What it takes to feel good

Ahh.. came back to the arena after more than a year. A lot has changed in my life since then... I  had best preps and plans but ended up screwing up my CAT results a big time... traveled 3 countries..  innovated something which has been taken in as a part of product ... bought a new house... and last but not the least..... got  ENGAGED to the most beautiful and sensible girl on the planet. Yeah I know the last part is not a typical me... but ppl change over the lifetime isn't it? Given 26 years of my unromantic and dorky and crazy lifestyle the last part was a big bang for my gang :). Yeah everyone of my gang was happy (by the way their happiness costed me a fortune yesterday at Angeethi :p ). I didn't knew that something would every amplify my craziness but it seems someone has... it feels so different and so good now-a-days.. I  feel some where that I am reaching to a reconciliation of my  8 year battle with GOD. He seems to have at last out smarted me... and I will be very happy to accept this defeat :)
Now I feel its not the big shots and even bigger magnanimity to make u feel good... but its those small little things in life which you tend to overlook in your quest for those big shots that matter. Life is too beautiful to be ruined by all this isn't it? Please don't jump to conclusion that the over ambitious nature of mine or the fire in my belly has doused. I still refuse to be ordinary and I still believe that in the race for excellence there is no finishing line. I still would set for nothing but the best.But now I have different perspective about life. Thanks to the special one who inspired me think differently  and take a fresh look at life. I think that somewhere I am losing myself to the charms and sensibility of that special one but sometimes its good to loose.. After all Shahrukh says, "Haar kar jitne waale ko baazigar kehte hain". :)

Its a beautiful SUNDAY morning and this is what it takes to feel good ...

Signing off for now.. :)

Intrusion on my maggi stocks

Well Well Well.... folks this post is not at all about India & Pakistan and their relationship. Its a different story altogether. I mouse has been coexisting peacefully with me for some time now in my room. How it made its way in is still an enigma. Well it hasn't  been a trouble till today night. You would be guessing why I am making such a hue about a trivial matter....
Well it begins something like this. I had 2 aaloo paratha's and a cornetto for the dinner, came back to room and man star movies was screening one of my all time favorites 'The league of extra ordinary gentlemen'. Enjoyed the movie - with some burps & farts here and there (oh !!! c'mon its all natural after a good meal). Anyways the movie got over and I felt some hunger pangs.. (guys u know I love food) but thanks to Bangalore Police who shut down the eateries by 23:30 hrs... the only savior is my personal & exclusive maggi stocks. BTW we should thank Late Mr. Momofuku Ando (inventor of instant noodles) & Nestle' (who introduced & pioneered the cult & brand 'maggi') for addressing the concerns of hungry night owls like us.
So I happily pulled out  my stock  of maggi only to find someone had already feasted on it. period.
Now that's the single feeling that leaves you irritated. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr... the mouse with whom I shared my abode... that idiot is robbing my pantry.... only if I could get hold of it.... I would teach him a lesson of a life time....
No .. please don't get me wrong... I ain't gonna kill him (although I m a non-veggie... but I don't do killings) and besides a lot of sexy models (PETA) showing off their assets for saving these creatures... I would like to give them some credit for saving his life ;). But one thing is for sure... that creepy little creature is gonna kicked out of my abode next time I spot it...anyways its too late to search for it and its not humane to kick someone out of your house at 02:30 hrs in the morning 

GN... we'll see it tommorrow

Learn From life

Came across yet another one but its too good

Inspiration

A very Inspiring one -

IT AIN’T OVER TILL IT’S OVER

” The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that.”…ROCKY BALBOA



The world indeed isn't so nice place at all. Underneath the beautiful mask lies the murky realities. Whenever you dare to think or act differently there are 'crabs' at every nook and corner waiting to pull the legs down and keep you there. It is the reality that people don't like their peers moving fast forward in life. They always try to stall the progress other is trying to make, and for what? some crappy mileage in their arena!!!! Accept it or not, everyone faces it sometime or the other in life. Also sometimes in life you make mistakes, assess the situation wrongly and land yourself into trouble and the world, by its nature is on the lookout for your mistakes, spares no time in reducing you to dust and making a laughing stock out of you. The lazy buggers don't face this as this is an aspect associated with the ambitious.

So whats the point in the discussion so far ? To not act coward. To not point fingers at anybody else for your failure.Analyse why you failed and fight back with full force and hit back hard. To do this make the strategy like a lion. Learn from the lion. Whatever be the task, wait till the correct time, then thrust yourself with your full unrelenting force and do not relax till the task is completed. This has what has created the genius leaders in any walk of life. It is this sheer ambition, the journey towards the goals where people face this. The cowards die in the way, but the fighters win.

Choice is yours........

Of Indian Parents and astrology

Perhaps the most caring and most sacrificing species on the planet. They sacrifice lots in their life to bring up capable people like us. It is because of this attitude they become overprotective and tend to drive the lives of their kids. But its okay only until children are kids & teens but not beyond that If anyone has seen 25 years of his life on this planet is working in big shot companies, living alone miles away from home, I believe that person is mature enough to handle his life. Yes 25 years is not a great age to be a perfectionist, we do tend to make mistakes, but that’s what gives the learning. Well off course you cannot be repeating the mistakes of your past generation (then you are not smart enough). But at this age you need to think rationally and act rationally. We as an Indian Diaspora tend to believe a lot in luck and astrology and religion (and the list is infinite).Its okay until its faith (although I am an atheist) but it needs a watchful eye for to not cross the blurred line between faith and superstition. I am sure I would rise heckles of lots of Indians if I start a debate, but anyways that’s not a point. India is a land which is the birthplace of Bhagwad Gita which states the philosophy of Karma. This is the land which defined ‘Purushatha’ and inspired people to achieve their destiny through ‘Karma’ and not through any superstitious rituals or any gems or stones. But the irony is this is the only place on earth where the superstitions and other outdated rituals are still performed and that too in abundance. People’s psyche is defying Karma and making them run behind so called Gurus, gemstones, and a lot of other nonsense. (By the way people doing all this are making a good business out of it )
The best example of the land of ‘Karma’ in the recent times I would say is America. A barely 300 year old hamburger popping coke sipping country. They don’t have any heritage, traditions or cultural diversity as ours. Yet in the last 150 odd years they have become the most powerful nation of the planet. Most of the fortune 500 corporations are in the US. Most of the innovations and technological advancements in the last 150 years have been on the American soil. So what did this country mainly dominated by runaway migrants, slaves, farmers (by the way these demographics are of America 150 years ago) do to become the frontrunner? It is nothing more than ‘Purushartha’. They were the people who believed in Karma and didn’t run behind any spiritual gurus, gemstones or any other such stuff. Moreover generalizing this, if you pick up any of the successful people from any corner of the world (even India), apparently they have made it there through their Karma, through the use of their brains and not with the help of any gemstones or astrology.
One more interesting aspect of Indian lives where we see much of this astrological effect is ‘Marriages’ . Leave apart the bride/groom hunting. The revered panditji’s of both side sit together and do a ‘Kundalli Milaan’. And they match the characteristics and so called match is made in heaven, but if it was so why do couples fight after marriage, and why does the relationship sours with time? Any answers revered Punditji?
Well more of it in the posts to come. Signing off for now.

Lucknow's legacy in Bangalore

Tunday Kabab - A hundred year old legacy of Lucknow is finally in Bangalore. Now Bangalore gets what the real Kababs are. Well they definitely are not the 'Chicken Pakoras' that are sold all over Bangalore in the name of kabab. Ideally kababs are always made of minced meat and don't have bones in them. A popular Hindi idiom 'Kabab main haddi mat bano' just bolsters that :).

The 100 year old Lucknow based 'Tunde ke Kabab' is the most famous outlet for choicest Kababs even today.
Many celebrities have been to this place from across the globe. The joint got its name when generations ago Mohammad Osman Haji started the enterprise with the special spices and ingredients that his ancestors had developed that were close to the gastronomic secrets of the kitchens of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah - the last of the kings, who was high on art, culture and music.
Haji was disabled and had only one arm. Tunde is an insensitive but general epithet given to one-armed people. However, in this case it became a term of endearment.

And it could not be at a better place than this in Bangalore - Koramangala near to Jyothi Nivas College [JNC ;)]. Well It has bigger and better seating arrangement than in Lucknow. BTW it matters only to those who have GF/BF. I still prefer to have my fav Kabab parantha roll on the streets. Hmm it the old world charm of having this delicacy that way.

My take -
Taste - Authentic Lucknavi
Price - Not so Lucknavi :( . Prices are through the roof almost 2 to 4 times that in Lucknow (Owing to Bangalore and it PPP ;) )
Ambience - Gud.

Overall - Prices are prohibitive but experience much of Lucknavi and believe it as it comes from a Lucknowite.

Well that all for now. Signing off.

TV censorship

In some countries, TV and radio programs are carefully censored for offensive language and behavior. In other countries there is little or no censorship. According to me Government does have right to censor TV and radio programs , but it needs to be done pragmatically and I would like to support my stand in the writing to follow.

Every country has a unique ethos, culture and value system and it is the responsibility of its citizen to preserve the same. Any country where people have freedom to express their ideas has progressed and scaled new heights in development. But at the same time it is the moral responsibility of the citizens of the country to preserve the cultural fabric of the country. It is only when these thin boundary lines are transgressed that the government needs to step in.

I would like to give the example of India where the people have rights to express their thoughts and ideas freely, but the information and broadcasting ministry has strict guidelines for media houses to censor offensive language. All this with only sole intention to not let the offensive behavior /language to influence the public in general and children in particular.

Since the TV and radios are most powerful media, not exercising the cautious control can bolster the outrageous behavior. Examples are numerous. Be it the riots in Mumbai after Babri Mosque demolition in Ayodyha in 1992, Sikh Riots after assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, Godhara Riots after torching of train in Godhra in 2002 or the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 where slain terrorists planned there moves according to visuals shown live and thereby killing hundreds of innocents.

Also in the US where the government exercises almost nil censorship over the media there have been a lot of cases, particularly involving small children and teens, who have resorted to criminal activity of varying degrees. On the psychological counseling most of them were found to have been influenced by the TV or radio programs having explicitly outrageous contents.

But perhaps the best example would be of the fidaayeen and jihadist who have resorted to numerous acts of terror worldwide. Here the covert TV and radio broadcasts have been used to brainwash them and use them as weapons of mass destruction killing thousands of innocents.

But too much censorship by the government is a bane. Example would be the Afghanistan in the Taliban era, or the strict government control over the media in China. All this had and is having a toll on psychological behavior of citizens. We have numerous examples in history that whenever the fundamental right of freedom of expression has been curtailed the answer to win that freedom has been extreme.

So to conclude I would say that while extremism of any kind in the censorship of media is bad and has a negative impact on the social milieu a pragmatic censorship is often good to shape and preserve the cultural ethos of any society.

हिम्मत करने वालों की हार नहीं होती….

लहरों से डरकर नौका पार नहीं होती
हिम्मत करने वालों की हार नहीं होती।

नन्ही चींटी जब दाना लेकर चलती है,
चढ़ती दीवारों पर सौ बार फिसलती है,
मन का विश्वास रगों में साहस भरता है,
चढ़कर गिरना,गिरकर चढ़ना न अखरता है,
आखिर उसकी मेहनत बेकार नहीं होती ,
कोशिश करने वालों की हार नहीं होती।

डुबकियां सिंधु में गोताखोर लगाता है,
जा-जाकर खाली हाथ लौट आता है,
मिलते न सहेज के मोती पानी में,
बहता दूना उत्साह इसी हैरानी में,
मुठ्ठी उसकी खाली हर बार नहीं होती,
हिम्मत करने वालों की हार नहीं होती।

असफलता एक चुनौती है स्वीकार करो,
क्या कमी रह गयी,देखो और सुधार करो,
जब तक न सफल हो नींद चैन को त्यागो तुम,
संघर्षों का मैदान छोड़ मत भागो तुम,
कुछ किये बिना ही जय-जयकार नहीं होती,
हिम्मत करने वालों की हार नहीं होती।

Life coming in full circles

Hmmm.... I have lot of time these days. Putting down the papers often lets you have a lot of peace of mind. Today as I sat reminiscent of my 2 years 3 months of my corporate life and beyond that flashed in front of me. What great I did in these 2 years.. Practically nothing. I still remember 16th of August 2007 when life put me in a big dilemma. TCS or THBS? both had joining dates close by. and there I began my corporate life with THBS.Bootcamp(that's what they call the training here) was whole lot of fun and challenging. But then came December and I get a surprise of a lifetime. I was assigned to a project team. Technology (WTF) some old dead wood legacy. I felt cheated. How can they do such thing to me? It was my first encounter with the stark but ugly reality of over hyped Indian IT industry. If you do not have the strength people tend to play with your life and that exactly what some ar*eh*le had done. But the die hard optimist in me said, "Mate this is an opportunity to change the course of your life". That day I decided no more of this bullshit now and enrolled for CAT coaching at TIME. Things started off in a positive note. I saw my mediocre colleagues bragging about their little piece of shits(You don't call changing 2 if conditions and adding five -six line of random codes here and there development) and yet it was marketed as if its real worth (I sometimes laugh at the very idea of sitting till 8 in the night just for doing a clearcase checkin-checkout). Yes if that is what the work an IT company does, hats off, I am better at my own. Result a silent resistance, no serious work, leaving at 6 (due to which I was written off as useless - but I gave it a damn), devoting time for myself. And in june mocks began. I was confident of my preps. so far, scoring was good, life was easy (thanks to being written off - no responsibilities), drawing 22k a month for doing nothing. Seems like a dream isn't it?
But nemesis fell. I was moved to a legacy support project. Perpetrators had got it perfectly. And then my gruesome battle with everyone started. Honchos had already fucked up in the planning and worse was to come. Here I scored 95%le in one of my mocks and I am dead sure to make it. Next day I am asked to hand over my passport to travel onsite (I was asked before and I had refused it but they were hell bent to send me). The cat and mouse game began. Somehow I got myself out of that mess, but desitny had something else for me in place and those 3 months of my life were nothing short of a living nightmare. I remember fighting every bit for giving the entrance exams for which I had prepared the whole year. (BTW I was working 15-16 hrs a day no weekends... in short life all screwed up a big time). The only fresh consoling breeze in my life was mom who was in B'lore for those days.
Its was her lap which gave me peace. Scriptures say it correct, mom's lap is heaven. I had a fight with almost all the seniors in my team. I already had a too good relationship with them and it was deteriorating further.
Anyways it was 09 Jan 2009 - CAT results were out. I had fucked it up and done it royally. merely managed to score 92%le. The world came crashing in front of me. Other entrance tests had followed the same collision course and some even worse. What was this fighting after all for? I reached my all time low. It was a similar situation when I had screwed my IIT and other entrance tests after dropping one year, only the location was different. Nothing practically improved for me. Worked like ass to overcome my frustrations. Luckily someone noticed and I was offered onsite again. This time I had no commitments and I said yes.
Life began with a full throttle in UK. I would say I had some of the best moments of my life there. 11th of April 2009(when the CAT 2008 final results were out),was what I had promised myself sometime back to make it the happiest day of my life, and indeed God made it for me but Kahani main thoda twist hai. I was roaming around in London. I smiled to God and said, "Hats off to you Boss". Anyways I had full fun for 3 months (ensured I worked little and make a hell lot of money). But this had to come to an end and I returned to India on 21st of June 2009 and headed straight to Lucknow (no B'lore please).
Returned to B'lore after a week of holidaying. Got myself good rating but my past sins had me. As put there was no hike.WTF stagnant at where I started 2 years back. Anyways I had understood the tricks of the trade. Work less, Brag more and there you are my boy. I had the power of being the critical resource. But all this was leading no where. I had to take some stringent measures now. Mustered all my energies and focused on CAT 2009. All the more had another offer and they are providing me avenues to finance my Dreams. So decision was quite simple. Escape from the Alcatraz :).
So now I have full time for myself and let us hope for the best.

Destiny's Design

What is it??? Ever heard of it??? Well perhaps never noticed !!!!...
O K enough of questions. Every mortal has something written for him, called Destiny's design. Why is it so? Who writes it? Why does someone else writes it? Can it be challenged? Can it be changed? Well a lot of questions haunting my mind at same time. Some answers known some unknown, some out of life ( Well I have lived 23 years of my life now and I do know a little bit of it :))
Our mythological scriptures say it is written, God has written it for you. But I ask why is it that he has written? Why can't we write our own.. Yes there have been many people who have written their own. As Mukesh Ambani says "Destiny is a matter of choice, not chance". But how does one knows whether the moment now is the chance or not. A mix of logic and intuition.
So it depends on you to to make your choices. Yes not every choice you make is right. You fail, fail badly, you are totally reduced to dust, but the strength is in being a phoenix, rising from the ashes. It the God's way of making you learn your life lessons.
Many a times people are stranded at the crossroads in life. Some sans choice, some spoilt by choice. Life always gives choices, and it is always relative.. one good, one better or one bad and one worst. Now it we who need to decide which is better in that matter of timeframe. These are choices that either propels to scale the zenith or sinks to the abyss of oceans.
Now the next question.Can the destiny's design be challenged?
Yes it can be. The human spirits are strong enough to do anything.All it just takes is to believe in it the will to do it and courage and conviction to stand by it.Yes, whenever someone tries to challenge the destiny, make one's own road, there are challenges, there are roadblocks, there are somtimes situations where you hit the cliff headon and then fall down wounded, bruised. The strength is not to give up. It is to hit back harder, to be stronger and take a leap faster and higher. Develop a wisdom, have a vision and work towards it.
Those who say I didn't get it because it was not in my destiny are cowards. They have never really fought for it.
So never give excuses, never blame anyone. Just do it :)

First Post

Location - Bristol, United Kingdom

So here I am ... writing my first post.

An obvious question .... why enigmatic idiosyncracies.... well, I am back from office after a tiring friday, its raining outside here (well can't really trust the weather here) so no question of freaking out for the weekend and also I am in no mood to cook today. Already had a cheeze laced chicken sandwhich and now stuggling with a plate of maggi in one hand and this laptop in other hand. All this has a cumulative effect and thus rises from no where is what is called enigmatic idiosyncrasies.

Next question why so wierd name... actually this was what came in my mind at first... thanks to British and their absolutely out of world(for desis like me) sense of humor. I have been living and working with them for quite a time now and this has begun to reflect in me now. No I have not forgotten my Indian mannerism and value system, its just that a fusion of east and west has begun which results in smoky cheeze baked chicken curry with desi masalas.

And last question how did this blogging bug bit me????
Aah a long story but I will narrate in short. So for sometime for now I had been reading quite a lot many articles about various things on the blogs. I sensed this unexplored territory interesting, so why not try a hand in this, seems a cool stuff.And wow one fine day with a combination of a lot of internal and external factors this begins and wow what a begining.... Everything going for a toss.

Well there is always a first time for everything, and nothing has worked for me in the 1st go, so I really don't know where it will go. Whether I will drive it or it will drive me... lets seee....

O.K . if you have cruised saftely till here now I can be sure that you can move ahead without ******** yourself. I know whatever I have written till now does not makes sense, but I am not writing to make sense at all. I do that elsewhere and this blog is free from all homo sapien senses :)