Few hours and one more year will be added to aging me.. so many resolutions every birthday and none of them followed.. this year too i have many resolutions like Fighting less with my wife to get timely food, being regular to gym so that girls don't get to know my age, work harder, spend less etc etc... but the point is how many will i follow.. :) lets see...
Also this birthday is a bit different from the previous few, for this is my first birthday with her being my wife and I am changing my job too.. Whatever but birthday seems to be a very normal day to me. When I was a kid I used to be excited for my birthday before a week itself. Then at the end of it I used to feel very bad and sad as nothing special and different would have happened on this day. The Sun always rose from the east, the day always had 24 hrs in it, and it was always very hot on this day. Just that a small party was organized in which all the kids would come and hog on the yummy chole bhature, paav bhaji etc cooked by my mother and in which they used to bring gifts and ofcourse i was always happy to get them. But for what i used to wait was something different.. something so different and special that wont happen on any other day and that cant be done on any other day.. That would mark my birthday as 'MY' birthday.
Now I realize.. for a birthday to be special is not a natural thing but it has to be made. It has to be made special and remarkable by the achievements and the deeds. A person becomes special first followed by his birthday and when a day is remembered by a person's birthday and when people but not that person celebrates his birthday then the day becomes Special.
I have never done any such thing that people will remember the day as 'MY' birthday and I haven't done any great for my birthday to be celebrated by others. So I consider it as another normal day in my life although I celebrate it sometimes and accept gifts because firstly it brings me a little happiness and secondly i don't want to be seemed rude. I always expect it to end as a normal day so that at least people wont notice that I have grown older!!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
'Sir!', the day today word.
'Sir' I feel is used very often in our country. Go to the security staff of your apartment or office, they will start each sentence by Sir and end it by Sir. Call some agent or broker the salutation they always use is Sir. Got to meet any sales person, again their polite sentences will have lot of sirs in it. And above all of it, the respect they give to you (willingly or unwillingly) is independent of them being older or younger to you.
But till today, even after thinking and pondering a lot on my past achievements, i couldnt recall the 'ONE' great thing i have done to deserve such a respect. Over it the irony is, on one side we are taught to respect our elders and on the other side the 'Sir' culture makes us get the respect from our elders.
Fortunately in my profession, no one calls anyone as 'Sir', but I sometimes despise the thought of the day when I might have to respect a person much younger to me by calling him as 'Sir' (And that will be obviously an UNWILLING respect).
But till today, even after thinking and pondering a lot on my past achievements, i couldnt recall the 'ONE' great thing i have done to deserve such a respect. Over it the irony is, on one side we are taught to respect our elders and on the other side the 'Sir' culture makes us get the respect from our elders.
Fortunately in my profession, no one calls anyone as 'Sir', but I sometimes despise the thought of the day when I might have to respect a person much younger to me by calling him as 'Sir' (And that will be obviously an UNWILLING respect).
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Maggi --> Too tasty to be avoided!!!
Fitness is one of the most craved things by me. And this intense desire makes me food conscious. But in this fitness regime along with many other things Maggi is one more thing that i am unable to avoid. It offers so much in a small packet.
Keep it simple and no noodles can match its taste. Add some onion to it, you cant stop eating one. If you put some butter, you can taste heaven on earth. And if by any chance you have eggs in your refrigerator, Egg Maggi can be the complete food for your large tummy!! After that if you have the guts put some green chillies in it, I bet now that you have dared to be in hell, you will enjoy it to the max. All this comes without any need of cooking expertise and if you by any chance got some talent in you then try its another avatar "Fried Maggi" (for me too :P) and certainly its the feeling of another world.
Like most of the Maggi fans, these are the few which as a cooking novice i know, there would be a lot more in an expert's mind. I always wish i had such a friend.
Everytime i am past these experiences, I promise myself not to have it next time. But as the old saying goes "Promises are meant to be broken"
Keep it simple and no noodles can match its taste. Add some onion to it, you cant stop eating one. If you put some butter, you can taste heaven on earth. And if by any chance you have eggs in your refrigerator, Egg Maggi can be the complete food for your large tummy!! After that if you have the guts put some green chillies in it, I bet now that you have dared to be in hell, you will enjoy it to the max. All this comes without any need of cooking expertise and if you by any chance got some talent in you then try its another avatar "Fried Maggi" (for me too :P) and certainly its the feeling of another world.
Like most of the Maggi fans, these are the few which as a cooking novice i know, there would be a lot more in an expert's mind. I always wish i had such a friend.
Everytime i am past these experiences, I promise myself not to have it next time. But as the old saying goes "Promises are meant to be broken"
Saturday, March 20, 2010
A Few Hours with Friends...
An IT professional's life, 5 days office and then a 2 day weekend. And its always like this, the weekend flies so fast like it was never there and then we wait for the next weekend. A few years are past with this routine and i think a lot more to go but the wait of a weekend never goes.
Even when I wait for the weekend desperately, the question of how to enjoy it is the first thing that comes with it. Blame it on her that i almost never get bored on a weekend. Movies, shopping or just sitting at home, everything becomes enjoyable with her.
But with all this, there is one more thing which when added to the weekend makes it a better weekend of the good weekends that i have. That is a small can of beer and a few hours with some(only selected) friends. Some futile discussions with them and the view of the city from the top of the building. A heated argument and the emotional heal which you otherwise never need. Opening up yourself and telling and listening the thoughts which you or they have never shared.
Sometimes i think if she is my life then my friends are a garnishing over it...
Even when I wait for the weekend desperately, the question of how to enjoy it is the first thing that comes with it. Blame it on her that i almost never get bored on a weekend. Movies, shopping or just sitting at home, everything becomes enjoyable with her.
But with all this, there is one more thing which when added to the weekend makes it a better weekend of the good weekends that i have. That is a small can of beer and a few hours with some(only selected) friends. Some futile discussions with them and the view of the city from the top of the building. A heated argument and the emotional heal which you otherwise never need. Opening up yourself and telling and listening the thoughts which you or they have never shared.
Sometimes i think if she is my life then my friends are a garnishing over it...
Monday, March 15, 2010
Empowering the Weak..
After almost a score, the last elections brought a government with least alliances. The simple mathematics says the lesser the alliance, the better is the leadership. From the past one year, the time this government came into power, we all are seeing the impact. With almost no fear of losing the majority, the government had acted freely and stood for the policies and bills it wants to implement. Be it nuclear deal, climate change policies, this year's budget or woman's bill it was successful in transforming its vision into reality. Now that we have a strong leadership in place, not sure about all but, at least I am experiencing the real feel good factor.
Woman's bill, which allowed 33% reservation for woman in Parliament, is the government's latest bold move to empower the fairer sex. At least now we can hope to see better sex ratio in parliament.
But sometimes I wonder, do these reservations really empower the weak? Whats the percentage of the weak among those availing these benefits? Here i am not criticizing the Woman's bill but speaking about all the reservations in general. Be it SC/ST reservation, OBC reservation and now Woman's reservation!
Lalu commented over woman's bill, asking, being an MP whether Rabri could go against his will. Though this depicts the cruel male-chauvinistic nature of our society and over it the male-chauvinism of those who are leading us, but isn't it really true? Now the next approach of a shrewd politician would be to put his crown on his obedient wife's head and rule the territory. After it the onus of the empowerment of the common woman would be on the remaining few woman MPs if along with being free they are honest at their will.
Though the woman's bill keeping the above point in mind still gives some hope, do the other reservation policies which are already in place are fulfilling the cause they were laid for? Or these are just there because no party can dare remove them as that would be fatal for their Vote Bank.
When I was doing my engineering, to support the poor people of SC/ST community, they were given a scholar ship that meant whole year's fees and some extra money to help them with day today expenditures. But the irony was, there was not even a single "Poor" SC/ST candidate who took that scholarship. All of them were from a well to do family and this scholarship meant the latest mobile phone to them.
In contrast, there was one of my batch mate who was really in need of this scholarship to lessen the burden on his poor family but he wasn't fit for it because he didn't belong to the 'required' community.
Does this mean that these reservations at least is doing good for the communities for which they were crafted? I don't think so, instead what i understand is only those who form the upper crust of these communities are mostly seeking the benefits of it. Where as the people from these communities who really need to be uplifted are not even able to come to the stage where they can think of availing the benefits of these schemes. For example, most of the 'Maoist' agitation started due to the suppression of so called 'lower castes' by the so called 'upper castes', but now when the maoist themselves has forgotten the cause of their movement, the communities are facing the suppression from prominent castes and the heat of maoists as well. They are still not able to complete their basic education and come to the level where they can with the help of these reservations get a higher education which can promise them a better future with skilled Jobs.
The real empowerment is needed at such a primary level. If the people can be helped primarily, they wont require a reservation to place themselves into institutions of specialized education. And then it will only be merit that will matter whether its a specialization in medicine or in engineering. And at that time our country will have better doctors and better engineers.
But the plight of our country is, these reservations are now imbibed so deeply into the politics that even if a government secretly feels that now its the right time for these reservations to be out, they cant even express it because that will mean lesser votes and might be a new government next time!!
Woman's bill, which allowed 33% reservation for woman in Parliament, is the government's latest bold move to empower the fairer sex. At least now we can hope to see better sex ratio in parliament.
But sometimes I wonder, do these reservations really empower the weak? Whats the percentage of the weak among those availing these benefits? Here i am not criticizing the Woman's bill but speaking about all the reservations in general. Be it SC/ST reservation, OBC reservation and now Woman's reservation!
Lalu commented over woman's bill, asking, being an MP whether Rabri could go against his will. Though this depicts the cruel male-chauvinistic nature of our society and over it the male-chauvinism of those who are leading us, but isn't it really true? Now the next approach of a shrewd politician would be to put his crown on his obedient wife's head and rule the territory. After it the onus of the empowerment of the common woman would be on the remaining few woman MPs if along with being free they are honest at their will.
Though the woman's bill keeping the above point in mind still gives some hope, do the other reservation policies which are already in place are fulfilling the cause they were laid for? Or these are just there because no party can dare remove them as that would be fatal for their Vote Bank.
When I was doing my engineering, to support the poor people of SC/ST community, they were given a scholar ship that meant whole year's fees and some extra money to help them with day today expenditures. But the irony was, there was not even a single "Poor" SC/ST candidate who took that scholarship. All of them were from a well to do family and this scholarship meant the latest mobile phone to them.
In contrast, there was one of my batch mate who was really in need of this scholarship to lessen the burden on his poor family but he wasn't fit for it because he didn't belong to the 'required' community.
Does this mean that these reservations at least is doing good for the communities for which they were crafted? I don't think so, instead what i understand is only those who form the upper crust of these communities are mostly seeking the benefits of it. Where as the people from these communities who really need to be uplifted are not even able to come to the stage where they can think of availing the benefits of these schemes. For example, most of the 'Maoist' agitation started due to the suppression of so called 'lower castes' by the so called 'upper castes', but now when the maoist themselves has forgotten the cause of their movement, the communities are facing the suppression from prominent castes and the heat of maoists as well. They are still not able to complete their basic education and come to the level where they can with the help of these reservations get a higher education which can promise them a better future with skilled Jobs.
The real empowerment is needed at such a primary level. If the people can be helped primarily, they wont require a reservation to place themselves into institutions of specialized education. And then it will only be merit that will matter whether its a specialization in medicine or in engineering. And at that time our country will have better doctors and better engineers.
But the plight of our country is, these reservations are now imbibed so deeply into the politics that even if a government secretly feels that now its the right time for these reservations to be out, they cant even express it because that will mean lesser votes and might be a new government next time!!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Story of a "Draft"
Living in Bangalore, Delhi or some other metropolitan, how long do you think it will take to get a draft issued from a bank? I dont think it should take more than an hour, that too when its a bad day for you!!
But the same draft can take as long as 2 days in a government bank situated in a small town. Well! it took me two days!!
To get all the things done as early as possible i was in front of the "Punjab National Bank" of "Hapur" sharp at 10:15 am. My first mistake was that instead of a 2 wheeler i went in my father's car and it took me 15 minutes to find a parking place, park the car there and walk down to the bank.
If the reader of this blog doesnt know, i will like to tell him that to get a draft issued you need to fill a form. And to fill a form you need to get or to be more appropriate "Find" the form. But how to find THE form when the box which is supposed to have different bank forms has everything from a torn application to a Biscuit rapper but the draft form.I tried looking for the the Inquiry Counter but instead of an assistant i found 2 inches of dust on the table and the chair, as if, even by mistake no one in the past decade has rambled towards this corner of the bank.
Seeing around, i went to the first bank employee(FBE). He appeared to be a gentleman. With an immaculate hair do, fair complexion and thick specs. He was updating the Bank Passbooks for account holders.
me: "Sir, ek draft ka form chahiye" (Sir, i need one draft form")
He didnt respond, i thought he dint hear.
me(again): "Sir, ek draft ka form chahiye" (Sir, i need one draft form")
Without looking at me, he responded
FBE: "Main to form rakhta nahin hun!!" (I dont keep forms!!)
And at that very moment, hearing his reply and seeing him poking his nose, his gentleman image flew away from my mind.
I asked him
me:"Sir, to kahaan se milenge form" (Sir, where from i can get the forms)
Again without looking at me and without saying anything he pointed towards an empty chair near him.
I kept staring at the empty chair for the next 10 minutes in hope that someone will come and provide me the forms. By this time the clock showed 11:30!! Giving up my hope i started looking here and there and then i saw some papers scattered on the floor behind FBE. To my luck, there was one draft form in that!!
It was my luck that i got one form but then there was no scope of mistake in filling that ONE form. With utmost care i filled the form quickly and kept the Bank's commission column blank to know the commission from the Accountant. Then I queued myself for the deposit counter which is open till 2:00 PM on weekdays. There were some 10 people ahead of me. I was happy thinking that the queue will be over in another 15 minutes but then to my dismay it took me one hour to reach in front.
I gave my form and the money(55k) to the Accountant(Acctnt)
Acctnt: "Isme commission kaun likhega?" (Who will write commission?)
me: "Sir, aapse poochne ke liye choda tha" (Sir, i kept it blank to confirm from you)
Acctnt: "Commission udhar jaakar poocho aur poora form bhar kar laao" (Go there to ask commission and bring the completely filled form)
Seeing my watch which was showing 12:45 pm by that time i went to the Second Bank Employee, waited for 10 minutes for my turn.
me: "Sir, Draft ki commission ke baare mein pata karna tha" (sir, i wanted to know about the commission for a draft)
SBE: "Draft kitne ka hai" (How much is the draft for)
me: "Sir, 55k"
SBE: "Cash ya Account se?" (Through cash or through account?)
me: "Sir, Cash"
SBE: "Hmmm, it would be 200"
I want you to note that this guy asked me through cash or through account and i told him its through cash.
Completing the form i rushed towards the deposit counter queue, now there were 15 ppl in the queue. There was no chance i could reach the counter before 2:00pm if this samaritan seeing my plight wouldnt have allowed me before himself and i reached the counter 15 minutes before its closing time.
Giving the form and money to the accountant
me: "Sir, commission bhar di hai" (Sir, i have filled commission)
Accountant seeing the form winced at me like i am the biggest dumb and said
Accnt:"Ye draft nahin ban sakta!!" (This draft cant be issued)
Standing Shocked i asked
me: "Sir, par kyon?" ("Sir, but why?)
His voice became loud and he told
Accnt: "RBI ki guidelines ke anusaar 50k se uppar ka koi bhi draft cash se issue nahin ho sakta. Account se banwaana padega!!" (As per RBI guidelines, any draft over 50 k cant be issued through cash. You need to go through account)
I couldnt react!! The day was past and i had to restart again the next day!!
But the same draft can take as long as 2 days in a government bank situated in a small town. Well! it took me two days!!
To get all the things done as early as possible i was in front of the "Punjab National Bank" of "Hapur" sharp at 10:15 am. My first mistake was that instead of a 2 wheeler i went in my father's car and it took me 15 minutes to find a parking place, park the car there and walk down to the bank.
If the reader of this blog doesnt know, i will like to tell him that to get a draft issued you need to fill a form. And to fill a form you need to get or to be more appropriate "Find" the form. But how to find THE form when the box which is supposed to have different bank forms has everything from a torn application to a Biscuit rapper but the draft form.I tried looking for the the Inquiry Counter but instead of an assistant i found 2 inches of dust on the table and the chair, as if, even by mistake no one in the past decade has rambled towards this corner of the bank.
Seeing around, i went to the first bank employee(FBE). He appeared to be a gentleman. With an immaculate hair do, fair complexion and thick specs. He was updating the Bank Passbooks for account holders.
me: "Sir, ek draft ka form chahiye" (Sir, i need one draft form")
He didnt respond, i thought he dint hear.
me(again): "Sir, ek draft ka form chahiye" (Sir, i need one draft form")
Without looking at me, he responded
FBE: "Main to form rakhta nahin hun!!" (I dont keep forms!!)
And at that very moment, hearing his reply and seeing him poking his nose, his gentleman image flew away from my mind.
I asked him
me:"Sir, to kahaan se milenge form" (Sir, where from i can get the forms)
Again without looking at me and without saying anything he pointed towards an empty chair near him.
I kept staring at the empty chair for the next 10 minutes in hope that someone will come and provide me the forms. By this time the clock showed 11:30!! Giving up my hope i started looking here and there and then i saw some papers scattered on the floor behind FBE. To my luck, there was one draft form in that!!
It was my luck that i got one form but then there was no scope of mistake in filling that ONE form. With utmost care i filled the form quickly and kept the Bank's commission column blank to know the commission from the Accountant. Then I queued myself for the deposit counter which is open till 2:00 PM on weekdays. There were some 10 people ahead of me. I was happy thinking that the queue will be over in another 15 minutes but then to my dismay it took me one hour to reach in front.
I gave my form and the money(55k) to the Accountant(Acctnt)
Acctnt: "Isme commission kaun likhega?" (Who will write commission?)
me: "Sir, aapse poochne ke liye choda tha" (Sir, i kept it blank to confirm from you)
Acctnt: "Commission udhar jaakar poocho aur poora form bhar kar laao" (Go there to ask commission and bring the completely filled form)
Seeing my watch which was showing 12:45 pm by that time i went to the Second Bank Employee, waited for 10 minutes for my turn.
me: "Sir, Draft ki commission ke baare mein pata karna tha" (sir, i wanted to know about the commission for a draft)
SBE: "Draft kitne ka hai" (How much is the draft for)
me: "Sir, 55k"
SBE: "Cash ya Account se?" (Through cash or through account?)
me: "Sir, Cash"
SBE: "Hmmm, it would be 200"
I want you to note that this guy asked me through cash or through account and i told him its through cash.
Completing the form i rushed towards the deposit counter queue, now there were 15 ppl in the queue. There was no chance i could reach the counter before 2:00pm if this samaritan seeing my plight wouldnt have allowed me before himself and i reached the counter 15 minutes before its closing time.
Giving the form and money to the accountant
me: "Sir, commission bhar di hai" (Sir, i have filled commission)
Accountant seeing the form winced at me like i am the biggest dumb and said
Accnt:"Ye draft nahin ban sakta!!" (This draft cant be issued)
Standing Shocked i asked
me: "Sir, par kyon?" ("Sir, but why?)
His voice became loud and he told
Accnt: "RBI ki guidelines ke anusaar 50k se uppar ka koi bhi draft cash se issue nahin ho sakta. Account se banwaana padega!!" (As per RBI guidelines, any draft over 50 k cant be issued through cash. You need to go through account)
I couldnt react!! The day was past and i had to restart again the next day!!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Learner's to Driver's
Life after marriage or after having a girlfriend changes a lot, and it changes Lot"est" when your wife/girlfriend doesnt know driving. Before writing this blog i had to think twice of the consequences i might have to face. And they might range from "cooking two days food on my own" to "two nights on the Sofa in the cold drawing room". But then its better to vent then to pent up. So I dare to reveal the truth at stake of my life :)
By the change in life i meant... an increase in patience to stand outside Ladies Beauty Parlour and wait for her.... be with her and suffocate for hours in the library full of books(one of the things I despise most).... get up at 7:00 in the morning to drop her to training...... etc etc. To avoid all this and to have a comfortable life i starting persuading her to learn driving. And after much of the persuasion she agreed for the same, got a learner's license but made a contract at the same time. Some of the points extracted from the contract are
*Trainer -> the person who is going to teach driving (me)
*Trainee -> the person who is going to learn driving (She)
1) Saturday/Sunday --> As these days fall under Weekend, the Trainer will be penalized if he mentions any term similar to "Driving Lesson". The penalty may range from a pasta to Pizza.
2) Monday --> This is the first weekday i.e. day of office, and as the Trainee would be going through a lot of depression she shouldnt be asked to drive.
3) Tuesday --> This is the day when Trainer's behaviour will be monitored till evening. If the trainee finds his behaviour acceptable, she might drive.
4) Wednesday/Thursday --> If it has been an easy day for the trainee, then she might be asked to drive. The authority of deciding the day into 'easy' or 'tough' solely lies with the trainee.
5) Friday --> As this is the arrival of weekend, and the trainee is full of hope and euphoria. No attempt should be made by the trainer to spoil trainee's mood by asking her to drive.
Following the contract, its 5 months from the time the Trainee, i mean she, has taken the Learner's and I dont think she is still confident (no offenses meant) to go for a Driver's License. But i am still confident that we will make it before the LL expires. :)
By the change in life i meant... an increase in patience to stand outside Ladies Beauty Parlour and wait for her.... be with her and suffocate for hours in the library full of books(one of the things I despise most).... get up at 7:00 in the morning to drop her to training...... etc etc. To avoid all this and to have a comfortable life i starting persuading her to learn driving. And after much of the persuasion she agreed for the same, got a learner's license but made a contract at the same time. Some of the points extracted from the contract are
*Trainer -> the person who is going to teach driving (me)
*Trainee -> the person who is going to learn driving (She)
1) Saturday/Sunday --> As these days fall under Weekend, the Trainer will be penalized if he mentions any term similar to "Driving Lesson". The penalty may range from a pasta to Pizza.
2) Monday --> This is the first weekday i.e. day of office, and as the Trainee would be going through a lot of depression she shouldnt be asked to drive.
3) Tuesday --> This is the day when Trainer's behaviour will be monitored till evening. If the trainee finds his behaviour acceptable, she might drive.
4) Wednesday/Thursday --> If it has been an easy day for the trainee, then she might be asked to drive. The authority of deciding the day into 'easy' or 'tough' solely lies with the trainee.
5) Friday --> As this is the arrival of weekend, and the trainee is full of hope and euphoria. No attempt should be made by the trainer to spoil trainee's mood by asking her to drive.
Following the contract, its 5 months from the time the Trainee, i mean she, has taken the Learner's and I dont think she is still confident (no offenses meant) to go for a Driver's License. But i am still confident that we will make it before the LL expires. :)
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