Bus ride during school days....

Today I saw one of the buses which take kids to school.

I somehow got transported to our childhood days when we ourselves use to take one of the school buses for our daily conveyance to school.I still remember vividly all the fun that we use to have during these bus rides.

Initially all the buses use to go to all the stops. The bus would start from Duplex stop, L-type, I-type, Building Colony, Sr. Bus stop and finally to Hospital for E-type Quarters. The Bus for administrative colony was separate. Later the buses were allotted for particular bus stops. As the size of Hindalco colony grew, the no. of bus stops also increased. New I type was one of such bus stops.

The drivers of these buses use to be quite a character.These Bus drivers were really masters in there profession. I don't remember any major accident of any of the school buses during our time. I still remember Chotelal, Topilal and Smith. Smith use to drive the latest purchased bus. He ensured that we kids got maximum fun during these bus rides. We were always fascinated by his peculiar skin color, height and mimicry.He was also most adventurous among the lot. He use to fascinate us with all his antiques like driving without holding the steering of the bus. We use to so enjoy the race among the buses. Everyone wanted his or her bus to win. When I think of those bus races know it leaves me amazed. How at all those bus races were possible is such a small place and in so narrow roads. In reality, these bus races were part of our childhood upbringing. Sadly these fun elements stopped as Renukoot became bigger and more congested.
Whenever we got new buses it was like a celebration. Suddenly we would feel more fortunate and blessed than those who were still riding in the old buses. We use to keep on talking about our new bus and it's unique features.

Traveling in these school buses was very important for many of us. Kids use to fight for window seats or any other possible excuse. Some like me use to enjoy the interesting session of Guppbazi. Khoob jam ke Gupp marte the!. Some of us really specialized in this art of Gupps. Any matter pending from School use to be settled in our return buses from School.

I can now just remember those golden school days. I hope and prey that kids still are having as great time as we use to have in our time…..

Being constructive!!!!

Doing something constructive requires lots of effort and preparation. This lesson I have learnt first hand by doing the interiors of my new apartment.
I always felt that buying a new apartment will spare you all the pain of building an independent house. I imagined that I will get everything ready made and I will just move in. That’s how I felt when I booked my flat with this very reputed builder of the City.

Slowly I learnt that your involvement is must at each and every step to ensure customization and comfort. It started with choosing the right set of tiles on the floor. We did lots of surveys of tiles shops in Bangalore. We made sure that we buy all the stuff that we wanted. The quality has to be right. No compromises on this. Taste of family members was also an important criteria. I am now an expert in the field of floor tiles and bathroom fittings. I know now which plywood to use and what veneer or laminate is. Lots of people come to me for advice on this subject.

This was just the lid of the bin. After this came the job of all important interiors of my flat. It included wardrobes, Kitchen wood work and allied interiors. For last 2 months I have spend lots of time on this work. I have met at least a dozen designers. I have met half a dozen contractors. I have had several rounds of discussions with these people. This work is still going on. It will take at least another two months to finish this.

I hope that everything looks presentable in the final outcome. Even if it does not, I will have some satisfaction of putting my best effort for it. I am eagerly waiting for "Grih pravesh"!!!

P.S. For give me for boring you with unnecessary details. I couldn’t avoid it as I was really very much involved in all this!!!!!

Dilli Darshan!!

Day 1:

We landed in Delhi at 7.00 in the evening. We were completely taken aback by the cold chill which greeted us at the air –port. We had to wait for our baggage for over 30 minutes, courtesy Air deccan. A low cost airline at the cost of service is not a good idea. We were lucky that Meenu’s brother and jijaji were there to receive us. It avoided unnecessary hassle for Taxis.

First day we decided to venture out with Didi’s kids. The kids were very enthusiastic to join us for some sight seeing. We boarded Delhi Metro to reach Central secretariat. I was very much impressed by the Metro train service. It was some kind of unbelievable experience traveling in this train. The ride was so fast and yet so comfortable. Kudos to Mr. Sreedharan and his team for this wonderful job. During my stay in Delhi I didn’t miss any opportunity to use this train.

From central secreterait we reached Jajpath. Every time I see this majestic setting I just marvel at the view of Rastrapati bhawan flanked by North and south blocks. The whole view of Rajpath with India gate at one end and Vijay chowk at the other is breathless.
We were prepared to view the Mughal Gardens. We were informed that its entrance is from the backside of the parliament. As we were already late we dropped the idea for some other day. More about Mughal gardens later in Delhi Darshan series.

I must confess that I am some kind of walkohlic( what ever it means!). I love traveling on foot. Others who accompany me have to pay the price for this habit of mine. We almost covered full Rajpath from India gate to Rastrapati bhawan twice on foot. It was too much of ask for kids. They started complaining of stress in there feet. There were pacified by liberal dose of coke, lays, kurkure and some other unbranded snacks.

Lastly we went to Janpath for some shopping experience. My wife really enjoyed this phase of day’s travels. She couldn’t believe her eyes at the sheer variety of nik naks available on this street. It was almost dark when we decided to give relief to our burning stomachs. We feasted on kachouries and samosas to our content. All in all a good day for Delhi darshan.

Grandma’s stories…

Everyday before sleeping my daughter asks her grandma to tell her some story. My Mother tells her some story which is invariably a mixture of already stories. In these stories there are some stories which are quite high in demand from my daughter. One of these is where a cunning cat eats everything in the world. She keeps on eating everything and everybody till she meets a Donkey who punishes the Cat. This story is told with all the songs to narrate the sequences. These songs are very humorous and they have a rustic touch to them. I should say this kind of storytelling is nothing short of blessings to small kids.

My daughter has now started making stories out of the stories she has already heard. She makes stories out of everything she experiences. Now days she narrates more of her stories than listening to Grandma. I am the one who has to hear now stories from both of them- my fifty five years old mother and three year old daughter.

Symbolism….

Yesterday whole night the World was busy welcoming the New Year. It’s no doubt the day which is celebrated by the maximum people world over. Invariably everybody celebrates this day with a high degree of enthusiasm. This celebration can be safely termed as a World festival.

The normal middle class citizen is the one who aspires to be at his adventurous best during such occasions. He wants to celebrate this day like no one else. He looks for all kinds of options possible. He goes through advertisements in paper for New Year bash in 5 star hotels and alike. He then tries to analyze which of these will give him the maximum joy. Almost 90% of the times He may not choose the star hotel option. Then he surveys other options. Pubs, Discos, Resorts, Farm-houses: all of these are weighed against there ability to provide the maximum joy quotient.

Suppose he is able to select his option for New Year eve celebrations. Now the next big dilemma stares at him. Who will accompany him to his selected venue? For Bachelors this question becomes very tricky as some of these venues don’t allow stag entry. Even if they allow no sensible guy wants to be all alone when he wants to celebrate something. This is the reason maximum bachelors end up celebrating this day at there rented homes with there friends. Typically money is pooled for the D-day. Depending on the earning level the quality and quantity of alcoholic drinks differ. Provision is also made to have some snacks with these drinks. Dinner is invariably sourced from a near by restaurant. For fun thing the ever howling Music Deck with extra size speakers always come handy for these occasions.

For married ones the bottlenecks are different. This has all to do with the wishes and fancies of “better half” in the relationship. Slowly and steadily we are seeing a decline in the community activities for any celebration. This is the sad point in all this Hungama. People are becoming more self-oriented for any celebration. The real charm of togetherness with one’s own community seems to be declining. May be these are signs of changing times. Any way who cares…

May God bless you all readers with abundant joy and fun in the coming year. Have loads of fun and spread happiness all around you. Happy New Year 2007

Performance appraisals...

Performance is a matter of efficiency, speed, accuracy and reliability. Every employee is accessed for this at least once a year.

The Big question is how you measure performance?
Do you go your Gut feeling?? Na… this is not acceptable. Come on man this is not scientific. Then how do you measure performance?

“Metrics based Management” Yes this is the way to Go. Then Big Question is which metrics you capture ( Man!!! Enough of Big Questions…). Is there a verified and certified metrics to capture Employee performance? Now this is once again a million or maybe more dollar question. Shut up!!!!... No more questions pleaseeeee…

Every five years we the people appraise our politicians. Which metrics or scientific tool we use to appraise our decision makers. The answer is simple:-None. Then should we say that we do not judge our politicians properly and it is against the spirit of Democracy. I don’t agree to this. I feel we are very Good in judging our politicians. This judgment is done without any scientific tool and metrics sheet.
So why the hell, we cannot adopt something like this in performance appraisals. I know what you are thinking (something on lines that … organizations will be doomed or something similar.) You may be right. This is Democracy. Everybody has a right to have his views.

Disclaimer: this article has nothing to do with the upcoming appraisal season for me.

Something some..

Some say life is a journey: Move on… There are others who say life is there to live it and experience each and every turns and twists. There are others still who say life is not to take it seriously, so blow it out. The important question is then who is right? All these people may be right depending on there perspective.

For me whole thing boils down as to how you keep yourself motivated and spirited in each and every job that you do daily in your life. The same situation may be experienced in more than one way depending on your frame of mind. I then stand to gain if I take things in positive frame and in turn maintain my confidence and Zeal…

Enough about how I take for myself. More about the current scheme of things... I have been adding more and more skills (technical in strict sense) in last six months or so. I am not sure if they will add value for me both in long and short term. Something inside me suggests that this is happening for Good.

k. L.Saigal at Rangashankara

Yesterday I went to watch the K.L.Saigal( that’s how they write in the synopsis… Though I believe it should be Sehgal): A musical play in Hindi. at Rangashankara.

I liked the show with all its share of shero shayaris… and some music interspersed in between. I must admit upfront that I expected something more from this show. I somewhat felt that this show did not touch much of his work in Mumbai film industry. The show stretched more on the earlier part of Saigal’s life.

Uday Chandra was brilliant in his portrayal of Saigal. He impressed with his rendition of all the ghazals, Bhajans and songs from Saigal’s career. He was also able to portray the humility and simplicity of legendary Saigal. When he made his entry first on the stage , I was a bit confused. He looked twice the age of character he was playing. If you can ignore this his performance carried the show all along. Tom alter was superb in his role of anchor. One can simply be dumbstruck by the intensity of performances of veterans like Tom. My wife was very thrilled to interact with him after the show.

Credit also goes to the director of the show Dr. Sayeed alam and Niti Sayeed for brilliant script writing and powerful dialogues. All in all the show was appreciated by everybody in the audience for reliving the whole saigal( or sehgal) era!!!.

In response to a mail on Renukootians group

I do remember all the events mentioned in your mail.
Picnic days were the most cherished ones in Renukoot.
During School time we would invariably look forward to picnics.

I had a good fortune of covering almost all the places around Renukoot.
I agree with you that it feels bad to see the famous Rihand lawns in shambles.
There are some really Good places around Renukoot which have a potential of huge tourist inflow.

I was happy to see some of the spots around Renukoot in the Film “Bunty aur Bubbli”.
I could clearly spot Chopan train Bridge, a small bridge before Renukoot and Chunar ka kila in the film.Of course one could easily recognize Varanasi Ganga ghats in the film.
I show all these places to all my friends here repeatedly. Whenever “dhadak dhadak dhunaan uthaye” song comes in the television, I urge everybody to see Abhishek Bacchan walking on Chopan Bridge.

Thanks for reminding of the Allahabad trip. I think all our classmates will remember that.
I can still feel the excitement which we experienced when we started for that trip.

I agree with others on this forum regarding the Renukootian Spirit.
I guess it has more to do with changing times. We want to associate ourselves with the Renukoot which was very small, friendly and without any inhibitions. Today’s Renukoot has become very Big. Maintaining law and order is a problem with the Authorities there. People do not interact so much as in yester years.I agree there are still few people there from the older generation who try to keep the flame of camaraderie burning among Renukootians.

Renukoot will always live in our thoughts and dreams.

Funfilled yet Hectic

Lots of work is coming my way. I mean the office workload; which is increasing like anything.
It seems I have to put lots of effort to cope with it. Lets see how it unfolds....

Meanwhile yesterday was a fun filled hectic day. Fun filled because I went out with my wife and Kuhoo for lunch. Hectic because I got too tired exploring the shops in the Forum. To top it up we had to pay a social visit to one of our friends in the evening.

Are You Patriotic??

Somebody asked me if I am patriotic?

This question was asked as a thread on a mail group forum.

My simple answer would be: Yes I am Patriotic. I am patriotic in the sense I have never sighed away from my commitments to my Country.
Till now I have been required to do certain duties as a citizen of my country. I have attended all the duties entrusted on me.

Somebody can ask a question; Will you go to the border and fight for your country, if required. I am not sure what I will do in this situation.
I have never been tested on this till now. Therefore I can safely say I am patriotic till now as I have never sighed away from any commitments to my country till date. In future my patriotism may be put to test…. May be I may fail in that… Then also I feel I will be always patriotic in my heart.

One thing more , I sincerely feel that we should be not be loosing the meaning of the words like Patriotic by trying to assign it so many motives and associating it with lots of ifs and buts. Lets try to keep it simple. If yes then YES.. If no then NO. Trying to treat these words like any other literature word somewhat lowers there significance.

One thing more Patriotism always should not be associated with bravery. Even lesser mortals can also be patriotic.

P.S. We are discussing patriotism for one’s native country. There can be other shades of patriotism as for community, religion, caste or World as a whole.

Feeling Light!!!!

After completing the exams yesterday, am feeling quite light... Last two weekends were gulped done by my exams. It's not easy to take up any assignment besides your regular job. It's sort of fun also to give these exams now. It reminds of the old college days. Many a times I picturise myself sitting there in exam halls and trying to come up with as best as I could.

Any way Life has suddenly become very hectic. It seems lots of things need to be attended. I hope to pay proper attention to all the pending stuff.

On somewhat philosophical note:
Where can you find true happiness?
.... May be in a kid's smiling face... That's how I find it.

Celebrations!!!!

I am one of those who celebrates his B'day twice a year. The first one comes on Nag -panchami. That's why there is a relation with my name. I was born on Nag panchami day. As we know Lunar calendar is not so straight forward stuff. Every year Nag panchami falls on different dates. This year it was on 30th July.

Morning itself I got lots of wishes from my relatives. The count of B'day wishes was maximum this year. Normally this fact of Nag panchami B'day was only known in my close family circle. That's why the wishes are restricted from this close circle. This time somehow it went further than my close family.

M prepared lots of stuff for this day. R and S had also come. We had a nice time all in all.

Personally I am more for my straight forward Birthday which falls on 14th August. This I consider my real B'day. That's official also. Looking forward to have a nice time on that day also.!!!! Selfish naaa....!!!!!

Life moves on!!!!!

I have been busy with my MS exams for last one week. 5 more days to finish it off. I plan to give a final attempt(last try) for ...... I won't reveal much here!!!!!! Once I finish it off I will be talking about it. Need to streamline my daily activities.

It seems lots of things are changing around me.... May be it's time for a change??? What say???

I sat full day on a bench in front of the College Library

This is one of the mails sent by me to my college group. Although passed out of college long back, the memories of the same are still as fresh as ever.

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That day was just like any other day. Morning had started on somewhat misty look. The Doodhwallas carrying their heavy container of Milk on there Favorite BMWs( Rajdoot Motorcycles) . They used to play really loud music. I could get sometime the tune of the songs played by them, but normally it was not very clear.

My Neighboour had jumped to Balcony to get to my Room to get his usual quota to toothpaste and Bath soap. He used to do it very diligently taking care that he didn’t disturb me. By the time I had woken up, I had already missed my Math’s class. There was no use going in the middle of the class coz everyone knows why( Kake you are too early for next class). I was cursing myself at the thought of my attendance which was hankering around 50%.

I got myself ready and headed straight towards the Mess room. I had my usual quota of Sukha paratha with an extra Butter slab. I can say for sure that I survived for all three years on those lovely parathas.

I was not feeling like going to class. Anyway we used to have very minimal classes like those of Math’s. Many of our teachers wanted that we should not turn up for class. Most of the time we also wanted to be in canteen than in the classes. Dragging my feet I reached the college library. First I thought I should go in and read some books of wisdom. My inner conscience always used to tell me that I was in SLIET for study and gaining knowledge. I did some self explanation and sat down on a bench in front of the Library. It was a vintage place to be seated there. I could observe almost half the college sitting there. Some new saplings had been planted there. As usual lots of grass swaying with the wind.

I could see the group of Boys going towards Science block or Main Building or Mech. Block. There were some guys who were really very young; may be from Certificate course. I could see the spark in there eyes. These Guys used to behave like kids. They were the ones who would enjoy the ragging time most.
Suddenly I heard a chorus of giggling sound. These were of course the lovely girls rushing out of Girls hostel.

A couple emerged from nowhere. They were hanging around the library. May be they were searching for a quite secluded place to take there love story further. They were eying the bench which I had occupied. On some other day I could have given my prized possession but not today. They would have defiantly cursed me like anything,

I saw my gang coming out of Main Building. They asked me to accompany them to the Canteen. As usual the lecturer had not turned up and all the classes were free because of some reason or other. I declined there offer. They kept on chatting for sometime and left for the Complex. The group was making plans to visit Sangrur on weekend for a Birthday treat .

It was already after noon. I was feeling a bit hungry. One of my friends got down from the bus coming from Sangrur. He was returning back from his native place. He had brought with him home cooked mataharees , namkeen and other snacks. I had a mouthful of them. There was no need for me to do lunch now.

College looked to me so beautiful in all its beautiful colors. I had this strange sense of ownership for this place. It seemed everything was meant for me. Without even a penny in my pocket I was the owner of this place. Today when I try to own a 60 by 40 site by pooling all my hard earned money in Bangalore, this feeling returns to me with vengeance.

It’s fun to remember our old nostalgic Golden days. May be one day I would be able to visit it with my family and friends and know how is it doing now…..

Welcome to my Blog!!!!

The long pending agenda is addressed now. I have been planning to create my new blog for quite a long time now. I will try to make this Blog informative, entertaining and as effective as possible. I will also try to be a regular contributor to this Blog.

So Cheers!!!! Hope to have lots of interactions through this Blog.