ONSHORE (ONSITE in some comapnies) is a word that makes you go nuts. Every one working in the software industry has a facination, a fetish for this word. Well, I am no different and had been dreaming about an "ONSHORE OPPURTUNITY" ever since I made an entry into this industry, or shall I say, ever since I started thinking of entering into this industry.
Getting an Onshore oppurtunity is not easy; you need to be, not capable, intelligent or any thing synonymous, but LUCKY. Yes, Lucky is what you need to be so that you can make it to onshore. And as you all already know, LUCK and I never travel the same route. (A saying in hindi - "Main eer ghat, woh beer ghat").
So, the first 2-2.5 years of my career, I kept on dreaming. To tell you the truth, I had started believing by that time, I will never make it outside Chennai, let alone India. But then, on a saturday, I came to know about a walk-in event at Accenture, and without any document and preparation, I went there. After around 2 hellacious hours of some gruelling questions, the interview was over and, to my surprise(even though the interview went fine), I was selected(I dont know - may be Luck had forgotten the path it was supposed to follow :-)). I had no hesitation in putting my papers for a new jouney at a new place with new hopes.
I joined Accenture in September, 2008 and within five days, was allocated to a project - Although there was no ONSHORE Oppurtunity here also, it made me feel nice considering the 1 year I had spent on BENCH in my previous company. I took up the new role and responsibilities.
The project went on till 31st Jan, 2009 and, thanks to my caring TL, she set up my interview with the manager of a new project. I was selected, and joined the project on 2nd Feb, not even one day on BENCH, Wow.
On the first day of this new project, I met two more guys(Rajeev, the drunkard and Rohit, the kid) who at the first meeting looked carefree, crazy, friendly and many more things. It took us just one day to make friends with rach other. We gelled really well. The intro meeting with the manager, who was at ONSHORE at that time, brought us no surprise; the same old story about how tough the project is, the high expectations and NO ONSHORE OPPURTUNITY.
We toiled hard during the initial stages because, as Rohit rightly says, its a FALTU SYSTEM. After around 5-6 months, we got the surprise of our lives - two ONSHORE Oppurtunities were coming up. All three of us started thinking, Is this real, Will our dreams come true?? This was the hottest topic at the point and we devoted at least 2 hours on a daily basis discussing it.
The rumours were true; and the first person to go to Chicago was Sampath. The duration was three months and Sampath was the luckiest of us all - He did not get a laptop for the first month of his stay. In July, it was Rajeev's turn and we were all really excited for him.
Rajeev at Onshore was a different Rajeev from what we knew him to be. His carefree, naughty attitude was lost, he always sounded tensed, and we could not understand the sudden change in behaviour. I was was going to get all my answers in two months.
The month of September, 2009, and it was my turn. My dream was coming to reality. I was going to live MY AMERICAN DREAM. Really excited, I boarded the BA Flight to London and from London to CHICAGO. I was cherishing every moment of the journey.
And then, after 20 hours of journey, I reached Chicago. To my dismay, I was rattled to find one of my luggages missing. After 2 hours of wait at the BA Help desk, they finally found my luggage. I then headed for the hotel (still with a smile on my face, after all THE AMERICAN DREAM had become a reality)where Rajeev had already booked a room for me. It was 8.30 PM there and Rajeev had only one Beer. So we went to the Liquor shop (HILLSIDE LIQUOR) and got ourselves a carat.
On the way, we got a message about an issue (Oh I forgot to tell you, the role was 24*7 production support, on call during weekends and holidays ). We raced back to the hotel and it took us 30 mins to resolve the issue. I thought it of as a one off case and both of us talked all night over the beers.
The first day at office was also exciting, I met the client managers whom I used to recognise only by there voices. I got my laptop in three days, and the work started. I had planned to visit many places whenever I would get time. Not to be, the role being a 24*7, there was not one day any one of us could enjoy.
Within a month, the AMERICAN DREAM had turned into THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE. All I could do for the entire three months was WORK and the only places I visited were my Office and my Hotel (Also, the TARGET store and the Liquor shop which were at walking distance from the Hotel). It was the same story barring one day, when I and Rajeev took the risk and went to Devon Street and Navy Pier. We were lucky that no issue came up that day and we were safe.
I came back in December and was asked if I wanted to go for a long term. I accepted (determined to enjoy myself this time around, since offshore now has laptop and someone can take care of issues during weekend). On 16th Feb, 2010, I went to Chennai for the interview with a new hope. But, as Navjot Singh Siddhu said in one of his Sidhuisms, "Hope is like a ray of light at the end of a tunnel, But beware my friend, the light might be of a train coming towards you!!", this light was, for sure, of a train which collided with and devastated all the hopes I had. Well, this time, the Consulate rejected my VISA (no one knows why), and I am still here working in the same project, and may I say, waiting for the time when I could really live my AMERICAN DREAM.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
An eventful holiday - in Ooty - Part 2
Here's the second half of the eventful holiday we went for.
A recap to Part 1.
The trip had already been quite eventful, exciting, exhilarating and what not. We had problems right from taking leave from office to getting a transport to our way to Ooty to finding a hotel room. But, at the end of it all, we overcame all the odds and were finally in our rooms taking a nice nap, the right to which we had duly earned.
Day 1.
The first day in Ooty was cut short for us. We had overslept and by the time we woke up and got ready, it was already 2 in the afternoon. We wanted to waste no more time;we didn't know any place where we could go other than the famous ROSE Garden. So, all of us thought why not start from there; we asked locals about the location. We were in for a surprise and our plans, as in 99 pc of cases, was about to fail. The locals informed us about the condition of Rose garden - There are no roses left there, please don't go, you will find nothing and will feel miserable. Although these words brought all of us in a state of shock, I could still spare of thought over the fluency in which the locals talked in HINDI. Ooty, sure had nothing in common with Chennai - How can such a cool (as in all forms of it) place be a part of Tamil Nadu, and the most prominent feature of Ooty which alienated it from the rest of Tamil Nadu was that PEOPLE KNEW HINDI.
After thinking about it for sometime, I gathered all my thoughts and came back to reality. Everyone was sad but Guru. He was still oozing with confidence (and looked completely lost). He came up with a brilliant idea of going to Kodaikanal from there to which the rest of us disagreed(We controlled ourselves and spared Guru a nice beating).
The locals told us we could go to Coonoor, not far from Ooty. But it was already 3 by that time, so we thought the better of it and tried exploring Ooty. I and Atul didn't want to miss atleast a tea at Mithun Da's hotel, so we decided we would go there. When we got the first glance at the FIVE STAR, we were sure a cup of tea is going to cost us 500 bucks minimum. So, all we did was went inside the Entry Gate, asked the driver to take a U-turn and got out of the Entry Gate's counterpart, the Exit Gate.
This day was turning into a disaster, so we thought of doing what all of us, but me, love to do - DANCE. We needed a disc for that. You would ask, How the hell are you going to find an affordable Disc in a Hill Station? Well, thankfully we did. Not quite a disc, a lounge rather, which we turned into a disc. We danced (yes me too.. get me high and I am the best dancer around, TRUE STORY); Guru, with his big rockstar hairs, danced really well (Fact - No one knows who dances better, me or Guru; I would give way to Guru - I am really pathetic at it). And then we had a Professional dancer with us, and the regulars too. We rocked, the owner gave us some two or three complimentary drinks each; and thanked us for making his LOUNGE so popular in a matter of 3 hours.
They say All's well that Ends well... Our first day, no matter how pathetic, had truly ended well and we were HAPPY about it.
Day 2.
This was the final day of our stay, we would be leaving the next day in the morning (I had to catch the train the next night). So all of us got ready by 10 and left for Coonoor. The beauty of the place kept us spell bound. We halted at many places, like the "CHAI BAGAAN" , the shops on the way to buy some famous Nilgiri Tea, the Dolphin Point, the ; we just kept travelling and appreciating the beautiful Ooty - Coonoor Scenaries.
A recap to Part 1.
The trip had already been quite eventful, exciting, exhilarating and what not. We had problems right from taking leave from office to getting a transport to our way to Ooty to finding a hotel room. But, at the end of it all, we overcame all the odds and were finally in our rooms taking a nice nap, the right to which we had duly earned.
Day 1.
The first day in Ooty was cut short for us. We had overslept and by the time we woke up and got ready, it was already 2 in the afternoon. We wanted to waste no more time;we didn't know any place where we could go other than the famous ROSE Garden. So, all of us thought why not start from there; we asked locals about the location. We were in for a surprise and our plans, as in 99 pc of cases, was about to fail. The locals informed us about the condition of Rose garden - There are no roses left there, please don't go, you will find nothing and will feel miserable. Although these words brought all of us in a state of shock, I could still spare of thought over the fluency in which the locals talked in HINDI. Ooty, sure had nothing in common with Chennai - How can such a cool (as in all forms of it) place be a part of Tamil Nadu, and the most prominent feature of Ooty which alienated it from the rest of Tamil Nadu was that PEOPLE KNEW HINDI.
After thinking about it for sometime, I gathered all my thoughts and came back to reality. Everyone was sad but Guru. He was still oozing with confidence (and looked completely lost). He came up with a brilliant idea of going to Kodaikanal from there to which the rest of us disagreed(We controlled ourselves and spared Guru a nice beating).
The locals told us we could go to Coonoor, not far from Ooty. But it was already 3 by that time, so we thought the better of it and tried exploring Ooty. I and Atul didn't want to miss atleast a tea at Mithun Da's hotel, so we decided we would go there. When we got the first glance at the FIVE STAR, we were sure a cup of tea is going to cost us 500 bucks minimum. So, all we did was went inside the Entry Gate, asked the driver to take a U-turn and got out of the Entry Gate's counterpart, the Exit Gate.
This day was turning into a disaster, so we thought of doing what all of us, but me, love to do - DANCE. We needed a disc for that. You would ask, How the hell are you going to find an affordable Disc in a Hill Station? Well, thankfully we did. Not quite a disc, a lounge rather, which we turned into a disc. We danced (yes me too.. get me high and I am the best dancer around, TRUE STORY); Guru, with his big rockstar hairs, danced really well (Fact - No one knows who dances better, me or Guru; I would give way to Guru - I am really pathetic at it). And then we had a Professional dancer with us, and the regulars too. We rocked, the owner gave us some two or three complimentary drinks each; and thanked us for making his LOUNGE so popular in a matter of 3 hours.
They say All's well that Ends well... Our first day, no matter how pathetic, had truly ended well and we were HAPPY about it.
Day 2.
This was the final day of our stay, we would be leaving the next day in the morning (I had to catch the train the next night). So all of us got ready by 10 and left for Coonoor. The beauty of the place kept us spell bound. We halted at many places, like the "CHAI BAGAAN" , the shops on the way to buy some famous Nilgiri Tea, the Dolphin Point, the ; we just kept travelling and appreciating the beautiful Ooty - Coonoor Scenaries.
In no time, the sun started coming down, it was around 4. We had to head back now. And thats what we did. In the middle of our return a lound noise came. Just as we were all thinking the day has been very nice, the driver told us - its the tyre. We were in no mood to let anyone, leave alone a TYRE, spoil our day. We started playing Dumb Charads in the middle of the road while the driver changed the tyre. It took him around half an hour, and the we continued on our journey. As we reached Ooty, we went to some famous park (sorry I dont remember the name). The park had a lake which added to the beauty. I felt like a romantic hero and as soon as my friends asked me to give a nice romantic pose, I grabbed Priya in my arms. I didn't notice an Aunty ji sitting and looking at me with disgust(As if I had murdered someone). I avoided her eyes and continued with the photo shoot; Priya didn't and jumped off my arms as soon as Aditi clicked the pic.
It had been a nice peaceful and a very joyful day. The trip had been special for each one of us; we came back the next day and I took the train for Chennai. On tuesday, we all went to our respective offices with some beautiful, amazing and extra ordinary memories and experiences which we knew we will cherish forever.
Monday, May 24, 2010
A refreshing trip - Wonderla
After a hectic week at office, I was eagerly looking forward to the weekend to re-energize myself. I, along with my friends, had planned a lot on how to spend the two days, and we did come to conclusion after a meeting with length more than a Ashutosh Gowarikar's movie.
We had decided to go for, may be, some movie (Kites being so awaited was on the top of the list) in the afternoon and have dinner at some nice restaurant on Saturday. On Sunday, we would go to Wonderla(for which we had been planning for past two weeks - Week 1, we couldn't go since Priya had Saturday working; Week 2, the BACK ACHE syndrome - Read my post - Never tease your wife, EVER). So we were determined this time around.
But as history has it, plans never work for me (this also applies to anyone who is in any proximity with me). So, came saturday, and the 5 days of work had taken so much toll on us, all our plans were thrown apart, Atul's Saturday working adding to the agony, that we did nothing that day. Priya prepared CHOWMEIN (Believe me, she is superb at preparing some items, and Chowmein tops the chart). It tasted really nice; but given the fact that I am too fond of food to eat the same item in breakfast, lunch and dinner, she had prepared a lot (She had the same chowmein for today's breakfast to finish it; that would give you an idea how much she prepared). We did watch a movie; not in a cinema hall, but on the IDIOT BOX(well the movie was IDIOTIC as well).
Saturday had become so boring that we were all wishing for it to be over. Before going to sleep, no matter how depressed with Saturday's plans not working out, we were still determined to make Sunday count. So we decide we would leave by 10 AM Sunday morning for WONDER LA.
Came Sunday with a nice sunshine; and Sun did shine on us as well, for good. I woke up at 8.00, and prepared tea for my better half; I didn't want to ruin our plans by waking her up without the bed tea at her side. So, I did all I could to wake her up with a smile on her face(That was the key to keep our hopes alive). And, she had a smile on her face when she woke up, my efforts didn't go in vain, the plan was still ON; or, was it - She woke up at 9.30 AM!!!
But as I told you, Priya had a smile on her face; so as soon as she woke up, within five minutes our clothes were in the bags, and we were almost ready; the only thing needed for us to begin was, taking bath and having breakfast. At 9.45, while Priya was still taking bath, I went to the balcony to see Guru and Nimmi, my friendly neighbours, or neighbourly friends, all ready for the day; Looked like they did not sleep at night and were ready since 6'o clock!!! Atul also reached at around 9.50.
Exactly at 10, while Priya was still TAKING BATH, the door bell rang. I knew who was on te other side of door, And I did not want to open the door; Since Mr GURU, as ususal, was thinking that we were in army and if we were late by even 10-15 minutes, we would be court-martialled. Reluctantly, I opened the door, and Guru did start off, I could not hear a word he was saying, thanks to the cotton I had put in my ears.
At 10.30, Priya finally came out of the shower. This was the only BIG work pending. Once this was done, we left in another 10 mins. We took out my lovely i20, and the plan was still ON. There were still two hitches though; one, My i20 was clearly telling me to quench her thirst, so I made her drink petrol worth INR 500. We, then had to take some cash out of the ATM. And finally at around 11 AM, the real journey began.
With a few lessons from Guru on how to drive a car(even Schumacher wont be able to convince Guru that he can drive, and drive well), we reached the heavenly place called Wonder La. We parked the car and halted for a photo shoot. Then, I and Guru went to get the tickets, which took us some 10 minutes (Nimmi had predicted 1 hr at least).
All set, our plans did work out this time!!!! We were inside Wonder La. Now first things first, get a locker and stuff all the bags in it. I, Guru and Priya did not need change of clothes. Atul and Nimmi did; so they went to change while we waited for like 500 years!!!
They finally came and we went out to the exotic world of Wonder La. But we didnt know why weren't we able to enjoy. It finally struck, we were hungry. So we went to the cafeteria and filled out stomachs. We decided to go for the dry rides first, but the crowd and heat made us change our minds and we stepped into the play pool. All of us except the Hydrophobic Guru tried different rides and enjoyed.
At 1.20, it was the time for the wave pool, and we went there and enjoyed the artificial waves. We then went on to have some rain dancing; and I especially loved it for the fact that it was dark there and no one's eyes would get punished seeing me dancing :-) . We then went to the water pendulum, The slope of the pendulum was so steep that we did not want to unbalance the weights; so Priya and Nimmi went first and I and Atul. Guru did not ride it(Hydrophobic, remember). Then, it was the turn of Kraits and after that me and Atul just wanted to enjoy the waters so we came back to the wave pool. Guru, Nimmi and Priya went on to ride some other Krait; when they came back all their faces looked like boiled eggs. Reason - Some fat man who was infront of them in the queue, sat on the ride and it stopped working; so they had to come back.
We then took another lunch break after which we went back to the wave pool. Well, we thought it was a nice day for all of us. We were in for a surprise, the day was going to become nicer. Nimmi found some 590 bucks inside the pool, then Atul, then Priya and Guru. I didn't, so I concentrated on my swimming. I, Priya and Nimmi tried our hands at swimming, Guru tried his hands at Nimmi, err, I mean in supporting her while swimming and ATUL continued trying his hands at finding some more cash!
We finally ended the day with a lot of joy and a LOT OF MONEY. I could tell you that we gave the money to Wonder La management or to poor people. Well, we are normal people and we did what anyone would do; We had a dinner PARTY, thanks to the 1500 bucks we found!!!
As the day ended, all our minds, hearts and souls were, for sure, re-energized.
We had decided to go for, may be, some movie (Kites being so awaited was on the top of the list) in the afternoon and have dinner at some nice restaurant on Saturday. On Sunday, we would go to Wonderla(for which we had been planning for past two weeks - Week 1, we couldn't go since Priya had Saturday working; Week 2, the BACK ACHE syndrome - Read my post - Never tease your wife, EVER). So we were determined this time around.
But as history has it, plans never work for me (this also applies to anyone who is in any proximity with me). So, came saturday, and the 5 days of work had taken so much toll on us, all our plans were thrown apart, Atul's Saturday working adding to the agony, that we did nothing that day. Priya prepared CHOWMEIN (Believe me, she is superb at preparing some items, and Chowmein tops the chart). It tasted really nice; but given the fact that I am too fond of food to eat the same item in breakfast, lunch and dinner, she had prepared a lot (She had the same chowmein for today's breakfast to finish it; that would give you an idea how much she prepared). We did watch a movie; not in a cinema hall, but on the IDIOT BOX(well the movie was IDIOTIC as well).
Saturday had become so boring that we were all wishing for it to be over. Before going to sleep, no matter how depressed with Saturday's plans not working out, we were still determined to make Sunday count. So we decide we would leave by 10 AM Sunday morning for WONDER LA.
Came Sunday with a nice sunshine; and Sun did shine on us as well, for good. I woke up at 8.00, and prepared tea for my better half; I didn't want to ruin our plans by waking her up without the bed tea at her side. So, I did all I could to wake her up with a smile on her face(That was the key to keep our hopes alive). And, she had a smile on her face when she woke up, my efforts didn't go in vain, the plan was still ON; or, was it - She woke up at 9.30 AM!!!
But as I told you, Priya had a smile on her face; so as soon as she woke up, within five minutes our clothes were in the bags, and we were almost ready; the only thing needed for us to begin was, taking bath and having breakfast. At 9.45, while Priya was still taking bath, I went to the balcony to see Guru and Nimmi, my friendly neighbours, or neighbourly friends, all ready for the day; Looked like they did not sleep at night and were ready since 6'o clock!!! Atul also reached at around 9.50.
Exactly at 10, while Priya was still TAKING BATH, the door bell rang. I knew who was on te other side of door, And I did not want to open the door; Since Mr GURU, as ususal, was thinking that we were in army and if we were late by even 10-15 minutes, we would be court-martialled. Reluctantly, I opened the door, and Guru did start off, I could not hear a word he was saying, thanks to the cotton I had put in my ears.
At 10.30, Priya finally came out of the shower. This was the only BIG work pending. Once this was done, we left in another 10 mins. We took out my lovely i20, and the plan was still ON. There were still two hitches though; one, My i20 was clearly telling me to quench her thirst, so I made her drink petrol worth INR 500. We, then had to take some cash out of the ATM. And finally at around 11 AM, the real journey began.
With a few lessons from Guru on how to drive a car(even Schumacher wont be able to convince Guru that he can drive, and drive well), we reached the heavenly place called Wonder La. We parked the car and halted for a photo shoot. Then, I and Guru went to get the tickets, which took us some 10 minutes (Nimmi had predicted 1 hr at least).
All set, our plans did work out this time!!!! We were inside Wonder La. Now first things first, get a locker and stuff all the bags in it. I, Guru and Priya did not need change of clothes. Atul and Nimmi did; so they went to change while we waited for like 500 years!!!
They finally came and we went out to the exotic world of Wonder La. But we didnt know why weren't we able to enjoy. It finally struck, we were hungry. So we went to the cafeteria and filled out stomachs. We decided to go for the dry rides first, but the crowd and heat made us change our minds and we stepped into the play pool. All of us except the Hydrophobic Guru tried different rides and enjoyed.
At 1.20, it was the time for the wave pool, and we went there and enjoyed the artificial waves. We then went on to have some rain dancing; and I especially loved it for the fact that it was dark there and no one's eyes would get punished seeing me dancing :-) . We then went to the water pendulum, The slope of the pendulum was so steep that we did not want to unbalance the weights; so Priya and Nimmi went first and I and Atul. Guru did not ride it(Hydrophobic, remember). Then, it was the turn of Kraits and after that me and Atul just wanted to enjoy the waters so we came back to the wave pool. Guru, Nimmi and Priya went on to ride some other Krait; when they came back all their faces looked like boiled eggs. Reason - Some fat man who was infront of them in the queue, sat on the ride and it stopped working; so they had to come back.
We then took another lunch break after which we went back to the wave pool. Well, we thought it was a nice day for all of us. We were in for a surprise, the day was going to become nicer. Nimmi found some 590 bucks inside the pool, then Atul, then Priya and Guru. I didn't, so I concentrated on my swimming. I, Priya and Nimmi tried our hands at swimming, Guru tried his hands at Nimmi, err, I mean in supporting her while swimming and ATUL continued trying his hands at finding some more cash!
We finally ended the day with a lot of joy and a LOT OF MONEY. I could tell you that we gave the money to Wonder La management or to poor people. Well, we are normal people and we did what anyone would do; We had a dinner PARTY, thanks to the 1500 bucks we found!!!
As the day ended, all our minds, hearts and souls were, for sure, re-energized.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Who Am I?
My heart asks me. Who Am I?
I can't keep everyone happy,
But then I don't want to sadden anyone,
I can't be the best SON,
But then I try to be as good as I can,
I am not perfect husband,
But then I try to make my wife as happy as I can,
At one moment, I care for everyone,
At another, I could've never cared less for anyone,
I can be generous at one point of time,
And very selfish at the other.
I am not excellent at work,
But then I try to be as good as I can,
I am not a perfectionist,
But I try not to repeat my mistakes,
Then Who Am I?,
Am I a loner,
Am I carefree,
Am I an Apathetic,
Am I parsimonious,
I think I got the answer,
I am just a human...
I can't keep everyone happy,
But then I don't want to sadden anyone,
I can't be the best SON,
But then I try to be as good as I can,
I am not perfect husband,
But then I try to make my wife as happy as I can,
At one moment, I care for everyone,
At another, I could've never cared less for anyone,
I can be generous at one point of time,
And very selfish at the other.
I am not excellent at work,
But then I try to be as good as I can,
I am not a perfectionist,
But I try not to repeat my mistakes,
Then Who Am I?,
Am I a loner,
Am I carefree,
Am I an Apathetic,
Am I parsimonious,
I think I got the answer,
I am just a human...
Friday, May 21, 2010
CSK V/S KXIP - More than just a match
Ever since IPL started three years ago, I have been an ardent supporter of CSK, reason being their captain, MSD. Atul, one of my best friends (Yes, I have more than one BEST Friend, lucky me), has been a supporter of the KXIP since many of his fav cricketers are in that team, Yuvraj included. The fact that Prieti Zinta is the team owner does help the cause as well.
So, as you all know, when a match between two teams is scheduled, the battle off the field (between the fans) is as intersting as the one on the field. I and my NOT SO GOOD friend during the course of every IPL(enemy would be a better word), Atul, are no different. If you go by what our friends have to say, the battle between our teams, no matter how interesting, is nothing compared to the battle between the two of us.
It was just before the start of IPL 1, I was in Chennai, Atul in Bangalore and he called me(no I am not doing any ad for my or Atul's virginity, if you know what I mean). We were talking about IPL, about the different teams; If you would have heard us talking, you would definitely have asked us to replace Lalit Modi as the Commissioner. One thing led to another, and then that moment came when I became an enemy of KXIP, thanks to Atul, more tan I was a fan of CSK and vice versa.
The first match between the two teams, I was still in Chennai; but we were abusing each other(we didnt spare anyone, Please apply your imagination) over the chat all the time. And then CSK won; I could not stand the excitement, the joy, the happiness; so I called Mr A. Manchanda; who was so ashamed, he did not pick the phone up. The smile turned into laughter, I could not control; I called another friend and asked him to put the phone on speaker. As soon as he did that, I could not utter a word; the only thing I could do was laugh, laugh and just laugh. (Secret - If our common friends are to be believed, they saw tears pouring down Mr A's eyes).
He was determined to beat me in the second game (No, he wasnt going to play for KXIP, just pray for them and thats what KXIP needed at that time - he he he). Well, I won again. The happiest I was when Yuvi got out, as he was in top form(What an irony, we pray for the same player to get out for whom we had just prayed to play well sometime back; but thats what IPL does to you).
The saga continued in IPL 2 - CSK clean sweeping KXIP. Mr A. finally smelled a win in IPL 3 but by that time he had started liking CSK, thanks to RCB supporters (This is a different story, Will share later). The second match was won by CSK again, which got them to the SF of the third season of IPL which they eventually won. Atul was all praise for MSD in that match against KXIP.
I hope this clash between me and Atul does not end any time soon, because both of us enjoy the competetion, ad deep down inside, we both know how much respect we have for each other.
As of now, me and BEST friend would be sitting down on Saturday over a bottle of beer to discuss the current scenarion of World cricket, which we do every weekend.
This post is dedicated to my friend - ATUL MANCHANDA.
So, as you all know, when a match between two teams is scheduled, the battle off the field (between the fans) is as intersting as the one on the field. I and my NOT SO GOOD friend during the course of every IPL(enemy would be a better word), Atul, are no different. If you go by what our friends have to say, the battle between our teams, no matter how interesting, is nothing compared to the battle between the two of us.
It was just before the start of IPL 1, I was in Chennai, Atul in Bangalore and he called me(no I am not doing any ad for my or Atul's virginity, if you know what I mean). We were talking about IPL, about the different teams; If you would have heard us talking, you would definitely have asked us to replace Lalit Modi as the Commissioner. One thing led to another, and then that moment came when I became an enemy of KXIP, thanks to Atul, more tan I was a fan of CSK and vice versa.
The first match between the two teams, I was still in Chennai; but we were abusing each other(we didnt spare anyone, Please apply your imagination) over the chat all the time. And then CSK won; I could not stand the excitement, the joy, the happiness; so I called Mr A. Manchanda; who was so ashamed, he did not pick the phone up. The smile turned into laughter, I could not control; I called another friend and asked him to put the phone on speaker. As soon as he did that, I could not utter a word; the only thing I could do was laugh, laugh and just laugh. (Secret - If our common friends are to be believed, they saw tears pouring down Mr A's eyes).
He was determined to beat me in the second game (No, he wasnt going to play for KXIP, just pray for them and thats what KXIP needed at that time - he he he). Well, I won again. The happiest I was when Yuvi got out, as he was in top form(What an irony, we pray for the same player to get out for whom we had just prayed to play well sometime back; but thats what IPL does to you).
The saga continued in IPL 2 - CSK clean sweeping KXIP. Mr A. finally smelled a win in IPL 3 but by that time he had started liking CSK, thanks to RCB supporters (This is a different story, Will share later). The second match was won by CSK again, which got them to the SF of the third season of IPL which they eventually won. Atul was all praise for MSD in that match against KXIP.
I hope this clash between me and Atul does not end any time soon, because both of us enjoy the competetion, ad deep down inside, we both know how much respect we have for each other.
As of now, me and BEST friend would be sitting down on Saturday over a bottle of beer to discuss the current scenarion of World cricket, which we do every weekend.
This post is dedicated to my friend - ATUL MANCHANDA.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
An eventful holiday - in Ooty - Part 1
Its been more than a year (almost two years) since we went to Ooty. It was really adventurous, so thought of sharing with you.
I was posted in Chennai at that time; All my friends in Bangalore, including Priya, my girlfriend at that time. Everytime we decided to go somewhere, the plan would fail, for one reason or the other. So we were determined we won't let this plan fail - and all of us were up for it.
Getting leave from Office.
Since I was posted in Chennai and we had planned to start the journey from Bangalore, I needed an extra day off from Office, which would meantwo days, Monday and Tuesday. So, with all smiles on my face, I went to my manger's cabin to ask for two day's leave. By the time I came out, the smile was long gone and replaced by a sad grim on my face. I had been given only one day holiday. Just as it seemed this plan is also gonna fail, and as usual, the responsibility would be mine, a colleague of mine suggested a GREAT idea; I could reach Bangalore back by Monday evening and leave for Chennai at night. I looked at him, I saw a MESSIAH in him at that time. The first hurdle was crossed.
Getting a transport.
It was holiday season, or may be, as our luck always plays games with us, it had done that again, we were not able to get a single cab. But this time, we all were determined to win against our luck, We won't get intimidated by history!!!
Finally, Atul was able to book a cab out of nowhere on Thursday (We were supposed to start on Friday evening) and he became an instant hero. Stage 2 over.
Reaching Ooty.
We had heard it's around 7-8 hours journey to Ooty. Well It took us around 14 hours. We were on course till Mysore. As we reached Bandipur, we saw Monkeys Deers, elephants, etc. and were enjoying the wildlife that nauture has offered us. The driver told that we should not make noise and its a government rule that we drive slowly through the forest. We are good citizens and understand the laws of the land; so we obliged. We expected the same from the tiger which came on our way. But, it was no human and came really close to our vehicle. Even rowdies would have obliged to the rule of not making noise at that time. Our hearts in our mouth, we were praying to the almighty to save us -"We would never ever in our life, this and the next one, travel through a forest". Although it was just a GOLI to the GOD. as it turned out, he listened to us and the tiger left after about 1-2 hours. We asked the driver to go as fast as he couldn't, although we knew he could not go fast enough, thanks to the government rules. Thankfully, there were no more adrenalin pumping events on our way except the one when the driver fell asleep and almost tipped the Qualis off the hill. (I am writing this post because nothing happened and we are all hale and hearty. Thanks for you concern, though.)
Finding a hotel.
Now came the most intersting part of our journey. Atul had booked three rooms, one for the three girls and two for the 6 guys. The journey, no matter how adventurous, had taken its toll and we wanted to doze off for two three hours. We went into the hotel which Atul had booked. The receptionist gave us the shock of our lives - "I am sorry Sir, I dont think We do not have a room booke in your name". We looked at Atul - He had become a villain faster than he had become a hero just a day before. He tried to convince us that he had booked a room; it didnt matter if we were convinced or not, the receptionist wasn't for sure. So, we came out of the hotel and started searching for any hotel, any room. It took us about two hours to finally find two rooms in a hotel; We took them without even looking (Beggars cannot be choosers). All of us finally died for three hours.
To be continued...
I was posted in Chennai at that time; All my friends in Bangalore, including Priya, my girlfriend at that time. Everytime we decided to go somewhere, the plan would fail, for one reason or the other. So we were determined we won't let this plan fail - and all of us were up for it.
Getting leave from Office.
Since I was posted in Chennai and we had planned to start the journey from Bangalore, I needed an extra day off from Office, which would meantwo days, Monday and Tuesday. So, with all smiles on my face, I went to my manger's cabin to ask for two day's leave. By the time I came out, the smile was long gone and replaced by a sad grim on my face. I had been given only one day holiday. Just as it seemed this plan is also gonna fail, and as usual, the responsibility would be mine, a colleague of mine suggested a GREAT idea; I could reach Bangalore back by Monday evening and leave for Chennai at night. I looked at him, I saw a MESSIAH in him at that time. The first hurdle was crossed.
Getting a transport.
It was holiday season, or may be, as our luck always plays games with us, it had done that again, we were not able to get a single cab. But this time, we all were determined to win against our luck, We won't get intimidated by history!!!
Finally, Atul was able to book a cab out of nowhere on Thursday (We were supposed to start on Friday evening) and he became an instant hero. Stage 2 over.
Reaching Ooty.
We had heard it's around 7-8 hours journey to Ooty. Well It took us around 14 hours. We were on course till Mysore. As we reached Bandipur, we saw Monkeys Deers, elephants, etc. and were enjoying the wildlife that nauture has offered us. The driver told that we should not make noise and its a government rule that we drive slowly through the forest. We are good citizens and understand the laws of the land; so we obliged. We expected the same from the tiger which came on our way. But, it was no human and came really close to our vehicle. Even rowdies would have obliged to the rule of not making noise at that time. Our hearts in our mouth, we were praying to the almighty to save us -"We would never ever in our life, this and the next one, travel through a forest". Although it was just a GOLI to the GOD. as it turned out, he listened to us and the tiger left after about 1-2 hours. We asked the driver to go as fast as he couldn't, although we knew he could not go fast enough, thanks to the government rules. Thankfully, there were no more adrenalin pumping events on our way except the one when the driver fell asleep and almost tipped the Qualis off the hill. (I am writing this post because nothing happened and we are all hale and hearty. Thanks for you concern, though.)
Finding a hotel.
Now came the most intersting part of our journey. Atul had booked three rooms, one for the three girls and two for the 6 guys. The journey, no matter how adventurous, had taken its toll and we wanted to doze off for two three hours. We went into the hotel which Atul had booked. The receptionist gave us the shock of our lives - "I am sorry Sir, I dont think We do not have a room booke in your name". We looked at Atul - He had become a villain faster than he had become a hero just a day before. He tried to convince us that he had booked a room; it didnt matter if we were convinced or not, the receptionist wasn't for sure. So, we came out of the hotel and started searching for any hotel, any room. It took us about two hours to finally find two rooms in a hotel; We took them without even looking (Beggars cannot be choosers). All of us finally died for three hours.
To be continued...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Work-Life Balance
How essential is Work-Life balance? Well, If you go by what your employer has to say, its the most important thing you need to take care of as an employee. But, Do we really try to have a balance; or may I say, does your work give you time to even think about creating a balance?
I guess not. You go to work and toil hard for atleast 9 hours (depending on the amount of work you have). Then You come back home thinking that it was a hectic day in office but a satisfying one as You accomplashied something. You talk about your day with your family, listen to them. Some people watch movies, some listen to music, every one of us does something or the other to freshen up our mind and soul.
But for many professionals, the recreation is very short-lived. You suddenly get a call on your mobile, the name says OFFICE, and you know, Your heart starts beating faster than Schumacker's Ferrari. You don't want to pick the phone up, but You know the better of it; You hold your breath and pick the phone up and open up the Pandora's box.
"There's an issue and needs to be resolved at the earliest, every one needs to log in". Your most dreaded nightmare has become a reality; You dont want to, but have to log in. There's a big meeting set up, people doing nothing but talking on how to resolve; with some seniors personnels asking how much more time; You get a feeling that You actually caused the issue and each word uttered by the seniors pricks you like a needle. You want to scream at them that you are a human being and need some time, you did not cause the issue - but you can't. You want to log off - but you can't. So, You have to find a resolution ASAP or else they are gonna kill you with their words.
Finally, You, along with your team members, find the resolution; the issue is resolved. You haven't eaten anything after the snacks you had at 4:00 PM in the evening. You want to eat something but you dont have the strength to get it, you want someone to get it for you. You turn around from your laptop to see if someone can do the favour. All you see is darkness - You can't blame them, its 2:00AM , everyone has gone to sleep. You convince your body to assist you in getting the food; You promise your body, however false the promise might be, that you will get it some rest after it assists you in getting the dinner. No sooner your body gets convincedthan your client asks you to keep monitoring and see if the resolution is working. You want scream again; but no, You don't; You are a professional and this is something expected of you.
At last you do get some sleep at 6:00 AM in the morning; at 8:00 someone tries to wake you up; You want to, but your eyes don't co-operate. That someone understands and lets you sleep.
Is this what we call Work-Life balance? The answer is NO. Its not. So how can we manage the work life balance? The companies we work for keep reminding us about the importance of the term - They should get to the ground realities before stressing on WORK-LIFE Balance.
P.S - This is the story of many people in general and at least two (whom I won't name) in particular.
I guess not. You go to work and toil hard for atleast 9 hours (depending on the amount of work you have). Then You come back home thinking that it was a hectic day in office but a satisfying one as You accomplashied something. You talk about your day with your family, listen to them. Some people watch movies, some listen to music, every one of us does something or the other to freshen up our mind and soul.
But for many professionals, the recreation is very short-lived. You suddenly get a call on your mobile, the name says OFFICE, and you know, Your heart starts beating faster than Schumacker's Ferrari. You don't want to pick the phone up, but You know the better of it; You hold your breath and pick the phone up and open up the Pandora's box.
"There's an issue and needs to be resolved at the earliest, every one needs to log in". Your most dreaded nightmare has become a reality; You dont want to, but have to log in. There's a big meeting set up, people doing nothing but talking on how to resolve; with some seniors personnels asking how much more time; You get a feeling that You actually caused the issue and each word uttered by the seniors pricks you like a needle. You want to scream at them that you are a human being and need some time, you did not cause the issue - but you can't. You want to log off - but you can't. So, You have to find a resolution ASAP or else they are gonna kill you with their words.
Finally, You, along with your team members, find the resolution; the issue is resolved. You haven't eaten anything after the snacks you had at 4:00 PM in the evening. You want to eat something but you dont have the strength to get it, you want someone to get it for you. You turn around from your laptop to see if someone can do the favour. All you see is darkness - You can't blame them, its 2:00AM , everyone has gone to sleep. You convince your body to assist you in getting the food; You promise your body, however false the promise might be, that you will get it some rest after it assists you in getting the dinner. No sooner your body gets convincedthan your client asks you to keep monitoring and see if the resolution is working. You want scream again; but no, You don't; You are a professional and this is something expected of you.
At last you do get some sleep at 6:00 AM in the morning; at 8:00 someone tries to wake you up; You want to, but your eyes don't co-operate. That someone understands and lets you sleep.
Is this what we call Work-Life balance? The answer is NO. Its not. So how can we manage the work life balance? The companies we work for keep reminding us about the importance of the term - They should get to the ground realities before stressing on WORK-LIFE Balance.
P.S - This is the story of many people in general and at least two (whom I won't name) in particular.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Shri Ram Sene - "Morale Police or contract killers"
They beat up women, they blacken faces of people and they try to disrupt the peace of the society. No, I am not talking about a bunch of GUNDAS, I am talking about the political party known as Sri Ram Sene, led by their self proclaimed saviour of Hindutva chief, Mr Pramod Muthalik.
We have been opposing this morale policing ever since it started. But alas, news flash - its not moral policing; the news doing the rounds say that they are actually contracted to stage riots!!!
So now, the question is how will the BJP government deal with this. Will they ban Sri Ram Sene? The answer is a big "NO". Mr Yedurappaa has ourightly declined to do so.
The video footage which shows Muthalik's aide accepting money to stage riots has not been verified. It will take another three to four days. Then an inquiry will take place. Based on the findings (which I am sure is gonna take years as always), a decision will be taken.
By the time a decision would come, this instance would have been long forgotten and Mr Muthalik & Co will continue with their Moral Policing or shall I say, CONTRACT KILLING...
P.S. - Thanks to TOI.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Never tease Your wife... ever!!!
Its around 1 A.M Sunday night, or shall I say Monday morning, i.e., if you go by English calendar. I am struggling to write this post; no, not because I am feeling sleepy, but due to the back ache which started this afternoon. I dont know how or why it started, but the most possible cause seems to be the revenge that GOD is taking on me.
This is how it all started : It all started on Friday morning; Priya (my wife, for those who dont know her) woke up with a sore back. I got a bit worried and massaged her with MOOV(The popular Indian ointment, which most of you would have heard of, if not tried yet). Then I instructed her not to prepare food, she could do that at night (my mistake, I thought she would be fine by then) and went to gym. She leaves for office at around 11:00 much before I come back. So, I came back appreciating the good physique I have developed and tried all the body building positions to help me analyse which part needs more attention (thats my daily routine - I always ignore my belly as I know there's no point concentrating on it; its gonna take a verrrrry long time to make it flat). At around 1.30 PM, I also left for office; wearing my new shirt in which I think I look uber cool (just like my i20, just to let al know that I own one; kidding).
At around 9.30 PM, busy at work, I received a call on my cell, a call which I didnt know will change my entire life over the weekend, Priya's call).
Priya : "When are You planning to leave?" (the usual question)
Me : "(Oh, the same question again!!!), Have a bit of work left, may be 15-20 mins"
Priya : "My back ache is still hurting me!"
Me : "Oh no!!! Ok, I will try to finish my work ASAP and then we can leave."
Priya: "Ok, I am logging off"
Now, by the time I finished my work, she called me and told that she is already in Basement 1.
I took my bag (I never took a bag to a class in collegea and I never go to office without a bag!!!) and rushed. It took me 10 mins to reach B1, enough to pour in a 100 ltrs of a fuel called anger in Priya's eyes. Still, she knew she needed me at this point in time (one of the rare occasions when its the other way round) so she subsided her anger and asked to pick her bag (the weight of which is twice than that of Priya's). I tokk it and placed it on my shoulder in a strange way you will see most bikers hanging. (Yes, I also have a bike and commute with it to save petrol ;-) ).
We came back home; Priya was in a lot of discomfort; I again massaged her with the same old MOOV, put crape bandage around her waist, prepared the dinner (as I already pointed out, it was my mistake, I didnt let her prepare the dinner). She somehow managed to sleep. Next day morning, there wasnt much of a recovery; by that time we had diagnosed what the issue was (there's a doctor in every Indian); it was a common pain which when comes, remains there for 2.5 days; and I had to take care of everything for these 2.5 days, only one day has passed by, Friday. Saturday and Sunday, the two daysall of us wait for was turning into a nightmare for me.
But, no matter what, Priya is my better half, and I know that better than anyone else. So I took very good care of everything, including Priya's (for a change); Prepared brakfast, lunch, tea, dinner. The only one bad thing I did was tease her by asking her if she could stretch her body like mine, first ot the right and then to the left, and this continued for around half an hour (It was just a joke, I was trying to bring smile on her face).
And just then the OMNIPRESENT saw this. As a result, on Sunday afternoon, when Priya called me I rushed to her, I went to her side and sat down. She asked for something which was right behind me. I tried to turn around to get it but couldnt; a sudden surge of pain ran through my back; I could not move. It was the same back ache. GOD had punished me for teasing my BETTER half. And then it came to my mind - never tease your wife, EVER!!!
And right now my house looks like a home for the handicapped!!!
This is how it all started : It all started on Friday morning; Priya (my wife, for those who dont know her) woke up with a sore back. I got a bit worried and massaged her with MOOV(The popular Indian ointment, which most of you would have heard of, if not tried yet). Then I instructed her not to prepare food, she could do that at night (my mistake, I thought she would be fine by then) and went to gym. She leaves for office at around 11:00 much before I come back. So, I came back appreciating the good physique I have developed and tried all the body building positions to help me analyse which part needs more attention (thats my daily routine - I always ignore my belly as I know there's no point concentrating on it; its gonna take a verrrrry long time to make it flat). At around 1.30 PM, I also left for office; wearing my new shirt in which I think I look uber cool (just like my i20, just to let al know that I own one; kidding).
At around 9.30 PM, busy at work, I received a call on my cell, a call which I didnt know will change my entire life over the weekend, Priya's call).
Priya : "When are You planning to leave?" (the usual question)
Me : "(Oh, the same question again!!!), Have a bit of work left, may be 15-20 mins"
Priya : "My back ache is still hurting me!"
Me : "Oh no!!! Ok, I will try to finish my work ASAP and then we can leave."
Priya: "Ok, I am logging off"
Now, by the time I finished my work, she called me and told that she is already in Basement 1.
I took my bag (I never took a bag to a class in collegea and I never go to office without a bag!!!) and rushed. It took me 10 mins to reach B1, enough to pour in a 100 ltrs of a fuel called anger in Priya's eyes. Still, she knew she needed me at this point in time (one of the rare occasions when its the other way round) so she subsided her anger and asked to pick her bag (the weight of which is twice than that of Priya's). I tokk it and placed it on my shoulder in a strange way you will see most bikers hanging. (Yes, I also have a bike and commute with it to save petrol ;-) ).
We came back home; Priya was in a lot of discomfort; I again massaged her with the same old MOOV, put crape bandage around her waist, prepared the dinner (as I already pointed out, it was my mistake, I didnt let her prepare the dinner). She somehow managed to sleep. Next day morning, there wasnt much of a recovery; by that time we had diagnosed what the issue was (there's a doctor in every Indian); it was a common pain which when comes, remains there for 2.5 days; and I had to take care of everything for these 2.5 days, only one day has passed by, Friday. Saturday and Sunday, the two daysall of us wait for was turning into a nightmare for me.
But, no matter what, Priya is my better half, and I know that better than anyone else. So I took very good care of everything, including Priya's (for a change); Prepared brakfast, lunch, tea, dinner. The only one bad thing I did was tease her by asking her if she could stretch her body like mine, first ot the right and then to the left, and this continued for around half an hour (It was just a joke, I was trying to bring smile on her face).
And just then the OMNIPRESENT saw this. As a result, on Sunday afternoon, when Priya called me I rushed to her, I went to her side and sat down. She asked for something which was right behind me. I tried to turn around to get it but couldnt; a sudden surge of pain ran through my back; I could not move. It was the same back ache. GOD had punished me for teasing my BETTER half. And then it came to my mind - never tease your wife, EVER!!!
And right now my house looks like a home for the handicapped!!!
Courage and determination
"What a match!!!"... these were the words which came out of each and every cricket fan on Friday. Yes, I am talking about the match between Oz and Pak. The courage, determination and resilience shown by Mike Hussey made sure that Australia book their place in the T20 finals for the first time and also prevent Pak from making it to the Big one for a straight 3rd time.
Clarke won the toss and elected to bowl so that he could take some early wickets and put pressure on Pak. But not to be; Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal made sure that Aus start shifting from Plan A to B and then B to C. All their plans were thrown on the mat by the onslaught by the two opening batsmen from Pak. And later, the young Umar Akmal, Kamran's kin, made his elder brother proud by taking the final score to a joint second highest in the tournament, 191.
During the second innings, Australians were pushed to their back foot as David Warner went back to the Pavillion faster than he had came to the crease. Australia kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and almost all of us had written them off in the match. But then, in came Cameron White and Mike Hussey. And oh Boy, what a show from both of them. I remember Cameron White went off a full toss trying to hit a Six to long off.
And in came Mitchell Johnson. All he had to do was stay at the non-striker end and watch the master that Hussey is. Australia, at the end of 16th over, needed 56 from 24 balls and with 7 wkts down, even Mike Hussey would not have thought that its still possible. But then, we saw a side of Hussey we have never seen, an attacker, an on slaughter, a KILLER... He started killing each and every bowler that came. And finally, they needed 18 from the last over.
In came Ajmal, the most economical Pakistani bowler. He would have thought he would easily restrict Mike and OZ to less than 18 which was needed. But, Welcome to Hussey's world - The last over went like this- 1 6 6 4 6. Hussey winning match for Oz with one ball to spare. He made 60 n.o off 24 balls. Thats a S/R of more than 200, considering the fact that he came in when wickets were going down all around him.
At the post match ceremony, the Man of the Match, Mr Hussey himself told that it was the est moment of his cricketing career. And I second that.
Kudos to You Hussey. It really was the best innings I have seen you play, And I am sure there will be many more in the future.
My first blog
Hi Friends,
This is my first blog. Though starting too late, there's a brighter side to it. As they say "Better late than never". I have been thinking about start writing blogs, as they are the best way to voice your ideas, concerns, and thoughts; but something (don't know what) was holding me all this time.
I have been following my dear friend Atul's and my brother Subhash's (Read: CHOTU's) blogs. Both of them are too good at expressing themselves; and Chotu, in particular is amazingly talented, innovative and expressive.
To tell you a bit more about myself (most of you would already be knowing), I am software professional, a die hard fan of Cricket (just like 90pc of us Indians); with keen interest in Indian Economics and politics.
With the above information, you can expect that my next post might be related to the T20 WC or about Mr Muthalik & Co.
Bbye for now.
This is my first blog. Though starting too late, there's a brighter side to it. As they say "Better late than never". I have been thinking about start writing blogs, as they are the best way to voice your ideas, concerns, and thoughts; but something (don't know what) was holding me all this time.
I have been following my dear friend Atul's and my brother Subhash's (Read: CHOTU's) blogs. Both of them are too good at expressing themselves; and Chotu, in particular is amazingly talented, innovative and expressive.
To tell you a bit more about myself (most of you would already be knowing), I am software professional, a die hard fan of Cricket (just like 90pc of us Indians); with keen interest in Indian Economics and politics.
With the above information, you can expect that my next post might be related to the T20 WC or about Mr Muthalik & Co.
Bbye for now.
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