Saturday, April 28, 2007

Topsy Turvy turns!!

Life is taking a lot of topsy turvy turns!!! Lots of new things happening in the familial, personal and professional end. Streamlining it all seems to be a difficult job!!

Friday, April 20, 2007

Conditioned Reflex Action of IT Junta!!

If we actually start looking at the IT folks, like the Pavlov and the dog experiment and its findings on conditioned reflexes, there could be many more interesting ones. Here are a few, I could think about.

* Somebody asks - This weekend I am looking for a get away of about 200-300 KM car drive. Any idea, what are the places I can visit around Hyderabad? Also, please do provide me with the path. Side effects of being in the IT field. ‘route’ becomes path!

* The other day I was hearing one guy talking of a “Standalone” house, when he was actually intending a independent house. Poor broker shud have tuff time trying to find a " Alone house standing in a huge empty area"

*Some days back my bike stopped as the petrol came to reserve. I told my friend I need to restart my bike!

*Few of my friends and myself decided to go out for dinner. The place wasn’t fixed yet. I said we shall decide it “run time

*Once at home I opened the tap to find that water is not coming, I call my Roomie and tell her that there is some error in the pipeline and water is not coming!

*I always wondered why mobile phones do not having Cntrl+C/Cntrl+V facilities?

*How many times i ended up bulbing by cntrl+alt+Del ing my home PC!!

*Dial '0' on the home phone and wait for the dial-tone!!

*Someone goes to a theatre from office directly, He ends up showing his ID card to the guy at the entrance and walked in and that guy had to call him back asking for the ticket.

*I go to some place to wash my hands. I just show my hands up and wait for the water to wash it, forgetting I need to turn something on.

*How many times I thought why don’t we have Ctrl+Z in real life…!

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Our Hero!!

Today s schedule for the class said, MC2. As usual, Nerd and I go to the class and then analyse what this MC2 could be. And then it strikes me - Mock CAT2. And here, we happened to go without any preparation(Is it even expected??) and most importantly, without HB pencils. I called up Mr B and he just started from home, managed to catch him on time luckily and made him bring pencils for all three of us. Just when I hung up it struck me that I should have asked to bring erasers too. Never mind like the JIT compiler, he started Just In Time to reach. Already, he will be late. Calling him up once again will only make him later. Anyway he did have presence of mind and bought us erasers. And Sharpener too. I am impressed!! But then I later discovered it was a Super Mock - Mock CAT for a duration of 1.5 hours vs the actual 2.5 hrs. I did much better than last time and was able to attend more number of questions and was able to manage time better than before.

We had actually reached the class early. As we where waiting, some gal jumps from the middle of nowhere and says a very cheerful "Hiiiiiiiii" to Nerd. He also got excited on seeing some junior of his from college. Both of them stood at the front of the class much to their envy and go on and on talking, providing entertainement to the class. The very look of the way this guy drooling was definitely worth watching!! Some words like LIC, PVR, Seetharaman etc were uttered which made me guess that the gal was from the same dept as he was.

After the entire scene was over, I ask him, "What were you discussing?" He says she was generally asking about career and companies and that he was promptly guiding her. But then, I have a doubt. Will a "Personal Career Guidance" session always be accompanied by all smiles and exchanging of romantic looks? Hmmmmmmmm. No more further comments at the Career Counsellor. ;)

My next question to him was, "What is her name?" and he replies with an oily grin "I dont know. I thought it will be too rude to ask her now." Good God Gracious!! This guy spoke to a girl in front of the whole class for 30 mins without even knowing what her name was. Exceptional talent!!

The highlight of the entire episode was that, the lady actually decided to stay behind and take the mock test in our classroom rather than going back to her classroom and attend her class. And she did!!! Sooooooooooo much of fan falling!!! So Macho-man, what magic did you cast on her????

Monday, April 09, 2007

Men??? Incorrigible!!!

An old woman had 3 daughters. One day she decided to test herSons-in-law.One day she was walking along a lakeshore with the first son-in-law.

Purposefully, she fell down in the lake and started yelling for help.The first son-in-law jumped into the water and dragged her out into theshore.

The next day he found a brand new Mercedes in his door steps with thewordings "Thank you!!!-Your Mother-in-law who loves you very much!!!"

Another day she was walking along a lakeshore with the secondson-in-law. Purposefully, she fell down in the lake and started yelling for help.The second son-in-law jumped into the water and dragged her out into the shore.

The next day he found a brand new Mercedes in his door steps with thewordings "Thank you!!!-Your Mother-in-law who loves you very much!!!"

The third time she was walking with the third son-in-law and sherepeated the same. But that guy didn't respond to her cries for helpanddidnt move a single step to save her.

The poor old lady who wanted to test her sons-in-law drowned and died.......

The next day he found a Rolls-Royce in his doorsteps with the followingwordings ...... .

"Thank you very much! Your Father-in-law!!!"

The Weekend and The Namesake

After a nice nap on the saturday afternoon post a good lunch, I dragged myself out of bed and got ready forcefully bringing the study mood. Nerd and I ended up getting the biggest bulb on Saturday where We went all the way to the TIME class. No classes! We call up another friend of ours with the good intention to inform him that there are no classes and he need not come all the way and bulb like we did. But then, he already knew that there were no classes. He could have informed us. Heights of being mean!

Ok, no class, so what? Time to party!! Went to beach, had some chat, met a couple of college mates. Both of them are Nerd's classmates. One of them got into IIFT and another had cals from XLRI but unfortunately dint convert. "That guy is a pro in vocabs" Nerd told me secretly. We were generally discussing about blogs and blogging etc.

Sunday! plans of studying -- Procrastination of studying till afternoon failed miserably all completely. There was no class and hence, make the best use of it this time. Post lunch was a movie. "The Namesake and if we dont get it we are watching Provoked" it was me this time. There was a comment after hearing this, "I dont find you contemplating for anything of late, you seem to be pretty clear in what you want to do and what you dont want to do. Transition, for the Good!" from Nerd's side. Not bad!!

So, it was "The Namesake". The review made the movie sound very nice. The story which revolves around two worlds, two generations and two life styles, was keep simple and to the point. The contrasts between the 2 parts of the world are brought out beautifully without much of hype. No dragging and no beating around the bush. Besides, portraying a typical American life, there was picturization portraying a lot of social "Activity". The person I dragged along with to the movie said, "So you said its a very nice movie"with a smirk on his face.

More than the much of "social activity" in the movie, there was a higher degree of it happening to my right and left ;) Hmm school kids.. Too too much. Not going into the details. Finger on my lips!!!

Anyway it was a good weekend.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

If it is to be, it is upto me!!!

Read this somewhere:

He was short. He was sharp. He was the brightest boy in his class. His seniors would ask him to solve their difficulties in Science. He could havegone unnoticed in the crowd, but once you asked him a question related toPhysics or Maths, there was a spark in his eyes. He could grasp theories of Science faster than the speed of light.

He came from a poor but educated family. His father was a high-schoolteacher and an avid reader of English literature. He, like all the boys in the class was trying to get admission into some engineering college. The brighter ones wanted to study in Indian Institutes of Technology. There was an entrance test for IIT. This boy, along with his friends applied to appear for the test. They did not have any special books or coaching. All these IIT aspirants would sit below the shade of a stone mantap close toChamundi hills in the sleepy town of Mysore. He was a guide for others.While the others struggled to solve problems in the question paper, he would smile shyly and solve them in no time. He sat below a tree and dreamt of studying at IIT. He was then only sixteen years old.

D-Day came. He came to Bangalore, stayed with some relatives and appearedfor the entrance test. He did very well but would only say "OK" when asked.It was the opposite when it came to food...."OK" implied bad, "good"implied ok, and "very good" implied good!! His principle was never to hurt anyone....The IIT entrance results came. He had passed with flying colors and the highest rank. He was thrilled! He went to his father who was reading a newspaper.

"ANNA, I have passed the exam"
"Well done, My Boy"
"I want to join IIT."
His father stopped reading the paper. He lifted his head, looked at the boy and said with a heavy voice, "You know our financial position, and I cannot afford your expenses at IIT. You can stay in Mysore and learn as much as you want. "

His father was sad that he had to tell the bitter truth, but it could not be helped.The teenager was disappointed. He was so near to fulfilling his fondest dream, yet so far. His heart sank in sorrow. He did not reply. He never shared his unhappiness with anyone. He was an introvert by nature. His heart was bleeding but he did not get angry with anyone.

The day came his classmates were leaving for Madras (today called Chennai).They were leaving from Mysore to Chennai. They had shared goodyears at school and he went to wish them good luck for their future. At the station his friends were already there. They were excited and discussing their new hostels, new courses etc. So he stood there silently. One of his friends noticed and said "You should have made it" He did not reply .Hejust wished them. He stood there even after he could no longer see the train or the waving hands. It was June 1962 in Mysore. Yet he stood theremotionless.

He said to himself, without anger or jealously," All studentsfrom IITs study well and do big things in life. But it is not the institution; ultimately it is you and you alone who can change your life byHard work".

This son of a school teacher became a pioneer of India's Software industry. He is Infosys founder and Chief Mentor, Narayana Murthy.

His motto being,” Powered by intellect, Driven by Values"

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Could this also be reality??

Got this as a forward  -

The woods were lovely dark and deep. Walking slowly beside her, in the damp mud road, was her husband whom she barely knew. He was very relaxed, happily watching a group of kids playing at a distance.

Her "mehandi" was still dark and smelling fresh, reminding of the excitements and tension 2 days back. "It cant work this way mom...please stop this", she kept telling her mother till the last moment, who wouldnt listen but carry on with beautifying her. She had been crying all night and her make-up had to be patched up twice or thrice to hide her awkwardly swollen face.It was too late now. She had to get married "NOW" to the guy...The guy whom she had seen once and talked thrice, the guy about whom she knew nothing at all but for his name and work.

Everything happened in a hurry and everything was over before she could breathe again... here was she with this guy, all alone in this hill station... how can anybody send their daughter such a long distance with a stranger???"Hey look at that!!!" he shouted in excitement... she shrugged and looked where his finger pointed... Bright colored balloons dotted the sky. Children were jumping in joy and he seemed to be completely absorbed into it...colors are always exciting...but not now. She was not with her friends, not with her teammates, not even with her parents. This was not a 3 day tour or team building trip. This was her life and she has been forced to start off with this person.

Loneliness and discomfort with this stranger was sickening...She looked at him in wonder... does he even realize that he has married me? Does he understand that he has to love me, protect me, and care for me, a new girl, a stranger, all his life?

The marriage morning started like a daylight nightmare for her. The first time in life she felt she should have fallen in love and then married somebody. Some man who she would have felt more comfortable with, someone whom she could call by name and introduce to friends, someone whom she could trust. But marriage morning was obviously not the time to think all these.

Her parents would never have said "no" if she had declared that she was in love. But she was not emotionally attached to anybody she met, especially guys. She was very friendly, playing, teasing, but never had second thought for any man around her. That brought the entire responsibility of looking for a groom on her parents' shoulders.

Her parents had had a very bad time with this entire process. They started their groom search with unending "&" operation. The concatenation of "Horoscope matching" & "Decent family" & "Good looking" & "Good pay" & "same cast" & so on... that always gave 0 output. Now after all that 8 months of hunt, they were not ready to hear her "ifs" and "buts" for this 'good guy'.

She had explained to her father. She does not feel anything for this person. He is nothing more to me than any other software professional. Like list of names she sees in the chat rooms. Distant and usual...Her father asked her to talk to him, meet him and discuss their likes and dislikes. That meeting started like the induction programme self introduction and ended like a 3 hour seminar. She was waiting to get away from that place.

"So did you talk with him?"
"Yes".
"Was he polite and decent?”
"Yes"
"Oh he got that special flavoured tri-color ice cream...!!!"
OK.
All her family and relatives discussed...She was given the chance to "understand her life partner" and that they have understood each other "well" and she is ready for the marriage now. All arrangements geared up and it was 24 days after her first meeting that she was getting married to her man... perfect match as everybody else described.

Marriage hall was full with excited people, kids got the chance to play, and ladies got the chance to wear the silk saree. Thesmell of rose and jasmine filled the hall. Different poses for the photographer and artificial smiles for the videos. The moment he had tied the sacred thread was unexplainable vacuum in the head. It was over. She was his wife, accepted by the society and law. Her proud parents were relaxed. This was their duty they had been planning to fulfill since she was born. This entire crowd will fade away; leaving her to explore her new world...

He pulled her hand gently to sit on the stone bench. The bench was wet and the chillness was indeed enjoyable. "So what are you thinking about?"... That was an unexpected ball. Should she reply? Should she be silent? She remembered the two hour presentation she had taken last month. Bold and confident, she kept answering all the queries with a broad smile. Now she remained silent.

"Do you know honey I was not for this marriage too?" Oh my God... what did I hear??? Did HE tell that or did I think aloud? What does he mean? Didn’t he like me? Was he forced into this? He must have noticed the quizzical look on my face...with a gentle smile he continued..."I wanted to look for a girl myself, buy her everything, care for her, argue with her, laugh and cry with her, then get married to her... Anything otherwise would be a drama. Traditional drama and I was not for it anytime. But my love for my work and also my stress would not give me time and mind to search that girl...

When your parents talked to me 2 weeks before our marriage, about your fear of getting married to a stranger, I could completely understand your mind. I could see myself in you and that was the moment I decided I will marry you. There was no time to prove myself to you, make you trust me, everything happened in a hurry. But there was the entire life before me, to please you, to love you, to make you trust me. This is no less than what I had dreamt, the girl I was waiting for, is you. Now tell me... will you love me???" Tears came down her cheek. Her parents had done more than their duty. They had found her the perfect guy. Thank you Mom!!! Thank you Dad!!!

His question remained unanswered yet both knew the answer....