..monsoon wedding..

As I write this post, I am sitting at H's home in Mumbai, who is oblivious of the fact that he is one of the protagonists of this post. I’m gonna write about the weddings in general, and the contrasting specifics of weddings in different parts of our country in particular. Generally, I am fascinated by weddings, and the pomp & show that follows.

How many here have watched "Monsoon Wedding"?

Been to a punjabi wedding?

I went over to Chandigarh about a month back for H's wedding with P, and to tell you the truth, the trip was worth in ways more than one. First, its Chandigarh (all those who have been to this place will vouch for it, that the sex-ratio and age group ratio is highly skewed to my liking). Oh no - wait wait - first things first. Let's meet the stars of the show - H & P. Both are my batchmates, and we have shared good laughs together. So obviously there was no option of not being there for the occasion; though there was a hidden agenda too (which eventually did not get much fodder; since not many of P's friends came!). Not many people I know have as much financial acumen as these two (I wonder if the kids of these two will even need to go to a B-school to get any knowledge).

So S came down from Mumbai, and A was already here in Delhi - and three of us got set on the voyage. Had a decent journey - had an excellent nap after reaching Chandigarh - and then the best part - got to see how a groom reacts to various acts and situations on his D-day from the closest quarters. Got to be a part of punjabi wedding for the first time in essence, and hence, it was very interesting. Not that it varies a lot from what I have seen in other weddings, but then there is always a charm about every occasion and way of celebrations.

The second wedding in question is that of M. He has always been the much-coveted-and-pampering friend from our group – one who would be the one to make sure that no one can complain. And yesterday, on his D-day, he was no different! Even when he was about to take the final plunge, he was concerned most about whether everyone around is having a good time! And his was a case of complete surrender – surrender to the whims & fancies of all the near-and-dear-ones in the family – someone wanted him to wear a red turban, another one wanted a pink one; someone wanting a light blue shirt, while someone else pitching in for a pitch-green-party-wear shirt. Rightly is it said, though obviously in a different connotation, “..when rape is inevitable, just lie back and enjoy!”

And the pics shall definitely help marking out the obvious difference in how things were at both the weddings.

PS: For those from DCE, who knew Harsh, from Electrical – He’s getting married next week. I talked to him today, and seems like his invitation has reached no-one! Hence, here is an all out invitation for his wedding, on his behalf.

Learn it NOW..

More often than not, it happens that you see things coming you way, in ways you would never expect. One hardly gets to know when teacher becomes a preacher, or a student becomes prudent. The quintessential truth is that, it is never too late to realize that there are things that exist beyond your fathom. And the twist in the tale comes, as it is rightly captured in one of the famous F.R.I.E.N.D.S. things, "..and the messers become the messees.."

It leads one to think in favor of the irresolute man, oscillating between two feelings – one who would willingly unite the two, and the other who perceives that nothing can unite them. Decisive men are assets, and are really worth their weight in gold. And yet again, time to learn..

This post ends with one of my favorites,
"Woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."

twenty-six..

I'm 26 (when I come to think of it, I still have four more years to go, before panic..)! I noticed a few strands of grey hair, and at that very moment, I knew it's time to act. Now many would say, as they keep saying, that it's high time I get to the next league. I was talking to S yesterday, and she mentioned it's a shame that I'm talking to her over the phone, rather than one-full-time-girl that I should go for; Another friend S keeps telling me, every single time that we talk, that it's time for me to get married now - I know why he can say so - he's still 22, and is far away from the realities at 26; I was discussing something with M last week (M, btw, is married), when he mentioned that there is another flavor of interesting things that one gets into, once he/she gets married and gets into the monotone of daily going back to home after work. And C also has her own predispositions about 'growing up', in a peculiar manner, that I could get a hint of, today.

P, A & I were discussing the other night that we should go to Switzerland and have a holiday (before we get into the stance when we will hardly be able to go on our own). Then on a different ground, I had discussions with N to have a Europe tour. Today, another discussion with D also pitched in the intensity to the Europe tour. Hope it gets underway this time around.

I also met up with A today - from Dominican Republic, but settled in the States. A met me through HC/CS and we went around to lots of places. It is interesting to note how different cultures can be, and how far perceptions can lead the thoughts of a irresolute mind. I'll surely love to meet lots of interesting people like A, who are traveling across the world in order to find something they don't even know (obviously I would want to travel in the same manner too - it falls in line with what I told C today; that I would want to travel around the world, and then only I can say that I have "arrived").

Will this Eurotrip mark the beginning, the dawn of the 'arrival'..

friends...

It seems that as you get older, the meaning and value of friends changes quite drastically. Rather than people with whom to spend time and have fun, friends become a more integral part of your heart and soul. They become the cornerstone of your sanity, the haven in the night. And you realize that it is the quality of your friendships that makes life both bearable and beautiful.

Some of those friends are ones you've had since childhood, and months pass between times of contact. But that bond, that understanding and unconditional acceptance, that pure love, stays in your heart every day. Those are the friendships in which nothing is questioned, nothing is judged, nothing is expected, and everything is appreciated. How rare and precious those friendships are.

Then there are the friends that haven't been in your life nearly as long, but have left just as strong an impact. The friends that you know will always be there in the future, through the weddings and funerals, the times of elation and the times when you just want the world to end. Sometimes you know within a short time who those people are, and sometimes down the road, you discover that you were wrong about them - that they are not the friends you thought they were. And sometimes you discover that the ones you never knew would be those types of friends are the ones that actually become your best friends.

But I think the biggest realization comes when you are at your lowest point. You look around you and find that few are by your side. But the ones that are - they are the truest treasure.

Random Numbered "B"

I've been thinking (not quite, literally) and because of that, I thought I'll post the instances with some near and dear ones, in a different manner.

To start with, I could not decide whom to start with. I had three people in my mind, who I would want to write about in my first such post, and I decided to use my MBA skills in shortlisting the final one out of three. And can you think how I did shortlist?

Hold you breath - I used - Random Numbers (courtesy G, from IIMK). All those hours we spent fishing out random numbers in our excel sheets found a use today - hail G, our prof who made all of us spend an hour just generating those precious random numbers on our excel sheets.

So now, I put the names of three of my friends in three cells, and coded =rand() in front of all three. Then I decided to hit F9 five times, and the cell with the highest random number would win - and voila - it's B for today.

The best descriptive sentence for B would be, as I quote from one of his cherished precious emails to a common thread of us friends -
> sorry r****
>
> BELATED HAPPY B, DAY.
>
> SORRY BHAI LOGO
>
> B***** BACK
> SAALE U PEOPLE HAVE EVEN NOT MENTIONING MY NAME IN
> MAIL
> BAAP KE SSATH AISA MAT KARO
> S***** UR BEST FRIEND IN DELHI GUESS WHO?
> B**** B** KAISA HAI I KNOW U ARE GENIUS U KNOW
> FRENCH.
> SAALE ABHI TAK V***** HAI/ WHAT ABOUT UR CLOSE
> FRIEND IN USA (G**** U MUST HAVE REMEMBERED RED FACE
> OF B****)
>
> BEST OF LUCK R**** FOR PLACEMENT.
>
> S*** TO MILTA RAHTAHAI.
>
> MISSING TOO MUCH
> G**** R**** B**** G*****
> IT IS FROM MY HEART NOT KAMINA B*****.
>
> BYE
> B*****


And believe me, B is the "Aankhon ka Taara" of our group! After our college days (I mean engineering here), we all moved to various parts of the country, in pursuit of what came next. And B was our "karta-dharta" whenever we used to go back to Delhi for our holidays. Not once did I go to Delhi during the next 3 years (after engineering) when I did not go to his place - his place was always a reminder of DCE for all of us. And all those innumerable times have found a sweet place in the corridor of memory.

I must tell you that if not for my dear friend B, Delhi today would not be traveling in the much acclaimed "Metro" in the manner it is. Ever seen Superheroes like Spiderman and Superman lifting the rails of a railway line, and shifting it by some distance? Those are anyhow, just fictional characters. A real life hero is one who is larger than life, and can get things done even when not being there. One night, when whole of Delhi was having a sound sleep, B could
move the course of Metro by full four inches! People staying in Dwarka, thank B - if not for him, the Metro would still be reaching Janak Puri only!

Come driving, and you'll know that B was born with a silver spoon - how many people do you know whose cars get stolen right from their homes, hold on, not once, not twice, but thrice - and still manages to find the way back!

Such is our sweet chocolate boy that once when he was coming out of his home, he found a complete stranger pushing (read driving) his car away from the front of B's home, and when asked, that stranger mentions that he was taking it away for repairs - and that too without our innocent B's knowledge.

Even the die hard followers of atheism dread coming with B on a drive, and they too swear by God. I myself have gained all my God-fearing points in his car.

I was looking for another mail (I guess it was the first mail he had sent to a friend of mine S), where he had mentioned something about vegetables. I will try and extract that mail from somewhere, and I dare anyone and everyone who is or is not a voracious reader of this blog, to come and decipher it - I will bet my this month's salary on this dare! Wait on, for that mail to come. Till then, hang on!

Almighty

This is a sweet story I got in my mailbox. Putting it here for everyone to read.

A lot of truth in those sentences at the end of the story. Be sure and read them slowly........

God works in mysterious ways, doesn't He?

Isn't it amazing how God works in our lives! On a Saturday night several weeks ago, this pastor was working late, and decided to call his wife before he left for home. It was about 10:00 PM, but his wife didn't answer the phone.

The pastor let the phone ring many times. He thought it was odd that she didn't answer, but decided to wrap up a few things and try again in a few minutes. When he tried again she answered right away. He asked her why she hadn't answered before, and she said that it hadn't rung at their house. They brushed it off as a fluke and went on their merry ways.

The following Monday, the pastor received a call at the church office, which was the phone that he'd used that Saturday night. The man that he spoke with wanted to know why he'd called on Saturday night. The pastor couldn't figure out what the man was talking about. Then the man said, "It rang and rang, but I didn't answer."

The pastor remembered the mishap and apologized for disturbing him, explaining that he'd intended to call his wife. The man said, "That's, OK. Let me tell you my story. You see, I was planning to commit suicide on Saturday night, but before I did, I prayed, 'God if you're there, and you don't want me to do this, give me a sign now.' At that point my phone started to ring. I looked at the caller ID, and it said, 'Almighty God'. I was afraid to answer!"

The reason why it showed on the man's caller ID that the call came from "Almighty God" is because the church that the pastor attends is called Almighty God Tabernacle!!

READ EACH SENTENCE SLOWLY AND THINK ABOUT IT.

Don't cry over anyone who won't cry over you.
Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget.
Don't let the past hold you back, you're missing the good stuff.

BEST FRIENDS are the siblings God forgot to give us.
When it hurts to look back, and you're scared to look ahead, you can look beside you and your BEST FRIEND will be there.

V.I.B.G.Y.O.R

"An empty head, a devil's home". This is a very bad translation what we have been hearing since our childhood, which says 'Khaali Dimaag, shaitaan ka ghar'. I can make out now why this saying has been on the rolls for so long a time.

Lately, I have been on the quest of observing anything & everything under the sun, which comes my way. I was just about to start the movie "Die-Hard 2", but suddenly I saw my desktop background getting transformed in a flash; from a beautiful wallpaper of a pretty girl [i won't disclose further details here, about the girl ;)], to a huge and lonely field, across which fared a big-big Rainbow, showing all the seven colors with a huge grin. (Don't think that this is something odd...Actually, I have installed a software on my system, which changes the wallpaper every 15 minutes..its just that, I got startled by this thing when it happened in a flash, in front of my eyes)

As I have developed this habit of thinking of the oddest things coming my way, this was just another thing. And I thought of writing about this here, and postponed my movie till the time this post gets over. Die-hard isn't dying "that" hard, as of now.

Now then, the rainbow, huh! And the seven colors, V.I.B.G.Y.O.R !

Each color holds a different meaning, a different pre-disposition, a different mindset, altogether, for each and every one of us. And it sure won't be the same for any two persons, because we all try and look this world from our own eyes - and it is a fact that the same thing we are watching, is also being observed by thousands and thousands of other pairs of eyes as well. In taking a look, we simply overlook the fact that though we have our perceptions, the synchro of our thoughts may not match with those near us, often leading to difference of opinions. Hey hey, this is going away from what I meant to talk about. So leave this philosophical stuff down under, and follow what's coming ahead.

Yeah, so I was talking about V.I.B.G.Y.O.R , and my perceptions about these.

I have my own feelings for all my friends, and for those, who eventually are not my friends as well. I'll try and associate some human souls with these colors, and I hope nobody gets too sticky about why this particular color for this particular person.

I'll associate Aasheesh with Indigo. Though ideally, I would like to associate him with Pink color, but alas, Pink is not a color in the Rainbow, and hence, out of contention. I have a couple of reasons why "I" of VIBGYOR goes to Aasheesh. First of all, "I" consider Aasheesh one of the best guys known to this humanity (I know this is flattery, but you can't deny me on this, right! If you do as of now, dare not do it ahead). This "I" (Myself here), reminds me of Aasheesh at first, because he has always been behind me, in all the facets which I have come across.

Secondly, like VIBGYOR needs some vowels to make sense to the pronunciation of the word "VIBGYOR", Aasheesh acts the common source of bonding between quite a few of us. You need to know where a guy is; ask Aasheesh, and you'll get to know his whereabouts [applies to girls too ;)].

There's one more "Indigo" quality I associate with Aasheesh. Britishers considered Indigo to be quite a useful thing, and wanted to export most of it. Likewise, Aasheesh is such a person(an export quality), that his worth can't be evaluated so easily, in words.

Talking about Green, what reminds me on hearing "Green" is "TeamGreen" & "GreenStream". These are not people, but surely identities. TeamGreen is the Environmental initiative we started last year, when our batch joined here at IIMK. GreenStream is the Environmental Society, and the Website, which was started by our enthu juniors, in DCE. That was an amazing effort, I should say, to work for GreenStream. Though I didn't get to work much for GreenStream (thanks to all the pains juniors took themselves), GreenTeam asked for some time, and I was too happy to give my time towards its activities.

I consider "Yellow" as very peaceful color. Akshay is the one who flashes across my mind, when thinking of this one. He's so calm, and inspiring, that its beyond words to explain. You've gotta meet him, and you would start feeling better, anyhow. Whenever I face any anxiety, I drop him a mail, and get a reply asap, to pacify my eagerness. He's got such a nice and sweet personality, that even yellow color would feel shy, taking a look at this guy.

Come "Orange", and its fun & frolic time. I'll devote this to not one person, but two. Welcome, Swap n Bihari. Although I should have taken just one name, but these two form the crux of the amusement I see as valid. Not that others are not funny, or that others don't like to have frolic in their times, but "Real" masti comes up when it is not an anybody's expense, except the self.

Bihari has been a fitting guy for this, because of obvious reasons. I had already dedicated a post to him yesterday, so i don't need to elaborate much on him here. His assets include making everyone laugh, come what may, even if it comes at his own expense. Whatever he may say, he's a gem at heart. (Kisses!)

Swap is the one who creates the cheerful atmosphere when people are around. He's always been there for me all thru these 2 years of MBA, and even before that, to cheer me up whenever I feel down, or feel a bit low, thinking about DCE. Time's not a problem with him, and at times, he sits upto 5-6 in the morning as well, talking to me and getting me to calm down.

Moreover, "Orange" is supposed to be a juicy fruit, and these two here, fill up the juice (and the spice) in our lives. Orange befits them, for sure!

Now is the color "Red". The color of blood. The color of envy. The color of distrust. I wouldn't name anyone in this section, because its not in public good to call people names, and to accuse of some things which they may not consider acceptable. Anyways, there's this person I know, who, as far as I know, feels pretty insecure. This person has developed a virtue of making mistakes, but covering them up very well in the very next instant. Moreover, sometimes I feel it has been my mistake all the way through, to let this person make a fool of me. But then, it is my tendancy (read, human tendancy) to get back, if I feel that the peron is holding back, because of human dignity. However, whatever much I do, it doesn't matter at all. On a different note, "Red" is the color of the T-shirt I am wearing right now. :))

So now, I is over, G is over, Y is over, O is over, and R is over. This takes care of all the colors of VIBGYOR. Ask me how? Well, remember, Aasheesh was meant to be "I" here. He singlehandedly overshadows the deeds done by all of us, and beats us by miles. "V" & "B" of VIBGYOR are meant to be overshadowed by Aasheesh here as well, and thus, no one gets a slot for V or B. That's my way of saying "Hats off" to him.

I'll ask you not to consider all this as flattery. All this is well proven truth, as you yourself know. Its just that, I am jotting it down here, for the world to know. No hard(or soft, for that matter) feelings for anyone, huh!

I'll get back to my movie now. As I see it, the wallpaper of the Rainbow on my system's desktop has changed to another beautiful lady now. ;)

One can enjoy a rainbow without necessarily forgetting the forces that made it.
------ Mark Twain, in "Queen Victoria's Jubilee"

Wedding

Back from Delhi, and yet again, Exams are here. Today's exam was cool. Not much time though, but did it JIT. An Open book exam mostly gets me a confi which brings out the best in me. ;)

The Wedding was fun. Had full masti out there. Got to see, for the first time, what really a wedding means, and what all rituals are to be followed. Twas quite amusing and interesting. Taking the bulk of responsibilities, and then working them out in the minimum available time was the key thing which made me run thru.

Hope Shuchidi takes on a fine way from here on. The prospects seem bright enough. Amen!

And yes, met Surbhi, Sachin, Prabhjot for the first time. The long awaited delay, atlast, came to a halt. Had heard so much about them that I couldn't resist anymore, to get to meet such personalities.

In one word, I would call it "Serendipity". Boy o Boy. Thats my favorite word, and what a moment it chose, to describe its importance. Not that this decreases any admiration I have for the so called movie, but "A fortunate Accident" is what I gathered from this trip. "A small world" it surely is.

Hats off!
~Cheers~

The prophecy has begun..

The new year at IIMK began on an exciting note, with the conclusion of yet another memorable trip. This time, neither it was Ooty, nor Bekal. Neither Bandipur, nor Kodaikanal. Neither Mahe, nor Munnar.
this time, it was Coorg, a gem of a place.
The place was absolutely fabulous. with constant rains pouring, we never found ourselves out of clouds. Its really like staying in heaven, even when u r alive.

With mahendra playing the Captain's knock, the arrangements were more than satisfying. With wise words here and there, the comments of the intellect were really upto their standards.

After getting back from the trip, as usual, hectic schedule began, with the assignments pending and the cases yet to be solved. Anyhow, deadlines were met, as they are meant to be, and no casualties occured.

M still thinking whether to lead a hectic life this year, by taking loads of subjects, or to lead an easy life. Brand management is a helluva nice subject to take, and with Sridhar coming over to take it, I dont think I can afford to miss it. But again, the load factor comes over. Lets see what shapes up.

And yes, on a personal note, i am a bit happy again, for the daily mails which i started again today.

Woods r lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Thats all of us