The Pulley ...

Since I am light on work nowadays; I am attending quite a few interesting and enriching training sessions that get conducted in my organization. The other day (a few weeks back) I was attending one such session on something related to business presentation skills.

After the initial introductions, expectations from the course etc, the instructor threw a sudden missile at us. She said that each one of us had to come to the podium and recite a poem. (What???? Are we here to read out poems?? Are you nuts???). Well, seemingly, this poem recital exercise would enable her to evaluate the vocal aspect of our presentation; she was trying to check the following five qualities of our voice – audibility, clarity, stability, modulation and control. (Did you ever know there were so many aspects about how the way we speak?? :))

Just as we all were staring at each other’s faces, not knowing how to react to this unexpected attack, she stated “I know all of you must be feeling weird; but trust me it will be fun.” she said with a smile, coming over to our chairs and handing each one of us print out of poems. “Take 5 minutes to read the poems, understand its message and mood and present it to rest of us.” In the following 10 minutes all of us were preparing for the recital, strategizing the pauses to be taken for emphasis, the pitch variation to be done as per the mood etc etc... and then actually reciting the poem multiple times in our heart :) it was a feeling akin to last minute revisions during the exam times.

After 10 mins, the instructor snapped, “So, who will go first? ... No volunteers? Okay, let me pick. Hiren ???.”

“Yea ... hmmmm .... yeaa ... sure...”, grrrrrrrrrr....

The other 7 people attending the course started giggling and I started my long walk towards the podium ... upon reaching there, I stood with my eyes refusing to see anywhere above the floor, for the first few seconds ... and then somehow, I managed to recite (read as narrate) the poem and there were claps all around. [That’s the benefit of a corporate crowd; you can get claps for craps too :))]

Okay, I won’t bore you all further with the session details. The intent of this post was to put up the poem that I had got to recite. It was a nice poem titled “The Pulley” by George Herbert. It has got a nice message and the simplicity of this message did strike me. Usually, I am not that much of a fan of poems, but liked this one [maybe because I had no option but to read and understand it :)]

The Pulley
by George Herbert

When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blessings standing by,
Let us (said He) pour on him all we can:
Let the world's riches, which dispersed lie,
Contract into a span.

So strength first made a way;
Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour, pleasure:
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that alone of all His treasure
Rest in the bottom lay.

For if I should (said He)
Bestow this jewel also on my creature,
He would adore My gifts instead of Me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature:
So both should losers be.

Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlessness:
Let him be rich and weary, that, at least,
If goodness lead him not, yet weariness
May toss him to My breast.

p.s. Manallii reminded me of a quote, which describes this poem perfectly. Coincidentally, I had posted this quote around same time last year on my quotes blog.

“Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s Grace and
Your good days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s Grace ...”
~ Anonymous

Quiet & Relaxed ...

Since a few years now, I had my eyes on her. Her voluminous figure was repulsive. Moreover her meticulously detailed and sometime philosophical talks didn’t entice many. But I had fallen for her from the time I had heard about her chaste inner beauty from a few friends who had acquainted with her. For 3 long years, I tried many a times to get together with her but couldn’t succeed. But finally, our destinies converged a few weeks back; I saw her leaning prettily over a shelf at a bookstore. She was a bit overweight alright; but her striking face accentuated with hues of red was entrancing. I simply walked up to her, held her hand and got out of the store and the rest as they say is history ...

Okay, okay, gals don’t get upset or jealous!! I am just talking about a book here. I still am very much single and available :). Now, this is the first time I am writing a review of sorts for a book. Earlier I have recommended a couple of books as passing notes in my posts. But this entire post belongs to the book I just finished reading and which still has me under its binding spell.

In today’s fast paced world of short sophisticated stories, succinct narratives and innovative fictions, a 930+ pages epic based on a real life story might sound like a boring proposition. I guess I too would not pick up such a book unless I hoped to use it as a pillow (both literally and figuratively). But I had heard and read so much about this literary masterpiece that I had been itching badly to subject myself to the torture. And glad I am, that I did that to me.

Well, Shantaram is a real life inspired but fictitious account of memoirs of the author – Gregory David Roberts, an Australian fugitive who lands into Mumbai after escaping from a prison back home. Once into Mumbai he just falls in love with this city where he makes many friends, lives in Mumbai slums, deals in drugs, runs a first-aid clinic for the poor slum dwellers, finds a father figure in Mumbai's mafia, finds a few friends who could die for him and vice versa, makes a few enemies who entrap him, has near death experiences in Mumbai jail, joins the Mujahideen war in Afghanistan, becomes an important part of the mafia gang in Mumbai and zillion other things ... and did I say learns Hindi and Marathi?:) Okay, by now you must have at least realized that this book is a roller coaster ride of a plethora of emotions – trust, love, betrayal, respect, friendship, sympathy, blind faith, power, conviction etc etc etc

This one sure is right up there amongst the best prose (cant term is as the best since Bourne Identity is a tough competition :)) I have read. There are loads and loads of sentences and paragraphs in this gem that you would just want to engrave in your memory and quote them somewhere to impress others by its richness of literature and also some interesting philosophical focus. But the highlight of this book is the thoroughly detailed account of the writer’s adventures. Some of them are so comprehensive that you actually begin to feel the surroundings and start experiencing the feelings of the protagonist. For instance, after reading his ordeal at the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai; you will shudder even from the thought of spending a day in that jail. Similarly his depiction of the Mumbai slums and the entire south Mumbai area made me wonder sometimes whether I actually live in Mumbai or not.

This book is a must buy for book lovers, it is a captivating thriller sprinkled merrily with human emotions, interesting philosophy and descriptive writing. Mumbaikars will surely find a connection with this book owing to the scrupulous description of many of the city places with “Café Leopolds” being the prominent of all :).

On the flip side, in my view the book has two snags – firstly, it surely is HUGE, but, once you start this voluminous autobiography it starts growing on you and enchaining you in its grasps. Secondly, it has some open ends during the narration which might be a turn off. But most of them get clarified towards the end. Alas there are a couple of them still which I am wondering about (or did I just missed a few pages while reading the book in almost sleepy state)

Btw Warner Bros have bought the rights for making a film on this book in which Johnny Depp is slated to play the lead role while Amitabh Bachhan is slated to play the mafia head who becomes a father figure to the protagonist.

Lin Baba ki Jai Ho!!! :)

Ciao friends, tc,
hiren

p.s. the title of the post is the literal disintegration of the word “Shant - aaram” just in case you are still intrigued :)

p.p.s. now I have my eyes on another femme fatale and this one is not a book :)

Emotional Atyachaar

Friends,
I am glad to be ending my writers block with a short story. Well, here is my first attempt on writing a short story from a picture. Hope that it is at least bearable and sensible to some extent :) Earlier, a coupla times, I have tried to write something from 3WW word prompts ... but writing from a picture is a first of its kind for me. Looking forward to receiving honest comments from you guys...

I have been inspired for this post from stories by ceedy and sameera who have participated in the Ascension Short Fiction Contest running at the Jason Evan’s blog. The story cannot be of more than 250 words and has to be inspired from the given picture. So here is my rather naive attempt at it; and of course I am not submitting this amateurish entry to the contest. Although, just couldn't resist the urge to post it here.

Update: - Thanks to all your motivation and inspiration ... I did submit my story to the contest. It is entry #98 in the contest :-)

The below picture is the prompt given by Jason Evan for the Ascension contest.



Emotional Atyachaar
by Hiren

"Don’t ... I said Do NOT. Dare you step on the escalator!!!" shouted Karla at the top of her voice.

"Why are you doing this to me? You very well know that I have to get to her in time ... she ain’t going to wait for me even a minute after 9:30." I tried to plead with her while hopping on to the escalator...

"You have to make a choice today ... its her or me this time ... either you get down from the escalator or you don’t see me again..." she shouted beating her previous decibels record and ensuring that all nearby eyes gave me obtrusive glances.

"arggghhhhh .... GOD save this world from the emotional blackmail power of girls ..." I mumbled beneath my breath as I reached the first floor and got off the escalator only to take an about turn to the flight of stairs going down...

"Okay miss drama queen, happy now??" I teased her after sauntering down to the mezzanine floor where she was standing with a triumphant smirk on her otherwise innocent face.

"Darling, you are such a sweet heart!!!" she said restoring back her innocent smile.

"Anything for you dear; so which stupid hindi movie are we going for?" I mocked her again whilst thinking about the aftermath of missing the last Metra train to my town... 40 dollars cab fare to AMC, 50 dollars to drop her home, 100 dollars to reach my home :-(

Titanic ....

heyaa people,

Apologize to be absconding for so long ... was engulfed with many unavoidable agendas viz. umpteen weddings ... a couple of friends been back home from US for vacation... and yea work as usual... Now I am a bit eased out with all the weddings done with... albeit they have left me with another agenda of losing the kilos I gained during the last 3 weeks :)

My trip to north india was a pleasant one... will try to upload some pics from the trip ... special mention for two serene places that I visited in this trip – Golden Temple and Lotus Temple ... wonderful calming experience...

Thanks to all of you who were concerned about my well being during the Mumbai mishap... by gods grace all is fine with me and my near and dear ones ... I was in Delhi during that time ... just hooked on to the news channels all the time ... This terrorist attack was surely not just another one (as we Mumbaites seem to be used to them)... this one for sure has left back deep scars which will take time to heal...

Anyway, will catch up with all yaa blogs soooon... till then check this pic out... speaks a lot about the current recession and slump...

More later, till then take care !!!

ciao,
~ hiren

Season Update

heylo guys n gals ...

Just dropped in to provide a quick update – next few weeks; I will be totally engulfed in the wedding season ... and this, for sure is one of the biggest season for me ... with 7 weddings to attend in a span of just 3 weeks time.... and these are such weddings that I can miss only at the risk of getting amputated ... yea ... all of them of my friends ... well, suddenly seems everyone around me is getting hitched :)

But one good thing is that to kick start this wedding season, I am away on a 10 day trip to north India as the first wedding of the season is in Chandigarh. This is the wedding of the friend whose love story I had cited in one of my earlier posts – JoJhol. I have heard that the marriages in Chandigarh are awesome and full of fun ... so I am eagerly looking forward the experience the Punjabi style marriage...

Moreover, there are 4 of us who are leaving a bit early for spending a few days in Delhi, visiting Agra and finally a day in Amritsar to Chandigarh ... its hard to believe, but I have never visited Delhi earlier, so am excited about spending a few days there and experiencing Delhi life per se ... am also keen to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar ... and of course to see Chandigarh as well - the only architecturally planned city in India :)...

So, people, I will be away for a while due to this trip and post that due to the numerous weddings where I will mostly spending the free time in driving from one venue to another :(

See yaa all soon .. till then take care and have fun !!!

ciao
~ hiren

Moving On ....

No friends, the current mania of quitting blogville hasn’t caught up with me; it’s just that, of late, a lot of people who affect me someway or the other are moving on in their lives. In the past few weeks; I was shocked & saddened at least 4-5 times by the unexpected avowals of people quitting blogging; jobs and cricketing careers. Believe me; this is creating a feeling of emptiness. The least I can say that all of you will surely be missed and wish you all good luck with the future endeavors.

The subsequent part of this post is my diminutive tribute to the charismatic Sourav Ganguly and the altruistic Anil Kumble; two of the very few cricketing legends of my generation who decided to end their careers. So, people who are averse to cricket can skip the below unexciting and emotional blabber :)



Yesterday, India won the coveted Border-Gavaskar trophy... by beating the hard nosed Aussies (not the Aussie countrymen per se ... but their cricket team for sure) by a thumping 2-0 margin ... Any other day such an astounding drubbing would have meant paramount pleasure and tremendous exultation ... But, with this test match being Dada’s last match and Jumbo already hanging his boots in the last test match; the victory celebrations were definitely sidelined by the emotional good-byes. This holds true for all the cricket lovers in India. Indian cricket has seen and end of an era with two of its prodigies calling it quits; whilst one can sense Jammy’s retirement too to be just around the corner.

Kumble, a fighter in true sense, a perfect gentlemen, an enviable team man, highest wicket taker for India and 3rd highest in the world, big hearted, a thinking bowler and someone whose commitment to the game was so infectious .... he will be remembered as someone who, never ever in his career spanning over 18 years, gave less than his 100% ...


Ganguly, controversy’s favorite child, most successful test captain for India, role model for the team, motivating and supportive leader (he did full justice to his nick name Dada), aggressive face of Indian Cricket, attacking batsman, affiliate of the most successful ODI opening partnership, god of off-side ... he will surely be remembered for decades to come for this contribution in taking Indian cricket forward.

Regardless of how the new look Indian team under MSD fares; Indian cricket will never be the same. I surely was lucky to be born in an era to witness the ‘god of off-side’ unleashing his sublime cover drives that effortlessly pierced packed off-side fields and the gallant leg spinner coming to take field for the sake of the team with his head wrapped in bandages owing to a broken jaw...

SG and AK, here is a heartfelt thank you to both of you for the gallant contribution and positive difference you have made to Indian cricket. God Bless!

~ hiren

Diwali Wishes ....

Friends,

May the divine light of Diwali illuminate your life with bright sparkles of joy, prosperity and peace ... wish you all a very happy and sparkling DIWALI !!!

Have been real tied up in the past few weeks, consequently, haven't been able to keep up with your blogs .... will try to catch up sooon ...

For now, its festive time here in India ... although, the festivity mood has been marred by a lot of frivolities viz. the sub-prime crisis in US, its adverse impact all over the world, stock market crashes (I should rather say collapses), forthcoming recession and subsequent pay-cuts, layoffs etc etc ..... but nevertheless Diwali has its own charm and anxiety ... so, people are still enjoying this festival with their loved ones albeit in a quite manner (literally, there are hardly 5% of fire crackers heard this time around) .... I too have managed to sneak in a week’s leave and am having a gala time with friends and family :) Hope that all of you too are enjoying this fest regardless the negativity hovering around...

Have fun and be safe ... avoid crackers and prevent noise pollution (those who want can read this as save money :))...

ciao for now,

Take Care.
~ hiren

Got no LOVE ???

Got no love ... don’t chaa worry now ... your problem ends right here...

Stumbled upon this smirky picture today ... seems that there is a desi version of the hitch budding somewhere in Karjat ... no, wait.... my apologies ... that position’s already taken by our Sallu miya ... okay maybe this guy (just a convenient assumption or writer’s liberty ... I am by no means a male chauvinist, this can very well be a gal :)) is an updated sophisticated version of the good old Baba Bengali ... “prem ki samasya? pyaar ka ijhaar? kisi bhi samasyaa ke liye sampark kare” types ;)

And come to think of it ... these guys are a touch better than our cinematic love gurus WS & SK ... they not only stop at getting two people in love.... but also guarantee the marriage ... talk about value added services :) Move away shaadi.com ... arranging a marriage is outdated ... :)

have fun friends !!!

ciao
~ hiren

P.S. if anyone of you actually end up using their services please let us know about the experience ... it would be very interesting to hear the customer testimonials ;)

** Disclaimer**
I haven’t started any such side business as an aftermath of the USA subprime crisis and this is not a marketing post :) I am in no way related to the business shown above ... for further details and clarifications please contact the numbers mentioned in the above photo... :)

a bag that wasnt a bomb ...

An incident that happened on Monday morning during my travel from Mumbai to Pune -

9:15am - Mumbai-Pune Volvo bus halts for its customary 10-15 min stop at Vashi.
9:16am - A dude gets in; places his luggage on the seat in front of me and besides an elderly uncle... then gets off the bus...
9:23am - Uncle is getting restless & anxious with the luggage in the bus and its owner missing ... so are a couple of other people.
9:26am - Uncle gets panicky; gets off the bus; calls the driver & cleaner (who were sipping tea at a stall alongside) and raises alarm ... “arey ek mulga tari aapla bag thevun gela aahe ... daha minute jaale ... kuthe disat nahi toh ... bagha tari .. bomb vomb tar nahi naa??” (A guy has left the bus after leaving his bag in the bus and cant be seen around since the past 10 mins... can it be a bomb?)
9:27am - many people get off the bus to join the commotion (including me)...
9:28am - looking at the hustle bustle, the dude who was about 50 mts away (and who btw was bidding sugary good byes to his girl friend, while waiting for the bus to start) comes rushing in ... so as to retrieve his luggage since he spotted people getting off the bus ... he thought that there was a breakdown or some other problem with the bus ....
9:30am - Everything settled, the bus resumes its journey ... the dude and the uncle have a hearty laugh over it...and I get back to reading “Road to Gandolfo”

This is the fear, that the flurry of terror attacks have created in the psyche of the people here ... I wont get into giving any sermons as to how should we retaliate ... or the terrorists’ point of view .... or HIS role ... or bitch about incompetent government & security measures ... or what is achieved by carnage of innocent lives etc etc ....

A lot has been said, shouted, cried and sighed about all these viewpoints ... the thing which enthused me to put this post up.... was a conversation with a friend who is a US national. We were discussing about the hurricane Ike, safety of her relatives etc and the topic turned to the recent bomb attacks in Delhi... my feeling of helplessness just made me blurt out to her that “at least for Ike you people have all the warnings and alerts ... and can take the precautionary measures.... here in India ... the bomb attacks come uninformed and take hundreds of innocent lives”.... (as an afterthought I realized that it was quite a rude (maybe selfish) comment on my part .... as there has been a lot of emotional and physical stress because of Ike)

Thankfully, she didn’t misunderstand my comment and her reply was pretty queer and left me at loss of words – “That is really sad. I remember when USA was attacked in 2001. I remember feeling so scared and unsure in my own home. At least one thing was a comfort that my own countrymen were not planning these attacks, which is not true for India. Indians themselves are causing the misery for their radical views.”

I could have given many counter arguments.... like not all terrorists are Indians ... there might be other countries involved etc etc ... but come to think of it ... she had got a valid point ... at the end there had to be countrymen involved at some or the other level ...I didn’t have a reply to her .... in fact I was experiencing the same helplessness that one feels when thinking about terror blasts ...

Anyways, one thing that I have pondered for years now ... is why do the terrorists have to kill innocent people to make a statement and get themselves heard??? There can be many other ways which wouldn’t involve loss of life.... and can probably have similar kind of impact ... (I will refrain from showcasing my vicious side by listing the alternatives... well ... yea i do have some wicked grey cells too ... well .... blame the numerous Robert Ludlum novels that I have read for that ... :)). No, friends ... I am in no way trying to support or justify the terrorists’ activities ... no ways, not even an iota of it ... my point is that if there is a group who can go to any length to get their points across .... why not assume a way which would not slay innocent people? This is genuinely a question that pesters me. Any idea?

ciao friends ... and take care !!!
~ hiren

P. S.: I would recommend you all to watch “Mumbai Meri Jaan” ... it’s a movie based on the 26 July train blasts in Mumbai and showcases the aftermath that a terror attack causes in the lives of common man ...

P. P. S: A couple of you have complained about me writing a lot of serious posts of late.... I agree to that and promise to try and get back to humor soon... :)

Three for thee ...

"What should we get as a present?"

"Yes, we need to figure that out ... and what are wearing for the celebration?"

"I think lets all decide on a color code ... how about black?"

"Naah ... I don’t have a good black dress ... can we go for red?"

"aaarrggghhh ... these girls ... now listen ... what do we gift him?"

"How about a big bouquet and a nice shirt??? I mean expensive one ... not real expensive but a bit ... you guys understand what I mean ... right??"

"That’s so common ... how about a nice, sexy watch?"

"I have an idea ... why not give him a sorry card?"

"Sorry Card ???"
"What ???"
"Are you nuts ????"

"Well, we all trouble him a lot ... don’t we? Yes or No ???"

"Ummm ... Yes .... "
"may be ... but not a lot .."
"Not me ... I never do that"
"Yes ... I think most of us do ..."

"So, why not take this as an opportunity to tell him we are sorry for all that trouble you have had to bear for us and because of us ... that will make him feel proud of us and we will also be benefited by seeking forgiveness for our misdoings till now ... wat say?"

"Yea ... sounds cool ... then we can start nagging him afresh from tomorrow ... wow, just like writing on clean slate... :)"

lols ...

"Cooooll ... and we will also give him an award.... because he is the best in the world ... we will thank him for caring about us so much.... I will get a nice award frame ..."

"Yep ... these two ideas sound perfect ... lets get these !!!"

Now, here is another proof that I am one favorite nephew of Uncle Murphy [nope I don’t have any NRI uncle ... this ones of the Murphy’s Law fame :)]  ... at times its months altogether and I cant think of anything more than zilch to write about [let alone write ... sometimes I cant even figure out any topic to rant about]... and today there were 3 topics in my mind tussling, scuffling & vying to get the much coveted print space on Serenity [well everyone loves their own child .. don't they ?? :-p] ... so in the end just came up with the above fictional [partly inspired from a real life incident] chat between a disobedient & nasty bunch of 10^th graders ... deliberating on the eve of Sep 5 - Teacher’s Day ...

This conversation kind of encompasses the three thoughts I wanted to pen ... viz.

1> Michhami Dukkadam:
In Jainism, we have an annual custom, where in after the last day of our sacred religious week [known as Paryushan]; we seek forgiveness from everyone [deities and human beings alike] for any intentional/unintentional hurt inflicted by our actions/words.... & “Michhami Dukkadam” is the phrase that’s used to say sorry and seek forgiveness ... genuinely ...

So, friends, if I have ever hurt you inadvertently by my posts or comments ... I sincerely apologize for it ...  “Michhami Dukkadam” ....

2> Teachers Day:
Nowadays Sep 5 goes unnoticed in most of our lives ... now that we are all into corporate world and busy with zillion things ... But rewind back to our skool/college days and all of us would have been eagerly looking forward to this day – Teachers Day !!! going to school sans uniform [of course wearing new dashing clothes], wishing our teachers, giving them flowers/gifts ... celebrating in school/tuitions ... etc etc ...

So, let’s reminisce our academic life ... and wish our teachers a very happy Teachers Day ... and thank them ... as they surely have played a decisive role in shaping up our success of today....

3> Award:
Last but not the least ... my second blog QQ was bestowed by Brilliant Weblog award from Keshi ... It’s my first blogging award ... Yipeeeeeee !!!!! Keshi, thanks a ton mate... I am really obliged and will cherish this award eternally...

ciao friends ... take good care and have a fab weekend ...
~ hiren

P.S:
"Now that the gift is taken care of ... can we decide the color code ???"

"Red ... please .... "

"Red will be too loud ... blue ??"

"aaarrggghhh ... these girls .... ;)"

Mera Bharat Jawaan

Come 15^th August and suddenly the entire nation is dressed in saffrons, whites, blues and greens ... One can spot the tirangaa hoisted ubiquitously.... sketches & photographs of our great freedom fighters & martyrs getting flashed incessantly... all the tv and radio channels become extremely patriotic... tricolor balloons, shirts, caps and what not for sale at every nook and corner .... every celebrity proudly boasting about what independence means to them .... and I must confess my own music play list also gets revamped to mostly patriotic songs (A R Rahman’s Vande Mataram leading the pack) ... [That’s a sad thing that one has to wait for about 5 months till 26^th Jan to see these feelings again :( well, lets not go there today]

Its celebration time in most of the organizations as well... mine was no exception; on the eve of Independence Day we had organized a cubicle decoration event and ethnic wear day. One thing I have noticed in the past few years; there is simply no limit to innovation and creative ideas... every time there is any such event; the ingenuity of people just oozes out which can be seen in the atypical decorative themes they come up with ... sometimes the final output even surprises the creators themselves.

I am not going to put up pics (sorry, I don’t have them as yet :() and describe the different themes. But one theme and presentation by a small group got our particular attention ... they didn’t have any flashy or abundant decorations/paintings etc ... but they presented their theme perfectly ... Their theme was not much detailed; just a teasing idea which got me pondering ...

Their theme was basically “Mera Bharat Jawan” ... they wanted to state that Independent India is not 61 years old ... but its 61 years young. Always during independence/republic day we get reminiscent of our great freedom fighters... Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Nehru and the likes ... No doubt we should pay due homage to these legends; as they deserve every bit of it ... but now even after 61 years past our independence; we do not look forward ... we have many heroes (in their own way) in current era who are carrying forward the legacy of these great legends (viz. Abdul Kalam, Narayan Murthy, Mother Teressa, Lee/Hesh, Abhinav Bindra, Jhumpa Lahiri, Dr Homi Bhabha and several others.) These are the ones who symbolize current independent India and make it shine bright on the globe.

Sadly, despite being independent, our nation is still bounded by a strong chain of weedy bureaucracy, corruption, violence, poverty, terror attacks and several other disruptive links. It is these contemporary heroes from different parts of the nation who in their own ways are trying to cut this chain and make India break free from this captivity. The early inroads have been made through by these stars ... now its upto the youth and educated generation to help in their own ways to cut loose this chain completely and be a HERO in the history of our nation.

Reminds me of a nice punch line that I read yesterday - India Lies in YOU... googled it and found it to be an event organized by a group of students ... click the pic for more details

Earnest wishes on 61^st birthday of free India...

Vande Mataram !!!

~ hiren

P.S. A heartfelt salute and homage to the army martyrs who sacrificed their lives/families (and also those who risk their lives day in and out) for the peace & prosperity of the nation...

“That we do for ourselves we take to our graves ...
That we do for others lives in this world for eternity ...”

P.P.S. My team won the joint 2^nd prize with the above stated team. And also the best dressed female in ethnic wear was from my team...

Wordle Huddle ...

It's only words and words are all I have ...

wanna know what words you use to express yourself on your blogs ??? try this and know what your blog speaks !!!

my blog’s - graffiti wall looks awesome below and am I glad that the word "friends" is at the heart of it ?? :) and also its great to see CAN standing tall :)



Have a nice vknd ahead !!!

ciao,
- hiren

P.S. Thanks to Neo for the reference to this site ...

the "ing" tag ...

Here is another long awaiting tag ... this one was by Solitaire... so here I am completing the impending and interesting “ing” tag ... :-p


Watching: saw "Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Naa" today … this one gets two thumbs up from me … a cool, juvenile, invigorating and vivacious movie … liked it very much … will go for it again next week :)

Listening: Nowadays my playlist comprises of Jaane tu yaa Jaane Naaa – AR Rahman rocks yet again; Boond – Jal's new album (not very new, latest would be the right word i think; nice songs); Dus Kahaniya (not many people know that this movie actually has 10 lounge tracks as well … and a few of them are simply awesome); Khuda Ke Liye; ... and actually many others like Kailash Kher, Fuzon, Atif, Rahat Ali Khan etc

Wearing: yea I have been having a quite wearing time lately :-p okay okay I know this one doesn’t mean that …. fine… at this moment I am wearing - shorts & a white t-shirt... and a big grin :-)

Missing: a few of my naalayak friends who are all having a merry time in US summers … the worst thing is that when I was in the US … I had been missing them then too since most of them were back in Mumbai that time …

Hoping: to catch up with a school friend next weekend for sure (unfortunately for some reasons or the other I have not been able to make it for abt last 6-7 weekends in a row now … and we will be catching up after years)

Craving: had been craving for a nice cuppa tea in the past 2 weeks … spent most of my time in office and was fed up with the vending machine and my office’s canteen tea …

Reading: hvnt been upto speed with reading (outside work of course) courtesy the ultra-busy days/nights that I have been having since the last few weeks. Consequently, I ended up reading a lot of back-dated news today … naah naah …. just in case you mistake me to be one of those smart geek who are up-to-date with all global, national, political news etc or the guy who is conversant with all the latest business and economic happenings (contrary to the general belief, I am one of those rare gujjus who suck at money matters … can someone give me no fuss tricks for saving and investments ??? :))…. by news I meant Sports news :-p got to know only today that Sania crashed out in the second round from Wimbledon :) …. Abt future reading … I am starting today (most probably) Chetan Bhagats "The 3 mistakes of my Life .." and am planning to get my hands on "Watch Out we are MBA …" (this one's written by a guy from my organization) and the only other thing that I have been reading recently are most of your blogs ... they have been refreshing me .. so thanks !!!:)

Finished Reading: As described in my post a few weeks back … finished reading "God's Debris" & "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" … I recommend the first one to those who (literally) like to get their head spun inside their skulls … very heavy but though provoking… and the second one is good too ... best i have read till date in terms of being unusual …

Thinking: at this point I am thinking about an answer for the below question ... [I have begun to get a lot candid nowadays on my blog]

Loving: For lack of a better answer; I am loving my blog … I mean both my blogs Serenity and QQ :)

Hating: the time when I can’t be in Bombay for the weekend ... [due to some unavoidable reasons] … oh yea …to give you all the background… I work in Pune; so I travel (almost) every Fri night to Mumbai and Monday morning back to work ...

ciao friends ...

- hiren

(I)ntrospection

Friends,

First of all, sorry for not visiting any of your blogs since the past few days as I have been having a torrid time at work this week; with situation as bad as sleeping for only 5-6 hrs in 3 days :) ... things are getting better now ...

And now here I am [this is me :)] breaking yet another sabbatical of sorts and taking up one of the two imminent tags ... this ones by ceedy ... and its kinda the myself essay we used to write during our Kindergarten days :) only a touch lengthier than that :) And this one also has also compelled me to come up with narcissism, self-introspection, confessions, candid avowals, immodesty, blabber etc etc :) so here I go ...

I am: a boy, my name is Hiren; I am 27 yrs old :)

I think: never consciously and never unnecessarily …

I know: that destiny has good things in store for me :) ...

I want: that all the people, whom I have acquainted with, to experience a gladdening emotion (like maybe a contented smile) whenever they think/talk about me...

I have: a bit of flab which I can and I should get away with :) [my weird habit related to gym is not helping this one though :-(]

I wish: *not able to express my exact emotion here* maybe just at a high level, I wish I can go back in time and prevent a cataclysm... [sorry peepz no details here]

I hate: people who are unkind to their parents, grand-parents, elders etc and ill-treat them or even talk ill about them.

I miss: my close friends as most of them have shifted base to Uncle Sam’s’ land ... and my maternal aunt, uncles, cousins …in the UK ... and nx nnn the most [crypted coz of the unable to express trait of me ...]

I fear: loneliness (not the literal one)

I feel: that no one can make (plan) life … it just happens !!! :)

I hear: nowadays, a lot of advice, recommendations and warnings to get married :)

I smell: scent of wet mud during the rain ...

I crave: for as much time possible (and more) with the people I care about...

I search: and hope for tranquility in life [this ones a cliché .. alright]

I wonder: how do so many people actually tolerate me and care for me :)

I regret: hmmm ... nothing as such ... no significant regrets !!!

I love: nature, adventure, serenity, get-together with friends, cricket, unix, challenging assignments, outdoors ... [sadly, none of these is the name of any girl :-(]

I ache: when I fail to live up to any expectations of anyone...

I am not: an atheist

I believe: A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be ...

I dance: with two left feet ... :) [except for garbas of course :)]

I sing: not to please others ... :)

I cry: only from within ... hvnt seen my tears at all since the time I can go back in my memory ...

I don’t always: lose my cool ... in fact never with my kins or friends …

I fight: a lot with my younger sister :-) … but she wins most of the times :-(

I write: yes … am a literate :)

I win: quite a few awards and recognitions at work :)

I lose: not without giving my best shot

I never: express my inner thoughts/tensions/apprehensions ... very very rarely can anyone make out when I am truly emotionally down ...

I always: trust my discretion and instincts

I confuse: my friends and family members with certain decisions of mine :)

I listen: a lot [per my friends I am a very good listener and problem solver (well, I am modest too … but for this post … I have kicked my modesty aside :)]]

I can usually be found: on the phone or internet or watching cricket when I am at home ...

I am scared: about not being able do all that I want to do for me and my near and dear ones.

I need: to find a soul mate :) [many people think it’s high time :)]

I am happy about: being born as hiren metalia ...

I imagine: this one is kinda weird … I do get lost in reveries but if u tell me to imagine a particular situation I cant do that impromptu … and while I am discussing my day dreaming here let me confess that sometimes I tend to hover down the fantasy lane....and visualize myself doing heroic things :) winning the man of the series in World Cup; preventing a catastrophic terror plot etc etc ...

pooooh ... I have never ever thought about myself so much ... :)

Let me know your impression about me after reading all this :)

ciao,
- hiren

itch ...

Frenz,

I was itching to post something thus am back again with an update :) I think you all must have got used to this lately.... but sadly I am here just to mention yet again that I am not getting enough time to write... last month or so has been very busy at work and with the onset of monsoon here weekends also end up in trekking expeditions or lazing around at some friends place sipping hot tea :) ...

So, peepz, please bear with me ... in the meantime you can read one of my old and personal favorite posts "Last Day of Your Life" ... i am sure many of you wouldn't have read this as the reader base I had then could have been counted on the fingers of just one hand :)

Other than that I am still actively posting on my other blog "QQ" ... so you all can keep visiting that page and seek some wonderful fundas of life :)

Also, will take up the impending tags soon...

Take Care.

ciao
- hiren

!**#$

This is one time of the year, when I feel very irritated with myself and helpless too ... the prime reason being that I have to resort to using the crappy means that I condemned so much a few years back.

I am talking about the managerial crap that I hated to receive from my managers .... But today how much ever I try to be objective, fair, transparent, and reasonable; there is no escape .... I do find myself resorting to some of that very crap while speaking to my subordinates ....

I have tried to reason this; haven’t got a very convincing explanation .... but I have at least understood that at times there is no way other than to beat around the bush .... am not trying to justify this but it’s a fact ... there are always a few situations when I have unwillingly had to just give fundas and no specific answers to the direct questions of my subordinates (sometimes I myself dont know the answers ... and sometimes its just not advisable or practical to share the answers wtih them ...)

Having said this I am not at all advocating for the managers who are walking stores of fundas :)

Anyways, during the last couple of days, I have received quite a few pearls of pathetic, creative and intellectual sms’s ... read those & njoi the same .. :)

My message to the world – "If you like me, raise your hand ... if not then raise your standards ..." ;) [full on attitude ... man .. awesome :-)]

Read on the fuel tank of a truck – "kam pi rani, bada mehenga hai yeh Iraq ka paani ..." [now who says truck wallahs are not intellectual and creative ???? In the light of the recent hullabaloo about the exorbitant hike in fuel prices .... it cant get more creative than this]

Aap aap ho toh kya aap ho, Hum hum hai toh kya hum hai
woh golgappa kya tasty hoga; jismein paani kum hai
isse bakwass sms bhejo; agar aap mein dum hai :)
[Can anyone of you beat this in the degree of its quotient content of pathetic ness???]

Lesson to learn from Vodafone: "job rotation"' the dog earlier with network has been now transferred to the customer care department :) [do we have a case-study here that can be used in the IIM curriculum??]

cheerio,
hiren

Weekend, Books, Movie ....

Sorry friends, no ideas and also a bit less time to write up anything good :(… so here are just some plain [maybe boring too:(] updates from my life … [I know its a long time now I have wrote anything meaningful ... guess will need to resort to 3ww soon for some prompts ...]

Weekend Update: -
had a nice weekend .... friday night went to witness MI vs KK IPL match @ Wankhede Stadium and yet again MI won ... seems like I have started to become a lucky mascot of sorts for my home team :) ... after the match just strolled around on Marine Lines [after a long long time …] ... had dinner at around 00:30 am there ... and then one of my friend's friend had got his Hero Honda Karizma to the stadium .... but started to feel a bit ill to drive the bike ... so I drove that mean machine .... wow ... driving a Karizmaaaa ... around 01:30 am in the night ... from Marine Lines to Sion .... aweeessommee .... drove at an average speed of 100 kmph and a top speed of 125 kmph .... simply blissfulllllll :) [not that I haven’t driven such mean machines at such speeds earlier … but never got a chance to do it in Mumbai .... driving a bike on the Marine Lines to Haji Ali strip at this speed was a ultra satiating experience] ... sadly had to depart with the bike at Sion as that dude lived there :( ... got into the car from there to home ... Sat was even better .... got together with some long-lost college friends and visited another friends place to congratulate him on becoming a dad ... then we all went to a sports bar to see the DD-XIP match ... played some pool [me unfortunately lost both the frames :(]... Sunday was a bit laid back... and for a change [and also to the surprise of my kins] did some work at home :) ... then saw the MI match on TV and caught up with a coupla friends in the evening ...

Books Update: -
Thankfully I am back to my book reading habit.... the current book I have laid my hands on is "God's Debris" .... just started it yesterday late night …. so not much comments except that it's a bit unusual & i found the premise good enuff [this book is described as a thought experiment written for people who enjoy having their brains spun inside their skulls :)] … And surprisingly the author of this humor devoid book is Scott Adams (Dilbert creator). And the earlier one which I finished reading has been one of the most atypical book I have read till now ... but I liked it a lot ... its title is "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" .... written by Mark Haddon .... its very differently (unusually) scripted … its about the life of a child suffering with 'Asperger Syndrome' ... not a thriller, no suspense, no romance …but then too a nice read ... a bit heavy to start with, but gets intriguing after a while ...

Movie Update: -
Saw the much famed Pakistani movie 'Khuda Ke Liye' .... i too liked it very much ... nice handling and portrayal of the subject ... some very excellent music numbers .... good acting by the star cast .... Overall a good movie ... those of you who don’t like the regular bollywood masala ... got to catch this movie for sure ...

Expectations from my wife ...

The latest innovative idea by Solitaire about coming up with a matrimonial ad for self prompted me to post this amazing forward that I had received sometime back.

Disclaimer: These are not my views ... (although I am not saying that i dont agree to them :p) ...

Now that I have seen almost 26 years of my life and most of it without anyone who I could in the true sense call as a friend ... I have been thinking now for a while as to how my spouse oughta be ... [i wud differ here ... by GODs grace i have got a few friends in true sense]

I am not looking for only a beautiful, slim and an intelligent girl....They are all clichés. [cliches are good to have too ... actually :)] The ones that matter are: -

--> The first prerequisite I expect of my wife --- No it isn't the ability to understand me, that's the second ---- the first one's a sense of humour for me and all my nonsense. [not sure abt the dude who wrote this but in my case this ones gonna be the toughest ask for her :)]

--> She must sleep in my lap and allow me into hers. She must run her hand into my hair and fight me with pillows as often as she can. [Pillow fights ... this one will be kinda first for me ... have been involved only in fists fights till now :)]

--> She must allow me to disturb her, Which I will, --- no matter how busy and serious she is and I am --- , while she goes about our household chores. [You can bet your fortune on this one ... she is gonna be ultra-irritated by me]

--> She must sit with me shoulder in shoulder when we watch the late night movie together and must oblige to have a midnight walk anytime in the night. [Midnight walk ... thoda problem hai ... no good place for a midnight walk arnd :( ]

--> When the curry isn't nice and I stare into her eyes, she must straight away go and make an omlette for me. [uh huh .. m a pure veggie ... so daal-bhaath or khichdi or sandwich too would be just fine :) .... on after thoughts .... I hope that she knows how to prepare curry in the first place]

--> When she is downright tired she must flirt with me to win a cup of tea or a glass of cold water. She must be ready to blow a kiss any time any day and any place. [It would surely take a lot of flirting for this :) and blowing kisses ... ahem ahem]

--> She should call me nicknames and how innovative she coins out new ones the better and must be prepared to confront some deadly ones in return. [Nick names .... yea why not ???]

--> She got every right to beat me up when I annoy her while she watches those dready serials. [Dready seials ... this ones the toughest ask for me to bear :)]

--> She can also extract what she wants of me on women's day. [Why only Women's day?? She can do it everyday :)]

--> And I am also ready to share her pre-marital crushes and secrets. [You know I would surely like to know about those lucky guys who didnt have to suffer for their lifetime like me :)]

--> On those rare occasions when we might fight and then go on a mourning spree, it can continue for the night. The next morning must again be normal. [Hmmmmm .... why wait till morning ???]

--> I aint promising her a paradise but yes she will always get more of my love than our children. [Dude ... paradise, more love than children ??? ... not sure i i get this sentiment of yours ??? doesn't make any sense to me ...]

--> And finally, she must have a higher life expectancy than me. I may not be able to live without her ... [hai naa ekdum filmy ??? But i guess yea i would like this tooo ... :)]

--> And the biggest expectation that this dude missed out ... she has to agree to live with my other loves ... cricket the most important of them :)

So people now that you know my expectations ... references are most welcome !!!!

Take care peepz !!!

cheerio,
Hiren

Duniyaa Hilaa Denge ....

Finally, last Sunday, the jinx has been busted …. I was in the stadium supporting my home team Mumbai Indians …. and they won the match vs the top team in the league Delhi Daredevils :) and that too playing outstandingly :) [I know its too early to elate after just a couple of wins and still the team very much unlikely to make it to the semis .... but then one should cherish every moment :)]

I won’t torture you all with any cricket blabber [as most of you got bored with my last post] …. Just enjoy the few pics below …. And let me know which one did you like the most?? [borrowed this idea from Keshi .... ty :)]

Sorry .. was tryin somethin and ended up with loads of white spaces between the pics ... its already 2 am and my brain is reluctant to work anymore ... will fix this tomm ... till then please bear with it :)

"The Gang" From L to R :- Sameer, Rumi, Bhavlo (Bhavesh), Urs Truly, Nitesh, Gugs (Ritesh)

"The misfit" .... well, all tees of my size were sold out .... so had to wear one that was a size shorter .... consequently making me look like "aspiring to be Salman Khan" :( ... but there was no option of not wearing the Mumbai Indian T-shirt ... was there ???? :) [let me hear an astounding Naaaah :)] so i decided to take this tarnishing :) and anyways no matter how many hours I spend in the gym .... I cant become Salman ..... coz I must be at least half a foot taller to him :p ... pooor he :) lol ...

"The Ground" .... players ironing out their skills with the "Last Minute Revisions" :) before the match

"The Mexican Wave" .... Can you spot "the Mexican Wave" going on in this pic??? tried many times ..but in vain to capture it properly ... finally took a video :) [btw ... can you also spot any empty place to accommodate any more people in da stadium ???? There was no space left unoccupied]

"Standing on the Edge" I think I said that a bit too early ... cricket enthusiasts can invent an empty place even when there is lack of it :)

"The Pretender" ... Nitesh wearing the MI t-shirt was actually rooting for the DDs.... his tongue out expression is more like a "Ohhhhhh" than a "Yeeaaaaaa" .... [this snap was after one of the sixes hit by Robin :) .... ]

"Dont you dare DareDevil me..." ... hmmm ... yea .... I can give that "I will beat the **** outta you" looks ... :)

"Taking your child to heights" ... is there anyway a team can afford to lose if it has supporters like this??? [the father gave his sweet little daughter an elevated view almost throughout the entire match and she seemed to be enjoying it thoroughly with incessantly clapping and waving her hands]

"MasterCard" …. There are some things that money can’t buy; for everything else there is Master Card :)

"Cowboy" ..... bang bang bang ....

"Bald Sachin" ... couldn't resist taking this one ... this kid sitting in front of us was very much engrossed in the game .... jumping at every possible ooohhs and aaahs with the crowd and then after jumping and all he would ask his sister whether it was a wicket or six or four :) .... amazing enthussiasm :)






"Child Labour" .... after all the political hullabaloo over cheerleaders ... while the DD team had banned cheerleaders altogether ... the MI team had a team of skool going kids [appeared to be so ...] performing as cheer leaders .... thus making many of us shout "Child Labour" cries time and again :)


"Save the World" .... and some compassionate guys also came up to the rescue of the cheerleaders citing a very noble cause .... any takers for this righteous cause ???









"Exit Nature Enter Virtual" ... a nice capture with the sun setting and the floodlights coming on …






"Time Please" …. we all taking a breather … [which didn’t last for more than 30 seconds though with Shaun Pollock getting rid of Mallik and getting us all up on our feet and dancing]

"Rockster kiddo" …. Now this kid sitting right behind us … was joining us in all our chants and antics … and moreover he was shouting and rooting at the top of his lungs …. Some of his comments were so innocent … "Arey Mcgrath raap raap …. Jaane de boundary" [urging Mcgrath to misfield and let the shot go for a boundary] ...

"Elated" … dancing in anticipation of the win ….

"Ecstatic" …. Jubilant after the win











"Victorious smiles" ….. Yes "V" rule :)










"Last and Best Shot" …. Showing our back to the world :) ….









Take Care yaaa alll ....
ciao,
- hiren