year 2008

Jan 1 : don't remember!!!
Jan 20: submitted my diploma document. :)
Feb : apply apply, no reply!!! :(
Feb 14: hahahaha
Feb 28: mosh's wedding... and I couldn't go! :(
March: on the verge of leaving hope... am I too demanding and specific about job? :(
March 24: something special.. <3... finally... :) :) :)
March 25: one more special ... my first day of job as a designer... almost the way I wanted!!! :)
April 8: my first designer salary! :)
May 8: started loan repayment. :)
May 25: My first earned gift for my parents' wedding anniversary. :)
May : got my dream gift from mosh... guitar!!! :)
June: Joined guitar classes.. :)
June: attended the only 3 classes after paying for 3 months!!! :(
June: searched a lot for flat on rent! :(
June: Managed to bring my bike form mumbai... hoodibabaaaaa... :)
June 30: almost homeless!!! :(
July 2: shifted in a new flat... surprisingly nice... :) :)
Aug : dnt remember.. routine may be... :(
Sept : searching for a nice gift is a biggggg task... :)
Oct 3: mom and dad came to my flat first time.... made it look like 'home' :)
Oct : sid went his home for treatment of jaundice.... :(
Nov: Sid still not well... and me alone in this big flat! :(
Nov 4: Lord of the streets arrived.. my new sexy bike Yamaha FZ16 :)
Nov : waiting for convocation ceremony and classmates and... ummm... :)
Nov 30: shweta got married!!! damn.... couldnt go there as well... :(
Dec : Pavan's superbike accident... :( :(
Dec 8: convocation.... finally....:)
Dec 8: after a long long time... cried from the bottom of heart... :( :(
Dec : almost everybody I care for is settled... almost... people are struggling to be in touch with each other... not that everyone is happy for everything and everyone... but yes.... things have changed a lot this year... I have started writing on my blog quite regularly instead of writing senti poems (hahah)...
me and sid manage to go for rides almost every sunday.. explore ahmedabad and around.....
So much has happened this year!!!! personally it was a lot better than 2007 for me...
Sometimes we run out of fuel.... manage to search for a nearby fuel station somehow.... and we are ready for next ride....
keep riding.....
:)
Hope to see more :) and less :( this year...
very very happy new year to everybody...
:)

crowd at 'adalaj ni wowwww'

Sid being out of station, I am not supposed to explore any new place (supposedly DHOLKA) this sunday! I took this opportunity to go to 'Adalaj ni vav' (stepwell, some 27 km from NID) which almost everyone in ahmedabad has already seen.
Surprisingly this was quite a big and wrong assumption of mine. During the 3 hrs we (Purva and I) spent there today morning around 150 school kids and 30 other gujaratis visited the place. At one time the place looked (and sounded) so crowded that I immediately escaped to the ground level from bottom-most level for fresh air. (after some time I found Purva climbing up with a very very sad face, the reason being ' there was a very nice (small) boy in the crowd whom she tried to photograph under the sunlight from main opening of well, but his teacher just took him away with her. I quietly listened to this atleast 4 times on our way back! so the boy must be really NICE!!!)
Anyway, this place being so popular and very much photographed already, I am just posting few random and hopefully strange photographs here.

(and don't miss the photograph with a horse sculpted in a row of elephants may be because there was no enough space for one more elephant!!! )

(CLICK to enlarge)

'Salaam Bombay' by Mira Nair

This quite old (1988) movie is dedicated to the children on the streets of Bombay.

Everything (almost) in this movie feels so real, as if not even the smallest kid is 'acting'. Manju, the little daughter of a prostitute, krishna, the small boy struggling to earn Rs.500 so that he can go to his hometown, and those boys living life of roadside 'gundas' or 'mawalis'... all of them just fit perfectly in their own roles, very naturally. Reminds me of DoorDarshan (DD) TV serials in childhood. And why not, there are actors from DD!

This movie, unlike others shows a little different image of Bombay. That of more like a 'trap' and helplessness than 'attraction' or 'addiction' or 'wealthy and fascinating city'.

There are certain sequences which are very hard to forget for me.

e.g. the one in which manju's mother asks the lady authority ' Wo meri beti hai, government 'ma' kaise ban sakti hai?'

and the one in which krishna returns to his adda from remand home and finds a 'new' boy who calls himself 'chillam'. For everyone in and outside movie, chillam was a character who died some 20 minute back in the movie. Everyone is replaceable!!! individual doesn't matter to city, its just a personal matter!!!

Reminds me of many children singing songs and begging and selling something or the other inside local railway compartments...

The movie doesn't give any solution, but it does a better job, of making you think!!!

Somehow I am attracted towards 'Teach IndiA' campaign even more strongly.

Today I learnt..

that more than one's skills, talent, abilities, health and wealth, it is ATTITUDE what actually shows in the final result or work output.
I see people who are capable of much more than what they actually do. It's just the lack of right attitude and willingness to do good work than actual abilities!

joy of painting....

Moving ahead from painting our imaginations on paper or on screen.... to actually painting the vehicle panels ( with dirty primer coat on them) is just an awesome experience!!!!! seeing the body changing its colour gradually with fluid movement of the air gun around it can't be described in words... The smell of spray, the magical motion of hands holding the gun, the sexy waterfall just behind the slowly advancing body panels (to dissolve and wash away the extra paint spray) and the result!!! the wet glossy paint on vehicle... wowwwwwww... even the way these body panels are arranged on the fixtures hanging from the moving conveyor look like dynamic sculptures!!! I was so overwhelmed by the experience that I actually enquired about the training for it to the paintshop head!!!!! hope I actually end up setting up a small paintshop at R&D and then PAINT the plastic panels!!!! wowww feels so nice...
I fell in love with colours all over again!!!!
:)

The fastest woman in the world on two wheels....

The 32-year-old Leslie Porterfield, who rode her modified Suzuki Hayabusa at the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials, hitting an impressive 374.715km/h is now officially the fastest female motorcyclist in the US. Leslie, who’s broken various land speed records and who’s actually the first woman to enter the Bonneville 200mph Club on a conventional motorcycle, has been riding bikes for 16 years.

‘I’m hopelessly hooked on motorcycles – I truly love motorcycles and the people involved in motorcycling,’ says Leslie, who’s also an entrepreneur and owns High Five Cycles, a used motorcycles dealership in Dallas.

On her everyday street rides

"I have several bikes. Most of the time I ride my 2008 CBR1000, or my Ducati 998. I also have a CRF450 motard bike that I zip through town on. It's such a hooligan bike! I try to keep my high speed on the salt at Bonneville. I will say that I've had a few too many speeding tickets, and maybe one or two in the triple digits. But that was a long time ago!"

Yo Leslie!!!!

:)

(from FasterAndFaster blog)

The worst part 2.....

I baught a new pendrive day before yesterday... a new and slick one..:)
few minutes ago Sid told me he found my pendrive in his bag!!!! :(
Is there any word or phrase for this situation?
(Apart from 'the worst part 2')
may be there is.....
i call it 'hahahaha'...
:)

The worst part of losing.....

Few days ago I lost my pen-drive. It had some data in it. I don't remember exactly what. And thats the worst part of it.
I don't know what I lost!!!

आणि मी...

न अंदाज कुठले, न अवधान काही
कुठे जायचे यायचे भान नाही
जसा गंध निघतो हवेच्या प्रवासा
न कुठले नकाशे न अनुमान काही

which software?

Part of conversation between me and a newly joined colleague. He joined as an engineer in R&D of Induction Furnace division. He had seen me test-riding one prototype.
He: so you are in auto division?
me: yes.
He: R&D?
me: yes R&D.
He: mechanical or electrical?
me: no no.. not the engineering R&D. Actually I am in Design Studio. I am an Industrial Designer.
He: Oh you are a designer!! WHICH SOFTWARE?
me: ummmmmmm......
me: ummmmm... (photoshop?, corel? rhino? alias sketchbook? hahahahaha...)

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Valentino Rossi

What’s better than just having Angelina Jolie for your wife? Having Angelina Jolie also sponsor your motorcycle habit, that’s what. According to In Touch magazine, old man Brad will soon be turning 45 and to celebrate, Angie is giving him a Ducati Monster 1100 as a birthday present. Brad, who already has a Desmosedici RR, is a big motorcycle buff and even says he wants to be like Valentino Rossi.

Speaking to Riders magazine recently, Pitt said ‘We are both in the public eye and it is rare for us to have big heroes, but I have one who I put above everyone else – Valentino Rossi. I would give anything to be like him!’‘He is always cool. He seems to have a calmness which is almost beyond human. He can do the impossible. He looks like he weighs 30 kilos and yet he is able to stick to the asphalt without crashing. He looks like he is dancing when he rides, it is pure poetry,’ says Pitt, who’s obviously besotted with 'The Doctor’s' talent.

(from faster and faster blog)

when it does mean it!

jo bhi dukh yaad na tha yaad aaya,
aaj na jaane ye kya yaad aayaa.
Yaad aaya tha bichhadna tera,
fir nahi yaad ke kya yaad aaya!...

Most of the times there is nothing 'filmi' in films... it comes somewhere from real life only...
If you have experienced it, you will know what it means!!!
Like the above gazal by Hariharan in album 'Hazir'.
It says so much... no other words can express it so well... except your own experience!

wowwwwwwww... :)

It's feeling soooo nice!!!!
:)
finally... the convocation day... :) starting tomorrow morning!!!...
More exciting is the fact that by tomorrow morning all my batchmates will be around!!!!
Great fun it will be... and I am so excited! The place which suddenly had lost some emotional connection will regain the emotional attachment.. atleast for next few days... and new memories for even more days... Actually I am feeling so nice since yesterday evening... when I tried my new traditional convocation outfit.. :)
This reminds me of some not so exciting things...
1. I still haven't baught pair of chappals,
2. have to do that registration thingie for convocation
3. Have to collect the silk stole from admin dept (that means I also hv to keep Rs. 1000 ready)
4. I have to wash the extra bedsheets for our family guests!
5. Have to render those extra mattresses ready for use (little confused what exactly it means!)
6. wash my bike ! :)
7. clean our house...
8. swadanusar namak ( means anything else as required!)
And I am still so happy!!!!
wowwwwww....

follow-up by Maithili

After a long long long ime, I came across something worth great respect, not just because of the issue it refers to, but the intention and the basic eye-opening act which I never came across or tried myself earlier and just kept talking about it. The 'follow-UP' blog by Maithili! I request everyone to visit it and add the link in their own blog for others.
Thank you very much Maithili.

.....

Aani Jaani Hai Kahani,

Bulbule Si Zindagani

Banti Kabhi Bigadti,

Tez Hawa Se Ladhti Bhidti

Ha Reham Ha Reham Farmaaye Khuda

Ha Reham Ha Reham Farmaaye Khuda

Mehfuz Har Kadam Karna Eh Khuda Eh Khuda

Mehfuz Har Kadam Karna Eh Khuda....

(song from movie 'Aamir')

Whats at the END?

Life has got nothing at the end, except for the way it ends!
Every life has to come to an end...
Wish everybody gets a little time to know why it is ending then,
wish not a single life ends with a question unanswered for that soul...
wish the end is complete!
Because sentences left with a comma leave something to be added later!

Reflection

Water always attracts us! So much that 4 lazy people actually got up at 5 in the morning (sunday morning!) and went to the Thol Lake some 30Km away from NID.
Its a surreal place... Just take your eyes away from that camera screen, look at what you wanted to show 'others', pause for a minute, forgetting people around you.... the place will talk to you.... just listen... and you realize it's your own voice! the one which you couldn't hear in your daily routine noise... trying to say something, something about yourself.... or may be it is asking you the truth... which even you want to know... You start delving into your mind (or the scenery around? doesn't matter)... If you are lucky this conversation can go on and on... but I was not! This place is quite famous among youngsters and many of them manage to come there before sunrise. So you cant really keep talking to your reflection peacefully.
There is this tree on a tiny island in Thol Lake, bent on the edge and trying to converse with its reflection... endlessly.... I wish even I could do that!
May be I should go back there... alone.... on the other side of lake... cause I still don't know whats there (or within myself!)....

46

What else can I do except writing about the number '46' in reference to Valentino Rossi, in my 46th post? :)
He has always raced with the number 46 in his motorcycle grand prix career. Rossi has stated that the original inspiration for this choice of number was the Japanese "wild card" racer Norifumi Abe whom he saw on television speeding past much more seasoned riders in a wet race. He later found out that it was the number his (valentino's) father had raced with in the first of his 3 grand prix career wins, in 1979, in Yugoslavia, on a 250c Morbidelli. Typically, a World Championship winner (and also runner-up and third place) is awarded the #1 sticker for the next season. However, in a homage to Barry Sheene (who was the first rider of the modern era to keep the same number), Rossi has stayed with the now-famous #46 throughout his career. The text on his helmet refers to the name of his group of friends: "The Tribe of the Chihuahua", and the letters WLF on his leathers stand for "Viva La Figa", Italian for "Hooray for the Pussy". He has so far escaped any sanctions or ultimatums that he take the letters off because the "W" in "WLF" represents the two "V"s in "ViVa". Equally obvious is his success at escaping any disciplinary action from the FIM or Dorna for having the letters so brazenly on the front neck area of his leathers. He traditionally also incorporates his favorite color (fluorescent yellow) into his leather designs. Even though Rossi's won the MotoGP title 8 times he has never put the number 1 on his motorcycle representing the World Champion, instead staying with his famous "46". However, Rossi has worn the #1 reserved for the reigning World Champion on the shoulder of his racing leathers.

The Sexy Beast

Once again, I have no words to express!!! Long time after I saw the Ecosse Heretic bike, this is the one which has even more hypnotizing capability. Since last evening I am not able to stop looking at it! This is something I just WANT... at whatever cost... but sadly, it's just a concept bike. :( [ as if I have money to own it!!!]

Anyway, just to appreciate this beast machine I must mention some of the best features of it. Yes it's the stance which makes this huge single seater a deadly beast. It has this very good capability of boasting of beauty of its machinery and still successfully look like some wild animal. It looks as if the designer has carved out this from the skeleton of that beast! After its sexy proportions, it's the headlamp cluster which is the coolest feature (hope you haven't missed the front turn indicators... I personally haven't seen anything as sleek as this!). The simple thin cooling fins running all over the engine make the widespread engine look even bigger. The pearl blue calipers for the zig-zag disc brakes on both wheels too look cool!

In the rear view, those two massive but very simple exhaust pipes seem to be very eager to fire the bike like a rocket. A very nice detail touch is a set of yellow orange switches on handlebars and the monoshock spring in same colour. One more classic and cool thing is the black rubber padding for knees in the knee recess on fuel tank. There is so much to talk about this huge beast's beauty.... most of the time I just keep looking at it and forget to write it here... may be thats better way of appreciating the beauty... isn't it?

The price and what you actually pay!

"It is unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money...that is all. When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the things it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot...it cannot be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better. There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell for a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only, are this man's lawful prey"
John Ruskin(1819-1900), Economist

The art of saying 'NO'

Those who can say 'NO' without hurting the person and spoiling relations are just great people!!!!
Someone please teach me how to say 'NO'.

the doctor...

As per muzayun's request, here is the pic of 'the doctor' (as he is called), Valentino Rossi.

(to know the reason behind the name 'The Doctor', read comments to this post.)

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's latest

Zindagi ye safar mein hai,

kat raha hai raasataa.

Humsafar to hai magar,

manzilein hai judaa judaa!

wah.. wah...

pyar ke liye,

char pal kam nahi the,

kabhi tum nahi the,

kabhi hum nahi the!

pyar ke hasin,

kab ye mausam nahi the,

kabhi tum nahi the,
kabhi hum nahi the!

Ruling the LORD...

"Remember remember the 5th november!!!..." :)
Finally, today was my first morning ride to office on my new Yamaha FZ16..
If I have to describe her in just one word, it will be 'EFFORTLESS'.. you think left and she turns left, you just wring the throttle little and it touches 50 before you notice, just after 7km of my ride and at her age of 14hours I feel as if I am using her for ages... yes... thats what I mean.. effortless!!!
Though I couldn't enjoy the ride fully because of my physical condition today, it did assured me of the joy of riding to come in future. She is called 'The lord of the streets...' And what can make one more proud than ruling the lord?...
(more later)

Interesting...

Mumbai v/s Australia

in 2008,
Mumbai's population is 13 millions ( total land area including suburbs approx. 600 SQ Km)
Australia's population is 21 millions (total land area 7,617,930 SQ Km)
So there is still enough scope for Mumbai's infrastructure and Municipal Corporation to compete with Australia's infrastructure!!!
So lets go to Mumbai, we have the right to do it!!!

Shobha De on Mumbai v/s Bombay

Thank you maithili for the link. A bit lengthy but worth reading interview.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/devils-advocate-shobhaa-de-on-mumbai-vs-bombay/76806-3-single.html

The other side of Rahul...

This is the opinion of a newspaper reader (Bipin Rokade) published in that newspaper (http://www.esakal.com/esakal/10312008/SPECIALNEWS285BDC9A36.htm). The reason to post it here is that, like my earlier post (about media), this also talks about one more powerful aspect of the whole issue (government responsibility, industrial development etc). It is necessary to understand the issue in more wholistic and proactive manner than whats actually happening. Here is what Mr. Bipin Rokade has to say,
"Goli ka javab Goli se......this is the irresponsible statement from Aaba(R.R. Patil) and sending out wrong message. He is standing by the police....that is right, police took the action according to the situation then they are right.....but the statement from Aaba ‘Goli Ka Javab Goli se’, is wrong. This statement will not solve the actual problem. First, We have to think why Rahul took the gun in his hand? Why he wanted to kill Raj Thakare? Why Raj Thakare is fighting? Raj Thakare is fighting by considering Mumbai’s current situation (unemployed Marathi)...then he is right. Bihari’s are coming to Mumbai to find the job then they are right. Then who is wrong? Lalu and central Govt are responsible for this situation. Lalu is responsible because he didn’t develop Bihar and Govt. is wrong because they failed to develop other states in India. The difference between two states economy is huge. As long as the development is not spreading equally in other states of India then this kind of problems will never end.
Indian is killing Indian.....certainly this not a good sign to Indians who are willing to be seen as a superpower by 2020 and if we keep fighting with each other then we will never achieve our target in time. Central Govt. has to be intervening in this matter by saying they will develop Bihar and try to implement law and orders by education and employment. If Lalu is unble to provide the jobs to Bihari’s then only Mumbai certainly is not able to give the jobs to all Indians. We have to develop other parts of India.
Just for the moment forget about Bihar’s development issues and let’s consider Maharashtra’s developed areas, if I start to enlist Maharashtra’s developed areas then Mumbai, Pune, Nasik, Aurangabad and Nagpur(?) and that’s it.....the list ends here and it shows unequal development of Maharashtra and this is the same happened with our nation! Politicians are responsible for this situation. Politicians are misguiding Indian youth. I would like to ask the question. Aabasaheb (R.R. Patil), are you happy by seeing that one Indian, who came to kill another Indian, has been shot dead? Who will stop this misguiding? That bullet killed one person but not the problem. Why we, as an Indian, hate another Indian? Certainly there is a solution. If Bihar is developed as Industrial area then there will be a probable solution. This situation is not good for India’s unity. Already, terrorism is succeeding in disturbing the harmony between Hindu and Muslims, Hindu and Christian. History shows foreigners divide Indians and rule the India. Let’s stand together to avoid playing dirty politics and repeating same history to see bright future. Long live India’s 61st Independence. Is it possible to play the politics without the issues based on region, religion, caste (Brahmin, Maratha, OBC etc.)? I do support you are standing by police, I do support police action but I do not support your statement ‘Goli ka Javab Goli se."
-Bipin Rokade
Since this is someone's personal opinion, not necessarily everything is acceptable to everyone. But certainly it shows it is possible to find out the root cause of this situation and try to find out a more proactive solution instead of just fighting over it for short time benefits.

Rahul... Naam hi kafi hai!

After a long time (months may be) I was watching TV at home... so many new channels, so many news channels.. new trends of TV world... it was not just about way of entertainment but also more about where the media is going.. or rather leading us!!!
I remember myself reciting poems in front of my mother in my childhood. Sometimes my mom used to say "have some expressions on your face, you are reciting poem, not reading news on TV!" I always used to wonder how do these news readers can be so expressionless! They used to read just any news with same calm face and tone. And this was not just about any regional channel but our national news channels also. They were very few and I had a great respect for all the news readers for their control on their emotions and personal opinions. All I used to get to listen to on these news channels was only information in its purest possible form (Even mosquitoes and flies roaming around were not 'edited'!)
Today I saw a totally different and quite shocking avatar of news channels. It was not that I was shocked for the first time. Even the headline of smallest size news has been seen tweaked to convey a totally different meaning than the actual information inside! Isn't it shocking and weird to pay someone (newspaper) to read their 'Opinions' and not just the information?
Anyway, The trigger for writing this blog is today's 'breaking News : Rahul, a youngster trying to hijack mumbai best bus on gunpoint killed by mumbai police in an encounter.' The sad part of this news is that I didn't get to see/listen/read this news on any news channel in this form of statement. I had actually option of numerous news channels!!! And thats where the catch is... Whats the point if all news channels provide the same information in same manner! Firstly why are there so many news channels? Because we need them? or because they need something? from us? I think so.. Thats why they compete... SABSE AAGE... SABSE TEZ... 'using' the news for themselves in this process... not for us!!!! I didn't see them conveying or 'reading' the information for us but rather giving excellent multimedia presentations of what they want us to believe about that information!!! And I understand the importance of expressionless faces of those great news readers in my childhood! They never tried to make us believe in what they read. And thats why we believed in it! Today if every news channel, every newspaper conveys their opinions about what has happened... whom do I believe! I just see opinions and presentations... where is the NEWS? The worst thing is those (mostly politicians) who understand this fact very well are just using it (media) for their short term benefits. In the evening I saw a NEWS VJ (best description) in digitally simulated bus environment to emphasize on what they "want" to tell us about the Rahul-bihar-mumbai police-Raj thakare news. So much efforts!!! So much Editing!!!!! And I understand the importance of those un-edited mosquitoes and flies in the recording studio of my childhood news channles!
For a moment al this hammering made me think as if this is the biggest and most important issue on earth! Not because a young man tried to do something on gunpoint, but more because he was from bihar, because he was in mumbai, because he wanted to talk to (or kill? not very clear from news) Raj Thakare... NO... no one was interested in knowing about other people in and around bus... their lives are of zero importance.. Only Rahul's life is omportant... because he fits the 'current context' very well!! For everyone... news channels as well as politicians... and those who enjoy multimedia presentations with evening coffee... Doesn't matter if 200 people get killed in some temple by stampede because of some missmanagement... people are more interested in proving how it was possible to avoid Rahul's encounter by vacating 4KM of Kurla market where it happened!!! No one is interested in discussing why a kid fallen in manhole could not be saved after 10 hours of struggle! Or at least how it can be prevented next time!!! Yes its certainly not important... It doesn't fit the 'Current Context' mannn.... Neither Raj Thakare nor Lalu Prasad Yadav (nor even NDTV Profit) can USE these news.. how can it be important mannnn!!!

:)

m quite happy and excited today!!!!
remember remember... the 5th of November!!!!!
(line from the movie V for Vendetta)

rossi roti...

it's not funny, I am serious. I have been thinking of this for a long and it still keeps bugging me.
This 'rossi roti' issue is much bigger and complicated than the normal 'roji roti' issue, not just for me but for most of us in this creative industry. For us it's not so difficult to earn money and live happlily with most of the amenities readily (almost) available with that money. But what doesn't let it to be so simple is the realization of fact that we are in this creative industry by choice and after a lot of struggle! For me 'roti' is not the issue but the urge to 'ride like rossi' is what doesn't let me enjoy this roti's taste! When you don't get something, you struggle a lot to achieve it. When you get something because you are supposed to, you want it some other way! Thats being creative professional!!!.. You just can't settle down for what you are getting, even if thats what you wanted! Yes this is true for every human being and not just creative professional, but then we just take every idea too seriously I guess... In the struggle to get that better 'rossi roti' we just forget to enjoy the roti we are getting! It's not wrong to aspire for much more and better, but does it mean we should underevaluate the present life and present achievements!!! We cannot afford to lose the capability of enjoying anything, because when one day we will have achieved the 'ultimate rossi roti', we may just be clueless about how to enjoy it!!!

Thoda hai....

thode ki jaroorat hai...

keep walking....

I left for a long walk in the evening...
on a bridge... and it connected me to the other better world...
near a lake... and it did offer green (if not red) carpet for me to walk...
I kept walking...
I walked in the market... and it offered a lot of 'life' to me...
so I kept walking further,
happened to pass by a temple, and it offered me a mind full of peace...
And then there happened to be a long barren patch ahead me...
I stopped, felt depressed and lost...
thinking, this barren land had just nothing to offer me, neither any fuel for my walk!
And then it said, "this is the only part of your walk when you can't afford to stop!"
Keep walking....

Search for a beginning

How often have you heard it said,
"Now that's the end of that."
A common phrase we often hear
When with our friends we chat.

This phrase, so glibly used by all
Implies poor reasoning
For, when we think about it,
There's no end to anything.

Look closely at a piece of string.
"There's an end to that," you say.
But where's the end if you should turn
It round the other way?

Ah, strange it is. We were so sure.
Now, doubt its head has reared,
For, where the end was once in view,
A beginning has appeared!

I guess the lesson here is, that
When life seems oh, so blue,
We should back off and turn around
And take another view.

So, if you think all has gone wrong
And you've no hope of winning,
Yes, pray your troubles soon will end,
But search for a beginning.

There is no end to anything,
Fresh starts there are, a-plenty.
And that is true at eighty-one
Or the golden age of twenty.

-Wilbur A. Tharp (1904 - 1996)

Things work out....

I got reminded of this poem again while reading neeru's blog ('DOn't quIT')... so thought I should post it here... very nice and positive...

Things Work Out
-=-=-=-=-=-=-by Edgar Guest

Because it rains when we wish it wouldn't,
Because men do what they often shouldn't,
Because crops fail, and plans go wrong-
Some of us grumble all day long.
But somehow, in spite of the care and doubt,
It seems at last that things work out.

Because we lose where we hoped to gain,
Because we suffer a little pain,
Because we must work when we'd like to play-
Some of us whimper along life's way.
But somehow, as day always follows the night,
Most of our troubles work out all right.

Because we cannot forever smile,
Because we must trudge in the dust awhile,
Because we think that the way is long-
Some of us whimper that life's all wrong.
But somehow we live and our sky grows bright,
And everything seems to work out all right.

So bend to your trouble and meet your care,
For the clouds must break, and the sky grow fair.
Let the rain come down, as it must and will,
But keep on working and hoping still.
For in spite of the grumblers who stand about,
Somehow, it seems, all things work out.

Past is forever....

why does it happen, that we can't relive the past? or why is it that we can't forget the past? Past... why should it have influence on the present? especially when you know it's just past!!! It's not comfortable enough to be part of an environment, where everything except you has changed over the time....It's not pleasant enough to witness 'present' slowly turning into the 'past'... Why do we think more about 'present becoming past' more than the 'future becoming present'? Is it that we are not optimistic enough? Or is it that we are not sure about the future, but past is reality? Is it because the future is just an assumption or hope, past is a fact and present is just the transition time plus our efforts to make the future a 'fact'? I feel as human beings, we have more value for the most durable, reliable things which are least susceptible to 'change'....

Sadly, 'PAST' has all these features.... because only past is forever......

Falling in love again...

Is falling in love again and again a wrong thing? or it just shows that you can actually 'love' and are quite generous about it? hahahah.. I don't know but it keeps happening with me many times... ok I am talking about my love for naked bikes... the streetfighters... the recent and quite practicle being 'Yamaha FZ 16'... Lord of the streets!..... I just love the punch line.... I had heard that when you love someone, you end up liking and admiring everything about them... it's true! So I started with the punch line!!!... :)
One more doubt... Is love actually blind??? (considering the fact of falling in love again and again) When you are in love you don't remember anything else, you don't 'see' anything else. True, but in future you still fall in love again with someone else or even the same person again!!! Isn't it interesting?(though not everyone accepts or understands it!!! for various reasons) Anyway, coming back to the point (blind one), when i look at my consistantly increasing number of pictures of crushes on orkut album, I do find there is lot common in them! They (bikes) are individually very different, in every small detail and a even a package as whole. But the fact that they all are naked streetfighters with strange and not so common headlamps without fairing, a ready-to-fight-the-traffic stance, with low or midrange torquey nature etc... There is still so much common... I dont think love is really 'blind'! It has got really sharp eyesight actually. :)
I remember something from the book 'blink' related to this. We have some image of what we like and what we don't. But it's only that 'we' think so! What we actually like or fall for can be much beyond our 'intentional thinking process'! And may be thats why we keep on falling in love with these so called 'different' things/people. Its the 'blink - the process of thinking without thinking' which keeps working in background for us and we just wonder how could it happen? Is it right or wrong ? etc. May be this is why we associate some part of our thinking to 'heart' instead of brain... And this is where the confusion begins.... just the way I am right now.... whether to buy FZ16 as my torque thirsty heart says..... OR stop myself from spending so much money and buying a less fuel efficient bike... I am working in an alternate fuel automobile company!!! May be I should 'Let it go' as neeru's blog (relinquish) says... because I have this capacity to fall in love again!!! hehehe

one of the nights at NID

2 O' clock in night. I received an sms. I was not really surprised by that, neither I was fast asleep. It was from my best friend saying "come to girls' hostel gate". I got a little worried about her. I couldn't guess what it can be so that she had to call me there instead of just calling me on phone! Anyway, i started walking towards girls' hostel still trying to guess what it can be.
And I saw her standing there, with a travelling bag beside her. Is she planning to run away? She smiled at me puzzling me even more! Am I also supposed to run away or what? But she had a boyfriend, and people generally run away from home, not hostel! Or is it that she just wanted to say bye to me before leaving! And why was she carrying such a small bag then? Am I supposed to take care of her other stuff while she settles down somewhere? But where? I was just few steps away from her and my every step made her smile wider and me more puzzled.
"this is worth 1500 no bhavin?" pointing towards the bag she asked me.Ohhhhh!!!! Now I got it!!! So all this was just for me to confirm that the money she spent today is justified and so she could sleep peacefully!!! I looked at bag, it was quite good looking and nice quality, but much smaller than I got for lesser price (as we already had discussed in the day! I just talked about all the positive things and confirmed that it was actualy worth 1500.
I am sure all that gave her a sound sleep that night, but I just couldn't sleep!!! I was laughing whole night... It was for a bag!!! I don't know why it got recalled today after more than one year, but I am still laughing...
:)

Hope!

There are people who understand what you are trying to do, but are not authorised to help you.

There are people who have enough authority to help you, but just don't understand what you are trying to do!

And there are people, like me, who still have hope!

:)

silence

a thunder storm..
heavy rain deep within inside...
the mind on the verge of collapsing on ground..
I close all the windows...
I seal my lips, I cose my eyes..
I try my best to keep quiet and stop expressing..
the deep silence inside out...
and it ends up expressing it all...
I just forgot,
silence has a loud voice too!!!!

design v/s reality and form v/s function

Now these are highly objectionable topics actually! But all you (& me) designers, for a while just keep that designer aside and read as a common man (I know how difficult it is!)
I don't remember how it happened exactly, but day before yesterday afternoon I came across this website about new cellphones. It had pictures of new Sony Ericsson radio phone R306i. The name itself was very interesting and the concept even more interesting. They had made a phone which actually looked like a radio with two speakers! A very classic black backelite radio look indeed! It has a brushed aluminium centre display cum control butons placed between the two big speaker nets. I was very impressed by the styling considering the said low price range. Considering Sony's success in walkman series phones range, I expected this to be a good if not the best option for buyers. Two huge speakers on a phone!!! wowwww...
The same evening on my way back home I searched for a nearby sony showroom and straight away asked if that radio phone is launched or not. It was!!! And just the next moment all my imaginations. assumptions broke to open to the reality. He handed me over a phone dummy which just didn't feel like the one I saw on website! It had the same form, but the speaker net and body looked like a cheap plastic FM radio, the centre brushed aluminium panel was actually a very cheap chrome plated one! and to top it all, it had no external display, which I had assumed can be seen only while functioning! This is not all. I knew it was a clamshell phone, but when I opened it it was as good looking as a slim calculator! I have no words to explain.... Radio phone from Sony Ericsson is a very good idea, the pictures of concept I saw on website were also very good, so much that they actually took me that showroom. But the real phone!!!
Photography is an art, advertising is even bigger art and they certainly take the design to a higher desirable level. Its just that reality is stereoscopic.... :)
Ohh and about the second part of the topic, form v/s function! Now I know that every designer tries his best to integrate both in his design. But zoom out of that particular concept a bit, look at what is available in the market, as a common man/buyer. I did this in that sony showroom, on websites... for a lot of time. But I just couldn't end up liking both form and function in one same phone! If I have to buy one, I will have to force myself to choose either of form or function. When I zoom out even more and look at whar people are doing in this regard, they are happy choosing from whats on display. The problem is just with me.. that I am a designer!!!

problems....

I don't have any problem with someone's wrong deeds,
but I certainly have problem with their wrong intentions!
I don't have any problem with someone's lack of knowledge,
but I certainly have problem with their lack of wilingness to know!
I don't have any problem with people with shattered dreams,
but I certainly have problem with those having no dreams!
I don't have any problem working with people having some fears and limits,
but I certainly have problem working with those having no confidence and hope!
I don't have any problem if I have many problems,
but I certainly have problem if I don't enjoy them!
:)

rossi must ride......

Its been 4 months I havent posted anything here.... not that nothing happened worth it.... or may be it was so much that I couldn't put it in words here... I know this is not a right excuse for blogger, but when I look back I feel I talked so much to myself during all this time! May be it was a very critical transition phase for me... from a student to a professional... from a PDit to NIDian... from senior to supersenior.... from a son to a responsible son.... and so many other simultaneous transitions! There was lot worth writing about.... but I couldn't... rather I didn't... I have no explanation.
Now everything in professional as well as personal life seems to have become routine. All the excitements as well as worries of this new phase have become part of this routine. And then there is this realization of myself beyond all these. These things which I am supposed to get excited or worried about... decided by myself or by others or just by my being in that particular situations! But there is still one 'me' who is something beyond all these, 'me' who has again rediscovered the joy of riding, the joy of writing, the joy of being myself! It's the same person who had lot of complains about his old bike, its weak brakes, mad ahmedabad traffic etc some 2-3 months ago, it's the same person who is now enjoying every inch of his bike ride in same ahmedabad, the same person who has discovered his inclination towards maneuvering skill than speed of the bike, it's the same person who has again realized the need to stick to his goal and not the momentary path, the person who is back to his visual communications and advertising love!

Yes there are still many things to be rediscovered... And I am sure I will do it before time..... may be one day I will be giving some surprise musical or dance performance to my friends... and ya... it will be surprising for just them, not me! because I am just being rediscovered by myself!!!

2nd of B'lore series: 'Sony World'

Sony world is literally a world in itself, a world full of memories, people and me! Throughout my six months stay in B’lore, there was not a single day without Sony world. Its much more than just a crossing or signal in koramangala, for me it was always a pause… no matter how small or big. I always had to stop and think or wonder what next! Not just because it was this junction from where I had two options to walk down to my room in Nidhi villa after coming back from office, but because it was this junction which decided how I was going to spend my evening that day!
The very first time I came across this name ‘Sony world’ was on the internet while searching for an accommodation in koramangala. Its mention in many addresses sure made me imagine this place as a very famous and big landmark in koramangala. And indeed this small Sony showroom has extended its neighborhood presence to a much bigger area which also includes other big landmarks like Mahindra Renault showroom exactly opposite to it, the Reebok showroom next to it, the adidas showroom, a nice and populated hanuman temple, subhiksha store and many more… But its only the name Sony world which everybody associates to this whole area… I wonder why? ‘Sony world’ sounds like absolute truth and all other places have mere relative existence like ‘near’ or ‘opposite to’ Sony world! Truth… like this … is beyond logic…
Ohh but this is not why this place is close to me.. its more for the memories it created during my stay in B’lore. After a lot of loneliness and frustration during my stay in REVA guest house, located million miles away from the B’lore population (or for that matter any population of human beings and all other animals), just the evening I shifted to my new room ‘near Sony world’ (hahaha), I got to meet meenu! and in a very surprising manner… Next day, on Sunday when I left room to explore the koramangala area, it was this Sony world where I saw shweta waving her hand at me!!!... There are countless surprises like this, associated with this place… most of them involving this guest appearance girl meenu! This is the place where you meet nice people whether you decide or not!....
I don’t know if it is just coincidence or what, but whomever I met in B’lore, at least once it was near Sony world! I have so much about this place in my mind that I can’t write everything but just pause, wonder and smile. This is the place which never did let me feel lonely or lost… I wish no matter where I go in the world, let there be a ‘Sony world’… ‘cause there is nothing like meeting surprises!!!...

'Aatle aani Baaherche': Insiders and Outsiders

Long time ago I read this Marathi article named ‘aatle ani baaherche’, don’t remember whose it was. I also don’t remember exactly what it was related to, but sure I still remember what it meant. The author had said there are only two types of people, ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’. I also remember, that thought had influenced my way of perceiving people a lot, especially in public places. It has certainly helped me to accept peoples’ behavior in those
particular situations.
I feel it’s not right to straight away blame someone for their deed without understanding the situation. Let’s take example of a person waiting on railway platform for a local train along with many others. There is nothing special about this. But let the train come and the difference between ‘outsiders’ (i.e. on platform) and ‘insiders’ (i.e. people densely packed in the train) is very visible… and quite violently. Our hero being outsider, can very clearly see lot of space inside for him and tries to explain this to insiders in ‘all the possible’ ways. It’s just beyond his logic why these insiders can’t accept it. On the other hand insiders will do ‘everything’ to convince the outsiders to catch next train or some other compartment…. There is just not even an inch for anyone inside now.
This battle continues for around 30-40 seconds and fortunately our hero manages to get inside the train… hushhhh.. And suddenly he realizes these insiders are trying to accommodate him and his bag clinging somewhere at the end of his palm, and be comfortable (!) themselves! Some of them even share a smile as if to congratulate him for his victorious entry in train! Ohh isn’t that a miracle!!! What is that changed all these people suddenly? These are the same people who were trying their best not to let our hero get in!!! This is what is called ‘insiders – outsiders’ phenomenon! Yes…. Our hero has become insider now… just like every other person in that compartment! He is not their enemy now! Just then the next station comes and our hero starts playing his role as ‘insider’ at his best!!!... forgetting each and every second of his battle as outsider five minutes ago…
No it’s not funny, certainly not! It’s just a very natural phenomenon. So natural that it holds good for almost all the battles in life. May it be a politician changing party, or your bachelor friend getting married (‘kyun ki saans bhi kabhi bahoo thi’ is the simplest to understand I guess), or a person cursing rickshawala for his reckless driving (till he himself gets in one!).This is just true everywhere… A person is not to be blamed, it’s just the matter of whether he is on same side of crowd as you are or not! It’s so simple!
Understanding and accepting this phenomenon has helped me keep my head a lot of times… hope it does work for you too!!!...
:)

the right mix

The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles. A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard.
-Sloan Wilson

I think this is actually true for any healthy relationship, the right mix of support and freedom!!!

my orkut fortune says....

The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do...

Shanthi Sagar

Very true name indeed! The typical south Indian refreshment place in koramangala… where I daily used to eat idli, wada and south Indian coffee… But what got a special place in my heart is something else… the tree outside shanthi sagar!!!... my thinking tree…
I have spent hours sitting under that tree, enjoying every sip of my favorite coffee and thinking very peacefully, about yesterday, today and tomorrow… everyday! It had become a very integral part of my daily routine. Every evening on my way back home from REVA office, I used to get down near shanthi sagar instead of going home straight away. Initially it was more of a means of spending that critical evening time among ‘people’ instead of sitting alone in my room in Nidhi villa. Evening snacks and coffee was one more reason, but it could have happened anywhere there…
But sitting on the chabutara under that tree never required a reason… just like having millennium coffee at middle gate till 1:30 in night… It used to give me so much peace to be with myself and think calmly… No it was not at all a peaceful place or the time like my middle gate at midnight. But then I feel peace doesn’t necessarily refer to silence or absence of sound.. Its more like absence of all those things which keep you away and separated from yourself!... Familiar people, their activities, thoughts, your duties, responsibilities… all these insulate you from yourself more than the irrelevant noise of strange people! And that’s why having coffee under that tree outside shanthi sagar was so peaceful even though surrounded by so many people and noise. Probably my inability to understand their conversation in kannada also added to the ‘peace’.
There was no one there to ask me why I am sitting there for so long and what I am doing… just me myself and my own time… not just the time I used to send there, but also the time in my past and my future which I used to think about… I don’t know why… It was magic of that tree I guess… I don’t know where I will be tomorrow… But I hope He has made such peaceful thinking places for me… wherever I go…. like middle gate and shanthi sagar…

Ecosse Heretic

Beauty is about reaching extremity!!! Simplicity as well as complexity need to be ‘shown’, for its right appreciation. May it be apple’s i-pod at one end or huge Dodge tomahawk bike(?) at other… its about showing the capability of reaching extremity!
Yes there is beauty in extremity, no matter what way. There is beauty in doing a kilometer of 12’O clock bar wheelie…. There is beauty in doing a dead end stoppie!!! There is beauty in sky mirroring calm water of a lake… there is beauty in rock cracking stream of waterfall!...No wonder why I am appreciating extremity so much, at least after spending more than an hour in looking at one of the world’s most expensive bike picture… the “Ecosse Heretic”… One need not know the machine... one need not know to ride… but anyone who appreciates extremity will agree…. Its beautiful… and it ‘shows’ it!!!

the luggage

just to make the blog live again... an old page from my diary..

Yesterday, while waiting for train on platform with all my heavy luggage, I thought “ek aadmi ka itna saara saman… kaun shadi karega yarrr!!! Double the luggage and much more responsibility etc etc….” And as usual my mom and dad didn’t agree to this…
Today I am in train, standing near door enjoying cool breeze. There is such nice greenery along the track! It looks like from some romantic movie... There are small pathways vanishing in the woods... I start imagining myself following those paths, going just anywhere in the woods, no matter where….
And suddenly I feel that need, the need for a good company! I feel a great need to share this experience…. And I feel that this need is a lot more intense and justified than the need to share sorrows… I feel that I can very well deal with my sorrows, or for that matter… anyone can! One can cry full heartedly when alone, but can’t enjoy the happy moments fully when alone! I need someone… someone with a face expressing ‘my’ happiness… where I can ‘see’ that I am happy… where I can store memories of my happy moments… And this is for what I felt that need for company.. It was not just for following those pathways vanishing in the woods…
We all can carry our own luggage, what we can’t carry on our own is our ‘joy’… and we need ‘someone’ for that… someone who will not just walk with you on that path in the woods, but will tell you how beautiful truly it is! You know how tough life is; you need someone who will tell you, life is beautiful too!!!....
- bhavin
(14/5/2007)