Is it that tough?

The carol singing ended with a trip to the discotheque. And as I watched guys get drunk and behave horribly, i couldn't help but wonder...Is it that tough to stay in control? I dont think it is the alcohol that is making them do things...it is their character..rather the lack of it. I was appalled to see the behaviour of some of the guys at the party...if that was how they behave with their colleagues, I wonder how they would be with a stranger!
All of us have hormones...and they often get the better of us...and our mind...but there is a thin line between flirting and being lewd...and that line is never to be crossed! You don't have to be Sant Tukaram, but you HAVE to be a genteman! It may sound like it was a common feature...but in reality, it was a handful who were idiots.
There are a always few rotten apples in every basket. And it is these that give the entire box a bad name. I have seen this kinda behaviour time and again...in parties with the previous employer as well...and in the weekend trips to the discs as well...
I hope that the rotten apples mend their ways...

The mind of an Indian Software professional

Way back in the 9th grade in Secondary School, my physics teacher talked about this strange phenomenon called the black hole. A black hole isn't exactly as it sounds to be. It isn't some man-hole that is dark and musty. It is a scientific phenomenon. A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing can escape, even light. Hence the name.
It is impossible to see a black hole directly because no light can escape from them; they are black. But scientists believe that there are good reasons to think they exist.
Round about the same time, my geography teacher talked about an abyss. An abyss is a bottomless gulf, pit, or chaos of the old cosmogonies. It may also mean an immeasurably deep gulf or great space. This is again a theoretical concept that is not a scientifically proven fact.
You may wonder as to whether the Goan air (and feni)has gotten to my head for talking about a black hole or an abyss, especially after that amazing vacation that i had during the x'mas - new year period. More on that later.
I intend to show and prove to you that these scientifically theoretical phenomena exist. And by now you must be pulling your hair out wondering what the link is between black holes, abyss and a software professional. Well, read on...

IT and ITES has boomed in a big way in India. It is suddenly the hot bed for Software programming. And everybody wants a piece of the pie. All the big names are here...in a BIG way!
It is a classic example of the Supply-Demand curve. There just aren't enough people to employ (I somehow find that hard to believe, but it must be true...) and in the bargain, the demand is pushed higher. So is the rate that is demanded. Some of the figures quoted as expected salaries are ridiculous (my friends in HR can bear testimony to that)...and guess what? More often than not, they get what they ask for!
My dad, a humble guy, often says "Greed is the undoing of a man (i guess he means women as well)". When things are going your way, book your profit and exit. For, things going your way can mean two things:
You are very lucky! In which case, it is not likely to last for long
You are moving in the wrong direction in a one-way! If so, it is only a matter of time before you are hit!
The moral of the story is NOT to rake in the moolah and switch companies. It is to NOT be greedy at all times.
It is a reasonable thing to expect the sky everytime. However, it must be backed up with either a beanstalk (Jack and the beanstalk) to touch the sky or a hell of an effort in terms of work.
At the end of the day, one should be able to answer in the affirmative to the question "Do I deserve it?". If you do deserve it and if you haven't got it, there is definitely a cause for concern. But, to expect the world each and every time is nothing short of an utopian philosophy. Only in a chimeric world would you expect to get sustained spikes in the salary that you draw. There is always a phase of consolidation.
The reason that I talk about this is that most of my IT professional brethren are NOT HAPPY! Period. And I am not talking about my current employer. I am talking about the Indian IT world in general. If they get a promotion, a decent salary hike (will not discuss percentages) or an onsite trip, they are happy for a few months...then the cribbing starts again. I dont say that all these are not important. They are THE most important things in life. But there is a time and place for everything.
The graph has to stabilise after a point. But guess what? People dont get this point. And in the search of the constant spike, they are never happy!
Always be ambitious! Always aim for the sky. But, dont have any expectations from life...You may not always get what you want...or what you deserve...Watch this space for more

What dreams are made of...

Each and everyone of us are like the fingers of our hands...different!
Put 10 people in a room and you will get an exhaustive list of likes and dis-likes, thoughts and opinions and a truck-load of talent! You would find someone who can dance like Jennifer Lopez, sing like Mariah Carey, write like Ayn Rand, entertain an audience like Jay Leno...well almost! You would need these people in person to get that kind of talent! But you know where I am getting at...
As I have mentioned in one of my earlier blogs...I think that I lie at the other end of the said spectrum. This may sound real low on self confidence..but it is not! Until a few years back, I thought that i was a realist(if there is such a thing in the Oxford dictionary)...someone who thought realistically about things and did not have an optimistic or a pessimistic view point. But then I realised (life is a great tutor in many respects...) that it wasn't doing any good for my self confidence!
And life is ALL about ATTITUDE!

Your attitude defines your thought process.It drives what you want to do and what you actually end up doing. And so it gives a person the defining edge to rise above mediocrity and move towards excellence! And when you break the journey up into smaller steps...it doesn't look any steep anymore! It is do-able!
I have charted many a personal victories using this thought in mind and it has reaped huge benefits for me.
Well..back to the topic at hand. I ain't the most talented guy in this side of the town. But I try hard not to lose an opportunity when I am given one...For they are like an old man's teeth...Few...and far in between.
This is a simple story of one such opportunity!
One of my previous blogs had a comment that I can sing to disperse a crowd...and that this talent(???)can be used in a tense situation to break up a mob!
One night has changed that outlook...
Something like a week back, we received a mail from the admin for my team asking me whether I wanted to be a part of the group which was planning on singing the carols for the office Christmas/Year end party.
Yes! You read that right! I was asked whether I wanted to join the office choir. It had always been an unfulfilled dream for me that I sing to an audience...that was willingly listening. And that when I would open my eyes at the end of it all, there would be someone listening to me!
While I saw this as an opportunity, i was sceptical. I didn't know how it would all turn out. And whether I would make a fool of myself! ALL my friends have always been critical of my attempts at singing. And I guess that made me think 100 times before I sang. Singing for me was something that was done only in the confines of the bathroom, under the shower. But i went nevertheless! For I knew that Lady Luck ain't coming knocking to your door twice.
There were quite a few people there for the practices. And I wondered...would I be any good? Would I be decent enough not to make a fool of myself? It wasn't a case of self doubt. It was more like the Truth for me. When you hear day and night that Surf Excel can get rid of all stains, you start believing them! Similarly you start believing people when they tell you time and again that singing is NOT my cup of coffee (I dont drink tea... :->).
Well, back to the choir practices. On an average, 3 out of 4 people were regular choir singers or those who had sung in a choir before. And they were good!
I passed through two days without a lot of trouble. Missed a thing here and a few things there...but all in all, it was a good experience! I decided to stay in the shadow of another guy named Satya. He has a wonderful voice and I would sing in his shadow, by his side. He would mellow...so would I. He would stop, so would I. We were told in the first few days that his was the 'better' voices and that we had to support him. A few of those present didnt exactly like that and hence they politely excused themselves. But I decided to persist! There was a goal in mind. I wasnt thinking about the choir. I was selfishly thinking about myself. I wanted to do it for myself! As the practices progressed, I heard a lot of terms: 'tone', 'alto', 'melody', 'harmony'...while I theoretically had a vague idea of what they meant, I didn't have a clue as to what they sounded like. I couldn't tell one from the other. For that matter, I couldn't tell one from itself! Everything was Greek and German as far as I was concerned. And it was amusing to me when every once in a while, everyone (besides me)threw their hands up in the air screaming that we were one 'note' higher/lower and that we weren't sounding right. Turned out that i was the only member of the Les Ignorants contingent out there. I now emphatised with Joey Tribbiani. The way he would try to act like he was on the same page as the others whilst in the middle of a intellectual conversation...when actually he was so far away from the line...that he couldn't even see the line. I decided that the shut mouth policy was the best policy. In the middle of all this, there were some interesting turns and twists to the carols.
The turning point came when the guys were asked to sing all by themselves to get the notes(??? I am not sure whether that is the right word) right. In the middle of the all guy-song sequence, one of the girls doing the melody (no idea what it means...guess will have to google for it...) said that i should do 'seconds' for a particular sequence. I said that I didnt know what the hell she was talking about. She made all of us sing again...and then exclaimed that i was indeed doing seconds. Since we were not doing well that day, i thought that it was me who was screwing it up. When I asked her if that was the case, she said that it was something good. Something else came up and as a result of the same, I had to let go of the same.
The next day however, the same thing came up again.The director(that is what we all her fondly!) suddenly exlaimed that I was doing the thing that i was doing...seconds. That is when the melody girl said that I have been doing it for a while....without knowing what I was upto. I was scared know...I thought that i was really screwing it up. That is when they said that what i was doing was actually something good! I couldn't believe my ears!
I asked them...'Excuse me???'
They said...'Exghacttly'
Well, actually it wasnt Exghacttly like how i said it...but I bet that you get the drift!
As I always do, I started fishing for compliments! I wanted to know what it was that they meant. They told me that it was something that was tough to do...something like melody and harmony..and that if I was doing it spontaneously, it was something great! And that i was to continue to do what i doing (unknowlingly of course!).
Later in the evening, when it was sound check time, we (atleast me) were going terribly off! I guess I was getting conscious...I have done atleast 10 skits/dramas etc on stage...even danced once on stage...but a song was a first! The butterflies in the stomach were obvious! All the attitude and the self-confidence went for a toss. I was asked to stand all by myself at the end of a semi circle that we boys(that is what the girls were calling us) were standing in. I thought it was because I wasnt doing well. It was only later that i realised that this was actually because i was throwing someone else off the track!
Let me try to explain the concept of a second voice as I have understood it with my limited music knowledge(sorry to have kept harping on the lack of musical know-how. it is just that everyone other than me seems to know more about music... :-> ). When a person is singing in a second voice, what he/she is actually singing a note lower than the rest of the group. This is supposedly akin to swimming against the tide. To sing in tune, but a note lower than the rest is something that isn't easy is something that I am told(please correct me if any of this is incorrect).
Since I was singing at a different note, i was throwing another guy off the track. Hence he needed to be alongside someone else so that he remained in scope.
The sound checks were chaotic. We just didnt seem to get the sequence right. And before we could test anymore, the first of the buses carrying the people arrived and people started trickling into the InterContinental lawns. We decided to pack up and change into our gear.
Us guys were doing blazers and were looking neat. But the girls were simply stunning. Each and everyone of them! They seemed to provide just the right kinda motivation! ;) And they had our attention...hook, line and sinker!
I know had another reason to perform well! ;)
The scheduled time was 2000 IST...but in the fine tradition of Indian Stretchable Time, it was pushed by 30 mins...and we were getting impatient...so were the people! We had lovely Santa caps on! And they were lookin simply stunning! All of us had champagne and sparkling wine...and that seemed to give us the push that we needed...
We started with Joy to the world! It was a loud and a strong song(description was provided by the director). The papillons in the belly had been long gone! Whether it was because of the champagne, the new found confidence or the stunning ladies, I don't know. But they were gone for sure!
I sang with a lot of fervour. It was my 20 minutes of glory. A dream long overdue was finally being fulfilled. I sang my heart out. I guess that my emotions could be heard in my voice. It was like a one-day match debut for a cricketer or clearing the Engineering graphics paper for a first year engineering student! We soon moved to peppier songs like Santa Claus is comin' to town, Jingle Bell Rock and Jingle Bells
When it was all done, it was like the end of a dream! It wasnt that i desperately wanted or something. You have to understand that! All of us have this list of things that we want to do in a lifetime...BASE jumping, para-gliding, writing a book of my own...This was a part of that list...I guess that i just didnt have the confidence to do it! And never had more that half an opportunity any which way.

At the end of the day, it was a lesson well learnt! Nothing is impossible in life...One just has to do it the right way. One should have faith in oneself. And you should not try to ape someone else. You should do what you are good at..and be good at it. If I had tried to ape Satya or do something different, I reckon that i would have screwed it up. All of us have some talents. Its just that some of them are hidden. We have to understand the meaning of the word 'hidden' and try to find them...And the most important of them all...Always follow your what your heart tells you and try to achieve what you dream of!
I think that it was a one hell of a learning for one night!

PS: In case I have sounded like I am boasting or if you found the post to be lacking of modesty, I apologise. But, you have to understand the thought process and excitement that has gone into the writing of this post! And the underlying sentiments involved. You have to understand HOW much it means to me...
thanks...APS

How the mighty have fallen...

Today is a sad day...
The mighty in their quest for pride and honour for their Hero and for themselves have fallen!
It was supposed to be a battle in the honour of George Best who passed away a few days back...At the same place and against the same opponents that were crushed by the great George Best himself!
But, unfortunately, it was not to be. Despite valiant attempts, Manchester United lost to Benfica in Portugal by 1 goal to 2!
Unfortunately, the mighty have fallen....and have left a lot of die-hard ManU fans crest-fallen! :(

For the Compulsive Foodie

Mumbai is the city of dreams. You find people from all walks of life. From the person selling stationary in the local trains to the nouveau riche flashing the latest gizmos to the yuppie in town. And catering to each of these segments, one finds a variety of places to satisfy the rumble in the tummy!
From the down right cheap to the exhorbitant! From the vada-pav to the champagne and the caviar; the quick-bite dosa place to the elaborate Sunday brunches! From the quintessential Udupi restaurants in Matunga to the hospitality of the Renaissance...You've got it all! And each of these promise to ensure that you experience a spectrum of fine dining experiences...to satisfy your taste-buds!
I have picked a few of my personal favorites in the city and beyond! If you are culinary aficionado, read on!
Bade Miaan - One cannot discuss food joints in Mumbai and ignore this place! It is THE ultimate place for the non-vegeterian! Don't let yourselves be fooled by its nondescript look and feel. Sandwiched in an alley between the Taj and Regal Cinema, it would come across as yet another road-side joint in Mumbai. Yes! You don't have to read that again. Topping the list is a road-side joint. The only small difference that you would notice is the barrage of cars that are parked here. A Lexus, Ford, Lancer or a Accord wouldn't be out of place here. This in itself speaks volumes about the place. It arguably serves the most lip-smacking food in town...and remains open until the early hours of the morning! So if you happen to party in the Taj or anywhere in town for that matter, head to this place.
Suggestions:
Chicken Baida Roti
Chicken Bhuna with Rumaali Roti
Location: Next to the Taj Hotel, behind Regal Cinema - Colaba


More on the places in a while...

18:24 Borivali Slow

One of the things that you would come across within a few conversations with me is the unparalleled place that Pune and Koregaon Park, Main Street and FC Road hold in my heart. And how difficult it was for me to leave Pune and come to Mumbai...the city of dreams! Well, almost! It doesnt matter out here if people are stamping or standing on your feet in the dreams; it is still the place where the future is...well, atleast mine.
It wasnt like I didnt have other choices. Pune did have its options and Bangalore was calling...literally! But what I wanted to do was to move up the value chain. The southern sensibilities didn't appeal to me...Hence, Bangalore was out of the question! And Chennai would have been over my dead body! And Hyderabad already had the Nizam! :)
So when luck came knocking down the door, i embraced it with both hands! But not without a heavy heart! I am often asked the reason of my love for Pune. All i can say is that you have to live and experience life in Pune to understand the sentiments! And 2 years (well, almost) is a long time! You just cant help fall in love with the city...and its people! ;)
But the future was calling...And so i landed in Mumbai! Well, actually, i biked myself down to Mumbai with a back-pack! 200 odd minutes and I was there!
Mumbai wasnt a new place. I had been here quite a few times and was well versed with the city and its lifeline...the locals!
But, Mumbai as a city is nothing like Pune or Goa (which is where i hail from...). It is HUGE! and crowded!
If you pass through Chakala or Saki Naka in the suburbs or find yourself at the main foot-bridge at Dadar station, you will know exactly what i am talking about! Or else, if you have ever caught the 18:24 slow local to Borivali! Chances are that in this case, you will never want to look at a train again! (And yet I did...you just cant ignore them out here).
These...and many more like these are the symbols of Mumbai. What it stands for...
Before the 'Mee Mumbaikars' sulk, i must add that while I make it sound horrible, Mumbai isnt all that bad! It is just that my eyes, my thoughts and my mind are so clouded by Pune and its idyllic streets in Model Colony, KP... that i cant see much beyond them.
Just in case a thought crossed you mind that if I am from Goa, how come I root for Pune so much and not for Goa, then it would not surprise me. Well, the answer is unfortunately pretty simple. For the kind of work and future I am looking at, Goa just doesnt fit in the scheme of things. There just are no jobs for my profile. Atleast not for someone who is overly ambitious in life.
Hence, it is a point of making a choice.
And Mumbai it was! The first few days were tough. I'd probably spent more time travelling back and forth than in Mumbai or Pune! But, as things began to settle down, I started to get adjusted to the place. I wouldn't say that I started liking the place, 'coz I still haven't begun doing that...and it looks unlikely in the near future.
But, you just couldn't sulk and not venture out. It helped that i had a good set of friends out here. Partying was one thing that I enjoyed in Mumbai! Food was another! Well, actually in the reverse order! In fact these are the two things that have helped me adjust out here. That the work was good wasnt bad either! Lotsa friends and barely any time at my disposal to brood.
Since then, a lot of water and filth has flown from under the Mahim bridge. And lot over the bridge as well.
But as I look back at the 8 odd months that have gone by, I guess that things have not been all that bad!
New place...new friends...old friends...Bade Mian...ABC Farms...Fun Republic..E Square...Koregaon Park...Marine Drive...Colaba...Camp...Bhurjee at Khurshid...Bun Maska at Station...Mastani...Haji Ali...Velvet Lounge...Elysium...
Its been the best of the two worlds! Just an expressway in between...
And I can say...grudgingly...is that I now feel at home. Pune is where the heart is...but its just 3 hours away! :)
I can now finally proclaim...'Mee Mumbaikar'
Gotta go...have to catch the 22:04 local to Churchgate!

Quirks of a Software Professional

Trust the irritating (for anyone outside the IT realm) software professional to use Microsoft Outlook to sensationalise even the most trivial of issues into a matter of great National Security (second in this regard only to Dubyaman - George Bush).
Here is a snippet of an actual mail that was sent to the admin assistant of the team.
The reason: there was an overhead light (diffused light if i may add...) that was interfering with Mr. Merlin whilst at work.
The issue was raised previously and the lights were shut-off. Then suddenly out of the blue, they were turned ON again...
This prompted the following mail...

Hi xyz...
This is regarding the beam lights... They are affecting me and ameet and resulting in an under-utilization of the available valuable resources and hence our company must come up with optimal processes to allocate the adequate lights to the appropriate beams so that the work is done efficiently and the average productivity is above the industry standards which will help the organization to attract more customers and acquire more business thus resulting in more profits and also meet our annual targets for the profits in order to sustain in the competitive market situation !!
Please Help !!!!

And guess what??? This mail was actually forwarded to the divisional head! :)
Everyone has a quirky sense of humour these days! ;)

PS: If it crossed your mind that I am sensationalising a trivial issue...you are absolutely right! :)

CAT...Since 2003

Somewhere deep inside all of us lies a cute kid...he shows his face once in a while and makes us do something that we always wanted to do...but never had the chance to...maybe because we never had the time (although we had time to land at Mocha...and bide time over a vertigo), maybe because we didn't want it bad enough...or simply because we never had the will to let it happen...
And when he (the kid) does pop-up, the urge to do the unconventional is so strong...you think that you can conquer the world...well almost.

A certain such urge has cropped up in my mind..again...
I always cribbed to God that he didnt give me talents...
I aint much of a dancer, can sing to disperse a crowd and paint a cow when i want a frog and vice-versa. If there is something that i can do decently, it is to write...(or should i be saying type).
Or so i console myself!

well...enough of the abstract...Let me get into the crux of the matter...

I always wanted to script a short story...something that was close to my heart...
Something with which i could talk my heart out...and something that others would relate to and want to listen.

But there wasnt anything that i could place my finger on. Then, a fine day, a dear friend asked me whether I had read 5 point Someone by Chetan Bhagat. I pleaded ignorance. What caught my attention was an innocuous statement by her that although the book was decent enough, given the chance, I could do a better job!

The very next day, I had bought the book and read the same(The first page of the book bears testimony to the above mentioned incident). It was good. But then, i thought that it didn't deserve the hype.

And one statement kept ringing in my mind
"...you can do a better job than him...".

And now, I have an opportunity to live that dream...
I have an idea!

I present to you...

CAT...Since 2003!!!
:-)
This happens to be the name and the subject of the short story that i intend to pen...
It is a touchy and memorable topic to all those amongst us who came to Pune with a dream...A dream of the IIMs!

When we embarked on the journey, we were quite a handful. However, since then, we have meandered and taken our own paths. Some have moved on and some have moved out. But the CAT of 2003 was agruably the best time of our lives...since then we have diligently(???) made efforts. But the dream of Vastrapore (for the ignoramus, the address of IIM-A reads IIM, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad) remains a dream...
But we haven't give up hope (or have we?). We continue in our efforts to rise to the pinnacle...
And this forms the crux of my story...
I dont intend to keep it auto-biographical...for two reasons...
one, life is weirder than fiction and hence difficult to digest...and two, i dont want to make my life a open book... ;-)
I want to keep people guessing as to what is fact and what is fiction (assuming i find someone brave enought to endure the same...in fact, considering you have reached this far, would you want to take the first shot? ;-> ).

I know the entire concept sounds like one crazy idea! But guess what???
Normal is boring!!!. Not that i am bored with life or anything of that sort...(or that i dont have work at Lehman...i write these at night),but the penchant of doing the unusual is definitely more rewarding than the mundane...

With this, i begin the wonderful journey of the dream!


CAT...since 2003!!!

Bonds of the Past

There was a time
together we crossed the street
those were the days
knowing you was a treat

Somewhere down the road
you just withered away
Even when we were together
we'd have nothing to say

The world that we had
came to an abrupt end
For no obvious reason
we took an unseen bend

In the end it was
a bitter pill to swallow
after some good times together
it turned out to be shallow

Time and tide didn't wait
for us to catch up
It gave us the time
but we didn't patch up

A glass once broken
may be glued again
But even with sincere efforts
it will never be the same again

The troubles may go away
but the cracks shall last
the future would never have
the bonds of the past...