Magnetic Infinity

Bhavesh Solanki

2013-09-09T21:02:00.000+05:30

Mi je hoto ae j hoto, potam bu bu ka masla chelsea jaasi balti,

He said, "Wanna come? Am going for some hot-tea (or hotty? :-P)"

The guy uses your money and your bike as if he owns it,

The same guy lives his life as if, to you, he owes it!

The guy has the great ability to laugh at virtually anything to anyone,

And that is why you never take him with you on a funeral.

He's the stupidest guy I know, oh wait,

He's the stupidest guy anybody would ever know!

He thinks he knows the language Bengali

But in reality, all he knows is "Gaali"

The trip-planner ghost whom people call Bhuva,

Has a bar named after him in the liquor suburban of Goa.

The guy brightens you with sense when you least expect him to shine!

And that is generally on every February Twenty-Nine.

My oldest friend who by the way doesn't have one kidney,

He's a Gujarati from nowhere, the gypsy called Bhavesh Solanki!

I remember . . . Those two huge babaals in first year and last year of engineering and the first day at Holy Angels' in 10th standard noticing you laughing stupidly because you entered "Washington" in excel sheet thinking you did something funny as you quite often do!? That mysterious (or should I say stupid!) laugh still bugs me.

Vandit Dholakia

2013-08-16T21:07:00.000+05:30

There's a saying, "The grass is always greener on the other side",
"If you can't sell that land, sell its photograph ;-)", says our marketing guide :D

You work harder unlike anyone I've ever known and then say,
"Hey you Success, now dare to keep me at bay!"

You eat as if it is a project and tomorrow is the submission day,
Poor me can only watch! About eating, I have nothing else to say!

The words - Dedication and #TheEater fight for your middle name,
A complete rename would be, "Ursa Warrior" from you know, #TheGame B-)

(PS: I had to put the hash tags! #Twitterati ^_^)

You got Alec Stewart to read me, so happy, I jumped like a monkey from the wilds.
And here I mention it once again, "When knowledge smiles, you can walk miles" ;-)

Serious talks as colleagues, together we learned how to dream,
The work, the success followed by a grand pack of ice cream!

There's a Hindi word that can be attributed to you! It is Harfan Maula or wait, is it Harfan Mia? o_O
Ah, Whatever! Introducing the 235 pound, the heavyweight hailing from the land of sand, Vandit Dholakia!

I remember . . . Umm! Every story is on OC ;-)

Happy Birthday ^_^

The Certified Ks

2013-07-13T22:46:00.000+05:30

I always believed that Places change People! I know I'm not the right person to talk about the broader spectrum of the earth geometry but lucky or not, I've been to many places, not as a visitor but as a resident! So what is it that makes some places good to live and others good to leave? They say you can tell what a person is, if you know from where he comes! Well, I disagree. If I say "Columbus", the first name that pops into your head is "America" right? I bet half the people don't even know where he comes from, do you? ;-) 

At times, it's not about who you have been, it's about who you want to become. When a story is being told, we feel that it's told from the beginning but it's just an illusion. A story is always told backwards. All the events, deeds, descriptions are required because they lead you to one thing, the most important thing, the thing called The End

So here's the end of this story...

#TheEnd

I've been down with fever since two days and tomorrow I have to write Math paper. So my dear friends took me to the hospital this evening, we have just returned and I'm sleeping on my bed, legs stretched, head on the pillow, math book and medicine on the table with a smile on my face!

#TheStory

I distinctly remember that it was the second year (of engineering if you want to know :p) and I've been told that it was also the exam time! (Never cared for them, so I don't remember I guess!) That's it, that is all I remember! Everything else is an account of collected details and a vague representation of a powerful memory! B-)

Reason why I don't remember is --> Laptop 24x7 --> No food. Actually mess food, same thing! ;-) --> Fever!

And suddenly everybody around me, friends of course, started telling, "Go to the hospital and see a doctor!" and then yelling, "GO TO THE HOSPITAL, SEE A DOCTOR!" and I kept replying, "Okay I'll see the doctor but not in the hospital :-P" (An inside joke, ignore it!)

Back then I didn't have a proper excuse for not going to the hospital and that is why, two of the friends, the "Certified Ks" took the liberty of taking me there and thankfully brought me back . . . ALIVE! If something like that happened today, I have my excuse for not going to the hospital, "I've survived four years of engineering with you guys, I can survive a few degrees of temperature ;-)"

So I was sleeping with my blanket and headphones on! Kashyap comes and tells, "Swetal is coming in 10 minutes, get ready and go down, he'll take you to Krishna hospital." I replied, "I can't even walk and go downstairs, I don't want to walk all the way to the main gate and take an auto from there, I'm not going!" He saw how weak I was and so he reassured me, "You won't have to walk, he'll take you on Kawan's bike and as far as the matter of going downstairs is concerned, I'm happy to carry you in my hands!"

When a guy tells a guy something that looks as caring as "I'm happy to carry you in my hands!", it's actually to embarrass him for the rest of his life by reminding that such a thing once happened. After 5 minutes, when I still didn't get up from my bed, he said the same thing once again, "I'm happy to carry you in my hands!" and this time I noticed the evil grin behind it! It was 10 minutes, Swetal was waiting downstairs and I was still in my bed. Kashyap repeated it again and this time I noticed how damn serious he was! I didn't want this embarrassment, so I got up and started walking. I felt a bit dizzy and so he accompanied me to the parking downstairs. Swetal kick-started it, I hopped on and then suddenly Swetal says, "Come on sit Kashyap, somebody will need to ensure he doesn't fall because if he did, it would be like a feather falling down and I wouldn't realize it!"

I wanted to punch him right there, I was in a life-and-death situation here (wink) and he's making stupid jokes! I was weak and so I didn't hit him but even if I had, it really would have been like a feather punching a stone :D

And so began the memorable journey of three people sitting on one bike - Swetal, me and Kashyap... in that order ;-)

We were half-way through and Swetal asks, "The fuel-tank is about to get empty, where is the nearest petrol pump?" I immediately assumed the question was for Kashyap because my opinion didn't matter to them! I didn't even want to go to the hospital to begin with, it was against my will! I would've filed a police complaint if this country had an honest judiciary system! And at the end of the story, by some extent, even you would agree to filing FIR against the Certified Ks ;-)

Kashyap replied, "It's right around the corner after we take the next turn." and then I realized that with Swetal, "Nobody's opinion matters!" It seems he asked the question to himself, may be his mouth ignored his brain's opinion and uttered the words anyways :D

Kashyap's opinion was totally ignored, he kept shouting about the petrol pump to Swetal! We saw it coming, it came and we left it behind. Swetal just said, "We'll fill the tank while we return, the hospital is just 3 km away and we have to reach there before visiting hours get over!"

And just as we reached the front gate of Krishna hospital, the bike started jolting and it didn't even reach to the parking. Swetal threw the keys to Kashyap and said, "Park the bike, find a bottle, take an auto, come back in 20 minutes with petrol! I'll take him in for inspection!" and this time Kashyap looked like he wanted to throw an I-told-you-so punch to Swetal but Swetal knew that Kashyap's punch was not at all feathery. So he grabbed my hand and ran in!

I put my dying (wink) body on the couch, Doctors started doing their stuff, Kashyap was running around like fire-cracker to find an auto while Swetal was having a moment of peace! *Kamina*

And before you know it, Swetal and me were waiting with a bag of medicines at the front gate. We saw Kashyap coming towards us with a bottle in his hand, wait, an empty bottle in his hand! Swetal went berserk, "What the hell, where is the petrol? I told you to bring it!" Kashyap replied, "I just found an auto, it's waiting over there! Wait a while, I'll go and bring it!" Swetal disagreed and I don't know why! There was no reason to hurry now. They went on and on, kept arguing and I was standing there still-silent-numb! This time, (without a wink) I really was feeling like I would die if I didn't get my warm blanket soon!

Eventually, they agreed on something and decided that they would drag the bike one by one to the petrol pump while . . . I would sit on it, so I didn't have to walk! I didn't hear the entire conversation but I can bet this was Kashyap's idea. Anyways, we agreed to it and by we, I mean they! Because I was only going to through the motions!

And the journey resumed! After a few meters, suddenly I saw that evil grin on Kashyap's face once again. I visualized how he would embarrass me for the rest of my life by telling that they carried me on bike like a baby! And that was the moment, I spoke for the first time in the entire journey, "Get me down, I'll walk!" and to my surprise they didn't protest! My body was begging for them to say no while my mind was trying to be a hero! But the kind of kamina friends they are, they said, "Okay!" when I really wanted them to say, "No!" :'(

And so I walked, I walked with all kinds of fears! What if a stranger attacked me with a knife? What if a dog ran towards me? Would I run or just sit down right there and accept my end? I guess when the fear gets to you, the fever gets the better of you! To this date, I don't remember a single moment of how I walked those 2 km with a fever of 104, filled the tank, got back on the bike and returned to my cozy bed! All I remember is, all that while, "The muscles and the bones were two total strangers in my body, somehow working together to keep me alive! (wink)"

And so we come to The End, "I've been down with fever since two days and tomorrow I have to write Math paper. So my dear friends took me to the hospital this evening, we have just returned and I'm sleeping on my bed, legs stretched, head on the pillow, math book and medicine on the table with a smile on my face!"

#OR

I've been down with fever since two days (and I was getting better!) and tomorrow I have to write Math paper (I wasn't worried about it at all, it was Math for God's sake, I would've done okay even with my legs cut off!). So my dear friends (now you know how dear they are!) took me to the hospital this evening, we have just returned (that's what they told me!) and I'm sleeping on my bed (luckily!), legs stretched (you know why!), head on the pillow, math book (not going to touch it!) and medicine (not going to touch it either!) with a smile on my face! (I was actually trying to laugh on some joke the Certified Ks told Kawan but the tired muscles allowed only a smile!)

Those Eyes, That Lady and The Magic!

2013-05-12T19:04:00.000+05:30

Zee! ^_^

I wish the three parts of the title were all pointing to a single person but they're not. And someday it will, may be! ;)

#TheEyes
So I had to pick up this package from Pune Central, it contained a pair of jeans given for alteration. Sadly, the alteration section accepted only clothes. I wish it could alter moods and emotions as well! I sure could use some help these days. v_v

To make the long story short, commuting in Pune is a pain in the "head people, head" (Give your thoughts a break :P) So I was in a hurry! I grabbed the package and ran off to the Bus-stop where a girl was waiting, not knowing that her eyes were going to pierce through somebody's heart to leave a mark on this piece of digital paper. I find Pune's atmosphere quite refreshing but somehow the opposite sex doesn't! Looking for an unwrapped face of a girl here is like looking for a drop of milk in coffee at my office. None exists!

But those silly face-wrappers mystify the eyes even more! I looked at them but she didn't let them look at me, I wanted to talk to them but she shushed them! Time was moving forward but those lazy eyes seemed to be taking an eternity to blink; quite literally in slow motion, there was suddenly a twinkle in her eyes just as she said, "Excuse me, can you please help this lady to get to Hinjawadi? My bus has come, I'll be leaving now!"

I had to say yes, not because she asked me but because those eyes did. She then took away those eyes with her and left the mystery with me!

#TheLady
I assured the lady that I'll make sure she reaches the destination. I just had to guide her to the correct Bus. She seemed a bit desperate and out of place.

Every time a bus came, she looked at me with an expression that said, "This city is not a place for me, can this iron-box with four circular objects take me to where I belong?" and I almost answered her back with an expression that said, "I feel the same way too, lady! The only difference is, you can go and I have to stay because you're ignorant and pure while I'm educated!"

And then I told her that the next bus will be the one you should take! She was quite impressed thinking I was some magician who could foretell. Unfortunately the bus was over-loaded, so we had to wait for another one.

The same looking-at-me and me-telling-her-no cycle continued for a bit before I realized that she was in fact, a complete illiterate and couldn't read the signs on the bus. I looked at myself with the eyes of someone who could not read and I must say, foretelling the bus arrivals did sound like Magic!

#TheMagic
So how was I doing it? Well to begin with, helping a lost stranger is no less than magic in today's peril world. And to add to that, "I could read" which does not exactly qualify as magic in this case because "You are reading this!" Ask those who didn't have an opportunity to read and write, not even in the language they speak! Sometimes, I feel so lucky & thankful and I think we all should!

Now when I mentioned that I was foretelling the bus arrivals, those who know me well, must be laughing their guts out because I am very bad with the directions and routes! So, me guiding someone is like a Vampire donating her blood.

There comes the real magic, even to me - Technology! Having the power to be able to know what you want and stay connected with people you love is the real magic for me. A friend of mine was waiting at the previous bus-stop and he was constantly giving updates about all the buses! And I knew how far the two bus-stops were, from Google Maps.

Magic is what people don't know, it's just another name given to ignorance. The moment we figure it out, we learn, we know . . . it becomes a fact. And that's why I'm afraid of knowledge, I'm afraid that the more we will know, the less magic there will be!

Oh and yeah, "Not often you buy a new cellphone and drop it in a bucket full of water to see if it's working!" The black strip, wrapped in a soft white container drawn neatly in the square at the top of this digital paper is magic! ^_^

Nostalgia Returns

2013-04-29T22:07:00.000+05:30

Speech . . . Like the one I gave on the last day of college (Nostalgic Valediction), this one . . . on the last day of two-months training period and this is how I started . . .

Good morning everybody, this is one of the many dots from DotNet batch standing before you.

Never had I imagined in my life that I would be endorsing Microsoft in my speech and now on my blog :D

But then I also hadn't imagined so many wonderful things that happened in between 17/01/2013 to 07/04/2013 - the so called corporate training period, but an extension of college in reality!

To all the Googles, Microsofts, Yahoos, On-sites, Vampires, Babas and many other names through which people of this batch are called;

Before we came here, it was college where you had an option to either work or enjoy with former being a bit rare! But in this training period, we've managed to do both, we have worked well and we have enjoyed too - quite an achievement in today's world! ;)

At every phase in life, there are a few first and last experiences that everybody remembers:

Those last college days and this first corporate experience!

That last pocket money and this first earned salary!

For those who came from Chennai, that last Idli-dosa!

And for those who are going there, that first Idli-dosa!

And then there is also, that first Chicken-pox and hoping that I already had my last!

That continuous 24-hour in front of a magic-box called computer and that last all-nighter, oh no, wait, there are going to be more! :P

For those who are Non-IT, that first "Your program compiled successfully!" and then immediately that first run-time error! :D

That first corporate Sunday, that first corporate Monday and this, today - the last today of this training! v_v

It's not just a good recipe that makes a tasty dish but it's also the cook who makes the difference. With a very rigorous training schedule and the excellent training department, I think it's safe to say that we've become quite delicious.

I read a facebook status sometime back . . . [actually, it was mine, I posted it ;) :D :P]

"If you work hard for today, tomorrow will work hard for you"

. . . and I think that tomorrow has finally come!

Thank You.

Nothing Lasts Forever

2013-02-08T21:10:00.000+05:30

Few days back, I lived with a wonderful friend, a baby dog Kitzi but unfortunately that period lasted only for a week. That was one of the most amazing experience I have had in my life. And then I had to leave and come here to Mumbai. I didn't feel bad because I knew I'll be back with her. I would not see her growing but I hope to catch up! Somethings may not last forever but hope always does!

I thought "Back to where it all began" would have been a nice FB status (Yeah, yeah, I'm an FB addict too like a few million others!) for my arrival in Mumbai. But it wasn't as smooth as I had imagined. The nervousness of leaving something behind had already broken my mind and then my body (as it often does!) gave up too. I wanted to go back, I wanted to rush back! This was no sane place for me. But then I hadn't given up the first time, why would I do it this time? The challenge was obviously a different one. I was not afraid of the new place, I was ready for it, I was more than skilled enough to be a part of the corporate world. But it was the over-whelming fear of losing that connection with past life that kept putting me down! Such phases in life always pass, they are never permanent. But you need some triggering elements, a few beautiful moments that allow you to move on! Such moments give you reasons to stay!

One of that triggering element was spending 10 minutes everyday with a puppy that lived down on the road, watching it eat, watching it play. In some ways, it reminded me of Kitzi but more than that, those 10 minutes filled me up with strange energy. Energy that whispered every night in my ear, "One more day buddy, come on, pick yourself up!" It was as if those 10 minutes with the pup was a link to the past life. Oh yes, I was living in the past through those 10 minutes.

Gradually a day turns into the days and then you give in to the new place, still clinging on to the past however, hoping to get back somehow.

But then something strange happened today that put me in a dilemma, something that defied logic of finding links for living in the past theory! This morning, somebody took away that pup in front of my eyes for adoption and as it turns out, I was no longer missing the past but I was missing the present. I am happy that the dog has found a new home and I'm trying not to be selfish but it is tough!

What I realized is that there is nothing called link that connects present to past. Today, you're missing yesterday but remember that tomorrow you'll miss today! Life is one giant leap; there is no past, there is no present and there is no future. All you have is experiences, memories and challenges which you carry with yourself at all times until the time to kick the bucket comes!

Nothing lasts forever and yet it does!

Gangnam Gayle

2012-09-24T23:30:00.000+05:30

When "Agent Vinod" was released, it brought with it a controversy. "Controversy" is not an unusual word when it comes to Pritam's movies. This time he came up with a hit song Pungi which was of course copied to a certain extent from soosan khanoom - a hit song from an Iranian band Barobax. But thanks to Pritam as without his help, I would never have known this Iranian band - an irony in itself! I was very eager to listen to the original version and that eagerness led to three things:

1) Amazement: I was simply amazed! I downloaded all of their songs (they're free of course, I'm not a pirate ;) and listened to them everyday over and over again. Didn't understand a word but I never had so much fun in my entire life till today. Because today, I witnessed something else. I'll hop onto that later.

2) Embarrassment: Because I was listening to them over and over again, I thought of myself to be Kalidasa of Persian language. It was like, "अंधेरी नगरी में काना राजा" because nobody knew Persian around me while at least I was listening to it daily. And so at my farewell party of engineering, I sang one of their songs and everybody was staring at me like wild owls! I stood there embarrassed waiting for a round of claps. And I can tell you, it's not a good feeling especially when you've anchored most of the events throughout your engineering only to make a mess of it at the end!

3) Red Back: And so that embarrassment led to determination and I really got after learning those songs which was getting very annoying for the rest of my, umm, let me count; one, two, three . . . eleven room-mates! So one night, it was someone's birthday and as soon as we were done beating that poor little kid who had just turned 21, suddenly I found myself in a dark room; strangled, beaten and almost killed! When the lights came on, all I knew was the red back and that the desire to learn lyrics of Barobax's songs should be locked deep into the dungeon!

Since that day, I never watched any of them until today. It was Chris Gayle of West Indies that revived the Gamno spirit buried dead inside me. Gamno is a Persian word that means "New Step" and doesn't that word define Chris Gayle! The man who takes the world by storm every time he takes a bat in his hand and always brings something new and watchful to the game of Cricket. But the funny side of that man comes out when he has a ball in his hand. Today wasn't any different. After he picked up each of those two wickets, he celebrated it in Ganganam Style! Now what in the world is this Gangnam Style? He himself revealed it after the match that it is a Japanese dance style. I ran a google search and found that it is actually a hit 2012 single by a rapper called PSY! Once again that eagerness took me to the song titled "Gangnam Style" and I watched it, oh boy, I really watched it! That foolishness, that fun with which Gayle had celebrated, originated from there. And this PSY guy is actually a South Korean whom Gayle thought to be a Japanese! :D I sometimes feel I will never know what fun is, the way Chris Gayle does! While most of us just know the definition of fun, he truly understands it.

Once again, I didn't understand a single word of it but I'm sure the lyrics pointed towards forgetting everything and to dwell in the moment! Sometimes when there are no words to define it, the emotions inside you tend to fill that gap and hence making it your own special version which only you can understand! Gayle thinks he's still learning Gangnam Style but I think he does it even better than PSY! And if Gangnam Gayle finds his fun-side too tempting to lock inside, we might just see him picking up more wickets in the rest of the tournament! It might even come to be known as the Jamaican Style ;)

It felt stupid and relaxed, perfect mood to set out for the day!

"Stay Foolish!" Hasn't someone already told you that? ;-)

I'm still laughing :D For those who want to try it,

"Fools rush to places where angels fear to walk - Paulo Coelho" Lets end it on that note!

Porbandar, Porbandar!

2012-09-16T17:23:00.000+05:30

Not the actual image but pretty close!

What happens to a Lion when captured from the wild and moved to a circus tent? It refuses to obey for a few days but eventually settles down to the new routine. But every once in a while, there is that adrenaline rush which brings out the wild within. And that is the time when its roar - an otherwise symbol of freedom, is treated like an act of revolt because it is no longer in the wild!

06:30 PM : My new routine was to lay in the bed and watch some non-sense television series that somehow never seemed to be ending. Grown beard and smelling clothes - a kind of look that people generally attribute to a drunkard but thank God, I lived in Gujarat! I was about to watch one more episode when suddenly I hear a song, "Golmaal hai bhai sab Golmaal hai". My life definitely needed some stupid non-sense, just to feel that I was living in present! So instead of a shock, I find myself closing my eyes and forming an awkward smile thinking I was Sunil Shetty of movie Hera Pheri! And suddenly I remembered that the background song is nothing but my ringtone - very easy to misjudge when nobody has called you for days. A good dream never lasts long!

I pick up, "8:30 PM, my farm, Pav-bhaji."

It wasn't even a statement. It was the kind of call you get from "friends" because words don't matter when people do! While nostalgia was getting better of me, my tongue and teeth with a bit of help from my lips formed the word, "Okay"

It was after I pressed the red button when I realized that the call was from my cousin brother. A text message arrived telling me that it was an all-bro evening out. I freshened myself up! Took a piece of cloth and wiped out all the dirt that had formed over the legend - my bike "Viva la Vida". I know what you're thinking - typical man! Well, to be honest I'm not the kind of mad-for-bikes person unless of course it is Royal Enfield's Thunderbird 500 :P

Viva la Vida in particular preserved a lot of memories and that day was in fact, the first time I would be riding it without one of my friends. Um! Make that two.

08:20 PM : I didn't know the exact location but there was a confusing turn to be taken from under the over-bridge on National Highway 8. And I'm pretty bad when it comes to remembering the directions. So we had decided to meet up there. There were three bikes and five of us, two more were already at the farm. It wasn't a farm-house, it was a typical deserted farm. So the roads were quite topsy-turvy and curvy! The bikes stopped at a small semi-cemented hut. It was pretty dark and the seeds were just sown. So all you could see was wide and open fields. Wind was very strong and so was the smell of Pav-bhaji! After a long time, I was having fun in the middle of nowhere. The peace that this wild offered was getting to me. I could feel the roar inside me and I knew I was about to let it out when my brother yelled, "Hey! Come look at this." At the back of the hut, there were two large bulls. They still used the old bullock-cart instead of a tractor to plough the field. We requested the care-taker of the farm to let us ride but he denied saying it was too dangerous and the bulls were too tired. We roamed around, cracked some jokes, laughed as hard as we could. And then, the world interfered the wild. Families started calling asking the whereabouts! I glanced at my wrist-watch and it was,

10:30 PM : I told my younger brother to come with me and he laughed saying, "You drive too slow!" Well, that was it! I was offended and so I drove ahead of them. I turned off the head-light and shouted, "Who's slow and afraid now ha?" They were surprised but followed my every move. It was as if I was the leader of a short-term bike gang! My mind was really peaceful, I wanted to melt into the wild, the roar was roaring to come out and that is when I heard someone asking, "Which turn to take?" I noticed that we had reached to that confusing turn but amazingly I remembered that we had to take a left. I wanted to answer before someone else did. I saw a green shining board with something written over it in white letters pointing towards left. I could no longer suppress the roar. So I let it go and hear myself roaring, "Porbandar, Porbandar! March towards Porbandar!" And everybody followed me. Suddenly you could hear the echoes of "Porbandar, Porbandar!" Whistles started blowing. The shouts turned into a noise.

10:40 PM: Two old-aged men shouted at us from behind just when we took to the national highway 8. They were angry, frustrated and were farmers! The fact that it hadn't rained this season was like a slap in their face and I could see them scratching their hands. A few 20+ "children" were about to get beaten up by two bull-like, tired and angry 40+ men! To this day, I have no idea why we stopped. We should never have stopped. It was a national highway passing through Narendra Modi's Gujarat - smooth, wide and fast! We could have gone and lived anywhere, seen every delicate thing other than our reflections in the hungry eyes of those bulls. But my sub-conscious tells me that we had stopped because it wasn't our fault. It was actually Science's fault. When we were roaring, "Porbandar, Porbandar!", we were passing under the over-bridge and it echoes in there even if you just speak! And later I found out that those were not whistles but the screeching of brakes from my bike as they were not properly oiled. Later I also found out that I was the only one who had panicked while all my other brothers were ready to give it a go!

We tried to explain that there were no whistles and that we were having a little fun in the middle of nowhere. Normally, what we did on the roads may be termed as disturbing and wrong but we knew that there was no one around except wide open spaces, so it can be termed as soothing and right! They thought that we were residents of Porbandar which is a far and alien place, so we were outsiders for them. They argued that we were doing it on the outskirts of their village and so it was their business to deal with and that they would never allow any outsiders to disturb the peace of their beatiful village. Now that was a desperate and shocking reason! We were on the national highway for god's sake and their village was nearly two kilometers away!

That was when the eldest brother from us opened his mouth, "Do you know who am I? I am Munna's son!" So typical the way he said it, I thought Munna was some sort of bhai of that area! He continued, "Munna - the sarpanch of your beloved beautiful village!" He completed, a smile forming on his face but I could see him laughing very hard inside. They asked one more time as if to confirm, "You're Munna's son really?" And he replied, "Yes sir, so where were we?"

As it turns out, Munna was a well-respected and unanimous choice for Sarpanch in that village. They probably voted for him :D My brother wasn't lying, I knew the Sarpanch too! What made it funny was the way he handled the situation - dramatic!

I could feel their anger while I watched them departing. To this date, I haven't figured out why they were so angry with us. We didn't do anything wrong! But then may be it was the same with them because they didn't understand us either. They had asked us, "What joy do you get from doing it?" And I didn't have any answer because it can't be described. You have to be a person of wilderness to understand it. You have to free that wild spirit within you to feel it. You have to let it roar when it demands because in the end, you will be back in the circus called world!

Dedicated to those four years of engineering college in the wilderness called VVN where such roars are part of your daily routine, where 10:30 PM is never too late and where things like "Porbandar, Porbandar!" happen every night after midnight! To all those friends and wonderful people who roared with me.

Japan Vora

2012-09-03T00:01:00.000+05:30

Twelve edges and the shape is cubic,

One edge, it's you and your music.

There is "A" band Linkin park, you don't own.

But there is "THE" band Linkin park, yes your own!

Being a machine man, how strange you compose too.

Being a music man, you code and that too in blue!

In warcraft, mostly you play with a hero ranged melee!

And on tina, you drink tea made from Waghbakri's Mili :D

No one can take anything along from this world,

Once death rings the bell and deems you free.

But this guy will argue till it makes your head swirl,

'Coz he just won't die without his hands-free!

Him, Swetal and Bhavesh form a formidable FB addicted trio,

Co-writes with me to send readers in a thought-stirring cryo!

Within him dwells both (Hero)shima and (Naga)saki ;-)

Named after the home of Godzilla - Japan. Kem baki? :D

I remember . . . Me listening to New Divide the whole night and at about 4 o'clock in the morning, I notice that you're listening to LP songs too! Being known as the hospital patient myself, I couldn't tell you to get some good sleep, it's going to be CIM paper in less than six hours :D And you actually fainted in one of the papers!

Happy Birthday ^_^

Waah re India! - Mov.e.ast (Part II)

2012-06-21T11:34:00.000+05:30

Some people sleep, others talk; both of which we do not! - Moviegoers

It's over one month since the first part Waah re India! - Mov.e.ast (Part I) was written. It's not lack of attention to this post or lazyness that has produced the sequel so late. It is because this post is all about bollywood and so irregularities are inevitable :p Excuse me if you think I hate bollywood because at the end of this post, I'm sure you'll think otherwise. A part of the title reads Mov.e.ast which is formulated to understand that one should move east i.e. towards India and hence towards Bollywood when it comes to watching movies and it sounds like "movies" when you pronounce it. I promised to tell you in the first part that one should watch Bollywood movies more often because Hollywood says so! Not literally of course but metaphorically.

Let me share an incident with you. Me and my friends decided to watch a movie - The Avengers. Not surprising, isn't it? After all, who wouldn't want to watch such an entertaining movie? Well, it would be surprising* if I add that it was in the middle of exams. The movie was simply irresistible! In one line, the movie was pure entertainment.

It made everyone happy and that is what watching movie is all about, isn't it? - Being Happy!

But I did not learn that from The Avengers because as they say, "You can not enjoy happiness unless you have experienced what sadness is!"

God must have cooked something like that for me for soon after watching The Avengers, somehow I got my hands on another movie that night - American History X. If The Avengers was Akbar than American History X was surely Aurangzeb of Indian history. American History X is a very complicated, dark yet inspirational and age-defying movie. There isn't any "Happily Ever After" shown but the moral of the movie could arguably beat many at Oscars if at all there was such a category! It points towards being happy, towards living every moment of life. Sounds like a Bollywood movie theme, doesn't it? Yes indeed! There's fun, there's comedy, there's a bit of tragedy but always Happy Ending in our Bollywood movies. In a way, American History X ironically suggests not to remember its first half of the movie! And that sprung a thought in my mind which I have found very intriguing;

Don't waste a single bite of life for it is the only fruit in the whole world that ripens as you eat and not while you wait.

I have definitely messed up and mixed up these Hollywood and Bollywood stuff! I could have said it directly, I could have kept it simple but hey that's not Bollywood's style, is it? You wouldn't have enjoyed (or so I guess!) had I not twisted and twirled and curled. I tried to be Bollywood-istic. So for those of you who're moving westwards, Mov.e.ast, move towards sun, move towards being positive, move towards being happy.

( *not if you're an engineer ;)

Waah re India! - Mov.e.ast (Part I)

2012-05-15T16:04:00.000+05:30

Some people sleep, others talk; both of which we do not! - Moviegoers

I am a huge Hollywood fan and that is why I suggest you to watch Bollywood movies more often. Yeah, yeah! I know, I have a habit of making everything more dramatic than it actually is. But the truth is that all these years, Hollywood was trying to spread a message. And the essence of that message leads us directly to our own film industry - Bollywood. What? Still didn't get it? Now I know, what makes me write - Your weak power of understanding! ;-) :D

Let me tell you why am I such a huge admirer of Hollywood! It's because Hollywood shows a lot of FACK. Hey! Don't let that devil inside your head define the meaning of what you just read! Here's what FACK stands for:

Fearlessness: Hollywood has never been shy of making movies that leave you thinking, for example: Crash. Someone comes up with an idea to make a movie and then sticks with it, unlike Bollywood where every idea is turned into a dancing-happy-ending flick because that is what fills up producer's pockets! I'm not judging Bollywood as a whole but that is the pattern generally observed. Hollywood is fearless in its approach of making bold and moment-defining movies. They don't make movies based on current commercial movie-trends. They don't alter movie-scripts based on famous star-casts. They make movies because they feel *happy* making it. They do not corrupt the beauty that lies in its core idea just because a few people wouldn't want to watch it! Fearlessness of Hollywood to make movies without worrying about its commercial-success is what makes it, what it is!

So if commercial-success is not the success measurement unit of Hollywood then what is? Well, it's A for Academy Awards!

Academy Awards: Every artist wants to be admired. He longs to be clapped to. He wants to drown in the sparkling eyes of people when they look at him with love! And the fact that Academy Awards provides all these irrespectice of how commercially successful a movie has been at box office (something that you don't see at Bollywood Awards Functions!) makes it the most sought after and respected award in global film-industry! A French Movie entitled The Artist receiving maximum number of Oscars in 2011 says a lot about it!

Do you know who Stan Lee is?

Cult: You must have heard about Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider Man, Thor, Iron Man, X-Men. Well, Stan Lee is an 89 Year old Comic Writer who originally created all these characters way back in the mid-20th century. These characters gave Hollywood its cult nature! Kids grew up admiring them and some of those kids like Joss Whedon even went on to work in movies like The Avengers. In fact, the primary reason behind why Joss Whedon was selected as a script-writer in The Avengers is because he was a great *fan* of its comics.

While watching a movie, when does your mouth fall open and lips get separated? It's when you witness a Kiss!

Kiss: A Kiss is probably the most innocently-watched scene of the movie. People watch it and start believing in love, in tenderness, in affection - the essentials that are stamped as taboo by Indian Society regarding their openness. A kiss narrows the gap between the movie and the reality. Because everything else can be acted, everything else may be distance apart from the reality but when you watch a Kiss, it is always real. The truth is, even actors can not fake a kiss!

When Brad Pitt chose to act in Moneyball - A role that is unlike any other role he has played before, he didn't think whether people would like it or not. He did it because he liked it! And isn't that something we all believe? "Do what you like!"

It's not like Johnny Depp invested in Hugo because he wanted to win more Oscars than anyone! Well, forget Oscars. With the kind of revenue crisis the film received after its initial release, he had more things to worry about than winning Oscars! He did it because it was an out of ordinary movie that showed what it is like to make movies!

A stripper (!) by profession, Diablo Cody won the Best Original Screenplay at Oscars for Juno because she shared experiences of her younger life. The movie was a surprise hit and garnered ten times the budget of the film. What did she do? She just told her story!

An 89 year old Stan Lee recommending someone else for his job in The Avengers saying, "My personal opinion is that Joss will do a fantastic job. He loves these characters and is a fantastic writer. It's part of his life so you know he is going to protect it. I expect someone like him is going to make the script even better".

In 1986, Sylvester Stallone wrote Rocky, being inspired from a boxing match he saw. The movie won several Oscars and it changed Stallone's life for good but more importantly the movie has been changing lives of other people ever since!

I have compiled the above list and do not remember the factual details personally. But I do remember the essence of what each of them wants to say!

And that is why . . . I am a huge fan of Hollywood, am I not? ^_^

And so . . . You must watch Bollywood movies! Why? I'll tell you in Waah re India! - Mov.e.ast (Part II)

Nostalgic Valediction

2012-04-25T15:52:00.000+05:30

It says: "Beginning" can not end with a "Full-Stop"

There comes a moment in your life when you ask yourself, "Why didn't I do this before?" or say to yourself, "I could have done this more often." Such moments usually bring a strong self-belief but sadly for me, this moment came on the last day of my college life, during my Valediction Speech. I always knew I was good at speeches because I was good at writing them but I never thought I could bring smiles on people's faces. And ironically, that is the only thing I ever cared to achieve through these blog-posts and speeches - to spread smiles! I wish I was more courageous in my past four years. But nevertheless, I guess it's never too late as someone rightly commented on my previous blog-post :)

The most wonderful feeling it was, when those sitting on the stage for whom we're supposed to clap, actually clapped for me looking in my eyes as if to say, "We're proud of you." And that moment when my class-mates gave me a standing ovation . . . Looking at their affectionate faces, I felt like I was getting reborn. And to them I dedicate this post, this speech . . .
________________________________________________________________________________

Good Evening everybody!

I am 08 Computer - not only the first batch of GTU but a proud 9th batch of ADIT standing before you, sadly for the last time. When I first entered into the ADIT foyer, "I wondered why isn't there a gate in the front?" And coming into the fourth year I guess the answer is that "the gate-less foyer of ADIT welcomes everyone but sadly the same gate-less foyer doesn't stop anyone after four years of college."

Well, I had a conversation with God last night. He asked me a question that if I wanted to be reborn then what would I want to be? And I immediately replied, "What would I get in return if I answer?" and he said, "Oh myself! You must be an ADITian for that is the only place where an engineer with a business mind is produced!"

He then added, "You can not have this life once again for you are born once, you die once and similarly you can have an ADIT college experience just once."

So I asked, "What are my choices God?" He answered, "a kangaroo-like animal called possum and a nutricula, also known as immortal jelly fish." Mentioning pretty much unknown animals, God must have thought he had me!

And I thought what an easy answer! Of course possum - a kangaroo-like animal.

And he was surprised, "Don't you want to be immortal like a jelly-fish? How do you explain your choice?"

And I explained, "God, we here at ADIT learn to make Right and Challenging choices rather than the Easy and Boring ones!" As someone has rightly said, "Living an adventurous short life is much better than living a boring long life." The four years at ADIT have been nothing short of an adventure!

And so I continue...
Possum is an animal that lives for four years just like we do.
Possum faces many difficulties but still survives! Something that we have learned at ADIT.

God asked, "Is that it? Is that why you want to become a possum?"

And I replied smilingly, "No God! There are a few more reasons too."

"Some of the hard working possums advance way too high in life! And when I say way too high, I mean higher than even humans!"

A German possum called Heidi was famous for predicting the Oscar Award Winners. It has its own Youtube song, an official Facebook page with nearly 3,00,000 human followers. And it even received an invitation to the Oscar Awards! Accolades and recognition are the side-effects of being a wise possum . . . side-effects of being a wise ADITian.

Having listened to all these, God was stunned and his expression was like, "From where did you get all these information?"
And I said," Google, God! Google."

He was so impressed with it that he gave me a gift - the gift of rain that we got today morning. I'm not kidding or why do you think it suddenly started raining in summer? It was to remind all of us how Monsoon felt and smelled on ADIT campus for there will not be a Monsoon for us this year and if there will be one then it will be the Monsoon of tears.

There may not be tears right now because we all seem really happy going back to our homes. But I am sure, once we all get back to our homes, there will be a question in our mind, "Am I really Home?"

We know this is the last day. We know this is it! But we are not ready to say good-bye yet! And so to fulfill that feeling, we will take all those wonderful memories with us.

The memory of those energetic footsteps of Principal sir thumping around ADIT campus like a gardener who wants his every "budding" flower to blossom.

The memory of those teachers cum mentors who were there for us at every step of our tough journey.

The memory of those cricket world-cup victories that we witnessed right here in this auditorium.

The memory of that never-before-seen, never-before-happened moment when the gates of ADIT opened up at midnight, a day before the exams due to power-cut at hostel.

It feels really sad that after a month, all these things will still be around and if something that will be missing then it will be us. As we leave ADIT today,

Badlav to kudrat ki fitrat hai, Aadmi ki lakire kuch kar nahi sakti

Badlav ke saath saath aage badhna aadmi ki fitrat hai,

Ae kudrat isme tu kuch kar nahi sakti

Dear ADIT, as you continue living your legacy, you teach us to continue living ours too!

Thank you.
________________________________________________________________________________

Photograph Courtesy: A facebook friend I forgot to note down ;-)

Sagar Raythatha

2012-03-15T22:27:00.000+05:30

Each friend plays a role that makes a world look more round and less like cone,

Some build castles, some build shadows, while some may even build a north pole.

Had we never met, I would have never known, I just wouldn't have a clue,

About a friend who acts like a glue, about the ocean that sparkes like blue.

Pretty hard to impress, all perspectives you see, keeping everything in one zone,

One of the tough to get through, even when I'm at my deadly best mood to cajole.

It says a lot about you because it means a lot to me.

Wrong cards I have drawn, and yet you have come out with aces!

Wrong cars I have built, and yet you give me the strong chassis!

Wrong codes I have written, and yet you have come out with praises!

Things that we have discussed off classroom are actually things that should be taught in classroom!

Those moody conversations, at times rude, at times ruddy, but always ending with a boom to bloom.

He knows his zone and plays in it. If you ask him, "What is SLR?"

He will say, parser named Simple LR and not Maclaren Mercedes-Benz SLR!

The parser of my life, the name starting with "S" and ending with "R"

In Warcraft, and I say it with glee,

he is known as "The Ocean" you see!

His under-arm bowling reminds me of South African cricketer Johan Botha

The man is a mumbaikar and is called Sagar Raythatha.

I remember . . . All those instances when you prevented me from taking a wrong decision in those heated studINC meetings which ultimately helped and I also remember you making "Ultimate Upgrade" in Tiny :p

Happy Birthday ^_^

Rahul Dravid - The Invictus

2012-03-09T22:06:00.000+05:30

The wolf who lived for the pack - Harsha

I don't know what and how to express v_v

There are many cricketers who earn respect among their team-mates. But very few earn respect of their opponents. Rahul Dravid was one of them. Let me quote my favorite incident that exactly depicts what I just mentioned;

Virender Sehwag got the nickname of "Multan ka Sultan" when he scored 309 in a successful partnership with Sachin Tendulkar. Both of them blew away Pakistan Pace Attack led by Shoaib Akhtar.

After the day's play when Shoaib was asked, "Who of the two men was more difficult to bowl?"

Having scored the first ever triple century in Indian History, you would expect Shoaib to point to Viru or may be Tendulkar who is always at his elegant best! But here is what he replied, "Neither of the two! Because with each bowl I bowled to them, I felt like I had the chance of getting a wicket. It was Dravid I found most difficult to bowl to!"

"The Wall" had faced 10 balls in that innings. Imagine what happened to Pakistan Pace Attack two matches later when he scored 270 facing 495 balls!

If you ever wanted to get measure of this man, all the earthly units would probably fail! Though he is called "The Wall", he is no less than "Divinity in Motion".

I attended the whole press conference live on cricinfo (world is becoming virtual;-), media was deliberately trying to get something unusual or controversial out of him by asking questions some of which were totally irrelevant. I listened to everything that Dravid had to say and then I put them in these words,

"Media just can not pin him down. Every word he uses, every sentence he frames makes as much sense as every run he has scored!"

We all are going to miss Rahul but if there is anything that will miss Rahul Dravid the most then it will be those "now-empty" practice pitches on which Dravid used to be the first to come and the last to leave. The dressing rooms all-over the world and those 22 yards out-in-the-middle will miss him the most.

Personally, from this day onwards, I will look back at my Cricket life to be divided in two parts: The one during Rahul Dravid era and the one after it.

But remember, "The Wall" has not perished. With retirement, it has become an Indian Heritage. So lets hope that a bright, young Rahul-Dravid-Like kid in near future picks up the baton and leads India into the unconquered for that is what Dravid has been - "unconquered!"

Now that I have expressed, I feel like, how dare I even write these many words on him for when it comes to Rahul Dravid, no words are enough.

A few lines from the poem Invictus that justify or rather "are justified by" Rahul Dravid's deeds:

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

Waah re India! - Cricket.i.cizing

2012-03-02T23:59:00.001+05:30

A Puzzle Called "Indian Sports"

If I say, "India won the match" then most people will reply, "Oh I saw that cricket match. It was awesome!" but if I say India qualifies for London Olympics then it will be, "It's not cricket; that I know. So for which sport is it?" The thing is, whether we accept it or not but "Cricket" is another name of "Sports" in India.

There are reasons and pretty reasonable ones too behind such a scenario. If we want to put it in a certain way then we can say that a sport runs on Darwin's law. It is survival of the fittest whether the competition is among sports or among players! It's true that a sport follows the motto of "Perform or Perish". Having said that, there's one more thing that makes a sport successful. Being a fan, we ignore the fact that a sport runs on the entertainment value it can provide. Except in last few years, it was only cricket that provided people value for their money being a well performing international team.

People were entertained through sheer joy of wins or may be through Sachin Tendulkar.

However, the things are changing. People are noticing other sports up-comings and the cricket short-comings. The point that I want to make is that just because Indian Cricket Team is not performing well is not the right reason to go for Hockey or for any other sport for that matter!

Hockey will never become what it used to be or what Cricket is today; the primary reason is not infrastructure, players or officials. The reason is, "We don't expect Indian Hockey Team to win every single match for India". That hunger to celebrate hockey wins is just not that strong. We don't expect Sandeep Singh to score a hat-trick in every game he plays but we expect Sachin to score a hundred, even after the ninety-nine that he has given us! Someone has rightly twitted,

"Indian team is like a rocket. It doesn't perform until its tail is on fire!"

and that fire is nothing but our expectations. That fire is what we have never provided to Hockey. Compare these two things: Hockey team qualifying for Olympics came as a surprise but Indian team winning Worldcup at home was almost expected! We HOPE that Hockey team does well while we EXPECT Cricket team to do well.

India won world cup on April 2, 2011 and after a few months because of injuries and a few bad performances, we lost in England. The fans go berserk on them. I don't remember this happening when Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore failed to maintain his stature after winning silver medal at Olympics! Instead, what did we say? "He has already done so much for India". while for cricket, it seems "so much" is always "so less".

We as VIEWERS don't treat every sport equally but we as INDIANS, want every sport to be treated equally. That's injustice!

Some of you might argue that Cricket is expected to do well because cricket has an immense support while the other sports don't. Well, ask the 1983 world cup winners, they had nothing back then. It was just like the other sports that we have today. In fact, few incidents tell us that if Indian Cricket Team played well and finished a Test Match inside four days then they weren't even paid for the fifth day! Unlike Hockey players, cricketers didn't oppose the board on such issues for they believed that the time will change if they continue playing Good Cricket. Moral of the story is,

"Cricket did face the phase that other sports are going through right now. But Cricket fought back, it survived and it conquered."

Now that tells us something about the power and position of Cricket in today's India. When national game of a country gets influenced after it is exposed in a movie, it's time to believe that there is something wrong with the way the sport is run rather than blaming other sport for its decline. As a matter of fact, other sports bodies should take inspiration from Cricket and find their own place in a country of one billion people where there is a place for everyone.

Apart from that, the only reason I can come up with for "Why cricket is what it is today?" should be, we criticize Indian Cricket team in the worst possible manner when it is not doing well while I have never seen anyone criticizing a Hockey team for losing at that extent. It's almost expected that they will lose all the time but if they win then "it's a great effort!" Seriously people?

If our expectations from Hockey and Cricket are not same then how can they both be placed on the same pedestal? This is not a person speaking who is madly-in-love-with-cricket. This is a person who is madly-in-love-with-olympics. Because,

If I want India to win Olympics, I need to understand that sports must co-exist and not compete.

People started Criticizing Cricket or should I name it as Cricketicizing as soon as cricket team was whitewashed (twice!) and hockey team qualified for London Olympics. Well, for those of you Olympics fans out there, here's something to think about;

"Sports need NOT to compete among themselves, let us leave that to players. Sports need to co-exist and that is what Olympics is all about, isn't it? Each time, only those nations do well which have an established set-up of co-existence of various sports. Criticizing cricket isn't going to serve that purpose!"

Waah re India! - Traff.i.cking

2012-01-26T15:35:00.000+05:30

Long Live Life

So here I was on my way to have one last Brunch at Shyam before Uttarayan. The place is nearly half a mile away from where I stay. It takes around 3 minutes to reach there on bike but those 3 minutes can give you a taste of what "Indian" driving is all about!

I averted two accidents because it was their fault and they averted three because it was mine.

Neither the other civilians nor me gave a f**k about traffic rules. But on that day, the routine was about to change. At the last turn to the destined point, I saw four traffic policemen standing by the road side. They were instructing civilians to park their vehicles properly and it seemed the aura spread to the shop-keepers as well for they too were instructing their customers to have their vehicles parked accordingly. It became pretty certain when Mukeshbhai to whom we act as customers almost daily gave us a *do-as-they-say* look for *they'll-be-gone-very-soon*. So for a change, we parked our vehicles properly.

But then as we sat having our Brunch looking at how animated Mukeshbhai was as he directed a few more incoming customers to act their role of being good civilians today, I really felt sick about me and all the other Indians not following traffic laws. It seemed India can be like any other country in following traffic guidelines if policemen gave enough sh*t. And on that day, they were giving enough sh*t! They did impact a small lot of shop-keepers and us by their presence alone.

The question is why don't we keep doing it consistently and be responsible civilians? Be responsible drivers instead of being someone who uses Driving License more as an Identity Proof? What is it that keeps us away from laws and near to accidents? Why is that when a policeman acts honestly with you and tells you to do something, you don't respond back with honesty?

Here I was asking myself all these questions looking at a policeman who acted honestly with me! He had his gaze on a man driving a scooter who was talking on his mobile phone while driving - clearly a law was broken. When you see such a driver who has his mind somewhere else rather than where it should be, you get a feeling that accident is about to happen. But it was not going to happen on that day because there was an honest policeman who was about to stop him and fine him for his recklessness. He was probably waiting for the man to reach to his duty point. I also noticed the law-breaker slowing down. By then, he must have realized that he was in big trouble and obviously didn't want to get into more! And finally he stopped next to the policeman because he told him to. I was about to witness the first honest act by a traffic policeman but then something ordinary happened, something that I witness everyday! The law-breaker hopped down and greeted that policeman with which the booming responsible Indian inside me also greeted to Death. I got all my answers and reasons about Indians being poor at obeying traffic laws.

Honesty without equality can not really be called honesty!

The policeman being honest with me just because I wasn't one of his relatives is simply unacceptable! It's about being consistent and about putting his country, the traffic laws, his job above everything else and in that order.

So here I am once again on Jan 26, 2012 - the Republic day and as I write this article, I'm on my way to Railway Station in an auto-rickshaw. The driver cleared 8 km in 10 min through heavily trafficked area of the city averting a head-on hit at every turn because I am in a hurry! Waah re India, Sorry re India !_!

Swetal Prajapati

2011-12-19T18:25:00.001+05:30

In cricket, when a ball gets over the boundary,

His scream of joy is the first in whole country.

On the road, when he sees his favorite car,

Runs behind it until it gets far and far!

I never want to go to a hospital, he never asks me why!

He just lifts me off my bed. With me, he's never too shy.

I wanted a girl so badly but I was afraid and mad.

He played a few tricks for me, it sure made me glad.

They call him hulk

Because he's never in a funk

Sometimes he's an innocent child,

Beware! He can also be deadly wild.

I always thought,

I'm the biggest fan of Sachin a.k.a. SRT but I was so wrong

'Coz here's someone, the only one: Swetal Prajapati - the King Kong.

I remember . . . When you took me to the hospital and the bike crashed, I was sick and yet walked the whole way back. That's why I hate Hospitals!

Happy Birthday ^_^

Chuck and Luck : Not Just 1,00,000

2011-10-30T19:42:00.000+05:30

I wanted to be the first one to share the feat of Off Classroom achieving 1,00,000 visits. Since last few days, I used to browse http://www.offclassroom.com and immediately scroll down at the bottom-left corner to have a look at the counter. When I opened my Facebook Profile today, I found that I was tagged in Vandit Dholakia's photo - A snapshot of Off Classroom with a much awaited number in it. And I knew that I missed my chance but rightly so! Vandit deserves that Honor.

Off Classroom isn't even a year older and it has achieved a lot beating almost everyone's expectations. But lets not talk about the achievements of Off Classroom as it is there for everybody to see. Let us go back in time before Off Classroom or even before studINC! I started off my college academics very well and I was proud to be one of the topper in 2008 - the first year of my engineering. And then the third semester came; besides other academic achievements, I was frustrated because I didn't have a clue about Making Websites.

So I thought of learning it by myself, using a lot of different tools, learning HTML and other technical stuff and in the end I was very sure of one thing. It was plain and clear to me and I said to myself, "After exploring and learning so much, I still don't have any clue about Website Making!"

And so it began, the Story of studINC and Off Classroom! We had made one website for studINC and its activities but somewhere down the line, we didn't have a purpose, we didn't have any clue about "why", "what" and "how" of the website. So it failed!

But hey! Do you guys really think of us as someone who would give up after a failure? We are HEXes for God's sake. We are fighters. So amid "No Encouragement" and "Differences in Opinions" about the site making, funding and its usage, we needed a miracle to make it happen. Because the way I saw it back then, it was the last shot of studINC at website as you can not spend over two years and still not have a website ready! That's very unprofessional. So a miracle could only save us in not falling apart. A miracle is comprised of two factors: Chuck and Luck!

By Chuck I mean, intuition of a Humanbeing and

By Luck I mean, intervention of God!

So Chuck in our case was Vandit Dholakia! We were all thinking of the name for website and we all came up with names that were unique because you can't really get a "Dot Com" for a simple name! This is where his intuition worked. I still remember when he told me at the footsteps near the library (our surprise meeting place!), "How about the name Off Classroom?" and I thought in my mind that Vandit must be out of his mind. Does he really think that such a simple Domain Name would still be available? I didn't want to get his hopes up but I didn't want to put down his spirits either. So I told him to check out the availability of the domain name and here comes the intervention of God! I still believe we were very lucky to have got the "Dot Com" for such a simple name.

So that was it! The name itself gave the meaning to "why", "what" and "how" for the site that we wanted to launch! We had a purpose now.

By the way, I just figured out why did the counter hit 1,00,000 mark on 30th October, 2011! Not before and never after!

It is because Today is the Birthday of one more Chuck at OC, our current president Sanket C. Patel

OC couldn't have chosen a better day! It's not just 1,00,000 . . . It's another beginning!

The Lost Friend

2011-07-09T15:58:00.001+05:30

There is something about losing, it's always difficult to accept. And I think one way of doing it is by telling the world about it which is what I intend to achieve through this post. I accept that I have lost something. It's not a battle, it's not even some expensive Sunglasses that my father gave me as a gift! It's a friend. In fact, let me put it in this way - It's a friendship that I've lost!

As I'm writing this, there is constant oscillations between various emotions in my mind. And one thing you should know about me is that I am a terribly introvert person. My world is a very tiny place, tinier than even a tip of the nail! So it is not often that I let people in my world and if I do then I mean serious business with them. So when one of them breaks the circle and moves out; believe me, it really hurts! And this is what has happened. I can not imagine a person more selfish than Misha (As you may already know, Misha is the name I often use to represent a real person in my life). I've known her for years and still I never knew her. I always shared my happiness, my sadness and my success with her. I even let her be a part of my success. Whenever I got opportunities, I shared with her. In fact, I let her take the first shot at it.

I did all that not out of pity but out of joy - Joy of friendship. I always thought, "Friendship works in both ways. When She's down, I've to hold her and when I'm down, she has to hold me." It is obvious that I no longer have faith in such a definition of friendship. In fact, there can never be a definition of friendship. It is something like "printf" function in C language. It comes predefined from developers (which in our case is, God!)

I feel like Misha was always acting like a leech. Sucking the blood till the prey is drained out. It's not like Misha has changed as a person. She behaves in the same fashion that she used to be. It's just that I don't have enough blood left and she has found some other prey. The reason I feel so hurt is because now is the time I really need her. We were kind of a perfect combo who could rule the world by ourselves. And the way she is behaving, I feel like I'm betrayed. When she needed me, I was always there even if she didn't call for my help! I need you Misha, more than ever before. I'm even calling for your help. Where are you now? Why don't you listen? Why don't you tell?

I think I've told the world what I wanted to and though it's going to be difficult to accept that she's not a part of my world anymore, I think eventually it will happen and my life will move on. And if that will happen, I'm sure one day will come when Misha will regret of not being with me.

I'm not going to reveal who Misha is because that will be a fault in friendship from my side which I would never want.

Lastly,
To Misha...
I let you be a part of my world, BUT you never did.
I let you succeed instead of me, BUT you never did.
I let you have a shot at opportunities I got, BUT you never did.
I let you be my friend, BUT you never did.

In friendship, when there comes a "BUT", it always gets "CUT"

Misha - My Love

2011-07-03T16:35:00.005+05:30

The other day, I was playing this wonderful game called Warcraft (DOTA) which has been like a phenomenon in my life. I always used to play with Kael - A mighty hero that can manipulate three elements to bring wrath on his enemies but it was until that day! Because on that day, I found someone who was going to change my life for good. There's a hero called Syllabear - A very powerful and arguably the quickest of all. I played with him but it was not him that impressed me. It was his pet called Misha that caught my attention. Misha is a pachyderm unit with formidable moving speed and powers. She can beat the hell out of anyone and she's more than capable of razing the opponent's defense towers. But that is not all. There are some very particular characteristics of her that leave you gasping in awe. I was not amazed by how powerful or destructive the duo is. It was the love between Syllabear and Misha that left a mark on me. There is a bond of love between them. But this bond of LOVE doens't come that easily. There are four ingredients to make this LOVE potion. Read further and discover them.

Misha will never attack unless she's fighting with Syllabear. This shows the LOYALTY of her towards her master.

Misha can teleport within a second to his master when called. This shows the WILLINGNESS of her towards her master.

Now if you're thinking Misha is more of a slave than Syllabear's love then your thinking is premature.

Syllabear can call Misha for help when the times are not good during a combat. This shows his TRUST over her.

Syllabear takes pain when Misha gets killed. This shows his SACRIFICE for her.

If you have understood this properly, you will find that Syllabear and Misha are just the analogies that I have used to describe the four words : LOYALTY, WILLINGNESS, TRUST and SACRIFICE. Consider yourself as Syllabear and Misha can be anything - a girl you love or something that you're really passionate about like Cricket or Football or Dancing or Singing or Painting. It can also be your job or work or profession. From any small task like wishing someone a Happy Birthday to some big task like Managing A College Event . . . Misha can take the form of anything.

So if you really want something, then first of all, have the WILLINGNESS to give your everything to it. You'll have to make SACRIFICES but do not loose your LOYALTY towards it. A bond of TRUST will start taking place and ultimately when all these FOUR meet, you'll fall in LOVE with that work or person. The bond of LOVE will be summoned!

So promise yourself to be a Syllabear!
Now, Go and find your Misha :-)

Sanchit Parmar

2011-03-18T03:53:00.001+05:30

He makes you believe that it is heaven. What? - Marriage.

But he doesn't know that it is rather end of Marry Age.

But when my ego is busy digging my grave,

He encourages me to go ahead and be brave.

But sorry bro,

You're never going to find a way in me to pave.

He has all the ingredients of a love guru,

Ladki ka naam lo aur bhai ho liye shuru.

Whether it's about your girlfriend or mine,

He has all the ideas in world that ripe like wine.

Either you listen or don't listen to him;

He'll always say,

Listen to your heart and you'll never feel grim.

My advice : Don't dig a pit for yourself,

Listen to me instead, I'm not that bad ;-)

This is the story of Sanchit himself,

That's what came out from my think-pad.

I remember . . . You coming close to convincing me about "a crush I had on a girl" to be "love". That's you! But you know what buddy, that was a pretty long time ago and my instincts told me something else.

Kashyap Vyas

2011-03-17T15:24:00.003+05:30

He is the best buddy and a shoulder to cry on,

He sees the dreams and goes behind them on and on.

He sleeps too much! That, I guess nobody can cure,

But once he decides to do it, he does it for sure.

I call him Mr. Dependable - That's right, Yep!

Who am I talking about? The one and only : Kashyap.

I remember . . . you had hold me down so tightly on my birthday so that I couldn't escape when they smash the cake on my face.

DIL HONA MANGTA HAI : The Surprise

2011-02-05T02:06:00.005+05:30

Chapter 3

Greetings Readers!

I am posting this after a long break because I was not sure whether to post this particular chapter as the third in the DIL HONA MANGTA HAI series (Ask me why!). The chapter is entitled as DIL HONA MANGTA HAI : The Surprise. I would recommend reading DIL HONA MANGTA HAI : The Situation and DIL HONA MANGTA HAI : The Epiphany before reading this chapter.

Surprise is the only feeling that can amaze/shock virtually anyone starting from the marriage proposal to a girl to the death of a perfectly healthy man! It brings amazement and happiness in some cases and shock and sorrow in others. But what happens when someone gets stuck somewhere in between? What if someone doesn't know whether to feel happy or to feel sad? Well, we can't answer that and the boy in our story couldn't answer it too!

It was in the late winter of the year 2004. A miracle had happened yet again in the boy's life. He scored 96% in the test, being the highest accumulator of marks in Maths, Hindi, Marathi, Science and History. He stood second highest in Geography and English (probably because GEOGRAPHY and LANGUAGE are the two things that change the most when one moves from Gujarat to Mumbai!). This was the third quaternary exam and the third in which he stood first in the class. Things had become different after THE EPIPHANY MOMENT. The boy had grown in confidence, he was getting bolder and had learned hard ways of living life - the qualities which you find in a Mumbaikar.

Just nine months in Mumbai and he had changed so much that even his old friends couldn't believe it when they had a reunion party in Diwali vacation. Though he missed his old life dearly, the Mumbai life seemed fascinating and promising. He was in 8th grade and often thought about his future in Mumbai. People mature more faster in Mumbai than any other city in India. For him, the job and the girlfriend seemed realistic in a year or two! He often thought;

10th grade - just round the corner
Science field - just round the corner
Bike - just round the corner
Girlfriend - just round the corner
.
.
.
A perfect life - just round the corner

He used to dream : On his fast bike, his lovely girl holding him tight and the wide open roads of Mumbai with light rain and romantic music. WOW! life couldn't be more perfect, he thought . . . And that would be it . . . Life was set! But was it really? Because life is like a shadow, it changes when THE SUN wants it to change and you can't do anything about it.

In a fast paced Mumbai life, there are opportunities if you work hard and you never know you might fall in love too! The boy wasn't thinking wrong thoughts, he was just thinking them in wrong TENSE! All the things that he wanted were just round the corner but you know what, THE CORNER NEVER CAME! But there was no harm in dreaming, was there? And with those lovely thoughts in his mind, the boy continued his dream run in Mumbai as a student. He now had a perfect platform to launch one final assault in the year-ending exams to stamp his authority on Mumbai soil! He had accumulated 176 out of 180 marks from three exams in his favorite subject : Mathematics.

You might be wondering where had those 4 marks gone? Well, "however hard working and intelligent a student might be, he should not forget to double-check the exam time-table!" The boy had made a blunder : In the mid-year exam, he mistakenly prepared for Science, a day before the Mathematics paper. And by the time he got to know about it, he was already sitting in the exam hall . . . foolish and utter non-sense! Had it been any other exam paper, he would have DIED on the spot for sure! But it was his hero - mathematics was his life back then and that kept him going. It was surely the worst academic mistake in the boy's short life. Under such a situation, you wouldn't consider 96 out of 100 as a bad score, would you?

He already had a hat-trick in the bag with three outstanding performances and it was time to go for a kill. It was time to do a GUN-SLINGA MALINGA (Ask me what is this!) : to white wash the Mumbai and to make a clean sweep of 4 out of 4. He couldn't get 104 out of 100 in Mathematics to cover for his loss of 4 marks - that would be greedy and illogical. But he could definitely achieve 100 out of 100 and you know what he did it and that too with ease! The mathematics paper was a cake walk! At the end of the year, a massive 276 out of 280 in mathematics was a score out of this world. He maintained his marks in other subjects as well.

It was now time to get away from MARKS and to go back to his DREAMS : Fast bike - His lovely girl holding him tight - Empty Mumbai roads - Light rain - Romantic music . . . But suddenly out of nowhere the dream shatters! Roads turn into mad ocean waves - the bike into a monster - the rain into a tsunami - romantic music into wails of the dead people . . . But He doesn't feel frightened even a little bit because he knows that as long as his love - his girl is with him, he can defeat anything, can overcome any obstruction. So he smiles and looks towards her only to see her crying and walking away (Ask me why!). His heart breaks . . .

The next morning when he woke up from this horrific dream, he felt relaxed and thought IT WAS JUST A DREAM. And that was the day when his parents broke out the news to him that they were going back to Gujarat . . .

All that year, he had wished every single day to get his old life back and here it was, a chance to regain his old and powerful empire in Gujarat with newly found knowledge and hard fought ways of living life. But he couldn't feel happiness from within, may be because he wasn't expecting it and so he wasn't mentally prepared or may be because he had started liking his life in Mumbai. Whatever the reason might be, he would never be able to know it because it came as a SURPRISE to him - leaving no time for thoughts . . .

His life had become like the FLIP OF A COIN, heads - In Mumbai, tails - In Gujarat.

What will be the new life in Gujarat for that boy? Will the life be easier in Gujarat? Will he study in Gujarati medium or in English medium? - are some of the questions to savor and think over until the next chapter in the series comes out . . .

Till then it's good bye from Hex 22. But before signing off, have some boo sounds for this,

I am waiting for my girl to arrive,

To hug her and kiss her till I'm alive.

"Knock, Knock" says the dirty door,

Hope it's my girl, can wait no more.

I say "I'm coming" and I run, because I want her at any prize.

Door opens "Oh NO! It's a gun" and DAYA says "Surprise, Surprise"

^_^

I hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to leave a comment. It just takes a few seconds. Honest encouragement and criticism are always appreciated and they act as a source of inspiration for me to continue the work. You can also share this on Facebook, Twitter and Buzz.

DIL HONA MANGTA HAI : The Epiphany

2011-01-01T16:33:00.010+05:30

Chapter 2

Greetings Readers & Happy New Year!

I could not reply to comments posted in the previous post, DIL HONA MANGTA HAI : The Situation as I have been using mobile posting in blogger which is pretty slow but the important thing is that I have noticed them and am happy that you're happy.

So here is Hex 22 with the PROMISED chapter entitled as DIL HONA MANGTA HAI : The Epiphany. You will have some fun, some things to learn and you will also see the revelation.

Just in case you want to revise or catch up with the story, read DIL HONA MANGTA HAI : The Situation. Here, I begin from where it was left . . .

The boy was very good at something that required use of NUMBERS more than that of LITERALS - Mathematics! In fact, he loved it. So he used to spend most of his time learning from his OLD GUJARATI Maths book. One day, he needed an instrument called 'compass' to draw some figure in GEOMETRY. He didn't have one, so he asked for some money from his mother and headed to a nearby stationary shop to buy it. He told the shopkeeper (in hindi), "ek parikar dena". The shopkeeper was busy so he mumbled something to his assistant and told him to give it to the boy. Meanwhile, the boy saw A GIRL who studied in his class. She was coming at the same shop. They noticed each other, a few smiles exchanged just before the assistant came back and gave him a 'protractor'. The boy told the shopkeeper that he wanted 'parikar' and not this thing. The shopkeeper didn't understand the word parikar (Gujarati word of compass) and thought that the boy was fooling him around. Everyone at shop was waiting for him to explain. Now what? The boy analyzed the situation : A cute girl, an angry shopkeeper and his ignorance of English word for parikar. Oh come on! What would you have done? It's so simple! He bought that thingy and silently ran away from that place without being further embarrassed.

So, first loss was MONEY. Did he learn his lesson now? No! money never bothered him that much. He needed something else, he needed to lose something, something that not only humans but all the species love on this planet - PRIDE and here is how he lost it . . .

Few days later, he was at his tuition teacher's house. While he was reading something, his tuition teacher got curious. She wanted to know whether the boy and his family had a permanent residence or rental. So she asked him (in hindi), "ap RENT pe rehte ho kya?". The boy replied "nahi! 403 mein". He thought that RENT was related to something like GROUND FLOOR or TERRACE. The teacher clarified assuming that the boy hadn't heard properly "nahi nahi, mera matlab hai ki wo RENTAL hai ya PERMANENT RESIDENCE hai?" The boy was about to cry. He opened his mouth to reply and got TWO MORE words in ENGLISH !! So he didn't dare speak again and just nodded as if to say yes. The teacher didn't ask any further questions looking at the terrified face of the boy. She was left puzzled . . .

So, he had lost his PRIDE. He was on the verge of crying because he couldn't even make others understand about WHERE he lives or HOW he lives!

He came back to the house after tuitions and for the first time since he put his foot on Mumbai Soil, instead of crying (which he usually did when something like this happened) he reached for the drawer of his study table and took out the ENGLISH DICTIONARY of his younger brother. He blew away the dust and searched out for the word RENT and read its meaning. You know what? He understood the meaning and more importantly he liked it! It was like getting back his HEART which was roaming in the glory days of past and to inscribe THE MEANING over it. This was the moment he would never forget, the moment of EPIPHANY.

What he did thenafter, how he conquered the challenges and fought through the ENGLISH FOREST is a story to tell on some other day.

The thing you should know is that the boy STILL KEEPS that DICTIONARY with him all the time and one more little detail to add is, that boy just wrote this article!

Let me know if you want me to continue to write about this journey of a boy who encountered many such LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCES thenafter and hopefully will continue to experience.

Till then it's good bye from Hex 22. But before signing off, have some boo sounds for this,

Nothing is impossible, live your dreams and never say I can't,

Even if it is about stealing an ice-cream from Rajnikant!

DIL HONA MANGTA HAI : The Situation

2010-12-19T20:10:00.005+05:30

Chapter 1

Greetings Readers!

I'm writing a series of inspirational articles with name DIL HONA MANGTA HAI. This one is the first chapter, entitled as THE SITUATION.

The meaning of the title can be put in this way "Have your heart in whatever you do and nothing will ever go wrong."

Situation is one very simple word which if becomes complex, can break or make your life. Well today, I'm going to tell you a story - a story about a 15 year old boy who finds himself in one such situation. The story goes in this way : This boy had to forcefully move to Mumbai because of his father's aspiration of expanding his business globally. They had a successful business established around a small town in Gujarat where the boy had studied all his life before moving to Mumbai. Their parents could have left him there to continue to study in Gujarati Medium with his grandparents but they thought otherwise and admitted him to an English Medium school in Mumbai.

I guess you know what happens to a GUJARATI MEDIUM student when suddenly he has to study everything in English, don't you?

Actually, NO YOU DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA ABOUT THAT! Because for this boy even "It would be like hell" was an understatement.

The problem with this boy was that he was the top ranker with over 95% marks all the time, head boy of the class for over four years, 'GO TO' boy for all the teachers and favourite among girls. He was the king and the school was his kingdom. But sadly, the king had fallen and even worse, Mumbai made him feel like a SLUMDOG.

He just couldn't admit the fact that he didn't understand what was being taught in the class. Sometimes, he wouldn't even understand what his collegues were talking about. He continued the ENGLISH MEDIUM show for one week. He would constantly think of the glory days and the result was not very good mentally as well as physically.

Forget about making new friends, he didn't even talk to anyone and just kept crying. His health was affected badly. He would start vomiting even by the thought of sitting in an ENGLISH MEDIUM class room. So, his parents got him leave for a month from school to solve this problem.

The solution was simple, he had to TRY, at least! He didn't have his heart in it. It was roaming around in those glory days of the past. He couldn't accept the reality and the fact that he was failing everyday.

Everyone felt pity on him but their parents had faith and so they allowed him to take his own time. He needed some pumping, he needed to understand that ENGLISH was important. When his parents would tell him about the importance of English, he would reply that the school in which he was studying had produced some of the finest Doctors and Engineers in the town and their parents couldn't argue because the boy was right.

But their parents thought that the boy needs to accept the situation in which he currently is rather than missing those situations in which he is not. So, they appointed a lady for tuitions who lived two stories down in the apartment they lived in. She was a SOUTH INDIAN house wife but as most of the South Indians are, very good at English. She had a daughter and a son. All of them were English Medium graduates. The boy started going to their house for tuitions, he became a challenge for the whole family. Everyone tried to make this boy believe that he can.

Yes, the boy certainly could if he tried but NO, NOT YET! The boy had to believe that himself. He needed to witness an Epiphany . . . !

What will happen to that boy? Will he be able to accept the reality? Will he conquer his once favourite and now nightmare-like language called ENGLISH? These are some of the questions to savour and think over before the next chapter in the series comes out named DIL HONA MANGTA HAI : The Epiphany

Till then it's good bye from Hex 22. But before signing off, have some boo sounds for this,

Any SITUATION you may find yourself in,

Is nothing but a door to conquer and win.

But beware my warrior,

Do it with courage and do it clean,

Before DAYA breaks it and storms in.