Happy New Year… colourful one tht too

Surprised by the title? Well, yesterday was the first day of the New Year according to the Hindu calendar. So,

Gudi padawya nimitta saglyana hardik shubhechahe varsha aapanas such-samruddhi aani bharbharatiche jaavo

These greetings r so cliched. Anyways..

Since this is traditionally celebrated we don’t have the new year parties n all at this time :((. But the best thing was tht I got a holiday frm work. It was really a welcome break frm the workload n esp after the leave on Holi was cancelled. We all were expecting tht it would be a working day but a mail frm the client wishing Happy Holiday tomorrow was enough for us n noone replied to the client even Thanks fearing it might backfire.. lol. Maharashtrians put up a long pole which is decorated outside their homes. I really don’t know wht does this signify. If someone knows here, pls share it with us or otherwise thts the main reason why Google came into existence

All in all a gr8 day to be at home… woke up leisurely n lazed around the whole day. Watched TV in the afternoon after a long long time, though there was nothing to watch as such. Started reading a book, helped mom in putting up washed curtains around the house, went for a ride in frnd’s new car… Gosh!! So much work off-office too.

Btw, for ur information CNBC TV 18 is a stock-market news channel which provides information about the Sensex (now don’t get this wrong either). So, don’t sit glued to ur TV sets n waste 1 hour expecting, even if the name might seem to suggest something else. Though tht 1 hour was bearable coz of the Bong newsreader. She was earlier on Headlines Today n I was wondering till yesterday why she suddenly left tht channel. Does anyone (read guys) remember her name? I think it was like Mitali or something…

This is called painting the town red… blue, green, yellow n all other colours too

Few more pics

In the company, we had blocked the Exit n smeared colours on those who tried to sneak away. Almost a fortnight has passed since then but the scratches n rashes on my face r not leaving. But, who the hell cares after having a blast :))

The fastest tag ever :-)

I was working on Ishita’s tag for the 5 things I want to do b4 I die… then I saw this tag by Kathy n as I was reading the questions n her answers, felt tht I shld also post this n postpone my death wish-list. Perhaps this is the fastest tag completion frm my side (r u hearing Yashita? :D)
So here goes the questions n the answers…


1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4

I m sitting in office so don’t have any book here… not even technical.
Might put something here frm my home where I have books lying over… though will have to measure up which book is lying more close

EDIT: "The President had red cheeks and was looking at me" - Papillon

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.

ouch… hit the sides of my cubicle

3. What is the last thing you watched on tv?

Chuppa Rustam...

Btw, can I lower my hand? It is difficult typing with one hand

4. Without looking, guess what time it is?

6:48:13 PM

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?

6:48:15PM :))

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?

I can hear everything but can’t hear the computer…
If it is ‘bout music on computer m listening to One Nite Stand - Enrique

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?

In the afternoon to pay my mobile bill

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?

The clock… how much time do I have to wait more here


Helllooo…. My hand is paining.. pllsss lemme lower it

9. What are you wearing?

Clothes ofcourse… I cant run around sticking leaves covering the appropriate parts coz then I will be scared of goats

10. Did you dream last night?

I dream every nite…

11. When did you last laugh?

Anyone remembers the ‘Kismi’ gal in my office… we both were discussing something n we burst out laffing

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?.

Nothing here..
If I would have been posting this frm home then it would be…. mmm… a Ganesha frame, a bring-luck-to-ur-house wall-hanging frm Ladakh (the Ladakhis got more lucky I guess) n assorted collection of greeting cards over my study corner

13. Seen anything weird lately?

yeah… saw myself in the mirror


Thts enuf…. I m using my both hands now

14. What do you think of this quiz?

Honed my GK, improved my outlook towards life and this will bring discipline into my life
*WIPES OFF TEARS IN SATISFACTION* (with both hands)

15. What is the last film you saw?

Maalamal Weekly in theatre, Crash on pc n Andaz Apna Apna on TV

EDIT: Being Cyrus in theatre

16. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?

I think it shld be “wht I wouldn’t buy”… btw I want the copyright of the book titled “How to become a multi-millionaire overnite” priced at 1 million bucks apiece :)

17. Tell me something about you that i dunno.

Who is ‘me’ here… make it clear… then I might tell

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?

Change the sleeping times…

19. Do you like to dance?

Yesss…

20. George bush.

Dancing with him?? NOO!!

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?

I will have to consult my better-half for tht.. coz cant decide tht alone

22. Imagine yout first child is a boy, what do you call him?

Same here… but how ‘bout Sudeep Part II .. sounds cool to me

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?

With those millions, I can :))

24.What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?

I want him to say Hi.. but I think he will say Ohh GOD!! YOU!! I m going to stay on earth now
Btw, will I forget my access card there too?

25. 4 people who must also do this meme in their journal.

The permanent set of tag-holders Parag, AnonymousBlogger, Harshal n Wasim
The tag-lovers Kavita, Neha, Deepa, Ujwal n Arzoon
The revenge of the tag Yashita, Ishita, Ritu, Sridhar, Vaibhav
The tag to make ppl to update their blogs Ajay S, Ajay A, Preeti, Raj
The newcomers tag Neetika, Ana, Tarun, The Gal who sold the World (wazz ur name?), Pinks, Aizwaikcha, Mayur T
The rest have been reserved for others to tag :D

Thts it folks... have a gr8 weekend

Game..Set..Match

I don’t like waking up early in the morning but for the past 3 months or so I am up early on Sundays’ to catch up with some tennis practice. The Sunday mornings now start off with around 2 hours of play and then breakfast at Vaishali*. But, today my cell battery died off n the alarm failed to wake me up. Last Sunday an incident took place which I wanted to share but didn’t get time to write it down.

Let me start off frm the very start. It has been around 1 year (1 yr n 4 days to be precise) in this software/IT industry. Apart from the salary, I haven’t still figured out what this industry has given me till date. But it has taken a lot of things away from me and one of the main things is my daily 2 hrs dose of playing. Earlier I used to play some game or go jogging on the nearby hills. But, nowadays don’t get to go home early enough to be on the ground. Many of my frnds also experienced this and frm there came up the idea to play tennis atleast every Sunday morning.

We were quite sure tht it would be difficult to keep our balls within the court after being out of practice (tennis balls u pervert!) but were not aware tht the most painful task will be finding a court to play. ALL courts in Pune have been booked for ALL the coming Sundays’ for the whole year. So the only court tht was available was the one near MIT college, the same one where I used to take training a few years back. But it is now in a horrible state coz the owner has stopped coaching (I don’t know why he used to coach with the income he already had/still has**). Then one of the grp members came up with the idea to play on the court of a residential building which is in the vicinity.

The high-rise apartment which we chose has around 12-14 wings of buildings n each wing having around 40 homes. Visitors are not allowed to use any of the facilities and yet we went on to give a try if we could go n play there. The first time the security guards had tried to stop us at the gate but we quickly made a dash inside on the bikes and no one asked us anything within the premises. The best (for visitors like us) and worst (for residents) thing is tht being in such a huge complex ppl don’t know who is staying in the adjacent house. From tht Sunday we have been playing there and now sometimes even the security guard throws a salaam (salutes) at us when we enter the building.

Tht was indeed a long start n after boring u for 3 paragraphs I will now come to the incident :)). We were busy playing last Sunday and Kunal was sitting (we are 5 guys) on a bench (a new addition near the court tht day) when an elderly gentleman walked into the gate (the court has a small entry gate too). All of us thought tht this man has identified us as outsiders and will soon rebuke us for playing there. The gentleman came n sat besides Kunal n ..

Man: Gud morning!

Kunal: ehhh… Hello Uncle!
Man: Isn’t this bench a gud thing done this week

Kunal: Yeah! We were just talking ‘bout tht. It is one of the better things to happen in our society this week.

(as if we stay there n wait for gud things to happen in the society)
Man: I used to see u guys playing and thought tht there shld be a bench too so tht u don’t have to stand.
Kunal: (innocent smile) Tht was so thoughtful of you.
Man: After u all finish playing can u go to the society office n tell them tht due to Mr. (his name)’s efforts we got a bench to sit on.
(as if being on bench in company was not enough)
Kunal: Yes, sure.
Man: I m also standing for our society’s Secretary post election next month. I hope all ur families will vote for me.
(making us sit he will stand for sure)
Kunal: Of course! No doubt in it.
(will bring more frnds to vote if u want)

Sensing this we all showed him a thumbs-up sign from the court and the man beamed as if he just won a landslide victory in the elections. We do hope he wins so tht we have a strong backing to continue playing there.

Frankly speaking sometimes I do feel a pang of guilt for barging into the restricted premises n sometimes even fear at the thought of being caught but still the wish to play and seeing the cutie watching frm the 3rd floor of ‘H’ wing is wht makes me wake up early every Sunday and pick up my racquet.

* Since it is ‘at’ and not ‘with’ it’s a food-joint n not the gal frm my school

** My coach has leased the land where this same hotel Vaishali stands on and along with tht the land covering Rupali Hotel and the adjacent Iceberg ice-cream parlour too. It is like owning hens laying a golden egg everyday n no scare of bird-flu either coz u don’t kill the hen nor eat the egg.

Take it sportingly :)

South African team celebrating

12th March 2006 will definitely be written in Golden letters in sports history n I was lucky enough to be a witness to tht. South Africa beat the world champions Australia in the final one-day cricket match to clinch the series 3-2. Tht itself is big n wht makes it bigger is the score they chased. Australia had put on 434 runs on the scoreboard n such a huge score is unassailable in all terms of cricket. But, the SAFs’ proved it wrong n came up with 438 which included a scintillating display of strokeplay n superb catches. I m not gud at match analysis, so if u want to read a in-depth analysis visit Tarun’s blog. I m sure he will write on it (or might have already published it). Read Harshal’s blog for Formula 1 scenario. He has a gud post on the new championship race with info on all teams. Yesterday’s race confirmed Renault’s emerging domination but Schumi’s fans r happy to see the Red colour back on the podium.

Sunday was overall a gr8 day for sports lovers. Aust-SA cricket one-day match, F1 season’s first race, Arsenal-Liverpool showdown n India-England Test match… one should have a TV showroom to see all this at one time. Doordarshan (DD), our government channel proved once again tht it is very pathetic to watch. Has anyone watched ‘Aankhein’ on DD? Might be more bashing on this some other day. But, when it comes to showing highlights DD does not know the difference between highlights and live match. TV audience wants to see how wickets fell and how the batsmen blasted the bowlers. They don’t expect to see how a captain sets his field and how a batsman waits for the 12th man to bring him a spare pair of gloves.

Rahul Dravid (India’s captain) is setting the field according to bowler Irfan Pathan’s need. DD zooms in the camera on both of them get close to decide on whom to set on which position. The conversation caught is courtesy lip-reading skills…

IP: It is hot today.
RD: (eyeing suspiciously) Were u watching Brokeback Mountain last night in the hotel when rest of us were busy watching dancers in the strip-club?
IP: Stupid! I am talking about the atmosphere. I was practising on bowling last nite. Wht ‘bout the fielding strategy?
RD: I don’t think we will need it. Look at both the batsmen. They are not gonna keep their eyes on the ball u bowl.
IP: Wht makes u think like tht?
RD: The batsmen r staring at our wicketkeeper Dhoni. They think tht we have a gal as wicketkeeper. Long hair is definitely beneficial to the team.
IP: (sad smile) Yeah! Girls r going crazy ‘bout his locks. I seem to have lost the title of Most Eligible Bachelor to him. U know after the incident of the 2 gals who had come to my house for marrying me, no one has yet knocked my door. Even the count of fan mails has fallen down. Parthiv (ex-wicketkeeper) was better. He even carried our entire luggage and we could hit him in frustration when we used to lose a match.
RD: I m still wondering why the gals who had come to ur house did not …
IP: (cuts him off) Are Harbhajan and Laxman again fighting?
RD: Where? I can’t see them. My eye-sight is getting weaker day by day. I had told my parents tht I wanted to marry an ophthalmologist but they forced me to marry a General Practitioner.
IP: (points in tht dirn) There… they r fighting ever since tht Ganguly issue raked up.
RD: Hmmm… Greg (coach) is a dumbo. Ganguly is earning so much through advertisements and might feature in some movies also. Yet Greg said tht Ganguly wanted to remain captain for financial reasons.
IP: I am wondering wht will happen of all the established players if Greg keeps on experimenting the team n bringing in new faces.
RD: Thts why I have started to play fast nowadays. Wasim Jaffer plays even slower than me. When I play along with Wasim, I feel like I m Dhoni blasting the bowlers at the rate of 2 runs per over. Time to re-read Who Moved My Cheese?
IP: Hmmm… U know why I didn’t come to the strip-club yesterday. I was busy teaching ‘Bhangra’ to Greg. He said he didn’t look gud in the news channels last time doing the bhangra jig.
RD: But wht has to do with ur bowling?
IP: Not with bowling but it has to do with my place in the team. Munaf Patel also bowls pretty well.
RD: Ohh!! I forgot tht newbie.
IP: Shall we send Kumble near the boundary line?
RD: Yeah.. we will give him rest till he retires.
IP: I think he will quit now after reaching the 500 wickets landmark.
RD: Why are the batsmen not asking for bad light? I want to finish off this soon n want to catch with the next episode of Takeshi’s Castle on POGO.
IP: But, it is shown again at 11 in the night.

RD: But at tht time I have to see Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii. I luv Ekta Kapoor’s soaps.
Irfan faints on hearing this n DD takes a commercial break reminding us tht it is time to switch channels.

The above is not intended to hurt anyone’s sentiments. Not of gals who r crazy ‘bout cricketers n guys crazy ‘bout the game of cricket n ofcourse espescially not of DD lovers. :))

Schindler's List!

Yashita tagged me few days back (few is ok I suppose :p) to list the 20 things I hate. “Hate” for me is a step higher than “dislike”. If this had been stuff I dislike then it would have been much easier to list it down.. but don’t know if I can reach 20 on the hate list.

1. Like charity let’s begin hatred from home. I hate myself for reasons better known to me n even those ppl who ask ‘bout those or know ‘bout them.

2. I hate ppl who don’t have traffic sense. I will club these…
I hate-
i. ppl who don’t follow traffic rules n cause accidents
ii. ppl who drive slowly in the middle of the road
iii. women on 2-wheelers who apply brake by rubbing their feet on the road as if they r skiing.
iv. ppl who honk unnecessarily.
v. pedestrians who walk in the middle of the road as if the vehicles will pass through them as seen in some C grade horror flick

vi. to get stuck in traffic esp between the Kothrud flyover n Law College road when I m going to office in morning.

3. I hate to see little children begging at traffic signals n other places n even those chidren-rights activists who don’t do anything for this.

4. I hate punctual ppl. I mean 10-15 min late is not at all late n late coming might start only after around 40-45 min.

5. I hate ppl who don’t smile. Fine u can’t laugh but atleast a smile…

6. I hate ppl who expect too much frm their opposite sex.

7. I hate Google when searching for Sudeep Sharma places me second n gives some Nepali movie hero by the same name the first place. Now, ppl r using my name to make it big in the filmdom… n tht too in Nepal. Thts the height of plagiarism… he he he

8. I hate when Bollywood releases gud movies n I don’t have any bad movies to write about :))

9. I hate the judicial system (police + court) when it doesn’t arrest n jail Salman Khan after he shoots black-bucks n mows down ppl with his SUV n after arresting him after ages they let him out on bail. Also, when killers roam free after the witnesses turn hostile (read made hostile) in Jessica Lal murder case.

10. I hate the political system for not bringing forth young and educated leaders n instead giving important portfolios to stupid, illiterate n corrupt politicians. This scene is slowly changing n m happy ‘bout it.

11. (Even after the hating the systems) I hate ppl who don’t have pride for their own nation n even those ppl who don’t respect other nations.

12. I hate drunkards n even more if they start puking. I hate ppl who kill themselves n others after driving in an inebriated state. This esp after a recent episode when an acquaintance killed his galfrnd after smashing his car against a traffic island. Why can’t ppl understand tht alongwith freedom there also comes a sense of responsibility.

13. I hate smokers too n esp the younger gen who thinks tht smoking is cool (or kewl)

14. I hate eve-teasers. Whistling is so demeaning to beauty.

NOTE: Looking at beautiful faces is not eve-teasing

15. I hate when I search my fav wllppr sites for hours n don’t find any gud enough to download.

16. I hate ppl who cheat in sports.

17. I hate simpletons. No fun in talking with them.. need some smart ppl so tht it is a pleasure whipping their smart-asses (literally only for dames n if they allow..lol)

18. I hate it when I don’t get enough time to check mails, blogs etc

19. I hate to agree tht I m tired at the end of day n can’t think of one more point to make it 20. Ending it here itself...

For the part of tagging, all those who feature in the list on the sidebar are tagged the only exception being the ones who r striked out n those who have already done the tag.

Sorry for being out of here for last 2 days, but had lots of work to take care of. Will be writing n visiting as time permits. :))

Beware of the (D)evil

U must have heard about Mahatma Gandhi’s 3 monkeys… if not then google n read ‘bout them first. Then see this…. n ltrz see the modified version :)))

In our company we have a monthly picture competition… so the monkey got the prize for the Sexiest Creature Alive on Earth (same on the lines of Sexiest Man/Woman Alive)… ppl here are deciding the monkey’s sex n will be putting him as a nominee for the next year in the appropriate sexion… section I meant.

I won the award in the Best Idea category… n the prize consists of an half hour leave from office between 1:00 to 2:00 pm (our lunch break time) n a cash award of 100 bucks which will be taxable n deducted at source.

The photographer just lost out coz he forgot to set the red-eye setting …. though we had almost convinced the judges tht those were the special effects. The photographer is now very depressed coz his future in this software industry rested on tht pic (u see we do this here n don't work). So only for him we r planning to put this again in the next month’s event by renaming it as Red-eyed Baboons coz we can’t put in Red-assed Baboons**

Meanwhile other pics frm the outing

**I swear I read tht on some site n never went behind a baboon to verify tht :-)