty. But then, the faults started ironing themselves out with each day. Though, it must be said that my previous experience driving a car did hold me in good stead. Plus, I managed to strike a nice deal with the parking attendant at Horniman Circle. 150 bucks for the whole month. Pretty good, if you ask me.

Alas! All good things must come to an end. And so did this. The rains decided to put in an appearance all day today and that was curtains for my bike riding. The problem is that this wet spell looks like it's gonna last for some time. God knows when we will get the next dry spell.

Other news is that I am going to get lonelier. My best friend since school, SB will be leaving for the US for a period of 11 months, starting August. Which means that I do not have anyone other than TAP to spend my time with until RSK comes back from Milan. And that's in September.

So, until September, it's time to sing "Tanhaayee tanhaayee..."!!!

(You think of a title for this one!!!)

I know...I know!!! I should have blogged a long time earlier, blah blah blah!!! Frankly speaking, even I don't know why I didn't do so earlier. I mean I had lots of free time but the zeal just wasn't there. Anyway, all that's water under the bridge.

A lot of things have been happening since I last blogged. And I mean A LOT!!! India actually managed to defeat South Africa in cricket, I managed to ride my bike home from Worli Sea Face and RMLR ended up being called Chuchchee Singh of Unnees!!!

But then, some things have also not changed. Like I get yelled at everyday for leaving my things lying about on my bed, it continues to rain at least once a day so that I cant ride my bike to office and office continues to be boring and uninspiring.

Just one thing to wait for in the near future - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Need I say more?

Musings...

The past week has been extremely boring in office. I never thought I would say this but, I think I should have had more work!!! I just had too much of free time. So, I did what I usually do - I pondered over what was wrong with my life and what wasn't. So, what did I come up with? Well, read on to find out (if you wanna...)

Wrongs :

• Why can't anyone ever understand that whenever my shoulder dislocates, it's not a walk in the park for me, not that I am particularly fond of walks in parks. But then, I am digressing here. What I mean is, it is funny to joke about it for some time. But, after a while, it begins to remind me of those painful episodes and mind you, they are NOT funny. Imagine what it would feel like if you can't feel your arm suddenly...if your fingers were as good as non-existent, if you had to feel the ligament holding your arm attached to your body slowly but surely tearing away bringing more and more pain with it, so much so that you wanna retch!!!
  
• Why cant my Mom ever understand me? It irks me to know that I am still a stranger to the person I thought knew me best!!!
  
• Why do I always have to be the generous one? The one who lets others through?
  
• After more than 23 years of blissful existence, why do I have to feel now that I would have liked nothing better than to have a little sister? A squirt to whom I could relate all my problems without expecting to get a sermon? Someone I could really pamper. Someone who I could tease to no end, but at the same time, feel like beating the pulp out of anyone else who tried to do the same.

Rights :

• I like the fact that I have a few friends whom I can trust with most of my problems. It's a nice feeling.
• I like it that I have finally started looking at two-wheelers as a means of transportation. I mean for a car guy like me, it's really big.
• I like it that I can be really me wherever I go. I hate people who get their work done on the basis of false pretences, and thank God, I am not one of them!!!
• I like that I can write my blog entries in such a detached way. It really helps me to understand myself when I read through them later.

Pretty balanced life, eh??

Lessons in Two-Wheeler Riding - A Dummy's Viewpoint (Part 2)

It's been almost a month since I first started learning how to ride a two-wheeler. Well, I must say that there has been progress.

For one, I have graduated from Dad's scooter to my own bike (a Honda Unicorn). I can now find balance easily so, I guess Dad's cycling lessons have helped. I am also beginning to enjoy the experience of riding.

But, there are still some things that I would like to iron out. Most important is my balance at the fag end of braking. I MUST learn to somehow keep the bike upright when I am about to get my feet down at the end of braking to a stop. Also, I am currently finding shifting up through my bike's gearbox a bit of a pain coz I just don't seem to know when the gearshift has taken place!!! I guess that should improve with time.

It must be looking very bad for me considering that it's been a month since I started riding. But, I guess the only Saturdays and Sundays clause bails me out to a certain extent. Still, I must improve fast else, the rains will be upon me soon!!!

Cheeni Kum - A Review

Went to watch Cheeni Kum at Sterling today. The promos of the movie had interested me greatly and I was interested in seeing whether the movie lived up to the interest it aroused in me.

The movie starts with a quick introduction of the lead characters. No grand entry, no loud music. Just the beginning of a story. The story of a romance between a 64 yr old man and a 34 yr old woman. The story of the pitfalls such a romance must inevitably face.

The movie-makers have been very wise to choose AB and Tabu for their respective roles. For, it is very difficult to imagine two people more perfect for this story. Both of them shine in the movie, be it the restrained emotion, or the tacit understanding between the two. Especially entertaining are the witty potshots that both characters can't resist taking at each other.

Tabu makes a return after a long hiatus and the wait was simply well worth it. She certainly delivers what is expected of her. AB, as always, is perfect. He portrays the character of the "khadoos" but lovable buddha quite well. Very often, he irritates you but, you still manage to feel sorry for him, at times. And, just when you have begun to feel that this fellow is not all that bad...BAM...he snaps at someone again!!! Zohra Sehgal, as AB's mom, packs in quite a punch. It is amazing to see this versatile actress still deliver such great performances in her 90's. Also, deserving a special mention is Baby Svini. Her scenes with AB are simply delightful and she effortlessly manages to keep pace with the Big B. This young lass sure has some potential. Hope she doesn't fade away, for one feels that there is surely more to come from her.

So, did Cheeni Kum justify my interest? You bet it did!!!