Impressions of My life

Treasure of Testimonials @ Orkut

2011-12-26T20:56:00.003+05:30

Every good thing has an end. It's dormant for more than an year and can't rationalize why I should continue to use it. With no strings attached, wanna thank you connecting to the people I knew. Adios!

I Cherish the lovely testimonials my friends wrote for meThanks so much!. Hmmmm..Did they write it at a gun-point?

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Ramakrishna - Dec 14th,2007

"All That Glitters is not Gold and all that stands still are not stones"...

When I have been to Pune.. I felt some people are not of my kind, and some are perfect of my kind... Some may mingle fast...some take time...But all who mingles fast may not be True..and who takes time are not Fake..... "RAHUL...U ARE OF THE SECOND KIND RA"

Rahul Bhosekar....or The Sixth Element, or Mr.A/B/C/D mode...what ever that might be.. is a friend, who i feel the real one. Well.., He makes your day perfect. The best is like, he manages things very well and he is very cool.

He, is not a person who stands with you in troubles...INSTEAD A PERSON WHO HELPS YOU OUT ( I mean this)

Very calm at times,..but very funny...! Very silent, very naughty....,! I have never seen him angry till date..

I am with him since three months, but i feel that he is my friend since years..his company never makes you down...

A book worm...very fond of reading books...

Well Rahul, You are simply superb....

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Pruthvi Reddy - Nov 26th,2007

RAHUL....the most charismatic person i have ever seen.......

he is always clear at his thoughts, open minded, sensible, loves peace but turns violent sometimes,

he teases me often....but i love being bugged by him, for he teases only his intimates....

he looks like bullheaded and rockhearted...but at his core he's tender and warmhearted ...

understanding his mind has always been a herculean task for me......though he's a little bit

choosy about his friends, he's highly diplomatic.....he lives in different MODES depending on his MOODS.....

i always love to see him in "B-MODE".......all in all RAHUL alias 6TH ELEMENT alias Mr.BEAN alias EDDY...

is an adorable, cute and sweet friend of mine........luv u raa!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Venkat Sashi - Nov 16th,2007

"eeh world lo naaku artam kaani characters lo veedu okadu".....serious!!!....asalu eppati daaka veedi lo naaku 10% kuda artam kaa ledhu..... definitely an introvert.....keeps everything to himself.....always wears a cute and pleasant smile.... i always feel that he has a world of his own.... coz though he is among us when we chat he dreams and thinks a lot...... i can also name him "Mr.Perfect"......this is because of the decisions he takes at times.....he just sticks himself to any decision he takes... always alert....he knows wat he wants... he can easily make frdship with anyone.... very lovable person indeed..... in the end........this is how his face wud be.....with an evergreen smile....

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Keerthi - Nov 3,2006

rahullllllllllllllll............he is my bro....my frnd..has got gud energy in him.A deterministic person...somtimes philosophical...somtimes moody...somtimes pranky..very helpful..gives gud guidance whn in trouble..can c him whn feeling low .....he gives u a gud boost up....has tons of patience ..alwys a lending ear to hear u anytime......round the clock....so in short i can say he is "A person on Demand "

All da best dude...

keeks

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Rammy July 23,2006

rahul....da name spells enthusiasm,energy and determination.....a store house of never ending grit,selfless to da core,and above all Mr.idealist.....always in for creativity in any hting he does(da placement in IBM is its proof )..a gr8 frnd to be wid....for da past 4 yrs since i have known him....there wasnt even a moment of dullness near him....is in amazing spirits always....always ready to help ppl around him..optimist till da last ounce of his flesh(..well..dis is being too flaterrring haaa...)....but above all he is an amazing frnd to be wid....u rock rahul...

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From boardroom to blackboard @ article Times of India

2011-12-25T22:29:00.000+05:30

It's interesting to learn about the like-minded people who have quit their high-profile lucrative corporate jobs
to Teach. Kudos!
You are a source of inspiration to the budding teachers.

You may check the article published in Times of India,Dated 25th Dec,2011

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIBG/2011/12/25&PageLabel=13&EntityId=Ar01301&ViewMode=HTML

Accepted to Teach For India(TFI) Fellowship Program – 2012

2011-12-10T22:54:00.018+05:30

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference – Robert Frost

In India, education is a commodity. The haves manage to afford it while the have-nots are left to the mercy of the government-run school which are under resourced. They fail to motivate or impart necessary skills to the students. Blame it on ineffective educational reforms or lack of political will, the lackadaisical way of functioning of the government-run schools produces a generation of passouts who aren’t armed to climb the rungs of higher education and, therefore, lag behind in the race of life. Unsurprisingly, the half-baked skills acquired by the hapless victims of government-run-schools land them in low-paying jobs. The wheel of misfortune keeps spinning with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. It does not take Amartya Sen to predict a catastrophic damage to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Teach for India (TFI) has been working relentlessly to bridge the education disparity in the society by providing excellent education to the one who need it the most. TFI is a nationwide movement of outstanding college graduates and young professionals who will commit two-years to teach full-time in under resourced schools.

It was in Oct 2011(Cycle-2),I applied to TFI Fellowship- 2012 by registering for TFI and wrote two essays on the following:-

1. Why do you want to work in India's education sector? Why do you want to join the Fellowship as opposed to working in a different education-focused organization?

2. Tell us about a time in the past three years when you were working towards a professional, academic or extra-curricular goal and had to deal with a difficult situation or challenge

I am thankful to my friends Ashwin and Sirisha who took the pain to review my essays and helped me to improvise it. Guys, if not for your help, the essays wouldn’t been so impressive! No wonder, I got through initial selection process and bypassed telephonic interview.
The day at Assessment day (Stage-3/Stage-4) was amazing! TFI made life easier by providing exhaustive instructions and suggestions for the events on the Assessment day.Stage-3 consisted of Demo Class, Group Activity and Individual assessment.Stage-4 consisted of Personal Inteview.

Hours of planning and loads of preparation for the Stage-3 and Stage-4 helped me. The preparation mostly comprised introspection of my reasons to join TFI movement. Personal Interview mostly revolved on this question “Why TFI?”, “Why now?”

TFI Fellowship is a step ahead from volunteering at Make a Difference (MAD) . I must say that volunteering for Make A Difference (MAD) discovered my passion to teach & paved the foundation to apply for TFI. The MADness made me realize my potential. Yes! it made a difference in my life. .

Fellowship at TFI implies giving up my cozy and lucrative career as a programmer. After 3 years of stint with IBM and more than a year experience at Mphasis – An HP company, I am a little apprehensive,yet enormously excited about my new career choice. I am about to embark on a beautiful journey.I am very Happy that I will be actively involved to abolish education inequality in the society.I am expected to join TFI Fellowship-2012 in May 2012 in Pune.
Hurrah! couldn’t ask for a better Birthday Gift! Happy Birthday Rahul.

"When your hobby becomes your profession, the passion becomes your profession",- 3 Idiots

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How to Apply? http://www.teachforindia.org/how-to-apply.php

Obsession to anti-social networking sites

2011-03-20T23:41:00.002+05:30

Social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut have revolutionized the way we connect and interact with each other. One gets to give a minute by minute update of what is happening on the other side of the world. One can make new virtual friends and discover the old ones. Forget internet, all this can be done with a mobile while you are taking a walk in the park. According to crude statistics available on the internet, there are 67,000,000 registered orkut users and a whooping 500 Million Facebook users(well…I am one of them :-p) in addition to chirpers with 50 millions tweets per day . As I write this article, several new users become part of the virtual networking.

With its sheer simplicity and advantages, networking sites also open up Pandora’s Box of troubles. People are more interested in sharing their likes and dislikes, relationship status. People trying to impress the world where they been on the weekend and what they been doing takes the center stage. We have a shocking incident of a bride groom who during his wedding ceremony not only changed his relationship status on a popular networking site but also sent a tweet from this mobile that the couple just entered into wedlock. In yet another incident, a mother sent a tweeter about her son who got drowned and was battling for life in a hospital. The networking sites are driving us to miss the essence of our lives. Alas!

Gone are the days where early man hunt for food and people would gather around the fire each night to share the day’s hunt, which built a spirit of community and togetherness. Perhaps, it is time for us to come out of the cocoon and reinvent the wheel to develop a true sense of camaraderie and bonhomie among our brethren. As they say, in life the best things sometimes come in small packages.

Alvida Pune...Namaste Bangalore

2011-01-30T23:26:00.008+05:30

Source: http://athome.allentate.com

It is curtains down for my stay in Pune. Banglore awaits me to explore its diversified cosmopolitan culture and plush greenery. Not to forget the snail-like-traffic.

When Pune happened to me in late 2007, it was a love at a first sight. I was attracted by the Pune’s blend of modernity and old cultural/traditions, its pleasant climate, scenic places, outgoing people and magnificent constructions. Of course, wada-pava and gallons of ‘cutting’ did the trick. More importantly, it was the independence coupled with apprehensions and excitement of taking up a first job, free flow of money accompanied by a wide network of friends that made all the difference.

After a little more than 3 years of exciting time, If I have to sum up my experience, I would call it an Odyssey of ‘bliss’. Sure, I am richer by bunch of friends whom I can count on. Secondly, I got to do everything I loved – Writing, travelling, photography, long bike rides and a little of music, swimming and roller skating. Can’t forget the countless trips made to Sinhaghad, Balaji temple, Mahabaleswar/Panchgani, Lonavala/Khandala. Finally,thanks to the yummy restaurants that treated me mouth-watering dishes...Pune, पुन्हा भेटू !

I expect to have as much fun here. With time, may I discover and unfold the sheer beauty and enthusiasm of ‘Namma Bengaluru’...Mast maaza maadi!

Captcha Advertising - The potential in ‘Being Human’

2010-12-31T16:38:00.005+05:30

Proving we are ‘humans’ in the virtual world is what are used and forced to be doing for quite some time. Known as ‘Captcha’ in the internet lingo, surfers are required to enter the text characters or perform simple arithmetic operation while performing an online activity such as signing up for FB or shopping online. CAPTCHA, expanded asCompletely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (Source:Wikipedia), ensures that spammers who flood the websites are filtered. Innumerable websites including Google and Facebook employ this technology.

Courtesy:http://www.captcha.net/:

Einstein(s) at advertising seem to have discovered gold in CAPTCHA. Pretty soon, we are likely to notice an advertisement next to a CAPTCHA. May be Nike's interactive advertisement will make use of CAPTCHA that will require us to punch ‘Just Do It’. Bingo! Love it or hate it, One can’t escape it. Last heard, a short video clip may be displayed instead of an image for making the adverting more effective.

Online Advertising has been the bread and butter for many companies, particularly for Yahoo and Google’s contextual advertising (Adsense). Companies have been at loggerheads to attract the investors and boost their revenues. This uncontested space of advertising will pay rich dividends. I am sure Google will employ its targeted advertising for greater impact. For example, while booking an airline ticket, How about a CAPTCHA advertisement for a Cab? Or a Coke while booking movie tickets?

Thoughts of adding comments ? Are you human? :-p

It's time - Go to Sleep

2010-12-02T21:02:00.008+05:30

Since time immemorial, alarm clocks acted as a wakeup call. My any typical day begins with a snooze button & cuddling in the warmth of my blanket for more sleep. Alarms are being used to begin a day;How about tuning the alarms such that it suggests us to “sleep”?

It’s Often, we lose track of the time while watching television, surfing, talking over mobile. (Wait! Didn't I mention Blogging?) . Late nights implies inadequate hours of sleep and also waking up tired. Thus, a fixed sleep pattern helps us to have a sound sleep.

Tips for Happy Early sleeping:-

Do's:-

1. If you happen to wake up until late hours, each day advance the alarm by 15 mins. As the day pass on, check out the feasible time & set the alarm for rest of the days (holds true for wakeup alarm)

2. When the alarm goes off, jump off into the bed.

3. Have an early supper.

4. Exercise during the day - Jog, walk, workout, Yoga or may be skip the elevator.

5. Listen to a pleasant music.

6. Read books (save finishing it for another day :-p)

Do not's :-

1. Avoid watching T.V before hitting the sack

2. Avoid having Coffee in the evenings.

Try and Try until you S.......ZZZZ :-)

My adventurous Blind Trip @ Pune

2010-11-29T14:26:00.013+05:30

“Drive & get lost” was the motto when we started on Saturday afternoon. Pretty soon, Sudhir bhai, a couple of other friends and myself hit Pune-B’lore highway . Yeah, our bikes were loaded with gallons of petrol but it’s the enthusiasm that kept the fuel burning. Time led us into the darkness and also 60 kms away from Pune. We finally zeroed on Rajghad fort.

Rajgad ,the King of forts, was the capital of Maratha Kingdom ruled by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It boasts the highest number of days stayed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on any fort. One can climb the fort from numerous routes from villages at the base of Rajgad. We chose one such village, Gunjavne.

Armed with torch lights, digital camera, bottles of water and loads of edibles – we began to trudge the terrain under the cover of night and cold air. Cut-off from the virtual life of mobile and Facebook , the serene climate, twinkling stars, Western ghats, thick bushes and snakes hidden in it defined my world. But then I had my mobile blaring out the song ‘ Musafir hoon main Yarron.....’. Unquestionably, this magical hour makes it to the ‘Oh!..my God’ moments of my life.

Hours & kilometres of trekking led us to the Rajgad fort by 00:00 hrs. Thanks to the shelter provided on the fort as it shielded us from the cold and gave us a room to spend the rest of the night.

Fun was in store on the Day-2. The Next day, we trekked to the central part of the fort called ‘Ballekilla’. However, what fascinated me was the lovely Sunrise amidst valleys, lakes and clouds.

Before the sun was shining high in the sky, we descended to the base of the fort and drove back to Pune. Can’t believe a blind trip turned out so memorable!

Airtel's New Logo - A Borrowed Idea

2010-11-20T22:48:00.001+05:30

   A Logo apparently reflects the business model of a company, Amazon's logo is known to convey - Amazon has everything from 'A' to 'Z' (source:http://www.funonthenet.in/content/view/344/31/).
   Airtel has unveiled a new logo,as they call it an "international identity" designed for dynamic and demanding audience. But the new logo fails to impress me,it appears like a borrowed idea from Vodafone's catchy logo.Yeah,it also has shades of Videocon's Logo. Is it a genuine mistake? or Do you think Raja ji goofed it up yet another time :-p? Whatever, Vodafone must be happy to let airtel keep it.
   I am equally unimpressed with the new tagline 'Get closer to what you love'. It doesn't make a direct reference to an activity over phone , which 'Express Yourself' could.
  Something old,someting new,something borrowed :-)

More than a teacher!

2010-09-05T11:19:00.004+05:30

A teacher is like a candle which consumes itself to provide light to others. Among such guiding lights is A.V. Jayalakshmi garu - who has been associated with Shanti Niketan for 20 years. Shanti Niketan,located in Vanasthlipuram,Hyderabad, is a little known institution set-up with NGO partnership that caters to differently- abled people.

Working here at Shanti Niketan gives me lots of satisfaction, says A.V. Jayalakshmi garu. With pride and twinkle in her eye, she adds, ‘Children are very much attached to me, so am I’.

One is trained in special skills to teach and take care needs of differently-abled children. It also requires unique teaching methods and aids. This profession demands one to be caring, have loads of patience and never lose nerve.

Jayalakshmi garu quit full-time teaching a few months ago but often visits the institution to connect with the children and rediscover herself.

Who says ‘Angels’ can be found only in heaven?

Holy month of Ramdan – How Non-Muslims Can Cooperate?

2010-08-14T00:36:00.005+05:30

The Holy month of Ramadan has begun on Aug 12^th (Thursday). During the Ramdan month, among other things Muslim brethren offer prayers 5 times a day, abstain from eating, drinking & worldly pleasures from dawn to dusk. As learnt from my friends, abstinence teaches them to practise discipline, self-control and compassion. Donating alms to the poor is also widely practised during this period.
Source: Wikipedia
I appreciate the devotion and commitment shown by our Muslim brethren. It isn’t an easy task to abstain from even drinking water, particular to the people whose occupation demands physical activity.

May I appeal non-Muslims to ensure that we cooperate with our Muslim counterparts? Can we avoid drinking or eating at public places other than cafeteria/restaurants? Please refrain from consuming anything at the cubicles & serving snacks at the meeting.

I am born in a non-Muslim family and consider myself as a freethinker. However, I am actually contemplating fasting for a day to pick up a little of discipline and self-control and understand what exactly one goes through.

Any suggestions on the ways to cooperate are welcome.

Catch dem young - Influence of Childhood on Purchasing Behaviour

2010-08-13T00:21:00.037+05:30

All the purchases I made in the last week had something in common. They all seemed to be influenced by my childhood experiences.

Here is a list of various product purchased & what influenced me to buy them:-

Chocolates:-

1. Cadbury’s Fivestar - My staple childhood fud
2. Parle’s Kissme Toffee Bar - Reminds me of chocolates I had chup-chup ke in the classroom.Teachers, Excuse me!
3. Cadbury’s DairyMilk-I grew up with one of the oldest Cadbury’s advertisement -‘Khass hai..Baat hai..Kya Swaad hain..Zindigagi mein’. I cherish relishing dairy milk of all variants.

Of course, Cadbury’s Gems, I call it a showstopper!

Cookies:-
1. Parle-G : Needs no introduction!

2. Britannia’s MarieGold - My Granny’s favo & they tasted better with the bed time stories.

3. Britannia’s Bourbon - Ever licked the choco part before eating it? It’s too lovely, I did it all my childhood

Snacks:-

1. Nestle’s Maggie noodles - I wished Maggie took more than ‘2 mins’ to be cooked, so that kiddo Rahul could watch ‘Dennis -The menace’ for a longer time.

2. Haldiram’s – Khatta Meetha & Moongdal - For the snacks Dad pampered me with!

Our purchasing behaviour is influenced by many factors like need, availability, placing of the product, pricing, purchasing capability and many more, but never realized influence of childhood has a greater impact. It keeps me thinking if most FMCG advertisements need to be targeted at children as they likely to continue with their preference in the (state of) adulthood too - Yeh dil tho bacha hain ji!

P.s: I am not even thinking of advertising shaving razors to children :-p

Inadequate Infrastructure at Hinjewadi IT Park,Pune

2010-08-06T17:55:00.008+05:30

How to make commuting a painful experience either by public transport or private? How to discover the easiest way to create traffic jams? How to reinvent the wheel of poor governance? Well, grab some agricultural lands far away from heart of the city, crudely develop the lands into IT Parks, and attract IT companies to set-up their shop and each morning make people commute to these IT Park.

The scenario at Hinjewadi, Pune is no different. Hinjewadi is/was an any other village around Pune which was ‘crudely’ developed into a InfoTech park. It now houses major IT companies like Infosys, Wipro, TCS, IBM and CTS.

Each morning,on the way to Hinjewadi, commuters are greeted with armada of cars and buses struck in the traffic jam. It’s surprising to note that the roads that lead to the technology houses don’t employ ‘technology’ to mange flow of traffic,it is left to the mercy of traffic policemen. Secondly, approach roads to Hinjewadi IT Park are narrow and to make matters worse, the narrow roads are impregnated with pot-holes and protruded manhole covers.

Public transport is pathetic. The frequency of buses is poor and is insufficient to accommodate the burgeoning people. Commuters are left to depend either on personal vehicles or transport provided by companies. People have wait for a long time and jostle to get a space into Autos run by auto-wallahs who undoubtedly have a field day - perhaps its govt way of curbing unemployment.

I fail to understand what prevents the government from increasing the frequency of buses to these area? Pune boasts of plying Air-conditioned buses in some of the defunct and unprofitable routes. Why doesn't the government considers introducing air-conditioned buses to Hinjewadi where there is high probablity of people utilizing its services? I only wish government had mulled up the idea of Mass Rapid Transit System (MSRT) before it developed IT Park miles away from heart of the city. May be its not too late!

IT companies generate lot of revenue to the government in form of Taxes. It is imperative that government provide good infrastructure to attract more companies.Most importantly, i'ts the responsibility of govt to make commuting a comfortable journey. Didn’t Narayan Murthy (Ex-CEO and Chief mentor of Infosys Technologies) emphasize on improving infrastructure? Who cares! Welcome to the callous attitude of government. I wonder if a book on “Art of taking People for granted” would beat ‘Harry Potter’ series by at least a million copies.

A lots needs to be done by Pune to be projected as one of the IT hubs of India. To begin with, it can draw lessons from its counterparts like Banglore, Chennai and Hyderabad which has relatively better infrastructure. I also wish IT companies push government to improve the infrastructure of the city. IT space and ‘Tax Holiday’ should not be the only per-requisite for setting-up shop in so called IT parks.

P.s: I commute to office by my two-wheeler & it takes about 45 mins for a 10 km drive.

The Melodious Crush

2010-07-25T09:38:00.003+05:30

I fell in love with her even before I actually met her. She is unbelievably gorgeous & extremely contagious. I love to spend time in her company listening while she does all the blabbering. Yippee! shez mine! Wish if I were to meet her earlier, my life would have been prettier

I just began using Apple IPod (Nano), the experience is awesome. I regret being a late-bird to the IPod family. Its the marvellous piece of invention to any ardent music lover. It has been long way from the compact cassette ‘walk-man’ I courted in the early 90’s. Nevertheless, it would not be an exaggeration if I refer Apple IPod as the epitome of music gadgets.

here I go, to tune into next song:-

“Aajkal Tere Mere Pyar Ke Charche Har Zubaan Par

Sab Ko Maloom Hai Aur Sabko Khabar Ho Gayi”

P.S: Rohit, thanks for introducing her to me!

Amul Butter’s yummy advertising @hoarding (Hinjewadi,Pune)

2010-07-02T12:23:00.001+05:30

Each morning, as I drive to reach my office in Hinjewadi,for a change, I slow down at a hoarding to check out the Amul’s advertisement that contains the euphemistic reference to the current issues- be it the Indian cricket team’s debacle at TT world cup or the resurfaced Bhopal Gas Tragedy uproar,the patch up between Ambani bros or the oil slick in Deepwater Horizon.

I am amused at the frequency at which ads are updated. Marketing old wine in a new bottle brings freshness each time an advertisement is put up and also builds curiosity in the would-be consumer’s mind. Remember the various zoo-zoo ads in IPL-2 which we all looked forward to watch? The induced curiosity helps the product-seller for the battle is half-won !

Amul’s marketing gurus seems to be making the best use of the hoarding space thats abundantly available. You can’t be in India and yet not get to see a hoarding; it’s like not finding pyramids in Egypt. However, taking the frequency of ads being updated into consideration, it would be feasible for Amul to lease digital hoardings?. Secondly, why not choose hoarding space thats effectively placed unlike the one at Hinjewadi where one hardly gets a glimpse of the hoarding, thanks to the steep turn across the road. Lastly, I wonder if in the early morning mad rush of finding my “cheese”, would I get carried away by ‘butter’? Anyone listening!

Adieu 2009 - Year of _______

2009-12-31T18:13:00.002+05:30

My Adventure on a Tuesday morning!

2009-11-10T13:16:00.008+05:30

Santosh and I woke up this cold drizzling morning to make up for an appointment. But the canceled schedule was a blessing in disguise for us to plan for an impromptu fun ride in the lovely weather. I choose to hit the Kondhwa road and wanted to emerge at Fursunji.

It makes me crazy to drive on a path I am unsure of and a destination I am not keen on. I accelerated along the Angraj road-Saswad and made a brief halt at a catchy location to savor the cool breeze. It was a moment of triumph for my eyes. Needless to say, Santosh was at his best in clicking a few photos on his mobile-camera. He derives a great pleasure in capturing my bunny teeth :-) Thanks Santosh for all the Kodak moments!

We continued our journey not sure if we will ever make it, akin to the career I am aspiring for. In either case, Time has the answer. As I drove further, I could pick up the signs of familiarity, I could connect to Saswad by the innumerable visits I made along the Divya ghat-Naryanpur. As I traveled further deep towards Fursunji, I could feel the Ghat greeting and the road laying a red carpet to welcome me. Minutes later, I finally reached my destination, but I am sure its just a journey!

Eureka! Laptop made easy for the lazy..

2009-11-05T01:58:00.005+05:30

Each time I manually open/close my lapppy, I leave behind traces of thumbprints on the screen. ("anguta chap"?huh,taken!) .
I often feel lethargic to carry out this mundane chore of open & close umpteen number of times on a given day. I am wondering what's stopping us from supplementing laptops with an electronic switch to O/C it? Isn't this feature (with an auto-close capability) better suited for the one working late nights fall asleep & fail to close the lappy? hmmm..

Switch is a pain to operate? how about 'khul ja sim sim'? aka voice recognition software!

Happy B'day Adarsh

2009-09-16T09:13:00.000+05:30

Birthday's are the excuses that we make to grab a bottle of wine :-p,make the most out of it buddy.

Happy B'day ra! Have a memorable time.

2 yrs & counting at IBM !

2009-09-14T13:19:00.000+05:30

It was on this day 2 years ago I joined IBM India at Pune. But my association with IBM began about a year earlier in the final year of my engineering; nevertheless I was looking forward to make a plunge in the jungle of corporate world. I was euphoric when I learnt that I were to work on Mainframes (yo! the jargon often used in Hollywood movies). My initial few months were spent in grooming for my stint at IBM and pretty soon, I ventured into the world of debugging and coding.
The transition from campus to corporate was tremendous. At the college, I could bunk classes at my whim but here I was always answerable to someone called Mr. Right (better known as Manager). But there was a silver lining, I was no longer bothered about exams and the best part being ‘minting’ money and thanks to IBM flexi timings, I had to never worry about being punctual when reporting for work.
If it’s an honor to work for a firm that is synonyms for computers then it is a pride to work for a firm that encourages women and the disabled to pursue careers. The option of working from home is a boon to many, women in particular. Unquestionably, working for IBM is a tag that I always carry with me.
On the personal front, life at IBM is an extension of my college life for the friends I made and nurtured and for the fun I have had with them. I am happy to befriend Ash,Sudhir,Praveen,Raghu and rekindle old bond with Varun & Badri...I am thankful to Sanchit,Prasad & Pallavi for turning my work place into a fun place with all the gossip on office like matters & other stuff ...Guyz, I really enjoy the moments of pulling each other legs.
Lastly, working in Pune gave me opportunity to visit awesome places in & around Pune like Mahabaleshwar,Panchagani,Lonavala,needless to mention the umpteen bike rides I made along Saswad-Katraj Ghat to Narayanpur,Balaji temple.

First love, first kiss, first job are always memorable and I will continue to cherish them.
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You may please check out the link for My Journey 2 IBM
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Surf excel hai na!

2009-09-10T15:00:00.000+05:30

Remember the advertisement? Where two kids returning from a school,the girl lands into the mud and then the boy kicks & punches the mud to cheer up the gal and finally says sweetly 'sorry bol raha hai'. The ad captured many hearts, at least mine. In the latest add that’s making buzz, surf excel has yet again came up with a novel idea (with lots of emotional strings attached) to sell its product. The add going something like this. A school boy figures out that mam named Rosy didn't turn up to the school that day as her dog passed away. The kid makes his way to Rosy mam's home only to find her gloomy and lost. The kid imitates like a dog and tries to cheer up his teacher,perhaps, beautifully conveys message that 'I am there for you,mam'. In the process of dog-like-acting, the lad gets his dress dirty. (So what? surf excel hai nai!).
I can't stop loving this lovely add that depicts the innocence coupled with wittiness of the kid and the concern he has towards his teacher. I ain’t sure if the add influenced you to buy its product but it must have succeeded in selling the emotional strings attached in it. One is likely to identify either with the kid or the teacher.
In the beauty of presenting old wine in new bottle, hope surf excel will continue to delight us and nevertheless make money out of it.

Badshah of bollywood detained at a New York airport...

2009-08-15T21:56:00.000+05:30

On this Saturday evening if something caught your attention while you flicked channels on your television and you kept wondering if it were John Abhraham or Sharukh Khan who acted in the much accoladed movie 'Newyork', you aren't alone out there ! Well, its yet another conundrum of reel life vs real life or real life vs reel life (aka the popular cliché, which came first: The Hen or the Egg?)

for the uninitiated, immigration officials detained Sharukh khan,the icon of Bollywood at Newyork airport because the badshah of bollywood shares a common surname ! of course, the officials later released him , not before it made news (yeah,it happening on Aug 15th adds more insult to injury) and SRK is not happy with this(poor chap, it should have badly bruised his ego).

A couple of weeks ago, a similar incident rocked the Indian parliament as former President APJ Abdul Kalam was frisked by staff of an American airliner. Needless to mention, Kalam ji politely went through all the security checks and didn't make any hue and cry. Perhaps, Sharukh has some lessons to draw here (SRK can later quiz about his lessons at a B-school hez making visits to). Both Khan & Kalam ji share something significant in common. Both are considered to be icons of India, either one pull crowds and of course are Muslims by birth.

In the aftermath of 9/11 attacks many a Indians, Muslims in particular have gone through the painful process of endless security checks or wrongful detention. Most of us have been victims of these needless hassles by immigration officials and we need to accept them as part of security measures. Stardom status is no excuse to skip this process. Perhaps, in the event of Sep 11th around the corner, officials in America are leaving no stone unturned. We got to appreciate them.

Didn't Police officer in "NewYork", Irfan Khan convey a similar punchy message like this one? Looks like SRK missed that :-p

Chocolatee Guerilla Marketing

2009-08-12T19:19:00.000+05:30

Guerilla Marketing isn't any new to Indian market segment. Coke and Pepsi ads are known to use this marketing warfare to display their rivalry, remember the famous Coke’s “thanda matlab coca-cola” which was tamed by Pepsi as "business thanda matlab cola-cola”. For coke enthusiasts, it targeted Pepsi with "baki all bakwaas, sprite bhujaya sirf pyaas". However, this morning some other brand drew my attention that employed this guerilla theory.

Nestlé’s munch latest ad ridicules apne pappu's Cadbury Dairy milk by suggesting that chocolate can be relished anytime regardless of the date in the calendar. I am amused at the mockery! It wouldn't take much time for Cadbury to come up with something against Nestlé’s product, perhaps against its trump card -Kit-Kat...until then, keep guessing!

wanna gulp something to cool yourself in this battle of ads ? ofcourse, I am confused if I should switch loyalty like my favo SRK did from Pepsi to coke, kyuki ‘yeh dil maange more' (alwayz)

Time changes everything....

2009-08-12T15:07:00.000+05:30

When she walked into my life I was on cloud 9. I had the notion that it was the best that could ever happen to me. I liked her company and loved to hang out with her whenever possible (despite it sometimes costing a hole in my wallet) Talking to her while I took a stroll down the lane was something which I was always looking forward for! Week-end paved the way for more time to be spent together -talking & SMSing.

She demanded attention if I didn't give her enough. Often she used to cry, yell if I did not talk to her. Hurting her deprived me of communication :-( Not talking to her made me miserable while her absence terrible.

All was going fine between us, until one day it stopped working. It broke into pieces. I made so many memories with her but I did not have much choice but to dump her (rather did she dump me??) and look for a new one.

Apparently, I discarded this oldie Motorola W220 which wasn't working anymore and bought a new slim & sleek Nokia 1662. Tring-tring trrrring trrrring trrrriiing trrrriiing trrrriiinnnggg..

Swine flu pandemic grapples Pune

2009-08-10T20:13:00.000+05:30

Punekar's at the moment are draped in a new identity - Masks. People covering their faces can be greeted all over Pune, particularly at malls, cinema halls, railway stations for that matter any place which isn't private.

Last Friday, I had unusual journey to Hyderabad. The otherwise friendly co-passengers who open up conversation at the drop of a hat preferred to be mum. We were looking at each other as suspects of this deadly disease.

for the uninitiated, Pune reported first swine flu death apart from innumerable cases, thanks to the rich presence of travelers flying in & out of India. Software Industry is in limelight again for it accounts to frequent travelers. Every hour, mailbox is flooded with reported from various MNC’s. As I write this, I am alarmed about a co-worker diagnosed with this flu. Good heavens! Educational institutions have declared an indefinite vacation. Offices, Shopping Malls, restaurants and various other establishments are expected to follow the suite.

It reminds me of a movie called 'The Happening’, where in an airborne disease drives people to self-inflict leading to death. Akin to swine fl nobody knows where and why it started. In either case, we can't escape from it, Prevention is better than cure is the only mantra, yet we never know how it going to strike.

Masks are selling like hot cakes. Chemists are doing brisk business and hospitals are booming with activity. I wish someone comes up with a vaccine that’s makes everyone immune to swine. Until then, with a prayer on our lips we can't help but stop venturing out in the crowd and take other necessary precautions.

I only hope it goes away as abruptly as it arrived, lest someone is reminded of Will Smith’s - I am the Legend. Amen

Basking under Childhood’s recipe :-)

2009-06-03T13:31:00.000+05:30

One of the fondest memories of childhood I have is munching bournvita laden with sugar :-) I used to add few spoons of water to this recipe to make it more delicious. I derived greater pleasure in relishing it than in biting a bar of five star.
Often, I slip back into to the mischievousness of my childhood; grab a bowl full of brounvita mixed with sugar & enjoy eating it. . I am glad to discover that Varun shares this crazy taste of mine, that’s called Birds of a feather flock together!

Old Wine in a new bottle

2009-03-23T13:05:00.001+05:30

Musing of my mind penned a decade ago,much before Internet & mobile phone penetrated into my life.
May I direct you to the following link? Please Click here

'Google Search box' added to my blog

2009-02-05T15:43:00.000+05:30

Adding a Google search box to one's website or blog seems to be as simple as answering a call on your mobile. I just succeeded at this endeavor only to realize it’s a cakewalk.
The readers may make use of the search box than navigate to a new web page (of course! it has to be Google's Home page) to find answers to satiate one's curiosity or thirst for knowledge. Is Google tool bar on your mind? Can't argue which is powerful,the egg or the hen!

Happy Goggling !

Discovering Pune..

2009-01-18T23:40:00.000+05:30

After a fun filled exciting yesterday, I was expected to catch lotz of sleep & do a little reading, but now I realize I had in store a jovial day,thanks to my penchant for bike ride & also Badri's unusual visit to Pune. We maneuvered our way to an aimless destination in the lanes of Pune (reminds me of popular song 'hum kise gali ga rahe hai..apna koi teekhna nahi )stretching from Yerwada to Swargate and finally managed to surface in a deserted & abandoned road along old B'lore highway that reminded me of a Ramu bhai's scary movie,yet,the drive amidst the lofty ghats was pleasant and awesome. .This adventure gasped for a soothing time and it drifted us to picturesque Khadakvasla Lake. The amazing ambience, clear water and the reflection of sun rays in it seemed to be lyk a manifestation of heaven on earth. The sight of couples cuddling in the warmth of their company was cynosure of all envy eyes. Finally, the pizzas at Domino's satiated the hunger and also marked the ending of a lovely Sunday. Perhaps,that’s called making most (perhaps squeezing) out of being at Pune!

Trek to Korighad

2009-01-17T22:53:00.000+05:30

When the idea of korighad visit came up, I was excited about it. I was looking forward to have more than coding or mundane meetings with the colleagues at IBM. Thanks to the initiators & co-coordinators, my prayers were finally answered. The day began with bus navigating along the predefined pick-up points where the revelers were expected to join the brigade. 20+ was the headcount when we last one poured in. The stage for fun was very soon set in the battle of anthakshari.Though bonhomie & camaraderie emerged out to be the winner, it were Atul's pluck of melodies songs that caught everyone spellbound. The beautiful valleys of Western Ghats dotted with greenery & farm houses escorted us to the foot of the hill (read korighad) which we were to conquer. Trudging the bushy path & trekking the steep hill wasn't an easy task to these bunch of coders who otherwise prefer to ping a person sitting a few meters away than to take the pain walking down at his/her desk. Frequent breaks to have gulp of water or a quick photo shoot gave some respite. Before the sun was shinning high, we managed to conquer the fort where we scattered in the openness of what once stood a magnificent fort and met a couple of hours later to have the assorted brunch that lead to a short peppy talk.

What goes up must come down, isn’t? A little later we descended the hill and then made our way back to Pune before we interrupted to grab tea and buy the delicious chikki at Lonavala. At the end of the day, we got richer by new friends & the memories made with them. It was an end of an exciting day but I wish its just a beginning....

Rohit gets wings to fly :-)

2009-01-06T21:05:00.000+05:30

I am happy for Rohit. After much uncertainty,his dream of pursuing master's in Uncle sam's land will now be fulfilled. Rohit has proved to the world that the path chosen was difficult and but not impossible,thanks to his determination and mettle. I can visualize my dream of master in his sweet success. Wish him a wonderful lyf ahead !

Hello Brother !

2009-01-02T21:04:00.000+05:30

This New year eve,I had a unusual reason to cheer up. I found my virtual brother at IBM, thanks to my manager who seems to believe in work hard & party hardier. 'Twins' was the theme of that day.
We left no stone unturned to present ourselves as twin brothers. We shared in common similar Tee,Jeans,watch Fast-track),sunglasses and a pair of shoes(Nike). The other chap's name being Rahul(purely coincidental!)made it special. Needless to mention, we bagged the prize.
Rahul(s) is the best,isn't? who doesn't agree !

curtains down for 2008 !

2008-12-31T17:59:00.000+05:30

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The dawn of 2008 reminds me of the good that has happened & the best thats yet to come.
May you have prosperity in your personal & professional life. May 2009 have fulfill all your aspirations & desires.

Have a wonderful time ahead !

My defination of a friend.....

2008-12-19T17:07:00.001+05:30

What's a friend? I earnestly believe friends are wonderful companions in the journey of life to make it sweeter, memorable & less painful. Experience teaches me that friends are made & not chosen unlike the bank account or the fancy electronic gizmo.
A friend is someone with whom I am myself and will be very comfortable to share my happiness and grief. The one who has a lending ear to my gossip and knows completely what causes me to smile or frown. The one, who laughs with me in happiness & wipes away my tears in sorrow, celebrates when I win and encourages when I loose. Above all, the assurance that "no matter what I'm available for you" is what I expect from a friend.
Adarsh is the first word that pops up in my mind as I write this. He is the one who has met the needs of my varying mood, stood by me through thick and thin and been a mute victim of my funny pranks! Thanks buddy!
As they say ' Friendship is like wine; it gets better as it grows older', with the passage of time, I hope to create wonderful memories with all my friends & sing aloud ' yeh dosti hum nahi todenge....!

Dawn of a new year :-)

2008-12-10T18:03:00.000+05:30

Happy B'day Rahul

Mayhem in Mumbai paralyzes India

2008-11-27T21:05:00.000+05:30

Umpteen phone calls greeted me this morning . They weren't the customary. They were made to know if I was safe . Similar calls must have been made to the people residing in this part of India, esp to our brethren in Mumbai.

To the late comers,the story goes like this..a bunch of highly instigated, well planned 'ass'ailants attacked the commercial capital of India - Mumbai , targeting various prominent landmarks and ended up taking hostages ,injuring countless and killing hundreds.

On one face of the coin we have these highly instigated miscreants giving up their lives for an antisocial cause and on the other facet we have a group of uniformed-men making a selfless sacrifice for the nation. I am wondering at the factors that motivated the two different breeds of people. Perhaps,its the choice between good and bad .

T.S. Eliot says,"Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important.They don't mean to do harm .But the harm does not interest them " I pity these poor attention seekers under the disguise of race,religion and region. I wish they had opted for a noble path to shield their so called fellow men. Eye for an eye is not the answer for incidents that happened which shouldn't have happened. Let the sinners air their dissent or make their presence felt by mitigating the suffering of the humanity. Oh poor tainted souls! you may have succeeded in winning the battle but the war is lost and will never be won.

Kudos to the people sweating out to restore normalcy and bring back serenity. But as Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Group rightly puts ,"We still don’t have a crisis infrastructure in place in the city. If we don’t have we will be subjected to a great deal of lack of protection”. We need to draw lessons form the inhumane incidents occurring at periodic intervals. A crisis infrastructure such as para-military forces,medical aid,fire-fighters needs to be put in place to the lessen the damage done. More importantly,as they say prevention is better than cure, why don't we have a very strong intelligence wing? and can't politicians please stop using this opportunity to pass on the blame? And to my dearest 'chauvinist' ,the miscreants didn't attack just tumchi-amchi Mumbai or mumbaikars, its attack on the nation,wake up please,atleast now!

The Nation must be proud of the selfless sacrifice the heroes made. May god give their kith and kin enough strength to cope with the inconsolable loss. Deepest condolences and sympathy to the families who lost their beloved ones and who got injured.

Life moves on for us as it didn't pinch us hard . You and I & the people we know did not bear the brunt,isn't?

Bugs or bucks in the cozy software life?

2008-07-16T19:09:00.000+05:30

I have been waiting for this Friday evening. I had promised to take her out & rock the dance floor. The day finally arrived but I was seated at my cubicle and it were my fingers that were dancing to the tunes of the song 'its the time to disco...' . The project deadlines curtailed our plans!
Left with no other go, began working on the coding the program, the last visit I made to the coffee vending machine two hours ago at 10:30 corroborated that the fact I was working hard on a code. An hour later I succeeded at it.
Life at software is not all about money. I feel like yelling at the sabji wala & auto-drivers (the list is endless) who extort money with the impression that we here make lots of money. Agreed, software job is lucrative, but It also involves meeting lots of deadlines, disrespecting the bio-clock -working at graveyard shifts & much more, like working each day with a short prayers on the lips that the one would be spared from getting fired, Thanks to the appreciation of the rupee , also the economic recession in USA.
I would be wrong if I say that only software jobs has the above stated elements. They are part & parcel of any industry. In reality, software jobs involves a little or no physical effort, have a/c's that conceal the hard work we put in and the luxury of just 5 working days per week. Needless to Mention the hikes, perks, on-shore visits.
Wish I could dispel the impression in the society that people at Software companies BPO are 'just' minting money. They deserve the every pie of hard earned money,
They are like any other part of the society & expect the others to treat them on par rather than looking at them as money making machines.
Did someone ask, who is 'she'? ssssssssssssh!

Point (Sum)thing

2008-06-18T18:04:00.000+05:30

I was late to my office by half an hour. It was only the other day manager had given " gyaan" on punctuality. But my bike needs more than gyaan, it needs petrol. so,
I drove my bike to the nearest petrol bunk only to be greeted by battery of bikes & armada of cars waiting for its turn. It seems, like petrol, the thought of it getting cheaper seems to have evaporated from our minds.
Cooking up a reason for getting late and ten minutes of ogling at a girl next to me , landed me under the nose of the refilling tank.... Rs. 54.84 per liter catches my eye... Hold on !, I can hear someone saying, "its Rs 56.34 near my place of stay..but we know, no two clocks show the same time, similarly , no two bunks sell petrol at same price. Isn't this evidence of India referred as a diversified country?
"kithhe? " asks me the this Marathi speaking manoos. While I refill 2 liters of petrol ,I fish out 110 bucks ( 2 lit * Rs 54.84 amounts to Rs 109.68 ) and pay for it not expecting the balance of 0.32 paise, for its neither feasible nor does the refilling machine allows to compensate for that. Thanks to your generosity,Who wouldn't agree 0.32 is too small?
When I make a crude calculation of 'too small ' change - I figure it out as , at least 500 liters per day @ 54.84. At the end of the day, the Owner get richer by Rs 70 (14 paise x 500). It adds up to 25,200 per year!( one month salary of ours)
Gosh!

A Penny saved is penny earned seems to the 'robbery' of the day.

Monday Blues!

2008-06-09T16:46:00.000+05:30

Ever gave a thought to apna Sun ji? Since the day one, god created the wonderful universe; sun has been shining high & never got a chance to take a leave! It’s been working 12 hours a day, much beyond the stipulated 8 hours. Rain or Shine, Sunday ho na Monday, it is forced to go through the ordeal of dawn & dusk. Come April, its Appraisal time and our Sun is no exception in impressing it manager. It sweats out hard almost working 15 hours a day.( Now you know why summer is hot! )Despite contributing everyday to light up the world, poor sun cannot go on a vacation neither it has the privilege of casual/sick leaves. For that matter, it cannot even freak out in the weekends. Doesn’t this seem unfair?

Agreed! Sun has the privilege of flexible working hours - it can arise and set at its will & mercy. Yet, this cannot hold back sun from holidaying. As the saying goes, all work and no fun makes Jack a dull boy.

Shouldn’t we protest against this injustice? It’s high time we do something in the interest of sun's welfare. Let’s carry out hunger strikes, signature campaign, bandhs etc for the working rights of the Sun. May I request International Labor Organization (ILO) to wake up, at least now?

To assuage the woes of sun & to provide healthy working conditions, shouldn’t we ask Sun to take one day off a week? Preferably Monday! Ask me why? So that each of us can cuddle up in one's cozy bed & skip going to office! J

Is anybody Listening??

the beginning

2007-09-02T11:02:00.000+05:30

A father and his son were walking in the mountains. Suddenly, the son

falls, hurts himself and screams: AAAhhhhhhhhhhh !!!"

To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain:

"AAAhhhhhhhhhhh !!!"

Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"

He receives the answer: "Who are you?"

Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"

He receives the answer: "Coward!"

He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"

The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention." And than he yells to

the mountain: "I admire you!"

The voice answers: "I admire you!"

Again the man yells: "You are a champion!"

The voice answers: "You are a champion!"

The boy is surprised, but does not understand.

Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE. It

gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of

our actions.
- Author Unknown.

How true! . I am sure you too would agree that " Life" is a reflections of

our thoughts & actions .

'Lifezcho.blogspot.com' is a reflection of the world - the way I percieve
& experience it.