Phew!!
Another year has rolled by and armed me with lots of experiences.
Bodh-2008 unarguably gave me the best moments in this time. The camaraderie, the challenges, the fun and the sheer hard work was phenomenal.
Travel was on the lower side this year. Still, made a couple of trips to Kerala, an Udaipur one and a short stay at Bangalore. Was as bored as a snail in the Udaipur one; the south ones were rocking!!
I would say that I’ve got to know myself better in this period.
But apart from these things, this was a terrible year
Academics took a backseat (it has been for two years now; but something’s’ amiss and I’m not liking it)
The year was verrryyyyyy boring :( :(
Things have been very dormant; I’ve been idiotic, remained in a cocoon and messed things up.


Hope I change for the better :)

Ghajini

What can I possibly say about this movie.

Everyone's done a simply fabulous job! (though Ghajini could have been more malicious!)


I loved it (despite all the Rajnikantity in it :P)

Go for it!!!!

Very very very angry!!!

Never trust anyone to do a job which you could have done.


Damn!

I’ve been dying to watch Ghajini for 5 days now and the qualified morons I'd chosen to watch the movie with screwed their plan (which never existed in the first place)

First rate imbeciles!! :x :x

Of all people I know, some aren’t interested now and the majority rest have already watched it!!

I’m really pissed off!!! :x :x :x


Ughghghghghghghghghghh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Koi mujhe is duniya se bachao.

God grant me the calm not to kill those people and the place to hide the bodies of those I've already killed.

Spectacle dilemma

And Anish learns yet again!

Another Sunday morning-I get up and realize that this is the first Sunday in a loong loong time that I need not go for Debating Club meet. The meets are over for this semester.

I go back to sleep and get up again at ten after dad literally yells for the hundredth time!!! :D

Breakfast, movie, Lunch, Movie, LT
And suddenly i discover it is evening four-thirty!!! dad's appointment with the Ophthalmologist. As we leave, neighbor asks me to get my eyes checked too for my muscle power. I say, yay!! :)

Off we go...
Dad's tests were dragging. I actually dozed off for fifteen minutes. I wake up to realize it is six thirty and dad has another test to go. I too take an appointment to get my eyes checked just like that. Moreover, it'd been 20 odd months since i last got my eyes checked. I might have my lens power increased. So, why not!

And as soon as I register, dad is done with the test.Damn!!
And then there was a looooooooong wait including three peeks into a weird machine, tests for power of lens, and five sets of eye drops!!
And my eyes were burning like they would if chilly paste was put into them.

I was cursing myself for having got into this mess.
It was already eight o clock.

Finally I was called in.

I brace up, ready for my new increased power(of lens :P)

And the first thing doc says(asks rather!) is,
"Anish! Why do you wear such high powered lenses?"

I was baffled.

Then I get the shock of the month.

I was told I was wearing -2.75 powered lenses where only -1.75 ones were needed!!!
I confirmed thrice!!

Then I realized that the last time I got my power changed I'd taken the word of an optician only.

Darn!!!!

Angry, relieved, screwed, all at the same time.

My medicines and new specs took up all the money we'd brought!! :D

Moreover, because of the five sets of drops, my vision was blurry and had difficulty driving back home. :|

Got to home, exhausted, relieved and with empty pockets :D

Then we'd not been to Moti Mahal- The tandoor trail, for a loong time.
It's really a fine chain of restaurants in India.

Had a hearty dinner there.
Returned home very happy.

Thought of posting last night, but decided to rest my eyes.

The blogger is all fine now :)

Happy B'day!

:-)

Everything is fine :-)

Going through a new phase, appreciating these times more, I'm feeling good :)



Read Very Good Jeeves! by P G Wodehouse.




As usual, an impeccable work by the genius. An easy read. Delightful to say the least :)


Watched Dostana :x

Well I knew it was going to be a holy f*ck movie, yet didn't want to miss on getting together with friends. Plus there were girls ;-) Hence, yours truly obliged and went along.
This is the first movie where I ever got out of the theater while it was being screened. Damn! Seriously a brain numbing, no brains movie with carcass stupidity splattered generously. And people were laughing!! :O :O
Priyanka in skimpy clothes was the only part that I thought would be worth at least 50 of the 150 bucks I spent for the movie. But even she didn't appeal to me :|


Of the 80 odd minutes in the first half, I might have spent at least 25 near the snack bar.

Well, in the second half, I got a girl to sit beside me and there on I didn't even know when the movie got over! ;-) :D


Truly a crap movie. Guess Tashan was better :|


Then watched some more on my comp.



Mumbai meri jaan

Honestly, I didn't understand it. Watched it in 10 parts. A heavy movie.


Quantum of Solace.

Damn! I expected more from a Bond movie. The action scenes seemed lifted from Casino Royale. Craig looked tired all through. The girls were :| The story also wasn't that great.

C'mon get back the charm of the Bond movie.

Honestly, Casino Royale is the only Bond movie I actually liked:D

The Dark Knight

All the hullabaloo went waste. It wasn't that great except Joker who stole the show. Damn cool performances. If you've got enough time to waste, go, watch it.


Hello

Wow! I meanter say I never expected it to be this good. I threw away the book after reading just 50 pages of it. So put it on with zero expectation. Makes for a good watch. Get your popcorn and go for it.



Apart from that, I've been battling with my nose for a month now. Caught cold twice!!
The first one- when i returned from Kerala owing to the drastic climate change.
The second due to the cold wave :x ( Damn Ankit)
Still struggling with it.


In between, I'd a wonderful birthday :)

Enjoyed, some what :D
Can say had fun :P


Met some old buddies, looking to meet some more.

Rest, as I said earlier, I feel good, blessed, gifted :)
I feel closer to life. And all those philosophical things repeated over and over. :-P



And yes,
I'm looking forward to watch Ghajini. I liked the corporate look of Aamir Khan in it.

And about Rab ne bana di jodi- I didn't dare. That's it!

Just read somewhere else with the song changed to:
Sab mein rab dikhta hai yaara main kya karoon :D :D


Chalo, as I said earlier I need to study and I want to study.
But i know that i won't study. :|



Hope it changes for the better :)



PS: Tomorrow marks the first year when I entered the world of blogger, That's the 1st b'day of my profile. :) And I can say safely that this is the best blogging site B-)

Cheers to google!!! ;-)

Twenty six days since I last posted and been through what not.
Made a trip to Kerala again, turned up in a panel debate on NDTV :D, have been discussing a lot of things, been more focused , people very impressed with me, a lot of introspection and other things.
I won’t bother to mention all of it here.
The wedding was great; really enjoyed and will love to get back again. :) :D
The mind’s full but I don’t have the stamina to write.
Everything’s going really well. Just that I need to start studying well.

Kerala- wonderful trip, miserable travel.

Back!
And with a bang! Or a phuss :-D
Whatever!
Back from a Kerala trip. And boy, Wasn’t it great! Had a rollicking time and in between there’d been
some tough moments too. Overall it was wonderful to get back to my people.

Some excerpts from my travel:

** Six feet syndrome- I just hate my height when it comes to travelling in a train. I just can’t stuff the whole six feet of me in those side berths in a compartment; nor can I lie in peace in any of the other berths. My feet get constant whacks from the passersby which robs all my sleep after sitting the whole day in utter discomfort. I end up losing my sleep and having severe neck and back pain.

** People acting funny in trains. All right! Now that’s not anything new!
Complete chatterboxes who beat even me! :-D
Pesky, very naughty kids running around and scaring away the last wink I could get. One of them actually came up to me and said, “Oye! Main tere ko sone nahi doonga!” And he made sure I didn’t sleep. He was some 4 years old.
And why don’t I ever get a young (forget good looking) girl anywhere near me? :x Every time I get only uncles and grandmas and naughty kids. No young soul. Ughghgh!
Very untidy people! :x Spilling food and making the compartment as dirty and noisy as possible.
Also, once as I was going to wash my hands, there was this girl who literally screamed in my face!! It almost got my hair standing! I stood there shocked for two seconds. Then I realized that she was actually warning a small kid who got up the side upper berth! Duh!
And you can’t beat this one. This actually typifies an Indian passenger. This guy burped on my face!! Ughghghghgh. And no apologies :O I washed my face five times.

** Romance with Coffee: I had several cups of coffee. Some 35 cups in the first three days; most of them in train. And had it all the time in Kerala too. But I donlt understand why no one ever gets a full 150 ml of coffee in a 170 ml cup as written in the rules! Everytime I get some 120 ml in a 150 ml cup! Bah!

** Insipid food while going; pathetic service while returning. God help the railway caterers. Wonder when they’ll learn to be courteous! Here also, they charged more than what is the norm.

** And guess what? While I was returning, we had some guests waiting to welcome us. Hiding in some deep, dark, unknown spots. And as soon as we sat to have our food, we saw the first glimpse. And then on we had a tough time warding off every single one of them while eating, reading, sleeping!! The place was infested with cockroaches damn it! And this was a second AC compartment. Is this what the junta pays all that money for?


And a word about my trip: It was really memorable. The nostalgia, great sceneries, the people, great food- everything was just so special. Specially the food. Amazing! Both in Bangalore and Kerala.

Another thing: One should learn from the civilized people out there. I was just stunned by the sheer contrast between how things work here in Jodhpur and the way they do in Kerala. People are much more aware and better mannered. An example is the railway reservation system. At both places, queues start forming at 2 in the morning. But the queue is maintained in Kerala when the shutter opens. And here in jodhpur, the queue is nonexistent by the time the guy comes to open the shutters. It’s just pushing, hitting and everything crap that you can imagine happening in a crowd. Just crap.


All this done, when I returned home. I found yet again to my dismay that the place was ruled by rats while we were away. The fridge was attacked, the photo frames out of place, things here and there. My room was safe though :-D
And we found that our landline number was changed to a stupid one and also wasn’t able to access the net all these days. Was confined to my home ( as usual :-P) reading a novel. It’s a good novel though.


Rest, oh yes!
I’m going back to Kerala on 20th :-D to attend my cousin’s wedding. Really looking forward to it :-)
This was it from my side.
Adieu!

Happy Deepwali :-)

Khushnaseeb hoon main jo tumhe dost paya hoon
Hazaron se mila fir tumpe aaya hoon
Aapas mein samjhe, dono khoob boojhe
Diya jo jala kabhi na wo bujhe
Mann karta hai har ek se jakar kahoon.
Deepawali mane to aise mane,
Warna aangan mein diye to khoob jalate hain
par mann mein diya tale andhere ka kuch nahi karte.
Kisi ke paas dost ho tum jaisa to koi samjhe.
Deep aise ho to parv na hota teen din ka.
Zindagi bhar ke liye deep jala laya hoon.
Khushnaseeb hoon main jo tumhe dost paya hoon.

Book review again

Just finished reading a book recommended by everyone who has read it.

tuesdays with Morrie




But I didn't like it too much. I mean it's a good piece of work but doesn't seem to be a life changing piece of literature; at least to me! The pain of the teacher, his sufferings and how he rises above it to teach his student, Mitch and so many others around the world, the greatest lessons of their lives has been well described. The way he looks at life in his final days, his understandings, theories, everything written in a lucid style. It manages to churn the emotions in some places.

But in my opinion, it isn't that great as it is hyped to be. It might be appreciated, lauded, might have moved people to tears. But still, I feel it won't do any good to any person. Because such lessons in life can't be explained like this. You need to experience everything first hand to get the real gravity of things. Like there is sympathy and empathy- another aspect is living through it. The first hand experience which actually gives you real insight into things is the best teacher.

Plus you don't find reading through things, you already know very well, interesting. Do you? ;-)

For that matter I didn't like Rang De Basanti too. Coz it's something like- you have already thought about all this earlier and someone else copied your true script and put it in a less effective way.

Same with tuesdays with Morrie.

But one can't deny that it'll make a great read for those whose thoughts never touched these lines. Not bad to buy one and go through.Cost me 175 bucks. Happy Reading! :)

aa jaye pal jab banke toofani hawayein
Cha jaaye zindagi par kaali ghata ke saayein
andhera mitega, aisa khud se kehte jana
yaad karna mujhe,aa jaaunga main
in andheron ko mita na paoon to kya
andar dhoop ki kiran to jaga doonga

aayegi zindagi mein fir bahar
khila khila uthe phool jaise
hogi jeevan mein nayi tarang waise


baad mein poochogi apne aks se kabhi
ye janogi wo jo main tha;
tum hi ho
tum hi ho

I am in a mean mood as I am writing this.

I am frustrated with the pathetic services offered in different places in my city. Always pisses me off and leaves a really bad taste in mouth.

Anyway, what caused this to come up as a post is something I experienced umpteenth time and now deserves to face the wrath of my fingers.

I used to like Bank of Baroda a lot (partly because Rahul Dravid smiled through the hoardings telling us it’s really good and cares for its customers) until I visited it today to collect my ATM card. The time was eleven o clock. The place was so crowded that I could barely step in; the rush was due to the submission of the receipts of some examination. Never mind, the gentleman I first met affirmed my belief and gave me the PIN letter and he directed me towards the person who was supposed to give me my debit card. I knew I wouldn’t like this guy the moment I saw him. The usually super cordial guy that I am, I got a hideously curt (and low key as if he was almost uttering expletives), “Come after three o clock”. I thought I heard it wrong and confirmed twice (again yours truly was amazingly cordial perfectly understanding the great issues he might be dealing with at his workplace). Fine, three o clock it was. I returned home, told dad when he came for lunch. He also was surprised at this response. He told me go back again at around four. I did! And to that polite question, I got the very same guy telling me to come after one hour and he walked away into some other room. Now this got up my nose. I was wondering if this is some bloody govt organization where these people have no accountability of their behavior or the so called great customer service; called dad. He, sensing I lost my temper, set upon a discourse saying I will deal all sorts of people. True! I thought, but in lame govt places like RTO, the collectorate office, not in a private bank.
Whatever, dad called up, I got two more such cold responses and I finally got to know that the person who was actually supposed to give me the card wasn’t there at all. He had gone out for a tea break!! Bloody hell. I waited patiently; reading a book. Finally, he also not being the kind of person aiming at making the customer happy, behaved almost the same way; but later on I realized that suchwas his tone. Anyway, I ran out of that place as soon as I got the card. Came home and I’m writing it now.

Now, this thing has always got up my nose as well as that of my brother. Good customer service is quintessential in getting your business successful; the feel good factor needs to be there. Now this problem isn’t there in Jodhpur only; I’ve seen this happening in many places in Delhi, Mumbai too. Ventures once successful stop taking care of the customers, don’t behave cordially and will do all sorts of nonsense that will get you angry; and a person like me who insists on good response will make sure that I recommend everyone against it and cause it maximum damage in business.

Prominent places in Jodhpur that I have some serious allergy with are:
Ashok Vatika, a restaurant right near my home. The service used to be splendid once upon a time. Now, it’s crap.
National Handloom, an epitome of shitty services that will make you feel like murdering the person who is supposed to show you the products and make feel like purchasing it( that is defining selling products as an art)

The same applies to other places like grocery stores, dvd outlets and almost every venture that has tasted success.

What they forget though is- the moment they lose the magic connection with the customer; they are as good as dead. Something, the great entrepreneur Kishore Biyani has emphasized in his book, “It happened in India”.

On the other hand, some places which I love going to again and again are: Moti mahal, the tandoor trail; though on the wrong side of the expense graph, this actually defines customer service- the personalized attention that you get makes you want to go again and again despite it causing a deep hole in the pocket. Another place I would like to mention is the place I get my clothes dry cleaned from- Lovely Dry cleaners :-D He is prompt, amazingly cultured, make s you feel good and has got really good work ethics.

Anyway, the issue has always been a pain in my neck. I wonder when the service industry will wake up to the fact that the customer decides their future and they need to keep him happy!

Dunno what's hapenning to my writing skills :O :D

Back! :-D
Well, it was a topsy turvy week; (not by normal standards but yes it was! :P)
As I said earlier, I went to attend Rendezvous 08 in IIT Delhi and boy wasn’t it fun!
No it wasn’t!!
:x
The place was full of couples and lukkhas (bole to guys like I ;-) With no girlfriend) Lukkhis were very few and they hung around together only.

I didn’t like:
** We were a gang of 30 odd ppl from our college. Almost of them split into couples! Left were some 8-10 lukkhas and all of them were participating in a play. So they got busy in there for the first three days. I rotted alone with my Nescafe watching some stupid things.
** The help desk guys and the attitude of the people there in IIT-D.
** That I took 2 T shirts from Sarojini Nagar market for 100 and 150 bucks. (More about it in the Palika Bazaar section)
** My earphone got damaged yet again. Couldn’t hear the songs on my Go gear :-(
** I took 4 pairs of jeans and that also didn’t suffice!!
** Had to walk a lot in the campus. I actually liked it. But walking all the way back alone to the hostel at two in the night wasn’t fun.
** That I didn’t have ( and I still don’t have) no girl friend!! :-x :-D
** That I missed out on a couple of events I had targeted.
** That my side of the board hadn’t got enough boric powder on it and this cost me three turns and eventually the match in my first round of Carroms ! :-(
** The fact that there was just one internet café around and that too closed at eight thirty in the night! Moreover, the server was down for most of the time!
** Forgetting the fact that I’d a mock CAT to take on Sunday!!
** The overall confusion in the environment.
** I had a balance of just Rs 6 when I returned home.


I loved:
** Nescafe Frappe- Cold coffee. Absolutely amazing! Swept me off my feet.
** The Audi and Seminar Hall of IIT: A-grade!
** The campus- lush green and lovely :-)
** watching the girls ;-)
** The fusion music performance.
** The chane bathure at the canteen. Lovely.
** Talking to my friend for two and half hours one night while my cell was on roaming!! :O And we talked till my balance got over!! 240 bucks- *poof* :-D But it made my day :)
** Staying offline for such a long time!
** The facilities available to the students in the IIT hostels. Truly great.
** Of course- the bathrooms in there:-P
** The break from my routine life.
** The last day of the trip. Spent in the Palika Bazaar. A mind boggling experience.
** Discussing the utility of Primary education in India with Abhishek. We were sitting on the ground outside the Seminar Hall. I never had such a purposeful chat in a long-long time.
** The commitment of the students from other colleges. Those people were practicing at three in the night on the Basket ball court. Hats off!
** The final debate on the Nuclear Deal.
** Travelling in the Metro :-) :-)
** Drinking lots of coffee; almost twenty+ cups everyday! :O :-D


Overall the cult fest wasn’t a great experience. But learnt a few things like the level of competition, commitment and camaraderie.

A few lines about Sarojini Nagar and Palika Bazaar:
These places are a bargainer’s paradise. I had my eyes popping at some transactions that my friends managed. You need to think on your feet and be firm and you can get anything for almost any price.
Here are some outstanding haggles:
Quoted price Final Price
2400----------->200
1000----------->350
800------------>250
350------------>70
The rest were very normal- 450 to 200 was the minimum.
Yours truly isn’t a very effective haggler and so got cheated at a couple of places. :-(
The shirts I bought were bought for even less by my friends.
Rest, there were things like:
Rs 30 for a cup of tea!!
Rs 15 for coffee
Rs 2 per Kg for belt (I was :O :O but didn’t go for it)
An offer of buying pornographic CDs in front of a board banning the same!
Whatever said, you need to be there to believe it. I was almost taken for a ride but my friends were the saving grace for me. Else as they said, chut**a banake chhod dete :-D
Another thing, especially for people who read this blog regularly:
Remember the girl I mentioned in Despo?
I saw her again!! :O :D :D :D
She was in that fest. Just came across her as she was standing to perform in some competition (Actually as far as I remember she didn’t perform anything once she saw me :-D ) Yes! We did exchange glances! But I didn’t go for the despogiri again and went back to my Frappe ;-) :-D And she would have been mighty relieved:-D :-P

As the title says, something has gone wrong with the way i right!:( :D :D
Will try and get back with something good :)

Books, Movies and the usual zany!

Boy o boy!

Haven't I been busy!?!
Or is the word negligent? :D

Without any delay, here I go:


* I'm back to reading books nowadays. I've taken membership in a library *Happy* :D

Read 'The Brethren' by John Grisham the last. I liked most parts of it; just that the ending was abrupt :OThis one was my first Grisham novel and I liked it till it reached the climax. It's almost the usual Archer stuff and I tell you Archer writes better. In here are three judges (The Brethren) in a prison who run a scam, a CIA chief who suddenly gets the info that Russia will attack USA and goes about turning around the presidential elections, too many homosexuals and the whole story is entagled in not so significant things. The suspense isn't very great. And it finally reaches a good point the author just rushes through the story!
All in all, it doesn't make a very productive reading. I wouldn't recommend reading it.


My 'Parker Pyne' was stolen!! :o :O :x


Now this is a decent one by Agatha Christie. Some good short stories and for a change, it isn't repititive. A happiness specialist Parker pyne goes about solving problems of people to grant them happiness; and he charges a very specific fee for that! :D
I had reached its middle when I made the mistake of taking it to college. *poof* It was gone! One should read it :)

The Three mistakes of my life by Chetan Bhagat. I threw it away after reading fifty pages of it. Need I say more?

* I'm nowadays learning how to play guitar *all smiles*
But mind you, it isn't easy at all. Your fingers start aching badly. You need to get the first and the third fingers at the correct places ( I know only this much as of now :-D) and also get the beats correct. Try doing that while reading the notes and there! You botch it up! :x
I hope I will get over it soon :D
I'm loving every moment of this though I get sweaty with nervousness and desparation while at it.

* I started working out again :D

* I discovered myself! :D
My calling, were I want to be and almost everything :-D
I'm convinced that I'm a technical dud. :D I'm convinced that I'll make a good manager :P


* I watched some movies:


Jaane tu ya jaane na


I didn't like it!! :O
All right. Stop staring now! :D Though the performances were very good and the characters were well etched, the story dragged on! Rest, it was good. But I didn't like it.



Singh is King:


My brother warned me against it. Still I made the brave decision and went for it after a real messed up day. So, I liked it. I roll along comedy. I was actually laughing during the movie. A forget all stress movie. But had I watched it some other day, I might have loathed it! But full points for getting me back in mood :D
My brother said, "tera taste jal gaya hai" I still laugh at it!! :D :D

Now the big one:

ROCK ON!!!


Man! This is a lesson for all directors. I loved the way the script was treated. Everything appeared so real and the acting was very natural. The actors appeared to belong to the characters and it was real fun. Some people might say that it was a very bad mix of Dil Chahta Hai and Jhankaar Beats but who cares. I loved every moment while i was watching it. And the concerts! Just mind blowing. You committed a cardinal sin if you didn't watch it in a theatre!
Go, watch it!!



Rest, the things I'm looking forward to do:

* Read 'The Prometheus Deception' by Robert Ludlum, 'Tuesdays with Morrie' by Mitch Abloom, 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini and some by P.G. Wodehouse
* Go to IIT-Delhi for Rendezvous-08
* Learn how to play a guitar well! *chuckles*
*Study, for heaven's sake, for my semester exams!
* Go to my Native place. God! I'm so exctied about going there :-)


Things I'm not so enthusiastic about:

* My fourth sem results. How I wish a cow ate up our answer sheets!
* My fifth sem exams.
* An electronics project that I'm supposed to work on with some even dud guys.


Wish me luck people!

I'm desperately trying to keep myself engaged. :-D

Blogging

All of sudden, blogging seems to be the new common cold. Of late almost everyone who knows how to type has taken to it! If nothing else, post pictures!!
You see blog links galore on orkut profiles, as status in g-talk. Everyone is doing it, including yours truly. But how come everyone has got the writing bug?

As far as I remember, there was no one in my friend circle who blogged when I took it up two years back. Those were the rediff i-land days where it was all dreary and I didn't even feel like posting on it. Anyway, I graduated to blogger last year. ( I don't want to get into all that :-P)

I've seen an upsurge in the number of friends who have taken up blogging, specially in the last two months. (You know that I'm referring to you only!)

What made you take it up dude?

By the way, it is great to see people blogging! Continue the cool work; you'll enjoy more in the coming days. Go through other blogs, see how creative people are. You'll really enjoy it!! :-)

Despo

I've gained a lot in the last two months, not so much so as doing anything, but by contemplation and some hands on experience.

The month of June started with a great confusion as to where I should undergo my internship. I weighed the options and chose to pursue it in Jodhpur only at a renowned farzi place. The lectures were sooo boring and so were the people; wait a minute!

Here goes the first one:

There was this girl there (of a total of about 25 girls), with long hair, with some flamboyance, with aaa... I don’t want to get into all this. I'll come to the point. She caught my eye. Fine, we exchanged looks. All was fine but there was something about her. She seemed very familiar. First day, she sat in front of me; next day, I sat where she sat and she sat in the last row and I stared at her with my head tilted 270 degrees for most of that lecture (Please, I didn’t letch; letching is something that other people do to your sister when you go around with her). Yes, coming back, she didn't pay much attention to me. All through, I always felt that I knew her. Anyway, those days, I was reading this book, 'The Greatness Guide' by Robin Sharma, and in there was written (quite substantially, I'm just cutting it short!), that if you feel like doing something, do it! And I decided that night: yes, I'll talk to her and confirm whether I knew her or not! (Go Anish! Go!)

Next day, I went and sat alongside her!(What? :O) For the next three hours, I always got her to look at me for some or the other reason (this despite the fact that she shifted a seat away from me in the break!!). Like dropping a pen, drawing a cartoon, advising her with her cartoons ( arre bhai! Na jaan na pehchaan, kyun gale pad raha hai? :O Kisi ne poocha tere se ki yeh cartoon kaise banaye, uski marzi!!)

(Yes! I know I'm an idiot! Thanks for reminding once again)

At the end of the three hour ordeal (lecture for me; lecture and I for her), as we all were getting out of the building, she was in front of me only and I don’t know what got me, I stepped ahead and asked:

"Are you from jodhpur?"

Yes, I did it! After all that, I hammered the final nail in the coffin. Abbey ullu ke paththe! Agar wo tujhe jaanti, to itna sab jo tune gadhe ki tarah kiya usi time bata deti; why did you go and ask her!?! Aur poocha bhi to kya!!!

Reply: (A curt)"No!"

I think I stayed there for some 5 seconds, not knowing what to say and someone called my name; I just turned away.

As she was smiling at my sheer stupidity, the whole series of events leading up to it flashed in my mind. To her, I was this desperate guy who was looking to buld fraanship with her (or any girl!!!). Shit! Holy Fuck! How could I do this? Kya kachra ho gaya yaar! Anish Nambisan! Congratulations! You are now a despo!!

And the line I used: "Are you from jodhpur?"

For heaven's sake, why did I say that to start a conversation? Even the age old pick up line "Do I know you?" would have been a trillion times better!!!

The events followed as expected; everyone had a hearty laugh at my expense as I made vain attempts to prove my innocence. I later figured out her name (and trust me! I don’t remember her name now! It was something like Surbhi, Suruchi, Shurbi something like that) and that she was committed to some IIT guy. I spent the afternoon sulking over the aftermath but as usual was all fine by evening; chilled out with friends and stuff.

I finished reading the book and as I lay in my bed that night contemplating the events that occurred. I, in fact was feeling good about it!

I thought to myself: This girl will be there for only two more days as our lectured ended that day and there was absolutely no way we'll end up in the same group for making our project! Chill Anish! After all it's not every day that I'm labeled like this. Aisa experience bhi mangta hai zindagi mein ;-)

A couple of positives: I found out her name and I completed the mission- I didn’t know her :-D!!

Welcome aboard!

Hi!

Welcome to my blog. This is my second one. Got bored of the first blog; it looked pretty much like me- boring, nowhere close to being neat and err.. No comments!

And of course, it carried the usual idiosyncratic name- LISTLESS YET VIBRANT. I liked it a lot initially, but then thought- duh! So many blogs like OUTPOURINGS OF A BELLOWING MIND, WILY BANTER, MALICIOUS MISERIES ( Okie! I made it up :-D), etcetera... WTF!?! If you can't think of a cool witty title for your blog,at least don't make a mockery of it with such constipated ones!! No need to hunt the thesaurus for it! Keep it simple stupid!

Gimme a break. I wont carry on with it. Plus it was a bit arbit. But it contained some good posts, some close to me ( as the ones who have read it might understand ). So I wont delete it.

That's about it!
HENCE, THIS BLOG! :-)
It has a decent and relevant title(And trust me, i didn't pick it up from any other blog. Any similarity is just co-incidental!!), looks neat and what not! ;-)
And the title speaks for itself!

I will get back with some posts soon. By the way, I think i posted something very relevant when i said that about the blog titles. ;-)


Till then,
Enjoy!
See ya!
TATA!
BIRLA!
AMBANI!
NAMBISAN!!!

Quote

When life pushes you so hard that you struggle to breathe; when it gets way too demanding and there is no one you can share it with, don't worry! You are only getting better. In the end, it is the man's character that counts. So cheer up and be happy. I am happy :-)

CATting and sundry. This is not blogging!!

Caught a bad cold.

Visited Udaipur. Dad had an official visit; took me along. Wasn't great. Pathetic infact!!! :-x :-x They got up my nose. Tell you these govt rules and regulations suck. Private rulzz!!

Anyway, was desperate to get back as I had my first AIMCAT today at ten in the morning. Last night sucked as we set off from Udaipur at one in the night and the driver taking us at 80 kmph along a bumpy road. I hardly slept. We reached here at eight thirty and I was at my home by nine. ( Dad hadn't come; he stayed at the office. BUSY BEE! :|)
Opened the door. Aah! Neat Drawing room; by the time I got to the wash basin; something hit my nose. Yuck. What is that? I opened my room and found a dead squeaker there. The mouse must have been dead for three days at least. Wow! what a wonderful start. I shut my room; sprayed my Wild-Stone all around. Phew! Some respite. Time- 0925 Took a bath somehow. All ready for the test. Time- 0940. Damn! I haven't had my breakfast. Went to the restaurant and almost had a squabble. Nay, budding managers don't lose their temper.. Good boy! Packed a Masala Dosa. Had it at home. Time- 0958. I sped away as a thousand genuine excuses flashed through my mind. Phew. I wasn;t the only person who was late. And the test was schduled to be held at 1030! Okie.. I am an optimist. I didn't utter anything. Smiled my way to the room. Damn tough LR- Wait minute. I am a genius in LR ( LOGICAL REASONING) Yeah.. Genius indeed. Managed to attempt 6 out of 30. Just a bit rusty. Did well in English and Maths. Smiled my way out of the room as usual.

Outside-- Are yaar. Kya LR aaya tha!! Ek sawaal nahi hila! (What a LR section! Couldn't solve a question!)

Happy me. Can blast the coming ones.

Blah Blah. Came home and usual stuff.

Aargh.. Why am I typing all this?? Getting too CAT specific. Trust me, I am not like this :-)

Anyway, getting back into the groove. Hope to keep posting.
Phew!!

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

May 1st the last time I posted!

Felt crap all this while.

Exams went by.

No comments.

Read The Greatness Guide.

I will post again soon.

This.. Just to get back!

Thanks giving! and tata for May :-(

Whoa!

How could I not blog all this while??!! :-( *slap*


Well a lot many things happened.

I secured an uber cool 78.84% marks in my third semester exams.


Thanks a lot to Mom, dad and all my friends and family members who have wished well for me.

specially Jitendra, Arun, Anshul, Pramudit. These guys have been the pillars of my success. And they scored less than me!! *angry*

Except Pramudit of course; that guy's rocking mate. I mean, what do u call a guy who secures 87% in engg!!

Mom still takes care of me. Dad is happy with my marks. Bhaiyya and bhabhi are ecstatic. So is my friend Ankit, but surprised! :-D
So, Thanks to all! I love you all. :-)

But i am not happy with the way I scored it.
now fourth sem exams coming up on May 10th.

And this time, I want to make sure, I do some justice to my potential.

I want that hard work thing to come into play!!

I want to earn it.

So in pursuit for hard earned success. this blogger wont be visible for a while. Excuse me for that.

Wish me luck!!!


Won't be able to blog till June now :-(

All for the good though.


Ciao!

Jame Raho! You'll come to know why the name of the post is so at the end of it ;-)

Hmm..
Today is Cheti -Chand.

Wonder what's that..

Nevertheless, We have a holiday today.. :-) Who cares what it is for.. ;-)

anyway.. I woke up at eight thirty,, pretty early for a holiday morning!!

Had dosas for breakfast and went on a blog visit..

I saw a post on a blog (well there are many posts on too many blogs!! ;-) But bear with it right now)

Well to be more specific on Freshly Squeezed..

and it was written there to try it on mine too..

So doing it..

All bout it is that..

There is this list of questions and u play a playlist on shuffle mode.

the song gives you the answer to a question.

I chose Hindi songs to do the honors

So, without any further cribbing, here I go..



* If someone says 'Is this okay?', you say?

Ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga (1942 a love story)

lolz.. what was that? A bouncer on the first delivery..

*What would best describe your personality?

Dard-e-disco (Om shanti Om)

Ohkie.. but could have been better..


*What do you like in a guy/girl?

Chak De India (Chak De India)

What the..? seems the answers are misplaced!! Anyway, let's go on.. I'll add my views bout it later..

*How do you feel today?

Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya (Dil Se)

Bingo!!

*What is your life's purpose?

Dil Se Re (Dil Se)

Hmm.. Ohkie.. but perhaps absoluetly wrong.. Though i would fancy the scened in this particular song with SRK and Manisha escaping.. Quite romantic..eh? :-D


*What is your motto?

Bijoriya Bijoriya (from the album Mausam by Sonu Nigam)

What the..? It's getting Shit*y mate!


*What do your friends think of you?

Maine tere liye hi saat rang ke sapne chune (Anand)

Quite fine... I agree am like this.. :-) Wonder they think bout me so..


*What do you think of your parents?

Azeem O shaan shehenshah (Jodha-Akbar)


Lolz.. not exactly.. My parents aren't that strict.. :-D



*What do you think about very often?

Ek Ajnabi haseena se yun mulaqat ho gayi (Sung by Kishore Kumar.. Dunno the movie name)

Perfect!! :-)

*What is 2+2?

Aazmaale aazmaale (Taxi No 9211)

Ya.. I'm quite prone to committing Silly mistakes..


*What do you think of your best friend?

Kal Ho na Ho (Kal ho na ho)


Okies... Chalega! Ya.. my attitude towards life is so.. Kinda Kaliedoscopic.. U See ;-)


*What do you think of the person you like?

Jeevan Se bhari teri aankhen majboor kare Jeene ke liye (Safar)


No comments
I'm not in love yet.. and there are too many people I like..


*What is your life story?

Yun Hi Chala Chal (Swades)

Bingo!!



*What do you want to be when you grow up?

Bholi Si Surat, Aankhon mein masti (Dil to Pagal Hai)

;-) I would love such a girl


*What do you think when you see the person you like?

Ab to aadat si hai mujhko aise jeene mein (Kalyug)

Ya.. sorta.. As i told u.. I've never been in love..
But yes.. I very much feel so.. nowadays.. miss u ma.. :-(


*What do your parents think of you?

Na Is pal ka, na kal ka pata...
na koi shikva, na ab hai gila,
tere gum se, main har gum se,
hass ke mila :-) (Movie- HatTrick)

I believe so..:-) Bingo!!


*What will you dance to at your wedding?

Fitna Dil (Shikhar)

This is getting better. Not so bad after all.. Is it? ;-)


*What will they play at your funeral?

Mitwa (Lagaan)

Ohkie.. I'm fine with it..


*What is your hobby/interest?

Piya Haji Ali (Fiza)

Bizzare!!



*What is your biggest secret?

Kholo Kholo Darwaazen (Taare Zameen Par)

hmm...


*What do you think of your friends?

Raat kali ek khwaab mein aayi ( Budhdha Mil gaya- A Dev Anand movie)

hmm... not exactly :-P



*What should you post this as?

Jame Raho (Taare Zameen Par)

I Completely agree!! You really need to stick to this one!!

Got it?? ;-)




Phew! That's all on the offer..


I enjoyed it. Seems more like a comic movie..

anyway.. sinvce this was inspired from another blog, I won't write much on this post!!

Hope u enjoyed it too :-)

Have a great day.

Fifty Three

1. I am a very honest guy and I like honest people. I hate it when people fake it. I'm true at heart and expect others to be true to me too. And I'm not lying!!

2. I am six feet tall( or is it five eleven?)

3. The busiest day of my week is Sunday!

4. I don't have tea. I am a coffee freak. And MILO too ;-)

5. So it makes sense that engineering is not my cup of tea. Because if it is tea it won't be mine:-D

6. I'm a typical Sagittarian which I've mentioned in About Me too. But if you meet me after going through a book that entails a description of Sagittarians, you are not at fault if you believe that it was the first chapter of my Biography.

7. The toughest period of my life till now just went by. And it lasted four and half years; 55 months to be precise. Well it was tough for everyone in my family and it was a learning period too. I don't fancy my life to get any tougher than this (i.e. if it can get any tougher!) Now I am in a rebuilding phase.

8. I would like to believe that I am very intelligent (well an IQ of 140+ is supposed to be intelligent... right?) But I don’t want to be over confident at the same time which unfortunately I can't seem to avoid.

9. I got selected in IIT-JEE 2007 after studying for four months (not in sequence!)

10. And I was in my first year of engineering at that time. Secured 74 percent marks in my first year. Another testimony to my intelligence.

11. I study the least in my class and manage to get in the top ranks.

12. Well I told you I am boastful. Didn't I? But I did tell you that I can't seem to set aside my over confidence.

13. But I couldn't solve the Rubik's cube! *sigh*

14. I can talk the hind legs off a donkey! And I mean it. I can talk nonsense on and on and this has actually saved me a couple of times.

15. Actually I also meant to say that I am a glib communicator.

16. I am a good debater and orator.(which makes sense)

17. My room's in a complete mess. I mean you perhaps can't get a dirtier room with things misplaced and books and clothes strewn here and there. Absolute clutter!!

18. I miss my school friends a lot.

19. I love my family and miss my mom.

20. I spend close to seven hours everyday on the internet.(Gosh!)

21. My dad just had a look at my blog:-D

22. I like meeting new people.

23. I like Shahrukh Khan Movies. Also the ones starring Aamir, Hrithik, Boman Irani, Naseeruddin Shah, Ranveer Shourey( specially when he gets with Vinay Pathak), Rajat Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and everyone who makes my day.

24. Okay I don't want to sound like I'm lying. I like the movies of Priety Zinta, Rani Mukherji, Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawala and I love watching Katrina Kaif.

25. I love Gayatri Joshi. God why did she get married?*angry*

26. My life has got a lot better ever since I got a Broadband connection. Trust me, it's worth it.

27. If you are still reading this, I love you my friend!

28. I aspire to make it big in life. Really big. And my friends believe that I will do it *all smiles*

29. I a huuuggeee procrastinator. I dream BIGGGG but hardly act!

30. Which does explain some of my failures*sob*

31. I am a very responsible child and I took care of my mom really well. Love you ma!

32. I wouldn't like anyone to go through what I have gone till now in life. Or for that matter what my parents have gone through in life. Specially ma.

33. I love driving my Access -125.

34. I just got a call from a dear online friend, Sneha. And I didn't talk to her properly (Hmph!) Sorry. See I got u a line in the post ;-)

35. Didn't I say? I love all my friends!!

36. Now that this is turning boring for you, let me tell you that this ordeal will end soon. Just that a few more things came to my mind.

37. I seem to have taken a liking to managing and motivating people. Today only I preached thrre friends about PREPARING FOR CAT. :-D

38. This does mean that I am somewhat intending to bell the CAT. I believe that it is my cup of tea. :-)

39. Just that I don’t act what I preach. No no, I'm not a bloody hypocrite! Just that I'm a very lazy guy. Remember the procrastination point?

40. My room has its walls full of motivational thoughts which I don't even bother to take a look at.

41. I would love to be studious! *chuckles* No; seriously! I know you don't believe that but you have to coz its D truth!!

42. But having said all that, I work really hard once I commit myself to anything! And I mean it. I still remember how hard we worked to make our tech fest a success. 16-17 hours everyday! (gosh!)

43. I just saw the Good Knight refill and I dare say that I'm yet to find an effective mosquito destroyer! Though I've tried using Odomos, I don't fancy smearing it all over before sleeping!*sneer*

44. I believe that a super power exists but I'm not religious. I vist temples because my mother wanted me to and sometime coz I wanted to for my ma.

46. I hail from a very orthodox Brahmin family and I am okay with that :-) In fact that sounds cool to me!

47. Didn't I say? God! How could I miss that? I believe in arranged marriages. Yes, pyaar vyaar bekaar hai. I mean it's fine if you love after marriage. I do come from the old school of thought in this regard. Details are given in my orkut profile. :-)

48. If the above point resulted in a heart break for you. Lolzz. I'm saying as if I'm a very eligible bachelor which I believe I am :-P Well I am just 19 for that matter. Coming back to the point, if it resulted in a heart break for you, I care for you but can't help it. I love my ma and can't disobey her. (At least now) We still are great friends :-)

49.. I dare say I look good in formals.

50. Okay! That is a lie*chuckle*

51. I am a complete foodie. I just love eating! Anything Vegetarian and once upon a time anything made under the guidanceof mom.

52. I love traveling as I do meeting new people. So that does make me a fit in the Marketing world. Does it?

53. If I don't stop now, you will leave it without completing and that will break my heart. So, I'm stopping here. And it is a Prime number too though I don't fancy it. I would have preferred a 71 or 89 for that matter. Anyway, Thanks a lot for showing so much patience. But kudos to me too coz I still can't believe I wrote so much! :-)

Happy Holi

I got my third mithai ka dabba of the day just five minutes back and it is when I decided to put up my third post of the day!!!As we all know, today is Holi.But I sometimes wonder whether we have lost its significance over the period of time. Everyone makes the festival look so good with all the colors and splendor. A day full of sweets, delicacies, visiting relatives and acquaintances. And everyone is supposed to have a great time. Holi, is about forgetting the ill-will towards anyone and making a new beginning(at least a part of it is bout doing so).Or as I feel, is it the beginning of the end? It has reduced to an instance of social gathering where you stand up to be counted among the one present. You make this festival so colorful and after that, forget all about it. I mean, there's so much paucity of time in everyone's lives that one doesn't even know when a neighbour meets an accident. Then what goodness is there all about? Just sending a box of mithai and playing for two hours with colony people doesn't make for Holi. Then there are people who do exactly the opposite of what holi demands. I've seen some people. They will shout at each other, have a squabble over petty things, but on the day of holi, it's all fine! They are the best buddies you can see. And you feel, it's all fine now. But what you see the next day. Wahi Ramayana wapas repeated!

PS: everything above is purely imaginative and has no bearing to any person living or dead. Any resemblance is co-incidental.And please… I've the sweetest neighbors in the world!!:-)They always lend a helping hand when we need it the most. And of course they play with colours:-)And they give you mithais too:-). And you love them so much that you devote a post to them in your blog.:-)Cheers to my neighbors and their mithai ka dabbas :-)And of course a very happy Holi to all of you!!

Thought

You sometimes don't even know what you are capable of. Your life seems to be all bliss when suddenly it comes out with a series of challenges and that is when your true character reflects.

Fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds of cheerfulness

Give it your best efforts, take pains to reduce others pains; be a sight of joy to others. And you will have peace, a sense of completeness, a feeling of being good and above all you will start respecting yourself a lot more.

Culinary romance

My culinary skills got tested for the first time today.I made dal under dad's guidance in the afternoon though it was I who decided in how much amount the ingredients should be put in. Consequently dad was shouting all the time that I had put in too much 'dhaniya powder'. But being the cool customer I am, I believed in my ability and remembering mom and her culinary expertise, I went ahead with it. I waited patiently for it to cool down, ordered for 'missi rotis' from the restaurant and opened the pressure cooker thirty minutes after I'd turned the stove off. I prayed to mom and took the first gassa in my mouth. Wowwwww!I had not eaten such dal in ages; so tasty it was!!I woke my sleeping dad (who by the way wouldn't be eating it because he has a fever and because of it only I endeavored to fight the battle with the pressure cooker!) and told him what a great rookie chef his son was! He mumbled something (which I won’t get into) and got back to sleep.And in this way, I'd a hearty lunch. More so, because I was relieved that I'd not messed it up!But in the evening I found, to my dismay that I was supposed to make rotis too! Dad said it's not feasible to take rotis from restaurant every time (or even from the neighbours I was about to say, but I left at it)I've tried this before; not be a tough ask I thought to myself. Again, hoping that the endeavor will be successful like it was in the afternoon, I took on it with courage. Wasn't feeling very hungry. So target –five [as dad again wasn't eating because he had khichdi (or was it because he also doesn't fancy my cooking :-P)]Anyway, my ordeal began.

First roti: Srilanka (or Madagascar??) Perhaps both :-D
Second: Australia
Third and fourth rotisi: I don't remember much. But didn't resemble any geometric figure either!
Fifth one: aah! Finally something remotely close to what one calls a roti! Somewhat circular in shape. Looked like Hrithik Roshan among a bunch of Johnny Levers (apologies to Mr. Lever) Was made properly too. Oho! I remembered from made properly, when I sat down to eat them, the first four were absolutely pathetic! Half made, half baked or what ever you call it! Unpalatable is the word that comes to mind when I think of them. When I came down to the fifth one, my tongue was already down and so couldn't appreciate it's taste. I believe it would have given any roti good competition (the Hrithik Roshan. They say don't judge a person by looks!Can't say so in case of my rotis!!

Vernacular miseries

Today was the first time I felt great about the department lecture theatre.

There was an ambience and our mathematics teacher was teaching in a way never seen before (that perhaps was because I was attending his lecture for the first time!!! ;-)) and I was able to follow a lecture in a long-long time!

Anyway, let me get to the point. I had an (I don’t know what I should call it) today. A good friend of mine, Rakesh (name changed), took it to me. He started with asking me whether or not, I knew the meaning of misanthrone. I replied in the negative. I realized that misanthrope was the word he was looking for when he explained its meaning! I corrected him (had a torrid time doing so!) and asked if he was trying to follow the great vocabulary builder by Norman Lewis. He said,” yes!”. I felt genuinely happy as this was the first time I was seeing a person coming from a vernacular background making an honest effort to improve his language.

But little did I realize what he’ll come up in the next few minutes. He asked me the meaning of fifteen odd words. I started to realize what this guy was trying to do. He stopped at a word I didn’t know the meaning of and I later found out that it didn’t even exist. Then we almost fought over the legitimacy of the following sentences

Had I played cricket?

Had I played cricket, we would have won the match.

I tried to explain him for a good five minutes as my heart winced in pain at what he doing. I realized that it was the sheer frustration that was erupting from his side over the difference in the language skills. I avoided saying that I knew it better. At that point of time, my friend came to my rescue only to be caught himself! He agreed with Rakesh and got the matter settled.

Sometimes I wonder whether you should be genuinely interested in helping your lesser talented friends.