The Journey

Birthday Resolutions - 2011...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 15:55:00 +0000

Another birthday and as usual another list for next year... :D

Still be blogging. Oh I hope...I hope...I hope!

Run a ~~marathon~~ . Just get fit first.

A couple of things will continue to be on this list as well - travel. More of India. As much of SE Asia as possible as long as I'm in Singapore, and hopefully - NZ and Australia, and the bungee jump should happen there. There's no way I'm doing the reverse bungee here - looks too damn scary, and news of a snapped rope etc didn't help either.
(I don't think this will happen by next b'day. Still keeping my fingers crossed.)

Read more books. This year I loved Kindle and wanted to buy it badly, but given the time constraints I go through, I gave it a pass as I don't get much time to read...

Learn to play the guitar, and learn to play it well. No half measures.

Work on increasing skill sets. I have already started indoor Rock climbing. This year it would be great if I could be good at it and take it outdoors. Also working on few other hobbies and hopefully will update all of you guys...

Lastly, and most important - be in touch with every single friend and family member I hold dear - time and distance notwithstanding.

The Pacific...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:28:00 +0000

Last week I finished 'The Pacific' miniseries by HBO. It's in the same league as that of 'Band of Brothers'. Of the two hands down my personal favorite would be the latter one as I felt the stories and emotions portrayed in the other one far superior.

Still it was riveting to watch this series too as apart from Nicholas Cage starer Windtalkers very few movies have ventured into Pacific theater of World War. Again my personal favorites have to be 'Flag of our Fathers' and 'Letters from Iwo Jima' both directed by Clint Eastwood and thankfully showing the other side of war which is often left out.

Anyways the point for this post was I was in awe with the opening credits of this miniseries. The whole charcoal drawn characters with colors of war and visuals made it exciting to watch. No wonder for all the 10 episodes not even a single time I missed the credits.

Thankfully I had subscribed to a blog which writes about the opening credits of various movies. They covered the whole art of making of this title (that's also is the title of their blog) along with their experiments, other creative sheets and the interview. You can read the whole article here...

I am embedding the intro video for the very few lazy bums who had been gracious enough to visit this blog but would hardly find time to enjoy the opening credits... :P

A quick recap...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 01:16:00 +0000

Its been quite a long time that yours truly had noted anything...but lets not get into any formalities as he knows no matter what it will happen again from time to time...And as the title says here's what been happening with him since few days/months...

Yours truly was gracious enough to grant a visit to Rocky Mountain National park & Mt. Rushmore for the Memorial Day weekend. It was a blast and went just the way he wanted it to be. Every minute went the way as all of them had planned. Hmmm...well not exactly everything, as getting lost in the jungle with no maps and exhausted food and water supply doesn't count in planning. But he wanted that excitement and may be his friends too. So even after getting lost they had their spirits high and enjoyed being lost in the woods. While they were struck by the beauty that nature bestowed upon them and his faith was initiated in the fact that US is really blessed with natural things and these people surely know how to work these things for them. All the while he enjoyed staying in luxurious hill side cottage-house, barbecue at night, river rafting and loads of senseless talks...(He will write more detailed post soon with all the pictures...)

Some time back in April yours truly got badly drunk. When he says badly drunk he means it. For few of you it may be daily chore that you live with it but when it comes to this fellow the things are different...Ajinkya persuaded him to join and they were kind of celebrating for Shubadha as she was getting married. So it (alcohol) rained heavily that night, while yours truly had no sense as to how much he got drenched. He came to his senses when he was thrown out of the club which he didn't take it seriously but afterwards was highly apologetic for it. Well night ended by someone else carrying him home and Manish had to bear all my bakar the whole route... (Just to clarify -- yours truly is not a drunkard and scenarios like this comes once in a blue moon. It is for the fact that he doesn't enjoy drinking but sometimes gives up for his dear friends)...

Speaking of which, its becoming increasingly difficult for him to keep track of number of people who feels they had enough of bachelor life and wants to experience the marital bliss. Its like there's been a contagious disease spread around him and everyone except him has been affected by it. Things get worse when he has to reply to 6-7 chain mails of every one's invitation for engagement, marriages, pictures etc. While the thought that soon it will be the time to write 'cute jodi' etc on numerous social network sites still scares him. Another thought being their would be many crylings of these many couples that would be attending his marriage... :P

No matter how hard he tries, the poor fellow is still stuck on 3 mile mark. This gets frustrating at times because he want to put in the hard work and is motivated to do so, but his professional life is taking its toll. He somehow squeezes the exercise here and there, but these days lesser results are making him rework on his plans. He will try to work around the things and will come up with better exercise plan. Something that works. He's happy with the fact that consistency in swimming is something that's keeping him sane. If somebody tries to show off in front of him, he can always play safe by letting them know about his 1/2 km swim every week... :D

To make matters worse, he took oath as to not watch any movies for month. Its day 3 for him today and signs of insanity have already been to shown to few souls. Rumors are that he was found smiling and laughing thinking dialogues from movie Andaz Apna Apna. In fact somebody heard him reciting those dialogues with few of his colleagues today. Hopefully month should go peacefully without inflicting any long term damage on him and he should yet again bounce back in the service of movie god.

There have been few hiccups in his professional life and it seems he has to toil hard in near future.

Things looked pretty sad as he had to lose few friends and he couldn't do anything about it. Life goes on no matter what...This is something he has to remember always and imbibe deep within...

Even though it doesn't looks like to be a quick and short recap of his life, this is best he can do right now and soon will be back with detailed post of his ventures.

Holi hai...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:38:00 +0000

People around me always love to bless me with the zen wisdom. One of them was - 'You only miss the things in life, once they miss your calendar... ' (Go figure... :P)

Holi for me is one of the best festival INDIA celebrates. The sheer joy of coloring other people and at the same time trying to save yourselves from 20 aggressive hands trying to change your skin tone adds to the fun. There's water everywhere making sure even the mighty sun god can't show his prowess to you...

Even when I was a child I had this enthusiasm which would soothe only after playing Holi for 8-10 hours and I would only stop when there's no water left in my neighborhood...The preparation starts couple of days earlier, first in mind, then on paper, then in front of Dad (so that he shells out enough money for ) finally culminating into the color shop where I used to find the darkest color to play with. Now it was due to the philosophy of yours truly that unless the color stays for minimum of 10 days you can't qualify to tell others that you played well that day.

Holi has its religious roots which you can find here. And no matter how much anticipation we had for the second day the first day wouldn't get unnoticed. This was the day when Mom would made delicious puran polis and if you mix it up with kaddhi, I can bet to you even the heavenly nectar would be tasteless. The day would be called after a sumptuous dinner and the only dear thing any child could have that night would be his newly bought pichkari...

The 2nd day ritual was simple. Wake up at ungodly hours to prepare. Even my father used to get amused with this discipline of mine as other days it would take one tight dhapata on my back to get me out of bed...Morning ablutions were another quickie while my only concern was I should be the first one out armed with pichkaris(water canon) and loads of color stashed into strategic locations (under rocks and some places) so that when I had to get into defensive stance due to water shortage it would come handy to open a counter offensive.

With years, the rituals changed for me. After my board exams it was time to venture out into the whole city. Then there was a freedom of bicycles which would take any pleasure seeking soul to the part of city where there are colors. Holi with times was more of bonding with friends. Even though times changes I remember I used to knock at Arpit's place early in the morning causing a tumult amongst other friends. Yeah but it was an attempt to not miss the chana made by his mom...We all knew we wouldn't spare anyone but it was a test to see as who draws the first ~~blood~~ color. And with the first splash there was no turning back.

Amidst all the hullabaloo only thing we could hear was to spare the house and take our silliness somewhere else and there was no other way to oblige. This would mean go on a hunt. Get armed on you bikes (yeah bicycles soon gave up to bikes) and visit those wimpy friends to show them what has to be done on this day. Friends would pour in in between. Often we would cross each other on roads and no matter where we meet again the ritual was simple. Make sure each and every person from other gang tastes color from your side, if there is mud nearby - feel free to use that too and then if he is wearing any damn clothes just tear it apart. I know this sounds insane but if you are playing Holi in Nagpur its the only way we rowdies are used to.

Holi in Nagpur was another fine display of nakedness. Often times I am sure the models on runway would have more clothes on their body compared to a holi playing guy. No one would get embarrassed but still not to make every other gals dream come true, yours truly would take care that he would at least cover few ounce of flesh on his body. There would be war cries, honking and silencer sounds you couldn't even imagine. We would literally hop from one friend's place to another and our journey would only end when there were no other place to visit. That means girls hostel too...Did I tell you how much it is to watch girls playing holi...ummm...:D

The tiresome day would eventually end gorging on Rajesh's samosa corner. The day wouldn't be more blissful if you aren't blessed with one of those.

These days I don't know whether holi back in INDIA is still that charming as it was 4 years back. I tried playing here in USA but then it wasn't much due to my 10 days rule. So these days I find comfort in looking at my yesteryear's pictures.

So I read this Tushar's status message -- "Holi re Holi...purnachi poli.....Managers cha D#*@*@% banduki chi goli...gharara poooodyaaaaa..sura na mano HOLI hai ..." & that's when I realized what I have been missing in my life...

Update I: Thanks Vishal for reminding me about bhang. But I deliberately didn't mention it as I never tasted it. I tried a lot back in INDIA but unfortunately was never so lucky or may be my friends were way too busy in foreign maal. Anyways bhang for any Indian is synonymous to Holi. At one instance after returning home my father somehow assumed that I was under the influence of bhang and didn't allow me inside. Seeing no other option I waited at the front door for an hour. May be it was the neighbors talking about an ugly beggar sitting outside the Barapatre's house or my Mom's sympathy, I was lucky enough to get hot water to bathe but still wasn't allowed inside. It was only after sunset they realized that 'ghar ka chiraag' was sitting outside and then they let me in...

PS: I know there are few words that won't make sense to non-Indian audience(again if any), but if you really want to know what they meant just drop a comment and I will be happy to enlighten you.

New shoes...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:48:00 +0000

Yeah!!! Finally got myself a new shoe...Just like my old one but still bit advanced and suitable for my foot...the New Balance MR 760...

I wanted a new shoe as the present one was crying badly to give some break from my everyday exercise routine. And since I have been quite regular these days I think its reasoning was valid. So guessing it would be a nice time to get a second pair for my foot I started researching again...After wasting many hours on Internet I narrowed down few shoes which I thought were good enough for my foot and pocket... :D

So under the impression that I am well equipped with all the heavenly knowledge I need about running shoes I marched towards local running store. Its named 'On the Run' and I had decided to buy my shoes from there only. Since my foot type and strike etc had already been determined last year these people didn't had to go through the ordeal and they chose a shortcut to look at my running shoes to gave me proper advice...

After careful examination of my previous shoes they come up with few ones including the ones which I asked for. I started trying each one of them. Some felt tight, some too loose while other started making me uncomfortable within few steps...They came up with the second lot and it went the same way as first one. Finally I felt lucky with the third type. I tried one which looked just like my previous one and voila my foot suddenly felt at home...Every part was seemingly relaxed inside it. The owner of the store didn't looked much surprised and bestowed me with some kind of zen wisdom - of my foot being adapted to that shoe now...Anyways I didn't had any problem with that one so gifted it to me... :D

I didn't gave it a try but will take it for a run coming Tuesday and will let you know how it went...

Just to inform you friends...I am back to my fitness freakiness and hoping that this time I will stick to it. I have already started making plan about the whole year as to how it will shape me. So in short these days I am running, swimming, lifting few dumbbells here and there, at the same time groaning loudly to make sure that cute babes would notice me working harder... :D

New Year...New me...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 03:20:00 +0000

Hey friends...

Wish you a very marvelous HAPPY NEW YEAR...

I know I am late as usual in doing things, but taken into consideration the last couple of days this is the best I could do...

Yours truly for a change was out of his 2^nd hometown to Austin clubbing with friends where he celebrated his new year countdown being sober amidst drunk firangs, sexy gals, $ex starved desis (don't blame me for typecasting) and a cool DJ playing awesome songs and equally out of sync dance moves of you know who :P...

Austin was fun. A well deserved outing and the way I wanted to celebrate my new year unlike with butter chicken and vodka...We danced all night with the jovial crowd forgetting about the freezing temperatures. After the hangover (not mine) we went to Lake Travis, Mt. Bonnell and finishing up with some laser tag and bowling. Yours truly excelled at bowling and considering his debut after 25 years its something to boast of on my side. Don't harp me as to why I hadn't done this previously. Its just that I never felt that I should do it earlier. No big deal.

It was a pleasant change considering the past 1.5 month where I had been crushed with the copious amount of work. I had been working like crazy forgetting the difference between day and night for long hours. Things are falling in right place at least for now so I am pretty content at this moment. But there's still pressure to perform and time lines to keep and loads of stuff to learn from peers.

If someone would ask to retrospect on past year, I better not indulge myself with that. Hence I spared myself writing timeline the way I did in 2008. It was a year I will let forget or dump somewhere in my mind where it couldn't be traced back again. Nothing was right and hence its apt to move ahead while erasing the previous memories and move on ahead.

And since I had this wonderful start this year in Austin, I have my hopes high for this year. I have set some targets to achieve which may be pretty harsh to me considering under performance, but then that's the way I want my life to be. Each step of mine should keep me gasping for breath and yet I should move forward to carve better and determined part of mine.

I haven't jot down any resolutions this year, so most of my list is still in the hidden mode of my head. I will try to reveal it soon.

Yet my primary goal would be to keep myself calm, composed and happy all the times. I think I lack on some points on that part. Also I am experimenting to be a vegan for a month. Its just a time-pass experiment to have some change from regular...

Before I forget, yours truly can now officially be termed as 'battery' as he has been kind enough to joined the clans of bespectacled souls :D... (Honestly friends it $**k$ big time)...

PS: Don't think I am lazy as blogging has been slow, its just the work that's keeping me busy...

Birthday Resolutions revisited...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:57:00 +0000

Its that time of year when I should revisit my birthday resolutions to see if I have done something with it...

~~Graduate with the MS degree.~~ - DONE... :D

Devote time for some hobby. I want to get into dancing or learn some instrument. Lets see which one I choose first.

There wasn't any time left to pursue any hobby of mine. So this one I'm forwarding to coming year...

Get into a fit body. I have already started workout but want to set some goals. For this instance I want to see my self run at least 10K by next birthday.

Didn't run a 10K though I tried my best to be fit and have shed some pounds...

Try one adventure sport. I am planning for bungee jumping or sky-diving. I am surrounded by some fattu people but hope this plan would materialize sooner.

No adventure sports this year too... :( Can I list traveling US coast to coast as an adventure sport...

Travel to great new places. (That depends on my job, but will do it.)

Yeah...Traveled to some great places, but I'm still longing for few more...

Learn some recipes and increase level from amateur in the field of cooking.

Some definite improvement in this field, still lot to catch up...

PS: I hope you guys don't throw any quizzical looks at me for these color codes...

25 things about me...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0000

I got the idea from here, but rather than sticking to just 10 honest things, I am pushing myself bit more to 25, afterall I should also have some say in my blog... :D

Since today I complete supposedly quarter part of my life, I thought it would be cool to let some of the things about myself here...

So here are 25 things about me...

I love INDIA. Don't care if she's imperfect, corrupt or plagued with thousand different problem, my love for her is eternal. I love the way we are passionate about everything, excitement around festivals, the food, culture and traditions, families tied together, joy of dancing, villages and not to forget the weddings. I am crazy for everything about INDIA.

When it comes to Nagpur, my hometown, I am even more crazy and will go to any length to prove how it is the best city in INDIA (though I don't need too, its already is :P ). I like the life of Nagpur, its laid back normal paced lifestyle, blazing summers, roadside foodstuff and the time I have spent there.

I tend to forgive but not forget. I forgive people easily because I believe each one has its individual characteristics and everyone can't be same. Also I know myself very well. If I am after someone, I never strike to cause pain, I strike to destroy (he he)...

I love wild animals. One of my favorite is Royal Bengal Tiger and I always wanted to pet one :D. As I grew older I realized this isn't possible and that's when I diverted my attention to dogs. Someday I will have one of my own (dog I mean)...

I am a decent cook. I can at least cook different dishes all 7 days to keep a person alive. But I hate doing dishes. So, to my future wife, I can cook whole week, promise me you will do the dishes and cleaning afterwards... :P

I am a foodie. I love everything about food. The way it looks, tastes and smells. Hungriness is one of the major reason you will find me cranky. So when it comes to food I am a glutton. And I love all types of cuisine.

When it comes to gals, I'm big loser. I was always shy: afraid during earlier days and blunt guy afterwards (never too cheesy). So I have saved loads of moolah by not buying gifts on birthdays & special days, eating bhuttas on a rainy day (which I eventually did with friends though) etc.

I am not sure whether I am an introvert or an extrovert. A mixture word would be apt.

I am very easy going person. I gel easily with people (thanks to some of my silly dialogues) people find me affable. So if I'm talking to you, believe me I like you, else I can be rude too...

I am not much possessive about my stuff. I hardly deny anyone my personal possessions. I care about them though and expect others to do so if they are using it.

I am big fan of movies. I love Bollywood. With years I lopsided more to Hollywood, South Indian movies and other languages too. But my loyalty is still with the crappy Hindi cinema (not to forget the B graded one too)...

I can't claim to be the ardent music lover, but need it going on all the time. If there's none you will find me humming.

I hate liars and hypocrites.

Only other people joining them are educated people unaware of damage they are causing to environment which they could prevent. Forgot about orthodox (superstitious too) people.

I would love to go backpacking, travel all around the world, climb those mighty mountains, swim in the lakes and rivers.

I love to dream a lot. My thought processors always work overtime (except for the few times when I am simply doing nothing). I dream about everything in all possible directions.I have so many dreams and ambitions stuffed into me. Driving a Formula 1 car, bungee jumping etc are few of those apart from being successful. (Complete list here...)

I love my friends and thankfully am surrounded by awesome people at all times.

I spend a lot of time thinking about the good things about life and celebrating them. And that's not just because I am generally a happy person. The other reason is that I am terrified that some day, without my own knowledge, I might reach the 'point of no return'. (The 'point of no return' is this horrible place in life you may end up at, where you dislike everyone and everything, and you trust no one and nothing, and you think the whole world is out to get you.) copied from here...

I am not religious, can call myself agnostic. I loathe the fact that our lives are most of the times hampered by silly superstitions and rituals. So my visit to temples depends on the quality of food they are serving that day... :D

I get elated with small things in my life. Small talks with friends, nice food, good music or just silly time-pass is enough to give me a push for a time.

I am a minimalistic guy. Was never much into flashy stuff. A few things here and there are enough to keep my life going. Not a spartan though... :D

I was never into sports, so much that I would always be a 'kachcha nimbu' while playing any games during my earlier days. My tryst with sports was swimming, running and cycling which I do even today. But coming from a cricket crazy nation people get shocked when I tell them that I don't know the difference between 'leg-bye' and 'bye'.

I like partying with friends. But I don't fit into the new concept of booze and fags. My concept of party is food, dance and enjoyable time. (Cute gals are always welcomed at the venue :P)

My dream job would be ummm...Always confused about that. I like my programmer way of life. But many a times I long to a Defense personnel (Fighter pilot...), chef or someone into adventure sports.

I love my life. I know it sucks sometimes, but then I don't care...

That's just me...

PS: Sorry, since I am shamelessly copying no. 18, but I couldn't find any better way to put this.

Long break...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:28:00 +0000

I will be taking a long break from my blog. Don't know when I will be returning back as these days I am not in a mood to write anything, so its better to let it go for few days or maybe months.

Those who have subscribed to my feeds, my apologies to you people and thank you for being with me. Give me some time and I will surely be back...

Coming back home...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:35:00 +0000

Moving back to Houston was one of the positive thing that has happened to me in many months. It felt so good getting back to all the people, the one who care for you. Initial days were spent leisurely in catching up with the stories of Houston and moving through the neighbourhood where I had spent my last couple of year.

And then I had one of the best night and Kiran and A's place who planned for a small get together. Everything was planned (and cooked) by both of them. All we had to do was go and enjoy, not to forget feast on the tasty food (this is the field where your's truly is simply unbeatable). Since most of the other people were busy the reunion was more sort of in batches where we went in first and rest of the gang kept dropping in till 1 am. The time was well spent as we all were meeting after many months and even if that would have been days, I bet it would have the same euphoria. While the hungrier part of mine was gorging on food, the other part was just happy to be these wonderful people.

Everybody left somewhere late at night and I decided to stay back as I want to spend more time there. I didn't cared whether I was breaching the privacy part, hope both of them they understood it and welcomed me. Its strange for me too as how selfish I can be sometimes. I didn't knew what I was going to do staying back there as apart from talking long talks I am hardly a good company as I am not an entertainer but still I wanted to be there with both of them. We sat and talked again till late night discussing and retelling so many varied things.

Tired after a long hiatus we decided to call it an end. Suddenly A asked me - "subah nashte me kya khayega?" (What will you have for breakfast?) I couldn't believe my ears. The words itself exuded the warmth which I always felt around A that I was speechless. The last time someone asked me this was way back in my life (my Mom). For couple of minutes I went too emotional (I know that's bit exaggerated for someone like me but I was in that state). For a guy who is enduring cereals and omelet's, the question itself make me feel like I was in elysium. Promising to decide it in the morning we called it off and I slept giving my thought processors a very hard time.

The morning started with usual fare and soon it transformed to the days I had enjoyed in INDIA (ref this...). I was taken care of like a child and I enjoyed that. I feasted on their hospitality all day from breakfast till dinner finishing all her creation. To give you an example half of the halwa that was made was vanished by my trick :D. Soon we were joined by more of the remaining people and again had a blast. Few of my pals can truly make you roll over the floor and thats what I was waiting for. We cracked jokes on each other, made fun with loads of humorous stories and made some future plans.

Didn't wanted to but then I had to say bye and get back to my place.

For more than 24 hours I was pampered making me feel the same old again. Both of them they didn't let me do anything and I shamelessly followed all their orders for not working. I felt human again.

Over to Houston...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:58:00 +0000

Few days back I moved back to Houston from PA. To tell the truth its a refreshing change. No matter how much I had hated this place back in my past, coming back was like returning to my abode. Yeah it sounds crazy but Houston is now my second home after Nagpur, whatever good or bad it has now it is part of my life. I have all the dear friends surrounding me, taking care for me, making me feel special in the troubled times and to laugh with me in my foolish happiness.

I had moved to PA with a hope, to change my life. I have the same hope instilled in me but will have to get away with few of chances that came my way. Even though its a small amount of time I won't be able to forget whatever I have achieved there. The place made me a better person and a student. I was able to tie few more knots of friendship with nice people. Even though the times were grim we had been together keeping our spirits high. May be thats why you need people around you to propel yourself whenever you feel low, so that you don't fall into downward spiral.

I realized the ways of professional life, its day to day ritual, colleagues bonding and some facets of my IT corporate world. More than that I will remember PA for making me more determined. It made me humble, showed me that there's still lot more to achieve before you start boasting about something. Those days carved the better part of me.

I was more concerned about everything that was related to me and happening around me. New heights were gained in almost all the fields that I had longed for. How can I forget that I successfully completed 5K run that too I couldn't do it for 1 min in the start. Experienced the joy of road racing like never before. Those peaceful runs at Memorial park where my body was treated to pain and runners high that I got with each sweat.

Getting back into the water after couple of years. Being the same kid as I used to be in my earlier days. Finishing laps after laps in a PA weather when water is cold that makes your lungs gasp for warmth. I hadn't experienced such pure joy may be in a decade.

Then there was the beauty of PA that kept me gaping. It has nice icy weather, cool temperatures, evening rains and lush green mountainous region till the horizon. US I know is blessed with beautiful landscapes but being the part of it in first person would make my day each time.

Over these past few months I had been to metropolitan New York, sleepless Miami and two road trips, then there was awe inspiring Niagara. I hadn't travelled this much compared to my period of stay in US. Each trip had its fun filled stories and moments to cherish. Few I know will treasure all my life. It gave me opportunity to get back to few of friends whom I always love and are part of my life.

There was so much to learn back at PA, but I had lost patience with the ongoing time and whatever happening to my life. I am not naming people that helped me survive these days as it would be a selfish and unjust act from my side. The decision was made on my part and may be I could meet these people again. For now I bid my adieu...

Halfway through my goal...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:41:00 +0000

It was feeling hot. I don't know what's my body temperature would have been but it was radiating heat which was unbearable for me too. Maybe I should stop reading Mrityunjaya, the Karna also shows same traits whenever he gets excited or angry. Its just figment of my imagination, everything is in fact cool around me.

I was panting little bit but deep down was satisfied with whatever I had put myself through. Don't know how much time I had been doing this with such frenzy. It felt good though with some pain but somehow also felt determined. I knew running has its advantages but never had such high earlier, so what was causing it... I looked down for the distance I ran and I knew the cause of my smile...

The readings were 3.3 miles (5.3 km)...

PS: I freed myself on Independence Day and successfully crossed the 2.5 mi wall after so many days...

Musings...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:57:00 +0000

"Sapnon se bhare naina" (video link) - came upon this song again after so many days. Was listening to Coke Studio and that's when I remembered this song. I had seen this movie the time it released and have concentrated on only one song - Baawre, because Hrithik Roshan was simply stunning and awesome in it.

On our Niagara trip, A introduced me to this song and both of us replayed it again and again for the remaining morning while others were enjoying their tour to dreamland. The song struck chord that moment itself and once coming to PA I went back to it, listening to Shankar Mahadevan's resonating voice.

Today again I was listening to it most of my day and then I decided to watch the movie. I love this movie for its simplicity and more so because each of its characters speak out to you with their emotions. Each and every frame of it, the actors they convey what's going inside their minds with the sufficed facial expressions. And who doesn't want an inside scoop of Bollywood, so a movie buff like me seeks pleasure in such movies.

Apart from the protagonist, I come back to this movie to see Hrithik. Though he's a guest star in it, but whatever time he was on screen I felt that movie was at it's strongest point. I always rewind his scenes when a glass window is separating him from street urchins, when they spot a super star and run for him. Just few minutes earlier he's cranky about the situation he's got himself in, the next moment he's with his playful self.

And then there's this one when at party while talking to Karan Johar he realizes that he has paved way for someone to give him competition in future. The camera goes on to take close up of him and he speaks to you through his eyes. Simple breathtaking.

Such stellar performances is what I still have faith in Bollywood. Even if they are for few seconds or so, its enough for me to enjoy the movie...

I hope you guys love the song and would forgive me for this rant...

PS: I think this song also reflects on my present condition... :D

Happy Birthday INDIA...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:06:00 +0000

My motherland grows older by another year. Happy Birthday INDIA...

Its been 3 years now that I am away from you, yet I long for you each passing day. No matter where I am my heart belongs to you and I will always return back.

For once lets channel our energy to make our country a developed nation. Lets forget our differences and be one to make this place a better one for the coming generation. The onus lies on us, the younger generation to be responsible and make all the dreams come true. So lets start it from today itself as there won't be any other auspicious day...

Image Courtesy: SantaBanta

To a lost friend...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:36:00 +0000

I have celebrated on this day earlier for many years. Yet today I stayed silent and calm. Hoping that my prayers reaches you.

The void caused by you can't be filled by anyone else and no matter how many more years would come and go I will always remember you...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

Rhythm...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:22:00 +0000

I hope you all remember my last post in which I showed displeasure for my 100^th post since I was acting as a lazy bum. One of the comment I received (yeah, I do have some readers for this blog) that blog should always have the same rhythm as the blogger's life.

Isn't the above word great encouragement. Truly I can cover my bum and face behind it. But I think it shouldn't be the case. This blog is now one of the dearest treasure of mine, keeping log of my rants, frustrations, failures, jubilation...So keeping it at same rhythm as my life would be justifiable thing to do. Alas, that wasn't the cause I started this blog at first place. I have created it to pen down all my thoughts and feelings, so that some day when I turn back to it, it will act as a perfect log of my whole life.

Rhythm - the word itself is resounding. Have you ever liked a song or melody which has a broken rhythm, so why should I subject my blog to intermittent rhythm reflecting the way of my life. The life is stopped for few days now (may be weeks or months) but then as I said my thought processors are working overtime. So considering the amount of time I have in my hand I would have been blogging generously. Today I found another excuse for not doing it. It's just that I am bored (or I get bored easily these days).

I have all the time in my life for myself, I am at one of the best places on earth at this moment and I bet there would be many who would happily switch places with me. Not to forget the luxuries which I am enjoying, movies, Internet and other countless stuff. So why is that an average person get bored so easily these days even though there are loads of things going around him. Don't you find a strange antithesis in the present condition? Life in my earlier years was pretty simple. It followed a simple routine of eat, play and study along with friends and family. The routine was almost programmed into my mind. Yet I would enjoy every day. Life was limited to a small world which I used to care for, unlike now where everyday I am enthralled by the amount of information we have around us. E.g. If I don't read the posts in my reader even for a day, then it becomes difficult for me to get back to everything as number of unreaded posts for a day reaches an average of 150 a day.

So as mentioned there are loads of stuff which can distract you. Some of the things have hampered my life too and thus the cause if this intermittent rhythm. I am determined not to break it or at least try that it shouldn't happen again.

Stopped time...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 02:43:00 +0000

The time seems to have stopped for me since few months or to be frank I have lost the count. Each day feels the same with nothing new to look upon but still the urge to survive keeps me sane.

This is 100th post. It could be have been a self congratulatory one with loads of old time rant, yet it will have nothing in it. I have been too slow or lazy for past few times not posting anything even though my thought processors sometimes I feel are working overtime. Countless posts had been written and forgotten in my mind but I didn't had the patience to put it in words here.

I have got my hands on 'Mrityunjaya', its a biography of Karna. I have been looking for this one for past many years along with Chhava. While I am still waiting for the latter one, with the earlier one I hope next few days would be bliss. The character of Karna is the most fascinating to me in the whole Mahabharata as loyalty to friends is something which I can relate to. I don;t want to go into pompous details of mighty gods and other stories but want to understand and uncover the layers beneath this austere character. Hopefully this celebrated book would be a nice change too...

I have lost all my hopes on movies front. Movies these days doesn't fancy much as it used to do in earlier days. Somehow I can't sit through one whole movie and some of the ones which I saw lately doesn't deserve to be talked of. Imitiaz Ali was a big let down with his latest flick, I had high hopes from him especially after seeing his earlier works. Except for some nice songs there was nothing in the movie that could entice me. While Sankat City was a fresh change. Some good actors with a nice story is all you need for a movie. I hope the directors should realize this soon and spare us the future horror. Also I saw Rudy, it was another long time pending one and it didn't let me down. No wonder this is one of the finest sports movies. The lead character's resilient nature would surely boost anyone's confidence.

It was Friendship Day last Sunday. Called most of my friends. No matter how hard I tried the count of my real friends was limited to few chosen ones. I wasn't keen on wishing everyone through the social networking site by setting a status message. Maybe supremus words are really true - online relationships are fragile. I have more than 300 acquaintances but only few friends (No hard feelings towards anyone).

Running has been pretty inconsistent. Tomorrow onwards I will revive it again. I have been consistent in running 4K (in km it sounds longer compared to measly 2.5 miles) and hopefully by the end of this year I would complete my goal of running 1oK distance.

NY - Niagara pics...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:24:00 +0000

I know I am late but as promised I am presenting to you my New York and Niagara pictures...

Hope you guys would enjoy it...

Bhutta...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:12:00 +0000

Don't confuse yourself with some politician. The word in title of post is right - Bhutta is the hindi word for corn.

It's raining here heavily and weather has gone bit chilly since past few days. Usually a foodie desi mind will make a journey of good old days about ravishing the variety of delicacies that one can enjoy on the roads. So how can yours truly be an exception to this fact.

No matter how much a common man would curse rains for making his life go haywire (they forget that our able politicians plays a big role in this conspiracy), somewhere in his subconscious mind he still is very happy. And why not, rains can take anyone down to the memory lane where one has enjoyed his carefree days. How can one forget the kaghaz ki kashti's, those running in small streams, playing in mud and school closures.

But growing old has some of its other advantages when you are especially young. Rains somehow starts to feel romantic due to some scientific concepts going on in our body. Then there are long drives, getting drenched till you feel your undies on your skin :P and then there are pakoras, samosa's and ever favorite of couples and youngsters - Bhutta that one enjoys during rains...

Yours truly has got countless moments that he has savored along with his friends. Now please we will not go into details as to why I enjoyed it with friends while it is the uber favorite delicacy amongst couple. Remember me telling you guys that I am pretty sharif when it comes to venetian's :D. So I never had to be embarrass myself by sharing a common bhutta amongst two of us while some oldie's giving me wasted youth look.

So point of talking all this random boring bakwas is - few minutes back, after 3 long years, I enjoyed the soft, baked on a stove and garnished with nimbu, salt and butter, the amazingly delicious priceless Bhutta...

PS: I know this post has too much of Hindi words in it. But couldn't contain myself today.

Random frustu rant...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:00:00 +0000

"Eat, sleep, study and run...Keep this in for loop with infinite iterations...That's my life these days... " - That's what my status all over social networks read today. Yeah I'm in my crankiest (don't know whether superlative term exist or not) mood, and that's the best phrase to describe my condition...

To all my friends - If you are trying to connect to me, please talk something sense or at least some sh**y bakwas, but please (3) don't drag the conversation with 'aur bataa'. I don't have much to tell in my life at this moment and believe me there's nothing new going at my end and I believe above paragraph sums up well about what going on with my life. Yet you are free to strike good conversation which I am always fond of.

Patience - I tend not to use the word 'hate' as for me its repercussions are too strong. But probably I hate this word now. Everyone around me preach yours truly to be patient and might be they are telling me for my own good. But being an impatient brat others have to realize that is something which is hard to come to me.

No form of entertainment is pleasing these days. Some of the latest releases s**k big time and I had wasted some of my time and enthusiasm for it which I could have traded for learning some techy stuff. Small changes lasts only for small time and I need something big to change in my life to have its lasting effects. I am sick of chasing fading shadows.

I am lazy. I am disoriented. Sometimes I am too tired. I lack proper dedication and motivation to be on track. Yeah and numerous other reasons I can state today for my irregularities in blogging. I abhor myself for that too...

PS: If someone is hurt after reading this I duly apologize for this. Also language of future post would be more suitable for everyone. :D

Disclaimer: This is just another random frustrated rant and don't worry I'm completely OK.

Resistant INDIA and me...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:23:00 +0000

The Bing page last Tuesday had a magnificent picture of London Bridge. Now the site has options when you can hover over the image to see its various significance and one of them was - 'Today is 4th anniversary of 7/7 London bombing'...

I wondered whether the site will show the same when it will come to numerous anniversaries that we had to remember for our people killed in various terrorist acts since couple of decades.

I won't argue that what the above site did was wrong, but will they follow the same suite when it will be the case for other countries too. I think no. Because attack on London was the bigger case than compared to the one it happens everyday in INDIA. And then Indians themselves have an apathetic nature towards the acts of terrorism these days and have learnt the silly ways to endure it in their everyday lives. They can only show the act of solidarity when it comes to its big metropolitan cities. Even bloggers wrote countless posts during recent 26/11 Mumbai attacks, but I am yet to find anyone (exceptions are there) which throws light on heinous acts of naxalism that are going on in our country.

We had been and are still marred by various terrorist acts since many years. I am ashamed to say that we can't protect the innocent lives all these days. Our government over the years showed us that they are nothing more than blabbering baboons, yet we elect the same people again and again to prove what kind of people we are who don't even value human lives. We cover everything giving reasons of our resistant culture but forget that there won't be any if none of us are alive. We boast of how INDIA never invaded any country for last thousands of years, probably we lacked the moral fiber all these years when other countries were happily plundering and enslaving us.

But who are we to blame the other countries when we follow the same route. There are hardly any news about the naxal killings that are rampant across various part of our country. I have heard of various news in the naxal areas and in Kashmir that goes unnoticed in the leading media. May be these news won't fetch the audiences as much as some celebrity scoop for these media houses. Just check the yesterday's Times newspaper site. The Delhi metro's accident where 6 people were killed is the headlines rather than killing of 36 cops in Raipur. These cops they laid down their lives for the country and yet they don't get the required news space at least after their death. May be the life of small town people doesn't cost anything when compared to badda sahibs in Delhi.

I still remember when my father was posted in Gadchiroli. It is one of the worst naxal affected in the Vidarbha region. I never told anyone but for two years I was damn scared. Half of the the time I used to be alert whenever there used to be some news about any kind of naxal attacks hoping that it shouldn't be the one from that part. Yeah I was being selfish, but had no other option. I had seen my father die hundred deaths during those couple of years. May be I had gone psycho but I was only concerned about him. At the end I was happy that he got transferred to a safer place.

Manish told me once that brain is the most powerful organ of human body, it can do anything. And I experienced it that time when it played with each and every figment of my imagination.

Disclaimer: This post is the outcome of my random frustrated rant and not meant to defame anyone.

The Looong weekend...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 03:00:00 +0000

Remember 'ghar ki murgi dal barabar' adage. For non - hindi readers in simple words the wisdom it gives us that we don't appreciate the things we have at present and run amok for useless crap.

Anyways enough of zen wisdom in my life and lets get back to my life. So during my MS days I would always say that it was quite easy as we had many free days and not to forget the 4 months summer vacation. It meant the Memorial day and 4th of July weekend didn't meant anything to me as I was already enjoying enough holidays.

Fast forward to my current life. Your's truly stares longingly these days at blue skies and endless beautiful pictures imagining various vacations, and amazing times that he can have with his dear friends. But like Indian rainy season I too have to wait for the special weekend termed as long in this foreign land which really longs for 3 days. Great na...whatever...

So by some great fortune and luck (I had believed that these words don't exist for me now) a great plan was hatched to give some respite to your's truly from his day to day cribbing life. My dear friends from Houston came with this great plan of New York and Niagara and it took me no persuasion to dive in it. Whole credit goes to Kiran and A...

Last weekend I found myself suddenly engulfed with these wonderful souls. So I hope I don't have to tell you again how happy I was. Might be people don't have to die to see heaven (and in terrorist's case kill). Just surround yourself with beautiful people and life takes care of itself. I was having best time of my life again. Can't forget the comment made by A - "I looked happiest all these days"...I hope this sums up everything.

To sum the trip. We were joined by our friend in NJ and then we met the remaining gang in NY. Here we spent whole day doing all sorts of masti and site hopping and not to forget loads of pictures in each and every form - solo, duet, trio.....group etc...One of the main reason we stayed in NY was for the fireworks everyone was so boasting about. So at 9 pm we went to see it. But to my dismay it was normal. I know I'm cribbing again but Diwali back in my hometown is more charming.

We left for Niagara that night itself which was quite eventful. Earlier in the journey itself our car got separated by remaining two which caused lots of confusion, and some bashing for yours truly. We reached the falls during morning and the only thing I cared for was sleep as I was awake all night. I seeked solace on the comfy motel couch. But had to get up within couple of hours to visit the falls. Somehow bleary eyed I visited the place and believe me it was one of those beautiful tranquil site. I know tranquility and yours truly don't go hand in hand, so I played my part in creating enough raucous at Cave of the Winds, a small place where you can enjoy the falls.

I bid adieu to all my friends that evening with a heavy heart. Never wanted this to happen. Hope so I could join these people in another awesome quest.

PS: Pics for the trip in next post...

Lessons from DCH - Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:41:00 +0000

Dil Chahta Hai is a movie which would always be close to my heart. There are various reasons to it which I have mentioned in my previous post.

So you all must be thinking as to why I am ranting again. Few days back while going through my inbox, I got this forwarded email with above title and hence I decided I would share with you. I know the whole idea of learning from Bollywood movie sounds crazy but lets give this one a try. Be with me for this.

Freaking out and enjoying life doesn't need drugs or cigarettes - Sadly these days the situation is complete antithesis. While I could never bring myself to the terms of booze and smoke, many of my friends indulge themselves into it. For me the shift in the paradigm is due to the greedy and selfish lifestyle we lead these days, but then its just my opinion. People would still be doing whatever they feel like. For me, I can't even try to bring good changes in my friends.

There are relationships apart from bf/gf, marriage, siblings that can be very true and emotional, which is beyond the understanding of people. - For me, I loved my friends passionately. It was at times difficult to make other people around me understand what they all mean to me and how they shape and change my life in positive ways. Many of us are dependent on our friends for this true and emotional needs. So true an old adage goes, 'We earn our friends. Relatives and other people we get it free.'

Never be ashamed to go back to your old friends, they are there to understand your mistakes - We fight, we laugh, we cry and we do all sorts of crazy stuff together. In fact we commit mistakes together. But then the devil of guilt grips us tearing everything apart. Friends are there for a reason. They accept us with all our faults. This is something I have learned with my quarter life.

Do not be afraid of others, always think others are afraid of us - Remember the Australian beggar scene from the movie. It's very easy to get scared and disoriented in adverse situation, but always play to your strengths. These situations are there to test you not to discourage you.

To be continued...

Graveyard runs...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:20:00 +0000

These days I am regular into my running and once again I have started running out. Though it has been only for couple of days this time I am very much sure that I will be pretty consistent out there. Thankfully I have got a new running partner who is serious about the running bug. So hopefully yours truly would be in shape by this winter other than round. :D

The whole purpose of todays post is to tell you guys about my outdoor runs. By now you must have sorted out where I do these runs. Now there's a nice quiet, greener place just on the brink of my apartment. For whole week I speculated all the thoughts about how much fun it would be to run in that park (read graveyard). I have had run numerous times in my thought processing world around those graves, the trees, the guarding angels and the small hills.

So last week when S lost the gym key, seeing no other option me and J ventured out. He asked me initially as where I want to go. No wonder graveyard was my instant response. As soon as we entered the park it was just the way I wanted. We both ran a comfortable pace (actually I huffed and puffed all the way) and at end decided to do it more often. It was a wonderful feeling as I could do the whole loop around the park in just one go. One of the funniest thing that happened on 1st day. I ran halfway and stopped for some stretching. Considering it as a park, I sought out a park bench and was about to start my exercise when I realized it was actually a grave of someone.

Some of you would argue that I should leave those dead souls alone but then I am just doing my runs there. I will try to avoid occasional mishaps like the one stated above, but again that wasn't an intentional act of mine. So if I have offended anyone out there, I can't help it. :D No offense intended, no pun intended... (Just one of fav lines we used to stick up anywhere during ond days.) I can promise on one thing though as to not to break the sanctity of that place. I would just do my work and get out. Anyways think as if I am providing some change of scene to those souls who must have got bored since so many days. After all one doesn't see a dude like your's truly in his shorts everday... :P

I am in so much love of that place that I am planning to seek out during night time. It would be just the way I used to do back in my hometown. Me and the boys we have gone to various cemetery on various occasions just to seek out some thrill. Usual place would be Parsi cemetery on seminary hills. It was always fun afterwards to come down the hill with headlights of our bikes turned off and not to mention loads of screaming. Yeah it sounds crazy, but no one can bind the teenage minds. In fact my last trip to INDIA when I was in Goa I have one of my fav pic where we all are standing in front of graveyard during christmas night and it was exactly 12 o' clock to make it more scarier...

Its always fun how people have loads of stories related to ghosts and spirits. I pity on those learned souls who really believe into those things. I won't say that I am totally unafraid of dark and such but there's nothing about it too that get me scared. I should thank my dad for this. Whenever your's truly would get naughty I was taken out in dark so that I should stop troubling people. But over the period of time my enlightened mind figured out that there's nothing out there I should be bothered of and since then there was no turning back.

I will put some more pics of the park. There are some beautiful angles waiting to be shot for. Not to forget the squirrels.

Guess what...I think I should do a post or some on ghosts... Surely it deserves that... :D

PS: The flags which you can see in pic are actually on grave. It is Cedar Hill Memorial Park.

Image courtesy: www.findagrave.com

Back to my element...

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:34:00 +0000

Years back I remember watching a television ad which goes something as - "jal hi jeevan hai, shudh hai, nirmal hai..." The point of telling all this boring thing is, today I started what I love most in my life - Swimming.

It's been many days that I had been longing to get into water and do laps after laps but the apartment which I was staying didn't had a swimming pool. Also weather here in PA is pretty cold, the sun showed up from past couple of days after severe snow and rainy period. I think that's how summers are supposed to be in PA.

I had once done what we can say professional stint with the swimming. In fact I did race, but the funda of 'slow and steady' doesn't apply to the world of swimming and yours truly came dead last.

Anyways I enjoyed a lot today. It was a nice sunny day here and after the training I headed straight way to the pool. There wasn't a single person except the life guard to my delight. So I swam few laps and man I still have those moves after dumping loads of fat in me. The water was pretty cool which made it too relaxing for me.

After wards a lady joined along with her small cute kids. Her daughter splashed water all over enjoying freely. But the best scene was of few month old son who enjoyed water in a small buggy kind of float. They were such a free soul that I was dying of jealousy. He made me remember of 'Om', the chutku who used to stay at our place in INDIA. I have never loved any other small child like him. He used to make my day and I miss him so much.

My legs and shoulders are sore now. And I know condition will get worst by tomorrow. But I am happy with whatever I did today. I would be more elated if my friends could join me but no one is interested in swimming.

PS: I am sorry for not writing much. Even though this unemployment has given me enough time I am in no mood to blog these days, but I will be back soon. There's so much to share about my recent Houston and Miami trip. Also loads of things about my life...