It'S a BeAUtIFul WoRLd, mY dEaR

New Phase, new Blog..

2011-04-08T15:12:00.002+05:30

Am restarting my love affair with blogging on a different platform. Do visit http://arvindshastry.wordpress.com/ for regular updates on a host of stories!! Saying goodbye to blogspot for now!!

HOME (English with subtitles)

2010-07-05T23:33:00.001+05:30

It's time to understand and appreciate the bounties of nature, the resources that we thrive on. It's time to develop a vision not for tomorrow or day after but for the next century. What we do today will leave a lasting impact for generations to come. This movie is all about that message..

A special moment in life..

2010-06-06T20:56:00.002+05:30

Feels good to be back at doing what I enjoy a lot - writing. Much has happened in the last year and a blog was inevitable to describe it all!!

May 11th, 2009 was my last day at my previous company. I was happy and thrilled to fly back to Mumbai 2 days later, carrying very special memories of my 3 years in Abu Dhabi. Till date, those special memories continue to provide meaning to my life and convince me why it is worth living..

Fast track to June 1st, 2010, I find myself with a final offer - just a little over an year since I left my last job and exactly 8 years since I cracked IIT-JEE. This is a truly incredible feeling - perhaps a little less relieving that when I got my first job in IITB but nevertheless truly amazing!! Having been the last of 10 people to get through TAS in the summer placement season at IIMC (after having 9 shortlists on day 0 and being rejected in the 4 I could attend), the pre-placement offer is truly a cherry on top of the cake. I was 2nd last to be interviewed by TAS during summers (after a 2 hr wait) with 9 offers already made before me. I was the last guy to be interviewed again during the final round. Quite a coincidence but surely not a favourable one. When you need to wait for a whole day and then display all your self-confidence and passion with a smile at 11:30 in the night, it can get a little taxing. Over time, however, I have become more patient, resilient and self-confident. Taking a cue from sports, I always knew that the longer you stay in any game, the better will be your chances. Now, I can look forward to an year of festivals, photography, travel, sports and ofcourse, free-riding.

The reason I was less relieved than I was at IITB probably reflects the change in my mindset. The last few years have taught me to become more balanced in life without unduly craving for anything. I remember telling a few of my friends before my summers that I did not think too much about the PPO. I just wanted to give my best in the project and perform well at every stage of the process. This approach indeed helped me to be focussed on getting results and delivering my best. Gokul (IIMA) worked alongwith me on our project at TATA Capital. His ability to quickly analyze data and get results was incredible. I also shared my knowledge and experience with him. I helped him work in an organized manner to achieve results. Not even once I ever thought, "Why should I help him when he is my potential competitor?". And I say this irrespective of which side of the line I would have found myself. For a change, I threw away the crass IIT-IIM attitude of RG in favour of a more human, natural approach. Somewhere, I discovered my true self, which at times got lost after looking at how people around you behave, esp to win rewards. Together, we had a really good two months, delivering one quality project and discussing a wide variety of stuff under the sun (Gokul's favourite being my crush on IIMA girls). I am sure this guy will go ahead and crack bigger things in life.

Even as the final results were announced, I surprisingly found myself extremely relaxed in the room. I remember telling Romil (IIMC) in the morning that I felt confident and he can expect a call from me later in the night. I must also thank Kathikeyan (IIMA), who was my room-mate at TMTC. His ultra-cool attitude really did rub on me and made C-9 the lucky room at TMTC as both of us got the final offers. My heart really goes out to two of the final 11 who didn't make the cut. I have found myself in their position many times before, when I failed 15 interviews in IITB before cracking one!! Perhaps, it's the failure in the past which teaches one to become more balanced emotionally in life. Today, there are fewer things which elate me or deflate me than probably 4 years before. I am less affected by negative comments directed at me. At IIT, I was more desperate for a job. Today, I am quietly confident without undue worries.

My project taught me more than just aspects related to private equity. It reinforced the broad vision which I have always had for India. Today, I really feel proud that India built the Nano through it's own engineering excellence and at a cost lower than the cost of China's cheapest car. India is among the fastest growing economies in the world and might even end up ahead of China in a few years with improvement in our macreconomic conditions. At the same time, the Naxalite attacks, over-burdened infrastructure, a rat race called education, rampant corruption in the administration all seem to be pulling India down - the Medical Council of India (with its corrupt head), the BCCI (headed by a person with one leg in the coffin and still heading for ICC presidency), a judiciary (which allows Ajmal Kasab to appeal to a higher court or even the president for mercy), a democracy (which allows the Ambani brothers to broker another peace pact after nullifying the previous one), a tax authority (which collects taxes to finance the losses of Air India and the oil marketing companies), a telecom authority (which auctioned off 2G for a pittance) and many more.

As a TAS manager, I share the philosophy which the TATAs had for India. When Mr. J N Tata decided to set up a steel plant in India, he could visualize manufacturing driving India's growth. It's indeed seen to be true today. Having gone through numerous reports and news articles on India's growth for my project, I would like to end by enlisting the three most important things for India -

1) Develop infrastructure. With India adding nearly 20 million to its population every year, the need for good quality housing, water supply, power supply, transport, good schools & universities will ensure that an Indian will have living standards comparable to those in the developed nations. Infrastructure development needs to go alongwith increased focus on manufacturing sector which will cater to consumption needs of India's teeming millions besides creating jobs for people.

2) Create jobs. In India, job creation has failed to keep pace with the number of entrants to the labour pool. India is all set to add the highest number of people to the workforce over the next decade, greater than China, US and the whole of G7. If this workforce is not employed productively and used effectively to drive not only the nation's growth but also individual growth, it will only create more social and economic unrest. To this end, it's important to make education relevant and useful rather than just an academic exercise. The number of applicants to medical colleges has dropped to a tenth of the number in 2002 despite healthcare being a critical sector for India's growth. It is important to encourage diversity in professions and make careers easier for people to pursue rather than monopolizing professions, a classic example being the Gandhi family domination (I watched Rajneeti a couple of days back, one helluva movie). It's important to ensure that jobs at different levels are dignified and people get their due rather than money finding its way into a small portion of the population. I really feel for our teachers who do not get their salaries in time while performing the most important function of educating India.

3) Control our population. This is important especially from the socio-economic perspective as I feel extremely distressed to see poverty breeding poverty. In the absence of quality education among the poor classes of the society, they tend to believe that greater number of children will help provide a better future for them. However, this ends up being a vicious cycle. I believe that healthy competition in any field can sustain itself only if there is a check on the number of individuals serious about participating in it. The more dissatisfying part is politicians attempt to cash in on their votes without any serious attempt to tackle poverty at ground level. Be it in politics or media or Class X board exams, the concept of “small is beautiful” has its relevance as it is easier to focus on a smaller populace, resulting in efficient governance or administration and lesser strain on our resources.

That elite league

2009-06-16T00:50:00.000+05:30

I have been thinking about writing a blog for some time but never quite managed to get down to writing one. When I did find the time & inclination to write one, I found myself 35000 ft above sea level on the way to Kolkata. The last 7 years have been somewhat like this – Scaling new heights & finding myself at the threshold of even bigger things. What seemed nearly impossible at one stage seems within the radar now. Sach is life – you build it brick by brick.

I was on top of the world 7 years ago when I cracked the most difficult examination in the world to enter the hallowed portals of IIT Bombay. Life has come a full circle since then. Well, never quite reached the same level of achievement but experienced some truly amazing moments along the way. Looking back, one always wonders,” How did I ever manage to do that?”. I am sure almost everyone must have felt this at some point of time. At IIT, I had a different set of problems to deal with – My own low self-esteem at times coupled with the dream to crack a well-paying job (WPJ) haunted me for a long time. I was unhappy about something, perhaps about the lack of ability to control my life & that of my family. Somewhere, there was this deep desire in me to improve the state of affairs in my family. Nevertheless, I enjoyed IIT, although differently. I was very clear at the outset about what I intended to do at the end of 4 years. I am happy I stuck with that & didn’t allow anything else to distract me. No GRE, No CAT for me. Quite frankly, I knew I needed a WPJ even if it meant I would not be satisfied in the short run. Now, I believe that stage is over & I have newer challenges to look forward to. WPJs no longer make me lose sleep over them. I have developed the firm self-belief that if you are good enough, you will succeed in whatever profession or career you choose. What actually determines your character is the goal you choose & your pursuit of that goal. Yes, I kicked a WPJ in pursuit of my dreams & I can now smile at my choice.

I believe one needs to feel vindicated of one’s efforts or choices in the form of milestones along the path towards one’s dreams. Those milestones are good indicators of how committed you are in your efforts & how much potential you possess. When I joined TECHNIP as a process engineer, I was excited about working in core engineering in the oil & gas sector. However, I always knew that my heart lay in the field of education & sooner or later, I would be returning to it. Anything else would merely be an experience along the way. However, these experiences also tested my mettle in different ways. I was expected to be proficient as an engineer. At the same time, I learnt to interact with friendly & not-so-friendly people. Yeah, even that is a challenge of sorts!! However, the most memorable memories of my job in Abu Dhabi have predominantly been out of office. After what happened to mom during my 3rd year at IIT, I was very conscious about erasing all bad memories of the past & infuse a fresh breath of life into my family. Which is why it is easier for me to forget all the technical reports I prepared for my client but what really stuck is my parents watching me play my favourite sport in an international arena!!! The cricket field remains one of the few places where I have displayed my passion & emotions to the fullest. You don’t expect an engineer to jump up & down in office in front of his boss. I was missing all of that. Travelling in the Gulf remains one of my most fond memories but clearly, the lack of challenge, being away from the people whom I love & my pursuit of my dreams all encouraged me to prepare me for MBA.

If IIT was a peak conquered with great commitment & self-belief, IIM has to be my reward for tremendous focus & desire to move ahead in pursuit of my dreams. The entrance exam doesn’t matter when you live in a desolate place with average thinkers who cannot seem to think much beyond what they earn at the end of each month. To pull yourself out of such a stupor & false satisfaction is really tough. It’s easier to accept a WPJ however drab it may be rather than fight it out for something more meaningful in life. I really never looked at MBA as an end. It was always only a standpoint on my incredible journey. The IIMs just happened to make it a very memorable one!!

IIT taught me the importance of self-discipline & focus. It’s easy to get swayed by what your peers do or don’t do. At times, it’s hard to listen to your own mind but that’s the challenge. Nevertheless, I learnt a lot from all my friends at IIT. All of them have gone on in different directions – some are pursuing their PhDs, some have completed their MBAs & others are climbing up the career ladder in their jobs. My stint at Abu Dhabi was my first lesson in finance management. For a person who didn’t get much pocket money in his school or college days, drawing a 7-figure salary was a huge responsibility in every sense of the term. At the same time, all the money never made me egoistic. They never made think low about my own dreams, no matter how difficult they seemed to be. I always hated people who linked dreams to your bank balance. There are materialistic desires & then, there are DREAMS, which this narrow-minded group of people could never differentiate between.

At IIT, I had the opportunity to study & interact with arguably some of the best students in the country. Not just their technical skills, but their literary skills, sports skills, music skills, acting skills & DREAMS at times amazed me. I felt elevated to a different level. Which is why I always felt that one’s company does matter. IIMs are capable of providing me with the same environment & that’s the reason I look forward to the next two years with great enthusiasm. I knew this opportunity comes to a very small group of people. It’s really huge – to be called an IIT-IIM grad!!

About self-belief, my mom and dreams

2008-10-11T01:15:00.000+05:30

I do believe I have turned the tide back in the last two months, thanks to mom's support. I still remember that day in August when my flat-owner literally dropped a bombshell on me when he told me that he had resigned and was leaving the place. This was precisely 5 days before mom was to come over here. I had just returned from India and had fallen sick. Still I was feeling positive thinking about the mom's arrival over here.

Through the sickness, I had to run around looking for a room to live in. Flats are unaffordable in Abu Dhabi unless you have nothing better to do with your money. I was given the option of renting out my owner's flat for 130000 AED per annum. At today's rate, that would translate to 17 lakh rupees per annum!!! On top of this, there is the issue of bachelor's not being allowed so easily to rent out flats. You need a company letter or a marriage certificate or some such stupid document to be eligible to live in a flat peacefully. Even going to agents won't make your pocket feel any better!! Besides, I perfectly know why I am here. Still I had a problem at hand!!

I listed out all accommodations available from my company intranet forum. I was helplessly making calls trying to get a decent accommodation where I can keep my mom as well. I tried one place and it did not work out. My fever was getting to me and I had to go to office as well the next day. Things were only getting more tough. I had planned to bring my mom to help me with my preparation for GMAT. I always considered mom a pretty good hand at such stuff as she has so often done for me in the past. It's better to keep her over here than to waste such a crucial resource cleaning utensils and washing clothes at home!!

I made another call and went, unwillingly, to the place as it was far away from office. However, I found the family pretty good and the room was very spacious. In such turbulent times, I did not bother giving it a second thought and just paid the initial advance. Two days later, mom came to Abu Dhabi and the very next day, I shifted all my stuff to the new place, courtesy two pick-up van trips and a friend's car. I still knew I had an exam to give and my preparation was going nowhere at that point of time. Soon, we adjusted to the new place. Mom was allowed to use the kitchen and the uncle and aunty were extremely good to us.

The next bombshell came when I realised that GMAT dates were not available in Abu Dhabi post Sept 18th. That left me with 3.5 weeks to prepare well and get a good score. I booked my date and requested for a 5-day leave at office. I really didn't believe that I could make things happen but yes, with mom's constant backing and reduced working hours during Ramzan, I put in long hours at "work". Yes, work it was and the results are there now. A good GMAT score has opened up some new options for me. I can even consider an industry and function switch, something which can offer me more challenges that what I am facing now.

We visited Ajman and some new places in Abu Dhabi, watched a few movies and wrote b-school applications in the remaining time. The best part was that mom was there here with me on my birthday and that has happened for two years in a row now. Today, mom left for India. She is on her flight as I write this. However, I am pretty sure she must be thinking about me just as I am sitting and writing about her.

I have realised over the last few years that to make things happen, you need to take the initiative. Those who are afraid of failure shall probably never succeed in the true sense. Also, what differentiates the great from the good is the ability to successfully carry everyone ahead. I know in these tough times, I have not been able to keep in touch with my special friends. However, I still believe these experiences will keep me in good stead for the future. My special friends may leave, thinking of me as some selfish guy who is only interested in his own future. I may not be able to control their emotions and thoughts. However, as mom left today, I felt that I am doing my responsibility as a son. My mom considers me a special son, who is able to love her so much. I feel really proud about it. So what if it means I am having to ignore even some of the closest people for now. A duty is a duty. A dream is a dream.

For long, I have seen too many people compromise with their most prized possessions. Infact, these people don't even know that they possess those things. Humanity is thrown out of the window. The definition of love is only limited to the one that can exist between two strangers who get married. However, I still belong to old school of thought. I am pretty much an innocent guy today as I was 24 years ago. And I still love the person who brought me into this world as much as I loved her before.

Some things can never change. It doesn't mean that I do not value others and disregard their feelings for me. It only means that I am doing what an ideal son can do. Sure, a time will come when other things will begin to hold sway over me. I am prepared to wait for such a time. But if others are not, it's their wish. I do not own anyone nor have I purchased them. My doors shall always remain open for anyone and everyone who wishes to talk to me.

I do not know whether I am happy with life or not. Some people claim that I must be pretty happy - with a handsome job and handsome salary and some pretty sky-high ambitions. I believe happiness is relative. Sometimes, what others think makes you happy isn't quite the thing you are searching for. Yes, that particular thing may lie on your road to happiness but isn't the destination itself. However, it's better not to convince others about their notions. Let them keep those ideas unless they wish to change them.

I only wish God makes me more fearless with every passing day. It doesn't matter how the financial markets are performing or whether I will get another job tom if I leave my job today. It's about believing in the person in you - Self-belief can help you overcome any obstacle in your path. The threads of your life are in your hands no matter how helpless the situation may seem. Coz when you have this self-belief, even God will start believing in you. Remember one thing, God only offers challenges as per the capacity of an individual. He throws the toughest of challenges or choices or decisions to the people whom he thinks have nerves of steel. Indeed, those nerves may quiver for some time but as long as you are able to hold your composure, in the long run, you will find that the doors of life will start opening for you!!

So long....

A R Rahman Live in Concert

2008-04-19T12:42:00.000+05:30

The juggernaut rolls on...

Friends, I had the privilege of attending a LIVE musical concert by arguably the best music director in the world on 18th April at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Accompanying the maestro were a number of artists including Hariharan, Chitra, Sadhana Sargam, Blaaze, Javed Ali. It was an absolutely amazing night!!!

I came to know about the concert quite luckily through a friend during the weekend party in office on Thursday (17th April). I spent about one hour in office trying to search for sources for getting the ticket and finally, I did get one. Lunch break was spent having pizza and driving away to Spinneys to buy the ticket. I wanted to watch the show from the gallery as it provided the best view. The event also gave me a good reason to fulfill a long-standing wish of mine to get a pair of binoculars - a NIKON Action Extreme series!!!

The excitement ran through the local cricket game on friday morning until later by afternoon, my friend got his car and we were all set to rock the party!! Driving along, my friend remembered that Sivamani was known to one of his friends and he made a few calls to get Siva's cell no. Siva duly asked him to come after the concert to meet him. In the meanwhile, through one of my friends, Amith Chandran,I got hold of a few ARR fan club members who were attending the show. We all were hopeful that we could get to meet the great man himself though the odds in our favour were 1 in a billion!!!

The entry to the stadium was tough with thousands of people standing outside the gates well in advance of the concert. Somehow, I managed to squeeze my way in and secured a pretty nice seat for myself - 4th row from the top, right in front of the stage and around 50 yards from the spot where Sachin smashed Kasper for a huge six in that memorable cricket match at the Sharjah stadium!!!

The atmosphere at the concert was equally electrifying with giant screens put up - one at the centre and one by the side. There were designated areas for standees on the ground followed by seats for the VIP & VVIP sections. However, the best view was undoubtedly from the stands from where I scourged the stadium with my pair of binocs. In the meanwhile, my friend came along with his sister just in time for the show to begin and for an experience which will truly be cherished by me for years to come.

The anxious wait for Rahman continued a little longer till he came out singing Jaage Hain from Guru, a truly remarkable song for its music and sheer impact!!! He followed it up with Khalbali from RDB which had the crowds tapping their feet, just waiting to burst into a maddening dance. It was only a matter of time before the entire stadium got to its feet and sang at the top of their voices. Rahman & co gave a splendid performance with songs from Guru, RDB, Jodhaa Akbar, Roja, Dil Se, Bombay, Mangal Pandey, Lagaan and some Tamil songs. One of the highlights of the evening was watching Rahman sing Khwaja Mere Khwaja from JA and Pray for me Brother from his album Pray for me Brother.

The show ended with a scintillating rendition of Ma Tujhe Salaam, which can make your hair stand on end especially when Rahman sings it. I feel this song creates the same kind of impact on today's youth which Vande Mataram or Jana Gana Mana created on the youth during India's freedom struggle!!!

After the concert ended at 12 in the night, we tried hard to meet the artists but they all left before we could reach them. I sent an SMS to Sivamani thanking him and conveyed from regards to Rahman through him. I returned back to Abu Dhabi with the ARR fan club members and on the way, we spoke about Rahman, Rahman and only Rahman!!!

A truly memorable day had come to an end - one that I will cherish throughout my life. Hope you enjoy the pics!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/arvindshastry

Videos will be uploaded soon. So keep watching this space for more :-)

Here goes one -

This is simply awesome -

A sad day for India..

2008-01-06T22:12:00.000+05:30

Normally, such statements might be reserved for large-scale violence or a terrorist attack involving numerous deaths but the act of 'massacre' carried out at Sydney has dented the optimism and hopes of many Indians and has indeed hurt the pride of the nation.

Cricket has evoked many emotions in me but probably this is the first time it has truly brought me out not just to back the Indian team through and through but to even support the clarion call for abandonment of the tour to uphold the spirit of the gentleman's game. India went into the Sydney test after having suffered utter humiliation at Melbourne and they showed their ability to fight back in the first two sessions at Sydney. Having Australia on the mat at 134/6, the dream cherished by Dravid, Kumble, Sachin, Laxman and Saurav, in what would be their last series down under, of winning a test series in Australia seemed real. This was definitely India's best chance to come back into the series, their best chance to create history by beating the best cricket team in their own backyard. What followed next was not just an umpiring error but also the complete dashing of hopes of a 19 year old youngster!! I remember Bucknor doing the same poor old Murali Kartik at the same venue 4 yrs ago when I bunked all classes to watch India win on the final day - a win which was not to be thanks to Bucknor!! Just imagine what confidence Ishant would have carried forward had he got the prized wicket of Symonds at that crucial juncture!! Australia went on to post a mammoth 463 runs in their first innings in which the umpires had decided not to give any stumping or LBW!! All hopes of an Indian resurgence evaporated then. Still, there was some hope in the Indian batting with the old hands of Laxman, Dravid, Sachin and Ganguly playing stellar roles to take India to a competitive total of 532.

From what I saw on TV, there is no way Harbhajan could have gone on his own will to speak something to Symonds as Harbhajan and Sachin were batting brilliantly with Harbhajan completing his first fifty against Australia in test cricket. Surely, something provocative was said to Harbhajan to make him react in that manner. The end result - Ponting and co have combined to give Harbhajan a 3-test ban. For me, this surely is the greatest testimonial of racism in cricket - where white skinned people get together to hand over punishment to a brown-skinned person!! If that controversy was not sufficient, what followed in the Australian 2nd innings was appalling. Mr. Cricket is given not out when he is on 45. He goes on to score 145 runs and Australia score 401/7 setting India a target of 333 runs in the last innings. Ofcourse, I happen to miss a few plumb LBW appeals where were very conveniently turned down!!

If there was one man on whom I would bet my life to bail India out of trouble, it would be Rahul Sharad Dravid and indeed, he lived up true to the nickname of 'The WALL' which he has earned over the years!! A certain Mr. Benson conveniently forgot to signal no-ball for over-stepping but thanks to Symonds' drop catch, Dravid's innings was not unfortunately truncated. 38 runs, 103 balls and over two and a half hours - Rahul battled on to save the test match - He is the most selfless cricketer I have ever known to have played the game!! And what we got was an absolute shocker from Bucknor to end the most hard-working innings by Rahul. Saurav's glamorous innings was cut short with Ponting giving him out. Some say that even RP Singh was not out but that is very very insignificant for me in the larger context of the game.

The series should have been 1-1 at the end of the Sydney test but it reads in official records as 2-0 in favour of Australia. The series is long gone and there is not even cricketing pride to play for since even that has been snatched away by the umpires. There is only one thing left for Kumble and co - to return back to India. Forget Australia, forget the final frontier!! I know it's hard to forget a dream which one has cherished since a long time!! But surely the dream cannot be pursued in the midst of such a 'massacre'. If Kumble and co play at Perth, they have no shame, no pride in their nation.

Taare Zameen Par...

2007-12-22T17:01:00.000+05:30

There are some movies which you go to watch with a lot of expectation and anticipation. And when the movie delivers more than what you expect, you know that it has surpassed everything. Five minutes into this film, I felt that this movie is something completely out of this world!!!

It is indeed pitiful that you need a movie about children to sensitize people towards them. All talks about economic development, alleviation of poverty, decreasing unemployment seem worthless if we are unable to give children their childhood. The days seem long lost when children used to go out, play, draw, keep jumping up and down and running around with lots of excitement. What our society has set out to produce is a bunch of straight-jacketed robots who are armed with the ability to survive the pulls and pressures in this world. It's even sadder that the adults justify what is happening by saying that it is an essential quality needed to succeed in this world. This movie is virtually a slap on the face of the adults in this society - parents, teachers, politicians, policy-makers, businessmen, academicians - everyone. It will shown them their true nature as if they were looking at their own reflections in the mirror.

I am sure that each one of you would identify with atleast portions of Ishaan's character as we all have been through similar experiences in life. The days when we enjoyed jumping in puddles of water without any worry about dirtying our clothes, when we used to play with the dogs in our building compound treating them as our best pals, when we enjoyed playing in the rains, when we simply refused to sit down to do our homework!!! If someone has not experienced some of the above or has forgotten that this is how we used to be, he or she should walk out of the cinema hall as it is a futile attempt to explain to such people. It is Aamir's honest attempt to coax parents and educationists to think about their methods of parenting, teaching and educating children. It's essentially not a movie about a dyslexic child. It's about every child who is born into this beautiful world with its own talents, skills, capabilities, dreams and ambitions.

I really hope that some of the parents and potential parents take something out of this movie. Also there are points to ponder for the educationists regarding the pattern that is currently followed in schools and colleges. The system of elimination is worse than the system of inclusion. What is the point if one day we only have engineers, doctors and managers? India, well and truly, will be destroyed that day and it's time we take some rearguard action to avoid that.

The question still remains as to who would employ such students who love doing those activities which will never find any recognition in this cruel society. Maybe everyone is not born to work as analysts, engineers, scientists or accountants. There are some who need and deserve much more than organizational roles and positions which are assigned all too easily by this world based on your qualifications and work experience. If only those who were capable of cracking interviews and competitive exams were genuinely great people, we would have progressed much ahead than where we are now.

It's unfortunate to see the society not allowing kids to live the life of a child any more. Even the cartoons shown now-a-days on TV are bull-shit as compared to what we were fed in our childhood. Greater number of tests in the form of mid-terms, surprise quizzes, end-terms, orals etc. mean little to the overall development of any individual. What is the point if after cracking all these tests, basic human qualities of honesty, selflessness, true love and altruism cease to exist in individuals?

Taare Zameen Par is a mind-blowing movie and no matter how much I write, it will end up falling short of the true worth of this movie. I just wish that this movie does not remain a must-watch movie alone. It needs to be a must-act movie like Swades. A great effort by Aamir and Amol. I must thank them for putting a story on celluloid, something which was long over-due!!

A lesson called life...

2007-09-06T23:47:00.000+05:30

There are some days which you would like to delete from your life forever, days which are absolutely listless, days when you fail to find any purpose or meaning in whatever you think or do. A lot of these days happen to be just some pretty pathetic, awful days - be it in school, college, university or office!!! Often, such days take you down the memory lane to all those instances in life when you experienced such days!!! Even as you look back at all those harsh times in life, you suddenly realise that you have actually survived them all!! And so going by that trend, you will survive this period as well. You learn to smile at yourself, there is a secret confidence which lingers within yourself even when you don't have a single shoulder to rest on!!

Living to earn money is the worst thing one can ever do in one's life and may still be the most important thing that one may end up doing in his or her life!!! The ghosts of the past continue to haunt and prevent us from taking certain decisions which, under normal circumstances, we would not fear to take. At times, it makes us walk on a path where we are ready to sacrifice virtually everything - all our joys, our happiness, our relationships just to ensure that someone somewhere is having a sound sleep!!! Tears well in my eyes when I think about it but I still rate it as the most selfless thing one can ever do!!

Circumstances shape our nature though our inner nature might still continue to be the same. It might be heavily true in the case of some people whom it affects more than others. Still they continue to believe in themselves, compromising with their present but always living in the dream of a truly remarkable and golden future!!! Yes, some would say it's foolishness, utter cowardliness to do so but I know for sure that some of the most "cowardly" things done in life might well end up as the most crucial!!

Still even circumstances can only be as strong and eventually, as always has been the case, tough times don't last long but tough people do!!! Adversities will continue to produce winners in their own right no matter how ridiculous their actions and thoughts may seem!!! Sometimes, only experience and life can teach us what no teacher, no parent, nobody, nobody can teach us. And God has just found a method to keep these experiences different for different people so that they are endowed with the strength and capabilities to keep fighting off these challenges in their own ways!!! Just imagine how one-dimensional the world would be if all were born with the same level of intelligence, will-power and hard-working abilities!!!

Man has lost no opportunity to make this world unidimensional but God still manages to come up with something novel from his bag of tricks!!!

That special something..

2007-07-18T23:12:00.000+05:30

A very well-written article for all the cricket afficionados -

http://content-gulf.cricinfo.com/ci/content/current/story/301692.html

I could really feel the words spoken by the principal of St. Joseph. It's a very proud feeling to see one of your own students go on to lead India at the ground which is widely regarded as the home of cricket.

Time out...

2007-07-13T00:18:00.000+05:30

Tired, exhausted but still wishing to write :)

The last month has been pretty forgettable with I locking myself up into some make-believe world of simulations and deliverables!! Suddenly, when I got some free time, I realised I was a human and had to live like one as well :D

Well, sometimes I find it amazing to see people come in day in and day out in the same dress - sometimes all 7 days a week to the same office, the same desk handling the same job!! Indeed, I thought I was more intelligent when I cleared JEE but since then I have learnt one more thing. Which is that it's necessary to be qualified preferably from a world-class institution to be employed in a reputed organisation with a fat salary!! That, ofcourse, may mean that you would have to spend long hours at work, handle greater responsibilities and even learn new things.

But sometimes when you take time out to reflect back on what you are doing (that too especially while you are listening to the songs by Enya), you feel like leaving this world, your job looks silly to you - just another day where you earned so much of money and, ofcourse, in the process, ended up speaking to some different people, preparing some nice excel or word documents or in the case of MBA grads, powerpoint presentations with some nice looking graphs or tables!!!

One may accuse me of being too pessimistic about my job but really that is not true. What determines how optimistic one is about his or her job is one's general motivation in life, one's goals, dreams and aspirations. As long as your job plays a role in fulfilling a part of that aspiration, you stick to it. For some people, this period may be long enough - sometimes even as long as 30-40 yrs of dedicated service wherein they change a few companies and jump a few levels in the process!!!!!

But what if that too is not enough as is the case with some people!!! What if there is something radically different waiting to happen in your life, what if you so much wish that were achieved in your life and you are using you job only a support to meet your real ends!!! So, as long as the job supports that purpose, you continue, keeping an eye on how other things are shaping in your life as well!!

Money, I realised, was important but not most necessary atleast. After all, the money has to be put to better use than investing in mutual funds, stocks, bonds, properties or the like!! Ofcourse, this importance will again differ from person to person. Most like to see their money multiply, some like it to even do better - grow exponentially. There might be a chosen few who are wanting their money to be multiplied so that one day they can divide it effectively!!! Yes, there are other driving forces - the forces of unimaginable dreams, a desire for excellence - a desire which goes beyond the parlance of degrees or jobs. In some cases, this desire has not much to do with financial benefit or monetary gain or even popular recognition. It has more to do with what you wanted to do and what you did without the knowledge or attention of others.

What does it mean to experience in a single moment - joy, sorrow, pain, happiness, anger, hatred, obsession, love, passion, ecstasy, humility, thrill, excellence, godliness !!! - well, almost every single human emotion that is known to mankind!!!
Some such moments exist, waiting to be fulfilled!!! The price of such a moment - priceless!!!!

Hrishi and me..

2007-06-22T23:38:00.000+05:30

So another day has come to an end. Indeed, one year can be a long time especially when you go through some lull periods in life. One year is all it takes for two people to go in vastly different directions!!!

Two lives could not have been more coincidental than what has been the case with myself and one of my best friends, Hrisheekesh Sabnis. We were in the same school, St. Francis D'Assisi High School. I came to know him when I was in Std VII as we used to board the same bus (bus no. 207) to go home. Those were the days of heated competition where comparision between the toppers of each division used to fly thick and fast. But it wasn't until Std X that I came to know him better since only then the teachers stood up to take notice of the possible candidates who could make it to the merit list!!! I had shifted my division from H to C and now the competition with Hrishi was even more direct - he was till then the topper in div C!!! If I remember correctly, I had stood first in the class in our first unit test where Hrishi was second; we swapped our positions for the terminal exam and I managed to stood second in the school in our prelims in our school in which Shreyans stood first. Hrishi managed to come 2nd in the school in the Std X board exams and I stood 7th. At that time, I never thought we would land up in the same college and same classes again!!

I called up Hrishi during our vacations and came to know he had joined some classes for IIT-JEE. I soon joined it and thus began was to be a long partnership with Hrisheekesh Sabnis. Consistently I found he was simply damn good at maths and the ease with which he cracked problems left me with a serious inferiority complex. Despite all that, I pushed him hard to help me out with my Maths and he never left any stone unturned. We joined the same classes for Std XII and used to constantly find ourselves solving problems at Andheri station in between shuttling between our IIT and Std XII classes. When our Std XII results were declared, I guess Hrishi had got just 1 mark less in PCM (Please forgive me Hrishi if I have misplaced our marks :D)

After two years of real hard work, I still fondly remember the happiness on our faces on the morning of June 2nd, 2002 when we both cleared our JEE exams and still we weren't much far away from each other - I was at rank 678 while Hrishi got 850. Again I didn't know what fate has decided for both of us!!Call it a quirk of fate and where Hrishi had almost applied for aerospace engg at IIT Bombay while I had applied for Mechanical engg at IIT Madras, which both of us would have got for sure, we still found ourselves joining B.Tech. Chemical Engg at IIT Bombay thanks to a certain chap called Durgesh Mangeshkar!!!!!

4 years at IIT Bombay were soon to be a roller-coaster ride of our own - in all respects, be it completing assignments, mugging for exams, having late-night rounds of the canteen!!! The first two years, Hrishi sailed clear of me and especially in the 4th semester where he cracked 9.42 on 10 with ease, I guess some complacency got hold of him..By now more popularly now as Mota, Hrishi was "enjoying" chem engg. like nothing before. He had a fantastic trip to Europe in the summer of 2005 for his internship while I spent my hours slogging in a plant in Sriperumbudur to earn what I can proudly call my first salary - Rs. 8000 per month!!! The last two years, we spent a considerable amount of time studying for our common courses esp on the nights before our exams!!! By the time, placements arrived, we were almost in the same boat of academically categorized students!!!

The "studs" in our college got placed soon and PhD was looking like a distant oasis for our dear Hrishi. Then came yet another big moment in our lives - in the wee hours of 16th June, 2006 when Hrishi and Mohit came running to my room where I had already fallen asleep to announce that both myself and Hrishi had got into Modelytics!!! I simply couldn't believe how two people can study in the same school, same junior college, same classes, same branch of engineering with nearly similar kind of academic record and now we cracked the first job of our lives in the same company!!!!!

Well, life could not be more coincidental after all and soon I found myself joining an engg company in Abu Dhabi while Hrishi flew down to Bangalore in the June of 2006. Our experiences probably became much different at this time - Hrishi prepared for CAT while I spent my time visiting new places!!!

Infact, it might well have been Hrishi would have joined my company but something more beautiful and exciting came along - he got calls from all 6 IIMs!!! I truly felt proud of him at the moment and felt happy for him. Then finally after lot of trials and tribulation came yet another feather-capping moment in his life - he got into the presitigious IIM-A on April 20th, 2007. He was destined to go places which he will surely go. I met him when I came to India in May and it simply felt so nice!! Ofcourse, he's not going to forget the treat he gave us at Hilton Towers!!! :)

It cannot be more poignant that Hrishi joined IIM-A on June 21st, the same day I completed one year in my office!!! Sometimes, I wonder what role destiny plays in all our lives, how so many things conspire to take us to an unimaginable position in life with or without our knowledge!! When we look back, we begin to feel,"So near yet so far" not truly in terms of opportunities or success but in terms of parallels in life itself!!!

All the best, Hrishi. You are on your way to achieving a lot of success. The best part about you is that I can call you, meet you and talk to you in the way I want - so what if you become the CEO of some of the biggest companies of this world :)!! This blog is specifically dedicated to you without whom I could not have managed to experience so many wonderful moments in life!!

Kasturi

2007-06-20T00:45:00.000+05:30

I could not find a better title to put but now-a-days surprisingly I have got hooked on to watching this TV serial on Star Plus. Am posting my favourite episode here - especially with the song "Mitwa" from KANK in the background. I really wondered if people could be crazy enough to post videos on youtube. This is just for the people who think they are crazy enough!!!!

Somewhere the innocent way in which the love story is brought out makes the serial worth watching. I have a craze for these innocent love stories which very few movies or serials ever portray. Shubangi Atre dazzles in her role as Kasturi not so much for her acting skills as much for that innocent smile and it's really hard to imagine she's actually a mother of an 18 month old daughter in real life!!! Hope you enjoy watching it.

Another b'ful scene..

News story by Star News -

http://content1.msn.co.in/Entertainment/TV/Stories/TVStarTV_250407_655.htm

http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=611125

Some b'ful moments..

2007-05-09T00:10:00.000+05:30

Honestly, I have received enough brickbats for not being in touch with some of my close friends, not responding to e-mails, not commenting on blogs etc. etc. But if all this has to happen when you have spent two unbelievable months, then it's worth it.

With virtually no work to do by the mid of February, boredom was plauging me like anything. Just needed something which could make life more interesting for me. Somebody posted on our company intranet about an inter-company cricket tournament being planned between 4 companies (Veco, Technip, Tebodin and Worley Parsons - all engineering consultancies) to be played at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. This was really a mouth-watering prospect for me. In all my life, I never got an opportunity to play top-flight leather ball cricket and now one stood at my door-step. I really put myself in top gear running hard everyday after office hours, pushed myself hard to exercise and sweated it out in the completely dry but relatively cold climes of Abu Dhabi. I used to run on the hard ground outside a shopping centre and it used to pain a lot in my calf muscles. But it also made them rock-solid.

We started off with a practice match against Tebodin in the last week of February before the tournament started (which was to be played on every Saturday in March). We won the match chasing down a target of 140 runs in 20 overs with myself making a handy contribution of 29 runs.

After a rigorous selection process which saw the squad being pruned from an initial number of around 30 players to a final 15 for the tournament, the team was getting ready for the first match of the tournament between Technip and Veco on 3rd March. I wasn't picked in the final eleven for the first match but was not too disappointed about not making it. I had determined myself to practise harder and push my claim for selection in the next match. Technip lost the match quite badly and with two more league matches to go, it was going to be do-or-die for us. By now, I was showing considerable improvement in my batting which is what I had to be picked for. After the final practice session couple of days before the 2nd match, the captain indicated to me that he wanted me to play this one. I was thrilled at the opportunity of being able to play at the Abu Dhabi Cricket Stadium in a proper leather-ball limited overs cricket match. I called up home to give the good news and went back home to get some good sleep after a tiring day at office followed by a cricket practice session unaware of what was to come.

The next morning (Thursday, March 8th), just before I went to have my bath, the flat-owner came and told me he was going to India for a week. I went in, had my bath and sat down in my room to have my breakfast. The thought just passed my mind of calling my parents to Abu Dhabi to watch me play at the stadium. Though I had requested the owner previously as well, he had declined to allow my parents to stay in his flat. Besides, hotel accommodation is extremely expensive in Abu Dhabi. Still, with my fingers crossed, I went ahead and requested my owner if he would allow my parents to stay with me atleast till he came back. To my good fortune (and by god's grace), he said yes and thus began what was to be probably the longest day of my life!!!

I reached office at 8:15 am with half my mind thinking about how to get all the formalities (getting the visa, getting the ticket for the flight on Friday) done within one day!!! I tried calling a contact in my office who handles visas but he too said that it's only possible to get the visa in 2-3 days. I wasn't convinced. I went up to our administration department and asked them if it was possible to get visit visa for my parents in one day!!! The lady initially scoffed at me but still pulled out my salary certificate (which was completely in Arabic) and gave it to me. Then she directed me to go to one of those legal translation shops down below and get the visa application form typed by them. The form along with my salary certificate then would have to be deposited at the immigration office and perhaps there was some provision to get the visit visa (which has a validity of two months) within a day provided we make some extra payment.

Sometimes, you really don’t know if what you think or plan would actually happen but really nothing should deter you from making the effort if that thing is really close to your heart.

Taking a break from my office hours (which had to be compensated later), I got the form typed in an hour’s time and then took a taxi straight to the immigration office. I reached there in about half an hour’s time and no sooner I found myself running around to get to the right counter. I made all the payments and had to wait for another agonizing hour before I could deposit the form at the counter. They asked me to come back and collect the visa after one hour. I caught another taxi and headed straight to office. Work clearly was the last thing on my mind and somehow I managed to plough my mind till it was lunch time. In the meanwhile, I had asked my brother to book the ticket and keep it ready but the agent had said that he needed the visa by 5 pm (India time). I was fighting against time and completed another trip to the immigration office by 2:30 pm local time (Abu Dhabi is behind India by 1 hour and 30 min) to collect the visa after a frustrating wait for the taxi in mid-day sun.

By 3 pm, I got the visa copies scanned and sent by mail. In another half an hour, I had them faxed as well to the travel agent in India. Returning back to work, I pushed myself hard to concentrate on the work but clearly I was waiting to hear from my parents if they had received the tickets. By evening time, mom called up to say that I had delayed in sending the visa and that actually the visa was to be received by the agent by 4 pm India time and not 5 pm. As a result, he had cancelled the booking and now only a fresh booking on March 10th (the day of the match) could be made. I was distraught, angry that so much effort still did not yield the desired result. Consoling myself, I asked them to get the tickets for Saturday if it was not possible to make it on Friday. I went back to my desk, almost feeling defeated. I had to put in extra hours that day as I had to make up for the office hours lost. Late in the evening, after almost everyone had left office for the weekend here, my brother calls up to tell me that they had managed to get the tickets for the next day (Friday, March 9th). A sense of relief spread through me as I just relaxed myself and shut down my PC for the day. I left my office only to realize that I had forgotten the original visas in my office drawer. I ran back to get it, got down again, went to recharge my cell and went back home looking at the sky, smiling and thinking,” Impossible surely is nothing”. One of my long-cherished dreams to bring my parents to a foreign land was standing to be fulfilled.

Next day, early morning, I headed for the airport at 9 in the morning and deposited the visa. The flight was on time and soon I was standing there smiling as my parents came out. My parents accompanied me to watch the match. We won chasing 165 runs in 25 overs in a thrilling last over finish. I scored only 9 runs but managed to put up a good stand of 50 runs.

Initially, I had thought of being able to accommodate my parents only for a couple of weeks but soon I was able to secure a reasonably less expensive family accommodation for them for two months. Next week, my parents went off to Dubai and Sharjah where they stayed at my mom’s friend Anna’s place and my friend Chetan’s place. In the meanwhile, unfortunately, I was down with viral fever and had to take leave from office for two days. The do-or-die clash with Tebodin was coming up on Saturday in which the winner would be through to the final. I was fighting my illness and only by Thursday had I somewhat recovered when my parents came back from their short trip.

I was picked for the virtual semi-final, this time as an opening batsman. Still feeling weak and not exactly in full fitness, I crossed the ropes and marched into the ground with my opening partner after our skipper won the toss and elected to bat. This really had to be my test of character. I faced the first ball and just flicked it to the leg. My partner called, I just lifted my hand to say no but he was half-way through the pitch. My heart skipped a beat as I realized I was sure to be run out first ball of the innings and had I not run, people would have blamed me for being selfish. I just pushed the yards, half-falling, half-running. A bad throw and a miss and I managed to complete the single. A loud cheer went through the stadium from the lot of our company supporters who had come to watch the match. I hit one sizzling straight drive for four, a shot which I still feel proud of and in no time, myself and my partner each scored 21 runs and put together a partnership of 59 runs. Our captain came out and scored a brilliant fifty and we put up a massive total of 204 runs in 25 overs, which was just too much on that day for Tebodin to chase.

One more week went past swiftly and soon, the day arrived – March the 31st. It was the grand final between Technip and Veco. We had lost to Veco in our league match and were definitely hoping for a reverse. Veco won the toss and batted their way to 213 runs in a 30 over per innings match. The onus was again on myself and my partner to put up a good opening stand. This time, I went on the defensive just taking the singles and giving strike to my aggressive partner who was going hammer and tongs against the bowling. In no time, 50 runs were on board when my partner retired hurt. Soon after, I threw away my wicket in a very soft manner – a shot which I regret till now. Thankfully, my captain in the company of other batsmen played stunningly to ensure that the inter-consultancy cricket cup was ours. The ground was invaded by the sizeable crowd which had come for the final and the exciting moments simply went on and on and on...A few of them said that my parents brought our team a lot of luck as we won every match after they arrived and witnessed.

The month of April was very hectic – lot of work had piled up and the deadlines were closing in. I was put with long hours of work at office and used to come home tired. Ofcourse, my parents were always there which gave me a sense of relief. Still, almost every weekend, we managed to make atleast one trip – a desert safari, a trip to Al-Ain and a trip to Kurfakan/Fujairah. The desert safari was especially enthralling with all dune-bashing, sand skiing and traditional Arabic food. Al-Ain is really special for me as it is such a peaceful place with all its greenery and lack of commotion. More importantly, it was made all the more wonderful by Kartik’s parents at whose place we were put up for the night (Kartik is my batchmate from IIT Bombay). They enthusiastically took us to the Al-Ain zoo and the absolutely fabulous Jebel Hafeet mountains. If Al-Ain was fantastic, then a ride to Kurfakan was absolutely outstanding. We went with another family in a van past the Hajjar mountains and drove to the beach which was simply marvelous. I enjoyed a little swim and a short boat ride at the beach. All-in-all I thoroughly enjoyed taking my parents around UAE as much as I could. Returning back, we were all happy with fond memories to cherish.

I can never forget the last two months which were simply fascinating in every sense, almost unbelievable for me. I thank God and all my close friends with whom I can now share this amazing time in my life.

Live Sport, Live Life...

2007-02-02T22:03:00.000+05:30

I am inspired to write this on the back of India completing its 58th Republic Day last week & I enjoying yet another successful Friday morning in all departments of the game - Batting, Bowling and Fielding.

I sat on the 26th of Jan watching the Republic day parade celebrations going on in New Delhi on TV. India's rich culture, its versatile geography, nature's gifts in the form of rivers & the mountains, different climatic seasons, fertile river banks, her diverse mix of people, our tremendous belief in spirituality & human values never cease to amaze me. You just feel a lot at home when you are living in India. It's so comfortable - you would not find politics and diplomacy in your relations with your near and dear ones, you share a lot of fun with your friends, your relatives & even your neighbours!!! Despite the various personal or professional setbacks one has, you would always find someone of your own who supports you through the tough times - something which I feel originates from India's ancient culture. In the last 58 years, a lot has definitely changed. India has made giant strides in different walks of life. Our economy is growing rapidly. I really am not aware of any statistics in this regard but we sure have set ourselves on the path of tremendous progress.

The news also brought to light our darker side - incidents like the Nithari killings, the Jessica Lal murder case and more recently the fake encouters in J&K. It's sad to watch and read about them and it made me think more about the way the present generation (atleast in cities) has been brought up. When I look at our city life, it's so very busy. There is not enough time for parents to be with their children, to teach them good values or just spend enough time playing with them or addressing their curiosity. They say, "Money talks and Money walks" even if you end up doing a job which you know is well below your intellectual capabilities but is earning you the big bucks simply because you happen to put in 10 hrs a day in office and you still feel proud about it!!!

There was a time when I used to complete a part of my school homework by 5:00 pm and no later would you find me in my half-pants (as they were popularly called then :)) on the building compound or nearby ground or a nearby court batting, bowling, fielding, kicking the ball, saving goals, hitting smashes with alarming accuracy in TT (and I was damn good at that) or even the odd games of "sakhli" or "Pakda Pakdi" or "dabba express" which we engaged in after the primary sport was over for the day. Play time continued for a minimum of 2 hrs if not more and I am ever grateful to my mom who did not send me to evening tutions as was the case with some of my friends. I enjoyed every bit of it, it imbibed in me a spirit which is truly unique - I call it the sportsman spirit. It taught me to be honest & dignified even if it meant to lose a game and ever humble even after effecting a brilliant save or playing a superb shot!!!

To my great satisfaction, these qualities could be found in certain measure in all the people alongside whom I played and this certainly enhanced my interest, commitment & love towards sports in general. This also did meant I was kept away from the regular fare of video games which was quite popular in those days. In todays' times, when I do come home or have the occasional rounds of my school grounds, I only find the regular players playing - no new additions!!! Sometimes, I just begin to wonder where are all the kids?? Maybe they are busy in tutions or playing video games or maybe just chit-chatting or gossipping their evenings. If this continues to be the case, I am sorry to be harsh but have to admit that India has no socially wealthy future.

Sport is life. Life is sport. This saying is the ultimate for me. It epitomises everything for me. I may sound partial but there are certain things which no other form of education can provide us. Sport inculcates in us a spirit of self-will. In today's sedentary world, it helps us remove our physical restlessness & build our health. So what? Even jogging or going to the gym daily can help us do all that. The most important thing that sport does is build our character!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, I am talking about that form of sport which is true in nature. There might be many who may turn up to play but not many who are truly a sportsperson. I am not talking about the professional players but about the sportsperson in each one of us. A true sportsperson is epitomised by a character of the highest order. Only a military education could inculcate more discipline than sport but even that comes more so out of punishments being meted out to the guilty. For a true sportsperson, he or she simply enjoys the discipline of sport and consequently is able to perform well in it.

Sports is an important distraction as well esp in today's times where too much information is available in the hands of almost anyone and which can induce the young to do something wrong or immoral. Sports helps esp the youth to stay away from lust, temptation, immoral thoughts and deeds and channelises their energy towards something useful, constructive and helps to improve even their mental powers of concentration. The importance of this cannot be exaggerated and only if parents sincerely encourage their children to play regularly would we see a new dynamic, educated yet virtuous India !!!

I have seen people in office and elsewhere who have little or nothing to do with sport & those who atleast enjoy discussing India's performance on the field for the day. Quite remarkably, I notice the latter as being extremely different in their thinking and ideas, ready to live life more and in simple terms, "a better human being" overall than the former who continue to live their routine life and would hesitate to add any dynamism to it.

I am quoting from what my friend once told me. The great Swami Vivekanand had said, "Football is a better way of taking us closer to GOD than reading the Vedas". The truth is this statement is quite remarkable.

Even as India stands on the threshold of big things, an olympic gold medal still continues to elude us 1 billion people. We are yet to play at the soccer world cup let alone winning one. Our national sport continues to decline as politicians continue to poke their dirty noses in it. Dogged by controversies and handicapped by lack of infrastructure, I feel sad for the greats of the yesteryears who had taken Indian hockey to unimaginable levels. We continue to receive mixed results from Tennis, TT and badminton but I am sure we can do better. Chess is the only glittering sport at the moment but sponsorship is lacking. It's unfortunate to see something as beautiful as sport become a victim of that dreaded money!!!!!!!! So can the BCCI share some of its whopping deals and earnings with other sports? Maybe it can but when those chaps end up putting only 2% of their earnings into improving domestic cricket facilities, what more can we expect?

I wish as in all other fields, it's the people and not the bureaucrats or the administrators or the politicans who can bring about a revolution and witness India making its mark in the world of sport!!! Ofcourse, the corporates need to provide sponsorhips, the money should be pooled in to develop the infrastructure and offer world-class facilities. But it all starts with that one small step - allowing the kid to play 5 pm onwards everday!!! Miracles have happened in the past and history does repeat itself!!!

Guru

2007-01-13T18:15:00.000+05:30

Shakti Parivar ko Gurubhai ka namaskar..For long, I have been thinking of writing something and atlast Guru provided me with the right script. Guru adds to the list of movies which definitely mark a shift in the way certain Hindi movies are made. The movies about which I think, write, sleep, dream and eat are Rang De Basanti, Swades, Yuva & Iqbal. Guru has become the latest entrant and I simply love to find out similarities and differences amongst all these movies. I shall find some other time to write my analysis on these movies. Let me start with Guru which is fresh on my mind :)

Guru is about a simple villager who dreams, dreams and dreams & believes he can achieve them. It's the theme of the movie which is so likeable more than the movie itself. As usual, characters are portrayed by Mani with a grey shade as has become the trend in the latest Hindi movies where a Mohan Bharagava is too imaginary and often loathed at and a Daljit Singh has begun to represent the real Indian youth. Indeed, it must have been a special feeling for a simple villager to go abroad in early 1950s and understand the nuances of business. Yes, there are similarities between Dhirubhai and Gurubhai but setting aside these comparisions, I liked and disliked a few things about the movie.

The movie underlines once again how it important it is to dream big. Very akin to the concept in Iqbal, yes, one has to dream, dream and dream big, dream far and dream wide. It's not morally incorrect to earn money and more money. Ofcourse, how one earns the money and how one plans to use it decides the real worth and value of the money. The movie sidesteps issues as to how much one is wrong and how much one is right. So what if only 2 allegations out of 29 could be proved against Gurubhai, does it justify what he has achieved and done? The story clearly draws its parallel to the Reliance success story.

I have not seen too many movies of Abhishek Bachchan but this is undoubtedly his best role and probably shall remain his best ever till he retires from Hindi cinema. All the actors reach a peak somewhere and it needs directors like Mani and Ashutosh to help them achieve that. Abhishek showed glimpses of the real Big B in his role as Gurubhai. Mani Ratnam has a brilliant flair for movie-making and to make scenes count. With this Gujju story, he has once again shattered the geographical boundaries of movie-making going as far as Kashmir (Roja), Bombay (Bombay), The North-east (Dil Se), Calcutta (Yuva) and now finally again to Gujarat/Bombay in Guru. It was also heartening to see Ash play the perfect wife and supporting Guru and believing in him all the time - almost like the typical Indian wife who has lot of faith in her husband.

The movie also showcases the strength of the press and the influence they have over the lives of people. The most striking aspect of the move however should be the quintessential short-lived memory of the general public of India. As the stocks of Shakti Corp. crashed, the same people who were praising and lauding Gurubhai started cursing him. This, for me, typifies the Indian public who really have a very short memory. That's why I sometimes sympathise with the Indian cricketers. (However, looking at their recent performances, despite my long-term memory, I have started to despise them). The game of stocks, of business or of buying-selling does not have any place for the weak-hearted people and so people should think before investing in stocks before beginning to curse the company and it's chief.

Guru, however, once again shows traces of Yuva where too many things happen too fast and the difference between the right and wrong seems to vanish all too easily. Guru is initially shown as fighting the trade union president in giving him permission to trade in Bombay. He wins the battle, goes on to reject a corrupt offer made by others to stop his growth and even exposes them in the newspapers. Surely, there is nothing wrong about it. So after all this, why is Gurubhai himself involved in giving bribes and buying people? Crimes are often forgiven out of nostalgia on witnessing the remarkable progress of a company or individual and the arguments given by Guru to the prosecution bench at the end (easily the best ever dialogue delivery by Abhishek) fail to justify the righteousness of his growth. However, at the same time, it underlines the number of formalities needed to be completed in India in order to become a big businessman. It isn't as simple as merely buying and selling. There are so much rules, laws and regulations to a point that sometimes it begins to hamper our own progress!!!!

So does all this make Gurubhai right? I asked the wrong question since the movie is not about right and wrong. Just as there are profits and losses, there would be rights and wrongs. But to play with the lives of lakhs or millions of people who invest not just their money and time but also their faith in you is definitely a great responsibility and more often than not, great responsibilities are well-fulfilled only when there is a firm, just and truthful foundation to one's actions.

22 down...Many more to go

2006-10-05T18:51:00.000+05:30

I just completed 22 trips around the sun successfully on the 1st of this month :). I spent my b'day in a foreign land for the first time away from all my near and dear ones. Mom wished me well in advance and the happy messages just kept pouring in - Anand and Vinita, Nams, Pady, Hrisheekesh, Akshat, Sachin, Meher, Mohit, Siddharth among others.

Sunday was a working day and there was lot of work to be done as my boss was leaving for Paris later in the week for a meeting. Even as me and my boss haggled to get our simulation results in order, we were frequently interrupted by the messages and phone calls for me. Finally, I had to apologise to him and tell him that it was my birthday today. Well, then he too wished me a very happy b'day !!!!!!!!

Ramzaan time has been bad in some sense. Have to leave office at around 2 pm. Rush to the nearest hotel to get packed lunch and rush back home to eat and get back to office all in an hours' time. Oct 1st was no different except that work kept me in office till 3:15 pm after which I got back home hungry and tired. Had my lunch, once again went through my routine of re-reading all the smses I received for the day, gifted chocolates to the two children of my house-owner and went off for a nap.

I got up later for a nice chat with mom, dad, sis-in-law and brother who had just returned from Jammu after a short official trip. Despite being far away, all the lovely mails and messages from some many well-wishers just made me feel so good.

My parents, brother and sister-in-law had specially couriered a gift from India - comprising of a sweet little greeting card and a book so special that I shall treasure it for a life-time. Coincidentially, I had read the entire book earlier in Crossword, Powai much to the ire of the shopkeeper :) The book was on Sachin Tendulkar written by Peter Murray which travails his journey as a 16 yr old in Pakistan to the WC 2003.Besides there were a lot of newspaper cuttings from mom. I am amazed at the kind of effort she puts in cutting those articles for me. When I was at home, I rarely had the patience to go through them. But here I find it a relaxing yet sensible way of spending a lazy night in company of some good music on my CD player and mom's articles.

I thank Namrata Srivastava for visiting an orphanage that day and distributing chocolates to all the little children there on my behalf. It was a very touching gesture and really it's such special moments which makes life memorable even after your hair has gone white.

In the evening, I walked along the Corniche coastline, enjoying the breeze and feeling the moment. I realised that I am on the threshold of something special. The past is history, tommorrow is a mystery but today is a gift which is why it is called present. Through my years at IIT and even at school, there have been some frustrating moments, some highs and some lows. Now-a-days, I have begun to take life with a sense of equanimity and it is really helping me. Now-a-days, I compete only with myself - If I can be happier today than I was yesterday, I consider myself to be successful. I credit this change to a lot of people who have been very dear to me in my life and I know they shall always be there when I need them the most.

To Mom and my dear friends..

2006-09-18T21:41:00.000+05:30

This blog is not to write about my experiences. It is for the small yet significant contributions made by the people around which I so conveniently forget at most times.

MOM - God alone knows the number of times I have shouted at her for almost anything and everything in life. She is like my frustration-sink. For all the disappointments meted out by other people and circumstances, poor mom had to cop it all from me. So let me take this opportunity to thank her - and go beyond it.

I rate Mom ahead of even GOD. Whatever I am doing today is for my mom first before anyone else. I have strong dreams for her and will go any length to accomplish it - no matter what. Despite all the distant relatives and friends I have here and the activities I participate in - loneliness is definitely creeping in. In this context, I can never forget the effort she put in sending me my childhood photographs by post. I simply broke down after looking at all those happy moments of life enjoyed during my childhood days. I realised it was important to be good with people around me - and more importantly to balance optimism, expectation and ambition in life.

I must say I have enjoyed very few but extremely deep and long-lasting friendships in my short life so far. Which is why I keep my standards for friendship very very high. I am sad with the way I spoke in a very insensitive fashion to (most definitely) my best friend, Namrata Srivastava. I vented some of my frustration on Sachin and Padmanabh - I realised soon that I have a certain perspective and expectation from life and people but cannot expect everyone to be like that. I think in a certain fashion from the position where I am but forget that others are not in the same position. I hate disappointing ppl and hate to receive disappointments as well.

I know this is a crucial stage for all my friends - building career and lives. I wish them all the best in their personal endeavours and would like to tell them that I am always there to help them in whatever manner possible.

I learnt to keep doing what you do without ever expecting the fruits of my action, without worrying about the results - Just keep doing what is right and preferably also good and forget about the rest. Somewhere what you do and what you express will hit somebody like an arrow and you won't believe what is to follow next..

The Globe trekker continues..

2006-09-02T20:40:00.000+05:30

Quite exactly like Ian Wright, the host of much-popular TV show "Lonely Planet" or now known as "Globe Trekker" on Discovery Channel, my tour in UAE also continued courtesy a rare 3-day weekend provided by the company. And yes, now having visited 4 cities & 3 emirates in the UAE, I am in a better position to analyse all of them.

Al-Ain is by far one of the most beautiful cities I have seen. Very very green and definitely, a place which my parents would love to stay. It's amazing that Al-Ain has been maintained so beautiful, so green by the ruling authorities. Everywhere you would find gardens. Lots of open spaces. Not a single building allowed more than 3 floors. Just a very serene and calm place to live.

On the contrary, Abu Dhabi is a concrete jungle - a highly consumerist emirate and only buying and selling takes place here. There is lack of open space, lack of greenery and the serenity - just a like a cosmopolitan city in India. Ditto Dubai. Additionally, Dubai is a financial centre. Sharjah is very good and neatly developed - the roads are designed very well along the coast and it really is amazing to walk down the coast. Having said all that, Al-Ain is a place where children can be reared by parents and taught a lot of things - especially to fall in love with nature.

The view from the amazing Jebel Hafeetmountains are a sight to behold for the adventurers. The drive to the top was equally stunning. In between the mountains, they have constructed a green garden with lot of open spaces to play especially for children. On the rocks, they have got soil and grass from different places and constructed it on the mountains. Right at the top of the mountain, one can see the splendid view of deserts extending far and wide in every direction - In the west direction, the desert proceeds towards the Liwa Oasis and further west, you would reach the border of Saudi Arabia. If you look south-east, you would find the plains extending into Oman. And just as I was admiring this splendid view and taking a pic of my friend, a ferocious red-colour bee stung me right through my shirt. The burning sensation was terrible and despite water treatment, the burning didn't subside. Finally, as a precautionary measure, I had to be taken to a doctor for an anti-allergic injection. Thankfully nothing much happened and the pain subsided in a few days' time.

Al-Ain shares its border with Oman. Infact, there is place called Burayami near Al-Ain which is actually in Oman but is bordered by UAE on 3 sides. Interestingly, it's easy for anyone to drive down into Buruyami from Al-Ain and so I can proudly claim to have visited another country itself !!!!!!!!!! A special mention here has to be made of Kartik's parents at whose place I spent that night amidst some very good food and company and lots of discussion. Indeed, they made it memorable for me by taking me on long drives in Al-Ain.

From Al-Ain, I caught a mini bus to Sharjah. Listening to "Yuhi Chala Chal Rahi" and going again and again through the maps (which I had xeroxed courtesy my french colleague at office) at every highway indicator, my journey to Sharjah was indeed memorable. On reaching there, it was easy to see why Sharjah is so different - the crowds seemed to pour in and finally the city feeling dawned on me. I soon called up Chetan and he directed to reach their place. After a simple but delicious lunch of Puris, Subji and Dahi, we made our way to Dubai for a pravachan by one guru in India - Pandurang Athavle. Despite not being so much into spirituality as my other friends (Sachin, Namrata S and Akshat are), I still liked listening to his lecture. After about an hour, we made our way back to Sharjah in Chetan's dad's car.

As always and it has to be expected from me, I told Chetan that I would like to visit the Sharjah cricket stadium before other things. His dad drove us and despite initially being sceptical as to whether we would be allowed inside or not, I and Chetan managed to muster enough courage to go inside.

To our extreme surprise, the person standing outside the entrance allowed us to go inside without the slightest hitch. And then it was just - WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I couldn't believe my eyes that all this was happening in reality. I couldn't believe I was looking down the same pitch where once the majestic GOD danced down the track to smack Warne over the top, where he made mince-meat of Kasprowicz and where he showed Australia their rightful place under the sun !!!!!!

Soon after spreading my excitement to my parents and amidst some wonderful camera-work, video-shooting aided with excellent commentary from Chetan, we made our way to the pitch. I touched the pitch and felt like kissing it but somehow, my expression always stops short of actually doing it. Nevertheless, I looked at the sky, down the pitch, all around the stands and a feeling sunk into me - perhaps all this was meant to happen. I felt that good things and special memories (sooner or later) always happens to people who are true in their nature. I thought of all the coincidences, the unbelievable miracles and beautiful sights which I have encountered in life so far- and felt why these things happened to me? GOD is truly great and I am happy he showers his best as also the worst on true people. No in-between stuff !!!!!!

Soon, we found ourselves in the Central Souq - a marketplace in the heartland of Sharjah. Chetan was excited all the while and it is extremely nice to have such people for company when you are visiting new places. We roamed around the coast, were exposed to a mini desert-storm which forced us back to our hut. Then we attended a Ganesh puja at Chetan's friend's place. India truly didn't appear too far from there !!!!

Rounding off the night with some extremely thought-provoking discussion with Chetan, I made my way back next morning, half-sleepy and most definitely tired, back to Abu Dhabi. A truly memorable trip had ended !!!

Despite the work pressure, I am looking to make things memorable for myself over the weekend. Often, I visit friends and distant relatives in Abu Dhabi. I am extremely happy to find a decent group of expatriates who are from Bombay and are living here and continuously try and engage myself in cricket and soccer on weekends.

And yes, I am excited about my impending trip to Egypt in mid-Oct. Just waiting for my leave request to be approved by my boss !!!!!!!! :)

And beyond that, there is my rotational trip back to India in late December. I look forward to that - hope all my friends would be there to celebrate New Year with me.

Coming back home

2006-08-08T21:07:00.000+05:30

Yes, finally, I am coming back home - India surely has been on my mind from the time I came here and it feels so good to be coming back even thought it is only for 3 days.

Firstly, there is the convocation to attend. Then all the gifts which have been purchased from my hard-earned money to be distributed to so many friends, relatives and ofcourse, my parents. I am not a shopping person at all but I spent 3 full weeks and made list after list in trying to think what to buy for whom !!!!!

At the end of it, I really feel happy with the choices I made as to what would suit whom. Also there is the pleasant feeling in giving back what I myself got as gifts from my relatives coming from foreign land when I was a child. Abu Dhabi has just too many things to buy and you are just kept wishing you had all the money in the world.

Back home, it's raining a lot and that is sure to spoil my homecoming though I secretely am wanting to get wet in the rains - after all, it rains only for 2 days max in Abu Dhabi in an year. Then there are plans after plans which I have been busy making both in the short and long run.

Ofcourse, I am just waiting to meet my friends. Hrishi and Mohit would be coming for convocation as well. Bhagyesh, Santosh and some other friends have gone to US/ taken up jobs and I wish them all the best wherever they go and whatever they do. Just wish that life comes a full circle again and we all get to come together some time in life - Just wish we all remain the children that we were and never become overly formal and time-conscious (typical traits of elders). People who say "I have no time" are the biggest liars in the world and simply need to look into themselves as to where they are going wrong. The greatest of the great people had only 24 hrs in a day and if there is a will on one's part, one can achieve a lot without sacrificing on the innocence, innovation and beauty that every child is endowed with.

On my part, I know I can go any length to achieve something if I truly want to. Maybe it was the lucks of fortune that I got to work in this MNC and staying and working here just makes you feel you can achieve just about anything and everything. Ambition has been sky-rocketing for me in the last 1.5 months - quite the opposite to what I was at IIT. Partly this is because I have to make my own decisions here and nobody tells me what is impossible and what is not. I really feel unhinhibited and surely sky seems to be limit for me now - or is it? Just feel that I am returning to the same person that I was for a while in my school days - extremely rebellious, "dissatisified" and ambitious.

Work-wise as well, I am in better control now and am learning things faster. Things can only go one way from here - and I am dictating it :)

Faith & Destiny

2006-07-06T16:19:00.000+05:30

Life has been very interesting here. I found all the south Indian people in my office speak very sweetly to me as if they were my closest friends or relatives!!!
I saw Indians lining up outside a restaraunt having a TV set when the test matches against WI were going on and was left dumbfounded to see the lady owner of the restaurant ask somebody by how much India were following on and predict whether they would manage to draw the test match or not !!!!! Now that was something which I will take as a really special memory when I go back home..

Now-a-days, after coming back home, I play (or rather try to play) Scrabble with the 5 yr old son of my flat owner. The zeal, enthusiasm and energy though tinged with the lack of understanding shown by him amazes me and reinvigorates my faith as to why we need a top-notch education system to retain children who have such tremendous potential and prevent them from going "astray". Work has been really demanding on me and literally the project that I have been made to work on will take some 2-3 months to finish and I am actually packed with work !!!!!! At the same time, I also observed the detailed way work is done in reality and frankly speaking, too much of learning in great academic institutions with little or not application is rubbish. That way it has been good and I share a good rapport with my boss as well :)

Food has been good here but I miss home food badly. Fridays are off for everybody and it would be disastrous to venture out on a friday morning in the hot sun. The remaining time is spent scourging the shopping malls here with my friends to check out gifts, items, chocolates and other things which I would most pleasurably have to take back home for a host of friends and relatives next month and that too from my first salary - It is indeed a momentuous occasion for me !!!!!

I am missing out on somebody like Hrishi or Mohit with whom I could have spent the weekend travelling far and wide instead of having to think about working overtime(simply ridiculous) as one of my colleagues suggested. People at times just do not realise how much more they can do with their lives really - if they just sit down and think about it !!!!!! Agreed this is a hot place, transportation is a headache, life is as yet transient but still......I soon hope to look for some place where they play sports, hope to leave office earlier and earlier by finishing my work faster and faster and reserve my energy to explore this new place, meet new people and capture new moments in life.

and Yes, today, I got my first salary and immediately i withdrew some amount from it :P - Wow, it's a special feeling and you just know you deserve it thoroughly.
I am looking forward to getting back home in August to meet a special friend who is extremely stubborn, adamant and as per me, has the guts to go out and achieve what most people feel unsure about. See u soon then..

Life is going good

2006-06-29T23:03:00.000+05:30

The last few days have been a real roller-coaster for me. Have been braving the hot sun and the excessively humid atmosphere, working long and hard at office and finally rediscovering some love for engg in the process and still trying to get out of the awe that I am engulfed in - the sheer magnamity of this place.

I have been visiting the shopping malls, departmental stores and Indian restaurants which are aplenty here, checking out prices and comparing them to decide places to buy from. Also next month is going to be kadki for me since money going for rent, buying preliminary sustainable items and also to pay for my airline ticket back to India. Office has been going good and I am now assigned to work on an oil and gas project to simulate and study the adequacy of a water network system !!!!!!! Now that is some real engg.....

Also I have been lucky enough to find some nice seniors and colleagues in my department who are very helpful. After office, I, Shraddha and Vikas have a nice time walking down the really huge streets here - be it to search for a new place to stay or for having a quick meal or simply just like that..

Back home, I have learnt how difficult it is to be a room-maker - forget being a homemaker. Having to wash clothes, keep all things in place, being disciplined, punctual, neat and regular are things which I casually put to rest while being at time. Now, I realised how difficult it is be M-O-T-H-E-R !!!!!!

I am also learning to manage finances - something which my father and CA brother were in complete control of when I was at home. This is something new and I feel I am managing it well. Ofcourse, I started calculating how the expenses are going, how much is left, what are the necessities to be fulfilled etc. etc.

I am also trying to find a special place for all the special gifts given to me before I came here - the nice pen-stand and glass showpiece by Namrata G and Prajakta, the beautifully written greeting card by Namrata S, the absolutely wonderful Notebook and pencil box gifted by Akshat, Sachin and other TS friends and lastly but not the least, the wonderful songs ka CD from Pady which I hope to listen as soon as I buy my MP3 player. These are really special gifts which make life really nice and I hope to make my room a better place to live in :)

Still exploring the place, plan to visit Dubai soon and hope to get my residence visa in a months' time after which I can directly fly to Abu Dhabi, can have an official net connection and most importantly, can fly my parents on their first ever flight and first trip to a foreign country...Things slowly but surely are coming true.

First days on foreign soil......

2006-06-23T23:21:00.001+05:30

I can still remember the emotional moment when I saw my parents and dear friends at the Bombay airport waving at me. As soon as I lost sight of them, I realised that a whole new world awaits where there are not people behind to help or support you if you fall. Quite automatically, I felt more responsible. The joy of flying by plane was somewhat lost in the sadness of leaving the most important people in my life.
Even as IA 681 took off from Bombay at 12:05 am, I saw the chain of streets and hoarding lights disappear into darkness and soon there was only the black Arabian sea to give me company.

I read some Technip info and a WC 2006 magazine and had my dinner on the flight. Soon, after some 2 hrs, lights reappeared again in the background. These were my first live glimpses of a foreign land - something which I had only heard of and seen only on TV or books. As we touched down at Sharjah, I could clearly see the small sand dunes and before I could realise, I was amidst a host of Malaylis, Americans, French, Iranians and ofcourse Arab people. Soon, after completing formalities, I found myself in one of the most comfortable AC vehicles sent by the company to pick me up and it roared down the WIDE highways at 130 KMPH !!!!!!!!! As we roared, I could see a stadium with lights and for all practical purposes, regarded it to be the stadium where the GOD demolished the Aussies some 8 yrs ago !!!!!!

I slept in the car and reached our hotel - a 10 star one (for me) at 4 in the morning. Soon, without any sleep, I made my way to the office at 8 in the morning. First day was spent mainly completing the formalities. The office people were nice with me and my fresher colleagues, Vikas and Shraddha are really nice ppl to hv as friends.

Abu Dhabi is characterized by TALL buldings and WIDE roads - u will hv to walk vertically, not horizontally. All the posh cars going around and u will hv utter confusion since u will tend to look left when u hv to look right while crossing the road since vehicles are left-hand drive here. This place is hot but ACs are everywhere. I met an Indian and Bangladeshi working in the hotel and they were so happy to see an Indian here !!!!!

I got an accomodation with a southie family at reasonable price close to office. Here, most things are cheap including food, cyber, cell, travel and most things except for acco. There are lots of malls and restaurants and I am proud to be working on the 21st flr of the tallest building in Abu Dhabi !!!!!!!!!!

This place is still a concrete jungle - worth working in some of poshest offices which are hard to find even in Nariman Point in Bombay!!!!!! The buildings from inside look very ordinary and it is not worth to live here as socialising is difficult. My pre-medical check-up was done by French lady doctor and it was really quite an amusing experience. Ofcourse, anything Indian - be it the food or the movies or the people looks doubly nice from this place. Today I happened to watch Lakhshya on TV and literally cried at some of the scenes. As they say, when u live away from India while being Indian at heart, you realise the power of India.

Will write more soon..

First Job

2006-06-19T14:05:00.000+05:30

Finally, after a lot of pushing and prodding from friends and my own self, I hv started to write my blog. Also realised that this was going to be needed so that I could keep my mind free from a lot of thoughts. And what a time to start writing this as I am about to join my first job in the gulf.

This has been a really sweet gift for me in some sense - a childhood dream (of flying by plane) come true. I feel proud of having achieved things on my own and literally from sratch !!!!! Coming from a middle class background, travelling by plane or even AC or 1st class compartment was out of question and still is - though relatively less as compared to an year ago. My air ticket and visa are sponsored by the company. Last year too, I got an internship in Asian Paints on merit and they sponsored my tickets by 3rd class AC. I know all this sounds too childish but I realise the pride that I have for such small things in life which most upper classes might take for granted.

The job itself is daunting - involving hard core engineering skills and I am looking forward with great eagerness to it. Right from school days, I failed to understand why people studied something and worked somewhere else only !!!!!!! I must consider myself lucky that I am getting an opportunity to work as a process engineer in a multinational company which is into engineering consultancy mainly in the oil and gas sector else even I might have wasted all the chemical engg I learnt by working as a data analyst. I really wish that my love for engg is rediscovered during my job which was somewhere lost at IIT due to too much of theory and lack of application in any way.

I wish that I manage to maintain good relations with all my colleagues and most importantly, enjoy the job that I do. As long as you are happy, nothing can prevent you from working and I wish I tread that path to success. From a career point of view as well, this will provide me with a good platform to take up certain decision in future. I may plan to do an MBA or do a complete U-turn and study something like astronomy purely out of interest and now with any intention to make money out of it. Ofcourse, all these would be subject to how well I am able to take care of myself and my parents financially.

I hope to nurture my love for travel with all the money made from the job and wish to meet so many friends that I have made all over the world now courtesy various forums and discussion groups. A good chunk of my relatives are in the US and with so many friends also heading off to the US for further studies, the US of A surely beckons as a place to be visited. Personally, I would love to visit Australia and Europe - really want to visit the Alps, the Black Forest, Madame Tussads, boat on River Thames, climb onto the bridge at the Sydney harbour, go to Melbourne Zoo (one of my ultimate favs) and ofcourse, kiss the pitch at the Adelaide Cricket Ground for very very special reasons.

All and all, life has really opened up new horizons for me and I am geared up to take up the challenges as they come by with great enthusiasm and excitement.