R.I.P.......!!!

Spinning a yarn about the misadventures of three blighted yet beautiful souls,
Whom life treated equally in spite of the three being apart like poles!
Though they have never met, not even a stifling or sparkling rendezvous,
They are all entwined by the common feeling, the color of which is blue!

Peace, unlike her namesake seeks a newly twisted panda’s inner side,
What began as a roller coaster ride only threatened to shred the fabric of her pride!
She gave her all, and took some more and life blossomed into an endless snowball,
Yet she couldn’t escape the evil clutches of fate and again was left all alone to fall!

In, was destiny’s illegitimate child, what with her days taking its malicious form,
She tried, she rose and she faltered so soon, as misery became her life, her norm!
Reeling forward, In became her abyss as her life got adorned with sprinkles of dope,
But as she let chance become her choice, she found herself a knight of hope!

Rest, though at complete rest, had his mind and heart full of unrest,
He had it all, he had it full, yet he journeyed towards an unfulfilled quest!
Amidst a house of comrades, his best friends were soliloquy and silence so sweet,
He made life easy for friends and foes alike, yet silently waited for life’s treat!

Rest wanted to be in peace, Peace wanted to, well, just be in,
After life playing its twist and turns, at rest and peace was finally In!
Why do they have to fight so much? Why do they have to always please?
Why can’t life treat them fairly, why can’t they all REST IN PEACE??

Grey!!

I am ebony, I am ivory!
I am darkness, I am light!
I am the end of the road, I am its beginning!
I am your worst enemy, I am your best friend!
I shatter your dreams, I make them come true!
I like making a lot of friends, I am a very lonely person!
I can't keep secrets, I am the person you can trust the most!
I am the guy your mom warns you about, I am your mom's ideal choice for marriage!
I want to kill the dog on the side of the road, I want to give it a home to live in!
I will tell you things on your face, I will bitch about you behind your back!
I wont fail you come what may, I am the last person you can bank upon!
I look upto god with hope, I am an atheist!
I will smile at you at times hard and tiring, I will cry within!
I am your worst nightmare, I am your most beautiful dream!
I admire god, I worship satan!
I am black, I am white!
I am 0, I am 1!

United we stand, Divided we fall!!

India is my country and all Indians belonging to my caste are my brothers and sisters. I love my religion and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage. I shall always strive to be worthy of it, even if it is at the expense of other religions.
I shall give respect to my parents, teachers and elders and treat everyone with courtesy, provided they belong to the same caste, creed and religion as I do.
To my people and only my people, I pledge my devotion. In their well being and prosperity alone, lies my happiness.

Sounds a bit weird, doesn’t it? Well, welcome to the 21st century India, where people are not known by their talent or occupation, but by the caste or region they belong to! I vividly remember this particular story I had read as a kid. It was about this girl who was trying to break a bunch of 10 sticks. She tried a lot but was unable to do so. Then her elder sister advised her to untie the bunch and break the sticks one at a time. She was pretty successful in breaking those sticks subsequently. I don’t know how many of you remember this story. But, as most of our leaders have not studied beyond the first grade, they themselves know just this one story. The Britishers we so very much loathe for having ruled India for so many years have taught us one very important lesson. DIVIDE AND RULE!! And it is this very concept that our politicians are using in order to exploit the minor differences between us INDIANS.


According to Wikipedia [1] India is the most culturally, linguistically and genetically diverse geographical entity after the African continent. The total number of dialects in India is as high as 1,652. Over 800 million Indians (80.5%) are Hindu. Other religious groups include Muslims (13.4%), Christians (2.3%), Sikhs (1.9%), Buddhists (0.8%), Jains (0.4%), Jews, Zoroastrians, Bahá'ís and others. Tribals constitute 8.1% of the population. A country having this wide a spectrum of religions will obviously have its own share of minor clashes between the religions. But, in spite of these differences, we were one nation, one country, one INDIA. But off late, personal interests of these religious groups have substantially taken over the broader interests of the country. It is the age of “Survival of the fittest” [2], and in our country, survival of the fittest it is. Picture this, a traditional farmer, cannot take up a job as a laborer in spite of he not possessing any arable land. The reason – he belongs to the “group of farmers”, how dare he think of changing his profession? A bright young student is shooed away from a city where he has come to pursue his higher education. The reason – he belongs to a different region in India, how dare he think of relocating to a region that belongs to the locals?


We can’t blame our politicians and leaders for the sorry state of the country today. It is, we who have elected them, we, who blissfully ignored their shortcomings and we, who are fast becoming a part of this entire ideology of group-ism. If we were aware of our rights, our leaders, our laws and our constitution no person could have manipulated us to the extent that today in India we are almost at the brink of a civil war. For e.g. Article 19(1) [3] - d, e and g of the Indian constitution very rightly disproves the theory on which most of our leaders today are instigating regional imbalances. But, we are of those types of people, who like to party hard, ignorant about the situation in darker parts of the country. All we do is read the newspapers, read about the various tragic incidents in the country and shamelessly blame the government (read: politicians) for the same. We don’t realize how much strength we have as a union. The day we decide to be united and upfront about our love for the country, we will be a threat to many “developed” nations worldwide. We just lack the motivation and dedication required to do something good for the country. We just want to relax, listening to Pink Floyd play “Comfortably numb”. We don’t realize how numb we have become from inside. We want to accept things as they are. We don’t want to change!


It is time we sit up and take notice of the happenings, rather mis-happenings, around us. It is time we do much more than just sympathize. Things that are torturing your neighbor today might very soon be your plight. It is time we forget the minor differences that exist between us and come together for the greater cause. It is time we stop condescending and look at people as human beings. I know this utopian concept of unity, harmony and peace is easier said than done. But, in times of crisis situations like these, when the very safety of our motherland is at stake, when the internal enemies of our country outnumber the external ones, when peace and tranquility become extinct words, it is worth expending our efforts to bring about a very small change. It is time we all dig back into those school textbooks of ours and re-read the very pledge we solemnly agreed to fulfill everyday in our childhood. It is time we remember, “UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL”



[1] – www.wikipedia.org - Wikipedia is a free, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its name is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a technology for creating collaborative websites) and encyclopedia.
[2] – Survival of the fittest – It is the rat race between individuals or groups forever competing with each other in order to outdo the other. It is with reference to the actual “Survival of the Fittest” concept, proposed by Charles Darwin in his “Theory of Evolution”.
[3] - Article 19(1) - http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/fullact1.asp?tfnm=00%2022

"PUN"E INTENDED!!

10.30 pm, Tuesday, 24/02/2009 -

With a thumb in the air pointing towards PUNE and my fists clenched firmly, I hopelessly watched as each and every vehicle blissfully avoided me. Any thoughts of returning back home could not be entertained, because going to the other side of the road and pointing towards MUMBAI wouldn't help. Its not that you get stranded at the MUMBAI-PUNE expressway everyday at 10.30 in the night you know.

Well, the day had begun quite normally with me going to the college in the morning and after finishing up with work rushing back home to catch the 4.30 bus to pune. I had my interview scheduled in an MBA college the next day! The moment I reached home, I realised that I had forgotten to take an oh-so important printout which was to be submitted the next day! I finished my packing quickly, took the printout, withdrew some money from the ATM and reached the place by 4.20!

4.25 - No sign of the bus!
4.30 - No sign of the bus!
4.35 - Finally a volvo bus arrives, not mine though!
4.40 - Still no f***ing sign of the bus!
4.45 - I think of calling up the concerned person and abusing him with the dirtiest expletives!
4.50 - I finally call up, with my temper raising ( I hate it when people turn up late)
Me - Hello?
Fellow - Hallu?
Me - Vijay bol rahe ho kya?
Fellow - Haan, kaun?
Me (with extreme mildness, angry someone?) - Bhaisaab, aap ab tak pahuche nahi? Kya huaa? Mein national park ke idhar khada hun, kahaan ho AAP?
Fellow - Arre aa rahaan hai na, baba! 5-10 min mein pahuchta hun!!
Me - Theek hai, aaraam se!!
5.00 - 10 mins over, where is he?
5.15 - Finally my beloved bus arrives!!

Then this vijay guy takes approximately 2 hrs just to reach vashi from borivali ( He stopped at each and every corner on the road and shouted "PUNE, PUNE". I was travelling in a Volvo bus....really!!) and by the time we left mumbai, it was past 7.30!! On top of that, this guy had the guts to take a dinner-break at around 9.00 pm for about 20 minutes! And finally, at around 10.30 pm somewhere near the talegaon checknaka the bus had the guts to conk off!! I got down from the bus, frustated, and thought maybe I could reach pune faster by asking for a lift!! So, after unsuccessfully trying for, say around 10-15 minutes, I was finally able to stop a car(You don't need to be a girl, to do that you know!). The driver of the car, after several negotiations agreed to drop me off at pune for 100 rs. :((

This fellow then dropped me to some unknown location named shivaji nagar in pune!! It was about 11.30 in the night!! I called up my friend, told him about my whereabouts and pleaded him to come and pick me up!! He arrived 20 minutes later and took me to McDonald's for dinner. Wow!! A place I have never been before!! (Being Sarcastic!!) After having a couple of burgers and a regular serving of french fries ( Ya, I eat a lot!!!) we finally headed home! We reached his place by 12.30 in the night, and by 12.40 I was fast asleep!!


5.30 am, Wednesday, 25/02/2009

Tringggggggggggg!! The alarm bell rings and I get up!! I took a look at my watch and heaved a sigh of relief! I had ample time to get ready! Got up to carry on with my morning ablutions, brushed my teeth, shaved my beard and then desperately tried to wake my friend up. I didn't know how to operate the lame water heater he had in his house!! He gave me standard instructions, still half asleep! I swear, I did all that he told me to. After waiting for about 15 minutes, I touched the water, it was DEAD COLD!! Waited for ten more minutes, STILL DEAD COLD!! Assuming that something is wrong with the heater, I had my bath with the freaking cold water at 6.30 am in the morning in pune with the temperature being not more than 15 degree Celsius!! I came out of the bathroom freezing, desperate to get into my clothes. I got ready, kicked my friend to wake him up, and left for the MBA college with him on his bike! Reached the MBA college at around 7.20 where a bus was waiting to take us to the new campus of the college which is a good 45 minutes away from the city!! The new campus was at a breath taking location with a mind boggling infrastructure.

**For the entire experience in the MBA college, please search for my post in www.pagalguy.com. I can't risk boring you with so many details at the same time!!**

On our way back to the city in the college bus, the smart ass in me got a new idea. I thought, that the bus I intend to catch would obviously pass through the mumbai-pune expressway, why not get down at the highway itself and catch the bus then and there. Brilliant isn't it? I, so happy with my brilliant plan, had my lunch at a roadside dhaba ( yummy food, the place is called vir-da-dhaba, its near a big toyota ka showroom) and waited for a bus to arrive, with my thumb pointing towards Mumbai this time around................................for an entire hour!!

When finally a bus came, it was an S.T bus, which I arrogantly avoided, waiting for a volvo! At around 5 pm, when I ran out of patience I caught an S.T bus( YAAY!!), which was not going to drop me at borivli, but at dadar!! What luck!! Some random thoughts during the journey -

1) From CAT to MICAT!!

The title looks like a straight lift from a recent bollywood movie. Can't help it, am still reeling under the effects of the "Slumdog" Oscars!! Well, my season of writing management entrance exams started on the 16th of November, 2008! It was my first proper season, if I can call it so. I hope this is my last season too! Well the entire journey of writing these tests, was excruciating, if nothing else! It started of with CAT, followed by IIFT, JMET, SNAP, NMAT, XAT, FMS, MAT, CET and finally MICAT!! All in all quite a satisfying season!!

2) The WHITE TIGER!!

Was reading this book during the entire journey (well, almost the entire journey.... when not thinking of the above point!!). Quite an engrossing book!! A recommended read from my side!!

3) Flashbacks of a fool!!

Not the movie, but I was actually thinking about the entire journey I had, and the WRONG choices I made. Quite an adventurous trip though!!

4) ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!

Yes, I suffer from road sickness. So, I try to sleep through my entire journey, unless reading a book!! But, sometimes the churning of my stomach gets the better of me, and I end up ditching the book for a quick nap!!


I finally reached Dadar at around 8.30pm, caught a train for borivli. The train was so crowded, with people hanging for their lives, that I almost jumped off it! Reached home by around 9.30!! By 9.45.....ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!! HOME SWEET HOME!!

RAJ!

P.S - If you find this post too long, boring, childish or whatever epithet you can think off, I don't care!! I liked MY trip, this is MY blog, where I can write anything that I like!! :P!!!!

P.P.S - Do, go to vir-da-dhaba....awesome food!!

P.P.P.S - Nothing, Just wanted to say bye!! :D!!

I am what I am!

Well, well, well......its been agesssssssssssss since I last updated my blog and posted an entry, I have been busy and how!! Well a quick update on what I was upto this last six months, took up a job as a lecturer in my own college ( not the boring types thou!), gave CAT and many, many of its clones, got a few calls, and have been preparing for them ever since!!


For the past six months, all that I could think of was an MBA.....nightmares, dreams, day-dreams et al. A recent study says that men think about women and sex once in every seven seconds. My analysis of the MBA preps say that an MBA aspirant thinks about Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal Ability and Data Interpretation once in every 3 seconds. That leaves out no time for any other malicious thoughts. To prove my point let me give a small list of the blog entries that I thought of, started and left midway.

In chronological order!!
1) And thus raj shrugged!!
2) When private is no longer PRIVATE!!
3) A corrupt mind is an Indian's workshop!!
4) Back from the hiatus....

Don't worry, you will never get to see the final copy!! Jokes apart, The past six months have taught me a lot, not only in terms of the knowledge I gained, but also in terms of knowing ME and my country!! When I had gone for my first ever GD/PI session (Group Discussion/Personal Interview for the unknown)...ARKS sir told us to learn a lot about many things. But, he said three things were of prime importance.....I, INDIA and the link between the two!! Learning and gaining knowledge about the country was not difficult, Google is a never ending resource with information being made available to you at lightning speed. Then came the difficult part, knowing myself.

"We are all primary numbers divisible only by ourselves" ~ Jean Guitton

I started off by listing things that are commonly known to everyone. Name, Background, College, Family, DOB.....i.e whatever my profile on Orkut/Facebook says! But these are stuff that everyone knows, I needed to research a lot on "ME". Slowly and steadily I sat down to make a chronological list of the events/happenings in my life. Then how has those events affected me as a person was next in the list. I was overwhelmed at the fact, that, there were so many things about me that I had blissfully ignored. And when I came down to link my life to the knowledge I had gained about India, I came to know one very important fact. My contribution to the country, or its progress is nothing but..............ZILCH!!

The preparations for MBA has had its bearing on me. I have started behaving as if, finance and economics was something I was ingrained with right from schooling. Take this incident for example...I was walking with a friend of mine. A house maid was walking towards us, she was using a high end mobile phone. My friend told me that the kaamwaali baai has a better phone than what we use. And all I could think was the TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT!! Now if I would have been my usual self, I would have just cursed my luck for not having a better phone, but the new MBA guy in me makes me think stuff that I could have scarcely imagined earlier. And the worst part is that at times I get into a state of soliloquy and people think that I am either crazy or divine!!


All men should strive
to learn before they die
what they are running from, and to, and why.
~James Thurber

On this note I bid goodbye, as I have a lot more to learn about economics, marketing, my acads, my country and most importantly..ME!! I AM WHAT I AM!!

The dawn of a new season!!

"Rain is so beautiful,
to watch it we feel wonderful.
Tap! Tap! it drops down,
we feel like drenching under it now!
Little children in their raincoats,
putting in the water their small boats!
The fresh smell of mother earth,
makes us remember a child's birth!
It comes and goes every now and then,
and always makes us wonder its gonna come when!
Rain is so beautiful,
to watch it we feel wonderful!!"

- Rajendra Hegde, Std III A

Ya you read it rite....this was poem was written by me way back in the third standard. I had won the second prize in my school at that time for this poem of mine. Today, as I finally accomplish one more milestone in my life....I feel like that kid from standard 3 all over again. (I just went down and got drenched!!) As the title reads "The dawn of a new season" what do I mean by that? Does it mean that summer has just got over and the rainy season has started....quite obviously. But in my....and many of my friends case...it also means the a new season in life. Having just finished engineering...as my friend karen aptly puts it...I am now heading towards the big bad world! What does my future have in store for me.. I can't predict that. But, what I can say..is how much am I gonna miss my good ol' college days. These few lines from Bryan Adams' "Summer of 69" aptly describes what I did in my college life..

Man we were killin' time
We were young and restless
We needed to unwind
I guess nothin' can last forever, no

But, who the fuck cares? I had the best time of my life....did nothing great to be remembered. Ya, but will have many many great things to remember! Today when I handed over my paper to the invigilator, My heart felt heavy...Gosh its all over...no more jokes in the canteen...no more pulling legs....no more cupping...no more engineering! :'(

So here's a list of people I think who made my life in SFIT worth spending all these 4 years!!

1) Colin
2) Siddhesh
3) Anush
4) Sushant
5) Omkar
6) Steffi
7) Sheetu
8) Indu
9) Ray
10) Kiru
11) Amu
12) Ashok
13) Marwadi
14) Kale
15) Nishu
16) Deep
17) Pct
18) Tanvi
19) Pri
20) Ganju
21) Cheema
22) Jillian
23) Serena
24) Karen
25) Keshu
26) Sujay
27) Walke
28) Sucheta
29) Shenoy Sir
30) Nazneen Mam
31) Karen
32) Viral
and last bt nt the least...Sidanth Shetty!!


Am sorry if have missed out on anyone.....:)

As the run up to our farewell begins...All I would like to say is....

Another turning point;
a fork stuck in the road.

Time grabs you by the wrist;
directs you where to go.

So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.

It's not a question
but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs
and still frames in your mind.

Hang it on a shelf
In good health and good time.

Tattoos of memories
and dead skin on trial.

For what it's worth,
it was worth all the while.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

ADIOS,
RAJ!!

The wonder years!!

Well as the curtains are closing on my college life, I just thought that I would make a list of things that made my days in SFIT the most memorable ones.

IMP note: If u cant relate to a certain event thn u r probably nt part of it!!

YEAR 1:

1) First day of college reserving a seat for maself, like good ol school days.
2) Ma first crush and looking at her from the corner of ma eyes...lol.
3) Prof. Vishal(B.E.E) and his antics. (Remember the OHP screen?)
4) The damn workshop!!
5) Freshers Day
6) The conversations between me, colin and emerald.
7) My first movie with engg friends...swades...omkar..ma duet singer!!
8) Mosaic 04....volunteering for security.
9) IRIS 05.....still volunteering fr security.
10) My first PROM....wid jillian....n wt a jerk I was then!!
11) The long chats with Prof. Manmohan Singh(Engg. Drawing)
12) Prof. Preetimol Jose killing a pigeon and then hysterically cryin...."I keelled a peejaan!!".
13) The conversations between me, colin and omkar afta the drawing classes at borivli station.
14) EXAMS!! EXAMS!! EXAMS!!
15) The day before my Applied Science 2 paper.
16) Certain unmentionable controversies!!
17) Preetimol..agen catchin me n sheetal eating oranges.."I cane smell..oranges, In my coll days I used to eat biryani..bt I neva got caught!!"
18) Volunteer's Party at Gorai....Esp..Shank...and....Arvin!!
19) The innumerable hook-ups!
20) Bunty aur Babli!! (YUCK!!) (Jillian n Wendy: Wat is dus bataa dus?)
21) Devang's mechanics viva!!
22) Star wars: Episode 3....colin translating stuff for sujay!
23) Star wars: Episode 4....me falling asleep....agape!


YEAR 2:

1) Ogling at the seniors(girls)!!
2) Making some very gud frenships!
3) SIROSS!!
4) Chatting with sheetal in practically all the lab sessions
5) Ice Panipuri at Pooja's
6) Mosaic 05...still doin security...god dammit!!
7) IRIS 06..finally shifted from security to marketing and organizing Group Dance!!
8) 9th FEB...IRIS 05...rock show!!
9) 17th FEB.....!!
10) The whole lotta politics goin on fr certain posts!!
11) EXAMS!! EXAMS!! EXAMS!!
12) Certain unmentionable controversies!!
13) Late nite studying with madhur.
14) The sidanth shetty controversy!!
15) Retreat!!
16) Trip to Matheran(Especially Khan's)!!
17) A certain couple canoodling during exile!!
18) Missing out on the ARC trek!!
19) The innumerable break-ups and new hook-ups!!
20) New years at Omkar's..4 am..searching for naturals in lokhandwala!!
21) Vada Pav from I.C.Colony.
22) Ameya Hegiste doin an '8' at 80 kmph on the francis grounds after synergy!!
23) Ashok's reaction to me taking sum1 to PROM!!
24) Sujay asking for hindi porn at bg's place.

YEAR 3:

1) Time spent near the water filter!!
2) The wet trip to GOA!!
3) Mosaic 06...marketing co-ordinator dis time..
4) The smoky affairs.
5) IRIS 07....Marketing head...
6) IRIS 07 agen...a dream come true!!
7) Certain dates with 25 in it!!
8) The long phone calls in the month of October!!
9) Lobos with Kale!!
10) Piyush being fooled on the farewell fr the B.E students.
11) My first KT in life!!
12) Nite outs at college(Now showing - Justice Chaudary, Shapath etc)!!
13) EXAMS!! EXAMS!! EXAMS!!
14) Certain unmentionable controversies!!
15) Late nite studying with madhur and ameya!
16) A nurse sticking her finger up Ameya's arse.
17) The extended vacation at siddhesh's.
18) Sushant's loose talks!!
19) Me and seema talking after hours abt IRIS!!
20) Pop Tates!
21) The jhol regarding project groups!
22) The month of silence between me n siddhesh!
23) My three angels: Pri, Tanu and Ganju (PTG)...
24) Pav Bhaji and Masala Papad at Bhagwati...3 am in d nite.
25) Apna anna ka coffee.
26) Prof. Salunkhe teaching us about the PETTY CONTRACTOR!!
27) Ashok and Maarwadi..mano-a-mano...in goa...(mungfali...concept...xerox!!)

YEAR 4:

EL SUPREMO -- SARS!!
1) Infy...job..yippeee!!
2) BPCL...outhouse project...yaay yaay yippee yippee!!
3) One nite in shitland!!
4) Anna agen on patil's bday!!
5) The most amazing trip to goa!!
6) The "official" on-wurk trip to kochi!!
7) Late nites at BPCL..wurking on the project!
8) My external guide..mr. Senthil Kumar!!
9) All the keeda kaandi in the classroom!!
10) Rose-day!!
11) Late nites at VIRAL'S!!
12) JC's
13) The most extraordinary viva I could have had....Project Management!!
14) My project!!
15) Chotta-Sekar!!
16) All the eat-outs after working hard for the project!!
17) The eunuch giving a blowjob to a man near dahisar checknaka at 3.00 am in the nite.
18) The drunkard following me and madhur...for half an hour!!
19) Borivli station Maska Pav and Pav Bhaji!!
20) The innumerable visits to chotu's chinees..(dats rite..its CHINEES)!
21) Sushant and his toothpicks!
22) Siddhesh and his toothpicks!!
23) The most fascinating journey from calangute to harambol on bike!!
24) Anush Nair at Goregaon Station!!
25) Jibran's Bday bash!!
26) Certain Unmentionable controversies!!
27) CAT and GRE...nuthng more..nuthng less!!
28) Madh Island..with ma class ppl!!
29) Clan - 13...the inhouse CS clan!!
30) Ashok almost killing Kale with a stone.
31) Nazneen Mam...if not for her...ma final year would have been a pain in d neck!!
32) Chillar showing the world that he is THE MAN!!
33) A certain junee throwing attitude at the rock show!!
34) Ma bday bash at JC's.
35) Mumbai Indians v/s Kolkata Knight Riders...Wankhede Stadium...16th May, 2008!!
36) MOCK ROCK!!...IRIS 08!!

I have not included things like studying together in the P.L..Revising before the vivas..the last minute presentations..pulling clips and bands frm girls...passing chits in the class....hogging tiffin like nethng...these events took place throughout the 4 yrs...and made me smile every time...every day!!
And ya after having spent all dese 4 years with all ma frens....I can say one thing fr sure..I am gonna miss each n every fren of mine...fr d rest of ma life..n when one day I would be sitting down and remembering these days...I am gonna laugh ma heart out!!


P.S - Guys I am sure i have missed out many many more things...If u can remember any please scrap them to me on orkut...or msg me d same!!

Young man, young man, your arm's too short to box with God!

"I was an atheist......before I realized I was god" these were the words that the t shirt of a "just out of his teens" read. He was tall..had a dark complexion...had earphones in his ears probably listening to some heavy metal band...had three of his fingernails painted black..which affirmed my doubts of his listening to rock, was wearing his jeans way below his inner garments....had his hair: Mohawk style...I from all this deduced..that the guy dint know what his t-shirt meant...he was just trying to make a STYLE STATEMENT!! I for a moment forgot about what I had seen and concentrated more on those words i had just read on his t-shirt...I was an atheist before i realized I was god..well I am a self proclaimed atheist..not arrogant or prude...just that I don't find a reason strong enough to believe in him. People have bombarded me with sayings like "Maybe the atheist cannot find God for the same reason a thief cannot find a policeman". But, if tomorrow some one comes up with a reason as to why god exists, and one which is quite believable..the first thing I will do is to rush to a temple. GOD is one of the fav topics of mine. I can discuss endlessly on this one topic. I used to believe in god when I was a small kid..but as I started growing up...science got the better of me.


No matter how much I prove and prod,
I cannot quite believe in God;
But oh, I hope to God that He
Unswervingly believes in me.
~E.Y. Harburg, attributed

Questions always used to come up in my mind...why do different religions have different gods...why different prayers...why different forms of worship. When better sense prevailed I realized it was nothing but idol worship. It is the innermost fears of humans that has led to the creation of such different idols. Its nothing but human fear that makes them believe in god… some small incident caused due to the ever mysterious nature that led them to believe in evil spirits… now all they wanted was someone to protect them and so they “created” GOD. I am purposely putting created in quotes coz this is what I believe. I may be wrong too. But isn't it basic human psychology that when fear prevails , so should a savior. Like suppose when we are going by road for a long distance journey many of us have road sickness(that includes moi), which includes vomiting, stomach upset, giddiness. Many people advise us to take deep long breaths which supposedly cures the sickness. But if we look at it the other way round, isn’t it also the case that when we are taking deep breaths our entire concentration is on the breathing part and we temporarily forget that we had road sickness. So the power of the mind says that unless and until you are not concentrating on something, that something should not bother you. Here the road sickness is the fear and the deep breaths …your savior. Similarly in the case of god, evil spirits your fear and god your savior.

So isn't it that it is entirely in our mind as to what we think, what we believe and what we KNOW. I am not here trying to publicize my beliefs or make people change their ideologies, I am just assessing two sides of the same coin. There have been ample proofs present which do prove the existence of god. There have been miracles and incidents which have made me get goosebumps. And numerically if we look at the number of people who believe in god and who don’t…the latter would turn out to be a very very very small fraction. Its not that since I don’t believe in the ALMIGHTY(pun intended!!) I don’t take part in all the rituals. I do sit for all the pooja-path that takes place in my house. But that is only because I don’t want to hurt my parents by my beliefs. And the day I myself get to see and sense god’s presence I would be his strongest believer.

But what surprises, rather irritates me the most is the stupid rituals that are associated with the beliefs. The n number of fasts, the week long maybe sometimes month long barefoot walks, the piercings and pain associated in the name of sufferings, the numerous sacrifices……does that impress god? I don’t think so. So God minus those rituals is the idea that I would like to accept!! Hmm so all I can do now is send a message across to all those people who think I am arrogant or a fool by not believing in god. I request them not to loathe or despise me … I am just an ATHEIST… waiting to realize GOD!!

I don't know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn't. ~Jules Renard

LIFE AT ITS BEST!!!

I got up this morning, and got the shock of my life when I was told that I have been removed from my engineering college....I was shocked, flustered and what not!! Before I could even realize as to what was going on...my parents threw me out of the house for the same reason I was thrown out from college. I had apparently tried to rape one of my female professors in my college...OH.....MY......GOD!! My friends had deserted me....family disowned me...college thrown me....n even the lame puppy at the road was barking at me. I went to a roadside bar.....disheartened.....ordered some of the finest original vodka...and me like a bacchanalian was drinking away to glory when suddenly the police raided the bar...looking at my appearance they mistook me for a P.I.M.P and arrested me...I reached the police station...amazed at how bad a day can it be...and it was only turning out to be more worse!! The inspector tortured me to no ends....trying to make me confess my crime...how do I make him understand....that he is questioning me for the wrong crime!! Many different and horrid thoughts crossed my mind....why is life being so unfair to me...why am I being targeted for each and every other thing that is happening in this world.....quick....quick....I reached for the panic button..Where is it...damn..cant find it too.....HELP!! HELP!!
“Raj, Raj…….What happened? Why are you crying for help? Is something wrong?” I opened my eyes….the assuring face of my mom….brought me back to my senses…IT WAS JUST A DREAM!!

I got up...had some water...while my mom was trying to make me stay calm...I again thought about the dream...rape...crime...ouster from coll...thrown from the house..bar...P.I.M.P...jail..police..torture....boy what a nightmare that was!! After my mom was done pacifying me she went in to make some coffee, after having a refreshingly hot cuppa coffee...south indian ishtyle...I was left gazing at the coffee cup...what if I wasn't served the refreshing and endearing hot cuppa coffee every morning....what if life had really been so cruel....what if my dream had come true...what if my life was not the way it is now....WHAT IF?

I quickly got up....washed my face..and went out for a walk (thats the time when I do most of my thinking). I started to look back at my life...how beautiful it had been....no problems..school and junior college passed on very fast...had the time of my life there..made some of the best friends at that time....and then I ended up where I am now...S.F.I.T!

Engineering was the best thing that could have happened to me. The past three and a half years were a roller coaster ride....with life having its own share of ups and downs...but am I complaining? Okie I agree I have not been a very bright student...was never among the top 20...have got my share of failures...I really hagaaoed(college lingo!!) in CAT 2007...and still I maintain the big and bright smile of mine..LOL!! But the time I spent chitchatting in my class...ogling at all the new chicks in college..working my ass out for the college fests..hanging out with my friends daily in the canteen or outside...fighting and then patching up with friends for silly reasons....pulling each others legs..."cupping" each other endlessly.....passing small chits in the class to pass on a message...all this is what actually defines my engineering life! To sum it up....life has been pretty decent.


There is so much more things to look forward to...like the upcoming trip to goa.....yaay!! GO GOA!! Then the last semester of my engg....after which I will miss all my friends...(seriously guys!!) Every morning I used to get up and think....oh god yet another day....have to do all the stuff..again and again....but after having a nightmare like that..I sure have learned to appreciate the small and insignificant things in life...

So tomorrow morning when I get up...I surely am gonna have a big and bright smile on my face....thinking that I have got yet another day in my life..to meet the people I love....to do the things I always wanted to....to eat stuff I have craved for days...and to enjoy my life as it throws up new surprises and challenges at me. As my friend joey from the tele-serial F.R.I.E.N.D.S had once stated in the first season of the serial....Ice cream is not just vanilla...there are so many other flavors..there is chocolate...there is strawberry....there is sundae...then there is black current..all you need to learn is to grab the spoon when given an opportunity to eat it!! So I am now gonna learn to grab the spoon....and live life at its best!!

Dune buggy!! Full on!!

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Kyunki is Kahaani Ki Kasauti Kahin toh hogi!!

Well Well Well, I had all this time thought that the one thing I would refrain from writing about would be about all this K-serials! But, the almighty had something else in store from me (ya i m getting inspired by them!!) and I now am writing my take on them!!

So well to be honest my mom is fanatic about such serials!! She watches them day in and day out, her expedition of all these serials starts right in the afternoon and finishes way past midnight!! And I end up getting more than a glimpse of such serials. I am simply amazed by the way this producers have been fooling the indian audience, time and again. The same "brought back from dead", "sudden bout of amnesia", "marriages and divorces by the weekend", "values and tradition", "mein sachchai ka saath dungi" are all repeated, tried and tested formulaes which actually has the indian audience hooked on to their TVs.

And what do they do when they have exhausted their bank of ideas..or tried the tried and tested formula way too many times..they "creatively" give a twist to such ideas. Like the other day there is one serial in the afternoon slot "karam apna apna" where the main protagonist dies. Now as they have officially shown the dead body and not thrown the body into a river or something they cant bring him back from the dead. So they pay a fat cheque to his "aatma" and get the aatma to work..who under the power of lord shiva is able to communicate with his younger brother and get revenge!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! !! Or when they have lost out on ideas what do they do? They simply repack an old serial..and present it in a fresh format!

But still my mom watches the serial as honestly as earlier Now before you guys get thinking as to how do I know so much about all these serials, let me make it clear that I have got all the info from my mom n her very deary bunch of lady friends who quite fanatically follow this serials!!

Well I would like to tell the producers please spare us from all this trouble and stop churning out such stupid serials and also save a million young actresses from doin child labour! But I am sure if I go public with my views, a million housewives would hatch a plot to kill me! Coz this is what works for them, this is what has made the television industry a stupendous success!!

So go enjoy your daily dose of drama , action, suspense and romance!!

Adios,
RAJ

Hope is but the dream of those who wake!!

Well to start off with this particular post has been inspired by Omkar parnandiwar's recent post(ya dude givin u ample cheap footage!!).. After going thru his blog I for a minute was left thinking as to what am i gonna do in my future! Hmmm..well i dream about getting a big shot marketing job somewhere!! Maybe end up as a CEO of a company!! But the problem is "mujhe lega kaun?"

I have been proved to be worthless time and again...have no capabilities whatsoever..m gud for nuthing..n the last thing i heard was that they were nominating me for the most lazy person of the year..well I m atlst gud at something!! Every cloud has a silver lining...and my silver lining is that I m pretty confident that i will not end up somewhere bad! I have various options open rite nw in front of me...have secured a job in infosys..(well who hasnt?..lol!!)...have given ma gre...and me and a degree in MS is just a TOEFL away!! I m giving CAT this year..followed by many of its clones..in the coming years..so i pretty much am a jack of all trades...but master of none. :(

The three and a half years i have spent in engg so far have been one of the best I have spent in ma life!! But as Omkar rightly pointed out..I cant be the careless dude i used to be all these times!! I know there is something in store for me..and i have to recognize that something and go for it..full on!! It may sound more like a self motivating essay but then everybody always does a bit os self motivation here and there!!

I have always been playing around with two words...HOPE and DESTINY. Destiny is something that is supposed to be in store for you...seriously i dont believe in all that shit..I like the other word..HOPE...Hope it is that gives you the reason to fight..Hope it is that gives you the reason to dream..and Hope it is that gives you the strength to realise all your aspirations!! Hope reminds me of a movie I had seen a few months ago..Its named "The Shawshank Redemption". It was hope that gave its protagonist the determination to dig a hole thru the prison walls for 19 years!! I mean doesnt that give you goosebumps...a man digging thru a wall every god damn night for 19 god damn years!! His hope was freedom..a chance to roam around freely..a chance to breathe fresh air!!

It is this hope that I have to capitalise on..My hope to get a big shot marketing job..my hope to become the CEO of a company...and my hope to Succeed in life!!

I dunno whether 10 years down the lane..when i look back at this particular post.. I wud have done done atleast 10% of wat i wrote! But one thing is for sure...that whatever 10% I would have done actually..I would have given it my 100%...

There is a maxim which says "Hope is for the weak" I would say.. " Hope is for the bold and determined".

Until next time...remember the following quotes,

Once you choose hope, anything's possible. ~Christopher Reeve


When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."

There is nothing so well known as that we should not expect something
for nothing - but we all do and call it Hope. ~Edgar Howe

Hope is independent of the apparatus of logic. ~Norman Cousins




ADIOS,
RAJ

You dont win silver..you lose gold!!

These were the famous lines from an ad by NIKE.....during the 96 atlanta olympics!! The grand finale of the formula 1 season in brazil..quite aptly proved it. Raikkonnen by all means deserved to be the world champion. Hamilton came at a very deserving second(Championship) but i would have not minded if he would have won the championship.

What a dramatic end to an equally dramatic season!! Everything was going wrong for hamilton and mclaren..a faulty gearbox..a goof-up at the beginning of the race..and a horribly wrong 3-stop strategy!! And now Mclaren is crying foul by complaining against sauber and williams for irregular fuel strategy..so much for sportsmanship!!

At the end raikkonnen proved to everyone why is he called the "ice man". He kept his cool throughout the race..and held his nerve right upto the chequered flag! It was superb team work, out of the world strategy...and a bit of lady luck that favoured FERRARI!! I wish Hamilton all the luck for his next season..and many more to come.. What class he has shown in this season...a sensaional debut...being at the right place at the right time..and almost winning the world championship..this driver has miles to go!!

It will be quite exciting to see the two drivers fight for supremacy in the coming seasons..while alonso's future being quite questionable..but one thing is for sure ..the next few years in formula 1 will be a thriller!!

All said and done..at the end it is that one point that matters...that one point that gave raikkonnen the championshup, that one point that snatched the championship from alonso, and it is that one single point that constantly makes hamilton think..."You dont win silver..you lose gold!!"

me getting CATastrophic!! HELP!!

Okie so i am blogging after a long time!! Things have kept me busy...and how!! It may sound a bit exaggerating but CAT has made me go nuts! literally! No matter how hard i try i am not able to tame it. Numbers seem to get jumbled inside my head.... words no longer make sense ..no matter how simple they are. I am more interested in doin things other than studying for CAT!

So its official now...i am by no teeny tiny way gonna crack it this year..and maybe the years to follow :) One thing good about it is atleast it has succeeded to keep me at my toes. I shud be honest here and accept that i have not been slogging my arse out now..but cmon..cant i get a gud percentile..without having to slog. Well it makes me very sad to everytime see myself in that 89 percentile region. but i also have been able to consistently maintain it..hehe.. anybody listening??

I have in the past few months (weeks actually!!) of preparing seen people craving for that one extra percentile.. whereas i sitting here..am very content with my 89 percentile. Sometimes..i end up doubting myself..do i have it in me...wat it takes to crack the cat..and enter that esteemed institute..known to a layman as IIM. Sometimes it feels..y take all the pain..y not opt for the easier route..have a job in hand..join it and make sum gud money..and then move to greener pastures as and when the opportunity strikes me! But then i feel a little undermined..y cant i do that 2000 people every year succeed in doin.... wat does my future hold in me. Seriously i give a shit about destiny.. you can never get into an IIM unless and until u slog ur arse out!! All said and done..i am still at square one... i dont think i will eva get to say the saying "back to square one" coz i m nt moving ahead. Okie that was a bad one!!

Well for now...all i can do is try to work a little more hard in the month that is left..and then conviniently push it off for the next year..thinking i will crack it the next time...

Well till next time...hope to write in some good progress!!

Adios!!

Raj

The REALITY BUG!!

Well, m just sitting here now and watching the 'GRAND FINALE' of one of this popular reality show for singers! It amuses me to see the frenzy among the people that have been created by this reality shows! I mean, who is gonna benefit from all this.. the person who becomes the Indian idol will walk away with a kewl 1 crore cash prize…a maruti SX4 car(no I m nt advertising fr them!!) and many more such goodies. The companies that we are sending all the sms’ to are laughing their heart out..they are pocketing so much money..which would take most of us more than a lifetime to garner!!

We on the other hand are shelling out money from our pockets in the name of choosing our fav contestants and promoting talents. And its not that the real talent is being promoted…people are voting for contestants who belong to their respectful region…or for reasons as stupid as the person looking good, so much for talent! There were so many contestans who were much more talented but gt voted out jst bcoz they couldn’t get enuf votes!! It was better in the earlier times when the results of such shows were decided by professionals who not only excelled in their fields but also had the knack of spotting talent!!

It just doesn’t stop here…there are so many other ‘clones’ that these shows have…some of which have found there way rite into the bathroom!! There was one laughter champions on a particular channel…1 season was a hit..n now we have an overdose of comedy not only on entertainment channels..but news channels.. radios..sports..devotional…n wat not!! Be it dance, music..singing..stand up comedy or for the matter business entrepreneurs….the WEST comes up with an idea….which we create N copies of..where N tends to infinity…literally!! Just the other day I was watching dis particular reality show on star world ‘Beauty and the Geek’ on star world… was a real cool idea..and m desperately waiting to watch its Indian clone.. Thou we do have a few original ideas..like the great Indian laughter challenge..which I suppose was a new concept.. but then you never knw the source…:)

The only thing good about this reality shows are that they provide a welcome relief from all those K-serials and also help some people become millionaires!! So Whoever wants to be a millionaire….all you need is a bit of talent or knowledge..a bit of luck..some good looks….n a large section of the society ready to support you and cast those very precious votes!!