Be Optimistic, Think Positive

The day i was reborn

2010-12-24T00:50:00.000-08:00

Hi all.. once again.. I feel sorry for not being able to write more n more.. but work has been really hectic.. I really wanted to write about my visits to Kenya and Iran but just couldn’t find the time.
Anyways (or anyway.. my cuz feels its called anyway.. and there is no such word as anyways.. can anyone confirm this? Dictionary.com doesn’t help.. haha)

Life has been very hectic .. finally today thought would share one old incidence which I can never forget and sends shivers down my body whenever I think about it..
This was almost 6 years back when was in third year engg. (already I feel old writing this).. I was enjoying my college days .. spending more time in sports than studies.. .

Some of us had also found a nice timepass in Swimming. I have loved swimming since childhood.. I guess I got it from my father, who himself is a gr8 swimmer..

This incidence happened on one of these days when we had gone in a large group for swimming.. everything was usual… and we had certain set of guys who were learning swimming.. I was helping one of these guys by explaining how to keep ur body afloat etc etc…
SUNIL Koli.. the guy I was helping… this all revolves around him.. let me explain how he looks… 6 feet 2 inches tall.. broad shoulders .. athletic body (not slim by any means)… all in all.. may b twice my size.

he was swimming in shallow first but due to too many people he moved to the deep end.. was able to swim short distances .. just around the boundaries of the pool… I cld see he was decent.. I came out of the pool to sit on the side.. and he suddenly asked.. “should I go from this end to that end.. directly.. “
I was like “its up to you if you are confident enough..sure”.. he started fine and as he reached in middle area.. something shocking happened.. the guy started drowning and couldn’t keep afloat or move forward.. as I saw that. .without thinking anything I jumped in to the water.. as soon as I reached in his vicinity.. he jumped on to me and help me with both hands.. which suddenly pushed me inside the water.. I tried coming out for breath but he kept pushing me down (in a quest to come up himself).. consider the fact that he was so huge compared to me.. I was not able to drag him to the side…

This kept happening without anyones notice for 1 min.. and in that one min .. I saw death as close as I could.. the thought of not being able to make it to the side kept coming in my mind.. then 3 of my other friends who could swim decent.. came to rescue. Two of them held his hand and one pushed him from inside the water towards the cornor.. I cld make it to the side myself.. all scared with pale white face.. I actually thought I wouldn’t be able to make it that day.. But I guess.. I was destined too..

Even today when I think about that incidence.. it sends shivers down my body.. people thought I saved him.. but then I always said it’s the other 2-3 guys.. .. bcoz with my technique we both would have drowned… that day I realized how different it is to know how to swim well and to save someone from drowning . Also realized how important it is that you learn how to swim when you are not so huge in size 

you can share similar stories if you have..Will try to write here more often..

Keep Smiling 

finally..... back to some writing

2010-07-20T00:49:00.000-07:00

Hi All

Have been off blogging for sometime.. work too hectic? nothing specific in mind to write about? actually its been a combination of all possible reasons ..

As many of us know , Lonavala is a beautiful place to visit during monsoon... we (my office guys) had gone to this place called Kamshet near lonavala very recently... and we came across this beautiful location and guest house where we stayed..

Early morning start made us all energetic and looking forward to the trip.. dumb sharads for first time... got me frustated.. (of course bcoz my team lost).. But it all got better when we reached the place and saw this view...

The place where we were staying was very different... (www.nativeplace.com).. nice bunk beds.. and home cooked food... closeness to nature made the experience very exciting..

The place was designed in an eco-friendly manner , full of lights, open areas to sit, and beautiful view of the lake near by.. ..

One could just sit and watch and lake and enjoy a nice hot cup of coffee :)

In the night we also got to see some "Jugnus" .. living in big cities.. thats like a rare sight..

Hiking freak that i am , 3 of us started going in to the mountains and looking to reach the top of whichever mountain we could.. :) . On our way we came across lot of beautiful spots for nice photography and big rocks

Fun loving moments as well

... finally after all the efforts and running through couple of mountains.. we were able to reach a nice waterfall..

The evening was made wonderful by a brilliant singer among us... having worked in same office.. still we never knew he was so good.. previously a part of famous band "Nachiketa" from bengal.. the guy sang and played guitar for 9 hours at a stretch .. mesmerizing not only our group .. but other people living in the guest house.. who joined us for singing and dancing and fun :) . check out a glism of the evening in the video ..
Dhoom Pichak Dhoom

Don't let daddy kiss me

The singing and dancing went on till 4 am... and we didn't want it to end.... overall it was an amazing outing ..and the weather was gr8 as well..

For people who love nature.. should surely visit this place..

Emotional Atyachar

2010-03-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

As I was watching this new series of reality show on Bindhaas… I found it funny.. in the beginning specially when you see the girls slapping the guy… oops.. for those who don’t know what I m talking about.. let me tell u what this show is abt ..(btw you must see it once at least)

Soo in this show.. a girl or a boy (called “Lead”) can request the organizers to do a loyalty test on their partners (called “Suspect”)… which means they will spy on suspect and through their under cover agent (girl or boy) try to get close to suspect .. which will eventually prove if suspect is loyal to you or not.. they shoot the moments which Suspect spends with the under cover agent.. and show the footage to the Lead.. Taking it one step ahead they take the Lead on the spot where the suspect is sitting with the under cover agent.. and then there is this whole drama..

For those who have seen the show.. I dono why they always show Mumbai as the city… lol.. and in most cases the suspect turns out to be disloyal to the partner.? .. ajeeb

Now on this whole show.. me and my lovely cuzs had some discussion… and asked few questions.. wana know your views on them…

1. Do you think this show is all staged and fake?
RC: one side of me says may b.. then I feel why would people get defamed like this.. for money which I don’t think would be a lot.. (what may b 5000)?

2. If this is not staged.. and they are actual people like you and me.. do u think this show ruins their lives?

3. Do you think such things shouldn’t be shown on the national television?

I was of the opinion that it is good that person gets to know abt their partner may b much before the relationship gets to a more emotional stage when it would be more devastating to find out the truth…

What do you guys think?

Funny Leave Applications.. :)

2010-02-27T10:51:00.001-08:00

See , how people write leave Applications.

It's murder of English language. But Too Funny.

Just Read It.

The Leave Applications;)

An employee applied for leave as follows:

"Since I have to go to my village to sell my land along with my wife , please sanction me one-week leave."

· This is from Oracle Bangalore: >From an employee who was performing the "mundan" ceremony of his 10 year old son:

"as I want to shave my son's head , please leave me for two days.."

· Another gem from CDAC. Leave-letter from an employee who was performing his daughter's wedding:
"as I am marrying my daughter , please grant a week's leave.."

· From H.A.L. Administration Dept:
"As my mother-in-law has expired and I am only one responsible for it , please grant me 10 days leave."

· Another employee applied for half day leave as follows:
"Since I've to go to the cremation ground at 10 o-clock and I may not return , please grant me half day casual leave"

· An incident of a leave letter:
"I am suffering from fever , please declare one-day holiday."

· A leave letter to the headmaster:
"As I am studying in this school I am suffering from headache. I request you to leave me today"

· Another leave letter written to the headmaster:
"As my headache is paining , please grant me leave for the day."

· Covering note:
"I am enclosed herewith..."

· Another one:
"Dear Sir: with reference to the above , please refer to my below..."

· Actual letter written for application of leave:
"My wife is suffering from sickness and as I am her only husband at home I may be granted leave".

· Letter writing:-
"I am well here and hope you are also in the same well."

· A candidate's job application:
"This has reference to your advertisement calling for a ' Typist and an Accountant - Male or Female'... As I am both(!! )for the past several years and I can handle both with good experience , I am applying for the post.

Visit to the oldest city in the world

2010-01-27T00:46:00.000-08:00

Standing in a 2 kms line at the airport check-in at 2 in the night is not happening… but then doesn’t matter much when u r excited about visiting a rather interesting yet scary place which you haven’t even heard off until last week. Yemen, a country in Middle east, was recently in news for some terror issues. I however was there before that new broke out.

Lost my connecting flight from Dubai to Sanaa, capital of Yemen, long wait at the Dubai airport without any night sleep, Starbucks coffee did help a bit J.

The airport of Sanaa was BAD, the airport being built in smallest of places in India would be better…. I don’t mean to put it light but come on no announcing system, no displays for the arrival departure.. its like Bus station... you have to keep asking meri wali bus aae kya.. From Dubai Airport to Sanaa is a huge difference… The attire of people at sanna was weird, all women in burkha and all men wearing kinda lungies with pants inside..weird it was..and weather was chilly as well going to minus 2 in the night..

Thankfully after a long tiring journey the hotel was quite good, five star infact.. i wonder what do these guys use to make these soft beds.. at our houses we never seem to get those kind of beds..like hotels have

Meetings and all happened fine and usual , some stuff about Sanaa I wana share.. which were quite interesting..

Sanaa (Yemen)

Is one of the oldest inhabited city in the world..
The oldest written reference to its existence is found in inscriptions which date back to the 1st century AD.
It is the only democratic country in the Middle east with people having right to vote and choose their government
It was declared a World Heritage City by the United Nations in 1986
Efforts are underway to preserve some of the oldest buildings, some of which are over 400 years old.
Even with all this one could see one of the best cars driven on roads but yes only with the Super rich people.

City View from Hill

“Soukh” The oldest market in the world

I did visit the oldest market in the world and buy a nice stone based pendent which was told to be unique … (do we get similar stuff in Colaba Causway in Mumbai? Or may b palika bazaar in delhi?) may b we do.. but I would like to believe that this is one memory of that old ancient market.

After two days in this nice city I was back to Mumbai via Dubai (this time not missing the flight.. lol)..back in my bed at 12 in the night.. I was wondering how different is life at different parts of the world.. and this one can know only when you have experienced one.. so whenever you get an opportunity grab it with both hands J ..

Keep Exploring and ya.. most of them in Yemen would speak only Arabic.. so I couldn’t get a word.. only few I could understand because they are same as Hindi

Chai is called chai .. and Shukriya is called “Shukran”

So Shukran for reading me :-)

Keep smiling :-)

New Years Eve

2010-01-10T10:40:00.003-08:00

I have always wondered why people relate new year eve to Drink and Dance only… if not all .. lot of us do think that ways.. for me it has always been house party with friends ..

Last year I was in Canada for the new year eve and it was very different .. we went to this pub and listened to this rock music in which I hardly could understand anything.. lol.

This year for some reason I wanted to be alone on new year eve…. But at the same time didn’t want to sit at home…. Anyone who knows about Mumbai will be thinking “being out of home and wanting to be alone without many people around u.. is never possible in Mumbai” … that’s true..

My evening started with a Maggi preparation … (wonder if this will count on those Maggi moments) … then I drove on bike to Marine drive .. closest and best place to be at… 2 strange THINGS happened to me that evening .. will tell u .. read on..
Went to Sukh Sagar which has one of the best “Idli Chutni” preps, enjoyed that.. they give unlimited chutni and nice warm idli which will melt in ur mouth. ..

1.First THING:
I walked to the near by Café Coffee day (one of my fav places to be when I am alone).. surprisingly it was quiet with not many people,, started reading news paper and sipping coffee (Devils Own)… As I was reading MID DAY, one girl came n

Girl: “I am really sorry to disturb u , but can I sit here n talk to u for a min.. actually my friend gave me a dare” I was thinking to my self “ yaar ye mere saath pehli baar ho raha hain” ..
Silly Me: “ uummmm ok “
(Silence for 30 seconds)
Very Silly Me: “What do u do?”
Girl: “ I am doing CA final, what abt u?”
Proud Me: “ I work.. I have done my engg then worked for few years in india and UAE.. (saying UAE much louder than India).. then went for my MBA in “CANADA”.. (calling Canada loudest of 3)
Girl: “Nice, I have a cuz in Canada bla bla..”
(Me still feeling proud abt Canada)
Girl Again: “I guess u r expecting someone”
Me: “ No actually I am on my own”
Girl: “Oh that’s nice way of celebrating new years eve”
Me: “ Yes quiet n peaceful” (smiling but thinking not sure if I shld feel good abt being alone or bad..

She wished new year and went off and I went back to my news paper..

2.Second THING:

After I came out of CCD I still didn’t want to go home… had heard of some nice fireworks around Trident hotel on marine drive so I decided to drive there.. as I was driving I got stuck in the traffic..
Once when I saw on my side there was a car with two girls in the front seat. The girl who was driving looked at me and smiled… I felt kinda awkward .. I just looked around and away.. then I saw in their direction again..
This time the girl driving and the one next to her both were giggling and looking at me.. .. … as traffic eased I went ahead .. and they came n stopped their car just on my side… it was now getting weird..
Going forward whenever I would move ahead in my lane and they wld be fall back.. she would keep honking the car in front … (which I assumed meant she wanted to come forward n keep her car on my side… guys am I thinking right?.. atleast that’s what I thought.) Well this went on for some stretch of marine drive….. something like this had never happened to me before..

Well after reaching trident .. I parked and walked alone on marine drive.. and an amazing painting exhibition put up there.. on the walk way.. I wana share some of those pics..

Have a year 2010 full of smiles

Rahul

Nuclear Power Station at Saint Laurent Nouan on the Loire river, France

Tulip fields near Lisse, Amsterdam Region, Netherlands

Trip to Vizag…Day 1

2009-12-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

It started with an early… actually …. Horrifyingly early morning (actually night) ..having to take a 5:30 flight to Vizag from Mumbai.. had to get up at 3:30 and reach airport by 4:30.. .. the transition from life outside at 4 in morning to life inside the airport is quite alarming at times.... ..In Spice jet and many of these low frills ….the sitting is worse than a BEST BUS in Mumbai…u cant move an inch…anyhow

As I landed at the airport the taxi drivers had similar face as to any taxi driver in south .. and of course he was called “Anna”. As I reached the Jaipur Lodge (the place where we were staying). Saw that for some surprising reason it had a lift from the first floor.. weird.. lol..

We had a clear hostel like environment in the room as I reached… Mr. Kathe sitting on the bed with blanket wrapped around him.. still wearing just a baniyan inside.. (why would u not wear something inside if u r so cold)…. Amit moving around in towel with no shirt on… (I mean why would some1 who is always questioned about having bath be moving around in towel????? Some of those.. reading this would already know why…)

Bhor correcting his hair and looking sleepy as always.. cracking silly jokes.. which for some reason make every1 laugh.. and Vivek (aka vivya).. Mr. Husband on the trip all neat and taken bath… (guys see the change in the married man kudos to priyanka)..

Slowly the remaining guys in other room started appearing…. Jiten…gunda of Rajnandgaon.. playing little champs with Amit as always.. Viral.. With ever sleepy eyes.. Sante.. with unique mustache.. .. Waghole.. all set to go n play on the ground.. ( I wonder if in his own marriage he went to the pujari n said.. ek ball tak).. Atul.. fondly called “Topdya” with his sexy cap ..

So after all the usual hi hellos.. we had some nice breakfast.. and were all set for the marriage ceremonies.. it started with “Haldi” ceremony which was made special with all relatives (women) rubbing haldi all over Pomys body.. and then the shocker was.. we heard he wld have to keep it on him and not wash it till the marriage.. (can only wash his face).. god felt pity for the sherwani which was going to get ruined from inside.. .. nonetheless.. everyone except pomy (which was visible from his face) enjoyed the .. lol…

Evening started with we getting ready for the big marriage.. ..it was sad to know that there wasn’t going to be an Ghodi for the barat.. ( being in Vizag.. and thinking of a Ghodi for barat.. who was I kidding.. lol..) .. so Mr. Dulha sat in the VAN .. after some initial sharmana.. we started the dance .. Surprisingly Band Guy had some hindi songs to play and sing also .. we danced n danced… including the Dulha himself in the end showing his moves J.. The ceremony was a nice mix of marathi and south Indian rituals.. including the jugalbandi of hindi and south Indian bands.. food was awesome (I missed the roti)..oh yaa. I forgot to mention.. we .. stupid guys.. went there .. khali haat.. beshrmo ki tarah.. lol.. then suddently it clicked a brainy guys mind to get some nice bouquet atleast… the actual BIIG gift of course is coming as the SWEET COUPLE reaches back to PUNE J.. day 1 was full of what we were there for. i.e. the marriage

Some thoughts...

2009-09-29T05:17:00.000-07:00

Hi All

Trust all is well. As you read this blog, I am 27 now. 21st Sep 2009 caused that to happen. Like the theory of half glass full or empty, one could say I have lost 1 more year of my life span or else I could say I had one more year of healthy and cheerful life. I would like to go with the later. 

I was thinking of writing a blog on my bday talking about 27 most memorable moments of my life, but then thought it would be giving out too much personal information and boring people with it. Haha.

Just yesterday I was visiting my hometown for Dusehra (I can never get how to spell it.. every SMS I get from frens has a different spelling.. this is my version). As I went around meeting my relatives on one of the biggest festivals in India, there is something very strange which I noticed and would like to share with you all.

Having stayed in Mumbai over last year, it is common to see armed Policemen around you almost always, let alone festival times. Going to a CST or Churchgate station makes you feel like a VIP with Z- grade security  . Soo when I went around meeting my friends and relatives in Jalgaon (my hometown) yesterday, I realized that there was not a single policeman to be seen anywhere. I went to the biggest temple and main street with lot of crowd, but I couldn’t see much of police security.
This incidence brings two things in mind

1. The obvious factor of blaming local authorities for not taking care of security

2. Are people in such small towns are in harmony and don’t require the police protection to give them comfort of living?

The first option is obvious and well debated. However the second one is interesting. Is it only big cities and people living there who need that assurance of having security around? Small towns at least in states like Maharashtra and Gujarat, are they all in harmony with fact of difficult religions and cultures being in same city?

Your thoughts..

Keep Smiling always 

The 10 10 10 Rule

2009-08-30T10:52:00.001-07:00

Hi All,

I m back after a long time.. read this interesting article.. wanted to share with everyone .. hope you like it :)......... hope to write something soon.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Rule of 10-10-10
By asking herself three easy--and utterly profound--questions, Suzy Welch has managed to solve just about every personal and professional quandary in her life. An amazing, spectacularly snappy guide to decision-making.

There is no foolproof way to manage something as untidy as life, and I still have days when I feel as if I am juggling eggs on a roller coaster. But I have--over a decade of tinkering and practice--devised a method, for lack of a better word, to help me balance my multiple life roles and navigate the daily dilemmas of an overstuffed existence.

I call it 10-10-10.

Here's how it works. Every time I find myself in a situation where there appears to be no solution that will make everyone happy, I ask myself three questions:

What are the consequences of my decision in 10 minutes?

In 10 months?

And in 10 years?

The answers usually tell me what I need to know not only to make the most reasoned move but to explain my choice to the family members, friends, or coworkers who will feel its impact.

I'VE USED 10-10-10 TO MAKE some of the most meaningful decisions in my life--my divorce, for one. But the effectiveness of 10-10-10 crept up on me when I started using it on a much smaller scale.

The first time was a typical weekday. Dropping the kids off at school on the way to work, I promised that I would definitely, absolutely see them at dinner so we could do homework together and watch our favorite TV show. I also promised our babysitter the evening off.

At 5 P.M., of course, a crisis erupted at the office. During this period, I was hoping for a promotion, so walking out the door with my boss's hands wrapped around my ankle seemed particularly illadvised. I called home to test the waters. The babysitter nearly burst into tears when I mentioned staying late. Two of the kids were fighting, and one was sulking for an unknown reason. (The other was still at swimming practice, thank God.) My daughter grabbed the phone and put in her two cents: "You love work more than us."

My gut was all over the place--go, stay, go--and that's when 10-10-10 was officially born. I slowed my thought process down and systematically began to pick it apart. What exactly, I asked myself, were the immediate repercussions of staying at work versus rushing home?

If I stayed, my boss would jot it down in her little book of good deeds, and my children and babysitter would turn purple. If I rushed home, my boss would get someone else to help her, and my triumphant arrival at the front door would be greeted with the usual grunts and sighs, and probably a demand for the latest video game or some exciting new shampoo.

In 10 months? Assuming I didn't make staying late a daily feature of our lives (which I knew I wouldn't), the kids would be fine. As for the babysitter, she would be back at school, and I would be but a distant memory. At work, though, if I left, my boss might start to question my commitment and my availability, not the impression I was eager to encourage.

In 10 years, the fact that I worked late (or not) would be irrelevant. My career would be someplace I couldn't foresee. The babysitter would be working on Wall Street. And my kids would love or hate me for reasons much bigger than one late night at the office.

And so I stayed without flinching. I got my gold star at work, and the home-front grumbles faded as anticipated.

The second time I used 10-10-10, the ante was higher. I'd been asked to run a Saturday meeting for the company's executives--a big deal in terms of exposure. Unfortunately, the meeting fell on the same day my son went for his junior black belt in karate, a test that was four grueling years in the making.

Again, I ran through the time frames.

In 10 minutes, both choices stank. My son would be devastated. I could picture his sweet face all screwed up and turning pink as he fought back tears; he was the kind of kid who got sad, not mad. My boss obviously wouldn't cry, but her disappointment would surely be palpable.

In 10 months, I figured, the pain would be buried. Why? Because I would shovel frantically to make it so. If I attended the off-site, I would love my son extravagantly in the months that followed, spoil him with my attention, and apologize until he could stand it no more. If I didn't go, I would pull the same kind of performance at work, with my boss at the receiving end.

But 10 years ... there was the problem. My kids would be gone and my career at full-throttle, whether I had gotten one promotion or not. But on some visceral level, my son would still know that I had chosen to miss one of the seminal events of his life for my own advancement.

That was damage I could never undo.

So I skipped the off-site. And late that Saturday afternoon, I cheered as my son received his black belt, his face pink as he tried to hold back tears.

About a year later, 10-10-10 changed my life.

Like many marriages, mine took a long time to come apart. The stakes of doing something--that is, ending it for real--seemed unbearably high: the children, the friends, the house, the backyard barbecues. And so we waited, and waited, for something to unfreeze us--a decision, one way or another.

One spring morning, I stole away from work and family, and hiked to the top of a mountain about an hour north of Boston. I needed the time and silence to work this tangled problem through. The 10-minute question came first, and it was painfully easy to answer--divorce meant chaos and despair all around. In 10 months, the mess would surely be worse, what with the upheaval, and lawyers, too. All I could think was, Awful, awful, awfulness--not just in 10 months, in 20, and maybe more. In 10 years, though--in 10 wonderful years--we would have our lives back, of that I was certain. Different lives, but honest ones, free of unhappiness, uncertainty, and pretending.

That night, after a long talk about how things would unfold over the coming days, months, and years, my husband and I agreed we'd found a shared reason--and a road map--to say goodbye.

Using 10-10-10 in a divorce situation is at the extreme end of the spectrum, but over the past few years, my friends and family have borrowed it to wrestle with dilemmas of all sizes.

COPYRIGHT 2006 © Hearst Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Recession ..Why them…

2009-04-08T05:12:00.000-07:00

I know its been long since I last wrote on my blog. I have been busy at work and in life otherwise…. (not sure how many people read this blog anyway.. lol)

This one is a real sad one so if you are not interesting in something like that, you can quit reading here…..

After many days I went to meet the kids at Pratham.. the smile on their face was soo real (compared to the fake smiles we see around many times now days) …. We (me and Swapy) had taken cake for them for some small celebration.. Exam season is on for the kids.. We started by enquiring about their exams and other details.. .. we lined them up for the cake..it is so funny sometimes.. those kids are much more disciplined than we adults… within 15 secs they lined up systematically by height (no noise, no hussle bussle) .. none of them pounced on the cake to try n get extra share (this is a common site among guys celebrating bdays in hostels)

After one round of cake we were left with some extra pieces . We decided to quiz the kids and reward the ones who answer correctly … it was so much fun and we had a gr8 time … this 1 hour spent with the kids is so refreshing…

Now you must be thinking where does recession come in to picture.. the end of our meet wasn’t good.. …it was really bad actually.. the Caretaker at Pratham told us that they are planning to send some of the kids back home and only keep 20 kids (currently there are 45 kids at the centre). This is because some company which sponsors this centre has decided to withdraw / reduce the Financial Aid. Companies reducing their Corporate Social Responsibility expense because of recession or low demand in the market… we were saddened .. why do these kids (the future of this country) have to suffer because of mistakes made by us… it is so unfair …

Anyways… we don’t want to sit on the problem and we are going to look for other funding options.. Will set up a website and request people to donate to Pratham directly so that those kids don’t have to go back home. They get all the education n support to take our country forward.

I would request all the readers of my blog of any solutions or ways in which these kids can be helped? Any thoughts. Also I would need your help in promoting the website which we will put up with details n videos of the kids.

Its surprising what people can achieve when they work together.. so I m confident we will be able to help them.. hopefully before things fall apart.

Keep Smiling and make others smile

Mumbai Local Trains

2009-01-21T02:34:00.000-08:00

First of all Happy New Year to all the readers !!! (However small that number is..lol)

Mumbai as they call it, is a city of dreams… and one of the most significant part of fulfilling these dreams is played by the Local Trains which carries lakhs of people everyday (considering the crowd in the trains sometimes I feel all these lakh people are trying to come in the same train..). Anyhow, the ride in the train can be very tiring and uncomfy for the obvious known reasons…. But it can be fun also if u wana look at it …here is how I sometimes look at it and people..

They say people match their watches looking at the same guy at the same place every single day to catch the local train. That is how mechanical (or punctual if u want to sound positive.. haha) the local trains make you. Here I am trying to paint a day of work in which I spend 38% of my time travelling in train…lol...

For me the day starts normally,as I try my best (actually very best) to open my eyes at 7 AM (ya that’s early for me ok..) so depending on the time I have, I rush with my morning chores to be out of home around 7:50 AM. A Bus ride to the local train station is made refreshing by the lovely faces going to Sophia College. But the sad part is that its just the next stop to where I get in soo the time is too less for even a eye contact ..lol.. nonetheless I am more focused on thinking of my TO-DO list of the day. I somehow manage to catch the 8:13 local from Grant Road.( you must be already thinking of me as the Ram Bajaj in Andaaz Apna Apna… Sab cheez time to time honi chahiye..lol.. remember Robert asking him..Sir!!! chai main shakkar dalne ka time ho gaya?..lol)

Train is full of special characters;

1. ‘Mr. Hari (Hurry)’ will try to rush in to running train before stopping even if the train is empty (he is so used to getting in to those crowded trains that he can’t get out of that habit….lol

2. ‘Mr. I-Don’t-Care-About-Others’ will try n take up as much space as he can with this thunder thighs and heavy bag kept on the seat itself. But this man turns in to ‘Mr.Oh-Please-Come-Sit’ when the crowed enters in a hurdle at Dadar 

3. ‘Mr.Wana-Be-Neat” would adjust his shirt every 5 mins and his hair style every 1min (Please note that the intervals might change depending on if any girl is standing nearby). Also It could include “Mr.I-am-Scared-of-my Wife” fearing of having to wash the cloths if there is stain on it.

4. ‘Mr.Sleeping-giant” wouldn’t care if someone even sat on their lap or ran away with their stuff. I might fall in this category at times. Infact you won’t believe, once I was travelling on a train to Churchgate (down south) in the evening after office and woke up on the train going opposite towards Borivali (going north)…lol. For a moment I was scared.. I had travelled all the way to south and come back 1 hour away from my station.. it was not funny at all.. took me 10 mins to come to senses and understand what had happened..

If you are wondering why there are all Mr and no Miss in the list, its because there are hardly any Miss in the male compartments. There are so many stories related to Mumbai Local trains that it would be never ending. But these are some funny things.

Looking forward to hear your funny experience in Mumbai Trains or any local transport trains….

Keep Smiling :)

how to keep happy in these gloomy times

2008-12-28T22:21:00.000-08:00

(Here are some small simple tips for keeping happy in these gloomy times)

· Smile at a stranger: If the world shows us a threatening face, why not paint that face with smiles to make it less threatening. Let's face it, if you smile at someone, they'll smile back (in all normal situations.. unless he is the brother of gal you are dating secretly). The more you smile, the more people will smile at you. The more you smile, the more people will smile at you. If everybody follows this advice, at least dentists will be too busy to fear world events.

· Volunteer: One of the scariest things about the world today is not just that it seems to be going downhill, but that we feel powerless to stop it. Worse still, politicians and diplomats are in charge (or not so in charge to do anything good). But we CAN take control and send the world uphill right in our own neighborhood. We can help the local animal shelter. We can smile with those small kids ar the NGO, We can work at the food bank. (That's my personal favorite, and NO you do NOT get free samples.) We can help little old ladies across the street. We can make a difference right in our own communities where the politicians and diplomats won't interrupt.

· Enjoy filmy gossip: I know it sounds strange coming from a guy (I enjoy being sexist at times) but this is specially for all the Indian filmy buffs. I know some of my frens think it’s none of our business to get in to the personal lives of the film stars but then I feel who cares if that gives us or people around us a small laugh or a light moment. We don’t have to take them so seriously. By the way.. I think Aamir took Ghajani too seriously…. Out of 2 years that went in making the film I guess he wasted 1.5 years building up the 8 packs and had no time to make the movie itself… didn’t like the movie at all… however Asin was very cute n simple..

Why was Karishma & Abhishek’s Engagement called off (whenever it was.. its been ages)?

We know that Karishma’s mother Babita is not in good terms with her husband’s i.e. Kapoor Family. And Amitabh is related to Kapoor / Nanda family through his daughter. Babita post the engagement had put a condition to Amitabh asking him to cut all ties with Kapoor family. Amitabh denied doing the same and the engagement was called off.

(how much of this is true.. I dono.. you are free to add in .. if u know of a different story..

Does anyone know why Kareen and Shahid got separated?)

Always Keep Smiling :-)

Are we getting the root cause right?

2008-12-08T21:44:00.001-08:00

As someone said picture speaks thousand words so here is one i made (plz click on the image to see)

Lets Look for Solutions

2008-11-30T22:28:00.000-08:00

I have seen the whole event on TV and felt it very closely. It is difficult to put in words how we feel when something like this happens in our city in our country. As i was listening to people on TV & Radio, there is a lot of Anger in people's mind, and rightly so. But everyone was talking about issues and blaming politicians...hardly anyone talked abt solutions (other than a war with Pakistan which i dont think is the solution)..so i sat back and thought of ......A Call to the PM's office and the following email sent to the PM

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Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I am not sure if this would even reach you but still I want this to be heard. I am a working professional in Mumbai and wish to help in the hour of crisis in the country. I will try to make this as precise and to the point so that I don’t waste your time.

I am sure you have heard people’s opinion about politicians and authorities in the country post the havoc in Mumbai. Being an Indian myself I can totally understand the emotions. But I want to put my energy in to something constructive and suggest solutions instead of blaming people and talking about just issues.

The Idea:

To save its face and to save the country, the Central Government should run a campaign asking people of this country to suggest their ideas to curb Terrorism in the country. You should promise that the campaign will be wholly promoted by the PMO and some of the filtered ideas would be debated in the working committee and parliament for implementation (live telecast of the debate). I know the idea sounds overly optimistic but then I guess that is required at this point in time. The high energies of people in the country need to be directed in to something constructive and only you can do this through your team. Ask them to SMS, email or write letters with their ideas and put up a team of 100 people to scan it and filter it. It won’t cost much to implement this considering the following benefit.

Benefits:

• It gives People of India a feeling of involvement towards the country
• It gives some saving grace to the government by showing that it cares and is willing to take steps
• It allows the millions of brilliant brains of the country to come up with innovative (cost effective & practical) solutions
• It actually might end up saving my country, our country from many disasters
• AND IT’S NO SHAME TO ASK FOR HELP……. AFTER ALL EVERYONE IN THIS COUNTRY IS EQUALLY RESPONSIBLE

Please note that I am not questioning the intelligence your team has but I believe 1million brains will provide you a better pool of ideas to work with.
I am not sure if these emails are read by you, but I m optimistically looking forward to your reply.

Best Regards

Rahul Choube

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I dont know if this is the right way, but I truly believe that its time to consider it our duty to contribute in whatever way we can to solve the problem.

Looking for your thoughts

Cheers

Enjoy life and Be Happy

2008-11-11T03:37:00.000-08:00

We in today’s world face soo many challenges and hard situations which literally force us to think “Why Me?”….. imagine Someone (who has a job) doesn’t like his boss, someone is not getting a job at all, someone is having issues in their relationships, someone is just irritated by their surrounding (raj thackray, terror attacks etc)… too many things around us (small or big) keep us low and entangled.

Sometime when I sit back and try to think, how much of our energies we spend worrying about these things and not enjoying our day to day life. I don’t mean we shouldn’t think about them at all, but do we think about the problem or the solutions or do we actually do something about the issue???

More than trying to get a solution to the problem which is a must ,I would say try to be positive about whatever happens in your life, I know it sounds easier than it is.. but then What the Hell… who says life is a easy ride.. at least we can try to make it enjoyable …

So the next time you feel you are not being treated well by your GF/BF, being scolded by your boss for no reason… just think… it’s up to you if u want to get hurt… at that time try to enjoy smiles of people around u (specially kids).. laugh on some of those stupid jokes of Laughter Challenge show.. some silly SMSs from your friends..or best… spend time reading silly blogs abt life.. you would get many reasons to smile J

I know this post sounds soo philosophical but then that’s what I have actually come to realize and I feel everyone should follow to keep themselves happy.

Here is a joke .. u get for bearing through my blog and come out of that feeling u got after reading it.. hahaha

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Man to doctor:
When I sleep, monkeys
play football in my dreams.

Dr:No problem,
just take this medicine b4 sleep.

Man: Kal se khaonga aaj final hai.

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KEEP SMILING

A Strange but “Innovative” Idea

2008-10-14T23:36:00.000-07:00

It was a routine morning, and I was on my way in the train to office listening to Mumbai’s very own RJ “Malishka” (love the way she says her name). After the Blasts in Delhi, it was being talked about everywhere in media ; radio, TV, Newspapers etc.
Malishka then gave a very interesting thought which I wish to present here based on my understanding. It goes like this
“ When a blast happens and a terrorist organization claims it, what is their basic objective? Not only creating the terror but also letting the whole world know about it. What if a blast happens and its now shown anywhere. I mean the news about the blast is not published in any of the media forms. The whole objective of the Terrorist organization would be beaten. I know it sounds crazy and not practical but just think about it…. If the whole media unites for this cause and tries to do that.. what would be the implications? “
This came across as a very interesting and path breaking idea to me.. and it somewhere clicked that really can this be done? Will it somewhere hit the root cause of all these issues?

Let me know your thoughts…

Cheers


The “Pratham” Experience

2008-09-18T02:41:00.000-07:00

Now this has to be one of the best and the most fulfilling experience of my life. All thanks to my sweet friend Mr. X (Name not mentioned due to security issues.. he is too good and I don’t want him to be harassed by girls..:) ). Not that too many girls read my blog anyway… lol.. but just in case.

As a kid when we all dream to do something different and contribute to the society, even I had similar thoughts. These thoughts became more profound as I saw so many of my MBA friends in Toronto being active in contributing to the society and people around them. My friend X had been part of this NGO called “Pratham” in south Mumbai where they used to teach small children English & Computers.

I was interested in joining this NGO and I got that chance few weeks back. As we got out from the Taxi in the Masjid area in south Mumbai, we went through this tiny walkway “Galee” with small shops on both sides and a huge crowd. It was so bad that we had to walk like snails through that crowd. We finally reached the building which is called “Musafir Khana” (meant for people who are travelling via Mumbai and want to relax for sometime in the area of the Mosque). The Mosque had given the top floor of the building to this NGO. Obviously there was no lift, so we walked our way through the old building with those stone stairs. As we went inside all the kids (age 5 to 15) had already gathered and sitting on the floor with some of the other MBA students. They were too busy in their notebooks to even look at us.

My Friend X had plans to teach them India’s Pledge in English. Some of these kids already used to go to school and knew some ABC.. The room was like those old house rooms with stone flooring. we started sentence by sentence of translation of the pledge from Hindi to English. “India is my country; All Indians are my brothers & sisters”. The first thing to notice was many of us MBA graduates didn’t remember the pledge fully. However this fact re-enforced the urge to remember it and teach it to these kids.

The kids started on their note books and the most amazing thing I noticed was they were writing the pronunciations of those words in hindi below the English sentence. That was something they did on their own. It was helping them remember the pronunciations. Overall the 2 hours went in a jiffy.

The Sparkle in their eyes and their willingness to study so eagerly on a Sunday (when some people want to leave job early even on a Friday) was amazing to see. I truly enjoyed teaching them and wish to continue this and may be do something on larger scale.
I believe if we have the talent and some time, why not put it in a good cause. The pleasure and sense of satisfaction you would get then you see them standing in front of everyone and speaking the Pledge out in English would be much more than you can imagine.
Hope that more of us get involved in nourishing the true future of our country (i.e children)

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. “

-William Butler Yeats

Questions in my mind

2008-09-01T00:57:00.000-07:00

“Jor se bolo Jia Mata Di” “Sai Baba ki Jai” some of the enchanting we get to hear at various places in India which are of religious importance. This is common site Temples, Gurudwara, Masjids and all the other places of worship.

I have been thinking on this for quite a while but couldn’t find a way to explain it. I am trying to do that through this blog. Looking at thousands of people standing in the queue at Sai Baba temple or Tirupati temple, I wondered what was the outcome of these efforts other than some mental satisfaction? That too was taken away from the large queue and mental stress to even reach the temple. My friend who had gone for a trip to south for holiday also went to Tirupati. However his experience in Tirupati was the worst of all the places he visited. Reason again rush of people, wait times, lack of arrangements etc. Why do people spend so much time and energy waiting for a 10 second look at the image of the God or Goddess? The reason for getting this thought was “Law of conservation of energy”. This energy spent by lakhs of people everyday, what does it get converted in to? What happens to all this energy spent by those devotees of Shankar (called Kavidiyas in delhi) to walk barefooted to a city in North India? Similar are the cases in Maharashtra as well.

What if we could convert this energy in to something productive? How much energy will it generate to solve the energy issues India faces today? Is it even practical to think on these lines? Can people be made to do things which they are oblivious to?

I would love to know your views on this. Please note the more creative you get the better the result would be.

Keep Smiling J

First Day @ Work

2008-08-13T04:55:00.000-07:00

Sooooo finally after a month long search (actually 3 months considering my in between visit to Toronto) I finally decided on Joining Bharti Telesoft in Mumbai. Last one month in Noida was so much fun… The Great India Place (a huge mall in Noida) kinda became my second home.. so much so that the security guards had started recognizing me by face and if I would have stayed for few more days the restaurants would have started giving me discounts..

Rides in Delhi Metro were good too (I miss it more now that I am traveling in the wonderful Mumbai local trains where people almost sit on each other and it’s a celebration if u have empty space of 1 feet around u)…

BUT the best part in Noida was spending time with my niece.. she is a sweetheart….

Ok after all this background…… let me go to the first day..

I was told by the HR guy in Delhi office that there were some important training sessions scheduled so I have to be in the office from 11^th. I rushed to Mumbai on 10^th evening. It has been raining badly in Mumbai for last many days. And my first day was no different….I hate these rains.. honestly the kichad, getting wet in those nice formal office cloths… I mean whats so gud about it unless u r just sitting inside your house having garam Bhajiya. Don’t you think so? Or may be its just me!!

I reach office and I was the first person (of course after the watchman and the office boy)…. The HR girl to whom I was supposed to report at 9 AM had not arrived even by 9:30 .. before u start thinking of her wrongly .. later I discovered it was because of the rains that she got late… my boss (who took my interview) was in early and gave me some nice intro to the company and client … the office was almost empty till like 11… I was cursing the HR guy in Delhi who said there was some “IMPORTANT” training that was going to happen…. Grrrr I felt like showing him my training of kung fu.. but he got saved..

No training and I couldn’t even get a company laptop or Desktop (so I had to use my own personal laptop.. which I m still using as I write this blog.. hopefully I will get it soon..

The icing on the cake was knowing that GMAIL, YAHOO, ORKUT everything is blocked in our office L (God I miss my old job for this). I mean isn’t it like a ritual to visit your orkut page or yahoo mail every half hour.. I mean how can one survive without that.. but guess what I m surviving.. and I m sure there are many of you who are… but tomorrow when I have my own company I wont do this.. at the end of the day it’s the work that would matter.. and if the work would be interesting for the people they wont have time to go n waste their time on these websites..

By the end of the day I had made two nice new frens in my team, both are quite sweet and friendly and new to the company like me (so we shared the starting blues). So the day had its highs n lows.. still getting used to being here.. and I am sure it will be an interesting and challenging journey…

Do share any first day stories u guys might have..

KEEP SMILING :)

Interesting end to a Journey

2008-07-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

Again real life stuff, I don’t know why such things keep happening to me….. but this is really interesting…

January 2005, on my way to Abu Dhabi (UAE) for a commercial product launch of the project on which we had been working for last 5 months… I start my journey at 6:00 PM in Baroda (India).. my flight to Mumbai is just 45 mins.. those were one of the most uncomfortable seats, and no prices for guessing the airline… “Indian” … Anyways.. reached Mumbai around 9 PM. My manager was in Mumbai for some work so went to the hotel where they were staying…

I wasn’t new coming to Mumbai.. but I don’t know why I took the cool cab.. and the meter of its meter was running faster than the scoreboard when Sachin is batting in full flow.. I ended up paying 150 bucks for something which should have cost me 50 bucks in a rickshaw.. I couldn’t help it .. bcoz the meter showed it and of course the Mumbai taxi guys wont let u go without paying luggage even for 1 bag… so not a gud start to the journey..

My Flight was around 7:30 in the morning so I had to get up early n reach airport around 4:30 , so no gud sleep. Normally the flight to Abu Dhabi is just 2.5 hours but the one they booked for me was via Muscat … so it was going to take 5 hours… not used to long flights.. I somehow reached Abu Dhabi around 10 AM (UAE Time). I was out by 11:30 AM.

The driver was waiting for me and I had some relief. As we reached the city, he stopped at a hotel which is owned by our client. I was surprised on why isn’t he (driver) taking me home after I have traveling for last 16 hours without much sleep…he said my manager is there and wants to talk about something. I thought may be just some 5 min welcome talk.

Now here is the biggest twist of my life………………

I go up stairs to a conference room and as soon as I enter the guy standing there says “ Here is Mr. Rahul and he will give us the presentation on UAEX Application and its launch” …. And I had 25 people sitting in front of me………

It took exactly 30 sec for me to close my mouth which was open because of the shock and another 30 seconds to come to senses. And the first thing that came out of my mouth was “Can I please wash my face because I am coming directly from the airport”….lol. now it sounds hilarious but trust me it wasn’t if you were standing in that situation with 25 people looking at u …

While washing my face I tried to give all nice blessings to my boss for not informing me of this meeting. So left with no choice I had to present to these people for another 2 hours. After which they enjoyed nice lunch in the same hotel and I was just looking at them standing (I couldn’t eat because I had not even brushed my teeth)L .

This was a horrifying experience but I some how managed it. Presentation went well and I gave some hearing (if not a lot) to my manager for not letting me know in advance.

Hope this was an interesting read…

Keep Smiling J

CCD Rocks

2008-07-22T00:46:00.001-07:00

This is just couple of days back, I was sitting all alone in a Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) in Noida, Delhi. Now i am a big big fan of Cafe Coffee Day. While sitting alone facing a wall, which had a notice board kinda thing, I saw that people had written some quotes on paper Tissues and pasted it there. What i read there was one of the funniest ones... girls might not like it.. but its funny and totally logical in the way it is written...

Girl = Money X Time

Time = Money

Girl = Money X Money

Girl = (Money)2

Money is the root of all evil. i.e. Money = root of Evil

Girl = (root of evil)2

Hence, Girl = Evil

it was so logical and funny. Girls please don’t get mad or offended, try and think of something like this for guys.

Cheers

Adventurous Exam Day….

2008-07-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

Now this is my first attempt at blogging .. hope its easy read....

Ok.. now this is about a real life incidence.. no filmy story…one of the most important days of my life.. my GMAT exam.. Living in Baroda (a small city in India) I had to go to Ahmedabad, (2 hours drive)…. Everything was going all as planned.. I left early reached the exam centre 1 hour in advance and went to the exam room just 30 mins before around 10 A.M…. little did I know what was coming my way….

As I enter the centre… I show my exam card and then my ID (PAN Card)..and she comes back…. Sir your passport.. I m like this ID is acceptable right? GMAT website said any government ID… then I heard the most annoying “NO” of my life….. she got the GMAT Manual.. and a fine print (like the smallest font it can get… like those “conditions apply” ones..) said Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis must show Passport as the Photo ID. The feeling was much worse than how u feel when u get ripped by one of those fine prints on the product offers..

Forget being nervous about the exam, I started thinking about the solutions for this mess now. Being 2 hours away from my house there was no way I could get the passport in time…. with my techie brain.. I started giving her options.. XEROX copy of the passport? Again NO… scanned copy of the original passport.. that was a new one for her … so she called the head office in Delhi and got a NO again… soo now I thought I had lost it totally.. and would have to re-schedule the exam (which means losing on $80 USD)……

Then from somewhere, like Krishna Bhagwan in Mahabharata.. a professor from the college came to my rescue.. he gave me an extension of 2:30 and allowed me to start the exam at 1:00PM. Some ray of hope… I called up my friend in Baroda and told him abt the mess… the only way now I could get the passport in time was if he would come to the exam centre with the passport…. Which would mean him having to skip office work…problems problems… I got some nice hearing (including all the nice sweet swear words).. from my friend…

Now I must say, he was one “JUGADU” (someone who can get work done). What he did was the riskiest but most effective solution…….

Can u think of anything……………

…………………………….

He went to the bus station in baroda and straightway went to the bus driver of the next bus for Ahmedabad… he gave my passport to the driver and called me to get me talk to him.. the bus was supposed to reach Ahmedabad by 12:30.. just in time for me… there was no other way out…. So he had to give my passport to a total stranger..

The bus started from Baroda, I ran to the bus station in Ahmedabad.. Eagerly waiting for the bus….. … Finally the bus reached.. I got hold of the bus driver… and thank god…. I got the passport…. (Time 12:30) I have to be at the centre by 12:45… I rush in a rickshaw….. literally running to the centre… and as soon as I enter the room… the girl is like smiling at me asking….. “DID U GET THE PASSPORT?” and ………..

Finally I had the smile of relief…… to say “YES”…..

Cheers

All this mess… and now an exam for 4 hours……..an exam which was soo expensive that I could not afford to give it the next time if I failed…. Thank God… I scored decent… infact the best score out of all the mock tests I had given…..

So the end of it all gr8… but the day was one of the most adventurous...

Do you guys have any such adventurous exam day stories………….

Hope this wasn’t too long to read….