Weekend bonanza - Trip to adventure camp!!

To say that Vivek would have killed me if I had missed this trip would be an understatement... This particular trip had been planned and executed in perfection to think back on it now... kudos to the karate king... Btw the gang was 5 AOLites... Vivek, Sriram (G5), Vinay, Guru and urs truly along with Kitty and his friends Vinay and Vinay G!! We had three Vinays to begin with and worse part... 2 of them was Vinay G!! No confusion as our Vinay was already called as Vinance!! (Vinay from our Finance team!!) and the other two known as Vinay and G respectively!!
We started at 1 PM IST on 27th June Saturday... which is as all u guys know... 2 PM... on our bikes… we had 2 Victors, a pulsar 150 and my Bullet. We were hit by bad rains and bad roads for the latter part of the trip reaching the destination... and could only manage to reach the place called as Shrishti Adventure camp (This place is 45 acres of farm land and mountains - http://shristiadventures.com/) which is near Dabaspet, Shivagange by 5:30 PM
Firstly almost everyone was starving and kitty made sure there was some food arrangement done as soon as we reached... very thoughtful of him... After the light snacks, all of us trekked a short while for about 1 hr bare foot!! Not a very sane idea... but we feared that our shoes would get sunk in the mud which was way too thick... anyways... When we came back we readied ourselves for the night bonanza which included another round of snacks, drinks, bon fire and kitty special... dance programme!! G5 was at his best making fun of everyone including the localities’... the best part was greeting people wid wassup!! or How u doin!! People were making faces at him... like who is this guy acting crazy! But that didn’t stop him from wishing and greeting everyone in the true NRI fashion!! Vivek and myself were better off the smoke less end of the bon fire... :-) Vinay was busy boozing and having a dialogue here and there and Guru was busy explaining Nostradamus theory about 2012 when he is totally flushed! All this while we were having the time of our lives... We were having so much fun... we were laughing in our sleep! :-)
Sunday morning started for us at 7:30 AM and we went on another trek this time... shoes ON!! This was better and a bigger trek than the previous evening... We tried rope climbing and swings!!... We visited the cottages and other places which are pretty much high profile and not so cost effective for us... but of course better facilities... We also visited the temple in the farm house... and back for a sumptuous lunch and bread omlette just after that!! That takes some doing... lol... We had the ride of our life on our bikes as we took exactly an hour for the return journey! Kept an average of above 70 kmph!!
The facilities and the hospitality (food was fantastic!!) provided were more like what we do to our relatives rather than outsiders!! That was the respect which they gained from us. Kudos to all those people who work in shrishti adventure camp. It was a journey to remember for a long long time...!!

MJ - No more!!

Michael Joseph Jackson 29th August 1958 - 25th June 2009
To many people who are born in 70s and 80s... I think Michael Joseph Jackson will have a discreet and definite place in their hearts... The place given to the great entertainer and musician... For anyone who has the slightest knowledge of music... be it rhythm... technique in singing... like knowledge of octaves... etc... MJ is GOD!!
I have never heard a POP icon... who besides being a freak of nature!!... could influence so many people around the world by his music and lyrics... He could have been the face of UNICEF if he cud have kept his personal life in better shape...
I loved the album "BAD" since that was my first cassette that I got... I don’t even remember which class I was studying... but i remember the casette being almost worn out as it played in the music player so many times in a day!! I still love the song Speed Demon for the beats... I used to read the lyrics and tried syncing lips (difficult even now! :-p) for the songs! Then came the rest of songs and I had bought each and every cassette... Dangerous was having an absolute awesome front cover wid MJ's eyes and all kinds of animals and birds in it!! loved counting them!! :-p His latest and prob last album History had songs "Earth Song", Blood on the Dance Floor", "Stranger in Moscow" which is one video I love to see!!
The tribute to MJ:
All the news channels and all the portals (.com, .de, .uk) in the world had a setback after the world had the news that he is no more... that says! Twitter/BBC... etal... No one was able to handle the traffic... We had been trekking this past sunday and I was playing MJ all the way in the trip... that was my tribute to the great man!
His death while tragic when he was on the verge of a comeback tour... and writing new songs... referring to poems of Tagore (as told by Dr Deepak Chopra), is again mowed by controversy like so many icons... This happens to be a bigger tragedy... who's next!!

Conquer your fears...

When I was a kid my dad used to take me swimming... that would make u think that I knew swimming all along isnt it... negative... I used to just keep a watch on his clothes and wait for him to complete his laps!! :-p But I definetely had the great desire to learn swimming and learn it well so that I could let go of my fears... I was a hydrophobic to the core... although i used to enjoy beaches wid my friends whenever we were in goa or any such places... but primarily I was afraid of water... Similar to my fear to water was my fear of heights... so much so that I used to make all kinds of excuses to quit on my friends who used to plan trekking trips... It all had to end... and how...

Well it all started in april... when one of my colleague introduced me to his friend, who had started going to a summer swimming camp near RPC layout... I was kinda interested as I thought that swimming camp is mainly for kids... I was so wrong... I took the dive on this matter and the moment i kept my toes in water I was thinking the same old thing again... "Did I commit another mistake in my life... " Apparently not... after about 30 minutes inside water the instructor finally had my attention and I started obeying him... and letting go of my fears...

It took Ramesh (our instructor) just 3 days to teach us how to control our breath and float and our group of 20 odd people were enthu enough to take the dive in 12ft in just under that very week... that was amazing... So what if the classes cost us 2300 Rs, I got so many contacts and made so many friends in a space of those 21 days that I did not even bother thinking about the amount even though its rough!!

Meantime after the classes got over I have been swimming early in the morning from 4:45 AM till 6 AM every single day since... and made new friends as the group I was primarily involved had their own reasons to quit... except for Manju...

We now have a group of 8 to 10 people (depending on their punctuality ofcourse!!) and are being taught the key techniques in swimming to go the distance and not be tired... our coach is a person named Nagaraj sir who is a business man who is one of the finest swimmer and diver I have ever seen!! So much for my swimming now that I can hit about 10 laps (1 km) an average each time i step in... Thats something to improve upon!!

This new found strength and determination in me has made me climb new heights... well... I was never a go getter when it comes to heights... used to make me real nervous wreck... but ever since I have joined this group, my strenght has increased but my stamina has gained by leaps and bounds and for the very first time in my 3 or 4 attempts I was able to conquer Shivagange mountain which is near Tumkur...

Thanks to my swimming group I am, what I am today!!... In these three months I have not only conquered my fears but also have found a new personality in me!!

Buddy for life!!

Have you ever wondered how pet owners feel about their friends for life... I always used to wonder and longed for that feeling...

After waiting for more than 20 years for that time, I eventually got the perfect occasion... my dad's retirement... for which I had planned for more than couple of years as mentioned in my earlier post... well this was one amongst that....

This friend of mine was born on 31st March 2009... irony is that one year back I had quit my previous company for a better life and this year I have better company!! if you understand what I mean... Well "Simba", my Golden retriever came to our home on a saturday afternoon... I fell in love with this ball of fur the moment I saw him and my pal Vivek helped me get him home...

I have waited so long to post regarding him because I had to get my thoughts together... but apparently I dont have time to pen down any thoughts because of him!! He constantly demands time and attention!

There are many things I got to know about my own family... like how complimentary my parents are... for example when I got the pup, I had expected dad to blow the roof but he was calm and accepted it but mom blew the roof which was never the expected and guess who came to the rescue! Dad... he had the experience of raising a dog when he was a kid which was no surprise in the way he is handling simba now... And after a week, when dad turns a little impatient guess who calms him down... mom... who used to have her hands at her ears and scream her lungs out when simba used to wander near her is the one who feeds him everyday in the morning and night and is also the one who calms my dad when simba is too playful (which is actually all the time!!)

I must say that I under-estimated my family's commitment to my buddy... actually they are doing amazing!! He keeps my dad occupied pretty much entire day he is around home and my aunt is totally fond of him... My sister who was so afraid of dogs... now pets him and he listens to her command!! (well... not always!!) The time I was giving to my family has increased ever since my buddy has come home and he demands everybody to talk to him and play with him!! He responds to the sound of my bike and expect to cuddle him everytime I am around him... He even understands that he should not go near my mother because she is afraid of him... but and my mother somehow forget that part during his breakfast and dinner!! Ani... who used to run a mile from dogs... now feeds him with her hand... has gone to such an extent of loving him that she prepared cake when he barked for the first time!! lolz... amazing!!

It has enlightened me in many ways that having pet is a good thing but accepting its responsibility is so huge a task... Its not that simple... you have to be more patient and develop that 6th sense which makes you understand a being that doesn't understand your language!

Overall amazing feeling and I better not forget to thank Dr Manjunath Shinde, Vivek, Sriram(G5) , Kitty and my family for their support...

Read... Remember... Recollect...

I always remember one say from my lecturer... Read, Remember and Recollect!! well it always worked when I was in college but I didnt know that it applies in real life this way!!

When I first saw this dude and talked to him... I thought he was just a geek but there was always that air of confidence in his speech and mannerism which made me think that I shud get to know this person better and that he is the person who will be called a "friend for life"... if it was meant to be... and friend for life he is to me... Sharad Awasthi...

In the course of time... say 6 months of his stay in our company, I got to know that we share the same passions... music, photography... u name it... but the fact is that he is still better than me in all of those passions I have (except singing!!) and has the taste to make his passions richer!!

He is GOD in selecting great music... especially in trance and lounge... He was the person who introduced me to that kind of music which I might have heard but didnt know what its called!!

He also introduced me to Photography... I had the right equipments but was not sure of myself to take pictures of that quality!! I owe him that...

We spent some quality time together and what time we had... we went to Nandi hills where we took tons of pictures and then I took him to Ranganthiptu where we took the boat ride... I am sure he will never forget them.. I can't!!

After packing up the night before, I got to his place at 7:30AM next morning, as promised on sunday... Little did we know that his plane had already left 7 hrs before!! He had missed his flight to singapore... but had to wait another 14 to get on to another flight... (That made his day worse because he almost took the brunt from his wife!!) lolz...

I always wanted him to visit my place one last time before he leaves and wat a way to get ur wish!! It was amazing as Neelu even read my thought and blurted the same words on my face!!

I was really content of helping my friend and his wife to the airport the same night after we had an amazing time at my place!!

Now settled in singapore, we exchange mails and calls more often than not... but yes, the worst part is whenever I see a bajaj eliminator and a back pack... a dude of similar build, invariably the thought goes back to the best days in office for me... I read in to that situation... I go back rememberin the good old days... recollect the wonderful times we have had...

One last hurray!!

Dad's retirement today... 37 years in a single company!! BEML... the company responsible for what he is today and what we are today as family.. comes to an end... well... wat a day... probably as a son... once in a lifetime kinda day... It’s amazing for our generation to have such a day... since we will not be able to give our children that kind of an experience but who knows what will happen in the future... anyways
Well I was also a part of one of the most revered man's retirement that was Mr Ramaswamy Iyengar who was the father figure in my mother's office (LIC of India)... It was quite accidental that I was present that saturday as I was passing by her office and happened to know that it was his last day in office... People spoke great things about him... and the respect oozed in every word they said... quite an experience
I always knew that my Dad was well respected but how much is what I got to see... It was overwhelming... Btw I had prepared for this day for a long time now... almost 2 years and when that day came.. I had goose bumps all over... I am sure my dad had too! He apparently couldn’t stop smiling… wonderful to see that… We went on the inspection round of the hospital which he showed with great pride… I am really proud to see his achievements and was very much privileged.
Well in the first place my dad had to give some reason to leave (retire)... what more than my marriage!! as his utmost important family commitment. I was impressed by that but then when people asked me about it I said it’s my mother's constant issue getting up at 4 AM in the morning which would be put to sleep!!
There were many people unhappy (Infact everyone including his boss CMO!) that they are going to miss their AO sir (Administrative Officer) Many staff were telling me that its sad to know that there will not be their loved AO sir ordering, teaching or guiding them anymore... But unfortunately thats the way it is... life has to move on.. Someone else will live up to the challenge of administering a hospital and could improve upon what my Dad has done so far... People were voicing their opinion that their AO should stay for another year or so except two of the doctors... Dr Mythili and Dr Shanti who talked some sense... Talking more about the respect it was evident the way people came till the gate (including the Chief Medical Officer CMO, my Dad's boss!) to give a grand send off and the gifts that they gave told the story! One Mr Mahesh had gifted with a writing in it which quotes "To the greatest person who is responsible in guiding me to the right path... this is my small gift to you". People did 3 cheers for AO sir when we left the building… mesmerizing!!
They say that engineers are problem solvers... but my Dad is a born engineer (Science grad in education) and his Degree in Personnel management was put best in use all these years in professional and personal front!
Well as of now and now onwards for my dad, "Relaxing" is of the highest priority and atlast the day has arrived when my Dad's going to see the sun after it is up above in the sky rather than greeting him...
As I was about to go to sleep, my Dad who was watching IPL cricket, laughed and said... "Well... I have given my alarm clock some rest!!!" and his retirement has just sunk in!!
No time for anything else today I thought...

Promotion and Extortion!

Promotion:
After all the hue and cry at last the most deserving candidates in our team have been given promotions... All the very best to my friends Sonu and Bejoy...
Tomorrow is the big day when all our team mates are going out for class (tats what verma calls!) and that is the place where we are going to study the spirits and their influence when taken on the rocks!!

Extortion:
IPL2 is fast turning out to be game of golden oldies... Tendulkar is in scintillating form and so is Sanath who is turning 40 in June! In the meantime...
Bangalore Royal challengers are prob just enjoying their beers rather than trying to play!! The golden oldie rule somehow misses them by more than a whisker... This team when told that it was a test team, last season, is proving that now every bit of that... heck they even turned KP in to a test bat!! He doesn't even know the changes that are made in the team for the game!! His experience has made us lose 4 games in a row and Vijay Mallya will be kicking himself... He has been extorted! It would make a lot of sense to dump the whole team minus Dravid and come back home for good!!