Fresh Breeze

How India Sees The World

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:53:00 +0000

Picture Source: Forbes

I loved this cover page of Forbes India 27 Aug 2010 Edition.. It's funny but true that average Indian perception of World is very much the same.. But with globalization, technological advances and travel opportunities, the picture is soon gonna change and will probably add more colors.. Drop me a few words on the way your country views the world (and please be nice with words) !

I Promise Myself

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:57:00 +0000

To be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.
To make all my friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature I meet.
To give so much time to improving myself that I have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side, so long as I am true to the best that is in me.

- Wisdom of ages in this little masterpiece by CHRISTIAN D. LARSON

The unsaid love

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:15:00 +0000

Where have you been.. Where are you now..
How have you been.. How are you now..

Don ask, for the memory path is too painful to tread.. I'd rather clench my eyes tight than allow a tear to roll down my cheek.. I'd better spread a smile than shook my head in silence.. For there's a family beside me whose happiness goes only as far as my ability to hide my grief.. At least for their sake, I have to stand tall..

There are times when you see destiny taking over the things despite your best efforts.. And I can't do much except hold the hand that's slowly slipping away from my grasp.. The same hand that helped me take my first step.. A pillar that always gave me strength to stand tall in rough weathers.. The strong shoulder that carried me to my favorite candy shop, is now no thicker than the bone itself.. The Pot belly that always happily acted as my best cushion, is now softer than the real one..

A prayer that never ceased to end.. A hope that refused to die down.. Eyes that alternated with gloom and glow at every visit to the ICU.. Energy levels that rose and dropped down with every news of fake recovery they whispered in my ears.. Nights that were full of screams and pain of the waiting room.. Days that were full of sweat and loneliness of the insensitive surroundings..

Finally, the morning that I never wanted to rise up to.. As the soul held on while the body slowly gave away, he battled bravely till I made a promise and kissed him goodbye.. The pinch of those thousand needles for long three hours after which the news came in.. And his soul united with the almighty..

The journey didn't end there and the dark night continued till the light of fire finally enlightened its path to heaven.. Though some time has passed since he left us, I know he's looking on me from above to fulfill my promise.. And I will DAD.. With all the love you always shared with us.. Even if it went unsaid....

Dancing In The Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 14:40:00 +0000

"LIFE ISN'T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS,
ITS ABOUT DANCING IN THE RAIN."

Dear Readers,
Life's been on a roller coaster ride from past few days. Neither fair nor unfair but just one of the times when I just want to shrink back in my old cocoon. One of the moments when I want to speak out but words turn up too heavy to come out. When I want to run away but pulled back by intangible forces around. And I just can't help but reassuring my faith in goodwill.

This stone has witnessed some of those lonely evenings in my life. Since I don't have much to pen at the moment, I let him do the talking. There's something special in it that always garnered my attention. Look carefully and you'll discover it for yourself.

Paying through the nose

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 20:25:00 +0000

"So Jan 10th is the last date for submission of investment proofs in your company, right?" asked a man in his mid 30s, staring right into my eyes through his thick glasses.

"Yes." I said with a pleasing smile, realizing that the time has finally arrived. This was my first encounter with a Chartered Accountant cum Financial Consultant, the mighty C.A. Ah, my savior from the gruesome tax man.

"Hmm so what have you planned so far? Got any insurance, funds, loans etc etc?" he leaned forward stroking his fingers against the table in typical Mogambo style.

"Ahh actually NONE." I smiled again to hide my ignorance or I shall I say shame for being ignorant.

I expected a rather blunt look from him. Swooshh!! as if Mogambo will lash his whip around my neck and hurl all his pet cheetahs and leopards towards me. "How can you be so stupid to not even claim the simple HRA and still sit pretty smiling at me?" I just wished he'll get a call and I'll get a breather before he'll utter these words. But hey what is it? Chamatkaar taoo chamatkaar. The roar reduced to mere groan and the lion leaned back in chair, completely relaxed, head thrown back. With a cunning smile outstripping his facial boundaries, two Uncle Scrooge style dollar signs quickly flashed in his eyes. Without wasting any time, he bombarded me with a flurry investment terms and options. After wooing me with fortunes of money wells and pelting with nightmares of hefty tax cutting, he finally concluded with a suggestion (or shall I say directive) to invest only through him.

Quite expectant of him, right?
"And Why Not." I thought. "For my ignorance is his livelihood!"

Picture Source: CFD

And I was not alone. I have seen people who are experts in every damn thing around but come matters of taxation and they start crying like a baby. "Whoever invented it must be hanged" is their last resort to save their face. But if you ask me, 'Tax Ghost' is not as dreadful as its image, atleast in a few ways:
1) First it makes you more aware of your financial statements (or financial wellbeing!)
2) It makes you invest. The most important lesson of assets and liabilities that is so hopelessly ignored by our education system.
3) It makes a lazy bum like me to get up and get working. Believe me a little bit of financial planning can exercise your brain far better than Sudoku puzzles and besides, it makes your pockets deeper.

I really couldn't get over the feeling of someone going through all my financial records and playing at might with it without me having a single clue about whats going on. So I decided to take a plunge into the richie rich world of Investment and Tax Planning. Thanks to Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad - Poor Dad", I was well armed with the strong concepts of Assets and Liabilities. The very idea of "Money yielding Money" was enough to pump up my adrenaline levels. With my basic ammunition ready, I was ready to take on the 'Tax Army' with help of internet, books, experienced friends and investment stall agents.

Time was short but I was determined. My lunchtime was dominated by investment & taxation talks, discussions and quick paper calculations. One thing I must warn you especially in finance, "If you don't understand a word, don't keep mum. Speak out, Clarify, Question it." No matter how stupid it may sound that time, u'll be smarter by another inch next time. So there I was, firing questions here and there, important or trivial, sensible or weird, googling and calculating at the drop of the hat.

Slowly terms like returns, risks, policies, mutual funds, equity, debt, ELSS, premium, bonus, endowment, ULIP, coverage, term plan, money return, capital guarantee, form 12B, form 16, rebates, dividends, reinvestment, SIP, section 80c, section 80ccc etc etc started making sense to me. I don't claim for the oxymoron title of 'Amateur Expert' on the subject but at least mogambos do not scare me anymore. No grudges against any of the honest CA's and consultants around but my biggest reward of the year, I did it all this time.. MYSELF.

Snapshots From North India

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 20:38:00 +0000

Dec 1998, 5AM
"Pair of cotswool, Shirt n Trouser, One or Two sweaters, One thick jacket with deep pockets, One multipurpose striped muffler and Pair of woolen hand gloves. All topped up with a long cap flaunting a woolen star ball at the end."

Yes, I used to be this multilayered onion back in 1998 while riding my bicycle to maths tuition classes on those chilly winter mornings. With fog limiting the sight to just a few feet around, I never gave up the hope for meeting that someone special on the way. The romance of those mistful mornings is still a class apart. I relived those special memories during my recent trip to North India this Christmas. Here m sharing some of those interesting moments that I captured during my winter trip.

8 Degree Celsius

Remember your first smoke in childhood? Well I smoked that for long and even loved that to bits. Yes, I am talking about those harmless winter puffs that nature makes available to anyone who tries it at the right time and at the right place. Free and without any warning label or harmful side effects. It was winter and I was in North, so here I am, all set to try one at the railway station. Even though the camera failed to capture it, you can see the dense fog around me. And yes, its not 6 or 7 AM, its 10 in the watch!!

Idli in North

The way North Indian food used to be a special cuisine in South India a few years back, it was the same in North India for South Indian food (Specially Idli and Dosa). Both sides of the country used to tweak the original recipe to suit the palette of their native customers (just like pizza hut indianized its pizza in India). Over the time, I witnessed a considerable increase in authentic North Indian food down south. Same way, I discovered authentic south indian delicacies in north but the thing that surprised me most was that, North, while excelling in its punjabi cuisines even surpassed in its quality of southern delicacies. For example, this mouth watering plate of Idli was served with TN style Sambhar, thick white Coconut chutney (little sweet), green chutney with a flair of mint and spicy brown chutney with a twist of tamarind. Hmm south speciality restaurants do have a point to ponder here.

My Toy Shop

While searching for presents for my young nephews, nieces and little Cousins, I chanced upon this familiar little shop in a corner of the crowded old market. 'Yes, This is my toy shop' I yelled with joy as I jumped in to check it out. From supplying my first 'Ping Pong' bats to 'Business Board' game, this shop formed an integral part of my childhood. Its been years I'd been here but the memories are still afresh.

Though the shop board bore the brunt of time, the variety and quality of toys was still intact. The familiar key-run toys were now replaced with push button and battery operated ones. Soft toy section was dominated by 'Made in China' labels while flashy hi-tech gadgets made their way to the showcase. As usual, I didn't return empty handed from it and continued my relationship through gen next.

Til ka Taad

Til or sesame is believed to have warming properties. So as soon as winter kicks in the North, til makes it way to all the sweet shops round the city. It comes in the form of Gajak, Revadi, Til laddoo, Til biscuit and the list goes on.

The only classification it used to have earlier was 'sugar based' and 'jaggery based' but now I discovered some 40+ varieties with names like 'Chini Agra Biscuit', 'Gur Agra Biscuit', 'Chini Roll', 'Gur Roll' etc etc.

Jingle all the way

When I touched down in Bangalore, Christmas was just over but one can clearly make out the festive mood that had set in. Santa Caps, Christmas trees, Chinese lanterns (China again!!) and Hanging stars were everywhere to be seen. Here's one well decorated Christmas tree that I found in Pizza Hut.

Even though I missed out on the melodious carols of the season but I did manage to get hold of this snowman as soon as he came out of his igloo.

So here's wishing you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2007. Have fun, drive safely and hey, don't forget to make those sweet smileys on back of those dew drenched cars.

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 20:18:00 +0000

Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh

Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh

Dear Readers,
Its Christmas time again and Santa is busy loading his sleigh. So don't forget to hang your Christmas Stockings beside your bed. I'm going on vacation tomorrow and will be back by 26th. So here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. May all your wishes come true.
Love, Divs

PS:
Picture Courtesy: Christmas traditions
Jingle: Carols

Freshbreeze on Vijay Times

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 19:32:00 +0000

Date: Nov 30, 2006

Dear Divs,
We carried your latest blog post today.
Please see page 13 of Vijay Times.
Cheers, Subhash

Wow!! Nothing but just a plain 'Wow'!!
That was my first reaction when I found these words waiting for me in my mailbox. So far I used to enjoy the position of playing the surprise guy but this time they really beat me to dust. And man, what a pleasure to see this post up there on Vijay Times, One of the best and most versatile newspaper in Karnataka. It was not less than an honor for a person like me who's quite new to the world of blogging. My sincere thanks to Subhash (The Deputy Editor) and his team. Here's a little story especially dedicated to them.

Its so wonderful how broken links slowly join together to make a chain of memories. It traces back to my college days back in 2001-02 when I was an engineering student in Belgaum, Karnataka. One sunny morning while I was mentally preparing myself to sustain another scolding by professor for being late to class, someone faintly knocked at my door. Still in my Towel, I hesitantly opened the door to find a man with a pile of newspaper in his hand. With a charming smile, he said "Sir, We have started a new newspaper 'Vijay Times' and here's a free complementary copy of the same. Hope you'll like it. Call me at this number to subscribe it (pointing towards the blue stamp on it)". For college students, anything that sounds 'free' is quite dear to heart, so I thanked him and quickly grabbed it. As I can recall clearly, later in the day when I went past a few pages, I realised even though the daily was quite new but the length and breadth of topics it covered was really praiseworthy. Quite impressed, I followed it later intermittently in college library whenever used to find it there.

A month later, I took VRL (Vijayananda travels) bus to some destination and was surprised again to find VRL guys distributing free copies of Vijay Times to its passengers. 'Ahaa we met again', I said as I enjoyed my familiar versatile paper back in my hands. Two years later, I moved to down Bangalore for Job hunt. Short on time, I switched to online mediums like Google News, NDTV and all, rarely getting time to go past the headlines.

2006 Journey: Come October and I started on with freshbreeze. Come November and my long gone friend is back with me again on page 13. Come December and its my time to share my happiness with it as freshbreeze hitcount crossed past the 1000 mark. Yes, Thanks to my dear readers, freshbreeze is now on a new milestone.

While I was trying to collect more information on VijayTimes, apart from its huge success story in Karnataka, I came to know about its two other popular daily viz. Vijay Karnataka (Kannada) and Usha Kiran (Kannada) apart from the news of acquisition of Vijayananda Printers by Times Group in mid 2006. According to Subhash, "The 4-year-history of Vijay Times has been a roller-coaster ride. After initial hiccups, it picked up circulation all over Karnataka, thanks to the dynamic transport group which launched it, Vijayanand Roadways, led by Vijay Sankeshwar (that's where the Vijay comes from). And the Times takeover has been a smooth transition, so far. Recently we crossed the one lakh mark in city."

So here's wishing Vijay Times success and circulation, in Karnataka and beyond. They have started a new column titled "Bloggers Park" in which they publish interesting posts by various bloggers around. So if u have a blog and wanna share it, you know where to head for.

PS:

To visit that column online, follow these steps:
1) Visit http://vijaytimesepaper.com/
2) Click on 'Free epaper access' tab.
3) Click on 'Listings' link on left pane.
4) The column will be there on page 13 (on right side).

To access my published post:
Select date as Nov 30, 2006 (top right side box) and browse to page 13 as directed above.

Ouch, that hurts!!

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 04:18:00 +0000

Professor: Why are you so late today?
Student: I slipped sir.

Professor: Well, I can't see your clothes soiled though?
Student: Amm Arr actually I slipped in the bathroom sir.

Ever used that lame excuse? If yes, then u better not going forward. I just slipped in my bathroom last night and ouch, it hurts man!!

Picture Courtesy: Boundary Bathrooms

Thank God, I was lucky to get up this morning with just a swollen elbow to tell u the tale. Even I used to laugh at these innocent accidents but hey its not that funny at all. I can imagine the agony of those poor souls whom I used to grin at on giving this excuse but now I can empathize with them (even though i still believe 80% of them were plain fake, forgive me God if I'm wrong). So coming back to my brave fall in bathroom, I'd let you take a sneak peek at one of my most private rituals, "The Friday Night Bath".

Friday night, wow.. no other time of the week is as dear to me as the lovely Friday night. I leave early from office and reach home completely relaxed and waiting for a thrilling weekend ahead (is it? always?). So I make a couple of calls before going to sleep and take a full 1 hour bath compared to my 5 min hush hush affairs every morning before office. So while I was enjoying that steaming shower yesterday with all the frothing shampoo on my head, some drops of it trickled down to my right eye. Unable to wash it down quickly, my visiblity was now limited to one eye only. As I was struggling to relieve myself from that pain, I really adored the "No More Tears Baby Shampoo" by J&J. Man, why the hell m not a baby today?

Phiss.. and the soap slipped out of my hand. What am I supposed to do then? In sane senses, I'm supposed to wash my hands/ face and then look for it rather than playing hide and seek with it. But my grey cells responded, hey lets see how brilliant u are to locate it with your limited power of sight. Use your intuition and find it. So I started my supercop search around but hey I forgot bout the concealed slipperiness of those shining bathroom tiles. And to top it all, I forgot bout my lather soaked feet.

Zapp... and the right leg slipped... the left one followed to balance it... m stil on the way to floor but adamant not to give up without a fight.. so i tried to grab on whatever was on the way but got nothing except thin air.. finally, after pushing against the bathroom door and brushing past the side wall, I finally landed on the ground in not so graceful way.

Phew, I lost but I lost after a brave fight with a reddish-blue elbow as the trophy. As I got up after a short blackout, I discovered how saintly you become after a fall. With a star studded halo above your head, you feel really good to be alive. Thank God for saving me. If I'd have landed on other side of wall with bathroom fittings, the results could've been different.

So here are some words of caution from the expert:
1) Use Non-Slip Mats on the inside of bathtubs and shower stalls.
2) Avoid using oil in tiled bathrooms.
3) Use a plastic/steel non slippery stool while applying soap to your feet and all (u know).
4) Do not use any electrical appliances like dryer etc in bathroom.

And finally, from personal experience, don't test your senses or intuition by searching for a slipped out soap (especially when you have a slippery surface beneath). Keep that thing in mind and Happy Bathing :-)

Mixed bag of joys

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 17:55:00 +0000

“Tumhe aise kitne din yaad hai Roy, Your first job, pehla suit, pehli salary? Jab tumne ek ladki ko pehli baar chooa, pehli baar chooma? Jab pehli baar tumhara dil dhadka. 30 saal ki Zindagi mein aise kitne din hain jo tumhe yaad hain - 1, 2, 3 , 5 , 10 , 15, 30… 30 din hain na? 30 saal ki zindagi aur bas 30 din... baaki ke dino ka kya hua Roy?"

Sounds familiar? Yes, I got the same reaction when I heard these words three days back. But its not just a familiar dialogue to me, it holds special meaning in my life.

For those who are reading it for the first time, its from the movie Bluffmaster. Delivered by who other than the versatile Boman Irani at the Gateway of India to Abhishek Bachchan. I was down with viral fever a few days back and while I lay in bed listening to songs, this gateway theme suddenly popped up reminiscencing about the day it hit me like a bullet. I watched this movie the day that infamous IISC attack happened. Unaware of the turmoil outside, a different kind of unrest took place inside me.

"Tumhe aise kitne din yaad hai Roy?... 30 saal ki zindagi aur bas 30 din... baaki ke dino ka kya hua Roy?" And I asked the same question to myself, how many days do you remember Divs? What happened to the rest of the days? Simple words seeking a very simple answer yet powerful enough to drive home the message. As the words echoed louder, it made me think and rethink who am I, what am I doing in life and how am I doing it. I came back home struggling to count the number of such days but couldn't go past 30 as well. Man, what was I doing all these years? Was it a time for some introspection or was I just plain careless?

As someone rightly said, add life to your days instead of adding days to your life, the message did change my outlook in life. Thanks to whoever has written that, I'm glad my count is much above 30 now :-). Celebrating the same, I have compiled a list of some 50 such little joys in my life. Though the list was far from over, I just shortlisted 50 of them for sake of my poor readers. I have grouped a few together to mark different phases in my life. Some of them might sound weird at first but if you go through them again, you'll discover the lighter side of life that m trying to point to. Please add to this list by sharing your simple joys as well.

Ever felt the joy of.... ?

1) Rainy day holiday in school... used to love it to bits.
2) Playing sick in morning to avoid school bully.
3) Wondering if u can shrink back to fit in your favorite old dress.
4) Dad shaving you off for the first time (and u just can't help having that grown up feeling).
5) This one i want in hindi "Sardiyon ki dhoop".

6) Doing assignments in groups.
7) Stammering on u're first encounter with u're big time crush.
8) Getting caught while giving proxy attendence.
9) Dancing with two left feet on rose day, only because u feel someone's watching you (Reality is: She's busy counting the roses for her 'Rose Queen' race).
10) Buying a skin tight only to realise that u were never made for it.
11) Playing cool dude while trying u're first puff (and you end up coughing all day long).
12) Suddenly coming across a song u danced on your first 'Class Picnic'.
13) Playing the big brother (or shall i say 'Big Boss') to your juniors.
14) Learning the vehicle on test rides (With a scared attendent who don't even have an insurance).
15) Finding the same question in exam that u just mugged up 5 mins before outside the door.
16) Speaking whole night on even when u're cell batteries give in (remember those painful wails of nokia cells on discharge?).
17) Punching someone right in the face and feeling no regrets even when u're whole body aches as hell afterwards.
18) You get up after a night of examination nightmares only to find the paper too easy to crack.
19) Watching a movie the night before the exams.
20) Incidentally burning the tissue papers on the table on u're first candle night dinner (and later tipping extra for that).
21) Finding an old leaf in a book reminiscencing you of someone somewhere.
22) Trying a new hair cut with hairs boasting upto 5" and ending up with something weird at less than 1".
23) Discovering a 500 rupee note in your crumpled jeans at the end of a cash stripped month.
24) Deliberately losing the way just to spend some more time driving with your friend.
25) Getting rejected in a campus interview, And u shrug it off saying "When i'll open my own company, the same people will come to me asking for work."

26) Listening to u're friend all night long as he pours his heart out.
27) Crying with help of sad songs (Guys don know any other way to do so, unless its SRK himself).
28) Discovering u're zips Open upon reaching home (And you realize how brilliantly you roamed around the whole city with that ventilation On).
29) Kids waiving you from the sides of the railway track (not in early mornings for obvious reasons).
30) Sharing a private glance with a stranger in the middle of a crowded street (Believe me, at moments, u never share such understanding even with your best friends).
31) Chance upon an old friend on the street (Thats what chance encounters are all about, rt JALS?).
32) Long gone friends sharing a drink together after years.
33) Getting a call from someone u were just dialling to.
34) Walking miles alone in night following the moon.
35) Watching a needy face lit up when u drop a 50 rupee note in his lap (He was really needy, will share that story sometime later if possible).
36) Paying fine for entering one way road on wrong side. Reason: You were lost in talks with u're pillion.

37) Dressing up your dad for an important occassion.
38) Surprise visit to your parents on a festival (Really, thats the best gift you can give them).
39) Street dog licking you all over after a day of distress and rejection.
40) Buying a two way ticket just to sit back n enjoy the journey, not to reach anywhere.
41) Clicking someone in all possible poses by making him/her bend at all possible angles (Bakraa!!).
42) Watching a movie again coz someone wants to see that with you.
43) Running away from uncles trying to find a potential son-in-law in you.
44) Meeting the boyfriend of the girl u just fallen for (and u end up giving blessings to both, lol).
45) Dropping an unknown kid to his school on your way to work.
46) Suddenly hitting the road for an unknown trek at midnight (That included a goods train ride to the middle of the jungle as well).
47) Enjoying the day surfing out in the office when server/instance is down at the client site.
48) Taking a leave just to enjoy the first rain of the season (Hope my boss is not reading this one).
49) Laughing out loud when son of u're school crush suddenly address you as 'Maamu'!! (Okay, I was devastated but really had a good laugh over it).
50) Gajar ka halwa by my mom on new years eve :-)

Hey, its me!!

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 12:18:00 +0000

How does it feel?

I mean how does it feel when virtuality meets reality?

The VIRTUAL world:
You know a person from last one year. You've silently read through her life to the minutest detail. You know her in n out (as much as she's comfortable disclosing). You know her likes - dislikes and shared her moments of highs - lows. She's been an inspiration to you, something that finally opened a new door of self expression for you. All this without her knowledge. One day you break the silence playing a mystery man and she digs you out in this vast world wide web. All this happens in this virtual world. You play it in your way of surprises and wait for the real world to take over.

The REAL world:
You take out your bike in a hurry to reach some college before their office timing is over. The work is urgent and you can't afford to miss out on that. Just an hour left, so you put u're helmet on and zoom past 70 kmph in city traffic braving all potshots from fellow drivers/riders on the road. You pass under a flyover and through the helmet frame, you spot a very familiar face. Someone you know from a long time, someone you always wanted to meet and say 'Hey, its me!!'. By the time you realise that reality has taken over virtuality, she's on the move towards other side of road. You slow down fighting the old battle of deciding which is better, virtuality or reality? Finally, the adrenaline rush takes over the control and U end up taking a 'U' turn. With people madly honking behind you on your sudden idiotic move, you quietly apologise and stop behind an autorickshaw. As she speaks to the auto fella, you scan the face carefully trying to discard the raining doubts. Thankfully, deal is not done and the auto moves on, giving me the center stage. "Excuse me, R u AB ?" (even though you are dead sure but you always have to follow some protocol). As you enjoy the confused look on her face, she finally gives up in doubt and confusion replying "Yes" (she's still scanning her vast database of familiar faces but repeatedly getting "Entry not found!" error). Now its time to kill the mystery and reveal the real self, so you take off your helmet and say "Hi AB , its ME!!". A big Jhatka!! And you both burst into laughter. Surprise Surprise, you want to ask how was it but u already got the answer. Man, you want to share so many things in a flash but the day's task overpowers you. You know so many things bout her but you still fumble for words, it looks as if reality will take some time to sink in. For long you were reading a real novel in progress and suddenly its protagonist is in front of you. You exchange a few words and leave with hope of meeting again, still wondering was it real?

So whats the answer to the question with which this post started?
Very simple: You grin... and you grin all day long, time n again!!

My Olfactory Adventures

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 17:45:00 +0000

This post goes to my assiduous Nose. Least recognised but an awesome organ. It may represent the world of opportunities for body language readers but I am just mesmerized by its sheer power of translating simple chemical signals into feelings of pleasure and displeasure. It can even take you down the memory lane reminding of a familiar person, place or object. Its even known to trigger moods. And hey how can we forget about its importance in building tastes (remember the last time u took medicine by closing your nose tap?) Isn't that an awesome power. LOL don be scared, I'm neither obsessed with my nose nor I'm planning to start a lecture on it. Just want to share a few adventures of my olfactory senses.

It struck me when I missed the morning cab one day and had to take the BMTC bus to whitefield. While standing for last 30 mins in jam packed bus, I came across a plethora of different smells. Suddenly I realised how many different odors we encounter in our day to day life, unconsciously rejecting the common ones. So here's a bit of my conscious effort to distinguish them using the best of my nasal abilities.

My Olfactory Thesis -

1) The first smell that started it all was that of the steel bars in bus. It was quite familiar smell from my childhood when I used to go standing in bus to main city. Held tightly by the those sweat soaked hands, it emanated a sharp metallic smell, not easily distinguishable if u haven't travelled that way in summer heat.

2) The most common smell of pollution. I categorized it into the following, you can choose u're favorite:
(a) 'Dark Fantasy': Diesel combustion by Trucks-Bus combined.
(b) 'Sizzling Slaughter': Courtesy of Autorickshaws not running on CNG.
(c) 'Chokers Choice' : The beautiful blend of various oxides, soot and particles at the Traffic Light. Kind enough to put any young lung to rest.

3) That Velvet smell of sweating job aspirants. If u're frequent to DJ's at various marriages and parties, then u must be aware of this one (remember the last time DJ played u're favorite song and all hands went up in air ;-).

4) The smell of expensive deos and perfumes worn by few techies. Lost in office issues and deadlines, they were too preoccupied to enjoy that costly effect.

5) Ladies section (near front door) boasts of fresh smell of Gajra. Though still going strong, poor gajra is finding it difficult to survive on those tight clipped hairs these days.

As it goes, the best was kept for the last. After the morning ordeal, I ensured that I won't miss the evening shuttle. As soon as it started, I got the last surprise of the day. Cool breeze from the open door carried a few complex chemical particles that translated into a H-E-A-V-E-N-L-Y smell in my nose. I saw a lady in saree, sitting on my front left. Too close to escape my nose radar. I had a tough time scanning my limited database of all the possible deos and perfumes of ladies but couldn't pinpoint any. First time in my life I was feeling envious to a sniffer dog. Anyways, I just plugged in my mobile radio and closed my eyes. Heavenly smell and some great music, deadly combination. Ahh, a nice perfume can be a beautiful gift for me. Anyone's listening?? ;-)

Strange or Surprising?

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 13:26:00 +0000

Strange or Surprising, this world never fails to amaze me. When this happens, my mind divides into two and the big fight begins. In the end, nobody wins - nobody loses but I do get a better insight into the way this world operates and the role I play in it. Here's the script of one of the secret conversations I hold with myself:

Me1: Why do you do that?
Me2: Do what?

Me1: I mean, why do you expect them to be the way you are? Stop thinking in Black and White. If you don't change now, things are gonna be tough for you.
Me2: I stopped expecting anything from anyone long back. But then I realised that was not me, not my real self. So took a U turn but only 'half U' [trying to please Me1]. Why should I change myself for others?

Me1: Its called adaptation dude. Remember "Adapt Adapt".
Me2: I know.. I know.. But I am happy this way. More comfortable with myself. No tags attached.

Me1: Oh really? Think again. U don need to change for them but you need to know how to deal with the world. They're exploiting you, wake up.
Me2: Arr Amm, I dunno.. I can't help being nice to them and they can't help having that shell around. The day I put on the same shell, I feel so confined. I know it'll protect but at the same time, suffocate.

Me1: Listen, don't gimme your philosophy. Be rational, fight back. Don't stop for fear of sounding rude, thats the only way out else they'll take you for granted.
Me2: Yes, I am polite but at the same time 'firm'. But in a way you're right, instead of me exploding in the end and spoiling everything, its better to give a slight dose before hand.

Me1: Now you're coming back on track. Actually, even I know you don't want to loose your real self but its a neccessity. Theories of making this world a better place by starting with yourself isn't gonna help. You'll be walked over.
Me2: You know what buddy, I wasted so much of time brooding over what they'll be thinking bout me until one day I realised they're doin the same. They were as much concerned bout my opinion as I was for theirs. Now I have my own opinion of 'myself' and I am perfectly at peace with it.

Me1: Hmm.. Carry on but don't think I'll change my stand. Just want to play a good samaritan for some time, listening to your view.
Me2: Lol.. ok I won't make any guesses. I'm done from my side. What do you think then?

Me1: Though your view does make sense but I'll still say mine is the neccessity of time.
Me2: Ya, lets chart out the plan for the middle path but my 'own' path. And don't tell me to take this or that beaten track beacause the whole world has taken the same.

Me1: Deal.. lets sit together some other time to get it going.. tonite weather is too good to waste over such arguments.
Me2: [Smiles].. great, let me take out the bike then. Go get the helmet.

Me1: Shall I get one or two ;-)
Me2: [Laughs] I just have one, lets become one again!! We enjoy each others company, don't we ;-)?

Me: Here we go... What a beautiful night.. Vroom Vroom... Zoom............

One for Anita

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 11:50:00 +0000

This post is dedicated to the inspiration behind this blog: Anita Bora.
Celebrity blogger, Shutterbug and a name so popular that it doesn't need any introduction in Indian blogosphere. She's blogging since 2001 at JALS ("Just A Little Something") and writes about anything that catches her fancy apart from being an active member of various blogger clubs. Last month she completed five years of happy blogging and her feat of accomplishments has the first "Indian Bloggers List" to her name as well. Her passions include Bangalore, felines (Kit Kit), photography, cuisines, french and arts. I came across some of the other fascinating bloggers and shutterbugs through her work - Aqua, Metblogs, Desipundits, Usha, Dr Vivek and Sandeep to mention a few. You can find their links on the right side of the homepage.

Freshbreeze and JALS connection:
Freshbreeze was meant to be a blog for collecting all the wonderful forwards I was getting back in 2005. Later that year I came across JALS and instantly fell in love with it. Its simplicity and vibes kept my interest intact till today. It opened a new world of online thinkers, activists and enthusiasts for me. Thanks to JALS, I discovered so many wonderful blogs, insightful websites, useful tips and technical tools. No doubt, Google and its labs did a phenomenal job in the process. For more than a year, I was a silent reader of JALS but finally when I broke my silence, Anita was too kind to reply back with words of encouragement. The stage for inspiration was set and freshbreeze started off with full steam two months back. Thanks to you Anita, I just love this form of neo-journalism.

Bonjour

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:59:00 +0000

Ting Tong... Ting Tong... Ting Tong...
Chimes... Chimes... Chimes...

Thats how my morning usually begins these days...
Ting Tong by my Bai (maid)... Chimes alarm by my Cellphone...

Yes I am getting up at 6:30 in the morning, DAILY!! Can you believe this? I can't. Thanks to my sane office timings in new job, I get to see the Sunrise daily... but my efforts to get up in wee hours of the day are really worth mentioning... this post is dedicated to the same.

Those who know me from college days must be pulling their hairs out on this... I mean, this guy... who almost always used to miss the first class at 9 owing to his beloved sleep... is finally, getting up at 6:30... that early... that might be PM instead of AM... lol!!

Really guys, even m surprised but its true. There are 3 noteworthy factors for this near impossible transformation:
1) I never forget to put on my ALARM while sleeping... Two alarms, back to back at interval of 30 mins... and both last for 30 min each, tipping off at every 5 mins.
2) The BAI come at 7 am sharp and there's no way i can escape from her relentless ting tong.
3) Last but the most important factor is my FEAR of missing the early morning shuttle and then goin to whitefield in jam packed BMTC bus (after walking 2 kms to reach main bus stand)... by the time I reach office, sweat and exhaustion drains up all my energy apart from wasting the magical effect of my favorite deo ;-)

But what after those ting tongs and chimes? Here's the rest of the story:
I tell my MATTRESS to please leave me so that I will be saved from all the trouble of morning hustle bustle... but its too caring to let me go... Then I tell my dear BLANKET, please get off me so that atleast the cold will prick me up... but its too cosy to let me go... Finally, I turn to my dear PILLOW... dude atleast you help me out, somehow... surprise surprise, it cuddles me back...

Ah, such a lovely scene... straight from the sets of Rajshri Production house... but I remind myself again that there are no free lunches... thankfully, my bell and alarm comes to my rescue and I somehow get up sliding the curtains aside... warm golden light quickly fills up the room as I catch a glimpse of morning Sun... I thank God for such beautiful morning with half opened eyes... a cool splash on my face and my day begins!!

Ok Ok, those who are still not convinced that I get up THAT early, here's some consolation... I do miss the morning shuttle twice a week but what the hell u think I described the lovely bedding scene for? That was a nice justification, isn't it ;-)

What I want to be

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 05:32:00 +0000

1) When I was 8 yrs old, I wanted to be a 'Movie Hero' running around the trees chasing beautiful girls. Thanks to the loverboy flicks running all around that time. No doubt I was caught red handed with a collection of love phrases at the end of my notebook. Ahh, really embarassing that time but now I love it. Afterall, I was way ahead of my peer group!!

2) When I was 12 yrs old, I wanted to be an 'Astronaut'. One chapter on stars and planets in school and my heart was set on it. Used to gaze at night sky for hours at stretch trying to discover a new star pattern or planet for that matter. Longed for a powerful telescope and dreamed about being in outer space hopping from one galaxy to another.

3) When I was 15 yrs old, I wanted to be an teacher. Sharing my wisdom (if any) and transforming lives of my students. Considering the pathetic pay packages of teachers in India, I abandoned the idea. Somehow I don't believe in education system in India. My idea of education is to teach lessons that one can put to use in real life and in the process act as a guide, rather than as a directive. Those who know me, can easily tell how much I still love doin it. I only need some bakras to fulfill this desire of mine. People really used to freak out in college when I used to get onto the stage for my neverending lectures (deep down I know how much they loved it ;-). May be I'll fulfill this desire as a freelancer after retirement.

4) When I was 20, I wanted to be an Entrepreneur and I STILL want to be one. Its not a decision thats driven by any fancies or external factors. Although I get pretty much excited dreaming about getting dressed up and leaving for MY company. A dream realised with lot of hard work, done smartly. An ambitious, innovative, fun to work place with sheer focus on its people. Driven by my set of unique policies and plans, it'll involve even the last grounds man in company decisions. Wow, did I just sound like a democrat??

Those who are still wondering what I am into at present: I'm in a process of continuous learning and improvement. May be I'll fulfill my dreams one day or life might lead me to some new horizon that I'll love to be in. In the meantime, I'm just enjoying the journey wondering what I want to be??

PS:
Hope you liked the pic above. I just experimented with the collage tool (wow, m good at it boy!!). It's me in a fancydress competition where I forgot my dialogues...

Flight No 6E 304

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 19:19:00 +0000

Date : 20 Oct'06
Time : 8:35 PM
Flight : Indigo AE 304
Itinerary: Chennai to Delhi
Mood : Amused
Special : Twinkling Diwali Night

Thanks to my lethargic approach to travel planning, I ended up booking tickets to Delhi from Chennai instead of Bangalore. Even though I wasted one day in journey, the flight proved to be quite an amusing experience.

As soon as I buckled up my seat belt, I realised there was a big group of youngsters on board. Gang of some 30 odd boys and girls, quite fresh out of college and undergoing training at sprawling Infosys campus in Chennai. New joinees in IT are quite easy to identify, they wear their 'access tags' wherever they go, on the streets, in buses and suprisingly, in the airplane too ;-). You can make out the sense of relief of first job and proud of being employed by one of the biggest home giants. Many were travelling for the first time and a lot of research was goin on about the aircraft seatbelts and wings. This was their first Diwali from their first salary. Sheer excitement and joy marked their journey and I was a part of it. Here's an account of the same.

Before I began, I must admit that even though Indigo claims to be a low cost airline, they have left no stones unturned in hiring a good looking crew. There was a very cute air hostess on board, much to the delight of the male fraternity present there. While she was busy giving away the safety instructions, they were trying hard to make her tip and finally she gave in with a tight lipped laughter. A huge applause followed her performance. It was not only surprising but strange too, and I had a good laugh over the ongoing events. Even the most stern looking faces finally eased up. Afterall its better to get wrinkles from a smile than from a frown. The plane rushed through the airstrip and there echoed an energetic Jaikara "Jaikara Sherawalin Ka - Bol Saache Darbar Ki JAI". Those who don't know about Jaikara, its literally a shout of victory, triumph or exultation commonly used to mark the safe journey of travel but I was encountering it for the first time in an aircraft. It was quite a nice change of breaking the norms after a long time. It felt as if I'm in a college bus to a college fest, lots of giggles, leg pulling and ofcourse, tonnes of PJ's.

I took a break from flashbacks of my college life, first job and first flight to glance through the window upon the twinkling lights of Chennai. Lakhs and lakhs of light bulbs were scattered like a sheet of stars mirroring the sky. This Diwali was quite special for me. Whole family was going to celebrate it together after 3 long years. Moreover, a surprise visit and I was quite excited bout it. I pulled over the lever of my chair and slouched back, trying to relax amidst the chaos and energy marked by festive spirits. What a joy, festival of lights has just begun!!

Festival of lights

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 18:33:00 +0000

Dear all, I am back from my Diwali vacation. Lights, crackers, sweets, prayers and lots of family time marked my favourite festival. And guess what, I'm not alone this time. I have a bag full of stories to share. Will post them one by one here. As for Diwali pics, I have got tonnes of them but uploading will take a while. For the time being, here's the beautiful Rangoli I discovered at New Delhi airport on wee hours of the auspicious day. Can you tell what it is made up of?

For those who are still guessing, here's the answer - Its made from colored rice grains :-)

Dressing Up

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 21:14:00 +0000

Theme: New job, New challenges. The day, tomorrow.
Date: 15 Oct, 06
Mood: Excited
Time: 11:30 in the night
Dilemma: The perfect wear?

This is rather a personal note but I felt like sharing it, so here it goes:
As I was fumbling through my wardrobe to select the best combination possible, strange thoughts quickly occupied my vacant top floor ;-). A quick scan of the huge pile of clothes revealed that blue constitutes for about 70% of my whole attire collection. A majority fail to fit me now as my growing belly is unrelenting to give up. Is this the "Blue for Men - Pink for Women" factor or just my fetish for blue? Hmm whatever it is, the fact is, I love B-L-U-E (except monday blues, ofcourse). Knowingly or unknowingly, the finger always points at shades of blue ;-)

Enough discovery, now some Man to Man talk. Views expressed here are mine, individual views can differ from person to person (Disclaimer). There are very few occassions in a man's life when he really want to dress up with such a razor sharp precision unlike ladies who are groomed to look best for every possible occassion :o). To begin with - on day of his first date, first job, first proposal, first achievement award etc etc. Even though, I wrote 'first' in every instance, care is taken for every such occassion but the charm of the first moment is always a class apart. Coming back from 'wanderland', I finally decided on a beautifully crafted Ascot shirt. Gifted by my ex-colleagues & friends, it was a symbol of their love for me. So here I was, all dressed up for a powerpacked tomorrow. And as a coincidence, it was blue again ;-)

Arati - The light of faith

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 18:04:00 +0000

Somehow my fascination with Sun and Fire never ceases. Blame it on my sunsign that claims to be governed by Sun or the dominant element of my chart, the Fire. Whatever it is, I love to be with the golden form of energy. It somehow heals my soul and warms my blood like a cold blooded reptilian. Now this comes as a contradiction to my immense love for rains but without sunrays filtering through those clouds, its incomplete for me. Now this post is not bout the hide and seek of sun and clouds, its about the "The light of faith"... The Arati.

Last weekend I happened to visit Ganesh temple in Koramangla and my fascination again came into play. In between sacred chants and holy bells, I managed to steal the beauty of evening Arati. A silent lamp, lit up to enlighten the world. Carrying the warmth of God to hundreds of devotees. As I sat there watching, I discovered so many forms of it that never existed in my conscious mind before. I saw it in form of golden glow on faces busy praying. As a twinkle in the eyes of the priest. As a form of shakti in hands that were busy collecting the sacred flame. In the soul embodying the light of consciousness. A blissful sight of an eternal fire that burns in each one of us. I looked up and thanked God for this gift called Life.

PS: For my foreign readers/friends, Arati is Flame, usually ghee, camphor or oil lamps, waved by the priest before the temple Deity image at the height of a puja as a means of psychically catalyzing the flow of shakti. The lamp is then passed to all devotees present, each one passing his hands through the flame and bringing it to his eyes, thereby receiving the blessings or shakti. Mostly practiced in Hindu religion.

Picasa

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 20:18:00 +0000

Some time back one my friend mentioned bout "Picasa" to me. A freeware photo editor cum organiser now under Google umbrella. Even though I had downloaded the software long time back, it look a lot for my lazy ass to get down to work with it. And the auspicious day finally arrived, when to kill boredom, I finally started tinkering with it. Ah, Love at first sight, i must say. I just couldn't leave it till I tried almost all its features. Its such an easy to use, light weight and adorable package that I'd like to recommend it to all of you. It has a lot of stuff in store, from novice to experienced users. You save time and get results fast, what more u can ask for.

And here's me, in a pensive mood, with picasa adding shades of thought.
(Taken by my samsung mobile VGA camera)

You can download Picasa from here: http://picasa.google.com/download/index.html
You can see the collage that I made from it in the post bout Coorg below.

COORG - The scotland of India!!

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:50:00 +0000

** Coffee Coffee all around **
Just returned from the trip to Madikeri - Coorg and it was mind blowing. Everything was perfect, be it the wonderful weather, beautiful surroundings, coffee plantations, mist covered mountains, awesome food or just the company of good friends. We stayed in an estate with very hospitable hosts (The famous Kodavas, who else!). In sightseeing, we covered Talacauvery (birthplace of river Cauvery), Nisargadhama(picnic spot) and Tibetan Monastery (really awe inspiring). We missed quite a few spots due to rains and shortage of time but made it up with few games, in and out of the bus. Camp fire, barbecues and moonlit nights added the much needed spice to life. Below are the pics of the estate where we stayed, the cozy dining hut, the adorable Jumo (pet of our hosts) and ofcourse, Coffee beans.

For more details about the estate and their wonderful owners, call/visit:
Viju and Nimi, Biddanda Estate (+91-9845637503)
http://www.coorghomestay.piczo.com/

A tribute to Steve Irwin

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 22:49:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQehIs5KI4s

My post from Nature & Wildlife community - II

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 22:47:00 +0000

Visit: http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=12064187
Thread: Animal story

It happened just a few hrs back.. there's a college near to my house and today they had the cultural day.. some good music and lots of cheers.. before they fade into night, i went upstairs to check them out... And look what a darling i met on the way.. a female stray dog, coiled up in the form of a ball due to cold... the lone surveillance officer for the dog squad tonight :-D ... so just sat with her for company.. at first, she felt uncomfortable but pretty soon, extended her paw towards my leg.. [[i remind again, she was a dog.. so guys don grin on this one... i never had such luck with girls.. lol]].. so started caressing her and within 5-10 mins, she placed her head on my lap.. hmm now it was getting difficult, poor girl was finally falling for me :-D.. so i just stroked her head, put a sack back beside to keep her warm and came back.. she followed me back to room but it was time for me to leave.. may be its the basic need for all of us to be heard, to feel a little wanted, irrespective of what language we speak!!

My post from Nature & Wildlife community - I

noreply@blogger.com (Divs) — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 22:43:00 +0000

Visit: http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=12064187
Thread: In an attempt to save

It happened some 5 years back in one of the cities in Northern Karnataka. I was a student back then. One evening while taking a walk through the woods i heard a weak wail from the bushes. On folowing the sound, to my suprise i first spotted a small brown pup entangled in sharp branches of the bush. Just after i released him from there, to my horror, i saw another one with a stem half way through its body at the centre of its back. It was tough, but had to separate it from that. Once he was also released among loud cries, i discovered i can almost see its backbone through the gaping hole. It was 9 in the night, so i quickly took an auto held both the pups in each of my hand and rushed to a doc nearby.
the board read, CLOSED....., then from the chemist nearby i found the address of a vet and rushed to him, CLOSED again...., somehow i arranged for the address of an vet cum animal house and directed the auto there, first time after this painful one hour i sighed some relief as his house was full of dogs and cats.. on showing him the conditions of two, even he was not able to help me or keep them... he said he don't have the resources.. dissapointed, i finally moved the auto back to my room.. the cries were getting weaker with each passing minute.. and then, on the way, the driver said: "Saab kyon fikar karte ho, aise saikdon marte hain road pe daily" [why do you care about them, thousands like them die on road daily]... don know what i said to him that time but i know it was very rude.. later i realised, his words were HARSH BUT TRUE... BUT I DO NOT AGREE WITH "WHY DO U CARE" PART.. Now you'll ask what happened to the pups then? The answer is very common, as the driver said.. The one with big wound was dead by morning.