Colonial Past

Its been 6 weeks since i have tasted salty fried doughnuts (read Vada) or a Rice/Carb tablet(read Idli) but strangely it is not food that i am missing here in NY. Infact its not even cricket, our consistent non performance in One days came handy.

So apparently it is a sport that India doesnt even excel in (read my sarci post below).

EPL is what is making feel so misty about other almost forgettable saturday evenings. Oh i miss watching those matches that come so close to basketball quarters/attack at all costs games :(

Phoosball Argentina could not win World cup again, i have been watching this crazy game since Italia 90 and they have disappointed an ardent fan in me time and again. But i am sure they ll be back, Messi will only grow stronger and cleverer, Requelme will be 30 and Tevez, well only uglier and craftier in South Africa. Brings me to Indian football scene these days, apparently we have a new coach who says that we need taller players (duh), and he is sure that he ll find 4-5 of such folks in North India. It has all come down to this! We are easily 130th on a list where apparently war torn ex Yugoslav republics are hitting top 20s easily. So story goes that Indian National team was in Canada where they were playing against world class teams in Vancouver White Caps and Cardiff city. We ended up third there. Competition was certainly tough, apparently Vanc WC were so desperate that they enlisted highly professional local street footballers to stop Indian juggernaut of five feet giants. I must also add here that third side Cardiff has long tradition in English football, albiet they have failed to make presence in EPL for decades now. Nevertheless there are going to be celebrations in Kolkata when Indian team comes back and hectic football season starts (yet) again. Man there is no other place when micro achievement is met with such enthusiasm. I still remember when Sao Palo club had come over to India with 4th or 5th string team and were beating India 4-0 at every center matches were held. And suddenly in a game someone scored (certain malnutrioned Bikash Panji I think, used to be India captain) with a seemingly impossible volley from 25 yards. My TV (middle class Texla model) started jumping up and down due to deafening noise in the stadium. Then came '92 and Star TV. I chose less pompous crowds of EPL and Serie A instead.

I miss

Janeway steering Voyager after a close escape frm certain death, Neelix' delta quadrant culinary skills, Kes and her unexplained disappearance, Seska's betrayal, Chakotay and his tattoo, Torres and Paris, Paris and Kim, Tuvok's rationality, Janeway's irrationality, Species 8472 and Borgs, Resistance is futile, Delta flyer, Time travel, Q and Q continuum, Seven of Nine and her memory flashes about Raven, Doctor and his idiosyncracies about being human and most of their journey back home.

Outlook - Microsoft or otherwise!
Just changed jobs, well job is not the word, I think organization or rather organization from whose account i draw my wages is a better one. I now am part of Sails and Mark-Keating (Oh those S&D classes and understandably challenged people) in an IT firm. So what has changed for me:

Am I working more, well if work is a function of number of keystrokes in a day, answer is yes. Also now I can relate my lack of sense of humour to utter lack of work in last few months, not that i have improved in last 2 weeks but i am getting there

Is it thought provoking? Yes, in a way but it also reminds me of how almost everything that an MBA does is quite similar to basic tenets of world's oldest profession, in terms of being customer focussed - not mixing personal with professional life which in other words means having none of former till you retire/burn out and die/take liberal arts.

Every morning I send this to atleast 4 morons hoping Read Receipt did not fool me the night before.

"Hi JackAss

I just saw your mail today, so did this call happen yesterday?

-Bumpkin
"

Eagles Farewell Tour 2005

I was standing
All alone against the world outside
You were searching
For a place to hide
Lost and lonely
Now you’ve given me the will to survive
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive

PS Makes me feel like a romantic fool again
PPS For people who are in US this might be your last chance

OKTOBERFEST!!!!

Circa '99 

Aboard Zion 

You Me and Coffee, all for 5 Bucks!

This is Ethan Hawke talking to Winona Ryder in Reality Bites taking pleasure of talking to someone you like to new heights. Been a fan of this genre for long now (almost all Indy movies seem to be based in small towns/suburbs, may be because brooklyn bridge is always booked for action/romance etc).

Spent some time at book searching, ended up at place which i believe almost out of place as far as Delhi is concerned, a Bookstore!! That too without the usually loud section on technology :)
Although that was exactly the kind of book we went searching.

Last Weekend in Bangalore Haven't finished City of Djinns but i am quite sure Monday will see Age of Kali unless something drastic happens. I lost my wallet (again?), Papa was mad but then again it is supposed to be that way aint it? I mean weird is when he is not mad at me :) Its overcast here for last 3 4 days now, its that smell of Rains and mud which is so refreshing to us Indians. May be that's why we urbanites look forward to Monsoon. Have a party tonight with Hari and ilk, Guptas will be taken care on Sunday, JJ should have been here :( Yahoo Groups for MPAE started on a new lease of life - Guha's ouster Guha - if there was a unifying factor in our class, it was Guha We all agreed in disagreeing with him. May be its last time we heard from him, dont know whether its for good. Raoul has been pestering me with his silly requests, dont know if he is really actng funny or this is his true self :)) He gave me H2GTG and LOTR BBC radio transcripts in a CD, me thinks they are awesome! Amit

Reasons Y i hate leaving this place! Continued

Zion (blrkec15702, yeah thats my mean Machine in Matrix called InfyLan (20k+ Machines))
Coffee Dispensing Machine
Arguments with Friends on where this Org is heading to
Arguments with Friends on where I am heading to
Evening snacks at Lotus Food Court
ATM at ICICI and sweet girl who sits in the Bank
Bangalore FM (is so much better than shit Delhi FM airs)
Shop in 9th Block where AuntyJi gives absolutely delicious Sabudana Khichdi (Pune again :(( )
Unlimited PrintOuts I can take anytime
My WhiteBoard
Greek Family Chart at my Desk
Chaos at my Desk
Project Update Meetings (specially when i can ask people questions)
Not filling DART (dont ask me what , wont tell anyway)
KEC InToon (Dilbert/Garfield/Archie all of em)
Food World Offers (Best Ones :buy one tropicana and get another one free)
Unlimited Pints We have at Purple Haze
Girls who will sheepishly stand outside Urban Edge/The Hypnos/Insomnia/IBar
Domlur Junction waala TGIF
Trip to Airport (with a resolve that I ll be back !)


Amit

Travelogue

Someone told me I have large number of "travel lines" on my hand,
what he meant was that i would travel , dunno if i ll become a travel
writer in my 30's but one thing is for sure i have not travelled a bit for
last one year discounting numerous trips to Delhi and Bombay
which were purely for interview and admission purposes.

Gaurav was urging me for weeks now, and i was feeling little guilty
as well, plus she was also travelling this weekend.
Hari's roka came handy :) atleast i was travelling to chennai (sic)
Thursday morning came the bombshell, one of our freind's car
was to be picked since he left for delhi for 10 days.
Voila! It was kinda brainwave, Gaurav, I Deepak and Rajat decided that
we will not only go to chennai but will do a "NH 48" from Kovalam to Goa

Was I crazy due to my lack of sleep for past few days or simply travel
starved that i jumped at the idea.
Our Matiz was made "battle ready" with propah servicing done and
fuel tank was filled to the brim.


Bangalore to Chennai

Left Blore at 2 am (Were we bonkers?)
Its some 350 odd kms , pretty drab plus Hari'c constant "BcMc" puts
everyone off :) Wheneva i ll travel with him next time i ll make sure i carry
"Tamil" Music since that bas!@# seems to have no respect for rock
and I hate him for that even though he is gem of a person.
Only piece of scenery i liked was when ARECANUT trees came up
at dawn, no pics taken , most of us were too busy thinking abt how
hot chennai will in afternoon.
reached there at breakfast, Sonal was too bleary eyed to acknowledge
my enthu, AuntyJi asked if whether my folks are still in Punjab.
At one point of time it looked she was enquiring me for some "match"
I simply told he i am not marrying a Punjabi at all, i jus hope she is not
offended.
Hari's folks came by 10 and ceremony went underway soon enuf,
It was over by 12 and we were ready for the Sea.
Uncle was amused when we said we are going to Bombay by road,
may be he doubted our resolve :)
Wished Hari all the luck, i know he ll be needing that a lot
Sonal is a pukka punju girl she is gonna knock of his balls for sure !
But bast!@#$s deserve that !


Chennai - Penambur

600 Odd kms of sexy coastal national highway, If i ever get chance with
my friends agan i ll recommend this road for sure.
Man for entire stretch between kerala and goa the sea is visible for some 70 %
time and a beach is always round the corner.
Now before i go on lemme make it very clear , we decided to go to beaches which
had lil or no tourists or wee virging beaches.
and there are lots i am telling you :)
Our first beach was penambur some 150 kms south of Mangalore,
serene calm and yet dangerous, a board put up by Mangalore port trust puts figure of the
people who died last year at 10 and i dont think more than 1000 wud have visited that
place!
It has a long abandoned ship breaking plant in vicinty which must have been a nuisance
had it been functioning these days.
We saw some daring people trying to surf board , one couple from Norway said they were
biking to Goa from Trivandram (some guts) whenever i look at these fitness freaks
i have this sudden rush of adrenaline which goes away once meal come up in front of me :)
We spent one hour at the beach, I talked to a chai walla who has been there for 20 years
now, he is actually from Gujarat and was working at Ship breaking plant till it was
decommisioned.
He said this place might come up very well soon once KSRTC starts work on its resort on
the beach. Hmm another one bites the dust :)


Penambur - Surathkal

Known for the Regional Engineering College. We were told that there are many dhabas & restaurants.
Afterall, where there are students there are excellent food joints and Surathkal is no exception
Saw one bittu da dhaba written in gurmukhi and i told the pack, boss thats where
I am headed to, had fanatstic lunch (replete with gobhi ka naan and raita).
Surathkal beach too is frquented only by wierdos and college guys from REC.
One thing which i noticed was the cleanliness of the place and very very old lighthouse.
Rajan makes Chai at the beach and he also serves Maggi (mmm)
Boss if u are in beach country on West coast stop being a brat, say no to pepsi
and yes to local lime water !
Surathkal beach is also known for some raunchy parties on New years, Rajan said that
a bunch of nudists group flew down from bombay last year and were arrested few minutes
before dawn :)
Its another "dangerous" beach with no lifegaurd around, many students have lost thier lives
here.

Surathkal-Malpe-Manipal

Maple is some 50 Kms from Surathkal, its more of a sleepy fishing town
situated on West coast with beautiful beach which must be 10 Kms long for sure.
Just across the beach is a nice eatery , and the guy who owns it is going to build a
hotel right on beach, I ll make sure i carry her to this place in future.
Perfect for loooong walks jus ideal for one to unwind from this stupid office work
Malpe is famous for its sunset, junta from nearby places like Ududpi/Manipal
come down to see Sun go down in Arabian sea and 31st May was even more special
It was solar eclipse and we were fortunate to be there to witness it.
Had beer on the beach along with some sandwiches (which were okay types)
Never had it so good in my life.
Around 7 pm we made a dash at Manipal
Man that place rocks, sophisticated is the word for infra there and hot is the word
for girls there. Why the f!@# dint I come here for studies !!! Perhaps thats the reason I am
still uncool :(
Its hardly 20k strong town but looks like a small Bandra locality with rich and (almost) famous
doing the rounds in "nuthin" clothes.
Night life is kewl with junta thronging the pubs and bars till late night.
We had dinner at "Dollops" and then moved on to Karwar.

Manipal-Udupi-Goa

DONT TRY THIS ON ANY VEHICLE WHICH IS NOT TUNED FOR GHATS

Gosh it was some journey, i can count atleast 50 instances when I thought trucks
will end my promising career before it even starts :) The western ghats are dangerous
for guys who have been driving in cities, thankfully Gaurav is very skilled driver,
fu!@!#$ truckers will almost invariably do everything which goea against the
rule of the book.
Nevertheless after relishing prasadam at "charioteer" Krishna Temple at Udupi
we embarked on to Goa.
I love greenery but not for 300 Kms :(( it was raining pretty heavily , we stopped
somewhere in middle of nowhere and then i called her up, she was also excited abt her
trip, if i only i cud be with her :(
We drove on with Pink Floyd playing for whole night, aim was to see sunrise in Vasco
or Panijm, panjim it was :)
Had Live Crab in afternoon, however the SCUBA plans went haywire.
Man there is something abt me Goa and Rains
Last time i was here, my undies dint dry and this time was no better
I LL ONLY COME TO GOA IN JANUARY PERIOD
Goa was only thing which dint enthuse me on this trip alas i think i was getting lil
weary by now.
We left Goa by early afternoon for Bombay, had to meet Reva who was visitng her parents

Bombay and Back

Reached Bombay by dinnertime, guys went ahead for Rajat's place promising me to pick me up
at midnight. Reva met me at her andheri residence, Bus ride from Indore to Bombay day before
must have exhausted her, since she dint take me for Tendulakars as promised :(
Isme meri galti hain ? So we had to settle for sea face Cafe Coffe day at Bandra, same place where
we had partied for Lippi didi in March.
Something abt that place makes me come back and again, here u r in right at heart of Bombay
and u can actually enjoy the sea !

Guys came by 11:20 and we started our trek back!

Utopia

Thats how i would describe this "city", coz one it is not a city as such and
although it "houses" 10000 souls in daytime it seems to be free from any ill effects
of city.Infy City, i remember my first day at this revered campus.I arrived in monday's
propah attire on one fine december morning alongwith JJ, after we entered the main
gate something in us made us move towards the "Corporate" building where we
asked for whereabouts of our reporting manager from "far from amused"
receptionist , who gave us the directions with "boy-u-are-at-wrong-place" look :)
Not more than 10 mtrs away was Him, man corporate india affectionately refers as
NRN.I bowed my head and HE seem to reciprocate as well or so i thought.
I hurriedly left the place half embarassed half amazed , thanking my stars
that i was able to see HIM from such a close distance.

(to be continued)

Amit

Dire Straits

Group has special significance for me, was in fifth grade when i listened to Knopfler, incidently was my first English Cassette (or was it Paula Abdul!) and i was hooked to it for couple of reasons. One it was expensive (Rs 45 if i am not wrong) and becasue knopfler is so unlike others, i mean u can say he reminds us of Dylan but Dylan never played in Pubs did he? Punk/Pub Rock came to fore in eighties and died by the time I went to high school. Mark drove on, however persona still had Dire Straits in music for sure.Sometimes a single man decides the course of a Band and after he is through with it, its him who has changed instead. An irony unique to Dire Straits.

Am listening to my favourite "So Far Away"

Here I am again in this mean old town
And you're so far away from me
And where are you when the sun goes down
You're so far away from me


So far away from me
So far I just can't see
So far away from me
You're so far away from me


I'm tired of being in love and being all alone
When you're so far away from me
I'm tired of making out on the telephone
And you're so far away from me


So far away from me
So far I just can't see
So far away from me
You're so far away from me


I get so tired when I have to explain
When you're so far away from me
See you been in the sun and I've been in the rain
And you're so far away from me


So far away from me
So far I just can't see
So far away from me
You're so far away from me

Even got a video on LAN, most people tend to underplay brit rockers (except Jagger) Sex Pistols, Dire Straits,Oasis
Man they have the talent jus "Money Engg" is missing somewhere.

Amit