be warned - this post for a change will not be from Mr.K. It will be from me. Its about me, so to make it simpler, this post will be in the first person.
this july 19th, i completed 8 years as a software professional. thought will steal a moment to pause to look back on how it has been so far and see whats ahead. there have been plenty of things i have learnt over these 8 years. here are some of them.
1. there is always someone better than you and earning more than you..so its no good comparing against others. it is more important to understand where you are with respect to what you were yesterday and to what you want to be tomorrow.
2.it matters a lot that you do the right thing always. it matters a hell lot more that you understand that only thing that is right is the thing suggested by the "powers to be". but what matters the most is you have the "right contacts"
3.the system is what it is. don't fight it. learn to flow with it and live with it and make it work for you.
4.remember, you are never as good as what they say you are. you are never as bad what they say you are. just hold your ground.
5.there is no room for friends,mates,trust and all that. most of them are pretenders. you become one too and don't feel guilty about it.
6.there could be a hundred things going wrong, a hundred people who feel hard done. listen to their woes and say "tough luck". fight only your battles.
7.life doesn't give second chances. seize the opportunities. else you will be left wondering if you get a chance when you reach heaven. it is always tough living with a feeling that "i didn't give it my all". trying and failing is always better than not trying at all.
just to sum up how these 8 years has been to me, i split them in to three parts - 3-2-3. the first 3 was all about learning, energy, results and being happy with an uncluttered mind. the middle two was tough, depressing and reached the lowest point reassembling a "dark night with no MOON around". then the GODS took pity on me and i woke up to the song "Here comes the SUN". it just made me connect to myself and feel the warmth inside. the last 3 years have definitely been on the "more better than bad" side.
whats on the anvil when the 8Th year ends?. - well, i am just going back Home..to the place where it all started.
Showing posts with label first person. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first person. Show all posts
Friday, August 03, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
strawberries, cream, grass and..
let the games begin. yes, ladies and gentleman its that time of the year. July is fast approaching and that can mean amongst many other significant happenings that we would be seeing the worlds top tennis players in their sparkling whites display their talents in the green grass of wimbledon.
wimbledon has always been more equal than the other slams. because of its history, because of its tradition, because it is british..NO, to mr.K, it is matter of simple fact - the lawns at SW19, London have always made the best players become greatest. these are the moments that stand out for mr.k
1985 - "all rise for the king, long live the king". Mr.K's first wimbledon. unforgettable and stands out in the memory till now and will always stand, a blue eyed blond german set foot in the hallowed courts of aeltc..the sparkle in his eyes, the athleticism in his legs, the deftness in his volleys and the start of "boom boom" tennis. yes ladies and gentleman - "King Boris Becker" had arrived
1990 - "all good things come in threes" and so it was the case for wimbledon finals. stefan edberg and King Boris played their last of 3 consecutive finals and what a finale it was. the genial swede played the best tennis one could ever see for first two sets. the King looked listless and helpless. sadness engulfed. then something happened. Boris during the changeover cut his hair, trimmed his stubble in the center court of all places and went on to play the tennis he only can. winners all around. un returnable serve and in no time we were at 4-4 in the final set. what a nailbiter. what a script that these guys wrote. exhilarating quality. in the end the swede walked away with the trophy deservedly. no one lost that day. tennis won
1991 - "oh baby,poor gaby". if ever there was a chance for gabriella sabatini to get one over her former doubles partner in a slam, this was the match. she had beaten her 5 successive times before this match and it looked like lucky 6 was on the cards on july 6. it turned out to be one of the best finals. drama at its best. both women had one set each. it was the final set. gaby had chance to close out at 5-4 with match points, then again 6-5. she did not. she blew it away. she lost 8-6. oh yes, her former doubles partner ended up being mrs.andre agassi, who is the subject of the next highlight
1992 - "punk meets royalty". at the start of the tournament the talk was about this young american. he had been picked by many to become one of the greatest. and yes we did have a young american against a talented croatian in the finals. the only problem was that it wasn't the american everyone predicted - Pete Sampras but rather the young punk from vegas with the game's best return of serve and a stated aversion of grass court tennis. what an incredible talent. wimbledon was one tournament everyone said that he wouldn't win. ironically it was the first that he did and he remains the only player to have all the four in open era. the showman from nevada was the last man standing. what an incredible moment, when he finally fell down on the grass to kiss it and cry. the tennis buddha was born. awesome andre.
1997 - "rivalry, what rivalry". the 97 finals was billed as the one for ages. it was the best serve vs best return of serve. discipline vs genius, serve and volley vs baseline and pass. as far as Mr.K can remember, there was only one man playing tennis that day. the other was just to fill the role of losing finalist. the tennis of the winner was as close to perfection as one could get. he was in a zone that he only could reach. what a champion - Pete Sampras
2001 - "thank you emperor, welcome the new emperor". It was the passing of key ceremony. it had to happen. it always happens in wimbledon. Borg to mcenroe, Boris to Pete and this one. it wasn't the finals. it was a quater final match up. the key to the center court was handed over. the young pretender cried at the end of the match after dethroning the emperor. it was a kodak moment. the fans applauded. pete to roger.
2001 - "good goran final arrives". the amiable croat once said "there are 3 gorans ( 3 ;)) - bad, crazy and good inside me". we saw the crazy edition in 92 and 98. the bad one at 92. in 2001, considered as the best finals ever, the good goran finally arrived in the center court. as a wildcard, he conquered many opponents but most importantly he conquered the crazy goran inside him. he finally did what he was expected to do many times and he did it when he was almost forgotten. maybe the good goran shows up only on mondays. yes the final was played on monday. for the record, it was the amiable aussie patrick rafter who endured the pain of losing a wimbledon final for second time in a row. this time in 5 sets.
The King
seven matches mr.k has listed down. but one player stands out the most. pete might be the greatest ever, roger might be the most graceful ever but no one held audience in the center court like boris. from the innocent 17 yr old to the tired old stubbled gent - he grew up in these courts. for him it was his home. it always seemed like it was the place where he left all his demons elsewhere and expressed himself. it was as if it was the only place he felt freedom. it was sheer joy and for people like mr.k it was sheer joy to see the King. it was not about his forehand, his serve, his volley. it was all about his "mystique", his "aura" and his "persona". it must have really been the only place he felt connected to himself. after his last match he went and experienced what he would later quote as "the most expensive five seconds of my life" :)
The Script that wasn't
and about the greatest of all - 7 time champion Pete. he ended his wimbledon in the court they call "graveyard of seeds" and never looked like a champion. it was the perfect script. he made it imperfect by winning the usopen that year. did he have to win the 14th grandslam. he shouldnt have. he should have stuck at 13.
wimbledon has always been more equal than the other slams. because of its history, because of its tradition, because it is british..NO, to mr.K, it is matter of simple fact - the lawns at SW19, London have always made the best players become greatest. these are the moments that stand out for mr.k
1985 - "all rise for the king, long live the king". Mr.K's first wimbledon. unforgettable and stands out in the memory till now and will always stand, a blue eyed blond german set foot in the hallowed courts of aeltc..the sparkle in his eyes, the athleticism in his legs, the deftness in his volleys and the start of "boom boom" tennis. yes ladies and gentleman - "King Boris Becker" had arrived
1990 - "all good things come in threes" and so it was the case for wimbledon finals. stefan edberg and King Boris played their last of 3 consecutive finals and what a finale it was. the genial swede played the best tennis one could ever see for first two sets. the King looked listless and helpless. sadness engulfed. then something happened. Boris during the changeover cut his hair, trimmed his stubble in the center court of all places and went on to play the tennis he only can. winners all around. un returnable serve and in no time we were at 4-4 in the final set. what a nailbiter. what a script that these guys wrote. exhilarating quality. in the end the swede walked away with the trophy deservedly. no one lost that day. tennis won
1991 - "oh baby,poor gaby". if ever there was a chance for gabriella sabatini to get one over her former doubles partner in a slam, this was the match. she had beaten her 5 successive times before this match and it looked like lucky 6 was on the cards on july 6. it turned out to be one of the best finals. drama at its best. both women had one set each. it was the final set. gaby had chance to close out at 5-4 with match points, then again 6-5. she did not. she blew it away. she lost 8-6. oh yes, her former doubles partner ended up being mrs.andre agassi, who is the subject of the next highlight
1992 - "punk meets royalty". at the start of the tournament the talk was about this young american. he had been picked by many to become one of the greatest. and yes we did have a young american against a talented croatian in the finals. the only problem was that it wasn't the american everyone predicted - Pete Sampras but rather the young punk from vegas with the game's best return of serve and a stated aversion of grass court tennis. what an incredible talent. wimbledon was one tournament everyone said that he wouldn't win. ironically it was the first that he did and he remains the only player to have all the four in open era. the showman from nevada was the last man standing. what an incredible moment, when he finally fell down on the grass to kiss it and cry. the tennis buddha was born. awesome andre.
1997 - "rivalry, what rivalry". the 97 finals was billed as the one for ages. it was the best serve vs best return of serve. discipline vs genius, serve and volley vs baseline and pass. as far as Mr.K can remember, there was only one man playing tennis that day. the other was just to fill the role of losing finalist. the tennis of the winner was as close to perfection as one could get. he was in a zone that he only could reach. what a champion - Pete Sampras
2001 - "thank you emperor, welcome the new emperor". It was the passing of key ceremony. it had to happen. it always happens in wimbledon. Borg to mcenroe, Boris to Pete and this one. it wasn't the finals. it was a quater final match up. the key to the center court was handed over. the young pretender cried at the end of the match after dethroning the emperor. it was a kodak moment. the fans applauded. pete to roger.
2001 - "good goran final arrives". the amiable croat once said "there are 3 gorans ( 3 ;)) - bad, crazy and good inside me". we saw the crazy edition in 92 and 98. the bad one at 92. in 2001, considered as the best finals ever, the good goran finally arrived in the center court. as a wildcard, he conquered many opponents but most importantly he conquered the crazy goran inside him. he finally did what he was expected to do many times and he did it when he was almost forgotten. maybe the good goran shows up only on mondays. yes the final was played on monday. for the record, it was the amiable aussie patrick rafter who endured the pain of losing a wimbledon final for second time in a row. this time in 5 sets.
The King
seven matches mr.k has listed down. but one player stands out the most. pete might be the greatest ever, roger might be the most graceful ever but no one held audience in the center court like boris. from the innocent 17 yr old to the tired old stubbled gent - he grew up in these courts. for him it was his home. it always seemed like it was the place where he left all his demons elsewhere and expressed himself. it was as if it was the only place he felt freedom. it was sheer joy and for people like mr.k it was sheer joy to see the King. it was not about his forehand, his serve, his volley. it was all about his "mystique", his "aura" and his "persona". it must have really been the only place he felt connected to himself. after his last match he went and experienced what he would later quote as "the most expensive five seconds of my life" :)
The Script that wasn't
and about the greatest of all - 7 time champion Pete. he ended his wimbledon in the court they call "graveyard of seeds" and never looked like a champion. it was the perfect script. he made it imperfect by winning the usopen that year. did he have to win the 14th grandslam. he shouldnt have. he should have stuck at 13.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
apocalypse today..a new dawn tomorrow
many of you must have heard of the new movie "apocalypto" from the highly controversial mel gibson. happened to read reviews of the movie, which in turn got me thinking about the original apocalypse movie - "apocalypse now" - a movie that is so intensely insightful about " human mind in love with hatred" that it disturbs you. if you have time to rent a good dvd, then don't miss this movie. what got mr,k interested was some of the things the characters in the movie say. reading it and re-reading it, it struck me that quite a few things hold good even for our lives. so here you go - with an absurdly cynical take on some quotes from the movie.
a) on moral ethics - on the ethics that we are taught at our schools, colleges, corporate world and how we figure out that ethics are only for good for boardroom talk - nothing more than that.
a) on moral ethics - on the ethics that we are taught at our schools, colleges, corporate world and how we figure out that ethics are only for good for boardroom talk - nothing more than that.
"We train young men to drop fire on people. But their commanders won't allow them to write "f***" on their airplanes because it's obscene!" - Col Kurtz
b) on the politikos of the world - well, nothing much left to say
"What do you call assassins who accuse assassins?" - Col Kurtz
c) on mavericks - well, for all those people who want to improve the system - don't bother improving it unless you have it in you to go the full circle."Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right. Unless you were goin' all the way. Kurtz got off the boat. He split from the whole freakin' program." - Capt Willard ( On Col.Kurtz, who finally gets his reward - death)
d) on those highly committed,successful and lowly paid people - some point of time, all of us can relate to this
f) on mission, vision and purpose
"You're an errand boy, sent by grocery clerks, to collect a bill." - Col, Kurtz
e) on most of the leaders of today - ( with due apologies to women )
"who is in charge", "In charge? I don't know, man. I'm just doing what I'm told - I'm just a working girl." - Willard
f) on mission, vision and purpose
"You are fighting for the biggest nothing in history." - Hubert
g) on endings - we humans, everyone of us loves a good ending. we pray, we yearn, we dream, we imagine, we so want to make it a happy ending only to realize that we even don't have the power to write the endings the way we wanted to.
"this is the way the world ends, this is the way sun sets, this is the way brightness dims, not with a bang but with a whimper" - T.S Elliott re-edited by Col.Kurtz further re-edited by Mr.K
but cynicism and darkness also ends only for the sun to shine again and one wakes up to a new tomorrow If.
"do you know that 'if' is the middle word in life? If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, if you are losing everything and you never breath a world about loss, if you can fill the unforgiving minute of self doubts with sixty seconds of "hold on", yours is the sun,the stars, the earth, the moon, the universe and everything in it and which will be more - you will be a man,my son" - Rudyard Kipling re-hashed by Col.Kurtz and re-framed by Mr.K
but cynicism and darkness also ends only for the sun to shine again and one wakes up to a new tomorrow If.
"do you know that 'if' is the middle word in life? If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, if you are losing everything and you never breath a world about loss, if you can fill the unforgiving minute of self doubts with sixty seconds of "hold on", yours is the sun,the stars, the earth, the moon, the universe and everything in it and which will be more - you will be a man,my son" - Rudyard Kipling re-hashed by Col.Kurtz and re-framed by Mr.K
Sunday, September 17, 2006
five years on
for this post, mr.K sheds his initials and takes the centerstage. he becomes I.
last week most of us would have read or seen in media or heard that five years have passed since the once tallest building in the world WTC came crashing down and gave a new meaning to 911. for many of the most who saw, read, heard it definitely was nothing much to ponder upon. for me, it was different as it made me have a "i was there" moment. so made me sit and post this account of my 911 story
the night before i had stayed up late at office and hence slept and woke up late. it was an important production release day. i had reached nyc couple of months back and all the work has been done and now it was to be moved live production and then everybody could have their heinekens and buds. the earlier night excursions made me miss the path train that i normally used to take everyday. i had to take the next one and maybe it was all destiny that i had to take that, cause the one that i missed was the last one to reach WTC station for that day and most people out of that train were just coming out of the station when the first plane hit the towers. fortunately, i do think that there was none out of that train who got hurt. so i was there in the next train hoping to reach office as early as possible, when the security announced that the train would stop in newport and would not go to wtc as there has been an accident at the destination site. i thought, hmmm interesting start to the day but i did not have any clue as to what is in store, took the train to the 33rd hoping i would get down at christopher and take a cab to downtown manhattan where work was. so i went on my plan. got out of the station and started walking downtown. walking in manhattan has its charm. it is a beautiful thing to do. the aroma of cofi, the bagels, the women, the empire and the wtc. but coming out of the station, the first thing i noticed as did everybody was that there was fire at the top part of wtc. rumors indicated that it was possibly a coast guard copter which hit the building. so i started walking with all vigor with nothing but production release on mind. no cab, just walked and walked till i reached city hall. and thats where i could see fbi officers along with nypd asking people to move away. thats where i stopped and saw the wtc burning and saw someone fall from the building. it was horrific. thats when it hit me that it was not just an accident but something disastrous. i always had my nikon slr with me and i took a picture immediately - (you could see it at the bottom) but then was asked to move by the officers. i had to reach my work but could not walk down broadway as it was cordoned off, so i took the tributaries and reached water street. water is about 6 blocks away from wtc. for the first time that morning, i forgot about production release, stopped at a corner, looked at wtc and wondered - "the guys who built it must have been really good, the building seems to have withstood the hit" and just about when i was giving the full stop to my thoughts, the first building fell down. i gasped, so did many near me - i couldn't fathom what was happening. it was like in movies, the tower fell down on itself and the boulders flew. i was stuck in awe and then realized that i would rather run now. the smoke covered downtown and rubbles on hand, hair etc..ran for a while and took refuge in the nyu building. thats where i could first time feel tension, real tension in the air. trust me, the eyes of everyone out there were filled with nervous energy. plenty of hot college girls but all everybody could think was "what the hell is happening". there was this bearded guy who came running like he had run from hell and he was the first one who told others that this was not just an accident but an act of "T". the tension in peoples hearts rose 100 notches higher. someone turned on the radio and there was the breaking news - "america attacked". 30 minutes we were holed up. the smokes just about cleared, everyone wanted to get out, i was no different - got out only to find the second tower go down. so back we went again inside the building. no one knew what was happening. everybody were thinking surely about GOD. then someone announced that there is a possibility that the whole lower manhattan could explode due to the poisonous gases from the steel structure and everyone need to evacuate as soon as possible. we walked out of the building, headed down. if anyone has seen the movie "siege" it was exactly what it was. only thing we did not have denzel and bruce along with us. i was thinking to myself, should i go along with all these strangers - there was this serbian guy who was totally new to nyc who was asking me directions. i guided him and then told myself the best way to be safe now was to reach the office. i did that and there was absolutely no telephone connectivity working. very few people were there. a lot of them did not turn up based on excellent advise from a certain mr.I from london :). i got a call from mr.I talking about what he is seeing in CNN. i don't exactly remember what i told him but it was something on the lines of "dude, its much more worse seeing it in person and somehow i have managed to reach office, but have no clue how we are going to get home back cause there is no transportation in nyc and we probably have to walk 100 miles to reach new jersey". the next few hours, i had made sure that i had called my siblings who were in other parts of usa at that time to tell them iam safe and also called up Hyderabad folks to inform that most of our guys are safe and sound.
finally after 4 hours or so, we heard the news that path is arranging ferry back to NJ from south street seaport. we got in to it and i can never forget how quickly the new york folks got the supplies. everyone was given a poland spring bottle and chocolate cookie. on the ferry, all we could see was smoke - there was one guy who was telling i never ever took a pic of wtc, always thought i could do it tomorrow and now there would be no tomorrow. in my case, that was probably the building that i took the most pictures - unfortunately one of them happened to be in it burning. just two weeks back, i was with few other guys at the top of the wtc and on that ferry cruise, it was all different. nyc had lost its charm. people had lost lives.
the next month and half was gloomy and dark. f16 were on nyc skies, men in uniform everywhere and swiss air went bankrupt :). this meant i had to get some weird crazy travel plans made , which made me travel via dubai. it was again another round of tension that BA told me that my luggage would not have a thru transfer to IA in dubai. i had one hour between the flights and i had no clue what to do except pack everything in my cabbin baggage. i still laugh when i see that it was 15 kgs hand luggage i carried that day. so there i was all set to fly out of nyc when cnn reported that afghan war has begun. all bridges in nyc were closed :). and my i-94 expiring that day. somehow BA did not cancel the flight and i reached JFK. they also made me happy by saying that they would do a through check in. i called up my siblings, told them things are just fine, sitting in the lobby sipping coffee and talking to a guy near me about something he wanted. next thing i notice there are 5 people waving their badges and taking the guy i was talking to for detention. it was all too much for me and all i wanted was to get in to the flight. they had sniffer dogs on my flight and finally it started an hour late. and i can't explain how much of a relief i had that day when finally after transiting via london and dubai, i reached hyderabad.
ps: 5 years later, i had again gone this time to usa. happened to work with a guy who used to work with cantor, who fortunately went late to his office that day only to see there was no office anymore and lost lot of his friends. and Ground Zero looks like a automobile junkyard. pity to think that there stood once the world's most inspirational building.
last week most of us would have read or seen in media or heard that five years have passed since the once tallest building in the world WTC came crashing down and gave a new meaning to 911. for many of the most who saw, read, heard it definitely was nothing much to ponder upon. for me, it was different as it made me have a "i was there" moment. so made me sit and post this account of my 911 story
the night before i had stayed up late at office and hence slept and woke up late. it was an important production release day. i had reached nyc couple of months back and all the work has been done and now it was to be moved live production and then everybody could have their heinekens and buds. the earlier night excursions made me miss the path train that i normally used to take everyday. i had to take the next one and maybe it was all destiny that i had to take that, cause the one that i missed was the last one to reach WTC station for that day and most people out of that train were just coming out of the station when the first plane hit the towers. fortunately, i do think that there was none out of that train who got hurt. so i was there in the next train hoping to reach office as early as possible, when the security announced that the train would stop in newport and would not go to wtc as there has been an accident at the destination site. i thought, hmmm interesting start to the day but i did not have any clue as to what is in store, took the train to the 33rd hoping i would get down at christopher and take a cab to downtown manhattan where work was. so i went on my plan. got out of the station and started walking downtown. walking in manhattan has its charm. it is a beautiful thing to do. the aroma of cofi, the bagels, the women, the empire and the wtc. but coming out of the station, the first thing i noticed as did everybody was that there was fire at the top part of wtc. rumors indicated that it was possibly a coast guard copter which hit the building. so i started walking with all vigor with nothing but production release on mind. no cab, just walked and walked till i reached city hall. and thats where i could see fbi officers along with nypd asking people to move away. thats where i stopped and saw the wtc burning and saw someone fall from the building. it was horrific. thats when it hit me that it was not just an accident but something disastrous. i always had my nikon slr with me and i took a picture immediately - (you could see it at the bottom) but then was asked to move by the officers. i had to reach my work but could not walk down broadway as it was cordoned off, so i took the tributaries and reached water street. water is about 6 blocks away from wtc. for the first time that morning, i forgot about production release, stopped at a corner, looked at wtc and wondered - "the guys who built it must have been really good, the building seems to have withstood the hit" and just about when i was giving the full stop to my thoughts, the first building fell down. i gasped, so did many near me - i couldn't fathom what was happening. it was like in movies, the tower fell down on itself and the boulders flew. i was stuck in awe and then realized that i would rather run now. the smoke covered downtown and rubbles on hand, hair etc..ran for a while and took refuge in the nyu building. thats where i could first time feel tension, real tension in the air. trust me, the eyes of everyone out there were filled with nervous energy. plenty of hot college girls but all everybody could think was "what the hell is happening". there was this bearded guy who came running like he had run from hell and he was the first one who told others that this was not just an accident but an act of "T". the tension in peoples hearts rose 100 notches higher. someone turned on the radio and there was the breaking news - "america attacked". 30 minutes we were holed up. the smokes just about cleared, everyone wanted to get out, i was no different - got out only to find the second tower go down. so back we went again inside the building. no one knew what was happening. everybody were thinking surely about GOD. then someone announced that there is a possibility that the whole lower manhattan could explode due to the poisonous gases from the steel structure and everyone need to evacuate as soon as possible. we walked out of the building, headed down. if anyone has seen the movie "siege" it was exactly what it was. only thing we did not have denzel and bruce along with us. i was thinking to myself, should i go along with all these strangers - there was this serbian guy who was totally new to nyc who was asking me directions. i guided him and then told myself the best way to be safe now was to reach the office. i did that and there was absolutely no telephone connectivity working. very few people were there. a lot of them did not turn up based on excellent advise from a certain mr.I from london :). i got a call from mr.I talking about what he is seeing in CNN. i don't exactly remember what i told him but it was something on the lines of "dude, its much more worse seeing it in person and somehow i have managed to reach office, but have no clue how we are going to get home back cause there is no transportation in nyc and we probably have to walk 100 miles to reach new jersey". the next few hours, i had made sure that i had called my siblings who were in other parts of usa at that time to tell them iam safe and also called up Hyderabad folks to inform that most of our guys are safe and sound.
finally after 4 hours or so, we heard the news that path is arranging ferry back to NJ from south street seaport. we got in to it and i can never forget how quickly the new york folks got the supplies. everyone was given a poland spring bottle and chocolate cookie. on the ferry, all we could see was smoke - there was one guy who was telling i never ever took a pic of wtc, always thought i could do it tomorrow and now there would be no tomorrow. in my case, that was probably the building that i took the most pictures - unfortunately one of them happened to be in it burning. just two weeks back, i was with few other guys at the top of the wtc and on that ferry cruise, it was all different. nyc had lost its charm. people had lost lives.
the next month and half was gloomy and dark. f16 were on nyc skies, men in uniform everywhere and swiss air went bankrupt :). this meant i had to get some weird crazy travel plans made , which made me travel via dubai. it was again another round of tension that BA told me that my luggage would not have a thru transfer to IA in dubai. i had one hour between the flights and i had no clue what to do except pack everything in my cabbin baggage. i still laugh when i see that it was 15 kgs hand luggage i carried that day. so there i was all set to fly out of nyc when cnn reported that afghan war has begun. all bridges in nyc were closed :). and my i-94 expiring that day. somehow BA did not cancel the flight and i reached JFK. they also made me happy by saying that they would do a through check in. i called up my siblings, told them things are just fine, sitting in the lobby sipping coffee and talking to a guy near me about something he wanted. next thing i notice there are 5 people waving their badges and taking the guy i was talking to for detention. it was all too much for me and all i wanted was to get in to the flight. they had sniffer dogs on my flight and finally it started an hour late. and i can't explain how much of a relief i had that day when finally after transiting via london and dubai, i reached hyderabad.
ps: 5 years later, i had again gone this time to usa. happened to work with a guy who used to work with cantor, who fortunately went late to his office that day only to see there was no office anymore and lost lot of his friends. and Ground Zero looks like a automobile junkyard. pity to think that there stood once the world's most inspirational building.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
on memoirs..
"someday, when i am awfully low
swept under cold wind's blow
in darkness, i will feel a glow
when memoirs of you flow"
--- Amaterasu-ō-mi-kami ( date unknown / place unknown )
happened to come across the writing above few weeks back. was impressed by the four lines - more so considering the fact that Ms. ō-mi-kami considers this as her first attempt at english soulful writing.
mr.k's thought on this was that it was almost like "vikram Seth doing a collaborative piece with eminem".
so soulful in its lyric like seth yet so hip-hoppish like eminem in its texture..
swept under cold wind's blow
in darkness, i will feel a glow
when memoirs of you flow"
--- Amaterasu-ō-mi-kami ( date unknown / place unknown )
happened to come across the writing above few weeks back. was impressed by the four lines - more so considering the fact that Ms. ō-mi-kami considers this as her first attempt at english soulful writing.
mr.k's thought on this was that it was almost like "vikram Seth doing a collaborative piece with eminem".
so soulful in its lyric like seth yet so hip-hoppish like eminem in its texture..
Friday, April 07, 2006
Boring?Interesting?Same Old
that was the question posed by SS to Mr.K about his present stay in the "land of liberty"....all questions find answers..this one finds itself a blog.
Mr.K was going through a writers block -even pleaded with google/msn/yahoo for help by asking them "i dunno what to blog, can you help me" - and what did these "triumvirate of Seek Information Inc" tell me..they gave me peep in to blogs of depressed, bored and sad people..the interesting thing was most of these blogs were from south east asian girls..Maybe boredom and depressions runs deep in those parts of the world. I wasn't surprised that these giants of electronic search tried selling “boredom and depression". Once you sell "BaD", you could sell everything in this world to drive it and you could have for yourself a sect of addicted customers.
oops, there we go in to detours - the blog was supposed to answer the "?"<> , so lets see what’s been happening with Mr.K in "Garden State - 07960". {remember Beverly Hills 90210}
Mr.K set foot on "stars and stripes" nation at the airport named after the most charismatic president of this country (Sorry Miss Lewinski, your Mr.President loses out in my opinion)..it is quite appropriate that JFK airport is in NYC. New York, New York with its Manhattan and wonderful Hudson and Bridges brings out an energy that needs to be experienced. It is a city, which never sleeps and where dreams meet reality. On the way, Mr.K passed through Downtown and Hoboken. It was nostalgia (okay i abused this word..its not as if Mr.K was seeing Hoboken after 30 years )..anyways the hotel where Mr.K is put up is a very good one. its a nice suite with kitchenette..his place of work is about 3 miles from the hotel. the hotel shuttle takes care of his commute. His weekends are spent in "that college town where Mr.Einstein and Mr.Nash became famous". It is such a beautiful, quaint town that one falls in love instantly with the place.
Weekdays are at work and work is work..it is like a sandwich , no lets do it again --it is like a burrito, which has its share of beans (boredom), rice (rewards), lettuce(long hours) and yes lots of salsa (satisfaction). Work is something that you keep doing to KO people and in the end of the day you finish it all and end up KO and that is why my friends i equate Work to Burrito - cause there is this legend in the "the lone star state" about the Sparrow that had a "Burrito 'a't one go" and got KOd and found a "nurterer"..anyways my friends, Mr.K has always believed "work while you work and play while you play" and we will talk about his "texas hold em" poker nite. This was the first time he was playing the game and so were few other people. It was an awesome nite, with apple martini and sangria ( cocktail of red wine, vodka, rum, triplesec, strawberry) and a reference rules book. The game started with 8 participants and 10$ entry..Mr.K had the rookie luck and won the first round..it looked like a good day to play poker..and after that round after round Mr.K kept losing money till the most amazing round of the nite was played..it was a high stakes, high voltage round - from a starting bet of quarter, it was left to 3 people fighting out..the stakes reached 4$ each for two rounds..and then it was mutually decided that the round should end as 2 of the 3 would end up losing quite an amount..cards were turned and "rookie luck again", Mr.K beat the others in the smallest of margins and won 34$ ..after further rounds of cards and awesome domino's pizzas and company politics till 2ish in the morning, Mr.K ended up richer by 20$..it was a game of luck and as the nite ended, there was one guy who said something profound " it is better to be born lucky than smart"
At the place where Mr.K is put up, there are loads of sales people of the firm who turn up for the training..and lots of them are just stunning looking ladies..so the evening is always quite interesting - tell you what, from Beer Ads to Cars to Cosmetics to now Payroll, Good Looking Women know how to sell..don't call me retarded, but it is a fact that beauty is as powerful as brains..Looks like "if it is better to be born lucky, it is even better to be born good looking"
how can i not write about that beautiful white thing that is now in possession of Mr.K. Yes, for all those electronic wizkids, i am talking about that cool IPOD (Iconic Personal Object of Delight ) [wow i made up something that Mr.Jobs would love to hear]..and this one plays video to boot..its cool and yes it is a gift. "its better to be born lucky, even better to be born good looking and a lot more better if you work for a client who gifts"
so we see Mr.K is having a fairly interesting time till now, and the NBA play-offs are about to start with atleast 6 teams having a chance to win it all..Mr. K is hoping that the New Jersey Nets can be that team, but it would not surprise me if is going to be either the Pistons or Spurs who take home the trophy. The baseball season has also begun and that makes me think how i wish i was Derek Jeter - "the guy who has everything..and still be humble enough that most american men have picked him the guy that they would like their gf to date"..
and oh ya before Mr.K forgets the question posed, he thinks that the stay till now has been a mixture of Interesting and boring - mostly of the former - but definitely not same old..the moments one experiences are never the same old..its always new and always different, and before we say "Good Night, Good Luck", talking of moments, Mr.K saw "Lamhe" one more time few weeks back and wonders yet again, if it was one of the most beautiful movie that was far too early in its times to succeed.
and "tujhe tujhe dekh sona" plays in that white little music player..
ps: the length of this blog got inspired by manhattan :)
Mr.K was going through a writers block -even pleaded with google/msn/yahoo for help by asking them "i dunno what to blog, can you help me" - and what did these "triumvirate of Seek Information Inc" tell me..they gave me peep in to blogs of depressed, bored and sad people..the interesting thing was most of these blogs were from south east asian girls..Maybe boredom and depressions runs deep in those parts of the world. I wasn't surprised that these giants of electronic search tried selling “boredom and depression". Once you sell "BaD", you could sell everything in this world to drive it and you could have for yourself a sect of addicted customers.
oops, there we go in to detours - the blog was supposed to answer the "?"<> , so lets see what’s been happening with Mr.K in "Garden State - 07960". {remember Beverly Hills 90210}
Mr.K set foot on "stars and stripes" nation at the airport named after the most charismatic president of this country (Sorry Miss Lewinski, your Mr.President loses out in my opinion)..it is quite appropriate that JFK airport is in NYC. New York, New York with its Manhattan and wonderful Hudson and Bridges brings out an energy that needs to be experienced. It is a city, which never sleeps and where dreams meet reality. On the way, Mr.K passed through Downtown and Hoboken. It was nostalgia (okay i abused this word..its not as if Mr.K was seeing Hoboken after 30 years )..anyways the hotel where Mr.K is put up is a very good one. its a nice suite with kitchenette..his place of work is about 3 miles from the hotel. the hotel shuttle takes care of his commute. His weekends are spent in "that college town where Mr.Einstein and Mr.Nash became famous". It is such a beautiful, quaint town that one falls in love instantly with the place.
Weekdays are at work and work is work..it is like a sandwich , no lets do it again --it is like a burrito, which has its share of beans (boredom), rice (rewards), lettuce(long hours) and yes lots of salsa (satisfaction). Work is something that you keep doing to KO people and in the end of the day you finish it all and end up KO and that is why my friends i equate Work to Burrito - cause there is this legend in the "the lone star state" about the Sparrow that had a "Burrito 'a't one go" and got KOd and found a "nurterer"..anyways my friends, Mr.K has always believed "work while you work and play while you play" and we will talk about his "texas hold em" poker nite. This was the first time he was playing the game and so were few other people. It was an awesome nite, with apple martini and sangria ( cocktail of red wine, vodka, rum, triplesec, strawberry) and a reference rules book. The game started with 8 participants and 10$ entry..Mr.K had the rookie luck and won the first round..it looked like a good day to play poker..and after that round after round Mr.K kept losing money till the most amazing round of the nite was played..it was a high stakes, high voltage round - from a starting bet of quarter, it was left to 3 people fighting out..the stakes reached 4$ each for two rounds..and then it was mutually decided that the round should end as 2 of the 3 would end up losing quite an amount..cards were turned and "rookie luck again", Mr.K beat the others in the smallest of margins and won 34$ ..after further rounds of cards and awesome domino's pizzas and company politics till 2ish in the morning, Mr.K ended up richer by 20$..it was a game of luck and as the nite ended, there was one guy who said something profound " it is better to be born lucky than smart"
At the place where Mr.K is put up, there are loads of sales people of the firm who turn up for the training..and lots of them are just stunning looking ladies..so the evening is always quite interesting - tell you what, from Beer Ads to Cars to Cosmetics to now Payroll, Good Looking Women know how to sell..don't call me retarded, but it is a fact that beauty is as powerful as brains..Looks like "if it is better to be born lucky, it is even better to be born good looking"
how can i not write about that beautiful white thing that is now in possession of Mr.K. Yes, for all those electronic wizkids, i am talking about that cool IPOD (Iconic Personal Object of Delight ) [wow i made up something that Mr.Jobs would love to hear]..and this one plays video to boot..its cool and yes it is a gift. "its better to be born lucky, even better to be born good looking and a lot more better if you work for a client who gifts"
so we see Mr.K is having a fairly interesting time till now, and the NBA play-offs are about to start with atleast 6 teams having a chance to win it all..Mr. K is hoping that the New Jersey Nets can be that team, but it would not surprise me if is going to be either the Pistons or Spurs who take home the trophy. The baseball season has also begun and that makes me think how i wish i was Derek Jeter - "the guy who has everything..and still be humble enough that most american men have picked him the guy that they would like their gf to date"..
and oh ya before Mr.K forgets the question posed, he thinks that the stay till now has been a mixture of Interesting and boring - mostly of the former - but definitely not same old..the moments one experiences are never the same old..its always new and always different, and before we say "Good Night, Good Luck", talking of moments, Mr.K saw "Lamhe" one more time few weeks back and wonders yet again, if it was one of the most beautiful movie that was far too early in its times to succeed.
and "tujhe tujhe dekh sona" plays in that white little music player..
ps: the length of this blog got inspired by manhattan :)
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
On The Waterfront..
After a brief hiatus, which turned out to be not so brief in the end, Mr.K (on most legal documents, he goes by initials KS...but since it sounds stupid, he shall be called only Mr.K by us) is spotted again in blogspot. Much has changed since the last time we read Mr.K's musings..LPY's reign ended in Bihar, Indian cricket is rising unlike Mangal Pandey, Mr.PG ran in 10K, Mr.I,Mr.SBR,Mr.VKM are now working out of "The Firm's" new world class facility..well the list is long..just about everything and everyone is changing - and some changes just leave you wondering "do ppl even realise that they have changed"..
Anyways since we are on "changes", another thing that has changed is the "The City's" famous necklace. She now has a new hangout place just adjacent to the appropriately named "Ini-Mini" street. Its a nice waterside bistro identified as "Waterfront". Mr. I and Mr.SBR had given very positive reviews about the place and this prompted Mr.K to suggest the place to a friend of his for the friend's bday dinner. The plan was hatched and the execution set for few days later.
The hostess, host and the guest were fortunate enough to get a table just overlooking the "Lake HS"..the sky was starry and the the water as calm as the Buddha..the restaraunt has a nice ambience and a very nice "pier" feel to it. The lighting could be better and definitely more tables than desired. This makes one feel that people are not just eating the food but also the space. Thank heavens - literally for getting a spot near the water..then one can gaze at the stars.. thank heavens also for the fact that it was a "table for three"..Mr.K has been left with no answers to Mrs and Mr.M always for the empty fourth seat.
The conversation as always bordered from the latest personal happenings to inane howlers and just about everything from home loans to C&H and Marvin in "hitch hikers guide to galaxy"..there was a considerable amount of time spent on the significance of the number 2 in Mr.K's life..Mrs.M - the big fan waxed eloquent on Mr.Seth's writings and could not understand how Mr.M and Mr.K could find the hitchhikers a fascinating book. Girls, Guys, Money were "the usual suspects" in the conversation over the food..and food i must say was very good. Anyone who is fond of Seafood should try the chilli flavoured fish..the accompaniments was most wonderful - specifically the live music. The musicians played various tunes - from Godfather to Woh Raatein Woh Lamhe..to sum it up, the place is very good - just as a good glass of "French White Wine" - it grows on you till you realise that the clocks have not co-operated with you.
"The Waterfront" restaraunt is just as worth experiencing as the powerful Kazan's movie "On the Waterfront", which propelled Marlon Brando to be "The Godfather" years later. Its an experience which doesn't "touche" you and doesnt create "fusion -9 senses" but leaves you feeling pleased.
For "Coyotes" who are stuck in "intrigue" wish they could slow down a little and be in Feel Good Inc ever. They must start making their own shoes, stop dancing to music of Gorillaz in happy mood and keep a mild groove on..
Livestrong..
Anyways since we are on "changes", another thing that has changed is the "The City's" famous necklace. She now has a new hangout place just adjacent to the appropriately named "Ini-Mini" street. Its a nice waterside bistro identified as "Waterfront". Mr. I and Mr.SBR had given very positive reviews about the place and this prompted Mr.K to suggest the place to a friend of his for the friend's bday dinner. The plan was hatched and the execution set for few days later.
The hostess, host and the guest were fortunate enough to get a table just overlooking the "Lake HS"..the sky was starry and the the water as calm as the Buddha..the restaraunt has a nice ambience and a very nice "pier" feel to it. The lighting could be better and definitely more tables than desired. This makes one feel that people are not just eating the food but also the space. Thank heavens - literally for getting a spot near the water..then one can gaze at the stars.. thank heavens also for the fact that it was a "table for three"..Mr.K has been left with no answers to Mrs and Mr.M always for the empty fourth seat.
The conversation as always bordered from the latest personal happenings to inane howlers and just about everything from home loans to C&H and Marvin in "hitch hikers guide to galaxy"..there was a considerable amount of time spent on the significance of the number 2 in Mr.K's life..Mrs.M - the big fan waxed eloquent on Mr.Seth's writings and could not understand how Mr.M and Mr.K could find the hitchhikers a fascinating book. Girls, Guys, Money were "the usual suspects" in the conversation over the food..and food i must say was very good. Anyone who is fond of Seafood should try the chilli flavoured fish..the accompaniments was most wonderful - specifically the live music. The musicians played various tunes - from Godfather to Woh Raatein Woh Lamhe..to sum it up, the place is very good - just as a good glass of "French White Wine" - it grows on you till you realise that the clocks have not co-operated with you.
"The Waterfront" restaraunt is just as worth experiencing as the powerful Kazan's movie "On the Waterfront", which propelled Marlon Brando to be "The Godfather" years later. Its an experience which doesn't "touche" you and doesnt create "fusion -9 senses" but leaves you feeling pleased.
For "Coyotes" who are stuck in "intrigue" wish they could slow down a little and be in Feel Good Inc ever. They must start making their own shoes, stop dancing to music of Gorillaz in happy mood and keep a mild groove on..
Livestrong..
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
The Blog Name
Inside Scoop on my name..
My Humble Origin - The Blog Speaks
It was the "Day After" the day the rain gods cried their tears away on "The City". Turns out that someone was making a nice Justin Timberlake impersonation and singing "Cry me a River" and the Gods Obliged. Coming in the aftermath of the "Terrible Floods Caused By Rain in the City where actors go underworld" and the "The city of Mardi Gras left with less than whats on the parade girls by Hurricane K" - the scars left behind in "The City" was a lot less CNN friendly.. It just left behind few people feeling extremely cold.
The "Day After" was the day i was conceived and i didnt have to wait nine months to see the light cause "the dude who is typing what you reading" thought he had "time to kill", so here i am in front of you all.
"The Naamkaran Ceremony"
One of the most unfair thing in this universe is that the one whose naming ceremony is being celebrated never gets a chance to talk and they are left in the mercy of the creative minds of their conceivers and anyone who has even a dotted line relationship to them to come up with a name that they can be proud of. It is pretty tensed affair. It wasn't different for me. So let me tell you all what transpired.
One of the positive things about mine was that there were only three participants - so my expectation was that it would be over quickly and i would have a nice little name for myself. The damn thing was that it was the time on which the "Performance Appraisals" of our three muskeeters was in progress and it turned out that their "Bosses" also said the same thing to them like i did "Expectations Not Met".
It happened over a Phone Conference. The guy whose name shows up in my profile link (Mr.K) was discussing with Mr. INF and Mr.SBR ( I would have called him SB - but it didn't sound quite right to call him that ) about coffee, cricket, land property, appraisals, promotions etc etc etc and then it came to the task of naming me. I could go on and on about Mr.K but i would keep it crisp and short by telling you all that he is a Cancerian. Mr.INF is a sort of guy who is extremely confused about his origins - he is not sure if he is Spanish or Portuguese and he is the guy who "The Firm"'s managing director always needs to keep a eye on - both of them are good "Storytellers". Mr.SBR is a very nice guy who has always done most of the things right in his life except maybe the car he bought.
Well i know you are already feeling sorry for me and maybe some of the "Fairer Ones" are already searching for your hankies. Mr. K started out with informing the others - guys i got it, i am going to name him "Confessions of a Occupied Mind" and he was immediately given an info by Mr.SBR that the name sounds like one of those movies which falls under the genre of the movies like the one in "which Joey walks across the street". Mr.K then said okay guys - i need to name it with things that i can relate to - like how about "Camels,Trucks and Fish" or "The desert transporter" or "Silent Cacophony". All of them were real nice names, but the other two were jealous everytime Mr.K came up with his incredibly creative suggestions like "Bittersweet five cents" or "Where i end and you begin" and "Place for my head" and "Comfortably Numb". Probably the best suggestion came from Mr.INF, the ashes fever was still on the rumblings in Ozland was still being discussed and maybe this influenced him. He wanted to honour those who were held responsible for "The Original Sin - Losing Ashes" (I know a lot of people are thinking of Angelina Jolie now ) - Marto, Haydos, Dizzy and Kasper. So his suggestion was that since my birth was co-inciding with their "professional last days", i should be named "Haydos,Marto,Dizzy, Kasper and Me" - only one problem, i just don't think it would have been possible for me to get my tickets booked if i had such a big name. So it was over-ruled and discussions carried forward. Mr.SBR - the nice guy he is, he couldn't widen his thinking and kept on insisting i should be named with "Hindi word for Cottage Cheese" - he added a lot of suffixes to it like Corner, Confessions etc etc. Mr.K was not amused with the help he was getting. He thought of keeping it simple like "Scribblings" ( In hindsight its a nice one ), "Random Notes from Underground", "The Idiot" etc etc. One of the worst suggestions of the ceremony was Mr.SBR's "Careless Whisper" - Damn - linking me with George Michael of all people.
The Headway - The End
Finally guys started making some headway. Mr.INF reminded the importance of "Doormats" to everyday life and suggested "The Doormat to the Mind", Mr.K said how about "The Doormat Speaks" - I was thinking "WTF", he is a doormat - not me, why should i be named Doormat. Actually Mr.K stole my mind's thoughts, gave a wicked smile to himself and said why not "WTF". But then he realised that it would confuse me a lot cause everyone in this world everyday keep saying "WTF" and i would have thought, is that stranger calling me ?.
After 60 minutes of mindless chatter, the ceremony ended without me being named. The conference ended, Mr.K then simply decided to name me "Sun, Moon, Coffee, Chatter"...he had a reason too.. Sun cause it is the source of everything ( i intend to be one ), Moon cause it reflects ( Reflection is .... ), Coffee cause it invigorates (i hope to ) and Chatter ( You Will )...
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