tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242985812024-03-07T01:22:15.732-08:00E-motions.MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-89405447783932871072012-09-06T22:04:00.003-07:002012-09-09T22:44:32.881-07:00Coffee and Conversations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />"I can help the next person in line here" shouted the cashier. Erica walked up to the cashier, the cashier said - "Let me guess, you want a tall pike place roast coffee to go." Erica smiled and said "yes please". It was daily routine for her to visit the nearby coffee house, pick up her favorite coffee and walk to class. The baristas and the cashier at the coffee house knew her by now and expected her every morning on the weekdays at 8 am. She would be out with her coffee latest by 8.05 am. But today, she had to wait longer and she kept staring at the counter to see why she hadn't received her coffee yet. She did not see her usual barista handling the roasted coffee, but instead saw a new guy who seemed to be learning from the other experienced baristas.<br /><br />Finally at 8.12 the new guy shouted - "tall pike place roast for Erica please." From behind the coffee roasting machines, the barista saw a young girl's beautiful face come closer to him. A few curls of her hair fell on her face, her beautiful green eyes were complimented by a radiant smile. It was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen that reflected in her eyes. She walked up to him and asked - "is this your first day today?". At a loss for words he replied - "No, I mean yes, is it your first day too?" She laughed and said "I come here every morning to get my coffee. Ok I got to run, late for my class". She picked her coffee and left. The barista kept looking at her till she walked outside the door and spent the whole day thinking about her. He eagerly kept waiting for the next morning.<br /><br />"I can help the next person in line here" shouted the cashier. Erica ordered the usual and waited for her order. She glanced at the coffee roasting machine, the new barista was there. He was looking at her; their eyes met and Erica smiled. At 8.05, the barista shouted "tall pike place roast for Erica please." Erica walked up to him, tucked her curls behind her ear and said "Not bad, you seemed to have picked up really quick". <br />"Not really, I worked on your order first. I'm still picking up."<br />"Wouldn't your other customers be mad at you?"<br />"They might, but I didn't want you to be late to your class".<br />She smiled at him, picked her coffee and said "See you tomorrow."<br /><br />"I can help the next person in line here" shouted the cashier. Erica ordered her usual and waited for her name to be called. At 8.01, the barista shouted "tall pike place roast for Erica please." Erica was surprised to hear her name so quick. She walked up to the counter, tucker her curls behind her ear and saw the barista smiling at her. <br />"I'm surprised that you made the coffee so quick today morning."<br />"Actually, I haven't made it yet. I wanted to ask you if you'd like some customizations to your regular order."<br />"Sure, what do you have."<br />"I wondered if you ever tried your coffee the Indian way."<br />"No I haven't, but tell me more."<br />"Roasted filter coffee, a little bit of cream, some sugar and milk."<br />"I think I could try that for today."<br />"If you don't like it, I'll make you your regular one"<br />Erica took a sip of the coffee and smiled. "This is really good. You should have this on the menu."<br />"I asked the manager to add it to the menu, but he did not like the idea. But if you want the same coffee tomorrow, ask for your usual coffee, but tell the cashier that you want Raj to make it for you."<br />Erica smiled and said "Thanks Raj, I will remember it."<br /><br />"I can help the next person in line here" shouted the cashier. "A tall pike place roast ... made by Raj please." The cashier looked at her, then looked at Raj and saw the two of them looking at each other and smiling. Instead of waiting for her coffee as usual, she walked up to Raj.<br />"Good morning. How's your day?"<br />"A very good morning Erica. My day has just started."<br />Erica tucker her curls behind her ear and said "Oh, so you just came to work?"<br />"No I come to work at 6, but my day starts with your order."<br />For a moment, there was silence as the two looked into each others eyes. Erica broke the silence with her laugh and said "Will you be able to recreate yesterday's magic?"<br />"Certainly. I'm on it right now. I'm assuming you go to Cornell, since that's the only college in this college town. What do you study there?"<br />"You're right. I am in the Industrial and Labor Relations school and I'm in my junior year. What about you?"<br />"I am in my senior year in the College of Agriculture and Food Science. My classes start at 10.30, so I work here from 6 to 10."<br />"Wow that must be tough - waking up early, working here and making it to class."<br />"Not so much, if you're passionate about something. Here's your coffee. See you tomorrow?"<br />"Thanks Raj. Yes, I'll be here tomorrow."<br /><br />The next day as Erica walked up to the coffee house, she saw Raj standing outside with two cups of coffee. She was surprised to see him there.<br />"I was wondering if I could walk with you to your school and we can enjoy some coffee and conversations."<br />Erica smiled at Raj, tucked her curls behind her ear and said "only if it is made the Raj way!"<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>
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MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-58206341998338071772010-08-01T23:00:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:32:17.505-07:00The importance of Rupee 1 in my life<span style="font-weight:bold;">Incident 1:</span><br />It was a Saturday. I had visited the nearby temple in the evening and after seeking His blessings, I was getting into my car. That is when a beggar came along and said - "मालिक. भगवान् तुम्हारा भला करेगा. खाने के लिए कुछ दे दे!" I checked my wallet to find some change. And all i could find was Re 1. I gave him the Rupee. He looked at the coin, then looked at me derisively and said - "एक रुपये में क्या आता है? चाय पानी तोह दे दो!" I looked at him and said - "जितना दिया उतना रख, वरना यह भी वापिस कर दे. और अगर चाय पानी चाहिए तोह काम कर. भीख मत मांग!" The thankless and shameless beggar snarled at me in his local language and walked away slipping away the rupee in his pocket. <br /><br />Many times, I feel sorry at the plight of beggars and I feel that we as a society should do something for them. But after meeting this one, I actually felt - "Bloody Mo-Fo, you deserve to be a beggar all your life." <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Incident 2:</span><br />Petrol cost Rs 54.50 per liter. I asked the petrol pump attendant to fill 2 liters in my Kinetic. He set the electronic machine to fill 2 liters and after the job was done, the machine read that I owed Rs 109. I gave the attendant Rs 110. He put the money in his bag and said - "Sir I dont have 1 Rupee. Sorry." He then looked away and directed the bike behind to come ahead. I said - "What. You don't have a rupee. No problems." I opened the petrol tank and said - "Fill my tank with Re 1 petrol. Set your machine this time price wise instead of quantity wise and fill it up." The bike guy behind started laughing. The petrol pump guy condescendingly looked at me and said - "Sir, why you doing like this. It's just a question of 1 Rupee!" I said - "It's not a question of 1 Rupee, it's a question of work ethics. I should get what I pay for. Fill it up or give me my rupee!" <br />Believe it or not, he actually set the electronic machine for 1 Rupee and filled my tank with drops of fuel worth Re 1. My bike surely felt heavier than before.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Incident 3</span><br />The cashier at my office canteen is over smart. Whenever he had to return Re 1, he would give people 1 Eclair confectionery sweet each costing Re 1. To return Rs 2, he would give people 2 of those. People were visibly agitated by his 'forceful selling' tactics. I was also a victim of that a couple of times. Despite repeated haggling with him, he continued this practice of his. <br />One day, I went to buy a cup of tea and the cashier demanded "Rs 3 sir." I handed out 3 Eclairs and gave him. He looked at me bewildered and said "Change please sir. This is not accepted." I was waiting for him to say this. I snapped back saying "You can use this as a substitute for Re 1 and we can't. Bull shit. Better take this or we'll complain to the location manager." The cashier said "This time I am taking, next time, give me change." Sarcastically I replied "Same to you bhai."<br /><br />Aah! The power of Rupee 1!!MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-54772178076921728702010-06-29T23:52:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:18:15.837-07:00The Spark Theory"And you still look as gorgeous as before!"<br /><br />Mansi turned to the left to see which guy was giving her this unexpected compliment. Mansi and Vikram's eyes met, she looked down and smiled. A couple of her curly tresses fell gently on her face. Tucking them back behind her ears, she looked up again said "Ahaan. I know that. Thanks for the compliment though!" <br /><br />"I see, it's been so many years but modesty is still one of your virtues. Quite as expected."<br /><br />Vikram and Mansi broke into a courteous laughter. They studied together at an engineering college in Pune University for four years. After that Vikram headed off to Bangalore for his job and Mansi continued to work in Pune. After five long years, they met at their college friend's wedding reception. It was quite strange that both of them did not stay in touch since college despite living in the social networking era. Their past history made it a bit awkward for them to stay in touch.<br /><br />Vikram put his arm around a beautiful lady standing next to him. "Mansi, meet Shaina - my fiancé. Shaina meet Mansi, my friend from college." <br /><br />"Hey, congrats Vikram! That's a pleasant surprise. Congrats to you as well Shaina!"<br /><br />"Thank you. How have you been?"<br /><br />"I've been good Vikram. It's been so long since we met. And it's so good to see so many of our batch mates finding their special someones and getting settled. Now you too are added in the list."<br /><br />"So Mansi, have you found your special someone? I remember Vikram telling me that you were one of the prettiest girls in his batch. I am sure you would have many gentlemen vying for your attention."<br /><br />Mansi looked at Vikram who was also looking at her. She immediately turned to Shaina and said - "Unfortunately not yet. But I am not in a hurry right now. I need to do a lot of exciting things in my career before I get settled. I have achieved a personal target for myself before getting married. I am going to the US for my MBA course which is for two years. Only after that is when I'll think of settling down." <br /><br />"That's impressive. Vikram and I are also heading to the US after marriage. While Vikram will be working in California, I plan to pursue my MBA from one of the good schools there. I too wanted to marry after my studies, but my parents insisted that I meet Vikram. When I met him, he just felt like the right guy and I had to tweak my plans a little bit. I still will be doing my MBA, but my options will be limited only to schools in California. Can't try for any of the schools on the East Coast. But I guess, that's a very small price to pay!"<br /><br />"Yes Shaina, that's absolutely right. I think you've taken the right decision. And yes, Vikram is very lucky to have you as his life partner, I am not sure if you are equally lucky."<br /><br />The three of them were interrupted in their cheerful conversation when Vikram and Shaina were dragged by Vikram's friend to the reception stage for a group photo. Mansi walked towards the buffet counter with her friends. While walking, she couldn't help but remember the last day of college. She and Vikram were waiting inside the canteen for the rest of their gang to join them. <br /><br />Vikram looked at Mansi and said - "So this is it. Four years of college have been some of the best moments of my life."<br /><br />"Absolutely, mine too! You've been a special friend Vikram. I'll miss you if you decide to take the Bangalore job. But I know we'll always be in touch!"<br /><br />"Yeah, I'll miss you too. Frankly, I like you and I'd like to know you more to evaluate the possibility of a beautiful relationship between you and me."<br /><br />"What are you saying Vikram? I have never thought of anything like that between the two of us. I don't see you that way. I really cherish your friendship. To be upfront, I don't think anything can happen between the two of us, cause I don't see that spark in you. I don't know how to explain, but that's just how I feel!"<br /><br />"What spark are you talking about Mansi? I thought we were almost dating what with our movie trips, dinners, long drives, phone calls at odd hours. I thought we are really comfortable with each other. In fact you also know that people in our group think we are seeing each other. I don't care what others think but this is the perception we've given others. I don't mind that at all because as I said I'd like to develop our relationship further."<br /><br />"I am really sorry to say that. You are a great guy Vikram and I wish you the best. I loved hanging around with you and sharing so many of my thoughts and life incidents with you, but somehow, this just doesn't seem right because I don't see the spark in you. I wish I could explain, but I don't know how as this is too awkward." <br /><br />"Ok. I won't make this too awkward for you. Let's end this conversation here."<br /><br />"Thanks for understanding Vikram. You know ... "<br />Mansi was interrupted in between when her friends Pallavi and Amit joined them. Their whole gang had a blast that evening to celebrate their last day of college and no more exams for a few more years to come! Two weeks later Vikram left for Bangalore and since then Vikram and Mansi did not make a serious attempt to stay in touch. Vikram was hurt by Mansi's response towards his feelings and he felt that he would be more hurt if he continued to be in touch with her. He had feelings for Mansi and didn't want to be just one of her 'good' friends. Mansi too did not make an attempt to stay in touch because was expecting Vikram to write her mails, ping her on chat or call her which he never did.<br /><br />"Madam - roti ya poori?" Mansi was woken up from her thoughts by one of the serving guys at the buffet counter. "I'll have a roti please. Thanks."<br /><br />The next day Mansi met her best friend Pallavi in whom she confided everything. <br />"You know Pallavi, it was great to meet Vikram after such a long time. I was really happy to see him. But I hate to admit that I was a little disturbed when I met his fiancé Shaina. They looked so happy with each other. Shaina seems to be a great girl, but when I saw them together, I felt the void in my life which I don't even admit to myself."<br /><br />"But I thought you never really were interested in Vikram. Why the sudden impulse?" <br /><br />"I don't know. Somehow I am all messed up in my head when it comes to relationships. Again, I don't know how to explain - just the same way I wasn't able to explain it to Vikram on the last day of college. Maybe, I am not sure what I want. I've had two relationships after Vikram, but sadly neither of them worked. I am doing great with my career, but when it comes to my personal life, I am all screwed ... "<br /><br />"I think I probably know what this is. You are probably repenting over the whole 'I don't see the spark in you' theory of yours. I remember you telling me that you saw a spark in Karan and that you are heading towards something exciting in your relationship. You said something similar when you were dating Vivek. But look at what happened, both your so called exciting relationships failed. Perhaps, Vikram was the right guy for you and you always sought Vikram in both Karan and Vivek. Though you saw the spark in them, you didn't see the qualities that your life partner should have in either of them. So really, sparks just fly in Mills & Boons romance or Paul Coelho philosophy. Too difficult to implement in real life. But just cheer up now, what's done is done, you need to ... "<br /><br />While talking, Pallavi lifted the curls of hair falling on Mansi's face to tuck them behind her ears so she can see her face and she saw a quiet tear trickling down her cheek ....MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-62190972161515693902010-06-04T00:20:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:18:53.024-07:00Dev is typing ...Dev: The party last night was so boring. I wish you were here. At least I would have had some interesting conversations like how we had in the last party.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Rhea is typing...</span><br />Rhea: Really? Didn't u meet an angel this time? Last time u met a devil - this time I thot u'd meet a nice angel who wud sweep u off yer feet.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Dev is typing...</span><br />Dev: No actually, I don't like angels. I am pretty devilish too. lol ;)<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Rhea is typing...</span><br />Rhea: ahahaha.. OK I think I mite just fall asleep as it's quite late now. And I got a long day at work 2mrw. Bfn<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Rhea is offline.</span><br /><br />Dev closed his GTalk window and got back to his work. Dev and Rhea studied engineering from the same college in Mumbai, Rhea being two years his junior. Though they were in the same college, they never really met there. When Rhea came to Delhi for her cousin's engagement, she bumped into Dev at a party. They were introduced through common friends and during their conversations, they found out about their college connection! The world's a small place, isn't it?<br /><br />Since both of them were in different locations, they added each other on GTalk to stay in touch. What started with occasional hi and hello, soon became conversations that both of them looked forward to. They found that they shared quite a few common interests like books, music, food, etc. They had this very interesting thing going on where each would share a song with the other one that would convey the mood that they have been in that day. Their conversations would range from the lyrics to the music to the artist to the mood and they totally enjoyed doing so. The penchant for music that they shared brought them quite close. It so happened that they looked forward to speak to each other every single day.<br /><br />Dev and Rhea spent close to four months speaking to each other via phone, email and chat. One fine day, Dev's company decided to send him for a day to Mumbai for a conference. Dev was quite thrilled at this idea as he would get a chance to meet Rhea. He was even considering staying back in Mumbai for a couple of days. Unfortunately, the trip to Mumbai fell in the middle of a week and he had important meetings the following days in Delhi. So he couldn't extend his stay in Mumbai. Still, he was quite excited to be in Mumbai and decided to give a surprise to Rhea once he reached.<br /><br />Dev managed really well to keep his Mumbai trip under wraps. His conference was from 11 am to 4 pm and his flight for Delhi on the same day was at 8.30 pm. He thought that after the conference he would call up Rhea and meet her for a cup of coffee or something. But things don't work out as we want them to, do they? Unfortunately, after the conference, some delegates showed keen interest in knowing about his company's new product and he had to give them a few presentations which went on till 6.30. Finally he didn't have the time to meet her, but he thought he should at least give her a call and say hello. He knew she would be mad at him for not meeting her up despite being in Mumbai, but still, to be polite he decided to. But then again, things don't work out as we want them to! He took out his phone to find out that the battery had drained off. He kept it back in his pocket and headed to the airport.<br /><br />Once he was back in Delhi, he thought it would be best not to mention about this incident to Rhea, just so that she doesn't get upset. But things don't work out the way we want them to. One day Rhea gets an update on Facebook saying "Dev Mehta has been tagged in an album 'LTC, Mumbai 2010'". She checked the date and she realized that Dev was in Mumbai just 2 days ago and he didn't inform her. That night she met him online and when Dev was talking casually, this is how the conversation went:<br />Rhea: The weather in Mumbai is terrible... its so hot .. didnt u think so when u were here a few days ago? is delhi as bad as mumbai now? <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Dev is typing...<br />Dev has entered text.<br />Dev is typing...<br />Dev has entered text.<br />Dev is typing..</span>.<br />Dev: I really wanted to give you a surprise. But it was so crazy. I was there just for a day, the phone was conked off, I had to rush for the flight, some clients clung on to me ... you know how it is. I am sorry. I really wanted to meet you.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Rhea is typing...</span><br />Rhea: k. gd nite<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Rhea is offline</span><br /><br />Dev felt really terrible for what he did. He cursed himself for not telling her. More than that he cursed Facebook. That very instant he went on to his FB privacy settings and disallowed anybody else to tag him. But still the damage couldn't be undone. He dropped her a few mails, no reply. SMSes, no reply. He would ping her on GTalk, no reply. This went on for a few days and he was also tired of 'stalking' her as she would say. But he would always feel that his day wasn't complete if he wouldn't speak to her.<br /><br />One day while listening to Howie Day's collide, he felt that the song really suited his situation right now. He missed sharing the song with Rhea. So he thought let's use the wretched Facebook that ruined his life to some use. He posted one stanza from the song as his status message and he wished she read it.<br />"Even the best fall down sometimes<br />Even the wrong words seem to rhyme<br />Out of the doubt that fills my mind<br />I somehow find<br />You and I collide"<br /><br />That night when he logged on to his FB account to see if anyone left any comments on his status - he found random people leaving juvenile comments like - 'Who's the YOU dude' ... 'Mr Mehta - whom do you wanna collide with' and one dope even left a comment that said - 'ummn, ya. whatever'. But the one whose comment he wanted to see did not leave any. Suddenly he saw his GTalk window flashing - <span style="font-style:italic;">Rhea says...</span> He opened the window and saw a message from Rhea. She was online<br />Rhea: I like it - your FB status message.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Dev is typing...</span>MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-89551916953698130662010-04-07T22:05:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:19:50.891-07:00Coffee...?<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link style="font-family: georgia;" rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cmihir%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: georgia;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="time"></o:smarttagtype></span><link style="font-family: georgia;" rel="themeData" 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mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:63.8pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Excuse me…”, said Aditi to a tall guy standing next to her.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Yes”, he replied.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Could you please get me the bottle of coffee on the top shelf? My hand does not reach there and there’s no store attendant around.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Sure. No problems”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">Karan reached out for the coffee bottle and while giving it to Aditi, had a look at the brand and said – “Is this a new brand of coffee? I have never seen this brand before.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Yeah. I too am buying this for the first time. This is strong Colombian Coffee and I had it a friend’s place last night. Got really hooked onto it and decided to buy it today. Anyways, thanks for helping. See ya around”, said Aditi.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Looks interesting. Maybe I’ll give it a try too since I like coffee. And you’re welcome”, said Karan with a smile.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">Half an hour later, Aditi joined the serpentine queue at the billing counter waiting for her turn to come. A couple of minutes later, Karan too joined the queue. He was fretting at the thought of waiting long for his turn to come. Karan was standing right behind Aditi but neither of them realized that they were standing next to each other. While checking the items in her cart for the nth time, she saw another cart nearby and she started glancing in that cart to while away time. While glancing at the items in the other cart, she found the same brand of coffee that she had bought. She thought that this coffee brand seems to have become quite popular. She was curious to know who else shares the same taste as hers and cast a look in the upward direction from the corner of her eye. Little was she aware that Karan on this side too was indulging in the same activity to while away his time. While checking out each other, their eyes met, they both broke into an awkward laughter and Karan said, “Hey there. Wassup?” </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“All good. Finally finished buying groceries for this week and now waiting in this looooong queue which doesn’t seem to move!” </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Exactly!! It takes half an hour to buy and 1 hour to pay. It’s terrible! They should really have self check out retail counters. Things would have been much faster. Hopefully international players can bring in customer friendly retail technology”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Yes, all we can do is just hope. So I can see you too have bought this Colombian coffee.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“You’re right. I love coffee. I’ve tried quite a few varieties of coffee – American Roast, Italian Roast, Starbucks’ Pike Roast, Freeze-dried coffee, et al. This Colombian coffee sounds interesting and worth a try. And I thought since you are buying it, it surely would be tasting good.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">Aditi smiled and said, “Yeah right. We don’t even know each other and you thought I have good taste in coffee.”
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“You don’t have to know each other to make a judgment on someone’s taste. In my opinion, the appearance gives it away.”Flirting came naturally to Karan.
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">Aditi smiled and replied – “So according to that logic, you too should be having a good taste.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“If you say so. And about not knowing each other”, Karan put his hand forward and said, “Hi, this is Karan.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“And Hey, this is Aditi”. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“So now we know each other. How easy was that.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">They still had quite a few customers ahead of them before the main billing counter. So they continued talking. Aditi was a store designer and Karan was a software consultant. So they had a lot of interesting things to talk about their professions and they shared a common passion for food. So they were totally enjoying each other’s company. Finally it was Aditi’s turn at the billing counter. She finished her billing and waited at the gate. Karan too finished his billing and came out of the Exit door. Karan was pleasantly surprised to see Aditi waiting for him. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">She said “It was great talking to you. I guess I would have been bored to death waiting in that long queue, but in your company I didn’t even realize how long we were standing there.” </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Same here. It was good fun to talk to you. Hopefully next time, I’ll help you again to bring off that bottle of coffee from the shelf.” They both laughed. Then Aditi said, “Why can’t I see any taxis or rickshaws right now. This is supposed to be a taxi stand and I don’t see a single taxi here. That’s strange!”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">Karan said, “Don’t you know that public transport officials are on strike today. How did you come?”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“What! I remembered about that strike till yesterday night and I forgot about that today morning! My friend dropped me to the store as the store was on her way to work.” </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Which side of the city do you stay. Maybe I could give you a lift.”
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Hey! No problem. I just stay about 2 to 3 kms from here. I’ll walk it through. I won’t hit the gym today in the evening.”
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“It’s not a big deal. Which side do you stay? I have a car. I can drop you till some distance. And besides you got two heavy bags. Walking with these bags in this sun isn’t good. So if you don’t mind me dropping you somewhere, I could give you a lift.”
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">At first she was hesitant about going with someone whom she had met just half an hour before. But her instinct told her to trust him since he looked like a good guy and said, “I live in Andheri West, near Alpha” </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Great. I too stay in Andheri West. But I live near Shopper’s Stop. So I could drop you till your society. Just wait here till I get my car from the parking.”
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">She waited with the bags till he came out of the parking. She kept her stuff in the backseat and sat in the car. After just driving for 200 meters, they stopped at the red signal. Karan said, “And hey, Andheri West is not just <st1:time hour="14" minute="58" st="on">2 to 3</st1:time> kms from here. It would easily be around double that distance. Looks like you aren’t good at approximating distances.”
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“No I know my distances well. I didn’t want you to go out of your way to drop me. And FYI, I am quite good at approximating distances!”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Oh is it? So let’s play a game of approximating distances. So from here to that Subway at the corner, how much do you think would be the distance.”
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“Not more than 600 metres.”
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">“That was quick. Let me set my digital distance meter to 0. Let’s see how good Ms Aditi is at distance approximation….. Err, Ms Aditi or Mrs Aditi?”
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">She smiled and said “Ms Aditi! And my distance approximation would also be right.”
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">And it was right. The distance meter read 580 meters. They continued playing this game for quite some time and they were having a good time.<span style=""> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">Finally they reached Aditi’s apartment. Just to be polite, she asked Karan “Coffee…?”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.topnews.in/health/files/Coffee-2-cups.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 265px; height: 185px;" src="http://www.topnews.in/health/files/Coffee-2-cups.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US">
<br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-22243362463394408572010-04-01T23:27:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:32:17.506-07:00'Maid'en ResumeOne of my friends who's doing his MS at Georgia Tech Univ, USA, shared a hilarious episode about an Indian student in his university looking for a domestic help. This is what the student posted on the Indians' mailing group:<br />---<br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Hey all,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> i recently moved into atlanta... i am having a really hard time managing my household chores and juggling them with the ridiculously high course load.... i would appreciate it if someone (preferably a girl) could help me out with cooking, cleaning and few other chores. I am offering $12 per hour for the above help (for approximately 15 hours a week). For those who don't find the above offer lucrative can kindly consider the following situation,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> Unless the girl has a TA/RA, normally a girl earns around $6-9 working part time on campus. This is an offer you wouldn't like to refuse. Serious applicants may send their resume to the above address within a week (mid sems coming up..!!:-))</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> Thanking you,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> myself (xxx)</span><br />---<br /><br />As expected, in response to his mailer, people humiliated him. Some people sent out resumes like the one below. Girls almost came out of the screen and bashed him.<br />---<br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">OBJECTIVE:</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> To secure a challenging and motivating work opportunity in domestic services and other household chores.... See More</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> SKILLS:</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> Technologies: Microwave Oven, Gas Oven, Gas Stove, Electric Stove, Toaster, Mixer, Rice Cooker and Refrigerator</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> Platforms: Granite, Marble and Formaica (I generally use a chopping (board)</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> Tools: Knives, Spoons, Forks, Pans, 'Kadai', etc.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> PROJECTS:</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> 1. Chhole</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> -Canned Publix Garbanzo beans, diced tomatoes, onions (chopped),</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> Badshah chhole Masala, other ingredients as per taste</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> -Employed self made recipe on uncountable occassions and beta tested</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> the results on sample set of varying sex, background, nationality and</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> ages</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> 2. Dal</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> -Capable of preparing moong, tuwar, black and also the Maharaj Special</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> Dal Palak, Dal Mutter</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> 3. Rice</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> -Biryani, Pulao, Plain and Jeera</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> -Prepared using rice cooker, gas stove and electric stove</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> - If employed, will be able to carry my own rice cooker to work</span><br />---<br /><br />One of the best resumes I've read!MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-9665382605594421112009-07-08T06:10:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:25:08.005-07:00What I love about Pune in the monsoons!I am very fortunate to live in a city like Pune where the weather is pleasant all the year round as compared to other cities in India (except Bangalore probably). The weather in Pune becomes all the more awesome during the rains - moderate rainfall that lasts for a few hours, the trees around look greener, canopy of dark clouds that blocks the harsh sunlight, cool breeze throughout the day. It's great fun to be in the city during this time.<br /><br />But apart from the weather, there are certain things in / around Pune that makes me wait for the monsoons to arrive. I have tried to recollect and write down some of them:<br /><br /><b>Misal Pav:</b><br />It is a traditional Indian dish sold in the streets of Mumbai, Pune and parts of Maharastra, India. It consists of spicy curry usually made of chick peas and chilly powder gravy. The final dish is topped with Punjabi mix or sev (Indian noodles), onions, lemon and coriander (cilantro). It is usually served with bread. Sitting on Bedekar's wooden benches eating the d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s. and spicy missal paav that makes your eyes as well as your mouth water for more is an experience to cherish!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://welcome2mumbai.com/images/missal%20pav.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 142px;" src="http://welcome2mumbai.com/images/missal%20pav.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kanda Bhaji:</span><br />Onion fritters, one of the more popularly consumed Maharastrian dish. It commonly sold by vendors on every street in Mumbai / Pune. Sitting in your car that is parked near the kanda bhaji vendor with the sound of rain on your car roof, rain water on your wind-screen and eating piping hot kanda bhaji with green chillies and tea is a typical Puneri style of welcoming the rains<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/bhagya03/SL1zBlI4nlI/AAAAAAAAAxI/wW7g2zEiuf4/Picture%20198_thumb%5B9%5D.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 189px;" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/bhagya03/SL1zBlI4nlI/AAAAAAAAAxI/wW7g2zEiuf4/Picture%20198_thumb%5B9%5D.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wada Pav</span>:<br />This is a popular veg fast food dish native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. It consists of a deep fried potato-onion-ginger-garlic-coriander cutlet sandwiched between two slices of a bread. This is the poor Indian man's McDonald's burger. Standing under the makeshift roof of a wada-pav vendor to shield from the rains and savoring a bite of the spicy hot wada pav makes the reveller sing - ta da da ta da - I'm lovin' it!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sanjayram.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/vada-pav.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 236px; height: 178px;" src="http://sanjayram.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/vada-pav.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Khadakwasla dam:</span><br />Khadakwasla is a small calm and quiet place which is situated 20 km from Pune. This dam is one of the main sources of water for the city of Pune. Synonymous with rains, a trip to Khadakwasla is a must during every monsoon. Eating the <span style="font-style: italic;">bhutta</span> (corn), sipping tea, walking barefoot on the mud, playing in the water - is a perfect way to spend an evening during the monsoons.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Banyan_tree_on_the_banks_of_Khadakwasla_Dam.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 160px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Banyan_tree_on_the_banks_of_Khadakwasla_Dam.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.punesite.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/khadakwasla-dam.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 163px;" src="http://blog.punesite.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/khadakwasla-dam.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Drive on the Mumbai-Pune expressway</span>:<br />The expressway is India's first six-lane concrete, high-speed, access controlled tolled expressway. It spans a distance of 93 km (58 miles) connecting Mumbai and Pune. Driving on the expressway after driving on the pot-holed roads of Pune during rains is a big relief and a welcome change!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Mumbai_Pune_expressway.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 287px; height: 213px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Mumbai_Pune_expressway.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Treks:</span><br />Various treks are organized to the forts built by the Peshwas - Sinhagad, Torna, Pratapgad, Rajmachi, Rajgadh, etc. The trek to the top of a fort during the rainy season with your friends is an ideal way to spend a rainy weekend.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani-Mapro Farms</span>:<br />Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani are famous hill stations near Pune well known for their strawberries. Mapro farms in Panchgani is an ideal place to spend a couple of hours with friends to have cheese-burst pizzas / cheese laden sandwiches and strawberry with fresh cream ... slurrp! Sitting at a corner table at Mapro's that overlooks the pristine green valley and catching up with friends is a perfect way to unwind the week's hectic schedule.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWpzI1x6aPfoVv2ZIETBvVb7yJitt-pBqI7Pl5fcZpNIp0CeiDGbVYy1sqg692NA9wiyp4b7ulyqLSBZMuGTxlzQXXWAg8Vvmfrhw2iNwej2uEaB6q1yF4GGg7sVWlUlmWvQe/s1600-h/Strawberry.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWpzI1x6aPfoVv2ZIETBvVb7yJitt-pBqI7Pl5fcZpNIp0CeiDGbVYy1sqg692NA9wiyp4b7ulyqLSBZMuGTxlzQXXWAg8Vvmfrhw2iNwej2uEaB6q1yF4GGg7sVWlUlmWvQe/s200/Strawberry.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356088885669581714" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRIUjKUxlBhN9oKSusCWcZwHdRHSEqocxivIhvf5K8DVPFdIEsrpOMQvv0d3375XZuuH-x8E2ZNL_XXV34jfK_RkjMvTM52dlyusBs2DfiOM8l0gR3LT43e3IJinukNdKdPEe/s200/DSC03197.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRIUjKUxlBhN9oKSusCWcZwHdRHSEqocxivIhvf5K8DVPFdIEsrpOMQvv0d3375XZuuH-x8E2ZNL_XXV34jfK_RkjMvTM52dlyusBs2DfiOM8l0gR3LT43e3IJinukNdKdPEe/s200/DSC03197.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />These are some of the things I love about Pune during the monsoons. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I shall enjoy doing them :) I would also appreciate if you add your own list of things that you like about Pune in the monsoons!<br /><br />Cheers!MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-562814411922396282009-06-27T01:13:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:28:47.279-07:00A visit to DAKCPeople who know me well, know that I idolize Dhirubhai Ambani as a businessman. In fact, it wouldn't be wrong to say that I worship him! Whenever I read or think about him, I always get an inspiration to become an entrepreneur - after all, I am also a 'Gujju Vaniya' like him.<br /><br />When my boss gave me an opportunity to go to Reliance Infrastructure for some technical consulting required by Reliance, I jumped at the offer. I was really excited to go and work there for a week. My excitement could be compared to that of a small kid's who is taken to a 10 storey candy store and is asked to buy whatever he wants to.<br /><br />I worked at a couple of Reliance offices meeting the technical managers at each office location. However, my most memorable visit was to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhirubhai_Ambani_Knowledge_Center">Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge Center (DAKC) </a>in Navi Mumbai. It has a sprawling campus of 140 acres with aesthetic glass buildings, fountains, sprinklers, lush greenery, colorful cafeterias, lots of other amenities and golf cabs to take you from one place to another.<br /><br />The day I visited DAKC, there were light showers - no heavy rains, no drizzles - just perfect! The tranquility, greenery, rains and colors of nature around took me to a completely different world contrasted from the hot, humid, noisy, polluted Mumbai suburbs.<br /><br />I have tried to capture some pics of the campus on my mobile with a 2 MP camera and 5x zoom. Because of a not so 'well endowed' camera, the pics haven't come out that great.. but still they are worth a dekko.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsISu6c-DjO6LEP4r8kAXVuLArmwTv6NTIxJjcuMeZV75k5hz-OhTwUXEbHSgpfAa9NIA_Af7tILl4BM5VGaJzq6njlKrhAvJBrink7XN2yD0NO5u2TiO10XuWkQWe1Ypy_J8_/s1600-h/Image025.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsISu6c-DjO6LEP4r8kAXVuLArmwTv6NTIxJjcuMeZV75k5hz-OhTwUXEbHSgpfAa9NIA_Af7tILl4BM5VGaJzq6njlKrhAvJBrink7XN2yD0NO5u2TiO10XuWkQWe1Ypy_J8_/s200/Image025.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351918076673445666" border="0" /></a><br />View from the Gate 1 Entrance.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGUtLyMo22zs__fwDP-Kj7zol11EkLIKvz-W7Nn57k5YO-zNnChEw-Y-NxdUKf8QKRxT-Ar7PyVydMPY6VYbN-PwZKi9_JB11WP4UnO5OhA9vVSZV1BQ5CjHYUtQKYOXbuc6hZ/s1600-h/Image026.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGUtLyMo22zs__fwDP-Kj7zol11EkLIKvz-W7Nn57k5YO-zNnChEw-Y-NxdUKf8QKRxT-Ar7PyVydMPY6VYbN-PwZKi9_JB11WP4UnO5OhA9vVSZV1BQ5CjHYUtQKYOXbuc6hZ/s200/Image026.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351918437804171746" border="0" /></a><br />The golf cabs waiting to drive you around the 140 acres campus.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJF6mxY5QfobrDoYmwYs3iabnRMc3V5ssAzCAom2_bSzp5VOlrXMGwzo1Xj-6acs7OdfxRxg7dvt23Hngkzrw2_eku726wo-zSWZWYrivyS8adGM2PtznT-o6WfHh9ni1H5c3r/s1600-h/Image027.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJF6mxY5QfobrDoYmwYs3iabnRMc3V5ssAzCAom2_bSzp5VOlrXMGwzo1Xj-6acs7OdfxRxg7dvt23Hngkzrw2_eku726wo-zSWZWYrivyS8adGM2PtznT-o6WfHh9ni1H5c3r/s200/Image027.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351918443057705218" border="0" /></a><br />A walk way to one of the blocks<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH92mFNR7aVkxyVnldfOSABVZxIuUkZ9OYsZc2h5hC4uXo5sqZWml_L37_dGM9FMrDy6CJXHX8SxB6X4oy12E_4ElOxCZXJ1l_KsjUnjh9mHbItMhhln45eGvHzgjk8EMnhaft/s1600-h/Image028.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH92mFNR7aVkxyVnldfOSABVZxIuUkZ9OYsZc2h5hC4uXo5sqZWml_L37_dGM9FMrDy6CJXHX8SxB6X4oy12E_4ElOxCZXJ1l_KsjUnjh9mHbItMhhln45eGvHzgjk8EMnhaft/s200/Image028.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351918444336890386" border="0" /></a><br />View1 of the main building of Gate 1. The building bears Dhirubhai's famous motto - 'Think big, think fast, think ahead. Ideas are no one's monopoly'.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Vz7Zvql0tBruzi7jJDFqSlJMs2Zy7vcvbzXdzhyphenhyphenKonKAm6k7sMYOhFsyo0-TA8HFDHLpaIu5zoY2e6nnHTBCyOKySD8WCHxi2qB-xPxmJ9JdiU5qqHS9kTpgKvQ2Kc617oAK/s1600-h/Image029.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Vz7Zvql0tBruzi7jJDFqSlJMs2Zy7vcvbzXdzhyphenhyphenKonKAm6k7sMYOhFsyo0-TA8HFDHLpaIu5zoY2e6nnHTBCyOKySD8WCHxi2qB-xPxmJ9JdiU5qqHS9kTpgKvQ2Kc617oAK/s200/Image029.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351918448077853490" border="0" /></a><br />View 2 of the main building of Gate 1.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_bp9EV3bHwogbGMq-P8pG_xElVrDx596zGOOHFxF9vbWYkD1Re9G_y5hw15cMUuB82yNRnfmKofR5vsAeJQOkud0fiXKJeuyYWNTrFbINRhLELvoWW9vsKtwhYKxFiQvbSAo/s1600-h/Image031.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_bp9EV3bHwogbGMq-P8pG_xElVrDx596zGOOHFxF9vbWYkD1Re9G_y5hw15cMUuB82yNRnfmKofR5vsAeJQOkud0fiXKJeuyYWNTrFbINRhLELvoWW9vsKtwhYKxFiQvbSAo/s200/Image031.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351918991114201298" border="0" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabI9uGXZCxbFjpr66weXuRlMEHgjrM3Q7XWorEeZlbQ9t9Uzchc1iKTrbf9axepjAwqoEowgBohAgoJ7Kw4v5Zw-sjT68FCGtZwHUmjQhGU-uPtemPGFXe84l2pSAzApSxZDC/s1600-h/Image030.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabI9uGXZCxbFjpr66weXuRlMEHgjrM3Q7XWorEeZlbQ9t9Uzchc1iKTrbf9axepjAwqoEowgBohAgoJ7Kw4v5Zw-sjT68FCGtZwHUmjQhGU-uPtemPGFXe84l2pSAzApSxZDC/s200/Image030.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351918450703111410" border="0" /></a><br />All roads in the campus are flanked by trees on both sides. The rains make the campus look even more beautiful.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPrzoj90q8pCrsQLTB6-6Civqj09-n6C4qhRf2YCRb6QHveKuzz9qn0mXHYJD9iBQfoLNXnxOFgo4NpEpraXEVBIo3sS06_QgVvEuuMXloGTC4Xy9RwbQNkMieE9qqhA430yh/s1600-h/Image033.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPrzoj90q8pCrsQLTB6-6Civqj09-n6C4qhRf2YCRb6QHveKuzz9qn0mXHYJD9iBQfoLNXnxOFgo4NpEpraXEVBIo3sS06_QgVvEuuMXloGTC4Xy9RwbQNkMieE9qqhA430yh/s200/Image033.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351918996512554658" border="0" /></a><br />One of the blocks in the campus. I guess this is the cafeteria.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ndZ6sjZQVXcKlVGEoXL85j54X-fCLIK9WxetG5LffItDC92EoCPdIE3wsyh-EnrwNUNhyphenhyphen43AIrB_C40wQFwYV21mu2enu6GWRgse1Le_I8SgOeVgEnPBnSQp6XcYfu6FRjAZ/s1600-h/Image035.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ndZ6sjZQVXcKlVGEoXL85j54X-fCLIK9WxetG5LffItDC92EoCPdIE3wsyh-EnrwNUNhyphenhyphen43AIrB_C40wQFwYV21mu2enu6GWRgse1Le_I8SgOeVgEnPBnSQp6XcYfu6FRjAZ/s200/Image035.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351919210505906130" border="0" /></a><br />A random cross road in the campus.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxCLzGXSAgd7dcX9J6mp1PPHsRIRZnX7j5SycgEzkEVioLixEliUHL09-n-gV6-x9EcBHmOrUa36atwYGX1JuxgRH0-hUWRydzs8GMcSmGNIGukVlmG1ImB1hSHPuPDBBPuFt/s1600-h/Image036.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPxCLzGXSAgd7dcX9J6mp1PPHsRIRZnX7j5SycgEzkEVioLixEliUHL09-n-gV6-x9EcBHmOrUa36atwYGX1JuxgRH0-hUWRydzs8GMcSmGNIGukVlmG1ImB1hSHPuPDBBPuFt/s200/Image036.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351919208998135010" border="0" /></a><br />View from one of the windows in a meeting room. It was hard to concentrate while giving the presentation. The view outside was just breathtaking!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNC9s5pAoZqRc6qyicHqwEf4s6ZJKxdYs5yNjd7UymmXdH-zhMJSerGFKLVEawkxqOK68bOtjDkgJg6hP3R1fYGJj7moibZeECWnBcoL9aMYNSqTKu2fkbt2vQ2Ag9JvaQdtJA/s1600-h/Image034.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNC9s5pAoZqRc6qyicHqwEf4s6ZJKxdYs5yNjd7UymmXdH-zhMJSerGFKLVEawkxqOK68bOtjDkgJg6hP3R1fYGJj7moibZeECWnBcoL9aMYNSqTKu2fkbt2vQ2Ag9JvaQdtJA/s200/Image034.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351918999836017154" border="0" /></a><br />The whole campus has inspirational thoughts from Dhirubhai hosted on sign boards or light posts.<br /><br />Ending with one of Dhirubhai's quotes:<br />"Growth has no limit. I keep revising my vision. Only when you dream it you can do it."<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgabI9uGXZCxbFjpr66weXuRlMEHgjrM3Q7XWorEeZlbQ9t9Uzchc1iKTrbf9axepjAwqoEowgBohAgoJ7Kw4v5Zw-sjT68FCGtZwHUmjQhGU-uPtemPGFXe84l2pSAzApSxZDC/s1600-h/Image030.jpg"></a>MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-21090470479206282462009-05-16T10:55:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:28:47.280-07:00When did I grow up!?!?Being the youngest in a family of 13 cousins was always a lot of fun. You get all the attention, you get the biggest piece of cake, elder bros and sisters shield you from your mother's beatings, you are the favorite of your grandparents, you get to enjoy in all your cousins' weddings and get away by not performing responsibilities since they are meant for the elders and the list continues...<br /><br />So even when you are in your early 20s, you still feel like you are the youngest and you can get away from all responsibilities. You get a sudden wake-up call when you see some elder siblings tying the knot, some getting engaged and some stepping into parenthood! When your brother's son starts calling you 'Mihir kaka' and demands that you get him Mentos and M&M whenever you visit him, you are like wohhhooo.. " is he the son of my bro who used to buy me ice-creams and chocolates when I used to visit him during summer holidays as a kid. " Now doing the same for his son makes you wonder - "when did I grow up??!!"<br /><br />When you take your sister's kid for the first time in your hand, you stop and wonder - "is she the kid of your very same sis with whom you fought vehemently as kids. Is she the same one against whom you ganged up with other cousins and made her cry!" Gosh! The emotions just gush through and you get a feeling of tranquility when the little one holds ur finger and stares at you with a smiling face. At moments like these you feel - "Yes, I have grown up!"<br /><br />So, after a lot of self-denial, I came to terms with the fact that yes, I am no longer the youngest in the household. There are new entrants in the family who have added so much colour and vigor in our lives. I always look forward to being around my nephews and nieces. It's a beautiful feeling.<br /><br />I am dedicating this post to welcome the new generation in my family. Attaching here are a few pics of the little ones!<br /><br /><br />Starting with the eldest,<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Shlok - Milan bhai's son. He calls me Mihir Kaka.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6vTyliSzLY7cNF57v0PFC9rPSuQkRN7v2mZ2Ev-Zveb0BvgiwRBdlqSzD4ejx89qTF6g5KzCy9dRRXFWepP-MpJud6ytZI4ASASgne1OVHZtt5ubk3GleKsdS1UwisxaecQD/s1600-h/shlok.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6vTyliSzLY7cNF57v0PFC9rPSuQkRN7v2mZ2Ev-Zveb0BvgiwRBdlqSzD4ejx89qTF6g5KzCy9dRRXFWepP-MpJud6ytZI4ASASgne1OVHZtt5ubk3GleKsdS1UwisxaecQD/s200/shlok.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336490413702396018" border="0" /></a> Milan bhai and Shlok.<br /><br />Aarav - Aarti's son. He can barely speak. But he'd call me Mihir mamu.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicBsQ8MTlgSXSxwK5zDEjR5R4uskm6Vtr2fTIj5N9wloa74jjF7rrAfVGvozfPZxg6e3ZcDDDzOv8qIk482cfzbBwQGJxW042bKRnIsZjn85IsGBSTeAhvRPoncc_NC9isxkIi/s1600-h/aarav.bmp"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 151px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicBsQ8MTlgSXSxwK5zDEjR5R4uskm6Vtr2fTIj5N9wloa74jjF7rrAfVGvozfPZxg6e3ZcDDDzOv8qIk482cfzbBwQGJxW042bKRnIsZjn85IsGBSTeAhvRPoncc_NC9isxkIi/s200/aarav.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336490828568620914" border="0" /></a> Aarav and Aarti.<br /><br />Kyra - Komal's daughter. She's too young to call me anything yet, but I guess it's gonna be 'Mihma'<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tJOQOVdANlomeMrbRECI1v3a4vAiPhy-1LchlZCkED6B0zJnJ6jpgspOGi7PT25CxuC08Ndjo0ETR_jizXnZi5oCEcy2qo9QInLS9wpOquJxfng3WAIRjBuNEg3W_nUjE94W/s1600-h/Kyra.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tJOQOVdANlomeMrbRECI1v3a4vAiPhy-1LchlZCkED6B0zJnJ6jpgspOGi7PT25CxuC08Ndjo0ETR_jizXnZi5oCEcy2qo9QInLS9wpOquJxfng3WAIRjBuNEg3W_nUjE94W/s200/Kyra.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336491198049069666" border="0" /></a> Kyra and Komal.<br /><br />A new entrant to family is Krishna's daughter - Krisha!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmumPPEcXNawSyurDLZPhH8HhuExHM1HjwL9to9QVhGeHtSp8IDRKi-flBLRjHVJxROYDynAGPbtsEHjjmpJM4hQknEPiCcXLm56KynLKYHZjIf3yBLftZmbloDScKfx7o4iO0/s1600-h/krisha.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmumPPEcXNawSyurDLZPhH8HhuExHM1HjwL9to9QVhGeHtSp8IDRKi-flBLRjHVJxROYDynAGPbtsEHjjmpJM4hQknEPiCcXLm56KynLKYHZjIf3yBLftZmbloDScKfx7o4iO0/s200/krisha.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356075791391590034" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Krishna and Krisha.<br /><br />And finally, Kruti bhabhi delivered a beautiful baby girl - Kaea on 20th May. Here is a pic of Milan bhai and Kruti Bhabhi's 2 beautiful kids:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAiCGWqCD9DePSUBHdvCWVlY-HxClWiXeFZ-xLttgZ6cUFGDfyYq_cdNk4YZ0Tpl-ob1HnAb6v_b5wlapZWNCpFDme9DUJhWfyAUUzD05tyUU_t56USYTrJCx4S4HnDzjp4g0d/s1600-h/Milan2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAiCGWqCD9DePSUBHdvCWVlY-HxClWiXeFZ-xLttgZ6cUFGDfyYq_cdNk4YZ0Tpl-ob1HnAb6v_b5wlapZWNCpFDme9DUJhWfyAUUzD05tyUU_t56USYTrJCx4S4HnDzjp4g0d/s200/Milan2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338301461368686786" border="0" /></a>Kaea and Shlok<br /><br />Thank you to all my brothers, sisters and their better halves for making me mamu / kaku. The family gatherings have just got livelier now!<br /><br />Welcome dearest nephews and nieces! I love you all!<br /><br /></div>MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-736307168953910062009-03-18T11:12:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:23:53.577-07:00Jaago Re!How many times have we chatted with our friends about the bad state of our roads ... how many times have we fumed over the untimely and long power cuts during summer ... how many times we wished we could do something to improve the current bad state ... but how many times have you thought that - 'I have not elected the leader of our constituency. but now let me elect my own leader and see if it makes a difference. when in school, I had the right and the privilege to elect my own class monitor, but now I don't consider it a privilege anymore to vote for somebody who will lead my constituency because I know it won't make a difference!' Yes perhaps you are right, not voting may not make a difference, but voting for and electing your leader _may_ make a difference. I mean, you have nothing to lose right? So what the heck, this time just vote and see if your vote counts and makes a difference!<br /><br />To help you vote, jaagore.com has come up with one of the most fantastic websites I've ever come across. I think I can unarguably say that no Indian govt process is as effective as getting your name enrolled in the voter's list. The process is as simple as brushing your teeth:<br />Just logon to jaagore.com <br />fill up their form which would hardly take 3 minutes.<br />take 2 prints of the forms that are generated for you.<br />go to your nearest constituency and submit the form.<br />once done, you will be updated about your voting registration either online or through an SMS.<br /><br />Has any Indian govt procedure been so simple?? So for those who haven't registered, please do like how I did today. At least appreciate the work done by passionate Indians who have given this movement the required momentum. Lighting candles is not the only way to bring a revolution... but voting is one way to bring a revolution.<br /><br />So I am going to vote and elect the leader of my constituency. Hope you catch up with you in the voting queue on the D-day<br /><br />Cheers!<br />MihirMiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-57656608164812808712009-01-24T05:34:00.000-08:002010-08-02T23:28:47.280-07:00An evening on the race course ...I frequently jog at the Pune Race Course ground to lose that extra flab ;) Today evening too I went to the race course. But, I was too lazy to jog today, so decided to stroll instead. The weather was just perfect - not too cold, not too hot, a pleasant breeze, a bit cloudy... To complement the setting, my iPod was loaded with soulful Rahman melodies, enchanting Rahul Sharma instrumentals and stirring Bryan Adams compositions. With the wind in my hair, sand under my feet, soul stirring music in my ears and a lot of unanswered questions in my head, I was all set to spend a Saturday evening on the Race Course.<br /><br />I walked past a pretty plump girl strolling with her poodle, a teen couple muttering sweet nothings in each other's ears, a bunch of school kids playing foot ball, a toddler playfully running behind his dad to catch him, an old couple sitting on the bench, a hot girl jogging in her black spandex suit...<br /><br />At the time of sunset, I stood at one side to marvel at nature's beauty when I saw the sky changing its hues. I have captured the pics below in my Nokia XpressMusic Phone with a 2.0 MP camera (so please excuse me for not-so-good quality pics)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8lg5nr6J2v8P_UyplFM1LpkibjOj23wvNPkStE8YBKE7TxBBGLCzSlggvCQLvv3NEtIUESuox_zzpl-h0w9_xB7j0HTtLAvset7jPriWq9vDxAmxqUC2it9gglXIuuHs66P3X/s1600-h/Image004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8lg5nr6J2v8P_UyplFM1LpkibjOj23wvNPkStE8YBKE7TxBBGLCzSlggvCQLvv3NEtIUESuox_zzpl-h0w9_xB7j0HTtLAvset7jPriWq9vDxAmxqUC2it9gglXIuuHs66P3X/s320/Image004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294853667552699922" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sk2Igl1ycHARsWp3V9uBDP9YM0PqgP7qXhvnPvFPeKmmbrK4WZsqj7uewkM_xNut2BmY5AoOeLTbobeiWb4E84NAXsNRLfW6OtbBXNDSsj43OqxgytsNvRzesKD_EqpGG53I/s1600-h/Image005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sk2Igl1ycHARsWp3V9uBDP9YM0PqgP7qXhvnPvFPeKmmbrK4WZsqj7uewkM_xNut2BmY5AoOeLTbobeiWb4E84NAXsNRLfW6OtbBXNDSsj43OqxgytsNvRzesKD_EqpGG53I/s320/Image005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294853988757144450" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTMoSN6Ltqx5KmLWluAY1TzoQ3ipmrIRR7XMN_5Zw-eMlEH-Y-7hoy1Ey60UR-RsTpR12pqocR9FmH_E4bZ-72Q8QKIKQbHsj0LZ5dMn2alSpjrg5OBKN9tVaM-8pDlhFc8pU9/s1600-h/Image009.jpg"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUKd_PTYFRFkuBhO0H_hCZSSyzcqIMRqoE-a8CnkgusvSAUfUCjgNXqgN6UsOgFMwC5CKQ6DNc4mtAS8qepgJ6BH2NDQ-s361dfmibKkLmozDe1-ZF6F9pJavZNCKc8mjhcWI/s1600-h/Image008.jpg"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10yEwL5vxxhhn0BIgf0Bpj5tKcR6F61bSyVja3SxtvJcXtSLE8dCQbdPJRIdZSEChy9yBJc-lUOLozk8F8UUKnGqjdG0l45MyKaprTzffmA3SfsVvgv0UN0JlVsfW2we1hJJp/s1600-h/Image007.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />While walking along the race course, one cannot miss the beautiful St Patrick's cathedral :<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpiRSMP-e4_UQ3lptrf0hmp6hnHV9LdgBPQfU7hLbltFC4HR_h1lhvcdp7P-zytoujZEv2BXlQbUAQfG_PaP5_yanfTTY5h89TuQowtr1pN8ZuU1Jo3uNEaTuladY05jPK_lH2/s1600-h/Image012.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpiRSMP-e4_UQ3lptrf0hmp6hnHV9LdgBPQfU7hLbltFC4HR_h1lhvcdp7P-zytoujZEv2BXlQbUAQfG_PaP5_yanfTTY5h89TuQowtr1pN8ZuU1Jo3uNEaTuladY05jPK_lH2/s320/Image012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294855013958518482" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The entire stretch of Race Course is about 2.4 kms.. it is roughly a circular ground. The outermost ring is for the horse races and there are two inner rings... the middle ring is an undulating ground suitable for walking and the innermost ring is covered with black sand and is suitable for jogging..<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUKd_PTYFRFkuBhO0H_hCZSSyzcqIMRqoE-a8CnkgusvSAUfUCjgNXqgN6UsOgFMwC5CKQ6DNc4mtAS8qepgJ6BH2NDQ-s361dfmibKkLmozDe1-ZF6F9pJavZNCKc8mjhcWI/s1600-h/Image008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUKd_PTYFRFkuBhO0H_hCZSSyzcqIMRqoE-a8CnkgusvSAUfUCjgNXqgN6UsOgFMwC5CKQ6DNc4mtAS8qepgJ6BH2NDQ-s361dfmibKkLmozDe1-ZF6F9pJavZNCKc8mjhcWI/s320/Image008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294854618575550738" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10yEwL5vxxhhn0BIgf0Bpj5tKcR6F61bSyVja3SxtvJcXtSLE8dCQbdPJRIdZSEChy9yBJc-lUOLozk8F8UUKnGqjdG0l45MyKaprTzffmA3SfsVvgv0UN0JlVsfW2we1hJJp/s1600-h/Image007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10yEwL5vxxhhn0BIgf0Bpj5tKcR6F61bSyVja3SxtvJcXtSLE8dCQbdPJRIdZSEChy9yBJc-lUOLozk8F8UUKnGqjdG0l45MyKaprTzffmA3SfsVvgv0UN0JlVsfW2we1hJJp/s320/Image007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294854461940705122" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />While walking along the long, circular roads, the following thoughts came to my mind -<br />"Seems like I've been here before, can't remember when,<br />I get this funny feeling, we'll be together again!<br />No straight lines make up my life, all my roads have bends;<br />No clearcut beginnings; but thankfully, so far, no dead ends!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4KAjtVxlPJPtQOrFcVvWyAd_yIEsJhqCw_zD_aZnKN5ed_09eaGTHsWsargwfdEFfqAQ5bu2MHCtnN0d5pyfIntOzDk-opRqUwmxnIkeGN93fN5LNQ1BdUisnSwipAfnmc-C/s1600-h/Image010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ4KAjtVxlPJPtQOrFcVvWyAd_yIEsJhqCw_zD_aZnKN5ed_09eaGTHsWsargwfdEFfqAQ5bu2MHCtnN0d5pyfIntOzDk-opRqUwmxnIkeGN93fN5LNQ1BdUisnSwipAfnmc-C/s320/Image010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294951951720964098" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXEZTElXE5-xsefTBAWF11wi-l-lLAbm8HmXFyGb_vWPfp09NpEfXAM_OvXEIPz9igC2yZ0nDDhKyZM3-ptyXasYbZM24Gu95ahH0cwM2VAcTBlQx5NJ8TedqgS3o2LS2fWVS/s1600-h/Image009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXEZTElXE5-xsefTBAWF11wi-l-lLAbm8HmXFyGb_vWPfp09NpEfXAM_OvXEIPz9igC2yZ0nDDhKyZM3-ptyXasYbZM24Gu95ahH0cwM2VAcTBlQx5NJ8TedqgS3o2LS2fWVS/s320/Image009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294952233849876226" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Well, I think, today evening, I just had a perfect date with myself!MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-51558677335988114262008-10-08T12:23:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:32:17.506-07:00Eavesdropping in an Elevator...My office is on the 7th floor and each floor has close to about 200 employees. So there are about 1400 employees in one building and there are just 3 elevators. So on an average, a trip from the ground floor to the 7th or vice versa takes close to 5 minutes since the elevator practically stops at every floor. It's very interesting to see people of all shapes, sizes and sensibilities for a brief period of time. Sometimes, their talk can form fodder for a blog post like this one :)<br /><br /> So, I was taking the elevator from the 7th floor to the ground and I was joined by a bunch of men who sit in the same wing as I do. One of them being particularly loud forced me to eavesdrop, even though I had absolutely no intentions to do so. So they started talking about the sudden outbreak of malls and foodmarts in Pune - More, Spencer's, Subhikhsa, Reliance Fresh, Reliance Mart, Chaupal Fresh and so on. Then Mr Loud got stuck on Reliance Mart and they started discussing whether it belonged to Mukesh Ambani or Anil Ambani. After considerable discussion, they reached on a consensus that Reliance Mart belongs to Mukesh and that Anil's businesses now begin with BIG. And after Anil acquired Adlabs, Gold Adlabs Pune changed to BIG Cinema or so they were discussing. We all have our own opinions about everything and we get judgmental about any thing quite fast. So Mr Loud rants that 'Mukesh does everything very sensibly. See his business is going to grow like anything. He has inherited the right traits of his dad - the late Dhirubhai. But Dhirubhai's younger son - Anil has absolutely no business sense. He gets into any business for the heck of it. How would one explain him getting into the entertainment business. He just has money and wants to spend it. See one day, he'll fall flat on his face...' and he continued with his analysis on how business empires should be run.<br /><br /> I looked at him with askance thinking how could one make such thoughtless comments without knowing the full details. I am sure when he reads this blog, he would be surprised to know that Anil Ambani is opening up a studio on LA with Steven Spielberg and plans to produce 30-35 films over the next 5 years. (details <a href="http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/6E3148B228923821652574D7004940BB?OpenDocument">here</a>) I am sure Anil Ambani, a Wharton graduate and heir of the illustrious Dhirubhai Ambani has a little better business acumen than Mr Loud who interestingly tests defects and shouts JDBC - ODBC across the room with his 'oh-so-loud-irritating-voice'.<br /><br /> But nonetheless, thanks to him - this is my 2nd post in a day - he gave me fodder for thought :)MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-3929820476858181022008-10-07T10:57:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:32:17.507-07:00Sodexho bhi chalta hai ...In the age of credit cards and a well distributed network of ATMs, it isn't necessary to keep more than 100 -200 bucks in your wallet, or so we thought till <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> happened. After a great lunch and an awesome dessert, we tanked up the car, bought comfortable Osho chappals and my friend and I were on our way home from KP. Now after spending so much, either by Credit Card or cash, we were left with close to around 80 bucks between us and we didn't bother to withdraw money thinking that this much money was good enough if we landed in an emergency like a car breakdown or something like that. However we did not think of <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> emergency though.<br /><br /> Pune is a strange city. How much ever I may love the city, I always hate it for its roads (if there are any) or traffic management. An apt example is this very strange signal which turns amber and green both at the same time. Ideally, only one colored light should be ON at any given time for any signal. But this strange signal while changing from green to amber, had both green and amber lights on. How cool, isn't it? Had we known the aberrant nature of this signal, <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> wouldn't have happened.<br /><br /> So we were in the car, in a gleeful mood, listening to the local radio station, commenting on how hot the actress in the song was and we came across this signal. Now, this signal was showing two colors as per its behavior - amber and green, and we saw vehicles zooming past us, we thought probably its 'GREEN' and as obedient citizens, we followed the traffic rules and crossed the signal. Just as we were on the other side, a traffic policeman asked us to get to the side. Again as obedient citizens, we stopped at the side and believed that this would be regular license / PUC checking types and thought we should co-operate. But the policeman started claiming that we had broken traffic rules and that we should pay a fine of 200 bucks. We argued about the funny signal and how were we supposed to know the right behavior and all, but he wouldn't budge. Now, we didn't think of <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> incident as a possible emergency!<br /><br /> Now we just had 80 bucks and no ATM around. Surely our police force is still not that advanced to swipe credit cards. We were pleading that we just had 80 bucks and a pair of Osho chappals - that was all the wealth we had at that time. And also we weren't willing to pay 200 bucks for a faulty signal. The policeman finally said - 'I'll leave you if you pay me 100. Not a penny more, not a penny less. I won't even give you an official ticket. Slip in a 100 buck note and I'll let you go.' We kept on showing him our empty wallets - 'Sir, see between the two of us we just have 77 bucks.' He peeped into our wallets and said - 'What is this?' pointing to some paper chits. My friend took them out and said - 'Sir, these are Sodexho passes. You can use them to buy things at food malls, select restaurants, grocery stores and more. Our company gives us these passes as a part of our ....' He stopped him in between and said 'Ok, Ok.. I know. I have used them.' We were surprised that the government has also started giving Sodexho passes to its employees. Not till he said - 'Cash nahi toh Sodexho bhi chalega (If you don't have cash, even Sodexho passes will do)'. We were zapped! We were stunned at the desperation of a traffic officer to make an extra buck at any cost. We hardly used Sodexho passes anywhere and our passes used to always accumulate at the end of every month. We could have very well given him the passes and got rid of them. But we didn't.<br /><br /> Again as responsible citizens, we decided to take the ticket. My friend sat in the car while I walked in search of an ATM. Finally found one around 500m away, withdrew money, came back and gave him the cash. The policeman looked at us with expressions of surprise / anger / disdain or a hybrid of all these. We took the ticket and drove off expecting that this money would go in the government account and probably be used to repair this signal rather than giving Sodexho passes to the policeman who would have bought a shampoo from the supermarket or feasted at a nearby restaurant. <a href="http://www.jaagore.com"><br /><br />Jaago Re</a>!!!MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-81095620447804859572008-09-09T11:32:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:24:25.727-07:00The Return of the Shah...Wassa fellow bloggers!?<br /><br />It's been quite a long time since I posted something on this blog. It had been rusting in peace. So finally on a sleepless night, I thought let me get back to my long abandoned hobby - blogging. Inspite of know I need to get up at 5.00 am tomorrow morning to leave for Mumbai, here I am, providing fodder for thought :)<br /><br />So what have I been upto in the last 2 years? The last 2 years have been great. Made some long-lasting friendships at my work place. Work has been truly satisfying - did some innovation, customer assignments, travelled for work to China, US and other parts of the country, mentored interns during the summer project, got promoted, learnt pool, lost weight, met some fabulous individuals and much more! In a nutshell, work kept me busy. I travelled to quite a few places - Beijing, New York, Hawthorne, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, went on a pilgrimage to<br />Vaishnodevi. You can see my travel pics <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mihirshah84">here</a>. Explored all the popular night clubs in Pune, tasted and learnt quite a lot about various cuisines and alcohol and ofcourse have compiled a list of personal favorites. Not to forget, my pursuit to pursue further education also continued - giving exams, studying for them, applying, getting interviewed, getting rejected, getting back to square one and starting the whole process again. All that kept me busy.<br /><br />So, all in all, that's a summary of what I have been through in the last 2 years. I've had a great time so far. But in the process, I neglected my favorite hobby - blogging. Everytime, I used to sit and think about writing a post, I would end up talking on the phone, watching 'How I met your Mother' or 'Friends' or 'Prison Break' or 'Comedy Circus' or some random stuff on TV, trying my hand at making some pasta or paneer or biryani, taking a jog around the race course or plainly staring at the ceiling! But now I am back in the business and would try to blog regularly.<br /><br />Cheers!<br />MiShMiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-1160456397768538912006-10-09T21:50:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:20:47.076-07:00Killing Time....<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >(This poem has been written at an extremely boring conference, where I was finding means to do some time-pass, so chances are that it might be boring <:P> but still, enjoy the rhyme scheme!!)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:130%;">I</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">t's easy to kill a dog,</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">It's easy to kill a man in fog,</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">It's easy to kill a fruit without a dime,</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">But what's not easy is to kill time.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Take the dog and buthcher his head,</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">In an instant the dog will be dead,</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Killing a dog is not at all a crime,</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">But can someone tell me - how to kill time??</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Take a knife and slash a men's neck,</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Throw his dead body in a crowded deck,</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Killing him will surely be a crime,</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">But I would prefer killing time.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Go to the shrub and pluck a sweet lime,</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Devour the fruit at no extra dime,</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">That my friend is certainly no crime,</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">But what the hell, HOW DO I KILL TIME ??!!??</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><br /></span></span>MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-1158138234734877182006-09-13T02:03:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:22:26.896-07:00It's all in the Mind....<p class="MsoNormal">23rd January 2006, Ravi Sharma and his wife Geeta are now married for 5 years. Their sprawling bungalow "Jannat" is filled with the clutter of high society people who have come to congratulate the couple for half a decade of togetherness. Champagne is flowing in abundance, wine and cheese have been specially ordered, each cocktail is made according to the guest's taste. Food stalls in the background boast of the finest and richest meals some of us have ever seen. The dholaks and the women singing in the background make the celebrations melodious.<br /><br />Looking into Geeta's eyes, Ravi tries to find the lost innocence she possessed when they were married 5 years back. Their wedding was a very humble affair with not more than 50 people attending the rituals. The simple chiffon red saree and the long flowing hair of Geeta were complimented by her golden earings and a small necklace. All this coupled with a spark in her eyes was Ravi's most precious possession. Since then, he has never been able to find that simplicity in her. Although Geeta is dressed today in designer sarees, with diamond earings that pull her earlobes to the maximum, he has lost the Geeta that Ravi was married to.<br /><br />Accepting congratulations with a heavy heart, he thinks - "what an irony it is to be congratulated on losing your most precious belonging!!" But such is life, he says trying to console himself. While he sees his wife exchanging flying kisses and fake wishes with the high profile people of Delhi, he sits in a corner and recollects back those days when he had "nothing but everything." Today he has "everything but nothing." He ridicules at the thought of how material pleasures exchange hands with immortal possessions. He curses that day when his wife and he decided to move from a small town Gorakhpur to a big city Delhi in fulfillment of their dreams. They had promised to hold the same respect for each other, but now why the sudden change? Is it because Ravi was not able to fulfill Geeta's materialistic desires and Geeta managed to outdo her husband that has caused the rift, or is it because Ravi is now jealous of his wife's achievements that he cannot talk to her looking in the eye? It is in the search of these answers that Ravi always drowns himself when his wife is busy looking after the ready-to-eat business empire built by her or when she is busy socialising with the who's who of the society.<br /><br />He looks back at those days when he used to come back from office in the evening and take his wife with him for a kulfi when he had saved some extra money that month. Geeta being ambitious used to always ask her husband to help her start a small scale business where she could give tiffins to college students and help the house get some extra income. Reluctance on his side made Geeta start the business in his absence in the morning when Ravi was in the office. Her mess services became extremely popular and when Ravi got to know about it, it was too late for Geeta to give up. Soon she started selling packets of ready-to-eat foods in nearby kirana stores made by her with the help of 3 other women. This led to the construction of one of the most successful food products in Delhi and the neighbouring areas. Reluctance and lack of appreciation on Ravi's side made the drift widen. Geeta asked Ravi many times to give up his job and assist her with the growing business, but Ravi could never digest the fact that he would be working under his wife. Today Ravi still goes to his office where he earns a paltry sum, but the irony is that the lunch packets in his canteen are those made by Geeta's company!!!!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ravi is woken up from his dreams when he is introduced to Geeta's special clients Mr and Mrs Jaiswal.<br />Mr Rakesh Jaiswal is well known for his "go-getter" attitude and one of the most successful examples of who an opportunist is. Probably, that is the reason that his wife Neerja Jaiswal is 25 years younger to him. Neerja, one of the most successful models in Delhi was known to have the attitude of making it big in her life at an early age irrespective of what price she would have to pay. She wanted social status, financial security for a life time and freedom from her husband so she could do all that she wanted. People ridiculed her by saying that it is impossible to get all this. But she proved them wrong when she married Mr Jaiswal, a business tycoon and a hotelier. It's been three and a half years when she married him. Then Mr. Jaiswal was<br />53 and Neerja just 28. Mr. Jaiswal divorced his wife Naina of 27 years for Neerja. So is the magic of beauty!!<br /><br />Ravi was surprised looking at the odd couple, but he thought anything is possible for a man who has money that is not counted but weighed instead! But something about Neerja attracted him, not her beauty but probably a spark in her eye that made him feel that there is some connection between the two. Probably even Neerja must have felt the same and the two hit off well and were seen conversing for a long time. Ravi even made a drink for Neerja and made sure that she felt at home with him. Neerja too was having a good time. The two of them exchanged numbers and when Neerja left the party, Ravi thought that after a long time he had spoken his heart out with a charming lady.<br /><br />Weeks passed by and Geeta as usual was busy in her routine. Ravi too followed his mundane activities of going to the office and then back. Neerja's eyes had taken a backseat, just a backseat, but were not wiped off from his memories. One fine Sunday when Ravi was taking an afternoon nap, his sleep was broken by the harsh sound of his phone. It was Neerja on the other end. She asked Ravi if he could meet her for a cup of coffee in the evening. Since Geeta was not in town, he thought what better way to spend a boring Sunday evening. The two met up at Cafe Coffee Day in the upmarket locale of Greater Kailash. The camaraderie was blossoming and the two had a great evening. They felt that they understood each other better and deicided to do this quite often.<br /><br />Weekends were thus spent over endless cups of coffees, then dinners and desserts. The two spoke to each other on any topic. They felt a sense of similarity with their lives and their demands. Many times Neerja confessed to Ravi that she married Rakesh for financial security but she lost out on emotional security. She felt like an accessory that adores Mr Jaiswal's shoulders for his high profile parties. That was just her status in his life. She was feeling emotionally insecure as there was no one to understand her and she now repented her decision. Ravi too was looking for that emotional security in his life. So now they were too individuals who fulfilled each other's emotional needs by discussing every issue close to their hearts and they felt that their relationship had matured into something more beautiful than friendship.<br /><br />Weekends were now spent over endless cups of coffees, dinners, desserts and beautiful nights in hotel rooms. Within 2 months of their first meeting, they were already in love! aBusy as their respective spouses were, they were completely oblivious to the latest developments. But this were the most beautiful moments in Ravi and Neerja's lives. It was blissful to share physical oneness with the person who gives you a feeling of emotional security. They felt that marriage is not the only way to be emotionally stable but one can experience that even outside marriage. It's all in the mind. After all what is marriage, just an official permit to have sex, but relationships are much more than that, and all marriages do not guarantee that. Here were two rebellious individuals whose thoughts were completely contradictory to what they were a few months ago. One married to remain blissfully happy all his life and the other married for social and financial status. So this is what love can do, can change your thoughts and that is why it is said - "It is all in the mind!". It's just that what perspective you use to view any situation.<br /><br />Their weekend routine remained colorful as before until few months later, Neerja learnt she was pregnant with Ravi's child. The joy of being new parents engulfed Neerja and Ravi to the extent that they no longer bothered about how their respective spouses would react on knowing about Ravi and Neerja. After all each of them was being a parent for the first time. But somehow the courage had to be gathered, it had to be gathered to face their spouses and tell them they wanted freedom from them.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The next day, Ravi and Neerja finally decided to let their hearts out. That morning, Geeta as usual was busy in the kitchen supervising the breakfast menu. Ravi held Geeta’s hand, walked with her to the dining table, pulled a chair for her and sat beside her. Geeta felt that something was wrong. He kept looking at the empty plate. She kept looking at Ravi waiting to hear the dreaded news. There was silence. Silence that was horrifying. Silence that was certainly not golden. Silence. Finally Ravi looked at Geeta and said “I am sorry. This is really hard, but you must know.” Geeta was listening. Listening. “When I married you, I thought, here is the lady I shall love forever. I promised to be with you till my last breath. But, things change, situations change, priorities change, PEOPLE change…PEOPLE in OUR LIVES change….”. There was silence once again. A silence that deafened Geeta. Geeta understood what Ravi was trying to convey. She just whispered in a trembling voice : “Who is she?” </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Neerja”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“…Jaiswal?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Yes….It all happened so….”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“I dint ask for any explanations. I don’t even want to ask. But tomorrow when our child asks for an explanation….”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Our child?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Yes, I am 3 months pregnant with your child…”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“What…you never told me…”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah….didn’t…was about to tell you but work….”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Work, Work, Work…look at what your work has done…”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“My work?? How can you be so insensitive….?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">There was silence once again. A silence that deafened Ravi.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Geeta broke the silence saying “You may leave with Neerja if you want. I can raise our child….MY child….”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Geeta’s was interrupted when Ravi’s cell rang. He picked up the phone. It was Neerja on the other end. She sounded excited “Hey Ravi, Mr. Jaiswal has been unaffected by the news. He told me that I may do what I want. You hear that….I hope things are fine at your end…”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“No things are not fine….”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“I guess we’ll have to think about our decision once again. I love you but I’ve loved her and she loves me. Give me some more time….”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Neerja disconnected the phone.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Geeta went to work. The decision had to be Ravi’s. He sat on the swing overlooking their garden. All through the day he was lost in his thoughts. It is difficult to make a decision. He realized for the first time that making decisions would be so difficult……”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">He finally made a decision. He picked up the phone and called Neerja. He wanted to tell her what his final decision was. Some strange voice answered the phone. When asked about Neerja, the voice said “Neerja memsaab has gifted her mobile to me and said she is going forever for good.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ravi understood the reason. She didn’t want him to go through the pain of making a decision. She wanted it all to be in his mind…..<br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /> <!--[endif]--></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p>MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-1155286853565584122006-08-11T02:00:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:20:47.077-07:00Gone are the Days...<pre style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:78%;">(an e-mail forward...)<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Gone are the days...<br />When school reopened in June,<br />And we settled in our new desks and benches!<br />When we queued up in book depot,<br />And got our new books and notes!<br /><br />When we wanted two Sundays and no Mondays,<br />Yet managed to line up daily for the morning prayers.<br />We learnt writing with slates and pencils, and<br />Progressed To fountain pens and ball pens and then Micro tips!<br />When we began drawing with crayons and evolved to<br />Color pencils and finally sketch pens!<br /><br />When we started calculating first with tables and then with<br />Clarke's tables and advanced to Calculators and computers!<br />When we chased one another in the corridors in Intervals,<br />and returned to the classrooms Drenched in sweat!<br /><br />When we had lunch in classrooms, corridors, Playgrounds,<br />under the trees and even in cycle sheds!<br />When all the colors in the world,<br />Decorated the campus on the Second Saturdays!<br /><br />When a single P.T. period in the week's Time Table,<br />Was awaited more eagerly than the monsoons!<br />When cricket was played with writing pads as bats,<br />And Neckties and socks rolled into balls!<br />When few played "kabadi" and "Kho-Kho" in scorching sun,<br />While others simply played "book cricket"<br />in the Confines of classroom!<br /><br />Of fights but no conspiracies, of Competitions but seldom jealousy!<br />When we used to watch Live Cricket telecast,<br />In the opposite house in Intervals and Lunch breaks!<br />When few rushed at 3:45<br />to "Conquer" window seats in our School bus!<br />While few others had "Big Fun", "peppermint",<br />"kulfi", " milk ice !" and "sharbat !" at 4o Clock!<br /><br />Gone are the days Of Sports Day,<br />and the annual School Day ,<br />And the one-month long preparations for them.<br /><br />Gone are the days Of the stressful Quarterly,<br />Half Yearly and Annual Exams,<br />And the most enjoyed holidays after them!<br /><br />Gone are the days of tenth and twelfth standards, when<br />We Spent almost the whole year writing revision tests!<br />We learnt, We enjoyed, We played, We won, We lost, We laughed,<br />We cried, We fought, We thought.<br />With so much fun in them, so many friends,<br />So much experience, all this and more!<br /><br /><br />Gone are the days ..<br />When we used to talk for hours with our friends!<br />Now we don't have time to say a 'Hi'!<br />Gone are the days When we played games on the road!<br />Now we Code on the road with laptop!<br /><br />Gone are the days when we saw stars Shining at Night!<br />Now we see stars when our code doesn't Work!<br />Gone are the days<br />when we even troubled the girls/boys on the street!<br />now we do have girls/boys around us but<br />still dont find time to talk to them<br /><br />Gone are the days When we sat to chat with Friends on grounds!<br />Now we chat in chat rooms.....!<br />Gone are the days Where we studied just to pass!<br />Now we study to save our job!<br /><br />Gone are the days Where we had no money in our pockets<br />and still fun filled in our hearts!!<br />Now we have the atm as well as credit card<br />but with an empty heart!!<br /><br />Gone are the days Where we shouted on the road!<br />Now we don't shout even at home<br />Gone are the days Where we got lectures from all!<br />Now we give lectures to all... like the one I'm doing now....!!<br /><br />Gone are the days But not the memories, which will be<br />Lingering in our hearts for ever and ever and<br />Ever and ever and ever .....<br />Gone are the Days....<br />But still there are lot more Days to come in our Life!!<br /><br /></span><br /></pre>MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-1148587463004915442006-05-26T01:31:00.000-07:002010-08-02T23:23:53.578-07:00Have you seen 'Rang De Basanti' - Honourable HRD Minister?Our HRD Minister Mr. Arjun Singh seems to be making decisions under the influence of settling personal issues rather than considering the benefit of the entire nation. Earlier this year when IIM Bangalore suggested a proposal to set up a campus in Singapore, Mr. Singh strongly opposed it by asking them to serve the nation first and then go international. However he failed to do that, so probably to give a vent to his fuming ego, he brought in the reservation issue asking them to increase the seats by 54%. Since the IIMs and other central institutes are bound to the government, they will have to follow his directions. The move by Mr. Singh is applaudable. His so called backward friends have found a seat in the premier instutions and the IIMs have now to pay a price for their victory.<br /> But Mr. Minister, it is high time you realise that for India to be on the global map, leave the institutions to take their own decisions. Inspite of so much government interference, it is surprising that none of the IIMs feature in the top 100 B-schools of the world. Give them complete autonomy, let them go global, leave the admission criteria to them and within a matter of a few years, many institutions will compete with their global counterparts.<br /> Giving the so called backward class everything on a platter right from higher education to jobs in the industry under the pretext of them having suffered the most after 58 years of independence degrades the competition levels within the country. Many MBA aspirants like me will never dream of studying in this country which is meant for 'your downtrodden friends'. <br /> There has to be some shame left in you Mr. Minister for rejecting the pleas of so many doctors who are suffering in the scorching heat and facing the police lathis and cannons. Just assuring them that general category seats will remain the same doesn't solve the problem. Give us an answer about what would you do to maintain the competion levels. Do you think people who walk in with reservations are equally competent with those from general category? Definitely not. Citing this example - I have known an SC/ST student walk in with ease into IIM Lucknow with a meagre 72 percentile whereas general category students with 99.5 percentile also do not make it. So what kind of competition can we expect from these students. Barring a few students, the rest of the reserved students are complacent as they know that the politicians of 'their' country will never let them down. So life for them is a different ball game altogether. Doesn't that lower down the prestige of our institutions? But why should you be bothered? You just want the votes and settle personal issues.<br /> After all this that you are doing for them let me ask you one question Mr. Minister - tomorrow when you have to go through a crucial operation that would decide the fate of your life, would you allow a reserved category student who has walked into AIIMS easily without the necessary marks to operate on you or would you want to be operated by a student who has slogged to get into the instituition and has maintained its standards? I wont be surprised if your answer is no. But IF your answer is YES, then I surely believe that what you are doing is perfectly correct and my lost respect for you will find its place once again.<br /> At this age, the amount of hatred that you are amassing from the young students prompts me to ask you one last question - 'Have you seen Rang De Basanti??'. If yes, then I hope what happenned in the movie to the Defence Minister, doesn't happen to you.MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-1143655829349835882006-03-29T23:39:00.000-08:002010-08-02T23:20:47.078-07:00I will be there for you . . .When you were eight and I was nine,<br />When the days of childhood were just going fine,<br />What fascinated me were your expressions so true,<br />That was the time when I decided to be with you.<br /><br />I climbed the mountains with you,<br />I swam the oceans with you,<br />Whatever you wanna do, you do,<br />But I'll be there for you.<br /><br />When I walked down the altar with you,<br />And exchanged my first kiss with you,<br />What stole my heart were your expressions so true,<br />It was then that I promised - "I'll be there for you."<br /><br />When we slept under the skies so blue,<br />And walked on the grass wet with the morning dew,<br />I didn't even realise te closer we drew,<br />But for everything, I'd been there for you.<br /><br />Days, months, seasons, years, just flew,<br />Now is the time to bid my mortal possessions adieu,<br />But what remains immortal for me are your expressions so true,<br />'Cos I'd been there and will always be there for you.MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-1143090609824799632006-03-22T21:08:00.000-08:002010-08-02T23:20:47.079-07:00When Hell Broke Loose. . .I saw you at a secluded place,<br />Boasting your gifted dignity and grace,<br />Stood at the background of the golden sunrise,<br />Oh! How I drowned into your eyes.<br /><br />Your hair unruffled, curled and blonde,<br />Every moment made me more and more fond,<br />Seeing your femininity, I was taken by surprise,<br />Oh! How I drowned into your eyes.<br /><br />As you approached me step by step,<br />I waited there with bated breath,<br />You carried the oomph complimented by your size,<br />Oh! How I drowned into your eyes.<br /><br />The closer to me you drew,<br />Stood behind me the forest crew,<br />They feared that you would devour me,<br />With your naked body looking at me.<br /><br />A voice within me said - "Why were you a lioness oh damsel?"<br />Even after being woken up by the alarm, I couldn't tell!MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-1142841419597708142006-03-19T23:53:00.000-08:002010-08-02T23:24:25.728-07:00Happy Being the only Child? Think Again...Being the only child sans any siblings always had its advantages and disadvantages. Advantages, of course, were<br />that there was no need to share any damn thing on this earth that someone gives you. Everything was just mine.<br />There was no need to impress and flatter parents or elders for that matter to be their favourite, unlike in school where one <br />has to try to flatter the teacher to be her "pet".<br /><br />But today when I look back, I think that the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages. The selfish and self-centered <br />individual is delighted at the thought of not having to share anything, but I am someone far from that. There were so <br />many moments where I missed the company of an elder brother. I used to be really jealous of my friends who had<br />elder brothers who used to dote on them. I could never experience the pleasure of growing up with an elder brother <br />who makes the kid brother more mature than his age. I never got the opportunity of hanging around and partying with <br />friends of elder bros. Apart from that, the shell that an elder brother builds around his kid bro, who means the world to <br />him, was always missing in my case. During my growing up days, I was baffled with a lot of problems which I thought meant the world to me. But today they seem highly trivial to me. I desperately needed someone with whom I could talk to and find a solution to them. Friends of course were the only choice for me, but your aged people could never give a good solution. The solutions I got were highly immature and today when I think of them, I am broken into bouts of laughter!!! I needed someone who was elder to me and<br />who had gone through a similar phase earlier. Parents, for sure, could never be approached. Situations like these make you<br />feel the void in your life, which can be filled only with the presence of an elder sibling.<br /><br />Elder sisters are definitely more organised and they demand more discipline from the brother. They play the role of <br />your mother in her absence. I always thought sharing a room with an elder sister would be a nightmare, what with she always <br />wanting the room to be spotless, no pencil shavings on the ground, the bedsheet should be tightly pulled when you get up<br />from the bed, the toilet seat should not be left up after using it, the mirror should not have dried water spots on it, the soft<br />board should be covered with dainty feminine stuff,....phew!!! But I think an elder sister gives you a peek into the psyche<br />of a girl whom you might like. Knowing what girls like, always makes you more approachable, more likeable and more <br />popular among the fairer sex. Belonging to a boy's school, I learnt this things quite late in life, but I did learn them successfully!!<br />Though sisters threaten to complain at every move of yours, they do conceal you from those dreaded beatings. But the pain<br />when she leaves you after marrying, again leaves that void which is quite deep. You then always long for those nagging <br />comments from your sister which were the reasons for major quarrels. Inside your heart you know, that will never happen<br />for the rest of your life.<br /><br />But I must say I have been successful in building an amazing support system around myself with my cousins to whom I am no<br />less dearer than their own siblings and friends who have been more than brothers to me. But still the feeling of having someone <br />with you 24/7 while growing up was never destined to be a part of my memories....MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-1142788565915744662006-03-19T09:09:00.000-08:002010-08-02T23:20:47.080-07:00The Wait Continues...She waits near the telephone for it to ring,<br />On hearing his voice she'll have a reason to sing,<br />It's been months since she's got any news,<br />Till then the lonesome wait continues...<br /><br />A teardrop rolls down her soggy eye,<br />As she remembers his days of childhood gone by,<br />He learnt to walk holding her turmeric stained fingers,<br />The sound of him giggling in her ears still lingers.<br /><br />She remembers the mischievous smile on his face,<br />Which helped him exit every crime with grace,<br />Oh what a prankster was he,<br />But today where is he?<br /><br />There is he on the borders protecting the nation,<br />He forgets there is someone waiting for him on the station,<br />She pictures him making his way through all the guns,<br />She thinks are there wars for us to lose our sons?<br /><br />Her thoughts are broken by the telephone sound,<br />Anxiety to hear his voice makes her heart pound,<br />But Alas it was not he, whom she wanted to hear,<br />She sighs, "when will you call up oh dear?"<br />It's been months since she's got any news,<br /> Till then the lonesome wait continues...MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24298581.post-1142786006812652372006-03-19T08:32:00.000-08:002006-03-19T08:33:41.066-08:00My first blog ever . . .<meta equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 1.1.3 (Linux)"><meta name="CREATED" content="20060319;11313100"><meta name="CHANGED" content="16010101;0"> <style> <!-- @page { size: 8.27in 11.69in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Writing the first blog makes me feel more excited than the time I wrote my first exam ever. Generally on a first meeting, people like to introduce themselves, but I feel introducing oneself on a blog is highly LS. So the readers of this blog are skipped from my detailed introduction which is highly interesting!!!<br /><br />My friend Milan writes amazing blogs and he told me that writing blogs today is one of the most convinient ways of sharing information. When I started reading blogs of people, I started getting a peek into their lives, emotions, dreams, aspirations and so many hidden aspects of their sometimes turbulent sometimes smooth lives. So then I thought why not write a blog of my own and make my self more "likeable" to people who dont know me!!!<br /><br />This place is going to give me a huge space to unleash my creativity, so all those people who haven't experienced creativity for a long time now, I think you are reading the right space. I have this habit of writing melodramatic and soul stirring poems, which you guys will enjoy reading surely!!!<br /><br />I thought it is quite difficult writing a good blog, but I think the moment you start typing the words that you wanted to say to a friend, ideas keep running in and the space starts filling up. But I must say I have read some amazing blogs on blogspot and I think, we bloggers must really be grateful to blogspot for giving us our own space to express our feelings and experiences.<br /><br />With this I think I have succesfully written my first blog ever and I expect like minded people to patronise it by reading it and posting comments that would help me improve.</p>MiShhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09704602843759036091noreply@blogger.com0