Wednesday, October 17, 2007

First Love

FIRST LOVE
I, Karthik am a successful software engineer today. The long planned vacation to go to my hometown Madurai had become a reality at last. I hoped Kavitha and Vignesh would enjoy their weekend too. My Grandma, who has been my best friend till date was really happy to see all of us. She spent most of her time with Vignesh. That night happened to be a retrospective one to me. Grandma started narrating to Viggy one of my childhood incidents. She said… “Karthi as a child was very notorious yet so sweet. He was one of those children who seldom cry and would heed to all of our words. Then, it was his first day in a new school after his KG in another one. This was one of the very highly reputed schools in our town. His Dad and Mom wanted him to join this one as its standards were well known. When he returned from school that day he was a dull boy. His usual self was missing. None of us knew the reason. In the next 2 days he had become duller. That day we saw him crying for more than an hour for the first time, rather the first and last time”. I actually managed a dry smile here. They say the easiest thing in life is to smile from the heart. I felt that the toughest thing in life would be to smile from the face. Granny continued “There was something he didn’t like about that school. The next thing he knew was we put him in his previous school and got our joys back. Then on he has been our darling till today. So lively and never a dull moment when he is around. So try to emulate him in whatever you do kanna…”. Viggy had dozed off. It was Monday morning after a weekend that I would never forget. We were driving to Kavitha’s office. A bike rider gave us a skid. She saw the bike and yelled “That’s why I hate YAMAHA”. YAMAHA – My only crush in my teens. There was a time when my friend Venkat and I used to go to the canteen everyday at 12 noon to get a glimpse of a black beauty parked with its bars turned to the right unlike other bikes. Its gloss and shine gave us a dream and a heave. It was my 19th birthday and dad wanted to get me a bike. My choice was not theirs. They knew me as a rider and never would get me that one. I was an obstinate at this. Dad, Mom n granny had an hour’s discussion which saw me win the deal. But when my Mom gave me the keys of my own black Yamaha, she saw me in the eyes and said “We didn’t want to restrain your happiness but do remember that you are the base on which we are building our lives”. I was so happy that day and I wanted to repay their kindness in all that I did thereafter. “Kavitha, Can u get me a tea?” It was a full moon night. Hardly any stars were seen. I slipped into my memories again… “My college life was nothing better than school. Studies, fun at times and a huge aspiration ahead. I had few friends but none too close. There was that girl called Divya who was quietest in class. One of the simplest and ordinary looking but I don’t know how rather cant say why I was attracted towards her. She was always in the company of two of her friends Gayatri and Deepa. Theirs was a lonely group which many hated thinking that they had an attitude. I managed a smile whenever our eyes met. But I was waiting for a chance to talk to Divya. Came my birthday, I grabbed all my courage to give her a DairyMilk. She wished me and also asked for a treat to which I readily agreed. But the next few days saw us really busy as exams were round the corner and she helped me in all the materials gathering episode before the exams. We even started debugging and testing Graham Bell’s invention. Talks about lessons and at times about our families and then common interests saw us taking the relationship to a higher level. One day during our vacation I finally invited her to my home for the promised treat and also introduced all my dear ones to her. That was a day to remember for years to come I thought. She gelled well with all of us and this gave a sense of encouragement at the back of my mind. When she left my Dad said “She was very simple. Did she belong to a middle class family?” Ours being an upper class, this question sent the first shiver down my spine. But I felt that Dad wouldn’t have meant the other way. Whenever she was with me, I forgot myself. Our evening chats turned out to be a virtual video conference with me glancing at the moon and talking over the phone. The moon gradually started looking like her face to me. My parents thought that I shifted my bed to the terrace because of the scorching summer. One day Gayatri and Deepa met me alone in the lunchtime and said they doubted that Divya was getting crazier about me day by day and I should set it right if I didn’t feel the same way. This was the sweetest news I had heard in years and was so happy that I decided to talk with my granny regarding this. She would definitely talk on my behalf to dad and mom. “For the first time in life I felt like I had achieved something”. As I reached home, the situation was somber. My uncle had come to our home and was at his decibel best for which I learnt the reason was that my cousin had fallen in love with a guy from her class. Uncle was a very rigid person and wouldn’t budge. Grandma was trying to pacify him but in vain. That’s when Grandma told him “It has happened now. Don’t create an issue. After all parents should have kept an eye on their kids regularly”. I knew she meant only the good here but this provoked uncle who said “I will talk when Karthik faces a similar case. Till then its my family matter and not yours”. My parents took it only calmly and our house turned normal the very next day. But this incident sent across a very strong message to me. I realised that now my entire family’s reputation was in my hands. I thought that my parents would never object but what about the other relations, the society and the resulting mockery, ill fame etc. I spent sleepless nights. I avoided talking to my heart. I shifted my bed to my room. Hadn’t talked with Divya for a week or so. She called me for a movie “Kuch Kuch hota Hai” the following weekend. I couldn’t avoid it and obliged. But now I had taken my decision already. At the end of the movie, I put up my first act “What an absurd movie…How can such close friends become lovers rather life partners. The theme in itself is disgusting…”. She was silent for the entire ride back to her home. I bid her goodnight and hoped I had conveyed the message. Next day, her swollen eyes spoke for itself. Over the coming days I saw our relation going thru a trauma. I saw to that I was occupied in other things and never came face to face with Divya. She was on leave for days but never did she call me. Even after she came back, we occasionally met but amongst other friends. Silence prevailed in calls too. One somber chat ended with Divvu saying “Karth, your parents must be really lucky to have you as their son”. That day I felt she meant more in those words. Two months after college…she came home one day. Her face had lost its shine. I adored even the remains. She had come to invite us for her wedding. My dears were happy for her as they never really guessed otherwise. After she left, my grandma told me “Karthi, I would be really happy if you get such a girl as your life partner”. That night was the second time in my life when I.... Kavitha it was… “Viggy, tell dad its dinnertime and his half an hour terrace session is over. Now let him leave the moon for the sky”. She didn’t know that I had left her long ago. The moon hid herself behind a cloud for me to go down.

Monday, August 13, 2007

India is still a developing country.... Why so??

Ant & Grasshopper
The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter ,the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.


Modern Version


The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.
NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house.
Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.
Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticizes the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.
The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance).
Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.
CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers.
Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath '.
Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the ' Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the winter.
Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions & in Government Services.
The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes,it's home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.
Arundhati Roy calls it ' A Triumph of Justice'.
Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice '.
CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden '
Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

Many years later...
The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley .
100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India ...
As a result of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the Grasshoppers, India is still a developing country!!!

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Welcome to corporate world

LAW OF THE JUNGLE
Two guys were hiking through the jungle when they spotted a tiger that
looked both hungry and fast. One of the guys reached into his pack and
pulled out a pair of Nike.
His friend looked at him "Do you really think those shoes are going to
make you run faster than that tiger?"
I don't have to run faster than that tiger, his friend replied. "I just
have to run faster than you".

Welcome to the corporate world!!

Oasis to Mirage

Oasis to Mirage- an year in IT Industry



I would like to express my transition from real freedom to assumed freedom. I am here talking about my transition from my college to the booming IT industry. I would like to pour my one year experience of the so called glamorous and fun filled IT industry.
We used to wander those spacious heat filled open grounds and dirty class rooms with just 50Rs. in pocket and plan the whole week with that budget. But now we wander along the well cleaned, fully air-conditioned corridors with about five to six credit cards in our pocket planning where to swipe the cards. Credit cards eagerly waiting to eat next month’s salary. I can’t believe that it was just one year before that the 50Rs. seemed to be lacks now, lacks seems to be nothing.
College canteen, Tea shops were the favorite hot spots where we spent hours together, having a hearty chat with our buddies forgetting the whole world. But now Cafe Day, Quickies, Baristas have taken those places. What a coffee cost 2.5Rs last year has now gone up to 50Rs a cup.
Those precious days where we used to laugh for nothing, while chatting or while playing or even when you fail in your paper because you have got 30 marks for a empty paper. But now you rarely smile except the smile for the forward you just received or the smile to your PM to impress him.
Hate ness and Ego were the words you haven’t heard in those days. You smash or hit your friend for some reason and the next moment you walk along him with hands on his shoulders. But now you doesn’t like the guy sitting beside you because he’s getting a salary 10k greater that you or he’s always being appreciated by your PM. True friends are hard to find here
In college if some one is talking badly about your college you can find your blood boiling inside even though you don’t like your principal. But here loyalty is the lost word, whenever someone is talking badly about your company you join them to criticize your company. You join the company with the resignation day in the mind, is this loyalty. Don’t mind I have also planned my resignation date.
You have seen the late nights only on the eve of the exam, where you rely on your friend to wake him/ her at night 1 or 2. And how can we forget those last minute tensions in exam, you remember that only just before entering the exam you find that you have forgotten to revise a important question that your friend suggested that it will surely appear on this exam. You rush back and flip those Xeroxed pages with tension. But today you work at least 2 days a week till 1 or 2 in the night to deliver something to your unknown client who is at US or UK. You are aimlessly typing at the useless word document that your PM asked you to finish with his tailor made smile. Loads of tension with calls from home, with your eye lids eager to kiss each other and you promise them to allow it a little later, cursing Bill Gates for inventing MSWord.
Writing all these to celebrate my first anniversary at this field. It seems I have been in my own desert where I have realized that I am moving from the warmth ness of the Oasis to chase a mirage. A mirage that promises a lot of thing, but still its just a mirage. When I turn back I can find thousands chasing that mirage with a ID card around their neck. I wish all the best for them.

A Poem exploding an X-teenager's feelings of the college.. in hindi

For friends forever :

Is pal pe likhta hoon choti si ek kavita..

Yaad aayega sabko ke ek saal me kya-kya bita..

Ek acchaa job mil jaye sabke dil me thi yeh aas..

Bande jaate the walk-in me ban-than ke ekdum jhakaas..

Hamesha dhoonda karte koi ladki hain kya aas-paas..

Roz kiya karte the wo apti,C, Unix ya koi aur bakwaas..

Par nothing can beat the 'Analysis of Algorithms' ka trash !!!

Har walk in mein socha karte ke job mil jaye aaj..

Kal nahi soya to kya hua sounga mein job mil jane ke baad..

Har ek round k results ke liye kitne hote hum bekaraar..

Din bhar tension me karte results ka intezaar..

Sabka dil diya karta tha bas yehi ek pukaar..

Ke is baar to ho jaye apni naiyya paar !!!

Yaad hain mujhe kuch mere wo khushnaseeb yaar..

Jinka roz hua karta walk-in me sweet-sweet pyaar..

Duniya se chupte-chupate roz karte dil ka izhaar..

Aur poocha to kehte ' We're just friends yaar ' !!!

Aakhir aa hi gayi hum sab ki bichadne ki baari..

Koi gaya MNC me to kisi ne shaadi karke jindagi savari..

Sab kaam pe lag gaye ek-ek..baari-baari..

Bas reh gayi apni yaadein khatti-meethi pyaari-pyaari !!!

Ab bhi yaad aati hain mujhe wo " Results out " ki pukaar..

Kya pata kyu hum sab bichad gaye yaar..

Dil me hain jo baat keh deta hoon ek baar..

Tum jahan bhi ho doston..yaad aaoge baar baar..

રસ્તો કરી જવાના

Its a gujarati poem...

The theme is like... wat ever you do.. wat ever u say in these world... but u r not immortal.. u will die.. n so live ur life to the fullest..

its on the theme of the post below this.. abt charles schultz...
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."

n-joy





રસ્તો નહીં જડે તો રસ્તો કરી જવાના,
થોડા અમે મુંઝાઇ મનમાં, મરી જવાના !

નિજ મસ્ત થઈ જીવન આ પૂરું કરી જવાના,
બિન્દુ મહિં ડૂબીને સિન્ધુ તરી જવાના.

કોણે કહ્યું કે ખાલી હાથે મરી જવાના ?
દુનિયાથી દિલના ચારે છેડા ભરી જવાના.

છો ને ફર્યા નથી કંઈ દિ થી ડરી જવાના,
એ શું કરી શક્યા છે, એ શું કરી જવાના.

મનમાં વિચાર શું છે? અવિરામ કંઈ દિપક છે,
પ્રકાશ આંધીઓ માં પણ પાથરી જવાના.

એક આત્મબળ અમારું દુ:ખ માત્રની દવા છે.
હર ઝખ્મને નજરથી ટાંકા ભરી જવાના.

સ્વયં વિકાસ છીએ, સ્વયં વિનાશ છીએ,
સ્વયં ખીલી જવાના, સ્વયં ખરી જવાના.

સમજો છો શું અમોને, સ્વયં પ્રકાશ છીએ !
દીપક નથી અમે કે ઠાર્યા ઠરી જવાના.

અય કાળ, કંઇ નથી ભય, તું થાય તે કરી લે
ઇશ્વર સમો ધણી છે, થોડા મરી જવાના ?

યાંત્રિક છે આ જમાનો ફાવે છે વેગવાળા,
એ યુગ ગયા વિચારી પગલા ભરી જવાના.

દુનિયા શું કામ ખાલી અમને મિટાવી રહી છે?
આ ખોળીયું અમે ખુદ ખાલી કરી જવાના.


- અમૃત ઘાયલ

Philosophy of Charles Schultz

http://www.rogerknapp.com/inspire/schultzphilosophy.htm
Charles Schultz Philosophy
The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winner for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.


How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.


Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.


Easier?



The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia." (Charles Schultz)

Smile please....