My Travelogue

It all started when I got admitted into NIT,Trichy back in 2003. Being mom's kid I found it very difficult to settle myself in hostel. Even my choice of this college was heavily influenced by the fact that it was just 3.5 hours away from my sweet home. Remiss in my studies or any event in college I fled to home every weekend. I improved as the years passed by slowly reducing the frequency of home trips and somehow managed to complete my course successfully. I got a job too, guess what, I was posted in Bangalore which is around 11 hours from my home. But since I got matured enough over the past four years it wasn't so unusual or weird for me as it was in college. But the indisputable truth is,nobody will regret to be in Bangalore,green dense foliage everywhere treating your eyes, a quaint and charming place indeed!!!

Unfortunately there is only one train that covering the entire stretch, Bangalore till Tuticorin. Getting a ticket in this train is like watching first day,first show of a Rajnikanth movie. You have to plan three months in advance and book it accordingly(Thanks to railway department for increasing the advance reservation period to three months!! ). Typically the process of booking ticket in this train has the following steps.

1. Set a remainder where ever possible to remind you that u have to book a ticket that day for a particular date that is exactly three months away from the current date.
2. Make a strategy with your friends. Ultimately everyone should be trying simultaneously so that atleast one will make it.
3. I would suggest everyone to book in office as the bandwidth is better over there. I always do that. But the catch is , you have to go as early as 8 AM (Don't worry..Hard work definitely pays off)
3. If it is a festive season then you have to ask your parents also to join the team. As these online systems cannot be trusted they should serve as an alternate arrangement. You must be highly vigilant and dexterous, constantly getting in touch with everyone in your team through IM or mobile.
4. Don't underestimate any of your competitors. After all, they are birds of same feathers.
5. After all your efforts, if you lucky enough you will get "the precious", a ticket to travel to your home town !!!

My choice of train travel is only due to the comfortability factor in it. But there is a powerful force working against me towards spoiling that comfort. I will explain it in my next post .

Credit card

Glorious sight of splendid credit cards !!!! These are the cards owned by one single person in my room :). He is the god for all the bank agents whose bread and butter is decided by the number of customers they convince to apply, for a credit card. And his courage is also indisputable. Managing all these credit cards require a sound strategy and planning. No wonder, he is the premium customer of all those banks. I feel citizens like him decide the economic growth of our country by making sure that there is some movement of money :)

For U my dear!!!

Doesn't worth it .. So deleted entirely

Love or Life !!!!

This is a continuation of my previous post Dangerous Drug

I thought I ll never get philosophical again. But situation demands. Its again about my friend and his love. Let me call that friend as Devdas(Fits to the situation !!!). Devdas belied my observations last time. Even after being desolated to that extent he again submitted to her flaccidly. What a dweeb!!! Ya, he doesn't deserve any respect. Initially I thought it was just a chink in his Armour but he succumbed to be that girl's poddle. Executing her orders without self-respect, taking all her libelous statements, not even sure of what is in that girl's mind. The only thing he used to do -To cry wistfully at his fate. Why he does all this - To show his commitment towards that relationship !!! That is absolute non-sense I would say.

Something subliminal is affecting me. I couldn't assert what exactly is wrong with that couple. Is he too submissive which eventually is getting exploited by that girl ? Or is due to the social status of them - The girl in a big company, devdas in a not-so-well-known company ??? Until that girl got into that big company they were doing well. But she didn't even inform our poor devdas about her great job. Devdas on the other hand had great plans to build her career(I m the one to hear all his stories!!!). No wonder,he got dejected. I thought the hatred between them will wane. But It got intensified when devdas spoiled the most important day of his life because of unnecessary arguments with her. I do not justify devdas and put the blame on her for his failure. But I think there should a better understanding between both of them and she ought to be a morale booster of Mr.Devdas on such important occasions.

My impression about love- It spreads like a grape vine in the heart and bears the sweet,juicy fruit of success, ultimately. But like sloughing off the overgrown nail that girl threw our poor Devdas completely out of her life. Now, his career is in doldrums. He is not going to his office,gets very maudlin, expressing moribund thoughts, I m really scared. Left in a pit of pique, I cannot understand what he is upto. Hope there won't be a need to write another blog on this issue.

It really hurts to see a capable guy wasting his life for someone who did not understand him. I m out of words to be a solace for him. Suggestions welcome !!!!

Swingers

Life of a Software engineer is not so easy. Working from dawn to dusk,apprehensive of what's in store that day and how to disburse it, week days can better be called as "dreaded weekdays". Last week was one such, a drab and dour week (Paradox!!). Though it was not too demanding nevertheless I badly needed a break. Finally the much awaited weekend arrived. Weekends sometime appear like a monster trying to wangle money from me by mesmerizing me with shopping malls,commercial roads and restaurants,specially Chinese restaurants( I guess I have a strong bond towards these Chinese restaurants !!!! I always end up settling here,in spite of all my plans, whenever I decide to eat out) After losing so much to that treacherous monster I decided not to meander anymore through that monster's residence. Unfortunately there are a lot of them in Bangalore.

Last weekend I practiced this art. I didn't go out anywhere except to a rbk showroom (I didn't buy anything. So it doesn't count). Sunday I came to know about this dance show by swingers. Even though I m interested in dance I decided not to go as it might be a new weapon in the monster's arsenal. But I got a wonderful chance of getting a free entry to that show through one of my friend. Since that doesn't break my resolution I went there. What can I say ?

IT IS ONE OF THE BEST PROFESSIONAL DANCE PERFORMANCE I HAVE SEEN !!!!!

The had a perfect inception with an enthralling Ballet -> Little bit of Jazz -> Nice hip hop which eventually turned into enchanting Salsa -> A perfect Spanish tango with absolutely stunning costumes -> Ended with a bewitching decades old rock & roll style with contemporary costumes.

A WELL SPENT SUNDAY EVENING !!!

And the best part of the show - It's all done by fledging dancers,some still in schools and colleges,some in IT companies(One from my parent company and thats the secret of my free ticket !!!). The props and the costumes showed the amount of hard work they had put in. No wonder, the success gave them an ineffable joy that was highly evident after the show. They deserve it.

HATS OFF GUYS !!!

Transmogrification !!!!

We a bunch of singleton's (No geek meaning attached) living together used to banter on the agony of each other for not having a girlfriend, whenever we find time. The topics usually revolve around how someone else got a girlfriend or why all the "things" we like are committed to others. But there are some exceptional situations in which we digress from the usual topics and begin to focus on a particular guy. When this situation occurs ??? When someone within us spoke with a GIRL !!!! YA.... Any mention of a girl's name will attract a story that will be pinned around the guy who mentioned the name. Now let's call him a transgressor and the rest as victims. Yes, we are the victims of his joy. The story is a medley of all *wood (Sorry,geek meaning attached) failure movies that suits perfectly to the context. Also we spice it up with some songs too.

The real success of the victims is achieved through three steps

1. First they make the transgressor think that something actually happened between him and that girl even though nothing actually happened.
2. Secondly,they elevate him to his imaginary world in which he plays the movie based on the story we pinned around him. Trust me, the flux of expressions on his face gives an ineffable joy to the victims.
3. The ultimate thing is to develop a crush in his heart for that girl. (The girl would have just said "Excuse me" while passing by. But does that matter!!! )

This is not a one day process. The number of days essentially depends upon the target's desperation for a girlfriend :) .

Some days back a guy in our room was showing the photographs taken in his company during some occasion. Let's call him Annan (Don't ask why). In one of the photos there was a girl, really beautiful girl. A guy called Bab(pronounced BOB) in our room got terribly attracted towards that stunning beauty.

BOB :Wow. who's that girl Annan ?
ANNAN : Colleague da,your age only (fixing the target,smart!!!)
BOB : She looks beautiful. See how cultured she is, wearing traditional dress,ethnic looks, wow !!!! She is a perfect example of a family girl in my dreams. Can you introduce to me???

Transmogrification !!!! nOOOOOOO. Rest of us got to the edges of our seats...

ANNAN : Hmm,I don't know her
BOB : Try to introduce yourself and then introduce to me.(Wow !!!what an idea !!)
ANNAN : Hmm,ehh ok Bob. (With a witty smile)

We went to the next photo. In that a guy and that girl were standing together. BobSri frowned.

BOB : Who's that guy ?
ANNAN : Another colleague. Must be friends. You don't worry ( Keeping up the momentum..he he he)
BOB :Oh ya should be. She seems to be social.( bit relieved !!!! )

The next photo. This time there were two guys holding the hands of that girl on either side. Bob got absolutely perplexed.

BOB : What is this (In high pitched voice) !!!!!!!!
ANNAN : Colleagues da. She is very social it seems !!( Same witty smile)
BOB : Err..,ahhh..,Hmm ok

As we progressed through the album it turned out that each and every guy in that company has taken a snap with her !! We cross checked with Annan also about the number of employees. More or less everyone were in those photographs. And surprisingly everyone seemed to be her best friend, pinching her cheeks, friendly hugs. Indeed she is a perfect example of a social being !!!! Meanwhile we never missed to notice the wilting Bob. Poor fellow, being a perfect blend of culture and tradition of a old South Indian family he couldn't digest the photos of his dream girl. Finally,

BOB : Err..,Hmm I recant all my statements about her. SHE IS NOT MY DREAM GIRL !!!

Then he went to sleep. This guy has a weird habit. Whenever he feels bad he goes to sleep.May be with the hope that he can achieve that task, atleast in the dreams, I guess !!

Now someone suddenly noticed that Annan hadn't taken any photo with her. YES, WE FOUND A NEW TARGET !!!!

SIMI: Annnnannnnnnnn, You were the one who was taking all those snaps right ????

As usual we had fun time after that. After all, its a bachelor life. No worries, Just fun !!!!


Disclaimer : I m not attacking any traditions or social culture. Its just meant for fun. I don't mind even if you don't find it funny but please don't bring anything about feminist freedom and their rights!!!I m not the person

What an Idea!!!!

After a long hibernation, the Bangalore administration fellas are awake finally . The hibernators who need to work on traffic conditions are coming up with some ideas to improve the pathetic Bangalore traffic. Hats off guys for your efforts !!!! . But my doubt is, are you guys completely out of hibernation or is this just a sporadic euthermic arousal that shows you are alive ??? No No No , No offense intended. I got bit suspicious by the most innovative idea you have conceived," ALTERNATE DAY RUN ".

Read about it Here . No wonder Mr.Lallu belongs to India, and his excellent administration skills are revered, even by the Harvard MBA'S. You guys are following his footsteps, isn't it ? Hmm, smart !!!
But me too being a fervent believer of Lalluism , this inchoate idea incites me. Breaking rules or exploiting them is always fun !!!! Here are certain ideas to tackle the "HIBERNATORS".

Shift System:

We know about day and night shifts that are followed by most of the companies. Along with those we can introduce odd and even day shifts. If your vehicle is allowed on road that day its your shift. Here is one trick to implement this scheme. Form a cabal of big shots in your company and go whining to your manager about the difficulties involved in using public transport and how it makes you feel tired, thereby affecting the productivity. If you are lucky enough even the manager will join your group and fight for the cause. By this scheme,the advantages are Less work,Less traffic,More fun !!!!

Two Number plates:

I got the inspiration for this idea from a Bond movie (Not sure but surely possible in a bond car). Have two number plates, one odd and another even. A push of a button should load the required number plate depending on whether its a odd day or even day. If brilliant enough you can automate it!!! . This scheme directly challenges the "Hibernators" and their innovative idea. Most importantly, FEEL THE THRILL !!!!. And don't worry even if you get caught. All that "Hibernators" want is a few hundred's which they anyway going to extort from you in spite of your integrity. In fact this scheme reduces the chances of getting caught as in any given day you are driving a vehicle with number that is authorized for that day. By this scheme,the advantages are Less traffic,More thrill !!!!

Superstar scheme:

This "Alternate day Run" rule is not applicable to public transport vehicles. So how about buying an autorickshaw and using it for your personal use !!! Its cheap(Tata nano is cheaper but lets not discuss about it now) and you can also earn money with some trips during free time. There are some tips and tricks that you can follow from Rajnikanth to add to the fun. Play the title song of his movie "Badshaa" so loudly when struck up in traffic or while driving. When people around you start staring at you, try to amuse them by throwing a cigar up and catching it with your mouth. If you fail to catch it,never mind, just get down and start dancing for that song. After parking the auto in any parking lot don't simply get down and walk. Play the background music "Badshaa...Badshaa" and walk in Rajnikanth style. The security personnels will salute you. Trust me,anything from Rajnikanth amuses people.

The best and my favorite trick from Rajnikanth is the way he gets a multimillionaire girlfriend in that movie. I would recommend this scheme for guys who feel bad for not being able to take any girl in their bikes (Me being one among them). The free time trips I mentioned above can be used for that purpose. Even though thats not as close as being in a bike, this can be considered as a first step in your quest for a girlfriend. Try to use the above mentioned tricks from Rajnikanth and amuse them,particularly the dance. They'll eventually fall for you one day. Then take them out in your bike. Sounds cool,isn't it!!!!! The advantage of this scheme are Less traffic,More fun,More fun and if you are lucky enough, A GirlFriend!!!!

Thats all I have for now. If any more schemes to tackle the "Hibernators" please suggest me.

Moral of the story:

I appreciate the fact that the Bangalore administration is thinking of ways to curb the horrendous traffic. But this kind of plans sound silly. Come up with schemes that are more commuter friendly. The public transportation is not good enough. Improve that first before thinking of such schemes. All Companies should discourage the use of private vehicles and introduce buses to pickup and drop their employees. This reduces the traffic drastically.