As I get ready to retire for the night, one last time in Runwal Prestige , I can not help but wonder that it was a time well spent. Runwal Prestige provided me a luxury which not many people enjoy in our fast moving lives today- just walking distance away from my office. Apart from that it was just a simple society, with no gyms, no swimming pools or sports area... But what makes it worth remembering was a nice flat and a nicer flat mate. A simple jovial guy who is very unassuming, he might not come across as very dashing the first time you meet him, but 2-3 meetings and you would begin to realize the astuteness of his mind. He has got great presence of mind, a thinking head and a good guy at heart. Loves to go out on trips, a pure veggie, very spiritual and very responsible towards the family. Looks pretty ordinary and normal qualities but when you meet this guy, you will find it is more impressing than you earlier thought... I have been amazingly astounded by his clarity of thought and brilliance of execution. He does not get swayed away by useless advices from people and suggestions he gives are almost always very logical and helpful. He has great coordination and organization skills, something you will not take long to notice. No wonder he was part of the coordination committee in my college. I had never met him back then in college, for his world was entirely different than mine and it was a taboo, a highly dangerous one for that matter ,to look into each others world. Atleast 3 ladies have already praised him in front of me ( and when I say ladies, dont get any ideas, one of them is my mother :) A typical good guy from mid 90s movies only difference being, he does not stroll across the gardens.. he walks so fast that he just zips through the park. I am still searching for a guy who walks faster than him. It was amazing how the only two room mates that I ever had in my life kept their rooms so immaculately clean. Whenever it was a long time that I had not cleaned my room, all I had to do was to switch rooms with them.. but now alas, I wont have that luxury either. Enough of my luxuries now..time to sign off... All the best to my last room mate... Signing off from 25 Runwal Prestige, Nagar Road, Yerwada, Pune :)
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Friday, May 6, 2011
Mumbai Local Etiquettes
Internship at a B school is supposed to be a period where you implement ,what you have learned in the classrooms, in the outside world... Its been a month into my internship and m still learning, m still learning different routes to reach from NITIE campus to IDBI ofc in parel, m still learning innovative ways to sleep at my desk post lunch, M still learning what to do to prevent your body from freezing coz its surrounded by highly efficient air conditioners from all 4 sides... oppsie sorry 5 sides, right over your head is another side. But all this is just one half of the learning, the other major half is "Do's and Donts of travelling in a mumbai local" and this post of mine is dedicated to the same!!!
For those who have not yet had an oppurtunity to travel in a mumbai local, you should realize, at the very outset, that mumbai local is a civilisation in itself. It is a greater economic force than capitalism , more powerful than any socio political movement that our great nation has ever witnessed, more immmense than any war involving US till date , bigger revolution than that happened in france( some revolution did happen in frace right?.. what the heck, you got an idea no )
This place has its own unconventionally conventional behaviours which are more of a survival strategy than of a accepted practise.E.g. if you want to get down at a station from the great local, your conventional wisdom would tell you to ask the person in front of you, "bhaisahab aap kanjurmarg utarenge kya? {assuming the name of the station is kanjurmarg and you come from indian hinterland} but to your amazement ,you wont get any reply, coz this is not the accepted behaviour at a local. All you need to do is just go very close to the person in front of you (Altough Mumbai local makes sure you remain "very close and connected" to the person at all times, its upto your judgement as to how more close can you get) and say in a monotonous, really heavy and dull and disintersted voice - "Kanjur" and you will notice that the person now is left with no option but to either nod his head in a yes or move his body away from your path to alight the great local.Speaking unnecessary long sentences is considered as a waste of energy and adding to noise pollution by the community of mumbai local commuters. However on the contrary, if you are standing at the platform of a station like dadar or kurla and a train approaches your platform , you are expected to speak the following words "oye oyee oyeeee" with increasing pitch as the train slows down to stop. Even if the trains and platforms are completely empty, you should still speak these words to express your enthusiasm at the arrival of the local at these great destinations. Speaking to strangers in a local is allowed but not to a special kind of traveller.This traveller will make his way through the heavily crowded local , to stand in the gaps left inbetween the legs of people who managed to get a seat. He will stand there for I dont know how long, with one hand holding the handle from the ceiling and the other, carrying his favourite book , at his favourite page. This guy, it seems has got special instructions from Mr obama to finish this book today itself.Anyways, the others sitting behind him are trying hard to look away from his ass and hoping that he doesnt fart.
I wonder to this day why people travelling in the mumbai local have saved "weird" names in the contact lists of their mobile phones, Names like "prince india", "chota lal" "raj and Raj", "madam pinky" {okay i dint peak in their phones, they were so close while using their phones, that even a guy with big spectacles like me could read it without any effort}. Anyways, I dont intend to solve this puzzle, all I intend to solve is , why all these people have a really characteristic "12 baje" look on their faces.It seems like all of them wished to board the ladies compartment but they were pushed into this compartment by the mob. Its is amazing what a mob can do in a mumbai local. It can give you a feeling of floating like water,the experience is unparallel and can not be easily replicated. You just float with all your brethren. You boarded the local from one end and within no time, without your awareness, you reach the other end of the local. It is at this point that you should wake up from this blissful experience and make an effort to stay inside local, otherwise you will fall flat on the rails at the other end.
I have still lot more to talk about the great local, but as happens with enclyclopedias, law journals, insurance policy forms and a management prof's ppts, it can not be contained in a single volume. Anyways, I will stop here for now.Till the time I write again.. Ciao .Salutes to the Great Local!!!
For those who have not yet had an oppurtunity to travel in a mumbai local, you should realize, at the very outset, that mumbai local is a civilisation in itself. It is a greater economic force than capitalism , more powerful than any socio political movement that our great nation has ever witnessed, more immmense than any war involving US till date , bigger revolution than that happened in france( some revolution did happen in frace right?.. what the heck, you got an idea no )
This place has its own unconventionally conventional behaviours which are more of a survival strategy than of a accepted practise.E.g. if you want to get down at a station from the great local, your conventional wisdom would tell you to ask the person in front of you, "bhaisahab aap kanjurmarg utarenge kya? {assuming the name of the station is kanjurmarg and you come from indian hinterland} but to your amazement ,you wont get any reply, coz this is not the accepted behaviour at a local. All you need to do is just go very close to the person in front of you (Altough Mumbai local makes sure you remain "very close and connected" to the person at all times, its upto your judgement as to how more close can you get) and say in a monotonous, really heavy and dull and disintersted voice - "Kanjur" and you will notice that the person now is left with no option but to either nod his head in a yes or move his body away from your path to alight the great local.Speaking unnecessary long sentences is considered as a waste of energy and adding to noise pollution by the community of mumbai local commuters. However on the contrary, if you are standing at the platform of a station like dadar or kurla and a train approaches your platform , you are expected to speak the following words "oye oyee oyeeee" with increasing pitch as the train slows down to stop. Even if the trains and platforms are completely empty, you should still speak these words to express your enthusiasm at the arrival of the local at these great destinations. Speaking to strangers in a local is allowed but not to a special kind of traveller.This traveller will make his way through the heavily crowded local , to stand in the gaps left inbetween the legs of people who managed to get a seat. He will stand there for I dont know how long, with one hand holding the handle from the ceiling and the other, carrying his favourite book , at his favourite page. This guy, it seems has got special instructions from Mr obama to finish this book today itself.Anyways, the others sitting behind him are trying hard to look away from his ass and hoping that he doesnt fart.
I wonder to this day why people travelling in the mumbai local have saved "weird" names in the contact lists of their mobile phones, Names like "prince india", "chota lal" "raj and Raj", "madam pinky" {okay i dint peak in their phones, they were so close while using their phones, that even a guy with big spectacles like me could read it without any effort}. Anyways, I dont intend to solve this puzzle, all I intend to solve is , why all these people have a really characteristic "12 baje" look on their faces.It seems like all of them wished to board the ladies compartment but they were pushed into this compartment by the mob. Its is amazing what a mob can do in a mumbai local. It can give you a feeling of floating like water,the experience is unparallel and can not be easily replicated. You just float with all your brethren. You boarded the local from one end and within no time, without your awareness, you reach the other end of the local. It is at this point that you should wake up from this blissful experience and make an effort to stay inside local, otherwise you will fall flat on the rails at the other end.
I have still lot more to talk about the great local, but as happens with enclyclopedias, law journals, insurance policy forms and a management prof's ppts, it can not be contained in a single volume. Anyways, I will stop here for now.Till the time I write again.. Ciao .Salutes to the Great Local!!!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
We are sold out!!!
It was Mandi time at NITIE.. Mandi the event where we,the students transform into smart marketing fellows for 1 day selling goods of an NGO on streets of mumbai.From the begining I knew I would enjoy this stuff for one , I had done something like this before and It was conducted out of the classroom.Had this been inside the classroom, my peculiar "be-wajah" antics would have made sure my class enjoyed this more than I did.
Seniors had always been telling us Mandi will be a day u will remember,just go out there and enjoy.Simple commonsense told me that so many people cant be wrong, every one was saying hte same thing with conviction so I had to believe them.A slow start to the day did not hamper my positivity towards the event.Few things were straight take-aways for me from the morning at NITIE lawns - I was amazed to see some of the cutest faces present their,Amol Mazumdar's advice to play some sport and the simple fact that my director had a wise head on his shoulders which was full of grey hair.
Scene 1 - Khar Road Market, Its Raining cats and dogs,A boy aged between 20-25 ,wearing specs,is standing still by roadside and getting drenched
"Go for it,Go for it" - soliloquy was on,my heart was pumping blood in my body at the rate of nots,gathering all my courage I asked her.. "is there any market nearby aunty"
shit shit shit.. the grammer got badly screwed up .The arrangement of words in my head was something like "please buy the toys m carrying in my bag...pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" waht came out of my mouth was totally different.But I managed to get things in order and in the second attempt I was successful.Did manage to speak up my mind in front of her.Even tough she politelly refused, but it was the ice breaker.
Scene 2 - Two young guys are standing outside an corp bank ATM, one guy is the same from last scene, the other is his business partner.It continues to rain
hap-hazardly running all around searching for my friends ,trying to get the t -shirt of the right size for my first potential client. and boyyy it was the wrong design-the design she did not like.I called another friend of mine to ask if he had the right desgin with the right size but alas Be-wajah's law applied - "in times of crunch,his best friends will not return his calls".Dejected, I told my "almost first client" - I am sorry mam, he is not returning my call,probably he also doesnt have it.
"Give me the two you have" :D :D :D Deal 1 closed:D
Scene 3 Khar Market Road- The guy with the specs and his business partner are on a selling spree.They are selling stuff to people from kuwait,karachi,holland.It just doesnt matter to them.People of their age and Families with small kids were their target customers.and they werent sparing anyone.In around 3 hrs, they were done with it-Whole stock exhausted.Two Really nice events happend in this course of 3 hours,Their last customer was a daugther - mom duo.Both of them had the same kind of specs,wore the same coloured t-shirt and jeans.The mom politely asked her daugther=do you want this toy" and the 6 year old girl gave the most radiant,ravishing,refined and replendent nods of head. We Were Sold Out!!!
Scene 4 - An hour prior to the business duo got sold out
"yaar tumhara dhandha toh mast chal raha hai" and a big ,really big playful smile
The roadside vendor of combs,a 10 year old boy said to me.I remained silent.but nodded my head in a yes.Ironically I was selling all these goods to people telling them that the advances will be used for educating roadside childern.And there it was,reality hit me hard in face. I felt helpless for a split second but then the boy's charm took over.He was apparently having fun and enjoying all the drama being played out in front of his eyes- "A couple of boys, say excuse me to young people shopping,politely tell their names and say a few scentences in english.Then they show them a few puzzles and toys and return change to by now helpless feeling shopper". I went ahead and showed my 10 year old charming machine what I was selling and then I moved on
Scene 5 - hill road,the business partners are enjoying the tea of their sucess and are in a mood to help their friends clear their stocks.They had alredy Pitched in a couple of times for them and were successful.They saw no reason as to why their stocks cant be cleared. A couple of hours later and the 6 of us had sold toys worth 7k plus among ourselves.
Scene 6- Marine Drive, Pics are being clicked all around.20 plus first year nitie students had a fun day.They are chatting and bantering.The guy with the specs sits facing the sea and is extremely happy to have all of them around.Deep inside, he is wishing all of them luck and asking the sea what is next on cards for him!!!
Seniors had always been telling us Mandi will be a day u will remember,just go out there and enjoy.Simple commonsense told me that so many people cant be wrong, every one was saying hte same thing with conviction so I had to believe them.A slow start to the day did not hamper my positivity towards the event.Few things were straight take-aways for me from the morning at NITIE lawns - I was amazed to see some of the cutest faces present their,Amol Mazumdar's advice to play some sport and the simple fact that my director had a wise head on his shoulders which was full of grey hair.
Scene 1 - Khar Road Market, Its Raining cats and dogs,A boy aged between 20-25 ,wearing specs,is standing still by roadside and getting drenched
"Go for it,Go for it" - soliloquy was on,my heart was pumping blood in my body at the rate of nots,gathering all my courage I asked her.. "is there any market nearby aunty"
shit shit shit.. the grammer got badly screwed up .The arrangement of words in my head was something like "please buy the toys m carrying in my bag...pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" waht came out of my mouth was totally different.But I managed to get things in order and in the second attempt I was successful.Did manage to speak up my mind in front of her.Even tough she politelly refused, but it was the ice breaker.
Scene 2 - Two young guys are standing outside an corp bank ATM, one guy is the same from last scene, the other is his business partner.It continues to rain
hap-hazardly running all around searching for my friends ,trying to get the t -shirt of the right size for my first potential client. and boyyy it was the wrong design-the design she did not like.I called another friend of mine to ask if he had the right desgin with the right size but alas Be-wajah's law applied - "in times of crunch,his best friends will not return his calls".Dejected, I told my "almost first client" - I am sorry mam, he is not returning my call,probably he also doesnt have it.
"Give me the two you have" :D :D :D Deal 1 closed:D
Scene 3 Khar Market Road- The guy with the specs and his business partner are on a selling spree.They are selling stuff to people from kuwait,karachi,holland.It just doesnt matter to them.People of their age and Families with small kids were their target customers.and they werent sparing anyone.In around 3 hrs, they were done with it-Whole stock exhausted.Two Really nice events happend in this course of 3 hours,Their last customer was a daugther - mom duo.Both of them had the same kind of specs,wore the same coloured t-shirt and jeans.The mom politely asked her daugther=do you want this toy" and the 6 year old girl gave the most radiant,ravishing,refined and replendent nods of head. We Were Sold Out!!!
Scene 4 - An hour prior to the business duo got sold out
"yaar tumhara dhandha toh mast chal raha hai" and a big ,really big playful smile
The roadside vendor of combs,a 10 year old boy said to me.I remained silent.but nodded my head in a yes.Ironically I was selling all these goods to people telling them that the advances will be used for educating roadside childern.And there it was,reality hit me hard in face. I felt helpless for a split second but then the boy's charm took over.He was apparently having fun and enjoying all the drama being played out in front of his eyes- "A couple of boys, say excuse me to young people shopping,politely tell their names and say a few scentences in english.Then they show them a few puzzles and toys and return change to by now helpless feeling shopper". I went ahead and showed my 10 year old charming machine what I was selling and then I moved on
Scene 5 - hill road,the business partners are enjoying the tea of their sucess and are in a mood to help their friends clear their stocks.They had alredy Pitched in a couple of times for them and were successful.They saw no reason as to why their stocks cant be cleared. A couple of hours later and the 6 of us had sold toys worth 7k plus among ourselves.
Scene 6- Marine Drive, Pics are being clicked all around.20 plus first year nitie students had a fun day.They are chatting and bantering.The guy with the specs sits facing the sea and is extremely happy to have all of them around.Deep inside, he is wishing all of them luck and asking the sea what is next on cards for him!!!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Bandh In Bombay
Over the past weekend, when everyone in my colg was busy writing knols.... I was far afield with my mum enjoying Mumbai. The only adjective that comes to my mind for describing the noun - "mumbai" is "fabulous".
Tough a lot remains to be explored about the city, but I have seen one face of this fabulous city that not many would know.
Today is 5th July 2010 - A nation wide bandh.My mum had her train back home today.At the outset full credit to me,that booking was made by me and I dont know how I do it what I do,But it will always land me up in a "be-wajah" trouble. So as you would have guessed by now going to the railway station in a band bombay is an adventure in itself
"kis time hai ticket aapka"
"Din main 12 baje ka train hai"
"oh hoo hoo hoo. bandh poora chalu rahega tab. change kara lo ticket. taxi vagrah bhi chalu rehga na toh log paathar maarta hai.. aane jaane nahi deta"
The Hostel warden scared the shit out of me.It looked a rather daunting task to me.How would I see her off.Should I rather stop and listen to the hstel warden again.My brain was numb and for the next 2 days I kept cajoling auto walas to come to MDP on 5th morning.. sad for me nobody gave in.
Today Morning- having usual breakfast at usual mess , I was feeling unusually nervous. I had been turned down by atleast a dozen taxi walas including the grand daddy of all-Meru cabs.Auto walas ,from my last 2 days exp, I knew they wudnt budge in. Probably there was big political pull in this area.Anyways,I was scratching my head very hard wondering how we would reach to that fancy place called "andheri station”. As we stepped out of campus, I tried convincein a couple of autowalas.. no wonder people tell me that m optimistic. My mum went and stood by the bus stop.To my relief, one bus did arrive in next 15 mins.and luckily it was for andheri station.
As we crossed a couple of bus stops the driver brought the bus to a standstill. "aila jahiala maila khaiyla" I heard conductor and the driver talking between themselves, in a bus of capacity 54, occupied currently by 4, me and my mum being the other 2 lucky ones. Apparently there was a huge crowd assembled at a distance of 100 mts from us.For a split second I though, my hostel warden knows it all. he was right.I gazed at the size of the window mirror, coz if one of it breaks, I had to understand how far inside can a person be hurt .And it was no ordinary person, it was "meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and my mum". strangely enough, the crowd was waving at the driver to come ahead.boyyy.. what a polite mob I thought. "pyar se pass bula kar fir maarenge".. thats some style. As my bus cautiously approached the mob , 2 pretty girls came from nowhere and boarded our bus.boy I tell you these girls, they always create such a scene.. All the mob it turned out was more interested in getting these girls board the bus rather than pelting stones at us.
20 Mins past, the 8 of us reached the station. With several policemen chit chattin all around,The press madly videotaping the Army personnel.They All looked gay and happy , only the faces of people around weren’t that jovial. Their faces told me they were scared. Nobody was walking the usual brsik mumbai walk.Everyone was catious and slow.They gazed at us probably in amazement and probably in happiness- "koi aur bhi hai mere jaisa" they would have thought.
I have never ever seen an empty local pass by in front of my eyes. The church gate trains which ply at 3 times thier capacity on usual days were totally vacant.It was amazing.Probably humans can be scared easily I thought.When I could hardly spot my people, there were "angreez" log wondering which platform to go to.We as Indians are a sacred lot I guess.But thats not all, we are even stranger, in a complete empty train, why would you still like to stand by the train door,hanging by the pole.And crazy enough, why on planet earth, would I jump out of a moving train on a empty platform.I would need to go and ask a mumbaiker for the answer.
Finally we were at the right platform at the right time unscathed.As my mum boarded the train, the akon song "M so lonely" played inside my head. And It played over and oevr again.My mum did leave a void in me when her train passed that paltform.I stepped out of station alone and even more slowly than when I came in.I reached the bus stop. Asked a guy about LnT powaii,asuming he wouldnt know what NITIE is.The guy was friendly. he helped me board the right bus.As we talked, he told me about this work and also free description of the places we were crossing on the way.It was fun talking to a completely friendly stranger I reached LnT ,bid him a goodbye but as always happens with guys from my place- we know the names of all the girls we dont even talk to, but we dont the names of the guys we are friends with,so I bid him good bye wihtout knowing his name.
Out of the bus , and the akon song played again.Only a few seconds passed when I asked a man about the bus to NITIE. "Bus kyun karni hai, chala karo,Mujhe ek spine wale doctor ne abtay hai zinda jayda chaloge utni lambi umar hogi.Aa jao mere sath".Akon song vanished again.We walked and talked,starngely enough, he complimented me for makin it to nitie. First compliment from a non industry expert, I have received till now in this regard.We walked small distance before he moved in his direction, only to leave me the company of his friend, who was coming my way.We walked an talked and the akon song dint play this time. He discussed bandh and notorious powai area.
I reached campus, sooner than I had expected. And deep down thanking mumbai and wondering, how can I ever be lonely in this fabulous city of fabulous people.
Tough a lot remains to be explored about the city, but I have seen one face of this fabulous city that not many would know.
Today is 5th July 2010 - A nation wide bandh.My mum had her train back home today.At the outset full credit to me,that booking was made by me and I dont know how I do it what I do,But it will always land me up in a "be-wajah" trouble. So as you would have guessed by now going to the railway station in a band bombay is an adventure in itself
"kis time hai ticket aapka"
"Din main 12 baje ka train hai"
"oh hoo hoo hoo. bandh poora chalu rahega tab. change kara lo ticket. taxi vagrah bhi chalu rehga na toh log paathar maarta hai.. aane jaane nahi deta"
The Hostel warden scared the shit out of me.It looked a rather daunting task to me.How would I see her off.Should I rather stop and listen to the hstel warden again.My brain was numb and for the next 2 days I kept cajoling auto walas to come to MDP on 5th morning.. sad for me nobody gave in.
Today Morning- having usual breakfast at usual mess , I was feeling unusually nervous. I had been turned down by atleast a dozen taxi walas including the grand daddy of all-Meru cabs.Auto walas ,from my last 2 days exp, I knew they wudnt budge in. Probably there was big political pull in this area.Anyways,I was scratching my head very hard wondering how we would reach to that fancy place called "andheri station”. As we stepped out of campus, I tried convincein a couple of autowalas.. no wonder people tell me that m optimistic. My mum went and stood by the bus stop.To my relief, one bus did arrive in next 15 mins.and luckily it was for andheri station.
As we crossed a couple of bus stops the driver brought the bus to a standstill. "aila jahiala maila khaiyla" I heard conductor and the driver talking between themselves, in a bus of capacity 54, occupied currently by 4, me and my mum being the other 2 lucky ones. Apparently there was a huge crowd assembled at a distance of 100 mts from us.For a split second I though, my hostel warden knows it all. he was right.I gazed at the size of the window mirror, coz if one of it breaks, I had to understand how far inside can a person be hurt .And it was no ordinary person, it was "meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and my mum". strangely enough, the crowd was waving at the driver to come ahead.boyyy.. what a polite mob I thought. "pyar se pass bula kar fir maarenge".. thats some style. As my bus cautiously approached the mob , 2 pretty girls came from nowhere and boarded our bus.boy I tell you these girls, they always create such a scene.. All the mob it turned out was more interested in getting these girls board the bus rather than pelting stones at us.
20 Mins past, the 8 of us reached the station. With several policemen chit chattin all around,The press madly videotaping the Army personnel.They All looked gay and happy , only the faces of people around weren’t that jovial. Their faces told me they were scared. Nobody was walking the usual brsik mumbai walk.Everyone was catious and slow.They gazed at us probably in amazement and probably in happiness- "koi aur bhi hai mere jaisa" they would have thought.
I have never ever seen an empty local pass by in front of my eyes. The church gate trains which ply at 3 times thier capacity on usual days were totally vacant.It was amazing.Probably humans can be scared easily I thought.When I could hardly spot my people, there were "angreez" log wondering which platform to go to.We as Indians are a sacred lot I guess.But thats not all, we are even stranger, in a complete empty train, why would you still like to stand by the train door,hanging by the pole.And crazy enough, why on planet earth, would I jump out of a moving train on a empty platform.I would need to go and ask a mumbaiker for the answer.
Finally we were at the right platform at the right time unscathed.As my mum boarded the train, the akon song "M so lonely" played inside my head. And It played over and oevr again.My mum did leave a void in me when her train passed that paltform.I stepped out of station alone and even more slowly than when I came in.I reached the bus stop. Asked a guy about LnT powaii,asuming he wouldnt know what NITIE is.The guy was friendly. he helped me board the right bus.As we talked, he told me about this work and also free description of the places we were crossing on the way.It was fun talking to a completely friendly stranger I reached LnT ,bid him a goodbye but as always happens with guys from my place- we know the names of all the girls we dont even talk to, but we dont the names of the guys we are friends with,so I bid him good bye wihtout knowing his name.
Out of the bus , and the akon song played again.Only a few seconds passed when I asked a man about the bus to NITIE. "Bus kyun karni hai, chala karo,Mujhe ek spine wale doctor ne abtay hai zinda jayda chaloge utni lambi umar hogi.Aa jao mere sath".Akon song vanished again.We walked and talked,starngely enough, he complimented me for makin it to nitie. First compliment from a non industry expert, I have received till now in this regard.We walked small distance before he moved in his direction, only to leave me the company of his friend, who was coming my way.We walked an talked and the akon song dint play this time. He discussed bandh and notorious powai area.
I reached campus, sooner than I had expected. And deep down thanking mumbai and wondering, how can I ever be lonely in this fabulous city of fabulous people.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
From Infy Blogs Repository
Date:2009-09-18 21:07
Subject:my experience with parichay
Security:Public
Mood:pleased
If you are afraid it is one more of those articles telling you about what went wrong on 15th sept.Chill maadi. Relax. Push back your seat and read on.its not about 15th sept at all, . its about a family of emotions, a club of joy, a fraternity of excitement. Its about – the people of parichay parivar.
For me it all started when one fine evening I bumped into sunil(fortunately) while on my way back from a green connect presentaiton-“ kahan ja raha hai”,I asked… “chal na maze karenge” he replied and started dragging me with him. the reasons I followed him that day were twofold- first nobody says no to a invite for “mazaa karenge” and secondly when he is dragging you, you should accede yourself to his muscle power or else you might just hurt yourself.
I thank him to this day for that dragging because.. .the “ mazaa karenge “ event turned out to be parichay auditions. gautham with a smile on his face was guarding a conference hall where auditions were happening, inside sat 4-5 people who looked very knowledgable, smart and professional. One of them was Rahul Sasidharan, do not remember if subbu was there coz he is the kind of person who wont notice at first go… you look at him and say to yourself… ahh he looks just like me, he wont be involved in the decision making.
That event was remarkable not because I was selected. Infact I was rejected(cleared first round and kicked out in second round of auditons). But it was remarable coz I met a really nice girl,friendly na d gracious.,pretty and good looking and a fabulous person-jyoti phogat. She , now my very good friend ,indirectly made me realize that I can be friends with girls too .The 10 mins rehearsal for the auditons with her were full of fun and laughter. That time I had no idea in this whole wide world , that it was just the beginning of meetings with some really cool people
So auditions results came.. and that was it- The End of parichay for me. I felt a little bad for I had spent a weekend practicing some dance moves which I never performed in front of judges. On the auditons, it was one guy who asked us to perform some “chidya kabotar “ type dance moves. I later realized, that guy was kishan, one of the fabulous dancers I have seen. He is superbly awesome.I have had not much interaction with him, but one thing is for sure, whenever he is starting his dance classes, I will be the first to enroll.
btw if you are just wondering, how come is got transformed to zoozoo from Baweja ( or b ewajah) when I was never selected, it happended a lot later.. a week before the scheduled parichay on 27th aug, I got a call from a person called rahul s.. a… s…i…. d… h a r a n(that is how he gave me his mail id).who wanted to make a cartoon out of me. I went and met him that evening in MC hall. Photshoot was on and the big stars of parichay were there posing for swaheels camera. That was the first time I realized that parichay was big, really big
Swaheel, the guy with the camera, really humble and helpful. He is the one guy who made whole of the paricahy team in CC smile after the main event, for he had the camera in his hand. I really feel sorry for the guy, for he is under tremendous work pressure, even when he is not on his seat coz after one pic.. people bounce on him with” “ one more one more… please please, ek solo,ek solo, with subbu ,with subbu.””
At the photshoot,were present some familiar faces. Rashmi R Nath- I performed with her at the auditions -they took her not me:P.. gargi thakur- I performed with her at the auditons-they took her not me :P, Nithya Naomi- did not perform with her in the auditons J. 3 strikingly different girls. Rashmi- the sweet,simple and sober girl. Her peculiar hand wave,whenever she sees you with her blistering white teeth smile,really peps you up. Nithya- Smart, lavish and lovely,. But I seriously need to mention here her patience and team spirit is commendable, waiting gently for her turn to record her dialogues. Last but not the least- Gargi Thakur- from a distance you can tell that she is fundu type ka girl, really cool and tension free. Ideal for the simran character. She looks intelligent. And just looks intelligent
Days moved on very normally but nights.. they suddenly become longer,long nights recording, practsing, talking ,chating, listening to the parichay technicalities.. and just fearing drep down…” yeh kal na bula le”.weekends seemed two days of being dumb.. coz those were the days I started to come to campus but I did not know what to do.. totally confused..wondering, whether I will do something fruitful today.but somehow, I dont know how, I was prepared for my small tiny role(which i did not realize was funny, till one run through at the amphi,where people really liked the rumeo Juliet zoozoo sequence).
Finally the D day-26th august, evening before the parichay.one really bothered and apprehensive lady .. I asked somebody”yeh kyun parehsan hai..isko iski team se mila do yaar”.. I got the reply” shut up.. she is the HR”. Talking to the HR was one very sensible guy. He has a stable head on his shoulders. Very friendly, convivial and welcoming guy- Praven kanniah. The way he handled the situation that day plus the on 15th sept night was amazing. He is so selfless. Recently I read NRN ‘s book which says to keep society before self and he epitomizes that thing. He keeps parichay before self. I still remember , he was telling somebody on the night (15th sept )- “ people will feel bad da”… btw not to forget he is also a fabulous dancer. I really wonder whom I will vote for if there was to be a dance competiton between Kishan,Praveen, Aman, Avinash and Anna.
Don’t know who will win.. but it will be event of the century.
Talking about the dancers.. somebody please tell me, why the core team of parichay- the veterans- subbu, anna.. don’t look old. When somebody tell you that the guys named subbu and anna are the head, you picture in your head 2 really old people, who would give you all the gyan in this world on how to organize any event. But when you meet them you are like
That s what blank.. you don’t know how to react. They come upto you and give you a really chearrful hiii
Which obviously you had least expected. Plus I like subbu’s chracertistic scolding for his team which inviarably starts as “ yooou stupppiid fellow”. And standing right next to the person on the receiving end of the scolding, you feel really happy. It is definitely not a feeling of schadenfreudes but a feeling of respect for the subbu’s devotion, his intensity, his spirit for parichay. Frankly speaking the only momnt I felt bad for parichay was the time when rain strted at amphi and I went inside the green room. Subbu stood there
With tears in his eyes… those were real tears, tears which not even rain could hide. Those were the tears for his parichay team.” Everybody has put in so much effort” he said. And continued crying
On the other end of the spectrum.. is another big shot. Anna- I havnet interacted with him either but he looks to be mature and settled. Really easy to get along with kind of guy.
And finally our director- Rahul- I have already introduced him in this article, but will take a little more space to tell you all that he is a brilliant director. He has a really keen mind. Wrote a fab story and presented in the best manner possible.
Then there is very own hero vaitihi- on any day.. be it rain or no rain.. he can win the award for
Speaking most no of times the word “da”.he is such a refined actor plus very perceptive, prudent and resourceful person. Thanks to him , I met a really nice ,sweet ,civilized ,polished, very mannerly polite girl .. her name was preethi. Last but not the least.. in this series of meeting really nice people I met my tuntun- priya chaturvedi
She was my savior. For she pulled off a difficult job of acting and lip syncing in just 2 two days.very supportive. Friendly and helpful. not forget beautiful… generally thse two words don’t go togheter-beautiful and friendly.. but in her case they do
Boyyyy.. I just looked back its already 4 apeges. And sstill m not tired. Don’t know about you .i wanted to write more about the fab people which I have met but not interacted much – aerobics queen-paloma, the very cherrful chandru, the ever energetic- soumaya, the quite and relaxed guy-aman,the suave avinash, giggling leela,the dashing DD, the superstar Anarkali(she is so good and at the same time so down to earth.. when I told her your performance was awesome.., you are superstar.. she was like” I am a simple girl re”), Compassionate and considerate Anoop, and many more such admirable,phenomenoal and sensational people
Its been such a memorable and learning exp being part of parichay. From aprichit to zoozoo to tintin, its been a really impressive and indelible journey for me. Don’t know when I will meet all these people again.Till the next time I met them its
Time Out guys.
Subject:my experience with parichay
Security:Public
Mood:pleased
If you are afraid it is one more of those articles telling you about what went wrong on 15th sept.Chill maadi. Relax. Push back your seat and read on.its not about 15th sept at all, . its about a family of emotions, a club of joy, a fraternity of excitement. Its about – the people of parichay parivar.
For me it all started when one fine evening I bumped into sunil(fortunately) while on my way back from a green connect presentaiton-“ kahan ja raha hai”,I asked… “chal na maze karenge” he replied and started dragging me with him. the reasons I followed him that day were twofold- first nobody says no to a invite for “mazaa karenge” and secondly when he is dragging you, you should accede yourself to his muscle power or else you might just hurt yourself.
I thank him to this day for that dragging because.. .the “ mazaa karenge “ event turned out to be parichay auditions. gautham with a smile on his face was guarding a conference hall where auditions were happening, inside sat 4-5 people who looked very knowledgable, smart and professional. One of them was Rahul Sasidharan, do not remember if subbu was there coz he is the kind of person who wont notice at first go… you look at him and say to yourself… ahh he looks just like me, he wont be involved in the decision making.
That event was remarkable not because I was selected. Infact I was rejected(cleared first round and kicked out in second round of auditons). But it was remarable coz I met a really nice girl,friendly na d gracious.,pretty and good looking and a fabulous person-jyoti phogat. She , now my very good friend ,indirectly made me realize that I can be friends with girls too .The 10 mins rehearsal for the auditons with her were full of fun and laughter. That time I had no idea in this whole wide world , that it was just the beginning of meetings with some really cool people
So auditions results came.. and that was it- The End of parichay for me. I felt a little bad for I had spent a weekend practicing some dance moves which I never performed in front of judges. On the auditons, it was one guy who asked us to perform some “chidya kabotar “ type dance moves. I later realized, that guy was kishan, one of the fabulous dancers I have seen. He is superbly awesome.I have had not much interaction with him, but one thing is for sure, whenever he is starting his dance classes, I will be the first to enroll.
btw if you are just wondering, how come is got transformed to zoozoo from Baweja ( or b ewajah) when I was never selected, it happended a lot later.. a week before the scheduled parichay on 27th aug, I got a call from a person called rahul s.. a… s…i…. d… h a r a n(that is how he gave me his mail id).who wanted to make a cartoon out of me. I went and met him that evening in MC hall. Photshoot was on and the big stars of parichay were there posing for swaheels camera. That was the first time I realized that parichay was big, really big
Swaheel, the guy with the camera, really humble and helpful. He is the one guy who made whole of the paricahy team in CC smile after the main event, for he had the camera in his hand. I really feel sorry for the guy, for he is under tremendous work pressure, even when he is not on his seat coz after one pic.. people bounce on him with” “ one more one more… please please, ek solo,ek solo, with subbu ,with subbu.””
At the photshoot,were present some familiar faces. Rashmi R Nath- I performed with her at the auditions -they took her not me:P.. gargi thakur- I performed with her at the auditons-they took her not me :P, Nithya Naomi- did not perform with her in the auditons J. 3 strikingly different girls. Rashmi- the sweet,simple and sober girl. Her peculiar hand wave,whenever she sees you with her blistering white teeth smile,really peps you up. Nithya- Smart, lavish and lovely,. But I seriously need to mention here her patience and team spirit is commendable, waiting gently for her turn to record her dialogues. Last but not the least- Gargi Thakur- from a distance you can tell that she is fundu type ka girl, really cool and tension free. Ideal for the simran character. She looks intelligent. And just looks intelligent
Days moved on very normally but nights.. they suddenly become longer,long nights recording, practsing, talking ,chating, listening to the parichay technicalities.. and just fearing drep down…” yeh kal na bula le”.weekends seemed two days of being dumb.. coz those were the days I started to come to campus but I did not know what to do.. totally confused..wondering, whether I will do something fruitful today.but somehow, I dont know how, I was prepared for my small tiny role(which i did not realize was funny, till one run through at the amphi,where people really liked the rumeo Juliet zoozoo sequence).
Finally the D day-26th august, evening before the parichay.one really bothered and apprehensive lady .. I asked somebody”yeh kyun parehsan hai..isko iski team se mila do yaar”.. I got the reply” shut up.. she is the HR”. Talking to the HR was one very sensible guy. He has a stable head on his shoulders. Very friendly, convivial and welcoming guy- Praven kanniah. The way he handled the situation that day plus the on 15th sept night was amazing. He is so selfless. Recently I read NRN ‘s book which says to keep society before self and he epitomizes that thing. He keeps parichay before self. I still remember , he was telling somebody on the night (15th sept )- “ people will feel bad da”… btw not to forget he is also a fabulous dancer. I really wonder whom I will vote for if there was to be a dance competiton between Kishan,Praveen, Aman, Avinash and Anna.
Don’t know who will win.. but it will be event of the century.
Talking about the dancers.. somebody please tell me, why the core team of parichay- the veterans- subbu, anna.. don’t look old. When somebody tell you that the guys named subbu and anna are the head, you picture in your head 2 really old people, who would give you all the gyan in this world on how to organize any event. But when you meet them you are like
That s what blank.. you don’t know how to react. They come upto you and give you a really chearrful hiii
Which obviously you had least expected. Plus I like subbu’s chracertistic scolding for his team which inviarably starts as “ yooou stupppiid fellow”. And standing right next to the person on the receiving end of the scolding, you feel really happy. It is definitely not a feeling of schadenfreudes but a feeling of respect for the subbu’s devotion, his intensity, his spirit for parichay. Frankly speaking the only momnt I felt bad for parichay was the time when rain strted at amphi and I went inside the green room. Subbu stood there
With tears in his eyes… those were real tears, tears which not even rain could hide. Those were the tears for his parichay team.” Everybody has put in so much effort” he said. And continued crying
On the other end of the spectrum.. is another big shot. Anna- I havnet interacted with him either but he looks to be mature and settled. Really easy to get along with kind of guy.
And finally our director- Rahul- I have already introduced him in this article, but will take a little more space to tell you all that he is a brilliant director. He has a really keen mind. Wrote a fab story and presented in the best manner possible.
Then there is very own hero vaitihi- on any day.. be it rain or no rain.. he can win the award for
Speaking most no of times the word “da”.he is such a refined actor plus very perceptive, prudent and resourceful person. Thanks to him , I met a really nice ,sweet ,civilized ,polished, very mannerly polite girl .. her name was preethi. Last but not the least.. in this series of meeting really nice people I met my tuntun- priya chaturvedi
She was my savior. For she pulled off a difficult job of acting and lip syncing in just 2 two days.very supportive. Friendly and helpful. not forget beautiful… generally thse two words don’t go togheter-beautiful and friendly.. but in her case they do
Boyyyy.. I just looked back its already 4 apeges. And sstill m not tired. Don’t know about you .i wanted to write more about the fab people which I have met but not interacted much – aerobics queen-paloma, the very cherrful chandru, the ever energetic- soumaya, the quite and relaxed guy-aman,the suave avinash, giggling leela,the dashing DD, the superstar Anarkali(she is so good and at the same time so down to earth.. when I told her your performance was awesome.., you are superstar.. she was like” I am a simple girl re”), Compassionate and considerate Anoop, and many more such admirable,phenomenoal and sensational people
Its been such a memorable and learning exp being part of parichay. From aprichit to zoozoo to tintin, its been a really impressive and indelible journey for me. Don’t know when I will meet all these people again.Till the next time I met them its
Time Out guys.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
MDI vs NITIE
For the unintiated, MDI and NITIE are two of top MBA colleges in the country...
"oh is it!!! and I thought we had IIMs.."
Ya you are right.. we have IIMs but theres a genre beyond that too.. lets not get into details of whose right above there and whose not,coz even m nt sure of that myself at this stage, but the point y m righting this post is coz the title is one big decision i had to make recently.
"so you got through both of them,pick any if both are good, y think"
hmmmmmmm.. I wanted to do just that. but then the logical ,thinking ,reasoning left hemisphere of my brain dint allow me to do that. and hence I sought advice. And there is where all the trouble started...
"Dint you evaluate the pros and cons of what the people had to say"
Ohhh.. woh bhi karna hota hai kya.. I thought just ask people which one of the two is better and thats it.Either I dont know how to evaluate a persons preachings(over telephonic converstations,F2F is much easier)or I am simply too dumb to do that.
I listeneted to both the parties and thought both of them made sense.Amazing!!!
"Then how did you decide"
I thoought i will do a lot of googlin on the stuff i was being told, bt somehow I found that pretty boring plus lack of time.So took the easier way out. my simple raesoning told me,whatever decision you take,you will have to "PROVE THE WORLD WRONG"... nd i guess thats true not just for this simple dilemma of mine but everywhere we take a decision.More often than not, we are welcomed by a world underestimating our talents, they try to prove us wrong.So lets us do the same too and hope we win.
Once I was satisfied with this philosphial reasoning of mine,I went ahead with the colg whose final results made me more captivated,more cheerful,more content...
I joined NITIE
PS: I would take this small space to thank one of my dear friends from MDI whom I interacted with during this course of time.I must say he is a thorough gentleman.tried to help me out of my dilema with complete sincerity and candidness.He is one of the most amazing persons i have talked to till date.I hope he appreciates my decision and I dont disappoint him.Thanks a ton dude:D
and ya he was right, If I had talked to him a couple of more times,I might just have taken a different decision!!!
"oh is it!!! and I thought we had IIMs.."
Ya you are right.. we have IIMs but theres a genre beyond that too.. lets not get into details of whose right above there and whose not,coz even m nt sure of that myself at this stage, but the point y m righting this post is coz the title is one big decision i had to make recently.
"so you got through both of them,pick any if both are good, y think"
hmmmmmmm.. I wanted to do just that. but then the logical ,thinking ,reasoning left hemisphere of my brain dint allow me to do that. and hence I sought advice. And there is where all the trouble started...
"Dint you evaluate the pros and cons of what the people had to say"
Ohhh.. woh bhi karna hota hai kya.. I thought just ask people which one of the two is better and thats it.Either I dont know how to evaluate a persons preachings(over telephonic converstations,F2F is much easier)or I am simply too dumb to do that.
I listeneted to both the parties and thought both of them made sense.Amazing!!!
"Then how did you decide"
I thoought i will do a lot of googlin on the stuff i was being told, bt somehow I found that pretty boring plus lack of time.So took the easier way out. my simple raesoning told me,whatever decision you take,you will have to "PROVE THE WORLD WRONG"... nd i guess thats true not just for this simple dilemma of mine but everywhere we take a decision.More often than not, we are welcomed by a world underestimating our talents, they try to prove us wrong.So lets us do the same too and hope we win.
Once I was satisfied with this philosphial reasoning of mine,I went ahead with the colg whose final results made me more captivated,more cheerful,more content...
I joined NITIE
PS: I would take this small space to thank one of my dear friends from MDI whom I interacted with during this course of time.I must say he is a thorough gentleman.tried to help me out of my dilema with complete sincerity and candidness.He is one of the most amazing persons i have talked to till date.I hope he appreciates my decision and I dont disappoint him.Thanks a ton dude:D
and ya he was right, If I had talked to him a couple of more times,I might just have taken a different decision!!!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Amazing People 2
Its Amazing how when we are kids, we dream of so many things , people and situations. I for one was no different. I had dreams of fighting the evil like a super hero,Riding the lastest bicylce avaiable in market,not doing homework and still coming first in class,beating the best in all sports,and of course playing the wackiest video games.... All these dreams where somehow to some extent fulfilled.. but one was not full filled till today evening.
I always imagined a perfect guy as my best friend.. now some terms in the previous sentence are subjective and the meaning of "perfect" and "best" varies with person to person.for me perfect guy meant - An adored child, who gets what he wants but still is wise enough to use his liberty properly.This guy is the perfect in everything- be it academics,sports or video games. His dad is rich and He is well mannered.I , For some reason, never wanted to be one like him.I was happy to be who I was,but always wanted a friend who is like that.Probably, very early ,I had learned that it is an immsenely pacifying and soothing emotion when your friend spends the money and not you.
Tonight I realised my wish had been completed last year. This is another guy , from my AOL group(read amazing people) His gentle demeanor is very sauve and savvy which makes every girl fall for him.He is cute and Polite.Dont have a GF and Loves to play football.He is well setlled professionally and has a polished debonaire.His mom is the nicest lady have seen in my 2 years stay in banglore.His Dad looks enthusiatic and charming. have not seen his little bro ever.
Today as I look back from the day we met, politely we exchanged contact nos to the days we did the YES+ course,where he picked me up from home and dropped me back, to the days we have eaten out and pulled leg of other group members,to the days where we have not interacted for weeks at a strech - this guy doesnt seem to disappoint me ever.This guy is the first one I have met who has actually quit smoking and I am amazed at that,so each one of us knows its not possible for a faint heart to do.I am currently trying to think of atleast one isntance right now where the second para of this post wouldnt be applicable on him.. but alas,I Fail.All the best for future my perfect friend.
I always imagined a perfect guy as my best friend.. now some terms in the previous sentence are subjective and the meaning of "perfect" and "best" varies with person to person.for me perfect guy meant - An adored child, who gets what he wants but still is wise enough to use his liberty properly.This guy is the perfect in everything- be it academics,sports or video games. His dad is rich and He is well mannered.I , For some reason, never wanted to be one like him.I was happy to be who I was,but always wanted a friend who is like that.Probably, very early ,I had learned that it is an immsenely pacifying and soothing emotion when your friend spends the money and not you.
Tonight I realised my wish had been completed last year. This is another guy , from my AOL group(read amazing people
Today as I look back from the day we met, politely we exchanged contact nos to the days we did the YES+ course,where he picked me up from home and dropped me back, to the days we have eaten out and pulled leg of other group members,to the days where we have not interacted for weeks at a strech - this guy doesnt seem to disappoint me ever.This guy is the first one I have met who has actually quit smoking and I am amazed at that,so each one of us knows its not possible for a faint heart to do.I am currently trying to think of atleast one isntance right now where the second para of this post wouldnt be applicable on him.. but alas,I Fail.All the best for future my perfect friend.
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