From 2012 into the nineties..

Wassdssfspp pplzz???

First of all a very happy new year.It has been a great year.Besides, nobody cares whether a glass is half full or half empty as long as you know that someone gonna refill the empty half.Hope this year turns to be that benign re-filler and more awesomer than 2011. :)

Even though I had decided not to entertain my thoughts on blog I had to defer.The blog is dying and nothing writable comes to mind these days.Besides,its new years eve and I am stuck here, like 2000 freaking km away from my home.And I am frustrated. :(

But as they say, nostalgia is a refuge of a homesick(fine I said that!!), I chose to reminisce about the 90's I grew up in, and write a post about it.This also came from the chain-youtube-links-clicking about the programs, songs, movies etc from that time...to which I stumbled across somehow.

Frankly, the tone would resemble that of a grandfather telling his grandsons about his childhood...But that's not exactly it and I am sure there are many who would be able to relate to it.

Me and many of the other people of the 90's generation are lucky to have been blessed with this simple yet completely fulfilling entertainment for a sufficient long time while growing up so as to carry and cherish the memories of it forever.

The only real connection to the pixel/digital world (literally) was the video game.Again it was not everyday afair.Most of the times it used to require permission from parents..and only dad knew how to connect it.

I enjoyed playing those low res, cheap graphics games with my friends more than almost any game I played on my pc/playstation.There was never a save option in any of those games hence finishing the entire game used to earn you a lot of respect.

The theme tunes of Marios, contras etc were like a part of the background music for my childhood. :)

Then there were those awesome programs on dd1.

Those who have grown with the likes of cable tv dish tv tata sky etc would never fathom that there was once a time when 2 channels were more than enough.

I dont know how many will agree but we had our very own potent superhero for a long time in the form of "Shaktimaan".We all were crazy about the show.I used to come home early running from school just to catch those last few mins.It may seem a pretty lame program now but that time it ruled the heart of every kid who was a wannabe shaktimaan.

Saturdays were favorite as there was a cushion of Sunday after that.A typical Sunday used to start with waking up with the tune of Rangoli..It seems funny now but now that I think of it, I almost never got to actually watch that show.

The painful realization of the school the next day, was associated with the ending credit sequence of Surabhi.I disliked Sundays.I still do.

It would take a separate blog post to talk about each and every legendary program on dd1.I would write on that someday...Tahekikaat, Alif Laila, Marshal, All the Best, chandrakanta, Ek se badhkar ek (it used to be very awkward when some "hot" song was played on the program), Nehle pe dehla, srimaan srimaati and on and on and on....Also a lot of DD metro programs.

Watching cricket matches was a lot more entertaining affair then.They used to be watched in groups, with your cricket buddies, family etc.It used to generate that level of interest.

How many times it happens now, that you surf through the entire package of channels provided by your dish tvs and the TATA skys and find absolutely nothing worthwhile to watch...

May be it was fun then because the concept of channel surfin hardly existed.All you needed remote was for volume and switching off.May be when you don't have so many options, or rather not aware about them, that you start valuing what you have.

The only time when I used to really mooch off the cable tv was at my cousin's in Pune in summer vacations.It was the time when almost every cartoon on cartoon network was superb.Hardly any other channel got watched.

And ya, how can I forget WWF (it was called that then).The intense discussions with my cousin that followed after the major bouts and speculations about whether the good guy will conquer the bad ones were an essential part of being a fan.

There was once some signal interruption when it was aired briefly on our tv.It was like find a pot of gold.The joy was short-lived ofcourse...

The world has taken leaps and bounds from that period.It can never relapse to those golden times again (golden for my generation).And yet still I lose myself every time I came across a familiar tv show...a familiar tune and keep following the link after link..It provides me a brief errand into that awesome growing-up phase...an hour or so goes past like anything...when I finally close the youtube, remove my headphones...I look at my laptop..I look at the facebook page opened on it..I look at the mindless updates people posted compulsively....I look at my smartphone....I look at the hefty bill at dominoes lying side by...

Suddenly they all make very little sense...they all seem redundant for some time...like unwanted guests in my nostalgia.....until the effect finally wears off....and I join back the fellow zombies on facebook...

~Wanted to write much more but attention span issues are there.

~Pardon typos,grammatical errors,spelling errors..seriously too bored to recheck and correct.

~Must....not.....make....a......resolution.....!!!

Yum-Bee-Yae...so good so far... :D

Somewhere on a highest branch of some tree....twilight time...

Crow 1: Hey look,thats the faccha I took a crap on yesterday..

Crow 2: <*Rolls eyes*> ya...Thats a strange phenomenon!!

Crow 1: No no no...I meant look how happy he still looks...

Crow 2: Hmm...havent they been through this c*n crap or what..

Crow 1: Oh comeon...its been there since I used to crap in my mom's lap..that cant be the reason..

Crow 2: Looks like the current batch is greener..<*Winks*>

Crow 1: Not really...I heard the figure is 7% this time...its a bigger sausage fest this year..haha.

Crow 2: I wonder what has kept his spirit high...have they not started that cv things yet or what.

Crow 1: Oh please...I think their whine about their CVs would humble our cacophony.I think they have stopped RG from this year..that must be the reason.

Crow 1: you think so..I hardly see anyone roaming outside anymore...they still have it...things like these makes them fall in love with their books....but wait a min...do I see a guitar on his back..

Crow 2: Hmm...poor chap...must be going for auditions..Hey what say we make him realise the golden rule of "shit happens" together...<*Evil smirk*>

Crow 1: *High pitched excited croak*

Crow 2: On count of 3....3..2..1...Tadaaaa!!!

.

<*Victorious cacophony*> <*loud what-the-fuck*> <*Victorious cacophony*>

I flinched in my sleep and woke up...but there was no stinky white spot there...it was a dream afterall...I lol'ed to myself...while the sleep was pulling me with her fast, I chuckled to myself...."What have my dreams become..MBA..so good so far....ya right." :)

PS: This entry was sent for the IIM Calcutta Literary club,of which I am a member now.Yippyy :)

I dream of....

He was tired...tired of dying bit by bit everyday..waned by the misfortunes that had become a routine and yet did not allow him to get used to them.Exasperated by the baffling coincidences that made him a loser at every step of his life...

His life was full of happening...the bad ones..he kept writing the sad chapters in his life everyday..

And yet...somewhere deep down in the ordinary mind of his,he saw a light of hope...a flame whos existance was yet to be ascertained....a flame which was going to serve a precursor to the countless conflagrations...His name was going to get engraved in every stone that mattered...Every time capsule was going to witness and record what he was going to do...even he did not know why he felt all this...

When is that day going to come..He mused (like everyday) one night as he put his tired cells to sleep one by one...

Somewhere in the half conscious quarter of his sleep he had a feeling..Feeling that he had never experienced once and yet he knew the smell of it but was never allowed near it...like a favorite dish brought in front of you just for the smell and then snatched away when your stomach is crying with hunger...But this time he sensed it a bit more strongly.This time it did not recede..it stayed there...it hit him squarely on his mind.....and what a beatific feeling it was...

It was the epiphany....epiphany that he was The One......epiphany that the time had come....his intense desire has finally fulfilled....he felt that aura which is felt only by the almighties....

For once his head was held high instinctively...his ever arching back became straight...he felt how it was like to be oneself....Enough was enough now.

No more was life going to play cruel game of dies with him...No more he was mere a dispensable insignificant earthling...Time had come to answer them...Time had come to silence them all...He finally had what he had seen only in his wildest dreams...

He had his Fate on her knees in front of him...something every mortal human being secretly desires deep down..

The moment had come...All that was left to permanently sign his name in the time was that final act...something that was rehearsed a million times before in his mind...But to futility,until now..

An act that would be a legend for the centuries to come..

He approached them...channelised all his rage,the mad vigor of victory in his hand...and iniated the sequence for that fitting reply...That sequence took and eternity to complete....every spectator had his breath stuck deep down his lungs...Time became a very distant relative of the observers...

The zeitgeist intently waited to make an entry of the occasion.

Finally that moment was over...the hand had reached his perpetrator....and kept reaching...with more and more intensity...

*SLAP* *SLAP* *SLAP*

He started laughing with rage...with vengeance....it sounded like a mad cackle....as if someone was mocking maliciously..

His hand did not stop...

*SLAP* *SLAP* *SLAP*

.

.

.

.

.

He woke up with a snap.Why was he slapping his own face...he saw something red...something black on his palm...a mutilated cadaver of the mosquito that had raped him out of his dream...his face was painted red with the bites and his own slaps...although it was difficult to separate the shades of red,whether they were from the shame,the angst,the pity or the actual slaps...

He did not bother...It had taken one measly bloodsucker to wake him out of his mammoth dreams and left him abashed.

He surrendered.....He yielded in...his mind was unbearably heavy and weightless at the same time from the vicissitude of what it had experienced just now...Although he had tried to teach his mind to bear,to tolerate quietly,it never listened to him...nobody did.Nothing had changed...nothing was going to change..Ever..!!

He could hear the mad cackle somewhere...as if someone was mocking maliciously...he did not have to think twice about who it was...

He was only too familiar with his fate's laugh.....his head,back to its misery...his back,back to its defeated arch...

While My Guitar Gently Smiles... ♫♫

Every time I surrendered to the anomy,

You decorated the silence for me..

And when I needed that missing hue,

You helped me find it within you..

Droned by tedium,when the mind became cloudy,

You allowed me a refuge in your melody..

Gone are the days when I sang blurred,

You made my empty songs sweetly colored..

Because of you,the music happened to me,

You bonded with me and me with thee..

elated I am,as I hold you gently,

You will,as always,serve me dearly..

PS: (For those who are interested) There is something interesting about this poem.Try to find it out. :)

Something experimental.....

Dear You,

You took a stab at breaking my spirit.You tried your best to drown me into the infinite oblivion of negativity.

You tried your best to push me into the abyss.But I held on to the very cliff till my nails bleeded.

When you left thinking that you undid me,laughing maniacally and hysterically,I was smiling at you.When you left and announced to the world that you had me done,I was already preparing my triumph speech.

Though you took away my speech,my sight,my hearing,you couldnt take my soul.Each and every cell of mine was warning you that I will be healed,I will be back,I will be paying back with interest,My time will come....

My time has come....

Ive learned to put a smile to my pain.Ive learned to draw silver linings around my sorrows.Ive taught my will to live.When I smile now,its as pure as a baby's conscience.I don't feel a need to contort my face lines to hide the toil and turmoil that once my life had become.I can build the temples of serenity and peace within my mind at my will.I've learned to paint my dreams with a colorful gamut of hope and happiness.

The canvas of my mind is fresh and clean all over again.The colors of spite,sorrow,hate,malice doesn't even stay on it.

I smile at you now.I laugh at you now.I pity you now.I condescend you now.

In fact I am so strong that I forgive you.I leave you to live the life of eternal debt of pardon from me.Its more painful than anything you would have ever experienced.You will realise in due time.

Go now.Go till you couldnt distinguish between your blood and your sweat.Move till the line separating sanity and insanity disappear completely.Wade till your mind becomes a blank slate.A blank unwritable dastardly slate.

Sincerely,

Me.

Bombay to Goa...

Hi

I actually wanted to write a sequel to Pingology.But thought of pre-empting it with something that is much more relevant and much less a balderdash.This is something I have been planning to write since I arrived in Goa for a sabbatical after resigning from my job in Mumbai.

This post is somewhat about what Mumbai meant to me in my 3 years of stay.

Let me begin.

I wont sugarcoat my opinions.To be frank I did not really fall for Mumbai.I couldn't really come to peace with this city even after 3 years of my stay.For someone who has stayed all his life in Goa, it's hard to accept the city life.More so when that city is Mumbai.The more you observe the more you tend to see how diametrically opposite Goa and Mumbai are on every level.

While living in Mumbai many times I used to have this mental image about it depicting a room whose walls are obliquely swelling outwards having reached the threshold of its capacity to hold matter inside.("where 2/3rd of the population lives on 1/3rd of the land"..from some book).Its almost like having a free empty space (be it for a ground or garden or whatever) is a crime.There is an inherent tendency to stuff/fill an empty space,based on its size, with a mall,a building,a shop,a vehicle or a person.Of course a native Mumbaikar who has seen all this while growing up will find this a routine and a matter unworthy of any fuss.

A Goan wont.

Let me describe the yardstick against which I compared Mumbai.

I was born and brought up in Goa which is known for its sushegad (come on..you must know the meaning of that term by now) lifestyle,laid back culture,no worries,no tensions,the pace adjusted to a very comfortable speed as per everyone's needs,the relative indifference to the terms like hectic busy rush etc etc,the smooth shiny roads between lots of greenery and trees just optimally filled with traffic in the office times and occupied more by the occasional stray dogs or cattle than vehicles in the quieter quarters of the day,the serenity that is omnipresent though the people,through the clean pollution-free air that surrounds,the blurred boundaries separating a neat village from a city,the ever so beautiful capital city,the pleasant climate,the rainy season that turns everything that is green into greener and did I almost wrote a paragraph about Goa without the word beaches....(no pun intended) and best of all,the genial people...

To be frank,and ask any Goan for that matter,a shift from Goa to Mumbai is not much different from speeding up a car from 0-100 Kmph.

The drastic movement does affect you at first.It did to me as well.

Ill be upfront about things I did not like about Mumbai("hated" would be too strong a term).

The insane travel times owing to the zombie traffic,which can be desettled with as little as one light rain shower,the robust and efficient local train network which is always defeated by the ever bulging population,the noise pollution,air pollution,lack of greenery and trees,senseless number of malls everywhere,a continuously growing thick jungle of concrete etc etc pushed me to the wits end when I was on the receiving side of it and made me run as far as possible from it.

But over the time I acclimatized myself to all this(although not completely).I learned to live with them.

Now let me face up the other side of the coin.Let me tell you what Mumbai meant to me.

This city brought me in the broad day light of reality from the Comfortable cocoon I had been into whole my life.

A bird cannot fly living its whole life in the nest.It has to jump into open air.Mumbai was that uncharted open air.I don't know whether I've learnt flying but I at least realised that I have wings.

New people,new environments new rules etc. brought about a lot of change in me.The decision making ability,the maturity,a broad mindedness,the perspective everything was positively affected by a significant extent.

The rat race is closely associated with the lifestyle over here.But I find that term pejorative.It's more of a race.Whether you run it as a rat or a cat chasing the rat or just like that roadrunner who doesn't care where he reaches,its your choice.

Its meaning is open for any number of interepretations.

I look at it this way.It gives you a sense of competition.A desire to prove yourself.A desire to rise above and break the stereotypes,a desire to make your mark,to be heard,to be known...

And frankly whatever little success I had in achieving all this would not have been possible had I been in Goa.

There is an insatiable zest for life here.The city literally lives through its people.

It was for the first time that I was in a same city of terror strikes(26/11).And I will never forget that.

The life was back to normal within hrs.The terror was failed miserably and shamefully in the hands and minds of the Mumbaian.

He showed that it would take something more than cowardly terrorist attacks to break its soul.The unshakeable spirit of the people really dazzled me.It really was awe inspiring phenomenon for me.There is simply no place for past-tense in a Mumbaikar's life.

Legend has it that the Phoenix bird routinely burns itself to ashes and reborn and rises again.

The proverbial phoenix of Mumbai doesnt have that much time.It just keeps rising.Taking all the blows and burns, healing itself on its way up without halt for a respite. :)

Summing it up,I am glad that Mumbai "happened" to me for many reasons.Wanted to write even more.But some other time may be.

May be I was a tad critical.May be my view towards Mumbai appear as a narrow minded one to my mumbai friends.But then we all tend to have a soft spot for our home land. :)

Having said that every place has its unique signature which sets it apart from others.Its not about how beautiful the signature looks but how unique it makes the signee that is important.And i totally respect that.

So please do not misconstrue my comparative opinions as condescension.

Love you Mumbai..but just as a good friend :)

The ping'ology.

Some observations of popular net-slangs,chat replies etc over the time....

Lol/LOL/lolz/lolllll11111!!

This ping will win the award for the most popular and hackeneyed reply on chat any day any time.Once upon a time it used to denote "Laughing out Loud".Now it can serve as a reply to almost anything.Half the people don't even know the full form of Lol...They think it's an alternative to "ok".(so dont get surprised if you get a "lol" for "Damn man..I had a terrible day today").Blame it on their ignorance.

Another less common version is ROTFL (which is again a truncated version of ROTFLMAO-Rolling on the floor laughing my ass out).Because it's longer than a tiny lol(and bit hard to get the abbreviation correct in one go) it is safe to assume that when people type this,you have cracked something that actually made them laugh.(though it's just an assumption :D)

Hmmm/hmm/hmmmmmmmmmmmmm..(to infinity)

Now apparently self explanatory,this is becoming a more and more confusing reply.It can mean an affirmative reply ("Yes" or "Ok"),or it can be a gap filler (in case the receipint does not not what to reply),or more commonly a contemplation.

This ping always makes the other person a bit uneasy especially if you have said something that you wish you hadn't and the other person replies with a thoughtful Hmm.I remember there was a nice and apt smiley for this on Yahoo messenger.

Sup/wazzp/wassssssssssssp

The only thing that is up after seeing this ping is the annoyment.Agreed it is a globally accepted icebreaker or a conversation starter.But now it has become a commonplace.People who are or were,or will never be interested in what is going up in your life will ping this just almost instinctively after the casual hi.

Observe the following template..I am sure you will get a mini-Deja vu....

P1:Hey dud

P2:Hi

P1:sup/wasssp/wazzp

P2:nm.u say.

P1:*damn!!!...what do I say now*

P2:*yaaaawn*

P1:Hwz life

P2:goin good.

P1:*arrrghhh...why did I pinged him in the first place*

P1:brb ("I am never coming back...")

p2:k ("Oh...you were still here")

Thats how sad it looks.Yet we do it.Again and again :)

Anyway a good substitution which is yet to become an irritant is "Howdy".Although not for long.

k/kk

Another irritating reply.How big a word is "ok" to shorten it even more.The ease of typing it;1 keystroke (anything more and you might just run outta breath grrrh).Imagine a scenario.Your friend asks you the regular "wasssp".Fortunately you have had a great day full of happenings.You take pains to type all that without looking up what your friend has to say over that.Once you finish the marathon ping all you see is those little tiny irritating "k"s in between your generous verbiage-laden paras.

It should be banned.People,agreed its an sms lingo,but atleast have courtsey to type freaking 'O' and a 'K' possibly along with a happy smiley no matter how boring the ping is to you.(For that purpose,why to even ask what is up).

Fraaaaaandship/freindshps/frandssssss

Now this deserves a special mention.The context is the tons of friend requests girls get everyday (checked for 2 of my cousin sisters and a friend) by the newbies-wannabies-MetooWannaOrkutFacebookers.

Once joined a social network their main goal in life zeroes down to having 4287346287346827346 friends in their list ASAP.The priority is of course 'gaaals'.So a girl in a display pic(even if the profile belonged to a guy) or a "female" in the profile description is more than enough criteria for them to add such.

And this is generally they send with the friend request to add a personal touch.

"Heyyy,u lukk very butiful..wannna have fraaandship wimmme.plss"

Or if he is slightly more well versed in English then

"Hey beautiful....can we be friends forever"

Yes I have seen this on my sister's profile.The page is generally full of friend requests from random people..

Arent we Indians despos....lolllzzzz

Brb

Be right back.This is an official timeout in the chat conversation.Also people tend to reply brb and never return to avoid answering uneasy questions :p

This is an effective tool against someone who is chat-badgering you.It's a real piss-off when you are on the receiving side of it though. :)

Huh

There are 2 forms of Huh..

If followed by a question mark refers to the unclear reception of the message...(as in "huh?? what did you say??")

If not then it means a displeasure or a mock anger shown at your ping.(as in "why did you say what you said...huh..)

Again,there was a very fitting emoticon to represent this reply on yahoo mesenger.

I love this ping specially for its second interpretation.It's even more sweet when someone pings it to you :p

Nm

Nevermind.Or Nothing much.(generally followed by nm..u say)Both serves as a fitting reply to the ever vexing "wassssp".It's an indication from the recipient that I am not interested in chitchating about what is up in my life..come to the point please.(thusly passing the ball in wasssp'ers court)

Besides this,NM to write about this one.. :D

Dude/dud/dood

Ok a little trivia about this platitudinal address first.

Dude

-An informal form of address for a man

-A man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance

Dud

-Someone who is unsuccessful

To be frank I didn't know the distiction for quite long..Until I addressed one of our senior project member who apparently is well versed with English by Dud.Never again I address anyone by Dud again.(Not "unintentionally"....come on there are always some unsuspecting targets("duds") who would never have a clue about it :p).And Dood is not even a word.It just a lazily metamorphised version of dude.Relatively uncommon address to a girl is Dudette.Mostly it's gal,babe,babezzz,dear etc.

A nice change from the regular dude/gal/dud etc would be using exotic addresses like senorita(for girl),senor(Guy),comrade,paisan(godfather fame :D ).They sound lot less like a thud.

More to follow soon....(Yes you guess right.I don't have anything better to do right now) :)

Peace..

From Accenture, towards the Future. :) (My goodbye mail)

Hello Dear Comrades.

The best part of any long and arduos journey is the feeling that you get when you look back at the distance you covered upon reaching the destination,while the breeze quietly cools off your sweat. :)

After completing around 3 years in Accenture I kinda feel the same in the hindsight.It seems almost yesterday that I arrived here in Mumbai after bidding a teary goodbye to my parents...The time flew like anything and here I am writing my goodbye letter on my last day in Accenture.

These ~3 years have been a great learning experience for me on each and every level.

The lessons that were learnt were very valuable and gonna stay with me for long.

The project deserves special mention as this was my first and last project in Accenture.

I am thankful to my project for incepting and providing a fostering enviornment for a dream that eventually came true.

Also the realization of the dream wouldn't have been complete without the active/passive participation of all the actors besides the dreamer himself.

Without taking any names I would like to express my gratitude towards all of them :)

Before I forget I would like to thank my collegues and testing batch buddies who made me feel home (a recluse Goan amongst a whole lot of smart Mumbaiyans in the big big city) and the awesome time we had on bench and foundation training.Gonna miss playing the counter strike,fifa etc on multiplayer LAN infront of the faculty :)

The 3 years were so full of diverse memories.

I still remember the day we joined the project,when a nervous bunch of us freshly hired from the bench,waiting eagerly outside the bay 34.

The seniors in this project were always helpful and approachable no matter how trifling my doubts and queries were.

Also the leads were quite supportive most of the times.I was lucky to have cool seniors and even cooler juniors.

And how can I forget the ever rocking PDT team and all the fun we had...we were the name of the ERA for last 4 months.I dont know when the birds of the feather will be flocked together again like they did this time around.

Anyway..I wont deny having a share of scratchy moments,the times when I felt like I had enough,that I cant take this any more,times that saw me reach the upperbound of frustration etc..But that's part of life(and every project).

All's awesome that ends awesome.When you are so full with the good memories,you neither have time nor space to contemplate over the bad/ugly ones (though there werent many).I am leaving with a big ear to ear smile of satisfaction and without any grievance or complaints. :)

The end of journey only marks the beginning of the other.I hope I find friends like you all on my way there.Wish me luck for making it to the other end. :)

Thanks again all of you the wonderful greeting card and even more wonderful memories.(Also to those whom I might have missed out) :)

Wish you all the best for the future and the present.May you end up in a place that you truely deserve.I am gonna miss you all.

PS: The letter would have been ridiculously long had I written about each one of you.So please forgive me for that :).I am very bad at summarizing.

PS2:You can add me up on

1)tanmay112@aol.com

2)tanmay.thakur@hotmail.com

Adieu amigos.

Signing off from the Acceture.

Yours Sincerely

Tanmay

(A fallen Tester :) )

What's in the name(s)...Lots!!!

Hey Guys,

Something different this time.

The following list of names is a direct result of our exasperation,frustration,anger,irritation towards this certain gentleman who leads our testing team.

The captains who can sail their ship successfully even in the storm are old news now.It's cliche. It's stale.

Its this new breed that's carving itself a niche,they have the ability to have their ship in doldrums even in the calmest of the oceans and with the bestest of the crew.

They drown,and take everyone with them.They may be humble,mild,meek,poor along with being dumb.But those virtues are too few and non-cogent to prevent us, the minions of anti-christ, from attacking them with our devilious creativity.

To a layman this is just a plethora of negative adjectives.For us however,it's the "Poopist Chronicles".

(Apologies for the long size of the post.I could attach the excel file so had to Copy paste the entire list)

• Agent of Nihility
• Messiah of Idiocy
• Beacon of Exasperation
• A cornucopia of fatigue
• Prophet of Imbecility
• Valedictorian of nincompoopery
• Harbinger of great suffering and agony
• The Fuhrer of Wreckage
• The Jesus of Disturbia
• The Virtuoso of Sluggishness
• Diffident Dastard
• The Dabbling Dorkmoron
• Peabrained gargoyle
• The Unblinkable Starrer
• The Advocate of ignominy
• Constipationer
• The last king of Dyslexialand
• The crusader of Timidity
• Testing Dumbdroid
• The Minion of Torpidity
• The Obnoxious Obliviator
• The Deity of Obtuseness
• The Lingering Laggard
• Gandalf the Gullible
• The fugitive of Cuckoo's Nest
• Torchbearer of the Inexplicability
• The champion of the Retardation
• The Gamut of the Gibberish
• Blabloid / Babbloid / Blahbloid / Blahbot
• Professor MumbleBore
• Mr Crappathetic of Pathosland
• The propagator of pandemonium
• The ominous obliterator of intelligence
• The no sense noob
• The rumbling rambler
• Jack the Dripper
• The epitome of fatuousness
• The frontrunner of the Dystopia
• The paradigm of frivolity
• The headless harlequin
• Verbal Anti-diarrhetic
• The Living Limbo
• The Jejune Comatose
• The measly mannequin
• The Blabbliophile's Bible
• The stuporous stupid
• The Souvenir of Cataclysm
• The Cranky Conglomerate
• The Maestro of the Oblivion
• The Abbot of the Abyss
• The Crooked Crappabel
• The Pope of Perjury
• The lobotomised laxative
• The eluding exacerbater
• The rollicking retard
• Dumbsel in Distress
• The Demented Dumbtard
• The Deranged solicitor
• The Haphazard Colonel
• The Dormant Dumbinator
• Evangelical Guardian of the Void
• Floptimus Drone
• Captain Dubious
• Babblebard of Bastardonia
• The Dumbards Speech
• The Devious Doofus
• The Confucius of Disorder
• The Incorrigible Diphtherian
• The Erratic Heretic
• The flabbergasted fanatic
• The Messenger of Misadventure
• The Dreary Demagog
• The Duke of Drudgery
• The Zenith of Ennui
• The Ubermensch from The Crapton
• The Silly Samaritan
• The Grovelling Gremlin
• The Gawking Go-downer
• The Simpleton Simian
• The Neanderthal Neophyte
• The Petty Poltergeist
• The Fallen Charlatan
• The Ruminating Rasputin
• The Insidious Imp
• The Pharaoh of balderdash
• The Caricature of Buffoonery
• The Whimpering Whiner
• Doodledude of Dunce-u-topia
• The Nadir of Sanity
• The titillator of tedium
• The asphyxiator of fauna
• The nonsensical nitwit
• The Zeitgeist of misfortune
• The Whipped Wiener
• The Nimbus of Dumbness
• The Stupefied Sapien
• The Mortified Mongrel
• The Petrified Pimp
• The Amoral Albino
• The Dispensable Dodo
• The Poignant Plebeian
• The Abominable Lull

...............................Bwahahahahhahahah........................

Contributers : Ashwin,myself and Rohit.

Special thanks to Ashwin,it was his brainchild to make this list.

PS: Even if our protagonist stumbles across this one,I bet he wouldn't have a clue what this is all about. :p

C ya

The comrades and the camaraderie...

I had planned this post sometime back.But the content changed due to some ad hoc circumstances :p

I just felt I should share this instead of elaborating much on what I had planned to write(which Ill do in some other post)

(Afterall isn't this a blog for penning down things I feel strongly about:D )

So I put in my papers today,after having converted the prestigious NMIMS call.

After being in this dastardly and dried place for over 2 years,I finally did what I had planned to do exactly one year back.

I resigned.It was freedom.A redemption.Literally.

SO here was I...supposedly on the seventh heaven...After witnessing an entire life cycle of my dream coming true I was supposed to be on cloud nine..But somehow something was aching.I tinge of sadness.A tinge of gloom.

It was the feeling that Ill be gone from this place in few weeks.May be it would have felt this strongly some 4-5 months back when I was desperately trying everything I could just to run far far away from here.

But this time it was different.

It's my buddies in the project(The new joinees and all juniors) and the connection we had in this short 3 months,that was making it so difficult.

Being mostly a reserved guy and an introvert,I never had lots of friends nor did I had a group as such,in school,college or even in engineering.It always used to be some 2-3 friends with whom the friendship mostly pertained to classroom or occasional hangouts.

I never feel sad while leaving my school or college or engineering.May be it was because I didn't have or rather I didn't make many close friends.

But this people were something different.I could connect well with every one of them.And they liked me too.(Presuming :p)

The hangouts at almost every weekends(water kingdom latest),the leg pulling at the lunch and breakfast,the laughs,the conference chats,the blabbering philosophies etc etc....it was too much fun and happening for such a short time of 3 months.The work was as pathetic as ever but I never enjoyed going to office as much as I did since I joined back from the LOA.

The moment I told them about my selection in NMIMS,they were just exhilarated.It was one of those times when you realize what is meant by "happiness doubles when shared".I could see the cheer on each one of their faces.

Ofcourse I have to entertain the immediate order for the celebration at the CCD.(Which cost me a bomb of 500 bucks :p)

Umpteenth times they told me how happy they were for me(and they looked like).

Somehow it was like an overdose of good feeling.Like eating too much sugar..especially when you are not used to such feeling. :)

I always used to think that friends and friendship are kinda overrated topics.May be because I never had such a kewl friend group.

Now I wonder which friends are better.Those who are there just for the formality sake,whose absence or presence makes hardly any difference to your life and vice versa,making you realise painfully how insignificant you are to them,or those with whom you connect so easily and well,who love you,who miss you when you aren't there,that it becomes even more harder when bidding them Adieu.I myself had never really experienced the later type.

I consider myself emotionally strong who generally dont lose it.I dont even remember the last time I cried.But today even I kinda felt my throat choked for a jiffy.It was unexpected.We are so used to life throwing lemons at us that when it actually throws sugar candies(and lots of them), we just don't know what to do :)

Anyway the last day is still 1.5 months away.Till then I can safely forget about its existence and have fun :)

You guys rock.\m/

PS:I will write about all of them in detail in my farewell mail.:)

IIM Calcutta GDPI

(From pagalguy :) )

DATE - 01-March-2011
SLOT - Morning 8.30 am

PROFILE:

Acads
X 84.13%, Goa Board, year 2002
XII 69.67%, Goa Board, year 2004
Undergrad Stream Computers 62.63%, from GEC Goa 2008

Work-Ex:
Accenture- 30 months

CAT (2010):
Aggregate:99.97%ile
(category if applicable):GEN

Extra acads : Negligible

Any other special thing abt you: First attempt

Interview & GD

Venue: Mumbai
Date : 1st March 2011
Course(PGDM/PGDCM):PGDM

GD :
Topic: "I do not want to do an MBA because..."
Number of Ppl present:8
Time: We were given A4 sheets to write about the topic in complete sentences for 5 min.
Then we were supposed to discuss the topic for 10 min.In the end each one of was asked to summarise the discussion(<1min)>Interview :
Panel Members Intro: P1 -a senior faculty (MIS) P2 - Someone from legal department.
On an average each interview lasted for 20-25 min.And nobody was grilled on anything as such.
I was the 7th to enter.It was less of an interview and more of a friendly conversation.
P1 started with the usual "tell me about yourself".Then seeing that I am from computer background,he asked me which was my favorite subject.Told data structures and C programming.Then he asked some 3-4 fundu quetions on the same.Surprisingly I could answer them.He was content.(The engineering wasnt a complete waste afterall )
Then he asked about my hobbies (I had mentioned Guitar and blogging) but not too much into it though I was hoping that he would.
He asked about my hometown in Goa(Corlim) and how far it is from panjim.Asked me from where I did my schooling(Mashel).
Told him it is a hometown of Dr.Raghunath Mashelkar as well
Then I asked him whether he is from Goa originally.Turned out he is
P2 hardly spoke.
While the interview was going on P1 and P2 were also talking among themselves.Basically it was a very informal and chilled out interview.

Then finally they asked me the trademark "why mba".As we pondered a lot on the same topic in the GD too,I think I was able to answer it convincingly.Both seemed satisfied and I was done.
But I was not offered a toffee or anything :(

Rate your preparation(0-5):2
Rate your performance(0-5):4

MISC
The community leader Jaydev Joshi was in my group.

All in all a great and satisfying experience.

(My first post on pagalguy )

VERDICT: CONVERTED

NMIMS GDPI Experince

(From Pagalguy :))

DATE - 08-March-2011
SLOT - Afternoon (1pm)

PROFILE:

Acads:
X : 84.13% (Goa Board)
XII : 69.67% (Goa Board)
Undergrad Major - 62.6% GEC Goa University (Computers)

Work-Ex: 31 months (Accenture)

NMAT Score: 252

Any other special thing about you: First attempt.

It was a bad day to start with.My bus was screwed halfway so had to change it again.
Reached Andheri at 1 PM.Rikshawala dropped me at NMIMS college.(My gdpi was at Mukesh Patel Colg)
The guard over there told me that gdpi process has already started.
I literally ran my way in the horrid afternoon heat to my gdpi venue.It was on 8th floor and thanks to Lord Murphy,the lift was not working.
So climbed all 8 floors.Already sweated and feeling dizzy.I thought I had missed the GD.But thankfully the briefing seminar was still going on.I heaved a sigh of relief.

GD:
As usual we had to choose from 2 topics, 1) facebook has resulted in destroying social manners and 2) spiritual gurus have brilliant marketing strategies.
With a majority of 7:3 we chose the first one.

Overall GD was quite decent.I entered 3-4 times.After that I couldnt shout any more so did not even try.
We did manage to touch upon various aspects(mostly negative)
There were times where we were beating around the bush or discussing irrelevant points.
2-3 times the Group dangerously tilted towards a fish market,but thanks to some courteous and chivalrous members,everyone more or less got a chance to speak.
The discussion continued even after the faculty annouced the 5-mins.So the GD was ended abruptly while one of the group memeber was halfway through his point.

My preparation(0-5):1
My performance(0-5):4


PI:
2 Male senior faculty and 1 lady faculty.

It started with general "tell me about yourself" question.Then they asked me about my work,the type of role I have,responsibilities,how my engg in computers helped me in my job.I had to lie here.
Then the regular why mba,why mba after IT...from the looks of the professors,I dont think I gave fully satisying answers for those.They were taking references from My SOP.To be frank my SOP was very ordinary and small.So they didnt grill me much on that.But guys,be thorough with your SOP.You can really divert the interview in your favour if you have written a good SOP.
They asked me what I do in my free time.(Was waiting for this)
Told them about guitar,blogging etc.They did not push too much into it.
Tried to divert them to my hobbies 3-4 times.The male faculties were clearly not interested much.One of them asked me about "C guitar,F guitar".I was puzzled.I asked him whether he is talking about C chord,F chord.Apparently he was.
Then the lady asked me which notes doesnt have a #.Answered it.
Then they asked me about current affairs(My Achilles Heel).Told them I have started reading newspapers only recently.Then they asked some questions about Egypt revolution,effect of Libyan revolution on prices of oil barrel,legalising passive Euthanasia(Here again I tried to take them to my blog as I had a written a post.Again no heed.)
I could answer some of them.
Then they asked me if I dont get into any college will I try again.I told them,I had set a target of getting into top 20 college this year and if that doesnt happen I would be trying next year again but will target only top 10.
They asked me which is #20 college.I was not sure,said XIMB.

Frankly speaking it was an average PI,only the Lady faculty was listening and nodding intently,the male faculties never showed any interest.

My preparation(0-5):1
My performance(0-5):3

All in all a good end to a bad day.Keeping my fingers crossed.

Verdict:Awaited (Eagerly)

PS: CONVERTED....woooooohoooooooooooo...My first convert.I am just so overwhelmed :)

The Homecoming :)

Hey

So I am finally back in Mumbai after like 4 months of sabbatical in Goa.(Because of the pancreatitis..more about it some other time)

But,save for the hospitalisation,surgery,bed rest,strict diet etc, I had an awesome time at home.It was a break much needed.Far far away from the frustration,disparity and the negativity of the job(I tend to exaggerate this every time..I know :p),a calm and cool vacation at home with family for around 4 months is the perfect antidote.

Surprisingly towards the end of the period I was actually looking forward to joining back.Looks like even the happiness and relaxation taste sour when overdosed. Hehe

Apparently I wasnt able to book a train ticket,thanks to the overwhelming number of tourists leaving Goa on the same day,I had to book a bus ticket.Was able to book for a non ac sleeper bus for an exorbitant price of 1500.

And thus on the auspicious day of 2nd of January 2011 I left Goa and embark upon a journey to Mumbai.

On previous day I was having acidity problem.As a precautionary measure I had a blood test.Apparently the levels of an enzyme which is an indicator of pancreatitis had gone slightly high.I was literally jelly-legged.But then dad consulted the doctor and I was reassured that there is nothing to worry but henceforth I need to seriously cut on oily and deep fried food. :(

Bus journey only contributed to the bad mood.It was the worst one ever.

Inspite of the cozy and comfortable sleeper seat I had a terrible time with continuous head-splitting headache and acidity and upset stomach.Couldn't sleep for more than 10 min at a stretch throughout the night :(

Somehow in the morning the bus reached mumbai.I was feeling much better.The headache had been reduced to the occasional pangs.Stomach has made peace with me to a large extent.I reached home.There was no time for the after-journey nap.So freshened up and caught the bus to the company.

I am one of those guys who would judge the year from the way it starts.

And to be frank I had some qualms regarding how things gonna be this year after the way things were turning out last 2 days..

Thankfully things straightened out slowly.First of all I got a warm welcome from project buddies.Second,and best of all was that I was told that I had become comparatively thin. :) (A Joy short-lived until another friend greeted me with "PeTya".Grrrrr)

Although nothing had changed drastically as far as project is concerned,the team had grown in size and also the work pressure was comparatively less.On top of it I got a workstation in a very safe and fortified place.(You have to be an IT guy to understand the value of that).So I could have rendezvous with my old time savior buddies viz office communicator,Dilbert,pagalguy,wikipedia etc without the leads watching :p

Also caught up with another lifeline of mine,the table tennis in the Gymkhana.Thats the place where I have gotten more acknowledgement for my skills(TT) than I ever got in my project. :)

So all in all the week went pretty fast (just like the Time does nowadays) without any bumps or hiccoughs.And I let out a sigh of relief. :)

Ill say this year has kickstarted really well for me.Hoping that it remains faithful to its mood throughout. :)

I love to make resolutinos every year.Here are some for this one.

• Blog more.(Have set a target of atleast 50 posts this year :) )
• Crib less.(This one is tricky.But I love challenges)
• Be more positive and optimistic.(Again difficult but I think I am on the right path.In fact you can sense it from the tone of this post)
• Lot less social networking (It's the need of the hr)

And few more...

Hoping to abide by them till the year end.Would love to refer to this post at the end of the year regarding how many of those resolutions I could do justice too.

Have some dreams,aspirations,ambitions...And I am very positive about them.I have become a firm believer of the law of attraction (Like attracts Like).Too many experiences to ignore it. :)

So let me severe my blabber right here(if you are still reading) and kickstart the blogroll by wishing you all a very happy,prosperous and a satiating new year.May all your (and mine) dreams and wishes come true.May we do not need a resolution list next year :p

May this year be one of the awesomest one ever.

C ya.

PS: Nothing changes much in the real world when you are in a limbo.At least not in 4 months :p