Quote-Unquote

One of the best quotes I have read in a long long time :)

“May you - Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, dance like no-one is watching, screw like it's being filmed, and drink like a true Irishman”

There's a good collection of quotes like this on - http://thinkexist.com/quotations/work/

Of course, the link will get you to "Work Quotes" coz thats what I had searched... :) But if quotes suit your fantasies, then you could read more...and do share :)

Just Thought...

- When I was on campus, I was able to think and speak on a whole lot topics....seems like my boundaries are shrinking after joining business...wonder why does it have to happen? I always used to think it wouldn't happen to me, but it has started happening. And it's just one year into the business...Damn! An after-thought tells me its nothing like that...its just that I was exposed to a whole lot of diverse things in there than out here, I was living with a lot of people back then...so there were so many different topics....whereas ab aisa nahi hai...and that's causing the difference....hmmm...but it shouldn't happen na...

I guess one reason is also because I'm not spending enough time with myself these days...sometimes I don't get it, sometimes I don't want it.

Back on campus, in my room in GH-3 I could spend as much time with myself as I wanted...and whenever friends came in, it (more often than not) resulted in some addition to my knowledge/wisdom...but sadly, that's not the case now...why? what's the reason? I used to feel an equilibrium then, but not now...and this is weird...

....and I guess writing all this at 2:30 am is also weird...so I'll stop! :)

2 States - With an Old Monk in my hand...

This is one book where (for once) I wished I was also given in to the passion that so many of my XL friends swear on - Old Monk

It brings back the days of campus...the entire setting of college life, of placements, of the jitters, the joys, the sorrows...CB has a great style of writing...very easy going. He seems to be one of those who can choose the exact words for his thoughts and express them in the same way. It helps to put one in his shoes...and in my humble opinion, it's the best state a writer can put his readers in.

A great story (which, I read somewhere, is based closely on his real life) which portrays the change in the thoughts of the Indian youth while choosing his life partner - especially when both of them belong to different states. Kudos to CB for choosing such a topic and being able to portray it in such a truthful and lucid manner.

Krish is one of the most believable characters I have come across recently...coming from a dysfunctional family (and I believe most families in India are dysfunctional to varying degrees ;) )...especially those parts where he was putting questions to himself...

Just a few observations which I made while reading the book...(no offence to anyone)

1. To be able to go thru an "inter-caste" marriage, you need to be detached to quite a degree from your family, esp. in the case when parents are opposing the marriage

2. It's easier for a girl to say "We are through" than a boy, even though she might suffer as much the boy. I believe that girls are more practical than boys when it comes to these relationships, and this probably stems from that

3. There is nothing better than choosing your life partner and marrying her, if you are the one who can build and maintain such relationships. I feel this is great because I find all this too difficult. You know yaar, I am not the lovey-dovey types...

4. There are lots more, which I don't recall right now...and some that I cannot write...moreover, I haven't been able to complete the book to make more "striking" observations :P ...and I don't think I will be completing the book.

All in all, a great read for the youth. And a MUST READ for those narrow-minded parents of today's youth - this book is to show all you guys out there that your children are NOT the dim-wits they seem to you when it comes to choosing their life partners. True, at times they may make mistakes, but considering every case to be a mistake is simply naive and prejudiced. You don't even know how and how much you guys are changing his/her life. You don't know what you are bargaining for by doing all this. Appreciate the fact that today's youth is also as conscious about making a family as you are, and meaning of the word "family" is the same for both you and your children. So give them a chance.

Rohit and Divya's Wedding - Part II

And I am back with the second episode of Rohit-Divya wedding! Well, I really want to elaborate and write more on it, but I’ll try and keep this one as encrypted as possible ;)

For one, the wedding was memorable because one of our friends (apart from Rohit) got almost married on the 17^th. “Who?” Baah….chuck that…”How?” Is the more pertinent question. Get this – Boy sees girl. Girl sees boy. Boy likes girl. We don’t know whether girl likes boy. Groom praises boy like he would praise his intelligence and bravado in front of the bride. Bride praises girl like she was her twin. Boy meets girl. “Achi hai, par aisa kuch nahi hai”…“Hat yaar, tum log bhi na”. Girl can be seen smiling and playing with her cellphone when alone. Fishy.

Dinner time.

We have dinner. Boy lets his eyes roving around. Today, he’s got the looks for only one catch. The trip’s been wonderful till now…he gets to meet his buddies after a long time, and finds someone (hopefully) for a long time (served on a platter!!). We solve the unknown in the equation.

Girl spotted. One of the females in the group – also friendly to her for the reason so well understood – sets the net and throws in the bait. The fishermen all wait on the shores to see the fish bite the bait. Fish bites, and how! (No puns intended!).

Half an hour. One hour. One and a half hours…Time has no meaning in these circumstances. After all, the concept exists only if you believe in it, right? The XL reunion – it’s the last few hours dude! Yeah yeah, comes the inner voice. As if your company can provide this bliss! I’ll call you all when I find time…

Boy returns to pavilion after some time. Sachin wouldn’t have given this smile if he scored a triple ton in T20. For the first time, the score in cricket was Love All. The spectators are happy. We don the media cap, trying to eke out as much as possible from the Man of the Match who’s on his way to becoming The Complete Man.

Surprisingly, the results aren’t surprising. Bowler was as eager to prove her mettle as the Batsman. At times, the details got us confused as to who was playing which role. Incidentally, such games are the best ones. We are happy. All the modern modes of communication have been discussed and details exchanged. The globe has become a village. Again.

Or, should we say, Gar Firdous Bar Roos Zaminasto, Haminasto, Haminasto, Haminasto… (If there is a Heaven on Earth, It is here, It is here, It is here).

Amen.

Hmmm.....

Got engaged on the 7th of March, 2010...so suddenly, its still taking time to sink in :) . A new phase of Life is about to begin...lots of changes are going to take place...it's no longer just me...

Her name's Disha. She's an engineer....finally, an engineer is coming in a family of all B.Com.'s :D I am also happy about it coz I've heard it a lot of times from my friends that my mannerisms are more like that of an engineer, whatever that means :) Also because I want all my kids to be engineers (almost all my XL friends know this!), whenever they happen (No I am not VIRUS, but I can have some dreams for my kids yaar!! So what if they are still a long time to come :-D) ... so having an engineer in the family helps na....lolzzz...

Damn Man! M engaged...!! Its a little strange state of being for a person like me coz by virtue of my zodiac (I am a Virgo), I never had a burning feeling of getting married...incidentally, she's a Virgo too (a 7-7 planetary combination)...hopefully, that feeling will go away...fingers crossed! U c, its very important that the feeling goes away...

People asked me whether I am happy...Disha asked me once too...and I'll tell u what I told her...Happiness is just a state of mind...it creates reality out of illusions and vice-versa...one must just ensure that one fulfills one's functions and obligations in a manner that everyone around us is in such a state of mind...and create reality... :) :)

My reason's for getting so philosophical??? God knows...and I don't bother to wonder :-D M just happy my MBA works!!! lolzzzz..

Just Thought...

- In Life, there can be, should be and will be only one person jiski galtiyan aur khaamiyan bhi aapki nazar mein unki ya aap dono ke relationship ki respect kam nahi karengi...more often than not, even at times of distress...the person will say/do something which will make your love/respect grow for the other...and esp. at times of distress, the other will be your strength and your weakness...has anything like this happened to any of u?

A Time to embrace - Rohit and Divya's Wedding :)

Last week was quite a memorable one…my friend and final year neighbor Rohit P’s wedding to his beloved Divya. It was a memorable event from many angles…one, it marked an over-due re-union of us friends at XL…it was such a long time since we had all met! Two, it marked the coming together of two people who are in love. It’s rare to see their kind in these days, so committed to each other…so sure of each other…I am no authority in matters of the heart (in fact, I admit honestly that I am emotionally paralyzed), but just seeing them together makes a smile come to your face. May God bless their lives together! (Amen!) The third amazing thing to notice in the wedding was their families – so cool man!! Be it Rohit’s side, where each member was so enthusiastic about the whole affair that it was contagious (it was amazing to see them in the Sangeet at Swabhumi! And then later on 17^th, the day of wedding…), or Divya side…who has a wonderful, wonderful set of parents [all of us friends found her dad to be super-cool! :)], and an amazing sister – Man, I was floored to hear that she is a M.Sc. (Stats) from IIT, Kanpur!! Even her brother-in-law…I have rarely seen such a soft-spoken Gujju!! :P

Some of you might just find the following details to be a trifle boring, but as I’ve said earlier – some of these writings are back-ups ;) …and sometimes, what seems mundane now will lend to nostalgia later on in life :)

We had amazing 4 days from 14^th to 17^th…starting from the time when the whole sequence of arrivals was reversed…RJ was supposed to come first, then Gunji (that’s what I call him out of affection…we all prefer Chhote Nawab in public!) and then Love Means and Saket (I won’t break-up the pronunciation for this one…but I hope you get the drift…don’t you have a friend called Saket!? :P) …however, it so turned out that Love and Saket came first, then Gunji and finally, eventually, at last…when RJ thought he had eked out every penny of what he had paid for his AC 2 Tier berth, did he allow the train to enter the HWH station…a full 11-12 hours behind schedule!!!!

The next day, yours truly reached the venue for the Sangeet (Swabhumi) a little late from office and so couldn’t participate in it much too… :(((((( Man, I so wanted to dance in Rohit’s wedding!!

Needless to say, the food was divinely delicious…all my mehnat at the gym in the last month was lost to all the finger-lick-able food and deserts! And we gorged on it like true XLers – like we’ve never seen food before! :-P …hey, you appreciate good flowers by smelling them, so how else do you appreciate good food!!? ;-O

The next day was Punjabi sangeet…and yours truly reached so late from office that he missed most of the fun…. Methinks will ask RJ to write about this day…I can’t do justice to this (except, again, to the food!)

The D-Day has arrived….hamara pyaara, sabka dulaara, aankhon ka taara Rohit Dulha ban gaya tha…and the beautiful, graceful and charming Divya was all set to become – officially – our Bhabhi (Bhabhi Maa to me :P) It started from the Salt Lake venue and to Ballygunge Phari, with just a small stop at Spring Club ;)

I saw something which I had never seen before…you see, Gujju weddings are not the best if you want to see pomp or if you want to let out a “I-want-this-at-my-wedding-too” sigh…at the varmala, the couple were asked to climb a stage with a circular platform. As soon as the varmala happened, a fountain of flowers shot up from the floor of the stage on to the couple, and the circular platform started revolving slowly…just like in the movies…A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

And then, the high-tea and dinner…yummy-dummy-licious!!! (ok, I wont write about the delicious chats, yum pizzas, noodles….ok, ok…I’ll stop!) …no, the food isn’t the most important part…that’s just fun…the best part is the coming together of two people who have chosen each other for Life…very rarely do we get to see such a heart-warming gesture from the Heavens and from the respective families of the bride and groom…when it happens, Love blossoms…Life seems smooth, responsibilities are enjoyable, every laugh sounds like bells ringing and even sad moments seem lighter when the heart is fulfilled…

The last sentence may seem like a lot of gyaan…that wasn’t the intention…it was just what I felt seeing them…these are just my best wishes to the beautiful, newly-wed couple…Have Fun For Life!!!

(Oh, I really did feel like a lot of digs in places above, but I’ll reserve them for the subsequent enteries…yup, picture abhi chalu hai mere dost!!)