Some Awry Blogs

Few days in Paris : vue de ma fenêtre

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:48:00 +0000

Stayed at La' Defense... The Hotel overlooked the Seine, but I got a room on the other side so no Seine for me!!...

As the days passed, captured some snaps from the window of my room.

My first morning in Paris...

Night before Christmas...

A rare sunny day...

First day of the snowfall...

Btw, the building at the right (this damn sky-scraper blocked my view of the esplanade) is Tour First, the tallest building in France and one of the tallest in western Europe!...

Few days in Paris : Noël

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:02:00 +0000

Paris... the city of lights... and Christmas at Paris is just breath-taking.... Loved it!!

The Tree outside Notre Dame.. decorated for Christmas.

A Christmas Tree outside my hotel at Christmas

A Christmas Tree under the Grande Arche La Defense

The Christmas crowd around the Grande Arche.

A Christmas Tree at Les Quatre Temps mall La Defense

La Defense Noel village...

Lights..

Lights..

Lights..

Lights.. all around...

Just leaves you spell bound...

Few days in Paris : Bonne Année

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:25:00 +0000

Happy New Year - 2012

from a different place, in a different way....

where they call it Bonne Année

One of the most beautiful cities on the planet...

... Paris

Delhi Delhi - III

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:15:00 +0000

Again Delhi...
Third trip in last six months!!

Took a day off to visit the Bahai Temple (popularly called the lotus temple) and the Kalkaji Mandir. Also took a look at ISKCON from outside (lack of time). Sounds like a teerth-yatra does it!? :P

Do I need to mention that again I am not in mood to write so uploading snaps!? :D

Hope, I dont make any more trips this year!
plzzzzzzzzz.... am just tired of travelling!!

Delhi Delhi - II

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:36:00 +0000

Again cramped for time....

Again managing with snaps....

This time a two official trip to Delhi in early October (ruined my Durga Pujo though!!) .

Again Couple on snaps :

Could only take a Sunday (Gandhi Jayanti) off in the hectic schedule!... Went around Noida. Visited Akshardham (the largest Hindu temple of India). Few pointers :

1/ Its always over-crowded so plan accordingly. We spent approx. two hours in various queues to enter the temple and spent around the same duration inside.

2/ Evenings are the best time to visit. (my camera lost power else could have captured some nice shots)

3/ The best view comes from the DMRCL metro line/station.

Oh ya!...Added another state to the list of states I have touched till date.... Uttar Pradesh.

Spent a day in Noida. Thanks Prashant :)

Delhi Delhi

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:17:00 +0000

Hardly get time to write...

So decided to manage with snaps...

Was on a 5 week official trip to Gurgaon in jun-jul period...

Couple of snaps :

And thanks to all my old friends who could find time to meet me and sorry to all whom I could not meet. Next time ;)

And ya...special thanks to Abhimanyu :)

Happy Birthday to me

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 19:31:00 +0000

12:00 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Happy Birthdaaaay~~~ to u~~~!
Happppy Birthdaaaay~~~ to~~ u~~~~~!
Happppy Birthdaaaay~~~ dear Awry!!
Happppy Birthdaaaayyy~~~ toooo u~~~!!!
12:04 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Dude... thr?
12:07 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Aw....common...reply plz!....!??
12:11 AM me: ?
12:11 AM awrycool@gmail.com: What ‘?’..?? which part of the prev sentence did u not get. Its December 26th. My b’day.
12:12 AM me: good one!..now tell me who is this?
12:12 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Heyyy.. that’s you of-course.. 5 years back in the timeline though.
12:17 AM me: Timeline eh!!?... Ok great. Anything else?
12:17 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Dude!.. Trust me. I m serious. Isn’t this the mail-id that you used in final year engg?...
12:18 AM me: Yes. And that is precisely why I want to know who broke into my old gmail account.
12:18 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Chill buddy. This is Aurindam Paul from B.Tech (CSE) at VIT who has just got 20 plus kicks on his @$$!
12:18 AM me: Hmmm.... That’s some fun! ;)
12:19 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Anyways... Let’s get to the point. I won’t be able to chat for long. Just wanted to know hows my life!
12:21 AM me: Oh!.. wonderful!!
12:21 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Dude!.. I swear I am you!! Just trust me for a while. Let’s not waste time arguing. Just take this as an alternate reality and give me some insights into my future! Plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....
And please I might not stay online for very long. Bandwidth issues u kno ;)
12:22 AM me: Plz stop the nonsense and tell me who is this!?
12:22 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Huh!...okies... then tell me what should I do to prove that watevr I scribbled above is true...??
12:26 AM me: So u mean this is something like a frequency or a Karthik calling Karthik happening to me?
12:26 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Frequency.. oh yes.. one of my fav movies. Spot on dude!.. whats this karthick thingy btw!!??
12:27 AM me: Oh!.. Forget it... Its 2005..right? You won’t know.. that’s a Farhan Akhtar movie. Very much in lines of frequency, in terms of the skeleton at least.
12:27 AM awrycool@gmail.com: OMG! The guy who started off with DCH and Lakshya, went on to plagiarize frequency! Disgusting!
12:27 AM me: No No.. Don’t cry for his head now. He just acted in the movie.
12:28 AM awrycool@gmail.com: What? Acted? Farhan as in Javed Akhtar’s son..right? He acts? Like what Sonu Nigam did in some crap movie I cant even recall!!??
12:29 AM me: Sorry to freak you out!. But ya ..it’s the same Farhan. And he sings as well ;)
12:29 AM awrycool@gmail.com: I fainted..... (thud)
12:31 AM me: hahaha...wake up buddy. Time has changed u kno ;)
12:31 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Ok. Leave that Shit. Before I get disconnected just help me see the future. Okk.. to start with... did I marry her?
12:31 AM me: ?? did u marry whom?
12:33 AM awrycool@gmail.com: U crazy bugger... Its not me ... Its you... Ok don’t entangle me in me and you. Ok... To re-phrase... Did you (the future me) manage to pataofy her?
12:34 AM me: Well.. I did get the I in the sentence. But whoz she?
12:34 AM awrycool@gmail.com: I’ll kill you.. how many gals were you crazy for when you were in Engg?
12:35 AM me: You’re talking about Duck..right?
12:36 AM awrycool@gmail.com: I don’t think I’ll turn into a Casanova in 5 yrs.Yes. Of course you moron.
12:37 AM me: :-) No I did not. Rather could not. And in case you want to know she is happily married and has settled in Chennai. And I don’t really care much coz we are not in touch!
12:39 AM awrycool@gmail.com: :’( :’( :’( :’( :’( This can’t be the ending of my luv-story! :’( :’(
12:40 AM me: Stop sending those emoticons. I’ve grown up!
12:41 AM awrycool@gmail.com: :’( :’( :’( whr do u stay btw? Kolkata?
12:41 AM me: (chuckle) Bangalore. And I luv it here!
12:42 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Hmmm...cool... And where are u working!!?
12:43 AM me: same place!... you had your campus few months back rite?
12:43 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Whoa!... In 4.5 years.. u didn’t switch!!? Got lotsa onsites..is it?
12:44 AM me: Nopes. Not even one. But am here and I like it here.
12:44 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Dude!!.. U Suck! What the hell... I mean...gawd-damn-it!
12:45 AM me: Chill... Happiness is more important. Decent work.. decent colleagues...decent money... fine with me!.
12:45 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Lemme guess.. U fallen for some chick in ur office!...rite said amigo!? ;) :D
12:46 AM me: Nah!... Told u .. I have grown up.
12:47 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Then u seriously suck!... Any plans of getting married
12:48 AM me: Nopes. Not in near future!
12:49 AM awrycool@gmail.com: Ok dude... tell me something... What
awrycool@gmail.com is offline
12:59 AM me: Thr?
awrycool@gmail.com is offline

Ah!. Just when I thought that the conversation is getting interesting. Anyways, life is much much much more complex than what I thought it to be in college. Anyways, Happy Birthday to me.

A very brief history of last five years

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 19:20:00 +0000

It was raining.

Saint Valentine’s Day. She stood there still... dumbstruck. Not knowing what to say, what to do... I had known Merlyn and her family since about a decade, but still I could not stop myself from saying it. I was fighting with myself for long. I knew the answer but still I had popped the question. Humans have a tendency to cling onto things the hardest when they know that they are on the verge of losing it. I was human too. But she too was human. Merlyn looked at me for a while, in complete silence. And then she gradually walked away, without saying a word.. not even with her eyes!
........................

........................

December 26th 2006, she got engaged to Jean. An MBA from INSEAD, working with Deutsche Bank, earning those astronomical amounts which people joining TCS can only dream of!... Poor Me! In February 2007, they married. She moved over to Frankfurt to settle down. She never kept in touch, neither did I try to, anyways there was no point!
........................

........................
Summers of 2010. I got my first on-site opportunity. Frankfurt! I did not know anybody there. In fact, apart from a friend doing his Ph.D. at Dresden, I could not find out any acquaintances in Germany. I was aware that Merlyn had settled in Frankfurt but then I also knew that she would have forgotten me, like a bad part of her life. Ah! So much for a small wish! Won’t be so tough to track her, I thought, there are several common friends; somebody would definitely be able to connect me to her! Strangely though, after a week, I realized that she had broken all contacts ever since she moved out of the country!
........................

........................
Oktoberfest Time. I wasn’t happy at all. What has she done to her life!! This is not where one of the best people I have met in my life was supposed to end up!. God!.. You can be really cruel. Jean was a ill-tempered womanizer who had been struggling with his drinking problem for about an year or so. He had alienated himself from almost everything apart from his work. And as a consequence Merlyn had become a recluse living in hell every single day. And as I have known her, she must have been hiding more than what she was conveying.
........................

........................
Yesterday. It was about 11:00 p.m. I had just come back to my room after dinner. Suddenly, there was a frantic knocking on my door. I opened and she just barged into my room, with a small bag in her hand. Without words, as always, but now her eyes were saying it all.
It was raining outside.

Random Ramblings.....

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:30:00 +0000

The devotion is a disgrace.
A chaste heart is cheated of its innocence,
ripped off the body... and shred
into in-coherent chunks

The disparity between us and them
stretches beyond the visible infinity.
And the obnoxious oxymoron resonates
like a fictious euphemism!

Eccentricity is generalized, imprinting defeat
Idiosyncrasy is trounced and trampled
Ideology is squeezed to its last droplet
or till the resolute blends with filth.

In a glorified attempt to broaden the horizon
the acceptable void snaps!!
and smokes the periphery of sane and insane
thus is overthrown the dream of love.

Who is to impugn?
The manufactured hope that could not sustain?
Or the contemplation that never reached a conclusion?
I want to breathe... Please Help.

No SRK, No KKR, yet No love lost!!

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 17:41:00 +0000

So, finally I entered the Chinnaswamy Stadium, for the first time in more than three years since I came to Bangalore. And the first thing that stuck me was the enthusiasm in the crowd. The crowd that had built up more than 1.5 hours in advance!
And after that one after the other things kept mesmerizing me :

The location of the cheer-leader’s podium.. which was right in front of us!
The flood-lights which were gradually coming on…
The Force India car placed right under the DJ’s stand!...
The way Ganguly walked up to the pitch for an inspection… yeh he does have a feminine walking style!
And the way Kumble followed soon after. He is really tall!
And soon the team followed for a warm-up into the nets.
The way Karthik bowls.
The way Dahiya gives a catching practice.
The way McCullum cuts.
And the way Matthews pulls!!... yeh! it was wierd to see someone practice pulls in the nets!
The practice went on for quite some time and I was busy focusing my cell phone onto the players!
The way Dinda jumps and the way Ishant sprints!
All KKR players… isn’t it!? Well that is because the RCB Team was warming up at the other end. Still Steyn, Humble, Uthappa, Dravid, Kallis were definitely distinguishable!
And came the time for the toss. Something that I could see simultaneously on the ground as well as the screen!
And then the cheer-girls arrive and the crowd gave the loudest possible cheer for them. Me incuded!
KKR began very well with the ball crossing the ropes very often.
The lazy Elegance of Ganguly and the Cold-Blodded Clobbering of Gayle
Sixes were hit and on an occasion a six was stopped as well!
The shots, the stops, the screams
The flags waving and the DJ rocking
And Stttttttteeeeeeeeffffiiiiiii!!
The tear away run-up of Steyn
The wickets..
Stttttttteeeeeeeeffffiiiiiii!!
The batting collapse
And Vinay Kumar
And red RCB flags being waved all around!!
Ganguly sitting in the pavilion and chewing his nails
The cheers leaders dancing
And the Mexican wave that made full four rounds on the third attempt!
The somosa that was cold but still was a samosa after all
Oya… Stttttttteeeeeeeeffffiiiiiii!!
The end of KKR innings with Pujara’s sixes
The events that take place during the innings break
The pitch rolling
The Dominoes Pizza for dinner
And still Stttttttteeeeeeeeffffiiiiiii!!
The way Sriram came to open the innings
And giving hope that if he plays 60 balls KKR has a chance
Saha and Gayle behind the wickets!
The aggression of Dravid
And the horribly out of form Ishant
To add to it the eternally confused Agarkar!
The confident RCBs
And of course … Stttttttteeeeeeeeffffiiiiiii!!
The way Utthappa and Ross took RCB through!
And the red flags kept waving!
Deepika and Mallaya could only be heard of!
The final conclusion that the tall slim thing in black dress at the presentation is Deepika!

And then the realization dawned….
No SRK at the match
And KKR lost
But no love lost!
My first experience at Chinnaswamy will always be remembered!

fading away...

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:33:00 +0000

May be I was some 8-9 years old. I was sitting at my study table, observing the butterfly sitting on the sunflower. This is the fifth consecutive evening when it has come to my balcony. May be it has fallen in love with the garden that my Mom has nurtured over the years. With its bright blue wings, it kept hovering among the flower pots. If I go near it will it come and sit on my palm!? I hope I don’t scare it. When things are beautiful, you don’t disturb the arrangement! May be in few more days it will come and sit on my study table, my pen stand, my books and may be my palm. My heart jumped at this thought!! Then we’ll become friends. I’ll give it a name and we’ll talk!

That was the last day I saw it in my balcony. It never came back again. Whenever I have wished something I have got just the opposite of it, instantly. How can someone be so accurate in ruining my wishes, every single time, over the last 27 years!! What sadistic pleasure does He get doing it every time over! I hate Him and will hate Him for my entire life. So much so that now I have decided to deny Him the pleasure. I have stopped wishing. I have become a stone… forever.

Friendship (re-written)

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:09:00 +0000

Sometime back she asked me to write a poem on friendship. So I scribbled and gave her something. And her response was… “Hey… this is not about our friendship” (grumble).
Hmpfh!... So here you go…
This time I have put in an extra-effort so as to not sound tooooo melodramatic but I can’t help the sounding kiddish part. After all, I am your kid-fan you see.

When I reach my seat
And don’t see the 'Good Morning'
I don’t know how to pass the dull day
Without our chatting.

With the ‘so?’-s coming in
and the ‘knock’-s flying by
I know that you are there
And my day will just be fine.

When my days are going hectic
You always meet me with a smile on your face
You keep me sane in this world
And make the office a better place.

You listen to all my cribs
And cheer me when I m blue
When everything seems to go wrong
You just remain you.

Even in your busy day
You find some time with me to spend
Thanks a lot for everything
Thank you my dear friend.

Wishes

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:34:00 +0000

Ah!.. I never thought I would end up HERE so early in the morning.

There are so many things to accomplish in life... so much to do … so much to achieve…
My sem practicals just got over today and the theory papers are starting in a week’s time. And this time if everything would have gone on expected lines, I would have aced them. Once again!
Going to meet Dada in Chennai. Havn’t met him for a month and after the exams I’ll go home directly. So I had to make this quick Chennai trip.

Then in the semester breaks there is a plan for Trip to Varanasi. I don’t think Dada will be able to join but me with Mom and Dad can have an awesome time as well. Dada would have come but he is too stuck up at his job. Software Engineer’s job…. Sometimes I really get doubts if I actually want to take a plunge in this IT life. But I guess the decision was already taken when I joined the IT Dept at IIT Chennai.

And Dada has to save his leaves for his marriage in June. Else he’ll be sitting at the wedding pyre with his mobile phone. Last time he came home, that was a norm. Some of his calls with his US Clients used to last till late a night. Dad got so irritated that he actually threatened him saying that he won’t be allowed into our home unless he leaves behind his office in Chennai. June will be hectic, but will definitely be a time to cherish. I am looking forward to meet all my relatives after long. Since I have come to Bangalore I hardly get a chance to meet them. Although I have made it a point to meet my Grandma during every vacation when I am home. Love you!

These guys!... Aaaahh!... they are just cutting me up. I don’t know how they do it. Butchers!

I am still trying to figure out if I have fallen in love. Shruti has been a nice friend since last five semesters. It all started with group studies but they the study group just melted away and the only people left are me and her. And we hardly discuss acads when we meet every evening. I have been having crushes on tall slim ladies with a sense of humor since I was in the sixth grade. So I could never reach a conclusion that this one is also one of those crushes. Hemant says I am in love and he also says that we would make a great couple. May be he is right. He understands me very well. Definitely one of the best friends I ever made.

O Yeh! Its Hemant’s birthday next Saturday. My roomy since I joined IIT. He arranged for my birthday bash (literally) wherein my wing mates made sure that for next two days I wont be able to sit on my bum without remembering my birthday. Not to mention that he gifted a pair of new jockeys, because he felt that I don’t change mine everyday! Well I don’t mind the gift but they were oversize! Its my turn dude… to return the favour!!

Finally!.. They are stiching me. My skull is broken into pieces... atleast three... so during a post-morten why do they need to cut apart the torso!? Huh!.. I’ll never understand the logic. May be Dad was right in suggesting that I should take up medicine as my career.

The News :
A Volvo traveling from Bangalore to Chennai had a collision with a truck carrying extended heavy machinary traveling in the opposite direction early in the morning in the outskirts of Chennai. Eight people including the bus driver died in the accident. All the eight were occupants of the right window seat.

what life?!!

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:25:00 +0000

"Keep Walking... there are better times ahead!!"

I m almost there
and I can see my destination
....so I m euphoric.

Seeing all my ambitions fulfilled
m movin ahead with a refreshed motivation
....so I m euphoric.

Seeing all my plans execute perfectly
m taking the final few steps
....so I m euphoric.

Life has come a long way
and it has brought me where i wanted to be
....so I m euphoric.

"Tough times don't last ... tough men do!!"

what life!!?

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:45:00 +0000

"Keep Walking... there are better times ahead!!"

Dunno whr hav i reached
n no clues abt how much 2 go
....still I havn't lost hope!

Lost all my motivations
and forgot all my ambitions
....still I havn't lost hope!

Faltered at every step
and floundered at all plans
....still I havn't lost hope!

Life has com a full circle
but i am still whr i was
....still I havn't lost hope!

"Tough times don't last ... tough men do!!"

Dedicated to Sasi, shimoga, sagara and a sexy place called joga

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:33:00 +0000

"I believe in God, only I spell it Nature."

It was sometime is august first week that we started planning about what to do for the independence-day weekend which was to be a three day long weekend. In every such scenario I try to make a short trip to some nearby place. After lots of discussions and plannings we finally zeroed down to jog falls. We three roomies and a roomie's friend and his two friends. That was frozen and we continued going about our daily work. Two days to the trip, I decided to book the vehicle and before that I made a confirmation calls to the non-roomies. And they refused to honour their commitments.

Huh!! Am I being too formal with my language!!?? Ok... I’ll be awry!! So what happened is that three idiots backed out and one of my roomies joined-in as well. That left me and Sasi (actually that’s the way he calls himself although he spells it Shashi). Whatever!! Even Sasi was reluctant to go but I somehow managed to convince him to join-in. Next day I booked RAC train tickets and we were ready to move.

The tickets got confirmed. Lucky me!! So we boarded the train at about 11:30 at night on 15^th August and slept. And we slept so peacefully that Shimoga came and went and we never realized. Finally woke up at Shimoga Town at about 6a.m. ( the next station and thankfully the destination for the train). Lucky Us Again!!.... Anyways we came out of the station and walked to a nearby hotel. Hotels!! Ah!! They were cheaper than what we estimated (Call it Bangalore effect if you want).... Lucky us, for the third time in a row. That’s how all good journeys should begin!!

So we were finally ready to take a bus to Sagar (fondly called Sagara) by about 8. The journey was just awesome, to put things simple. As the bus navigated the green and wet forest clad roads, I just kept looking out of the window!! It had been raining here since last two weeks and that made the scene even more brilliant. Sasi kept humming the song sagar kinare from some Rishi Kapoor movie!! Dunno wass so special about singing that song on a trip to Sagar. In about an hour we were at Sagara. Waiting for the bus to Jog Falls (fondly called joga).

Finally we could see a small bus to that place. Somehow we managed to sqeeze-in and were lucky enough to get front row seats. Else the journey would have been a big pain in the... well.... wrong place!! It was a small bus and the journey although just 30 kms took a good 75 minutes. The scenic beauty was again un-explainable. So am not even gonna make an attempt!! Not quite un-expected, Sasi was humming jogi aaya from Black and White this time. Why the hell didn’t I carry my ear-phones!! Huh!! Anyways the place was just beautiful. And the most interesting thing was the place was under an interesting cloud cover that day. Interesting coz it used to drizzle for 5 minutes, then the drizzle would stop for 5 minutes and after those 5 ninutes sun would be out. I sound nuts!! Damn!! Go visit the place. In rainy season of-course. The driver of the bus told me that its not such a rare thing. Keeps happening!! Now you or me, obv dunno more than the bus driver do we!!?? FYI, I didn’t sleep on the way....

So finally we got down at joga. Love at first sight. Sexy place dude were the first words that came outta my mouth after we saw the place. In-explainable again. Not is words, not in writing!! India’s highest waterfall is really breathtaking!!.... Now how the hell do I explain that the water fall is so high that the water doesn’t reach its base as a stream but as water-droplets. And when the wind blows, it carries away the particles and carries them to a distance of may be some 2 kms and you can just feel the sprinkle of water on your body along with the wind!!... Bad Attempt!!.. Duh!!

The bus left us at the top of the fall. And we decided to climb down to the base of the fall. Ya, we bought a rain cap. Why!!?? Well everyone buys one!! The stairs are under-construction and general public is advised not to climb down especially in rainy weather when the rocks are too slippery. Devil May Care!! We climbed down. Takes about an hour or so. But still handle with care. Cause if you slip and fall it can be fatal. When we reached down all mobiles were in bag. Cause the drizzle and waterfall combo is a bad one!! Bad one for the water-haters I meant!!... I loved it. I just Loved it!! I never felt like climbing up back. That too when we spent almost 4-5 hours down there playing in water, getting drenched. Sasi had to literally drag (rather push) me to the top again. I know I am lazy!! But then its also about the place guys!! Sexy place guys.

If you want more info you always have the internet. But from my side take these few points to Keep-in-mind :

Do....

Ø Take a raincoat (unless u happen 2 b my kind who's always eager to get wet)

Ø Wear good Trekking shoes (esp in rainy season). I slipped twice and hurt my right wrist and knee that kept hurting the entire week.

Ø Get a vehicle of your own (the drives around shimoga are just awesome). And there are lots of other places to see in and around Shimoga. Sexy Place Baby!!

Dont.....

Ø Stay out late at night. Shimoga is a small place and all restaurants and eateries close by 10:00 p.m.

Ø Get down from the train at Shimoga. Shimoga Town (the adjoining railway station) is a better choice (atleast I felt so).

Ø Take a hotel in Shimoga if you are on an exclusive trip to Jog Falls. Sagar is a better choice.

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn."

Terror strikes Bangalore.

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:11:00 +0000

"..."

Terror strikes Bangalore. All through out, I have considered Bangalore and Chennai to be safe cities. But on 25 Jul 2008, terror stuck Bangalore. The people who say that 'India is a functioning anarchy' weren't surprised, as if it was just waiting to happen. But I still could not believe it. I was at office, horribly busy (read... slogging to save my weekend), had just come back from a quick lunch at canteen when a friend said she just received a call from her parents regarding 3 blasts in Bangalore. Somehow I just could not believe it. Went to ibnlive to confirm and yep she was right. ibnlive had it flashing.... "3 blasts 1 dead". First reaction was shock. Utter disbelief. Huh!!... Bastards!! They have done it to Namma Bengaluru!!.

Recovering soon the first thing I did press 7 on the keypad and press the green button. Thats my Mom. The first thing that happens in such a situation is that mobile networks are jammed!! So as to prevent the spread of rumours or to prevent further attacks (as mobile phones are widely used to trigger timers). So it is better to inform Mom about the attack in the city and that I am safe. Rather than she comes to know about it from some news channel and starts calling me frantically only to realise that my mobile is out of reach. That would be catastrophic. The panic is unimaginable!!... My uncle called even before I had disconnected. I called up a couple of friends who have their office in Koramangala Area. I informed a friend at Kolkata office via Sametime (TCSers Internal Messenger) that I was safe and settled down with my work, she was still not aware of what had happened at Bangalore!!... Sent a final message to a friend asking him not to book the tickets for 'The Dark Knight' at PVR for the weekend. He messaged back saying ‘All plans cancelled for next few weeks’. Expected, I thought!!

The entire office-surrounding changed in a span on moments. The guys who were pinging me about the cricket score since last couple of days started pinging me about the blast count. Even I put-up all work on hold and was checking for updated from the news sites. Suddenly everything went quite... at least for a few moments. We were instructed not to panic or leave office. “Anyways it is always safe indoors in such situations”, a colleague commented. “A crude bomb won’t hit you on the fifth floor of your office” joined in someone and giggled. So there we were working. That is the spirit of Bangalore. Finally most of us left office at 5 p.m. (though it was early by our standards).

Came back home. "8 blasts, 1 dead" was the news on TV. Room-mates had already reached home. Something was wrong somewhere!! Blasts in Bangalore...!! On a Friday afternoon...!! All blasts were low intensity...!! 1 dead!!... Something didn’t seem logical. Something is wrong. Something that is scaring me more!!... Something...

But then I heard a Bangalorean say on the camera.....
We'll be careful.
We'll be cautious.
But we won't be terrorized.

And I knew all will be well soon....

"..."

A night to remember!!

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:51:00 +0000

"A friend is someone who will help you move. A real friend is someone who will help you move a body."

After biking around on the roads of Ranchi in a mild drizzle we reached Capitol Hill at 8 p.m. CK was already there.... waiting for us. It had been almost 6 years since we three were together at a place. We went up and sat at the table already booked at "Yellow Sapphire".

Anu, as he used to be, could never stop blabbering, even when there was no one to listen to him. He belongs to the category of people who are so much in love with their voice that they need no other thing in this world to keep them happy. Just let him talk to his heart's content and he'll be happy. No wonder he enjoys his job as Navigation Officer at Shell. He started comparing that place with some bloody restaurant he had been to in Cairo.

It is a lovely place, definitely the best one at Ranchi, as far as I have known the places there. A waiter named Tuti came to take the order. "Interesting Name", pointed CK as I nodded. Anu had already started scanning the menu for the Starters. So I enquired about CK, and his never ending mis-adventures. He always wanted to start his own business house but always ending up burning his fingers, not to mention his Dad's money!! Now he was planning another start-up. "Scrap Metal" he announced as Anu placed the order for the starters. CK had to stop midway as Anu started bragging about Cairo and Singapore. About the whales and about the tides. About the ports and about many other things that I never really bothered to listen to.

As Tuti again came to take the order for the Main Course, CK was trying to explain us how difficult it has been to set-up a business in Ranchi. With the politicians and Naxalites, all against his plans. “But this time I’ll succeed, because I am determined to succeed”, CK had serious expression on his face. Well he always has a serious look. But, as they say, appearances are deceptive. Single Spoilt Kid of a Rich Dad.... making him poor with his experiments. "What's the big deal, if he doesn't succeed at his lunatic experiments, he'll run his dad's well-established business". announced Anu .... and CK smiled as if he always knew that. I had always hated that laidback attitude of CK but he never seemed to change. Anyways the guy possessed some rare good qualities, and that kept our friendship going!!...

I had been the quietest one in the dinner as we were about to finish the main course. So perhaps to startle me CK threw a question at me..."Dude!! You in a live-in??"... I looked at CK and smiled..."We are Three friends at my room. All males". "And your girl-friends keep coming over" Anu winked. "Nopes I don't have any and I prefer staying away from girls anyways"...this time I looked away for some reason, although I was speaking the truth. "Please awry... you stay at bang bang bangalore...don't tell me that the coolest guy of our class doesn't have a girlfriend" quipped CK. "You never liked a girl in your life??... Hey wait let's take it the other way round.... Some girl would definitely have approached you??". I gave him a glance and smiled in affirmation. As I finished my dinner.

"What!!?? A girl proposed you??", His mouth remained open... May be it was shock.. may be it was because he over digged into the last bit of the Kebab. Anu's eyes also widened!!.. Girls were a rarely found element for him... Obviously if he stays 6-8 months of an year in water where the hell is he gonna get them from.. "Bloody Amphibian"!!.. I just love calling him this thing.

“Dude you just can't escape now!!.. You'll have to tell us the whole thing”. I paused for a moment. “Guys there is no whole thing... when I was madly in love with a girl she rejected me and when I came across a girl who liked me I could not accept her. A heart-break can make you so vulnerable that you can end up becoming the proverbial burnt child”. “There are two different stories and both of them are such that they will spoil the evening”. But they were adamant. The decided that they won’t leave the place till I start unfolding things, and asked Tuti to take away the finger-bowls and come with the bill later.

I told them a few things.. let a few things remain with me... “Friends, if I start telling you about all the lovely moments we spent together it'll be a night out”, I winked. So let a few things remain for our next get-together..!!... I quipped and called for the bill.

"Bloody Hell!!.. So why the hell didn't you marry her", CK looked inquisitive as never before. "I'd have loved to but she had other plans. Period"!!... Sigh!!... I was avoiding eye-contact now!!. "Ok buddy tell me one thing... you never got your love so someone else who loves you should never get hers... which code of ethics do you follow??" said Anu, in a soft but stern voice. I gave the tip to Tuti as we got up to leave. I flung my arms over Anu's shoulders and said..."I loved her with everything that I had and.... I lost everything that I had!!".

It was around 10:30 as we stepped out of Capitol Hill. CK had his Indica and offered to drop me home but somehow I felt like driving Anu's Pulsar in the drizzle that had almost turned into rain now.

"Never explain--your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway."

Smile

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:07:00 +0000

"There is a similarity between our smile. You smile when you are happy and I smile when you are happy!! :) "

One fine morning, this is a part of the conversation that took place between me and a colleague. "You have the best smile in TCS", I said.
"Hey tell me what's so special about it!?... Yesterday even my hubby made a comment about it", she queried.
I didn't know what to tell her. There are things beyond explanations. And anyways I happen to be too bad at explaining things.
"I can't explain you. But someday I can write a poem on your smile”, I replied.
She would have smiled at my reply, but I could not see that twinkle in her eyes as the conversation was taking place over IPMsngr(our internal message popping tool).
I feel that there is something special about my team at TCS. Everybody around has a very sweet smile and they are not misers when it comes to flaunting it!! And when I say everybody it really includes almost everyone. Our Project Leader, the Module Leads, my friends who have been with me since ILP Bhubaneswar and the group of freshers who have joined the team a couple of months back!! This piece of writing is dedicated to you all. Keep Smiling :)

.
.
.

Smile.....
.
.

.

Smile..
It never costs a penny!
But, it’s so soothing, and contagious too,
ushering in happiness, into the lives of so many.

So smile...

Smile..
So the evil souls would get over the ill feeling
And hatred, anger, envy and jealousy
would no longer have any meaning.
So smile...

Smile..
when my world appears grey,
and I lose all hopes of surviving here.
You come and chase all my sorrows away
So smile...

Smile..
Coz your smile spreads happiness,
which has no bounds
It re-energize me so that I feel m still in the race!
So smile...

Smile..
Don't bother about the reasons.
The twinkle in your eyes, makes me feel great.
So just keep smiling, in all seasons!
Keep Smiling.

"You're never fully dressed unless you are wearing your smile!! :) "

Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:17:00 +0000

"The world is full of people whose notion of a satisfactory future is, in fact, a return to the idealised past"

She had failed to convince her parents. Her Brahmin parents were adamant that she would not be allowed to marry a Catholic Guy, whatever comes. He was even more unlucky. He didn't even get a chance to talk his mind. He had lost his mother when he was a kid. His Dad had been busy with plans of expansion of his garments business along with his Step Mom. Currently he was in Dubai looking for ways to penetrate the Gulf. After all their efforts they were doubly sure that it was not possible to live a married-life together so they had a plan.

It was 14th February. About 11:00 am in the morning when they entered Hotel Leela Palace at Airport Road. They were taken to Room No. 221 booked before hand in the names of Mr & Mrs Paul. As soon as they entered the room they asked the room-service not to disturb them for the next few hours.

She held him by his waist and pulled him closer. He flung his Ray-Ban glasses on the bed and held her close to his body, fondling her and kissing her passionately. After an hour of passionate love-making they slept in each other’s arms, trying to understand the unspoken words.

He woke up with a startle and glanced at his Rolex, it was almost 3:00 pm. She was just coming out of the shower with a towel draped around her body. He went in for a quick shower and was out in 5 minutes. He dressed up in his Versace Jeans and the Nike T-Shirt that he got as the Valentine’s Day gift. And they headed towards the lounge hand-in-hand for some quick bites. With Paul Van Dyk playing in the background they didn't speak much. Or perhaps he wanted to enjoy every sip of his Absolute.

They came back to the room. They were still quiet. No one spoke a word. Perhaps there was no need of words. Everything was decided. Everything was understood. Everything was planned.

It was about to be 5:00 pm in the evening. She sent one last SMS to her parents about their last step. "Delivered" flashed across her N-72 within a few seconds. He unzipped his bag and pulled out the semi-automatic Glock 36. They stood up beside the bed and he kissed her forehead for the last time.

She was the first one to hold the pistol. She was a southpaw. Her index finger slid over the trigger. "I love you" were her last words. She blew a kiss and closed her eyes. “Thud”.... It was over. It had blown off her head. The bullet had entered her head from left and escaped out from right, shattering the glass-window, overlooking Reuters that stood across the road. His eyes moved from the glass-window to the lifeless body lying on the floor. And the blood that was sprayed all across the room.

Unlike movies this was a reality. So unlike a little hole in her skull what he got was a ghastly scene all across the room. Eyes popped out of the socket. Blood oozing out from her broken jaw. Her brain lay scattered on the bed and on the floor. The words ghastly and horrendous suddenly seemed to needing a much bigger superlative.

He had a chill running down his spine. He froze. He did not have the courage to pick up the pistol which was still held in her left hand. His face grew white with fear and drops of sweat appeared on his forehead. He had never thought that reality would be so scary.

"Bang Bang". There was a gathering at the door.... They were hitting it with all the force they had. Suddenly there was a sound of violin. He looked at the bed. Her N-72 was ringing, “Dad” written at the bottom of the screen. He turned back to look at the door. His eyes grew wider as reality dawned on him.....

"Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't."

A rare hattrick!!

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 06:07:00 +0000

"Nothing is so awesomely unfamiliar as the familiar that discloses itself at the end of a journey"

.
.

May be there was no work at office. May be I was getting pissed-off with my dull life. May be someone somewhere had mercy on me as he realized that I was gradually killing myself. I don’t know the reason, but somehow it happened. I went on outings three consecutive weekends, to some wonderful places in the outskirts of Bangalore. And it was really refreshing!!

29th March 2008 :- Trip to Mekedatu

This is the group of half-nuts who just woke up one fine afternoon and decided to go on a random trip the next morning!!!

The Place!!!.. The Fun!!!.. The Memories!!!.........Just Beautiful...!!..Period.

7th April 2008:- Trek to Nandi Hills

The route to Nandi Hill Top!!!... Its a 3 km climb (but appears to be much much more). Where is the guy who planned this trek. Grrrrrrr!!!

On Top!!...Finally!!! Do I look exhausted??

14th April 2008 :- Team Outing to Talakadu Jaladhama Resort

That's the sivasamudram falls, en-route Jaladhama resort. Gals please turn around!!!

The team at the resort. A different EoD for all of us!!

..
.
.

"We must get beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths... and tell the world the glories of our journey".

Five things that I wanna do..(as of today)

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:36:00 +0000

“Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives.”

.
Time Changes Everything....
Situations change... People change... Ambitions change...
As of today I think these are the five things which I would just love to do... in a very near future...

1. Compile a book... comprising short stories, anecdotes, poems et al. Actually I planned the whole thing with a friend of mine who also happens to be a writer-at-heart (well….tatz how i describe myself), but it seems this writer-duo will never reach the real-world. She is too busy with her life now-a-days. In fact she's busy looking for a suitable guy to get married and settle down soon. So I guess I'll have to pull this off on-my-own. People if you know any publishers please pass me their Contact Nos. (I'll prefer an intro!!)

2. Make a Movie... The script is ready and the screenplay writing is on.... I can't disclose much about it here at my blog. The only thing I am gonna tell you is the name of the movie. It's called DDBHSEKPWKSHY (or DD-11 in short). Well, for the guys who are still scratching their heads DDBHSEKPWKSHY is the abbreviation for Dus Din Baki Hain Semester Exams Ko, Padhai Wadhai Kab Shuru Hogi Yaar!! ...Catchy...Ain't it!! Well… I also have a sequel in mind... titled DDHGSEHPSKHY ( or DD-10) Come-on guess this one. Btw, will you finance??

3. Host an interview... (Koffee with Karan kind. With a tinge of the other Karan in it. I love both of them)....I want to interview Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, two of the greatest Indian Cricket Captains, at the same stage at the same time. And I want to do it ASAP. Something tells me that I might not get a chance to open my mouth when both will be face to face. Sparks may Fly!!

4. Go on a dream-date with my dream-girl. At the least, I'd love to take Urmila out for a coffee. (Did I hear... "urmila who"??...U dumb $#^$@ &$^%$#s I am talking about Urmila Matondkar.). She has been my crush since my school days. Since then I have had lots of crushes but she has held her position intact. Somehow all my crushes have been Marathis.... Madhuri, Namrata, Shilpa, Sonali(both Bendre and Kulkarni) et al. Add to it Varsha Usgaonkar, Archana Joglekar, Kruttika Rane etc. if you are not running out of patience. Btw, Is my Mom reading???

5. Drive an Aston Martin... on the roads of Bangalore. (Do I see raised eyebrows!!??). On the outer ring road I mean... at night... after 12!!. Ok Now?? Or I still hear screams of ‘stop dreaming’??
.

.
“He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.”

Har jagah hai JAL

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:13:00 +0000

.
“~~~Mai teri aankhon mein rehta hoon, tujhe pata naa chale~~~”
.

I never thought I would write a music review on my blog but the guys are toooooo good.

Normally the titles to my posts are insane!!
Although when confronted with this fact, I generally disagree but somewhere inside I know that the titles of all my posts are awry. But this is one title that I feel is irreplaceable from a Jal fan point-of-view. This post could not have been given a better title than the last song of the first album of Jal.
I am a huge fan of Jal right from the day when my roomie downloaded Aadat sometime in the sixth semester, and he kept playing it through the rest of our college life.

Aadat was a lovely song. I used to play the song at full volume and add scream at the top of my voice so as to add chorus (unsuccessfully) to it.
Bikhra hoon main abhi was a song of a typical genre which I just love to listen over and over. It should qualify as one of the most aggressive-sad-songs ever composed in Hindi. I just loved howling along-with the song (and I still do when there is no one around to scream at me ;) ).
Dil Haare Pukare tujhe didn't quite catch me at the first sound but then there is strange sweetness in the song that I couldn't have missed out on.
Ek Din Aayega was a song that brought in hope, hope that the times will change, hope that tomorrow will be better than today, hope that all your wishes will be fulfilled.
Woh Lamhe which was perhaps the greatest hit of the album will be remembered for some of the most poetic lines that I have come across for a Rock Band.
Koi Manchala, Panchi hoon udne do and Rangon mein were three peppy foot-tapping numbers ushering in life and hope.
Teri yaad was a sad number which begins with a lovely slow recital on flute and goes on to catch up with guitar and drums and they both combine to form a beautiful jugalbandi. The composition, the lyrics and the vocals are just so good that I count this song as one of the best I heard in my lifetime.
Har jageh hai jal is an apt ending for this wonderful album... as if they knew that they were out to conquer all hearts across the Indian Sub-continent.

Recently they released their second album and it takes off exactly where they had left!!! I listen to some of its songs almost everyday repeatedly.
Sajni paas bulao naa ... The album kicks off at the levels where your expectations should be after listening to the first album. The mood of the song is so cute that it made me visualize a sweet puppy getting wet in rain looking at a pretty girl with the look saying "I am lost, please wrap me around and take me home with you" (Yeh I know the comparison is a weird one.... now that the blog-title is not weird so something here has to be... after all 'Some Awry Blogs' has a reputation to maintain!!!... But trust me, its only the comparison that is weird, the song is a lovely one.)
Raatein and Mahia are two soft melodious numbers that makes you nostalgic.
Humain itna pyaar naa karo ... ki hum mar jayen.... doesn't it sum up everything. A lovely romantic track, that almost takes you to the heights of love.
Morey Piya is one song that you can call different from all other songs that I have talked till now, and helps break the monotony (in case someone found it monotonous... Well….I won't.... even after a million hearings). For me this song is to show that Jal is capable of diverse music.
Yeh mera Pakistan is a patriotic number which is again different from all other songs considering the lyrics and the mood of the songs. It shows the aspirations and the determination of the youth of a nation.
Mai mast hoon is a song with punjabi lyrics. Although I won't call it bhangra but still it should go well with punjabi music lovers.
Kya se Kya bana diya..... Well I don’t know what to write about this number. It had some unexpected lyrics. What do u expect to hear when you know that the song about to start is "kya se kya bana diya".... Well...the rhyming is done using the words "farishta tha main, saitaan bana diya". Hope Jal is not moving towards Satanic Music. Guys please don't.
And at the end there is a slow version of Sajni paas bulao naa and Humain itna pyaar naa karo which are so beautifully done that you keep wondering regarding which was a better version. These complete the album in a tremendous fashion and as a whole the album made an impact on my heart and mind (Yet again).

.
.
.
“~~~Dekhte Dekhte har jageh hai jal.... har jageh hai jal.~~~”
.

A never ending love affair....

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:51:00 +0000

.
"The perfect love affair is one which is conducted entirely by post.....George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950) "
.
.
.

It's February again so I couldn't have possibly missed out on posting a blog. Most of my close friends feel that my posts in-and-around Feb are the best ones....
So here I am...
…with
…….another (love) story

This blog is dedicated to orkut (or the lack of it)
I was introduced to orkutting(that is a verb I guess...isn't it) at college, sometime during the 6th semester.... and it was love at first login (again.. that is a proverb I guess...isn't it). Well whatever!!!...

I have innumerable incidents etched in memory which wouldn't have been there if there was no orkut. Things have been wonderful since I had orkut in my life.

May be it was due to the endless hunt for gals or the countless gals that we could access. Infact the word "girlfriend" took a new meaning. For us it meant users who had specified female as their gender in orkut and who for some reason accepted our friend request.

Or maybe it was due to the fact that orkut along with all its negativities also gave rise to a new genre of slang (that fella....he acts like a gay community moderator) and pranks (fake ids…. Do I need to tell more) and TPs (opening a hate community dedicated to the cook who didn’t learn to make chapattis even in four years)....

I had a wing-mate who used to have a crush every other night.... Well night wasn't the only time when we used to orkut but still.... I assume it was night coz it was always morning when I heard him screaming in the corridor... "Iam in Love"... and for next few days I had to listen to the entire conversations and opinions and comments and blah blah.... and finally about how the girl (or whoever it was) ditched him. No I never felt like shaking him up or hitting him but ya sometimes I did feel like hammering him.....flat!!

I had another wingie created a community FOSLA for VIT heartbroken and I obviously was sent an invitation to join it. But I politely denied saying that my love might have been "one-sided" but I am not a "frustoo" and am Happy with whatever she had decided. That prompted him to create another community called GHOSLA... Well if (some of) you guys are still blinking.... GH stood for "Gay and Happy". I had had it. Do I need to tell you that for the entire week I kept running away from him!!

I know of people who would virtually do anything... beg (read request), borrow (read link-up), steal (read hack)... to increase their fan count.
I know of a guy who called up his virtual girlfriend at US, only to realize that he is too bad at English to understand her mate's words. I felt he was lucky there to miss out the choicest of abuses that her mate would have offered him coz he called her up at about 4pm IST.

Then there was another weapon in our arsenal called "testimonial"... Close friends can really screw you up if they decide to be honest. Most testimonials are fun to read. If you don't believe me, ask me personally and I'll send you some wonderful links to some amazing testimonials. And sometimes it is fun to read testimonials written to you, especially if you are doing it after a long time. Sometime back I was sitting with a friend and we were reading my testimonials. I almost went hysterical with laughter. And he sat with a mouth open in awe.
Oh!! I just recalled. Some friends had asked me to write testimonials for them. Yeh sweetheart, I still remember you and I also remember that you are due to get a testimonial from me. But……

Communities were another interesting “good for nothing” time-consuming feature of orkut. I often come across profiles which have added hundreds of communities (and generally the crappiest of them are visible on their profile page….. like “This is not a community” and “I joined too many communities”). What irony!!

With so many things to offer, orkut had almost become an inseparable part of my life. My affair had lasted more than a year and that too without any complaints (from either side)…..!!!.
Finally my affair with orkut ended when I joined my TCS-ILP and my priorities changed. I was leaving behind my student life and going ahead with my new life. ILP at Bhubaneswar will be in my memories for ever, with or without orkut.
And now with a 24x7 internet connection, I hope to renew my affair and take it to the levels of a never-ending one. Are you still there for me?? Love you forever.

.
.
.

"Some of the greatest love affairs I've known have involved one actor - unassisted.... Wilson Mizner (1876 - 1933)"
.

Happy Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Aurindam) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 06:34:00 +0000

" कहॉ से आयी है !!!??"

Now that u r far away and hav closed
all the paths
that
anyways......
wernt leadin 2 u
still.....

Now I scribble here on my blog and convey
my heartfelt wishes
that
anyways......
rnt reachin u
still.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ~~~~~!!!!

" तू कहॉ थी आज तक !!!??"