Move over, elevator speech!

Have you ever felt a strong spiritual connection with someone - especially when your peeing cycles are synced to the T? I did. And it is one of the weirdest things one can encounter in an office atmosphere - especially if you're stuck with the same guy for the entire day. It's almost freaky when it happens five times a day!

Urinals are a place to catch up with acquaintances; a break from routine. And this is one of the instances when your company is decided on a random basis - as if God just threw a seven and put you on the urinal next to the CEO! You'd especially be unlucky if the activity has been pending for hours and you cant just run away without completely relieving yourself for two whole minutes. As if this were not enough, you'd be pestered by this awkward urge to keep your superiors entertained with small talk. "Hi John! Doing good?" *stares on the other side to avoid the Peeping Tom perception* Very awkward.

This is where the most uncanny of the resemblances kicks in - the resemblance with the concept of elevator speech. Who knows - this could very well be the next big management concept that takes the world by storm. I can practically envision workshops being conducted to practice and hone your urinal speeches!

Tips for the perfect urinal speech - needs to be less serious, more entertaining and hand gestures will definitely not go down well. And I mean it, literally!
NOTE: To the best of my knowledge, the concepts discussed in this post are applicable to only guys. Need the opinions of a subject matter expert to validate the same for the ladies

The Littler Master

If there is one thing that can help me write tons of posts, that would be my ability to feel nostalgic at the drop of a hat. That, combined with my natural talent to suck at cricket, would form the crux of this post.

Nostalgia is one emotion that has helped me maintain my sanity and optimism. As for my cricketing abilities, I was not always a loser. There was a time when I was quite gifted (primarily due to my fertile imagination) When I was five, I realized that I could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by scoring 21 runs from 3 deliveries thus winning the man of the match and helping India reach the finals of the World Cup. Later that week, I discovered much to my amazement that I had just taken seven wickets in an over against Pakistan in the World Cup Finals when they were coasting along with a required run rate of 3 per over. No, I did not bowl a no-ball. I completed a caught & bowled dismissal while simultaneously running the non-striker out. Thus did I achieve the first twin dismissal in the history of cricket. Thus did India win the '92 World Cup and I, the man of the series.

However, with time, I lost my innocence as I learnt the rules of the game - the stringent rules which shackled my imagination from pulling off some incredible victories. Thus ended the first golden era in my cricketing career. Though it was short-lived, I had made a name for myself as the genius all-rounder from the streets of Dombivali who could make Imran Khan shit in his pants. My focus also gradually shifted from becoming the next Kapil Dev to the next Sachin Tendulkar. After every Indian victory, I'd ask my mother if it would be alright for me to become a cricketer. She'd smile back and ask me to finish my homework first. This is where part-I concludes. Find below the career statistics of this boy wonder unearthed from old issues of Wisden and the by-now-erased files of cricinfo.com.

Full Name: Srinivasan Sampathkumar
Born: July 13th, 1986
Current Age: 23 years 141 days
Major Teams: India, West Zone, Mumbai, Dombivali (W)
Batting Style: Right-hand bat
Bowling Style: Right-arm fast, Right-arm medium, Right-arm off-break, Right-arm leg break

Batting and fielding averages (1992-94)
(Read as Matches, Innings, Not Outs, Runs scored, Highest Score, Average, Balls Faced, Strike Rate, Number of 100s and 50s)
Tests 13 17 5 2143 247 178.6 1644 130.35 8 1
ODIs 27 27 9 1721 146* 95.61 923 186.46 9 5
First-class 2 2 2 346 257* -- 149 232.22 2 0

Bowling averages (1992-94)
(Read as Matches, Innings, Balls Bowled, Runs Conceded, Wickets, Best figures - innings, Best figures - match, Average, Economy, Strike Rate)
Tests 13 21 1075 394 99 8/4 16/29 3.98 2.2 10.85
ODIs 27 12 372 92 89 6/1 6/1 1.03 1.48 4.18
First-class 2 - - - - - - - - -

Confession

Hello folks,

My name is ***** and I am 6'2" tall. I weigh an unhealthy 58 kilos and am pale in complexion. I think we'll skip the rest of the intro and get straight to the point. In fact, I think we'll take a small detour to grab a pinch of salt before we begin. Yeah, you can take some cinnamon and pepper as well! Now.. to the point.

I think it all started after I completed my first year of engineering. Yeah.. I think that would be it. I had come home for a vacation. And that was the first time I had heard it. Of course, it was a passing mention and I did not pay much heed to it. But since then I've heard it a million times. And frankly, I was getting tired of it. Of what, you may ask. Of comments on my height! Ah.. he has grown really tall.. has he grown taller since the last time I saw him? You saw me yesterday, Aunt Rachel! (Of course the name has been changed!) My neck hurts looking at him. And the worst one - oh gosh! he gives me a complex! Never ever stand next to me, you hear that? followed by a hysterical hyena laugh. (Hyena laugh, in this context, is the laughing equivalent to crocodile tears) Yeah.. so I guess you got the point. I was getting tired of all these comments. Until recently, that is.

Yes, it happened. I looked over my shoulder and found someone taller than me. Its not like I've never seen people taller than me. But this one was particularly tall and he came and stood next to me. I dont know what happened but I was overcome by this enormous feeling to kick this guy in his gut. He was really imposing and intimidating! I was like, Seriously! Is it even legal to be so tall?! And that was when I realised how you all might have felt when you cracked all those comments about my height. I apologise for not having respected your feelings (and your height.)
I also thank you for not kicking me in the gut.

Yours sincerely,
*****

PS: Yes, a very lame attempt at getting back to blogging but an attempt nevertheless!
PS1: If you've made it this far, drop a comment. I'm sure you'll have something to say about the prevailing Maoist situation in the country.
PS2: I've seen traffic being diverted from Halley's blog to mine in the past. It must be the communists! :P

The box of assorted chocolates

This post will be like one of those boxes of assorted chocolates – there’s something there for everyone! (unless you hate chocolates or you’re diabetic) Let me start with something for my number crunching friends.

As has been the custom for the past few posts, I shall begin with local trains. I remember reading this report on a newspaper that the average number of travelers at any given time on a Mumbai local train has fallen this year from 4800 to less than 4100. Whoopie!!? Just to put things into perspective, there are usually 9 or 12 bogeys and each bogey can seat up to 50 passengers.

(Note: If you’re not into number crunching, I request you to skip to the next section)

So we have a maximum of 600 passengers out of 4100 who are seated (comfortably?) Assuming that the two compartments, purely dedicated for the women folk, are half as crowded as men’s, this would leave us with a little less than 3200 men in 10 small, cramped compartments who do not have a place to sit.

Now if you’ve ever seen a Mumbai local train, you’d understand the scale and magnitude of this conclusion that we’ve arrived upon after this huge (??) number crunching exercise. Imagine three hundred men shoved into a compartment, drenched in sweat getting all aggressive and restless – not really a pretty sight unless you’re gay.

Speaking of gay men, I’ve developed a lot of respect for them over the past two months. Having interacted with a couple of gay designers on the sets of shoots, I must say that they just keep out of harm’s way and are not even half as fussy as the models. They are quite normal (if you choose to overlook their body language, their well shaved legs and the pleasant smell of lavender.) In fact, I must add that they can be pretty darn sarcastic if they want to be!

On the other hand, Mumbaikars have a different sense of humor. And if there is one thing that is not exactly welcome in Mumbai, it’s sarcasm. I’ve been greeted with cold stares when I pass a sarcastic (yet friendly, if I might add!) comment in the local trains. I’m not sure if they don’t get it or they’re not in a mood for sarcasm. Anyhoo, not being sarcastic is killing me from the inside!! I feel like a fish out of water; like a tree without leaves; like Rakhi Sawant deprived of cheap publicity!! But I’ve managed to live on – sigh!

Yes, I’ve become more filmy and melodramatic – blame it on Bollywood.

PS0: This post was written in record time
PS1: Congrats Sam for delivering a baby boy
PS2: Why are forwards being spammed on PGP11 list? I mean, seriously, are you guys so jobless?!
PS3: Yet to recover from the shock exit from T20 World Cup. Yeh Cup kahin nahi jaayega my ass!
PS4: Work is still hectic :(

The comeback a la Ajith Agarkar's!

And I have returned to the city of dreams - Mumbai. For the uninformed, I have joined an ad-production company Lighthouse Productions. The package is pretty decent but the work - gosh! Its quite hectic but very exciting and interesting. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined of working for such an organization after graduating from an IIM! I'd always wanted to do something different and recession offered me the perfect excuse to try something like this..

But the best part about this job is there is no monotony. Zilch! One day you're scouting for locations for a fashion magazine shoot with Arjun Rampal whereas the next day, you're working on the execution of an ad campaign for an international brand apparel (its all hush-hush here.. no names) Of course there is that occasional trip to the police station to settle a
difference of opinion :P Yes, we were taken to a police station in a police jeep! Gave me an adrenaline rush! :D And I must say that these police jeeps are spacious and very airy.

Now that I've explained my absence from blogosphere (in very vague terms) lets move on. To the city of dreams - Mumbai. Mumbai is a completely different experience. The city is cramped for space. Be it buses, trains, footpaths or the lanes - you'd feel suffocated because there are people everywhere! (quite contrary to Calicut) And it's not exactly a good thing for someone with big feet. The city looks like Santa Claus's toy factory just before Christmas.

In spite of all this, you cant help falling in love with the city. Most of the people here are friendly.. of course there is that rare bus conductor who scowls at the odd non-marathi passenger or the ghutka chewing bhaiyya who insists on spitting when he is in the vicinity of humans. But again those are just exceptions. People usually are very helpful though they might not exactly sound polite.

As far as the local trains are concerned, they continue to fascinate me. There is the young college going chap with a spiky hairdo who assumes he is the RJ of the compartment. Then there is the guy from South in his early thirties who is yelling at his sub-ordinates in marathi for not reaching the office on time. And one can hardly forget the bunch of Gujarathi middle-aged men who love talking about everything - from the fake ipl blogger and the slumdog fiasco to the latest voteout in Roadies and the rising stock market.

It is difficult to miss the diversity that the city offers. The roads leading to the Dadar station are decorated with posters of movies like Jaani, Daata and Dashavatar - all dubbed-into-Hindi movies starring Mahesh Babu, NTR Jr. and Kamal Haasan respectively. Then of course there is the irony - a sly paan shop located right next to a Globus mall; an executive and a dabbawallah waiting for the same 10:19 ki tez local.

As I said earlier, one cant help falling in love with this city.

The year that was - 2008

Before I begin, I wish you all a very happy new year. Hope this year brings out the worst in you! Yes, I am not in a good mood - bad time to be blogging, eh? This post will be answering the FAQs that have been put to me.

Song currently listening to: Bohemian Rhapsody

So what have you been doing lately?
Apart from worrying about the recession, quite a lot. I hit a creative purple patch a couple of weeks back and since then, have written some interesting stuff. I must say that I have grown to like what I wrote - grown is the word to be emphasized here. And fortunately (or otherwise) I have decided not to put it up on the public domain. That is primarily because when I blog I want some feedback and no one bothers giving me one. So if you're really jobless, AND have been having a bad day, ping me and I'd gladly send you across something.

Song currently listening to: Radha kaise na jale, Lagaan

How did you celebrate the new year?
Well, thankfully my friends have similar views on new year - its overhyped! However, we had a couple of days off and we decided to go to Ooty. On bikes! So we rode 200 km across the border (TN - Kerala border) and trust me, it was lot of fun! (Too many exclamation marks!!) The roads, the sceneries, the cool fresh air - it was a welcome break from the usual. Ooty was freezing cold though. The place is really beautiful but there were hardly any beautiful tourists (if you know what I mean) All we could bump into, were families with troublesome kids. So much for a vacation!

So as I was telling, the place was frikkin cold. Hence we decided to stay indoors once the clock struck nine. Armed with chips, home-made chocolates and a lot of time to kill, we began playing cards. And it was refreshing to be away from laptops, cell phones and still have fun. At the stroke of midnight, when everyone around the world is usually busy brushing up their arithmetic skills (thanks to the overhyped countdown) we were happily peeking at each others' cards and swearing at the top of our voices. We did realise after fifteen minutes that it was past twelve and wished each other.

Thanks to the trip, I have a copper tan. After all, we did drive for almost 10 hours in the sun! Many have expressed their liking for it (some have feigned - dont you think you can fool me! :P) I, on the other hand, am trying to ignore it. Today morning when I woke up to go brush, I freaked out at what I saw in the mirror. I guess that explains everything. It doesn't? Then you need to infer, my dear friend.

Song currently listening to: Wind of Change, Scorpions

So how was the year 2008?
Year 2008 was a lot like a well made movie - exciting and depressing in parts with a lot of fun and frolic. This year will be remembered as the year when I had to deal with the loss of two people whom I knew. I think this year has been phenomenal because I've got to know myself better. This shall also be the year when the Aussies got their asses whooped! woo hoo! On the personal front, I was involved in some exciting stuff. Hopefully things will just get bigger and better.

Any new year resolutions?
hmm.. I need to accomplish something to satisfy my ego. Yes, I do have a hugely neglected egoist curled up in some deep corner of my heart. And no, its not a 20 lpa job that I am looking for. I want something which will go down as a milestone in my life. Something which I can look back and reminisce fondly.

Song currently listening to: Careless Whisper

And the most frequently asked question is *drumrolls*

When are your placements starting?
I've got some people asking me this question once every fortnight. And I have, kindly, told them repeatedly that it begins in March. Even my folks dont hound me like this! Next time I hear the question from any of you, I will have a simple two word answer - Fuck you. Of course, I'd tell it politely :) And stop linking it with recession. Its tiresome to answer it again and again. If you want a weekly update, use google!

Some of the questions mentioned above are the ones which I ask myself frequently. So technically, they still are FAQs! ;)

Have a great year. Peace out.

Do you believe in ghosts?

It was one of those phases of my life when I turned into an atheist. I think everyone goes through this phase when you stop believing in God. Or may be, believing in God is a phase. Either ways, the concept of God is a very interesting one. It is completely irrational to some and yet comforting to others. I think God was invented to maintain law and order in the society, to instill fear (and not hope as many would like to believe) in people's minds and hearts. But with time, things have changed. Fear turned into faith, and now into superstition. Today, people are self-proclaimed atheists. And they're proud of it. They think being an atheist is cool. You cannot completely disagree with them now, can you?

Entering adolescence, my faith in God began to fizzle away. But when it came to ghosts, I must confess, I never not believed in ghosts. When I was six, I listened to my first ever ghost story. The bravest kid in our building, who strangely seemed to have such stories in abundance, narrated the chilling story. It was about the lady who was burnt to death with her family. It was rumoured that the lady used to go on strolls around our buildings in the middle of the night with her kids. All my friends confessed to having heard sounds of anklets around midnight.

A chill crept down my spine as I climbed the narrow, deserted steps leading to our second floor apartment. I wanted to run, but I managed to keep my composure and walked home safely. I complimented myself on the kind of bravery I exhibited as I repeatedly told myself that ghosts did not exist.

I still remember that night. I had a hard time sleeping. Whenever I closed my eyes, I'd see skulls on dark backgrounds with glowing eyes. It doesnt sound scary but trust me, as a six year old, I found it really scary. That was when I put the habit of sleeping in foetal position.

Anyhoo, the next morning, my mom asked me not to listen to any more ghost stories. For once, I agreed with her. But when you're with your friends, you want to act all brave. And so did I. (And I suspect, so did my friends) We all gathered around him and pestered him to narrate another one of those stories hoping against hope that he'd refuse. But we were all in for a nightmare. In my case, two. (You can read the story that he narrated at the end of the post.)

But with time, we became harder to scare. Slowly but surely, we began hearing more and more such stories. And although I admit to have seen misty images of dead people, (mostly the people I love) I still believe that the entire experience has made me braver. So, when there is a power cut, I can still find my way in the house for a glass of water. I can still wake up in the middle of the night to take a leak. But more importantly, I think it has shaped my abilities to narrate interesting stories and exaggerate them. (Trust me, I was a boring kid)

Off the record, I am a favourite with my younger cousins for my story telling abilities. Reminds me of the brave kid in our building. I guess he was not that brave after all.

Quote of the day:

Of all ghosts, the ghosts of our old loves are the worst.

Arthur Conan Doyle

The story

A bunch of fourth standard students were to go for a picnic. They had all gathered in the school terrace before they were supposed to board the bus to a planetarium. The bus came and all the kids boarded the bus. Except two. When the teachers realised the goof-up, they rushed back to the school only to find the kids lying on the school ground, dead. When the classes commenced, one could still hear sounds of someone playing with skipping rope on the terrace. tak tak tak tak...

Not even a quantum of solace *no spoilers*

DISCLAIMER: This post may contain little description of the movie. Hence, if you've watched the movie, then you can afford to read the rest of the post. However.. and this is a big however, if you've not watched the movie yet, then I'd strongly recommend you to read the rest of the post and then take a wise, life-changing decision of whether you want to watch the movie or not. Amen.

So we decided to go to Crown theatre to watch James Bond's latest flick "Quantum of Solace". For the uninitiated, Crown is the only theater in Calicut to screen the latest English movies. Since we could not get the balcony tickets, we had to settle for the second class tickets. Now for second class tickets, you do not have seat numbers. The seats are allotted on first come first serve basis. So there was a mad rush when the gates were opened and since we are not really big fans of rushing, (unles we have to rush out of classes) we ended up getting front row seats.

Before the movie began, the usual commercials were being aired. But surprise surprise! A Kohinoor condom commercial was aired and the entire crowd sat there in complete silence and attention. I was stunned by the idea of playing a condom commercial in a theatre. Playing the national anthem is perfectly fine with me, but playing a condom ad?? Which genius came up with that idea? But what came as a bigger shock was the crowd which sat there watching and listening to everything. I had not expected such a decent crowd in Crown! If it had been Hyderabad, people would have gone crazy and vocal showing their approval.

After the ad ended, they played the Dostana trailer. AB Jr in shades and Priyanka in a bikini got a few claps but when they showed a bare bodied John, the theatre erupted! There were whistles, howls, shrieks, comments (which thankfully I could not understand) and claps.. only from men! Only men!?! I did not really understand why a Priyanka-in-a-bikini is not a more attractive proposition than a John-in-shorts. Did I say decent crowd? Crowds here are really messed up!

And finally the movie started. And with great regret, I say that the movie failed to provide me with even a quantum of solace. The title track was long and boring. The editing was horrible. I think a monkey decided to chew down half the script and the director decided to shoot the movie anyways. And the English accent at places is completely incomprehensible. I dont really get this - these guys invented the language! How can they speak in such gibberish accent? Somehow the ladies find the accent a real turn on. Strange. Coming back to the movie, the stunts were cool, not too many technical gadgets were used and the lead female was not that great looking. And finally when the movie ended, the crowd was howling - I think they were thankful that the director decided to end the movie halfway. So to all my friends in leading metros, do not waste your 100-150 bucks on this movie. I'd rather sit at home and watch repeat telecast of Sachin-Sourav partnerships on Star Cricket. Sigh.. am all nostalgic now!

Status message of the day:

"The black man is called in to clean up the mess. What's new?"

- An Egyptian blogger on Obama's election

PS: Watch Deshdrohi - from what I saw in the trailers, the male lead has a funny way of mouthing off dialogues :D Dr. Eddie Murphy meets Bhagat Singh.
PS2: Twin setbacks to the Indian cricket team in this series. No Jumbo.. no dada.. Watching cricket will not be the same again :( Lets hope we win the series 2-0! :D Go India go!
PS3: Hope to blog more often.
PS4: That's the 3264th time I've promised myself to blog regularly.

Diwali, crackers and I

Happy Diwali, my dear readers! I hope you all had a blast. As for me, I love Diwali for all the sweets and presents it brings along. And the home-cooked food is as always finga-lickin good! But I'm afraid the festival has lost its significance for me over the past few years. And that has been mainly because I've stopped bursting crackers. I think I was in 10th when I read something about the child labour situation in Sivakasi. The grim situation portrayed by that article affected me so much that I had to give up on what I had loved the most about Diwali - bursting crackers.

If you're wondering why one would give up something like this after reading an article, let me try explaining it. To me, bursting crackers has become synonymous to eating non-vegetarian food. I dont like eating non veg but I dont mind others eating it. I am not against non-vegetarians just because I am a vegetarian. Similarly, I am not fighting for the cause of child workers in Sivakasi by boycotting crackers. I've just developed some amount of dislike towards bursting crackers. Unfortunately, I've landed in many an awkward moment with my relatives because of a misunderstanding over this reason. Let me illustrate this with an example

Relative: Gokul, why dont you burst a cracker or two?
Me: No uncle. I dont burst crackers. *sheepish smile*
R: Why? Do you think crackers are for kids? Look, even I am bursting crackers. *twirls his cracker in apparent joy*
Me: No uncle. Its ok. Actually I dont like bursting crackers. *still trying to avoid telling the reason*
R: What? You're scared of bursting crackers? haha.. *thinks what a big loser I am* You're a young man now. I will teach you. Dont worry.
Me: No no.. *grr.. let him have it* I used to burst crackers. But I've quit because of the child labour situation in many Sivakasi factories. *puts a worried expression and points to the cover of the cracker on which Sivakasi is written in bold font*
R: *Awkward silence*
Me: *Talk something dammit! I hope you dont think of me as some socially aware citizen*
R: *More awkward silence as he sifts through the heap of crackers*
Me: *Puts on a fake smile and some fake enthusiasm* Let me get a new candle for you uncle.

So there you go. That was the first time I tried to stay away from crackers by stating the reason. However, after enough trial and error experiments, I finally zeroed in on the ideal excuses to give.
1. I have an exam in the next few days, uncle. Dont want to take any risks :D *For the studious image*
2. No mood, uncle. Yawn. *For the spoilt brat image*
3. Been there done that, uncle. Crackers are boring. *For the cool image*

And if these do not work, I avoid the child labour excuse and get straight to lighting a flower pot just for the heck of it. If there is one thing I hate more than bursting crackers, it is being in socially awkward situations with my relatives.

Status Message of the day:

"I was born to a rich faggot, but thanks to me, my son wont be"

-Vimal S Warrier

PS: If you think you or any of your friends have funny status messages in your gtalk / Y! list, then ping me on gtalk. I could use some funny ones for my next post. Just in case, my id is gokul.archer@gmail.com.
PS1: Yes, I intend to blog soon. (Although I am not sure how many read my posts.. hmm...)
PS2: On afterthought, I dont miss bursting crackers. I've grown aloof from the entire process. And before I forget, I wish you all a happy and safe Diwali!
PS3: Feels good to be blogging again. (Although the standards are abysmally low)

About me: Chapter 1 - Me & my accents

Lately I have been fascinated with foul language. This was the best start I could come up with after a 4 month sabbatical. Or was it 5? Anyways before we digress completely, as I mentioned earlier, I've been fascinated with foul language recently. Yes, and I've taken a liking towards the f-word so much that it makes a guest appearance once in every 100 words I speak. That's an alarming frequency considering I dont intend to write the script for Pulp Fiction's sequel. But I dont use it to vent out my frustration or to sound cool (may be someeetimes?) Instead I use it because it sounds funny when pronounced in different accents. Now have you ever tried that? Its feck-yu in Mallu accent and fock yo in Carribean. Its actually fun to use it when things get screwed up and people are expecting someone to start swearing - just breaks the tension in the air. Try it and get back to me with feedback! Possibly then I will divulge zee European version which primarily involves tampering with the syllables. (The Mallu accent works like magic!)

So what have I been up to in the past few months when I was away from the blog-o-sphere? The usual stuff - attending classes and dozing off in most of them, watching sitcoms, perfecting the mallu accent, hanging out with my wingmates and bitching about classmates, assignments and deadlines, staying invisible on gtalk to shun forced socialization and as always trying to put on more weight! I also was part of a small 10 minute short film which was directed by the director of "Left Right Left", a serial on Sony SAB. It was fun making the movie. Of course he dubbed my voice at the end, so the movie sounds so funny that I could not watch it more than once. But I've got good reviews from people (who fear that I might tease them if they give negative feedback) and critical comments from others (who are much bigger in size than me. sigh!) It was a great learning experience nonetheless.

Well, I really want to write a lot more stuff but then samay samaapthi ki ghoshna! So all you readers (yes, all six of you!) please do come back to read more about me. This is a desperate plea for attention. I promise the next post will be entertaining! Continued ...

In the next episode:
Self-deprecating humour and I *dadaang!! Camera closes in on my face.. then camera tilts by 45 degrees and again closes in on my face.. beat picks up in the background.. sounds of thunder! Repeat closing in of camera at different angles*
Foreign exchange students *Camera closes in on my face again.. not anywhere else (You wish!!) I have an evil smile spread across my face. hehahaha*
A blast from the past *Flashback in black and white.. A story about a miniature Gokul (dressed in uniform) and his environmental science project.. Sensitive issues like the bomb blasts will not be discussed by a man with an IQ of a chimp*

PS: I do have shreds of self-esteem left! Chimps are the most intelligent among animals.
PS1: I should stop watching Ekta's serials..
PS2: Composing this post was so damn hard! I just hope that I get better at this. It was fun blogging again :D
PS3: Some encouraging comments will be appreciated. :-s
PS4: To all my mallu friends - no hard feelings! :D
PS5: The "About me" series will continue.

My Travelogue

There is very little connection between the title and the post except for the travel part of course. I wrote this piece about a month back. I was in no mood to post it then. But seeing how my blog is on the verge of extinction, I am being forced to post this.

_________________

I am staying at my cousin’s place right now. This cousin of mine loves smacking me – I do not know what kind of sadistic pleasure she derives by slapping my back – is it the feel of hollow bones or the relief of not being hit back. She loves bugging me – which I find very amusing. She also likes my rendition of “In the End” which I find even more amusing! She is in her 10th grade – which incidentally happens to be the most crucial academic year here in Mumbai. So she attends coaching classes from 3 to 9 every evening – which I found very shocking and disturbing. But over here in Mumbai, it seems to be quite common to put kids through such grind.

Speaking of grind, I am going through one while traveling from Thane to Malad every morning. I, hereby officially announce Mumbai local trains as the mother of all public transport systems! It is the best mode of transport here in Mumbai – in the sense it takes the shortest time to travel from place A to place B, if one were to use trains. However it is the toughest to get into – and trust me, this is not over-hyped. I have been going through nothing short of hell while trying to board trains.

Everyday I wake up early and get dressed in the most ironed clothes so that I look decent. (Off the record, I hate clean & ironed clothes because you have to be oh-so-careful! A more detailed post sometime in the future) And after boarding a bus from Thane to Borivali, I enter the Borivali station. I am overcome by a nauseous sensation thanks to the stench of fish. How do people manage to eat fish is beyond my understanding! Chicken – yes, it smells better than veg biryani but fish? (I hope my mom is not reading this. *gulp*)

Anyways before we completely digress, I then board the local train. After making umpteen number of attempts to get in, I somehow squeeze myself into the train. But the catch here is, when you’re traveling a very short distance (say Borival to Malad where there is only one station in between) it is highly important that you board the train at the right time. You board too early, you will be pushed deep into the train, and then you will have to plough your way out in a record 5 minutes (which is next to impossible) If you try boarding a bit late, you might not be able to board at all. Thus every morning is spent on contemplating a strategy to board the train at the right moment so as to be able to get down at Malad.

And once you are into the train, your tolerance is tested. As each drop of sweat makes its way from your neck down your spine, you’re tempted to wipe it off. However, you have no other choice but to stand helplessly and wait. And this eternal wait would end when the passengers by your side, who until now, were standing like lifeless statues, start getting fidgety. The symptoms are hard to miss – first your feet get stamped and their faces are filled with signs of restlessness. Then of course once the station comes in sight, there is the typical war cry. (“Chalo Kandivali” or “Aakraman Malad”) By the way, it does wonders to your adrenaline flow. But once you’re out of the train, a sense of relief coupled with the stickiness of a wet, sweaty shirt overcomes you and you can’t help but feel irritated.

So this is my routine. It isn’t as bad as it sounds. But yeah, it’s bad enough! On a side note, by the time I get down, my shirt is neither clean nor ironed. So much for the corporate culture!

PS1: Today is my final presentation day! :-ss
PS2: If there was a perceived lack of quality, the blame solely rests on me. Falling standards, sigh!
PS3: IPL ke baad GPL? What were they thinking??!!
PS4: Going to K directly from Mumbai
PS5: Guess the next date I post and win exciting prizes! :P
PS6: This is the end. Time to go, give a presentation.

Seven habits of highly effective gully cricketers

Today, we shall learn how to play safe, indoor cricket – cricket in the living room to be precise, and win. This post is by no means inspired by the Stephen Covey book. Now that I have clarified that part, shall we?

The seven habits of highly effective gully cricketers

1. Sledge – Sledging is an integral part of indoor cricket. It is highly unlikely that one can get a wicket if the one-bounce-catch rule is absent. That is exactly why one should sledge. Sledging can be offensive, vulgar or funny.
a.Offensive: How to offend others with sledging? The most tried and tested methods focus on weighty issues. Literally. One can also comment on culinary skills and the spherical quotient of one’s tummy in mathematical terms (usually calculated using a complex equation - the variables involved being surface area, S and capacity, C)
b.Vulgar: The less said the better.
c.Funny: One can always be offensive AND funny. But usually being sarcastic helps.

2. Moving on to more technical tips, ahem. If a fielder is positioned close, the best way to scare him is to charge down the pitch – yes, I am referring to the 6-10 yards pitch here, and play a defensive prod. And if you’re known to be a pinch hitter, the fielder by now would be literally shivering waist down. I remember this one time when I was fielding at silly point and this senior of mine who weighed twice as much charged down the wicket. I literally shit in my pants.

3. Try to flight the deliveries above the eye-level of the batsman – especially if you’re a spinner. When you do that, the natural instinct is to come on to the front foot and heave it - until the batsman realizes that he’s playing in a 15x8 room. In which case, he’d either go through with the shot and hit the wall directly (in our case there is a TV as well!) or would miss the ball and be adjudged out. You, of course, can bowl that occasional faster delivery and later defend yourself by claiming that you’re a spinner and the delivery was not fast. (It always worked for me :D)

4. Always encourage your bowlers. Even if they’re pathetic. And appeal. Do add in your share of sighs (ooos and aaaahhs) even if the ball missed the stumps / edge by miles. It puts a lot of pressure on the batsman.

5. And if you’re the batsman, watch the bowling action – especially if he’s a spinner. It is very important to decipher the spin on the delivery before deciding how to play it. Usually the fingers and the wrist position give away the spin on the delivery. Also try taking the delivery on the full or play it as late as possible. Never be stuck midway! It’s too dangerous. Even if the pitch is akin to the Chennai track prepared in the last series.

6. Play with soft hands! Especially the balls which have more bounce. Taking the bottom hand off helps a lot. Sometimes getting the bottom hand into play is also useful. Refer to tip #2 :D Using your footwork is also very crucial. A Virender Sehwag cannot survive in the Gully Cricketing scene.

7. And in case you’ve forgotten – sledge!

PS: Next post might be on anything! Mostly it will be something highly random.
PS2: Any comments on the IPL? (Am I asking for trouble? :P)

Back without a bang..

Yes, I am blogging again. The long sabbatical from the blogosphere has taken a toll. So please excuse me if the post is uninteresting. As for me, I am in Mumbai now – interning at SET (Sony Entertainment Television). And the past few days have been tiring as well as entertaining. My first brush with the corporate world has not really been an out-of-the-world experience but it has not been unpleasant either. I hardly have to work, I take 30-minute coffee breaks thrice a day and I stay online from 10:00 to 6:00 – which would have appealed to me as an ideal place to work 6 months back. But lately, I have undergone a transition which cannot be described in mere words. I find the prospect of working on live projects in marketing exciting. In short, I think I might have become a workaholic who begins to get restless in absence of quality work. And that is how exactly I’ve been for the past week.

Also, I am staying with my IIIT pals – two of them. First couple of days it was fun catching up on stuff and taking a walk down the memory lane. Then we ran out of stuff to talk about. Lately we have resorted to talking about movies and sports, bitching about workplace and pulling each other’s legs. We also talk about the amazing content shown on Aaj Tak and Headlines Today like for instance the news on how the commisioner’s pet went missing and was found the next day. And on a more interesting note, we cook at least once in a week. Last Thursday, Grawl and I cooked Paneer Tikka (minus the Tikka.) It was not bad for beginners. Roasted Paneer with salt, pepper and chat masala makes a good starter.. trust me! :D This was followed by sprouts garnished by fried onions and tomatoes, and the customary and irreplaceable Maggi. It is a lot more fun cooking food – than eating; especially when we’re the cooks.. ;)

In other news, I had been to my relatives’ place during the weekend. And yes, I did travel in Mumbai’s “famous’ local trains. My feet were stamped upon 8 times and I even had the good fortune of smelling all fish-like thanks to the fisherwomen who chose our compartment to board. A younger, prettier face and she would have bagged the role of the mermaid in Disnep’s production. The local trains are God’s way of playing freeze for 5 continuous minutes because you are practically stuck in the position that you assume when the train starts from a station. And this goes on until the train chugs into the next station which is when it feels as if you are being pulled into this whirlpool as the crowd makes a mad rush towards the door.

On the office front, we are forced to wear formals whereas other employees are free to wear casuals. So it kind of sucks - especially wearing these idiotic leather shoes. Playing TT when you’re dressed in formals in not exactly awesome but it’s a welcome change from the monotony of sitting in front of the PC and doing nothing. We also have our own SET ids – mine being srinivasans@setindia.com. As part of recreational activities, we do indulge in mindless spamming on the interns mailing list. We rant and whine – compare our jobless levels and take pride in it. People tell me that I need to show some patience – especially in the corporate circles. So lets see….

PS1: Next post might be on how to play safe cricket in the living room of an apartment. And win.
PS2: It feels good to be blogging again instead of muttering smart-ass lines in my head.
PS3: If you’re on facebook, install friends for sale and buy me! If not, then join facebook dammit! :P
PS4: Go ManU! :D
PS5: My creative levels have fallen to new lows :(
PS6: This is the end! :P
PS7: I just realized that I had posted last 5 months back! Thats a long time..

mama mia!

So after a long hiatus, I am back into the blogosphere - only to disappear again into the shadows of blogger's blocks but then let us live the moment, shall we?! :P Between the time I last posted and now, lots of things have happened. Our summers process took place and yours truly made it to SET - Sony Entertainment Television. So if you think Sony has been airing crappy programmes think no further! Just change the god damned channel! :D Before I digress completely, ahem.. I have been posted in Mumbai. So any attractive female readers of mine out there in Mumbai, please mail me across your address and phone numbers.. and may be we can have a chat over a cup of coffee. What say? :D *ducks*

Moving on.. *sigh* I celebrated my first Diwali away from home. Never knew it felt so crappy to celebrate Diwali away from home. The food here was awesome, lots of competitions were held and the junta was quite enthusiastic about it. But then, somehow felt quite uneasy.. :( I guess this is just a beginning of a long stretch of festivals I'd miss celebrating at home. You can find more on how we celebrated Diwali here. And btw India won the 3rd ODI against our "friendly" padosis. Now how cool is that! :D

On a different note, our first semester grades are out. I scored a very respectable GPA of 2.83 out of 4.33. I have cut down on studies lately so as to be able to do other things like this and this. Life has been slightly hectic but I've started liking it more and more. Right now, I am running a Make-Gokul-fat campaign as I raid friends' rooms and loot food from them. I wish I were Mahmud of Ghazni.. looting is so much fun! :D However, I've not been putting on much weight as was evident from my mother's reaction when I had been to Hyderabad recently. But the looting shall continue!! >:)

PS1: I will be back in Hyderabad sometime next month. :D
PS2: Missing home.. :(
PS3: Happy Diwali to one and all! :D
PS4: Its 7 already! Going out to eat at Taj.. friend's treat.. >:) time to launch another looting expedition! :D
PS5: And ManU is through to the next round. BTW Heroes rocks. And is anyone reading the Naruto Manga.. woo hoo! :D
PS6: Someone was telling me the other day that I should market my blog more aggresively. Idhar bhi marketing!? /:)
PS7: I was just wondering.. is there any relation between the title and the post? hmm.. Guess and win exciting prizes! :D
PS8: This is the end.

CAT '07 sample questions..

Well, since CAT is around the corner, I thought I'd share with you different kinds of questions that might be asked in the coming edition of the billi. A typical question connecting multiple concepts is given below:

1) The minutes hand of the clock is on 12 and the hours hand is on 11. But Gokul has not started studying for his ME mid-semester exam. The probability of him screwing the exam if the paper is tough, is 0.6. The probability that Gokul will complete studying the entire portion before the exam is 0.3. What is the probability of him screwing the exam, provided the paper given is easy?

a) 0.28
b) 0.12
c) 0.18
d) 1

Solution: Answer is option d. I screwed up what might possibly be the easiest paper ever set by any professor. Looking back, I wish he had given a tougher question paper. At least I'd have had a few fellow cribbers! Our mid semester exams are going on. Hopefully my other exams go well.

In other news, we've received our grades for term 1. My performance has been slightly below average, but nothing to be ashamed of! :D And my GPA calculations have been reasonably accurate! I was after all gifted, eh?! :D Work is expected to pile up exponentially in the coming weeks. I've ended up cutting down on CS so as to accomodate other activities in my schedule, which include studying, giving quizzes and sleeping in classes.

Time to get back to studies. Adios!

PS1: To all those who ended up hoping to find a leaked CAT '07 paper - sorry for the misleading title of the post.
PS2: CS fest being planned in IIIT! :(
PS3: Anybody has the song Sideways by Citizen Cope? Please mail me the song! I'm tired of searching for it over the net.
PS4: The last episode of HIMYM viz. 305 was frikkin hilarious! Barney's theory of plotting girls on the graph of hot and crazy was.. err.. classic Barney! Especially the Vicky Mendoza diagonal!! :D
PS5: Dont ask me how I find time to watch HIMYM episodes during exams. Please refer to the second sentence of the sample question given at the beginning of the post.
PS6: Back to studies!

The Human Calculator..

There was this phase I went through, in my third year, when I used to sit and calculate my CGPA time and again. After having accounted for various permutations and combinations, I'd arrive at my GPA for the semester and consecutively my CGPA. The whole funda behind the exercise was to check whether there was any hope of me crossing 7 at the end of 4 years. And typical of me, I'd always put very optimistic estimates and would feel good about myself. But at the end of the semester, I'd get a rude shock when my GPA would be a good half point less than what I had calculated. But at the end of my 4 years, I'm proud to say that I crossed the psychological 7 mark. Its like getting a total of 300 on a flat pitch - you never know whether it would be enough or not.

So why am I saying such things on the public domain and lowering my image amongst my readers? Because the syndrome is back again to haunt me through my post graduation. Yes, the past couple of days, I've been calculating my GPA for the first semester - adding new results and revising estimates time and again. I've come to be known as the Human Calculator (of GPA) not because I calculate faster than anyone else but because I am the only one involved in such fruitless activities. People come to me asking for an estimate of their GPAs. I, just like the fake baba/saint/whatever-you-refer-to-them-in-your-language, give them hope by over estimating their GPAs. Well, I am not charging any fee for this small service I offer. Not yet. But I hope I dont get into trouble once the sem results are out. If things work out just fine, then I might start charging some consultation fee from the next semester. So how does this work? This calculating of GPAs?

DISCLAIMER: Please dont try this at home. Or in class. Or in your hostel rooms. These are trained professionals who have spent their lives perfecting the art of calculating GPA.

Well, firstly you take into account the past record of the instructor. If it is Mr.X who has given 40 Ds last sem, you take an optimistic grade of C- for that course. If it is Ms.Y who believes in giving lesser As and more Bs and Cs, you take into account the mean grade - which might be a B or a C ,and then calculate the resulting GPA. Other factors which should be considered include the number of times the instructor has caught you sleeping in the class, the overall performance of your section and batch, and the average performance of your section and batch. Believe me - calculating GPAs is a very tough job and not everyone is cut out to do the same. Only a select few are gifted with qualities of estimation and intution to carry out a good job.

So I repeat - please dont try this in your data compression/HSSM/Open Elective lectures. It might be a highly amusing exercise at the beginning, but one tends to get addicted to it. They're worse than drugs! Not to mention the depression one experiences due to overquoting of GPAs. You need to be a certified GPA calculator to put the worst beind you and continue calculating for the coming semesters. May the force be with you.

PS1: After my second year, my calculation speed increased manifold mainly because of 2 reasons:
a) calculating my GPA after every mid-term/end-term result was announced
b) when India used to chase a huge target. Once upon a time, we used to be good chasers
PS2: I finished the Quant section of CAT in 35 minutes. No prizes for guessing why.
PS3: I spent 1 hour 15 minutes on the verbal section in CAT :(
PS4: Hectic life.
PS5: Somebody scrap me.
PS6: Somebody comment!
PS7: We have dandiya night scheduled today. We are supposed to come dressed in ethnic wear.. :|
PS8: Special buffet arranged for tonight. hehehehe.. aakramannn.. :D
PS9: Washing clothes in washing machines is not a pain at all! :D
PS10: I hate wearing suits!
PS11: Mom, if you're reading this - Hi!
PS12: Seriously, why is the Indian cricket team so inconsistent?!
PS13: CAT 07 round the corner. All the best to all the CAT takers.
PS14: Work piling up. adios!

Zombie!

He was trying very hard not to let go but then.. suddenly, they seemed to weigh a ton each. This is just a phase - he repeated to himself. Soon I'd get over it and they'd go back to being weightless. But he knew that was not true. His willpower was being tested and he was not ready to give up that easily.

He started counting. 1.. 2.. He hung on but slowly his resolve began to crack as he started losing focus. 3.. 4.. He started counting faster. 6.. 7.. He wanted to fight it; 8.. he shook away all the remaining lethargy and concentrated but he could not hold them back long enough as the shutters came crashing down like the twin towers. Suddenly the whole world seemed to come to a standstill and silence prevailed. So did peace.Until someone poked him from the side.

He knew it. It was inevitable - the nightout had taken its toll. He wanted it all to be a dream but it refused to go away. Unwillingly, he opened his eyes to find the Microeconomics professor giving him one of those "gotcha" stares as she repeated, "Please dont sleep in my class. I am not going to take his name, but dont sleep in the class" And all this while she was staring at him without looking away. Talk of subtlety!

As the whole class started grinning, realization dawned upon him (which would later take him to exotic places with voluptuous women on either side.) He no longer cared! As a smile spread across his face, he turned to his neighbour and quipped, "That was the best nap I ever had!"

And since then, the count has not moved past 8.

________________________________

PS1: This story was based on a true life incident. Yes, I was caught sleeping in the ME class. However this is just half the story. The better half of the story, I'm afraid, will be kept under wraps. :D
PS2: Seriously that was the best nap I ever had.
PS3: Exams are over! woo hoo!! :D
PS4: Never been so eager to go back home. Hyderabad, here I come!
PS5: Respected Flyovers, please dont collapse.. :-s
PS6: Slept for only 5 hours in the last 48 hours! :(
PS7: Screwed up almost all my exams. I really think I am not cut out for studying. Lets see how things go in term 2.
PS8: Last post in term 1.. :D
PS9: Did you know that cobras are hunted by raptors, mongoose and mallu security guards of D hostel?
PS10: Yay! Two posts spaced out so closely. Long time since I posted so frequently.. :D

The Fugitive

He was a man on the run for the past 2 days. He was running.. running away from people; his responsibilities; his past . He was running in search of a new life hoping that he could save himself from those who were chasing him. They were dangerous people - people who were very influential; who could make the townsfolk dance to their tunes.

He stumbled but managed to regain his balance. His thoughts were all muddled up as his past flashed across his mind. His parents; his friend; his love - Susie. He shed a tear as he recalled her; the guilt was eating him up from the inside and was becoming too hard to bear. But this was the price he had to pay to get back his freedom; the freedom to start his life from the scratch.

He was very clever. He knew that they would come looking for him with dogs hoping that they could track his scent. Keeping them in mind, he had rolled in mud to put them off. A smirk appeared on his face when he thought of the clueless dogs losing his scent all of a sudden. Ha!

He ran harder. He had already made plans for his future.. the new future. He wanted to settle in Mexico. He had always liked the Mexicans - very friendly people who lived a carefree life. And Mexican cuisine had always been his favourite. Yes, Mexico it had to be.

He was told by many about a man who lived near Las Vegas; who could make false passports and driving licenses. But he'd look out of place and suspicious if he were to go to him. No, passports can wait, he told himself. Just when he was piecing up his almost picture-perfect future, a voice yelled "Calvin young man, you come back here right now and finish your homework or I swear you'll be grounded for rest of your life!"

He froze. His past had caught up with him. He knew he could not evade it forever as the weekend homework lay in his room. Unfinished. In spite of knowing the answer, Calvin turned to Hobbes and asked, "Are you sure we cannot divorce our parents?" As he trudged back to his room, his mom yelled at him for his dirty clothes. But he knew that deep down in his heart - he was one of them. He was a fugitive.

Perfect Lover tag..

Yeah.. so long long ago I was tagged by Ms.Teal for this perfect lover tag. And finally I have found time, patience and enough boredom to blog about my perfect lover. So here are the rules:

1. The tagged victim has to come up with 8 different points of their perfect lover.
2. Need to mention the sex of the target.
3. Tag 8 victims to join this game & leave a comment on their comments saying they’ve been
tagged.
4. If tagged the 2nd time, there’s no need to post again.

If my parents were to do this tag for me, this is how it would look:
WANTED: A tall, fair, beautiful looking girl aged 24-26. Must be a Tamilian Iyengar of the vadagala sect. (Dont ask me what it is.. I dont know either) Must have good values and morals.. blah blah blah blah.. (My imagination seems to have deserted me. And it sounds rather boring. So I shall stop)

Moving on to the tag, I need to mention 8 points.

1. She needs to respect my parents. And all elders. She should get along well with everyone - friends and relatives.
2. She needs to know cooking. And she needs to know it well! This is very very important. Otherwise god knows what will happen to me. Probably Maggi se kaam chala loonga.. hmm..
3. She needs to have a sense of humour. And by sense of humour, any kind is fine.. be it dry, childish, subtle, obsolete or whatever.. I cant remember all the different types of humour they ask you to fill in the orkut profile.. phew! And she should get my jokes. I should not be in a posiiton to explain the funda behind them. People of that kind do exist, believe me!
4. She should be loving and caring. She needs to stand by me and support me in whatever I do. She also should be knowledgeable.
5. And before I forget, she needs to love kids! And I dont mean love-having-kids, just love kids. I dont know why but I guess it would be fun to have such a girl.
6. She should love talking. Now that isnt something demanding, is it? And she should also be a good listener. That would be fun. If either of us get bored, we could sit and talk! But that would mean both would be jobless.. shit!
7. She should love cleaning but shouldn't be a cleanliness freak. aahhh.. what a great combo! :D She also needs to know dancing. As long as she can dance better than me, its fine. And believe me, I am no Hrithik Roshan. Dancing is something which needs to be learnt in chidlhood. Just like walking, speaking and lying. I want my kids to be decent dancers and they aint getting any dancing genes from me.. but she should not dance too well. Inferiority complex.. ever heard of it?
8. On a side note, she needs to be sufficiently tall - Not 4-5 foot. She needs to be younger than me; fairly fair - not pale though. Domestic abuse is a strict no-no. With women learning karate and taekwondos, I guess I need to mention this explicitly. I dont want to end up with someone like Joey's girlfriend. The one who punches him, remember? No drinking smoking as well.. kaisa zamaana aa gaya.. should be honest as well. Thats important. And English should be the primary language of communication. Or probably Hindi. I'm not very good at other languages - be it Tamil, Telugu, Marathi or probably Malayalam. And I guess that's it. Apparently I am nitpicky.. hmm.. This is the problem with the perfect tag!

So what does she get in return? Here's the deal.

1. Of course I'd also respect her parents. I guess.. :-s :P :D
2. Well, I can also learn cooking to a certain extent. I dont really mind cooking. Its fun when done occasionally. Believe me.. :D
3. I'd like to believe I have a decent sense of humour.
4. And since she loves cleaning, I'll do the dirtying part and keep her happy. My, oh my.. am I considerate or what?! :P
5. I can talk for hours and hours. On quite a lot of things. And most of the times its entertaining - except for once during my K interview when I managed to put one of the interviewers to sleep. I was talking about the Turing machine then. The other interviewer was busy chuckling under his breath.
6. I do act kiddish now and then but since she loves kids I guess its not an issue at all! :P
7. I am a strong believer in playing pranks. And giving surprises. I just love those Kodak moments! :D So I suppose life will be exciting together.
8. Ok, I need to be leaving now since its time to go home and eat ice cream!! :D My kiddish genes are acting up, I guess.. :-<

Quote of the day:

Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.

PS1: Life has been boring lately. No mood to write PS-es. No time also..
PS2: Sorry for the delay, Tealie.
PS3: I am finally joining an IIM! :D
PS4: Marriage is not full of compromises.. its full of sacrifices. Heard it somewhere but cant place it.. :-?
PS5: I am still waiting for your criticism, mythalez! :D

The one with the batch trip

And so finally, I get down to writing about the batch trip when all has been said and done about it already. Anyhoo, we started on 17th April and made our way to Nampally from where we boarded the train. Since we did not have enough berths reserved, we ended up with a 3:1 ratio. Just like the students:PC ratio in IIIT.. :)) We took turns sleeping while the others chatted among themselves. And by night, we had enough berths reserved. In fact, I got a whole upper berth! woo-hoo!! :D


The next day morning, we arrived at Delhi. We got awesome rooms. AC.. big beds.. AC.. nice bathrooms.. AC!! A freezer.. and of course AC. Food offered was also very decent. Simple, yet decent. Then we started on a small tour around the city. Saw all those important political and historical stuff.. you know Parliament, Rashtrapati bhavan, Qutb minar, India Gate and Karol Bagh. We visited the Lotus temple as well, and outside Lotus temple almost the whole batch bought the Rs.10 goggles which were being sold outside the temple premises. Here you can see yours truly posing with all the goggles he can wear at a time trying to pass himself off as a salesman. (I demanded the pic be taken before they could arrange any more glasses.. :( )

The next day we started our arduous journey to Chandigarh which took us 8 hours by bus. Now chandigarh is the most beautiful city I've ever seen. And no, I am not exaggerating. No puns intended either. It is by far, the cleanest and most organized city I've ever come across. And as I said earlier, the city is beautiful in every sense ;) And they've got some of the best mango juice makers.. :D The Chandigarh rooms were decent as well. And we went for boating!! It was fun and exciting boating with friends.. :) We also went to some rock garden. Very informational it was. And boring.

The next day morning we started for Kullu Manali - our main destination. We had no idea it would take us 15 hours to reach there! But the journey was a roller coaster ride. We took breaks, shot a few snaps, and enjoyed the natural beauty the mountains had to offer. Did you know that the water was ice-cool even at noon? They called it spring water or something of that sort. Then finally we reached Manali at 10 PM. The dogs in Manali are very strong. And furry. Each one looked like a hound. Scary.. :-s

So finally we reached Manali.. the rooms were awesome! Not a single room had a fan but the room temperature was quite low. They provided us with quite a few rugs to keep us warm. The next morning we took off for snow point which is en route to Rohtang pass. And for most of us, it was the first time we saw snow. It was by far, the most memorable part of the batch trip. The mountains almost seemed to touch the sky. I guess I am running out of words to describe the experience. It was worth taking all the pains. So at snow-point, we saw quite a few yaks. Here in the pic, you can see Tipo playing the cupid between the lovely yak couple.

We all got turns to try skiing. I, for one, was as good at snow as I am on land. Clumsy. And before I forget, there is nothing better than eating steaming Maggi when you're freezing to death.. :D We then went on tyre rides where you get to slide down a 30 feet slope on a tyre! Its primitive, but its exhilarating! :D Tyre rides were fun. Soon, our feet had become numb. I guess it was the snow some of which had managed to make their way into our shoes. So as we sat there, with our shoes and socks removed, our naked feet resting on the warm rocks.. it just felt great! :D

On our way back from snow point, we stopped near a waterfall - Krrish shooting was rumoured to have taken place there - to have our lunch. It was chiller than snow point thanks to the cold winds fluttering across the plains. But it was a great place to stop. Lunch was once again pretty decent. We took quite a few snaps beside the waterfall but I am going to stop putting any more pics because firefox is acting up.

That night we had a bonfire set up. Songs blasted on the speakers as everyone let their hair down. (I know I dont have much hair, but thats just an expression!! Nitpicks!!) Thankfully none of the video cameras caught the author shaking his leg. But my leg got stomped upon quite a few times as I tried to gingerly avoid the over zealous dancers. At the end of the day, I had been stomped 22 times - highest scorers being Sairaj and T3. (For the next 2 days, I had difficulty walking as I my toes ached. )

The next day was somewhat forgettable. So moving on, we finally made it to Agra - our last stop. Watched the Agra fort, ogled at the foreigners, took snaps with monkeys and then ogled more at the foreigners. Then we moved on to THE Taj Mahal. But somehow I guess you need to be in love to really appreciate the structure because I didn't really see what the big deal was! :P And then I saw a phirangi couple with tears streaming down their cheeks as they kept staring at the monument. And I was trying my level best to suppress a giggle and ended up chuckling a lot. Thankfully the place was crowded enough.. #:-s

So that was that. Our return journey to Hyderabad was uneventful. Did quite a bit of shopping. I recently discovered my love for shopping.. or rather bargaining.. :D Especially be it the peta shop or the jerk-ins, my friends dragged me along for some bargaining.. :D Its fun.. bargaining.

Some of the memorable moments..
ITEM Raja B.Tech Honors.. hu ha hu ha.. :D
NPK and the ladies toilet scam
Batchu and his little strip tease.. :))
Cards!! Least count.. bluff.. rummy! :D
Bargaining! A guy quoted a jerkin's price as 750 and 5 minutes later he was running behind us begging us to buy it at 300! :D
The bottle fights in the bus! Poor Raja.. :D

PS1: Peta doesnt stand for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Its a world famous sweet in Agra.. ;) that's how the salesman marketed it!
PS2: The mineral water bottling industry made a huge profit during our batch trip.
PS3: I finally decided to upload pics in orkut.
PS4: And my IIM results are out. I got into IIM-K. Yes, I am slightly disappointed, but on hindsight what would I do after going to A!?! :D And for the kind of preparation I did, I really doubt whether I deserve IIM-K.. :))
Ps5: Relieved that the results are out. Am yet to get out of the relief stage..
PS6: Everyone else performed pretty well. 4 of them are into A.. which is cool! :D
PS7: People have started leaving the campus. Right now my wing wears a deserted look. Wonder what I am doing here still.. :(
PS8: The book kiterunner is the most asimov (awesome) book I've read in a loong time. Thank you Geetha and Sameera for suggesting the book. Its a must read.. MUST read.. go read it.. Its available in the library! :D
PS9: I am done with a short story. Need more polishing. Finished it in an hour! Surprisingly.. probably the next post will be a short story.