Aai Yaam Baackkk !

aai yaai yooo! (no offence to my tam brothers from another mother) yeah am back...from the deep hibernation...I was actually away to attain Nirvana on the Himalayas, after shedding all the worldly pleasures...to seek penance...and then after eons I realised that it was better for Kurt Cobain...he came, he saw, he did it! Yeah then I had to time travel back to the present and again become one with all ye mere mortals... :P

OK. I know that sounds condescending,...but boss, u gotta understand the "pressure" within. OK. Now don't misunderstand me. I yam back and back for good. Superrrrrraaa! Mind It!! :)

Watch this space for more....Fine. You don't have to put a spot light here...you can use an RSS feed or best I will email you when I update it. Happy? Yenjaaiiii :)

Cultural Caravan – The Pit Stops (part I)

Culture – the word itself brings to one’s mind a pot-pourri and vividness of the world that we live in. You just need to drive into a locality a few miles away and already you will be feeling the distinctness of the tones in the spoken language, the accents, the “catch words”, the shops, the streets, each having a story of its own.

As I grew up, I was fortunate enough to see multiple places where I happened to stay for at least a couple of years. Back then, only these 2 distinct things for me marked the culture of one place different from another – language & food! Having stayed in Bokaro (in erstwhile Bihar and present Jharkhand) for around 8 years and then in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) for around 4 years, I was quite exposed to two distinct peculiarities of the place, esp. in Gwalior where I resorted to the use of word haiga which is the local use of the word hai (translated to ‘it is’) and also riya local alias of raha. An ensemble of which sounds much like ‘tu kya kar riya haiga?’ rather than the oft spoken hindi language’s ‘tu kya kar raha hai?’ (What are you doing?). It took quite some time for my language to get neutralized – thanks to onerous efforts by folks! Speaking of Gwalior, my mouth has already become a miniature version of Niagara Falls at the mere thought of ‘bhallas’ and ‘chillas’ (the dilliwallahs must be pretty aware of these roadside delicacies which were not to be seen anywhere in Bihar) which brought in it a very distinct Magadhi taste!

From Gwalior, my ‘base camp’ (as I have come to denote that where my folks stay) moved to Nagpur for 4 years. After my class 12^th, when I was about to leave for Pune for my engineering studies, I was pretty much feeling like a nomad – moving my camp every 4 years! I knew I would be in Pune for atleast 4 years…(If ATKTs didn’t work out then it surely would have broken the third spell of 4 years!). In Nagpur too – again the two most striking things were language & food with a speciality. The words ‘mahol’ (translated to fabulous, though in Urdu – it would be the environment around) and ‘chamka’ (understood as outstanding, though the common parlance would treat it as shine) both of which, of course became part and parcel of me – and still is! Every true Nagpurkar swears by these two! Moving to cuisines – we have the famous Saoji preparation – which will anytime give the Kolhapuri food a run for … its chillies!! The concept of ‘tapris’ became alive for me right in this place – Shankar Nagar Tapri – which serves aloo poha and garma-garam chai at dawn…and the place stays abuzz – with the major crowd being all the tuition students like me or the college janta catching the morning cuppa after the overnight GT session J

At Pune – the cultural capital of the state - the pot-pourri was very different. It seemed like this very sophisticated place while still preserving its own rustic ways – thanks to the Peshwai and the Jejuri influence…Also the faith following of Kalubai and Swami Samarth is very much evident from the typical messages on the rear of autos, six seaters, etc. The words chaaila, laye bhaari, boongat, the vegetable lauki being known only as doodhi-bhopLa…became more of the ‘words of prey’, but nonetheless was ingrained into daily parlance! First brush with the Joshi Vada Pav – from being a delicacy to transforming into something of the daily survival food, from the spicy missal paav, to Sujata’s mastaani (which is nothing but nice thick milkshake of 100 possible varieties, and the special ‘mango mastaani’ topping it all! However, I still wonder why it was named so?) Within Pune itself the hardcore Puneites found in the old area of all the Peths (Somwar, Mangalwar, etc) to the most sophisticated ones of Karve Nagar and Aundh, the city has a unique charm about itself. More and more spices being added to the pot-pourri – thanks to the burgeoning number of students in daily mushrooming engineering, arts and medical colleges in and around the city, where people from all walks of life bring in their own flavours and further add to the zing.

One’s mind does tend to race amuck, surrounded by so much of dynamism around, trying to make sense of things happening, expecting oneself to be a fully functional part of it, with all the anxieties and apprehensions. That is when the brewing starts and one begins to understand the layers beyond what is visible. The mind does begin to drive on a different lane, zooming off from the next pit stop!

More of the cultural nuances peculiarities of my shifting camps in the next pit stop!

Tanay...

Birth – an occasion which is so unique in itself! Such is the occasion that every possible living being rejoices it in its own unique way. It is a symbol of continuity. A symbol of prosperity. An icon of growth. Pure Joy!

It is an energy which has taken a new life, a real physical self, much more beyond a mere metaphysical existence. It has the power to connect so many minds and hearts, create so many new relations. It has the capability to assimilate so many energy channels all into it. A simple smile of that new member can be a reason to celebrate, a tear drop from his eyes can be a cause of worry. A new momentum is created in all the connected lives. Suddenly there is so much to look upto. Also you know that you will be looked upto one day! A vague sense of responsibility creeps in…along with so much of curiosity and anxiety.

Imagine. A new life, looking at the world with so much daze – so much of inquisitiveness, which the new soul cannot even articulate. And there came he…Tanay – my bhanjaa, who brought with him so much happiness in the family.

Now my bhanjaa is more than 6 months old and it is now that his aalsi mamu has found time to pen down his dormant thoughts!! (Better late than never…hehehe)

Miss meeting you so much bhanje…coming soon to spoil you lotssss!!! :)

Maggi - बस 2 mintute !!! .... an ode

Maggi, my staple food, तुम्ही हो मेरी प्रियतमा,
मिला दे दिल को, करे साथीयो को जमा
भले लाए कोई MTR, Kohinoor ya लाए Khong Guan,
तुमसे ही dillagi है, दगा कर के ना कर पाऊन्गा क्षमा.

कुछ तीखी, कुछ खट्टी, तुम हो सबसे smooth,
Nestle के 2 Minute में, मन जाए सबका लूट,
खोलो packet, डालो मसाला, थोडा पानी और रखो microwave में,
फिर दब्बा खोल के चखो जरा, मिलेगा सच्चा tasty सुबूत.

कभी आटा Maggi, कभी Plain Maggi, और कभी लाता Tomato Maggi,
स्वाद सबका बेमिसाल है, चाहे हो वो Indonesian Maggi,
हर fork, हर spoon में देसी स्वाद की याद दिलाती,
सबको लुभाती, भूख मिटाती, सबसे प्यारी - जय बोलो! Maggi Maggi Maggi!!!

:)

A day without checking my e-mails!

It was a day to behold!!! 27 Dec 2006. I didn’t check my email at all that day owing to ‘disruption of a disruptive technology’ as one of my friends put it, that is disruption of Internet service in Singapore and some parts of East Asia thanks to an earthquake measuring 6.7 on Richter Scale which erupted at…. And probably shook up a couple of tectonic plates below and unwired a couple of cables lying deep in the sea! Phew!

The network effects that followed was really interesting! The second major disruption was that my roomie – bhattax – who is a cricket fanatic, was unable to check the cricket match scores (India Vs South Africa at Durban) Since the past two days, though he spared no thoughts on disrupting the bandwidth at the hostel by enjoying live online streaming of the matches, thanks to sopcast. The cricket fever is completely hot with the matches and the Ashes stealing the room TRPs !!! Finally a ‘disruptive character’ in the adjacent room, whom we fondly call – JLo – managed to do some jugaad and made atleast the scores available! That was some relief…

The third disruption was owing to Mr Oldie in the room [sorry daaa ;)] – our very own raja - who desperately wanted to chat with God-knows-who and was getting restless by the minute. I was asked close to 117 times whether the ‘net was working, and I just had one answer !!! ‘No daaa…’ [I really don’t know the origin of the word daa, but its there, and has become so pervasive that every person – male or female – is turning out to be daa for me :)]. I being the youngest one in the room (chooo chweettt !!!) was pestered and bullied so much by the oldies to go and check this up with one of our IT assistants – Mr Nagraj – [ the first time I heard this name, it reminded of the Super Commando Dhruv too, and when I was going to meet this guy, I imagined this guy with a stylish Nagraj style hair in a green outfit, with snakes coming outta his fingers. Beware of the ‘zeharili fufkaar’ ] however this guy turned out to be quite human like ;) [For those who are still wondering who the hell is the snake man Nagraj, click here, and probably this might remind you of the old times,...those 50paise normal comics and 1 Rupee digest version of Raj Comics that we used to get on rent!!!] But I didn’t budge. bhai aise kaise koi bhi bully kar lega na ???

Unfortunately, come what may, the 'net just wont work.

However, fortunately we got access to some of the sites which were working – IBN Live, Rediff, etc. which allowed us leeway to connect to the outside world, and know what’s happening beyond this island. Feeling relieved on getting connected at last…though just a little bit, it was a huge relief for all. Never did we imagine a day like this in our lives, and that too when we are in Singapore – one of the most advanced countries! But the fact is nothing works if Momma Nature ain’t happy!

With the next day gaping wide open with all the airlines, music and newspaper industry with all the olives, apples and murdochs hovering above us, just wishing that we are wired soon!!!

Ciao…

ho hO HO!Christmas in S'pore!

This Christmas was special.

I had an opportunity to be on the celebrated Orchard Road in Singapore for Christmas and boy!!! what a fiesta the road showcases !!! With scores of people all around , the dance, the music going on non-stop...the lightings on the ever lit Orchard Road, glittering as gold, youngsters hulla-balooing at the top of their voices spraying foams and spaghettis !!! It was a full blown carnival.

Alighting on the Borders (a global book and music retail store - probably one of the largest in this region) with a couple of my friends, I had decided to join in the other folks who had already reached Takashimaya mall in Ngee Ann City. They called me up and I told them...'bas ek minute yaar, am almost there' not realizing that that ek minute 'll be close to 45 minutes !!! The crowd, though maddening, had a certain charm about itself. Here I was walking amongst the people, suddenly it dawned unto me - the realisation of being in a foreign land, with all unknown faces, listening to people speak in an unknown language, in an all new ambience...the stuff which mostly TV shows are made of... I was right there! Feeling more as one, than I ever did ( I don't know what that means, but that's what I felt!!)

A hard knock on my shoulder brought me back to the Orchard Road.

Suddenly the crowd went berserk and there was a huge roar. I could hear the countdown ...10...9...8...7...6...5..4....3....2....1.......MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!! (For a sec, I was thought it was 31st Dec, that's what we generally do...right? countdown for the new year?) The clock had struck 12 and it was 25th December 2006. Christmas !! And then started the real thing. The entire crowd started converging in 'huge pockets' and dancing, spraying foam on each other (reminded me of the Holi, sans colours) Sans colours? Only in my imagination, as soon enough I was sprayed with multicoloured foam and spaghettis !!! :) It was the first time I celebrated Christmas like this...among my new 'friends', I call them foam-friends!! There I bumped into a couple of my friends, and then we went on a photo-clicking frenzy.

Though there was huge traffic on the Orchard Road, the police were managing it beautifully ensuring smooth movement.

Amidst all the carnival, foam, spaghetti sprays, songs, dance and laughter, I finally met the Takashimaya gang and all of us headed further into the crowd. Though it was almost 1.30, the crowd had still not lost the tempo and the celebrations were still rocking the place. The pavements almost wet with foam sprays and beer (yeah, beer - it was flowing all around), the place was completely transformed. The 'fine' city suddenly had a different veil, and we were all held in awe!! (thx to so much litter all around).I thought, exceptions have to be there, even in Singapore, and why not when its Christmas time!!! All hungry, by this time, we ventured for food into the Lucky Plaza and also had close up Santa-photo sessions prior to fooding! Sample attached:


By 2-ish, we too were almost on our way back, and what we saw was really commendable. Even when the celebrations were fully on, the cleaners had started picking up the litter lying outside the shops, mostly empty foam and beer cans, systematically packing them into trash bags and towing them away to make more rounds. Though they could have easily refused, saying 'ek minute yaar, bas I 'll join you to clean up after 2 beers; or after spending some more time with friends'. But they didn't shrug off their responsibility, even for an evening. I couldn't help but admire the spirit of these people, who know how to take care of their sweet little city-country! Hats off to the cleaners!!!

I guess some takeaways are always there, in any new 'world' you go to.

Merry Christmas to all of you! May Lord's sweet blessings always shower upon you...Amen!

Migrating...

No No....I am not migrating anywhere, but just that my posts are migrating from the other blog site to this one...I guess the dimension given by the convergence of real and square root of -1 does give enough leeway to include anything and everything!

What the heck?!?!?!?!?!

To cut the long story short...the posts on the other blog will now be available on this one and I 'll be closing down the other blog...!

ciao.

Flavors of Life

“Life is like a box of chocolates…You never know what comes next”, told Forrest Gump’s mother to him. It is always full of surprises, with you know, stuff happening around the corner, just across the blind spot, when you are least certain of what is coming over the bend. Though there is a fair amount of excitement too that is involved.

The other day, I was talking to one of my friends and the conversation just meandered from one topic to another. It eventually touched upon the life too! We need to look at things, at times, just at times with a macroscopic perspective rather than a microscopic perspective. It really helps one to see the ‘bigger picture’. Being one with the events, one tends to get so engrossed with the dynamics of the environment, that we just loose touch with the practical side. It starts getting all very dreamy like, moving very much astray from the reality, and one fine day you wake up and….BAMMMM!!!!

Your life is different.

You are just not you. You have, what they call, a faint memory of ‘what-you-used-to-be’, and a very different outlook all-together. Sometimes, not even an outlook. And that’s where you start questioning things. That’s the first knock of reality on your door!

All that you have been assuming and believing all along, now just seems what at best can be described as, a distant dream. You stand there fazed, wondering what the hell happened, how things around you just disappeared! Yeah, disappeared!! People, attitudes, thoughts - the déjà vu s! They have literally vanished from your life.

Your life sure as hell is different.

Walking the path not walked upon by, you again start wondering – are you supposed to be going where the path takes you or you should be going where you want to go? For how long can you only depend on things to happen on their own accord – as if to achieve some kind of perfect harmony – having a fear to disturb the delicate balance of 'God-knows-what'!

Cut it!!

You open your eyes, slowly, take a deep breath, smell that hot coffee! It’s a new morning. In fact it’s an entirely new year which has crawled in silently like the shadows from under the door. You did see the smoke and the fire, and hear the howl. Millions witnessed the holy transition but you stood there oblivious to all in your sweet little ‘daewoo’, counting the ephemeral stars…more so in your lives.

Life! Yeah. There are so many flavors of life, so many spices in it which actually makes for the great taste. At times spicy, at times salty, some like it a little sweet, others love the tangy tinge; but it sure fills more than your stomach! It feeds your soul. Some also like it bland, may be for sometime, which acts as a self-prescription, owing to having too much of spices. But sure enough the craving for the tangy tinge surely pulls one back from bland to a blend of all flavors.

It's time to gear up your taste buds! It's time to prepare for the second knock of reality...

Wishing you a very happy, colorful, fragrant and an appetizing New Year 2007!!!!

vel...

मनाचा एका अंधार-कोपर्‍यात तर बरंच काही आहे,

काए काए सांगू अरे मित्रा मी तुला,

लहान मोठी तर गोष्टी बर्‍याच असतात सांगायला...

पण खरं तर... मला वेळ नाही मिळत... आयुष्यच जगायला !

Krishi Manthan : The Second Green Revolution

In the 2nd semester at S P Jain, I am mostly having specialisation courses - that makes it all the more interesting [thx to no-Finance subjects!!! :) ] One of them was Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) which is a management approach that examines aspects of a business and its interactions, and attempts to improve the efficiency of the underlying processes. It is a fundamental and radical approach by either modifying or eliminating non-value adding activities. BPR - an absolute buzzword for an MBA grad - but not sure how much it is relevant and practical in today's world; rather how many instances will i find ahead where this will be applicable!!! In our course, each project group had to take up a case of BPR and give a presentation on it.

So there we were racking our brains thinking about the topics and justifying it to be a BPR and not just a small tweaking process. Also the results had to be dramatic and change should be fundamental - the 2 basic necessities for a process to be called as being re-engineered. One of my group mates, Siddharth who is an avid lover of the ITC eChaupal came up with the idea to do somewhat similar to this. We started developing the concept and the whole thing came out to be something very novel and appealing!

Here are the excerpts of our experience from Sid's blog who has worded it very well...
"As a project for this subject we took traditional Mandi model for trading of farmers grain. Mandi which was set up government to help farmers in selling their produce; is now controlled by moneylenders, agents and is not giving farmers the full benefit of their produce. There are initiatives by private companies, which claim to increase the living standards and income of farmers to certain extent, however the benefit of this system is yet not percolated to the smallest of the farmer in remotest of village.

Moreover these companies are not helping farmers to move up the value chain. Private players reap the maximum benefit of commodities trading and food processing. They are not pumping back the benefit to the farmer community. We have re- engineered the process to a cooperative of farmers, which would increase their income and setting up of a grameen innovation center. Now as a cooperative decision making lies in the hands of farmers; They can deicide if they wish to keep their produce to sell it later in future, how much of produce is to be sent to the community processing zone to add value to wheat and convert it to flour or other products. We call this change mechanism as Mandi Manthan. you can read about mandimanthan presentation which we presented.

We call it the second green revolution. Focus of first green revolution was on quantity to meet the immediate demands; focus of second green revolution is quality and equality of farmers.
This project was actually a group work, my group consist of 7 ignited minds. You can see the pics representing blue print and thinking process of our model a night before the day we were supposed to present.

By the way it was not all work and no play ….

p.s. This presentation is inspired by the ideas from C.K. Prahlad’s Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid and Dr Kalam’s India Vision 2020. Some slides are
adapted from their work."

Our sincere thanks to Prof Prem Puri who showed faith in our project and motivated us to go ahead with this!

Btw, Sid is a prolific blogger and an 'early adopter' for writing reviews/opinions about any new technology product launched! Also he is a lover of open source and a big fan of Mozilla and all its products. You can read his blogs at http://siddharths.wordpress.com/

Moved to a new world...

It has been almost a month that I am in Singapore now. Yes, Singapore is indeed a new world which is very different than Dubai. A place which has its own charm. A small island, this was a tropical forest (...more apt will be a rainforest!!!) which has been able to retain much of its greenery. Right now its the monsoons here, and I am being well compensated for all the rains I missed, while staying in the desert land... See the change for yourself, which happens to the landscape here almost everyday (thats Gillman Heights Condominium visible from my window)


The sessions have started with full bang and now am nearing the end of this term too! I know it won't be far before this term gets over and next thing will be this whole course! :) The fortnight's break in India was like...kab aaya, kab gayaa...kuch pata hi nahi chala. Spent most of the time with friends, hogging Indian food (though not maa-ke-haath-ka-khanaa,as mommy dear was in US), and just chilling myself. I had a big surprise in store for me...Ravi, my school friend was getting married!!! This was an absolute news to me. And we kinda celebrated this on my birthday morning with a coffee, at the usual katta...Checkers @ VCA! Damn! I had to get up so early on my birthday morning, but then who cares!!! Nothing like spending time with old pals...anytime of the day

Being here in this new world, it will be novel to learn about a new part of the earth, which is so much talked about. Be it the money-minting business here or the tourism, it is an overwhelming feeling as am getting an opportunity to meet people forming a major part of this continent.

Don't know what all is there in store for me. A decision to walk on a path not walked before brings so many new challenges and experiences. Absorbing them over a period of time and becoming one with them is just another way of living life! As of now just want to enjoy the remaining days of the paathshala and make the most of it...before the ball sets to roll again!

Adios.

Zindagi...

zindagi ek ajeeb paheli hai.

jab duur usse hona chahte the hum,
to kareeb kisi aur ke le aati hai vo,
jab bhulana kisi ko chahe hum,
to nayi yaade kyo banati hai ye zindagi,

naye naye rang dikhati hai kyo khub saare,
ab to sirf reh gayi, raat ke kaalikh si ye zindagi
yaadein aur tanhai to hamesha saath rahengi mere,
ab to bas khud ko bhulane ki chah hai, ae zindagi.

kyo aai pehle, khub saare khwaab sajaakar,
kyo baandhi khushiyon ki ye patti aankon pe mere,
ab to kismat bhi ooper sarak gayi hai,
aur ban ke baithi lahu se sani, kafan si ye zindagi.

khoon ke aasu ab beh rahe hai meri aankho se,
jo na kabhi badal paaya, vo ab kya badal sakta hu,
tu hi saath rahi, tune bhi khub samjha mujhe zindagi,
ab to manzil mere saamne hai, mein aa raha hun, ae zindagi

Intezaar...

Gazal ho tum, ya ho tablay ka peshkaar,
Sangeet ho tum, ya ho nupur ki jhankaar,
Phool murjha jaenge, patte bikhar jaenge,
Aa ke milo, tumse milne ko hai dil bekaraar.

Yaad mei tumhari, pal pal aahe bharta hu,
Tum na aati, to chaand mei khoya rehta hu,
Nasha ho na ho, mei to bas tumme rahu sarobaar.
Ab to behoshi mein bhi karta hu, tumhara hi intezaar...

The Last Warrior...

Nashaa

Nasha ‘gar hota sharaab mein, Nasha ‘gar hota sharaab mein
To naachti ye botal, Nachte shehar ke saare mehkhaane,
Lekin kambhakht nasha to hai dosti mein,
Doston ke saath banai rangeen mehfilon mein,
Raat bhar jag kar ghulaam ali ki gazalon ke saath,
Haal-e-dil bayan karna, nasha to isme hai…

Ruthe hue ko manane ke liye jaddo-jahat karna, nasha to isi mein hai,
Manane ke baad phir se jab ruth jae, to phir manana….nasha isi mein hai
Haari hui jung ko phir se jeetne ka jasba jab dil mein ho,
Saare gile-shikwe mita kar, ek hi junoon jab sar pe sawaar ho
Manzil ki ore ekjut hokar jab chalne ka josh ho,
Asli nasha to mere dost bas isi mein hai…

Aur manzil ko paane ke baad jab jaam chalakta hai,
To vo kaanch ke chanakne ki awaaz mein, jo mazaa hai,
Sachcha nasha to usi mein hai…
To bas doob jao tum bhi usi nashe mein, jiske mehkhaane ho
Doston ki mehfilen aur jaam uthe…dosti ke naam!

Side Effect of the 'blood test'...

This happened on the eve of our blood test, a.k.a. Marketing paper and we were probably so overwhelmed by it and such was the intensity that it brought out our inner selves and 'jagao'-fied the dormant kavis, shayars, et al !!!
'However' the exams were not over and there was an HR paper in the pipeline scheduled for the next day...
sab bolo 1..2..3.......5..6

:)

Enjoy the read...

Sameer:
zindagi ke jis mod per khada tha mein,
najane kise dhoondh raha tha mein,
vo kaha thi, ye janta nahi tha,
bas isiliye reh gaya ab mein, mein aur mein...

akele pan ka ahsas bahot hai ab,
use kho ke phir paane ki khwahish hai ab,
katon ke saath khoon ki bhi hoti hai chubhan,
katein to nikal do, lekin rago mein behta khoon nikalu kaise ab.

ek bewafa…

Easwar:
Bewafa woh nahi ye tanhaai hain kambhakt saath hi nahi chodti 

Sameer:
tumne galat samjha dost,…
bewafa vo nahi, hum hi the….

Dipika:
Havent penned it down but still…

Aaj bhi unki nazron mein raaj wohi tha
Chehra wohi tha chehre ka libaas wohi tha
Kaise unko bewafaa keh doon yaaron
Aaj bhi unke dekhne ka andaaz wohi tha

Easwar:
Bewafai ko kyon dosh dete ho?
Who to tanhai mein bhi saath chodti,
Yaadon ko saath leke chalti hain!
Gam ke saagar ko khudko dubate kyon ho?
Tham le yaadon ka sahara aur zindagi ka rukh badal le!

Sameer:
bewafaa ab koi haemin kya kahe,
kisi lafzon ki jarurat hi nahi,
jab khud ki nazaron mein gir gaye hai hum,
to jameen se nazare uthne ki himmat hi nahi…

Easwar:
Kaun keht hain aasmaan mein ched nahi ho sakta?
Tabiyat se patthar to uchalo!!
Bewafai zameen sir ankhon sahi,
Zindagi itni bhi buri nahi!

Dipika:
zindagi se hum gustakhi karenge sirf ek baar
yaar chalenge paidal, kandhe par hum sawaar

Amey:
Kaise likhte ho yaar ye sab … mai din bhar alag se baithke sochun fir bhi ek line bhi nahi likh paunga …

Dipika:
Muze tumse gila koi, tumhe muzse shikayat hai
Magar fir bhi muze teri, Tuze meri jarurat hai
Main ye ikraar karta hun, main tumse pyaar karta hun

Zindagi aa raha hun main………….

Easwar:
Yaadein sahara hain har muskil mod parr,
Log chale jaayenge unki yaadein reh jaayengi,
Saaye ki tarah zindagi ke har mod parr,
Phool murjha jaaye parr khusboo reh jaayegi!

Sameer:
bahot khub, bahot khub tumne hai farmaya dost,
english aur hindi se ab tum nikal rahe ho most,
yunhi shabdo ke fer-badal se, dil ka haal sunate raho
lekin bas, isi chakkar mein kabhi tum ho na jana deep-frost !!!

(desperation to make it rhyme :) !!! )

Easwar:
Lajaawab to tum bhi,
Shagird ho main tumhara,
Kavita likhta hoon yu hi,
Shayad koi kali mil jaaye b4 I die kuwara!!
:)

Dipika:
Zindagi saaz bane
soz na banne paaye
dil to tute magar
aawaj na hone paaye

now i dun remember the meaning of soz

Sameer:
channnnnnnnn !!!! :)

Easwar:
Madira ki talap se bhari thi kavita,
Kisi ke deedar ko tadapti hui,
Ankhon se main chalakte hue!
Rhyme nahi hua to kya but its still a kavita!

HR ke ppt mein doob jaao ab…Madhushala Madhushala

Sameer:
Dubakkkkkk

Madhushala to likhi ek Bachhan ne hi thi,
Lekin vo jamana to gujar gaya,
Lage hue hai aajkal ye baap-bete dono,
‘Kajrare-Kajrare’ sunate hue logo ko, in stereo and mono !!!

(another act of desperation !! )

Amey:
This is for Easwar …

Bhagwaan jiske saath apna naam share karta ho …
Chahane wale jiske liye itna care karte ho …
Tumhe tumhari KALI jaroor milegi mere dost…
Because u are a bachelor sought after the most …

Easwar:
Jiski smile ho full 10 mile,
Doodh jiske saamne de blushing smile,
Amy tujhe prapt ho teri cricket admirer,
Tu runs banate jaaaur aur karr de uske dil ko beqarar!

Dipika:
AAMI AAAMI :) :)

Sameer:
ye ‘cricket admirer’ ka kya hai naya silsila?
doston ko nahi bataya, kya humse hai koi gila,
kaun hai jo tumhare smile pe ho gayi hai ghayal,
hamein bhi to zara batao, hum bhi to hai tumhare kayal !!

Dipika:
The crowd was roraring with shouts
When Aami achieved an amazing feat
Couple of them said there’s no doubt
‘Aami is so sweet!

And this was the grand finale of a session that lasted around two and a half hours !!! Wish more of such 'blood tests' happen... :)

Kavi Sammelan @ SPJCM

This is what was going on in one of the lectures !
with the silent audience recording the proceedings :)
Be patient, and read the 'masterpieces' by my batchmates !!

Easwar:
The war was never so intense,
Nemesis meets once again with no pretence,
Battle has taken a war stance,
May the best man have the sustenance!

Vivek S:
Baa baa black sheep have u any wool,
Yes ******* , three bags full,
One for my master, one for my bitch,
One for the horny boy who screws like a witch….

Errr..Censored stuff...yikes!

Easwar:
Jolly was I ere I saw poem so horrendous,
Vulgarity it poured and the sin was ominous,
Revealed it did a personality not so porous,
I can hear clangs of battle onerous!

Vivek S:
The battle tided over, the victor has won,
Does not get the point, this EJ –son of a gun,
Give up O pseudo poet, the master hath speak,
Barking at the sun??? shows u r weak!!

Easwar:
Brains that thou have if any,
Have evaporated penning this epiphany,
Darned would I be if it were worth a penny,
Poet or not my ethics are strong not fragile as tiffany!

Vivek S:
Count down it is I agree,
Who is ousted we shall have to see,
Ephiphany, tiffany words of lost cause,
You wanna win? Give up to the boss!!!

Siva:
An effort worth trying,
But what to write – still wondering,
In front of boss panicking,
Will not be thwarted – assuming.

Vivek S:
An excellent effort I must say shivvvy,
But the point is to put EJ in his place, that paavi,
‘Silence is golden’ , people say, I agree,
But does it signal his loss, and my victory??

Easwar:
For the moment sabbath I take,
For I shall not miss the lecture else I shall rue my mistake!

Anup:
Easwar and Vivek S are similar PER SE, HAMARE LIYE?
Jaise Gandhiji aur Mallika they – India KE LIYE,
Gandhiji ne kapde tyaag diye, Desh KE LIYE,
Aur Mallike, hum jaise desh-waasiyon KE LIYE

Vivek V:
Reading this mail,
Has just made me die laughing
Cant hold myself any further...
Ladies and Gentlemen,Make way
coz elvis is gona enter the building?

Dipika:
Victory for you is miles away
Not a word against my bro, PER SE

Siva:
Oh!! What a support,
Trying to get cut-throat,
Never a chance to reach finish line
Continue thinking about it offline

Vivek S:
I know Siva, I agree with you,
That was a stinker, but as expected, right on cue,
You are right; it is getting cut-throat,
All for supporting a mustached goat!!

Siva:
Ho Ho – as the competition rise,
Inviting response as wise,
Though not from anyone else,
Where are you? Someone feeling brotherless

Vivek S:
O! Peeps, hope a lesson is well learnt,
Support Mr. Epiphany, and now your finger is burnt,
War is on they said, ‘the lines are drawn’,
But Peeps, do you realize you guys lack brains and brawn??

Bhakti:
Thy daunted bro o fair damsel has taken a sabbatical
The decorative nomenclature is proving to be an obstacle
Pray for thee o lady to help him overcome the hurdle
Assist the befuddled and thwarted duke out of the muddle…..

Anup:
Oh what a pity, thou poetry standards,
Not in sync with my Vocabulary standards,
O dear poet, please explain your verse,
If it goes on like this, I may have to use WEBSTERS

Dipika:
You will get to see the brains as well as the brawn
Just wait until the dawn
The mystery shall soon unfold
O world behold!

Dipika:
Aag lag rahi hai
Dhuaan sa uthta hai
Kyun nahi jaane dil kiska jalta hai
Dil kiska jalta hai…

Vivek S:
Water tankers on it way!!!
I’m there to help u out

Anup:
Sir - Is jawani mein ye josh dheek nahin hai, 'OK'
Hamara kya hai, hum to poetry likh rahe hain 'SO-KE'
Koi tho hamen bachao, 'PER SE'
Laakhon Duayen milenge unko - 'SAB SE'!!

Bhakti:
Siblings in arms against weapons of mass (verbal) destruction
Together affright with severe opposition
Doubt the valor and ability of the competition
Sister fighting the battle whilst the bro shies away from confrontation……

Sameer:
band karo band karo band karo ye atyachaar
shobha nahi deta ye, hum sab hai ek hi parivar,
doston ke ‘gun-gaan’ phir bhi tum gaye jaao,
biguul jab baja diya hai to, talwaar ki dhaar badhae jao…. ;-)

Siva:
What say the result of a two liner?
Can’t be as perfect and finer,
Before you could say start,
It went shoot, sharp and fast

Dipika:
What matters is not if the lines are two or four…
As long as true feelings galore

Easwar:
Valour was held aloft while my sabbatical,
Damsels held nerves under assails bordering satirical,
Steadfast did my sis stand under missiles so categorical,
The battle is still on, of classrooms and moors, do not discount my silence as my foible!

Easwar:
Vulgarity and insane madness I curse thee,
Thaws away friendship that was frozen away till eternity,
Aye with my sis all that matters is this earthly canopy,
Profanity and unwarranted gestures are sheer atrophy!!

Easwar:
Deserts so barren, days so long,
Where art thou? Saccharine November I forlorn,
Olfactory glands abate gourmet wafts that reek strong,
Heart meanders, mind says ‘2 more months to tag along’

Easwar:
Yo Man,Check who is the latest Tam in Town,
Wrapped in 9 Yards and wearing a frown,
Yo Man, Check who is the latest Tam in Town,
Bal by name,wearing malli pu as a crown,
Yo Man, Check who is the latest Tam in Town,
Trying hard to practice Tamil, All the globe shall do a Mexican show down!
Yo Man, Check who is the latest Tam in Town,

Bhakti:
What’s this half-tam business can u plz explain
The incessant reference to it is chewing up my brain
My ignorance and impatience to the reference I cant contain
From Retaliating to these Digs, I could abstain

Bhakti:
Oh fugga, My fugga what have u done,
Linking up pals u think its fun…
Earl, a fitting rely to their query u must return
Fugga,Await your nemesis, let this conundrum adjourn………….

Anup:
Come on maaan. What are you waiting for EJ?
Do you think we are cracking a PJ
During such an interesting session like DBMS per se,
‘Haan’ bol dena is awzar par hum sab se!!!

Easwar:
Aggrieved I am on the consequences I see,
Pairing up is a tea time policy,
Friendship has been labeled to the extent impurity
I urge thee monkeys to get back to humanity

Pausacha ek themb.

Missing the good old monsoons back home! And its time for 'Friendship Day' too.
This is for both...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pausacha eka themba saathi aaj he man kasa vihvaLun gela aahe…
Ithe aalo aapan sagLe, jivanatla ek maarg shodhnya saathi,
Pan aayushyacha asha kityek chaurastya ver, aaplyala ya themba-chi aathvan yenar aahe….
Yachi jaaNiv tar aaplyala jhalich asaNar…

Ekmekannchi sobat, haach ithe ek saglyat mottha aadhar aahe.
Yach aadharela, ya maitri la majhi ek bhaavpurna pushpanjali !!!

ek mitr.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post First Brush...

Dubai – The City of Gold ! Finally landed at the airport >> Dubai International Airport or DXB. Foreign land. The first breath. Smelling the air, a ‘new air’, I was feeling like a foreign creature landing on a new planet. That feeling was strengthened by the marvelous sight of huge construction everywhere, in all possible shapes and heights…with the golden dust settling all over. (That was actually dust, construction dust, and lotsa sand in the air!)The airport itself is a huge place and after meandering through three floors of labyrinth, we reached the Immigration Check counter. All along the way were several duty free shops…yess, the charm of Duty Free lurks everywhere and then finally made our way outta airport after almost an hour and a half.

There we met our SPJain guy who had come to receive us. On our way back…we got a glimpse of this city. The first thing that I noticed were right there on the roads – Cars n Cars n Cars…lotsa cars of all possible brands in the world !!! You name it and you have it on the road in Dubai.In a short drive of 40 mins from Airport to Al Barsha ( our refuge for the next 6 months), I saw Toyotas (the most common here, even the taxis here are Camry and Corolla), Nissans (again plenty of them), BMWs, Hondas, Porsches, Ferraris, Pontiacs, Mercedes (ohh…those twin seaters SLK 350 are a beauty to die for), GMCs, Land Rovers, Prados,Lexus, Infinitys,Lincoln, Fords, VolksWagen, Mazdas, Peugeots, Opels, Audis…(ohh yes how could I forget the awesome Audi TT Coupe’), and the list just goes on and on and on…

The second thing that hit me was the speed. Driving at 100-120 kmph was normal and the major roads were with 12 lanes .Throughout the trip I felt I was on Express Highway!!! Apart from this what hit me were the buildings, especially the Emirates Hotel Tower and the most coveted Burj-Al-Arab on Sheikh Zayed Road. It was like a mirage (well atleast it was happening in an apt geographical location), coz just a couple of months back some one had forwarded a presentation on Burj-Al-Arab and I never thought that I‘ll be seeing that in brick and mortar within six months! It is an architectural wonder with its unique shell structure and an ostentatious entry fee of 200 Dirhams (which is roughly Rs. 2500)

In around 40 minutes, we ‘pit stopped’ at the coveted Green Villa in Al Barsha. This Green Villa happened to be the only entity closest (resemblance) to the green environment. The locality was an upcoming one and boasted of one of the best bungalows in town (undoubtedly), but invariably it kept reminding me of the life in the desert! Till now this is my closest brush with it…

Hoping to experience it more and in a true sense in this part of the world very soon.

First Brush...

So finally we were off to the ‘phoren land’…shayad onsite ka sapna jo har ek software engineer dekhta hai….vo kuch is tarah pura ho raha tha. Finally the PG thing was being realized. I was joining SPJCM, Dubai – Singapore for one year MBA program.
Sitting in the Oman Air flight WY836, departed on 6.30 am, 8th June 2006 from Hyderabad, India, these were the thoughts crossing my mind.

Landed in Muscat’s Seeb International Airport was the first brush with the phoren air. The flight was pretty cool and as we approached the land my excitement was increasing. Geography was pretty strange with only sea to my right and only brown barren mountains to my left. Not a soul in sight. Finally I saw a couple of white tents on land, a lone merchant ship on the sea and then the airstrip ahead. Getting out of the flight, I felt the hot burnt desert air brushing against my face and it was just 10.30 am, local time!

We moved to the airport lobby where we got the boarding passes for the next flight to Dubai, Oman Air flight WY685, scheduled after 2 hours. Approaching the waiting area, I see the first ‘duty free shop’!!! Alas, finally the duty free shops!! The famous duty free shops!! But despite the duty free, the costs were still sky rocketing…Just outside the shop was a white Lexus GS300 luxury car, an absolute eye candy and next to it was a black Yamaha quad bike!! ‘That’s some treat now!’, I said to myself.

After a long wait, finally we boarded our flight and flew towards our final destination >> DXB !!