So I have like.. hundreds of online friends, bring it down to a few dozens who’re really good friends, bring it even more down to those who’re very close to me at intimacy levels. But my communication with them has always been limited to either textual or verbal communication over the web or on the phone. And I kind of preferred it since I am a different person online, and somewhat different offline, slightly an introvert, less talkative with strangers, until I get to know them better. As also, I have to balance my talks with every individual, talking in their level of understanding of the subject I’m talking about, also their interests and dislikes to be considered, and their way of thinking on things that I think more about or least care of. All this separation of talks makes me turn into multiple personalities, and each person sees me differently, lol. Somewhat complicated =P

So getting back to the topic, and to the point, yeah I had my first encounter in real with an online friend for the very first time. Bhumin Sangoi was someone I found via Orkut, during my mass adding of Pokefans to converse with, especially him because he resides nearby, around 4 railway stations away. We kinda got chatting, and then got onto phone calls.. was happy he was one of those phone addicts who do not talk less than 1 hr atleast at one go =P

And then finally, on the 26th of Feb., i.e. yesterday, I kind of left college early due to free lectures there on, and some holi mania starting up, getting the college floors wet, making me escape before anything turns up on me =P At the very same time I remembered Bhumin’s XIIth board must’ve just ended, at around 13:00 hrs. While I was at Worli, coming to Dadar, he txt’d me that he could wait for me and catch up at Borivali in my train, and then we could meet up for like 2 stations before I get off. I felt that wasn’t a good way to be meeting up someone for the first time.. 2 stations.. that’s like 10 mins.. way too less for someone you’ve been talking to on the phone for hours, lol. Randomly I came up with the idea of meeting up at Mc Donalds instead, because I had been craving to visit it since a long time (thanks to the inspiring pamphlets they deliver home >_>), and plus he’s a McD buff so.. that would be a great idea to spend some time together.

I got into a Dadar local, he had to wait for me for half n hour or so, sowwie for that! ^^ And then I got off at Borivali platform 3, walk all the way to 1, and further to 7 where he was supposedly waiting for me. And then yeah.. we met! ^_^ walked all the way to Mc Donalds which is at Kora Kendra, some 10-15mins walk in the blazing heat >_< Had a Pizza Puff, Coke Float and French Fries. Apparently I was supposed to be treating him, but he paid off most of it.. and wouldn’t accept the money.. Stubborn he bees!! And then we took an auto back to Borivali, had a nice talk in the train for the next 2 stations, then I had to get off =( though we kept talking on the phone until he reached home, lol.

All in all it was a fun experience to be meeting someone in person. He’s a fun chap to be with, maybe we’ll meet often, and have some (Nintendo) DS gaming sessions ^^ The sad part is that I didn’t take any snaps, I have this habit of snapping every meet, with my friends, just for remembrance later. Maybe next time! (No they’re always kept private btw =P)

’tis how I celebrated the day =P ^^ <3

Life on the Internet is gradually turning saturated, as we keep adding more and more contacts and followers across Orkut, Facebook, Twitter, etc. or on Instant Messengers.  It’s one moment we add them, the next moment we forget them altogether and shove them away to the depths of our crammed up contact lists, never to say yet another ‘Hi’. It happens with me, having 500+ contacts is tough!

But, that’s not my main focus. I’m here writing to talk about our personal contacts: old friends, new friends, distant friends, close friends, family, relatives, colleagues, etc. People whom we have interacted with at some part of life in the real world. I would focus more on old school friends, because that’s what I’m going to use here as an example, who is the main inspiration to this blog post.

We should in fact be thankful to the web, for we can instantly communicate with people whom you can’t devote enough time offline. But even then, we tend to forget them as we get indulged into other activities online. Let us, for once, open up our contact lists, and simply drop a.. Hi!

An iChat with my Best school friend

My 33 day uptime.. ok so wtf who goes with all the shutting down PC business? They’re supposed to be “always on” in this age.. hmph! With 50+ tabbed browsers, 50+ messenger conversations, unsaved open files (text files, PS, DW, etc.), open Explorer windows.. WHY the laziness of booting it all back on?

Besides, it could have gone further if it wasn’t for that Monitor replacement on the 33rd day.. had to reboot to switch to new resolution.

*wipes tears*

I still remember the day he passed away.. it was the 11th day of his stay with us, June 25th, 2004. He had been sick for the last few days. The doctor was supposed to arrive on the previous day, but didn’t. Maybe it was destiny. Maybe it our fate to have his company only for those 11 days, have an experience of being a dog owner, that started the chain ahead of the 4 more dogs who’ve been a part of our lives, the 5th one being with us currently by the grace of God. Maybe he was an Angel, who came to warn us of another loss in our family right after he left us; my Grandfather’s.

After much tantrums and arguments, my little brother’s wish of owning his own pup was fulfilled on 14th June, 2004 when my mom got him a German Shepherd pup, for around 15,000 Indian rupees. Yes he was one of those “original” “imported” breeds you can say. Our family has always been a keen lover of dogs, but we know with the same comes responsibility. Petting a street dog is much different than owning your own. But anyhow, it was an awesome experience with Bruno. Around maybe a month old being his age, he used to mostly stay hidden under the bed all day. I don’t remember much now that more than 5 years have already passed.

“He’s no more”.. I awoke to my mom’s words. Yes, it was the 11th day. I had college, as far as I know my 12th grade. It was truly heart-breaking to have lost your very first bond with an animal, that had gradually grown over the past few days. It was a completely different feeling as I guess I haven’t had the same level of emotions ever on any other deaths that I might have seen in front of me. I wanted to cry.. I wanted to let out those feelings.

Back then, “Chiisaki Mono” by Asuca Hayashi, had released for Pocket Monsters movie 6 Ending theme. It was a perfectly touching song to let you into that kind of state. The depiction of the song in the movie was for a similar event: Max losing his new-found friend, Jirachi, after being in the bond for 6 nights. The song starts slow.. with lyrics that go (translated): “I was just quietly watching.. The face of the small one sleeping…”. Within a minute into the song, comes the part that totally uplifts your emotions.. with the lyrics that go “koe ga kikoeru, yuku beki michi yubisashite iru.. (I can hear the voices.. They point to the road which I must go..)”.

The song might make some feel happy, joyful.. or some sad and touched. Depends on how you blend into the immense feelings given by Asuca Hayashi as well as the instrumental music. This was the ONLY Ending song in a Pocket Monsters movie that had the Japanese partially retained even in the English version. So you can imagine Asuca Hayashi plays a major part in giving proper justice to this song. I avoid casually listening to this song because it was played for Bruno, and hence it always reminds me the time. But it’s fine to remember lost ones who never return back, isn’t it?

Original Japanese with English subtitles:

Do check out the English one as well, even tho it further blends into Japanese.

English version:

Make A Wish (Chiisaki Mono – English)

Instrumental:

Chiisaki Mono (Instrumental)

Ever wondered how bollywood movies would have been named if they were based on Indian foods?

Here’s a hashtag that came up on 11th November, 2009 on my timeline. Credits retained.

@Desh:
Roti Fafda aur Jalebi
Khote Tikkay
Yeh Shaam Biriyani
KalAkand ho na ho
Hariyaali aur Parantha
Gilli Gilli golGappa
GolMaal-Pua
Choley aur Shabnam
RajMa Babu
Jinke Sir ho IShq ki Chaav, PAV ke niche jannat hogi

@KhuranaPrateek:
Khaliya!
Chawal Number
Dil Chole Kadi Pa
Rab ne Khila Di Thodi

@shoOoonya:
Rabdi bana thi thodi

@parag_talkies:
Chole
Dahi apna aur Chaach parai

Got more? Comment back (include Twitter id) or tweet a reply to @nish7x

Winning invitees:

Swarnava Seal

Vineeth Jose

Pradeep

Abhikun

jayasimhareddy

Sunny Sayantan

Maxzeroedge

Aakash

Pranav Pujara

Krishnaraj_88

Rachit Seth Vivek Agrawal

– Please add me on Orkut http://orkut.nishant.me if you are not my ‘friend’. Invites can only be sent to friends.

Thanks everyone for commenting. Try your luck at getting invited directly by Google via http://www.orkut.com/neworkut

****************************************************

Alright I’m not going to stress much on What’s the new Orkut thingy.. read it here: http://en.blog.orkut.com/2009/10/introducing-new-version-of-orkut-fun.html

I luckily noticed this button on my account now:

Clicking on which switched my Orkut to the newer version:

Now I have 5 Invites only to give away. Google makes it so difficult to share invites with such limited numbers.. atleast Wave had 20 invites for me to give away.

I’ll just make it simple by being fair and hosting a randomizer to pick from all of the comments to this post. If you log into your Orkut account and do not find the button, you can post a request here. The invitees will be chosen on 4th November.

Please circulate this message which can help feed many children…

“Helping hands are better than Praying Lips”.

Pass this to all whom you know and whom you don’t know as well.

You know you are from Mumbai (Bombay) when

1. You say “town ” and expect everyone to know that*this means south of Churchgate.

2 You speak in a dialect of Hindi called ‘Bambaiya Hindi’, which only Bombayites can understand.

3. Your door has more than three locks.

4. Rs 500 worth of groceries fit in one paper bag.

5. Train timings (9.27, 10.49 etc) are really important events of life.

6. You spend more time each month traveling than you spend at home.

7. You call an 8′ x 10′ clustered room a Hall.

8. You’re paying Rs 10,000 for a 1 room flat, the size of walk-in closet and you think it’s a “steal.”

9. You have the following sets of friend: school friends, college friends, neighborhood friends, office friends and yes, train friends, a species unique only in Bombay.

10. Cabbies and bus conductors think you are from Mars if you call the roads by their Indian name, they are more familiar with Warden Road, Peddar Road, Altamount Road.

11. Stock market quotes are the only other thing besides cricket which you follow passionately.

12. The first thing that you read in the Times of India is the “Bombay Times” supplement.

13. You take fashion seriously. You’re suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to you.

14. Hookers, beggars and the homeless are invisible.

15. You compare Bombay to New York’s Manhattan instead of any other cities of India.

16. The most frequently used part of your car is the horn.

17. You insist on calling CST as VT, and Sahar and Santacruz airports instead of Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

18. You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression.

19. Your idea of personal space is no one actually standing on your toes.

20. Being truly alone makes you nervous.

21. You love wading through knee deep mucky water in the monsoons, and actually call it ”romantic’.

22. Only in Bombay , you would get Chinese Dosa and Jain Chicken.

23. You always argue with Delhites than Mumbai is way better than Delhi

24. You still refer to the city as Bombay not Mumbai. (credit Opher Moses 24,25,26)

25. When you love bragging about the filmstars and cricketers you’ve seen

26. When most of your friends have underworld connections

27. Every three months you look at your street and say “Why’re the digging the road again?”(Credit Nandan Babla 27-32)

28. “Change” is “Chillar”, “Ditching” is a “Kalti” and “Trouble” is “Jhol”.

29. “Gheun Tak” is your life ideology.

30. You have been shoo’d away from Marine Drive at 3am by the cops because of an “Unlawful gathering of persons”

31. You actually pay for your rickshaws by the meter.

32. You actually think 30Rs for a Sada Dosa is pretty reasonable.

33. when you spent 6 hours of your day in school and another 3 hours in tuitions. ( Dipen sheth 33-36)

34. if you ever went to fashion street, got a pair of cheap jeans and had them tagged as a name brand.

35. if you played cricket matches against another building for 5 rupee bets.

36. if you lost tons of MRF rubber balls.

37. when u call cops ;kaka’ and they let u go if u show of ur marathi speaking skills ( priyanka shenoy)

38. amitabh bachans house is a landmark

39. You have been to matheran or mahabaleshwar during the summer vacations

40. You see men (not gay apparently) holding hands and walking in the street. ( Prashant Parikh 40-49)

41. The note to coin changing machine at Churchgate station is idolized.

42. During cricket season all the roads are blocked because people in the streets are looking at television screens in display windows.

43. Automatic vending machines have a sales person sitting next to it just to help you.

44. There are more movie tickets being sold in black than at the ticket office.

45. It takes longer to get off from your house to the station than from one end of Mumbai to another by train.

46. Every cab and rickshaw driver makes small talk with you

47. You see Herd of people walking at four in the morning to Siddhi Vinayak temple.

48. ‘Bun Maska’ and ‘vada pav’ is the staple diet of most collegians.

49. HORN OK PLEASE is written on every truck, tempo and heavy motor vehicle.

50. You cant drive for more than 10 mins without abusing someone ( Rohini Tekchandaney)

51. “townies” think they need a visa to go past worli to the suburbs

52. When u use the word “yaar” in almost every sentence u speak. (valencia dmello)

53. You call onion as “kandha” and potato as “batata” (Kavya)

54. You think of a spicy tangy snack whenever you hear the work chat (Gila Ward)

55.You are back to work next day after the city is bombed – Truly the spirit of Bombay(Romit)

56. you call the cabbies n waiters BOSS (Aneesh Angadi)

57. abuses like chu**** . madar****. Bhen***… are the words whic u have to use in each sentence yyou speak

58. you prefer wada pav by jumbo king anyday on comparision wid Mc donalds burger

59. Each monday you go for either bowling or pool.

60. u enter mocha/ barista/ ccd lookin all posh but sit with one drink for 5 hrs till they politely ask u if u “need anythin else”(Sonali Kokra 60-62)

61. yr pricipal form of entertainment are all the aunties who scream obsceities at each other at the drop of a hat and threaten to pull the others hair/ push out of the train at 11 in the nyt!

62. yr idea of a full body massage is wat u get while trying to get off/ board a train at dadar!!!

63. At 3am in morning you can still get wadapav or butter pav bhaji(Aditya bengali)

64. When there’s no place to breathe in the trains but there’s place to play cards and sing bhajans!

65. when the traffic almost makes good frnds wid the person in the car next to you.(Aneesh angadi)

66. You know what the term “video coach” stands for in the local trains… (aditya bengali)

67. You snigger every time somebody says “Im going to Grant road!”

68. u call the policemen “MAMU” OR “PANDU” (ronak panani)

69. random strangers butt in wen u r discussing cricket o politics or even chicks 2 give their personal (unwanted) opinion (Harsh)

70. You say that Pani Puri is waayy better than Gol Gappa’s even when they’re the same thing(70-75 Dhavan Vora )

71. There is always one ‘pan-wala’ on the corner of street

72. You keep spare candles in the kitchen just in case there’s a power surge.

73. To you, your watchman doesn’t have a name – you just call him ‘watchman’.

74. You aren’t surprised when somebody throws a water balloon at you while you’re walking on the streets during March.

75. You know of certain theaters where you can go for A-rated movies with your friends, even when you’re under 18.

76. whn u r standing at a bus stop near juhu beach and sum random guy comes up to u and says ” boss” short term, long term chahiye kya (saatvik)

77. When every rickshaw looks like a personal disco, with neon lights, loud music and pictures of film stars.(amrryn)

78. seeing “Mein Kampf” being sold openly on the streets in abundance seems like a perfectly normal thing to you.(Patrick Weyers)

79. you have to pay international roaming fees when you use your cell phone outside of Mumbai.

80. you can only smile forgivingly about the size of any other city in the world.

81. you consider the local train “empty” when you find a spot for your two feet to stand on.

82. when someone asks u “east” or “west” side of a particular station?

83. when there is a saffron rally every 3 months , n u just wonder , whats it all about , u jus went to vote , 3 months ago , n they r holding elections all again?

84. when “chalta hai” is the most commonly used word

85. when u see hijraas/eunuchs at street asking for u to lend them some money , with a very very catchy one liner : eeeee deeeeeeeee naaaaaa usually on fridays.sometimes men even get grooped when they dont pay ‘em

86. when u can find hukkas for use at a coffee shop the equivalent of starbucks (Vishal prabhu)

87. when u never cross the road at a zebra crossing

88. when u can always find a car that has a dent or scratch on it

89. When u find cars on the Road even at 4 in the morning(Trish bose)

90. You never learnt how to stand in a queue

91. You have mastered the art of bargaining in shopping.

92. Every time you speak Hndi in front of a Delhitite they have the WTF expression on their face.

93. You have hung on to dear life at the local door.

94. You still refer to a car / vehicle full of girls as “Maal Gaadi” – left over from the “Ladies Special” days…

95. You take the “Weight and Your Future for Rs.1 only” machines at the stations seriously. … At least the Future bit, it always exaggerates about the weight.

96. When while giving directions you say “Right/ Left MARO aur wahan pe ek bridge GIREGA”

97. when you actually see random people coming to help you when u have a problem

98. .when u can take a piss at the local shouchalaya for 50paise and a dump for 1 re

99. When you think everyone who lives to the south of you is a snob and to the north of you sucks

100. you behave like a foreigner in any other part of the country (hurray !!! 100)

101. u see couples cosying up in rickshaws in almost every small lane

102. u want to get into the train already that is already in motion & u have 5 hands taking u in..

103. When you instinctively say “pudhey challa” instead of saying agey badho or move ahead.

104. You meet Delhiites in a foreign country and feel no sense of kinship with them!

105. Chal, paka mat!” is an overused part of your vocabulary

106. here “maall” is a gurl n na goods

107. Crorepati, Lakhpati, Hazarpati, Chillarpati all travel in local Trains daily.

108. You log on to social networking sites and search for Bombay-related groups!!!(manas)

109. u treat mumbai as a country itself (Danny)

110. You drink 2 sips of tea called ‘cutting’ more than thrice a day (Bhakti)

111. You call a corner ‘khopcha’ and a cigarette ’sutta’

112. u think tht delhi copied INDIA GATE frm mumbai’s GATEWAY OF INDIA…(Akshay)

113. masseuses on juhu beach come out only after midnight n cops get free massages frm them

114. when you see the dabbawallas on the station and fishwali kolis in train (amrita)

115. when u c movie names like “shootout at Lokhandwala” & ‘Ek chalis ki last local” & don’t have to ask wot the name means(gauri)

116. when you call the BEST bus, BST, even though BEST is painted on every single public transport bus operational in Bombay (prajay)

117. when we compare our mumbai-pune expressway to the autobahn and our cab drivers to the indian schumacher.

118. you know ‘bhai’ means a guy who has no brotherly feelings. (partho)

119. you know that ‘khamba’ does not only mean pillar

120. when you call a watermelon “Kalingar” instead of “Terbus”

121. Making a loud kissing noise is how you tease girls in Delhi, but making that same noise is how you hail an autorickshaw in Bombay (Shivani T)

122. The rest of India calls it namkeen—-you know it as farsan (Shivani T)

123. You don’t differentiate between U.P. and Bihar. All you know is that’s where the ‘bhaiyas’ come from (Shivani T)

124. if someone calls u “aap”– u start laughing on their faces…(gunjan)

125. You get felt up every time you get into the general compartment instead of the ladies’.

126. You get photographed at three parties and you’re suddenly a page 3 regular!

127. When your lunch is delivered hot in a tiffin at exactly 1pm from home every working day.

128. when u have an account with tha paan wala for cigarettes on credit your outside home & work

129. when u r stuck in traffic even at 1:30 a.m

130. You see two office-goers play a game of cards in your evening local train.

131. When you look out for pandu’s lurking behind the odd tree or signal post before you take your illegal left/right/U turn.

132. you go to a Goa beach and your kids dig pot holes in the sand instead of buiding castles!

133. When The only landmark the president of US wants see is Dharavi (Ahad)

134. When you have no objection in ghoosofying in a line (admissions or train tickets) but shout loudly “Maaaaro!” when you see someone else do it (Sanket)

135.When … you have argued with the TC that traveling first class after pass expires is legitimate since you havent processed the railway concession yet!

136. jab facebook par bhi bambaiya hindi chalti hain yaar

137. When even at 8 in the morning you can see couples sitting and cozying up at Marine Drive and Worli Seaface

138. when gals roam abt at 12am in the night and not get raped …unlike delhi!
(keyuri nagardas)

139. When you use the phrases, ‘Chillum-Chili’ and ‘Chili-Mili’ and are not talking about a spicy dish (Shivani)

Credits to Ashish from Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2266169576

Got more? Comment back.

Comment below to get nominated.

I finally receive the Inviter wave from Google in my wave inbox, after me being on Wave since October 15 (past 2 weeks).

Since I’ve got a generous 20 invites to spare for all of my dear tweeps & other good friends anxious to try out the new craze, I thought it best to manage a blog entry to list out confirmed invitations & for others to request one from me.

I’m keeping one invite reserved for me, so as to get more invites to share further.

Please comment back on the entry if you wish to request an invite if there is a free slot available in the list below. Please also note that invitations are not sent instantly, it may take upto 2-4 days for it to arrive in your Inbox.

For those already on Google Wave, you may add me ‘nishmudkip@googlewave.com’.

You SHOULD be on my Twitter followers since I’m reserving this only for known people.

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED A WAVE INVITE ELSEWHERE, PLEASE REVOKE YOUR REQUEST.

20 CONFIRMED INVITEES:

RESERVED for more invites

Ankur Goyal (@ankur0412)

Supriya J (@supriyaj)

Jai Shah (@jazzy_js)

Soham Pal (@pikachutrainer)

Swarnava Seal (@silversparx)

Sana Kamal

Prashant Saralaya (@prashsaralaya)

Hemantkumar Jain (@shoOOonya)

Utsav Patel (@ut7av)

Kunal Pradhan

Maclean Lewis

Vivek Agrawal

Rachit Sheth (@rachitslove)

Pratik Joshi

Ankit Agarwal

Zooni Khan (@zoooni)

Aniket  (@bombayrider)

Amit De

Prabhat Attrey (@prabhatattrey)

More invites later. Keep a watch.