Sydney Diaries (#4)

Letters to home (#4)

Warning - it is a very lengthy mail - so all office goers - please read in installments at your own spare time!

Hi All,

Nama Nama to everyone :)
How have you all been? It is midway between summer and monsoon in India - take care of your health - we are all prone to viral fevers in this period - so be careful.

The past weekend was one with brilliant weather in Sydney and nearby areas. And I utilized it to full extent - well, at least for one of the days on the weekend. After having researched on the weather forecast for the weekend in the Blue Mountain area - I was glad that it was clear and sunny. Next thing to do was to call up my friend (the OEC batchmate) and plan for the weekend. Idiot that my friend is - he had visited the Blue Mountains in an earlier weekend with his manager and his manager's wife - his interest lying with his manager's wife (who was apparently pretty and flirtatious) and not the Blue Mountains! So I was annoyed - because there went my chance to get some snaps of mine with pretty scenery in the background - I mean the pretty scenery of the Blue Mountains, not the lady in question!

Nevertheless - I had to use this weekend. Since my departure is now fixed for July 11th, I had only three more weekends to do any sight-seeing/shopping/meeting friends. Since all three are priority events - I decided to go alone. I could atleast see some wonderful places and etch them in my memory - if not in my snaps with lovely views in the backdrop. The plus factor was the fact that Saturday the 21st June was the day for the annual Winter Magic festival at the Blue Mountains - and that was the day I had decided to visit the place.

I woke up early on Saturday morning (5.30 A.M) because the first train to the Blue Mountain area was at 7.18 A.M. (one train every hour). The station is about 1.5 km from our place, and though there are buses - they are not that frequent in the early hours of the morning. I left home around 6.30, hoping I will catch some bus or the other. After reaching the bus stop I realized that the next bus was only at 7.10 - too close to comfort. I started walking - worrying that I might miss the first train and will therefore loose an hour in the process. Thankfully I was not late, there was no queue in the ticket counter, and hardly any passengers in the train! The trains in Sydney are double decker - and I took up a window seat at the upper deck with my camera ready to click snaps if I come across pretty sights as the train chugged along. The journey was pleasant - and not many passengers boarded my coupe. And yes - I was too lazy to click any snaps from the train - because I was engrossed at looking outside the window at the countryside. As the train approached the Blue Mountain area, I was surprised to find the stations in the Blue Mountain area so empty and vacant. Since it was the festival day, I had thought the area will be overcrowded with visitors and tourists like me. But on the other hand - there was barely any person on the platforms.

I arrived at Katoomba, my base station, at 9.15 - the journey taking approximately 2 hours. And the moment I came out of my train coupe, I felt the chillness in the air. The coupe was warm and cozy and I had to remove my jacket. But the platform scenario was different - cool breeze flowed around and my fingers were frozen immediately. I just had a jacket with me and I thought a set of gloves would have helped a lot. Katoomba is the main tourist destination in Blue Mountains. My train ticket was clubbed with an Explorer Bus which took to all important landmarks in Katoomba and Leura, another town/village in Blue Mountains. The bus usually started from the main street of Katoomba, which was right across the railway station. Since it was the Winter Magic festival day - the route was altered and the bus started from the other end of the railway station. I walked down the main street, and people were starting to put up stalls for the festival. There was a bit of hustle but then the numbers were not huge by any strecth of imagination. I thought it must be a quaint little festival in this village/town and decided that I will come back to the festival area later after I had visited all major places.

I boarded the bus at stop 1 around 9.45. The driver was a pleasant old man who greeted all of us on the bus and was very informative about the stops in the route. With not many people on the bus, I was wondering if Blue Mountains are as appealing as it sounded when I went through numerous websites acclaiming it as one of the prettiest places on earth. The entire Blue Mountain area is listed as a World Heritage site. The first major destination was the skyway station for scenicworld - a company which provided skyway, cableway, railway, and broadway services for certain areas of the valley. The skyway would have taken me to the main scenicworld station - where I could catch a railway or cableway to the Jamison valley down at the bottom of the cliffs/hills where Katoomba & Leura are located. But I decided to skip the skyway because I wanted to walk down to the valley - there is no otherway I could see the rainforest in full details. I got down at the stop which led to the Katoomba cascades - the start of the waterfalls in Katoomba. The cascades were - well, a touch disappointing because the water levels weren't too high. With such heavy rainfall in the recent past - I thought the waterfalls would be flowing with huge quantity of water rushing down the slopes. Nevertheless the site was pretty and my interest levels increased with the lush green surroundings.

I continued further down the valley along the waterfall route in what is called the Furber Steps. The walking/trekking path was narrow and was concreted at times, while on other occasions it was muddy and damp. I wondered that in a pleasant day like this the conditions were soggy on the trekking path - what would it be like when it was raining. And contrary to what it felt when I landed in the railway station, the rainforest was warm and cozy. With huge lush green trees covering the valley, the openings for wind and sunlight to come down to the valley were few. And since I was walking with a jacket on, I was actually pretty warm (and sweaty in the arm-pits). I just saw a single bird in the entire time I spent in the valley - though I heard a lot of noises throughout my trek. I could not identify what it was, but from the looks of it - it seemed like a pea-hen. Again with such dense forests, one would imagine there would lots of animals/birds around. Probably the presence of people made them go deeper into the valley where there are no trekking paths. Speaking of people, there were long durations when I was walking alone and I hardly saw anyone doing it the hardway - maybe they just went to scenic world on the skyway - few nature lovers perhaps?

I trekked on to the scenicworld railway station in the valley - and visited an abandoned coal mine site nearby. Apparently, the scenicworld railway is the steepest inclined railway in the world (52 degrees) and it was initially used to haul up the coal from the mines to Katoomba town above the cliffs from where it was transported to Sydney. With the mines gone a long time back, the railway is now used for tourists by the scenicworld company. I went up the railway with a one way ride costing 10 Australian dollars. It was a 3-4 minute ride up, but was thrilling and scary for whatever length it lasted! Once back up - I went to the scenicworld base station and bought some souveniers - koalas and kangaroos that is :) The explorer bus came to scenicworld after some time and I hopped on to go to the next stop - the echo point.

Echo point is one of the locations where toursits keep yelling to hear their echoes resonating across the valley. With so many toursits (the numbers had swelled from the morning), I could not differentiate which one was my echo and which one was the one the others were yelling. From that area, I could see the famous 'three sisters' rock formation. This rock formation is very reknowned and there is a mythical story behind its name. The following is the abstract from wikipedia that I found online:

"The modern day tourism industry has created a legend that says that three sisters fell in love with three men from a neighbouring tribe, but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. Battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by an elder to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back. This legend is falsely claimed to be an Indigenous Australian Dreamtime legend."

With having seen the pretty sights from the cliffs - now it was time to either take lunch or go down the valley again towards the Leura waterfalls. I decided to skip lunch because I wanted to be finished with all trekking so that I can end up in the Katoomba Winter Magic festival. I could eat something in the festival and therefore got down at the trekking stop for the Leura waterfalls. By this time I was already tired and I just egged myself on for some more trekking. The trek this time was more strenuous and the valley was deepre than what it was near the Katoomba falls. But as the adage goes, more pain - more gain. Leura cascades were much more beautiful than katoomba cascades. I wanted to see the entire might of the waterfalls deeper in the valley. I chugged along, going down steep steps and inclines. I also realized that the way back up will be tough as it would be very steep back up. I saw an alternate path which was connected to the Katoomba scenicworld railway station - though it mentioned that the trek is rough and dangerous and is advised only for experienced trekkers. I could have walked straight from scenicworld to this place - only - it would have taken me 3-4 hours :)

The trek back up was difficult and after overcoming several tough stages, I was fortunate to get lovely lookouts of the entire valley floor beneath. It is a breath-taking place and is ideal for hoenymooners I guess - provided one is able to walk for long durations along steep inclines. Tiring yes, but rewarding all the same! I skipped the George falls - I was too tired and hungry by then and it was almost 3 in the afternoon. And I had had enough of rainforests by then :) At the point where I came out of the trekking path was a small toy and railway model museum/house. Entry was worth 12 dollars and photography of the toys were prohibited. I entered and saw one of the oldest houses in Leura. It was filled with toys on two floors and I was amazed at the collection that was available - certainly it would be a child's delight to visit such a place. The railway models were also very beautiful (and tiny). They were working models, one could press a switch and get the trains to move across dummy stations, tunnels, and valleys.

I boarded the explorer bus again to go back to Katoomba and then I went to the main street to see the festival. By now, the crowd was huge and the street was jam-packed. Street performers, musicians, dancing groups, clowns, small shanties which sold everything from clothes, to face masks for kids - it was festive atmosphere all around. It seemed like 'fancy dressing' with people dressed as dragons, witches, clowns, animals, etc. And it was a welcome change for me with so many vivid colours all around me. Over the past 5-6 weeks, I have seen mostly black, white, and grey in the usual clothing of Sydney folks. Here people were dressed in several colours and it was a vibrant joyful scene. I clicked a single photograph but I managed to get more from the web. I ate Chicken Satay sticks (well, seemed like kebabs) from a Thai food stall. It was cold again and my hands were freezing. With the festival dying down, I decided to go back to Sydney. I caught the 4.25 train to Sydney and almost dozed on my way back.

It was a hugely satisfying day and I was very tired at the end of it. I did not go anywhere on Sunday because I wanted to take some rest. I have captured a lot of photographs and have put comments wherever I could. Have a look at them at the following link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/sumitspeaks/BlueMountains

Ok, that's it for now - sorry for the long mail - but that is me - loooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnng descriptive stories :)

Regards,
Sumit

Sydney Diaries (#3)

Letter to home (#3)

How is everyone doing?
I am good - the long weekend passed by without anything significant happening. I had planned to go to Blue Mountains with my OEC friend - but he had some other plans. Saturday was a good day for outing as well - sunshine and pleasant weather all throughout the day. My roomies did not want to go out - so the less I write about them the better. Finally I managed to convince them to atleast come with me to the Opera house and Harbour Bridge (I had been there - but I had a vested interest - I wanted my snaps with the Opera House in the backdrop). They agreed and we went there and took a lot of snaps.

We then went to the casino - and I gambled :) I have managed to learn only one game (and like everything else - it is entirely luck based). It is a big wheel with multiple number slots. You have to guess which number will come and there are odds for winning. I played for 100 dollars - and after about 2.5 hours, I ended up with no profit no loss. It was fun - but yes, I learnt that you needed a lot of patience to play in a casino. The more cash you carry the more chances of winning - but equally big chances of loosing. I had pre-decided I will play for 100 dollars and will not bother even if I loose the money. And probably that is why I managed to even out at the end. The Senior Software Engineer, Suresh lost money after having won a lot initially.

I did not go anywhere in Sunday. There were two reasons - it rained almost all throughout the day - and there was another software engineer, Anand, coming to Sydney in the evening. Nobody had come to pick us up when we landed - nor did anyone assist us in our accomodation seach. I did not want anyone else to face the same set of problems. I picked him up in the evening - the others did not come. Monday was again gloomy and dark - though it rained less. We went to the casino (again). This time we had done a lot of calculations with respect to our safe bets for the game. We were accompanied by Anand as well. Again we played for about 1-1.5 hours. This time I won 150 dollars and backed out of the game after making profits. Suresh kept playing and again lost money. When we left the place, it was raining heavily. We somehow managed to come back home.

Though the long weekend was damp and gloomy for most part, the best thing was the manager was not around :) He had left for India on Friday and will join us only in the coming Sunday. It is such a relief that he is not around. And yes - I have started cooking on my own and am not eating the ready-to-eat stuff the others prefer to eat. The mushroom curry I prepared was fairly nice - though my experimentation with fried brinjals bombed. Actually I tried to add some curd with haldi, salt, and chilly powder (since we didn't have anything else to make the paste like coating). It would have been good except for the part that the curd was veryyyyyyyyyyyy sour :(. The vegetables here are very fresh - though a touch expensive.

All in all - I am surviving still. The manager will inform me about my return date once he comes back. Do send me a mail or two whenever you feel like it.

Regards,
Sumit

Sydney Diaries (#2)

Letter to home (#2)

Dear all,
so tomorrow is kuny baby (jigna's) birthday - guess everyone at Bangalore are eager to celebrate her first birthday - dekhu dekhu 1 year palei gala! nani - mora jou party miss houchi seita tu aau mu aau thare celebrate kariba, ok? bhala jaga re khai jiba - our usual pact.

well - i spent the past weekend looking around places near to where I stay currently - one was Darling Harbour - and the other was Bondi beach. Bondi beach is world famous (or so I have heard). However by the time we went - it was getting dark - and since it is winter time here - not too many people were there in the beach. Quite a few of them were surfing - it is a popular sport here. Not much to describe about the place - except that it is semi-circular - and a very clean beach. Relax - this wasn't a nude beach :) As you would expect, the beach is dotted with resorts/apartments/eateries - all of which are pretty expensive. We strolled the beach for about 15 minutes and then had a look at the shops before heading back. Maybe if it gets sunnier sometime later, I might want to take a bath at the beach.

Darling Harbour is very much the area I live in currently. We walked to the place - crossing a Fish Market. There were lovely sea-food items on display - and since most of it was frozen, there wasn't much foul smell. I got attracted to huge prawns/lobsters/crabs. Once my accomodation gets finalized, I will bring home a few things and cook - to hell with my veg manager!! We have anyway started bringing eggs and cooked non-veg items :)

After the fish market area - we went to the Darling Harbour area. It had a maritime museum - whose entry was free. Went in there and had a look at old Australian navy stories. Missed out on the aquarium in the area (have heard it is very good) - thanks to the unenthusiastic group that I am with. But I will make sure I go out there sometime in this visit. At the end of it, went to a mall called Star City. There was a casino in it - but then there were dressing restrictions - and all of us were not dressed appropriately enough. Even a jeans with shoes would have been ok - but I was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt - so could not check the casino.

We also bought some Indian grocery from a nearby area (as in 3-4 kms away - so all in walking) - the south indian morons live only on rice - so all they wanted to bring was rice (10 kgs of it - imagine!)....and ready-to-eat curries (none of them can cook). I bought some ginger garlic paste, and a curry powder.

That's about it now - we are looking for accomodations (preferably for longer duration) - but getting one is not easy (especially with what facilities these guys want). They cannot adjust to community kitchen, or shared bathrooms. That hikes the costs - and also makes availability an issue.

Work is not very amusing as of now - there is no pure Business Analyst work in here. I am doing things which I can - but if things get too technical - like designing/coding things, I might decline doing it. One - it will be difficult for me since I have lost touch of these things, two - I haven't done my MBA for nothing, it is a coder/designer's job! Even if it means coming back soon - I am more than happy with it. I am missing home already :(

and yeah - I sleep late and wake up late - no more acting as an alarm for the manager - it is he who gets annoyed when i switch on the lights late at night :)
I watch some TV till late (around midnight)...

Ok - enjoy the birthday and the subsequent party!Give lots of gela to kuni baby.

Regards,

Sumit

Sydney Diaries (#1)

Letter to home (#1)
Hi,

How have you all been?
I am fine - I just remain a touch busy because it is a client location.

I reached on Sunday evening at Sydney - the flight was on time - reaching around 7 in the evening (2.30 in the noon at India). However the customs clearance took a lot of time. And in the clearance they took away my maggi, and the curry powder. They don't allow cloves to be taken inside Australia. Unfortunately both these items had parts of it as ingredient. In fact there are more restrictions - they even checked my formal shoes which I had packed - just in case there is some dirt. One has to necessarily declare these items when they give the immigration pass on the flight - if caught, you are penalized heavily. So I declared, and some of the items were removed and I was then allowed to go - of course without any penalty. It took a lot of time however - by the time we left the airport - it was 9.15 P.M. It was chilling the moment we left the Airport - cold breeze was flowing - the temperature hovered around 15 degrees celsius. It might rain later in the week - light showers at most.

Sydney becomes dead after 7-7.30 in the evening - shops shut down, and there are very few people on the road. We have taken up an apartment close to the city center (around 3.5 km). yet it was very lonely on the streets. The apartment was around 9 kms from the airport. The apartment is very good. It is a two floored apartment - the ground floor has one bedroom and an attached bathroom. The top floor has another bedroom - non attached bathroom, a kitchen area (with all facilities - fridge, microwave, toaster, gas, electric chimney, grill, utensils & crockery), a living room kind of an area with TV - dining table - music system and a 3 seater sofa, and a small room with two bunk beds. The entire area is carpeted - and one has a vacuum cleaner to clean things. The bathroom on the top floor has a washer and a dryer for washing clothes. The shower area is an enclosed one and everywhere you get both hot and cold water. And yes - the toilet is with the tissue - no taps around to wash! So one necessarily takes a bath after one completes the daily routines.

The nearest station is about 1.5 kms away - and then the office is just 2 stations away - again a 0.5 km walk there. However even for this short journey -the ticket costs you 2.6 Australian dollars one way. The office is in a place called Martin Place - it is the Central Business District of Sydney. There are a lot of offices around the place - and one usually sees people dressed formally. Contrary to what I hear about the U.S, the Australians seem a lot more formal at office. Many of them wear suits, and some wear formal shirts and pants. Not many wear a tie though - which helps us. So after the first day we just wear formal shirts and trousers, without the ties. Ladies are dressed formally as well - skirts/trousers with shirts. And some have suits. We sit in the IT department area in one building. The business sits in another building across the street. The area has several shops. And a lot of food areas, However everything is a touch costly in Sydney. One paratha with a bit of chola cost me 6 dollars. So you can imagine it is tough going. Each office floor has a pantry - you can take biscuits, tea, coffee, breakfast cereals, fruits. So that helps in the morning. Lunch is the issue as of now.

We return back aroun 5.30 or 6 in the evening. Go back home - I take a bath again - and then to the kitchen. These south indians can do anything and survive on rice. My manager is pure veg - he didn not want non veg to even come to the house. Thankfully one of the other guys has brought non-veg pickle - so that opens the gate for me to bring in non veg when I feel like it. The first night sine all our maggies had been disposed - we survived on maggi soup. The next day these people were content with rice (which was more a khiri) and pickle (andhra pickle - highly spicy). yesterday i prepared some curry from frozen mixed vegetables - I took that with rice (again - more like a khiri). I take up a banana or bread in morning and then come to office.

People in Sydney are multi-cultural - there are a lot of chinese (or chinese looking) people around - less Indians than I had imagined - Dubai and Singapore had hoardes of them - here there are few people. I can understand most of their accent (thank goodness!)....but am yet to understand my role in the project - will get more clarity over a period of time.

That's about it - the daily routine is more like - wake at 6-6.30...go to office at 8-8.30....leave office at 5.30-6....cook at home from 8 in the evening - and then sleep at 10 amx (insisted by the manager since he sleeps early)!!

I am very annoyed with my manager - I share the room with him - he sleeps early, and he wants me to wake up eaely (because he wakes up early to do some yoga!) - not that he wants me to join him in doing yoga - but the fact that I can act as his alarm - and simultaneously use the bathroom so that he ain't interrupted when he wants to use it. All this - plus the constant nagging by him every 5 minutes - what is the status, what is happening - etc, etc - I have always had managers who were not THAT eager to get updates. And to top it all - he brags about himself - the first day he mentioned about how he has been working very well - how happy his customers have been - I am already tired!

That's about it - I have taken up a SIM card here - but outgoing is very costly - I will also buy a calling card - it will be cheaper for outgoing calls. Anyway my contact number is +61-449841496
Hou - rahili - everyone please take care of yourself.

Regards,
Sumit

Dream Job - DUREX Super Tester!

Back off Harsha Bhogle and Star Cricket - your dream job sounds kid's play in front of the one that Durex is offering.

And yes - it means getting involved in the world's most popular sport - sex!

Durex has come up with a new job to enhance their product offerings - the Durex condom tester. With 1000 positions up for grabs and a grand prize of 25000 INR for the top-tester, it seems there are new ways to enhance your (s)experience.

Before you start imagining "objects" for testing, the Durex site mentions you will get a test-kit with a feedback form which you have to send back to Durex post use of the test products. So finding the "objects" of your imagination has to be your own effort!

And let us not get sexist here - positions are open both for men as well as women!

Stop imagining - and start applying!

Introducing the newly weds - Lopa & Sumit

Contrary to popular belief, I am relieved after my wedding. It has erased so many uncertainties in my life. And the best part - there is a certain "feel good" factor that has been imbibed to my overall attitude towards life. Life seems more perky, adventurous, wonderful, and happening.

This does not mean there is a dearth of the "never-ending" shopping lists - for the house (nay, the home); for the people visiting us; and ofcourse - for her highness - my beautiful wife, Lopa. Apart from the regular chores of a household, suddenly there is a lot more social camaraderie to be shown - and my huge list of "known people in the planet" seems to have doubled. I have to admit Lopa is more shocked than I am about the sudden increase in acquaintances - she can't be labelled wrong if she starts believing I might have been a postman at every post office in the country at some point in time.

Time has zipped by since our wedding - we married on the 2nd of December 2007. We are back after a hiatus of more than a month or so. In between we have managed trips to multiple locations in Orissa; visited different localities in Kerala to claim having better knowledge than local tourist guides; and visited all possible shopping destinations in Bangalore which sell curtains, bed sheets, pillow covers, and the like! However, things haven't changed in the workfront for me - except the location of my office. I have moved to the Electronic City office premises, and I still get paid with no hint what-so-ever of possible work. And surprise-surprise, Lopa has managed to get a project allocation within a fortnight of her transfer from Bhubaneswar to Bangalore!

Till I write more - take care and have a nice time.

Brand New Day

It is way past midnight - and today happens to be an off day in India. Well, most parts of India if not all - I know people who are going to their respective offices today as well. So much so for it being one of the 'national holidays'.

But hang on, I am not going to write about October 2nd, there is enough literature on this topic. I write just because I wanted to. Off late, waking up suddenly at odd hours hasn't been the feature of my fairly active life. So this is different. I can't even figure out the reason - excessive sleep and a blank mind perhaps. Added to such a vacuum moment is this inherent desire to listen to some soothing sound tracks. I must be insane - I don't even have an agenda for this post.

Let me think back - where am I in terms of job satisfaction? In the middle of no-where I guess. A month back - and I could safely find myself in the dissatisfied category. But the past 20-25 days of training has propelled my career towards something significantly different - or is there a catch somewhere? From being selected for a pre-sales job to doing nothing to being trained as a business analyst to being in charge of a competency center for a particular product sounds like some weird kinda 'transformation'. Plus there is this hanging carrot for a job switch - which I never latch onto - can't latch onto is more like it :)

Personal front - well, things look rosy here. With a wedding to attend (my own) in a couple of months time - I ought to be happy. Most of my weekends are spent hunting for 'deals' in furniture or electronic appliances showrooms. Stop laughing about it, all bachelors-turning-to-non-bachelorhood would testify on having done that at the crossroads of their lives.

The past 20-25 days have not just been different in terms of my career change, it has also brought a transformation to my own attitude towards life. Ask me why - and I cannot pinpoint the reason. Maybe the very reason that I have something to look forward to in my day-to-day life at the office. Maybe it is the 20-20 cricket victory for India - or the Asia cup hockey victory for India - or India winning the football tournament(how often does that happen?) - or Pankaj Advani winning the world title - or Vishwanathan Anand claiming his 2nd world title - or the sensex reaching dizzying heights (it had crossed the 17k barrier); there are so many positives all around that it has rubbed on to me and my outlook towards life. I am my old self - who has no care for what the world thinks, and is happy with whatever is in the offing.

I think I have unravelled one significant trait in my thought pattern. Sporting success, even if it does not come for me personally (never had quite 'that' amount of talent) - means a lot to me. There is only one other thing which drives a community/nation better than sports - and that is religion. While that's an area I am yet to be conversant with - I more than make up in my interest in sports. It gives such a zeal to my life - and I wish these glory days continue for ever - both for me, and Indian sports!

The Waste called Waist

I never thought I would have to write something on these lines - but alas, the minor expansion 3 inches above my belly button and 2 inches below it have compelled me to do something about it. And I chose to blog - call it my way of reducing calories ;-).

All said and done, atleast I am conscious about my ever increasing waist size. The trousers seem to get tighter by the passing second, and each time I look myself in the mirror I tend to pull in my tummy and stop breathing for a while. Damn - this is terrible, I am a certified pot bellied character now :(

Okay - enough of sulking over, I should now chalk out an action plan to tackle this menace. I have my wedding in December this year, that is less than 5 months away. Surely I can do something to look "better" and "in shape". What are the options I can look into?

• Stop dipping myself in beer - irrelevant, am a teetotaller.
• Start going to the gym - worth considering, but is it very essential?
• Avoid, nay - stop consuming "fatty" foods - Ouch, chicken kaise bhool jaoon?
• Stop worrying, relax - Ah, high funda stuff - wonder if this is applicable to me!

Ummm - I have been thinking of doing a daily round of jogging for the past one year or so, and that has resulted in me going out for long walks on certain days. I think loyalty to myself would help me reduce an inch or two. Abstinence from "fatty" food! In my case, the lust of a tangdi kabab is much more than the usual reason why the word "lust" is used for. But I have managed to put a check on myself - my office lunch is purely fruits, and I have managed it for about two weeks now. This, coupled with infrequent indulgences for the taste buds (which are few and far between them), should work favourably for me.

That's it - I have developed a "plan" which needs to be implemented well to realize fruitful gains. How much do I comply with it? Well, guess you will get to know more about it in the days to come!

P.S - I walked back home yesterday, and it wasn't too taxing. 4.5 km in 45 minutes or thereabout. I believe I will continue the pattern till I remain jobless in the workplace.

The King of Bikes

Ask any average Indian biker – which is the most favoured bike on Indian terrain? Many replies will immediately spell Pulsar – the Bajaj success story in recent years. But none can beat the enthusiasm that a Bullet churns out from its zillion lovers. Robust, strong, macho, heavy – these are a few words which are usually associated with a Bullet – it is easily the King of bikes on Indian roads.

One such bike lover has a very similar frame to that of a Bullet – heavy, and if I may add, a bit pot bellied ;-) Alright – not a bit, make it a wholesome heavy frame. He has lost a bit of weight over the years with his penchant for exercise, yoga, diet control, etc. That’s my dad for you – sexy at sixty :-P (62 actually). My father owned a bullet Enfield in his hey days – and it remained as one of his prized possessions (an Analog Olympus SLR camera comes close as the second best) – until one day he decided to sell it off because it was guzzling a tremendous amount of oil. Those were the days of paise bachao andolan in his life – which seems to be my priority now-a-days.

A day before the 17th of June, celebrated as Father’s day universally, one of my friends came to visit me at my sister’s place where I am put up. He owned an Avenger – a cruiser bike of the Bajaj family. As we talked about Bangalore, the trouble with the city traffic inevitably came up during the discussions. And from there my father enquired about my friend’s bike. I mischieviously quipped; it is similar to a Bullet. That led to a sudden spurt in the interest levels of my father. I cajoled him further about the bike – and my friend talked about the comfort levels attained while driving the bike. And then we suggested him to take a ride. My father declined initially – but a bit of coaxing made him excited. He went in to get ready for the ride; shirt tucked in and all set to drive.

The lengthy body of the bike meant he had to make a bit of an adjustment to get used to the brake and gear positioning. But one had to grant him that, he hardly rides a two wheeler these days – let alone a cruiser. The electronic start oozed life into the bike – and after a hiccup or two he was on his way. He zipped around for about 5 minutes, and thoroughly enjoyed his ride.

Post the ride he talked about the peculiar sound that a bullet-like bike makes – rhythmic beats at no acceleration. He liked the Avenger, it was smooth and lovable – but remained loyal to Bullet, saying nothing beats the King. A broad grin on his face and a well-savoured Avenger ride – my Father’s day gift ideas seemed irrelevant now J. We still went out for a dinner the next day – but it was evident, his biking experience was much more cherished.

I Scored a D

Yeah – a bitter truth that one. I scored my second D in my MBA, it happened to be in my last submission – the final project (the so called dissertation as per the whims of my erstwhile Dean). My first D came in my first subject, Financial Accounting - so much so for synchronous scoring pattern.

It left me fuming at my Dean – he was the one who was supposed to evaluate the project. For all that hard work – it certainly didn’t deserve a D. I had even worked on formatting the entire document along with my other project members (yeah – have a laugh, our so-called dissertation had team members – it was our brilliant Dean’s idea). Now before you wonder what is the big deal in formatting a document – well, yours truly has always managed to ignore such innocuous work – leaving it for the toppers to do. After all, the matter inside is what makes the work important, isn’t it? And there lies the fundamental issue. Our dissertation had enough worthwhile material to get a score above D. For all the copy-paste from a zillion web pages – it was a good enough assorted work – at the end of the day, you have to make sense of all those web pages, and utilize only the relevant information.

I was against the idea of a “dissertation” in the first place – and even had a long argument with the Dean. Do notice – I mentioned “long” argument – that is because I exchanged 2 pager mails with him. Don’t ask me why such lengthy mails – that’s because he loves doing things that way. The length of his mails – and his speeches when he just has to say “hello” are atypical of his character. A character which reminds me of “Charlie Chaplin” thanks to his moustache. And a character who loves blabbing – and ensures he holds his sway over certain students because of his sweet talk. That I didn’t like him from the start is a different story – his audacity in changing the course curriculum on his whims almost propelled me to write a piece on his satanic manners with a subject line – A meeting with the Devil. I have always been a rebellious kind – without showcasing it much. But I like to say things as they are – and it still disappoints me that people do not respond in a similar manner.

After having multiple discussions with him – I arrived at a conclusion of sorts. Here was an academic who wanted to prove his mettle at the helm of an MBA course. He listened patiently to suggestions, and acted on none. He wanted to prove that industry plays second fiddle in the world of academics and they have lesser priority even in an MBA. He proves this when he wants a dissertation to be done in 5 months time, in a group of students, which preferably is a study not related to any company or organization, and is based on secondary data as time is at a premium. While people work on dissertations on a longer frame of time – I fail to understand the importance of one in a shortened 1 year course (10 months actually). There is so much research that is required for such a work, and 5 months is simply not ample enough for the work to be anything more than a document whose content is a selective amalgamation of many others. My Dean’s credentials are worthwhile – and he is a master of his own subject. However his attitude reminds of a saying - there are different horses for different courses. With scant respect for the industry in an MBA curriculum, he is probably a pony in a world of stallions.

Did this story of mine sound like a case of grapes turned sour? It might, but I also think it is the same with my Dean – no wonder he remains an academic and not an industry person.

Hungry Kya?

Being one of the most avid food lovers in the entire mankind, such phrases meet a rough sneer from people like me who don’t miss any opportunity to devour food. I mean how silly could a question be? For someone like me, such questions take the top spot in a heap of redundant questions that have been ever asked.

As I returned home after having completed my MBA, I found myself in a new terrain. Mom wasn’t around (my sis’ love taking her away) – and dad was home alone. Enter me – and I found myself delve into nuances of Indian culinary. It was a new experience for me, I have had kitchen visits for an occasional dish or two – but this was different. Preparing full fledged meals over four days meant I was involved in a non-stop cooking extravaganza.

Grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. How different was my mindset when I hogged down all those tasty dishes, gave my expert views and comments on how a particular curry should have been prepared, and how I took for granted that cooking is a given for any lady in the household. I bow in front of all the mothers and cooks of the world, who have achieved so much in the simmering bowl the world calls “kitchen”. The job in there involves as much management as I read in my MBA, and yes – it remains one of the most thankless jobs in the world. When you wake up thinking what should be the breakfast, start cutting the vegetables immediately after you washed the dishes of the previous meal, keep wondering if the salt was a pinch too much or too less, and the only thing you ponder about is whether the dish has boiled enough – you realize “mercy killing” can be associated with all the cooks.

We all crib about our routine jobs – how boring our schedule is, how mundane our tasks are, is there any challenge in the job, there is no value-add to my skill set, etc – spare a thought for all those who cook daily. And most, if not all, actually have to clean the house, wash the clothes, manage the kids, buy the grocery, and do a host of other activities. My friends and I used to visit this restaurant which offered limitless food with no liability to pay. As students we had exploited this charitable organization’s policy, and a lot of times we ate more than necessary – at times even leaving behind food. Leave alone moral obligation, it was also a poor reflection on our respect for the chefs who voluntary turn up to cook for this restaurant. I seem to change with every passing day – every new thing teaching me a lot. Every new thing makes me realize that how wrong I have been. Food – among many other things - has humbled me.

I came, We Saw, She Conquered

After nearly 11 months of separation, I saw her again. We had last met on the 27th of May 2006 when she left for the United States for the official assignment of hers. I had not realized it back then that the separation would be so agonizing, but it suited us fine as I too had to leave for about a year for my MBA. It would have kept her busy while I was away. However she had come back this March and I had not completed my course. It hurt us like mad, separation pangs were dreadful, and we were eager for meeting again.

My journey from Singapore to Bhubaneswar stretched over two days - the reason being my misery. I was not too keen to spend about the same (or more) money to reach Bhubaneswar from Chennai, than what I did when I traveled from Singapore to Chennai. That too in the event when I was ill, and common sense (that's Lopa for you) told me I should catch a flight. Lopa was worried about my deteriorating health. The halt at Chennai lasted about 10 hours. It was not merely ticking of the clock - the humidity, din at the station, heat in the air, my unrelenting cough, and a blocked nasal passage meant that I had taken a bad decision. I survived somehow, and finally boarded the train late on the night of 16th. The next 20 hours were spent anticipating how I will react when I meet her; I was already in a terrible shape - disheveled hairs, shabby looks, smelly clothes, rough stubble, how was I going to present myself to her?

All that confusion vapourized when I saw her. She was a touch late, but that was not her fault, my train had arrived a bit early. She was beaming the moment she saw me, and so was I. She had brought me a long stemmed red rose - and the lovely thing paled in comparision as she was around. Incidentally she had matched her get-up with the rose. Red ear-rings, and streaks of red in her dress - it all built up the moment of excitement. I wanted to hug her tight, but alas - it was a public place. She looked sparkling, and she was so excited. I was in absolute awe - I was waiting for this moment for so long.

We dined at a nearby restaurant and spent a couple of hours there. It was a short meeting, but quite a significant one. This is when you recite a phrase like "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!". She was stunning - and I was conquered, yet again, by Lopa. Win me over and over again sweetheart, I am all yours by any stretch of imagination!

The Rise of Nations

I have been playing "The Rise of Nations" for about a month or two, and have not exceeded the amateur level yet. Slow with my moves, and inept with my strategy - I often end up on the loosing side. I embarass my team-mate in a multiplayer game, and it is a gross mismatch of the capabilities of an amateur versus professionals. And what has been my reaction - stay away from the game, and concentrate on other things in life.

Cricket however presents a different outlook. March 17, 2007 will go down as one of the watershed moments in the history of the game. Minnows as they are called, Bangladesh and Ireland have conquered many a mountains by defeating India and Pakistan respectively in the World Cup. India still have hopes, there is a possibility of qualification for the next stage. However Pakistan have been eliminated, with consequtive defeats from the West Indies and now, Ireland.

There was a common theme to both the games, brilliant bowling from the victors, and listless batting from the vanquished. Agreed, the conditions for the Pakistan-Ireland game were favouring bowlers, but Pakistan had enough of firepower of their own to combat the elements, and the opposition. India were facing an ever improving Mortaza, and this was a day when he would have made the likes of McGrath and Pollock proud. India could have made a match of the abysmal total that they put up, but a bunch of Bangladeshi youngsters aged 17, 18, and 19 showed that battles can be won on the basis of committment and application, and not ONLY on reputation and experience.

I happen to be an Indian, but strangely - this loss has not hurt me a lot. That is because over the years I have learnt to appreciate the game, much more than the players. Bangladesh have arrived, and this World Cup they are a lot more prepared than any previous editions of the tournament. Fit and capable players, they showed their mettle by defeating New Zealand in the practice game. India lost to them not just because of its own wayward players, but because Bangladesh dished out high quality cricket. Ireland are just about as new as it gets. With a history of 8 ODIs prior to this game with Pakistan - they probably just hoped to remain competent. However even they gave a glimpse of their prowress in their practice gam, they had South Africa 98 for 8, and tied with Zimbabwe in their first World Cup game. They had lost close matches in the associate nations tournament - and their players are very capable as proved in this game.

I have learnt a lesson in this process - cultivating hope and aspirations while building up capabilities has to mesh with hardwork and effort. And only then will one emerge as a victor. It was a priviledg to witness the victories of Bangladesh and Ireland, as they are today's real life example of the Rise of Nations.

A tribute to The Better Half of my life

It is just about the right time when I should introduce my adorable sweetheart to my blog. Welcome Lopa, and have a memorable birthday in recent times :-). It has been quite some time since I wanted to jot down a write up about you, but like all good things in life, I guess it all boils down to the timing of events. And what better time than your birthday when you are among your sisters. I wish I could be with you on this occasion, however I will have to manage with listening to your voice only.

The phrase "better half" does not do justice to the extent of influence you have in my life. Much as clay is useless unless moulded into suitable shapes, I wasn't half the man I am without you in my life. This isn't exaggeration - the very fact that I have been able to do my MBA is ONLY because of your motivation. With the best of my efforts, I was not being able to convert anything. My parents, especially my father, always dreamt of big things for me - and I was not doing full justice to their ambitions. Pop you came - and the next thing I know is I had converted my CAT exam finally.

But hang on, this is not just about you motivating me for my career aspirations - this is about your special presence in my life. You were this simple smart girl who had just about all the good qualities one could ever imagine - and the typical flirt that I was, I still could not urge myself to flirt with you. I always thought that would be bad - you earned my respect from the early days itself. And it was not just me who thought it this way - it was the entire department.

Therefore it was an honour when you agreed to come to be the love of my life, it started with adulation and awe - you were this special girl, a diva in her own sense - and I was the idiot who could not possibly get any more lucky. As days passed by, I came to know you more. At times you are like a kid, and I am amazed at the innocence you reflect. And at times you are this over excited girl who loves shopping for her wardrobe! To complement all this, you have shown more maturity than I could anticipate, and have been very adjusting even when I behaved like a jerk.

I feel sorry for myself, how could I possibly hurt you over petty matters? I guess I get insecure - you are too precious for me to loose. But I realize I disguise my jealousy into insecurity and I turn irritable. A bit of jealousy is all right - I will always find other men mean ;-), but I have learnt not to cross your tolerance limits.

The catch is - I was attracted to you because you were this special human being, who has never been on the wrong side of things - ever. Perfection is no more a dream when I think about you - and it makes all other things so very insignificant.

By the way - you have the best dressing sense among ALL the women I have ever seen, and you carry yourself amazingly well in ALL possible occasions. Dearest Lopa - I love you like I never have, you are the prettiest woman in this world, and I adore your persona and your style! Happy Birthday once again :)

P.S - How much over I tried, the date of the post remained 15th of March, but it is already 16th out here in Singapore, and it is today that I posted this. But Blogger follows U.S timings, which means the post seems to be posted on 15th :(

Tremors

Things have changed significantly for me over the past 24 hours or so. I finally got placed - after getting rejections for Mindtree, Cognizant, TCS, Zensar, Patni, and Frost & Sullivan. I was selected for the next round of Kanbay, but HCL Technologies offered me a job. And it came when I was not expecting it at all. The interview for HCL was one of the worst that I have given in recent times, not because I could not answer the questions asked - but because I was given a very rude treatment from the interviewer. It was probably a stress interview of sorts, and I did all but hit the man in front of me. But all's well that ends well - and I am mighty relieved!

This morning Mother Nature seemed to share my happiness with the entire world. Already there have been two significant tremors felt at Singapore. I live in the 6th floor and it did cause a fair bit of anxiety all around. One almost felt like being given slight push in the cradle, or it was like slight waves rocking a tiny paper boat in a placid pool of water, or like the feeling one gets when the swing is just about to stop - you sway in a gentle motion. So much so for an earthquake - life is rocking literally!

Zero, Not Out!

Handling failure is one of the most uneasy phases one has to go through. It is a haunting, self-destructive, restrospective, and a terrible phase to be in. And this is exactly the phase I am currently in, three consecutive failures at the job interviews have left me shattered to say the least. I couldn't do much in the first company with me being eliminated in the Group Discussion stage itself in spite of the best of my efforts. But yesterday was the killer blow - I appeared in the interviews of Cognizant and TCS, and was rejected for the subsequent rounds. I sought an explanation from the panel - and an old enemy prevailed as the root cause. They told I was not aggresive enough, and one mentioned I "looked" tired - so much so for being unbiased in today's world. Let me be relevant to the context - this was no sales positions I was looking for, I presented myself as someone who was calm and confident about my credentials - and yes I am not flamboyant, but that is my strength - I try and represent stability.

What makes people think that there is no room for someone who is a touch reserved? We are talking about business analysts or consultants here - the only chat they need to do with customers is business, not some pub room chit-chat which can very well be on the agenda of a salesman!!

I discussed this with my sister, and asked her a question - if you were taking the interview of Nandan Nilekani and Narayana Murthy, and you had the thought process of the individuals who represented Cognizant and TCS, whom would you choose between the two? Pat came the answer - Nandan Nilekani - and this is the point I am trying to drive in. People do get biased, and select because THEY think it is right, not because the job demands so!

All the same, I will try and present a more "energetic" self next time around! I understand the need for showing interest - maybe I was portraying a wrong image there. It makes me strive harder for that elusive job - it will be well cherished when I achieve the goal. As a fellow MBAite wrote in his poem to inspire all those who failed yesterday - "Success is sweet, when I simply succeed. Success is sweeter, when I fail and succeed."

Whitewash!

My blog is slowly resembling a cricket website - with more and more posts written about cricket. It reveals two things - one is my passion for the game (albeit my own skills are laughable at the very best); and two is the amazing turn of events on the field that seem to happen rather frequently.

New Zealand outclassed Australia for the third game in a row and successfully chased down 300+ scores in two consequetive matches to clinch the Chappel-Hadlee trophy 3-0. Australians are defeated, foxed, stunned, beaten, decimated, destroyed - you add adjectives and the list goes on and on. This amazing performance by the Kiwis makes one trust the instincts - nothing is permanent but change. The Australians might as well make a comeback and win the World Cup - but it will take some time to forget this royal thrashing!

Bond with the Best!

Picture perfect - Ain't it? Shane Bond pulverized the Australians to the levels of a mere club outfit as he took 5 for 23 off ten magnificent overs as they plummeted to their first ever 10 wicket defeat in limited overs international cricket. Sharp pace bowling apart, Bond took a superb athletic catch off his own bowling (see image) to dismiss Cameron White as well another catch in the outfield to cap off a wonderful match winning performance. Fleming and Vincent finished off the formalities in style as both of them cracked unbeaten 70s in the run chase.

First it was the Poms, and now it is the Kiwis. Australians now have an achilles heel - and it was Vincent who had first pointed it out. Yeah - it is their over confidence, and it has hurt them badly alright! Minus the key players, they are a bunch of tentative, insipid cricketers who have a lot of vulnerabilities in all the departments of the game. With the World Cup not too far away, 4 defeats in the past 5 games does not sound a happy verdict for the current World Champions. It can get worse - another loss in the next two games against the Kiwis would mean the Australians will be replaced by the South Africans as the number 1 team in the world. You guessed it - with 33 wickets against them in the last 10 games, there is plenty of motivation for Bond again! He is simply the best.

Overwhelmed!

Mr. Jonathan Chua, CFO, Honeywell China visited our campus for a guest lecture on the Chinese economy. Extremely professional in his approach, Mr. Chua gave a very detailed talk on the growth of businesses in China, and the overall success of the development in China. I was amazed by the extent of the Chinese supremacy - be it manufacturing, or R&D. As known to most of us, there was a mention of focus on the growth prospects of Tier II cities in China. Being overwhelmed is still a very subtle way to put it across, because the numbers on the slides were daunting to say the least. China continues growing at an amazing pace, and all this when the growth is in and around the major cities. With a humongous population, and efforts to go to interior (read west) China for further growth - the world order is very much set - with China leading the way all throughout.

I did ask a question (now that is a rare event!) - is there any worry for the business community amongst all this success? His answer was more on the lines of diplomacy for Taiwan, relationship with the Bush government, and similar things - most of it was subtle, and it gave one a feeling that not much can go wrong in such a build up. Yes there are enormous environmental concerns for China, and there is an increasing income gap amongst its populace - but all said and done, it will take some beating for a nation to halt China's progress to the top of the pile!

Cricket is still a funny game - II

Similar story - just a slightly different setup, and a different set of teams. My last cricket related post talked about India's resurgence from abysmal depths in South Africa (though they managed to loose the next two Test matches after the win). England did something similar - though in the one day version of the game. After being thoroughly thrashed 5-0 in the Test matches, England made an absolute U-turn to their fortunes and beat Australia three times consequtively to snatch the CB series comprehensively in the finals. It just goes on to show - the word invincible is very much a misnomer. Way to go England - and yeah, Barmy Army and the Poms have some singing and boozing to do! Imagine - all this without the charismatic Kevin Pietersen :)