#kuchbhi

The lucky home - now available in for rent - Hyderabad

2013-10-19T11:34:00.001-07:00

Since the last time I posted this famous blog post that got me 30+ responses for my flat - a lot has happened & a lot has changed in the same flat!

The same is now available for rent as I am leaving Hyderabad this month...

Re-posting it!

I grew since I shifted to this flat, monetarily and otherwise. I found my wife, found a better job, improved on my health.. and now its time to move on, and for good again...
This 3 BHK wants me to do better than what it could offer & its time to say good bye to this home-sweet-home!

It's in Whitefields, Kondapur in Hyderabad. No discrimination, it's open for bachelors & families. Here is more about the amazing house!

The house does not look like this

The interiors are not like this

The swimming pool is not like this one at all...in fact there is no swimming pool

And kitchen.... forget it...

That is why the rent is only Rs 2200 / month.

If you (or someone you know) are looking for a place to stay / shifting to Hyderabad, please contact!!! If you work around Gachibowli, Hitech city area, this will suit you best..

The specifications of the flat are:

1. 1st floor, Bhavya Jaya Resindency, Whitefields, Kondapur. (Near Tara Residency)

2. Flat is 3BHK, very spacious. Newly Built. 2 balconies & 1 washing area.
3.     Flat is available from 1^st November 2013 .
4.     Lift facility with generator backup available.
5.     Awesome view from Balconies..
6.     Complete woodwork done.
7.     Attached bathrooms, Geysers.
8.     Separate Parking (for 2 cars) space at ground floor of society.
9.     Daily usage Water supply available for 24 hrs.
10. Free home delivery of packaged drinking water, tiffin service available.
11. Good connectivity to all IT companies in Gachibowli, Kothaguda as well as Lingampally Railway station,
12. Heritage super market at 10 mins walking distance.
13. Peaceful area.
14. There is a Jaguar service station near by; just in case you own one!

Total Rent for the flat is Rs. 2200 (including maintenance)

Electricity, maid, internet charges extra.

We have put some furniture on sale - at throw away prices!

Contact asap

Satyam Gambhir - +91 7799567239

baba's curriculum

2012-08-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

This blog post goes for a limited few.

I found this document in my computer hard disk; which took me to aug/sep 2009 memories.

While I was struggling for marks and running the race to get that job, this document was annoying!!

When I read this for the first time, it occurred to me 'what shit is this?' and closed the word doc and honestly this was nothing but senseless jumbled words; wondering why didn't delete it!

Un-describe-able is what happened after that...

And today, deleting this from the computer hard disk, won't help!!!

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B2B: Emerging Structures and Relationships in Markets (STARMarkets)

Course Objective:

Dramatic changes in the landscape is a given at the cusp of a transformational upheaval. The chaotic and seemingly unpredictable movements that one sees at the global level in almost every walk of life on the planet have only left enormous amounts of confusion in its wake.

In this situation, it becomes pertinent to be able to note that within this dark smoke of uncertainty are patterns that seem to be emerging. These patterns may enable not only clarity on the “what's so?” of the situation at hand but more importantly the point to the “so what?” that will power the set of actions that could convert the current situation into an opportunity both for oneself as well as for the organizations and communities that one represents.

The course is therefore not designed to address a “how to?” kind of inquiry. Rather, it seeks to work towards creating a world view for individual participants that will enable them to see, design and work towards creating solutions that would enable optimal application of the available potential both individually as well as organizationally.

While terminology that precedes and is coterminous with change is used with alacrity (e.g.3G, B2B, CXO, or even older terms like vendor, customer, partner, etc) the significance of the each term remains in an evolutionary dynamic, changing with the current context of business. The course will essay to move the context of the title from its roots in the past (B2B) to a more sustainable scenario of the future (like a B2X or even X2X) that comes from an emphasis on the study of the emergent structures and relationships in markets across all borders rather than its limited current (or past) expression.

The seeming complexity of the course lies only in the fact the emergent business reality is in sharp contrast to the economic, social and business reality of all the past years of the post-industrial revolution era to-date, to which almost all of us, almost without exception, are sufficiently conditioned. The course essentially seeks to be an introduction to this emergent reality and a propellant for effective and sustainable action in this emerging new global order.

The objective is to enable the creation of a group of dynamic actioners who not only can see and predict trends in various aspects of the business structure, but who can 'meta-polate' and design for themselves or for their employers, business structures and processes to fully exploit the opportunities that are showing up for those with the right vision. The ultimate success of the Course is in creation of a world-view for each student that s/he can use and revise on-goingly through her/his career both as a business-person and world citizen.

Curriculum:

1. Fundamentals of Business & their transformation

2. The Nature & Effect of Emergent Business Change

i. Evolution vs. Transformation

ii. Business Definitions & Structures

iii. Business to Business Relationships and Flows of Resources

3. Traditional Functional Aspects of Business and Markets, their disruption and its effects

i. The Continuing Dissolution of Asymmetry of Information

ii. Business Communication and Buyer Behavior

iii. Forecasting, Segmentation, Extrapolation & Meta-polation

iv. Structural changes in Businesses & Markets:

a Monoliths, Market Power, Centralized Structures, Networks, Platforms & Webs

v. The Emergent Theory of (Zero) Pricing

vi. Value, Value Chains & Surrogate Value

4. Directions of Business and Personal Opportunity

5. Incremental Strategic Action

6. Nature as a Model for Business in a Networked World

Pedagogy:

The course shall be conducted over one semester, in a three-hour weekly class session format. Apart from this class interaction, the course includes the active use of the latest mass distributed on-line technologies, such as e-groups, chats, etc. This ensures that the students get a hands-on look at the transformational processes that are emerging in communication, business design, marketing, finance, operations, etc. The pedagogy shall be extremely eclectic and will use a variety of cases, readings, references, discussions, class guests etc.

No specific text book has been prescribed. However, the following books are recommended for reference and study:

Chris Anderson: Free: The Future of a Radical Price

Chris Anderson: The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is selling Less of More

Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls, David Weinberger: The Cluetrain Manifesto

CK Prahalad/MG Krishnan: The New Age of Innovation: Driving Co-Created Value through Global Networks

Peter Wayner Free for All

Seth Godin: Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

Evaluation:

Continuous and multi-dimensional evaluation are the two main principles on which the evaluation system for this course has been based. Every participant is evaluated for their continued contribution to the course and to its other participants. Each class session, all class documents, postings on the group, group and individual assignments, tests and examinations will all add up to make the individual scores for the course. Actual heads of evaluation (e.g. In-class Participation, Off-class (or On-Line) Participation , Presentations, etc) will be communicated during the course. The exact proportion of marks for each head of evaluation will depend on the amount of work accomplished during the course, it may be clearly understood that each head of evaluation will have approximately similar weights of the total percentage.

Additionally the current course record is shared with participants at regular intervals through the course. This facilitates continuous feedback to participants about their current performance levels as well as ensures that the group is well aware of the pattern of evaluation.

Special Note:

Participants are urged to follow meticulously all instructions issued during the course.

Faculty:

Prithwiraj N Ghorpade

pgclass@gmail.com

Towards a fitter me - 1

2012-07-27T05:00:00.001-07:00

This is not an article on 'how to loose 20kgs in a month' types, there are many such articles on google, go check them out (if you want to loose muscle weight and become weak, been there done that!). This is my (series of) short story on how I am growing towards fitter-me!

I wasted myself during last semester at college as there weren't many classes to attend. I used to sleep late watching movies, get up late by lunch time, became a lazy bum. It was never a good sight in the mirror; with and without clothes! No dress was good enough to hide stuff I didn't want people to see. I tried hitting the gym at my college, paid them twice but nothing could motivate me.

As soon as I started working I realized; its not only the fittest who survive, but lead! If you are healthy and fit, you don't only feel good about yourself but others too feel comfortable around you. Who would like to initiate a conversation with a fat ugly double chin guy/girl when there are good looking ones around!

I observed CXOs, Great bosses, happy managers and department heads are all with great health and charming faces. I had no idea whether it was fitness that made them what they are, or the other way round!! But I was convinced looking at their confidence, fitness has a lot to do with career (non-career too).

I was also warned by my doctor to reduce some kilos or I should be ready for some serious illness like High blood pressure, sugar, arthritis and long list. I just decided, on a day, to visit gym at office.

The digital weighing machine showed 91 heavy kilos, beyond what I expected.

At once I thought, it was too late to start anything. Then while sleeping over the thought that day, it occurred, I need to get away with this guilt. I didn't know how, but the thought inside my head started haunting me.

I am not an ideal weight today as I write this, but i am starting to write these (short) blog posts now. The same weighing machine shows 76 Kgs today; which makes my BMI fall in 'normal' bracket for the first time.

When to speak?

2012-05-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

It had been three weeks since my throat started to feel sore, and it wasn't getting better. The pain was most acute when I spoke. So I decided to spend a few days speaking as little as possible. Every time I had the urge to say something, I paused for a moment to question whether it was worth irritating my throat.

This made me acutely aware of when and how I use my voice. Which led me to a surprising discovery: I spend considerable energy working against my own best interests. And if my experience listening to others is any indication, so do you.

In my observations, we speak for three main reasons:

To help ourselves

To help others

To connect with each other

That's not surprising. All three of those objectives are legitimate and worthwhile.

What is surprising though is how frequently we fool ourselves into thinking we're achieving those objectives when, in reality, we're thwarting them. The more I listened, the more I noticed how we undermine our own interests.

Frequently, I had the urge to gossip about someone else. I realized that I did this to help myself (I will feel better if I think I'm better than that person) and to connect with the other gossipers. But clearly that would distance me from the people about whom I was gossiping. In fact, it would probably even distance me from my fellow gossipers too; who could trust someone who talked behind other people's back? My attempt to strengthen relationships was, instead, hurting them.

I also had the urge to share information when I thought it would be helpful to someone. That's a productive reason to speak. But several times I had the urge to say something simply to show that I knew the answer. Or to get attention. Or to increase my power in the group. It became clear to me that my urge to speak in those moments came from my desire to feel special. I wanted people to like me and to think highly of me. But who likes the guy trying to show off?

Sometimes I wanted to help myself by getting the answer to a question, or making sure I was counted in a decision. That's useful. But other times, I just wanted to make sure my voice was heard over the din of the other voices. I caught myself wanting to speak over someone in a meeting. Or arguing a point to get others to agree with me so I'd feel more confident in my own opinion (which I'm hearing a lot this political season). Is that really helping someone else?

In fact, I was amazed at how often I wanted to speak simply to assure myself that I was here. I had a role. I was noticed.

As I sat silently, trying to preserve my voice, I had the opportunity to notice how and when other people spoke as well. And I noticed all the same tendencies.

If I were to reduce our counter-productive speaking to a single motivation, it would be this: We often speak to make ourselves feel better in the short-term.

But life and relationships are long-term. And when we gossip, raise our voices, speak behind other people's backs, offer unsolicited opinions, or make jokes at other people's expense we're isolating ourselves over time.

There was some good news in my experience of talking less: I listened more. And listening, it turned out, was a much more productive way to achieve my speaking objectives than speaking.

When I listened, I helped myself, helped others and built relationships at least as effectively as I did speaking and with much less collateral damage.

I'm obviously not suggesting we stop speaking; we can't achieve our three objectives unless we do. We need ask for things. We need to share information. And there are a number of ways — like offering compliments and rephrasing what we're hearing — we can build relationships through speech.

I am, however, suggesting that we think ahead — long term — when we're about to say something in the moment. And that, before speaking, we ask ourselves one simple question: Is what I'm about to say going to detract from one of the three reasons I speak? If the answer is yes, consider saving your voice.

My throat is better now and I can speak as much as I want. Which left me feeling a little nervous; now that I know how easy it is to be self-defeating, will I keep myself on the productive side of the speaking equation?

Thankfully, the sore throat left me with a gift: the memory of a sore throat.

These past few days, when I get the urge to talk, I find myself doing a little calculation in my head: If I only have so much speaking I can do in a day, is this thing I'm about to say a worthwhile use of my voice?

What's amazing is that most of the time I immediately know.

Woman in the bus

2012-05-06T04:03:00.002-07:00

What is worry? It's a state of mind, a state to be 'there' somewhere.

An old woman was traveling on a bus, and she was anxious, worried, and continuously asking what stop it was. The stranger sitting by her side said, "Relax, don't be worried. The conductor will go on announcing what stop it is, and if you are too worried I will call him here. You can tell him where you want to get off so he can keep a note of it. And you can relax!"

He called the conductor and the woman said, "Please remember, I don't want to miss my stop. I have to reach somewhere very urgently."

The conductor said, "Okay, I will make a note of it--although even without your asking I will be announcing each stop. But I will make a note of it and I will come to you particularly and tell you whenever your stop comes. But you relax, don't be so worried about it!"

She was perspiring and trembling and looked so tense. So she said, "Okay, you note it down--I have to get off at the bus terminus."

Now if it is the bus terminus, why should you worry? How can you miss it? There is no way of missing it! The moment you rest, the moment you relax, you know that existence is already going, moving, reaching towards higher peaks. And you are part of it. You need not have separate ambitions.

This is relaxation, resting, dropping all private goals, dropping the whole achieving mind, all the ego projections. And then life is a mystery. Your eyes will be full of wonder; your heart will be full of awe.

We are not to become something--we are already it. This is the whole message of all the awakened ones: that you are not to achieve something, it has already been given to you. It is God's gift. You are already where you should be, you can't be anywhere else. There is nowhere to go, nothing to achieve. Because there is nowhere to go and nothing to achieve, you can celebrate. Then there is no hurry, no worry, no anxiety, no anguish, no fear of being a failure. You can't fail. In the very nature of things it is impossible to fail, because there is no question of success at all.

Have you ever taken note of this one thing? the present is always blissful. Worry and suffering are created either by what you wanted to do in the past and could not do, or by what you want to do in the future and don't know whether you will be able to do or not. There is no suffering in the present, there is no worry? This is why the present does not disturb the mind--anxiety disturbs the mind.

The present knows no suffering, present is such a small moment that suffering cannot fit into it. The present can only be peace, can only be happiness.

Exploring Hyderabad

2012-04-21T15:12:00.001-07:00

I am wondering whether its traveling that I have picked up lately OR is it some random dots that connect to form a pattern; from one place to another, places to people, stories around places; making it interesting.

I have been in Hyderabad from around a year now. Sometimes, I feel I am new to it, and often I also see myself suggesting others about the city. The food, clothes, things to experience, places to see and places to be!

While this is certain that Hyderabad is always going to be new to me, no matter how much I plan to explore; I have decided not to think about 'Where should I go next?', I rather 'Just go' somewhere. Believe me, I arrive at just the right place!

Golconda fort is nothing but just another tourist place, Charminar will remain a place where people click their photographs, Hussain Sagar is limited to having ice-creams around the lake -- If you do not make an effort to learn, whats the history behind these. There is a 'Hyderabad' in every street of 'Hyderabad'

Though, such already explored (yet newest) places are visited by almost everyone; when one connects with the real stories, such places come alive - and talk to you!

I have my 'Things to do when you are in Hyderabad' which is very personal to me and my interests. I would love to keep expanding that list to 'To do', 'To have', 'To visit', 'To experience', 'To ..'

If you don't know Hyderabad

Come down, contact me, lets get out there together. On the streets, eating Biryanis beyond what Paradise could only imagine making, visiting places un-heard of, re-discovering Charminar and Golcondas of Hyderabad - on bus, auto rickshaws and on feet.

I am not a tourist guide. But I am definitely not less that one. No plans to make this idea into commercial Hyderabad guide or something. I would like to assist people who have Hyderabad in their list. It can be a two day holiday or a month's stay. Lets connect. Leave a comment, with your email ID...

If you know Hyderabad already

Great. Share about stuff you know, and I will share mine. Lets get together and move towards 'that' direction.

The History Class

2012-04-07T12:29:00.000-07:00

She used to ask him, the one sitting on extreme right corner - on the first bench, to start reading the first paragraph of the chapter, out loud.

"Each one of you, read a paragraph - sit down - and let the guy next to you, read from where you leave", this was understood and was embedded in our subconscious mind. The moment she said, "Start reading from here", pointing at a guy, we knew we have to follow the sequence.

While in the second row, somewhere around last bench was my seat; I immediately used to start counting the paragraph that would fall on me. The nervous system was alerted; and on top of it, some over intelligent / over smart kid - out of the blue - read 2 paragraphs (to impress the teacher, certainly); the entire calculation had to be done again. "Now which paragraph would fall on me?"

The nervousness used to take over my consciousness and I had no clue about what's actually happening.

There was nothing more scary than the thought of fumbling while reading that paragraph out loud in the class; therefore I used to practice before my turn. Not knowing, or even willing to know about what the chapter was about.

And worst of all, imagine, if someone just before you, read your paragraph that you were practicing until then - its all back to null. You finally get up having no idea and asking your friend, "Where do I have to start reading from?".

Even while reading, I used to emphasize more on getting-the-english-right. And once all was done - I sit with confidence as if I had won a battle against a monster; and I would enjoy looking at others doing the same exercise I had done. Relieved, sigh and phew... by then, who cares what the chapter was about.

This was our History class and an activity that almost all students of that age has done... Confess or lie!!!!

Today, when I recall that moment, I feel sad about such teachers, such students and such systems where this mediocre standards of teaching were (are) socially accepted.

Others teachers are boring, so boring that students either get at their creative best (many great ideas come while sitting in boring classrooms), or filling up closed areas in letters; or sleep...

Today, when I go through random History chapters, they all seem so exciting! Usually because, I am watching them on Youtube (Instead of reading out loud to others), reading Wikipedia pages (searching for something I want to know) or a friend is narrating a story to me. These ways of going through History, are far more easier and exciting than the conventional ways of our history teachers. Esp for History, good story tellers can become good teachers.

Guys, if you become a teacher in future (or are one); please try to understand such nuances of students rather than exercising your authority... Because if you do not make an effort to understand your students, they might write a blogpost about you when they grow up..

Tadoba Tiger National Reserve

2012-04-07T00:04:00.002-07:00

The Tadoba trip was exciting and full of curiosity. Here are some photos and videos, a peek into the jungle.

If you want to sight Tigers (esp Wagdow) visit in the month of May, June or July. For snakes, visit in rainy season. For birds, January and feb is a good time.

Checkout some videos.

The evening Sun at Tadoba... never seen such big and bright Sun

A beautiful deer posing for us

Some inside information about Tadoba.. :) You need to put on head/ear phones to listen to the information clearly.

Planning a trip to Tadoba? mail me your phone number to satyam.gambhir@gmail.com ... might give you some information or plan your trip altogether.

Checkout more pics here

Spelling of Entrepreneur

2012-04-02T03:26:00.001-07:00

He: These days, calling oneself an entrepreneur is the in-thing. Its a fashion statement. People who don't even know the spelling of 'entrepreneur' aim to become one...

Me: One doesn't need to know the spellings to be one!

This was recent conversation I had with a friend. He definitely isn't one of those who either IS or aims TO-BE an entrepreneur. In fact, that's precisely where his statement came from. Because people who did it, doing it, plan to do it, or failed once - knows.. It's much more than a statement!!!

And those who just make statements, are questioned and muted.

Me: And what about those who know the spellings??? Do they know what it is?

In fact, I believe there are many entrepreneurs around us, whether they embrace the label or not.

Everyone is an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship means taking responsibility for yourself (and sometimes others). It means you assume that there won’t be anyone there to hand you a reliable paycheck, nor will there be anyone else to make sure you’re on a suitable career path. How many such people are you aware of?

Don't tell me 'You don't have an idea'... every one has! But most ideas stink. And some great sounding ideas start stinking after you start executing them. And if you don't even have an idea, you need to take a break in life and ponder over your objective of existing.

Knowing the spelling of 'entrepreneur' doesn't make you one... and passing statements over 'statement passers' don't make you cool.

And

Looking for a flat mate. #Hyderabad

2012-03-20T02:22:00.001-07:00

I am looking for a male flatmate in Hyderabad, near Kondapur.

The house does not look like this

The interiors are not like this

The swimming pool is not even somewhere close to this

And kitchen.... forget it...

That is why the rent is only Rs 6400 / head.

If you (or someone you know) are looking for a place to stay / shifting to Hyderabad, please contact!!! If you work around Gachibowli area, this will suit you best..

And if you have a car, even better.. then you can give us lift to office, each morning!!!! coz we commute via shared autos..

A separate room available in Semi furnished (AC available) 3BHK spacious flat. One room is occupied by an Infy guy (me) and other by an E&Y guy. AC is available... seriously..

The specifications of the flat are:

1. 3^rd floor, Raghini Apartments, Masjid Banda, Kondapur. Near Chirec Public School. Hyderabad

2. Flat is 3BHK, very spacious. Newly Built.

3. Room is available from 1^st April 2012 onwards.

4. Lift facility with generator backup available.

5. Awesome view from Balconies..

6. Complete woodwork done.

7. Attached bathrooms, Geysers.

8. Separate Parking space at ground floor of society.

9. Daily usage Water supply available for 24 hrs.

10. Free home delivery of packaged drinking water, tiffin service available.

11. Good connectivity to all IT companies in Gachibowli, Kothaguda as well as Lingampally Railway station,

12. Heritage super market at 10 mins walking distance.
13. Peaceful area.
14. There is a Jaguar service station near by; just in case you own one!

Total Rent for the flat is Rs. 18000

Total maintenance per month Rs. 1200

Rent + maintenance contribution per head: 19200 / 3 = Rs 6400

Electricity, maid, internet etc. charges to be divided equally among three.

Contact asap

Satyam Gambhir - +91 7799567239

We are chilled out guys, no restrictions to do anything! :P well almost!!

A Road Trip turned Incredible!

2012-03-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

Tires of our car were lucky, as they kissed the roads least taken as we touch dead-ends more often than destinations. We Crossed the Indian Bermuda triangles… Directions? Google maps felt helpless! And Roads? They often turned ghostly.

If you don't like reading, skip to the movie we made! ;)

The Road Trip

We toured 5 days and covered the West Coast of India, touching virgin and eventful beaches, drove through peaceful mountains to the ones loaded with wild animals. From freeways to state highways to no roads at all, we were riding free with vacuum in our minds, singing along with Raghu Dixit, Indian Ocean, The Dewarist and 1000 hours of songs in our iPods.

Starring us!

It was Abhijit, [@abhijitvb] an apt mixture of Gujju and Marathi manush, whose plan it was to travel along the coast. He is known for his wildest ideas and which he smoothly executes (this trip was his idea). Since his santro car was used-to his ideas; she silently agreed to the master’s will for rolling 2500 kms.

Mihir Gorecha, the Robot, as we call him. He is a guy who will climb up any mountain in his vicinity! He is known for his adventures endeavors; jumping from airplanes is his favorite pass time (of course with a parachute) Sky diving, I mean!

Krishanu Mukherjee [@krishhhh], our bongali dada. He loves traveling with his SLR, capturing those soul moments of life that we often miss. He also made a short movie that pretty much describes our journey.

And the fourth seat in the car was occupied by me, Satyam Gambhir [@xatyam]. I am a professional blogger. A boy from dilli, who just loves to be, where there is little extra life than usual.

A cool headed guy, a sporty adventurer, a philosophical dada and a chilled out beer-ified guy, packed their bags to celebrate new year’s eve at a place (on the map) which they didn’t know whether existed, away from usual conventional partying culture.

Conversations

Gorecha: Alright guys, all set!!!! Say cheers.

Me: But mera ek problem hai. Wherever we are stopping during the nights, I need rooms with clean toilets. Mera potty ka problem hai.

Abhijit: We know that Satyam; checkout the hatch. We have a gift for you.

And there was a full roll of toilet paper.

Me: But I don’t use this. I need water for the job!!!

Abhijit: Checkout there is something more.

And there I found tents and 4 sleeping bags.

So, they made sure I get enough sea water for the potty as they had no plans to stay at hotel for the 5 night trip. This made me uncomfortable, only until I did my potty in open air for the first time!!!

The Journey and fun

Driving one at a time, stopping at almost every place we found worthy; it will remain one unforgettable trip of my life. Climbing up the hill where the slope was beyond imagination and downhill where the brakes refused to work, our wheels were the hero of the trip who took us from here until there, alive.

We passed through the beautiful Western Ghats; yes, right through the middle of those horrifying roars of wild animals; reminding us of ‘why we took this route?’ There were no roads and we were following a pattern on the sand which seemed to be those of a four wheeler tire imprints. We also found dead ends where we traveled 100 kms back because the Google map showed us the wrong direction.

The Accident: Click to enlarge.

While road trips are always interesting, we encountered an incident which was life altering. Our vehicle was touching 150 km/hr on a highway towards Goa and we were following a sedan. While the road was smooth with no signs of any speed breakers; suddenly the road ended!!!!! and the sedan in-front flew in the air and smashed into the valley. It took us our reaction time to stop our car by applying full brakes and saved ourselves. We ran down the road to see if the guys were alright, and we were pleased to know than no one was hurt. We were surprised to know why there were no sign boards on the road to warn travelers about ‘broken road ahead’, rather ‘no road ahead’.

The last stretch

We were yet 400 kms away from Kodi and it was 30^th December evening already. Now the deal was to drive this nonstop, as we were expecting another friend to arrive there on time. This was the best stretch ever; we not only completed it without any major stoppage, but reached a couple of hours before time. The memories of these last 400 kms will always remain with me, as it involved intense discussions among friends who were different like 4 directions and still respected each other’s opinion. Conversations, some senti, some emotional and some regarding aims to achieve; that made us forget the road and reach in time. Conversations that changed my outlook towards life.

It was the road, the journey that brought close friends even closer!

"lamakaan is open" is not just a password

2012-03-06T06:15:00.000-08:00

I have been spending my weekend evenings at lamakaan, hyderabad.

Its a social home, where anyone can enter, grab a chair, and start chatting with anyone one feels like. I happen to be there my mistake and I was amazed by the concept, a new definition of openness.

Lamakaan is open

Being open is not just limited to internet, businesses, ideas; i realized when I heard that Lamakaan is a home donated by someone for the purpose of socializing; openness is a way of living.

This place is occupied with people of varied genre.

Start ups / Entrepreneurs (Free office space for them, free wifi)
Actors (chance to act in plays that happen in lamakaan, build audience and fans)
Students (Group studies, at least thats what they say at home)
Theater artists (opportunities to perform, play almost every weekend)
Smokers (smokers joint)
Painters (grab a corner and start with whatever)
Poets (u ll find them lost under some tree)
Singers (yes, its a good place for them. They just start singing, and number of people that gather around them becomes a measure of how good they sing)
Writers (they get to talk to different people, from where begins a story)
Journalists (usually conversing over some intellectual topics)

and so on!!

I may not belong to any of the above, but i go there to enjoy the company of such people and have a cup of awesome tea with samosas.

Kitchen at Lamakaan

Yes, there is this stall (like a home kitchen, but a little overpriced) from where this place is funded (and the maintenance). But great taste and nice service.

When I asked a young chap who was having a smoke around the corner,
"Dude, whats the password for wifi here". before he could answer, a street dog passed between us into the hall where people were busy doing what they usually do!!!!
He said, "lamakaan is open"

We both smiled!

Spirituality vs Religion

2012-03-05T21:32:00.000-08:00

Is it only me who is finding more and more youngsters getting away from religion towards spirituality? Or I am among that set of people?

My parents go to temple, offer prayers every morning at home and without which, they say, their day is incomplete. On the other hand, I don't really find the need to go to a temple, or offer prayers every day. I respect their (and other people's) dedication towards their belief.

Where is the difference?

So many people can just stand up right now and vouch for God and his existence. However, the truth that no one can deny (even those who vouch) that no one has seen God or experienced his presence. Sometimes, I ask to myself, is there no difference between 'faith' and 'blind faith'?

Though, I can not either bet on whether God does not exist! So lets leave the question here... its more about what people believe rather than what things really are.. coz thats what matters!

"Spiritual, not religious" is a common phrase among people who may have a belief in God or a higher power; who see the importance of meditation; or just feel the power of nature, but who don't see any benefits to organized religion. There is distrust on both sides of the spiritual versus religious issue. Religious people think those who call themselves spiritual are somehow false, weak or unable to commit to their beliefs.

On the other hand, spiritual people are interested in a personal experience of the spirit, and they find that the rules, regulations and rituals of organized religion don't do anything for their own spiritual experience.

Religious people believe that there is God outside their body! Whenever they do something wrong, they apologize / confess to God / Church.

Spiritual people believe that there is power inside their body! While doing something wrong, they apologize / confess to themselves.

Jaisalmer - my next trip [Cancelled]

2012-02-27T09:02:00.000-08:00

This is Jaisalmer. Pictures have never done justice to the real.. Who knows when will it start, but my next journey has been decided.

Indian is Polio free

2012-02-27T03:25:00.000-08:00

Great! Its a polio free India. Congrats Countrymen!

Tennis and Me???

2012-02-27T01:34:00.000-08:00

This was the first thing that I saw when I reached my office desk. Thanks to Shravan (Salesforce team @ Infosys) for getting me a Tennis Racket. Great start to a week; Monday begins with a lawn tennis match!!

Cheers!

LaMakaan

2012-02-26T22:52:00.001-08:00


LaMakaan

Been quite some time in Hyderabad now, but was ignorant of Lamakaan until last weekend where I happen to be just by mistake. Until 25th Feb, 2012, 7:30 pm I was unaware of whether such a place exist. A meeting that got over earlier than expected took me to this place to kill time.

Now I spend my weekends there

Plan to write a small blogpost every time I go there, will publish along with a pic. Till then, cya!