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Happy Diwali!

I saw people getting invites to write at the Chai ki Dukaan and secretly hoped for a day when I’d get the invite too. My ‘corny and cliched’ initiative displayed below worked, and here I am. 😀

Here’s wishing all the visitors of Chai ki Dukaan a safe and joyous Diwali. Hope you don’t burst crackers. And make up for it all by eating lots of mithai. 😀

16 October 2009
Lets the games begin!

I am really looking forward to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and looks like they started one year too early!!!

Suresh Kalmadi and Mike Hooper have started the first game, India and most politicians are world champions at… the Blame Game!!!

In the first round, Mike Hooper warms up to the press in a conference and tells in detail about all the plans and that he was optimistic about the completion of all preps before the games… and a day later, Mr. Suresh Kalmadi plays his side of the game by throwing allegations at him and telling us that he has request that he be removed!! “Offence is the best defense, I remember”

And then the semi-final of the game where Mr. Hooper is giving an interview, and is stopped “on camera” from doing that! Stunning display of offensive techniques by Lalit Bhanot! In his words, “ If Mike Hooper has to respond to anything, he should respond at home and not in HIS (Lalit’s) office.“. Check out the video here if you have not seen it yet. In this video, the way Lalit Bhanot looks when Mike is asking him something, it is so clear that he does not have a fkking clue as to why he is asking Mike to stop the interview, but that he just wants him to stop!!!! what losers!!!

My take, this is something that will carry on for about a week while it only gets worse!!!

I really want Delhi to be prepared for the games, but am also afraid, rather have a very strong gut feel that the preparations are highly inadequate and all of this is being done just as a run-up to the truth about how fukked up the planning and execution has been for these games!

I still hope the games can happen when planned! Maybe someone needs to read through why projects fail and make error corrections before its too late… or is it already!

16 October 2009
Work Smart

1. look busy! have at least 2 documents on your desk printed always.. and keep changing them every week… print old documents/flowcharts/graphs… it’s not the content that matters, but the presence that matters

2. never walk empty handed around office! Always have a notepad/document file with you… and if possible a coffee mug as well which keeps you fresh while you are working so hard(ly)

3. Always be upto date… keep at least one web-page of some recent news/report/event about your work on the office computer… if someone comes over while you are aimlessly browsing, start the topic of what they feel about that report or news or event

4. Have a to-do list pinned up somewhere on your desk and keep updating it… cut something… add something… but it should be a live one.. if you have a software like sticky notes installed on your system.. have some sticky notes on the top of every window that you are working on

5. Be positive… always have a success story or case study about your work memorized with data and a supporting research report artifact to substantiate that

6. Have a strong social network… make sure you have at 50 similar or better profiles of a variety of experience linked to you on LinkedIn, facebook, orkut, MySpace, myadda, hi5, blahfriends, blahnetwork, blahconnect etc… have some important industry names in it too.. so that you can refer to your conversations with them in your meetings

7. Delete all your not so good testimonials and even the ones which make you look like a super human! You never know who is watching your recommendations and testimonials these days!

8. Demand for two monitors at work. Tell the IT that it makes your work easier and makes you work faster.. and at least one of the monitors should be a LCD, a large one at that because you need to monitor data which would be instrumental in organizations growth and potential

9. Eat with your manager and be ultra-interested in what his life is about! Keep throwing ideas for improvement at him till he resigns or promotes you

10. Don’t be stupid enough to follow 1-9 without using your own brain 😀

On a partially related and a totally unrelated note!

I at times feel, the good thieves make the best cops! and worst politicians (:P)

15 October 2009
awwww…hmmmm…

My problem with Romantic movies is that they more often than not end up being all dreamy and the “awwwww….” types… I don’t like it… but then they are movies, right!

My other problem with romantic movies is that they remind me of some part of my personality and character that I have been through and it did not turn out the way it turns out for the people in the movie! I don’t like that either! but then they are movies, right!

But having said that, if one is smart enough, there are amazing things that these “awwww…” movies can teach you! all you need to do less of “awww….” and more of “hmmm…” I do not know when I started doing that, but that is what I end up doing! Personally I find most always “awwww….” people kind of idiotic too!

I just saw “He’s just not that into you”. I wish I could say it that honestly to some women! They would not have been able to take that honesty anyway, even though one of the things that moves us is honesty, till someone is honest with us on our face!

I loved the character of Drew Barrymore and her inability to handle all the technology driven relationships! especially when she talks about getting dumped via multiple technology dependent mediums! poor girl!!!

This is a different movie (What a cliche’d line) ! bit more realistic than the others that I know of atleast till atleast 10 minutes before it finishes!!! I liked this one!

Another romantic movie that I saw and liked recently was “Love Actually”… What I liked about that movie was the story telling and knitting of multiple small stories together into one and the li’il unusualness in characters also something that was worth noticing!!!

15 October 2009
Irony

The world is shrinking

and

the people are drifting apart

13 October 2009
फालतू बातें

There is a
Train Station
Bus Station
but no
Flight Station !!!

एक हवाई अड्डा होता है
एक बस अड्डा होता है
तो ट्रेन अड्डा क्यों नहीं होता?

12 October 2009
Smoky !

Cooked

Burnt

Fixed

Eaten

Liked

Call it the dish with the smoky twist!

12 October 2009
Sapt- Sholki- Gita (Gita in seven verses)

These seven sholkas sum up the teachings of “Bhagawad Gita’.

1. कृष्ण उवाच:

* ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनु स्मरणम्

या: प्रयाति tjyandeham स याति परमां गतिम् (8-13)

* इस ॐ swaroop को ही braham या akshar कहें

है यही मेरा रूप जिसको पा कर नर मुक्ति लें

* Krishna Uvacha:
Om ithyaksharam Brahma,
Vyaharan maam anusmaran,
Ya prayathi thyajan deham,

Yaati parma gatim.

* Krishna said:
He, who meditates on me,
Chants the single syllable- Om- which in Brahman,
While leaving this ephemeral body,
Will surely attain the most supreme state – moksha.

=======

2. अर्जुन उवाच :

* स्थाने हृषिकेश तव प्र की तर्या

जगत्प्र हृस्य त्यानुराजय्ते च

रक्षाम्सी भीतानि दिशो द्रवन्ति

सर्वे नमस्यन्ति च सिद्धि संघा (11-36)

* हृषिकेश तुम्हारी कीर्ति से

सब लोक आनंद लेते हैं

भय कर रा क्ष स भागते चंहु दिशा

सिद्धि मुनि जन तुमको नमते हैं

* Arjuna Uvacha:
Sthane Hrisikesa, Thava prakeerthya,
Jagath prahrushthya anurajyathe cha,
Rakshamsi bheethani diso dravanthi,
Sarve namasyanthi cha sidha sangha.

*Arjuna said:
The world is delighted by your praise, O Hrisikesha
All are happy and rejoicing
The evil raksha are flying away with fear,
And all devotees bow before you.

========

3. कृष्ण उवाच :

* सब orr baahu चरण sirr मुख नयन agadit हैं जिसे

सब लोक mei vyyapat rahein वह prabhu कहते हैं जिसे (13-14)

* Krishna Uvacha:
Sarvatha pani padam thath,
Sarvatho akshi siro mukham,
Sarvatha sruthimalloke,
Sarvamavithya thishtahi.

*Krishna said:
It [the knowledgable] has hands and legs everywhere,
It has eyes head and mouth everywhere,
It has ears everywhere in the world
And it exists in all the creatures of this world.

=======

4. कृष्ण उवाच :

sarvagya है pracheen है अति sukshma है sikshak है

आदित्य रूप achintya है sansaar का रक्षक है

* Krishna Uvach

Kavim purana anusasithara-
Manoramaneeyaam samanusmaredhya,
Sarvasya dhataram machinthya roopa-
Madithya varnam thamasa parasthath. (8-9)

* Think of Him, as ancient, omniscient spread everywhere,
Ruler of all, much subtler than tha subtle,
Protector of all with his inconceivable form which is beyond thought,
With the colour of Sun and transcendental beyond dark thoughts.

=======

5. कृष्ण उवाच

drishant दे के vraksh का सब भेद इस sansaar का

हे मित्र samjhayu tujhe यह जाल prakati prasaar का

हे sakhe jag ashvathav है जिस की ऊपर मूल है

नीचे है शाखा बढ़ रही ऐसा uga prti kool है

* Krishna Uvach

Oordhwamoolamadha sakham,
Aswatham prahooravyayam,
Chandamsi yasya parnani,
Yastham Veda sa Vedavith. (15-1)

* With roots upwards and branches growing down,
Like a Banyan tree with Vedas as its leaves,
The tree of knowledge is everlasting and immortal,
And whosoever knows it, knows the Vedas.

=======
6. कृष्ण उवाच

vedo से ही mei जाना jayu mei vedo का ही रूप hun

vedo का करता जान ने wala mei विश्व swaroop hun

* Krishna Uvach

Sarvasya chaham, hrudhi sannivishto,
Matha smrithir jnana mapohanam cha,
Vedaischa sarvaii, rahameva Vedhyo,
Vedanthakruth veda vidheva chaham. (15-15)

* I am seated in everybody’s heart,
And from me are Memory, wisdom and their loss,
And form all the Vedas, I alone am the subject to be known,
For I created them and I am the one knower of the Vedas.

=======

7. कृष्ण उवाच

मुझको yajo मुझको bajho मुझको namo mam भक्त हो

mei satya kahta hun sakhe तुम mujh me ही aasakt हो

तुम param priye mam मित्र हो इसलिए kahta hun mei

paayoge mujh को ही, हे sakhe यह अटल prn करता hu mei

* Krishna Uvacha

Manmana bhava Mad bhaktho,
Madhyajee maam Namakuru,
Mamevaishyasi sathyam they,
Prathijane priyo asi may. (18-65)

* Focus your mind on me,
Be my devotee, Sacrifice for me, Bow down to me,
And I promise to you because you are dear to me,
That definitely you will come to me.

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11 October 2009
..

I realize that my emotional need and emotional availability has reduced to a bare minimum over the last few years!

Though it does not bother me at all, it ends up impacting my friends who at times need reassurances!

I am not sure if there is something that I want to do about it at this point in time! Got a lot of pending to-dos already!

8 October 2009
Thirty Six

There are times when there are many thoughts in my mind, and there are times when there are none! in both the caes, I do not write anything!

An easier way out is either post a result of some stupid but interesting quiz from blogthings or do an interesting tag! For today, I chose the latter!

Wishes Galore (what’s your real name by the way?) tagged me a few days back and here it goes…

1. What is your current obsession?
umm… no obsessions… nurturing a few passions though! lets see where they take me!

2. What are you wearing today?
well! right now a grey sweatshirt and pyjamas! I wonder why a sweatshirt is called so!!! It does not make you sweat and its not a shirt! and no these are not red pyjamas that I am wearing!

3. What’s for dinner?
Made some Arhar dal… nice!

4. What was the last thing you bought?
I bought a shirt, a trouser and a pull-over for Diwali this sunday!

5. What are you listening to right now?
The wind outside rushing past at 40-50 mph. Here they say its windy, in India we would have called it a storm

6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?
I know too little about the person. Lets start with real names, shall we?

7. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Somewhere in a village in UP in North India

8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?
Water

9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
To Mom and Dad! this one was easy 🙂

10. Which language do you want to learn?
Urdu, Bangla and Spanish maybe

11. What’s your favourite quote?
Used to have a few favorites, but found this on a t-shirt I bought recently: Let someone else climb the corporate ladder!

12. Who do you want to meet right now?
Papa

13. What is your favorite colour?
Simply Red

14. What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own closet?
A white linen shirt

15. What is your dream job?
My dream is not a job! Read my favorite quote above 😛

16. What’s your favourite magazine?
Nandan

17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
I do not need anything for myself right now! I would just save that $100

18. What do you consider a fashion faux pas?
I do not understand fashion! no way I can consider something a fashion faux pas

19. Who according to you is the most over-rated style icon?
Shahrukh Khan.. I think Saif dresses up much much better than him!

20. What kind of haircut do you prefer?
Crew cut, though I am trying to grow my hair longer right now! so far so good!

21. What are you going to do after this?
Su su

22. What are your favourite movies?
Check a recommended movie list on the right column of Chai ki Dukaan

23. What are three cosmetic/makeup/perfume products that you can’t live without?
Sarson ka Tel! that’s all

24. What inspires you?
What or who? Honesty and truthfulness mostly!

25. Give us three styling tips that always work for you
Poished shoes, smart hair, ironed clothes

26. What do you do when you “have nothing to wear” (even though your closet’s packed)?
Repeat Monday’s clothes

27. Coffee or tea?
umm!!! 😛

28. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
Call one of my closest friends and tell him/her that he/she is an idiot

29. What is the meaning of your name?
Calm, composed

30. Which other blogs do you love visiting?
Quite a few actually!

31. Favorite Dessert/Sweet?
The toughest question in the world for me! Next time I go to Banke Bihaari ji in Vrindavan, I will try to figure out!

32. Favorite Season ?
Winters… let me correct! North Indian winters… not the Milwaukee winters that are around the corner!

33. If I come to your house now, what would u cook for me?
nothing! Dal hai! bhookh lagi hai to kha lo!

34. What is the right way to avoid people who purposefully hurt you?
I have no clue

35. What are you afraid of the most?
No idea…

36.Is it possible to be in love with two persons simultaneously?
Absolutely!

Phew! Interview khatam! Tag yourself if you’d like! there are times when some of these fun questions make you think!

7 October 2009