To Selene - Part VI

Back again just for you :). Birthday celebrations are never complete until I wish you here.

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

Lot's of things happened in last one year and at the same time very few things changed. One major thing that has not changed is we still living in different cities. Let me promise you this - before your next birthday we will be living in the same city.

This time I will not talk about the year gone by but about the year that is to come. And my gut says that this year will be more about happy things than sad things, more about the road ahead and not the road left behind. Gaadi service centre mein padi thi - time to take it out for a wonderful road-trip :)

This year is about doing things and I have a comprehensive list for you -Eat well, exercise, cook new recipes, laugh a lot more, be less unsure in crowded places, plan for the future, dream more about a dream house, go on vacations (with me of course), see the beach and the mountain in the same year, read more than what you did last year, buy books, make me buy you more nice-smelling things, watch atleast 3-4 plays, help and counsel your loved ones, watch more movies, write a lot more, invest money, learn to drive, start baking, try 30 new restaurants. fight less with me :P :P, catch-up with friends a lot more often, host a lot more parties, get your eyesight tested, go for a walk daily, listen to music , sing and dance more.

And don't get hassled with this list. I know you will do it because I will be right there beside you. 

A song for my Pataakha Guddi to re-start a journey called life

Ude, khule aasaman mein khwabon ke parindey
Ude, dil ke jahaan main khaabon ke parinday
Oho, kya pata, jaayenge kahaan
Khule hain jo pal, kahe yeh nazar
Lagta hai ab hai jaage hum
Fiqrein jo thi, peechhe reh gayi
Nikle unse aage hum
Hawa mein beh rahi hai zindagi
Yeh hum se keh rahi hai zindagi
Oho, ab toh, jo bhi ho so ho

Have a beautiful day and year ahead my Toopalstar :)

To Selene - Part V

Dear Selene,

We are back J. And the only reason this blog exists is because of you. This place is a symbol of our beautiful journey together. And what better way to wish you on your birthday than to do it here. So,

A VERY HAPPY BRITHDAY

And by the time you read this, you would realize that we called your birthday at a place which is as special as this blog :)

If last year was about we coping with the fact of living in different cities, this year was all about finding our feet in the new environment. And if I look back at the last 12 months, other than one or two odd incidents, we did have fun. How can I forget seeing you in a hangover for the first time – you were like the confused puppy on its first Diwali with crackers all around. Or our competition on Candy-crush - you know that I am letting you win, right? :D

The only regret I have about the past year is we not going on any holiday together – and I am completely to be blamed. I am sorry. There has to be a penalty for it. And the redemption is two holidays this year – Goa and a foreign trip. And this time its signed in blood. Your driver is ready ;)

I never get to say this often but I really want to tell you the difference you bring to my life. I gave up everything to find my calling and I struggled for the most part of it. It was only because of  your belief in me (and it’s a big thing because no one can beat me on self-belief) that I am finally getting there. Every time I struggled I heard your voice saying “Go get them”. Keep that voice going and I will keep my two promises for this year J

So, what do we do this year. I think I have the complete action plan. We go on two holidays, we make this the "health year" where the complete focus is getting healthy lifestyle so that I can write a Selene – Part 50, you learning to drive and after that picking me up from the airport #LikeADriver

And like I had said earlier if last year was coping up with the situations around us, this year will be about rising above all the situations and getting back on the feet. It's time to re-discover ourselves

Every year I give a song for us, but this year is about you and my belief in you

Hai Dil Mei Roshni Tere

Tu Cheer Daal Sab Ghere

Lehron Ki Gardan Kas Ke

Daal Phande Re

Ki Dariyan Bole waaha Re Panthi

Saar Ankhon Pe Naav Hai Teri Naav Hai Teri

And I believe you will get your boat across because

I get knocked, down but I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down
I get knocked, down but I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY KADDOOOOOO

To Selene - Part IV

Wow, 4th birthday together :) and many more to come . 

Lot's of things happened this year and on top of the list was me moving cities.

Nothing is the same.

Watching movie is no fun, long sessions of music and beer are non-existent, Sundays are without those deep conversations over brunch. But you know what, our soul-connection only grows with each passing day.

And so, everything is the same :)

I had written in last year's post that I have a gut feeling that you will rock in your thirties, and somehow in a strange way (which only you can understand) I can already see the foundations being laid. Agar materialistic bhaasha mein bolaa jaaye toh I can see your book being published pretty soon (yes, this is the best medium for me to force the book thing on you :). After all mera marketing career is dependent on it). And obviously you will shine in your jhola-taangne waala development work ;)

I am finding my way in a new city, with a new challenge. I have been able to move forward only because you have been there with me and for me Like a Rock . Thank you for everything :)

And I have made a small travel list on my phone which I keep on updating from time to time. And all of the plans are with you. So I am sharing it with you (in the exact words as written on the phone). 

1. Portugal for the festival that happens every two years

2. Bali beach, daaru massage (yeah that's how I wrote it)

3. Metallica concert

4. Ladakh

5. Goa (every year)

6. Thailand (every other year)

7. Austria ( of course it had to be included) ;)

So keep your bags ready Motuuuuu because like I always say - life is supposed to be beautiful, so we better make it so

And like you had put in this line about soul-twins "It is impossible for twin souls to remain separated on any kind of permanent basis." we will soon rock the watering holes, have those insane debates that go all night long, have those  beedo performances, drink ourselves silly with those shots, go all-in with those cards and have those perfect brunches with those conversations. I promise :)

Have the awesomest birthday and the mostest awesomest year ahead. Let's get the shot glasses out because its your birthday its your birthday

Chhookar Mere Man Ko

Kiya Tuney Kya Ishara

Badla Yeh Mausam

Lagey Pyaara Jag Saara

Chhookar Mere Man Ko

Kiya Tuney Kya Ishara

Tu Jo Kahe Jeevan Bhar

Tere Liye Main Gaaoon 

Geet Tere Bolon Pe

Likhta Chala Jaaoon 

Mere Geeton Mein

Tujhe Dhoonde Jag Saara

Thirties Here we come!!!

So we turn Thirty!!!!!

It hasn't sinked in yet, but I will look back at those 30 years sometime soon. In short, the last 30 has been a busy one with studies, start-ups, jobs, love, heart-breaks, friendships, life-long bonds, parties and many more unforgettable moments. It was fun. But there is a gut feeling that th enext 30 will be the ones that I will be remembered for.

As Selene put it to me

The only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty. The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits. - Hervey Allen

Only that I refuse to be called middle-aged :P.

It's been an amazing birthday till now. Friends gathered for my cake cutting. I was down with food-poisioning, yet, we braved a lot of vomits to welcome the thirties with a satisfying sip of single-malt, cake smudging on the face and amazing gifts. And I do want to boast about the best gift ever. I was looking for this elusive out-of-print copy since ages. And Selene made it possible for me

Next sweet thing was my mom waiting all day long, before calling me at 4:36pm and saying "Now you have turned 30".

Week long parties have been planned. Small party today, followed by few card parties, and a big bash on Sunday afternoon. Should be fun :)

So I haven't planned how my next few years are going to be, but some things I want to do are

• Have my own start-up
• Visit one country each year for the next few years
• Watch as many sports events as possible (This itself is a long list)
• Get back to playing sports everyday
• Brush my teeth in the night
• Improve my dietary habbits
• Have a large collection of alcohol
• Keep on dodging the marriage bullet

And some more things that I will add to this list soon.

Cheers !!!!

To Selene - Part III

It's that time of the year when I have to log in and wish you at a place that reminds us of the beginning of the "beshtest" friendships of our lives. And suppose that you don't like the gifts (which I doubt) , I can always say that I am updating this blog just for you, after 9-10 months so you cannot complain (I am cheap like that :) )

A VERY HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY TO YOU

Its a milestone birthday and you must be looking back at the things you achieved, the people you met, the bridges you made and the moments that made you smile or cry. And when you do that , I am sure you will see us like the icing on the cake ( spot-light hamesha hum pe bani rehni chahiye). I am proud to say that the last two and half years that we have spent together is like thirty years if not a lifetime.

And the last one year was no exceptions. And the highlight of it was the trip to thailand. I was going through a previous post of yours of thirty things to do before turning thirty. The trip puts a check on one of the items :). I can proudly say that this was by far the best vacation I had ( Goa vacation ko bhi neeche karna padega iske liye toh :P ).

Last year was full of interesting food ( your south india recipes and my bihari mutton) , long discussion and debates ( I have to admit that I still can't beat you in a debate:) ), crazy dancing nights at our favorite watering hole, vacations, gambling (:P that would be mostly me ), watching movies, shopping, shifting houses and running around to make both our houses a party place and uncountable number of beers.

We did have our share of fights, those difficult and sad moments and those disappointments , but like always, we have come a long way and our friendship is all the more beautiful. You have been my biggest support and like I always say , I have grown with you beside me. Thank you :)

I strongly feel that your decade is here with this 30th birthday. This will be the decade because of which you will be remembered for. No one might believe what I say , but my gut says so ( and you know my gut is never wrong). Even though it's your birthday i am putting a wishlist for you for the next decade

• Write at least five books.
• Learn 10 different cuisines from 10 pars of the world ( refer gift :P)
• Visit 10 new countries (strictly on vacation and of course with me )
• Become very famous
• Earn a lot of money (its only for me so that you can fund my ventures, give me expensive gifts and take me to fancy places)
• Have at least 10,000 books in your bookshelf
• Have a smile for at least 64800 hours while the rest 21600 hours are spent in deep sleep.

I will keep on adding to this list from time to time :)

And after you have done all of it (of course with me being around), I can so imagine celebrating your 40th birthday with you in a hot cotton saree and me in linen shirt, both of us with salt an pepper hair, saying cheers to beer :)

A very happy birthday to you. The magical number always is and always will be 42 :)

Tere jaisa yaar kahan
Kahan aisa yaarana
Yaad karegi duniya
Tera mera afsana

Meri zindagi sawaari
Mujhko gale lagake
Baitha diya falak pe
Mujhe khaak se oothake
Yaara teri yaari ko
Maine to khuda mana
Yaad karegi duniya
Tera mera afsana


Mere dil ki yeh dua hai
Kabhi door tu na jaaye
Tere bina ho jeena
Woh din kabhi na aaye
Tere sung jeena yahan
Tere sung mar jaana
Yaad karegi duniya
Tera mera afsana

2011 : Koi Roko Naa ....

I am definitely late for a birthday post or a year ending post or even a year-beginning post, but yet here I am with a "better late than never" post.

One of the main reasons for such a delay is my job which has been really keeping me busy. Oh!!! Did I tell you I have shifted jobs? :) Yes, now I can be put in the one-that-changes-jobs-every-year club. But, this job is really interesting, just the kind I had been itching to lay my hands on. It's a successful start-up in the internet industry. And for a change from my previous job, majority of my colleagues here believe more in working and not indulging in politics. BTW, the firm is into fashion and luxury items, which means that now, I know what pumps, hobo bags, ivy-caps or faux-fur outerwear are :P.

So, coming back to 2010, there were three major things that happened.
Firstly, I managed to dodge the marriage bullet. There were many proposals and some close shaves. I am sure this year will be the toughest of all. But I am equally convinced this year that marriage is not my cup of tea and also that I don't like this particular "tea". I want to concentrate on my career, do a lot of travelling and many more interesting things on my own.

Second important thing was my job shift. And finally after ages I am actually working more than eight hours a day. I am working on weekends and that too by choice. I am enjoying every moment of it.

And the third and the most important thing is that I am no more a virgin when it comes to Goa. Yes, I finally got to to see Goa, thanks to Selene. There were innumerable occasions in my life when I was very close to doing a Goa-trip and every time something or the other happened. And I was tired of hearing Goa stories. And it was Selene who always said that Goa is one place so made for me. And after one and half years of planning, we finally did Goa. And what a place that is. I like the water a lot, I like beer a lot and I like lazying around a lot. And all of it happened in Goa. There was beer, the sea, more beer, the beaches and yes more beer. We sat for hours sipping beer, devouring sea-food, watching the waves and not uttering a word. We did party a lot in the night and lost money in the casino , but my favorite moments were the quiet ones, sitting on the beach and watching the waves rise with grandeur and collapse in front our feet in total submission. Majestic!!
And I have promised myself that I have to do a Goa trip every year. Sher ke mooh mein khoon lag gaya finally ;)

2010 was a good year for me. I bought my dream car, partied like animals and traveled to a few places . And yes, I shifted to a new house which i intend to make a perfect bachelor's pad. So what what plans for 2011, you ask?

Well, no big plans but some things that I want to do are

• Work harder and build a name in the industry
• Concentrate on my health a little more. I haven't played a sport in ages and that's so not me. 2010 will be the only year in my life where I didn't play at all. But I don't want it to happen anymore.
• Travel to Ladakh. Again, you can blame Selene for that because she says you can travel to whatever part of the world, but if you haven't seen Ladakh, you haven't seen anything. So, hopefully in July will make a plan.
• Also, want to save some money and do a trip to a firang country. The idea is to see at least one country every year.
• There's a strong urge building up inside me . And that is to go the start-up way again. I don't think it's going to happen in the near future, but the itch is growing every day, so you never know :)
• And finally, dodge the marriage bullet again :)

The anthem for 2011 is

Koi Roko Na Deewane Ko

Mann Machal Raha Kuch Gaane Ko

Koi Roko Na Deewane Ko

Mann Machal Raha Kuch Gaane Ko

Koi Roko Na ..

... because …

ik raasta hai zindagi

jo tham gaye to kuch nahi
ye qadam kisi muqaam pe

jo tham gaye to kuch nahi

Experience Life !!!

I am 29 going on 30 , dil kyun na dhak dhak kare

We begin the last year of our twenties and so this decade will henceforth be known as the talli twenties. Thriving thirties we will see you next year.
Details of my 29th birthday in the next post.
Happy birthday to me

To Selene - Part II

Dear Selene,

The time of the year has come when tumko footage dene ka time aata hai. Toh humne socha ki since I am such a gentleman, I should oblige.

The last year has been one hell of a ride.We had loads of Mahabharat between us and and we had numerous drunken revelries. But the moments I cherish are the Saturday afternoon conversations that we generally have. We have discussed people, relationships, career, life and what not. And like always tumhaare gyaan ko koi beat nahi kar sakta. And I say this because we have always been on the same plane, and hence your gyaan has always forced me to think about life in a saner way.

We did so many vacations together. But the special one is, by far, Goa. (Yes readers, I am no more a Goa-virgin, details later). And it has been the best vacation ever. Goa turned out to be just the way you had described and yes I loved every bit of it. Thank you for that. And next time as promised, we will definitely do Leh-Ladakh.

And I am really happy about your new job. I strongly believe that this is the job that will take you places. You totally deserve it. ( Dear readers , Selene is all set to become a hi-flier and is now a "BlackBerry Boy"). I now have the licence to tease you about your BB. Muwahahahaah

Now, coming to your birthday. Your gifts have been bought as requested (err I mean as commanded). And I so love your whining right now about not having a dress to wear for the party. *evil laughter* ;).

Now let's make a todo for you for the next year

- You should be more regular with your blog

- You better start thinking about your book

- start planning a vacation in Ladakh

- Be prepared for more parties at TC.

It's been an amazing experience being a part of your life. You really know how to take care of the people around you and that's the best thing about you. In other words aage bhi hum peecha nahi chhodne waale.

Happy birthday to you. I know you will have a blast this year. Waise bhi aakhri saal hai jawaani ka. Agle saal se 30 ka budhaapa hai.

The song for you this birthday is

Tum Kya Mile Jane jaan
Pyaar Zindagi Se Ho gaya
Aji Izzat Afzayee Ka Shukriyaa Shukriya
Is Nacheez Ko Aap Ne Kaabil Toh Samjha
Tum Kya Mile Jane jaan
Pyaar Zindagi Se Ho gaya

Hum Toh Yeh Samjhe The
Kahaani Khatam Huyee
Naaz Humein Tha Jispe
Jawaani Khatam Huyee
Tera Mera Yeh Saamana
Naye Ek Subhaa Ki Iktida
Tum Kya Mile Jane jaan
Pyaar Zindagi Se Ho gaya

Yeh zindagi hai ek juwaa

I love Poker. I used to be a big fan of Teen Patti, but the day I started playing Poker, Teen Patti looked childish. Its like discovering beer after years of drinking coke.

In the last few days while playing poker I started noticing a lot of things that are relevant in life too. Yes, poker has an element of luck, but not entirely. There are a few other aspects of life that poker teaches

1. Risk
Poker is about risk. There are two kinds of unsuccessful poker players - one kind who don't ever take risk and two who risk a lot hoping to strike lucky. Whether its Poker or life , if you fall in any of the two categories, you are doomed to fail. A successful risk is a calculative one. Its not a blind risk. You risk your chips/life keeping in mind the probability of you winning with the cards in hand (read - things/opportunities that you own), probability of failure of your opponents with the cards on the board and finally the probability of the next card opening on the board and giving you a winning hand. Risks are good. I have taken a lot of risks. some have worked some haven't. But, all the risks that failed for me were ones where I was short-sighted and where I didn't hedge my risks.

2. Ego
In a normal game of poker (and by normal I mean players who are not professionals), I believe, 90 % of times someone loses a hand because of her ego. Having Ego is good. But never mix ego with risk and never have an ego-war with your opponent - have it with yourself. A lot of times you keep on playing (even if you don't have a good hand) because you want to defeat a particular person. You think the opponent is bluffing. You believe that your success is in her failure and not in your winning. Take my word for it - you will eventually LOSE everything. Learn to give your ego a cold shoulder once in a while. Learn to withdraw in time : You might not have won the round but you have succeeded in being in the game ready to strike the next time opportunity comes your way. Jab taang hi nahi rahegi toh daudoge kaise?

3. "How much" after "when"
You might have mastered the art of "when to risk", but is that enough? Methinks NOT. Another aspect to understand is "How much to risk". My advice is that when you believe that you are in a winning position, back yourself with higher stakes . There's always a chance of luck playing a spoilt sport but then you will always take back the thought that you lost to a better hand. In life, this is what we call backing ourselves up. We fail because a lot of times we don't back ourselves well when we have belief in ourselves. All our lives we win some, we lose some. I feel the successful ones are those who risk big when it really matters. Obviously, if you lose, you lose a lot more but you will know that you fought well and you will not be disheartened and will be up for it the next time.

4. Losing is winning
You get better at poker by losing and not by winning. And same goes for life. When someone asked Edison why he persisted in inventing a light bulb after his numerous failed attempts , he replied 'I haven’t failed. I have discovered 5000 ways of how not to do it. These can now be eliminated from my experiments.’

P.S. - Next time a Jai tells a Mausi that Veeru kabhi kabhi Juwaa khel leta hai, give Veeru a brownie point because he knows a trick or two about life :)

P.P.S. - And the whole point of the post was not to give you gyaan, but to entice you to a game of poker at my place :P :P .

Twitter ki haseen duniya

In the past few days I have been reading and hearing a lot about twitter. Barkha Dutt hosted a show on "We the people(tweeple)" (too lazy to put the link) where people discussed what's ethical on twitter, whether twitter can be regarded as an alternate form of journalism, whether twitter is invading our privacy, and of course Chetan Bhagat cribbing about how he was wronged etc. Then there were a few people who went on a Twitter detox. They stayed away from twitter for about 15 days. All these people went on a detox because of various reasons. But some of the reasons were really lame like

• We were first to join twitter
• We used to have intellectual conversations on twitter and now it's just noise
• Twitter is invading privacy

I am no brand ambassador of twitter, but being in the Internet Industry and also following social-media closely , let me tell you how I feel.

Twitter is the new age journalism : People say that twitter is not credible enough. But you got to realize that it's an individual who builds credibility. If I am a budding journalist and I keep on pushing good content/news on twitter, people will start following me. Yes, there is a lot of noise, but that's the beauty of twitter. It's your prerogative to follow the right kind of people for a particular subject(in this case news). People have an issue with false breaking-news (especially local news) published on twitter by individuals. But again you got to realize, it's just a starting point of a news. If I tweet that there's a fire in the next building, you are not supposed to believe me. Instead you have got a lead, you need to verify the fact through other sources.

Also, it works as a great tool to market your blogs, flickr albums, graphic art etc. There are no strict rules to define what qualifies as media. One-to-many flow of information has every right to be called a news medium.

Twitter ethics : I have argued about this a lot with friends and colleagues. General stance is that no one has the right to take a dig at some person (generally celebrities). But I say, my twitter account is my space. I haven't asked you to follow me. If you do , then you have no right to question what I tweet. The best moderation on Internet works on the fundamental principle of all users becoming moderators. WikiPedia is a success because the users make it a point to moderate what other users are writing. You cannot moderate everything on your site. Involve the users to report spam, and it works wonders. Similarly, on twitter if a guy keeps on cursing people, he will be shunned in general by all. So, don't be a moral police on Twitter.

As for the whole detox thing :

• If you were the early twitter good for you. But yes, its not your own property. People will join , like it or hate it.
• We used to have intellectual conversations on twitter and now it's just noise : Dude , I was a party to your conversation. Exchanging rhyming drunken tweets is not being intellectual. Chances of finding 10 intellectual tweets from 1000 users is much preferable than 2 intellectual tweets from 100 users. And I know what your problem is. You enjoyed the early-movers advantage and you enjoyed the twitter celebrity status. Now, there are many more tweeple who are more witty and and their tweets are much more informative. Accept that. Don't like it get out of twitter. As for the noise part, yes, that's bound to happen. But you should know the art of separating grain from chaff. If not, your loss. Also, if you don't like a celebrity tweeting about his toilet habits, don't follow her. It's your choice so learn to deal with it.
• Twitter is invading privacy: Twitter is a platform. It's your choice to share what you want on twitter. You can control who wants to see your personal tweet. But if someone sees your tweet you don't have the right to complain. If you feel your virtual life is taking over your real life and friends, it's your problem and nobody else's. You have mixed your priorities. Don't find an scapegoat.

In all, Twitter is a medium. Enjoy it. Use it like the way you want to use it. Just like in life, be judgemental of your own tweeting habits and not of others.

MOTS: Jab tak meri jaan rahegi main tweetoonga

O Jeeves , Where art thou?

Yes, you got it right. I need a Jeeves in my life, not a girl-friend, not a wife, not a room-mate, but a re-incarnation of Jeeves.

There are two maids that barge in every morning. One does the cooking and she is good at it. The problem is, I eat the same food in the morning, lunch and dinner. Then there's the second maid who does the cleaning and washing. Now, she is the tricky one. She won't do anything unless and until she is told. And whenever I try to get hold of her, she doesn't react. All she says is "Bhaya, hum kal kar degi, aap darwazaa band kar legi" and she scoots out of the door even before I can utter a word. And then there's this perennial problem of me having to get-up and instruct maids. Too much effort and pain. Result : Only the floors are clean and nothing else. Everything else is unmoved (even a empty cigarette packet on the bed is un-touched for weeks).
And since both the maids come early morning, it means i cannot leave the house to play tennis/squash. I am not saying that I would be prompt in getting-up in the morning with hangover and I would be straight-away on the tennis court, but who minds having an option. I am just saying.
Then comes the problem of clothes. Yes, the maid washes my clothes regularly. But getting hold of the press-waala to get my clothes ironed is a big pain. Also, my Bagheera needs some cleaning everyday. Getting that done is again a big issue with me running after office-drivers and begging them to clean my car.
And finally who minds getting back home all-drunk to find out hot peeli daal and fresh chapatis served on the table.
You might say that ideally I need a house-servant who is there 24/7 and not a Jeeves. But then we have to dig deeper here. If I have a Jeeves, this is what happens

• Above-mentioned problems are solved automatically
• I will not have to worry about the ACs, Geysers, RO systems, electrical appliances getting fixed.
• I will not have to think about bhindis, torais,baingans, aaloos and tamatars.
• Whenever I host a party at my place, there's ice-cubes and cold water in the refrigerator.
• I will get fresh coffee every morning
• All my bills will be paid.
• Very important : My parents won't find the house and my state of affairs at the devils mercy and hence they won't sell the case of marriage to me
  
• Stop looking for more bullet points. Its an endless list of my laziness.

In short, I need a "gentleman's personal gentleman".

Kya aap kisi Jeeves ko jaante hain?
Kya aapke aas-paas koi Jeevs saans le raha hai?
Kya koi Jeeves hai jo kisi ka ghar sanwaar raha ho and he 's looking to shift to greener pastures.

If your answer is in affirmative for any of the above questions, you know what to do.

The grass ain't so green on the other side

Rant alert !!!!!!

Well, I am into sixth month of the new job. And I have more questions than answers. I had always wanted to shift to Internet-media. And my dream came true with this new job. The profile is good. The product I am responsible for is a big one -Making a famous youth newspaper into a youth-centric news/entertainment portal. A lot of ideation happened. I had so many ideas I wanted to implement. Everything was very challenging and fun. Then came the implementation. And that is when I realized the incompetencies all around. Ninety percent of the people who are supposed to work on the technology are useless. I sometimes wonder whether they are fools or the people who hired them are. Coming from a technology-rich background it gives me pain when I see people giving excuses instead of working on the problems. The office smells of politics and bitching. Sometimes I look around and wonder what am I doing here. Its like you want to run at 100kmph and your team strolls at 10kmph.
I discuss this with my friends and all of them tell me how one should extract the best out of each person even if they are not so competent. But there is nothing good that can be extracted from these morons. Instead your creativity and exuberance goes for a toss.
Even the work-culture ain't at par. The online division is part of a big media-house but it runs in a start-up mode. There are no salary-slips, half a dozen leaves throughout the year, non-existent HR etc.
This job was supposed to be my launching pad in the Internet domain. But that doesn't seem to be happening. What are my options ?

1. Wait for a year, launch a couple of portals, build my resume, and then say ciao to this job. The problem is will I be able to jhelofy it for another six months?
2. Start looking for a new job and hope that the new place will better than this. The catch here is that I have only six months of relevant experience. Will I again have to compromise on my compensations?
3. Don't actively look for a job, but be open to anything that comes along.

I think my dreams to make it big in this industry will have to wait. Methinks we will go with option 3 and play the waiting game. I didn't want to bitch about work but when you want to do so much , but your efforts are minimized due to someone else's inefficiency, all you can do is crib about it.

In other news, I took the Bagheera to the hills. Went for a vacation to Fagu(near shimla) with my best friend and had a great time. The drive in the hills was amazing. And a relaxing vacation was icing on the cake.

One of my best friends from college got married. It was a tarditional Bori Muslim wedding. And I was surprised how similar their customs are to Hindu customs. Also, my friend and his family kept on explaining each and every custom and also the history of Bori Muslims. And the food in the JamaatKhaana was amazing. You have huge plate in the centre with 5-6 people sitting around it. It's called a thaal. The meal is a five course thing , alternating between mithaas(sweet) and kharaas(salty). So the meal started with rabdis and ice-cream and mithaiis. This was followed by kebabs and tandoori dishes. The third course was again sweet with kheer and stuff, followed by dabba ghost and paaya. Just when I thought I was done, the main-course was announced. Amazing experience it was. If you ever get a chance to attend a Muslim wedding and you love non-veg, grab the opportunity with both hands.

Life = Randomness. Q.E.D.

Proud owner of my Bagheera.

Among other news, I won an iPod nano for the best blog in my company. Also, my boss gave me an iPhone to play with for a month. Sad part is that I am in love with the iPhone which means that I will be tempted to buy one after I have returned the phone. Good part is that I love my job :).

Also, getting a lot of pressure from my family to get married. The problem is that I don't buy this arranged marriage thing. The bigger problem is that I cannot explain this fact to them. So a lot of tension in the air is expected in the coming days.

Over this past few months I have tried to analyze myself. And I realized that I am not good with relationships whether its family or friends. I don't want to be tied down. I want to do a lot of things in my life. With relationships come compromises.

And after being in a relationship, I know that these compromises are worth the effort. These compromises become insignificant in front of the person you love.

But, right now, I don't need that. I don't need anyone to tell me what to do, where to go, what to eat etc. I want to be a free bird. I don't want to lie to my gf/wife that I am in office meeting when the truth is that I am having fun with my friends in a bar. I want to have the freedom to work 16 hours a day without the tension that someone is waiting for me. I have the option to just pack my bag and leave.

I am enjoying the randomness in my life. Anything that falls in a pattern scares me. And relationships bring patterns. They bring expectations. I don't want that. But, will people understand? I doubt that.

But I do want to be the "master of my fate and the captain of my soul"

P.S. - This blog is now more than two years old. Happy birthday blog!!

chalte-phirte

The reasons I have been away

• I have been extremely busy with my work. I have been travelling to places like Kanpur and Lucknow (and yes, I didn't even get enough time to eat Tunde kawab). I am on the phone for more than 3 hours a day. Excel sheets, product specifications, hirings & meetings are the new seasons in my life. Every three days I have to go to the "recieved calls" in my cell and call up all the people who have been trying to call me (and that includes my parents). Busy, but loving every moment of it.
• I have been busy managing my bank accounts. Every job shift means new salary account. My idea of going paperless, when it comes to paying my bills, always goes for a toss.
• Have been busy reading reviews of cars and talking to dealers . Yes, finally finally finally, I am buying a new car. Time to bid good-bye to my Ferrari/dhanno/Punjab-di-kudi/maruti-800.
• have been decently busy with partying on weekends. With all the work and travel, my pending social-engagement list is ever growing. Mere dimaag ke calculations kehte hain ki I need 4 clones of me to finish the current list in a month's time . Tabhi aayega dynamic equilibruium(I so loved this phrase in Chemisty :P) between the length of the list and number of weekends.

But dear readers, I have atleast churned out seven posts in one and half months on my other blog (See last post). And let's be fair. Who wouldn't want a big bumper prize for two months of regular blogging. Secondly, it's fun to give the big-shot editors a run for their money.My blog has been more popular than the top editors. Its not only about good content, but also using social-media to market it. In short, "It's not the age , but the mileage." :P. And thirdly who doesn't enjoy comments on posts. I am getting quite a few of them on that blog. So let me finish these two months of blogging on the company blog, and then me wills be the backs.

Pimping for a cause

I rarely do it, but once in a while har insaan besharam bann hi jaata hai ya yeh samaaj usse besharam hone pe majboor kar deta hai.

So the thing is, we just launched a blogging site (targeted mainly at the hindi users) where the editors and the users blog on the same platform. Now, my boss asked me to blog on it. I immediately obliged. When my colleagues read my posts and saw the comments, they got excited about blogging.

Next, my boss came up with a competition. She announced that the person with the best blog in the company will get a surprise bumper prize at the end of two months. And the prize, methinks, is an IPhone. I got excited about this competition. Having lost the phone just a week back, I have decided I need to win this competition.

So, since last week I have been pimping my blog and my posts on facebook as well as on twitter. I thought - why not here. Hence, ladies and ledas , kindly take a look at Social Bakwaas. Read through my posts, increase the page views and do leave a comment. In return, you will get to read 3-4 posts. :P

Kripya meri besharmi ko bardaasht karein.

A Journey called 2009 and a Thought called 2010

OK, before I tell you where I have been since my last post, let me tell you what just happened. I opened my blog to write about 2009 and how I see 2010 is going to shape-up. So this is what followed

• Go to the last post of 2008. No year-ending post.
• OK, chill. No issues.
• Go to first post of 2009 where I must have written about 2008. No posts in January.
• Something is wrong.
• Go back to 2008 archive. #Fail.
• Check 2009. First post is in February.
• WTF #$!%&

I had written no post saying good-bye to 2008 or welcoming 2009. What the hell was I doing? Year-ending posts are the easiest ones to do and knowing the fact that I am very lazy in putting up new posts, why didn't I do a new post . Methinks, I was busy partying :P.

Anyway, so after this major disappointment with my blogging habit , the next thought came up in my mind. I made a general observation of all my posts. And there was a striking inference to be drawn. If you read my blog, you can easily judge the amount of effort going into each post : The more the bullet points in the posts, the more lazy I am writing that post, hence less the effort put-in.

And while I was thinking about my writing habit, I couldn't stop but realize that this particular post will be full of bullets. Without further ado, I shoot my bullets :

Do-hazaar-Nau ki kahani goli (bullet) ki zubaani

• Early 2009 was full of parties. I was convincing myself that 2009 will be a great year. Things will change. They actually did.
• I had my debut on the arranged married front. Thank god it was the last. Will come back to it later.
• Lots of road-trips happened. Jaisalmer, Mumbai, Rishikesh (rafting), Jaipur/Ajmer, Gushaini (near Manali), Panchmarhi. Other places visited by chuk-chuk gaadi and Udan Khatolas was Mumbai, Bangalore & Kanpur.
• Couple of best friends got married. Implication - fewer people left for drunken revelry.
• Met Selene. Implication - Found my soul-mate literally & we are bestest of friends for life.
• Found my love for photography.
• Got a chance to drive a Fiat 500, and sit at the rear-wheel of a Jaguar XFR.
• And finally, my job switch. I cribbed all through the year about how I hate my software job and how I wanted to move to Internet-media. The switch happened in November, and am having the time of my life at the new job. People do question my shift of career and my package, but I really enjoy telling them how wrong they are in questioning my actions. So don't even try.

In all, I loved 2009. The year put my life back on track on got my engine started whether it was the personal or the professional front. And now some more shooting to follow on 2010

• Very busy professional life is expected. And I am dying to get neck-deep into work. And it will be a make or break year for my stint in Internet-media.
• I hope I get to do some road-trips hopefully to Leh/Ladakh, Kufri/Narkanda etc.
• Travel will definitely be on cards.
• Marriage will be the toughest deal this year. My parents will be pushing for it big-time. And as days go by, I am getting more and more convinced that marriage might just be overrated. I have stated discussing it with friends as I am seriously thinking of giving it a pass. So lets see where I end-up on the marriage front.

How 2010 turns out is for me to see and for the year to unfold. But, since my birthday is on 20th Oct. (20/10) I have a gut feeling that this is going to the most memorable year of my life. And my gut, my dear readers, rarely disappoints me. :). So stay close to me and you will see a little extra positive energy coming into your life this year.

A very happy new year to you all. My Mantra for 2010 is "party hard, work harder". Cheers

Atthaaees Elaborated

I had promised in the last post that there would be an elaborate birthday post, so here it is.

We start with a quick run-through of my last year. Last birthday was full of sad memories and missed chances, but it also had hope that the coming year would be better. And it was indeed. 27th year of my life has been great. A few highlights of the year are

• A lot of road-trips and vacation . They included desert safari in Jaisalmer, road trip from Delhi to Mumbai, Rishikesh for rafting, Panchmarhi in monsoons and Diwali in the hills near Manali.
• My debut match. After that there has been a lull. No more of meeting girls for marriage has happened. And i hope it's not a toofaan ke pehle ki shanti.
• Good things happening to people around me from jobs to weddings etc. High points were my best buddy New getting married and another friend clearing his UPSC exam after a long wait.
• Me finding a great friend in Selene. We have had blast since the time we met. Khoob saara party and khoob saara fun. And being with her I have improved a lot as a person.
• I started my photo-blog. I love photography but haven't been able to give enough time to it. Maybe this year.
• Finally, I resigned from my current job and got a job I had been dreaming for the past one year. So no more coding for me. Internet-media here I come.

And so what's for next year? Well, I think next year will be a busy one in terms of career. My job will take the top priority in life. And there are high chances that by next birthday, marriage will be on cards.

Finally, to the birthday celebrations. It started with a few special friends dropping by and me cutting the birthday cake at midnight. As it was a weekday, it was supposed to be a quiet affair. But in the end it turned out to be a riot, with tonnes of jokes, a lot of jhatkas and matkas on bollywood songs of 80s & 90s and a lot of alcohol. This was followed by a big party on Saturday.

I had always wanted to throw a big party at my place. And so I threw a birthday cum job treat on Saturday. Around 20 people dropped-in. I have always maintained a philosphy that "Phoenix ke ghar mein daaru kabhi khatam nahi hoti ". This meant that a lot of whisky, vodka, rum, beer and juices were procured. Food was cooked at home. Bappi-da songs was the music of the night. And what started as a socializing party, with one set of my friends meeting the other set, ended in everyone dancing away to glory on the tadakta-bhadakta music.

A colleague in office told me that "agar tumhe birthday pe khoob saare gifts milne lage toh samajh jao ki tum budhdhe ho rahe ho". According to him mera bhi budhapa aa raha hai as I got loads of gifts which included awesome photographs on magnetic stickers to be put on the fridge, a bottle of JD (wood-woof), decanters for alocohol, a beautiful ash-tray, a key-hanger from happily-unmarried, loads of books which included books like "The warrior queen" with "8 color pages of hot pictures" :), sunglasses, shirts, chocolates etc. In short, it was the party I had always wanted to throw. Loved it.

Atthaaees ho gaya jee

So we are the turnings 28 todays. Detailed post we wills the do laters. We are havings the best birthday evers with so many of the gifts and so drunken a birthday partees. Very happy the I ams. And I am sures that me wills always compares the following birthdays with this ones.
A very Happy Birthdayed to me. :)
Cheers ... Let the alcohols the flowing and let the parties the continues and let the love the comes

To Selene from Phoenix

Hi Selene,
This post is just to tell you how important you are in my life. When we first met, we used to get amused with the amount of similarity we shared. Slowly, we realized that we indeed are soul-twins. No two people can be so similar in their thoughts, actions or feelings. We laugh at the the same jokes, we get hurt at same things and we can talk to each other even without uttering a single word. We can talk for hours and hours on the phone and then meet-up and drink till wee hours in the morning, yet our conversations never end. Humari bakar kabhi khatam hi nahi ho sakti.
I have learnt so much from you. I have started enjoying life like there's no tomorrow. You taught me the importance of relationships. You brought back the optimism in my life. The way you go about doing things, or your take on relationships, or your ability to think from your heart are things that I simply admire. I am seriously telling you, "Spiritual Guru" ban jaa(future halogen bulb ki tarah bright hai).
And the small things you do simply make my day : like the conversation that you have every evening with the auto-wallahs near your office or when you say with full-confidence "I am so brilliant that I dazzle me". Whenever I am down, all I have to do is call you and listen to your two minutes, and the ear-to-ear smile is back on my face. In short, in your own words "Abhi tak toh tum saansein le rahe the, jeena toh ab shuru kiya hai".

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU .

I know for sure the next year will be more fun. There will be many more drunken-revelries , many more night-outs and many more vacations. And we are definitely doing Goa this coming year. I wish for you many more chocolates and ice-creams, many more movies with popcorns, loads and loads of books, silver ear-rings, dresses, dhik-chik dhik-chik dancing parties on bappi-da songs, music-trips listening to coke-studio or sufi songs, many more recipes, phuckas at CR park, beaf-steaks, thousand crates of beer, hangovers and sleepy days in office .....

You will have an awesomest year ,Superstar. I promise.

Tera mujhse Hai Pehle Ka Naata Koi
Yoonhi Nahin Dil Lubhaata Koi
Mera Tujhse Hai Pehle Ka Naata Koi
Yoonhi Nahin Dil Lubhaata Koi

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na
Maane Tu Ya Maane Na
Tera mujhse Hai Pehle Ka Naata Koi
Yoonhi Nahin Dil Lubhaata Koi

Tu Bhi Rahi Mere Liye
Main Bhi Raha Tere Liye
Pehle Bhi Main Tujhko Baahon Mein Leke
Jhooma Kiya Aur Jhooma Kiya


Dekho Abhi Khona Nahin
Kabhi Juda Hona Nahin
Ab Khel Mein Yoohin Rahenge Hum Dono
Vaada Raha Ye Is Shaam Ka

Updates

So, the latest in life is that the divorce papers have been filed and finally the marriage is coming to an end. Yes, I got a new job. Its the kind of job I had been looking for the past one year. I had wanted to shift to internet-media and had been religiously following it for more than a year. But due to lack of relevant experience and my technical background, my chances were slim. But this job offer came as a sweet serendipity. A friend of mine called me and told me about a position that was open in his firm. I quickly applied for it. My interview was on a Friday morning and by evening I was offered the job. And since then it's been party all along. I join my new job in November. And so October is officially declared as the party-month. And with birthdays and Diwali coming, its only going to get wilder :).

Another important update is about a person whom I met nine years back. It was my first day in college. I could only see nerds all around me. Everyone was talking about how they cracked the entrance exams or what books they studied and all that crap. My worst fears were coming true. I would be stuck with these people for the next five years. With these fears I went to the hostel mess for the evening snacks. As I was eating, I heard some conversation on the next table which I don't remember anymore. Anyway, there was this guy who was busy pulling everyone's leg. Something about him gave me positive vibes. So I walked to that table and asked the guy ..
Me : "Daaru peete ho?"
He : "Sutta peete ho?"
Me : "Haan"
He : "Hum bhi. Dost?"
Me : "Dost"
We shook hands. Both of us were so relieved to find each other. And so began my friendship with New. And we have been the best of friends since then. We talk once in two weeks. We meet once in 2-3 months. Yet, we are thickest of friends.
In our friend circle New was considered to be the last person to fall in love. But when he did I was the only one not shocked :). Friends called all the way from America to confirm it. Another friend nearly fell on the road when he heard the news. Anyway long story short, New just got married. It was an awesome wedding. We danced our way to glory. We also performed the famous "Naagin" dance in the baraat. We had planned this right in college. I played the "sapera" with my hanky as the "bean", another friend was the " naagin" and the third friend was the "basket". It was fun. I wish him a happy married life.

With New getting married and Rib all set to tie the knot in December, the bachelor side of the river suddenly feels a little lonely :). It feels like its just matter time before I, too, cross the bridge. Until then, its party all night long :P