Tum Bin ....

"Raatein Adhuri hain Tum Bin,
Baatein Adhuri hain Tum Bin,
Milte hain khud se jab Tanhai mein,
Mulaqatein Adhuri hain Tum Bin ...
Tanhai Sawaal karti hai humse,
Taane deta hai sannata harpal,
Mohabbat Tarpati hai Tum Bin ..
Kabhi soch ke dekha to laga ...
Hamari to Zindagi hi Adhuri hai Tum Bin ... "


P.S. May not be written by me .. :)

a phone call can change your life..

sipping a cup of hot coffee sitting near the glass wall (with rain drops falling on it) of my pentahouse apartment located at Hiranandani Estates - Powai, looking at the hills outside with the song "yeh shaam mastani .. madhosh kiye jaye" playing in backgroung on my Bose music system.. remembring my old IIMA days.. those friends .. those fun filled days..

well.. coming back to my "aukaat".. that is a bit too ideal of a evening in my life ...here i am sitting on a dining cum study cum reclainer type chair in my flat in Borivali (my flat ..?? are you gone mad dude .. it's rented) with an almost empty can of coke looking at my computer screen while the song "aashayein..." being played for 12th time in row.. (this song keeps me going on in hope one day some good MNC would hire me with handsome salary) i am playing my favorite game "mario".. :)

suddenly my phone rings. i redirect one of my eyes to look at phone screen to know who called while other eye is still paying full concentration on mario. this was a call to be accepted. could not be rejected at any cost. no no .. not that "someone special one"; it is a friend. whom i address as "lifeguru" because i have learnt a lot from her calmness and stillness. many times when i feel tensed and worried i talk to her and she like an angel makes me to forget all my worries and tensions for a while. she is calling me for almost tenth times in last two days which is almost equal to the times we talk in two months. my sixth sense is warning me that there is something abnormal with this. i attend the call ("mario" is still going ON :-))

me : hey lifeguru.. what's up ?

she: yeah.. good here .. how are you doing ?? (a notebly sad voice)

me : ma enjoying the mumbai rainy season. you sound sad. like never before. is everything okey ?

she: yeah.. everything is good. did you remember when did we meet for the last time ?
me : (after some thinking) almost three months back.

she: hmmm. great.
me : i have gathered the information you wanted regarding Air Hostess Training Instt. in Delhi.

she: but situations may not allow me to join there now. (i sensed her voice emerging from a distance with a lot of depth)
she: i want to share something with you.

me : yes. you can. like you always do. you again hit a motorist with your car ?
she: no. something serious. should i tell you ?

me : what.?
she: this is something which you would never have expected. and something which no one knows. and you would have to promise me that no one of our common friends come to know about it. (now she is talking like she is going to say "i am a ghost")

me : (curious) hey. tell na. don't test my patience.
she: listen carefully.. (and when the secret is revealed .. and i go absolutely speachless for few minutes..)

that one phone call changed the way i think, the way i think about life, the way i feel possesive about my belongings and much more. That day i truely felt "Life is so unncertain".

Life in a .. Metro ... !!!

It seems that the bollywood directors have taken great piece of inspiration from the movies Crash and Babel... “Life in a … “ is the third Bollywood movie (after Honeymoon Travels, Salaam-E-Ishq) in last one year with numerous characters and their intermingled lives.. This movie seems to be perfect portrayal of Murphy's Law (What is Least Expected will happen)... watch the movie to believe it...

This movie features seven main characters...

Kangna Ranuat:- She is no more than an eye candy... and getting post graduate degree in playing such roles...

Shiney Ahuja:- Moving a step further in his domain expertise in tragedic roles (bollywood ko naya Delip Kumar mil gaya)... Nice Looks though..

KK:- I personally did not like him in this movie, a serious role or i could say i did not like the character...

Konkana Sen and Irrfan Khan:- The best package of this movie, I think to live any role both need a little less instructions than a software engineer need to surf internet :-) .. It's same Konkona Sen Sharma(This is her full name, dekha thodi GK bad gayi) reprising a role familiar from Page 3, complete with gay love cheat (bechari)... Irrfan Khan is playing a really funny guy… (some astrologer has told him to add one more 'r' in his name it seems)...

Shilpa Shetty:- Looks sexy and refreshed... but her looks dominate her acting...

Sharman Joshi:- Plays a role inspired(copied would be a better word here) from Hollywood movie "The Apartment"…

And one thing that was sometimes pleasant and annoying at others was, 2 apes and 1 dude (METRO Band) showing up all the time in the movie. Chota ape, Pritam(Music Director of the movie) holding the guitar, Mota ape, James doing some kind of rock star stuff and 3rd dude(pata nahi uska naam kya hai) singing the songs. Whole theatre was laughing whenever they used to appear on the screen…

But I have to accept that the soundtrack of this movie is too good... Song "Rishtey" is a nice piece of poetry with great composition... There is some kind of energy and depth in the lyrics. Just too good.

Oooops..!!!

sabse great actor ko to bhool hi gaya .. apne dharam paaji.. though he is nowhere in the trailers or publicity campaigns of this movie but he has a good length role in this movie romancing Nasifa Ali(she looks very elegant).. after watching dharam paaji in "Life in a .." I am sure he can give a run to laughter champions for money easily .. what all he has to do is to go to stage and utter some centi dialogues (rajesh khanna ke dialogues bahut sahi rahenege inke liye)..

well .. If given a chance surely will like to meet the director of this movie to say “dude .. nice attempt .. ”

yeh hai meri kahani ..

From childhood I have been very environment conscious, that might be the reason when I joined my first job in Mumbai I preferred to commute to office on foot so as not to contribute in causing any damage to Ozone using my own vehicle. That’s a difference fact that my office was at three minutes walk from my home (nahi to paidal chal ke kyun jaata .hehehe). But last Wednesday came to me as a shocker, I was back to office after a long vacation (medical leave, roz paidal chalte chalte thak gaya tha so needed rest); as soon as I logged on to my supercomputer (that’s what I call my office machine, despite the fact that I have to wait for a response for good two minutes forty five seconds after clicking on any icon it never hanged) I was told to pack up all my belongings (mujhe laga ki UNPLANNED medical leave pe jaane ki wajah se mujhe company ne nikaal diya hai) and set up my shop in SEEPZ. I somehow managed to keep myself alive once my heart skipped some beats after hearing this breaking news. Few minutes back I was listening to the song “yeh aakhiri alvida na ho” from the movie “shootout at Lokhandwala” and was thinking how stupid song that was. But after this announcement I felt that the song is very much true to life. I was provided a big box to keep my belongings in that for the movement, as soon as I saw that box a thought flashed in my mind that am I supposed to carry this huge box with me to SEEPZ, but thanks to GOD(if there is any) the management showed some kind heartedness towards us already bugged up with work (and so many other activities) employees and got those boxes moved to the destination by packers and movers. Finally it was time to say GoodBye to an office where I worked for full two years and liked many aspects of it (hey.. I am not talking about the work, I liked the on desk delivery facility available from the cafeteria which I used extensively, ehhhHH.. trying to remember what else I liked here) and some facilities(really?) which I did not like (I am talking about the AC which was worse than Air Cooling, we were actually provided with Table Fans; Imagine in a Software Development Firm people working under Table Fans, well my company name starts with T and ends with S; enough hint to smart people). I left that office for the last time with sense of nostalgia. Felt like saying GoodBye to the security guard at main gate from whom I had taken 20/- to pay my auto fare in lieu of a 100/- note and forgot to take 80/- back from him.

Well the story begins from the next day, my new office was at good distance of 18-20 Kms and I had to take a bus to reach there. I got up at 8 AM as usual and got ready, and then suddenly my Einstein brain advised me that I should take some rest prior to heading for a hectic day. I slept again, got up at 1 PM and somehow convinced myself that the best time to go to office has arrived. Came out of my matchbox home (come to Mumbai and you will come to know what this term means) and dragged myself to a nearby BEST bus stop. On the way came across a team mate whose office has not shifted yet, and upon knowing that I am going to SEEPZ he wished me a sarcastic “Best of Luck” (*?%$$^%^!$%@&&). I reached the bus stop and started to wait for bus, it was 01:30 PM and I was standing in sun shining at its full glory (ise shayad 5 ki rating milti hogi, tabhi itna man lagaa ke kaam karta hai). I looked around for any shadowed place but no lucks. My GF is sure if I continue going like this to office for few more months I will go Black and she will ditch me (somebody sue her for racism please). I had asked about the bus no’s to look for from my roommate last night, they were 498 and 524(yaad kar lo .. agar borivali se SEEPZ aana pade to yeh do bus jaate hain), some 10-15 buses passed in a couple of minutes but no traces of any bus heading towards my destination. I started thinking is it so that the bus no. 498 and 524 will come after 497 and 523 buses are passed from the stop respectively. In that case I will surely get into bus no. 498 because that will come earlier. Good Logic it was and I felt happy that still my logical thinking power is alive. It was 1:52 PM and I was sweating and was trying to convince my mind to go back home and watch CNBC (sometime I plan to turn to a full time trader). Suddenly It was Murphy’s Law getting exemplified and bus no. 498 came. It was totally empty and I was the only person to board the bus from the stop. No body were going to SEEPZ then why the hell I was going there, then I remembered a song (EKLA CHALO RE) and got some inspiration. The conductor approached me for Ticket, I think he belonged to Shiv Sena or upon looking at my face he was so confident about my new language learning skills because even after knowing the fact I do not know Marathi he was trying to speak with me in pure Marathi (uske ascent se clear the yah baat) somehow I guessed that he is asking for fare 10/-. I handed over a 10/- note to him and got peace of mind. Then from the next stop few desperate souls heading towards the same destination as mine got into the bus. They were Syntel employees. Reaching office was not a very painful journey in the hour of afternoon as there was no traffic in the roads(where are the roads man ..!! ?? sab to potholes hain .. ). It took me in total 35 minutes to reach SEEPZ. I got down at Gate No. 3 and entered into the so called SEZ (Special Economic Zone) with no idea of where my office is. I called up one of my colleagues and came to know that my office was near Gate No. 1. I again had to walk towards my office, on the way I realized that job hopping would not be so difficult in this area as SEEPZ houses big names like CGI (one of the companies I wanted to work from during my college days), MASTEK (ab tak to meri personal dushmani ho chuki hogi inke HR se), Syntel, and many more. kasam bhavani ki .. I had decided to appear in all the companies in SEEPZ before I leave this building in June (I am getting release ... feeling ecstatic). How odd it sounds, am I am box office movie who is getting release. Btw. Forget it .. let’s get back to the topic .. after fifteen minutes of struggle I reached my destination. Upon having a sight of the building I was pretty sure that the building was being used as some old 1970 time gangster’s den (as shown in the hindi movies). Well, how does it matter it was now my workplace. I entered into the building thinking that there would be some beautiful receptionist waiting for me from years to give solace to my soul saying “praannath kahaan the aap aaj tak ?” . but suddenly I felt a song running with full Dolby effects in my ears “saare sapne kahin kho gaye” when I saw a security personnel sitting in place of receptionist. Then I looked around and saw a sofa similar to be found in some 25 yrs old two star hotel’s reception (wahin se khareeda hoga in logon ne second hand, damm cost cutting). I got into the lift and with a blink of an eye I reached to the top floor of building where my office was located (it’s not because of a super fast lift I reached quickly; the building is three story one). As soon as I got out of lift I felt like being in a government office on Saturday afternoon when all employees have left for the day; or like being sitting in a multiplex watching a movie starring bobby deol, arjun rampal, mamta kulkarni and nagma (nagma fans please do not mind on this); Ab samajh jao yaar that place was as silent as graveyard. Theek hai .. chalta hai .. I entered into the workplace and a strong smell of old carpet (wow, new office is carpeted) welcomed me... somehow I managed to search my cubicle and came to know that all my privacy has taken a flight as my PC Screen was visible from all across the office… (ek baar mil to jaye who banda, jisne banaya hai yeh PC allocation chart).. Sat on my new chair and got a good feeling, chairs in new office were good.. they support back properly.. and my cubicle walls were full of Calvin and Hobbes and Dilbert cartoon strips.. spent some time reading them and then finally pressed the nuclear button… switched ON my PC .. it was a good looking Dell Machine .. but when I started configuring my machine, I realized that this machinie has been selected specially for me to teach me patience .. it took me full day to configure Outlook .. also felt sad about some more facts like on desk delivery facility from cafeteria is not available in this office which I really missed, but AC was good here .. it was running on full throttle.. after a long hectic day it was time to go back home.. came out of office at 8:15 PM to catch 8:30 PM bus to my place.. saw many deprived souls waiting for the bus.. kitne software engineers hain yaar is desh mein .. somehow got into the bus and got a seat.. bus started in time and was drifting on Eastern Express Highway (kahe ka highway …) towards my home in borivali.. seemed like all mumbai population was heading towards my home for some protest .. (aisa kya kar dya bhai log maine) .. I could see the endless sea of vehicles on the road while the other side of road was almost empty .. (agar main bus driver hota to bus ko wrong side se le jaata; well, no probs.. driver ko kal hi Fast and Furious ki DVD gift karta hoon) .. till the time I had realized it will take me atleast 1:30 hrs. to reach home and I felt like cursing Great Indian Infrastructure but suddenly Shahrukh Khan gave a guest appearance in my mind singing “yeh jo desh hai tera, swades hai tera” and I dropped the plan of cursing(Thanks Shahrukh for making me a little patriotic) .. for passing time I started looking around inside the bus .. the lights were as dim as they are in some restaurant (who log isliyie lights ko dim rakhte hain taki logon ko pata nahi chale ki kya kha rahe hain).. many people were sitting with their ears plugged in with earplugs/earphones.. I thought for a moment ki kya koi aakashwani ho rahi hai aasmaan se jo sirf yeh selected log hi sun sakte hain.. then I realized they are listening to aaskashwani aka FM these days.. I too plugged in my earplugs and started the music player, the first song that my phone selected to play me was “Doorie, sahi jaye naa ..” sach mein bahut door hai yaar Borivali se SEEPZ … finally reached my place @ 10 PM .. and gave a thought to the option of shifting to SEEPZ campus itself somewhere in the parking area ..there is ample empty space there to host a branch of dharavi slum.. from next day I decided to come back @ 11:15 PM bus which takes 35 minutes to reach borivali from SEEPZ and inline with my (TTL) traffic tolerance level..

That was my experience of being a traveler..
now listening to the song “ek woh din bhi the .. ek yeh din bhi hain .. “ from movie Chachi 420 .. it’s a beautiful song … and goes so well with happenings of my life ..

and on final note .. traveling to and from new office makes me feel like going to school on a day when you are in mood of holiday..

kasam bhavani ki .. if you had this much patience to read this post fully and successfully reached till this point you deserve a gift .. leave your mail ids in comments and I will surely send you people a paramvir chakra ..

chalo .. it's 2 AM now and time to catch some sleep .. a new experience next time ..

"anjani rahon mein tu kya dhoondhta phire ..."

was sitting with my handicap lappy (even after 12 calls and three mails to hathway my internet connection is still not renewed; seems they do not need revenue) playing NFS which is getting pretty bored these days as I am getting master of this game. Winning always without struggle is not a feeling to cherish; suddenly this song turned up on MTV. If there is anything which makes me forget everything, without a hit on the head with a flower vase, it's Lucky Ali's voice. Reason: I don't know. apart from his voice I just love the way his songs are portrayed, most of the times they reflect a common life, the videos show him traveling around the world, meeting people and then leaving the place for a new destination to create new memories, new relationships, just like the flow of a river. That’s how a life should be. The life of a traveler. I should realize that I am just a traveler, who started this journey with nothing, and one day, will end it with nothing. As I travel, I will come across varied things. Thunderous applause, venomous comments, beautiful faces, luxurious objects, broken promises. But the echo of every applause will die down eventually, every hateful comment will lose its sting after a while, a beautiful face may reveal an ugly soul with time, no object of pleasure can lead to prolonged satisfaction, and it was only my own expectation which hurt me in the guise of a broken promise. So I need to realize the truth that without attaching myself to these mirages, I have to enjoy the journey. Life is not about clinging to these ever changing stations on the way. It's about understanding that it's all just a journey, to end in nothingness one day.

a Zen story worth giving a thought ...

A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it." The teacher's reply was casual, "Ten years." Impatiently, the student answered, "But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take then?" The teacher thought for a moment, "20 years."

Six degrees of separation

Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that, if a person is one "step" away from each person he or she knows and two "steps" away from each person who is known by one of the people he or she knows, then everyone is no more than six "steps" away from each person on Earth.

In nutshell “ we can reach any person of this world by using atmost six connections ”.

When I first heard this term I had no idea about what it is about. Then I consulted my best friend Google and came to know the above definition. Well, it seems true and practical. The world is shrinking at fast pace due to increased social networking, and connectedness.

and on a side note :-
Orkut is based on this concept ..