One of our teams had a major software release last week. These guys had been toiling pretty hard for the last 6 months or so, fighting a hostile customer as well as coping with inter-departmental politics, but finally, the project was successfully completed and everyone was happy. So, the boss of this team decided to throw a party for his 'boys'. I had done some architectural design for this project a few months back, hence I got an invite as well.
To give you some background, this team is comprised mostly of guys fresh out of college or out barely a few months back. And let me tell you, for the new blokes, the first few 'office parties' have a lot of significance. If i try to recollect personal experiences, it used to feel like I have finally become an adult - being able to booze with a boss 15 years my senior, and being treated as an equal, irrespective of their knowledge, standing and years of experience. So, a lot of these guys were pretty excited.
We reached the place. It was a restaurant. A family one. With 4 sitter dining tables. And soft music. And NO BOOZE.
Shit I pitied these guys man! Everyone was roaming around with a dazed expression on their faces. I mean nobody had a clue! It was 7PM and the buffet was laid out. Some optimists refused to believe that there could'nt be no provision for booze, but by 8 everyone was pretty convinced. So, one by one, they shuffled towards the buffet tables and dinner started.
And mingling with them, with a kind, beatific expression of a proud patriarch, was the big boss, asking everyone to enjoy themselves to the fullest, saying that they deserved this 'treat' after the hard work they had put in. And the scream was that, this guy actually believed it himself! And you should have seen the expressions on the guys' faces man!!
Anyway, I had a great time. Set an all time personal record - had food, dessert and coffee for dinner for the first time in my 'adult' life. And being the kindly soul that I am, I have promised these guys that I would take them out next week for a booze-only party.
You guys are invited as well.
Showing posts with label Nostalgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nostalgia. Show all posts
Apr 19, 2007
Apr 2, 2007
Slithering
Tried to look up the word on the net but failed to find what I was looking for. What it was supposed to mean was that you are supposed to bungee jump into a river. Went to Corbett National Park for an adventure sports outing last weekend. Stayed in tents, swam in a fast and furious river, trekked in the forest..but slithering took the cake.
There was this creaking swaying suspension bridge (that looked about a 100 years old) where we were fitted with harnesses and ropes. Then you are supposed to lean back over the water while someone holds the rope and then lets go. After a free fall of about 3 seconds you crash into the river and go under.
Absolutely amazing experience man! Try it if you get the chance.
There was this creaking swaying suspension bridge (that looked about a 100 years old) where we were fitted with harnesses and ropes. Then you are supposed to lean back over the water while someone holds the rope and then lets go. After a free fall of about 3 seconds you crash into the river and go under.
Absolutely amazing experience man! Try it if you get the chance.
Mar 1, 2007
Its been a long long time
Running your hands through a soft fluffy bush. Touching a bud and watching it harden. Kissing the petals and tasting their oh sweet juices. Caressing the valleys and the shadows ever so lightly, fingers caressing and feeling the gentle answering quiver. Feeling the moistness and inhaling that smell to the farthest capillary of your lung. Hearing the sighs and the groans and smelling the sweat. Pushing yourself to go on a on, deeper and deeper, till you collapse and lay panting and spent but ready for more.
Its really been a long time since I been on a nature trail.
Its really been a long time since I been on a nature trail.
Feb 21, 2007
The victory of the lowest common denominator
The concert was great..the sound, the visuals, the props, the hands and of course Roger himself. I had gone for the 'In the Flesh' tour in 2002 as well and had sorely missed Gilmour. But this time around the hands were magnificient and the lead guitar riffs gladdened the hearts of even floyd bigots like me. All in all..an evening to remember. But...
I was saddened to see that Roger had to come down to our level. His lyrics used to subtle, his anti bush sentiments used to be delightfully scornful. But subtlety is wasted on the non-occidental populace..so his latest song has lines like
'Are these the people that we should bomb
Are we so sure they mean us harm
Is this our pleasure, punishment or crime
Is this a mountain that we really want to climb
The road is hard, hard and long
Put down that two by four
This man would never turn you from his door
Oh George! Oh George!
That Texas education must have fucked you up when you were very small'
Pretty childish stuff i think..but these were the only lyrics that were displayed on the screen along with the song..and hence the only lyrics the srk-karan-bigb-lovers understood..so they cheered wildly and everyone was happy.
But then dont listen to me..i am just a cynical bastard.
Dec 14, 2006
The long walk
Suddenly decided yesterday to walk from point A to B. Maybe it was the thought of the traffic snarls, or the lovely northern breeze or the bimbette who passed me as i was opening the car door. Anyways, I was glad I did.
I dont go to gyms or malls, and these are the only places I see people walking these days. So the walk brought back a lot of memories. There were times when we used to walk home from college just for the heck of it, prolonging the meaningless banter with friends, or delaying the return and the mandatory pointless sessions with an open text book. 90% of my first affair was walking together in winding bylanes for hours on end, feeling on the top of the world, feeling the thrill of the everpresent danger of someone seeing us and reporting the incident.
There have been memorable walks in my life. A 140km trek in the Kumaon has to be the best. But not far behind are the winding streets of Dublin, or the white sand beaches of Thailand, or beautiful countryside of Goa and many more. But gradually over the last couple of years, the mechanised home-office-home routine has squeezed out this activity from my life.
Anyways, it felt good. I discovered a lot of things I had never bothered to find out. The security guy at the gate has a beautiful 3 year old son, there is a gap in the hedges from where one can see a not-so-bad view of the surrounding neighborhood, the reriwala makes a great concotation of peanuts, onions, masala and nimbu, the stray dogs understand bengali, the neighborhood ladies give 'interesting' looks..
Ours must have become a developed first world country. If our lives have become such that these simple things now give us pleasure, then it must be so.
I dont go to gyms or malls, and these are the only places I see people walking these days. So the walk brought back a lot of memories. There were times when we used to walk home from college just for the heck of it, prolonging the meaningless banter with friends, or delaying the return and the mandatory pointless sessions with an open text book. 90% of my first affair was walking together in winding bylanes for hours on end, feeling on the top of the world, feeling the thrill of the everpresent danger of someone seeing us and reporting the incident.
There have been memorable walks in my life. A 140km trek in the Kumaon has to be the best. But not far behind are the winding streets of Dublin, or the white sand beaches of Thailand, or beautiful countryside of Goa and many more. But gradually over the last couple of years, the mechanised home-office-home routine has squeezed out this activity from my life.
Anyways, it felt good. I discovered a lot of things I had never bothered to find out. The security guy at the gate has a beautiful 3 year old son, there is a gap in the hedges from where one can see a not-so-bad view of the surrounding neighborhood, the reriwala makes a great concotation of peanuts, onions, masala and nimbu, the stray dogs understand bengali, the neighborhood ladies give 'interesting' looks..
Ours must have become a developed first world country. If our lives have become such that these simple things now give us pleasure, then it must be so.
Nov 6, 2006
Oct 3, 2006
Getting old
I was never a fanatical durga puja bong. As a child, it was just a time for new shirts and pandal hopping. Things started getting better after crossing 15, when puja started to represent 4 days when there are no curfews, no questions, no rules. Till the time I left for B'lore at the 'tender' age of 20, those 20 days spreading across those 5 years gave me a lot of firsts of my life - my first drinking binge, my first girlfriend, my first visit to Sonagachi (returned unopened, I assure you..the atmosphere scared the living shit out of me), my first experiences of mob rowdisms (atop a truck, going for the 'bhashan') and so on and on and on.
But then life moved on. I became independent, first personally, then financially. All the rules of my life fell apart and 4 days without rules lost their significance. Friends moved on, muhalla kids grew up and started to occupy the prime seats in the pandals and puja time lost its charm.
The fanatical bong carried on. Taking vacation to visit Cal during the pujas was something that had to be planned months in advance. Spouses leave applications synchronised, children school leaves planned, tkts booked at exhorbitant rates...and then coming back with stories of drinking sessions and bad food and mad queues.
I have always felt myself to be 'above' these people. Once I left Cal I have never missed being there during the pujas. So it came to me as a shocker when suddenly, out of the blue, I felt myself desperately yearning to be in Cal on the oshtomi. Drop by on all friends and relatives, soak in the special treatment that is usually accorded to someone settled outside Cal (and the treatment is the same regardless of whether you settled in Bombay or Bahamas), eat phuchka at 2 AM in the morning, wake up to the beating of the drums and to that amazing shorot sky and the slight nip in the air..
Its official. If your root has started calling to you, you have finally crossed youth. Goodbye youth, welcome middle age.
But then life moved on. I became independent, first personally, then financially. All the rules of my life fell apart and 4 days without rules lost their significance. Friends moved on, muhalla kids grew up and started to occupy the prime seats in the pandals and puja time lost its charm.
The fanatical bong carried on. Taking vacation to visit Cal during the pujas was something that had to be planned months in advance. Spouses leave applications synchronised, children school leaves planned, tkts booked at exhorbitant rates...and then coming back with stories of drinking sessions and bad food and mad queues.
I have always felt myself to be 'above' these people. Once I left Cal I have never missed being there during the pujas. So it came to me as a shocker when suddenly, out of the blue, I felt myself desperately yearning to be in Cal on the oshtomi. Drop by on all friends and relatives, soak in the special treatment that is usually accorded to someone settled outside Cal (and the treatment is the same regardless of whether you settled in Bombay or Bahamas), eat phuchka at 2 AM in the morning, wake up to the beating of the drums and to that amazing shorot sky and the slight nip in the air..
Its official. If your root has started calling to you, you have finally crossed youth. Goodbye youth, welcome middle age.
Jun 27, 2006
Firsts
1) Driving around alone in the hot afternoons just so as not to stay at home alone.
2) Agreeing to go out with colleagues for a beer.
3) Trying to stay at office for as long as possible.
4) Eating out.
5) Sitting at Barista's and drinking coffee in the evenings.
Thanks vikas you bloody fool.
2) Agreeing to go out with colleagues for a beer.
3) Trying to stay at office for as long as possible.
4) Eating out.
5) Sitting at Barista's and drinking coffee in the evenings.
Thanks vikas you bloody fool.
Jun 22, 2006
Goodbye and good luck
Vikas is leaving today for Australia. BIG decision, BIG uncertainties. Hope everything works out brother. Will be rooting for you. Go get them tiger.
Jun 14, 2006
Arindam
I 'inherited' Arindam's friendship through by elder brother. Dadamoni and Anupam (Arindam's elder brother) were class friends and me and Arindam got introduced to each other when we joined class 1 in Xavier's. We were good friends till class 6 and even though we were in the same class right till class 12, that childhood bonding faded away by the time i was 14.
Arindam was the first boy in class throughout. He was brilliant in the arts subjects, was a good orator and a fantastic footballer. I personally believe that if he had gone pro all football lovers in India would have heard of him. But..this is what finally happenned to him.
He was always shaky in maths. Till class 10 it doesnt really matter as the science and maths syllabus are quite easy. Then there is a quantum leap in the higher secondary syllabus. He scored 85% in 10th (a lot in west bengal board standard) and expectedly was instructed by his parents to take up Science (all good bong students have to take up science and then become docs or engineers..its the law of the land). He somehow scraped through the board exams but did not crack any of the competitive exams. His family still were unable to reconcile the fact that their topper son was not cut out to be a science student, and he was forced to sit at home for a year and prepare for the next years entrance exams. He failed again and tried to commit suicide. I lost track of him after that. Then a couple of years back i heard that he has become a drug addict.
To all of you who have children please let this incident be a lesson. Please identity the inclinations and strengths of your children and help them pursue their dreams. Let us make sure that there are no more Arindams.
Arindam was the first boy in class throughout. He was brilliant in the arts subjects, was a good orator and a fantastic footballer. I personally believe that if he had gone pro all football lovers in India would have heard of him. But..this is what finally happenned to him.
He was always shaky in maths. Till class 10 it doesnt really matter as the science and maths syllabus are quite easy. Then there is a quantum leap in the higher secondary syllabus. He scored 85% in 10th (a lot in west bengal board standard) and expectedly was instructed by his parents to take up Science (all good bong students have to take up science and then become docs or engineers..its the law of the land). He somehow scraped through the board exams but did not crack any of the competitive exams. His family still were unable to reconcile the fact that their topper son was not cut out to be a science student, and he was forced to sit at home for a year and prepare for the next years entrance exams. He failed again and tried to commit suicide. I lost track of him after that. Then a couple of years back i heard that he has become a drug addict.
To all of you who have children please let this incident be a lesson. Please identity the inclinations and strengths of your children and help them pursue their dreams. Let us make sure that there are no more Arindams.
May 22, 2006
I am back (BOOOHOOOHOOO!!!!)
But what a great trip it was!! And instead of writing a looong post which no one will read, I will penn down thoughts about each place we visited as well as about some special incidents. Till then, enjoy this..
May 12, 2006
BREAK!!
'Pyare bhaio aur behno' (in Amin Sayani's voice)..it will be a couple of weeks till the 75th post is going to be penned. The wife and son are coming and then we are going on a looong trip to Kumaon (yipeee!!!). And the next one will be about that trip, pics galore. Till then....toodle doo.
May 8, 2006
A different world
Went to Saldana, a village near Meerut, for a day outing yesterday. Me, Bubai and Vikas with his school friends. One of his friend Sumit is the brother of the village pradhan there. 'Bade bhaiya' is the mai-baap of the entire region, and the region we are talking about (Meerut to Muzaffarpur) is the worst crime belt in India. He was part of the infamous Tyagi gang at one time, then went into legtimate business and then politics. His drinking buddies make up the rest of the region's who's who, and our main agenda was to experience what it felt like to be the guest of such a person.
The ride was hot and dusty and to combat the discomfiture everyone got busy in going through a gigantic database of MMS scandals that one of the guys had on his phone. By the time we reached there it was high noon, and everyone got down to their chaddis and plunged in the deliciously cool tube well tank. The next 5 hours was just sit in the water, get your drinks served up to you and talk.
What was amazing was how these guys recieved us. It was bade bhaiya who cooked country chicken for us (absolutely mindbogglingly delicious, with real spices), chote bhaiya who served us our drinks and a member of the village panchayat who served us food. These guys are not only politically powerful, they are also stinking rich. But i havent seen any guys of this stature who are so down to earth. When it was time for us to go they promised us that the next time they will get permission to go hunting and asked us to try and make an overnite trip (THAT will be one memorable post I can assure you).
At the end of it all I was pretty confused. These are the real criminals of India, who have broken all laws of the land, raped the political system and destroyed thousands of lives. On the other hand, personally, they are wonderful, warm and down to earth folks. How does one reconcile these two things?
Apr 19, 2006
The amazing world of spam
Nowadays I diligently go through my spam mails before deleting them. There is a world of entertainment hidden there. Here are the top 5:
1) Very common are the ones with the plight of a terminally ill child who is paid 12 cents by the service provider for every person you forward the mail to.
2) Congrutaltions! You have 2.75 million dollars jackpot in the Online Lotto draw! Just open an account with us with a minimum deposit and we will transfer the winnings to you.
3) This one i got today. Its great news! Some solicitor has traced my name as the sole beneficiary of an estate worth 5.3 million dollars belonging to a man who has died hierless and without a will. This diligent bugger has traced me based on my last name and is willing to file a claim for me in return of 40% of the amount.
4) Natasha is looking for you! Along with 2347789 beautiful females!! Only at bharatmatrimonials.com
5) But the winner is Penis Enlargement Pills. Herbal, no side effect, gauranteed increase upto 4 inches. YIPEEE!!!
1) Very common are the ones with the plight of a terminally ill child who is paid 12 cents by the service provider for every person you forward the mail to.
2) Congrutaltions! You have 2.75 million dollars jackpot in the Online Lotto draw! Just open an account with us with a minimum deposit and we will transfer the winnings to you.
3) This one i got today. Its great news! Some solicitor has traced my name as the sole beneficiary of an estate worth 5.3 million dollars belonging to a man who has died hierless and without a will. This diligent bugger has traced me based on my last name and is willing to file a claim for me in return of 40% of the amount.
4) Natasha is looking for you! Along with 2347789 beautiful females!! Only at bharatmatrimonials.com
5) But the winner is Penis Enlargement Pills. Herbal, no side effect, gauranteed increase upto 4 inches. YIPEEE!!!
Apr 11, 2006
Another firang rape?
Was sitting in a bar in CP last sunday. It was a typical 'theka' kind of place and was filled up by typical middle class regular drinkers. And in a corner there was this beautiful Japanese (i think) girl sitting alone with a bottle of beer. Everybody's eyes, minds and other things were focussed on this girl. Next to the girl there were 3 young guys who were trying to work up courage to start exploring options. As expected they could not come up with the guts, but unexpectedly it was the girl who struck up conversation with these guys. Things progressed from talking, toasting, offering cigarettes, offering beer, taking snaps, taking closer snaps, hand-accidently-brushing-tits moves, hands-casually-resting-on-thighs moves to requesting the girl to take turns with each of them for 'friendly' photographs. Everyone else in the bar was mentally cursing these guys for their incredible luck, rueing their own table selection fate and asking god what they had done in their past lives to deserve this. I was thinking whether I will be reading tomorrow's paper about another rape in a car. But then these arseholes screwed up. They got so excited that one of them made a call and in about 5 minutes in walked 3 of their friends. The ones that came in were total taporis, answering perfectly to the 'jeans jacket-love locket- comb in back pocket' category of delhiites. They all crowded at the same table and the ratio now read 6-1. Some warning bells went off in the girl's head and she excused herself, got up, paid the bill and beat it. Everyone cheered (mentally) and smiles and conversations started all around the bar. The 6 sat there scratching their heads and wondering what went wrong. What arseholes!!
Mar 30, 2006
Sorry
Made a committed effort to give England a winning start to the one day series. Went to Kotla early in the morning, wore the shirt I was wearing on the last day of the Wankhede test, took vikas along with me. We did the best we could, bundled out India for 203 and then created a great partnership between Pieterson and Freddy..but just when we started to relax the English guys gave it away.
Tomorrow also I will not be able to do much as I will be going to Mumbai to see Ayush's concert. The entire load now rests on Vikas's tiny shoulders. God give him strength!
Tomorrow also I will not be able to do much as I will be going to Mumbai to see Ayush's concert. The entire load now rests on Vikas's tiny shoulders. God give him strength!
Mar 23, 2006
Last drunken thoughts of my life
That's because from today I am quitting drinking for 3 months, and after that resume as a social drinker. So, no more of sending SMS-es to myself at 11 PM to remind myself about what to write about in the blog the morning after..taaliyan, taaliyan..
Here goes:
SHIT!! last nite's messages got deleted..damn it!
Here goes:
SHIT!! last nite's messages got deleted..damn it!
Mar 22, 2006
Last night's drunken thoughts
"Its a hell of a thing killing a man"
Watched 'Unforgiven' again. What a movie! Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman together..need I say more? For those of you martians who havent seen it, go and buy the the DVD right now.
Dev Benegal
Director of Split Wide Open and English August, this guy is now making a movie on Ramanujan. Who said Indian cinema is all about Bollywood?
Garden Shot
CNN featured a 'breaking news' (hate this term..my son once asked me why news is always breaking on tv) about a old man who was arrested for shooting a teenage tresspasser on his garden. While he was being portrayed as a nazi fanatic, my thoughts were has anyone bothered to know if he was being persecuted by the neighborhood kids? Having seen the gora teenage brats first hand, I have seen how they treat elderly and lonely people. Wish my father had a gun.
Rajdeep Sardesai
I would like to meet that arsehole outside his studio. Inside, the fucker gets away with anything. He doesn't let anyone speak, cuts off people midway and when in trouble resorts to a commercial break. Did you know that even the so called 'live' talk shows are edited prior to screening? That's why these dickheads always emerge as the winners in any debate. Kabhi milna saale koi andhere gully main..
Detox
The last 5 years of drinking without a break has finally taken a toll. Liver test has shown some pretty bad results. Decided to resort to medication to quit alcohol. Soumyadeep (my school pal and consultant physician) gave me a routine that scared the shit out of me. It seems that the withdrawal symptoms are so severe that one has to be kept under tranquilisers for 5 days till the effect wears off. The medication to reduce the urge starts after that. There go my good intentions straight out of the window. Cheers.
Watched 'Unforgiven' again. What a movie! Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman together..need I say more? For those of you martians who havent seen it, go and buy the the DVD right now.
Dev Benegal
Director of Split Wide Open and English August, this guy is now making a movie on Ramanujan. Who said Indian cinema is all about Bollywood?
Garden Shot
CNN featured a 'breaking news' (hate this term..my son once asked me why news is always breaking on tv) about a old man who was arrested for shooting a teenage tresspasser on his garden. While he was being portrayed as a nazi fanatic, my thoughts were has anyone bothered to know if he was being persecuted by the neighborhood kids? Having seen the gora teenage brats first hand, I have seen how they treat elderly and lonely people. Wish my father had a gun.
Rajdeep Sardesai
I would like to meet that arsehole outside his studio. Inside, the fucker gets away with anything. He doesn't let anyone speak, cuts off people midway and when in trouble resorts to a commercial break. Did you know that even the so called 'live' talk shows are edited prior to screening? That's why these dickheads always emerge as the winners in any debate. Kabhi milna saale koi andhere gully main..
Detox
The last 5 years of drinking without a break has finally taken a toll. Liver test has shown some pretty bad results. Decided to resort to medication to quit alcohol. Soumyadeep (my school pal and consultant physician) gave me a routine that scared the shit out of me. It seems that the withdrawal symptoms are so severe that one has to be kept under tranquilisers for 5 days till the effect wears off. The medication to reduce the urge starts after that. There go my good intentions straight out of the window. Cheers.
Mar 13, 2006
A day with Swaminarayan
No..he is not my golf coach or tennis partner. He, in fact, was a 18th century saint, whose temple we visited this weekend. The place is Akshardham, in Delhi and its a must see for whoever visits Delhi.
The 'story' of Swaminaryan is a riveting one. Born to a poor brahmin family in the 1700's, he got bored of performing small time miracles and left home at the age of 12. From Ayodhya he started a trek that took him 7 yrs - going north towards the upper reaches of the himalayas in the month of october (wearing a small dhoti), crossing mount trishul, manosarovar, then down to nepal , assam, sunderbans, orrissa, down the east coast to madurai, kannyakumari, up the west coast thru maharashtra finally ending in gujrat.
Its a great story..and if you are interested you can look here for the rest..but obviously i dont believe 80% of it. But..thats not the point.
The point is that the temple in Delhi is a magnificient achievement. If you visited the link above you will see why. Its fantastically done up and beautifully maintained and the best thing is that they have managed to create a theme park revolving around religion. They havent commercialised it, but at the same time they have managed to package it in such a way that it can rivet any person of any class, age or religious inclination.
And the best part is along with the greatness of swaminarayan, the place tries to remind you about the greatness of the indian past, starting from the vedic ages to the mid 16th century, and tries to make you feel proud of your heritage. Quite inspiring really. Next time you are here, check it out.
The 'story' of Swaminaryan is a riveting one. Born to a poor brahmin family in the 1700's, he got bored of performing small time miracles and left home at the age of 12. From Ayodhya he started a trek that took him 7 yrs - going north towards the upper reaches of the himalayas in the month of october (wearing a small dhoti), crossing mount trishul, manosarovar, then down to nepal , assam, sunderbans, orrissa, down the east coast to madurai, kannyakumari, up the west coast thru maharashtra finally ending in gujrat.
Its a great story..and if you are interested you can look here for the rest..but obviously i dont believe 80% of it. But..thats not the point.
The point is that the temple in Delhi is a magnificient achievement. If you visited the link above you will see why. Its fantastically done up and beautifully maintained and the best thing is that they have managed to create a theme park revolving around religion. They havent commercialised it, but at the same time they have managed to package it in such a way that it can rivet any person of any class, age or religious inclination.
And the best part is along with the greatness of swaminarayan, the place tries to remind you about the greatness of the indian past, starting from the vedic ages to the mid 16th century, and tries to make you feel proud of your heritage. Quite inspiring really. Next time you are here, check it out.
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