Ceci est ma Vie

The whole house is upside down now.The packing activities before I leave have let me to find some of the things that I found were lost.The best moment most certainly has to be today morning`s incident.

While looking for my "dictionary of difficult words" I stumbled upon my favourite book.Although its a very good book,"Papillon" is perhaps not the best book I have ever read....but there`s something else that makes this book very special.This particular copy was bought by grandpa from Bombay many years back.It then went with my mom to her college and then came to me.When I got the book it had my grandpa`s and mother`s name one below the other.My mother had carefully chosen a shade of ink almost identical to the one used by grandpa.I had also searched a few days to get a similar shade....I have a certain attachment to the book.

Got hold of the file in which I have kept all the greeting cards I have recieved till date...birthday,farewell,best of luck for CAT...just sat and gazed at them .....nostalgia and scenes flashing in front of the eyes..

Am leaving tomorrow for a whole new chapter in my life,have mixed emotions.

Will pen from pune next.

"Quietly,the malayalee takes over"...says The Indian Express.

After the middle east was literally transformed into mallu land,it seems mallus are now gearing up to take over the reign of this country.The newspaper report gives in your face facts.Here`s a list of some of the important bureaucratic positions being held by malayalees currently :-


M K Narayanan , National Security Advisor(He took over after J N Dixit,another mallu,passed away).

T K A Nair , Principal Secretary to PM

Hormis Tharakan , RAW Chief

V George , Steno turned Private Secretary to Sonia Gandhi

Madhavan Nair , Secretary to the President of India

S N Menon , Commerce Secretary


The list given by The Indian Express is huge and I must say...these are positions of utmost national importance.Most of these people are IAS officers and more than deserve the place they hold.The case may well be that these people are outstanding individuals and any generalisations may not do justice to their capabilities... but I do feel that mallus have the knack of gaining trust and projecting themselves as hard-working.

All this said,I must say the current political and economic condition of kerala makes me loose hope.My father was one of those eternal optimists who had high hopes from kerala ,but even he is not that optimistic now.As an outsider and an insider ,to an extent, I feel kerala is falling behind some of the other states in terms of developmental work and in terms of business oppurtunity creation.Yes its a model state for communal harmony,no doubt about it , but are there enough jobs being created.Are the people and the polity of kerala thinking about the future.....I doubt.

That said,mallus,like the young India,are going places....and reading articles like these....I feel the bar has been raised !!

Act One,Scene One...

Moi sitting on the window seat of the air conditioned staff bus and reading The Indian Express.That stupid lady boards the bus(dont know why,but I never got along well with her).

"hey Anish,so nice to see you.Good morning."

"oh hi,good morning."

"what specialisation are you planning to take?"

"err...nothing pakka yet."

"hmm....don`t take operations(she,like me, is from operations).I think you are more suited to marketing."

"(err...does that mean I am not suited to operations???) hmm....will see"


Scene Two.

The HR gal...

"Hey Anish,hws u?"

"fine."

"your letter is ready,collect it from Mr.X"

"ok..(was leaving the cabin)"

"hey wait...when are you going,what specialization?"

"june 1...haven`t decided on the specialisation."

"whyyyy???"

"don`t think I am cinvinced on any specialisation...so decided to defer the decision."

"ok...but don`t take HR."

"(smiling)...y do u say that?"

"arre no growth yaar...take marketing.it`ll suit u."

"hmm...will see."


Scene Three

The Supply Chain Manager,The Maintenence Manager and The Production Manager.

"hi...hw r u?"

"very fine sir."

"your colleague Mr .Y got a promotion....you could have got that one."

"yeah...hmm...err...guess so."

"anyway,what specialisation?...(knew it was coming)"

"(tired of free advice,decided to say something)....probably operations."

"arre...take HR yaar....no work....full jolly."

moi smiles.

"arre seriously,..take operations and u`ll be like us.....take HR and njoi life."

"HR well....am not very interested."

"then prolly marketing....that too is jolly."

"hmm...point noted."



Did not meet a single person who professed his own field....wonder why???.I ,for one,always had good things to say to people about operations.As far as the thought that HR jobs are jolly.Well,atleast in my company they are.

Decision Deferred.

3 blasts in delhi in 2 days.One of them was in Satyam.I was there a few days back to watch "Hitch".Satyam happens to be just 2.5 km from my place.As a result of the blasts,many theatres have dropped the latest Sunny Deol flick from their showlist.

The whole episode is appaling ....isn`t it.I know that there is still no confirmed link b/w the blasts and the movie but thats what one shall derive logically.Have we as a society become so intolerant?For heaven sake...the movie was passed by the Akal Takht.It was reviewed and passed twice by the Censor Board.Til now we only had the Shiv Sena to deal with but now this !!The attack has rightly been criticised by the SGPC.A conversation over dinner and I heard.."This is the hardcore fanaticism that we don`t need"..I must admit...I for one have hardly been to a place of worship in the last few years.But I respect all religions equally.Had I been a fanatic ,a movie title like this would have made me coff at the thought of religious censorship.I would like to believe that religion is too big and vast a thing to be blotted by a stupid flick which is not gonna see a third week in theatres anyway.

Got hold of the new book by Bimal Jalan today.Its called "Future of India".The few pages that I have read make me believe that the author is largely optimistic about the future of India.But incidents like this are real dampeners.Was watching a discussion about slavery on BBC the other day which had eminent personalities like Dr. Jagdish Bhagwati.As an Indian I hung my head in shame when I noticed that most of the discussion centred about how caste based slavery was rampant in north India,specially UP and Bihar.

Econoimically,we may be a superpower in the near future but I honestly don`t feel that we deserve a UNSC seat unless we progress socially.I mean,only 5% of Bihar`s people have access to toilet facilities...get it?

I say that it was Lehmann who won the FA cup.Arsenal were thankfully on his side.Even a dud who watched the match could have made out that it was ManU that deserved to win.Not that they played outlandish football.Just that they were netter than Arsene Wenger`s team on all counts except fot Lehmann and the Scholes goof up.The closest they got was the Ronaldo cross that went begging.RVN,I thought was not upto it the whole game.

And it gonna be Milan and Liverpool on thursday in Istanbul....my money is on Milan :-)


Anish

The MDI night out finally materialised....reached the ChangeMasters hostel at 6 in the evening to find that Bobby and Anush were still in office.The campus is very very impressive.In the middle of the chaos and bustle of Gugaon...the serene and sprawling campus.Once Bobby and Dileep were there it was utter chaos.B-School is a different feeling..I kinda liked it and hope I don`t opine differently 2 yrs hence.Planning the eating and drinking took close to an hour :-).Since all of us were kinda short on the moolah decided to eat the the mess itself.The dining room was full of b-koolers...IIMs,Symbi,TISS,XL..u name it.We as outsiders were not supposed to dine there but we did anyways.The food was good when I consider the things I have been hearing...and guess what...there was ice-cream after the food too.The best thing has to be the internet in the room...its lighning fast.

8 of us (5 boys+3 gals)then headed to the pub MOJO in City Centre.We did manage to get in after the initial doubts about couples and floaters.There was light drinking in the begining...me being a non drinker had fresh lime:-).

After an hour or so,some ppl left.It was only me,dileep,bobby and anush then.All hell broke loose then.These guys really know how to enjoy.Stayed there till 1:30 am I guess.It was fun...the bobby-anush argument,me and dileep sneaking off for a kathi kebab in between and the awesome awesome gals who entered after midnight.

Headed back to the hosteland the hostel was still bustling at 2 in the night.Music, fags..hmm...b-skoolers really are insomniacs.Slept off at 3 and woke up at 7.It was breakfast and then home.

Met a few awesome ppl and got some great insights into b-skools life.The small stint left me wanting more.Can`t wait for Pune now...

If you did not notice the title of the post ...its called "Motivation Clothes". I caught the term from the writings of a fellow blogger.They are the clothes which u buy even when you know that they won`t fit you..hoping that they would be motivation for you to shed the spare tyre and fit into them.

While I was reading ...I realised I have never had em...the reason I can immediately sight is that I have never been fat...always been on the slimmer side...and yeah,more importantly,fit.This is not to say that all people who have em are fat but prolly that they have had a desire to get slimmer.

I never had that till recently,I actually always wanted to get a lil bit fatter,but for the last one and a half month,since I resigned, I have become fatter and gained some kilos also.I know that the reserves are gonna get depleted once I land in Pune so in a sense its good.Its gonna be hectic schedules,missed food breaks and table tennis.

I guess I dont need motivation clothes...most of my clothes fit me ok and they prolly will even if I loose a few kilos.....not that I have enuf money to waste anyway :-)

The new Statue of Liberty. 

I think it was day before that the Hindustan Times carried a Sudoku puzzle on the front page.I must admit I had never heard of a sudoku before and to hear that Brits are gripped by it and that they r spreading faster than the Prince`s and Kate Middleton`s pics was a shock.I dont regard Brits very highly and agree with those who say that Brits are boring....tsk tsk...i drift...back to Sudoku.

I was never one for puzzles....crosswords,yes....but the fact that I know that I am mathematically autistic keeps me well away from puzzles( do I wish the CAT had no Maths ).So I have never been beyond the cover page of Shakuntala Devi`s book.Predictably...I had a very muted response to the Sudoku.I just read the article and left the puzzle for the outlandish souls.One of them is my mother.She, with her masters in mathematics, makes me hang my head in shame.There is nothing that she likes more than a tough mathmatical puzzle ...the kind that would make people like me look for better things to do in life.So after the breakfast she sat down with the puzzle...and in 10 min flat she solved it.Not that i doubted it....but I told her that this thing has Brits intrigued....u can`t solve it in 10 min....she smiled and walked into the kitchen.I have not till now looked at the puzzle..will never.

One thing for sure....I`ll never understand Brits.

I am writing this post from the reliance web world in Priya Complex.....I look around and think...."I am gonna miss delhi".

Priya has that charm to it...especially on weekends. ...may be because I won my FIFA game 3-0 ........:-)

If u ever come to delhi...do visit.

So I was watching the Sharon Stone starrer yesterday and I said to myself.....This movie is HOT...and Sharon Stone is HOTTER.

While popping channels later on I saw the Indian Movie "Tauba-Tauba' for a couple of minutes and I said to myself....Yuckity Yuck.

Was that a coincidental juxtaposing of the two "woods" or was it a true picture of the scenario....hmm....I think the latter.Trying to recall the last really sensual bollywood movie I did not come up with any name...ok...i would like to clarify that I fully adhere to my views on the previous post and in no way want to denigrate women..but the fact is such movies are made....and some of them sell...so if they do have an audience...why don`t we have a classy sensual Indian movie which can become the classic boys get together movie like Basic Instinct still is.It seems all attempts to do so till now have come a cropper...."Murder" is nowhere close...infact I found it vulgar....and thats the thing with Basic Instinct....I wont categorise it as vulgar.

and who`s the Indian Sex Symbol....I frankly don`t know....I think Nafisa Ali is one of India`s most beautiful women...but the women I could categorise as HOT were probably Bipasha Basu and Udita Goswami(just because I happened to see one of her movies)...but the name of the movie still evades me.....Is there none??....I dont know....any suggestions???

I must say this at the outset.I love delhi.In three weeks from now,I`ll leave the city for atleast 2 years.I will cherish most things about the city..but there are things about the city which make me hang my head in shame....

two gangrapes in three days...delhi is increasingly becoming a very unsafe place for women.The latest incident took place in one of Delhi`s high security areas.It irks me.Its a shame ....but what makes me write this article is an off the cuff remark made by a gentleman which I unintentionally overheard while I was jogging..."What were the girls doing on the road so late in the night..Its their fault"....he said.....what on earth does it show about the attitude of people.Just because a person happens to be of the fairer sex...how can u expect her not to venture out is she wants to....add to that the RSS statement after the Marine Drive rape case that women are encouraging rapes by wearing "revealing" clothes....oh come on...get a life.We are supposed to be a god fearing country with perhaps more goddesses than gods.


Suhas,I agree, Capital Punishment for Rapists the world over !....And if its child rape, his balls must be cooked in olive (jus that I hate olives) and he must be forced to eat before being killed !

have not been writing much about myself because I have hardly done anything meaningful for the past few days...infact the past few weeks.just this shitty stuff that I have to do before going to pune....

the thought of having only 3 more sundays in delhi...begining to feel sad about leaving home now....hope its finally worth it....saw "chota chetan" today...still love that movie....may go to see kingdom of heaven tonight...heard it s good.

Advaniism
You have two cows. You dont milk them. You worship them.

Chandrababuism
You have two cows in Vijayawada. You hook them to internet and milk them from Hyderabad.

Jayalalithaism
You have two cows. You teach them to cry, "Ammaaaaaaa..." and fall at your feet.

Karunanidhiism
You have two cows. You give one to your son and the other to your nephew.

Gandhism
You have two cows. But you drink goat's milk.

Indiraism
You have two bulls. You adamantly consider them as cows.

Lalooism
You have two cows. You buy Rs. 900 Crore worth of cattlefeed for them.

Rajnikantism
You have two cows. You throw them into air and catch their milk in your mouth.


Rajivism
You have two cows. You paint them both to get colourful milk.


Thakreyism
You have two cows. You feed them only saffron flowers.

Vajpayeeism
You have two cows. You distribute the milk among your partners and eat cattlefeed.

Veerappanism
You have two cows. You take over a reserved forest to feed them.

Azharism
You have only one cow. You take money from bookies to maintain it.

Bushism
You have as many cows as you like. You preach to others not to have any.

Clintonism
You have two cows. But you milk your neighbours' cows.

Musharrafism
Nawaz Sharif has two cows. Take them over.

Osamaism
You have two cows. You convert them into biological weapons.

Talibanism
You have two cows. You put them in purdah.

UNism
You have two cows. You dont milk them; you only lecture to them.

with ppl telling me that the blog is getting large and takes time to open...decided to go in for some downsizing.

So whats so fascinating about Blair`s Labour party winning a third term in office.It was more or less on the expected lines,wasn`t it.Britain`s economy is doing really well and the only bone of contention was the Iraq war.I saw some of the coverage on BBC...it hardly had the spark of an Indian election...are british really boring???

Labou`s majority reduced from 161 to 64 and there are important people who have opined that Blair should resign....was just thinking of the same in the Indian context..what is it had been Vajpayee winning with a reduced majority....the reason would have been anti-incumbency right!!!!!...I can`t imagine a scenario where there would be calls for vajpayee to resign.....hmm.....hopefully we`ll get there.....

finally got the loan sanctioned after hours of plastic smiles,laughing to cheap jokes and cutting "masoom" faces..got the stamp papers and all...so many hassles....i am tired...and that bugger karan is calling me for a jog...don`t feel like going.

May go to MDI tommorow to meet a SCMHRD student whos doing his summers in gurgaon....and yeah....no a/c with dileep today....that bank fellow sucked all my blood.

Today was one momentous day....the formalities for getting the education loan sanctioned lead me to my first encounter with the government office system.I felt I knew more about the procedure than the person who is th loan incharge.Neways seems its all done but I cant help sympathise with all those who have ever had to deal with the DDA or something like that...awful experience it is.No wonder there is a view that they shud be privatised.I cant help but think the productivity of the staff is only 50% or less....

came back from the shitty place and then got a call from Dileep....went to Nehru park to play football with a club gang...awesome experience...though I felt like an oldie after 15 min it was a great feeling..u know..totally exhausted and drenched...off late have felt that only after one of those shopping sprees in CP.Went on to Chanakya...had cold coffee...we have made big plans to sit and study accounts together...lets see...

but the soccer was great..

Anish

Off late the topic has been mentioned in national newspapers.It became the cover story of the Hindustan Times a few days earlier.So whats the fuss...

Hold your breath.....Noida is toying with the idea of the world`s tallest structure in the Noida City Centre.The structure,a brainchild of Hafeez Contractor,is pegged to be 710m tall .Estimates say the whole project will cost close to 40,000crores.Spread over 250 acres across sectors 25A and 32, the tower will house office space in the first 100 levels in nine modules around the central core.

So is the project an irony considering the poor of India or is it a sign of the times to come when India will be the beacon of the world.I dont know.I am for the project if it justifiable economically not if it is a tool to inflate national ego.

Stumbled upon this .....took the Famous Leader test and guess what I am like Bill Clinton...or rather...Bill is like me

Sayesha prompted me to come up with my list too,dunno if its complete,but here it is...

- the family dinner with home cooked food.
- my independence(well ...not for the next 2 yrs)
- meeting up with the college gang
- people I miss
- sms messages that r too precious to delete
- Aerosmith and Norah Jones
- beautiful women in general(Monica Bellucci , Laetitia Casta to name a few...)
- the morning encounter with The Indian Express
- Purani Jeans on Radio Mirchi
- the perpetual chase of my dreams
- milk shake at Keventer`s
- Butter chicken
- blogging
- high speed internet connection
- the dream that India will one day become a superpower
- holiday in Kerala
- Toblerone chocolates
- movies like The Rock and Life is Beautiful
- moments like India beating Pakistan in a world cup match
- Love..actually(or atleast the thought of it)

hmm...did I miss something?

This post was provoked by the post I read on Rashmi`s blog....

A study by AC Nielsen reveals that 46% of Indians sleep less than 6 hours a day. And 64% apparently wake up prior to 7 am - among the highest in the world.

Well...for a large part of my life I have been in the minority of 36%...but that was out of compusion...school...college...work....Its changed off late though.I seldom wake up before 8:30 these days.Not because I am sleeping too much.I think I still only sleep for about 6 hrs a day but because I stay up till late in the night...wonder why...

These days I seldom go to sleep before 2 a.m.....what do I do...surf the net...watch TV...call up morons like me who are awake.So what is this charm in burning the midnight oil.Maybe I like the lack of noise..or is it the complete privacy that I may not have in daytime..I really cant tell.Even when I was preparing for my board exams I always preferred the night to the daytime to study.There was that phase then when the night Tv shows on Star Movies and TB6 used to be legendary..but not any more...still I like to stay up...talking to nobody...I would like to work this out someday....what is it about a night....I know I have many late nights coming up in the next 2 yrs...can I say I am prepared...not sure..It willbe a different story when I have books for company.
Here`s the irony...I am posting this in the evening.