Such was the urge to blog yesterday that I had tried my best to get it connected from my GPRS....23 freakin hours on the road...never realised Bangalore was that far from Mumbai!! Well its been one helluva trip this one....kicking off with good old Aurangabad....went amazingly well was expected...somehow that city has developed a nice little soft corner it seems...then the ever prodigal Nashik....in terms of stay and the interesting people met...absolutely amazing.....now really forward to getting a copy of Punjabi remix of Children by DJ Satish....the Mumbai return journey was a memorable one bro!!...Then the final frontier.....came the red bus in which I was supposed to spend the next one full day in a 6 by 3 coffin.....it got shit cold in the night enough to make one piss in ones pants....and the worst part is unlike in a train you cant even piss at your own will!!! Neways Bengaluru here I am and with the circle surrounding me promises to be a good break....oh by the way I return from Bangalore tomorrow and then am on a nice 5 days break from work...so wont be updating I guess..

Finally managed to see Ghajani....turned out to be decent...definitely not as high on expectations but then again..decent...kinda dont agree to critics who have lashed out at Asin's acting.....she has done an awsome job!!! Its not acting that shes done..shes has played a natural lovely girl which one can anyday fall in love with.....fir acting pls see Kareena and Katrina.....c mon its high time we talk bout performace and not acting...that girl was simply NATURAL AND AMAZING!!!....Aamir has got his eight packs, bulginf bisceps and muscles...but wats the point if u not gonna show them off to smash the hell out of the baddies!!!!Either the director wanted to make a violent family movie or a family violent movie!! If possible I would definitely like to see a Kill Bill version of Ghajani wat say!!!

Things seem to be just flying by these days. Somehow one cannot decide if its good or bad. On reflections things have always looked good but in the present they bleed. Life has this funny way of making you progress. The situation now is exactly the same. At times I donot even know if I am reacting to it in the best way possible, but then its just a matter of time before things start looking good in the rear view mirror. Well thats the eternal optimist in me speaking. It funny a comic character like Spiderman states "With great power comes great responsibility", somehow we Indians can never seem to handle power responsibily. Maybe there is a reason why dispite having the oldest and richest cultures, we Indians have not dominated the world. By domination I mean domination and not saying we are the BPO capital of the world! Thats why India as a nation, as an economy, as a state of mind has always been a nation on the verge. It is always arriving, but never quite there. Its innate in every Indian. Even if we get an inch of development or power, our egos grow multitude. It is this attitude that is pulling India down today. People here are demanding change. People here are expecting after 26/11 our humble politicians will change. Isnt the inaction so far and the "expert" comments by these politicians proof enough that they have infinite resistance to change and we Indians have an infinite pleasure of continously being raped throughout history.

I had jus typed a long writeup about the misadventure that happened on route to Aurangabad this time. And as cyber luck would have it, the page expired or something, the net conked off and there is no way I am writing the same long thing again. In short, I got off a station, got in non ac, cudnt get in ac, would have either missed my destination or have been stranded in a station where trains dont have halts without my stuff, little cash and atm and credit cards which would have been useless! But things went well and I am here today to blog away so all well. Otherwise goings been tricky at work with the kind of environment thats been created here. First experiance, so learning. Stil learning in places where experience is over three years! Some things always mistify!!

It was just too wierd to blog the last few days....so much happened..leaves you speehless...and you wonder...why do I like Mumbai so much! Its crowded, houses are like pigeon holes..and you have to pay a fortune for them..trains are crowded, buses are crowded, roads are jam packed, on saturdays restaurants are packed! By the time you get home the days over, you may at times not see your neighbour for days, ther is filth on roads, slums dot the terrain, reaching the airport without getting stuck in a jam is wishful thinking.....and then it happened! After 60 hours of what can easily be described the worst terror attack on its soil, the Tri colour was hoisted at the Taj.....Leopold cafe was open on the next day.....a Public opinion was formed...enough is enough!!! Do not take refuge under the "Spirit of Mumbai" tag anymore....do not mistake an anger as a sense of resignation...attacks like these should not be tolerated and will not be tolerated...You know its so ironic the time when all these was happening our CAPITAL NEW DELHI had a measely 50% voter turnout....well I may be naive as the newspapers suggested it was a good turnout....what the hell do you mean!!!what was it 30% earlier! Its like all the so socialites on TV..lets see how many of you or from your fraternity vote this year....your Delhi counterparts definitely didnt seem to care less...was an attack on Mumbai....so why bother! Actually why do I bother or why does anybody bother...will something happen because of this, maybe yes maybe not, will politicians change, definitely not, can we all change definitely yes!!!!

Feels like an eternity since my last post...but then can be excused as had been travelling a lot these days...memorable places...Nashik, Aurangbad, Hyderabad, Bangalore the usul suspects....Bangalore stood out as it was my first visit to the te4ch city in the last 13 years...Last time I had gone, there were faint memories of a bustling South Indian city..techism was not present then..everything about Bangalore was so southie, the Vidhan Sauda, the South Indian Food, the busy streets of Kormangala (no malls then)..this time...you could smell the techism in the air!!! It started with the train...It looked like half the coach was full of people who had something to do with IT....couple of TCS guys, one typical Mr. HCL, a parent whose daughter just joined Infy...whole lot of fun along the way....in the city...you can just throw a stone anywhere in Bagalore and it can break the window of an IT company..they are just everywhere!!! Neways a memorble trip....all good ones..well ya it could have got better if certain plans had worked out..but then thats life......So bck now to the maddening world of RCP....at home today due to a bolt of fever!! Laptops koncked off...somehow mom's antique piece had daya on us and swithched on!! Otherwise its been over a couple of weeks without laptop...so online after quite a long time.....

At a personal level got quite fascinated with the title Princess of Eclipse...kinda stuck me so now wanting to expand it into some form..paintain/peom/story I dont know...just that the title sounds apealing to me! Till then...!

I had to see Fashion. It was a Madhur Bhandarkar movie, promos were amazing, and I had not seen a movie for the last two weeks and the last one was Kidnap which hardly counted. So It released yestarday and the whole day was just desparately trying to get someone or the other to come for the movie. So was pestering sis and mom for 1300 show. Then went upto the counter at PVR Goregaon at 1500 show ( was chilling at the Oberoi mall) and retrned as mom backed out....so came home..still determined to watch it.....sat online and was looking at tickets disappear every second....the Pramod called.....and it was decided...we had to watch it!! So finally after browsing thru all the cinemas..finally found two tickets...1130 show.....what a sense of achievement...so after a light dinner we set out for the movie...reached venue....took half hour to get parking....they didnt have iced tea for Pramod....1130 show started at 1200 for some reasons but nevertheless...what a beginning....what a movie...amazing..three hours just passed by.....movie got over at 3 in the late night/early morning and every one watching came out so Fresh....its the kind of movie you watch and you are so much into it that before you realise its over! Neways got to know what a "showstopper" is.....all desiners are gay....females are relatively safer in the industry...all as per what is shown in the movie...reality may differ....but who cares..its Madhir Bhandarkar....Page 3, Traffic Signal...all were good movies....next target...still have to see Body of Lies...thats a Ridley Scott movie...something I just dont wanna miss.....

Back home after 20 days of gruelling travel...its that time when you are out to enjoy yourself, prove something to some people and realise what a dork people can get by only sitting in "HO" and never actually venturing out in the real world. Its really funny when people can sit and analyse things to no end without actually never having the capacity to create anything! Sometimes the world seems to be surrounded by such people but then thats the beauty of it...thats where there is an opportunity to actually do something and thats what I love here! So more travel after Diwali and more opportunitites to actually have real learnings......

Edge of the seat thriller....thats what your can call Kidnap. Keeps you on the edge of your seat...."Yaar kab khatam hoga!!!!!" Wonder how directors take the Indian audience for granted when it comes to making thrillers. Beaten old story, the only saving grace was the visual effects were at par with the best in Bollywood movies. So there was a Minisha Lamba...who had me with my mouth open...she can be sexy....and Imran Khan delivers a good performance. Was hugely disappointed by Sanju Baba's acting and persona. Sanju Baba...pls hit the gym again with Sallu Bhai....u look fat and old!!! Rahul Dev deliveres yet another cameo..he really is the most underutilised actor in Bollywood..all said and done...Kidnap....shudave given it a miss...good thing is new Ridley Scott movie coming up.....so next weekend promises to be better!!

The markets are playing this Saare Zameen Par movie and its an amazing movie....somehow all the Economics taught in MBA colleges are going for a toss and its plain simple Newtonion theory thats expaining all the phenomenon happening around us. Its called Gravity!

Another trip another set of memories...I have always been fascinated by people. The sheer multiplicities in them leads to various analytical points to think over and keep yourself occupied. And travelling is the best form of meeting these multiplies of nature. Some of them are interesting, some you wonder are natures abnormalities and some clear misfits. Anyways always a pleasure!

Hair cut finally.....So after a long time and endless people reminding me endlessly finally got a hair cut.

My first trip to Kerala....and what a place!! That state is actually God's own country. The trip was full of anticipations, a lot of firsts...first public talk after MBA, first trip to Kerala...so after leaving reaching home at some 1130 in the night from work I prepared myself for the day ahead. The alarm was set at 0530 to help me catch the 0715 flight. As usual dad anticipated I would miss hearing the alarm and came and woke me up at 0515! So neways got up and got ready in time to reach the airport 20 mins before departure! Was a comfortable one...the view from the top was awsome during our descent. What looked like shrubs from way above actually manifested as a bed of coconut trees...and I knew I had arrived in Kerala!

My mallu and non mallu friends all had ranted unlimitedly about the food, so was really looking forward to that. There was a junior from the Admissions Team there to receive me. So she got bombarded with an early quota of Gyaan as the hotel was an hours drive from the airport. The drive was a pleasant one. The event was to start at 3 so had ample time to catch hold of the juniors one by one and give more gyaan (thats exactly they had got me there!). The event had an excellent turnout, some 170 odd turned up despite heavy rains in the city. Went of well, there was clear connect I could establish with the audience as some four years I was having exactly the same thing in the eyes about doing an MBA from a good college. Actually was amazed I could gon one for nearly half hour and then do a Q & A as well! Post that we rushed to the airport as dinner was to be taken. But alas, despite paying 400 per head all we managed was a sandwich and a couple of spoons of pasta. Two pax got complimentary thanks to fellow speaker Pradeep who happened to be a Kingfisher class member.
Once back in Mumbai at 1200, the junior girls suddenly wanted to eat Butter Chicken (despite me repeatedly pushing Mc Donalds at them )..so we began our search and after half hour of driving came across Crepe Station - a place I would definitely recomend for good grup and was amazed by the amount of nutelly Snehal and Revathi can gobble!!!!
The trip also touched another soft corner as that was conducted by the Admissions Team....ASR/Admisions Team and eveyone who is/was a part of it......we rock!!!

Back from the best tour ever in my life....feels good to see efforts get to a good start....RLH is on and here to stay....days were full of work, fun, food, booze and masala doodh....movies came and went..saw two amazing movies Chamku and Phoonk....saw an amazing movie twice...Rock on....had written an amazing review for Phoonk...bit late to post but here goes....

The crow, the toys, the animals and the spiderman....Phoonkh a review

Finally the moment of reckoning came and I had the honor of watching an amazing work of fiction called Phoonkh. So the movie starts and you are supposed to get scared. Whereever the camera goes, you are supposed to get scared. If it focusses on a painting, its supposed to scare you, if it focusses on a stuffed toy... its supposed to scare you, if it focusses on a giraffe model...its supposed to scare you, if it focusses on a smiley pressure ball..pls be scared, if it focusses on spiderman...you better be scared, if it focusses on the "Hero's" reflection in the mirror, the directors begging you to be scared!!!!!!!
So cut across to the "Hero's" home....straight out of discovery channel complete with a giraffe, monkey, paintings, artifacts, pressure ball, teddy bears and what not. Oh did I forget...the real "Hero" is the crow.....it doesnt move, it doesnt fly, it doesnt croak, doesnt even blink an eyelid...but you're suppposed to be scared if it!!! The hot bai and a tharki driver...the movie is just so perfect!!!The evil dayan....laughter reminding you of the lijjat papad bunny....Phoonk can definitely be voted as one of the worst comedies of 2008. So the black magic takes over our cute girl and the usual science vs supernatural follows...solution....Enter the Manja!! The Sultan of Contract deliveres yet another rocking performance...supposed to be the good spirit guy...looks scarier than the black magic evil forces!!
Ram Gopal Verma was wrong in declaring 5 Lakhs as the prize, either it should have been 50 lakhs or we should contribute Rs 5 per ticket to "RGV Pension fund" wishing him a happy retirement.......

The disappointment of Phoonk was more or less topped up by Chamku...a work of Fart.....but then came Rock on.......man just wish Farhan Akhtar makes or acts in more movies....an amazing movie..saw it twice..listed to its songs non stop ever since.....rock on guys..me will be back!

Theres nothing really much to write, no real impacting incidents, no real motivation to blog, just sat down and typing away. Actually there is, theres a friend of mine I had asked how come she had not blogged for a few days. And she was like no inspiration to blog. That actually got my little head thinking...actually we all need some form of motivation or inspiration to blog. What it is and how it manifests depends on person to person.

The extended weekend came as a good breather. Three days are like a luxury! Sad part is that they just disappeared. Had prepared myself by getting some old Amitabh Bacchan movies which I had always wanted to watch without the commercials and songs and this was like the perfect opportunity to do so. So luckily got hold of 10 AB movies and was all set for the journey. Started with Coolie, then Mard, then Mukkadar ka Sikandar, then Amar Akbar Anthony......after that got back to Rambo!!! Somehow all of them seemed to have the same storyline....family separated when hero was small, evil villan, beautiful heroins (childhood buddies with childhood hero), a mega khaandan reunion in the end and the evil villan dies and happies endings!!! Luckily there was no Shah Rukh Khan sayin "Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost!!!!" I would have lost my head and seen Rambo 2 five times!!! Neways will try again..the next lot looks more promising...Kalia, Sharabi, Deewar..so pretty proven hits...hopefully will not have to resort to Rambo 3!!

The best things in life is the joy in giving people what you dont have. It may sound stupid if only tangible things are considered worth giving. Just a thought. Anyways lifes collecting a lot of loyalty points, just hoping it encashes it before expiry! At times, its just that people have to realise that actions have every right for a reaction and anything else is is a bonus. The best companion for these days is Cranberries music. Somehow I have been listening to ot for the past three nights in a row and just cant seem to get enough of it. Salvation, Promises, Linger, Animal, Ode to my family, Zombie...its like every song is giving me a message and I am supposed to just ponder in the lyrics. Its a message and I am deep in it. maybe its all in my head!

Finally I saw Jaane Tu ya jaane na.....after the whole world had seen it, debunked it, laughed at it. the amazing storyline and the climax (or lack of it), I took it upon me to explore the movie. The movie has been ripped apart by critics and audience. Some have loved it, some hated but one thing is there. Have to give it to Abbas Tyrewala for the way he handled the multiple emotions throughout the movie. Every character has a story, says somethings which sometimes doesnt get captured by the dialogues. At some point of time you feel theres a bit if every charactes in you. The way he has handled the characters is quite amazing. But yes, we all could have done without the bhaloos and the bhageeras and mougli!! Terrorist meow kar raha hai...I mean c'mon!!! You take good characters, build a nice storyline then why this sad humor in the end!!! All he should have done was peppered the whole movie with better humor and maybe some of my friends who hated it would have tolerated it. But yes, if you thing too much its an emotional roller coaster........

Came across a very thought provoking thought the other day. Its about judging people. The question is "How do we judge people?" Are people supposed to be judged by their actions or by their thoughts? Are we supposed to judge them by what they do consciously or by what they would have done subconsciously? Is a person correct when he or she does one thing in the absence of someone or anyone or when the same thing is not done? Are we supposed to be judging everyone or anyone? If so why?? For what?? Are we looking for answers or are we just looking to find new questions? Do we really seek the answer or want to escape with more questions? Can we handle the answers? Do we really have to? How does it ever matter when the answers you seek are not worthy of the questions you ask? Or the person who you ask the questions? Or you yourself? Does it really matter if some questions are best unasked? If asked unanswered? If answered pretended to be unheard? if heard pretended to be misunderstood? if understood make believe the answer we want to hear? Some thoughts........

10 days in the Jungle and now back in the zoo....thats what it always feels after returning from a tour. Neways the trip as a whole was very enriching. Both while going and returning the routes taken were amazing in their own right. Malshej ghats actually become so heavenly in the monsoons all I could think was its the best place to be with your loved ones and lonavala strech of the Mumbai - Pune Expressway becomes so enticing in the night with the rains lashing....an amazing experience. The 10 days have been some quality time spent with the Aurangbad Store Team, if this the way then really looking forward to Nashik and the other locations where we would be opening our stores.

back on the blog after quite a while..have been travelling a lot..first Hyderabad, then Aurangabad...so its been quite a busy 12 days...lots of experiences..so many that its difficult to express on the blog. If I describe one it'll be a gross injustice to the other as all have been equally enriching/learning/learning/touching. So maybe one by one they would find themselves on my blog, so if any future posts seem disconnected then this is the reason. Neways the latest is that the trips goin amazingly well, the latest movie was Mission Istanbul and the latest events that happened in Bangalore and Ahmedabad are really heartening. More on everything later!

24 hours of awsome fun in 24 acres of luxury!!! Thats how I can describe the 24 hours that have been one of the best in this year. We had gone to wish marital bliss to good friend Tarun and Anisha. The place lived up to its name of Treat Resort as the experience was definitely an amazing treat. Surprisingly it was the first full fledged wedding I attended without managing to sleep exactly at the time of the pheras!!
The arrangements were awsome, the friends amazing,the Bacardi and Chivas rocking!! Tarun and Anisha....wish you a very happy married life ahead!!!

Sometimes some questions have no answers and answers if any would end up in more questions without answers.

Rains always bring mixed responses. Its the joy of geting wet and the feeling of freshness combined with the yucky feeling of getting dirty, late and the irrestible urge to get lazy! You actually feel like just switching on the music, taking a book and a cup of hot coffee and sit on a couch next to a window and just relax! But yup... some souls brave the rains to arrive at work wading through the rivers of fury! Its amazing how our buses can at times row like boats! Neways the next day its an amazing feeling to see that you office building has got some power trip and the ac wont work the whole day! Next you come to know the tea coffee dispenser wont work the whole day!! Next you come to know the Gym is closed for the day!!! Aw man, guess being lazy in the rains is the best thing to do.

This Saturday is definitely dedicated to a good friend Nasir - who made a perfect ending to a very eventful day. He made me watch Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic!!!!! Its like with every movie Yash Raj movies get more pathetic. Somehow I fail to understand who was the movie targetted towards. There were kids, a loving dog, an industrialist and an item number!!! The kids in the audience were left wondering about the new female features they would have seen for the first time in their lives and the moms and pops cusring under breath searching for the damn remote control wishing they could just change the channel or send the kids packing to their rooms under the pretext of packing theire bags for next days school!!

The scene opens to a visible frustated baby Saif who ends up losing everything and winning evey award..cut to today as a leading businessman knocking over a couple...a court case..four children (and a dog)...guilty!!! Where are my tissues!!! sob sob!!!

So the kids (and dog) land up to live with our hero and find an amazingly sexy (and equally blond) Amisha and they hapily live on!!! But alls not well in the happy family..so angelic Rani cycles down a rainbow by God's diving grace and the family then happily lives ever after...yawn yawn!!!

Must really thank Star Movies for showing Rocky Balboa on the Sunday afternoon. Helped me get over the state of shock!!! So that was my Saturday late evening thanks to my friend!!! Neways good time..got to laugh at the movie...after the eventful office day was really required.

Theres a new phenomenon goin on. Its called the "i-effect". Kinda love it. Pioneered by Apple, the i range stands for a wave of innovation. The i pod, the i phone,i con, iwoz...all the right things. Peek into the other innovative companies of the world, theres a new I effect. I did it, I came up with the idea, I planned this, I pioneered this, I got the numbers, I came up with the idea, I realised we are going off track, I corrected this, I was responsible for all the good things that happened..and when the goin gets tough...the "U effect!!!!!"

They served Red Bull in Air Deccan!!! That was like the most unexpected surprise ever...guess they were preparing me for what was the most turbulent flight I had ever been on. At one point of time I was wondering if I was in Essel World! All said it was a great end to what can be called and amazing two days. Must have met around 200 people in those two days. It was great trying to know the aspirtions of the guys most important in any retail company. Also it was a peek into their world..their struggles, their family, their dreams, their take on careers etc etc. KInda remimded me that in life not everything is a given. Looking forward to having some of them work with us. Now back in the world of "HO". Looking forward to more of "cocktail accountability". Will catch up

MLTR was so right in penning the song Sleeping child....sometimes you just wonder is actually we followed the sleeping child the world would be a better place. Its heartening to see people ripping each other apart at the cost of productive work. Its not just professional, its when it gets personal the situation becomes bad. Its amazing to see how we develop a sense of ultimate superiority given a whiff of importance. While its not bad to do the same, I admit one has to draw a line between confidence and arrogance. Mediocracity is a sin and should always be removed but superiority at the cost of morality...never. So here I am looking at the developments around me as an awake child. Have to involve myself at some time or the other. Sometimes I wonder which role to play, a sleeping child, awake child, angry child, sulky child, evel child, mischievous child, inquisitive child, crusader child and just hope that the others around me act like mature adults!

Football fever is on and everybody seems to have just forgotton that theres an India Pakistan final today!! Compare this to a few years back when people would have seriosly considered taking a day off just to indulge in the rivalry. Came across an interesting comment from Aaqib Javed. Throught the last decades Pakistan had kept India on the tenterhooks. It was an even contest. A contest of their bowlers in Wasim and Waqar and our batsmen. Even the contest between our bowlers and their batsmen was an excellent one. The fear when a Saeed Anwar or Aamir Sohail would start clobbering our bowlers or when a Srinath would go flat out and see them fall like nine pins....the intensity with which people prayed that Sachin survives the opening burst by Wasim and Waqar....he was right they did have us on tenterhooks back then..now its the other way round but the famous rivalry seems to have lost....aah...is it an India Pakistan match today???

Its been an amazing trip. Two days on the field, spending time with people who understand the difference between sitting in an air conditioned office and sweating it out on the battlefield. The unwinding at the end of he day is always a bonus. Its good to see new blood infusing new ideas and enthisiasm. One thing striking me was the use of the word "passion" by a person who somehow I never got to work with but it would have been intersting. Any work without passion is not work, its only an obligation. The passion to do better, challenge yourself and others is what motivates some people. Its like you can spot them when you just look at them in the eye. People have their selection and judging criteria, what rarely gets captured is that passion. If it does, its one attribute that is rarely nurtured. A passionate person is answerable to himself at the end of the day rather than any superior or the society. Its common to see a passionate boss lose it when the same passion is not reflected in his team. The same is true vice-a-versa. If you look around its not diffucult to find such people as there are quite a lot of them. The guy at the pawn shop, the person standing next to you in the train, the shop floor associate, the high flying corporate,the loving mother,the auto ricshaw driver....there are so many its actually hard to miss them. The irony is, they are not tapped to even 20% of their potential. Look around and you will happily find every mechanism running to only 20% of its potential. Be it our companies, retail stores, civic cleanliness and amenities and at times our cricket team (currently at 120% thatnks to IPL!!!)

Fact remains am looking forward to my next trip and my next brush with the real people. Trying to be even 20% like them is a huge learning.

Children of the world...future of the world...guess that applies to India as well....and if thats the case then I am already getting jitters! So the other day I was waiting for my train to arrive with some Bryan Adams Room service soothing my ears was just waiting. The next train was due in half hour so that gave me one of my favourite passtimes...just watch people..and be amazed...so this guy in his thirties comes up..takes out a melody...and bang!! the wrappers on the platform..as someone whose pockets forever filled with candy wrappers ( I hate littering) it was an awful sight. Cursing him under my breath I continued to chase other people. So here I see a nice little child..some 10 year old at the max...he goes to the same shop and buys 4 of those Melodies. I was just hoping this one would do the right thing and show the man what an ass he was...but I was in for another one of those WTF shocks! This little brat opens and sprays the wrapper all over the platform. So here I am staring at two wrappers in the platform put by two idiots. The kid didnt disappoint me. He went on to do exactly the same with the other three Melodies in the next three minutes!! It was as if he was sending me a message that what a jerk I was to have any expectations out of him!!! Seated next to me was a man handicapped in his mouth. He atleast sympathised with me it seems and was saying something in sign language to me..something I coudnt understand...but in his eyes I got the message. He was with me. Actually telling me the usual - " Whats the point...go home..we are like that only!!" So I promptly did the same. Then on the way back I completely forgot about it till it just hit me. One set of children are playing playstation ( and not cricket and football like we did), the other set is littering away to glory in public places, the other set has never seen a school and neither their parents have or not seen parents, some are locked up in their books studying things which have little relevance in real life (most will end up going to US for their MS and probably never return)....gosh!! Where the hell are we headed!!!!! Guess the dumb guy was right. We are like that!!!

Read a very interesting line in my friend Speedy's blog (http://thewarringthoughts.blogspot.com/). Activism comes from learning and not vice-versa. A very interesting statement and i have to admit, its made me reflect on my MBA days. Its true that there cannot be a substitute for academic learning and power,politics,activisms are not its replacements. In an environment which is healthy, power, politics and activism provide an excellent exposure to groom students to the real world. The real world does not provide any cushions. Its a forgive no one forget no one world. So the access and exposure to play the games is actually beneficial. But as it was said famously "With great power comes great responsibility" - gotta play by some rules, even the Mafia and the Underworld have their rules!! Where I agree with Speedy is that the authorities have to act refrees and demarcate the lines dividing power use and abuse. The line I believe has to be reviewed every year as every batch is different and needs different set of "rules".

Apart from that....Mumbai had its first brush of monsoon rains for the year 08 today. The best part was the trains. Its an awsome feeling to stand near the gate and have the rain splash on your face. so gotta njoy it while the novely factor lasts...after thats its gonna be like wtf!!! rains again!!!

Its really funny how problems sometimes increase when you try too hard to solve them. But when it happens, you wonder whether its the problem or the problem solvers who are a bigger problem! Lifes been going good. Finally got my hands on a book I had been searching since months - The P*&% Prince...a biography of someone who made Indians dream big, someone who was a visionary who realised his dreams with open eyes. Dream on world, cause only if we dream can we even think about achieving them. Dream and attack the dream to realise it..my mantra!

Life has a funny way of putting you down..so here I am sitting at home with a sore throat and a cold thats drained out energy from me..its bloddy hot and I can have anything cold!!! talk about "torture"....neways the times been good...completed a year at work...things look cool..it looks good to be able to play this nice little game called chess in real life...except you dont know who each player represents...so cant be surrised if a pawn suddenly becomes important enough as a bishop! But yes Ann Rynd was so right while writing the Fountainhead. Invariably you start relating to people and finding the Peters,Tooheys etc in them and by default assuming the self to be Howard!

Read another interesting book by Randy Pausch. This restarting of reading has done me some good as I have something positive to ponder about. Flyp was awsome, The last lecture was touching to say the least. It provides a parallel to Lance Armstrong...same disease..different results...same spirit....

Theres been a lot on musings....more on the same next time...

Phew! Finally after days of dillying dallying am here..Read this amazing book..the ones that make u pause and reflect...an absolute recommendation to all...Its called How Starbucks saved my life..a true story of Michael Gates Gill...born in an stinkingly affluent rich family..Yale educated...Joined JWT...rose to the level of Creative Director...gets fired...gets entangled in an extra maritial affair..job goes..family goes..friends go..money goes...and puff! hes on the road with no money and no place to stay!!! Add to that..hes gets diagnosed with Brain Tuemor...so docs and operations..but decides not to do the operation...one fine day sits in a Starbucks outlet and voila!!! joins it as an entry level partner....A very interesting read....its like from a position from where that guy was..you can never imagine what he had to go through...but maybe thats the truth of life....can get rogered anytime anywhere.

Back to the blogging world after a short hiatus...been a pretty eventful time..have been travelling..met new people....saw new dimensions to people already known...rediscovered myself in certain aspects...all said..had a nice time...
Travelling - always felt and believed that one needs to travel a lot...it opens the mind...see places and people in different light...the break one gets is just better...guess I need to travel atleast once a month...
People - new people are always fun, old ones funnier...generally is amazing to see how mediocracy is encouraged to keep the overall levels down..people are afraid someone new coming will raise standards..therby exposing certain people..so good people may not come in..levels of performance never raised and the overall status goes in a whirlpool...its like when life demands you run a sprint or a maraton to go ahead..one runs on a treadmill!! running for sure but getting nowhere..more on that later..
Myself...well I had always liked myself...just love my company...certain "close" people find that amazing..neways more on the "close" people later as have to go now...

Its been a while...in between the vital hardware required for blogging has koncked off....have travelled a few days..some days have been eventful...lots of learnings....but ya..traveling is the best learning one can get...theres a hell lot of stuff waiting to absorbed in this world..just that we chose to ignore and lead insignificant lives. I really find it amazing at times when I meet people who just want to live the way they are! And be best part is at times i get surrounded with such people! Sometimes I wonder why self introspection is the least seen virtue among people! I mean we go on discussing/talking/writing/thinking/bitching/praising etc etc endlessly about others but what about our own self! I mean, do we actually like spending time with ourselves?? Maybe my expectatins with people are too high..but it is only a function of what I expect of me.

The soldier travels across different battlefields to scout enemy positions and his camping points. The recons been pretty cool till now...jazz it up with a dose of beer and a dash of movies....pretty racy! But thats where the fun is...in the battlefield!!

I want to be hungry again! A couple of years back a prof once said that he is a hardcore Nokia lover and the only reason he has a Motorola mobile is because he wants that "hunger" to use a Nokia again....guess now I realise the significance. In time one starts taking a lot of things for granted forgetting how he got where he got to. And then is the time to revisit your roots, get that hunger in the eyes, stop taking things for granted and start pushing yourself. Hunger is what makes you enjoy what you get and I want that hunger back, it'll definitely involve making tough choices, cutting down on some of the easy stuff and again enjoying the difficult ones!

Another day comes to an end..its the day where Holika got burnt...the significance being good cannot be burnt (its fireproof!)

Here I am..this is me...theres no where else on earth I'd rather be....hold on a sec....thats Bryan Adams....why the hell wudn't there be another place....there is ofcourse....weekend promises to be quite happening.. Holi at homeafter 2 years...then a reunion with friends in ..four days of travelling lined up for next week....sounds like a busy man!!! The good thing is the friends are very special...part of a family...one family member though will not be there and will be surely missed..but nonetheless it will be a grand reunion...so thats something good to look forward to.

Days going well..as usual was at my limping best for the whole day because of the "niggling" pain in the left knee which I am told will subside in a day or to and I can get back to my Morning jogs...aha am hungry...after a hards work!

Dont really have anything in particular to blog..just that I dont wanna "discontinue" my renewed attempt at blogging...I realised its good for me if I just sit for a few minutes and let the brain to keyboard synchronisation happen!!

Days being goin good...been enjoying whats on the plates...trying to make the plate bigger, increasing the appetite, demanding more food on it,asking for a bowl what not!!! Dont know what the journey demands but wanna do it for sure...lots of precious things to keep me company..friends,special friends,more than friends,life...precious things are to be treasured cause thats why you live life for....a pretty funny thing happened yesterday....a friend was asking if I ever get bored or feel lonely?? My prompt reply..."I enjoy my company!!!" Its amazing when you start enjoying time with yourself, a lot of life's problems just disappear!

The circle of life..so very true..what started in March 06, comes to a full circle in March 08..so here I am back..back to the blogging world...maybe a world I quite cherish...the journey remaims the same...the passion the same..the battlefields different....but the rules of the game are very much the same. So here it is, the "change" my college could not give me, my employer has given it. Anyways, good I still got a chance to correct a mistake and its given me positives....so maybe it was good I made that mistake! Only time will tell. The battle continues...it is still the journey to be a somebody!

So what has changed all this while I was not blogging....quite a lot actually and maybe if you dig deeper nothing actually! Every day is still a challenge..a battle that continues..warriors fall, heros rise, a day won is good...a day lost is not the end of the world..so nothing has changed. Just that I am sittin at home today with a cold and a cramped left leg!!! So much for playing cricket after a gap of month!!!
Actually quite looking forward to office tomorrow cuz there is a certain individual who was asked for snaps of 1800 produtcs which are to be merchandised in our store!! Niraj..wait till i get to office!!!!!