Keep Walking

Trying to keep up with the changing time!

Status Update: Wk18

• Shopping for the big day - Done [Well, this will go on till the last moment. Signing it off for now, just to not have many pending todos in the list]
• Watch some good movies in theater - Done [Rio, Dilli Chalo and Shor in the City - I recommend them all]
• Visit Kathmandu for an outbound - Done [Do try the Everest Flight by one of those local airlines. Sagarmatha is stunning.
• Listen to some refreshing music - Done [Shor in the City - Saibo and Karma is a bitch are just not getting out of my head now!]
• Try out some new gizmos - Done [HTC HD7 is amazing. I am a fan of Windows Phone 7 interface now. Loved the seamless connectivity in my phone, facebook and email accounts. Touch interface, Camera and Sound are amazing too, to make it a wholesome experience.]
•  Take some nice pictures and post them on picasaweb - Done [Kathmandu trip photos uploaded here.If you are on ovi, you can download this app "Dream Factory" to access my picasaweb page from your Nokia mobile.  I am sure I could have done much better work there. Damn!]
• Pack the bags for the big day - Done [same as shopping task]
• iPad2 - WIP [It's love at first sight. Waiting for the right moment to propose her!]
• Write blog - Done [well almost done. If not a proper blog, I wrote some crap at least.]

- Pritesh

Little Moments

Traveling across length of the country to attend precious moments in life of people who are precious to you.

Getting high on hukkah when others around you are sloshed in alcohol.

The feeling of going home after a long time.

Reading a funny love story because she wants you to do that.

A brilliantly designed and executed personalized tshirt.

Buying chocolates for her whenever wherever you can.

Spending a night with friends remembering college days.

Admiring beauty of nature and the air hostess in the indigo flight.

Listening to your favorite music whenever wherever you want to.

Stretching your physical, emotional and mental limits to do everything possible to live such moments again and again.

Life is beautiful.

With its Little Moments of Joy.

Year of Marriages

GMBC inc. had declared the year 2010 as the 'Year of Marriages'. The nomenclature is pretty much self explanatory. However, fortunately or unfortunately, we seem to have chosen a very ambitious target. It is certain now that we will have to stretch some deadlines. Managers we are and will always be. Sticking to time lines is not our cup of tea.

However, for me, this tenth year in the new millennium is still turning out to be a year of marriages. Everybody seem to be in hurry to lose his/her single status. So much so that the joke is that I cannot seem to find a date for my marriage 'coz all of them this year have been already booked by my friends. Winds don't seem to change direction in early months of next year either. 

[Time for a detour to satiate those nagging ones amongst you who, like my mom, have troubled me a lot with the question about my marriage.
Guys and gals,
This is to certify that this post is intended just for general discussion and has no mention or discussion about any probable dates for my marriage. Anything resembling such a date is purely coincidental.
End of detour]

Such a jam packed schedule brings with it some very practical issues which will put my learnings from engineering and management to good use. Here is just a brief list of the major concerns for me:
1. Resource Allocation: limited amount of leaves need to be distributed in an efficient way to utilize them to the fullest and attend maximum number of marriages for everyone's satisfaction.
2. Shortest Path Algorithm: Remember traveling salesman problem? Well, I am the protagonist today in all literal or practical senses and trying to solve it today when planning my travel arrangements.
3. Resource Sharing: Ethnic and party wear and of course credit cards to extract maximum purchase points and cash back returns.
4. Negotiations: specially with boss for leaves and with everyone else who are still in the planning phase.

But no worries Sumana, Chandu, Manan, Piyush, Sandeep, Ankit, Bora, Manoo, Charlee, Chawla and others who have not yet finalized the dates!! I am going to be there.

Cheers to the Year of Marriages...

Damn...

Damn! It’s been 10 minutes of me trying to write a new entry and still there’s nothing on my notepad!!

Damn!! What was it that I wanted to write on?

Damn!!! I have forgotten the idea for today’s blog :(

Damn!!!! I have been infected with STML (Short Term Memory Loss).

Miss Sonam: You are going to pay for it!

...'I hate love storys' songs playing in background...

Some Memorable Cinema Experiences

In no particular order...

Ajanbee: My first movie after joining RVCE. Our day out with seniors, buying textbooks on Avenue road and then a movie with the gang. Laughing out real loud in hall, random comments and other tp. And yes, we belonged to PESIT then ;) We became the youth of the nation.

Golmal:
Attempt 1 - Bought tickets for 10:00 hours show thinking it was 10pm show. Reached well in time to 10pm show to realize the tickets we had were useless. Show was fullhouse. So we came home cursing i-dont-know-who.
Attempt 2 - Telebooked tickets in innovative multiplex thinking it was inox and reached inox well in time. Inox guy tried hard to explain that they had no telebooking facility. Not again! Luckily this time there were few seats left in the theater so we finally got the chance to see the movie.

Asoka: It was during the first Diwali break after joining RV. A well deserved trip to home. What an adventure it was with a re-routed train, night-long journey in MPSRTC red dabba bus and the unexpectedly chilly night! Movie plan with Arpit against mom's advice (ghar aaye ho to ghar par raho. Movie to bangalore me bhi dekh sakte ho..). And Asoka in Sapna-Sangeeta. Long talks about experience in college and life in general. And to top it up - Asoka theme. This movie is hard coded in my memories now.

Jurasic Park: Ashok talkies in Khandwa. Purnima mausi had recommended us the movie. Most probably the first english movie that I had watched. Mausi said 'it's a must watch'. The hype of it having scenes where they have shot the one helicopter from another above it, was just too much for us. And then ofcourse it had Dinosourous. New craze was to remember names of the varieties of them. T-Rex the dude rocked the most.

 I hate love storys: First and most probably the last movie I watched alone in Hubli. No multiplex. Old type single screen theater. Damn! I was actually scared that some cockroach might pop up from below the seat and spoil my movie experience. Very nice movie. Loved the characters. And ofcourse I love Sonam. :)

Pyar kiya to darna kya: First movie that I watched after moving to Indore. It was shot in Daily College Indore. So there was a strange attachment that I felt for the movie. Sapna-Sangeeta was an experience in itself.

Ham Aapke Hai Kaun: I don't recall the first time I watched this movie. But the second was a screening for Jain Social Group in Abhishek talkies, Khandwa. Lots of samosas and pepsi to enjoy and majaak-masti throughout the movie. We watched this movie once more in Rajmandir cinema in Jaipur. Ofcourse this time the idea was to visit Rajmandir theater. Movie was secondary. Grand and beautiful theater. I actually dozed of in the movie. Was it the movie or the AC in the hall that did the trick?

Housefull: first experience in Mumbai. After an evening out with Sonam. One of the longest auto ride of my life. Reaching the theater late and then realizing my friends who were supposed to have booked the tickets had not done so. And they were running even late. To buy tickets or not to buy. Finally they arrived. Bought tickets and ran towards the screen picking up a bag of someone else thinking it was ours. Thank god, he took it sportingly. What crap of a movie. I actually updated my facebook from the theater advicing everyone to avoid it.
Alas that was not the end of it. And I had to watch it for the second time with GMBC gurgaon chapter. My first day in Gurgaon. Jet lag or whatever it was. And the late night show at 11:20pm. A total of 12 people in the hall. While they laughed their heart out in the movie, I snored at my best. :)
And if you thought that it was over?? Well I saw it again during my flight from Delhi to Helsinki. :D

Some random murder mystery: In Mangalore. What better movie to be the first movie that I watched with my future wife. So romantic. It did bring her closer to me, I must say. Oh yea, I had one friend of mine to accompany us too. :)

Avatar: GMBC Inc out in the wild. I just don't need any more words to describe it.

Mangal Pandey: PVR. Advance booked. Front row seats. What a disaster it was! Adi's face was worth watching.

continues...

Karnataka - One State Many Words

'Karnataka - One State Many Worlds' reads the Karnataka tourism department's logo. Just two weeks into my sales stint here and I can vouch for this. And I can do that in multiple ways.

I am doing rounds to lots of rural places (upcountry as we fondly call them) these days. As I see them, each market comes out as a unique one in its own way. Be the brands that operate there, the way retailers do their business or eventually the way people make purchase decision - things change from one place to another. However, not all these differences are very prominent. Subtle nuances of consumer's behavior can be sensed only if you speak her language. Translations are hardly as good a replica of thoughts and feelings as the words spoken from heart in heart's language. So even though I am not really bound in the language barrier, I still feel a little distance. Damn! I had spent seven precious years in this state but still did not learn the language. I hope these six months don't go waste on that front.

The geography of land I have visited varies from seashores of Konkan region to rain-rich hills of Malnad region. It's green all along though. Rains do wonder in such terrains. Nature plays a magician if given a chance. Beautiful is the word if I think of whatever I have seen.

I have crossed more than one bird sanctuaries, one elephant training camp, one big man-made dam and its backwater, more than one river rafting sites, wildlife sanctuaries and ofcourse many waterfalls. I must admit Karnataka tourism has done well in identifying these places on its road network. Regular direction boards keep reminding me of things that I can do over the coming weekends. Everyone's invited.

I have not yet faced any issue with food. Dosai and Idli is available everywhere. Though I really find it difficult to adjust to changing taste of sambhar. Yesterday I tried the rice meal in a true localite style. It was nice. Specially 'coz of the satisfaction that I saw on my team's face for having me try the local food. The adventure will continue, I am pretty sure.

Tufaan ke baad ki shanti... Aur is it the pahle wali?

It's been a week since I gave last exam here in IIMA. Almost two weeks since I got placed.

It's more than 3 months to my joining the corporate world again. Almost three weeks to me donning the convocation robe and walking up the LKP stage to receive my degree (diploma in fact). Two weeks before I meet my fiancee after a really long time. & not to forget just one week before I eat mom ke haath ki roti daal at my home.

There can be many more such landmarks. Whichever way I see, I find myself in a little lull. It's not that boring wala phase when life comes to a standstill and even makkhi marna looks like a attractive pastime. I am in the mid of one of the most relaxing phase of my life. There is no hurry whatsoever. No deadlines, no submissions, no train to catch, no appointments. I have lost track of the date and day.

The summer has already started taking its toll and I am becoming lazy. I am literally doing NOTHING. My (our) plans to do small trips around Ahmedabad and in Rajasthan crash faster than a house of cards. Still we have not lost hope. Kahi na kahi to jaayenge hi... Tab tak Ahmedabad ke najare bhi dekh lete hai...

So talking about the city of Ahmedabad (which incidentally is celebrating its 600th birthday this year), we went to Kankaria lake on Tuesday evening just to realize that the rule number 16 on the notice board outside gate reads 'The lake remains closed on every Monday. In case there is a public holiday on Monday, it will be open to visitors on that Monday and instead the subsequent Tuesday will be the off day." Now that is called luck. Still kuch to karna hi tha.. So one bus ride on the BRTS and we reached Fun Republic to enjoy a game or two of bowling and video gaming. McDonalds across the road came handy to satiate the endless hunger relatively cheaper. :D

Law garden was a better experience. There were lots of recommendation in my list that needed to be covered. And some of them indeed were worth the effort. Jassu Ben ka Pizza and Asharfee Kulfi is my recommendation. And you can safely avoid the bhel puri and sev puri if you are not too much into Gujju versions of chat. Swati Thali was on the list too but somehow our wallet did not allow us to visit that place on a day when we were on budget masti.

A trip to Patan and/or Lothal is next on my mind. Let's see how to make it a reality. Mean time, there are lots of movies to be seen and collected. Suggestions are always welcome as usual.

Indian Ocean live

Indian Ocean performed in DAIICT last night. It was going to be my second chance to see them live. It's been three years since their mesmerizing performance at Palace Ground as part of Bangalore Habba. A long enough gap to be yearning again for some more of them. So here I was - desperate, ready to go all the way to Gandhinagar, in spite it being the d-day (the day when I was to start my prep) for me. PooCh, as usual, came to my rescue and became my partner in crime. This was a brave and generous move considering the fact that one of his friends is in town. :)

5 of us - PooCh, Megs, Pissu, Anushree and me - started the not-so-long drive in PooCh's car at around 8:30 pm. A change of drivers for safety reasons, a long pit break at 'healthy che' for its yummi veg momos, random discussions on restaurants on SG highway and we reached the vanue - DAIICT campus. Once there, it was Anushree's territory. After all she is an esteemed alumni of this institute.

Talking about alma mater, I feel I have not been a good alumni of any of the institution that I belonged to. Sarafa and then RV - I never looked back. My relation with my work-places has been relatively better. I am at least in touch with people who really mattered and had been to office to meet them even after leaving the company. I feel, it's people, more than the building that give you compelling reasons to come back to a place. With WIMWI, I hope the bonds are stronger coz I really want to come back to this red brick temple again and again.


Gate-crashing has its own fun. Still, being the proud student of WIMWI, we decided to do the right thing - let the lady from the institute do the talking. And rightly, she arrange the guest entry for the gang. A quick bite at Dominos and we set off to watch the performance of the day. I must admit, it was a very lively crowd outside and near the cafeteria but as we approached the field where performance was to be held, I felt that the energy was missing. Supposadely 3000 plus guests were present there, but somehow the crowd seemed much smaller and dispersed. It is one of the disadvantage of having such a huge venue (which is not even lit properly) for such an event. Comparing it with our own LKP, I really see remarkable advantage of having a closed enclosure. It also helped us with lights and sounds during Chaos. So while the crowd seemed low on energy (or atleast lesser than I expected), the band itself also looked a little mellowed down version of what they used to be. Aseem da's unfortunate demise is really a big loss to world of music. I could feel his presence on the stage. The band did well to entertain the crowd playing all the popular numbers like bandeh, ma reva, leaving home, kandisa as well some other not so popular songs. Another comparison that I am taking liberty to make is about the stage presence.  I remember seeing them in Bangalore Habba and the way they involved crowd. That clearly lacked today. One of the reason to it was mentioned about the band that they could not see the crowd because of darkness. I agree. Unless an artist see the result of his magic, he can not reach the next level of involvement himself. On an overall basis, an ok ok performance. I am an Indian Ocean fan so I enjoyed all the songs. Still, it could have been better.

During Chaos, I argued with IKyu about why we did not invite Indian Ocean instead of some other artist. And his argument was that they have a very limited fan-following. So true. Sitting in my dorm room, I can count 10 kandisa fans but my mom always find them lot of chillam chilli. Clearly they can never be show-stoppers for the event like Chaos. Jo bhi hua acha hua. Sonu came and he rocked the stage and everyone loved him. Aal izz well - we heard one of our esteemed faculty say later that night when Sonu performed in LKP. That's the magic of a star.

Our date with food continued to Manek Chowk where we relished on some chocolate sandwiches and hot and spicy pav bhaji. This place reminds me so much of Sarafa in Indore (incidently, Manek Chowk is actually situated amidst the Sarafa bajar). Just a couple of months and I am going to be back to Indore. Enjoying my share of garadu and bhutte ka kis (or kiss?) :)

Till then, Muggo tucche muggo...

Chaos continues

I am amidst the biggest Chaos of all time. Sonu Nigam (don't know how he spells his name at this moment) rocked the show last night. At least that is what people say. While he was at it, I was peacefully sleeping in my room. :) :( Lucky Ali ka ek gana mujhe aaj yaad aa raha hai.. 'jab sara jag ye sota nahi.. neend hame kyun aati hai?' Or was it the other way? Well who cares. I was sleeping and that is the truth. I was tired like a dog. And my sleep is the dearest thing to me in such situation.

Earlier in the day also I had a wonderful sleep of few minutes. Really comforting and refreshing. The workshop with RJ Devaki was wonderful experience. Though I regret that the turnout was not great. Her enthusiasm and passion was really remarkable.There is something in her personality that made me her fan today.And I am pretty sure that it is not her beauty that did this magic.

This year, my Chaos has been very limited and I am really missing the fun I had last time. All the four days, my camera and me had seen and captured each and every moment of the fest. This time my camera is silent. However the excitement of getting things in place is something different altogether. Workshops have been a mix of an experience so far. I have had my learnings from this experience. Will share them sometime. For now, it's time to go to mess to have breakfast (which in all probability my only meal of the day) and then set the stage rolling for Tango workshop. I had hoped to attend this workshop with her. Alas, she is not here and thus I give it a skip too. :(

Chaos in my life

Hold your breath...
Chaos is here...

Tonight Nomadic Band NOW with artists from Rajasthan, Haryana and Egypt kicks off the 4 day long cultural fest. Pt. Vishva Mohan Bhatt's performance will be the attraction of this Classical Night. Lot more exciting things lined up for next 3 days. Keep watching this space for more update (that is if you are not coming to Chaos). If you happen to see this post and arrive at Chaos, do give me a buzz/sms.

Ishqiya is just around the corner and that is one movie I would love to watch first day first show. Tab tak I will keep listening to 'dil to bacha hai jee'...

Watched 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' finally. Lovely movie. I would want to read more about it, hoping to get time for that soon.

Time to go now. See you at Chaos...

Social Media and Me

This blog gets an average of 25 page visits a day. For a quite long time, Technorati refused to rank this blog in its list. The comment count on this blog is even more low currently standing somewhere close to 1.12 comments per post. This blog is not the only crib I have. My facebook status update is no bigger success either. How much ever wannabe title/status I put, it just fails to attract any comments. Forget comments, people don't even bother to click on the 'like' button. I don't blame it on lethargy. They are just too quality conscience now a days. I am sure if there was a 'dislike' button, things would have been quite different.

I really need help from some social media expert. :D

Dance workshops @ Chaos 2010

Why you should be coming to Chaos 2010?
Here are reason number 2 and 3:

Salsa Workshop
The most popular among the Latin ballroom dances and a rage that keeps growing in India: Salsa. Let loose your inhibitions and set up a date for the one thing you’ve been planning to do for a while: master the basics of Salsa at the workshop on Sunday, 30^th January. Tease your flexibility with the “123..5678” routine and more. Spice up your dancing skills!

Date: 30th Jan. Time: 10:00 am to 12:00 noon

Tango Workshop
Fascinated by those sweeping movements that you saw in “Chicago”? Confused by the words “caminada”, “arrastre” and “enrosque”? Dying to learn but don’t know where? Or just love to dance and are up for trying anything new? Rush to the “Tango” workshop at Chaos 2010. Saturday, 10 am.  A two hour workshop where you get to learn the basics so that you can show off at the next party!

Date: 31st Jan. Time: 10:00 am to 12:00 noon

Man in the Mirror

It's that time of the year when you want to be in IIMA. Why? Here is one reason:

Chaos 2010 presents -
Man in the Mirror 
A Performing Art Workshop by RJ Devaki
 
A 4 hour intensive and entertaining workshop designed to discover the performer within you. Get set for a series of techniques, games and exercises that will sculpt you into a better performer. The workshop is open to everyone and it is a must for those who want to be an actor, RJ, model, singer or a public speaker.

Date: 30 Jan. Time: (2 pm - 6 pm)

To book your seats or for more information
Contact:
Pritesh Jain - 9726646191 (8priteshj@iimahd.ernet.in)

EuroTrip memories...

Finally I got time to some work. To preserve my memories.
Here is a glimpse:

MC2 Class presentations

Here is a list of topics that were taken up in my class for a 4 minute presentation in the course called Managerial Communication.

1. Working for the Pharma Industry
2. Cross Cultural Communication
3. The Indian Yes
4. Brands
5. Business Ethics
6. Haiti
7. Value Investing
8. Alcohol Prohibition in India
9. Citi Recruitment
10. My Favorite Basketball Players
11. Art of Movie Making
12. DHMO (dual hydrogen mono-oxide aka h2o)
13. Live India Traveling
14. My Favorite Movies
15. Viral Marketing
16. Pee Dee Cee (Phoenix Dating Club)
17. Game of Ultimate Frisbee
18. Recruitment Presentation by Al Queda
19. Dreams
20. 4 Most abused words in IIMA lingo
21. Why to go on Student Exchange
22. Birthday Celebrations in WIMWI
23. Global Warming
24. Media Stereotyping
25. Spaghetti Monster
26. Most Difficult Job in the World
27. MC2 - learnings
28. Swearing in Modern Communication
29. Arrange Marriage as placement process
30. 6 Important tips for success in an organization
    

And this is just the list from my class. An equally interesting list from the other section too. We at IIMA can be creative and funny too. Ossum work everyone. :D

Let the CHAOS begin

Jason Bourne, Mahatma and 3 idiots

In short I am back on Campus.

Here is a short review of the movies I have seen in recent times:
1. Making of Mahatma: Nice storyline covering some of the forgotten incident in the man's life. I have nothing else to compare it too. Still need to discuss the movie and the characters in the class so will update once I have more concrete opinion.

2. Bourne Series: I watched all the three movies in last couple of days. Just irresistible I must say. First movie got me really nostalgic about my stay Paris. It was a feeling like "I was there". Really nice pace in all the three movies.

3. 2012: One of the shittiest movies that I have seen so far. Nothing new. I tried so hard to watch it completely but just could not keep myself enthused for that. I wonder what did the world like in this movie!

4. Avataar & 3 Idiots - still to see. :D

LVMR

LVMR - Leadership: Vision Meaning and Reality

EuroTrip - Day 86

Last Monday

The shopping list is almost done. So are the travel plans. A little more needs to be done on studies part and then the pack-up. The EuroTrip is coming to an end. I am left with just one more exam (that is on Wednesday) so for now it's a little relaxed for me. I can afford to do some more sorting of photos or catching up with friends before finally getting lost in the ppts that the professor had shown us in the class.

I am still to overcome the Swiss experience. It's a beautiful place worth its name and fame. I found it more of an adventure seeker's paradise than that for honeymooners. Still it stands right at the top on the list I have prepared so far. Just that Shreya and me might also do a bungee jump or para gliding if we ended up coming here. Not a really romantic thing but I guess she will not mind this craziness.

My bags look over-stuffed now. I will have lot of trouble getting all my stuff cleared through airport checking due to weight limits. I wish they had provision for allowing compensation for personal weight loss in your baggage limit. I would have got at least 10kg leeway. :)