Universal Youngistaan

Our Experiences Shapes Our Beliefs

2013-04-01T01:36:00.002-07:00

The other day I was having lunch in college mess, a bunch of friends accompanying me. All the 16 chairs on the table were occupied. I am used to eat in quiet, I do not speak much while eating. In the course of having lunch I witnessed a fierce argument between guys sitting to my right. Though they were not in my class, I still paid attention to them(well its always entertaining, you know :P).

The conversation:

Guy 1: How can you claim that those people do not work in the group, that too so vocally?

Guy 2: See, I have worked with them in the last term a couple of time and I have found almost all of them as social loafers. Ask anybody sitting here about them and you will get to know.

Guy 1: But the point is that you went to the faculty and demeaned them in front of other few who were there. If you had to change the group you could have gone straight to the faculty’s chamber and discuss the matter in private.

Guy 2: Everyone knows about them, how does it matter? if I said it in front of others. (his face redden with anger )
Guy 1: I think that you do not have the right to speak ill of anybody like that. They do not work much in the group but you cannot say it’s going to be the case every time and again.
Guy 2: I will have to do there spade work, I am the one who is suffering. It is easy for you to say and please do not pretend to be saint. Everyone here is for himself. I did what I felt was right, that’s all I have to say.
Guy 1: Good for you then. Giving a justification is easy but judging the rightness of the same is difficult.

Guy 2 now left the table in unrest. We watched as we chewed food, digesting arguments from both lads, burping our ways to a full stomach we were almost done. Guy 2 (sitting next to me) now was waiting for others to finish. Our eyes met and I took the opportunity to tell him in one single line that "it is our experience which shapes our belief". He looked at me in disgust but I continued -"The other chap had some experience with those social loafers, so he complained, quite openly though, let it go now". He shook his head in disagreement then made same statements as he had made before. I said I will explain it later, for now cool down.

To illustrate, Akshay kumar, in one of his interviews narrated the story of how he changed his name from Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia to Akshay Kumar. Within a short span of the name change he got a break in a movie and witnessed a turnaround in his fortune. This experience made him superstitious, he admits.

True it is that experience molds beliefs in ways sometimes inexplicable.

The Hefty Affair

2013-03-08T08:41:00.000-08:00

This one is the latest experience I had with my friend Adil. It is Friday today and we have to go to mosque for prayer. I called him a few times to ask him to rush through lunch and come as soon as possible. He assured me multiple times of not messing up this time unlike last week, I waited outside the hostel for him to come. He called me from a few meters distance, to ask me to arrange helmet as the guy whose bike he had borrowed did not have one and it is compulsory for us to wear one to go out of the college gate. I hurried my way up to the third floor to borrow helmet from a friend. In all the haste I managed to come back to the parking space. To my surprise, Adil was unable to locate the bike there. He called the owner only to know that it is near the main gate. Now we ran desperately, we knew we were already late and this delay will result in us missing the congregation prayer. As soon as we left college Adil drove the bike fast to cover the time. The speed was in three figures in a few seconds; suddenly the surge in the torque of bike reduced, before I could sense Adil turned and said it is short of fuel damn it. We stopped and checked for sound of the fuel in tank it ascertained that it had fuel, the bike is Pulsar 200 without kick start. After a few futile self-starts Adil pushed the bike and tried starting it, luckily after a couple of attempts it started. Now we reached almost 2 kilometers from college and we took left to enter into the village 'Kohli'. The bike was off again but this time we checked for it to be in reserve or not. But we were not able to make out which side to turn the knob to keep it on reserve. Arbitrarily we kept it on one side. Finally the bike started, it was me riding it now, the village road is full of pot holes and is narrow. Overtaking a four wheeler there is a challenge. The condition of bike was trustworthy so I pumped it up. Now crisscrossing the potholes and other vehicles on the road we reached the destination just in time. The speed with which we covered our distance was enough to drive anybody’s adrenaline up. It was a mind boggling experience leaving me astonished. When we returned I drove in 40’s, I could sense the difference at that time.

Our Last Supper Together

2013-01-17T23:44:00.000-08:00

This was probably the last time I was seeing them, after there is a far chance that I see these French guys. They had come to my college(IMT, Nagpur) under foreign exchange program, for about 100 days. They were to attend classes with second year; I am a first year grad still we got to know each other well. They were 3 guys Gwen, Geof and Josh.

Gwen was romantic, committed, decent and civil; moves head while talking in a natural and consistent manner, smiles with wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. Out of them he was the closest to me. Geof had a peculiar way of conversing, partially bald with the foliage loss from front, he mostly wore dark goggles, didn't like Indian food much and used to carry soft drink all the time. He was good in sharing and comparing cultural differences. The third guy Josh was the tallest amongst them, he was funny, spontaneously witty, extrovert, happy go lucky kind of person. He was incredibly open in his conversations.

At lunch a day before our last supper I accompanied Gwen. Its Christmas eve today. We sat across each other, I asked him about his new year plans, his experience in the country of Gods and colors etc. After the general chit chat I inquired if he will remember any of us after going back to his country. He straightforwardly declined it, said after some time he will forget. Well that is how things go, we meet people in our journey through time in life and after loosing touch eventually we tend to forget them. Of course now we have social media, which does gives connectivity but it solely depends on the persons intention to be in touch. People also remain in friend lists just for the sake of it.

On their last night at campus we had dinner together. "So this is the last time then", "all the best for your future endeavors", "enjoy new year(in your country)" etc followed with the supper. One of them spoke few words in Hindi followed those were all cuss words they had learnt. We laughed on the manner he cussed it sounded polite. We bid adieu as our paths diverged.

What does a human being gives and takes from others? Is it only monetary or something which is intangible? The way we perceive it defines our exchange. We come across many people in our life, some people become important, some do not register in our memory. No matter we forget them or not what we shall aspire to do is make the most of the time we spend together. The time spent should be worthy to remember. After all what we can best share are joy, smile and happiness.

Just in Time baby

2012-11-27T06:34:00.000-08:00

I was exposed to stringent rules regarding timeliness in the wake of joining a management course. The kind of guy I have been all my life, for me simply it was a difficult ground rule to abide to. Many times, I have been neck to neck running against the ever running, time. I remember, in the undergraduate course often I would run to catch the college bus. That -'just in time baby!' - with friends on bus. Back then as time passed I built a reputation for it, colleagues used to acknowledge it. But on the other side they used to appreciate of me hardly ever missing college bus but almost catching it in the nick of time.

There also have been times in my 4 years of engineering when I reached significantly before time. On those rare days I was again taunted. Oh! well people typecast you and when you don't follow their expectations they kind of start hoping for it. If still you prove their belief wrong they would sarcastically appreciate the change.

A few epic cases of in time delivery I recall at IMT -

I woke up at 9:21 AM in clock, just got ready and ran to reach in time for the microeconomics class of 9:30 AM.

I wake up at 11:05 AM there's a guest lecture at 11:15 AM if I miss my roll call I miss the attendance. I run navigating my way, jumping, traversing through shortcuts, I push open the door and hear my name and say yes sir!. The instructor gives a wry smile, everybody looks at me in awe. Someone exclaims wow! in the meantime regaining breathe I take a seat and relax.

There is this guy Kandy, I come from shower wrapped in towel, he sees me in the gallery and says boy you better hurry up or you will miss attendance. I manage to get in time. This incident happens time and again. He acknowledges me with 'the towel guy'.

There also have been incidents when I ate breakfast partially on my way to the class while running and in class. In class I am well known for doing such stuff.

I hope to bring about change in managing time. But still I manage it anyhow, I think that's what management is all about.

P.S.: I haven't missed an attendance till date.

Word of Mouth Epidemic

2012-10-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

Word of mouth is the flowing of information from one person to another through oral communication, particularly one to one communication. In the digital age this can also take place through phones, blogs, chats, email, text/IM etc. It basically is an epidemic which flows contagiously. Take for example a sexually transmitted disease (STD), which engulfs the next person which comes in contact with an already infected one. The person contacted is influenced by the information it is exposed to, this instigates him to forward it to someone else.

In today’s era a consumer is thrown information about hundreds of products in a day. It is very vital to capture the space in the minds of the customer. Word of mouth helps in creating that image because it comes from a trusted source, one to one communication. Particularly for brands to become from mediocre to great word of mouth becomes a very important tool. There have been several success stories coined with word of mouth in branding; for instance ‘Snapple’ the brand of tea and fruit juices derived its success through word of mouth in the late 1970’s, 'Hush Puppies' the famous shoe brand showed a dramatic turnaround in the mid 1990's through word of mouth. Contagious as it is it can also have a negative impact on the brand image for example Cadbury insect infestation issue, coca cola having pesticides these news spread like wildfire majorly through WOM. This significantly deteriorated the brand image of existing market leaders and costs millions to the firms.

The system is also based on referrals made by existing users of a product. It minimizes the risk and acts like a perceived incentive to the prospective buyer. Slowly the trust is built and word of mouth marketing sails through. Not every individual has the potential to trigger a word of mouth epidemic. There are some major sources which play a handy role in spreading the message across. That source is often referred to as ‘connector’. A connector is a person which connects many individuals, a central node through which information can be transmitted. The important trait of the connector is its reliability. People tend to trust these types of individuals. These are amicable people who make friends very easily, they do not judge people, do not get prejudiced and follows them a huge network of people.

fig.connector at the centre

Malcolm Gladwell, the renowned management thinker in his book ‘The Tipping Point’ talks of that magical moment when ideas, trends, social behaviors cross a threshold, tip and spread like a wildfire. That tipping point is reached, thus making the ‘word of mouth’ a phenomenon. Before this tipping point it is basically in the process of becoming an epidemic or a viral phenomenon.

There is no doubt that word of mouth is an efficient marketing tool in current era of cut throat competition. But there are some reservations expressed about it when it comes to buying an expensive product or any technical product where expert opinion is preferred over popular sentiment.

P.S.- Required a lot research but was worth it. My first related to the field of marketing.

Does the Timeline(FB) has an end to it?

2012-10-13T23:29:00.002-07:00

When some close aid, a friend, a colleague, a teacher, an uncle or a relative dies, we make up from the shock after sometime. Its a compromise we make for we can not afford to be on the same page for a long time. The prospect of future is brighter than lamenting present, you consolidate it with the idealistic "move on" and eventually move with it.

That's what happens generally, my curiosity in the matter arose when I pondered over one such event of my life. A few months back my uncle died of an heart arrest, he had a sudden demise and I was shocked as death is an unanticipated, dreadful event though it is certain. Well a few days passed and he was no more a part of our conversations, he may rest in peace was said and gradually done. To this day I must have thought about him for he was a close companion of my Dad and I usually got updates about his family etc. But today was a different reason; I was messaging my friends.
Messages-->>Inbox-->>forward-->>add recipients, a list of contacts appear. I scrolled the list, marked some and there it flashed, his(uncle's) name. I moved down in the list but again came back to it, just something clicked and it doesn't wish to go back. All his memories flashed back in the back of my head.

A little later a series of questions started flowing in my mind. What happens to our contact number when we die?
Do people delete it when they know we are no more? What happens to our facebook profile? Does the timeline has an end to it? Have we ever thought of having a will for all this? And is there a proper time to have a will because you never know when you'll die? What is with these lifetime SIM's? What happens with the email address? So on and so forth.

I surely could not come up with any solid reason/answer to these questions. But I learnt one thing when I mistakenly stumbled into the contact detail of my dead uncle, it made me realize that no matter how difficult time I am having right now, I am still alive. And one day my time will come, when I will be no more, before that comes I shall make this count this is my present this is all I have got. And I remind myself this whenever I see any token of those who rest in peace.

Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them.
-George Eliot

So don't forget and get reminded...

Some Lines I Own Cuz They Are 'My Own'

2012-09-21T12:48:00.004-07:00

I thought time will make me forget you;
now i realize that time will
but its gonna take a lifetime...

"kabhi chaha tha ki hum do se char honge
par pata na tha ki waqt ko jaldi thi
woh kisi aur ki ho gayi
aur mein kisi aur ka... "

Regards

-SRG

"Image is everything"

The Hangoverology (Part-I)

2012-09-19T02:12:00.001-07:00

Prologue: I woke up at 11:30 in the morning with constant knocking on the door. I rolled out of the bed, opened the door to find D.J., semi naked.
D.J.- "what happened last night? Why are you here? Why I was in your room "?
I gathered my thoughts, sat on bed; looked him deep in eyes and mumbled "asshole".
D.J-. What ?

--------***------

Its Ramadan going on, I follow my routine course starting in the morning at 4 am. I have developed a habit of not sleeping all night and sleeping after having morning snacks. I don't believe in alarms waking me up, I am so lethargic in getting up at once. I came back to room from 'mess' but could not sleep, I laid down on bed looking at the ceiling fans shadow arising from the light coming through the window. To add to my inability to sleep there was problem coming, like always I didn't anticipate it until it was right there in front of me mocking my plans for the day. All I wanted was a few hours of sleep before I yawn in class.

It was 5, the unlocked door of my room was pushed open. I thought it must be the room partner. He was but with 3 other chaps. I initially pretended that I am asleep, gradually I sensed that something is wrong. Out of curiosity I turned and witnessed. DJ a good friend of mine, lay down on bed on the other side of the room, completely drunk, unconscious & making weird noises. I knew about the party but I could not understand what was wrong him. Then came the disclosure, the drunk began vomiting. With an angry face I left the room to sleep in DJ's room. Leave alone sleep I couldn't help thinking about how it turned ugly(well this is due to my inept knowledge of alcohol and aftereffects of its consumption).

I came outside walked towards my room to know more of the happenings before. One of them narrated the story to me. In short all he meant was " initially we drank, then we drank again and finally we were drunk". DJ pulled some stunts thereafter picking guys up his shoulders and stuff. That made the alcohol churn up in his stomach and hence the vomiting. The chaos he created also includes abusing a senior, trying to break a glass door etc. I thought let him become conscious he'll have to answer some serious questions.

I went back to his room and slept.

Epilogue: I tersely described to him a part of what I knew, it was astonishing that he expressed no guilt but pride, as if he had done a great thing; I left him in his room. The cleaners cleaned my room, and within a few hours the aura returned to normal. Finally, the hangover was over!

The IMT way

2012-08-23T11:16:00.001-07:00

2nd June 2012, I left the hotel room, got into an auto, paid the fare to reach the city office @ khullar apartment, the summer morning was slowly turning hot, got into the bus and in 55 minutes I saw the red brick walls, the gates opened and I was finally in the college, "its on" I thought, for the next two years.
I knew I might not like it while I live these two years in this place (just a possibility) but later in life I will cherish every moment of it (engineering college experience).

After a lengthy process of registration a hostel room was allotted, on the ground floor, I was delighted that there will be no stairs to climb daily. By the evening my father left and then I was all alone on myself. Oh! hell there is nothing to do in here plus temperature is so hot that you can not even lay in bed in the same position for long. Increasing on fluid intake, choosing proper food helped me counter the scorching challenge the place offered.
The weekend was over and then began a weak beginning which had no end, let alone any "weak-end"(weekend). We were loaded with assignments, life became tough and time scarce.

A few days into the course and giving introductions had turned into a tedious job, be it giving to the faculty or to fellow students. Who said practice(repetition in this case) makes a man perfect, actually it makes u hate the thing more (a far fetched comparison). Classes(induction) were designed to make us acquainted with the course but what it did was different. It was in a way mocking our knowledge and awareness. "come on! anyone in class who can tell blah blah?" "as an aspiring manager one should at least know this" "Don't you read newspaper?" were the constant derision thrown @ us. And we took it silently without any resistance. To resist there has to be unity and we merely knew each other. Even to absorb the humiliation coherently a bond is required, slowly we caught up with that. Kudos!

Then came the seniors, there was this "healthy interaction" thing which started well but few juniors had problems so they told there mom-pops and hence notified the management which resulted in calling off of HI. I was in a way happy but irony was that I did not even give a single introduction to any senior, I felt bad that we couldn't interact much. A paradox (I m not hypocrite).

Followed were some incidents which lead to spats between senior and junior. And then began what the father of nation taught us the best, "when you don't get your way, unite and do not cooperate".
But we did not see the disclaimer in it which suggested not to be used against our own countrymen (it was against British) otherwise it will hinder the smooth functioning of our own country. But we do what we have imbibed from history, it worked there so it shall here(it works but disturbs the momentum of regular things leading to inefficiency). All it took was an interaction to resolve the conflict. Finally an amicable environment was restored. Bloody non cooperation! a waste of time.

In the first month itself I experienced many events ranging from learning golf to interacting with people belonging to different parts of the country, from conflict to friendliness, from staying awake all night to hitting gym regularly. The place has more to offer and more lessons to teach. In loving memory of the beginning of this course I end this here to begin a streak of posts about happenings during the coming two years @imt nagpur.

When In Haste, For Once Reflect

2012-07-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

The other night I was walking after dinner, a wont nowadays. It rained in the evening for almost two hours. Generally after a shower, by the side of the border of plants snails come out and spread out on the pathway. After crushing some to death in the beginning I realised that I need to be cautious about that particular area.

SNAIL

That night I was in a jiffy for I had to send an e-mail. I forgot about the prone area and crushed one to death. Alas! I killed one I thought, the sound made me feel guilty, I tried to shift my weight to the other foot but in vain, it was gone. I turned and watched it with regret exclaiming loudly 'Oh crap!'.

After responding to what was urgent work, it occurred to me that in a way what had happened is related to the pace at which we live life, and of course the damage we do meanwhile.
At times we are so obsessed with our goals that we do not care about many things we crush, treading on and on in a haste; hurting people around us unknowingly. We do not even reflect on what we did, how it happened and leave alone to palliate the hurt.

Its well known that people who reach at the top are alone, and after achieving so much the misery of loneliness haunts them. What one needs to do is to keep a constant check on where one is heading towards. Ambition is the source which drives the inner self of the person but that ambition must be synchronized with all that matters the most and all that which deceives to be trivial but is also important.

"It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary, only wise men are able to understand them"

Paulo Coelho

May the misguided of us get the wisdom to understand the importance of the ordinary.

Life Away From Home (@college)

2012-06-24T01:27:00.002-07:00

A first timers experience :

When you leave your home for the first time, the bond with it gets stronger. You feel a new propensity towards your home and hometown. Suddenly, the boring mundane things you did there become special and you do not know when will you be back to do the same.

You pack your stuff, travel the distance & finally you find yourself into another sphere which belongs to different kind of people, speaking there own language, living in there own style. And you feel out of place. You are at the horizon, exploring anew.

You come to a hostel, put your trust in a room partner & find yourself sleeping in the same room with a stranger. Will you be able to sleep? Initially it does freaks you out but your body has limitations to avoid rest. You succumb to it!

You don't find the weather friendly, its harder to overcome the fear of failing to cope with it. Thanks to the human tendency you adjust, compromising to it. If weather can't change you can. It takes time though, praises to "time" the universal healer, the settler.

You are not habitual to eat four times a day (breakfast-lunch-evening snacks-dinner), that too with a crowd making incessant noise and rush. Others seem awkward to you and supposedly its vice versa.
You search for solitude but in vain. Eating is like fuelling your car, you go out there have food for energy, pump yourself up as fast as you can, do not talk much, do not pay heed to others (even beautiful ones), saving time is priority. Come out of the 'mess" ASAP (metaphorical mess). Having meal is reduced to an exercise.

In the beginning you try too hard to be good to others in order to win them and convert them to be your friends. After sometime you realize you belong to the bunch of guys with whom you can connect, and not just for the sake of it. New ones seem cool, better than the ones you met a few days back. As time passes you realize more or less they are all the same.

When you go to the library, there are immense number of books, you gaze @ them and they stare back saying we have knowledge and we will be your companion, friend, inspiration, freedom, entertainer. You can not contemplate which one to choose and run away seeking pleasure in something else.

And when in evening you talk to your mother, after the routine stuff, suddenly she says "these many no. of days have passed since you left home". You get a lump in throat, you hold back and reply "aur kya mummy". You never shed a tear, the conversation goes nice. Followed are some inexplicable feelings visiting you and departing. Lucky ones can hug their mothers after reading this. I'll have to satiate myself imagining it, for the time being.

A Geeks Love Letter To A Bimbo

2012-06-04T07:15:00.002-07:00

Hey miss, listen to this;
Before you dismiss;
Please listen to this.

I walked streets crowded
Came across many bombshell's
but when i saw you
my heart started pounding like a tap dancers feet.

Hey miss listen to this before you dismiss;

Lemme tell ya about maself
i m so simple that i go unnoticed
but i have a brain which people do compliment

As there's no combination of beauty and brain
ours will be one in that
the latter is me and former is your other name.
Before you dismiss
please consider this

oh miss do not dismiss

i am clumsy and you are elegant
i have intel inside and you have RAM inside
we'll be an unmatched combination .

hey miss reckon this
some geek is missing you miss, so please don't dismiss.

ps : written way back in november 2010.

A visit to the temple of democracy AKA The Indian Parliament

2012-05-23T00:51:00.002-07:00

I was in delhi on the fine morning of 7th of may 2012 with my cousin who is the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee Secretary. We stayed @ the member of parliament quarters (north avenue) . From 6am itself there were a few mp's I got to meet, one after the other.

Then we went to the All India Congress Committee office @ 24, Akbar Road, New Delhi. We stayed there all day, many congress politicians were there. I met Mr.Digvijay singh and just got a glimpse of others while they did in and out of there respective offices. I was startled to see the crowd which came to meet Mr.Digvijay singh. They were in huge numbers, some wanted funds for college fees, some came with diseases looking for free treatment. To my amazement every request was looked after and one patient was sent to doctor at the very moment he met Raja sahab .The whole experience was one of a kind. Now this was the congress party head quarters and all I saw was the happening of the day.

The very next morning when I was bathing, we were asked to accompany the MP to parliament.
Well I got excited in an impulse and got ready in a haste.
Within 5 minutes from there we reached parliament, by car.
It was 10:15 am when I got inside for security check up they kept mobiles, I thought, ugh! no souvenirs in form of photos then. After that we were guided to the big waiting room dome shaped and with the circular seating. There were school childrens in school dress, a bunch of sikhs with different colored turbans were delight to watch and then there was our group with our mp getting special treatment. Others perhaps were waiting for the mp's they came with.

They took photographs individually and issued a pass. After another check up there was open parking, all vip tagged cars stood there. After walking a few meters ahead I saw for the first time what I used to see watch on news channels, the very place where mp's drop out of there cars. Followed were the red-stone steps and I was finally inside parliament.

Many mp's passed by me, I couldn't recognize all but a few. Then we were asked to wait for a few minutes. We rested on chairs at the one side of the gallery, other side had offices of mp's.
After a while the mp's returned and asked us to follow them in a hurry, lok sabha was adjourned by there protest. We went outside and suddenly slogans against Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan started. The media followed us and took pictures, videoed.
We repeated the last part of slogans, things began to be fun as we went to the statue of the father of nation and mp's took out A4 size papers on which were written statements condemning the killing of farmers in the state. The fun got over when a guard came running ordering that only mp's are allowed to protest. We were pushed aside only to play the role of supportive audience. Then we moved to the very place where press statements are made. There were umpteen number of cameras already recording BJP mp shahnawaz hussain's statement over the same matter. As he left the podium after boasting CM Shivraj Singh and his governance, the congress mp's mocked him. He responded with giggles and shook hands with one of the congress mp and left.
Then followed our press statement presentation I stood near to the mp. But I didn't make up to the tv as only mp's were focused.
The parliament had been adjourned for the time being so I could not see the proceedings.
No regrets whatsoever I had a great time being there. Also enjoyed behind the scenes happenings, the bonhomie they all share, to whichever party they belonged was delightful to watch.

Eyes ! the most expressive ones ...

2011-12-31T09:31:00.000-08:00

Its 31st december 2011 , I was invited on lunch by a friend .He is from 'iit mumbai' and was in 'indore' , his hometown in holidays . The time was of 12:30 pm. The turn of events was not appropriate and I eventually left home at 12:15 . It takes 1 hour approx to cover the distance . As I was late I could not accompany my friends . I got on to a bus and then a tata magic . In tata magic there was a girl sitting opposite to me . She had her face covered with scarf with only eyes visible . Those brown eyes were big and expressive . I happened to be captivated at first sight when she looked into my eyes I looked away . I felt like I should know more about her , what's those eyes trying to say , what's behind that scarf . I felt a little poetic also thought about any possible way to compliment her but didn't come up with anything .In the 8 minute journey there were times when she looked at me (not at all exaggerating ) . It was conspicuous even other girls sitting next to her noticed , they looked at us in intervals . For me those 8 minutes were both long and short at the same time , as I was in a jiffy to reach the venue and wanted to admire her eyes too. Couple of times the conductor cracked jokes hanging on the door of the vehicle , she smiled looking at me . We got off at the same stop . Like a gentlemen I let her leave before me , I was on phone taking directions to the venue from my friend , as soon as I ended the call she disappeared . I wish I could have at least seen her face . But the very fact that I got to adore her eyes gives me a soothing feeling .

A docs encounter with a hard ass driver

2011-06-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

Many months have passed to this incident but it hasn't faded in my memory. To begin with , I usually have to commute by bus but that very day I got a taxi (indica) which was going from Indore to Dewas . At the last bus stop (raddison square) , joined in a doctor(doc) . We were 6 including the driver (Mr. D).

Mr. D ferociously sped the car and that was the inception of the conversation between the Doc & Mr.D . Doc started first by saying " Driver saab keep it slow and steady i am a doctor and i have seen many accident patients , they live a miserable life. I always pray to god save me from accidents or if it has to be than i should die rather living a piteous life " . Now that the brakes were applied and car motioned well around 60 Mr. D agreed to Doc ; 'accidents are hell lot of trouble' said Mr.D 'last week i saw a tavera hitting a bullock cart throwing it 30 metres away , the car turned 3 rounds and there were no casualties alive to be taken to hospital , all died , i witnessed it and couldn't manage to sleep that very night'. The Doc also narrated an accident of a boy in a motorbike- truck mishap at Saver road whose head was in the helmet when the doctor stopped to see him at the site . Now as there was no stopping the duo to chat about the topic , they continued others listened .

But there was so much to come in the conversation , as we reached kshipra Doc volunteered his advice of leaving the taxi driving job behind and starting to be in something else which is more safer , to mr.d. That was enough to trigger the man behind the cigratte smoking , tobacco chewing driver , to refute the docs claim and teach him a lesson he might not dare to forget ." Look , i am not driving the car to have an accident" said Mr.d "as long as i am sane i won't willingly end up in a mishap , driving is my life , i once drove for 21 hours without sleep i cant think of leaving driving ".

"But everytime you are out there driving there is a risk that you might be in a fortuity which is a cause of someone else's action and not yours "the doc presented the argument . "What u say doc sahib is right ,one of my kith was excreting at the road side on bhopal road it was 6 in the morning and a truck unfortunately tumbled over him and he was declared dead on the spot " said Mr .d but this was not everything he was going for the kill , i had smelled it . "I shall give you an analogy , suppose Mr. doc i stop the car you open the gate to move out and suddenly a vehicle coming from the back hits you , what in hells name will you term this -i don't wish ill to you but only for the sake of argument - doc ". The Doc looked outside the window of the car thinking for a moment and said "you are right Mr. D anything can happen, no job is too risky , it depends on chances anything can turn evil or disastrous" . Now we were in the outskirts of Dewas the traffic increased and as the car overtook other cars more frequently , the arrogant looking driver (Mr.d) started respecting the doctor and slowly steered the conversation towards life . " Look , doc i respect you as what you do is very worthy of gratitude ,you serve humans , for becoming a doctor you gave up most of your youth to studies , you listened to elders ,teachers and followed ethics , morals and lot more. For me being a driver i sought the easier path to this life , i pelted stone on my teacher when he hit me , i was in 5 Th standard , after that i dropped out of the school . This is how i became a driver it deserves the risk after all it was easier to become one but its difficult and risky to persevere as a driver.

"You are right Mr .d but my profession has become more corrupt nowadays these are not the old days where doctors only served humans , these days they are more after the money than the life of patients " affirmed the doc. See , i tell you the truth of money " started Mr.D sounding like a saint to me " in today's world if one manages to be away from court , hospital and police station , one in oneself is a millionaire". As we came into the city the speed of the car descended and Mr . D gave his final insights about life and his own importance he said "three professions are very crucial , critical and can make or destroy many lives one is of doctor , a judge and a driver , there one wrong decision can break many souls ; i am one of them ". He smiled after that one , as i got out of the car i gave him 20 bucks , he smiled at me then squirted tobacco on the road and raced up the car ahead .

As i came across another driver , i found the same paradigm in them , they are interesting , distinct , cool tempered in adversities and manage to be illicit and legitimate , honest and corrupt ,all at the same time .

Regards

SRG

The journey through change....

2011-04-25T10:07:00.001-07:00

Modern times have changed my life .Primitively , there used to be respect & harmony
for me . But nowadays , they have diminished . Touches are not soft anymore
but are ruthless beatings .

There was a time when I was respected , from my young days to old . I was down to
ground usually . I yearn for the tenderness of that time . Why do things change , I
wonder.
Alas ! What has been done can not be undone .Now there are more number of eyes on
me than ever before . If there had been a rating system which included me I would have
made Sharukh ask me for space in most focused charts.

Cameras role to capture my every movement & cameraman gets paid for getting me pictured.
I am no less than a celebrity . I can make and break millions of hearts .

When on a days work , extreme care is taken of me . I am rubbed , smoothened even kissed.
On odd days i might face disgrace but still there are opposition supporters who
adore me . I always keep a balance in appeasing people . I am not biased .

The arial route has been my daily extravagant adventure this summer .
I get hit hard but its worth when the millions of gleaming eyes look at me .
Ready to do anything for you , my spectators .
Yours Cricket Ball
Truly yours ........
The journey of a cricket ball from tests to T20 through ODI's.

Regards
SRG

P.s.

The IPL fever and T20's barbaric treatment of balls/bowlers
instigated me .Hope u liked it .

My heartly thanks to all the corrupt people in 'INDIA':

2010-08-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

I might be the first person to thank corrupt Indian citizens . I really would like to express my
gratitude towards them . Had there be no corruption , I would have been sitting here single .

It was the rainy season 2 years back from now ; I was walking on the sidewalk of the road , it was a kind of climbing a small ridge if you could get through the road without getting dirty your outfit in rainy season. I walked jumping and carefully cleared about half the way I had to go . Let me tell you about the road it was under construction for 3 years , had to be broader then the older one , & intended for a long life due to concrete . 5 months after the inaugural it gave births to its off springs , yeah it had
potholes providing a bumpy ride over the road .

I was walking , suddenly a girl got her Activa bumped near me splashing muddy water over my jeans , just above my knee. I looked at her ; she said 'sorry' ; that would not have been enough for me if there was anybody else instead of her . But this time I didn't care about what had been done to my branded jeans ; but I was lost in the moment she turned to me and said 'sorry' with an awful expression on her face . She went ahead of me and turned back once again to look at me . I was left stunned by her looks , I think , I just can't describe it . I didn't sleep all night , damned myself that I didn't notice the vehicle number . But what I could have done if I noticed it , anyways.

It was about a week plus from the pragmatic incident , I went to the lake side of the city , by my bike ; there was patch work going on the road and a bus made a traffic jam there . I was stucked in it , suddenly I saw the same girl riding Activa beside me . I then followed her , she hadn't seen me , she went to a couple of shops and then to her home . It was around 3 kms away from my home. My cell phone ranged when i stood behind a parked car near her home , that was my mom. Oops i had to pick her from the School she teaches in .

Thanks to corrupt road builders in the country , once again .If there wouldn't have been that patch work i might not have seen her & then her home .
For over a month I used to roam near her home for a glimpse of her, I came to know her name 'Palak'. I was back to college after the semester break , and felt glad of having juniors as I was then in II year. Palak went on to be my branch junior , I was eager to rag her actually to talk to her .
I was walking down to the lobby in the college , all of a sudden I heard a voice saying "Aarav sir". I turned back responding to the voice which made me think of Palak and was amazed finding 'Palak' there . I was glad at that time {even more than passing in the exams :)}.We became friends first of all , she knew my feelings and I could guess hers but i always doubted myself .
That is how I met the one I love . Thanks to the corrupt builders and politicians. I thank them all to help me meet my destiny .

~~ AARAV

P.S. - Fiction it is .
regards 'SRG'

2010-02-24T23:48:00.000-08:00

24Th Feb 2010
It was the day of rail budget in the Indian Parliament . Rail minister Mamta Banerjee giving frivolous
importance to West Bengal and many more issues in it . All the prime time news were ready to talk about the
budget , its pros & cons . But there was a man who made the news change . The very master of the game Sachin
Ramesh Tendulkar . At 6 :15 pm IST he made 200 not out in Gwalior against South Africa . In a country of millions
who could single handedly have changed the topic of the prime time news of 9. That's the quality of a man who
has served the nation for 2 decades .From the time Sachin had made the marvellous , blistering ,first time ever
knock he was on the news . In this generation of Internet a google search on Sachin Tendulkar leads to
5,610,000 results in 0.17 seconds . That's the impression of a man who is referred as the God of cricket.
Born on 24 April 1973 (age 36) , he played for Bombay at the age of 15 & scored his first 100 against Gujarat.
He played his first test match aged 16 against Pakistan inn 1989. The man himself has seen all the ups & downs
in his long career . But every time he was criticised he bounced back to reply .
Aged 36 , he is expected to be tired of playing but what makes a man do the same thing for a long period
of 20 years , he answers it with the passion and the love he has always had for the game . He made 200* without
a runner , running 82 runs for himself (25 fours & 3 sixes) . That showed how fit he is at the age of 36 &
after achieving almost every milestone & defining many new ones. He is the man of dignity, he isn't arrogant , very friendly and modest . He made every Indian proud & i wish he continues to do that. Kudos to him .

In Search Of Heaven..

2009-11-28T03:24:00.000-08:00

Since my childhood ,I have often heard stories from my grandma , about the good deeds and the karma that lead us to the path of Heaven in the afterlife. I was satisfied with this till I was a child. But what made the fact quite amusing for me as I grew up, is whether Heaven actually exists ?I don't know even if I'll be able to obtain a satisfying answer to my question ever in my life that can pacify my curiosity.In my point of view(it does matter to me anyway!),I think Heaven does exist ,and on this earth . Every individual can make his/her life heavenly. There are instances from my own life which bestow me with a heavenly feeling..like being of the person I love the most so close to me and getting all the love, or succeeding in something which I really desire..or be it ..just a feeling of that inescapable joy of being a naive mother in future years...It makes me feel that I am on the cloud nine. I am imbibed with a feeling that I am the happiest person on this earth .Summarizing the preceding lines- I feel heavenly :)Well, this is quite obvious . However ,not to neglect, there are instances which make us feel that our life is more of a living hell.

Definitely, you cannot avoid the mishaps but certainly mitigate the suffering :)

Not only this ,I feel it very apt to believe that heaven lies in the hearts of those who believe in good Karma and actually implement it .The power lies within the individual to adumbrate the thought to himself that Heaven 'll definitely hold a niche in his life if he follows the above.(Am I being very philosophical ?Well,Yes!)

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate:
I think they have no portion in us after We pass the gate.
They are not long, the days of wine and roses;
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes Within a dream.

It is worthwhile to live as the whole world is crammed with Heaven .Every common bush ,every common individual afire with God.Have a broader perspective and there you realize the meaning of heaven..

The search is over .Feel good. Feel heavenly.
*peace*

Understanding the "within us.."

2009-11-19T22:12:00.000-08:00

Who are we?the mortals who commit mistakes,understand,accept our faults and then correct our mistakes?(..which are even blunders..)But does this thing always happen with each and every individual?I don't think each and every individual has the power to analyse what he has done..There are a few who do not even think before they leap and later repent for it.Unfortunately,I am the one who belong to this category of individuals(*sigh*)Does life give a second chance always ?Well yes,it does..but many of us are too ignorant to even look for it .When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which 's open for us.The ocassion piles up with difficulty..and we become helpless..:(we weep , our heart cries out in pain..We find ourselves drowning in the vortex of gloom..Sometimes it is too much for us that ,one even puts his own life at risk due to the immense depression that burdens our heart.
___________________________________

But then,a natural process starts up within..just without realizing it..suddenly a little voice emerges from within..to rise up with the difficulty..it is God within us that wants us to stand up for our own blunders,to correct them and move forward..We must listen to this meek voice within and shut down all the clutter and the noise of the world ..If we follow to it,we find that the feeble and the gloomy individual within us is becoming stronger and is gradually rising up.We try to improve ourself at the start of each new day; of course, we achieve quite a lot in the course of time through introspecting and taking a vow to not to repeat those blunders again.We start realizing that life has a whole new meaning for us ..we start to live again ,have a stronger conscience and respect life..
It is we who make our our life complex..Since it is our life,we are solely responsible for how it has been and how it will be in the future years .No one else has a share in it ...

My friends ,what I have learnt till now is to behold and act in a positive way:)

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

^_^
Cheers :)

This Festive Season

2009-10-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

When I was born , I didn't know who my mother was ? I could only see my look alikes. I guessed, the world is all the same , resembling . I think I came out of an industry , to my knowledge till date . I never grew any tall all my life , same was the case with my relatives.But I was taller than many of us . I learned speaking when I was at a shop , with my cousins ,aunts , uncles , grandpa etc & the most vivid guy the shopkeeper himself. He took care of all of us , he was a good old man with a good smiling face & a moustache. I loved the way he conversed. People came & took away my relatives in place of money.
I was eager to get out of shop to see the outer world . I had a 93 days long stay at the shop until a kid with his mom came to buy me & my brothers. Once again I was in a poly bag , the world looked green to me , unless I came out of the poly bag to get that the color of polythene was green. I was with my cousins , enjoyed there company . The house was well furnished & clean . I looked to my right out of the window to see the lighted houses . Suddenly the phone kept in the corner next to me ranged , the father of the boy answered it wishing happy diwali, that revealed me its diwali. It was dusk already . The clock showed 8:45 on the wall in front of me . The kid came with his father to take all of us outside the house. The open air felt good , I breathed better & healthier.
All of my cousins one by one left me . I could only see a light & hear a violent bursting sound after intervals of time , the noise differed significantly ; as I laid horizontally behind a wall. I could see the sky lighted up . The boy took me in his hands , his tiny hands were nice to feel . I saw him smiling with bliss , his eyes were on me. He kept me on the roadside & came to light me up. My pony lit for 3 seconds & I went up into the sky. I touched my vertical potential & gave a smile to the boy in the form of sparks in sky with a boom; the kid replied to me with a grin , several others did the same . I could see myself grinning for the last time in the eyes of my audience . The noise was for the pain I felt when I harmed the environment , with the smoke I left after me.
Life of a rocket.

On the Verge of Submerging....

2009-08-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

Yes one day will come when these special , priceless days will diminish from my life .

These college life days ; when things are fine & good we have fun ,& we never come to know how time flies .

I have been half way through , completing my 2ND year . Two more year & I am done with the best days of my life ,which I am gonna cherish all my life. But who knows a masters degree would add 2 more years if possible (it has a but...huh!). After all even if the degree's are over the fact which persists in life is learning never ends .

Someone who thinks that he has every knowledge in the world & doesn't need to learn more is on a declining path (not my thought actually heard it from my father).

One day these days (including this one ) will become past & I may sit in the evening reading a newspaper & on reading something I would recollect my memories (Uh! its too much to think of !!). Once I submerge into the outside world (the world outside the college) all would change. A seriousness would be in my mind 24*7 . I will have responsibilities (you know!:P). Life goes on & on with all the ups & downs .The wants never ends , satisfaction doesn't lasts long , boredom conquers .

One more remark , I blazed at what i have written above , I clicked over another aspect of human life - no matter how well we plan its always uncertain at last . Just look at the possibilities I have in my mind for my life (a masters degree, responsibilities,time for memories etc) anything can happen even what I haven't thought of . I don't even know the longevity of my life. That's the way it goes far from my control ; far from anyone else's control but only in hands of The Almighty . I personally admit it about myself that I don't plan much . I trust destiny over this and my experiences are the spine of my trust . Eh! Why am i writing it like that . You reader can do follow what u plan . I am fortune believer.

Its not that I am submerging into the outside world right now, but its an anticipation of what I guess I would feel when I leave college.Since at the beginning of college , school days seemed better & when I would leave college ; college days will appear dearer . For now , concentrating on present.....

THE CONFUSION IN BEING ONESELF !

2009-08-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Each human being on earth has a different way of thinking & a unique way of judging things .Every person has a different opinion on every other thing present on earth .No two persons can have the same opinion on everything present in this world.

Every person has limits to what is good or bad?what is clean or dirty? what is addiction or love ? what is selfish or humble? & several others in this list. Every person has a distinguished manner of taking things & judging them with discriminated thought process.It is, in deed very difficult to balance with the art of looking at the other person's point of view & still being oneself .

An addict would do anything for getting a piece of what he's addicted to , that's what he thinks is important to him & that's what he wants . But to a normal guy , this would look like being insane. People have different measures to have an idea about a thing being dirty or clean. For an instance , some people think that there hands are clean only by washing it with water , some take no less than use of soap & some do not even mind washing . For some looking good is of utmost importance but some don't even bother wearing decent stuff.

So , many people one comes across in daily life have versatile opinions, nature , character & different ways of judging things .The difficulty lies in the fact that one has not to forget to be oneself even belonging to various kinds of people . I had read somewhere long before that a person can have good friends if he/she can see other's point of view with their own's. It is really hard to do this . I myself felt this dilemma of being myself or to consider others point of view . One has to have a balance in it . There's a confusion in being (exactly)oneself in front of every single/different person one meets.

They are here for bringing a change !

2009-05-17T03:21:00.000-07:00

I read it somewhere about our PM that , Manmohan Singh's father used to be honoured when his son was governor . He used to show people his son's signature on a one rupee note. That was the pride of a father for the achievement of his own blood .

In my memory - Five years back ,the Dainik Bhaskar front page ,next morning after the Lok Sabha results , contained a modified form of the poem "Khoob ladiMardani (vo jhansi waali raaani thi)" on Sonia Gandhi. The widow played it yet again , this time with daughter Priyanka & son Rahul. A widow clicks right & clinches victory.Sonia learned Hindi , conquered her imposed image of a foreigner , fought hard doing rallies & finally her critics got answers by the figures on the doomsday. Its no more Congres(t) for one of the most prominent party in the largest democracy in the world ; now its Congress in progress ."ITALY MEM DID IT AGAIN".

A youthful approach , a young criterion for a professed outlook , no more biased thinkers , thats what Rahul Gandhi has brought up to the Congress .Praises for him .
Manmohan Singh will become 2nd P.M. to stay twice onto the post after J. Nehru.After 38 long years Indians have given consecutive chance to the same government.Something above the PITY-POOR-POLITICS is about to take place this time . Things like buying of M.P's for gaining majority , parties altering there fundamental principles for being in the ruling government etc is PPP. This is the major advantage of the emergence of a single party with a considerably good numbers of seats to form a government .This government should be unidirectional & will be working without compromises (opposite to the last time , due to left alliance). Lets hope for the best .

Strike...!!!

2009-03-20T07:57:00.001-07:00

Students of MIT colleges went on strike...!!!

Ujjain, March 16

"Ek do teen chaar....Band karo yeh ATTYACHAR.....!!!!!" (Ya! It does sound funny....but we are engineering students afterall....)

The college today echoed with slogans like this. The news about the fees-hike angered the students of MIT college.
They blame authorities for keeping them in dark about fee-hike. The ongoing student agitation over hike in fees in second year has spread to college students who went on strike calling the hike “unacceptable”.The engineering students of second year in MIT College, MITS College and MITM College, went on strike.
The agitating students alleged the fees have been increased by 30%. Moreover, they were not informed about the hike at the time of admission or even later, claimed the students . The fees includes 1st years increased fees also.The college managements on the other hand said the fees were being demanded as per RGT University guidelines. They said the students had been apprised about the fee structure well in advance.
The situation at the college turned unpleasant as students broke he windows of college guest house. And a chaos was created at Ujjain-Dewas route,one of the busy route.
"Students should know that the fee has been charged as per the RGT University guidelines.” , said chairman of MIT College
The students boycotted classes throughout the day. Some students threatened to continue protests until the college managements came clear on the issue.

Well, the girls played their part too. They came up with a new slogan, "Band karo yeh ATTYACHAR.....!!!!!Nahi bahrenge 14 hazar....!!! " :) :p lol...!!!

I heard some of them stood against the lathi charge.Hats off to you girls.

See, you never realised a girl's potentials.....:p

One thing that did came out of all this protest was that the students united against the management irrespective of whatever may the reason be.