intezaar

अब इंतज़ार नहीं होता |
हर पल साल जैसा लगा करता था, उन बीते दिनों में,
अब इतना इत्मीनान नहीं होता ||
गुमान था हमें अपनी सहनशीलता पर |
अब उस गुमान का मैं वजूद खो बैठा ||

Towards Financial Inclusion

India has been sleeping for long, but not anymore. One initiative after the other leads to one conclusion, that India is yearning to leapfrog the world leaders.

The latest initiative is the new system in place that allows free funds transfers. (Although a couple of us already knew about it through the discussion with Viral from UID office). National Payments Corporation of India(NPCI) is leading this initiative which will enable 24-hours payment system
allowing free remittance to any account across India.

We know about a couple of mobile fund transfer facilties functional around the world:
- M-paisa in Kenya
- Wizit in South Africa
- Smart Cash in Philippines
- Intra-bank in US and UK

How does this differ from the present payment gateways?
The system in place will work in collaboration with banks and telecom companies. This will not tie up the systems with any banks or telecom operators, hence giving it the required flexilbilty to scale up. Seconly, it will be free to use ulike the Visas.

What will happen to the Visas and Master cards?
Time will tell!

What do you all think?
I am waiting to hear.

(http://www.livemint.com/2010/10/03194721/New-system-that-allows-free-fu.html?atype=tp)

Delhi : There is always place for one more!

Delhi is daily explored by millions of eyes, perceived in new ways by every mind and thousands of articles, books and blogs try to frame Delhi in their own words. So being in Delhi for long, I could not stop myself from writing a short ode to this great place in my own words.

For me Delhi has never been just a place but a living organism. I know it is an organism for many but then the personality of this organism is what defines Delhi for me. It’s daring, it’s individualistic and above all it’s “accommodating”. “Space for just one more” defines Delhi for me.

The up and down going lifts are so omnipresent in Delhi malls and the housing societies. You get into one, suddenly 2-3 more people press the open switch and get in. Then some more get in while the life is just about to lift. Then, some more… Then the 2-3 earlier people realize that the lift is going up rather than the way they intended it to go: “down”. In such a pressed situation, they find humor and say, “Koi nahi, baad main jagah nahi milegi!” And then 2-3 more try to get in, although they find no space except shifting vertically or just accommodating by breathing in! As the lift cries “overweight!!” the new entrants look around for those who are not able to bear the press and body heat. And definitely they get a few mere mortals who alas think of using the stairs to go up using the stairs.

Driving in wide Delhi roads is a pleasure, but the real fun is down the narrow bends and busy streets. Even the cycle riders drive with so much passion for speed and thrills that it is a must watch. The rickshaw pullers park their vehicles with pride on the middle of the roads just to get his hourly dose of Gutka. There are surely more daring stuntmen on Delhi roads than on the X- Games till date. And amidst all this one has to maneuver the car with the best skills at hand. Suddenly one may find someone bringing the car from the opposite side (I mean the wrong side of the road :) ), but it will not be his fault since he was only trying to save some petrol (One has to understand since he was driving a gas guzzling SUV all alone!!). And you may be at fault if you try to show anger or don’t give way to this another simple Dilliwalla, since you are not trying to adjust. Try to give some space yaar!

Metro is a real boon for Delhi. It is such a delight to enter an air conditioned medium of travel for going around to places in this sweltering heat. Gone are the days when killer buses were the main mediums of traveling besides maintaining a population check. With the metro, the least expected was some decency. And one is not disappointed; surprisingly Dilliwallahs do show some decency once on the metro platforms. After listening to the repeated announcements, the crowd does allow the people getting down, the first chance. But then, the impatiens creeps in, in milliseconds. Some people try to squeeze from the sides and others try to make a tunnel through the outgoing crowd. I learnt about the tunneling in VLSI, but it was here that I actually got to see it :P. And not to mention you will again be the culprit if you come in between with these innocent travelers, cause they are only making the way by offering you the first chance.

Another repeated announcement is that, “Please leave the seats reserved for women and elderly passengers”. And yet another accommodation! An elderly woman asks a male passenger sitting on such a seat to please let her sit, and the request doesn’t go unnoticed. She is given a seat :O but only after the man asks his adjacent passenger to shift a bit and make some space :D. Now what’s wrong in that? After all he is such a nice and accommodating Dilliwalla.

Hum jahan khade hote hain line wahin se shuru hoti hai. Another live presentation of this statement is seen everywhere right from the morning Mother Dairy crowds to the PVR movie ticket queues. If there are 10 people, then, not surprisingly 10 lines will be definitely there. The great Q manager is handled no better than the wooden stick on an ice cream, although here is holds nothing. And if at all there is a queue then there will be a body right behind one who is pressing to such an extent that you can feel a second skin on your back. The idea of space between two people, remember the one arm’s distance in school parades, is still unheard of beyond those school parade grounds.

Then there are millions of other instances on every corner which demonstrate this unique personality of Delhi. Two cars stopping right in the middle of the road to discuss something. A truck reversing on the great 6 lane fast traffics; yet another moment of glory for the Schumacher on the Delhi roads to maneuver clear of these obstacles. Traffic police ignoring the cycle riders jumping the red lights. And the greatest of all according to me: zooming the car right in front of a renowned dhaba, calling the vendor with the flick of a hand, ordering a Butter Chicken with 2 Tandoori rotis, rolling back the car windows with AC running on full, putting the Punjabi hip hop music on full blast, rolling down the windows again and shouting, “2 Thumps Up aur ek tandoori bhi laga do”, space for more?? And you got to experience the Surround sound by standing right at the center of all this, that is at the dhaba stall, with around 20-25 such moving discotheques around you. But there is always space for one more :)

Temple of Worship: 2

Boredom on a Sunday morning took us on a small pilgrimage to another temple of worship. This one was in one the busiest places in Delhi and for those who are not aware of busy streets in Delhi it is like walking against the tide with hands and legs tied down. But our will power was just strong enough for us to move ahead and execute the plan. We were in the vicinity of the place looking for a place to park our car, when some one (that too in Delhi!) informed us that the place had its own parking place. We felt luck already in our favour as this was not likely in such a rush hour, our worrisome faces turned upside down into wide grins.

Much to our amazement the parking was not just available but it was free! Now that is what I call a grand welcome in such a place. As we interested the compounds of the temple, we were asked to deposit our shoes in either of the two shoe collection centers. Yet another surprise awaited us as we saw well educated people and old ladies on these counters who not just collected our shoes for deposit but touched them on their foreheads as a worship of gods.

Once we had parted away with our shoes we moved forward towards the temple. A jet of water on the entrance cleaned our feet. And pieces of cloth were made available to us to tie on our heads as a mark of respect. We moved with the other people, and they were not heading directly for the temple but towards a stall. We moved with them and found that prasadam was available to be given as chadawa inside the temple.

Finally we made our way to the main entrance of the temple with our hands joined together in due respect and prasadam held in between. We were hypnotized by a faint music being played inside as we reached the doors. It was not just the coolness of the air inside but this aura emanating from an omnipresent magnetic source that pulled us apart in all directions. What was left with us was just kindness, love, compassion and respect for everyone and everything around. We moved around aimlessly and sat mesmerized by the music for unknown number of unforgettable moments.

As the temple musicians stood up, we realized that the music had come to an end way earlier. It was just the smiles and the laughter around which kept the rhythm flowing. As we stood up we were directed by some people to have some food in the common room. And here we saw astonishing scenes as we sat among hundreds of fellow humans, all looking to share joy and good life rather than just eat food. A surge of around 100 more people was not a problem for this place as more carpets were rolled down and more plates were put forward. No one was denied the entrance to this feast. It is difficult to please the taste buds of everyone, I was sure that everyone would be left asking for more. But I was again in for a surprise as no one was left without having a stomach full and some even had their Tiffin full for those at home.

We returned from this trip to find a new life in our selves. I cannot define what was so great about this place. Sometimes one cannot feel where one is, or what one is there for, or what time of the day it is, or as a matter of fact what one actually is. One is left as a fearless spark of life capable of lighting up the world with it power of love. I came out of this place believing I was one such spark of life!

Temple of Worship: 1

We entered the premises of this place of worship and were welcomed by knowledgeable children running around asking them to be hired as guides for the tour. Surprisingly, it was the school hour and these children were, may be, too knowledgeable for the schools too. Helplessly and with exactly the same reasons we go for free credit cards, we had to hire one of these buzzing children to guide us. And the results were almost the same, we got not one but 2-3 guides free alongside.

The main temple was not to be seen without bowing our heads to various other temples on the way. Surely, India has millions of gods, and may be the highest in terms of gods per square kilometer too! The key people of these temples of worship were excited to see the first disciples (or the first customers) of the day. Suddenly they into action! As if the Maharaja himself was on the rounds, we were given utmost respect and were asked our names. Surprisingly, next in their questionnaire was the name of our hometown, place of birth, mother’s name, father’s name…. Our confusion ended with the end of his chant, “And now Shrimaan Ankush will pay Rs. 100 as prasadam”. I said,”…”. Yes, this had me speechless, I had only heard about this, now witnessed it first hand. I said, “I don’t have it.” He asked, “How much do you have?” I said, “Rs. 20”. Another chant and I was lesser by Rs. 20 in my wallet. The priest felt victorious, after all his gods really pleased “him” for the day.

Meanwhile, our guides were running around playing hide and seek. As we asked them to take to our main destination, we were again taken aback. The guides pointed to the direction and said they are not allowed there, so we have to now cover the rest of the enlightening journey by ourselves. Thankfully we were guided not to take in our cameras and mobile phones inside the main temple. And of course we owed them the fees. Now, their faces now seemed to emanate the same aura as the priests inside.

As we walked on, we felt that the journey was yet to begin. We were suddenly surrounded by a feeling of fear. There were policemen all around, some smiling, some just chattering around sipping tea and some chewing gutka. And, we had some eyes following us down to the corner of the street.

The security check-post was another beginning. First we passed through our classic metal detectors. I think they are made up of 2 things: an old door frame which was found inappropriate for houses and a beeper which beeps whenever someone passes across. Some technology! And when there is a detector, the next security person surely passes his hands around on your private parts. And the awful feeling is not because of the feeling of the hands but rather because of the smell from his mouth which is a fermented mix of gutka, tea and the aloo paranthas of yesterday. And, God only help you, if he doesn’t burp straight into your mouth.

I thought the worst was over. We were herded into a metal cage tunnel. It was a long tunnel made up of metal mesh of around 7 ft. height and 4ft. wide. The twists and turns took us into another security check! Again, the metal detectors. And, again the hand frisking! I tried to clam myself as I thought that this is nothing to visit the greatest holy place. This time my wallet was also to be tortured. Toilet paper was examined by the security personnel as if I was about to blow the place with it. And finally he decided to throw it away. And we were pushed further into the maze of metal mesh.

We had a great view in sight now: an army, many more policemen, and some old ladies who could not walk fast and were fat enough to block the 4ft wide metal tunnels. Although our minds resented the idea of coming to this place, our hearts were full of compassion and love for god to overcome all this. We heard the ladies chanting slowly and we tried to join in and motivate them forward.

And, here it came, the 3^rd security check! I felt like running back but to my dismay I could see the metal tunnel on my back. Metal detectors! Hand frisking! Wallet checking! And this time, my driver’s license in a plastic cover was an issue. The license was Indian so it was passed across but the plastic cover could be “a potential weapon” so it was retained back. Move on…

We moved on with the crowd. Now, all points of discussion were also over between us. And, finally came the moment of enlightenment. As the metal passage expanded from 4ft wide to around 10 ft wide our attention was caught by the big artillery pointing toward us from our left hand side. There was also a big security of around 15-20 men and women pushing people further. We heard them shouting to the group of ladies before us, “Idhar kya dekh rahi ho? Right mein dekho aur Badte jao. Chaliye maaji, keval aapke liye nahi khola hai” (What are you seeing here? See to your right, and move on. Move on mother, this is not open only for you”). Yes we were also “privileged” to see the “God” on our “right” with our own “worldly” eyes. God was visible for only about 1-2 seconds but it such was a “glorifying” experience!

I

I swam across oceans,

I crawled across deserts,

I trekked the highest peaks,

I crossed great rivers,

I ran bare on fire,

I walked naked on ice,

I have been a king,

I have been a prostitute,

I killed many,

I killed myself,

I create my gods,

I wear my religion,

I am a great friend,

I am a bit better, enemy,

I lived for ages,

I died million times,

I followed the sun,

I was outrun by the nights,

I stopped....

I let the darkness to prevail....

I thought....

I meditated...

I introspected....

I stopped fighting the lies....

I was in the darkest of the nights...

...

..

.

Faint light within, then shone on the mighty me,

I now knew, why stars are not visible in the electrified city,

Truth was again facing me,

But, I fear the cycle to repeat.....

My will power suppresses the fear,

I wipe away my dry tear,

Hope has kept me alive,

So I know, hope will again show me the light....

1 Hour 30 Minutes

The time on my watch is 5:30pm. The class is just 1 hour 30 minutes long. (This is me, the real me)
1 Hour!! 30 minutes!!! (This is me, the inner-self)
You mean 90 minutes!!!!

What are you going to study?
A subject called ATSC.

Creepy. Isn't it?
Not quite, after doing 5 semesters of MBA studies, ATSC doesn't seem to be all that scary. ATSC is just Applied Theory in Strategy and Competition.

So no funny expansions for ATSC? You guys are famous for those.
Who has time for expanding everything. And then you can burn your gray cells for thinking of some expansions. Gray cells are valued assets not to be wasted on matters of zero ROIs. And don't disturb me! I have made up my mind to concentrate a bit on the game theories and transactions costs. I want my full worth from the MBA program!

:D
Fuck off!

..
Some theories explain cause and effect in different contexts. Example are perfect competition, duopoly theory, monopolistic competition, TCE, agency theory, game theory, real option theory, RBV, KBV of the firm etc. (This was the teacher......With all due regards, I don't know why teachers always sound similar to cheaters........almost replaceably!!)
..
..
..
..
..

The time on my watch is 6:00pm. My eyes have been following the average cost function, the total cost function and every curve on the slide. Now, the other part of me.....

That's me! :P I will take over now!! :D lol! ROFL......ROFLMAO
Nooo!!!!! I won't let it happen. Take deep breaths. Deep breaths help to increase the oxygen supply to the body and in turn keep oneself awake.

Why do I see everyone turning back ?
Everyone looks at the watch on the back wall to check what the time is? Everyone is damn bored after studying the same damn strategy for 2 years. It started off with the first class in hel(L). And I think the last class will end with it.

But dude, they already have watches on their hands!! Then why are they looking at the wall clock? Is there something special?
I look at the wall clock and at my own watch. I repeat this foolish exercise twice to answer. No, there is absolutely no difference in time. Maybe a difference of 1 minute. But that is it! Then why? I try to apply theories and globes......

When you looked back twice to observe the time on the wall clock and then match it with the time on your hand watch. What did you do? You exerted pressure on your body (you craned your neck back and forth) and mind (calculated the difference between the observed times). So, you kept yourself from dozing off to that another world. Wow!

But there is something romantic about the way things go even in this boring class. The way people around you look, back and forth. You again look at the watch. Do you remember your love? M.... :) How do you feel? You always get lost in her eyes.

Her eyes, black, pitch black. Almost like the black holes of the universe. Un-noticeable. Negligible. Ignorable. But when you see closely, or get tooo close, they attract you. You move into them powerlessly, like a weakling, defenseless, frail, paralyzed and vulnerable.

You again look at the watch. You again think about her. The pain of parting was not enough. The expectation of someday meeting her again keeps you alive in an even more excruciating pain, making you feel debilitated. You again look at the wall clock. Maybe the wall clock has the answers. In your own words....

घडी घडी ,घडी पर नज़र।
कैसा है ,ये तेरे प्यार का असर।

You are crippled. And you are crippled by a force which has an increasing rate of return. That's love! You can't plead for death. Running away was never the answer. You can only plead for life. Since, life will bring along moments. Moments to remember her. Moments to expect her. Moments to see her again.

But you can plead for something else too....

घडी घडी ,घडी पर नज़र।
कैसा है,ये तेरे प्यार का असर।
ना मचा तू इतना ग़दर।
अब बस कर, बस कर, बस कर॥

So, tomorrow we will do the case on Bird's eye and UK frozen food industry. Thank you.

So the class is over?
Of course! See it was that easy to attend the 90 minutes of this distressing class. I told you. I am trained to beat these tortures. But, why don't I recall anything after 6:00pm? Anyways, it was all globe. But what happened?

घडी घडी ,घडी पर नज़र।
कैसा है,ये तेरे प्यार का असर।
;)

What was Europe like? : People

I traveled around Europe in 90 days. Made great friends. Loved some of the places. Hated others. Found my love. Realized it was too unrealistic. Lost my love. Partied hard. Was sad like anything on my way back.
But the big question which everyone asked back home was, "What was Europe like?"
And my answer, "It was great!"

But is it that simple to define the experience? Now, that I have lots of time to think about it back at my hostel room, I think not just about the places, but specially the people that I met. I started my journey not with the purpose of having fun, but experiencing every bit of life in every nook and corner of Europe that I went to. And as every strategist says that the vision defines the actions and the outcomes, so it was in my case :)

Here are some of the people who touched me in some way or the other in no order of preference ;)

Alix: The captain of our boat called KPI (Kot Partenaires Interculturels). Compassionate. Caring. And cool :) She was the one who looked after my room allotment and ran like anything from one corner of university to the other just to get my work done. She is really energetic! Wow girl!

Vincent: The serious guy with a smile :) Always remains on the back with a serious face. But only till someone pokes him, then, he is like smiling and saying something fast and then......serious again. Mano says, "He never gets angry". I agree :) He can't....he is just tooo serious! :D

Florence: Fake American accent :P "annnkussh" :D and I love that! She eats a lot.....and then stumbles a lot. Kicks something here and then pushes something there. Holes in her jeans are awesomely funny! And then she makes a big face, big eyes! OMG.....great.....

Claire: Strange smile ;) to start with......but when she starts laughing.....everyone follows. Her laugh is contagious. And the strange smile looks so beautiful. Pity that my camera could never capture it, but my memory did! :P Oh! I forgot....how could I???.....She is the one who made me drunk for the first time! "Gold strike" :)

Crok: She comes to me quiet often and....and.....tries to speak in English "Are you alright?". Then she shows her thumbs up. I reply, "I am doing great!". She smiles and heaves a sigh of relief. She is the most caring girl I have even seen. I didn't know french and she was never able to understand my English. My fortune: language barriers are not for friends! I felt her eyes speaking to me.

Manoelle: My techno dance teacher. My french teacher. Top dancer. Energetic! Always on the top of her moods. Always happy. Sarcastic. "Oh p......" and "Excellent" her favourite words out every 2 minutes. And..... she was actually the one who is responsible for something big for me. I met.......let's keep it unsaid!

Cylaine: Mysterious girl. Her smile was a puzzle to be solved. I always felt that there was so much to be understood about her. She always seemed to be close and distant at the same time. But, it all changed while we served together at the bar. She was honest. She had nothing to hide. It was all clear, it was just a mist to be wiped by the hands of time.

Cedric: Naughty! Naughty! Naughty! Always flirting. I have had so much beer with him. "I have some friends at the bar, come let's get some beer." He would hold my hand and off we go towards the bar. There he gives me 4 glasses then 4 more and says, "Drink fast! We need to refill!" He deserved the superman underwear! :D

Sean: One drink and he is OK. 2 drinks and he is dancing. 3 drinks and he is on the table, or on the chair, or anything which can make an Irishman taller ;). He works hard and parties harder. Sincerity is what defines him!

Hubert: Anthropologist from the French speaking province of Canada. Quebec. Interesting. Great guy to speak to. Great haristyle. And surprisingly he was everywhere and knew everyone. interesting.....

Olivier: I met him on the voyage from Greece to Italy. On the first look I took him as a fraud. Then we talked. Ship journeys are long. But, pleasant if the skies are clear and it is sunny. It was exactly that sort of a day when I met this person. From fraud to friendship in just 2 minutes. We talked like age old buddies. He going on 35+, I am going on 26 and we talked like we were 18. He was painter, graphist, poet, singer. I was a globetrotter (in every sense!) Together we were free friends. He defined french people for me. He took me through his experiences as a poet and a photographer. We experienced together his plight as a singer who sings to earn money just so that one could prevent hunger! We explored Paris together. Paris which was far away from romance in every sense and yet made great memories for people. Paris which was a hell made up of rude people and angry stares. He took me through the vineyards and forests on the west coast of France. He gave meaning to my feelings for France.

Christine: Aha.....zoom goes her hand over her forehead and she smiles! She smiles and I smile. She asks, "Why do you laugh at me?". I reply, "I love it when you do that". She smiles even more! She blushes....:) Cute. She told me what China was, what it is and what it will be. She was frank. China was no more the same for me after I met her.

Jamie: Progressive yet traditionally rooted. Appreciative. She asked weird question for which I scrambled for answers, "I have seen Indian women in movies and in pictures of some friends. I have even heard that they really beautiful. But I don't see them in Europe. Where have you guys hidden them? Why don't I see them?". She is truthful in every sense.

Drunkard at the Czech bar: Loud. Friendly. He was falling all over the place when we called him over for beer with us. He spoke only German, we spoke only English. He spoke in German and we spoke hindi! :D And then we had so much fun.....he was a nice guy. He worked in another pub and was there with his friends to party. And then he clung to us like anything. We were leaving the pub and he forced us to sit for just another drink, the drinks being on him... :)

Lady at Fragonard perfumery: The best French girl I think I will ever meet. She was the "french" girl who I always imagined in dreams! She explained every detail with such enthusiasm and interest that 1 hour passed like 1 second. She selected the perfume for me after knowing all about me ;). The glint in her eyes while saying goodbye.......

Prof Semal: ha ha ha. He was the "naughty professor" jumping around the class. His cute screen-savers popping out frequently were a sight. One of them being a bat! And he told, "That bat is in my house for years" :D Teaching while making fun of everyone was his forte. No one felt like sleeping in his class. Apart from that he was a great knowledgeable person with superb personality.

Prof Gaily: If Semal was funny, Gaily was strict. His mails were also funny, although only for him. His subject line for an assignment mail, "Gift from Santa Claus". His first lines in a class, "Some people come to me and ask for deadline extensions. I already told you to take liberty in extending the deadlines. But, please don't submit the assignment late as I am not interested in your freedom. Some people mail me asking this and that. I am not your personal assistant. Hire one!". And then he would politely say, "I have to do all this before saying good morning since this is my job". His looks could easily get him roles of deadly vampires. His terminologies were even more sarcastic than his comments: MBS: Management Bull Shit. BS: no not balance sheets but again Bull Shits. And his favourite line, "An investor is one who marries you to divorce you one day"

Aydan: I did not know what belly dancing "actually" was before meeting her.......wow!! She grooved to the music like OMG! It was an art which I would have never known if I would not have met her. She has made me add another country in my wishlist "Turkey". Although I always want to go to Istanbul, but, now I want to go around Turkey not just Istanbul. Hope she is there to take me around the maze of belly dancers :)

Liliana: "Grazie"...."Italiano"....No, she is not Italian. She is instead from the country with the largest Christmas tree. And the country known for being laidback. She had to reach the bar at 10:00pm. She reached at ... 10:00pm. Portugese time. Actual time was 11:00pm. Yeah she is from Portugal. She said she was "shy". Ask anyone else and one will laugh. She acted Italians better than Italians themselves. :D...Lili.....

True Berliner: 21....She was studying history in Berlin. She called herself a true Berliner. She ate lots of fats, she loved my pictures, she loved to sit on the stairs of the giant architectures and she loved the warmth of cold Berlin. In just 2 minutes we were talking like chaddi buddies. We smiled, we laughed, we shouted, we kissed and we departed, leaving it to destiny that we meet again......

Vicky: Masti from China. She was all fun to be with. She was one of the best company to be around, be it factory visits or La CASA. And she made good food. Although, Jamie is to be credited for food too when I mention food here, since she did most of the hard work. But Vicky weaved magic on some of the dishes.

Denis: Bacchha from Russia. His smile widened like it would tear his face, he would even blush, when he heard the name of Russia in any conversation. He was partying around on Russian scholarships. And when I threatened to spill the beans...I got beer.....So I also partied on Russian Scholarship :)

Emily from Singapore: :D That is how she introduced herself to everyone. Elegant (if she didn't speak a word) I think she knew it, that is why she "tried" not to speak much. But then she was so talkative that she had to open her mouth. And then she went on and on and on.

Emili: US girl who was highly influenced by India. She accompanied me in most of the Erasmus parties when I was alone. She shooed away the buggers who made even one joke on India. She was the elusive girl who showed up like Spider(wo)man only to rescue me from boredom in big parties.

Mr. Joseph: Kaleti hostel is situated around 100 mts in front of the Budapest railway station. The hostel is in a very bad shape. But being so close to the station makes it good for 1 night stay. But what makes it very special and worthy for staying much longer is Mr. Joseph. He would receive you on the doors, then take you around the hostel explaining everything like you are his grandchildren. He was caring, polite and modest. He spoke with such humility that I can't imagine anything wrong going with him. When he coughed, half the hostel came out to ask him for any help. He held his pipe in his mouth, smiled and said, "No, I feel great. I will have some wine and it will be alright". Great man!

Lady at the souvenir shop in Athens: We go inside the shop and ask the price of a souvenir. She replies, "Where are your from? India? Then why do you buy anything from here? India is great....." And then she goes on for another 2 hours. We talk. We talk about everything from Greece to India. Form the Indian millions of gods to the 3 major Greek gods. The resemblances and the differences. She praises India for left to right. Then she becomes sad, she asks, "Why do you have so many caste systems? Why do you look down upon some of the castes? Why don't you abolish the bad things?".....talking to her was a tremendous experience of what people actually think about us. We took it upon us, the young generation to change India for good. We told her, "We are going back to change India. You will find it as the same heaven but without the filth!"

M____: This was the girl who I was in love with. Her smile took away my breath. Her killer dance moves were amazing. If I still look at her pictures then I can't sleep for hours. She had that innocence in her voice that is only comparable to those sounds of the sea waves. Her eyes resembled galaxies of unimaginable depths with two sparkling stars. The dimples on her face were the most exciting things to look out for when she smiled. I feel lost and confused when I even imagine about her. I could never have the courage enough to go and ask her out. If I think of getting another chance I don't know if I will still make it. I will surely be spellbound.................

SOM rus

Thursday, Friday and Saturday in hel(L) are meant to be the JD day in this semester. The subject has been taken very well. Each funda is imbibed with great logic and thought. Deep thinking will permit you to appreciate this "SOM rus" as spread by god himself.

"If you think you can stay away from data, I have some bad news for you! Data can't stay away from you"

"History reflects future"

"Don't lose heart! Even if you do you have your Excel along with you :) "

"Smart heuristics can make life easier"

"The numbers look rosy on a spreadsheet"

"Work hard! You might be known tomorrow as a stand alone person who is a wiz kid with numbers"

"Life still begins with means and standard deviations"

"I am not a powerpoint person"

"I can sleepwalk thorugh Excel"

"Honeymoon period is much longer if the processes are not in place."

The best one is yet to come:

"How do you calculate the length of an arc?
You simply have 2 choices:
1. Pay someone else to do it
2. Do it yourself. Now how to do it yourself? Simple. Divide the arc into small segments so that they look like pretty staright lines. Now, you measure each line with a scale. Add all the numbers and you have the length of an arc."

Wow!

Matrix in real world

I am not the "ONE"!

But then for some people I am the only one, for others I am someone and for the still few left I am noone :), I am happy (fullstop)

But then I was elated, overjoyed, ecstatic, jubilant and jumping when one dear friend said good things about me. Particularly this pic was praised :P, the compliments are saved for life!

"My" life which runs like a matrix for me.

Sometimes I feel like everything around me is running in a fast mode. Everyone and everything is moving around very fast. I am not in sync with the rest of the world. But I am not worried at all, I am in my own world. I will give an example from today morning. I was initially running....jogging to catch the 9:15 bus. Exactly 5 mins into the run I realize "kahan ke liye?"!

Why am I running? I relax. I see around. I watch the puddles of water from last night. I see people rushing to office. I see motorbikers coming out of all small alleys and gelling into the astoundingly fast traffic. They seep around like a big funnel with its mouth at every junction and every stopover. There the next funnel opens its mouth to suck them all!

The cars, autos and buses rush around like there is no tomorrow. Recklessly they splash the filth around. I see splash leaves ripples in the water...ripples reflecting the morning sun light. Then another splash wakes up a sleeping dog :). The dog takes a long time to realize, "It's morning :) , again :D".

The bus :...it leaves just in front of my eyes :( I have no problems.. I will catch the next one :) I see people behind me running hard to catch the same bus. They do. I have made up my mind!

I see young boys running behind their father pulling a cart. The smiles are contagious. I see a man selling stickers of gods to autowallas. He comes to me too. Says something which I can't understand. I anyways buy a sticker for Rs. 2 obviously with a smile. My eyes search for an auto which has the least smoke. They are all like dragons, coughing out like anything. I am getting angry! I am getting disgusted! I find one....an auto with almost no smoke. I hand the sticker to him and tell him to keep it up! He is happy, the most auspicious thing happened to him this morning.

Happiness is contagious!

And time passes quickly! Another bus comes up. What was the need to rush for the earlier one? I get on the bus with a smile (again) :)

But then at other times, I feel everything around me is moving slowly.......People moving in slow motion.....things moving around like they have been played in replay mode of an IPL 3rd umpire screen. Extremely slow! The bus is about to leave. I am walking normally but the bus door takes hours to close....I jump in the bus....the bus moves on slowly......

Someone on my back is asking for change. The conductor is saying no change - no tickets. He has just a Rs. 500 note. Oopss! Can happen to anyone if that anyone is careless :D. He is too slow to ask for a change. I hand him Rs. 50 and tell him to return back soon. What has happened to me!!!! :O

He thinks twice ;) he who is getting the money :D He takes it and gives me his phone number. Takes down mine and says today itself. He works in the same place as I do. EGL, Bangalore.

And a traffic jam. Every car, every bike, every auto is moving as if they don't want to move ahead. I get down and start walking. It is good to walk down, one can see so many things. A group is playing a gamble. 3 hundred rupee notes are out. I watch the game. It is exciting. A person won Rs. 300. Wow! :) I congratulate him! Big day for him. I move ahead. Still the bus is behind me. Poor traffic :))

I feel like there is so much to see, so much to listen to, so much to do and so much to experience. I have done so much yet so little. I have so much to do and so less a time. Who believes in god??? Who believes in rebirths?

I believe I have just one life! I believe I have the god within! I believe one has to decide for one's own self. I believe the destiny is not destined for anyone, but the person paves the way ahead for one's own destiny. I believe I should be happy to reach my destiny. I believe I will find sorrows on every corner of the way ahead.

But I believe that sorrows can't face my smile. I believe that the sorrows will either be too slow or too fast to catch up with me.

I believe only the happiness remains with me. Happiness brings smile.

Smile is contagious :)