An Ode to a 'Virtual' friend

He was a big SRK fan…

He was a very good listener….

He was a good human being & my friend…

But a ‘virtual’ friend as I never really got to meet him… the distance between two cities was never covered… and like a lot of things this was on my to-do list…. I guess I have to cross it off now as I will never really meet him... the distance between us now has extended to life & death…

He is no more…  and I’m not sure how to accept this loss…. I know he has a wife.. I know he has a son.. I know there will be a whole set of people who loved him.. But I don’t know anyone… so how do I reach out & let him know that he is in my prayer.. he is in my thoughts…. 

So if you can hear me… I want to put this out there….

I miss you Rehan…  Without knowing any details of my life you understood me.. and were always ready to give me time when I felt like talking…. There are very few people who can give the gift of time.. and you my dear friend honored me with yours….

You & your family are in my prayers.. Rest in peace!

The Great Indian Service Class!

With a change of job I get to travel within the city everyday these days..  Earlier my office was outside the main city & so didn’t have this experience for a long time… City has obviously changed and “so-called” urbanization has taken its toll; roads are jammed, traffic is slow & most of all the colour green is visible in patches… very few of them unfortunately…

I get to see all types of residential developments & hoardings with builders trying to lure you into deals which makes them richer & gets the hard-earned money from “some folks”..

Who are these “some folks” for whom these offers are being fashioned… Someone who has a stash of black/blue/brown colour cash doesn’t need an offer as these are just opportunities to change the colour of cash… So who is the target…

The city is divided into areas, some are “posh” some “affordable, there are some “new-city-on-their-own” and some are solely targeting at “IT people” which seems a bit frivolous as the “on-paper” & “in-hand” status of an IT person is the stuff of legends.

The “posh” ones generally don’t have offers as this is meant for folks with coloured cash…

So that only leaves “Service Class” who are the potential targets for all these budget, smart & affordable property offers…

Service class people don’t make money… they save money…

They work hard so that someday they will be eligible for an offer... so the offer is not for these people.. But people make themselves fit for one…

At some point these folks will achieve the target & be proud owners of one… but is this what they really want?

Service class are dreamers… yes they live on planet earth but they dream the universe… the other set of people get to live the dream or maybe for them it is not really a dream… but for The Great Indian Service Class the dream is the ultimate ecstasy…

They dream of a large house in the “posh” area but settle for affordable homes…

They dream of the luxury sedan & cruise control but settle for the hatchback with low maintenance...

They dream of 5-star luncheons but opt for the budget restaurant…

Most of all they dream of dying rich…

So does this make them losers… I think not... On the contrary this is the precise set of people who lead the urbanization & development of the city… every change is triggered from a common man’s problem..

People stuck in traffic jam... leads to road development... & who travels on the street?

Residential properties springing up everywhere… which set of people now have the power to buy!

Malls & multiplexes opening in galore... well folks need entertainment & ofcourse the source of more dreams!!!

Progress today is making the rich richer & poor poorer…. But the Service Class... the middle layer… strong & steady leads the way…

Kudos to “The Great Indian Service Class”, proud to be part of it!!!

Sakhar Zhop….Sugar Sleep….Subah ki Meethi Meethi Neend….

It happens after about 5 secs after your alarm rings… your brain knows that you have to wake up.. and your heart wants a little more time to sleep…between the brain and heart there is a calculation which tells you that you can have 10 mins more if you are not planning to wash your hair or have breakfast or cook in the morning… any task that you can omit and use that time to sleep is identified and on completing the calculation…. The heart tells the brain…. Well 10 mins.. only 10 mins I will wake up…..  as you close your eyes and reminisce about the events of the previous night… a tiny smile plays on your lips…and the mind moves to a happy place….

I call this ‘Snooze’ sleep….

Now at this point if there is no trigger to wake you up… you will go to into deep sleep & even have some dreams… only to wake up in a panic state and make a run for it…!! I know this, as today morning I went into snooze sleep for about 50 mins… well I had the most wonderful dream… There was this guy in the dream… and he was… well is… pretty perfect… but…  there are always “buts” to any good thing in life…

So you can have cake.. but you will put on weight…

You can drive as fast as you want.. But there can be an accident..

You can sleep as much as you want… But you won’t get any work done… and so on…

But.. :) this piece is not about the dream.. nor the guy in the dream(I could write an essay about him).. or the ‘Buts’ in life…

It is about ‘Snooze’ Sleep…

The extra sleep after alarm rings… the extra sleep when you know that beyond a certain point you cannot sleep anymore…

This short nap is precious.. I have no idea why…

You can sleep as much as you want on a weekend…but the joy of ‘Snooze’ sleep cannot be matched…

In Marathi(which is my mother tongue) we have a name for it… ‘Sakhar Zhop’ (Sugar Sleep) and in the National Language… Meethi Meethi Neend…

One peculiar thing about this nap is.. incase you have a dream.. it is always a good one… something that makes you smile… Hence the reference to sweet sugar in the name I think…

Like the one with the perfect guy… or the one where I have conquered the world… or a scene with Mr Khan & me … my dreams at this point are pretty standard girly stuff.. but always good ones… Snooze Sleep has no bad dreams… and I think for this reason we wish them to come true…. I always hope they do…

Snooze Sleep in my books counts as the ‘perks’ of life… small moments of joy… they go unnoticed and are forgotten many times..  mostly we don’t give a second thought to this event as it is mundane and happens too often…

However the next time you do have a Snooze sleep.. and wake up.. give yourself a moment to feel this happy feeling…

If it was accompanied by a dream… give a thought to that dream.. it could just be a reflection of what you really want in life.. or just a recollection of a good memory…

You will definitely have a small happy moment in your life.. life after all is made of thousands of tiny happy & very happy moments right?

So once the alarm rings… Have a nice Sakhar Zhop…!!!!

Rok sako toh rok lo…!!!!

I had a fight with a guy today… official fight… which resulted in me writing a big bad email to the world and then taking out all the anger on white board behind my desk… it is a large white board… I basically cleaned it… and then scribbled all over it…!!!

Now this guy is a friend of sorts and outside of work we get along pretty well…. To cheer me up while going back home he sent me pictures of Hinjewadi roads(that is homeland)… and also wished me good morning today(he never does that)….

I’m thinking of how people interpret my anger… he thinks I’m angry with him.. in which case I would have not talked to him after our fight… but I did talk to him…  rest of the guys in office thought that this was going to be meltdown of sorts so they were being extra nice…

My anger has steps…

1. Anger… increase in volume of speech… quickening of pulse… frowning of the face…
2. Then is a psychotic urge to break stuff… breaking things gives me super feeling… I know what you are thinking.. “main pagal hoon”(I’m mad).. well… that is true in all scenarios of my life…
3. A strong urge hit someone… this is for special cases….
4. Nerve racking sense of helplessness when I can’t do either of the steps 2 or 3….
5. Weird urge to eat chocolate…. This is the silliest thing… but yes… chocolate always turns up in my head when I’m angry… dark n gooey kind…  Have not been able to decipher the meaning of that yet…
6. and finally regret…The regret is always there… not over getting angry… or over breaking things (I have done that a lot mostly with my own stuff)… but it is just for getting into that situation where I got angry in the first place…

And when I think back… I am in the situation due to my own fault.. always….

So I keep wondering… why is it that I don’t stop myself from getting there…  Is it because I don’t realize where this situation is getting to?

There is loads of ‘gyan’ on how people need to control anger… be calm… but it is a gyan and only saints have the strength required for this control… I’m a mere mortal… There are times when I’m successful in controlling (very few) and others when I’m not(too many)….  But I think anger has a good side…

I get angry when someone says something about the ones I love…. Which means I am emotional about my relationships…

I get angry when I’m are trying hard to make something work and someone is trying even harder to stop it from happening… This means I’m  passionate about the work I do…

I get angry when people don’t agree with me… this means I try to seek acceptance and want to have a sense of belonging….  (even though getting everyone to agree with me is not the way to this)

Overall I don’t think it is a bad emotion that we need to control all the time.. sometimes just letting go is helpful too… keyword being sometimes….

I take pride in being emotional and passionate and it is just human to want to fit in… so I’m going to keep my anger and there are going to be fireworks… Rok sako toh rok lo…!!!!

Weekend in Ipswich…!

I have been in the UK for about 20 days now… and finally I feel like I have settled in… I even came up to speed on the ‘Normal’ weekend activities that I’m supposed to do…

What do I mean by ‘Normal’…..  well on an average all Indians who live in “Onsite” locales do a set of activities in a recurring manner… every weekend….
To a person coming from our “bustling with activity” country these tasks would seem pretty mundane… even outright boring… but for the trying-to-fit-in-Angrezy-land-desi this is inevitable…. Here goes the list….

1. Cleaning – unlike India this can be done once a week… don’t we love the cold countries where there is no dust… no dust = no cleaning everyday… Life can’t be this easy though… don’t get excited…  so what’s the catch… try “hovering” the invisible dust.. you will miss the “zhadooo”…  yes you will… coz this wonder of technology gives you sore arms… sore back… n takes forever… Miss you Mr Broom…
2. Weekly shopping – this refers to stocking up your fridge with milk, juice, fruits, veggies and frozen fattening stuff…The Indian bargaining germ is on full alert… the style of bargaining here is not to tell the guy in ‘Sainsbury’ – ‘Oye 10 ka 2 de,, nahi toh rehne de main doosri dukkan se le loongi’… But we need to figure out the ‘doosri dukkan’… it involves Data collection(asking other “settled” desis where & what), Analysis(mapping to what I need to where I get and costs involved), Planning (checking how much time and distance to walk to achieve best results) and of course Reporting (updating in “short reckonings” to do hisaab with roomates)… the most interesting activity is data collection coz I have information like below:
   1. Sugar is cheaper in QD than Sainsbury.. same sugar but cheaper.. I don’t understand the English…
   2. Get Indian stuff from Sri-Lankan… This guy runs an Indian shop.. but Sri Lankans apparently are more popular this side of the UK then Desis and so they rule….!
   3. Don’t buy anything from Patel… but whenever you ask where I will get ‘Something’.. the answer is Patel’s, but don’t buy he sells everything ‘mehenga’.. I have not been there even once.. but the number of times his name is mentioned tops the Sri Lankans and all other Asian shops put together.. nobody seems to buy anything from him though…I think it is primarily coz his shop is on the other side of everything.. (check PS for everything).. we also have the lazy gene within so…. don’t buy stuff from Patel.. but keep talking about him… recently a friend of mine enlighted me on the mystery… apparently Miss Patel is the reason for all the ‘Patel’s Jao’ hoppla… men will be men… and suddenly it all makes sense…!
   4. Poundland… buy everything there… 1 pound.. go crazy… yeah just coz it is 1 pound do you have to pick everything..??

I have heard all this with an open mind.. but every time I can’t help think how Indian brain functions… we just never get over doing the conversions in our heads.. even someone as poor in maths as me can do very fast conversions in my head… it is a Miracle…!

3. India calling – Weekend is the only time we make long calls home… really long…. Well Indians like talking.. and people like me like talking even more.. so I call up people… over the last 3 weekends I have called up people I have not called in months.. Calls are like

‘Hi Prajakta here…”
“ ohhh Prajakta, it has been so long…”
“ yeah I know…  I’m in UK actually..”
“Oh when did you go, didn’t tell while going na…”
“ya it all happened in the blink of an eye(complete lie) didn’t get time to call…”
“oh you never call..”(as if they call me everyday)
“aare so I called you as soon as I got here, just been a week…”
“oh that is sweet, when you come back we will meet up(this is lie from the other side)…”
“ya sure, I hope all is well.. blah blah blah…” .
It makes them happy and it gives me something to do… Sab khush…! Not that I don’t enjoy these calls… but point is there are happening coz I’m here…!!
Bolo…. 1p per min ki Jai…!!!

4. Planning for other weekends – This is the fun activity… when sunshine hits sleepy towns in UK everyone gets on the feet and in the street… literally… and it gets the Indians excited too… and we plan.. Switzerland.. Scotland.. or simple trip to London… all in advance… cheaper tickets is the catch to the all the planning..  But this is fun…  Take a tour or if you are more adventurous plan your own trip… hotels, BnBs or caravans.. loads of options to stay… this phase also gives as much pleasure as the trip would.. and trust whether you do it here or in India… planning trips for people like me gives super adrenaline kick…!!
5. Go on the planned trip – yeah some weekends are spent doing activities planned on point 4…  and these are probably the best weekends.. I’m yet to experience the sweets of patience aka ‘Sabra ka fal meetha hota hai’ feeling…  but for now waiting for this weekend to happen

Moral of the story… Weekends here are slow and the DIY stuff turns you into a bore… but then this is the reason men from IT world are eligible bachelors… they learn to cook, clean and shop… and I think they start to appreciate women a little more…
As for girls… we are perfect and perfection cannot be improved…!!!
Anyways I did 4 out of 5 activities on my second weekend here… So I guess I’m settling in!!
PS: Everything in Ipswich is a set of 4 streets… which is called Towncenter…  anything beyond is far by Ipswich standards and people will only go as far as the Towncenter to get anything….
PPS: ‘He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’ was born in Ipswich in real life… I found this after scavenging for fun facts and trivia about Ipswich…  But that’s about it.. the only interesting thing about Ipswich… This is a village… and I have to get my mind to adjust to slow life….

Go Green!!

I like the colour green… one of the reasons for that is how it enhances a view…turns a landscape into a classic shot… and fills your heart with LOVE….

After a hot, sweaty and horrible summer when rains give life to the dead atmosphere... the best version of the colour green comes alive… This green is soothing… calming… like a sweet lullaby… All I want to do is dance a slow dance…!!

As birds begin their romances… the heart gets filled with love… I fall in love with everything around… even this barren land surrounding the office brightens up… the office brightens up…. JJJ

Green is the colour of envy and I was wondering why would such a pleasant colour be associated with such a strong human emotion… after googling I want to believe one piece which I read... it said green is only present on the Earth... so other planets, satellites, everything that lies in the infinite space ‘Universally’ envy the Earth… and hence this is colour of envy…!

Whenever you ask someone their favourite colour the answer is generally blue or white or even black… Even my answer is red in this context… green rarely makes the cut…. but right now... as I close my eyes… and smell the earth… it is green… the love generating green!!! And as I go green with love I remember lines from my favourite poem ‘Daffodils’…

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

You may be green with envy for what someone else has.. Or the grass on the lawn in the adjoining office/house maybe greener... or greenest…

The colour green will always represent what we want to have in life... it may be out of reach… or after getting there the green maybe not so-much-greener… but if you have green in your life… you have desires….dreams.. wishes… love…. and envy too….  so Go GREEN!!

Today's Song... Yeh Hosla

Song ; Yeh Hosla

Movie : Dor

Music. : Salim-Sulaiman.

Lyrics. : Mir Ali Hussain

Singer : Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, Salim Merchant (backup)

I watch all kinds of movies.. even the bad ones…. There is one category of movies which I call ‘miracle’ movies…

Aamir, Dor, Jhankar Beats, Bheja Fry, Hyderabad blues to name a few… these are movies that make you feel wonderful and also sometimes leave a new thought in your head to linger on…

Dor was a surprise and unfortunately I could watch the movie in theatre. It is a very inspiring movie and the music is brilliant too.

All the songs are different whether it is Kesariya Balam or Iman ka Asar (Shreya Ghoshal & Sunidhi Chauhan).

Kesariya and all its versions deserve another piece. For now it a folk song originally composed by Shantanu Moitra and this one is a reworked version by Salim Sulaiman.

The song Yeh Hosla has a very good video as well. It is sung by Amanat Ali Khan who is a part of Pakistani band Fuzon (their song Khamaj is superb) . His voice is mesmerizing, the perfect singer for this one. And the song… it is like lift up… soothing and inspiring…. Very few instruments are used here.. it is voice that carries it to your heart…

Yeh Hosla Kaise Jhuke, Yeh Aarzoo Kaise Ruke

In a way hope and faith are always within us.. during hard times we need more strength to find them…

Manzil Mushkil to kya, dhundla Sahil to kya,

Tanha Ye Dil to Kya.. Ho Hooo

Sometimes we cannot even see where we are headed to… but hope leads us on

Raah Pe Kante Bikhre agar, Uspe to phir bhi chalna hi hai,

Shaam Chhupale Suraj magar, Raat ko ek din Dhalana hi hai,

Do we really have the choices.. do we really decide… I think it is more like the path is there… filled with impossible looking hurdles.. our only choice is whether we stay where are and wait for the miracle or take the path and be the miracle…

Rut ye tal jayegi, Himmat rang layegi,

Subha phir aayegi… Hoooo

Those tiny moments in life which bring a smile and make us happy… yes they are there and they make you happy too… so though right now seems like an ordeal it will pass…

Hogi hame jo rehmat ada, Dhup kategi saaye tale,

Apni khuda se hai ye Dua, Manzil lagale humko gale

That vision of paradise is in our minds.. different for each one… yet the place that we want to be in…it drive us… and that is what creates the hope within….

Zurrat so baar rahe, Uncha Ikraar rahe,

Zinda har pyar rahe… Hoooo

And no matter how many times we falter… to go on is life…

Yeh Hosla Kaise Juke, Yeh Aarzoo Kaise Ruke

To my friends..

Some lines for my friends on Friendship's Day...!!

This one is for my college gang...

It has been a long time
Since the lectures and classes...
Now that life seems simple and fun
Now that life seems missed and wanted...
If I could turn back the clock
I know where I would want it to stop...
Those many moments filled in between
That bring a smile.. yet sting my eyes...
I wonder how we came so far
That distances have walked in...
Time is now an expensive commodity
Gone are the days of careless musings....
Now we are standing at the crossroads of life
Holding someones hand we need to walk on...
Life will take a turn to new horizons
And as you cruise along the years...
Do remember to look beside you...
My heart would be there.... praying for you!!

This one is for our happy friday gang...

Some like being ‘Happy’ and gay...

Some experiment with tresses & spray …

Some are sportsmen from within…

Some are drawn to Hitler’s terrain…

And some hate being delivery managers…

But come Friday… the party gathers…

Bangalore, Berlin, Mumbai and Pune get closer…

They let me know… that distances don’t matter…

All it needs is just the keyboard clatter….

These are the special few always near…

That make Friendship’s day… very dear :)


This one is for my Chorus teammates, a reminisce of the crazy times...

Hum honge kamyaab… Ka naara lagaya…
But kambhakt customer ne break maar diya…
Wellington ki gaaliyon mein ‘bickering’ ke saath…
Customer ke har nakhre ko marke laat...
Madhya ratri mein tel jaalake…
Khela humne Vyapar aur teen paatee...
Pav bhaji, pasta aur parathe khayee…
New Zealand ke chape chape pe jhande lehraye..
Videshi police se panga bhi liya…
Bahut bahut bahut masti bhi kiya…
Doston bhoolna nahi un palon ko…
Jo har saal August mein yaad aayenge humko….

Happy Friendship's day to all...!!

'Real' Reality TV

I’m not a keen follower of all reality shows going around these days.. but i do watch a few follow and controversies as these make for good conversation... Even if it is simply to discuss how silly some of them are...

Last week I came across one on Zee Marathi called ‘Hafta Band’... I have seen about 3 episodes... it’s not having any twists... it has no celebrities... the contestants are people who have taken loans.. and the show format is simple... just answer questions(mostly general knowledge type) correctly and for each correct answer a percentage of the loan is paid off... so if you win you are a free man...!!

I have not seen any other show of this kind (I’m not sure if this is take from some program but I believe it is an original concept)... The participants are people who are looking for light at the end of the tunnel... peoples who’s lives and choices are all limited due to debt... just to given an example...

A contestant on yesterday’s show was a migrant from Bhed. His parents were farmers but as it is for many parts of Maharashtra farming for them is also completely dependent on the rains... so they had no choice but to send then oldest child to Pune to earn money.. And this young boy came to Pune and had to go through hardships to get on his feet, taking up odd jobs as cleaner or shop boy... And after lot of effort now has managed to setup a shop... He had taken a loan to get through some difficult times...These are the kind of participants on the show... And I think the team should be applauded for it...

In between the ‘make’ anyone a singing/ dancing idols, taking matrimony to the next level and having the truth to cleanse the souls which shake spiritual leaders, politicians etc to questions whether “Reality” on TV needs moral policing... This show makes one see the real change TV can bring to a “life”...

Rainy day...

Rains… sheets of water… falling like the sky had burst out… 26^th July… the day that Mumbai will never forgot is also a day that made me realize the strength of a “common” man, of a true Mumbaikar; so it is one of the best rainy experiences for me….

We were stuck in office… Frantic phone calls ensued and a tense atmosphere enveloped us all. People were ready to walk home as they couldn’t bear to wait in anticipation… it was a long night…

As we started receiving the updates of how Mumbai was coping with the disaster we went from shock to surprise to pride… The roads were filled, people were walking back home in neck deep water… And as the typical nature of government any sort of action was certainly absent… but Mumbaikars are self made and we heard stories of how food was provided to people trying to walk home, how help was given to anyone with complete disregard to own safety… Mumbai carried on… And within two days was back on its feet…

This was the night that I realized, that even though this age is termed as “Kalyug” we still have these brave souls, people with spirit to enlighten you, touch your life without any boisterous promises or burning “buses” in the name of religion and culture…

And though this was a very tragic day I will always remember it with pride.

Punekar (In love with Mumbai)

Learning to fly...

I like to drive… even with all the crazy traffic and no-rules roads in Pune… I like to drive…
I am a late bloomer … Long after all my friends were pros at the wheel, I bought my Activa… and needless to point that my dear Dhanno had her first crash 3 days later… she survived unscratched but then my confidence was bruised… all my friends told me that it is just not my piece of cake…. Now on the road I was more conscious of the other vehicles then my bike or the fact that I’m the one controlling it… oh… that bike is too close… I’m definitely going to dash into that bus… and if there is anything on four wheels behind, I prayed that the brakes on it were working… I didn’t enjoy the rides then… so I ventured into one only when needed…
But then Pune teaches you to drive the way no teacher could… the hurdle race in the city makes you an expert at getting through tiny spaces, avoiding skirmishes and the best skill is not having any scratches on the bike at the end of the day… Routine lessons went on and unknowingly I was learning the skill… One fine day I had to go to a friend’s place 20 kms away and all my friends were going on bikes… I got mine too assuming there would be a spare driver to take me through the ordeal (as we always have one extra boy who is without a bike and does the honours)… but Mr. Murphy decided to bless me and I had to drive…. We started at 1 pm in the afternoon via the highway…. I was petrified…. But didn’t want my friends to think I couldn’t do this… Here came the surprise…. The highway was empty… there were no vehicles as far as the eye could see… as I drove on I started to loosen up and feel the breeze for the first time… I saw the speedometer move to from 50 ahead and the bike was completely stable… I was in control and flying… I can hear my heartbeat and feel the rhythm of the wind… This feeling changed driving for ever… On getting there all I wanted to do was get back… feel the breeze…ride away…
Now I drive to office every day, sometimes there is very heavy traffic, sometimes rains, times when I see people driving past the red light or someone just about to make a stupid regrettable mistake, I watch people get frustrated… I watch people in utmost hurry… but me… I like to drive…!

Hi Me...

Sometimes it takes simply a chocolate bar…. Sometimes a SRK movie… Sometimes going through old mails…. Sometimes riding a bike… Sometimes going to the temple……. Lots of things to do to make me feel better, lighter and not so alone… when I am…. Alone…!!

But nothing is as good as spending time with good friends… doing nothing… or sharing sob stories… gossiping, cribbing, chai, coffee, tapri etc.

I have more than a 100 people in my orkut or gmail or any other contact list… I have got friends around the world….. Technology seems to have brought people closer… just a scrap or ping away…. How much easier can it be to connect…??
And as said… content matters more than the wrapping… all of my friends are gems… Just very fortunate to meet wonderful people at different crossroads in life and have them become an integral part of it…

Staying in a different country away from parents and family also makes me thank the telecommunications industry… you miss someone... Just call (international maybe costly… but who’s complaining :))…. Everyone is a phone call away….

And as you go to new places your friends list simply expands… and new people seep into your life…

30th November 2008, 11 pm… Waterfront, Wellington… listening to a ‘newly added’ friend recount his ‘love story’… I suddenly realized…. I’m alone… with all that technology can offer… with that very large contact list…with a whole family thinking about me and missing me for lot of occasions… I’m alone….
This is the loneliness that doesn’t go away even when I’m surrounded by people… Like a shadow it follows me around… sometimes engulfs me… sometimes makes me run…

That day however I let the feeling be… not fighting it… not pushing it away… not agonizing over it…. I let it pass….. I felt calm… like everything is settling down…
And then I was not alone… I was with ‘Me’… I could hear the little voice inside and I knew, loneliness is one more reason to connect to “You” and say “Hi Me”… :)

Hello..!!

Riding in a car... chatting with friends….enjoying the “green” view… listening to Kishore…

Mac: You girls always trouble me a lot... from tomorrow go by office bus… don’t come with me in my car…

Aps: ok ok… (With sly smile knowing Mac is just kidding… she never takes him seriously anyways)

Me: Nooooo.. Please Mac… I was just kidding… I like the extra sleep I get… (In my mind) I hope he is not serious… I don’t want to go by bus…. Why does this happen to me… why why…???

This is how my journey to the new office goes everyday (it has been a week now)…

Having moved to Hinjewadi office I have mini picnics (which refers to the ride to & fro) everyday… The location of the office makes me think that my company is taking employee ‘Health’ very seriously… It is in Hinjewadi phase 3… in the middle of nowhere (literally)… tiny hillocks on all sides, no pollution, fresh air 24/7 and to top it all, lifts are not installed yet… so ‘trek’ up five floors is everyday workout (at least twice a day as canteen is on ground floor)… Anyways the reason for writing this piece is twofold… firstly logging happy times is good practice, I really enjoy coming to this office… Secondly if God calls up (dunno how he got my number)... it is something that you have to record…. But as He started talking my head was trying to figure whose silly prank this must be…

Stop it… He said... stop thinking and listen to me for a change… He gave me verification to prove who he was (which cannot be disclosed... security reasons)…. Well my mind accepted ‘This is God’… and as soon as it did, being the cribbing kind, started compiling a list for Him… it started with… well ‘Why’...

But before I could commence He started…….. Cribbing……

God: Why do you think Shahrukh Khan is God?

Me: Oh that… I don’t... I just say that... I don’t mean it… I just love him that’s all…

God: Well does he listen to all the cribbing you do?

Me: Mmm…

God: Why is that you don’t think of him when you are in trouble…??

Me: Hmm... well... I…

God: Last month you didn’t want to go to Hinjewadi… coz you liked driving your bike to office…. And cribbing session lasted a week… so I started working on the problem…

Me: Ya… but I didn’t know… wait…working on….??

God: Two weeks later your friends planned their move to Hinjewadi… and then you wanted to go too… Another 10 days of cribbing… so I had to undo all the meddling I had done… and rework... do u like to rework... coz customer didn’t know what he wanted..????

Me: You meddled too...

God: What did you think… things just happen…? I have to meddle in people’s heads to give other people what they want…

Me: You do that… now I know… you meddler…

God: So what… now that you are having a good time going to office… enjoying the view… again Shahrukh Khan is God… why why… (He is imitating me…)

Me: I just saw DDLJ over the weekend… Hangover…

God: Hangover… Really… Anyway a week in the new office and you start cribbing again…

Me: I didn’t crib…

God: ‘Why do I have to wake up at 7.45…why why..’ (Repeat 20 times… 5 mornings in a row)… what do you call that…

Me: Lack of sleep…

God: Oh… trying to be smart… you need to be fixed…

Suddenly Mac cut into the conversation and the call got disconnected…

Mac (teasing me): So you would be going by the office bus at 8 am from tomorrow… instead of coming by my car... Good luck… Get up on time or you will miss the bus…

Me (in my head): Oh my God (literally)... He is meddling... Stop cribbing... Stop cribbing…



Moral: Don’t annoy the Big Guy with little problems... He is also trying to do his best I guess…

PS: This does not mean I stopped cribbing… just trying hard not to…

Me, my leg and....

How to break a leg…..

Walk down a road and think of something other than the road… that’s all it takes… in my case the road was empty… No… there were no vehicles or people or animals… and yet I fell… and this was no ordinary fall… as my leg finally decided to protest against all the extra kgs I make it carry around nowadays…
So spraining itself, my leg tried to put me into a very good 1 month rest, as the doctor very eagerly wanted to put plaster for a month…. I tried to protest… but I lost...
So here I was with Dynaplast, which is supposed to be a better version of the normal plaster of paris... well trust me… I have no experience with the latter but this is no good either…. There can be no good/easy/comfortable way of carrying extra luggage with you all the time….
Now patience is a virtue I do not posses and sometimes… ok most of the time impatience takes over my mind… so even though my leg is not all better… but just the fact that it granted me the permission to walk I took the liberty to start jumping around… driving my new bike.. which by the way is very heavy.. I also went for a 5 day summer camp… along with the dynaplast.. oh it was so much fun… and ya my leg was not too happy about it… but you see I had promised it that I would rest… a lot after coming back…. but when I came back I tried to do more for the leg then I should have… see I thought, my leg went into such a bad state after a simple sprain simple due the heavy load I’m subjecting it to… so I should take exercising seriously… and so I started going to the ‘Tekdi’(which is a small hill for the uninitiated).. the leg hurt… but I kept telling it that this is for your own good.. this is what would be beneficial in the long run… and I meant that…. But my leg… Just wanted to get back at me…
So one fine day… walking down the hill… simply walking… doing nothing special… I fall….
And this time my leg gave me a dose of real pain… pain… oh my god pain… it was the grandmother of all the pain I have ever felt in my life………..the…. ok ok.. I will stop... but I’m not exaggerating …it was horrible…..
And well this time my leg made sure I could move for a month at least….. So here I am… posting this blog… sitting at home… giving my leg royal massages…. Hoping that this time the rest would be enough for His Highness to grant me permission to jump around…!!

My first blog..!!

Sometimes I have so much to say and yet words just seem to fade away in my mind... Being the sort of person who defines a 'talkathon', this state of mind is rather diffcult for me.. I dont know what to do... Once a friend of mine asked me to trying writing... I did... and suprisingly well... I just found out that I'm not that bad at putting thoughts to paper... This is my attempt to ensure that I dont lose touch with that side of me... !!

Mumbai... Now & Then!

3 yrs back I came to Mumbai… and like all transitions in life this one too was not easy…. Back then home meant only Pune… but now……

Then: Local Trains… just when u think one more person cannot get into... at least 5 manage to…
Now: Local Trains… just when u think one more person cannot get into... at least 5 manage to…yet these are the life lines of Mumbai…. Any number of bomb blasts, floods, accidents cannot stop them…!!

Then: Traffic…. Long line of non-moving vehicles that seem to stay there forever…
Now: Traffic…. Long line of non-moving vehicles that seem to stay there forever…well one needs to plan his travel according to it… otherwise there is no way to avoid them… which makes every Mumbaite great at time management… it probably can lead to inventing ‘stuck-in-traffic-activities’..

Then: Every place is so far away…
Now: Every place is so far away… yet people manage to make it to every occasion, whether it is visiting friends/relatives or simply having to watch a movie in a theatre two hours away… they are never too tired or too bored but always ready to move on…

Then: This place is full of slums…
Now: This place is full of slums… which are right next to breathtaking skyscrapers, beautiful architectures…. Yet nothing looks out of place…. Nothing seems to tarnish the beauty of the place…

Then: People… Busy, running, spending their life traveling…
Now: People… Busy, running, spending their life traveling…yet never thinking of any other place as home… Taking everything coming their way with a smile, sharing and caring even in the most disastrous times… not waiting for authorities during calamities but helping each with whatever is possible…

Then: The city that never sleeps…
Now: The city that never sleeps… as the spirit of Mumbai is undying and ever-growing…. Thinking back on what I used to imagine Mumbai to be and how I see it now after staying there for 3 years, I realize that this is not just one more metropolitan city in India (where Shahrukh Khan lives) for me….

Now it is Home…!!

Being Twenty Something...

Recently I read a piece called “Being Twenty Something” about Quarter Life crisis..!! It made me wonder… is it really a crisis..!! I’m in my twenties and crises, well….
In your teens most of the pictures you have in mind are painted by parents and friends, people who are around you… but moving into twenties, you start sketching your own images… some good… same bad… some downright ugly...!! But each one adds a little to “U”…!!
This phase in life gives the path you want to take and the understanding of what makes you happy… You start realizing how much your dreams and desires mean to you…!!! And that the easy answer “main bada hoke papa jaise banana chahta hoon” given to innumerable uncles n aunties, makes a lot more sense now… Or maybe just looking at your job you realize, that you had never thought of doing this and yet you are damn good at it.
Twenties is the time of your first job… your first brush with realities of life…!! The time when you realize all that your parents must be facing to make ends meet and give you a comfortable life… it maybe be due to the fact that no matter what u do, saving seems a impossibility… and then there is this whole new lesson known as Income Tax (which after working for 4 yrs also I don’t understand :) ) that u have to learn.
This is the point where you start juggling with life…. Dividing time or should I say making 30 out of the 24 hrs available…. Work, family, colleagues, friends from work, from college, from school…. And yet we don’t manage to give quality time to even half of these people…!! Well “kuch paane ke liye kuch khona paadta hai”….
Twenties also puts you to understanding independence… coz now it is not simply fighting with your parents to be allowed for late night parties or wearing all kinds of clothes, but now it is about being responsible for your life… making decision which would decide your future… well it is tough….
A lot of things happen very fast during this time & yet I think this is the most exciting phase of your life... Not only do these years decide the rest of your life, be it your career, the person who would be your life-mate; but these years also carve the person you are meant to be… these years define you in many ways….
So crises… hardly… I think this is the time to get to know yourself like never before… the time to fall in love with…. well “U”…..!!

Lost & Found

Going through one of your old jeans that you haven’t worn in a long time, you find a tenner in one of the pockets, rummaging through that messy cupboard your hand reaches one of those lost books you loved as school girl…Or simply bumping into a “long-lost” friend….

Finding something committed to memory as lost is always fantastic! Have you ever thought of those first few seconds you go through when you find something? I have always felt them to be of wonder and sometimes sheer amazement….!! However recently I had a feeling of complete shock….I had lost my PAN card 5 months back in Mumbai… and 4 months back I was transferred to Pune (Panchshil, Vimanagar office to be precise)…After coming here though I kept reminding myself that I had to get a new one made, I never actually got around to doing it (this falls under the category of things that have a lot of time to get done, but we only end up doing at the last minute.. similar to sending in Investments proofs which I did submit on the last day 2 minutes before closing time J).

Well as it is said all that happens, does happen for the best. One fine day I was at my desk pressing ‘F9’ idly on my open mail box. (This I must confess is a compulsion with almost ever software professional – the manual checking for mail every 10 minutes is mandatory even if auto send-receive option is “on”. Don’t get me wrong, this is just the way we are.. and trust me when you’re sitting idle in office you will never receive some time pass mail to read no matter how many times you press “F9”… Frequency of these mails being 2/min). Anyways, I suddenly do get a mail, from an unknown mail-id with subject “You lost your PAN card???”

Now I think to myself, this happened 5 months back when I was in Mumbai (this is to refresh), so someone in Mumbai must have found it… Well I do a “reply” to confirm that I had and trust me this time I did a ‘F9’ 50 times in 1 minute. But got a reply after 2 minutes… L Anyways the person “X” (I’m not calling her ‘X’ to conceal the person’s identity, just that I haven’t told her about this piece), replies stating that she did find my PAN card & she sits in Panchshil on 5th floor(I sit on the 3rd)… Now my brain starts working… this is not possible... I lost it in Mumbai, 5 months back (this is repetition only for effect)…how can someone in Pune find it… someone is trying to make an “April fool”… But thinking really hard I couldn’t get a way to find out if someone was in the ‘Aprilly’ mood… So I thought… face your fear, make a fool of yourself…. But I thought 2 fools would be better than one, so I asked my best friend to come with me to the 5th floor to check out… Now normally my friend is the type who can write a book titled “101 Ways to Think of Not-possible Scenarios”, sub-titled “For any events in life”…but here she simply says “Praj why do you need me to go to 5th floor” when I expected her to think of 101 scenarios of why someone would write me that mail and ask me to come to 5th floor… life is full of surprises…

Anyways I know how to persuade her to do things, which I did and we went to the 5th floor…
You wont believe this but turns out that “X” DID find my PAN card, lying on the road, along with a small passport size photo of mine ( I know passport size is small.. that again is for effect..) and she remembered seeing me in Panchshil… Reaching her cubicle and seeing my PAN card were the moments of “shock” for her which I mentioned earlier and well that day the feeling of shock never left me… I saw the card at least 20 times through the day just to make sure that it was mine….. This was one of those days that I will never forget…!! Lost in Mumbai... 5 months back (this is just what I said to “X” as a reply to “how did you lose it”)… Found on the road…!!! (This was pretty much to myself)

Well I’m the kind of person who has lost lots of things in life… sometimes just out of sheer negligence, sometimes due to Murphy’s laws working and most of the times due to simple bad luck…. But rarely do I have the experience of finding these again… That day however I did believe in miracles (it could have some other very plain explanation but miracles always sound good)… and just hope that everyone one day experiences this miracle and finds at least one of those things that has faded away as a lost memory….

Going through one of your old jeans that you haven’t worn in a long time, you find a tenner in one of the pockets, rummaging through that messy cupboard your hand reaches one of those lost books you loved as school girl…Or simply bumping into a “long-lost” friend….

Finding something committed to memory as lost is always fantastic! Have you ever thought of those first few seconds you go through when you find something? I have always felt them to be of wonder and sometimes sheer amazement….!! However recently I had a feeling of complete shock….I had lost my PAN card 5 months back in Mumbai… and 4 months back I was transferred to Pune (Panchshil, Vimanagar office to be precise)…After coming here though I kept reminding myself that I had to get a new one made, I never actually got around to doing it (this falls under the category of things that have a lot of time to get done, but we only end up doing at the last minute.. similar to sending in Investments proofs which I did submit on the last day 2 minutes before closing time J).

Well as it is said all that happens, does happen for the best. One fine day I was at my desk pressing ‘F9’ idly on my open mail box. (This I must confess is a compulsion with almost ever software professional – the manual checking for mail every 10 minutes is mandatory even if auto send-receive option is “on”. Don’t get me wrong, this is just the way we are.. and trust me when you’re sitting idle in office you will never receive some time pass mail to read no matter how many times you press “F9”… Frequency of these mails being 2/min). Anyways, I suddenly do get a mail, from an unknown mail-id with subject “You lost your PAN card???”

Now I think to myself, this happened 5 months back when I was in Mumbai (this is to refresh), so someone in Mumbai must have found it… Well I do a “reply” to confirm that I had and trust me this time I did a ‘F9’ 50 times in 1 minute. But got a reply after 2 minutes… L Anyways the person “X” (I’m not calling her ‘X’ to conceal the person’s identity, just that I haven’t told her about this piece), replies stating that she did find my PAN card & she sits in Panchshil on 5th floor(I sit on the 3rd)… Now my brain starts working… this is not possible... I lost it in Mumbai, 5 months back (this is repetition only for effect)…how can someone in Pune find it… someone is trying to make an “April fool”… But thinking really hard I couldn’t get a way to find out if someone was in the ‘Aprilly’ mood… So I thought… face your fear, make a fool of yourself…. But I thought 2 fools would be better than one, so I asked my best friend to come with me to the 5th floor to check out… Now normally my friend is the type who can write a book titled “101 Ways to Think of Not-possible Scenarios”, sub-titled “For any events in life”…but here she simply says “Praj why do you need me to go to 5th floor” when I expected her to think of 101 scenarios of why someone would write me that mail and ask me to come to 5th floor… life is full of surprises…

Anyways I know how to persuade her to do things, which I did and we went to the 5th floor…
You wont believe this but turns out that “X” DID find my PAN card, lying on the road, along with a small passport size photo of mine ( I know passport size is small.. that again is for effect..) and she remembered seeing me in Panchshil… Reaching her cubicle and seeing my PAN card were the moments of “shock” for her which I mentioned earlier and well that day the feeling of shock never left me… I saw the card at least 20 times through the day just to make sure that it was mine….. This was one of those days that I will never forget…!! Lost in Mumbai... 5 months back (this is just what I said to “X” as a reply to “how did you lose it”)… Found on the road…!!! (This was pretty much to myself)

Well I’m the kind of person who has lost lots of things in life… sometimes just out of sheer negligence, sometimes due to Murphy’s laws working and most of the times due to simple bad luck…. But rarely do I have the experience of finding these again… That day however I did believe in miracles (it could have some other very plain explanation but miracles always sound good)… and just hope that everyone one day experiences this miracle and finds at least one of those things that has faded away as a lost memory….

Robaroo... Roshni...

Aye saala... Abhi abhi… hua yakin… ke aag hai… muhjmein kahin…

A.R Rehman has definitely outdone himself in this song… and Rakyesh Om Prakash Mehra in the movie. Humming the song as I came out of the theatre watching the movie for the second time, one thought crossed my mind – Just how much strength is required to make a difference.., to make a start… to believe…??

There have been many occasions when I have fought with my friends for throwing a packet of Lays just where one finishes. Many still do that… some don’t do it when they’re with me (just so that I don’t give them a “lecture”) and some well… they understand and implement. Being in the software industry, I have heard many “onsite stories”… but one remark common to all is “that country is soooo CLEAN”. And here I am just trying to understand how difficult it would be to try making India “soooo CLEAN”….

People say old habits die hard… and I agree too. For any Indian, the best meal he has ever had was not at a 5 star Hotel… but the one cooked by the star cook… “Mom” and eaten with the hand… the best “chai” would always be served at a roadside tapri. No matter how old we are, we like to come home to our parents..!! But when this very same desi lands up in videsh, burger and coffee becomes a way of life. And this change is not very difficult..!! The guy who never paid attention to traffic lights or followed driving rules is suddenly aware of them all at once driving abroad!! And most of all when we arrive at these very “CLEAN” places somehow our hands just don’t fling the next crumpled paper on the roadside..!! We change…we adapt… and then we marvel at how good the place feels!! Seeing all this and knowing what an adjusting generation we are, I suddenly realized that making a difference is in fact easy… all it requires is a small pause the next time you finish a snack and have to throw out the wrapper….!!

“No country is perfect. We have a make it into one” is a line from Rang De Basanti… Let’s make it beautiful if not perfect…!!

Aaye Saala... Abhi abhi hua Yakin…
Ke Aag hai muhjmein kahin...
Hui subah... main jal gaya…
Suraj ko main… nigal gaya…..
Robaroo…Roshni… !!