40 and beyond

I still can’t forget that first journey from the Switch to 40. It was a strange feeling- traveling in trains, “tubes” and cabs with aliens around. I was about to meet some of my closest friends and some people I have heard of, but yet to met in-the-flesh. The excitement was at zenith during the travel in the Euston – MK section.

Dhanya-milana did happen on reaching MK. Shortly, I was introduced to 40. You should know that it’s not a stereo-typical one. A perfect “desi-touch” of the you-know-what types!

I have really lost count on the number of times I crashed in there. No London, Scotland, Paris or Wales has been more fun than being in 40. “Jack” used to take a “Walk” every weekend. The food prepared used to be amazing. The movies and cricket matches on TV were like a sone pe suhaga

And ofcourse, each and every person in 40, is a class apart and in their own league. Be it the:

“Director” - with whose help managed see the “stars” we have never seen before; or.
“Manager” whose tea preparation and the gaalis on the phone are un-forgettable; or
“Loyalist” – Whose silence compensated to the chaos created;

The others I really don’t have to mention, as they are close to my heart.

As I glance through some of the snaps every now and then, I really miss the fun and the charm of the place. I wish and hope it still remains an abode to batakti aatmas like me!

No comments

Time: 19 years back approx
Place: Parade ground road, Bangalore

Two guys, A and B are in a verbal argument. A third guy C, friend to both, intervenes and tries to play peace-maker. Suddenly A pulls out a gun and makes both B and C his target. Fate as it should be, B survives, but C, shot in the kidney collapses in the hospital. All of them where not more 28.

Ask me why I possibly knew this. Well, C was in good acquaintance with our family. This incident was no pleasant one to qualify for a Dr.Bhalerao types and I was not old enough at that time to realise the seriousness.

But I somehow can still remember, my mom reading out the whole scene, from the newspaper. It had made headlines, but the accused was never found guilty.

His bereaved family still feel the pain, of losing a son who was old enough to be on the threshold of marriage...

The race of marks

Time: Sometime during 1994-95
Place: School, Bangalore
The Hindi papers after correction were being distributed. I was content with the average marks I usually scored. :)
All of a sudden, one of the toppers in the front bench, breaks down and starts crying. Reason, unknown we all go to pacify him and realise that he was one mark short than the girl he used to compete with. All pleading with the teacher to get that extra mark didn't work.
Understanding the seriousness of situation most of the boys moved back except for his ardent followers. It was then, that one of my close friend who scored just a single mark, rose up and declared that his one mark be rewarded to the cry baby!
The look on my teacher's face at that moment and of course ours, would have been worth a million bucks.
I remembered this incident in typical Dr.Bhalerao style, a few days back. Yes, there are indeed some things you really don't forget….

Do you remember the time?

The train journey
Residence
First day at office
Saket
Balcony talku
Lonavla
Belke nagar
AC wala room
Tub wala bathroom
Dames opposite Krishna Hospital
Akai
Water problems
Gone
Weekend ootas
Introduction to Tipu
Ghazal from Sarfarosh and a Walker
First Thamesu
Goa
Thamesu return
Paper garland
Memory loss
BHF
Muddle on Birthday
Uncle Sam
Yat another Uncle Sam
Thames
Thamesu long termu
Thames return with N70
Thames long term
Thames short Long term
Simple Thames
Simple Thames return
Bengalooru escape
Davangere Wedding
Again Thames long term
Thames short long term return
Mysore
Company escape
Company escape
Thames short long term
Trichy girl in Bengalooru
Thames LOng term?
Thames short long term return
Uncle Samu.......to be contd

Does the above make sense to anyone out there? If it does, then just to let you, that I really miss you and the rest of pack, cherishing the great time we had together. Those were indeed the best days of my life. Don't have much of an argument here. Sorry if I was ever cranky with you in the past and if I messed up the order above.

Communication via the various forms of media helps, but the magic can't be re-lived. Being pragmatic think we all have accepted this fact. Living our lives in different corners. A reunion is not certain in the nearest future.

Staying with unknowns, realise how easy it was with V5.

Strange that I don't remember much of what happened in Pune now. Had to think real hard to recollect all of this. Maybe that's how Life is....

Note: Deliberately missed out the trips, birthdays etc......They ofcourse were critical for the manufacture of the Epoxy resin we were...

Mashed Up

I have caught a new fever, and its called "M*A*S*H".

Yes, its the same old sitcom, that you and I heard and watched when the TV was above our eye level.

Chanced upon it, and ended up watching 3 seasons in a row.
Briefly it is about a Mobile Army Surgery hospital.

It has umpteen number of funny characters. The main ones being two surgeons, who have a world of their own.

Wiki would offer you a better explaination of plot etc. I cant do it better here. However the two characters that really caught my attention were "Hawk Eye" (One of the surgeon) and obviously "Radar". "Hawk Eye" would be your inherently funny guy, with great one-liners. You can call him Chandler. But I would prefer calling Chandler as Hawk Eye.

Radar is a charming boyish character with an ESP. He is the one, who girls would call "Cho chweet". He is suppose to be a teen in the army. Remember an episode where he says he's 19 and calls himself a colonel! Everyone adores him and Hawk eye once offers to adopt him. He is the one who does the odd jobs.

The whole series revolves around the Korean War. It would be typical to call it a "black comedy", with an Operation theatre scene in every episode.

Another noticable character is the Head Nurse called "Hot lips". She hates Hawk Eye and his accomplice, Trapper, though at one instance she makes out with one of them

The classic part of this series is the perfect balance of humour and grief. The comedy is not vulgar, but naughty sometimes. Death and wounds are vulnerable throughout.

You would laugh your hearts out when you watch it, and maybe sob if you are of the senti types
Right now hunting around to get the whole series on DVD :)

La belle

Of late I have been missing her a lot. I think I was with her for close to 10 months. Enjoyed every moment with her.

Getting her is/was not easy. They say babes like her are hard to find, leave alone getting one. The best ones are never available.
She was supposed to be former colleague's husband's first wife. Well did you think she was new??? No, you don't get new ones like her. People say she is better that way.

Everyone around me had new ones, and were poking fun that I had a used one. Guess they forgot the old saying..."Old is Gold, New is nuisance"

We were always together. I totally owned her, being really possessive about her. Never really preferred anyone to touch her, though most of them weren't interested, dubbing her as "used". Ayhay I suppose was kind of interested in her and had some secret rendezvous' with her, much to my anger. I had taken really good care, except for once instance during a trip to Sinhgad, when she had fallen sick.

Then the day came when I had to part ways with her. On learning that I was breaking up with her, there were a swarm of contenders to take her away from me. Eventually I had to give her away to a suitable guy. Hope he is taking good care of her.

Even today I miss her lot. The way she was, the way she moved... Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...Dirty Minds...I am pretty sure your imagination would have wandered to the extreme. I guess none of you know that I am not taking about someone human but about my RX-100.

So long then darling, I miss you crazy.

Downtime

A post after a long time....??? Dont blame me....Was tied down trying live in a jungle called Bangalore(Now Home)....A comparison with my previous lifestyle in Pune would paint a better picture...Here it goes...

Wake-up time
Pune: 9, 10, 11 AM!!!!
B'lore: 6:30 AM

Office travel time
P: 10-15 min
B: 1 hour if you are lucky

Distance to office
P: 4 km
B: 21 km

Crowd in Office
P: Dont have to mention about it!!! :)
B: 90% of the people are from a particular clan

Food at office
P: No comments
B: Then gud...now bad....

Recreation facilities
P: Many
B: What's that???

Traffic
P: Too much
B: Bumper to Bumper

Weekend plans
P: Ever best
B: Crippled by the weekend traffic...

Weekend Getaways
P: All the beautiful places around
B: Forum, Garuda, Downtown, NASA, Amoeba... etcetc (All gas....I hardly go to these places)...Eh Getaway???

Return Home
P: Anytime...!!!
B: Anytime...but welcomed with a worried and angry face....

TV
P: Its always ON
B: Its always ON...But you get to watch SOAPs

Good Night Time
P: Cant remember
B: 11:30PM Max

Dreams
Pune: B'lore
B'lore: Pune


A lot more to pen down.......But its getting late for bed....Guess its Good Night....

On a lighter note.....Its still HOME....

A taste of Biriyani

Had recently been to Hyderabad on a short trip, due to a series of unfortunate events(wait for a another blog).

My last visit to this place was some ten years ago. I didn't have sweet memories about it. Maybe I didn't see the good part of it. Or maybe it never had a good one.

At around 7:30 AM on a Thursday morning was woken up by a guy saying "Ameerpur osthi". I deciphered that my destination had arrived. Got down from the APSRTC bus which I boarded from Pune. Was invited by a swarm of ric drivers who were trying to get a "boni" (no ill meanings please !!!). Brushed apart their offers, so that I could while-away some time.
Had a flight at 11:45 AM.

Slowing started walking down the road which looked like a bit posh. Was searching for an ATM.
To my surprise all I could find was cyber centres !!! Cyber centres everywhere but not a single ATM. Anyways did come across one after a brisk walk.

Well to say about the city... Wow !!! It has developed amazingly. We used to tease people who had an acquaintance with this place. They would justify that its not the same, as we thought it was. Guess they were right..Kudos to the guys who have made this possible.

When some one talks about Hyderabad, all we think about is the filth and dirt of Golconda fort or the Charminar area or people who speak caustic. Clearly a prejudice. No wonder the Titans of the software world were impressed. Leaving apart the climate (nothing less than that of a desert) there is nothing to complain about this place.

Learnt I was in the Secunderabad part (correct me if I am wrong). Clean roads. Not a spec of dirt. Looked very impressive. Spoke in broken Telugu with some localites, enquiring about the location of the airport. Surprisingly they sounded friendly. I could figure out the route from some key words used by them. I didn't continue the conversation, clearly at loss of words (pun not intended).

Boarded a public bus, which actually was a bit clean. My yardstick had reduced after looking at the PMT buses. Reached the airport in no time.

As I was boarding the flight to Chennai, I sent a silent apology to all the people who were trying glorify Hyderabad. How I had literally shunned them off when they were trying to describe about the place.

Now, it does seem, that the Biriyani comes in different flavours...

Note : Another apology to all the Hyderabadis, if I have missed the others greats of the city. This is what I could capture in a short span of time.

An eye-opener

Date : Somewhere in april 2006
Time : 3:05 PM
Mood : Tensed.

Me: Boss, got to leave now. Have a flight at 4:00 PM
Boss(trying hard to think): teek hain…call me once you touch down Bangalore.
Me: Ok…

That sounded like freedom. Had to rush. Was of course short of time. Picked up my luggage, and was literally sprinting to the exit, amusing the onlooker
Did Manage to find a lone rickshaw. Shouted at the driver- “airport… jaldi boss”. He shot back- “180 sir”. I was like…”what the…???”
Anyways was in a hurry, agreed for a lesser amount and jumped in.

Now comes the interesting part. As far as I can remember, I think I had one of the best conversations with a rickshaw driver.
First he was all silent, trying to keep up the traffic.(You can imagine traffic at that hour in Pune !!!)
He was maybe 50 or odd and obese.
I was poking him-.”Jaldi karo”.

He then looked back and started the conversation

Driver: Which flight ??
Me: Spice-jet.
Driver: I think kingfisher is better.
Me: Ya I know (surprised by now cos of his flawless English)
Driver: See I how fast I can drive.
Me: Ya thanks.
Driver: For which company do you work at sharda Center.
(Told him the damn name !!)
Driver: I think Infosys is good. You can try there
Me: Ya sure (Angry with myself now)

He went on to ask some personal and professional questions. All of this, in near to perfect English.
It took just 20 minutes to reach the airport, thanks to his amazing speed !!!. Reminded me of Alonso for once. There were some near misses which made me feel something in my mouth (you know whats that !!!).

As I was walking into the security-check area, the driver’s words were ringing in my ears.I was just telling myself- NEVER under-estimate anyone.
Looked like a learned guy. Don’t know under circumstances he ended up as a rickshaw driver.

Maybe that’s how life is. Being unfair sometime. Like there’s guy whose a cashier in a super-market. But is a MSc in CS !!!
Pretty sad, thanks to unemployment.

Im just happy that I have job that pays me and something that I like………Hey wait a minute….Do I really like my job ???? A question worth pondering about !!!!
I sometime really think, that I am no less than that rickshaw guy…..

RDB@TechM

Everyone knows why the cubicles @ TechM are deserted on Friday evenings. All the jobless ones are there to catch up a movie at the cafeteria.

Any crap movie... theres always a crowd. But today was kinda different. They were playing RDB. Believe me...it was packed to the max....was literally suffocating...A tent was much better...

But people were having all the fun they needed. The only ones who had a surprised look on their faces were some bunch of firangis.

Well did catch up some bit of the movie....Just the JOSH part of it...

Be a Rebel !!!!!

Romeo ya Shravan ??

Well college time is fun time…. In and out of relationships…most of them light, but some DEAD serious….People who make it all the way to marriage….
I don’t know, haven’t been there completely to know how it feels to be in a relationship (Though being in innumerable platonic ones).

We had this love-pair in college, dubbed as Jodi No.1.Both being my close acquaintances. They surely looked like they were in serious love. Making all vows that they are going to make it all the way.

Being in college was fun for them…Nothing stopping them in the nearest future and not worrying about the ultimatum.
A finger snap and college was done. Both got placed via campus. Still going strong…meeting everyday at lunch. Until both were finally caught. Both their parents were red-faced about their court-ship..

Oh! Forgot to mention, both are from strict religions not allowing conversions. It seems silly but not for the family members. One person marries out of the religion, the whole family is banished from the religious house. Didn’t sound palatable, but was supposed be a ground reality. (Typical filmi ishtyle )

But what the heck … what age are we living in. Religion, caste or whatever - Stuff that are perishing by the day. Religion just can’t be the reason for someone not to make his or her own choice.

Now they are on a detour, trying to make it work from both ways. They just can’t shun their parents just for their love or whatever they call it.
You can call this a catch 22… Weighing the love of your life with someone who has shaped half your life.(Though the choice looked simple for me)

Eventually it is the parents who give in, or compromise to whatever that is coming up. Sometime this compromise works or sometime it doesn’t.
But in this case there is no word of compromise. They are not really interested in one.
From my friends’ point of view, they are in a point of no return. Not ready to break up for good. 3 years was, “sometime” in a relationship. Well all the best budds. There’s nothing that we can do from the ringside.

No suggestions or advice from my side… Do you have any????

What the novice blogger says

Thanks to avid bloggers like Viky, and now the keen one, santu, here I am plunging into the world of blogging.
Frankly speaking not knowing much of this religion that has crept into the internet world, was wondering what is it that excites people to blog, big time. Did realise in due time...this is serious fun. A window to vent your feelings. Whether you want to swear at your boss, or rather leave out your frustation or express your true feelings about someone. I think it does work......
Having read innumerable blogs, that float around, found out some really great ones... People with dark humour, The MCPs or the romantic ones.....People who would have made great authors or tried getting there !!!!

Well all said and done, lets see where I get, in this world of avid blogging !!!!