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StudyNation

2010-03-04T22:01:00.000-08:00

StudyNation.com is India's leading education website aimed at helping students through all their education related needs.

moved...

2009-06-18T06:08:00.001-07:00

have finally moved to my new destination

www.ankurwarikoo.com

2008...and 2009

2008-12-29T01:33:00.000-08:00

Jan 03, 2008

....

Yes, I have decided on a few to-dos for this year...

get some lessons in photography - NOPE

go on atleast 3 photo-expeditions - YES

start seriously thinking about quitting work and starting something on my own - YES

get a car for parents - YES

get working on my house - YES

and yes...blog atleast 100 posts this year - NOOO

...

not a bad year huh...i guess i have checked a yes to most important things in life...and to be honest...the photography lessons are not really needed now! :)

Yah...blogging would have definitely made it a perfect year...but then you cant get everything...

The year has been awesome...in all sense of the word. Spent a good time in Dubai yet again...have had a brilliant married life so far...and Accentium is exciting like never before...

2009

This blog is being shut down. Somehow I feel the need for an integrated space...and so I am going to start my own site. Looking for the domain right now, but it should be up and running soon...

Photography will continue...and I am loving every bit of it. 2008 saw quite a few excursions and I hope the same continues next year too.

Am hopeful that this year I will step full-time into Accentium and bid goodbye to ATK. Will surely keep you updated on the same

Take care...and have a great 2009...

Long Long time...

2008-10-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

and with a purpose...

Pahwa has been nominated as one of Asia's Top Young Entrepreneur...which is a proud moment for all of us...! :)

Follow the link below to vote for him:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/10/1008_asia_young_entrepreneurs/22.htm

Am proud to be an Indian....

2008-07-23T05:13:00.000-07:00

As long as DUDES such as Manmohan Singh continue to exist...

this is by far the best speech delivered by an Indian politician...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3265909.cms

"...I have often said that I am a politician by accident. I have held many diverse responsibilities. I have been a teacher, I have been an official of the Government of India, I have been a member of this greatest of Parliaments, but I have never forgotten my life as a young boy in a distant village.

Every day that I have been Prime Minister of India I have tried to remember that the first ten years of my life were spent in a village with no drinking water supply, no electricity, no hospital, no roads and nothing that we today associate with modern living. I had to walk miles to school, I had to study in the dim light of a kerosene oil lamp. This nation gave me the opportunity to ensure that such would not be the life of our children in the foreseeable future.

Sir, my conscience is clear that on every day that I have occupied this high office, I have tried to fulfill the dream of that young boy from that distant village..."

This is it....

2008-07-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

THIS makes me happy...really really happy....!!

Circulate...share..post...blog...do whatever...let the world know that I have clicked this...! :)

Well...comments plz...before anything else...

~a

NY...finally...

2008-06-25T07:06:00.000-07:00

Here is it...

http://picasaweb.google.com/warikoo/NYTripMay08

~a

The Purest Form of Art

2008-06-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

Since writing on the walls is done neither for critical acclaim, nor financial rewards...it remains the purest form of art

discuss

Physical and Digital Books

2008-06-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

While I wander in the streets of NY...hunting for a building less than 5 storeys high...here is a fantastic quote i read this morning...

"People loved their horses, too. But you don’t keep riding your horse to work just because you love it.”
–Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the difference between physical books and digital ones

Some more quotes

Take care...will see you soon..

PS: Am approaching 1000 snaps on this trip...and am awesomely excited to see all of them..!

Update and appeal

2008-05-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

Actually...let me begin with the appeal(s)...

1. I appeal to all the thousands of visitors to my blog...averaging 23 in number per day...out of which 19 spend 0.00 minutes on the blog...plz forgive me for not being regular with the blog...!
PS: The facts above are real...but am surprised...how can anyone measure the time as 0.00...?? i mean..am sure it takes atleast a second for people to realize that they are in shit...right...? Its like...someone intends to tell me that the time taken from the enter button to the top right button on the window takes less than a second..! Darn...thats depressing...

2. Can airlines please come up with a weekly magazine...reading the same thing 8 times a month is no fun..trust me.

3. Can vijay mallya please concentrate on improving the food on kingfisher...rather than blasting 11 individuals who have been running 23 km marathons for all their life...for not winning the 100mtr sprint..!

4. Can aaj tak please read the business description under which it is listed...! Last I checked it was meant to be a NEWS channel

5. and finally...can i please appeal to myself for not writing crap...even if it happens only once a month...

Updates - several!

1. www.gaadi.com
Its launched...plz check it out. We all are proud of it...and believe it is one of the strongest products in the car category in the indian space. and lo behold..within a month of its launch...gaadi.com is already India's No 2 Car website. And I am convinced that we shall be No. 1 by end of the year...!

2. Am off to the US for 2 weeks...business trip. Ruchi is accompanying me...on vacation! Will be in NY..(which i hvnt been to...ever) and it shud be a fantastic photo opportunity. I jst believe that the US holds a lot of potential when it comes to portraits...! So lets see how well I do...really excited. Meeting a whole lot of people whom I hvnt for years...yuuhuuuuu

So well...i will keep writing...hopefully...and will share my pics soon...! Take care everyone...

~a

Mornings with Sunday Part 4

2008-04-15T00:14:00.000-07:00

Went to this fantastic place last weekend - Shaheen Bagh. Its a resort about 10 kms off Dehradun...! Beautifully done...quite majestic...and decently affordable. Rooms are available starting 4,500 (all meals included).

If at all you go...make sure you pick up the poolside room. Its somehow the cheapest but the best in terms of location.
For families, pick up the suite in the other cottage. Charges only 5,000 and can accomodate 4 people.

Lovely place to spend 2N/3D..maybe even more if your schedule permits! We spent only a night there...and felt it was a trifle too short...moreso given the drive to the place which can easily stretch to 6.5 hrs from Delhi in peak hours...!

Check out the place..

Shaheen Bagh Apr 08

and do go there...

~a

Dubai

2008-03-23T06:55:00.000-07:00

My exploits over a lonely weekend..!! :)

Dubai Mar 2008

Choki Dhani

2008-03-21T00:56:00.001-07:00

Visited the place in Feb. Fantastic weekend getaway for Delhi. But it would be best to go there for 2 nights instead of just 1. We felt it was a little tiring to attempt a sat/sun escapade...!

some exploits
http://picasaweb.google.com/warikoo/ChokiDhaniFeb2008

enjoy

~a

Am back....

2008-03-21T00:46:00.000-07:00

In Dubai for a week....the place hasnt changed much...but the feeling is so great...! I personally didnt think that I get attached to places...(it is people alone, used to be my explanation)...but I guess things are not so....

Great to be back...

PS: I know I was supposed to write 10 posts in the last month...and yeah...i hvnt written any. But lots to share...coming up right away...

SecondShaadi.com TV Campaign

2008-02-20T02:56:00.000-08:00

...is on

SecondShaadi.com TV Campaign (Woman)
SecondShaadi.com TV Campaign (Man)

~a

Mornings with Sunday - Part 3

2008-02-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

Mornings with Sundays continues...we went to the Lotus Temple on Jan 27. Have been there multiple times before...and though it doesnt really offer a whole lot of photography opportunities...it was still a pretty good spend of time...
Also, clicked some really impromtu snaps of Pihu and Sarthak - Ruchi's Neice and Nephew...they have come out decently well...do let me know how you find them...!
Check out www.picasaweb.google.com/warikoo

___________

life hasnt been life of late...the project is killing...late hours...lack of sleep...i think my hair is graying faster than before...am not putting on weight as easily...have started to dislike paneer tikka...even pineapple has lost its charm...

anyways...the module is coming to an end...so lets see what shapes up after that...

__________

Planning on the TV Campaign for SecondShaadi from Feb 15th..so really looking forward to that...its quite exciting to see your product come live on TV...! We are also working towards our new product scheduled for a beta launch in April. Quite a challenging exercise...keeping our minds decently busy all along...!

Baaki sab mast hain...life is good...

ISB is the world's 20th best school

2008-01-28T07:47:00.000-08:00

http://rankings.ft.com/global-mba-rankings

..am 1/4th of the average salary quoted there..

such joy..!!

~a

PS: Work is crazyyyyyy...this has been by far the deadliest project at ATK. in every which way...! am just praying for a calm end...

Project Departure

2008-01-16T00:21:00.000-08:00

At the airport...right in front of the departure screen

Capturing faces...staring at the screen...

great time...

http://picasaweb.google.com/warikoo/ProjectDeparture

~a

Mornings with Sunday - Part 1

2008-01-15T10:58:00.000-08:00

So consulting is taking its toll...i just had a straight 40-hr stint at work last week....40 straight hours...nothing gay abt tht....no bath...no brushing teeth...no (yes..) shitting...and yeah...just 40 straight hrs infront of the laptop....

this project has been tight...plus it sucks to be away from home...yet continue to pay the friggin bills!...

so...to have more time by ourselves...R and I have decided on something that I call...

"Mornings with Sunday"

Every (ar atleast every other) Sunday, we will pick up a destination...wherever we are...and scan that place. largely monuments, maybe temples...(though i doubt she would go..)...maybe parks...whatever..! the idea being...

1. we get to spend time by ourselves...away from cellphones and people who call up and ask "sir do you require a personal loan"...and i reply.."yes yes...thank god you called...i need a crore in the next 2 hrs"..."sorry wrong number, sir"...!

2. i get to click the place...which is oh so relaxing...

3. she gets to do her morning walk...and scan new places...

So...its been 2 weeks since we have been doing so...and the first visit was to Surajkund. The preps for the craft mela were on...so part of that has been captured...! lovely experience...

I share the snaps

http://picasaweb.google.com/warikoo/MorningsWithSundayJan06Surajkund

Enjoy

~a

Mornings with Sunday - Part 2

2008-01-15T10:54:00.001-08:00

This time it was the Tughlakabad Fort

Here are the captures
http://picasaweb.google.com/warikoo/MorningsWithSundayJan13TuglakabadFort

Enjoy

~a

Hold on....

2008-01-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

Again on our way to Koh tao...

~a

Beauty Breeze

2008-01-15T10:52:00.000-08:00

Taken on the cruise boat that took us to Koh Tao. Love this for some reason....or probably I know the reason...!!

~a

Kuch Is Tara

2008-01-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

I have to thank SL for the song...its truly the best gift she could have given me...

at 12.49am...after you have been up for 20 hrs...and have gone without food for 8 hrs...the power of music is such that it forces you to write...to express...to feel...

i never knew i would say this so soon...but i hate consulting when it comes to staying away from home...it just doesnt feel worth it....but i know that something will make me wake up tomorrow...all charged up...willing to conduct interviews with CEOs and then eye excel sheets till the sun drops dead...

such is life...

btw...i have decided to start a series by the name of "Mornings with Sunday". Wherein R and I will head out for a location...wherever we are...every other Sunday, for a photo expedition and a general 'get to know the place' kind of trip.

We started last sunday with Surajkund, Haryana. Will share the snaps and the experience soon...once am home.

life's good...kuch is tara...

~a

Alienwan 2008 - the 10 point YES

2008-01-02T04:46:00.000-08:00

Before anyone asks, let me give you the answers

1. Yes, the marriage did happen...check out the snaps at www.picasaweb.google.com/warikoo

2. Yes, married life is actually good...and there is nothing to be scared of. However, you should be fine with the fact that there no longer exists the concept of 'sleeping on the bed as if you own it' or 'i am just going to surf porn for the next 2 hrs cause i got nothing better to do' or 'i will only watch NDTV cause that the only channel with a brain' or 'no one read my sms - do you get it?'

3. Yes, I watched Taare Zameen Par and think it yet another confirmation on the phenomenon called Aamir Khan. Needless to say, the movie has and will continue to move a lot of people...including the baby girl in the bus who will grow up to realize that Aamir Khan himself helped her mum change the nappy. Its surely an entry for the Oscars this year and I wont be surprised if karan marries Shahrukh...err...delete delete...the movie wins..!

4. Yes, life has been crazy ever since we have come back from the honeymoon...both work-wise and personally. After much deliberation we decided to stay with my parents, but not before we had bought everything for the new house. So a distress sale happened...some people got lucky and some people just realized why a distress sale is called so...

5. Yes, we have tried to get our marriage registered...but the government still believe that a gazetted officer is required to attest the photo...cause heck...the passport with the snap just isnt enough...! and there are still some people who think citizens will pay 2K to get the certificate done in a day. Did anyone tell them that the certificate is not so much required by the couple than by the government???

6. Yes, I did get promoted! which felt great cause I wasnt expecting it.

7. YES...YES...YES....i am broke after marriage...at one point of time i had exactly 69 bucks in my account...and the only position that should come to your mind reading the figure is bankruptcy and not something else...

8. Yes...secondshaadi is doing fantastic....has broken even...and we are right now in profits. TV campaign scheduled to start soon...and our new venture is coming up on feb 2008. watch out for it...

9. Yes, I have decided on a few to-dos for this year...get some lessons in photography, go on atleast 3 photo-expeditions, start seriously thinking about quitting work and starting something on my own, get a car for parents, get working on my house and yes...blog atleast 100 posts this year...

10. yes...yessss...yessssss...yesssssssssss....ooops..sorry...got busy with something else...

enjoy 2008 folks...!

~a

auto pilot mode....

2007-10-18T05:41:00.000-07:00

just one piece of advice my friend...just one piece...

dont question anything...they think its a fantastic idea to have shehnai playing next to the DJ...heck it is....they think that you cant meet her entire next week till the actual wedding day...so be it...they think flowers on the ground will look better than flowers on the table...oh you bet they would....they think getting a kashmiri singer to sing for 6 hours and paying him 13 grand is all fine...yes it is..

...they think they know better...ofcourse they do....

...just be in the auto pilot mode...drive...dont direct....

so be it....

am off people....marriage is knocking on my door...and the parents of all single women in this world are hosting a global party to celebrate the occasion..

everyone's invited...

catch you in november...

~a

Investment Strategy 101

2007-10-17T01:41:00.000-07:00

Market drops 10%...relpet drops 13% to 159

Trading stalled

SEBI issues clarification on PN – it is not banned…just being controlled…!!

Market bound to bounce back now.

Buy 1,00,000 worth of relpet at 11.30am at 163 – under margin trading

Sell relpet at 179 at 2pm

10% gain in single day…!!

God bless the SEBI…

PS: not much work today…

yeh to bada toin hain....

2007-10-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

belive me if you wish to...but this is actually the motto of our new project...! its a tough piece to work on...data is as scarce as images of rakhi sawant hiding her assets and instances of bappi lahiri adressing himself as bappi lahiri and not Mr. Bappi Lahiri...

so basically...yah...the project bada toin hain...!! i am sure you are not one of who those doesnt hv a friggin clue of what i am talking about...

which brings me to a few ads that i have seen/heard lately...and hv got me questioning the fundamental of mankind. ok...whatever...not as far...but definitely questioning some fundamental...lying someplace...

1. Laxmi Chachi

some dude told me that its Reema Lagoo in there....and i was like....bullshit...get out of here....she is like...mom dude...she is Mother India. there is no way in hell that she would be seen on national TV stretching panties...

but holy friggin shit its true...its really true...

i mean why....why woudl anyone....anyyyyyone...do this..!! it couldnt be possibly money....especially not reema lagoo...she is friggin mom everywhere...! omnipresent....! jst like himesh bhaiya...! u think of celluloid moms (why doesnt this sound right...?? nevermind)...and you think of her..! and here she is...going through rounds of elasticity to such gory details...!! eeessshhhh...in utpal dutt style....

2. Ravi Nursing Home

so..i admit...i am a convert....! from believing that indian radio sucks real BIG TIME...i hv atleast started dedicatig office driving time to Fever 104...and quite like the channel and the RJ lokesh. but no..it wasnt his ad...

i believe it was world heart day sometime back...and i hear this marvel of an ad on radio...

"celebrate the world heart day with a 20% discount on bypass surgery at the Ravi Nursing Home. SMS heart to 5 something something"

WTF..!!!

so lemme attempt to enter the mind of the patient here...and gather his internal response on hearing the ad

"oh wow...20% discount...awesome shit...i have to get that long postponed bypass surgery now...darling chale???"

"toooooooo much...20% discount...joy to the world...i better cancel my apollo hospital reservation and check in to the ravi nursing home. consumer is the king..."

"OMGGGGG...i mean...OM friggin GGGGG....i had to hear this right on the day after my by pass surgery...here i am ...wasted all my savings on a stupid operation...and this gem of a deal comes and goes bham...!! right in my head...shit shit....shitttt....a..aaahhhh...aaahhhh...mera dil...koi hain...koi hainnnn....dil mein dard...koi hainnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn"

moronic material man...moronic..!! my to-do list before 30 has another item...meet the creator of this ad...

any other masterpieces from the indian land...??? please share...

~a

0313

2007-10-03T14:43:00.000-07:00

...its no more 'changing the face of media and entertainment'

...its no more leaving office at 7pm

...its no more sleeping at 12 noon...after 2 hrs of browsing

...its no more waking up excited at the prospects of meeting 'someone' today

...its about oil and gas now...

...its pipelines...

...its tiring...tiring...

...its 0313 hrs...

...its about checking into the hotel right now and checking out at 0800 hrs...

...its still abt waking up excited at the thought of the marriage vacation starting next week...

JOY...!

~a

a new piece....

2007-09-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

i can see SL nodding her head...when i say that i love to use the word 'piece' for my projects..!! so yeah...i started on a new piece last week...and its been crazy since then. its not like the ones which gives you an orgasm...but ok...with only 3 weeks to go before i take off for marriage...i dont mind collecting hotel and frequent flier points....

PK and KM got married...and it was a blast of a week...i mean awesome fun...! i can almost see that my marriage wont be even half as much fun...PK was actually with us all the nights...except for the first night ofcourse....chatting away to glory...drinking happily...and just generally having a good time. while i will be thrust upon relatives..who will not only want to apply mehendi on me..there will also be the quintessential "khushi ke aansoon" at every 12 nanoseconds....

the only saving grace will be the fact that loads of people are coming down for the wedding...so a mini reunion of sorts is expected...right from school, college...to ofcourse isb....

life is expected to be busy for a long time now...so lets see when we catch up next....

till then...

...life's good...

~a

faith like a child...

2007-09-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

set apart its capacity, coolness and the ability to make the CD look obsolete...i love my iPod for the simple reason that it helps me connect to my past so effortlessly. as long as i remember, music has formed an integral part of life...and somehow each phase of my life has a song attached to it.

i wont mention a particular song lest daddy will kill me for bringing it up again...but a whole lot of other songs too bring back memories of a life once lived...and emotions once felt...

this morning...heard one such number...

took me back to possibly the longest phase of self-doubt i have experienced...

strange how it took just this one song to get me back...

...they say that i can move the mountains...
...and send them crashing to the sea...
...they say that i can walk on water...
...if i follow and believe...
...with faith like a child...

- Faith like a child; Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay is a gospel rock band...they sing songs in praise of the lord...and do an awesome job at it....! it might be tough to get your hands on a CD in India...but if you do....grab it..!

~a

Srinagar...chak de...and 203...

2007-09-03T02:06:00.000-07:00

went for a fantastic vacation to srinagar (after 20 years) with family...from the 15-19 of August.

some memories from the place...

http://picasaweb.google.com/warikoo/JKTripAug2007
___________________

during my recent engagement, there was a time when we were trying to understand the film business in India. typically the first response of anyone would be...its a gamble...no one really knows what will work. which seems obvious....i mean cmon...Himes bhaiya kicked everyone's ass with his debut...and no one has ever attempted a murder attack on bappi lahiri...and ofcourse...KJo (or karan johar for the straight population) still thinks that KANK was his best attempt at maturity...!!

so yeah....at first glance...the industry seems to be not driven by any logic...! what works...what wil work...no one knows...so people jst continue making films in the hope of that pot of luck...

but then...being consultants...with the word anal used as a prefix....it didnt make sense..! a frggin USD 2Bn industry...running on zero logic...! is there no way to ensure atleast a high probability...

and thats when the last week...threw the answer...

last sunday...i watched Chak De
yesterday...i watched Victoria No. 203...

and the difference....wow..!!

Chak De India

i admit...for the first time...SRK wasnt himself. people said that it was the same in Swades too...but frankly i didnt see it. The movie completely rested on him...and he had his moments of 'pulling back his free flowing hair in the midst of a storm'...! i mean...why the f does he need to run all the way upto the water tank...take off his shirt...and plunge into it to discover that the opening had been choked..there were fifty friggin people standing next to the tank...and all with their shirts off already...! lekin nahi...main to SRK hoon...main hoon naa...

anyways..so yeah...the first time that he wasnt himself. the story was simple...yet unique and powerful. and the director did full justice to it. each and every shot was there for a purpose...the editing was crisp...and we didnt get to see too much of SRK..! the girsl were ofcourse...yes yes...preeti sabharwal included...awesome. komal chautala was an absolute gem...

ofcourse SRK had to piss me off at some point of time...but surprisingly that come through in the movie. rather in an interview...where Mr Khan states...
"the movie required me to wear a beard all the time. it was really stressful for me"
we understand Mr. Khan...we totally do....! not only would the beard have ensured that KJo didnt come close to you for the entire period...it mst have been torturous for your fans to not see your dimple...and your oh so cute cheeks. we understand...

but the main point is...i loved the movie...every bit of it...! its those types whose DVD can be bought...and stored...maybe never watched...but you have that solace that its there...and you can watch it anytime...!

so there....a powerful production house...(YRF)...fantastic direction and editing...perfect placement of songs...powerful performances....and u have a winner..!

now you would want to believe that everyone knows this...but heck...no....

Victoria No. 203

And the best performance in a supporting role...goes to Dora's bra...!!! and you have to watch the movie to know what i am talking about...!

why...why on earth...would a woman agree for such a role..! money cudnt be jst it..!! but anyways...so this lady...with the screen name dora....apparently a ninja in the movie...steals these diamonds...but not before she decides to show the world her cleavage...all thru the robbery.

you know...i dont understand much of camera work and direction...!! but i sure know somethings that i am convinced everyone does as well....

1. when you rapel down a building....its NEVER...face down...
2. when the artist approaches the camera...and even comes within 12 inches of the camera...the camera shud ideally move back as well....

ofcourse...the reasons why the 2 didnt happen in the movie are obvious....even to women for a change..! in short...disgusting..!!

the movie apart from this....horrible. it had its share of good laughs...thanks to Om puri and Anupam Kher...who are masters in their field but were clearly made to underperform...! but overall...no concept of editing...no concept of song placement...or for that matter song lyrics...(imagine the actors trying to find the lock which fits the key they have...and they burst into a song on the road..."help me please...to find the locker...find the locker...help me please...")

and some actors were born to overact..! i think kamal sadanah is one of them...or maybe even heads that organization...! imagine producing the movie (its his production) and then sealing its fate by acting in it as well..! crap..!!

so there...another piece of garbage...
...almost twice the size of hollywood...and 1/10th in value...!!!

~a

go...Indigo..

2007-08-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

life as a consultant always gears you up for an alternative career as a hotel and airline critic....! and yeah...ofcourse...rental car service critic too..! which reminds me...why do all the cabs...even the ones running in the evening, carry yesterday's newspaper..! and why do i still read them..?

anyways...so yeah...hotel and airline critic. hotels are for later...but recently i realized that i have flown all the airlines in the indian skies...! so here...

Indian
I strongly protest the name firstly...! given how they perform...all that we will hear is...Indian food sucks...Indian is never on time...Indian women are old...and rude...and well...at times you need time to figure out that they are women...!

that said...who am i to complain of the name. but for hevens sake..if i buy a ticket...plz...plz...dont jst give me a craft to fly in..and a seat to sit on..! give me some respect as well...!

"Ummm...could I have today's financial express?"
"we dont carry all the newspaper in this country"

"some water please?"
"can i first finish giving everyone their food..."

"please dont disturb me for the meals. i am full and would like to sleep"
"sir...sir...sir...(shaking me left and right...GET UP YOU BUGGER)...ma'am..he is not getting up...sir...sir...ah yes...sir...would you like veg or non-veg...?"

please...please...dont fly those...! please....

Jet
Has got to have the best frequent flier program..! fantastic upgrades....and beautiful service..! ofcourse...sexy flight timings...and great confort. so my personal first choice...

but then....they overdo it...

"sir...veg or non-veg"
"no i am fine...wont have anything"
"are you sure sir?"
"yes...pretty much...thank you..."
"can i get you some fruits"
"no please...thanks"
"sure sir..?"
"(mataji...maine kal chacha ke chole bhature khaye the....aur mujhe dast lag gayi hain. agar maine kuch khaaya...to yahaan nadiyaan beh jayenge...and u know of what...so plz...can i not have anything...) Yes...thanks again"

Air Deccan
i hereby declare the eighth wonder of the world. Air Deccan landing each time it takes off...! with the state of their crafts and the way the pilots run those machines...its sheer miracle at play. maybe we should call gopinath a saint..!

I remember...while at ISB...AD was my fav airline. one cause that was the only one i could afford from hyd to delhi for my home trips...and two cause i handt flown anything else except jet. and that was at a time when the del-mumbai return ticket used to cost in numbers as bappi lahiri has gold in kgs..! basically shit loads...! until AD arrived and changed everything...

but then it jst lost it mid-way. if you arrive at any airport...the only passenger counter with the max passengers...and the max chaos will be it.

and recently...i read this as an Advertisement for AD.

"We have 99% OTP (on time performance)"
the fine print....which was in a font size smaller than all roles of rakhi sawant in bollywood put together...said...OTP measures if a flight has arrived/departed within an hour of its scheduled arrival/departure time..!
holy friggin shit...! this means that 1% of all AD flights actually land an hr after scheduled time..!! and they fly some 350 flights a day....so 4 flights daily with this statistic...!! horrible...!

Spicejet
a late entrant in the no-frills space...but has done itself a lot of good..! decent airlines with great potential. have only flown it once...so cant really comment...

Indigo
This has got to take the cake. an absolute delight to fly this. one thing smart that they do is to allow buffer time on their stated arrival time. so even though its factually incorrect...psychologically it works wonder. so all the times that i have flown Indigo....they have always landed much before their scheduled time..!

plush aircrafts...extremely friendly staff...brilliant comfort. right from the bus that takes you to the craft from the terminal...to the leg space and the seats itself.

funny is how these no-frills airlines dont expect business travellers at all. i boarded an indigo...to go to ISB last week...and was in my business suit. firstly...people couldnt stop getting amazed and amused at my attire...so much so that i checked myself if i still had my pants on....

i board the craft...and out of habit give my jacket to the airhostess. she politely...and quite regretfully informs that they dont have a provision to keep jackets...! nor did they have any business newspaper on board...! but i can live with these....

Kingfisher
always...and i mean...always...ask for the aisle seat. and if you have flown kingfisher...you know why...! great service...horrible food...and no concept of cost cutting. i appreciate them handing that passenger kit..but frankly...why waste that bit. has any customer research been undertaken to see what all frm that kit is actually carried out by the passenger...? i see the pen used a lot...but thats abt it..!

i hv written abt the airlines previously as well...so will attach an excerpt...

and then...we hv to give to mr mallaya. i mean...u get balls of steel to get yana gupta to speak hindi...let alone show how to unbuckle a seatbelt. the words tht she used were last used in 2000 BC...when the aryans were taking their first bullock cart ride...! i mean...who in gods name...uses "sunishchit...!!!" nowadays. i am sure in some part of the plane...a lady wud hv gone...."there...thats the name of my 1st kid...!!!" and the funniest part was blowing the lifejacket. it looked like a lipstick ad...! guys who travel kingfisher...watch out for this...! funny...

_____________________________________________

recently have bid adieu to a lot of close folks at ATK. all of which have left for fantastic opportunities. Shintu left for his MBA...and why wouldnt he be happy...his school tops the FORBES list this year for the best RoI...! friggin shit..! a school has to have balls to have the best RoI on USD 120K..!! all the best dude...will surely miss u....

and then rintu...(for those who dont know...rintu...shintu are not brothers...but could have easily been so..! nor are these their real names....shintu is basically shambunath...and rintu is known as rinkle khanna...ok...kiddin..!)...left as well...in some ways back to where he belonged. it hurt...cause not only is he a true gem..he was also quite close...!

then today was the last day of one of my fav people at ATK. AC surprisingly isnt a consultant...but an executive assistant. so limited to our interactions...i struck a great chord with her. you know...its days such as these that one realizes how imp the admin people are in an org...!

you enter office and you have VJ...the face of ATK...with a smile...! and then the security guards...with that goodmorning sir...and again..a smile...and then you pass RM...who ofcourse is perpetually married to her life patner. who comes in white color and measures 2 inches...and NO...i am not talking about that..!! so anyways...RM is always all so lost to see me...but then an occasional...katrina kaif smile comes by...and then comes AC. always cheerful...always smiling...! and always ready to offer a helping hand.

and this makes me feel...is this a phenomenon that beats the law of averages. how can everyone in the firm be likeable..and be just at the right wavelength for you. how can everyone be so approachable...and so dependable...! but so be it...who is out there to disprove this....

_____________________________________________

came back this sunday from a fantastic trip to srinagar. loads of pics to share....will do so by the next post...

till then...keep the faith...

life's good...

~a

THIS...had to be it...

2007-07-28T10:39:00.001-07:00

THIS...is inspiration....

THIS...is music...

THIS...is the strength of the human mind...

THIS...is what made me cry last night...

THIS...is Paul Pots

i love music....and the world will not be wrong if they saw me in my car...by myself...and my ipod...and termed be unfit for human contact.

but it rarely makes me cry...

this...had to be it...

~a

games people play....

2007-07-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

since the day i was born...i have been observing people. i noticed the mole on the doctor who gave birth to me and the fact that her stethoscope's left earpiece was bigger than the right one..! but then thats not observing people...so nevermind...

i find it as a good pastime...! even mre so when i see some dudes doing stuff that i just dont get...

for instance...picture this...

4 elevators in my office building..! 9am...5 people waiting on the lowest floor to go up...! a gentleman arrives from behind...makes his way through the 5-body crowd...and presses the up button...AGAIN...and AGAIN...!!

wtf was he thinking..! that the 5 of us are long lost buddies who are staring at the elevator walls trying to remember the day we played football in the rain...? or we are just zombies who have been working so hard that we stand infront of elevators wishing and praying that it comes down...u never know...u seee..!!

bugger...!!

and picture this....

mumbai airport...the new delhi flight is ready...all lining up to the bus that shall carry them to the machine of tight haristyled women and emotionally poisoned food...! and there you see Aamir Khan...! note that he is not trying to hide him....so if one has been born in the last year...there is no way that you cant recognize him...

a gentleman...mid 40s...comes up to him...and goes...

"are you aamir khan?"

no sherlock...i am bappi lahiri and i have been gyming for the past 6 months. but the friggin gym was so expensive...(bipasha basu also comes there u see)...that i had to sell off all my gold and thus u see me now in a body tight tee...and jeans...and no gold..

this is worse than the pre-historic habit that has engulfed motherkind...of asking..."tum aa gaye" when she saw er son come back from work...

people...i tell u....

____________________________________

work has been crazy lately....but awesome fun. helping shape the future of media and entertainment in india...and its somehow orgasmic to sit back and think that the room you just stepped out of...after your discussion with the CEO...was witness to something that will change the entire landscape forever...

and u urself will get to witness it...

bliss...

____________________________________

lately i have been itching myself with a lot of b-plans. dont know when and how to take the plunge...cause at some level you know that inaction right now can be suicidal...someone else will surely pick up your idea...and there....gone....

any people who wanna fund me...?

~a

WTF...

2007-07-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

this is it....ladies and gentlemen...this is it. mankind has finally found a negative IQ species....and like everything else....this too lies in India...

presenting...

the former human friggin development minister of india...

He viewed that sex education will transform student teacher relation into that of a man and a woman. “I think the government wants to import the western culture of sexual relation between student relation to India,” he said.

He said introduction of sex education was what multinationals did to create the desire for sex among teenagers to sell their products. “It is not sex education. It is education to sell condoms,” he alleged.

Catch the story...at your own risk...

and if this wasn't enough...we have UP teachers (crap...how did Bihar lose out!!)...crying out loud...

"The books on sex education supplied by the government should be promptly withdrawn," "If they fail to do so by July 21, we will be compelled to make a bonfire of these books in public." "We have decided to take this extreme step in the larger interest of both students and teachers," he added.

ummmm...whose interest....again...????

I have an idea...
why dont we get all the politicians together....

actually...you know what...
i give up....

~a

education....crap...!!!!

2007-07-15T01:24:00.000-07:00

am a disillusioned person lately...

i have always believed that education is the solution to a lot of problems facing the world today. ofcourse...arjun singh also believes so...but he takes the entire concept a little too far...! and yah...even with a world of only PhDs...we might still have bappi lahiri composing music...and going..."pyaar beeeena chaaaeeeennnn kahaan re....yaar beeenaa chaaaaeeeennn kahaan re..."

anyways..so yeah...education...everyone felt that...and so did i...and i didnt think i was wrong. typically you would have the educated class as the one who thinks the way humans shud...with a constant struggle to educate the society...and 'better' it even further...

and then...my hypothesis was tht people who fall into bad hands are the ones who are vulnerable...who are soft and weak..! imagine a dude...born into a poor family...for him struggle is his destiny...! he will hv to work a lot of things off...to get to a good level in society. some might succeed...many probably wont...

and then will come the easy way outs...the underworlds...the robbers...the petty thieves...the peddlers...

F***...NO....thats not true...!!

"...The first Indian national known to have participated in a suicide bombing outside the country..."

he is a friggin nuclear physicist....a friggin PhD...a product of cambridge university...who had everything working for him...! he had a family that cared for him...a country that respected him....foreigners who trusted and let him in...

and he is a terrorist today....

why dude....why....? what wasnt right...?

why...

~a

HuhCorp...and DuhCorp...

2007-07-05T23:00:00.001-07:00

I submit....this is the best consulting firm ever...

www.huhcorp.com

___________________________

Livemint.com covered SecondShaadi.com yesterday. Nicely done.

http://www.livemint.com/2007/07/04154115/Paradise-Regained-Tying-the-k.html

___________________

~a

its an 'almost' adults blog...

2007-06-28T02:11:00.000-07:00

so...its official...your eyes, as of this moment, are witnessing an above 17 blog..! if i hadnt used shit 21 times...or ass 8 times...or my fav word gay 5 times...or omg the friggin adult word slap 4 times...things would hv been very different...

this basically means that if my kids were to be gay...they would ofcourse use the word ass a lot...and will hv to be born 17 directly..!

CRAP..!!

____________________

SecondShaadi.com has generated a lot of press interest..! I had PK calling me frantically informing me of the Indian Express frontpage..! and a google search on SecondShaadi generates quite a few results..!

We are very close to 1,000 profiles now...23% of these are females..and only 15% of these are never married. Which basically proves that the site is automatically attracting the right audience...

BTW...did you know that India apparently has the lowest divorce rate in the world..at 1.1%

but we still believe that the idea will work...! it will...

__________________

am in manali this weekend...nowhere compared to mussoorie...! will post some snaps...

~a

boss...mumbai mein ek hi airport hain...

2007-06-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

8.30am
Friday
Mumbai Airport

tringgg tringgg...

hello

haanji sir...u hv reached

yes yes...where r u...?

at the exit itself...should i go and fetch the car...?

yah yah..plz do...where should i wait...

i will come where the laal peeli start

(figuring out where that is)...alright...i will wait...

After 10 mins

where are you boss...?

sir...right there...can you see the 2 media vans...right behind that...

boss...there are no media vans that i can see...where are you...?

sir...just where the passengers get out...am on the road...directly opposite...

i dont see you dude...ok...am standing right infront of the premium parking

ok..i have gone ahead of that...will come back after taking a round...

another 10 mins...

boss...its been 20 mins...where the f r u...?

sir...right there...premium parking...

yaar...either i am blind...or you dont know the airport well...are you at the jet arrival terminal

sir..i have been coming to the airport for the past 15 yrs...

you are at the domestic airport...rite...?

haan sir...are you at the right airport...

boss...mumbai mein ek hi airport hain...

MUMBAI...???? sir...i am in delhi...!!!!

WTF...!!!!

so...this friday morning...i spent 30 mins of my life trying to convince someone in delhi...that he is in mumbai...!

____________________________

but i give it to mumbai..! cant repeat it enough..but this was my first rendezvous with prime traffic in mumbai. it took me a mind numbing 2.25 hrs to reach the airport frm nariman point. a whole 2 hrs...! in the cab..! hands numb...mind zonked...life paralyzed..! i shudder to think the potential loss in national income that happens in the city cause of simply being on the road driving...when you could easily be working and far more productive than listening to radio mirchi and "pal pal pal frm munnabhai" for the godforsaken 586976th time..!

____________________________

VP and I finally launched our site. We have been working on the plan for the past 2 odd months...! its completely VP's baby and I am simply an external advisor devoting time towards the strategy of the product over and above my fulltime ATK committments. Its been a fantastic ride so far...and atleast for me last thursday, when the product was launched, was a special moment.

for VP though...having handled the complexity of www.desimartini.com already, this was jst another site..!

our business plan...a matrimonial site specifically targetted at remarriage.

www.secondshaadi.com

____________________________

my routine browsing this afternoon took me to this show called 'Britain's got talent'...and a certain Paul Potts. at the end of his performance...i was sobbing like a 5 yr old...jst couldnt contain myself. i hv figured that singing has a spiritual connectiong with me. ever since i went to the US...music has become my meditation. unfortunately...my voice can allow me to appreciate it vocally...but i remember when i spent simple hrs...jst listening to music with tears in my eyes...!

this was yet another instance...and totally deserved...(in my limited capacity)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDB9zwlXrB8

Life's really good right now...

~a

shootout at lokhandwala...

2007-06-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

good acting....tight storyline...no time wasted in unnecessary details...not many songs...(can they please do with none!)...and if you ignore the sequence wherein sanjay dutt says no to the bullet-proof jacket when there are atleast 100 rounds being fired at that precise moment...the movie was overall quite good...

but the real question lingered...especially once i saw the parting comments...

crime in mumbai declined by 70% in the 2 yrs that the ATS (anti-terrorism squad) was in operation
it was abolished in Jan 1993
dec 1993 were the mumbai blasts...

the real question...is an encounter a preferred way of handling terrorists, even when you have caught them alive...precisely because their relationships with the 'decision makers' will ensure that they are out on the street the very next day....

personally...i am in favor of the theme...jackshit to human rights and jazz...! they didnt show any mercy when dealing with their business...and we will show none instead...

but am sure the arguments will challenge my chain of thought...let them come if you have any...

crap...where did the month go....

2007-06-08T02:45:00.000-07:00

no seriously...where did it jst go.

shit loads has happened in the last month...and each time i reached out the the laptop to blog about it...darn...forget it...how am i kiddin... i jst didnt feel like writing...thts it....! :)

____________________

Media and Entertainment totally sucked me in last month...work was awesome...and painful...long hrs...no social life...weekends jst went by trying to think of how i cud hv used them better....and weekdays jst didnt exist. as my Gtalk status once said..."its like pregnancy...lots of pain but you like what comes out in the end" (courtesy PM)

but tht was then. things changed last week....when we met the client...and he was like...superb...sold...very well done...why dont u start working on the vision now. think of something that has never been done before...

and we were like...WTF

now dont get me wrong...these vision-mission stuff are good...companies hv survived on them...and am sure bal thackeray had one too when he ordered his warriors to storm cafes in protest of orkut...! but after 6 weeks of high rigor...and market interviews and business modelling and what have yous...when one asks you to start thinking of vision...it sucks...

or in other words...the phase of 'intellectual masturbation'...begins...

____________________

was reading a newspaper article on the environment day. if the screw up that we humans indulge in isnt enough...the paper had conducted a survey...with some startling results...

witness this...

Q. A shower for 5 mins consumes more water than a bucket of water

a certain section of society (naming them cud hv a bal thackeray lookalike run after me...and i am too young to die!) had 55% replying yes. which is good...! however...45% said no...! whattttttt?????? half the population in that particular area thinks that a bucket of water and a 5 min shower are equal..?????

i really hope that their showers are the ancient ones...u know th sorts wherein some shit dirt particle has blocked all but one pore in the shower..!

there is more...

Q. Brushing your teeth with running water consumes less than a litre of water

55% yes...45% no...and you know what. THE SAME FRIGGIN SECTION...!! what retards live in this world that believe this shit...and screw not jst their life but the rest of the world's too....and then if the government says that we are raisin water bills...go on a violent bandh....kill some people...and continue to bloody brush under running water..

____________________

but then the government is not the best either...

a hate community on orkut gives some bastardos the right to barge into cafes and destroy private property. and if that wasnt enough...the government sets up a committee to decide whether orkut should be banned or not..

why dont we do something simple. create a separate world for them. i know of some reclamation experts...who can easily recreate land on water. there is lots of space in the arabian ocean. lets jst build a sweet sexy world...where guys and girls are never together...15th feb comes right after the 13th...there is no internet and thus no hat communities...and oh...a news channel that always talks of the indian cricket team winning...so as to keep them under control. now that would work..

____________________

and hey you guys...tell me something...whenever you apply for a competitie examination...do you call yourself 'general' category...? how are you sure..? can you show me a certificate proving that you are general...! if not...i suggest that you pick up the nearest kerosene tank...and burn your neighbour's cycle. control dude control...the bus will be next...but jst practise before...!

everyone is fighting for a community status dude...i think we should too..!
what...what...national damage...? social inconvenience..? death...? dude...what are you...a moron..??? jst call some news chanels later and ask for an apology. over..!

and hey...if any news channels attempt to cover your violence...dont feel ashamed..! smile right in the face of the camera...

there...now u deserve the general status...jai hind..!

____________________

strange thing happened today...was on my way back home talking merrily on the phone...when the traffic cop stopped me. now...i admit...my car is a traffic cop's dream come true. i always talk on the phone...(its a long story why i dont use a handsfree...but hey...am still a nice guy!)...hv dark tints...and play decently loud music.

and plus...i am an honest tax-paying citizen

so this guys stops me...and starts off...2K for cellphone...2K for tints and 1K for pollution certificate. am keeping ur RC...plz come and pay this at the traffic center within 15 days....

whooaaa....hold on mate...! so first...show me the fine sheet...tht states the amt...

he didnt hv tht...

ok...fine...i will trust u on the amt...and am ready to pay it right now. give me the receipt for tht and let go off my RC

no sir...cant do...u hv to pay at the center. we dont accept challans here. this is not haryana law. i will hv to keep ur RC.

give me the number of ur ACP traffic..will ask him abt this law.

dont hv...cant share...

show me ur ID card

haryana govt stopped issuing them in aug 2006...

which means that i too can wear the same shirt / trouser as urs and start collecting moolah...

what do u mean moolah...u think we are here to take a bribes something...

oh u r not...great...so either u take the entire challan right now and give me the receipt..or u jst get the big shit out of my car...

i wont...

fine...let me take you to the traffic headquarters there...we will discuss the matters there...

ok ok..leaving...but get these tints off in 2 days...

Conclusion:

1. Most of these guys...i was later told by a frnd...do not position themselves on the location they ought to be. which is why they dont have those challans books with them. So always ask for their ID...always ask for the challan...and plz use bribe as the last resort...not the preferred one..

2. I did commit a mistake...and i ought to have paid. but i didnt...! and i cudnt care less...because of the way he conducted himself...! dont if i am wrong here...comments invited...

____________________

went to naukuchiatal for the weekend...fantastic lake place 25 kms frm Nainital in North India. stayed in an awesome private cottage...and had a much needed break.

here are some snaps...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/warikoo/sets/72157600321509929/

____________________

will be back soon...surely within a month...

~a

spiderman...media and entertainment...and ofcourse..."yeh hai meri kahaani"

2007-05-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

i remember this intense conversation PM and i were once having. actually all our conversations are typically intense...which start with me asking him what he does for a living...he cursing me to no end..then trying to explain...and then end with me asking him to marry me..!

so...abt this one conversation...he told me tht i sucked as a blogger. ofcourse this was his personal opinion and am sure that the 2 regular readers of this blog would defend me to no end..! he felt that my blog was inward looking....you know...the sorts which are like..."yeh hai meri kahaani"....i got up...and work is happening...and did i tell you of when i was 6...and then i fell in love...and oh i am getting married...etc etc...

he preferred the outward looking ones...the sorts tht spoke of world issues. ofcourse humor was almost sacsocant...and thus to be used in an honorable manner....i cudnt really understand what he meant when he spoke of humor and honor in the same breath. oh btw...what do u call a sardar who lives underwater...!! Jal-andar singh...!! HAH...! wait wait...there's more...what do you call a sardar who lives and breathes under water...! Jal-andar singh GILL...!! wasssuppppp...!!
yah so...i really dont know what he meant when he spoke of humor to be used in the 'right' fashion..

i agree with him though...abt the inward bit...i do...! which is when i told myself....alrite dude...lets not jst look at the world...(which i do almost to the point of being anal!)...lets hv an opinion abt it too...and let the world know of the opinion. ofcourse to make it humorous...i turned to anecdotal posts...! stories...of my mundane life...experienced by me...but never talking abt me...rather the experience..! it cud hv been anyone...

i admit..at times i had to think really hard to come up with these....which made me doubt the sheer intention of it. was to please someone...or to express myself. i didnt really know the answer...but loved doing it nevertheless...cause it was a form of expression nevertheless....!

and jst when i was on a roll...friggin work came in between. as of this precise moment...i am an i-banker when it comes to hours...and a consultant...when it comes to pay..! and a complete bastardo when it comes to blogging...
that my friends...was my brief explanation for the increasingly increasing duration between subsequent posts..! thank you...

___________________________________

just came back frm spiderman 3. its awesome. i mean...if the goblin wasnt enough...we had new goblin...who basically confused in life....is a loser as it is...and if tht wasnt enough the director decided to give him memory loss.

and then a superduper sand man...who basically cud be destroyed by water....yet somehow managed to cry...and am sure he did pee at times as well..!! imagine what you mst go thru when u know tht each time u pee...u r getting an inch closer to death. and god only help u if u had tht ugly burger on the beach tht evening...and went down with some loose motions the next morning.

so anyways...yeah...there was the sandman...! and then some freaky dude...who am sure was supposed to be an extra in the movie to begin with. but the director made the mistake of capturing him too many times in the 1st half....! he took advantage of tht and held the team to ransom..."give me a better role else i will not act in the 2nd half". ofcourse the character cudnt be jst killed (which btw wud hv made the movie a trifle easier on the head)...and he was afterall jst a crappy actor...so they made him a freaky villian. a monstor actually...! who cud be destroyed by the sound of church bells. ladies and gentlemen..the ramsey brothers have finally got their worth. finally a demon tht is scared of god-stuff...such as the om pendant..or the cross pendant...or the trishul...or simply the hanuman chalisa..!!

but the real villian was spriderman himself. he becomes greedy in the movie...u know...lalchi sorts..! suddenly loves all the admiration...so starts making guest appearances at road shows...! jst like priyanka gandhi...oops...vadra...!! (forgiveness my lord...oops lady)

its 2.45 hrs long....exactly a minute after death happens...to the audience...!

its a crappy movie...plz dont go..!! esp if u like spiderman...plz dont..!

____________________________________

am currently working in the media and entertainment sector...and its a friggin awesome place to be in. the industry is mindblowing...to say the least. there is so much of stuff happening...tht one cant even see on the surface...! fragmented to the core...unorganized to say the least...and has so much of potential. some awesome trivia...

> India has 13,000 movie screens. PVR...the largest integreted player...owns 70.

> Home Video and TV accounts for 75% of a movie revenue in the US. 7 friggin 5 %...!! no one there watches films in the theaters..! come to think of it...i went for a film show only once in 2 yrs..when i was there...! and i guess the only ones who go are desis..!

> The entire global movie industry is USD 92 bn. Walmart revenues last yr were 349 bn..!

> You know who owns ESPN. Walt disney..!!!
_____________________________________

life will take me to mumbai next....! jet airways...here i come...!! spidermannnnnnnnnnnnnnn

~a

to the class of 2008...wear...sunscreen....!

2007-04-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

when DM was promoted to principal earlier this year i remeber him telling me...
"as a manager i got to know your batch closely...cause i was involved with the day-to-day activities of the engagement. however....yours will be the last batch i shall know directly. cause now...as a principal...i will be 'away'..."

that how i felt when the new batch of ISB came in...at some level i would always be away...

i do know some guys in the batch...and have a lot of expectations from them..more so since they happen to be from my high school...! but 4-5 in a batch of 430 doesnt shake a mountain...

anyways...

To the batch of 2008...(with a high probability that most will not even know of this site's existence!)

this year is going to be something you could have never imagined...
...a ride that will leave you exhausted...and craving for more...
...dont let go off it...at any time....

...and wear sunscreen...

~a

association...

2007-04-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

i am a sucker for relationships...and i have always told my mum...never fret over anything that can be bought by money. always regret relationships that you havent worked on...

after almost a month...it is these emotions that compelled me to write. (un)fortunately...this wont be an anecdote...surely wont be amusing...so there...dont tell me tht i didnt warn...

the ISB current batch graduated yesterday. a sad feeling...because i know this will be the last batch that i will 'really' know..! and it was nostalgia for me. not just memories of my time...last year...and the sheer deluge of emotions that i faced..it was also the association that i had built with the batch ths year. i am sure i wud be known as the alum who was on campus every friggin month...(yes...i still work for ATK...yes...they still pay me!)

made some really lovely friends...got more respect than i deserved...but most importantly...never felt alien in the batch. i may not know everyone...but always felt home...! the people were all lovely...atleast infront of me..! and i felt at home also because i had spent one of the best years of my life at the very same place...

and then today received the CD for the play that the current batch had towards the end of the year, from SS. friggin hillarious stuff..! it was so awesome going back to those times...and its these times when you realize the imprint you have had...cause of your actions. in your head everything is all fine...cause it was you yourself who enacted the 'real' moments. but...as is always the case...people dont have it all figured..! and thus is created a multiple image profile of the same person....

maybe this multiple image profile allowed me to be different people to different set of individuals...

...maybe this was the basis of my association...

...not just this batch...but my own as well...

ISB Co2007
thanks for being you....i loved every bit of interacting with each one of you...and you shall remain as a special memory...

feeling very nostalgic today...missing the moments...! cause i know it wont be the same again...

life moves on...

~a

2007-03-13T03:47:00.000-07:00

the good part about not bloggin for a while...is that you get a feel of your fan following...!

...1 girl reminded me that i used to blog...
...my viewership has dropped 50%...
...i received 37 (yes...thats friggin THIRTY SEVEN...) anonymous comments...in a single day...and some 150 in the past month..."great site you have here...btw check some lesbians babes...and hey...while you are at it...hv u heard of viagra and turkey as a tourist destination...??"

i am actively considering selling my blog to google...!

____________

so my client was narrating his india trip the other day. went to mumbai for some business meetings and the first day was pretty tight with multiple appointments. the flight arrives at 8.30am and its only an hr to the first meeting. so DB tells the driver..."boss...drive as fast as you can...its crucial for him to reach in the next 45 mins..."

now you know how indian drivers are....either they drive at 40 and not an inch more....or if told otherwise...they forget that cars are made of materials that can crush humans....! see...here is my point....dhanno from sholay was the only friggin horse in that scene. so wouldnt have bumped into another...and crashed....and lost a leg...and her tail for life..! but mumbai....DUDE...! you drive at 60 only if you are on top of another driving at that speed..!

anyways...so this driver pays ample attention to the instructions...and makes his way through the traffic...! lo behold...he does manage to reach in time...

client is happy...impressed..! he calls DB and goes..."this guy was fantastic....! he took me through all these shortcuts and small roads...and heck..there was traffic...but hey...he managed perfectly.."

DB is clueless..."shortcuts...?? small roads..??" he talks to the driver...khuspus khuspus...and then comes back to client....

"ummm...well...those are the mumbai main roads...!!"

i rest my case...! arguments plz..???

________________

Dubai is inshallah coming to an end....! been a terrific time...! jst finished with a great piece of work...and its amazing how much one learns about an industry one was clueless about...jst 8 weeks back..!

________________

clicked this on the Delhi Metro sometime back. Really neat way of reminding the consumer who you are...
http://flickr.com/photos/warikoo/419890417/

another click...though unrelated...
http://flickr.com/photos/warikoo/419890368/

________________

life's good...in all dimensions..!

~a

client situation #615

2007-02-19T10:52:00.000-08:00

scheduled for 11am...we reached at 10.40 itself..! i would want to believe that whats i always do...if it wasnt for the cute secretary. its the smile that kills...always the friggin smile....

and then...when the dude has worked for some 18 odd years...why do they develop such a high respect for time. i mean..if the meeting is scheduled for 11...and 2 young consultants are having a happy chat with your secretary..why the hell do u have to come out of your cabin at sharp 11..!!

anyways...so whatever...! 18 yrs of experience...senior guy...! we got his time after multiple visits to the office...and it was only 30 mins. had the make the most of it.

so we start....and he is answering. the setting is quite corporat-ish..! you know...the table that can contain half the earth on it...and there is one old dude on its north. and 2 black-suited morons at its south. if both of us were to lie down and i were to hold on to his feet...we wud still need another body to reach the gentleman.

and whats with these chairs??? who do we hv to sink...and take 'comfortable chairs' to an all new level. not to mention tht the arm rest will rise up to half your thigh...! so u friggin need a forearm of shaq 'o neil's height..!

10 minutes into the interview...! the answers r stunning....i mean...experience oozing out..!! fantastic perspective.

beep...

its his phone...

he starts off infront of us itself. goes on and on..in some god damn vernacular. i cant figure shit...so am jst thinking of what next to ask. the interview seems too high a priority to spend time concentrating on something tht wud take an eternity for me to crack..!

"sorry gentleman..had to take this call..! please...lets continue"

the next 15 minutes flow smooth. good questions...equally brilliant answers...!

"thank you Mr X for your time. We really appreciate this"

"oh no...not a problem at all. I hope I was of help...! some tea?"

"So where are you guys from..?"

"OH i am fromt Delhi. stayed all my life there."

"and you...?"

"I am from kerela.."

now...not that i want to...but i have never seen a person die of shock. i hv seen some bit of it in the movies..but thats all abt it. and i am told that the person freezes...! i mean...he jst becomes a statue.

yeah...on second thoughts...i did maybe see someone die of shock tht day...

"Kerela...??? So you can speak malayam...???"

"yes...i can..."

"OH I AM SO SORRY....I AM SO SO SORRY...I DIDNT MEAN IT...I REALLY AM. I JUST DIDNT MEAN IT...I AM...OH NO...GOD...SORRY...REALLY SORRY..."

"its ok...ok..not a problem at all.."

i am perplxed..!! what in friggin world i happenin. why is tht dude atleast 3 bodies away from us apologizing. and why is this super stud friend of mine acting as if he is jesus...out to forgive the world..! I have no friggin idea...i mean...NO IDEA....FRIGGIN..!!

we step out...and i am like....DUDE...WHAT JUST HAPPENED..??? WHY WAS HE ACTING LIKE THAT...

"remember the call...! he was speaking in malayalam. with someone frm home...i am guessing..."

"...and...???"

"...well....if i recollect correctly he said....these 2 f****** r wasting my time right now...moronic questions...thinking they r too smart..! I will make sure Srini doent grow up to become up...! friggin useless bunch of expensive furniture..."

___________________________________

ISB recruitments in full swing. had gone down this weekend...to a fanstastic time. took 5 super studs...great bunch of people. the tension on campus was scary...! all i could do was go back in history and laugh at my state back then. it all seems so miniscule...so irrelevant...now...

great learning...

~a

PS: OK...alright...this wasnt me...! A colleague..!! But heck...story writing is fun..! :)

issi shauk ka imtihaan zindagi hain...!!

2007-02-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

..its the test of this desire...that's what life is...
- Zaaveda Zindagi (Movie: Anwar)

i agree with that...! life..at all times...at each point..is simply a test. a test of how strongly you desire something...how much are you willing to work towards it...a test...each and every point.

so...i sat down the other day...with the music on...! ofcourse..people who can see my gtalk know that nowadays i am on an overdose of urdu stuff. gone back to jagjit singh sorts. and then came atif aslam. friggin amazing stuff. fanstastic lyrics...most of them...and his energy is jst killin. i mean...he is so good...tht at times i wish i cud be this teenybopper...at his concert...shouting at the top of my lungs...atifffffffffff...almost tearing my top off..!!

anyways...

so i sat down the other day...!! and omg...HAVE YOU HEARD ATIF ASLAM...HE IS LIKE...OMGGGGG...

yeah...the othe day...! i was wondering..what are the things that i would work for..! what would life be testing me on...each and every point.

this was my list...

Photography

life...everyday...asks me this...

"u friggin ass..! at a time when you were earning $525 a month...u bought yourself a $750 camera..! you used to cook your own food everyday...because paneer outside used to cost more than milk and vinegar...(ofcourse my time had no value then. notice how i used 'then' to lead you into believing that it does hv any value now..!!)..! so what the f did u with it..! clicked some snaps..! made a moron show at the ISB talent night..! and yeah...never got down to practising..! u friggin ass...!"

i know what i want to do. i want to become angus moon. for those who dont know him...he was the exchange student to isb from UCT GSB, last year (read here). and a professional photographer. not before he earned his living as a consultant. and according to him...he earned much more as a photographer than he did as a consultant (ofcourse with my friggin package i will have to click rajnikanth naked to make up for it...although i do know that clicking bappi lahiri naked might fetch me more!). now thats what i want to do. i just want to leave my job one day...and pick up my camera. and jst go clicking for a yr.

balls..! will never get that courage..! life's a waste..!

Singing

yeah...thats true..! i hv always loved singing...although only 2 people hv heard me do so. only one survived. i do visit the other whenever i get the time..but the friggin asylum closes before my office ends.

i wanna learn singing. i want to sing the song i like...the way they shud be sung. and i want to believe that i did a good job. ofcourse i also know that anu malik thinks the same...so yeah...i also want the world to think i did a good job. which in turns means...i want to sing for an audience one day..!

let see if i pass this test...

Superman

my masi went to singapore right after her marriage. so when she finally came back to india after some 5 yrs...she was this genie...! with magical stuff...!! she had this thing called the VCR...! and this beauty of an invention named TV. and a certain video called Superman II.

each time i met her...which was like once a week or so...she used to make me watch it. without fail. till i reached the point wherein i visited her almost everyday...jst to watch it. the movie was my sholay..!! i knew each dialogue..(or atleast i thought..heck..i was in 3rd grade..and the movie was english!)...! ofcourse...growing up..it was easiest to blame masi for most of who i was..!!

hah..! i used to go to temples and pray to god...to make me superman. and i remember telling god...i promise i will use my pwers for the good..!! i am sure that used to be god's stand up comedy hour...!! he wud invite jesus and mohammad...and indra (if he was free from his boogie-woogie dance performances) to view me...and would go..."listen to this friggin ass...wants to become superman..he is too funny..!!"

but i want to become one...whats wrong with that. really..! i get a kick when i do somethng for someone...wthout the person knowing its me. he jst knows its someone..! it cud be anyone..! and thats superman for me. u hv the power...but never the identity. you dont exist...and yet you do..in the most powerful manner possible..! and its an addiction for me..! the 'overly involved' me..!

ofcourse...they stopped making red underwear...and my blue pants are not the best fitting. but i can manage..!

so there...u hv Mr. blue pants...who can friggin sing....and flies arnd with this camera. yup...that's me..!!

that's who i wanna be...

issi shauk ka intihaam zindagi hain...!

~a

feb 2006...

2007-01-31T12:57:00.000-08:00

i hv given a lot of tests in life...won some...failed some...but what i remember most about them is not the result but the experience. i was on campus last weekend and in one of our conversations AS mentioned that he went to my blog in feb 2006...to see what it was like...

the campus wears pretty much the same look as it did last year. the vulnerability of each is clearly visible...people are at their emotional weakest...! mental strength is sought at each stage...and its a beauty of life how each one of us manages to find their source...in their own way..!

it was a learning experience...ofcourse where i am today also makes it a memorable one..but thats largely besides the point. i would have still emerged more 'developed' irrespective of the result...

i used to maintain a daily log of my activities at ISB....and i went back to it today. before i realized i had spent 2 hrs on it...remembering my life in tht part of SVII.

cudnt help but share the following:

Wednesday, May 11, 2005
8.15 - 8.30 - Daily Stuff
8.30 - 9.30 - Gym
9.30 - 10.30 - Newspaper
10.30 - 11.00 - Internet
11.00 - 1.30 - Studies - Stats
1.30 - 2.30 - Lunch
2.30 - 4.30 - Class
4.30 - 5.00 - Nothing Specific
5.00 - 7.00 - Class
7.00 - 7.30 - Nothing Specific
7.30 - 9.00 - Newspaper
9.00 - 9.30 - Dinner
9.30 - 10.00 - Telephone
10.00 - 10.30 - Lying down on the grass
10.30 - 12.30 - Studies
12.30 - 1.00 - Walk

Total for the day: 16.75 hours

Sunday, January 15, 2006
10.00 - 11.00 - Daily Stuff
11.00 - 1.00 - Resume
1.00 - 2.00 - Lunch
2.00 - 4.00 - Studies
4.00 - 5.00 - Nap
5.00 - 9.00 - studies
9.00 - 10.00 - Dinner
10.00 - 1.00 - Placement prep
1.00 - 2.00 - Nothing Specific
2.00 - 5.00 - Studies

Total for the day: 19.00 hours

life changes....but still remains beautiful...! right, SL...?

~a

never again....

2007-01-22T03:05:00.000-08:00

this post is not for the faint hearted...or people who have never been to a public loo...!!
______________________________________________________________________________

ever been to a debate...?? the good ones...always define the motion infront of the house. even if the motion is "bappi lahiri is the sexiest person alive..."...they will spend painful minutes describing what their definition of 'sexiest', 'person' and 'alive' is...!! which is actually an impressive way of wasting time and still coming out intelligent.

so...here is my definition.

any loo that as been used (by an absolute majority) by people i have never met in my life...is a public loo...!!

i dont know if its just me...but i somehow cannot shit in a public loo when i know that people whom i know are around. best example would be office. i can never...ever get myself to sit on the pot and ease myself...

the only thought that crosses my mind is...
Shit (diffrent from the real shit!) man...i will shit...it will stink...next person comes in...and HE WILL KNOW THAT I SHAT THERE...!!

and...what the f is with these new loos whose dividers do NOT go all the way down. i mean...what in friggin world are they thinking...that the only way we will get to knw that its occupied is when we see the shoes, pulled down trousers and hairy legs of the guy on the pot...??? would a simple try at the door be enough...!! or was it that the inventor had a case wherein the person knocking refused to believe that there was someone inside until he saw one...!!!
friggin morons...!!

anyways...so i am at this restaurent...the other day...!! and i clearly remember that i eased myself in the morning. and i didnt eat anything that could have led to another visit...!!

but i had the feeling...and you know how it is...

mauth aur moot...jab aati hain...tab aati hain...!
(ofcourse...we r talking abt shit here...but u get the point!)

so...after much decision making....i was like....chuck it man....ab to karna padega...!!!

and i enter this 1x1 feet room.

which not only has a pot and a wash basin...it friggin has a urinal as well...!!
NOW WHO WOULD BE SHITTING IN A PIGEONHOLE...WHEN SOMEONE IS LEAKING BESIDE YOU...?????
but no...gay marriage as legal and so are such toilets...!!

aaah...and not to mention...it had a hand dryer as well. which makes up for the first part of the story...

the loo is so so 'huge' that the minute i sit down on the pot...the hand dryer gets activated. i move my arm..and it goes wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...i move my head...and the same...!! it was so bloody small that i am sure my breathing process would be causing vibrations strong enough for it to get activated as well....!!!

well..so life is not always fun. after some 5 minutes...its done. and i ready to wipe all possible clues that i ever shat...!!

now...i know i have stayed in the US for a long time...! but heck....i will never ever wipe my ass with paper for god sake...! its just not happening...

so luckily for me...there is a nozzle. and its strategically pointing towards...u know what...

i find the knob...and turn it arnd.
no water
turn more
nothing
little more
nope...
turn it all the way....
PHOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

so...now if you can imagine...everything bad that could possibly have happened..had happened. my undies were all wet...and so was my jeans...!! and there was water dripping from my ass the way it never had...!!

but...the worst was yet to come...

i get up...count till 10...actvate the dryer a million times in the process...and get myself together....

flush...

no no...wrong gues...the flush worked..!!!

the friggin shit wont move...!!!

why gawd...why....why me...and my shit...out of all...!!!

flushed again...
nope...
yet again...
nope....

now this is where sound decision making will make the difference between a winner and looser. or a "all loos are the same" and "public loos...no no no no nooo..."

i wont go into the details of how i emerge victorious...(oh yes..i did)...! but to give you a hint...once i came out...i told the manager..."you may want to change the cleaning brush..."

friggin public loos...!!!
never again...

and hey...remember the time when the air hostess says
"in the unlikely event of an emergency landing, please adopt the brace position"

here is an addition they might want to consider
"in the highly likely event that your neighbour decides to take his shoes off when his socks havent been washed for a week...please ask for our highly successful wet tissues...wipe your hand crazy with them...and adopt the manoj kumar position"

but friggin public loos..
never again...

~a

balls of steel...

2007-01-07T03:46:00.000-08:00

no no no no no....busy....heck no....

ummm...yeah...vacationing...and hence lazy....more like it...!! not that life stopped...so hv a lot to share...so much that i hv forgotten most of it...

Solstice

Cudnt have asked for more....it was jst perfect. everything abt it...! meeting everyone again..walking down those roads again...as if you had never left...spending time doing just about nothing...! it was bliss all over. i guess the only thing that i like about work is the fact that i can now afford to fly kingfisher frm hyd to delh...instead of air deccan. its another case that i flew indigo...! but u get the point..!! student life...no matter what said and done...and no matter how many friggin assignments...is still far better...! and i hv been saying this right from my MSU days...!

the following month seems to be ISB travel month. Will (hope to atleast) visit it atleast 3 times before the final placements. A is getting married this 28th...so plannin to attend that too...!! wuuuhuuuu

New Years

Now...dont get me wrong here. Its not always that a consultant will get 10 days off...in the middle of an engagement. but things worked out. for the better. yes...i was working...frm home...so things werent as tight as they are once in Dubai. so had an awesomely chilled time. wonderful...! and yeah...the NY party was great...and i hvnt seen as much fog as i did tht night..!! it was crazy.....my left hand kept shouting....where the f is my right hand man...!!!

Misc.

Yesterday I met the weirdest guy in the history of mankind. in some loose sense i would also call him the man with balls of the hardest steel

so its airplane waiting time at the airport lounge. and the test is placed sexy. with another 70 runs to win and 4 wickets in hand...it could have gone any way. and kumble was bowling like god...so everyone was hooked on. there is this sweet 32 inch LCD screen...with all the sofas in front. however...there is one which is right below the LCD...facing all other sofas.

now i do understand that some people dont like cricket. or lets say dont enjoy it as much. and thats fine...seriously. i think they should just change their nationality if they are indians...or continue to live with a foreign passport...and they will do just fine.

but no...this gentleman...indian...in his 50s maybe...decides to show the world his mind. so when some 50 odd souls are watching the screen...following the match...he enters the lounge...and sit on the sofa right below the screen. so now...he is facing the entire crowd...!!!

dont miss this historic moment in history people...! there is a screen with decent volume...and almost everyone is wathcing that. and there is this dude...who is facing everyone...and looking right into their eyes...

and then he does it...the act that will catapult him to the hall of fame. he shakes his head....left to right...and goes....tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk....for almost 20 odd seconds.

HE WAS FRIGGIN PITYING US...

one half of my brain was giving his a standing ovation...the other was imagining the plight of his kids at the loss of their father...!!

crazy....

and surely balls of steel....

but what was he thinkin...???

orgasmed again...

2006-12-18T06:37:00.000-08:00

at times i wonder what my mum will hv to say about my blogs...and the number of times i use the big O word...!! my guess is she will be shocked at the fact that i know about the word...let alone using it every second line...

anyways...

my current client had participated in this huge international exhibition by the name of cityscape. we particpated (and had quite an awesome stand...including the hostesses..!!)...and had roped in a photographer for the entire 3 days duration.

for the entire 3 days....i had a ball with him. went through a crash course...and loved the fact that there were shit loads of stuff that i wasnt even aware of...!! and tht gives me a kick...cause i know that i work on those and i will be better than what i am...!! ofcourse...it wud hv been tragic if i got to know that i know everything that there is to it....and still click the quality that i do....which wud mean tht i suck...!!!

after cityscape the engagement happened....(yes..if you havent read the dec edition of TIME...this will be news!)...and hey...am talking abt my engagement...yes...yes...me...!!!

it went well...everyone was happy...tht includes me...and the parents of all delhi girls...!

came back...and will be flyin to ISb this weekend for the reunion...(WUUUHUUUUUUUUU)...but...my latest learnt talent will be put to use...! so got myself some sexy professional rolls...and a new set of batteries...! had intentions of clicking at will when on campus...

things were to change when i loaded the film on the camera yesterday. i jst cudnt resist...and for the next 2 hrs jst played with my camera like never before..! its funny how a material thing can bring you so much pleasure. i mean...alright..a dildo wud fit in the same description..but this is a camera i am talking abt...!!

fascinating stuff....!

orgasmed again...

~a

PS:
1. project got an extension...will be in Dubai till feb end.
2. am going on a long leave starting 25th...all the way to 2nd jan
3. registered 40% returns in the market...in the past one week...
4. met with E after a long time...and it was amazing
5. did i mention...life's good...?

Iconic..!!

2006-12-02T11:47:00.002-08:00

a very unsual day for Dubai. rained for some 18 non-stop hours....and one cant imagine that this is a desert..! beautiful weather.

the iconic Burj al Arab, amidst clouds...

~a

Dubai Monsoon

2006-12-02T11:47:00.001-08:00

from my hotel. the Burj Dubai in the background. when completed in end 2007, it shall be the world's tallest towers. at some 860 friggin meters and 180 storeys.
currently its at 86 storeys...and the clouds can already reach it...!!

amoungst clouds...

2006-12-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

a closer view of the Burj Dubai. stunning development...

Madinat Jumeirah

2006-12-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

madinat jumeirah is one of the prettiest malls i have visited. simply because its unique. just look at the image...one cant imagine that this is a mall..!! breathtaking interiors...a lot of work has gone into designing this masterpiece

the Burj in the background...

hrithik shud start wearing a.....

2006-11-29T03:19:00.000-08:00

So life has been pretty hectic for the past 10 days. Took a day off to attend a friend’s wedding which eventually turned out to be quite a hectic and an enjoyable experience. I can see why the director ever thought of coming up with a “hum aapke hain kaun”story line. Marriages are quite fun in their own way.

And then work has been quite involving…and orgamiscally exciting. I never knew I would enjoy marketing, the way I am right now. Am leading the marketing strategy implementation for our client…and its awesome. The thought behind brand development…interacting with agencies…and hearing them share their perspectives on how we should position ourselves. All of it is quite fascinating…and quite new…to me. Am loving it.

However, in this welcomed madness the last thing I wanted was a crappy movie. I guess god was traveling with ear plugs on when I was praying not to get me into that one bad show.

So last night I watched Dhoom 2

Now now…don’t get me wrong. Its slick. Definitely. Slicker than most bollywood stuff I have seen. But for god sake…I mean…gimme a break…what is it…? James Bond magnified?

Frankly I had expected more. The action scenes were just overdone…and OH MY GAWD…with logic taking a long ass leak while those were being shot. Friggin cop jumps off the cliff…when the thief has done so 3 seconds back as well. But hey…thief has parachute…cop just has biceps…! So lo behold…cop jumps…and no…he is not trying to land on the parachute…no no…that too feminine for such a shot…he jst tries to position himself so that he lands right on the back of the thief. And after some hot gay romance…they kiss…and live happily ever after…!!

and some things were like....wtf...!! what is the queen doing in the middle of the desert of namibia....and WITH THE CROWN...??? and entry of abhishekh...toooooo much. the dude emerges from underwater on a sea scooter...wearing leather jackets..!! wuuuhuuuuuuuuuu...!! i can understand why he would do something like this...!! cmon...with all the female fish hittin on him...he cudnt be at his worst...!!

i think he should simply start acting for a change...!! ummm...and shaving as well..!!

My biggest takeaway…hrithik should start wearing a bra..!!
My biggest observation...i think aish can wear the same bra...if u know what i mean...

and does everyone think that the kabul express trailers are quite awesome...????

~a

"...we hv to do it..."

2006-11-14T07:57:00.000-08:00

so this is a real life incident. happened to me last thrusday on my flight back to india...

every indian on this planet..and every traveler to India as well...can relate to one sight. queues. friggin queues. everywhere..! we indians r so used to jst placing ourselves confortably in a line...and jst live the rest of our lives trying to reach the 'counter'.

so it was one of those queues again...that got me introduced to her. i was boarding the flight...with my boarding pass in hand...(and mind u...even if u hv bloody boarded a plane more times than u have pissed in yur life...the hostess will definitely ask u for your boarding pass and direct you to your seat...as if you are the biggest moron who couldnt have figured by himself..! anyways...)

so there is this huge line leading to the miserly economy class...(reminds me of a seinfeld joke...he was talking abt the way the hostesses draw the curtain between the economy and business class...saying with their eyes..."if only you had worked harder")...and its dragging along...till the time i reach right at the entrance. and its been some 2 minutes at the same....the line is jst not moving.

"oohh...discovery channel..thats my fav"..!

a rather stunning airhostess...(who btw i had conveniently avoided mentioning so far...)...standing at the right side...! her repsonse is to the discovery logo on my tee...which R had given sometime back (quite cool stuff these discovery guys make..!).

"aaaah...thts nice..! infact..we 'at discovery' have a hidden vision. that everyone in this worls feel exacly what you feel"

there were artificial hehe-huhuh laughter...before the line finally moved on..!!

now..if u hvnt figured by now...i said "we at dicovery"..which in the english language means that i lied. about the fact that i work at discovery. now dont get me wrong here...i am quite proud to be a consultant...i think they r the best invention by mankind..after the safety pin ofcourse...! but something within me...made me lie..

and wait..there is more...

so i seat myself...and put the "do not disturb...even if the friggin plane is going down and i dont have my for gods sake seat belt on" tag on my seat...and as i am about to close my eyes...she comes in again...

"hot towels please"

sleep's gone..! am with discovery again...

"so what do you do for discovery"...she asks...while holding the towel for the passenger to me left (i was aisle)...and given who was sitting on tht seat...i am sure he felt it was some sort of hypnotic towel..meant to soothen the body during the flight...cause he jst didnt move his eyes off it.

"ummm...i work as a photographer for them"

aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...cold blooded lie...how cud u...!!

"wow...thats awesome...! here in dubai"

"nope..in their delhi office. had come to dubai to cover the desert safari for a brochure we are working on.."

if only my thought process was as fast when needed

"thats quite interesting. please let me know if you need anything. i promise not to disturb you though...even if the friggin plane is going down and i dont have my for gods sake seat belt on

yes yes yes...she reads my mind...i can so totally see it...!! wuuuhuuuuuuu

so...rest of the flight was quite good...slept a decent bit..and each time i woke up..i saw her fanning me with a magazine...smiling sweetly at me as if so totally admiring me..! ok...i am lying here...cmon...u cudnt hv believed me now..!!

but yeah...i didnt see her at all till the flight landed...

at the entrance...she was there...with her..."thnks...bye bye now"...and i went...wtf man...let it go...

"ummm...btw i was lying...! i dont work for discovery. my fiance does. she gave me this tee"

"hahaha..!! u serious...??? well...btw...discovery is not my fav channel either..."

WTF...!!!

"...u see...its our job...we have to do it..."

:)

~a

2006-11-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

so...kerela was fun. i wasnt raped...and no guy touched me as well. no wait...i take tht back...i mean...i went for a massage on thr last day...

the entire team had left on sunday and we dubai sheikhs were left to ourselves...given the timing of our flight. so i pretty much slept through the day...didnt hv lunch...watched the finals...fought a fire back in office...and then decided to go for a massage...

the weirdest hour of my life...

ok...so i was ready to be almost naked...infront of a guy whom i hadnt met...ever..! big shit..i thought to myself. if gandhi could almost do it...infront of the entire world...heck..am just an overweight normal guy..! and then...the fact that the massage place would provide disposable underwear...did provide for some relief.

so i enter this room...and this dude...i will call him X...opens the almirah..and reaches out for a small cigar like thing. i guess its the underwear...and as he takes the wrapper off and asks me to wear it..while he waits outside...several thoughts cross my mind...till it hits me...

WAIT A MINUTEEEEE...!!! AT WHAT POINT OF TIME WERE YOU PLANNING TO TELL ME THAT DISPOSABLE UNDERWEAR MEANS TRANSPARENT UNDERWEAR...!!!????

it was at this precise moment...when i am in my original undies...holding the 'disposable' undies...tht i realize where it all came from...the phrase..."point of no return"

ok..so calm down...all's good...believe in your sexuality...hold on...dont sweat...hold on...calm down...just close your eyes and imagine its some machine operating on you...!

the music is chosen...and the oil is heated. they start with the head and its quite a fascinating feeling when the 1st drop touches your scalp. i am a sucker for head massages...once gave a tip of 50 (on a rate list of 30) to a guy whom i cud hv married if he was a girl...simply cause of the head massage he gave me..!

the next 15 odd mins are soothing. the massage is flowing smoothly...the occasional 'touching' is conveniently ignored...and before i realize i am fast asleep.

"sir sir sir...r u ok sir...r u ok sir"...shaking me rigourously. i wake up with a jerk...open my eyes...and find X's face in friggin nanometer smooching distance.

holy shit..!!

i mean dude....am i the first person to hv fallen asleep during a RELAXATION massage...???? cmon for god sake...

for any current or to-be masseur...here is a healthy tip...

imagine a sage...seeking nirvana. and some dude has told him...tapasya for 22 yrs...and u shall hv it. so he begins...and the present time is 21 yrs...11 months...23 hrs...and 45 mins. i mean...friggin 15 min away frm nirvana. now what X did was equivalent to shaking the sage out of his meditation and asking him the directions to the river where the local beautiies bathe..!!

DONT EVER DO IT..!! someone's gonna get hurt real bad...!

it was never the same after tht. the massage ended and i didnt quite enjoy it the way i expected myself to...but heck..atleast i got one in kerela..!!

life's 'gay'..!!

~a

PS: as a sidenote...AD kicked ass today at the DB interview. and i expected him to. it was an awesome feeling when he told me abt it...though i cudnt resist going back in time...exactly a yr back. to this day...i dont know what to make out of that day...but i do remember telling PG this...a week after my interviews..."zindagi mein kuch bhi...kabhi itni aasaani se nahi mila"....! and yeah...sach mein nahi mila!

proud of u AD...jst hang in there now...! its ur day today...!

...am brining sexy back...

2006-11-01T23:08:00.001-08:00

it just had to be something to do with coming back...so heck...here i am...

i had almost blogged yesterday. dont know how many of you have this keeda in them...but i somehow like things to start..ummm...dont know how to state this...

its like...i cud hv blgged on the 28th as well...but then the 1st of nov sounded too cool a date to blog again...esp if u hv gone missin for 3 weeks. its like..when u walking..u dont want to step on the tile boundary...or u just want to walk on the black tiles...and want to start your work at 4.30...when u wud hv easily done so at 4.23..!!

ok..i hv OCD...cut..!!

___

so imagine the scene.

me on a chair...cross legged...jst managin not to fall off...(did i mention tht i hv put on friggin 2 kgs since ISB...and tht is after my GM diet wherein i lost 3!!!)...on my laptop...chkin my mail...and infront of me...this huge door...all open...allowing me to face one of the prettiest beaches i hv been to...

am on our annual offsite. at the Leela - kovallam beach, kerela.

there is something abt these 5 star god damn hotels tht pisses me off...! why the hell do they give me tht look..."dude...u wud be better off working for us...than staying with us.."...when they see me in slippers...and a tee tht might hv a hole or two. i mean...wtf...i hv jst come frm a 4 hr long flight...and yeah...i agree...i might not be looking my best...but then thts me. dont stare atleast. worse still...dont make faces to show tht i am some kind of a anti-marketing freak..who shall destroy the 20 odd yrs of reputation tht u hv...!!

and so much so for their intelligence...they bloody put me up with another colleague of mine...AND...same bed...no no...better still...same friggin sheet to pull over. what is it..annual gay sex meet...(SL...didnt i tell u last night..!!).

the room is quite weirdly designed..! who puts the wash basin out of the washroom...i mean..WHO..!! after u disrobe...and ease urself on the pot...u realize...oopsie...washin hand wud mean another round of hot gay masti...cause u hv to bloody go out...in the room..!!

and then ur mom has always told u....after a nice shit...dont ever touch anything except the soap..! so as u reach out for the towel...your conscience...(or is it ur mom's??) gets the better of u..!! for once i had to kill it..! but not before my roomie...(who i shall beddie frm now on..for reasons unknown)...gets to see my 'better half'..(which btw..is quite diff frm my 'working half')..!

friggin Leela..!

its 4 days here...after which i dont really know where i wud go....cause of some meetings tht hvnt been scheduled as yet...! but these 4 days does sound like good fun. hoping for a really good time...and a 200 basis point increase in vaseline's revenue..!!

am bringing sexy back....yeahhhhhh

~a

i still wanna play god...

2006-10-10T11:11:00.001-07:00

this post goes out to the following target audience...

people who:

love photography
wud appreciate a photographer par excellance
wudnt mind the photographer to be an extremely hot 28 yr old gal
wudnt be turned off by the fact that she has 2 kids...and a bf
wud go to all the first link below and spend atleast an hour on it...
wudnt think that i have a huge crush on her...

__________________________

i rarely visit my flickr account. its usually only to upload snaps and the weekly check for any comments...which surprisingly have experienced a huge jump in number lately...!

so this afternoon..close to when i was almost done with all work for the day...i opened my account...and saw Rebecca's latest snap

Rebecca...who...??

this is precisely the time you click on the link below...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebba/

she is the undisputed goddess of flickr
simply the best self portraits i have seen (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebba/sets/454414/)
possible the best use of long exposure techniques (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebba/sets/1260435/)
she has mastered the art of multiplicity...something that i am fascinated by...and hv no clue to..(http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebba/sets/1058377/)
and...she has clicked my fav snap of all times...(http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebba/32296282/in/set-72157594277460673/)

ofcourse...given the crappy me...i have analyzed her a lot...through her snaps...and at times her responses to the hazaar comments to her snaps...! and i must say that i am impressed...(i almost wrote obsessed here!)...more so since she is self taught...

i find her ability to look at life through her lens fascinating. i wonder what goes on in her head when she picks up the camera..and clicks. i wish i cud capture that moment..that brain wave..!

i even wish she wasnt as narcissistic...but then i still wanna play god....even with something so perfect...

PS:

apart from her flickr world...she also rests on her main page (http://www.rebekkagudleifs.com/)
she is currently participating in some shitty shady competition...her profile is here. Somehow i wish she hadnt...but dont pay attention to my wish...just read the title to this entry...and move on..!!

back in time...

2006-10-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

11.30pm
The Shangri-la, Dubai

the tv infront...switched off...the bed untouched...wood finish working table...a few pennies...a virgin kitchenette...the cupboard half open...jst the tablelamp on...

click

lights off...close my eyes...jst the darkness with me...

click click

the table infront of me...books on the shelves above...the incense stick almost done...matress behind with the lamp above...10 watt bulb...windows open....the girls outside...and i can feel the breeze...have to get the assignment done...but this is just so soothing...hv to read up for tomorrow's class...but what the heck...its 3 in the morning...

Koi nahi hai koi bhi nahi
Na pass na durr
Ek pyaar hai
Dil ki dharkan
Apni chahat ka jo ellan kiye jaati hai
Zindagi hai jo jiye jaati hai
Khoon ke ghoont peay jaati hai
Khwaab kaanton se siye jaati hai
...
...
Yadoon ka jungle yeh dil
Kaanton se jal thal yeh dil
Chubtay kaanten yadoon ke daaman se chunta hoon
Girti deewaron ke aanchal mein zinda hoon

its these times that i realize the power of the human mind...
yesterday...for a moment...for just a moment...for just a very special moment...
...i was back at isb...
...i went back in time...
...and it was just so amazing...

...just so amazing...

yeh hai meri kahaani...

~a

love this part of me...

2006-10-05T04:40:00.000-07:00

so this is cool...you work for 3 days and its time to go back home....!!

last weekend was a long one. was home for 4 days...took sunday off and monday was a public holiday. awesome fun. watched a movie...(Dor...quite a good watch..!)...and went for dandiya on saturday.

its funny how every thing remotely connected to dance...in delhi...has to turn into a bhangra one..! whats funnier is that no matter how much one cribs about it...you will definitely move your ass once it starts...!

so we had..none other than...the world famous...Bhupi...for the bhangra...oops...dandiya night..!! god..u shud hv seen the girls tearing their cholis apart....shouting "we loveeeeeee u bhupiiiiiiiiiiiiii"...and he doing that..."la la dhin chik dhin chik dhin chik...la dhin chik dhin chik dhin chik..." dance...!! the dandiya beats added to the punch...

and then the food was quite awesome...! it was shit expensive though...and i find it so fascinating how your atittude towards money keep evolving depending on how much you earn...

i remember the one time when i waited like anything for the x-files movies to release in India...i mean i waited...like crazy. and when i came...i thought...nahhh...its too expensive (and at 50 bucks a month as pocket money...it surely was)...will watch it later (and i did...4 yrs hence..when it came on TV..i saw it with my hands folded...it was religion for me..!!)...

and then those numerous times when you see something in the shop...and go...oh this looks so awesome...wonder how much it is......for....CRAP...!!! too expensive...

and now...by the grace of god...things are smooth...and the time spent on buying things is much lesser...! which makes me wonder...does hving money make u less of a 'deal-seeker'...!! i mean...i remember that part of me which used to browse and browse thru shit loads of sites...before i cud find the cheapest possible deal on a particular item...(and a cheap deal is not a bad deal in my scheme of things...its value for money).

but today when i hv to buy a papri chaat...i bloody fork out 40 bucks...!! obviously thats not a deal...!! especially when you had that same precise shit about 4 hours back...for 15..!!!

people say money makes one powerful...!! yeah right...!! money simply makes u lazy...! it all boils down to convenience..!!

i hate this part of me...

so today...i spent 3 hours...ofcourse...in office...searching for a holiday package for my folks. and i searched and searched...searched like crazy..!! i didnt get the deal i was looking for...but in the process i did find myself back..!!

love this part of me...

~a

dubai survival kit...

2006-09-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

so...SA...or AS...if you are readin this...pardon me...cause i really didnt have anything else to write...

its been 12 months for the ATK team here at Dubai...and we realized that its been quite a learning experience. a new country shall always come with its share of typicalities...and adjusting to those can be quite a task.

here is our version of the

Dubai Survival Kit

Emirates will serve you good food. Air India will serve you food. Emirates has some really nice entertainment. Air India doesn’t believe in the concept. Emirates will fly on time. Air India will love you so much it just wouldn’t want you to leave the craft. Ever. FLY EMIRATES
You arrive at the airport and the lady immigration officer is quite pretty. She has applied make up and you can actually see her face. And she even smiles at you. That doesn’t mean you can stare at her.
When flying back to Dubai from India, you have to reconfirm your flights. Ofcourse the fact that you paid the entire amount for the flight and also got a confirmed seat doesn’t mean that you are interested in flying…does it?
When in a team of more than 4, appoint someone who decides where to eat out every day. Change the person every week…to minimize the physical damage from other team members.
Do check out the desert safari. The oasis comes in form of belly dancers at the end of it all.
You are staying at the Crowne Plaza. Just by yourself. And at 2 in the morning you hear a knock. Do(n’t) open!
Dubai is full of olives. And they look a lot like black grapes. They are not.
Pepperoni is beef. Just because you have it everyday and like it a lot, doesn’t make it pork!
Some people think that seafood is vegetarian. Most of these people stay in Dubai
If your office is far from the main city, remember the route. You shall have to explain it EVERYDAY to the food delivery guy
Don’t get overwhelmed by the grandiose nature of high-end Lebanese restaurants. Their attitude towards food is the same as that of Paris Hilton’s towards money. Waste it.
For dinner there are two extremes. The AED20/person Sukh Sagar and the AED 200/person Burj. One will make you burp like you have never burped before and one will leave you hunting for that chips pack at midnight. Which one…is your guess.
There are some things in Dubai that money cant buy. For instance an airconditioner when you are out at 12.30pm in august looking for an ATM.
Hospitalization in Dubai is very expensive. Emergency treatment is free though. However, at a speed limit of 120km/hr, ‘emergency’ acquires a whole new meaning. Get yourself a medical cover.
Ofcourse you love your wife/husband. And the worlds knows that. They don’t need evidence…definitely not in public.
It’s a beautiful country and you would want to click incessantly. Control that emotion when attempting to click women in the national dress.

life's good...

awesome feeling....

2006-09-24T00:58:00.000-07:00

my feet were literally shivering as i walked towards A-01. i cudnt even dare to see who lives there now...but there was this sudden rush that i experienced...when i sat on the very same stairs infront of the b-blk...

it was suddenly 6 months back...and it was the same time..the same place...the same me...and yet it somehow didnt belong to me..!! but it still was an awesome feeling...

spent 2 days at ISB...officially down for the Kearney recruitment talk...and had a BLAST! the sheer feeling of being back was too overwhelming. more so for SB who just cudnt stop feeling senti. the first night..he drank a bit and then we walked around the campus for some 45 minutes...in the rain...while he narrated stories from the 1st batch. and we were lucky enough to catch a dunking...post which he jst said.."now i can die in peace..!!"

the 1st evening was well received. the turnout was decent...but the enthu was contagious. somehow this batch hasnt failed to impress me with that.

its beautiful...how this single place...holds so much of fascination for me. the sheer thought of being there again makes me wanna do it right away...

ofcourse...on the flip side...i cudnt spend as much time with some people...as i wud hv liked to. so sorry AD, SS, SL...very soon..!!

54 hrs...6 hrs of sleep...

never felt so fresh before...
...awesome feeling...

~a

Dubai...by the dark....

2006-09-18T00:48:00.000-07:00

64 sec exposure.

done in B/W on purpose

~a

same message...handled differently...

2006-09-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

inspired

R and i were heading towards K's place. catching up on life in the past 5 days...and planning the evening ahead. its rare that i listen to music in the car when with her...! but had burnt a new CD and (i dont know if someone else has it) there is this unusual excitement as to which will be the next song. cause you really dont remember when you had put them in an order...to be written...

kaise tujhko dikhaun yahaan hai kya
Maine jharne se paani maa
tod ke piya hai
Guchcha guchcha kai khwabon ka
uchal ke chuwa hai
Chaaya liya bhali dhoop yahaan hai
Naya naya sa hai roop yahan
Yahaan sab kuch hai maa phir bhi
lage bin tere mujhko akela

i kept drivin...she kept looking out her window...there was no talk...
...and we looked at each other...and we had tears in our eyes...

unfortunately i have never really credited cinema with much. i know that SRK has a lot to do with this...but seriously...'bollywood/hollywod/crapwook' never held any value for me except for pure viewing pleasure. it was rarely that i came out of a screening all shaken up...contemplating...thinking about what just struck me...! there are only a few movies that went that far...

1. Pi
2. The Shawshank Redemption
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. Requim for a dream
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
6. City of God
7. Motorcycle Diaries
8. American History X
9. The Matrix
10.The Fight Club
11.Schindler's List

And no...i am not an angrez who swears by hollywood...! there have been quite a few (unfortunately...a few) movies in hindi that still have me in awe. Anand, 3 deewarein (shit...i really have to think hard here..!)

However, 2 movies lately have fascinated me...

and that...finally...is the theme of today's entry..

Rang De Basanti

The movie made me feel pathetic...about my life. I figured that no matter what MG says...at somepoint of time i will have to stand infront of the mirror and be hard on myself. at somepoint of time i will have to question my very existence...and my purpose. its surely not to sit infront of a laptop and churn our excel sheets. its certainly not to get married and see my kids become the finest kids ever..! and its surely surely not to get that bloody hasselblad of my last post.

And this movie...made me question all of that. it got so hard on me...that each time i spend lavishly on something...there is a certain guilt that takes over. and that guilt doesnt easily go when i sign that monthly check to CRY. infact it gets only bigger. it only reminds me that as an individual i feel that offering money is my excuse to exist. i dont even know where the money is going...!!

this movie made me realize the power of cinema. the reservation protests...the opening of the priyadarshini mattoo case...the retrial of the jessica lal case...were as if retakes of the same movie. it literally reawakened an entire generation...

and i am not far behind....

Lage raho Munnabhai

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant. It made me laugh...made me cry...made me think...and more importantly...left a message so powerful...and in such a subtle manner...that it was only later that i reazlied what a stroke of genius this was.

i personally never really had a strong opinion on Gandhi. ofcourse...it takes a lot to move an entire nation and i dont know how many of us are capable of doing so...(and no...mallika sherawat is not what i am talking about...!)..! so the respect is there. but apart from that...i used to feel...what if we had resorted to violence...wud we have gotten our independence a decade earlier...?

but what the movie made me realize was that i at my own small level have been practising the same thing..! i am not the agressive sorts...rarely will i raise my voice...and if i think about it...my way of dealing with things has truly helped me. dont know if it would work with someone else...but for me...the main idea is that if the other person is wrong...make him feel guilty about it...so so guilty about it that he never does it again. but do it in a manner that he himself realizes it...and is not forced upon by society and laws. its hard...cause it takes a lot of time...but it works...works wonderfully..!

silence...is the best weapon...! i love this in me...narcissistic or whatever...tht silence coms naturally to me. people think that simply slapping someone is the best form of retaliation...however...silence is the cruelist..!

gandhigiri...or whatever you may want to call it...found itself redefined through the movie.

contrast
RDB shoke me...munnabhai amused me.
RDB made me feel horrible within...munnabhai consoled me of my potential
RDB was shock therapy...munnabhai was 'Patch Adams'

2 movies...almost the same message...almost diametrically opposite ways of treating...

~a

PS: help me with hindi movies that can create the same effect.

communities....

2006-09-06T05:06:00.000-07:00

as MG pointed out in last evening's conversation...i tend to worry a lot.

and i agree...

out of all the things that make me question our existence on a daily basis..there is one that has been troubling me for quite sometime now..! sleepness nights...bouts of anxiety and depression...breathlessness...and sudden heartpains usually accompany the thought....and there is no escapin..

in search for my quest for freedon...i turn to you...please help me...

WHAT IN GOD'S NAME WAS THIS DUDE THINKING...WHEN HE CREATED THIS THREAD...!

here is a game .....its called SLAP SLAP SLAP ;)
very simple
just slap the person above n state the reason why he/she deserves the phaataaaaak ;)

OH NO NO...THATS NOT IT....

How old do you think the person above you is... make a guess
Dont peek into profiles ....k...

BETTER STILL...

I have seen this game on another channel but its fun:)
If ur daddy arranges ur marraige wid the person abouve u ......wht u will do......

AND THIS TAKES THE TROPHY

An interesting game...Just tell...what u wanna do with the above person.......
1. Shake Hand
2. A Hug
3. A Kiss
4. A Kick
5. A Slap
6. A Look
7. A Smile
8. A Wink ;)
9. Dont want to even look at
10.Ask her/him out
12.Walk away

Let's start....

and if the pain wasnt enough...its always heartening to see that each of these historic milestones have gotten more than 10,000 REPLIESSS.........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

these gem of a masterpiece were created on what could potentially be the biggest threat to manking after AIDS...! and its called orkut..!
i am telling you guys..(and PK knows this already)...very soon google will be controlling our relationships. we email through it...chat through it...make friends through it...and then search for stuff to kill then with through it...!

very soon...

~a

PS: on a different and a much happier note...i have finally...after years of search...found my dream machine. i know an upgrade will come by as soon as i post this...but then...what the heck...i am in love with this...

The Hasselblad Digital SLR
At USD 30,000...my calculations predict exactly 4.386 generations before i lay my hands on this...!

life has really moved on....

2006-09-05T04:52:00.000-07:00

i believe that nature has a wonderful way of telling you what to do next...or to make you realize that what you are doing shouldnt be done. and the best part is that it will do so in a manner that will make you believe it was your own choice...all the way...

i saw Swades last night. was a tad dissapointed. possible because i was watching it at a time when dozens of praises had already been registered by my conscience. so i was expecting a lot more than i got. somehow...i cant credit SRK with much. no matter how powerful the script...something has to happen to certify SRK as the hero of the movie. i didnt get the point of the scene wherein he was trying to generate electricity through the turbine and had to pull out that straw bunch after the turbine failed to reach 230 volts. PLEASE...why does HE have to be the one doing it...when there were hundred others. not that he used his NASA knowledge to figure out what the problem was...!!

anyways...i am loosing track. the movie wasn't powerful. it didnt hit me. i did cry one occasion...but that surely wasnt cause of the powr of the script.

what struck me though...and this is where i link myself to the 1st para...was his reason to come back. he felt that his life has moved on...in a way that had left others behind...people who at some point of time were really precious to him.

and when i think of myself...i figure i am no different.

Today is the 5th of Sep...and i know that i havent called someone when i should have...(and who i did call for 4 years before i just stopped...one fine day). I do send her flowers every year...but havent met her since 1.5 yrs...! and come to think of it...at one point of time...she was the most important person in my life. someone who literally 'made' me...what i am today...!

Today is the 5th of Sep...and i wrote to him after almost a month (and after watching the movie). there was a time when we wouldnt go to sleep before talking to each other. when he used to call me at random hours...and we used to chat for hours thereafter. when i used to keep my landline under my blanket so as to not disturb my folks from the ringtone that would come at 2 in the morning...! and even though i still think of him as my closest guy friend...i shudder on the thought that it must just be on paper

Today is the 5th of Sep...and its been alsmost 2 weeks sinc ei have met her. when i left for dubai this time around...she told me..."i kept waiting for you...ab aayega nandu...ab aayega nandu..."...and i had tears in my eyes. i realized that an effort that will take me 30 mins...will give her priceless happiness. and yet i chose to be lazy...

Today is the 5th of Sep...and i didnt watch Swades for all that i am feeling. i choose to watch it for what i had heard about it...! and yet nature...had its way of telling me..."dude...u cudnt hv expected more out of SRK...but u sure did realize something that you were doing wrong..."

live has surely moved on...

~a

long time....

2006-08-30T07:41:00.000-07:00

thanks daddy for reminding me...i had been procastinating...partly cause i wanted to...partly cause i didnt have a choice...

work has been maddening lately...i was 'almost' handling 2 projects at the same time for the past 3 days...hv slept not more than 4 hours at a stretch in the past 3 nights...and have been almost labelled as a zombie by the man in the mirror.

bday...came and went...though it was quite relaxed. after a long time spent it with family...met R in the evening...cut a cake...and all..!

however, i have never ever had so many people wishing me...

221 orkut scraps (my bosses would be happy to note that none of my replies to all of these scraps came during office hours!)
28 emails (wow...!)
15 sms-es (and i thought that sms-es were the way to go...for the future)
11 phone calls

thank you...orkut birthday reminder...www.birthdayalarm.com...yahoo reminders....google alerts...outlook calendar....

...

dad is doing much better...will be starting office this week...inshallah...(!)...the doctors were really happy with his progress and it was during the review session did they disclose that he had literally come out from the most severe form of infection that could have hit his pancreas..!

happy news...

daddy got his visa...so he shall be leaving for yankee land very soon...
my final settlement from NIS (yes...the same company i used to work for some 1000 days back..!!)...came...and i am slightly rich now
almost...almost...completed the model that i was working on...to some awesome relief...
have a 3 day weekend this time...and am going for a road trip on saturday....wassssuuuupppp

life's good...

PS: daddy..(and this is god damn the 3rd time i am mentioning you)...there was one girl that didnt like me when she 1st met me...and i am to marry her next year...! i guess that was the criteria..! :)

11 days...of india..of sleeplessness...and of housekeeping...

2006-08-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

so dad's pancrease...which according to the doc had been over-worked cause of his gall bladder removal 8 yrs back...suddenly decided to go on a 'pancreatic fundamentalist drive'. basically...trying to show that if desired...they can beat the shit out of someone...!

and boy they did...

he was in the hospital for 11 days...! and its horrible this way especially when you dont expect it. what was to become a sweet tide 4 day vacation for me...turned out to be a 11 day india 'working from home' stint...

i drove, on an average, 100kms a day....up and down the hospital
took charge of the house while mum stayed with dad...so basically...milking the cow...clearing the bullshit...making dung cakes...and washing clothes (am really serious this time!)
worked for 8 hrs daily...4 hrs on live dubai time...and 4 hrs in the night...
slept, on an average, for 4-5 hrs daily
felt really really tired at the end of it all...

and lessons learnt - such situations will bring you face to face with the 'real'

while some people (and some of them really not expected to..) called up and mailed and messaged frequently...checking on dad's health...some (and some of them expected to..) lost complete touch
my manager didnt even wait for me to ask...before asking me to work from home. i left for india on wednesday...and reached dubai the following sunday. not too sure how many firms would have a value system so strong to allow that...with no questions asked. at all times...i had my team's support...!
mum...who till abt 15 days back wud feel pukish when entering a hospital...spent 11 days with dad..! she realized a whole new herself...
dinner with jst my sis...and we had one of the best conversations ever...she talked abt the real her...and i suddenly realized tht we hvnt spent much time together...
dad cried when i was leaving...
R and i were both as excited as we were on our first date, when we went to dine together...4 days after i had been in india and not met her...

11 days...of india..of sleeplessness...and of housekeeping...

and something has changed....yet i remain with the same set of parameters that were governing my life so far...

on a different note...met with Y last night. had a great time with her....and realized that some relationships jst take off...and you dont ever know why. i wud hv never imagined tht i wud meet her again....forget the fact that it wud happen in a whole together different country....

life's good...!

my version....

2006-08-09T03:47:00.000-07:00

there was a time...no so long ago...when i used to treat the 'Reader's Digest' as a must read. this was much before i started reading the same for its jokes..only...! anyways...so this one time...there was a wonderful article on this dude who, when he was 18, made a list of 30 things he would wanna do before he turned 30. its almost a cliche now...but at that time the idea sounded quite cool. and this dude actually went on to accomplish each and everything on that list...and the article was all about how he managed to do so. just so you know...the things listed there were not exactly..."brush everyday"...but "travel on a bike for more than 3000 miles" sorts..!!!

and then...after a deulge of such posts by EU and SB....here is my version of the things i have done...would want to do...and would never want to do...(and this would be extremely India specific...somewhat inspired from EU's entry...and in no specific order)

Index:

Have done
Want to do
Dont want to do

thrown garbage on the road...paused....picked it up and dropped it in the thrash
had golgappas from the same guy who pulled out his snort a minute back
ran after a bus and caught it finally
slapped an auto guy cause he refused to go where you wanted to
saved a lady from being harassed/molested
watched an entire episode of krishi darshan
been on a bus...with just one foot on it
driven without a license
driven at more than 120 kmph
drove away when a traffic cop tried to stop you
asked a cop "jaante ho main kiska/kiski beta/beti hoon...?"
for guys alone - scratched your (you know what) thinking that no one saw
scribbled on a protected monument
cheated in a school examination
been on "palace on wheels"
been to atleast 3 sanctuaries in India
sang something special...for someone special...
stayed up all night and saw the sunrise
met anyone from the indian cricket team
pee-ed on the road
milked a cow
ate sugarcane...the traditional way
stayed in a village without electricity for more than 2 nights
shopped for vegetables atleast 100 days in a year
paid a begger more than rs 100
had a househelper who was less than 15 years of age
been to a temple, a church, a gurudwara AND a mosque
stopped at the red light when no one else was...
requested for a song on the radio
called the KBC phoneline atleast once
waited in a queque for more than 2 hours
bribed your way through to get a government document
tipped your barber
driven a bike in 5 degree centrigrade...with your tee and shorts on
been to atleast 3 beaches in 3 separate states
been to the North-east
travelled to the lakshwadeep islands
hiked to the mansarovar lake
studied beyond the age of 23
started your own business
driven an ambassador
looked at the night sky through a telescope
slept under the stars
kissed your gf/bf right infront of your parents
gone dutch on your 1st date
washed someone else's puke
cried in public
visited the taj mahal
seen a live cobra
had dinner with your domestic help...on the same table
worked on a 386 computer
tied/worn rakhi to/from a total stranger
danced naked in your room
cried infront of your parents, after the age of 18
touched your parent's feet

life has been slightly hard lately...more cause of personal reasons. lekin theek hai...it moves on...!!!

PS: and yah...feel free to add stuff to the above...which highlights true india.

cryptic...

2006-08-04T01:26:00.000-07:00

trinnnggg....triiingggg....

Mirror: yo...not feeling urself?

Me: dont know dude....wanted to...but something doesnt feel right...

Mirror: i know...its strange right..when something tht is close to you...doesnt mean as much to someone else...

Me: I KNOWW....!! how cud they ever forget whatever happened....did they not feel IT...?

Mirror: maybe they did...and maybe thats precisely why they dont wanna feel it anymore. its not tht u left them with a choice...

Me: i am being selfish here...i always was...and i told them all through...at times to no avail...

Mirror: i am glad you realized that...

Me (smiling to himself): so...whatver i said that evening...is actually turning out to be true...

Mirror: hahaha....as if you didnt know it would.

Me: yahhh...it had to happen...and i dont think i should be bothered anymore...not anymore...

Mirror: :)

Me: thanks dude...

Mirror: thank her...

..................................hang up

the entire city infront of me....not a soul in sight...machines making their way through turns and lights...the skyscrapers blinking....my hands folding...my eyes closing...this was always meant to be...involuntary drops of water...my job is done...

Me: i let go...

~a

...wud die a peaceful death...

2006-08-01T03:54:00.000-07:00

if i got the chance to click anyone of these snaps...

~a

a midsummer nights dream

2006-08-01T03:48:00.002-07:00

a midsummer nights dream
Originally uploaded by _rebekka.

Canoe

2006-08-01T03:48:00.001-07:00

Canoe
Originally uploaded by Mute*.

Liar

2006-08-01T03:48:00.000-07:00

Liar
Originally uploaded by EvilxElf.

Two face

2006-08-01T03:47:00.001-07:00

Two face
Originally uploaded by jallen dragonhide (ToBeOr..).

Barnacle.

2006-08-01T03:47:00.000-07:00

Barnacle.
Originally uploaded by tread.

...nightmares....and spreadhseets...

2006-07-29T00:42:00.000-07:00

last week was my first touch with work pressure...and i mean pressure thts worse than a guy who hasnt shat for 7 months...!!

am working on a model. a project feasibility model. we wanna see if the project tht we abt to undertake makes business sense for us...and if it doesnt, then how can we ensure that it does. so basically...whatever happens...we will do the project...!! we jst hv to show tht it will work as well...

as wud be obvious...any such feasibility model....will hv its dose of P&L statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements...and the works.

now anyone...who has ever come in close contact with me...including the one i passed while coming out of the elevator this morning...knows tht my sole purpose in this world is a 3-step process...

Step 1
find out who was the guy who made the 1st balance sheet in the world...! the P&L statement or the cash flow statement 'inventors' will also do...

Step 2
find out if he is still alive...! chances r tht he is not...!

Step 3
find out who are his living descendents. and then aka 'the da vinci code'....bloody launch the worst ever cult group to wipe tht entire race. in the process...also attempt to remove all possible traces of accounting in this world...and alongwith them...the god damn accountants...!!!!

which...translated in english language....means...tht i hate...i mean...ohhhhh soooo muuuchhhh....HATE...acounts...! it was my first B-grade at ISB...and if it wasnt for AP, GC, AG and the likes...i wud hv sunk without a trace...!!!

so...it was torture...all the way...and its not funny when u come up with your version of the model...and are told..."uuuummmmmm....cash balance...can never be negative....but good try...DODO..."

it was so bad...tht the past 4 days hv been the following:

- dreaming...no no...nightmaring...about the spreadsheet....! nightmares about my life being a bloody balance sheet wherein my weight is adding on....to the liabilities side...! cash flow statement...and what the F is capitalization...

- sitting in the loo...ostensibly shitting...for 45 mins...with my ISB accounting book...!

- at the shop, after realizing tht i am out of monies...asking R.."tere paas cash flow hai...????"

the model is done...and i think...its comes out well...! thank god...

~a

PS:

for all those concerned...i think its almost a proven fact now that consulting is possibly the only field which required you to hv paid attention during your MBA. possibly speaks for the reason why they always look for the toppers...!
AD topped the marketing course at ISB. which speaks for the fact that he hasnt been studying...cause it wont hv happened if he did...! :)

...and where do u come from...

2006-07-24T01:54:00.000-07:00

the other day i was explaining to my manager the concept of a blog...the same way someone explained the concept of an orgasm (THANK YOU) to me...only a few days back...!

so anyways...he asked me a good question..."how does the world come to know of your blog"..."and how is it that you know of others"...

at that time i simply answered that you start circulating your blog amoungst your peers...so on and so forth...and the network builds. and its the same way that you get to know of other blogs..

and then...i went to my sitemeter...and checked out stuff. to my surprise..almost 70% of the clicks on my blogs r through referrals. which basically means they are unsuspecting individuals browsing some really high IQ blogs...until destiny takes them to mine...!

additionally...i also found that my blog comes up on google for the weirdest of all searches:

Search # 1
yana gupta lipstick ad (http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=yana%20gupta%20lipstick%20ad&meta=)
WWWWWWWTTTTTTTFFFFFFFF

Search # 2
who has remixed yeh zameen gaa rahi hain (http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&q=who%20has%20remixed%20yeh%20zameen%20gaa%20rahi%20hain&meta=)
holy shit...!!!!!

Search # 3
What does Ankur mean (http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&q=What%20does%20Ankur%20mean&btnG=Search&meta=)
thank god for a sane search

so...where do u come from...?

~a

PS: funny things are happening to me on orkut nowadays. next post...dedicated to..."adventures on orkut"

...my 1st touch with 'bschool racism'

2006-07-19T08:26:00.001-07:00

u always hear about it...but never wanna believe. and then it finally happens...and u r left thinking..."shit...it was true..and i never believed..."

my current team is an all IIM team...and if you are in consulting...the chances of this not happening are equivalent to that of america's hottest model with vital stats of 40-40-40..! and its an awesome team...i love all 3 of them...cause they r fun...and extremely smart...and very very professional and hardworking.

however, it jst happens...and invariably atleast once a day...when i get that random.."oh tu to yeh kar lega...tu isb se hai..."..."tu likh le yeh slide...tu to isb se hai...english to sikhaate honge..."

given me...i jst laugh it off....or better still...join in...."nahi...maine english waala elective nahi liya tha..."..! but then i do think...i hope thye r not serious. i mean...i hope at some level they really dont have that iim vs isb attitude.

whats fuels this thought is the fact that my 1st team...which too was an all iim one (40-40-40...yeah...the same joke..!)...never did anything like this. yah...there used to be those..."these guys are kings yaar...they r frm isb...used to ACs all day and room service.."...but then...extremely rare. meant more as a filler statement than anything else...

anyways...probably i am thinking too much into it. work has been quite demnading...but not hectic. the standards r really high...which is good in a way. although its really demoralizing when you dont reach up to them. i can say that i havent been performing the way i would want to...

leaving for home in 2 hrs...! life is a travel bag...

life's good..

:)

~a

india...one and a half days...

2006-07-15T07:37:00.000-07:00

so remember...whenever consults try to mesmerize you with those bloody flybacks...think twice before you start having orgasm..

reached home at 6am thursday morning. was kinda tired because of the midnight flight...so slept..and woke up at 11...!

left home at 4pm on friday...rushed to office to file my expenses...and then caught the 9pm flight...

flyback...wasssuuuuuuuuupppppppp...!!!

but then yah...something is better than nothing. coming out of office on friday...i wished i cud go back to the time when i used to go home frm office...! i mean..even if at 8..or 9...(well...once even at 1am)...i was going home. and not some swanky...touch me oh so not...hotel room...! but then...thats life...

caught an awesome movie this wednesday "over the hedge" with A. awesome movie...had an absolutely brilliant time..completely hilarious and wonderfully crafted around a rather stupid storyline. muct watch..

then thursday (god..whats with me...am turning into a movie critic or something)...watched Corporate. wtf dude...does raj babbar have any..i mean ANYYY...idea of what market capitalization is. who in this world...while talking to normal humans...makes statements such as...jaante ho kitni badi company hai...iss company ka M-A-R-K-E-T C-A-P-I-T-A-L-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N 6000 crore hai...! i mean...for god sake...this is not vajpayee land..its business..!

overall...rather stupid movie...very factual though..will give you a insight into how businesses in their worst form function...and how everyone seems to be running by the "the social responsibility of business is to make profits" paradigms...!

on the way back...watched RDB again...and cried yet again...! thats a movie...thats a movie...!

work is coming along well...am having orgasms over the model i am creating nowadays...hv done it right frm stratch and its so much fun. i love excel...(can see E going..."hadnt i been sayin it...i'd been sayin it for god damn yrs..")

net net:
dubai is a nice place...but delhi rocks...
and dont travel air india...if u dont like watching the same movie..and the same food...for a month..

life's good...

~a

1st set of Dubai snaps

2006-07-09T01:31:00.000-07:00

there u go...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/warikoo/sets/72157594192530925/

~a

...an 80 yr old start-up...

2006-07-08T05:36:00.000-07:00

its a tough job...and now i realize why...

when companies come on campus...motherhood statements are made by the dozen..

..."we are ranked first in the north delhi pin code 110004 IT shops based off the DDA market"
..."our employee satisfaction is amongst the highest in the world...says our VP, who is no more with us"
..."revenues hv grown by 12%...which is indicative of the times to come...(yah right...the industry grew by 30%...so we can foresee the times!!)"

but then...some are genuine...which is what makes their job that much tougher. i mean...amidst the pleathora of companies that come and do a belly dance at ISB...its not easy for the students to distinguish the good frm the fibbers...! when everyone is talking about the same thing...how the hell does one decide the pecking order.

and this...ultimately...and unfortunately...results in a simple criteria. more the money...better the company...or atleast...if not better...thats where i am gonna go...

was just reading an interview of Anne Deering (http://www.filefactory.com/?dad350), a partner at A.T. Kearney...and she describes ATK as an 80 yr old start-up firm. which is so true. i can see it for myself...everywhere the mood is that of 'oh we hv to bring this child up...and gotta do it soon'...!

and when asked as to what kind of people do we look for, she names stuff such as curiosity, passion for learning...etc etc..! oh for god sake...we hear this from everyone...so whats different...

its only when you start working in the firmdo you realize that all these things are the only one that shall hold you good...! you have to be curious about what you do...when given a job you have to ask..."tell me whats this for...why am i supposed to do it.."...cause as an SBA you will be at times required to do stuff that doesnt quite excite you...! crunch numbers...make presentations...google like for 3-4 hours...for stupid data..!

but then in the long run...and i can so totally see it already...the ones who do well...are the ones who know what they are doing...and why they are doing it...! cause thats when you develop an appreciation for the kind of work you do...

so yeah...back to what the main theme was...its really tough to know when is a company simply lying...or when is it being truly genuine. unfortunately...unless you hvnt experienced a similar firm...its very tough to juxtapose 2 firms and see which one is better..

the best way...i can guess...is to ask the alums. cause we r experiencing what you guys shall experience...! and believe me...this feedback about the company shall be extremely crucial...

~a

PS: needless to say...ATK is not the only consulting firm which talks genuinely about what they want and how they function. every other consulting firm i can think of (well almost...surely the top ones)...would be very true when they tell you what kind of people they look for...and how they go about looking for them..!

chodoonga nahi bharaniiiiiiiii.............

2006-07-05T00:42:00.000-07:00

my biggest fear...right here...infront of your eyes...

i was tagged...! and i didnt even know what that means...till i saw my name in the Big B'g blog...

so here..!

I am thinking
how many years will it take mumbai to realize that not having a proper drainage system hits their bloody GDP by some 26763 basis points...!

I said
to myself...wud i ever wanna stay in dubai if given a chance...
no...and this was even before i asked the question...

I want
to have a house big enough fot my parents and wife...in the next 2-3 years...and i want to name it "warikoos"

I wish
to travel all across the world...and visit atleast 300 countried before i die...! precisely why i wish this...not want this...!

I miss
the days when i used to go to the temple...and pray to god..."please make me superman...i promise i will help others and not misuse the powers". this was early 90s...right after i had watched superman II...! watching superman returns this weekend...brought back some reall sweet memories...!

I hear
myself...all the time. i question muself all the time...and i answer myself all the time.

I wonder
what would life have been like if i hadnt met R...! if i hadnt come back frm the US...if i had continued with tennis...if i didnt anchor tht stage show in school...if i had got thru the IITs...if i didnt join ISB but the other schools...if i hadnt got thru ATK...if life wasnt what it is today...

I regret
nothing...absolutely nothing. i just wonder...!

I am
just another guy...

I dance
like crazy when i have to. precisely the time when medical sciene cannot explain how a certain human can have more than 2 left feet...!

I sing
a lot...more than people think i do...and i feel i dont do a bad job. R is probably the only one infront of whom i have sung...else...its the car and me...!

I cry
a lot lesser than i used to. but i am proud of the fact that i can cry infront of people..its not a sign of weakness for me...! and yah...the sight of a lost child...always makes me cry...!

I am not
right all the time...

I write
a lot...! and with my new sexy fountain pen...i sure do write a lot..!

I confuse
myself whenever there is a sound coming in my car....have a horrible sense of direction in tht sense...! i surely wasnt a dog ever...this is my 1st time as one...!

I need
to make people happy arnd me...thats my battery..!

I should
make sure i never hurt anyone...cause it sucks when i do...! it really sucks...

I finish
every task given to me...as if there isnt anything else left to do in this world.

I tag
Pratik Patankar
Arun Dhar
Girish 'IT' Krishnan
DHIONLYONE

~a

nationalities...all arnd me..

2006-07-05T00:07:00.000-07:00

Day: June 30, 2006
Time: 4.30pm
Venue: A.T. Kearney, Delhi Office

Mail subject:
Welcome aboard

Me (thinking):
"isnt this a little too late...??"

Mail Content:
Dear ankur,
Welcome to the **** project in Dubai

Me (thinking):
WWWWWWTTTTTTTTTTTFFFFFFFFFFFFF

scanned the passport, sent it across
got my health insurance
bought myself a strolley
took a few deep breaths
bought an aftershave, deo, shampoo, conditioner, shoes, a shirt, trouser
checked my bank balance
received visa on sunday
receieved ticket on sunday
flew monday morning 4am flight

Day: July 5, 2006
Time: 11am
Venue: Client site, Dubai

am staying in the best business hotel of the world (or so the award says!)
have tasted 4 cuisines in the last 2 days
am surrounded by 7 different accents in office
cant understand a shit of what the delivery guy says..when i order lunch...and i am sure he will be saying the same
hv walked on the Sheikh Zayeed Road (seems to be the main hub!) for 25 minutes...doing nothing
hvnt clicked any snaps as yet...plan to click 300 this weekend..
am waiting to be back in india next week

life surely is good...at times very unpredictable...mostly good...! :)

PS: i will be here for 4 months...though i do get flybacks...weekly...but then dubai weekends (thurs/fri). My delhi number will be operational frm next week...thrus/fri...else email is the best way to reach me...(just in case you need to!)

scariest snap ever...

2006-06-26T02:11:00.000-07:00

Originally uploaded by ttiot.

i dont remember what the time was...(S, E, G...help!)...i guess it was post midnight. and this was on the way from south->north goa. beautiful colors.

according to E, there is a paddy field (or something) right infront of the church. so when it rains (and it sure does in goa!), the reflection of the colors on the paddy waters make for an awesome snap.

anyways...so quite late in the night...and the colors capture me. i need to have a still position to take the colors...so was searching for a platform...and found one...inside th church complex...

and...it was jst like the movies...pitch darkness...(the background of the snap tells you that)...not a soul...not a whisper...only the sound of the camera...i was adjusting the settings...the girls in the car...outside and much far away from me...no wind...nothing

took me some 5-7 mins to get this shot...and all this while...it was as if there was someone right behind me...a hand approaching my shoulder...or a movie camera approaching my back....!

scary...!

anyways...life is good..work has been slightly loose nowadays. not much...definitely nothing compared to the 1st proj. have been watching ridiculous movies (spelled as KRISH in the english language)...though i did manage to catch MI3 and was mightly pleased with it. Also discovered a sexy restaurent (Azzuro) at the saket complex, thanks to A.

salary coming today....yipeeeeeeeeeeeeee! :)

~a

My Room

2006-06-19T22:57:00.000-07:00

was browsing through my flickr account and came across this. and it brought back memories...! this was around september...much before i decided to throw my bed out and sleep on the floor...

god...used to love this piece of concrete...as if it had life. late into the night...move out of the window...with clothes in my arms like a baby...spilling over...take them to the laundry....come back...lie on the mirror pool and star gaze (once with S...which was bliss..!!)...put on the music...

"yeh hai meri kahaani...khamosh zindagi...."

~a

the last few days...

2006-06-19T22:54:00.000-07:00

and this was in the last week...

wanna be back...

2006-06-12T03:26:00.000-07:00

which is what is the good part about consulting...

my 1st project...absolute quant based. heavy modelling...excel files running into 120 spreadsheets and 28MB..! 5 nights spent at office beyond midnight...just missing the morning sun...! (ok exxagerated...but then u get the point!)...a requirement of 24/7 eyes open view...on numbers...where they come from...where they go..and what they do to the results.

my 2nd project...(and ISB's fav word)...'strategy'. getting free from office (actually...to be precise...literally being thrown away from office) at 6.30 everyday so far...! but a lot of thought...a lot of qualitative analysis. underatanding the market...and providing solutions.

stark contrast...!

but great fun..nevertheless....

this weekend was the delhi meet for 2006 batch. was awesome fun. some 30 odd people turned up...and lasted till midnight. the venue was laid back waters at the Qutub hotel. sweet place...! and we got a separate corner for ourselves..! was really nice to meet up with everyone...catch up on lives...where people talk about their work...and the lack of it...!

might get a chance to go to hyd...for a client meeting. which would mean spending the night at ISB..for sure..! was reading S's blog and the entry jst made my heart go 'pain'...! would love to spend time...jst the way it used to be...jst a few months back...! sleeping on the LRC couch during the exam prep time...! the chit chat...rarely stepping upwards of an 23 IQ level...post dinner...! the 'warikooooo' shout...right outside my window...! E's room/junkyard/rubbish can/bacteria incubator/awesomest hangout place at ISB...! G's 'ohh u shut up'...and S's 'thats an ugly fat ass potato'...!

godd...its work...and i am wasting client money on isb sob stories...!

:(

wanna be back...wanna be back...

~a

being a consultant...

2006-06-02T00:05:00.000-07:00

so...my 1st project ended...and to much appreciation from the higher ups..! after the final presentation the team (comprising 4) went to Ricks (taj's pub, in delhi) and had a nice 2 hrs chilling time. bonding...so as to say. thats when you realize a lot of things about consulting that are usually behind gold doors in bschool...

1. Consulting is an extremely demanding profession. and unlike other areas (possibly)...the work only increases as you go higher up. so basically..even though you might leave at 4...and no one shall question you...its not that you get to see a movie in the evening. you basically leave to work from home..!

2. The biggest effect that such a profession has...is not on you...but your spouse. infact...the success of any consultant (especially a guy) should definitely be attributed to his wife. dont know if i can say the same for a female consult...cause i think she wud hv been better off without her husband...! :)

3. Its all about priortizing..! work...and life. no one shall ever tell you that its a 9-5 job..but then no one shall also tell you...YOU HAVE TO WORK 24/7...! its all about what you want to do...and how...! its all about...what you think is important..and in V's words...someone who places work in front of family all the time...will never make it big...

4. there will always be times (though 28 days is too less a duration for me to have faced one) when you shall question your existence as a consult. why am i here...what am i getting travelling 5 days a week..away frm family...building mileage points...! and then shall come the final client meeting. wherein the client will almost kiss your feet...or would kiss somewhere else if it wasnt for gay laws...! thats when you shall realize...what you get staying a consultant is not something everyone can boast off...

and all this is true...i am slowly realizing it . my 1st client places so much of trust in us...that when we show them the numbers...they actually stand up in amazement...and go..."holy shit..we never thought of that...we have to change directions"...and i think..."is he really serious. i mean..would one of the world's largest gas company change direction because a 25 yr old plugged in numbers in an excel sheet and did some macro shit"...! but yes...he will.

and thats when you feel scared. and burdened. and responsible. its a sexy burden though...cause on your analysis depends a decision...! that could possibly..."change directions"...! and then..you work...you work like an ass...take every move in a calculated fashion...jst to make sure that you dont let the other side down...

and then friday comes...and you go for a movie...and suddenly..you are not that important anymore...and yet...you love the break...

..cause monday...will be another long week...

i guess so far...i love being a consultant...! :)

~a

PS: To be on the safe side...and its always good to be that ways...i would want to put a disclaimer on the above. The client conversations are all fictitious...! And only indicative of the 'potential' of a consultant. At no point of time should anyone reading this, make any judgement calls on certain companies...and worse still...speculate on business issues...!

warikoo...keep blogging...

2006-05-29T05:58:00.000-07:00

Those were R’s last words when we last talked. I wanted to listen to him…I genuinely did…! And its scary that I haven’t kept the word.

Anyways…won’t even attempt to go into the whys and the wherefores…! Lets look at life lately…

Work has been awesome…! The project is nearing its end…it was a short 4-week strategy project…but then a lot of work. Specifically excel modeling. In the past 3 weeks I have already spent some 5 days coming home at 11.30…12ish…! But then the good part is that the weekends are free. And I do remember the experienced set of consultants back at ISB always telling me so…”work like an ass on weekdays…and then enjoy the weekends”.

Its not stressful…not if you enjoy what you do. And as a consultant…you got to love what you do…and be quick at doing so as well. So…while I knew shit about natural gas…leave alone its status in India…I can now identify each and every natural gas plant in any Indian district…atleast in essence! And I know what simulates its demand…and I know what the scenario shall be 5 years from now…10 years from now…even 25 years from now…!

That’s interesting for me. In just a month…I have met the CEO of one of the world’s most powerful power company…have understood the Indian scenario in and out…and have established a working model that helps the client solve his problem. Just a month…!

On the other front…good news. I am kind of engaged…in the sense…our parents met up and stamped the relationship (finally!)…! So now planning for the big event shall start…which wont be anytime this year though…but probably early next year or so. Lets see…!

Saw the DaVinci Code last night. Wonderfully done…though definitely not as descriptive as the book. But then…that’s always a struggle right…! When you have to shrink 650 odd pages in 2.5 hours…there is bound to be some miss. Overall though…I loved the movie. At some level believe in it too…actually always believed so…even before the book (Read: Chariots of the Gods by Erik Von Daniken)

Quite a few current ISB students have been calling me up regarding how to study for the exams…(HAH!) and about ELPs. Just incase someone needs free advice…here you go…

Here is my general take on good grades...!

1. Stay awake in class. that’s half the battle won. and believe me...its not an easy task. if u concentrate all 2 hrs...u need to catch up that much less.
2. Do your assignments and cases seriously. think beyond the obvious. mostly for cases. when u read a case...take your time and think about what you want to share with the class...your perspective. that will give u practice for the final exams.
3. Ask the profs for a sample exam. Insist on it. Will always help.
4. Get comfy with numbers. ISB is largely quant driven...so this will help
5. Pray..!

Till next time…and promise it to be soon…

~a

first impression...

2006-05-07T22:26:00.000-07:00

the one thing that i realize...work wont really be ISB...and hence...posts wont be that frequent..! nevertheless...this time around...it shall be the quality wins over quantity scenario....

so...work started may 01. thats labor day...and in the words of my boss..."we arent laborers...so we dont get a day off!". alright...accepted...!

the office is plush. in one of the best office complexes in delhi. the 14th floor allows u to measure the dust particles per microcentimeter...in the atmosphere...standing beyond a 12 inch thick glass that doesnt allow even the smallest 'particle' of airconditioned air escape the office. on the house tea/coffee/juices...u ask for water and they fetch an unopened kinley....and u go..."no..i want water that doesnt taste...the one that my grandad used to have for his morning gargle..!"

the day was pretty much spent on logistics...bank account opening...credit card opening...forms that allow your family to make money if u die...or r hospitalized...! and that was pretyt much it. the new joinees r pretty smart people. 2 frm IIMA, 1 from IIIB, 1 frm IIMC and 2 frm ISB. thats delhi. mumbai has a slightly different ratio...with no one frm isb in there.

come tuesday and we left for gos for our orientation. stayed at the taj village resort...pretty decent place...and had it not been for the humid weather, i wud hv largely appreciated the greenary arnd as well. anyhow...so we took the kingfisher flight...which has a stopover at bangalore. the entire flight took us 4 hrs...which btw is 2 hrs less than what it takes one to fly half the world..! what was best was the flight back...5 hrs...!!!!! and it got delayed by 1...which basically meant that we spent the time it cud hv taken to reach london...in simply sitting in an aircraft...watching the indian laughter challenge...! sic!

and then...we hv to give to mr mallaya. i mean...u get balls of steel to get yana gupta to speak hindi...let alone show how to unbuckle a seatbelt. the words tht she used were last used in 2000 BC...when the aryans were taking their first bullock cart ride...! i mean...who in gods name...uses "sunishchit...!!!" nowadays. i am sure in some part of the plane...a lady wud hv gone...."there...thats the name of my 1st kid...!!!"

and the funniest part was blowing the lifejacket. it looked like a lipstick ad...! guys who travel kingfisher...watch out for this...! funny...

so anyways...moving on...! the 1st day was awesome...the taj guys had planned a treasure hunt for us..to bond and all...! and with 11 guys and 1 girl...bonding was meant to take whole new different heights...! :) but it was awesome...we did mountain climbing...rapelling...some tree climbing...and rope jumping...and weird shit. wonderfully organized...and loads of fun. in the end we did manage to 'bond' well..

and then the next day we had a raft building session. which was mind-blowing. we mad a raft using tyre tubes and bamboo sticks...and the entire operation was to reach the other side of the backwater and fetch a flag. we did manage to travel 20% of the distance when the currennt took over...and we realized we had covered the distance that we were supposed to....horizontally...!!!

the classroom sessions started...meant to sensitize us to the consulting process and the A.T. Kearney way of doing things. V and D did a terrific job...they held us together...and thats a difficult task when u r sitting in a conference room...next to the pool...in goa...wearing formals...(typically the people outside wudnt be wearing as many clothes combined...as wud be one of us sitting inside...!!!)...

and then the exercises...and the feel good factor created around what we shall be doing in the time to come...etc. it was great fun...and along the way we realized...and this is a frank opinion...that Kearney didnt do that great a job selling themselves on campus. i mean...as of today...set aside the fact that i am now part of the organization...i can say that Kearney is surely up there. one of the best consulting firms in the country...and a leader in quite a few verticals. our position in auto and energy is quite widely accepted as being the best...and it reflected frm the kind of work we have done...and the feedback we have received.

overall...i felt proud being part of this team. even the people who have worked here for sometime say...that the best part about the organization is that everyone is happy. which is so very important...and at the same time so tough to achieve as an organization.

we all left saturday...and it was an amazing 5 days spent. totally worth it. have to thank V for organizing the entire thing and putting in..what was clearly...a lot of hardwork and time. atleast from my side..it paid off wonderfully...

monday today...looking for the real work to start.

life's good...

~a

good times...!!!!

2006-04-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

Life post ISB…is quite exciting…!

8.00am:
Get up to drop sister to college. Stopped the 1st day to ask her what exactly did she used to do when I wasn’t here. The look I received was the same that our president gave when someone asked him who his barber was. I didn’t bother asking again…!

8.45am:
Come back and read the newspaper. Realize on the 7th page that sleep has better chances of increasing my IQ than this shit…!

10.30am:
“get up and bloody have your breakfast…and that includes milk”
“I haven’t had milk for the past one year…and the same goes for breakfast. Please understand”
“WHEN IN ROME…DO THE ROMANS…”…or translated in english…”when back home…u better have everything that is liquid and white in color…excluding whats on your dirty filthy mind right now…!!”

11.30am:
Plan the day. Call up people...! realize that people actually work till 6 in the evening…or so they claim…

12.30pm:
Step out…yes…at this hour…to buy some grocery for home. Or vegetables…or fruits…or just step out…yes…at this hour…

1.30pm:
Lunch…! That’s if an invitation hasn’t come from the 8967786973 ISBians of the batch of 2006 spending their time at delhi at this precise moment…!

3.00pm:
Go to the car dealer to scan for the best deals…
Conversation are usually like this…

“I need a quote on maruti swift”
“which model”
“LXi”
“sit!”
“thanks”
“want to get it financed”
“yes…do I look as if I have the money”
“that’s also true…!...salaried or business”
“helooooooooooo”
“ok ok…salaried…whats your monthly income”
(an obscene figure is exchanged”
A long stare follows….just the same way as the dad-in-law would view his to be d-i-l. right fron bottom to top…stopping for a few seconds on the face…
And then the rather loud…”what the…!!!!”
“what happened??? U ok…”
“nothing nothing sir. What will you have…tea…coffee…we serve really good cold drink sir”
“no thank you…can we proceed with the quote please”

Now…it really doesn’t help that the college I come from also boasts of a crorepati…! The entire bloody equation becomes unbalanced…and the entire bloody world seems to know abt this crorepati…if not the school…!

Anyways…so the conversation will have some small talk as well…”how was ur experience at IBS…”…(its ISB for god sake…how hard it that…I – S – B )…! “At Kearney is a very nice firm…” (yah…at the precise moment you stop called it ‘at’ and actually call it A – T…it will begin on its path to becoming a good firm…so please…!!!)

Phew…!

5.00pm:
Leave for daily darshan. Either go to her office…or meet at some place…eat something…get a lowdown on the day…exchange some future plans that were drafted in the dreams last night…get into a heated argument…sulk…get normal…and finally its time to leave

8.30pm:
Reach home…wash up

9.30pm:
Dinner…with some serious heart rendering emotional (and jewellery) display on the soaps…!

10.30pm:
On the net…daily mails…reply to atleast 7 people…6 of which didn’t even mail me…!!!

12.30am:
Read my book…then think about all the possible secret societies of the world and the holy grail (and if you haven’t observed…I AM FINISHED WITH THE DA VINCI CODE…6.5 HOURS FLAT…!!!!)

1.30am
Retire to bed…!

Life is good…miss ISB though…! Had an awesome lunch today…with GP, KS and Banno. Went through ISB all over again and cracked our brains on the statistical improbability of 8 people (out of the maximum of 16) from a single block…in a single SV…to have been caught in the honor code. We drafted a mail then and there to JH…requesting him to get that block sanitized…!!!

Work begins this monday. And we are off to goa (for an orientation…!!! HAH!!!) for the next 5 days…! My tryst with E continues…!

Good times…!

~a

was back...am back...

2006-04-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

It always works for me…and I am so glad I know that it does…!!!

Going back to ISB helped…! Now the ‘missing’ is at a different level…! I know that things wont be the same…but then something convinced me that they wont be bad either. The same happened the 1st time I came back to India from the US…after that torturous first year…! I didn’t miss home as much…cause something had changed…! That something…worked this time around as well…

So these 6 days were mindblowing fun. The best was meeting E…cause I never thought I would…! And somehow…meeting everyone gave me a rather soothing feeling…! Its like…”they will be there always…so don’t worry…”…! Had a blast everyday…partying all night…DJ199 also played…and the entire atmosphere was surprisingly very nice…!

The new batch is awesome…to say the least. An extremely hyperactive…hyper-hectic…and supercool bunch of young people…! And some exceptionally talented individuals…and some awesomely experienced set of professionals…! It was lovely interacting with them…and a wonderful feeling to be on the other side…

It’s funny…and weird…! I left for the orientation on the 15th…exactly a year since I 1st reached ISB. And things have changed so much…the nervous questions have been replaced by the confident replies…the anxious thoughts about the placements have been replaced by the proud “I shall be joining AT Kearney at their Delhi Office” statement…the lost look amongst 345 odd students…replaced by their names…their faces…and their friendship…!

And this is what life is…! In 2 simple words…MOVING ON…!

Looking forward…and this time really so…for a totally new chapter…!

Lots to things to do…

Sell off my bike
Buy a new car
Find an alternative source of funds…credit cards and R’s money not allowed anymore…!
Buy formal wear…
Collect my books frm V’s house
Read up on my MBA main courses…!
Finish the ‘Da Vinci Code’…FOR GOD SAKE…!