I wonder...

It is my usual habit to halt at the local road-side kulfi vendor, along with my roomies, to savor the luxury of the dessert... Keeba was buying kulfis for us... I have noticed a pretty woman standing near that shop, while her husband was attending a phone call sitting on his bike... I guess, she must be around 27-28... she wore a red saree in north-Indian style... she has that fair complexion with a color that can only be obtained by mixing gold and sandal wood color... she was stunningly beautiful and absolutely perfect in looks... I kept gazing at her without my conscience... in a couple of seconds, she has noticed this... a momentary feeling of discomfort appeared on her face, followed by an expression of happiness... I could observe that she is faintly trying to hide her smile, closing her lips... huh, that was really amazing... she looked like a star to my eyes... I don't know whether thinking/looking like this is insane or irrational on my part... but, the beauty in front of my eyes was really mesmerizing... her expressions shifted between smiling, naughtiness, teasing, admiration, happiness and so on so many times in those couple of minutes before we came out from that shop... her hubby was still on phone... after walking a bit, I asked Keeba, "shall I go back and buy another kulfi?"... he understood me and said yes... ha hha, somehow I didn't go back... but, as the couple passed us by on their bike, she has given the same naughty smile on her face while looking back at me...

I wonder what is hidden in that smile... I feel jealous for her husband's luck... I guess, that calls for a disturbed sleep tonight!!!

weekend masti...

hill with flowers...

koyna river...

during boat shire in koyna river...

view from the ghat roads...

now... this is called beauty of nature!!!

Once I got my first kiss, life at Pune became more comfortable and enjoyable... my long lasted dream of roaming on a bike and going for long rides has come true... recently, we had two trips... on the first weekend, we have visited Balaji temple located in Narayanpur around 45km from Pune... early morning ride on Pune-Bangalore highway was too good... leaving aside whether one believes in god or not, the place is worth watching... moreover, unlike many other temples, this one is being maintained very clean... an exact replica of Tirupati Balaji temple... all corners of the temple are being maintained with so much of care... they are cleaning the area with vacuum cleaner... not using any haarathi or kumkum to maintain the cleanliness... unlike other temples, you can get a free laddu for free here... security is tight and the place is extremely pollution-free and clean... if anybody is planning to get married in a temple and also want the place to be clean and noise-free, i guess this is the right place!!!

the following weekend, we risked with a long ride on bikes... we have travelled around 400km in two days... visited places like Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar, Tapola etc... if one starts early in the morning from Pune, the ride on those misty roads will be awsome... going through the tunnel of around 1.5km span will leave one with a feeling like travelling in a video game... the highway is four laned, and two-lanes sometimes... after travelling around 60km from Pune, there will be a ghat road, which is a single line two-way road, which spans around 20 plus km, offering you spectacular view of the surround greenery... once the ghat is road is over and the road is straight, there will be a right turn which leads to Panchgani... the road, though not comparable to highway, is good enough for a comfortable ride... once Wai is crossed, ghat road starts again...

Things that must not be missed there...

Parachute gliding!!! they charge 1500 bucks per person, but the feeling of flying with wings is worth more than what they charge... once, gliding starts, the floating feeling is really awsome... one can comfortably call their loved ones from the sky... it is a different experience altogether!!!

Table land... finding a flat land on a hill top, that too at an altitude of more than a kilometer is rare... this table land, located at Panchgani spans more than 3-4 square kilometers... one can see the beauty of the nearby river and greenery from there... no matter how sunny is the day, you won't get sweatting or thirsty... the cool breeze will relax us like anything!!!

Tapola... again, one has to travel around 25km from Mahabaleshwar on ghat roads to reach this place... the ghat road is almost completely traffic-free... the ride is too comfortable and thrilling... one should not miss the freshly made tea by the local grandpa... on the way, there is a point called "siva darshan", from where the river can be viewed in the best angle!!! the road reaches an end at the boating point... the 45 minutes boat shire in the koina river is worth trying... one should not miss the sunset view from any of those ghat road turnings... instead of going for hotels in the Mahabaleshwar, we have chosen to stay in Puja farm house, located in the middle of Tapola and Mahabaleshwar... the night stay is too cool... there is nothing but cool breeze, silence, moonlight, and those melodies by nightingales!!! one cannot escape those memories of loved ones if it so happened that they come here without them!!! perfect location for a honeymoon ;-)
Pratapgarh fort... around 22km from Mahabaleshwar... this place, where shivaji used to rule long ago, is worth visiting... butter milk served here should not be missed... there will be lot of spring water streams on the ghat road way to this place from Mahabaleshwar... it will be interesting to see the strongly built fort and their architectural marvel in those good old days!!! there are places where you can have fun of trying horse riding!!!
if one has the energy to ride on bikes for two days continuously, and has a heart to feel the beauty of nature, this trip is worth making... October to May is the right time to make this trip... Now, I have started liking Pune life... not because Pune is good, but being the places around Pune are good!!! All you need to enjoy life here are, good pay, bunch of friends, bikes and a little bit of enthusiasm!!!

this thing called love...

LOVE... some people simply say it's just a four letter word and it's----- bosh!!! on the other hand, the same four letter word occupies the whole thought process for some!!!

this thing called love... makes one admire even a falling flower... makes one to kiss the ugliest kid... makes one smile even at the extremely difficult times... makes one to hug the tiniest gift that reminds the loved one, and feel as if that's the greatest possession on the earth... makes one sleepless even after a tiresome day... makes one feel nothing is important... makes one wonder how life would have been if this is not there... makes one discover the different person in himself/herself... makes one see beauty in everything that comes their way!!!

this thing called love... makes one feel jealous... makes one feel the distress... makes one frustrated... makes one feel nothing else is important... makes one blind to realities... makes one deaf to conscience, and listen only to heart... makes one go crazy at times... makes one so sad and down... makes one wonder why he/she is still alive and for whom... makes one behave so silly and possessive... makes one forget the self and yearn to be somebody else... makes one laugh at oneself for all that stupidity... makes one fearless to death!!!

this thing called love... is so mysterious!!!

shades of life...

things are going in right direction and comfortable pace... when there is nothing to think or nowhere to direct the thoughts, surroundings make us wonder... everything around us will be interesting... here are some of the things that caught my attention during last few days...

i was in a fast food centre along with my roomies on a fine evening... krish was ordering pani puri and anji was busy on phone... there came a charming young man, with a thickly grown beard, focused eyes, and a serious look... a boy of around 10-12 years was asking him to help him some money... this is a very common scene... what is interesting is the way the young man responded... he asked the boy why he needs that money... the boy answered that he is hungry... this young man told seriously that he won't give money but he can buy whatever he wants to eat for that hour... boy answered jubiliantly that he wants to eat panipuri... young man asked whether he needs one plate or two... the boy told he wants two plates of punipuri... the young man got down from his bike and bought two coupons and gave it to the boy and rushed out of the scene instantly... my salute to this young man!!!

on another day, we were roaming on the busy roads of shanivarpet... at one of the signal points, there stopped a couple on a bike... uncle was looking fair and handsome... more than that, he was looking happy... aunt was a bit plump and chubby, wearing a light colored silk saree... while uncle was looking this side and that, catching glimpses of those shortly dressed girls around, aunt passed her hands gently through her hubby's hair and pulled his cheeks... she whispered something in his ears and i could see the tickling sensation that he felt... how lucky is this guy!!!

i was in an auto towards my office on one of those busy mornings... the road was slightly slippery due to the previous night's drizzle... some guy was going on a bike ahead of our auto... he looked very energetic and a healthy expression was there on his face... moments later, his bike got slipped and the fallen bike dragged him on the road to almost 100 metres on the road... there was no consciousness... only his body was giving shaking with pulses... while i tried to get out of the auto (though i don't know what i should/can do), the auto driver scolded me and paced the auto to drop me at the destination... how dramatic and uncertain is our life!!!

good morning!!!

getting up early in the morning is a difficult task... but, it has some advantages if we can make it... some of the snaps that i have captured the other day during sunrise... thanks to my "first love", Sony Ericsson w830i...

sunrise view from NDA area, near Chandini Chowk, Pune

bamboo bushes with a backdrop of sunlight...

nice place to go for a walk, early in the morning...

18 facts no one wanted to know about me...

1. Pick out a scar you have, and explain how you got it.

A small scar on my chin which is visible when i don't shave for long time ;-) i got it when i was 5, during one of those overconfident attempts to prove my marathon skills ;-) I remember those days when my classmates used to make fun of me seeing that bandage on my chin in the shape of a cross!!!

2. What does your phone look like?

It's a black colored rectangular parallelepiped with edges curved... buttons showing kannada letters along with numbers... moreover, it looks like my sweetest companion who never bothers me holding it as i wish ;-)

3. What is on the walls of your bedroom?

There was a spider at the corner of the ceiling, resting peacefully in its newly built house after my recent attack during the last weekend... perhaps, it won't bother even if i attack it the next time too!!!

4. What is your current desktop picture?

A romantic snapshot showing an young couple french kissing each other... interesting part is that their faces are not visible in the snapshot... only their tongues and their expressions!!!

5. Do you believe in gay marriage?

he hhe... no idea!!!

6. What do you want more than anything right now?

An "yes" from my girlfriend ;-)

7 . What time were you born?

Around 6:30 on a september evening... my mother tells a lot about the dreadful cyclone that was there, and how they have struggled to arrange for minimum amount of lighting and food in that bad weather... exactly 24 years later, my nephew was born with same astral configuration... incidentally, the cyclone, power cut and other scenes repeated just like mine... now, this is called coincidence!!!

8. Are your parents still together?

YES... the very first thing that makes me believe "wonders do take place in real life too"... :p

9. Last person who made you cry?

my father... too much of caring to bear... he always talks as if my age is assumed my age reduced by 20 years!!!

10. What is your favorite perfume / cologne?

perfume??? cologne??? i don't use eigher... but, the other day, when i was on the escalator in shopping mall, a girl was standing besides me... that fragrance is still in my nostrils... awsome!!!

11. What kind of hair/eye color do you like in the opposite sex?

As long as there is enough hair and no baldness, color doesn't matter... of course, i hate those fluorescent shades that these hi-fi girls are wearing these days!!!

12. What are you listening to?

One of my colleague was explaing about his achievements in the recent project to his teammate... uff... boring!!!

13. Do you get scared of the dark?

my answer is "No" as long as there are no mysterious sounds around... i am comfortable in darkness combined with silence!!!

14. Do you like pain killers?

pain killers??? so stupid... the pain that can be killed by a pain killer doesn't need to be killed... and the pain that really kills you can never be killed by a pain killer!!!

15. Are you too shy to ask someone out?

again my answer is "no" as long as the other person is not too shy to say "yes" :p

16. If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?

hmmm... this looks like a mouth-watering question... i would like to eat the "pesarattu" made by mom, with lot of ginger, garlic, chilli, jeera and other stuff!!!

17. Who was the last person you made you mad?

aaaahh... that is none other than one of my colleague, who just can't stop talking about anything under the earth, without even faintest idea of what that actually means :-(

18. Who was the last person who made you smile?

someone who has sent me the funniest message in the morning!!!

PS: I have taken up this tag from silverine

snapshots from hell... the end!!!

it's more than two months after I have left my alma mater, Indian Institute of Science... some memories to conclude the snapshots from hell...

it was 27th July'05, a cold morning in Bangalore, that we set our first foot in IISc... we are very much delighted to find few enthusiastic senior students, who came to receive us from the railway station... I know none of those sitting with me in that cab, which took us to the institute... while many of the then current students were walking here and there with books in their hands and glow in their faces, we were sitting on our luggage in front of the hostel office, just like refugees, waiting for the registration... all the delusions that we will be given hi fi rooms were shattered when we entered into those old hostel rooms, where visibility was poor, walls were seeping, and bathrooms unattended!!! of course, those rooms were still prestigious as they have given shelter to many great minds over the last many decades... the whole day went by in trying to make contacts with the new faces, finding the routes etc... we were given a welcome address the very next day in the faculty hall... the scenario faintly resembled the welcome address for John Nash and his batch mates in the movie "A beautiful mind"... we were thrilled to know that the institute was an outcome of the discussion of JRD Tata with Swami Vivekananda a century ago (you can have more information here)... and we were here, to carry on with the standards, and do something... all the faces were very enthusiastic, bright, and nervous at the same time... on the very first day, we were told by the faculty that life at iisc will be hectic, just like hell... and they have proved the same, as days and months passed!!! so, that was the starting point, with lots of hopes, dreams and expectations...

a semester passed by... there were countless situations where we felt all alone... first time in my life, i got less than 10 marks for a test conducted for 100 or so... how can this situation be compared to my four years of undergraduate life where i have never scored below 80 percent... ha hha, that's what we were supposed to learn at this place... learn that life is not a bed of flowers... i have seen almost all of my batch mates crying to tears when they perform badly or got bad grades... i even remember the day i sobbed in front of my seniors that i wanted to leave this place and do something else, rather than continuing with this poor performance and harsh criticism by professors...

well... we sustained finally, and changed the course of our direction... came out of those high expectations from oneself and started taking life a bit easier, while still putting a little bit of effort to meet the requirements... as another semester is finished and we were announced that there is no more course work, we got wings all of a sudden... there was lot of free time and space... institute started looking more beautiful... the same roads, the same trees, the same buildings, and the same people... but, something has changed inside... since the worst period was over, our eyes started to recognize the beauty of this place and its importance in life...

the coffee board, the tea kiosk, the department corridor, the TMC canteen, the gym-cafe, the aerodrome, and the jubilee park... every corner of the institute has its own connectivity with us... the much awaited placement session lasted for a couple of months, leaving us in trance... finally, everybody has got selected and finished thesis work and presentations... some satisfied with their performance, some left with bitter experiences with the whole degree, and some with no feeling at all... at last, the two years of iisc life is over!!! only those memories, lessons, affections, and relations are left...

only after leaving the institute, that we realized how beautiful the life at iisc was... though i have addressed the institute as hell, it was the most beautiful place that i have ever lived... so, that calls for the end of the snapshots from hell!!!

PS: also read snapshots1 , snapshots2

few hours without a mobile...

just now, i had a training class of 3 hours duration... haaaa... such a boring thing to do on a weekend... cuddling in the rug till the rug, reordering the flat, cleaning my FIRST KISS until it shines, or whatever on the earth will be more exciting on a weekend than coming to office to attend a lousy seminar... as soon as i was out of the conference room, i was searching for my mobile... my portable, cute, shining, small friend who never bothers me irrespective of how i handle that... uff, i forgot it at my flat... almost, like losing one of my limb... I can't send some funny thought to my colleague, about the boring lecture... i can't hear my loved one's voice... i can't play games... ooops... few more hours without my mobile, that too in the conference room :-(

life can be funny...

the other day, some X was talking to me... this is to know how wild guesses could be...

X: sooooo, you are miste...r Krissshnaa???
G: no, I am Gopal...
X: oh... I thought you must be Krishna... sooooo, you have finissshed your doo..ctorate???
G: no, I did my masters...
X: oooh... masters innnnn compu..ter science???
G: no, masters in chemical engineering...
X: oooh... ok ok... sooooo, yoooou did your masters from IITB???
G: no, I did from IISc...
X: soooo... you went to masters after sommmmmme work experience???
G: no, I went directly after my undergrad...
X: soooo... you must be from UP... right???
G: no, I am from AP...
X: ooooh... i thought you are from UP... sooo, where in AP???
G: Kakinada
X: Kakinada??? it is near Hyderabad... right???
G: nooooo... it is near Visakhapatnam...
X: ooooh... Visakhapatnam is in AP???
G: hmmm... one of the beautiful cities of the state!!!
X: ok Gopal.... if you have any doubts, you can come to me for clarifications...
G: sure... i will come to you anytime if i have doubts...
X: no... not any time, but sometimes!!!

ufff... there ends the conversation ;-)

can we be more sensible?

since last four days, all the roads and main centers are occupied with ad hoc Ganesh temples... keeping aside the sentiments of people, it is surprising to see the way the whole process is being celebrated... within a span of 1km of roadway, there are more than five points where these ad hoc devotional places are arranged... all of the groups are competing with the size of the statue that is erected there... not just the size of the status, but the wattage of the speakers they arrange... lord Ganesha himself can answer where the hell these people got permission to play those loud speakers, right in the middle of busy residential area!!!

lord Ganesha, whose statue is located at the nearest point to the speakers, must have already gone deaf for lifetime (in fact, for his whole life cycles to come) and he can no longer hear the pleas of people, in spite of his large ears!!! sadly enough, there is no single song that is devotional... day starts much before 5AM with a song "meri naseeb mein tu hi tu" followed by "sexy lady on the floor" and so on...

lord Ganesha must be muttering to himself "sudharjaa beta"when he sees the 'pujari' staring at the display by a modern-dressed young girl who came to offer pooja... funny enough is the publicity on display for the people who are organizing these things...

every time I see these ganesha idols being worshipped, i only think the fate of these man-made forms of god being thrown at the local dump yard after the nine days event :-( needless to mention about the stringent security needs to avoid any casualties between people, who always try to find reasons to fight!!!

I dream for the day when people celebrate the 'spirit of unity' as their religion, 'brotherhood' as the motto and 'live and let live' as their policy...

my FIRST KISS...

finally, i have got a bike of my own... honda shine featuring 125cc, 10.3 bhp, 65kmpl... I have named it as my FIRST KISS... boo hoo to Pune public transport ;-)

jab kabhi...

jab kabhi chand na ho... andheri raat ho...
darna kum hoga mujhko... agar tum saath ho...

jab kabhi baadal chaaye... ya ghani barsaat ho...
hogi khushi har ek boond mein... agar tum saath ho...

is jahan mein koi mera ho bhi ya na ho...
har ek lamha bhar jayega roshini se...
bas agar tum saath ho...

jab kabhi aansoo aaye... ya buree saugaat ho...
muskuraaloonga main to phir bhee... agar tum saath ho...

tum yahaam ho to saari duniya hi idhar...
saare armaan khwab saare ban gaye hai ab tumhaari ek nazar...

jab kabhi dil ghabraaye... saamne maat ho...
jeet ke main dikhlaaoonga... agar tum saath ho...

jab kabhi hansde aalam... khushiyom ki baaraat ho...
zindagi hogi jannat... agar tum saath ho...

boring...

BoRinG bOrInG BOriNg boRInG BoRiNg bORinG BOrRInG boRInG BoRiNg bOrInG BOrInG boRInG BoRiNg bORinG bOrInG BOriNg boRInG BoRiNg boRInG BoRiNg BoRinG bORinG BOrRInG boRInG BoRiNg bOrInG bOrInG BOriNg boRInG BoRiNg bORinG BOrRInG boRInG BoRiNg BOriNg boRInG boRInG BoRiNg BOriNg boRInG BoRiNg bORinG BOrRInG boRInG BoRiNg bOrInG bOrInG...

the namesake...

I have read this touching novel 'the namesake' recently, which kept me reading to the end in one stretch... A story about an Indian family shifted to the land of opportunities, America, and settled there... Ashoke, the father of the protagonist Gogol, met with a dreadful accident during his train journey, when he was reading the short stories by Nikolai Gogol... the same accident, which almost takes him to the doors of the death, motivates him to move to a foreign land to pursue his higher studies... he gets married to a bengali girl, Ashima, during his Ph.D and builds his own world there in that foreign land...

Ashoke names his son by the name of his favorite author, Gogol, the book of whom he was reading during that dreadful accident that haunts him throughout his life... Gogol, along with his sister Sonali (gradually converted to Sonia due to her American ambiance) grows up with a mindset of considering himself truly American... Later, Gogol officially changes his name to Nikhil after numerous embarrassments and other inner feelings... Then onwards, the story goes on describing how he goes to India with his parents, how he hates that ambiance, his two unsuccessful love affairs, his father's sudden death, and finally his unsuccessful marriage with a girl names Moushumi, who turns out to be unfaithful to him... Finally, his mother moves to her motherland leaving Gogol and Sonia to their individual lives...

Jhumpa Lahiri, the author of this novel, starts this story with Ashima's feelings when she was expecting a child... the story takes the readers to their innermost self, dwells out those memories of childhood, points out our way of behaving with parents, and finally the intricate difficulties of typical metro/cosmopolitan lifestyle... a novel worth reading at least once, which leaves us with a nice feeling... just like feeling the touch of a dew drop after a chillingly cold winter night!!

PS: thanks to Deepa, who has gifted this book to me!!!

pune...

surrounded with greenery, Pune is a medium sized city with a lifestyle of its own... somebody who lived in a city like Bangalore for quite sometime and shifted to Pune without having any local acquaintances, is likely to get cheated by auto drivers, at least once... minimal knowledge of hindi is a must for a smooth survival here... few goodies about this software city that i have observed so far...

first and foremost thing to be noticed is its pleasant climate... we can feel like in an air-conditioned room most of the time... though monsoon season brings some irritation along with its beauty, it is quite comfortable weather to live in...

wherever you go in the city, there are always some buddy shops selling native marathi dishes like vadapav, poha etc. one can't help admiring the taste of vadapav if he takes it in a good stall... tiffins in a road side buddy are much more reasonable in prices and better in taste compared to that is available in restaurants... and the food is hygeinic too...

the 'dahi handi' event that takes place on janmashtami is celebrated too good here... the spirit of unity, tradition, and strength are well displayed... it's an awsome event that should not be missed...

people are never too much bothered about traffic rules here... people might be too time conscious to follow the rules, i guess ;-) even then, the mishaps are very few, since people are showing a suitable driving sense to assure enough safety...

last but not the least, gender bais is not found that much here... no separate seats or entrances for gents and ladies in public buses and other common modes of commutation...

except the poorly maintained public transportation, muddy roads on rainy days, and dusty atmosphere on a sunny day, this is a nice place to spend joyously... provided, one has enough money to afford!!!

unanswered...

when the rest of the world is moving ahead... moving ahead on a path that never ends... passing through a myriad of phases... leaving everybody puzzled... not knowing the answer for 'what next?'...

when the rest of the world is moving ahead... i am here... i am here, standing still... puzzled with those countless emotions... those countless feelings... unidentified pains... and, unanswered questions...

the dew drop hanging on the lonely leaf of the banyan plant, grown from the corner of my balcony, is making me wonder... making me wonder 'how this tiny thing has acquired so much of beauty out of nowhere?'

the dog lying besides the road, its leg half crushed by the ruthlessly blind city bus driver, and its hunger never fully satisfied, is asking me... asking me 'in what way you are better than me?'

the golden colored cleavage of the girl in a violet silky top, casually exposed by her while standing in the checkout counter of the grossery store, is questioning me... questioning me 'why the hell are you gaping at me? you don't have an invitation here'

the shapeless awkward stone, lying besides a busy traffic road, decorated with fresh garlands, turmeric and incense sticks, is troubling me... troubling me with a thought 'when will these people be self-reliant rather than blindly worshipping some silly stones'

the clear sky in the night after a day full of rain, with its romantic blue color and added decoration of stars, is throwing me a puzzle... a puzzle 'where is your destination among these stars?'

the last leaf on the unnamed tree in front of my college building, turned to brown and dry after its trimphant longer life than its peers, and finally falling to the ground, is inquiring me... inquiring me 'you will be like me someday. when shall we meet?'

updates...

again, it is been long after updating the blog. now, i am able to see the real corporate life. every morning, i get up with a wish "today, i will write something". by the time i reach my office, the horrible bus journey and the gloomy office ambiance makes me sick and skip the act of writing! yes, that's how the past three weeks have gone out of my hands. few updates!

reading Fountain Head by Ayn Rand. i must say that i fell literally in love with this book. beautifully portrayed characters like Dominique, Roark, Wynand etc. are really wonderful. at first, i was wondering why a person needs eight complete years to finish a novel. but, when i am actually going through each page and each line, everything was so perfectly written. i was beaten... beaten many times on my opinions by many situations in this novel. but, at the end, it's a lovely experience.

visited Lonavala with my friends. This is a place, around 65km from the Pune city. filled with green lush and cloudy hills, this is must place to visit. monsoon is adding addtional beauty to it. it's a beautiful feeling when the clouds actually cross your body and drench you with the condensed rain drops. added to these beauties, the journey on the expresshighway connecting Pune and Mumbai is awsome.

it's my dream of buying the bike AVENGER since long. but, i guess i will not be able to afford it with my present financial status. still have couple of weeks to travel in these lousy Pune buses before enjoying the ride on my own bike.

slowly, life at Pune is getting OK... waiting for some more good moments from this Pune life!

new life...

it's almost more than three weeks after my last post... nothing new to think about but everything new to experience... finished my masters with flying colors... of course, that ended with painful process of giving send off to friends and leaving my good old institution with a heavy heart...

joined in the job, for the first time in my life... lost in understanding this corporate world... Pune life is exactly opposite to what i imagined it to be... i imagined it to be a cool, peaceful and pleasant city... on the other hand, people are really in a hurry here... costly room rents, poorly maintained traffic, loads of pollution, buses without name plates, dust always flying on the roads and so on...

a beginning to my new life, i guess!!!

reminiscences...

Two years of stay at IISc has come to an end with this week... too many wonderful moments to count... lots of fun... personally, everybody in our batch has decided to take a break from studies... leaving the institute one by one... i can see that this place is being deserted... of course, that is only to be filled back with fresh and energetic faces... here I am, introducing all my batch mates... who shared joy, happiness and difficulties together...

Lakshmanan: most sincere of all... never compromises when it comes to rules and regulations... "work is worship" is his philosophy of life... this is first time I am seeing "sincerity personified"...

Girish: a man with standards... highly difficult to convince him... notorious for his red-hottedness... his regular attire is in a long lab coat that covers his whole body ;-)

Marimuthu: another work-minded master piece with signs to prove the Darwin's theory of evolution... known for his broadcasting abilities and 24x7 working capability... aspires to be a professor at IITM in future...

Santosh: ever-smiling smart boy with incredibly high passion for fotos, food, and fashion... highly informative... recently started dreaming of getting a beautiful girl as his life-partner...

Gajendra: known for his witty humor and take-it-easy lifestyle... doing research on viral dynamics, ranging from bird-flu to HIV... let's see what will be the outcome of his research...

Anjaneyulu: typical filmy-lover hailing from guntur... eagerly waiting for some producer to prove his directing abilities... his physique suits his name... gigantic in style, and magnanimous by nature...

Kalyan: looks can be deceptive... one of the highly confused... known for the massive transportation skills on his bazaz bulldozer... he is the one whom i've tortured during my stay at IISc...

Alok: this half-smiling 27year old boy works as scientist at DRDO... recently caught with phonomania, spending at least 6 hours per day chatting with his would-be wife... god bless that girl ;-)

Mahendra: short man with greatest power... incredibly charming and alarmingly regular with his routine... never deviates from the track... all of us are waiting to go to his marriage...

Mathew: yeah... here is our Mr.M... highly notorious for his PJ's... sincere at work and simple at heart... truly jovial company... heading to BPCL to take rest for a couple of years...

Arun: Mr. Crack Jack... a person hard to decipher... his passion for exploring of technical knowledge is adorable... eating brains, watching naruto, and solving sudoku are his passions...

Aarthi: truly inspiring... stubborn in a notoriously positive way... one of the very few who made a permanent impression on me... truly genuine scientist in her own way... 32-bit smile is her trade mark ;-)

Krishna: intelligence blended with absent-mindedness... this fellow ranks the first who tortured me for the last two years... i often wonder how nothing but technical junk stays in his brain!!!

That's all about my batchmates in a nutshell... i am still unable to believe that our masters program has already completed... and all of have started our journey to different corners of the country to live the real life... shifting from protected zone to self-protecting zone... five/ten years down the line, hopefully, some of us will be hailing as eminent personalities!!!

EARTHLINGS!!!

yesterday, i watched this documentary EARTHLINGS shown in our centre for ecological sciences... the documentary is all about how we, human beings are exploiting animals for different needs... food, meat, companionship etc... the whole documentary is divided into five different sections... i couldn't watch the whole documentary... in fact, i was really startled to see the way those animals are butchered/murdered just for fulfilling the food requirements of mankind... those are not even given anaesthesia before butchering... a documentary worth watching... i bet, anybody sensible enough can't eat non-vegetarian food with that liking after watching this documentary... it is really sickening to know that millions of animals are killed daily in USA itself just for supply of food...

PS: i've strongly decided to be vegetarian from now onwards!!! watch this documentary, and i bet you will feel the same!!!