A day in the life of LIFE

Well, What do you know? White Elephants flying into the sky, with ears as large as wings, were once considered only a figment of imagination in the Amar Chitra Katha story books that we read as children.

But, now that has happened in reality, with one of my closest friends - Anand (affectionately called aney), flying to the greener pastures of the Divided States of George Bush for pursuing his studies. Another post related to Aney's stunts and adventures can be read here

Even as I type this, I believe Aney is lodged in one of the lounges at Frankfurt airport like Tom Hanks in 'The Terminal'. Fortunately Aney is from India and not Krakozia, so he has all the help required in the name of the President of the Republic of India [picked verbatim from the Indian Passport, which makes me nostalgic for no reason at all, probably in anticipation that some day, I shall be touring distant lands] - By the way, I currently feel that I am in Sri Lanka (No kidding, I recently passed off a Sri Lankan 10 rupee currency to the local bananna seller in Chennai, on account of ignorance).

The only other country that has accepted to take me in for a year, has been the Sultanate of Oman (Muscat), which was quite some time ago...That probably is the topic of another post if and when I visit that country again.

Enough of nostalgia. Getting back to the point, Aney had invited us all for his get together party, which more resembled the engagement of an eligible bachelor. After repeated invites and reminders (most of which were through Orkut) we finally had the get-together on Sunday last, the 23rd of July, which also happens to be my Mom's birthday. I'd like to say 'Happy Birthday Ma', on the sidelines of this post

The groom's side - we a gang of potential kauravas (yes, Anand had invited around a 100 of us) was gearing up for the event on a scale as large as Mayawati's birthday party.

This acted as a precursor to my travelling to Bangalore to be a witness to the extravaganza

The bright lighting of the 100 watt bulbs increased the heat in the A/C hall, bringing memories of the "Vara pooja" ceremony that generally happens on the day before the wedding.

The guests started filling the hall, and the mix spanned across four platforms - The school gang, The plus 2 college gang, the tutions gang and finally the Engineering Gang.

Aney carried his Sony camera like Gabbar Singh adorned his Bullet cartridges in Sholay, and was busy in getting the crowd to interact with each other. But Indians, the way we are, find topics of interesting discussion only among people of the same sex, and very soon, the hall was divided into two categories, like the BMTC buses' seating arrangement, with all the gossipping ladies in the front seats and 'extra' gossipping guys being the back benchers as always.

Probably aney should have utilized my mimicry services to gel the crowd, but who values potential talent anyway? [:)]

Catching up with friends was quite memorable, and the stories down memory lane were refreshed in a jiffy. Right from fighting for place to park tiffin baskets @ lunch hour to running down the corridors for 'the twice a week games' hour, those were the days of "living life - Dil Se".

The fragrance of Masalaa Dosaas and Hot Badam Milk dispersed the gangs and we were soon joined by some late comers who graced the occasion nevertheless.

After all the photu sessions and flashbacks, we parted ways into the chilly Bangalore night, in the anticipation of crossing our paths again in life..

Aney's house, I am told resembled the Yeshwantpur market of late with luggage, luggage and more luggage being cramped into his room.

This is to wish Anand the best of luck in his endeavors, and wait a minute, we were talking of the Engagement, the hot snacks , the bright lights and the kaurava sena. And we all expected Anand to announce something major during the course of the evening akin to the party scence in Gupt, where Bobby Deol's engagement is announced.

But in this case, Someone must have definitely forgotten to invite the bride......:)

Take care Amigo...

This piece of news that i picked up from the Bangalore Edition of the Times of India dated 21st July forms an interesting read. Not that the it focusses on Veerappan's aide, but that Indian courts mandate such absurd policies for trials.. read on..truly informative..For a moment I thought we were talking of a high profile accomplice who is all set to enter politics...Nevertheless, I've always wondered : How different is a kennel from a prison ??

Source: TNN

Woof! Veerappan’s aide is a witness

Ittippa Leads A Quiet Life In Bangalore

By Pooja Virendra Kumar/TNN



Bangalore: Whenever the court summons him, he will be there as a witness. A trusted aide of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, he was arrested for being a part of the sandalwood smuggling pact and was released on a bond of Rs 2,000. Now, he is living a happy, yet, quiet life in a rehabilitation home in Hebbal.
He is Ittippa, the 13-year-old dog, once part of Veerappan’s core gang. His USP was that he could smell sandalwood bark and lead the gang to the spot.
In 1995 when the Kasargod police arrested some of the gang members, Ittippa was also taken into custody along with two other dogs of the gang. The three were kept in a lock-up in a veterinary hospital in Kasargod for three years. While two dogs died of poor health in the lock-up, Ittippa was reduced to a grey stinking mass of flesh due to ill-health.
He was released on health grounds after the Bangalore-based Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) intervened and signed the indemnity bond. “As per the bond, whenever the hearing of the case would come up, the dog is to be taken to Kasargod court as a witness,’’ said CUPA secretary Sudha Narayanan. Since 1998, Ittippa has been with CUPA under tight security. “The initial two years we had sent him to CUPA Animal Birth Control Centre in Koramangala as we were scared that he would be taken away from us,’’ Sudha said.
Now, there is a drastic change in his life-style at CUPA. Not getting into trivial fights with his canine peers, is just one of his characteristics. He sits only on his favourite bench in the CUPA garden, eats only mutton and rice and is prompt in his evening exercises.
Does he miss his master whom he has served for so long? He gets pensive and thoughtful at times and flinches in fear even if a hand is raised to stroke him. What it means is anybody’s guess.
* Ittippa was trained for identifying sandalwood tree barks
* His peculiar bark would send a signal to his gang members about the exact location of the trees in the dense forest
* As per the gang’s directions, he would protect the tree by going round in circles and continue barking

I have been a great fan of creative advertising and The Club Madras Ad awards, that I had a chance to attend, renewed my interest in the same.

I have a few ad crazy colleagues ( mali )who keep me posted about the latest in the industry and some good quality ads that come their way, both in the print media and on television.

Posted here, is an advertisement for worldspace that depicts the exquisite flavor of waking up in rural India and blends it with famous bands from the rest of the world using a play of words.

What's more? It has the God of Bollywood Music featured in it, A R Rahman! What a legend..

A previous post on the advertising awards is available here

Okie..Here I go...anu has graciously tagged me to her blog and by not responding to this,I dont want to incur the wrath of one of the few people who regularly takes time out to visit my blog, apart from attending to other emergencies like saving America from the clutches of George Bush.

I have been known for quite a few weird things as a kid, many of which deserve a place in the Limca Book of world records [the Guinness Book is underway]. Right from believing that restaurants would lock us in if we did not leave by 21:00, to being conned by my aunt that giving me a bath as a 4 year old kid with goggles on, actually made her blind and save me the embarrasssment[she sourced a pair from God knows where], I've outgrown the days to evolve as a rational human being. bah!

Nevertheless, here I ramble off on 5 weird things I continue to do in no order of priority.

1)Speaking to fellow homo sapiens in the office restroom

I have this uncanny knack of striking a conversation with colleagues 'busy' in the loo. It ranges from just a 'Hi' to discussing the company's H.R. policies at length. I have received different reactions to my pleasantaries from people that makes it even more interesting.While some reciprocate, others look at me as if i had just asked Mallika Sherawat to wear a Salwaar kameez. But my rationale is that when business deals can get signed over mugs of beer, some classified information can also be exchanged,over, ...well, never mind.

2)I make weird 'pop' sounds with my tongue

I have been 'gifted' with this strange habit of popping air bubbles in succession pushing my tongue against the inside of my upper jaw . It can at times sound provocative, but I've tried it outside Sathyam Cinemas and have not been booked for eve teasing. So I guess it's o.k.

3) Making Granny memorize world cup cricket schedules

My Grand mom's interest for cricket is as much as Inzamam-ul-Haq's urge to learn a few correct pronounciations in English, though granny roots for Indian victories and the men in blue have disappointed her on many occasions. But I have made it a point to make her memorize the world cup fixtures (dates) starting from the '99 world cup.
It's a pity she could not remember all the venues per say, and found player names like Motabananzo difficult to recall. Well, even Sunny Gavaskar could not get this Zimbabwean's name right and referred to him as "the young kid" for atleast three consecutive games.Now let me test myself.. Namibia versus Scotland happened on...err... Ajji,please forgive your little Satan..and please pray I dont go to hell for the tortute I have inflicted upon you.

4) Wearing 'lucky' apparel

Inspired by famous success stories of the "luckiness quotient" of clothes I ventured out to explore it's effectiveness. All (well half of most) my Engineering semester Exams were written, with me wearing a navy blue tee shirt and a light blue jean. Now I know why Arvind and Ashvini scored lesser marks than mine. Awwww...the stench !! and they were on the roll calls adjacent to mine.

No, I actually had Surf Excel Suraksha. I continued wearing this combo on the exam days for four continuous semesters, till i passed one paper with the least possible marks...the flip side is that i dint flunk the paper.

Maybe Ganguly needs to change the color of his jersey from light blue to CPM's Red, for a change in his fortune.

5) Composing mimicry and remixing lyrics in the bathroom

Who ever said that inspiration comes best when in the bathroom was dead right about it.Much of my micmicry practice happens during the 'early morning somethings' with my room mate banging the door in frustration. But the resilient individual that I am, I continue with Balamurli Krishna, Vajpayee, Sachin in their characteristic voices that has been recently topped up with composing a remix depicting the recent election results in Tamil Nadu.

The insurance guys are earning a fortune. I've taken extra cover as atleast 50 people i know would want to bash me into a pulp right now for mimicing their voices[P.S.- this includes people @ office and batchmates in College].

My Net insurance worth is 4,000,000. Hard to believe, eh? The point is that the currency in usage is Japanese Yen.

Meanwhile Shekar Suman ki Jai Ho and Jhonny Lever Zindabaad.

Maybe I should quit my job and start performing Stage shows...Pretty optimistic I guess...

After a long time I would want to rant my feelings out on this post, for one main reason. I need to justify the astrology forecast for Sagittarians elaborated in the Deccan Chronicle today. It said, "You will be in a pessimistic state today and speak about your low state to your near and dear. Love life is absent but your property trading may get a boost".

To simulate the atmosphere that would prompt ranting, I have Pankaj Udaas [yes, i missed the 'h' on purpose], singing to me, an extremely heart rendering number with elements of a local bar,lost friend,going astray in life etc. and I find most things applicable to me as per my forecast.

IT [Information Tech] has become more squeezy than ever. Entering the 2+ bracket [no, not the magical 6 figure salaries, just the number of multipliable years of experience], has given this extra aura of responsibility and the urge to prove myself more than Zidane as the Infamous captain of the French team.

The beauty about IT is that the more you crib about it, the more it gets to you, in accordance with Murphy's law. And consistency is the name of the game.
People across companies irrespective of insatiable managers and colleagues as green with envy as the Onida TV ads, are living by the gun pulled by trigger happy westerners who consider Indians as cheap labor in IT sweat shops.

I still cant comprehend the euphoria in Engineering colleges when placement happens.
It's almost as if the glee of getting chained superceeds the pleasure of spending quality time with family and friends.I recollect a prospective match happening immediately on the day of the campus recruitment since the couple believed that being placed in two 'reputed' IT companies now made them capable of achieving the impossible in life.A Professor in college once even warned of being 'purchased' by westerners and succumbing to unreal pressures. The words seem so true now. The tag around the neck is more a realization that Big Brother is watching.

Disposable cash [most of it goes into my 1998 Kinetic that guzzles a litre of pertrol for every kilometre], a plush apartment [ours isn't one], awesome nightlife [ which should be meant for CAT preparations], and a charming companion [a perfect example of Xanadu as far as Chennai is concerned], has prompted many ITians to transform from the 'friendly neighborhood leaky nose and striped shorts' guy to the 'green card holder' eligible bachelor on the roads.

A decent meal at a decent time has not been available since I have been reaching my abode at 11 ish each night for the past week.

Lines of Code, Metrics, 'What's the issue', performance measurement, Customer delighters, Value additions, touch base with vendors, schedule an update meeting, attend the con call,these words of IT lingo ring in the dreams of Software engineers who are now visiting Apollo Hospitals for a complete diagnosis at ages one third that of George Bush. Even as I write this post one poor team member is being held accountable for some change in call timings not being documented in the Minutes of the meeting with "God" err.. the client. Law offenders get off with lesser brickbats.

Meanwhile I salute comrades who have risen above their mundane pursuits and achieved whatever they have desired in life, much in line with the theme of the book " The parable of the pipeline", which challenges the efficacy of status quo and steadiness in one's life.

There is so much more to achieve in life than romancing a computer for over 13 hours a day. Listening to the birds, gardening, Looking at the rising sun in the eye, a few solitary moments on the roof top, with the breeze in the face...the list is endless...It's time to wake up and move on. Time to stop existing and start living!

Time to discover ourselves, as rightly brought out in the following lines :

If a drop of water falls on a lake, it loses its identity.
If it falls on a rose, it shines.
If it falls on a shell, it becomes a pearl.

Moral:- The drop is the same, but the moulding and company, matter.

Ok, I am getting a call for the status update on the capability document now..Back to the Oil Rig like an overworked Ox.

P.S. - The comments made in this post in no way have resemblance to any organisation and is truly a work of fiction.. So, IP lawyers and Brand defenders of IT, please stay out...