Mexican Sambar

Been a while since I had inked my experiences as a blog. Now is the chance to do it, sitting in a hotel called StudioPLUS, using their broadband wireless cable connection. Yes, I’m in the land of Americans . My assignment: On-site coordinator, to operate from Charlotte , North Carolina . (By the time I completed this, I have moved into an apartment. I took exactly 21 days to finish this!) I was informed about my travel well in advance, but the confirmation on the surety was done a day before I’m to leave. This left just a day to be with my folks – a day – less than 12hrs. I traveled to Madras , the day before the travel, packed and left! A sentence to finish the entire trauma is very unjust! There was lot of emotional stuffs, physical tiredness and everything, even as I re-collect, it is very painful. I couldn’t express it, but everyone else did. Reached Airport to take a flight to Bombay , flight got delayed by an hour, which helped me in staying close with my family for some m

I'll Do Anything for Love, by Meat Loaf - And I would do anything for love I'd run right into hell and back I would do anything for love I'll never lie to you and that's a fact But I'll never forget the way you feel right now-- Oh no--no way-- I would do anything for love But I won't do that I won't do that Anything for love I would do anything for love I would do anything for love But I won't do that I won't do that Some days it don't come easy Some days it don't come hard Some days it don't come at all and these are the days that never end Maybe I'm crazy But it's crazy and it's true I know you can save me No one else can save me but you As long as the planets are turning As long as the stars are burning As long as your dreams are comming true-- You better believe it!-- That I would to anything for love And I'll be there until the final act-- I would do anything for love! And I'll take a vow and seal a pact

According to my room-mate’s suggestion, I came up with this. These are purely his ideas. Your position: You are an onsite coordinator for an Indian Software company with whom lies many projects out-sourced from the US of A. Situation: Explain the concept of Bandh to your peers, there. All are Americans. Over the phone – Off-shore team: ONC, there’s a bandh declared here tomorrow, and the company is closed tomorrow. Can you please tell our Architect that our deliverables will be postponed by a day? Please talk to our client about this as well. ONC: What? Why is the bandh? Off-shore: Bandh was called to protest against the Centre's decision to change its affidavit in the Supreme Court on the Maharashtra Government's writ petition demanding the merger of Belgaum and other Marathi-speaking areas with that State. That’s it. ONC: Oh OK! Will talk to them and let them know about it. At onsite – ONC: Architect, off-shore will not be working tomorrow. And thus,

Something to think, I guess. Yes, yesterday's stuff. Is it that I have not grown yet, or He has? He had always tolerated jokes on him, and all of us had tolerated other's nag. Quite alarming, that I cannot sense other's comfy factor. Or not realised that times have changed, and everyone has and I've to as well! I am yet to, as my manager quotes "Show maturity", show signs of it. All these years, I thought I had known people enough, but yesterday’s incident was revelation that I was wrong. Little devastating, it was for me! I think, I was roaming around with wrong ideas about people and their attitude towards me. I was wrong in taking people for granted. Yes, that is the mistake. Like the Old English folks, I should address people with respect and never should expect in return. Never take anything for granted, respect other’s opinion, give room to their emotions, respecting every bit of it. Distance – something that needs to maintained even with your folks, c

Where do I start? Hmmm… Yes, Surya – Jyothika combo’s much awaited movie. Well, let us watch it (despite the bad reviews posted everywhere), was the general feeling in the air. Reasons aplenty – Rehman, Rehman, Rehman… and eventually the much-awaited Surya and Jyothika’s marriage. Date decided and tickets booked in advance in Madras ’s most premier theatre group – Satyam Cinemas! Neatly guided to our seats by the hosts, we sat and gaped at the screen for the entertainment to begin. It began well. An hour into the movie, it was beautifully done and well handled. Then, came the tragedy in the name of ‘flashback’! Illogically introduced and pathetically misfit into the mainstream of the theme, it spoilt the whole show. The film showed a bad implementation of a good theme. Logic was absent at every aspect of flashback. And finally, Jo’s idea of re-uniting the lost loves stole the limelight! With all doors tightly shut, dogs!, including the ‘Emergency Exits’ sealed from outside, we

Remember the time when we used to wear different costumes to the “Fancy Dress” competition conducted in our school/other’s? Golden times – Fun filled and totally mind-boggling! Guess, I was a born actor and may be talented as well, look at my profile, for the roles I’ve played – I once dressed up as Krishna and yes, there was a girl who dressed up as Radha and we both stood against a wall and stood and stood and it goes on…! Cute, she was. Childhood crushes – die-hard. (Have you ever watched a movie Little Rascals ? If not, do watch or place an order to me and I’ll pass across a copy by borrowing it from my friend – We had girl hater’s gang as well!) Next à Played a role as an elephant in ‘Snow White and the seven Dwarves’ with my friend playing Wabbit. Talent à Went around the girl (Snow White) ‘ Ynaaaaaaa… ’. RAW Talent! Then chance beckoned up on for, to play a role of ‘Hanuman’, and this time went around ‘Sai Baba’ like a champ (read it as chimp?!) – people actually said I toppe

At the Station- With a bad network by Hutch, I was unable to contact anyone. Only messages! At the station we found our usual spot and settled there. We had a good conversation going on to keep ourselves away from the jaws of boredom. With a colleague (a woman) I and my college mate were not at ease, we had lots to check out and lots to see and couldn’t do the men’s stuff, so we resorted to SMS. “Check out the girl opposite to us.” “Machi! Awesome babe!” was my reply. Thus, started the discussion of college stories, IITs and so on. I always was of the belief that girls are always behind IIT guys – intellectuals, geeks, high income and always high standards. But our company had different plans, she was not interested in the above mentioned category (Later she proved wrong; she is finally marrying an IITian!). Hmmm… So what do women want? As I was told – “… someone who understands me and appreciates me for what I’m…” And the night went on till the train arrived! Meanwhile there

On one of the regular trips to Madras , we had a company – a young lady – colleague. She too was from Madras and we had booked our tickets together. The basic idea was to give an assurance and be with her as her guard. The weekend went fine and on the return journey we met at the railway station with the lady accompanied by her dad. As the train departed, we settled down and started to chat. As time went the lady revealed a conversation she had with her dad, and it goes as below- Lady: Dad, that’s the person who is coming along and he’s my colleague. (It was already conveyed to dad that this is Mr. Dependable and trustable) Dad (Looks around and spots someone): Is that the person, the shaven head? Lady: Yes, he’s the one. Dad (Thinks for a while – lost in thought): Be careful, do call once you reach! I was flattered! Everyone else was in splits. Another incident where I wasn’t the COA- The scene: I and my Colleague at a hotel to have our breakfast. Waiter arrives.

It's a good thing I use my powers for good and not evil, because quite frankly, I could get away with murder. I'm clever, tricky, and charming. I know how to make you laugh with one hand and pick your pocket with the other. Not that I'd ever DO that, of course... Character Stats: Rogue (13) Warrior (13) Wizard (12) Paladin (5) Your Profile: You're clever, funny, and full of surprises. If you're still in school, you're probably the class clown. If you work, you're probably on the verge of being fired - but who cares? Your job's boring anyway. When it comes to leisure, you'd rather watch cartoons, crash a wild party, or stage a practical joke than have an elegant tea with your grandma. You're not big on being "civilized" or following "rules" such as that pesky "speed limit." Above all, you're a trendsetter and a force of chaos. You see tradition as something to be questioned, structure as something to be topple

Candle light dinners are a common sight, if you hail from Madras. Almost every other night you’ll be having one and that too not in a restaurant but in your house itself. With everything laid and spread out on the dinner table we would sit and pray “God! Please not today, please! Do not bring in that infamous Power cuts again.” And that’s when odds do not happen and neither the miracles, the Power happily dims and dies. And we are left at the mercy of candle lights and mosquitoes. Yes, we do own an emergency lamp, but it works only for sometime as it needs constant power supply to get charged. Once gone, we need to constantly pester the Madras Electricity Supply to send in their Engineer to look into the issue (in house Engineers will not look into it, even though he has a degree in Electrical Engineering, his ideas are elsewhere; in a dream land and a duet with a dream girl - Machi! Kalakkara, yengayo poita po! Orey the Goosebumps! ) Power never returns until the mid-day or the evenin

Kerala – God’s own country! Agriculture: Lush green fields, Tea & Coffee plantations, Rubber & Eucalyptus trees, Bamboo shoots… That’s not all! Makkal and Costume: Men – Lungies are a compulsory wear; Women – Watch mallu movies… ;-). Most of their father, brother, uncle, grandpa or sometimes mommy might be in Dubai. Food: All the items that are available in Tamil Nadu are available here; well after all it is part of South India. But the catch is “Item + Coconut Oil”. Common: Arrack shops, Toddy bars, Brandy shops and finally – Tea-kadai or Chayya shops. Four benches outside the shop and men folks (with their lungies folded till their inner-wear is shown) saying, lazily, “ yedo, a valliya penn-kutty… ” This is a common site after ‘another tea-kadai ’. That explains it. Munnar- That’s where we all headed to – Munnar, a hill station (rightly explained by Alok – a station where a hill is located) in Kerala. After 48 hours of sleepless days, rejuvenation came in the form of a

Time to break shackles- The final statement revealed by anyone who visits this heaven ‘ Shivanasamudram ’ at this time of the year, if one gets lucky! After a month’s break and sweating it out on the cubicles of a darned company, we thought that the time has arrived to hit a place where we can rejuvenate our lost youth during that one month’s break. We had two places on our paper – Shivanasamudram and the other, Gopalaswamy Betta (whose scenic picture later became my program’s input for testing). Time to Beg?- The decider was voted on the basis of time, distance and money (simple math/physics). And Shivanasamudram came out as a clear winner (considering the month-end bankruptcy – I’m living a life of a beggar now-a-days (Guess what?! The total beggars (30lacs) in Mumbai earn upto 180Cr a year. I’m of to a thought of giving my job the boot)) The journey and the talks- We hired a Toyota Qualis for the get-a-way. This time equipped with a good dashboard, an OK player and the gadgets th

The link below is very hailarious and as usual it is our hero - Dilip. SCANDAL: PLacement officer bags the highest pay!!

At the outset- A picturesque green field on the banks of a river with a farm house and a windmill rustling beside the house… This followed by an island, totally deserted and newly discovered on the corner of the earth with no inhabitants other than us… Really? This wasn’t the idea behind the masterminds of Saturday’s day makers. It was a solid trip to a hill 55kms from Bangalore. A trip bound to be written and recorded, lest to be forgotten without a trace. Who we really are- Aided by a 22 seating capacity Swaraj Mazda we (10 of us) left the office premises at 0815hrs – delayed departure. With one more pick-up spot to be cleared (3 more), we headed with full josh . With no higher managements, we were let lose as though like a raging bull – jallikattu? Try catching us rodeos, and face the music – was the attitude! Fast, Broken- With full steam ahead our penultimate stop was for the grub – idlys, dosas, vadas and duplicate Fanta, 7up (I'm sounding more like the '

A class settled between lower and upper class, the class of people befits its definition. Neither are they rich nor are they poor. Neither do they know how to show as poor nor do they know how to show rich. Caught in this clumsy link, they are what they stand for. For them it had always been as a family (joint), thundu vizhatha budget- Economic simplicity and maanam ! We used to maintain a small book, the size of a visiting card. This book would hold a mathematical formulas and numericals that describe how much the family spent the last month and how should this month’s salary be spent efficiently so that the debts are met and we break even. This class forms a majority in India. Well, if I’m not wrong, taking a census might prove that they form the biggest community in the whole world. Generally known for their stingy nature, these people are not stingy, but they know how to spend what they have earned and when. A scene from a movie Nerukku Naer , where Karan, the villain, quotes this

As my project manager approached me with a problem that was so complex that it could be only solved by the top cream of an engineering or a 12 th standard student, I left the place and sat to think over the issue and how to solve it. The thought process immediately took me to the most important question, after this The_Answer_to_Life,_the_Universe,_and_Everything . So, there I was thinking “Which would be the best place for a man to think soundly? Where do all great men get those thoughts, which others think is the best ever and beautiful?” Pondering over it I realized that a man needs his own space to initiate the start of thought process. What is this? Why do all people talk about this all the time? Over a period of time from the late 19 th century there has been a million inventions. All great men! To much pressure, I'm sitting on a million dollar question and also the problem on my sholuder given by my project manager! Hmmm… BANG BANG BANG! *FLUSH* There goes the nex

What do I say and where do I start? Rajkumar’s death has sparked huge riots all over the city of Bangalore . 3 buses till now have been reduced to ashes, one theatre has been stoned, a hotel torched, one of the TATA showrooms have been torched as well. 6 policeman injured, one person has lost is life (reportedly due to stone pelting in the Kanteveera Stadium). Two days state mourning had been declared and an un-declared bandh as well. No schools, colleges, public/private companies will open. My office declared a holiday with compensation on the next Saturday. So, the sun rose at 11am for us. And as usual we hit the TV sets to find the latest news about the procession. To our dismay none of the channels other than Udaya and some NEWS channels were telecasted! A compulsory mourning had been enforced on all people without their consent. So, confined to these channels we saw what and how the proceedings of the funeral are going on. It was mob everywhere, angry fans beating the police a

Compared with John Wayne , Dr. Rajkumar has acted in over 200 films (Stats might be wrong, tolerance!) is now dead. He was 77. Rajkumar who was born in a village in Erode became one of Karnataka’s gems! I never had a see his movie, but today I came across some of his best clips (telecasted in the TV quoting it that way; showed almost all the movies in 2 days), one of which was a scene that was a total rip from a Thamizh movie Thiruvilayadal , acted by one of the greatest legend and GOD of acting – Shivaji Ganesan ! Shivaji, perfected the art of acting. The song Paatum Nane bavamum nane is the best (well, there’s Thillana Moganambal as well) where he plays the instruments Flute, Veena and Mrudangam. The way it was played, it was as though he played them for real. That’s acting, where you do not know how to tell fake from real! Beautifully done. Rajkumar did the same thing (as quoted above) and I do not have words for them! Another instance was when Rajkumar played the Shenai an

If Ganguly’s treatment was to be taste of what bad form and poor performance will lead to then two other Indian players need to be treated with the same style. Virendra Sehwag and Mohammad Kaif. Two batsman of amazing caliber! Past performance can never be taken as testimonials for them to hang on, then Ganguly should be the Indian captain as long as India plays cricket! If the quote for Sachin “He can take the game away from the opponents!” is valid then the same can be quoted for these two STARS “They can take game away from India !” Well played Gentlemen! If anyone is to be blamed it is the selectors… Such poor stuffs! Pathetic! And today we lost the game to England . With 8 games won on the trot, we couldn’t continue to break the record set by the Aussies! Yeah, accepted the fact that we had won 15 games chasing and set a record but why couldn’t we break the other one? Was it the Rotation policy? Partly, but not fully, two players are still continuing play without a bre

A few days back, a friend of mine called from UK to inform us that one of our friends has become DAD, i.e. his wife got conceived! Hearing it we were in splits! “Nothing amusing about it”, is what you all will say, well the fact is that they got married two and a half months back! And the title of this post has nothing to do with the information I’d provided… One more information: It was a love marriage. Won’t their Mom and Dad feel bad? Or rather won’t THE FRIEND feel a little embarrassed? Though, I seem to be proud that (sarcasm) our friend has become dad at the age of 23, I cannot announce this, with the same pride, to my parents! Can I? I would feel embarrassed; my wicked smile will surely let it out. IO! What is it about Love and Marriages? Is it all about S3X or for something that ‘seems’ to be eternal? I and my friends had a discussion on a topic that is debatable at anytime – What are marriages? And why do you marry? The final agreement came