atulya bharat !!

I was in Hyderabad for a couple of days, the city always was special to me coz of the world famous hyderabadi biryani and their dialect..whenever I visit this city I remember Mehmood doing his famous number “ Hum kaale hain tou kya hua dil walein hain”, yahaan ko aaaana, nakou nakou, the twang and tilt added to hindi makes it real music to my ear...

like most cities in india, hyderabad too has two parts to the city, the new part which is the silicon valley with its scintillating high rises which bear name tags of world famous software giants and of course home grown ones too, mega malls that put bombay malls to shame, spirally flyovers snaking the entire new city,all types of cars yet good part is honking is pretty less,and uber eat outs and hangout joints, not many pubs though like bangalore but all in all a city that is all out to set the ball rock and rolling.. you got the flow am sure..

and then there is this old city, with the pride of hyderabad, charminar,despite of its fading beauty.. crying out for restoration still very elegant and still brings out an awe from you. The innumerable pearl showrooms each boasting of authentic hyderabadi pearls, mogari stores filled with mogaris of various color, designs, shapes and sizes that ensures you do give them a second look, the houses remind you of bygone era, roads like earthworms who are starved, shanties converted to shops selling cheap wares.. yes it does remind you of India the westerners love to take pictures of, inspires them to make movies on.. I could go on and on.. basically to depict a jaundiced view of India to the world...

But then our atulya bharat is a land of contradiction, we have the uber rich and the sinfully poor living foots step counts off each other, the ultra modern culture and staunch conventional traditions coexisting, we may support different ipl teams today but are bound together by our passion for cricket, we follow different customs but our devotion to them is common, we dress differently but share the same pride, we have totally different eating habits, but our passion for our food is common, we truly set a best example of unity in diversity, we are united in our passion. One such passion that binds India is that for food.

Like most indian I am a foodie to the core so the most important thing on my business agenda to any city is to dig in (deep) to its local delicacies. What I saw this time left me feeling amused and happy ..

In new city, Paradise is the most famous dig for Hyderabadi biryani, the locals would snub this and say that the authentic one is the one in old city at a joint called shadab.. as the paradise one has a parsi mix to it.. honestly I loved both.. but then am not a conossier. but what I found common in both places is their customer management skills. Both places are very crowded during lunch and dinner time and by that I mean from 12 noon – 4 pm and 8 pm -12:30 pm, yes thats how much we love our food.. In paradise they waiter uses s/w on mobile to place order and the waiting time for whatever you order is not more than 5 - 7 minutes, I thought its technology.. but I was amazed to find the same thing in shadab.. though it was minus the mobile management, man management was fantastic. To save time, these places dont clean the tables but just remove the table cloth, the orchestrated move by the waiters is fantastic, one would take the order, second person would get in the drink part of the order, the 1st person would deliver and serve the food, half way through he would find out if you needed anything else. All to ensure that not only do you enjoy a sumptuous meal without having to wait much for your next course but also to ensure a quick turnover. No wonder these places are such a hit !! they would put a Mc D to shame !!

the point I am trying to make is these two places are poles apart in their ambiance, management styles but are bound together in their to passion to serve yummy biryanis to hoards awaiting them with the same gusto and smile.. which for years thrills all we biryani lovers..

and this happens only in India..(singing and doing the jig !!) my land where contradictions co exist in harmony !!

some interesting facts bout hyderabad:
in hussain sagar there is a 80 feet statue of buddha in the middle of the lake, while placing the statue, it fell and got lost in the sea and it took an year to find it .. minus a ear, so they had to remake the ear.

Lots of accident would take place on the road around the hussain sagar area, as bikers would talk on their mobiles while driving (dunno why either hussain sagar or buddha inspired them to talk !!!) so the govt has banned mobile network for the entire stretch of it.. phew.. weird ...

the poshest locations are jubilee hills and banjara hills which dont even qualify to be called hillocks .. but I cant complain being from bombay (yes the land of kalaghoda, Fort etc)

relation without words..

something beautiful happened to me ..

there is a stray dog in our neighborhood who loves to play with dexter (my 4 yr old labrador) but i mostly dont allow too much interactions as dexter might catch some ticks or disease from him. i always felt bad bout this thing i do but i did it for dex own good..

my family being a dog lover would always feed this dog, he is real cute and friendly and he too i found out was a sucker for vanilla ice cream so i would give him that .. dexter the jealous boy hated it.. n got a lot of scolding coz of that

unfortunately this dog got hurt in the leg and was limping. initially we thought its a minor wound but 2 days back when he came to eat food from us at night i saw its bad and needs medication..

i went to clean the wound and put medication i was really skeptical.. i thought he will run away n not allow me to touch him..

well to my surprise he allowed me take care of his wound.. whats more he even came back yesterday night and allowed us to put in new dressing..

i am really touched coz here is a creature who is trusting me inspite of no verbal communication between us... inspite of he knowing that i dont allow dexter to play with him too much... yet he could trusted me enough to let me take care of him..

this bond based on mayb trust.. mayb instinct.. may b wanting to be cared and loved is special to me now...

we all, man, animal, plants are all interconnected by a bond of being alive.. to be loved.. to co exist.. to be happy.. and all in this quest of ours form relations to help make this journey of ours more interesting and cherished... ultimately reaching our lil haven on earth..

to be like me

god make me fly high like a kite in the cloudless bright yellow sky..
god let me swim like a fish in the deep blue ocean
god teach me to dance like a peacock in the green lush jungle

he smiled and said ... i made you to be like you ...
go find yourself and be like you ...

i was sad and confused..
find myself ? how do i do it ?
i am always with me ??
how do i be like me when i know how to be no other !!

i went back to my world,
found my obstacles .. embraced my triumphs..
encountered my pains .. caressed my joys ..
stood by my allies .. overpowered my enemies..
overcame my weakness ... recognized my strengths
learned my lessons.. lead the path to change

then one fine day, god came to me and smiled..
i told him all i did.. all i gained.. all i lost..
all that matters .. all that is vain ....

he again smiled and said, "so you did find you .. you are now like you..."

you soared the heights of success..
you flew like a kite but by being only you
you swam away your sorrows, however deep they were..
you swam like a fish but by being only you
you danced on conquering your fear
you danced like a peacock but by being only you

i smiled now not with joy but at my folly..
i searched the world for me ..
and here i am with me...
i thanked god for making me ... like me ...

my genie .. last minute !!

i dunno why do i have this intense long term relationship with last minute .. its been my way of life since i realized the sexiness of last minute (read as effectiveness)

but wont u agree that there is this magical quality about last minute.. it will make everything happen.. straighten up all wrongs, makes u mug the right answer, bails u out of embarrassing situations.. ur absorption capacity of any kind of answer increases in a jiffy.. the big idea for a campaign.. the horrible boring n long reports get written in a minute.. albeit the last one ....things u have toooo lazy to do earlier.. just get done..

in fact after many fatal clashes once again my gene last minute had come to my rescue .. i pondered over what is it bout it that makes lil miracles happen ???

i guess its the realization of "its either now or never".. that's what makes the difference.. and for me this realization always wait for its buddy.. u guessed it right !! last minute.... grrrrrr

so there is i guess nothing so romantic bout my genie last minute other than my best buddy laziness and my penchant for a lil excitement...

1st hope not the last

my 1st attempt at poem .. hopefully not the last.. could not rhyme.. more like prose .....

i m longing too long ...

i am longing for sunshine in the summer
i am longing to quench my thirst in the rains
i am longing for snow in the winter

i am longing for smile in the laughter
i am longing for hug in the embrace
i am longing for words in the chatter

i am longing for joy in the festival
i am longing for family in my people
i am longing for god in the temple

i am longing and not searching..
i am seeing but not seeking..
i am alive but not living
i am ....

i try to snap out but time has bound its chain real strong around me..
i pull hard, time groans in fury.. i give in..
then my soul comes for me .. cajoles me.. brings hope along ...
she smiles at me & pulls my hands i then try.. wee bit harder..

so here i am... searching.. seeking.. alive...
in hope to meet my sunshine.. my rain... my snow...
ya i do go on with hope by my side...............

I want that toy !!

As a kid when I would do the “i want that toy!” tantrum, my baba would just let me wail and pull all my strings by sitting outside a toy store and creating a scene. My ma would sometimes tell baba to give in but baba would be as firm as a mountain and I would wonder when my wail had subdued to whimper and I would get in the reflective mode( well at 4 years too I was quite a thinker !! ya donkey does praise own tail at times !!!) and wonder is this man the same who would sweep me in his arms and play hide and seek with me before sleeping every night. Of course I had a very bad short term memory so I would forget all bout my need for that toy and focus on the dairy milk bar my baba bought me !!!

today I am really thankful to baba for teaching me not to get adamant, to learn to move on and if something aint yours, it never was to be.. find better alternatives in life.. to look at everything with a deeper perspective.. to learn to let go.. to give, share and care (this one in general.. not from the eg given above)

one of my friend got unlucky with love and the way he is hankering for it reminded me of the toy I once wanted.. his tantrums were so similar, he wanted the girl's love just like I wanted the toy, when the girl dint want to give any...

so many of us are unlucky in love.. or are we ? In bengali, we have this saying “you dont really know a person until you start living with them !” how true.. so if you are not lucky in love.. let go of that toy (metaphorically speaking here..no offense meant !!) there are many more in the store.. check them out .. you just might find something better in store for you.. literally :)

follow the leader !!

Yesterday I was at the delhi airport waiting for my luggage, to my surprise our luggage conveyor belt was the same as that of indian army flight from leh. I had never met army jawans and it was a pleasure seeing a plane full of them.

I just wanted to go and tell them how proud we are of them but was feeling a bit shy and just then a guy went up to them and said the same. It made things real simple for me.. I just tagged along with this guy and shaked hands with the jawans and said its a honor to meet them in person.

They were a bit surprised at first and them gave me a warm smile that I still cherish. In fact I also got to have a little chat with a man who was older and more than happy to chat..

I guess it always takes this little push or nudge from some invisible force for us to do something we want to but dunno bout the consequence or are too chicken to start with..

am really happy that the guy took an initiative and I followed him !!

follow my preaching !!

I was in an auto yesterday and a beggar girl came with incense sticks to sell to me, I told her to go ahead.

Once the auto moved I realized my folly. I never give money to little children or women or men who seem like cons, its only the elderly that I feel are helpless and hence begging. I also feel these kids / men / women should do some job .. sell some thing instead of begging..

And yesterday I had an opportunity to follow my preaching and I let go of it .. I should have bought the incense sticks.. well today I hope the girl is still there at the signal and people like me realize our folly and buy the incense sticks and let a person get out of the vicious trap of begging and lead a life full of self respect and pride !!

thank God for Women !!

Like I had said, I would write about the common traits in women too .. but here I aint letting out the big secret..

well coz there aint one.. I find it hilarious when women go ballistic about men not understanding them and men when they say women are impossible to understand !!

we are very expressive creatures .. it should not be difficult guys for you to figure us out .. but of course all the trick lies in how u handle us .. always remember there is an invisible “Handle with utter most Care” sign in case of women, coz if damage is done, one lifetime is too less to pay up for them !! no kidding there eh !! :p

anyways here we go ..

# we love to talk.. period
donno why researchers spend time / money / energy to prove universal truth

# we believe in fairytale
irrespective of age / culture / upbringing .. dolls & fairies always have a special place in our lives

# we believe we can change the man / men in our lives
and we spend our entire life chasing this illusive dream !!

# we are much stronger than U think
we might cry seeing a sad movie, laugh at a stupid gag as per men.. but when it comes to standing up to a situation .. we have much more grit n courage than most men !!

# we dont like Maths
its too boring !!

# when we say this .. we mean .............
No = NO !!
live with it or move on !!
I wish you would do this = you better do this or you are dead meat buddy
do I look fat (ya its a cliche!!) = I know I am looking fat but I want you to lie and tell me you love me inspite of this and make my day !!
nothing = my world has been torn apart !! & I am dieing to tell you the gory details
we need to discuss = > you are in serious trouble buddy


# most potent stimulus = Chocolate
aint matter how old we get, how much we deprive ourselves to be in shape but this is poison ... however bugged we might be.. give us that and we change in a jiffy !! and whoever said women were difficult to please !!

# emotions .. always extreme
holds true for most women... we dont believe in moderation when it comes to emotions.. we give it all and when we stop... its forever !!!

# we are unique ...
never compare a women with another.. we love to believe we are the only one of our kind .. no we dont feel vain about it .. coz thats the fact !! else we are in for that discussion !!! :p

I cant end without penning a few words on the women I have known all my life, my mother is the quintessential women for me.. she gives so much to us, she is always there to take care of us inspite of the hurt we instill to her, she cries when she sees our pain but bears her's (pain) silently without letting us know. She will fight the entire world inspite of her puny self so that we are sheltered and safe. But she will melt the moment she sees us smiling and happy.. her jokes and yapping makes our lives lifely and how much ever we may crib she is our daily dose of entertainment with her narration of daily antics around the house.. some day I wish I can be like her ( in certain ways only !! :p)


Guys we may be not too gunk ho on the facts like you & let emotions rule us but we definitely God's best creation .. and I have Nuthing to say to men who dont agree with me !!
( Beware these guys : you are in for a big email on this topic !!)

no goodbyes.. its how u doing !!!

after missing my flights a couple of times, I have this habit of reaching airports early.. a bit too.. so I have spend quite a bit of time at most airports just gazing around..

its really wonderful.. so many different kinds of people at the same place at this moment and the next .. they would be thousands of kms away from each other .. maybe never meeting again ............ and may be they would meet at a different airport......i observe people here in luxury.. its fun.. you see so many interesting species here...

some with the entire family going on a family vacation or some family occasion make the air around them too so festive that you so wish you were part of that warm family feeling of togetherness..

then there are these “oh we are so much in lub” couples.. all starry eyed about the trip they are gonna embark upon.. full of expectations and a bit scared of the uncertainty in lieu of future.. it makes me wonder of what lays ahead for me.. will I too act so gooey, well the thought of gooey mush sends a disgusted shiver through my spine right now .. but then you never know ..i too might join the band wagon...

then there are these little ones on their first voyage.. they are like kangaroos.. jumping from one place to another.. the airport.. their new jungle to discover.. they find such amazing ways to entertain themselves.. the lounge chairs their jumping ground.. the dust bin back.. their favored hiding place.. the elevator their slip... and their parents totally clueless of their next move.. running frantically after them.. these little monsters really ensure that their parents have more than their hands full

then there would be the senior citizens.. its wonderful to see them.. dignity and grace personified ... many a times I have had the good fortune to talk to a few.. they always have a kind word to say and wisdom to impart..even this time I met an old uncle who was the only one who bothered to ask me if I was alright when I was throwing up in the flight..

the business travelers like me.. they are broadly of two types.. 90 % of them males.. type one the geek.. lost in his gadget world .. not programmed to recognize human prototypes.. and the others.. the marketing herd.. always ready to strike a conversation, always bubbling with curiosity.. they would know which food stall has awesome stuff and the nearest cloak room !!

then there would be these young groups going together on a vacation .... I always envy their air of carefreeness, their boisterousness, their innocence ..... life has not yet begin for them .. so kids have fun till it lasts... he he .. bitchy eh.. ya but I really miss my care free days and I never board an aircraft then !!

then there are these lone travelers.. you donno why are they traveling .. looking at their age, their attire .. I make wild guesses about their reason when I am totally mentally lost !!

ya airports are a wonderful place .. it is from where our journey of life goes places .. literally.. it might bring in joy.. it might cause pain.. it may be necessary and it make be a mistake.. it may be meeting your fate.. it may be the height you should have reached long back.. it may be the retribution.. it may be an adventure .. it may be coming home.. it may be finding new home.. it be the only thing left to do.. it may be the right thing to do.. it may be your last ... but then you have to still embark on it to find that out...................

men will be men and women know better !!

i have come to a reliance web world in chandigarh and was doing some surfing when i hear a lady reprimand her co worker telling her not to talk like a girl and work like a guy..

it brought a smile on my face

i really admire the way woman can be candid about most issues and discuss the same..

the men in my life other than dexter are totally non expressive !!

my brother or father still think its real macho to hide their problems untill its taken the proportion of Hulk and then they come to us (meaning me and ma) for solution ... phew !!

i have always tried to teach my bro that its not macho to not cry but just the opposite (only metaphorically speaking !!! ) but like most men .. he too has n't got the deep rooted meaning behind it..

i have noticed certain common traits in most men i have encountered / interacted / known closely / known casually / dint wanno know but destiny was more adament / knew indirectly / dieing to know (george clooney tops that list!!) / loved to know
..

# never ask for direction
even if that means running in the jungle with a cheetah following them !!! grrrr

# never really grow up ...
as kids its playing cricket.. as youngsters its chasing cars ... as oldies its commenting on whichever game they watch...........
winning some silly game still rocks their lil boat !!! grow up

# they hate shopping ..
only because we love it and they dont have taste for finer things in life !!!
(only exception i met till date is my colleague mr pai..it took me 31 years to meet this exception !!!!!!)

# pig headed = macho
wild = macho
sensitive = gay
in pain -> alcohol
in tension -> ciggi
nervous -> crack a pj and laugh .. whats more .. expect others to laugh toooooo!!!!???
hot body -> only stimulus required ..
their dictionary & sop baffles me !!!


#Yeh Dosti hum nahi todenge
this is one thing i love about them and they really mean it...
any thing fo a friend.. most women dont do that ...


well but whats best is .. women know this and better and accept their man, bros, bfs, sons with all this and still humour them so well that men still live in this lil haven of theirs .. happy !!

PS i am not a feminist.. only a realist ... comming shortly is a post on common traits of women too ...

door closed = door open ??

today someone behaved in a way i dint expect the person to behave.. i was hurt and angry and was full of many other not so good emotions..

but at the end of the day i realised i really am looking at the closed door...

in life we learn from bitter and not so sweet experience that "what not to do" or "how not to be".. which is a valuable lesson in itself.. so here is the other door that opened ... i am enlightened ..

but why is there so much pain when there is learning in life.. why aint life's learning as easy as classroom's ? why does always time come to the rescue to ease pain and is happiness an eternal pursuit ? why is loneliness always the compainion of pain and the world of happiness? why does lie, diceit and malice win the battles inspite of truth, value and integrity win the war? why does a door have to close and then a new one opens ? why doesnt one door lead to the other ?
why do we hurt ourselves by allowing others to affect us and yet be in love with our tormentors ? why inspite of repeated failures we hope that we will bring in a change ? why do we never get to see the bigger picture and feel left out in the movie of life ? why do we get boggled with the same things inspite of our resolutions ?

is this the undauntable spirit or is it fool's paradise ? time alone .. the storyteller .. will tell our saga ...

conscience .. you there !!

monday blues always are painfull.. but they get worse when you had a long weekend.. i tried the whole day to feel good by remembering my weekend .. snoozing most of the time... once i was done day dreaming bout my long weekend .. i started asking others bout theres... usually i had nice stories like went out of town.. went for shopping... blah blah.. when i called my printer up for a job and asked him bout his weekend .. he said the whole week was bad.. his story really brought me out of my slumber ..


he is a young kid .. was driving his bike to work and a lady driver with a learner sign hit him and ran off.. his right part of the body is completely fractured and will take about a month to recover !!

so many hit and run cases happen .. and like most cases.. the victim is so hapless that he / she wont be in a frame of mind to memorize the vehicle number... but do these tormentors go scot free ??

dont they care to know if they brutally murdered someone innocent ?? is conscience just a word in the dictionary ? how easy is it for them to forgive themselves ? and does god just lets such people be happy and safe in their little selfish world ?

but i must say the way bhavick was just matter of factly stating what happened to him amazed me to see how easily he accepted what has happened to him without getting too upset about it..

i guess from where he stands.. thats the best thing to do.. accept that it happened to him ... it could have been worse .. but will he forgive the brutal lady ?????

i guess not !!


it really takes a brave heart to open up and accept one's follies irrespective of the size of them.. especially i see it at work ... the passing of buck.. the never owning up.. it leads to such bitter taste and even worse work environment...

wish there was a magic broom to sweep away the malice and mall practise from the society... calling harry potter !!!!