Guilt.....

I was returning back from the office. I had just got down from the bus and started to stroll down the path to return to my PG. I was in deep thought thinking about how my day had been and what to do to make the evening eventful. Then I remembered having taken two movies from my friend in the office and thought of screening them on my 17 inch laptop. Suddenly my eyes went across and I spotted a guy standing on the footpath, dressed in formals, looking tired and concerned. Before I took my eyes off him, he came walking towards me and started speaking something in Tamil in a very hurried manner. He was worried that I must not leave fast without listening to him.
I said “Tamil illa” (trying to tell him that I do not know Tamil) and showed my inability to converse with him. I was then about to move on and this happened.
(Let me refer that guy as: “He”)
He: What language do you speak?
Me: English is fine?
He: Are you a salesperson?
Me: No
He: Where do you work?
Me: (lied to him) I work for Software Company
He: I want to work in Avaya Call Centre. Can I directly go there and ask for employment?
Me: hmm... I don’t know.... What do you do now? What is your qualification?
He: Oh.. ya I am basically from Hyderabad, my family has come here now. I completed my 12th from there and here we do not have anything to do. I am actually working in a restaurant now, but they do not pay me much. I want to do my B.Com. I do not have money. One of my classmates failed in 12th and she straight away went to this call centre and got a job. So can I also go there?
Me: [By simple logic you should, but then that was “she” and you are “he” ;)].. Hmm, why don’t you apply through consultants?
He: Consultants?
Me: They are broker kind of people. You give your resume and they will apply and then call you.
He: But I not have a phone. They will not be able to call me. Can I not just go there and ask them to interview me?
Me: You better call then in their office. Tell them that I want to join this company. How do I apply for this? When can I come for interview? I was getting a little irritated. Wanted to go home and sit inside the AC. I started looking forward hinting him about my intention to move on.
He: I am just 19 now so do you think that I have got enough time?
Me: Enough time for what?
He: I have to find a job and then study so is it getting late?
Me: No you have got a lot of time. I am 8 years elder to you and I am still shaping my career. Good Luck. Bye.

While I was walking back I was thinking- How much a guy completely deprived of resources in terms of money, information and guidance is concerned about his future and probably worried. What if I had refused to talk to him and left. Would my advice really help him? Could I have done better to help him? I got the answer as No. I could have easily gotten him a job in some call centre or other. So I immediately turned back to talk to him more. Sadly he was gone and now when I am watching the movie I am still thinking about it and feeling guilty.

Run Forrest Run !!!!!!!!!

I ran today. I ran on an on. No thoughts in the mind- just the next milestone in sight- heart pumping fast- breathe getting heavier and heavier.

Overnight resolution unlike every night did not break. At 6 a.m. in the morning my friend was there to wake me up. Resisting the temptation of staying in the bed, I got my running shoes on and we left for the lovely campus of Anna University. After the first step it felt that I will not be able to run for more than 100 meters. But as it unfolded slowly and slowly all the thoughts in the mind started disappearing and all I was thinking about was of running and shedding more and more of sweat. The tightness and the tiredness of the legs were subdued by the constant lightness and refreshment of the mind.
Only then I realised that I had been missing this vital part of life since I left college and came here at Chennai. Some amount of physical exercise is must not only for the body but also for the mind.
All I am thinking of now is to continue running every morning and start the day by trashing all the mind bogglers in sweat.

Chennai me chain

I used to laugh vehemently in opposition when my Tamil friends adored Chennai as a great place to live in. Everyone else told me about the tough times North Indians face in Chennai- the language problem, dealing with auto drivers, scorching climate, tendency of the natives to dislike the outsiders, food etc ... I was prepared for the hostile treatment I could receive in the city. To my surprise my one month stay here so far has been really comfortable and a lot of experiences have been eye openers for me. One more month to go and a lot of prejudiced speculations are getting pushed into the stack. I hope and feel that the stack will not do a pop operation.
Food is not a problem if you like south Indian. Dosas, idlis and vadas are the tastiest here. Apart from that there are plenty of places where you get north Indian food. One of the best chaats I ever had was here in Gangotri. Summers of Chennai are supposed to be painful but they are not as intense as they are in North India and evenings are much cooler.

Place is humid but then if you love beaches, you got to go where humidity is. Language problem occurs only with the few illiterate people as most of the people have Hindi or English as their second language in school and can manage to converse in either or both.

So then the only problem I faced initially was with auto drivers and this is how you can overcome to this problem: - Here the meter starts from Rs. 30. By meter I mean drivers’ greedy mind.The physical machine never operates- I am sure for more than half the autos in the city this machine would have got rusted. But I have found a good way of bargaining. All you need to do before travelling is to call up your local friend and know the exact fare. Now, when the auto driver places his bid, tell the exact amount and then say this – “naan dhinamum inth route la poitu varen” meaning boss, I do travel up and down daily on this route. Even Hindi works well (for those who cannot by heart this phrase). You then need to leave that auto and pretend to look for another. 95% of times the same auto driver will come back and agree to your amount. Best practice- never catch a stationary auto, always stop a running auto.

For my friend

It has been looooong since I wrote here... Have started tweeting these days though. This blog is for my friend whose wedding anniversary is on 19th of this month. Dunno if I will get time on 19th to write this so thought will write today(16th) on saturday evening itself.. 4 years we were together in engineering college. This is my second stint but he is not here. But infinite number of times similar events happen here in college which remind me of him. I keep relating that if we were together here, we would have done this thing in that way, we would have laughed today on this matter, we would have participated in that cricket tournament, we would have traveled back home together talking and laughing all the night etc etc..
But just one more week to go. I am gonna be in Bangalore then and we shall catch up.
Lots of wishes to both of you on your wedding anniversary ....

Sharmajiiiii......
Here nobody calls me sharmaji :(

I P L ay

This one had to be there in my blogs. I realized so late that I had not written about my first wife yet.

We do a lot many things in life without interest. Just because trends are set that way we follow them. Ironically, many times we do not even realize doing things that do not interest us. Studies tops the list of such things. Job, family commitments are few others to mention. People still do reasonably well. Sports is but one field I feel one can never do well if not interested in. Not to offend any one but I think very low of the people who do not have place for sports in their life. This sounds arrogant and a vain statement but I will not press backspace to erase it.

I will not write an essay about advantages of sports to bore any one with the cliché statements. I will try to contain this blog with some of my wonderful experiences. I feel, more than learning and mastering the nitty gritties of a game that comes with practice, it is very important to grow as person while pursuing the sport.

Like every one, I started playing football and cricket in school but was never very serious as studies had to be first preference like most of the parents want their children to do. My inclination towards sports started increasing after I played football in the Bhopal zone. Got to see so many devoted professional players and was amazed to see their passion and commitment towards the sport. Ours was the last team in the standings but I gauged the amount of seriousness required to excel.

In college I took cricket and was able to make in to the college cricket team in the second year. It was then that I started to enjoy the sport so much. We played a lot of memorable matches but one the most crucial match was the final of a tournament that we lost. I had tears in my eyes having failed to win the match for the team. The next few days were so gloomy. I rate it as the most disappointing lose of my sporting career. But all the subsequent defeats (haven't had many ;) )were never so painful. That day I learned to digest the defeat.

Can never forget the consecutive victories in the office cricket tournaments- Excellent team work and camaraderie that we showcased. As we meet with people and interact, friendship flourishes over a period of time but I have always felt that the relationships that are made on a cricket field, by applauding, encouraging and supporting each other are inherently staunch and flourish in no time.

How can I not mention our weekly football sessions where I discover my passion in 8 inch diameter.

Let me finish this with my “about me” in orkut -

“Its not alcohol, its not cocaine, its not movies, its not women, neither is it television. Its only the sports that i am addicted to. The medals don't mean anything and the glory doesn't last. It's all about your happiness. The rewards are going to come, but my happiness is just loving the sport and having fun performing.”

Coming U.P....

I feel very sad, when good movies go unnoticed. The list of such movies is huge. I feel sad for the director, producer, story writer and the ARTISTs (Any One who has seen HAASIL will know why artist is in capitals :) ).. The big question here is, what is the definition of a good movie? Well, I do not intend to answer that as I feel it is not possible. Interests and likings vary. What one person likes, other may not like and vice versa.

I got tempted to write this blog after watching the masterpiece of indian cinema “HAASIL” by Tigmanshu Dhulia... This flick based on the student politics in UP has been immortalized by stunning performances from Gauri Shankar (Ashutosh Rana) and Ranvijay Singh (Irfan Khan). Every single character picked in the movie has made a profound impact. But the movie truly belongs to Irfan Khan. His effortless dialog delivery and his involvement in the character is amazingly fascinating. The movie does make you laugh at times, though comedy is not intended, only because of the reality in the characters portrayed.

The dialogs customized to suit the UP lingo are extremely hilarious and mind boggling. I am extremely excited to be spending my next two years in Lucknow the capital city of UP. Looking forward to hearing a lot of lucknowi and shooting my by hearted Haasil dialogs in style.... :) .
HUMEN JANNTE HO KI NAHIN BEY......

Good Bad Ugly

Good:
Finally I did it. Got the confirmation call for IIML. Good.. I will be a manager in 2 years time from a premier institute.
Life is all set. Will make new friends.. No more office headache.. College life that I was missing so much after engineering
will be back. It may not be same though. Good that the dream I saw some 3 years ago has finally come true. It was so good to
call home and tell my parents about this. So good to have that feeling of having achieved something. Good to know that
so many friends and relatives feel proud today and are so happy for me. Can there be anything bad at this point of time....

Bad:
It feels bad to end 4 years old association with my company. Company where I had grown both at personal and professional fronts.
Shall miss my cubicle, team treats, football sessions and all my colleagues.
Back to studies now :(. Dunno after a break of 4 years, how tough it is going to be to attend the classes, do assignments,
surprise tests, what not..
I made so many friends in the past 4 years. Some really so close to my heart. Shall miss all of them.
And ya no monthly credit of the salary now. :(

Ugly:
Last day at my company.. Dunno how bad it will be to say good bye to some of the close ones.
Final meeting with friends, say good bye, turn back and travel back home through those streets perhaps for the last time..