The year that was.....

2006...what a year it has been...Its almost the first yr in my life where I really took control of every aspect of my life....well almost...Took the bull by the horns (pic attached as proof) to put it more poetically (Is that a word?). I achieved objectives which I set upon myself at the start of the year..ok ok not all the objectives (hey is this a boring blog or what?)...I still gotta learn a guitar...and I forgot most of the stuff I did not achieve....(this is really a boring blog ain't it?)
The year started with a lot of aspirations and vulnerabilities and along the way...I developed got through many of them and developed new ones....I learnt a lot about life and about myself...Striked out a lot of members of my To do once in a lifetime list...Made a lot of good decisions...(hey the bad one's were someone else's fault u know...hehehe just kidding...)...have received some good advice and doled out some good advice...I learnt a lot about relationships and people......made some awesome friends who will remain with me for as long as they don't land up on my wrong side.....hehehe just kiddin....I lost a few friends...well not out of a fallout...but just the way I have always lost friends....by non communication...well thats on my list of vulnerabilities to plug list in 2007..
Anyways so tomorrow is New years Eve and I hope 2007 is more rocking and more fun than 2006 was....heres a bid adieu to 2006

My Next Big Blog

Hmmm....well its been a while since I created another piece of art for my millions of readers....ok let me cut the BS....I have started on my next blog several times...but haven't found the content good enough for this space.....I know what you are thinking...Isn't this blog a waste of space too.....well I agree to some extent...but I ll give my real view at the end of the blog.
I have always refrained from writing the happenings of my personal life in my blog...well...I will keep on refraining from doing that...So haven't I told you what this blog is all abt? (how many times have I written Blog in this blog...early bird prize for getting that one right is a 100$ dinner with me...be sure to get it when u come...hehehe)
Lets get to the point here. Much has changed since I last wrote here. The most notable being I have a 3rd place which I can call home...the airport. Well since I have started traveling...I end up at the airport for a better part of the day when I do travel....(No I haven't joined FedX...was thinking abt it...but then I saw Cast Away) Ever since I have known myself (which is like forever..duh), I have spent a lot of time waiting at some place or someone or something....at the train station...for friends who are always on time....for the school bus (but then I have run after a bus too) .... So when it is a flight why should it be any different?....well with the current no liquids rule....the check-in takes light years...(Am I the king of exaggeration or what?)....the worst part is taking off all ur metals at the security....no offense meant to airport security guys...they do a real good job given the number of ppl traveling. The best part is when I get onto a plane...well I wait again for a PYT ( you go figure out what a PYT is....your intelligent enough to take a guess) to get on and take the seat next to me...(word of advice..the middle seat has double the chances...)...and then wait for an excuse to strike a conversation...and then wait for the bag to turn up on the baggage claim conveyor belt....and then wait for the car in front of me to get thru the parking fee booth ASAP....and believe me ASAP= as slow as possible in this case....well that just about consumes every bit of my creative take on this subject...so last words...It is not a waste....(huh? u didn't read the 1st para did you...aah now u did...and u do not agree...too bad...write your own blog....ciao 4 now)

First Impressions....

First impressions are last impressions....so they say! Well I gotta challenge that one. Ever wondered why people always say 'Just be Yourself'...confused as to how these two relate...Well let me explain.
I've always believed everyone has 2 sides to themselves....(well who's writing this column...I am...so if you have a problem with the everyone....go write your own)...One of these sides is the one they expose to the outside world and the other is...well the cliche'd real them. As the boundaries between being a stranger and getting to know the person converge...one comes face to face with the real person....But is the person who you meet initially...not the real person...hmm well if you really dig deep into this hypothesis, you will realize that no one is cruel enough to do a volte-face from the initial personality to the known one. Its just that sub consciously everyone develops a public image that represents the person who they want the others to see them as. Emphasizing on the above..a more exaggerated (and a real filmi) take would be a criminal leading a normal life on his off day or (more later) and then donning his work uniform at work..a la Satya...the RGV thriller. So the next time you say to someone 'Just be yourself' coz they are behaving obnoxiously irritating or nervous...maybe thats the real them...or maybe not...I am not a psychology major...go figure that one out for urself and let me know...

What If....?

If Fate does not make you laugh....then you didnt get the joke....Ever wondered how small incidents/decisions in life impact the way life would be for the rest of your life? Well a few crazy insightful introspective moments prompted me to write a bit about this....let me look back at a few of them as they would have created a parallel universe which wud have been a lot different from the current reality...
1) A few years ago after my tenth (yeah just a few yrs...main itna buddha bhi nahi hua yaar) I was dead sure I was gonna get into commerce...well it turns out I decided to switch to Science 3 days before my result....Consequence...well I had a miserable 2 yrs in SIES junior college when I would have been having a ball in one outta Poddar or Sydenham...hmmm...well I wont write abt the good things that happened coz thats not what this blog is all about.
2) 2 yrs later after my 12th, I was again dead sure that Mumbai was gonna get another hafeez contracter in my shape and form...(for the ignorant souls..I wanted to become an architect)...but again 'meri antaratma' my inner voice gave me direction to turn towards engineering and become a martyr in the struggle to fight null pointer exceptions...(non software folks dont even try to decode that piece of work)...Well what if I hadnt had that thought....I would have been working nights...maybe become a tea addict or worse a smoker....had the opportunity to roam arnd south mumbai as I wud have been in JJ....watched lotsa of movies....hung out at places like Cafe Mondegar...(Gosh I discovered this place so late)
3) What if I had continued Athletics when I was young...well I would have been taller....lets not even go there...this would be like asking bridget jones to write abt the lack of love in her life
4) What if I had studied a bit harder or been sane enough to not make any silly mistakes in my CATs (there were multiple ...yeah)...I would have been sitting pretty in a B school (i know its hard work) and later got a start in my corporate career...
5) What if I had'nt faced financial hardships during a phase in my life...well maybe I would have been a lot more care free and gone on to become a die hard party animal...(thats a bit of an exagerration..but as long as it seems dramatic who cares...) I certainly would have been more trustful of people and maybe would have been able much milder in my ways.
6) Well lets look at a lighter one now....hmm how abt this one.....What if I had sent a red rose to my crush in college???...hmm...hmm...hmm..if not an approval that would have certainly sent my skills of expressing my love in public way up north....
7) What if I had not got into my first company and got into another one?....Well the possibilities are endless on this one...I cud have cleared CAT (goto step 4...another software eng piece of work)...I cud have been in the company of a lot more eligible bachelorrettes...(is that a word?).... I cud have shifted outta Mumbai and had an independent life early on and become a lot more street smart.

Well having said all of the above.....I think the most important thing would be that I would have written this blog with all the things that I did do as one of the points and then went on to wish for all the things that I doid accomplish due to the above not happening.....Am I confusing you????.....I believe that whatever a person is, is influenced by so many conspicuous and lot of inconspicuous things. And truly it is the journey that matters and not the destination...(Thats me trying to sound intellectual)....Summing up whatever decisions I made or whatever need not be looked at as wrong or right...coz they wouldnt have created the 'Me' writing this piece de resistance...So the best thing to do is just leave this introspective nostalgic fervor of a blog as a single moment in time and get on with life....

Great Movies...all of em

Amongst the many movies which have entertainment as their sole purpose, I ve always been a fan of good movies which go beyond entertainment into invoking a sense of philanthropy and some insight into the harsh realities of human existence.
The first movie that actually shook me in a way was City Of Joy. What hit me the most about this movie was the indefatigable spirit of human beings in a dark slum in the City of Joy, Calcutta. Although I saw this movie just once I vividly remember the important moments of the movie. One dialogue at the end of the movie sums of it all for me and everyone else...'God hasn't made it easy to be human. So it feels great to beat the odds.'
Several years later, Hotel Rwanda was a total eye opener to problems I never knew existed. It takes us straight into an African Civil war. Don Cheadle plays a Hotel Owner turned into a refuge provider brilliantly. This one has one amazing scene followed by another. The most moving is a scene in which a car is driven through a misty surroundings on a bunmpy road which turns out to be a road full of corpses.
A few days later, I saw another good movie called Lord of War. This unlike others had its mirthful moments but it never ever let the focus away from the main theme of the gun dealers all over the world. Nicholas Cage does an awesome job of narrating the story and playing the main protagonist. Along the way it subtly points fingers at all G8 nations which are the peacekeepers of the world alongwith being the largest exporters of weapons. Entertaining and thought provoking.
I just finished watching Beyond Borders. While not in the same league as the above 3, I would certainly rate it as a good watch. It has some rivetting and mind boggling moments like the one in which the vulture is just about to get to a malnutrtioned kid and one in which a Cambodian baby is handed a grenade to play with. Angelina Jolie tries hard to get into the skin of a British UN employee..but just isnt British enough. Clive Owen steals the show playing a free lance Doc working for the welfare of people all around the world one corner at a time. The movie deals with the hardships faced by social workers all over the world.
Well that ends a short list. I would like the movie makers of the world to make welcome additions to the above....Untill then this is me Sanchit Rege signing off on the philanthropy movie network.

Lets Have a Beeeer

What prompted me to break the alcohol ban in my blogworld? Well it has been brewing (pun intended) in my mind to write something about the strange tradition of havin a beeeeer (thats how a freind of mine pronounces it). To say the least, havin a beer has meant a lot of different things at different phases in my life....not to me...but to others. Confused? Well lets delve into this some more.
I started with beer way back in the Ice age...aint gonna tell u when guys...(my parents have access to this as well...and i am censoring the inceident that happened with me and beer back in college) As long as I have known, I have not liked the taste of beer...and still I am getting to terms with it. But as we all know its a nice habit to break the ice (pun intended again...for all u eng poetry students read and learn) or to have a night out with the guys (this time no puns u sick @#*$%) Back in college, someone who drinks beer was an alcoholic even if the frequency is once in 6 months...well I was asked by a queer (for all the shocked beings who know one of the meanings of queer is gay...well consult the english literature majors for the other meaning) fellow 'Tu Beer Pike aaya????' at a college fest....and I was like 'Are you asking me coz u were told by someone or my breath gave me away?'.....Anyways as days went by the same ppl who were asked whether they drink...give an answer...'Main Madira nahi peeta jee' hehehe got u on that one...the stranger thing they say is 'Haan lekin sirf Beer'.....Well is Beer alcohol or Is it not? Or is it like a sin u can commit and be forgiven for it. Is Beer the pious V among vodka, rum and other Ws of the world (decode that...its simple)? Hmmm well I dont know... u tell me!

Some more years later, I have known these same type of guys drink beer every day of the week (so that they dont get knocked out) and drink beer after the other alocoholic beverage supply runs out and then get knocked out, along with the fact that they get offended to get invited to parties which choose to go sober. Me on the other hand have maintained my frequency and go steady with my alcohol not violating the qualitative or quantitative boundaries....Hey am I preaching...Hmm well maybe I am....I just wanted to convey that a persons contorted view points (which he/she hold close at a certain time and later relinquishes them..ever so subtly) does not do justice to what the real truth is. Ok I am definitely preaching preaching peaching.....did u say u see see see 3 preaching....well u have had one beer too many mate...Cheers.

Ek Saathi Aur Bhi Tha.....

Well thats the only worthwhile reusable (now u knw i am into software...duh) dialogue in JP Dutta's dud LOC. 'Ek saathi aur bhi tha' is a function being invoked by all and sundry in my workplace. And the funny part is the people who say 'Et tu brutus' are the next in line. Well heres to all my buddies who I wish all the luck in their future endeavours (...hehehe I picked that from one of the last day mails)
Now I would have written a superficial blog about ppl from the workplace leaving and throw in a few mirthful quotes here and there and just leave it at that. But it seems to be affecting my personal well being with the gauntlet of responsibilities being handed over to unsuspecting trespassers like yours truly....(woooooo I am Grisham in the making...but I would be writing on IT rather than law...so my central character would always be a mouse - metaphor and a damager- manager) Well it started with me driving off room mates and managers and now the whole ecosystem in my nick of the woods seems to be tumbling down.
Talking of room mates, I would like to publicly thank each and every one of you for being such a good friend and support (now that I will write in my last day mail)....On a serious note, I have lost very many friends over the years because of my inability to keep in touch after we lose touch... Every one of these friends has left an indelible mark on my psyche (for better or for worse) and created a void which can only be filled by their presence.....now now those who know me know that I am not a sentimental being...but do u really know me guys?...hehehe just kidding. I have come to know so many friends in such a short period of time that 2 trips with same group of friends had just 2 ppl same as the earlier group...then how is it a group???...well lets call it my group of friends....I have almost lost all the matter I could write on this matter and I do not wanna list down the friends that I lost....I would have to write name changed for each of em coz it may get nasty...hehehe. So till the next blog...asta la vista amigo

Vrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooooom

ferrari. The July 4th weekend was planned for a long time. The pilan waj to go see michaelWell if you have still not guessed it...this blog is an account of the time when 2 legends crossed path me and Schumi....ok ok just kidding. I walked and he vrrrooooomed past me in the red skumachher (thats the way a gujju friend frm college used to pronounce his name...try sayin it and its even funnier when I pronounce it for ya) kick some serious b$%^ at the indianapolis grand prix. The trip began on friday when I was late for the planned start time and got the flak for making a friend miss his flight to NY (Hey dude u were late anyways..:) We started from Atl at arnd 4 pm and the traffic was absolutely mumbaiyya or like delhi to be precise...unbearably long. We had to cover a lot of distance 2 drive to Indianapolis. My suggestion to extend the trip to chicago was vetoed out by my co-passengers (Mark and Rutu...names changed to keep identities secret..hehehe) On the way we went thru a lot of bad weather in Tenessee. All the while I was tortured and surprised by the shyam sundar music (kallu hip hop) which is Rutu's forte (why surprised...well there were some non shyam sundars as well...hehehe) We had booked 2 tent sites at the Indianapolis KOA for 3 nites...those @#$%% had a policy that it was minimum 3 nites.....Since we were running late, it was past midnite when we reached the place. Thankfully we all concurred that 2 am was not the best time to set up a tent....so we had to settle in the car.....a rented dodge stratus...and all the time we were unable to find the button to switch on the inner lights in the car.
The next day started pretty early at arnd 8. We had got tickets to the qualifying race....alag se :(..... anyways the traffic was intimidating as we got near the colloseum...its not gladiator..near the race track. Nevertheless twas not chaotic. We just couldnt wait to get in as we could hear the sound of the lean mean machines revving up the decibel levels...did u knw F1 engines are of the capacity of a jet?...Nawledge.... So as we made our way into one of the stands the first thing that hit us was a beatiful chick in blue...hehe u were expecting something else rt?...but the renault color was looking awesome on so many of em.....anyways lets keep it short...no pun intended. The stands were burning with the summer temperatures soaring to arnd 90-95 deg. We were already in awe of the cars zooming past the J stand where we were sitting intially. The best part about the qualifying day is that we could venture out and sit in any stand. So we decided that we are gonna try and get our money's worth and xplore each and evry corner of the race track...the stands that is. It was the best day of our trip as we enjoyed Ferraris overtaking Renaults on the fatsest part of the circuit....(also oggling at some delicious chiks in blue...well though a ferrari fan...the reanult blue looks rockin on em) After the qualifying we rushed to a nearby bar to watch France plunder Brazil...Well the bar ambience was nice too with some brazilian drunks singin 'braziiil lalalalala...' Anyways we got into a kroger nearby so we could get us some Chicken for the BBQ. Gosh this is a loooong one will continue in part 2....hehehe lord of the rings style

Memorial Day Weekend wih Shanks and Avanti

The memorial day weekend was really fun. I went to my cousin Shanky and his wife Avanti's place in Richmond. Well seemed like just yesterday that the 2 got married (its been 2 yrs actually..but nice line eh) Well start se start karte hain... I booked my tickets some 2 months in advance...gosh now I think I was stupid to believe the flights wud be full like the time we used to book Konkan railway tickets to go to Goa...Duh.... anyways so after a brief mix up of the destination and a few anxious phone calls later (dont ask me how...I am already famous for my mix-ups..... better still u can find em in any of my family members blogs....wait a min...phew no one has a blog other than me) I got my ticket to Richmond. I took an late night flight outta Atlanta...another duh moment for me as I realised I cud have sneaked...(woh to chori se jaana padta hai)...no walked outta office after lunch....(thats a friday tradition...more so on a long weekend...India mein cudnt even sneak out on a saturday)...Anyways so after a futile attempt to get on the earlier flight..(only 15 mins late ...sob sob), I was forced to sit and wait for my already late by 30 mins flight to take off. as I reached Richmond airport, I recalled Circuit's famous line 'Yeh airport to chaloo hote hi khatam ho gaya bhai' Its really tiny in comparison to Atlanta...also there was bit of renovation work goin on.
I settled down into Shank and Avanti 's (Does the apostrophe s come for both...English majors a bit of help here) cosy home and we chatted like not a single day had passed since we last met....all 3 had put on quite a few if that assumption were true (sorry avanti had to include u in that one...u dont want shanky to feel bad do u?) Twas decided that we were gonna visit Virginia beach the next day...thats Saturday and visit Washington DC on Sunday. After a sumptuous meal of chicken and bread (or saada pav as Shanky says...others dont try to get the joke u wont), We went to bed and got up really late (at least me..Shanky and Avanti were up already...so I will believe u even if u said u got up at 6 :) After another delicious meal we were off to VA beach in our summer gear. The traffic to get to VA beach was quite dense as we got close to our destination. Once we reached there, we headed straight to the sand....and me and shanky splashed into the cold waves...twas like almost 1-2 yrs since I had done that. After the beach we started looking for a good restaurant to eat...(duh of course to eat...what else?) ...we zeroed in on this mexican joint which served a good margarita and some almost spicy food. In the evening we roamed around the VA beach streets which had various shows all sponsored by the VA beach city....the magic show was the pick of them all...well thats the only one we watched for more than modicum of time. We drove back home soon afterwards.
The next day started early and I rose before Shanks and Avanti did at arnd 6 am (hehehe just kiddin I think it was 5 mins earlier to u guys) and made some tea as well.....ok ok enough of the modesty stuff...So we kinda got ready to go to DC and started on the freeway. The ride was a pleasant one until a point where we were overtaken by a harley samellan...It was a real site though. The next thing we know, we are stranded at the same place for 30 mins...geez. After that ordeal came to end..phew..we reached DC. The place is a treat to watch for the sheer amount of open space and that too well mainatained open space arnd smaller monuments or museums. If Washington wouldnt have been commemorated with the naming of this city by his name, I would have called it Museum DC. (gosh that was a long grammatically incorrect sentence....aaah who care anyways...this is the US anyways...I dont care for nobody....pure american english taht one) It has a plethora of museums, outta which I loved the Mammals museum, Air and Space, American History..which was quite a surprise. By the time the trip to DC got over we had broken bapu's record from sabarmati to Dandi, in terms of miles covered (yeah miles not kms...hehehe)
The next day (Monday not a usual one..it was memorial day) was the most relaxed of the 3. We had our morning breakfast in the porch and talked a lot about life....dont get so serious guys just a casual conversation about my future plans...(they are secret...so ask me no question and i ll tell you no lie) We had our lunch and then drove to Richmond downtown where I met one of my cousins after a looong time. By the time we got back it was time for me to pack my stuff and leave for the airport. I got very emotional at the airport and broke down.....hehehe got u there..just kidding.....I bid adieu to Shanks and Avanti. I thank em for the wonderful time I had....gosh I need to buy a camera...socho Virginia beach and I cudnt click pics of my choice...ciao till the next blog!!!

What a Week!!!

Well the week that went by was one of the most ironic ones. I was totally up in arms during the week over tremendous workload. A colleague actually said to me 'Sanchit you are not smiling.....thats not a good sign.' Well having done my bit to earn much less than i deserve (thats another blog altogether...:), I embarked on one of the best weekends ever. I went White water Rafting to Nantahala River, NC (yeah i am also getting in the mode of calling states by their nicknames...North Carolina for the novice that one).... Natahala means sun at noon...or whatever in Red Indian jargon. The reason is it is surrounded by mountains/trees on both sides. And the water is released by a hydro electricity center. So it remains at a certain temperature (certain bole to 50 degrees Farenheit. If you are a person who thinks in Celsius hahahaha...thats sadistic pleasure for me coz I have been thru that phase. Get ur calculators) Anyways, so getting back to the real story...I was advised by a sanguine soul that I shouldnt wear Shoes but Floaters...Well my perception of the sanguinity was challenged I must say...How? read on.
Well before we got into the boats, we got into a Bus which took us to the top of the river from where we were supposed to take our boat into the river. A lil background on the rowing teams...well there were 11 of us, so we had to split into 2 teams. As fate would have it, we inconspicuously got divided into a team of young 6 and an older lot of 5....We had 2 instructors Mark and Gary...(u are smart if u got that I made up the names...hehehehe...kya karen naam bhool gaya) who hopped onto each of the boats. Mark was the older guy who obviously hopped onto the older guys boat...lets call it team B....(well why not team
A ...coz thats us silly)....Gary was one of our clan...a trainee in terms of being an instructor at white water rafting....The amazing thing about him being that he is a skiing instructor in the winter and a rafting instructor in summer.
Now as we got into the boat we took our positions. I was in the 2nd position on the left and for some unknown reasons the left side (unlike in politics) is the one who does all the work. We were supposed to lock one of our feet in the internal crevices of the boat. And this is where I cursed the guy who told me to wear the floaters...coz I cudnt feel my left foot after 30 seconds..It was totally frozen....
The battle lines were drawn between Team A and B as we went on the a ride like no other I have been on. Well we were constantly tossed and turned in the currents of the Nantahala river. We had some amazing getaways from the trees and rocks at the banks of the river as we came nearer to Team B. (did I tell you we gave them a lead???) Well we were constantly alternating the lead positions but team A was playin it rough...as soon as we came in striking distance they blasted a rampage of water bursts at the right sid of the boat. Well I cudnt fight back as I was on the left remember???...anyways so we went down the river enjoying every bit of the way and then Mark the shmuck that he is let our boats collide and we were stuck on a rock....and our instructor had to jump into the freezing water and get us out.
Finally at the fag end of our ride, we came across the best part of the river a level 3 turn where we got some cool pics (shud i say cold pics...hehehe) Anyways so all in all we had the most amazing time...Hey and about the floaters, they dried pretty soon and the shoes which others wore were wet the whole weekend....thats all for now.....agla blog sometime later.

A Tribute to Agassi

Well ever since I have liked Tennis, I have been a fan of Andre Agassi. I mean more than anything else the one thing that stands out in Agassi is that he cries when he wins and smiles when he loses. I mean thats one leaf even Steffi needs to take from his book. The kind of fightbacks that the guy has made over a career spanning nearly 16-17 yrs is amazing. He hs risen like the phoenix in so many seasons. And you always enjoy when he is playing coz he is not the boom boom serve kinda player. Most players are helpless without their booming serves but I have not found a single one who has the natural ability to return serves the way Agassi does
Why am I suddenly going ga ga over a player who has retired a year ago....well to tell u the truth, I have just started playing tennis regularly and if I can succeed to bring in just a part of Agassi into myself (well then it would have to be the part who made steffi fall for him......hehehe got u there) then I would be really thankful to God. So heres a tribute to Agassi, who makes me believe that one can succeed without a big serve...Now dont fool urself into believing I dont have one (got u there again)

Kya Dialogue Hai

Being a Film Buff, this is one Column I shud have written long back. Numerous dialogues have left a hangover on my mind. Here are few of them

• Life is like a Box of Chocalates, you never know what u can get - Forrest Gump
  
• When the game is over, the King and the Pawn go back into the same box - Being Cyrus
• When you realise, that you want to spend the rest of ur life with someone, you want the rest of ur life to start as soon as possible - When Harry Met Sally
• ...Today we celebrate our independence day - ID4 the whole speech actually
• The last comments made in 'Gangs of New York'
• The difference is I make this look good - MIB
• Its not the Size. Its how u use it - Austin Powers...after the Yah Baby one that is.

Well I have got the writers block so thats it for now....yah i know I ll be more creative next time...

A Trip to Chattanooga

After a long time since I have been living on my own, I got an opportunity to organize a road trip...(Not the kind shown in the movie by the same name...I ll surely try and do that someday)...Well anyways lets re-christen this trip by the traditional name PICNIC...(gosh thats what we have called a one day jaunt since school days).... So getting back to the main motive of this blog, we rounded up all the single males in the vicinity...(not exactly lets add single straight males to obviate the thoughts of the quircky mind...hehhe) and stuffed them into 2 cars and drove to a place nearby called Chattanooga in Tenessee (hey is it a double N..anyways)
We had planned to visit Ruby Falls and Rock City during the day. The day started real early at arnd 6:30 am. And I proved my theory of giving ppl a time to start which is an hour earlier to the real time...coz face it we go by IST...hehehe. I was really thrilled coz this was my first long drive for a long time. I had the more level headed guys (not equivalent to boring thankfully) in my car. The other car belonged to an almost alcoholic friend of mine. Thankfully he wasnt driving and thankfully I was not in his car coz the other driver was worse than if the orignal one was drunk (phew that was a long sentence....all english literature majors pardon me...gosh Am I gonna be in trouble if the 2 of them read this blog)
So we got to Ruby falls with a modicum of trouble due to a detour. We had been warned of the fact that Ruby Falls was a letdown....But we were in for a surprise coz letdown is a scaled down word for that money eating place... I mean I got to give the promoters credit coz the kinda marketing propaganda they have goin...they cud convince the death of a dinosaur on an ant's grave....hehehe. I mean at the end of it all we are darn sure it had a municipality pipe in place of the falls. We had our fun anyways with the constant 'taang khichayi' and masti in the caves. We were finally rid of our misery in terms of the tour and could see sunshine.
After the Ruby falls visit we went and looked for a place to eat and converged on the nearest Pizza Hut. After a lot of friendly banter and some good pizza, we were on our way to Rock City. Now this is a good bang for the buck kinda place...It has a lot of places to click amazing photos at...And speaking of photos, am I glad that I havent bought a camera yet. Coz da fact of da matter is, if you are carrying the camera, you are the least clicked person....hehehe and I had 4 cameramen at my beck and call to click me in some inane poses. Rock city was an amazzing place to walk around and I loved the place where we could have a view of 7 states at the same time..(well thats what they say...who cares anyways...coz it was a rocking view) After spending around 3-4 hours admiring the scenic views and some PYTs...hehehe, we retreated back to our cars. Only after a customary visit to the gift shop where I added to my collection of tequilla glasses.
Twas already 5 in the eve, so we were debating whether we shud go to Chattanooga downtown. And we made the most sagacious decisions to go there. I mean I literally fell in love with this place. We went on this bridge called Walnut Street bridge which is a wooden footover bridge with a quay built right below it (Kinda reminded me of Goa actually). It is one of the most romantic places I have been to and I ll surely go back with my better half some day. The walk on the bridge is right out of a mills and boons situation...hehehe Enough of the mushy stuff....
We had a cruise ride back home with a joint singing session in the car. As the day ended, I did was down and out as soon as I hit my head on the pillow. And thats the kinda exhaustion I dont mind at all. So till the next trip, heres me Signing of on this weeks episode of Traveller guide...gosh I always wanted to host one of those shows...any producers in the making?

License to Drive

Back in the 80s there was this movie by the name 'License to Drive'. Well I found it funny back then. But I underwent a similar longing for the freedom to move about as an independent entity. Hmm not since the freedom struggle of our forefathers has someone been so desperate. (Figure of speech hyperbole...I am really great at using one...hehehe) Maybe back then the phrase coined would be 'Tum mujhe fuel do main tumhe gaadi doonga' (forgive me for that pakao joke...hey thats the figure of speech anticlimax rt...never mind....ok I can hear u swearing at me now...so I ll get to the point)
Ok for ppl who havent got the basis of this blog of mine, let me decode it. 'I got a car and I got a permanent license to drive...yipppeeee' Its similar to a 'Bat Mobile'...(I told u I was good at hyperbole) and there are buttons for which I dont know the function. The great part is I cleared my test in one go and it was actually worth the wait coz I waited for this baby for almost a month. ...and I was tired of answering to 'Tera Gaadi kab aa raha hai' and 'Tera driving test kab hai'
Well its done finally and I can now enjoy my weekends...hey if I remember correctly, License to drive had a very young 'Heather Graham' playin Mercedes (the quietessential babe in a teen flick) Well....Lets hope the rest of the story for me is similar...hehehe...bye for now.

6 Degrees of Separation

Recently I was invited by a friend to join a site called orkut.com. My first impression of the name 'Or what'...OrKut what does that mean. Well that changed as soon as I created my own space there. I got hooked on instantly. In addition to some PYTs, (look that up if u dont know that already) ..I connected with a few of my long lost friends as well. I searched for every crush of mine since I was 5 to a degree of success too.
Now those of u who are confused as to why the title is apt for this blog of mine. Well...heres the gyaan. Six degrees of separation is a theory which says that if u try to connect 2 ppl in any part of the world, the average number of ppl that u need to go thru is 6.....OK OK enough of the professor in me. So I tried to click thru a network of friends, their friends and their friends (mostly PYTs...hehhehe shhh), but the thing is I was not able to expand the list beyond 6. Lemme know if you succeed on that front....Lemme know if u want an invite....I ll be happy to send u one

Hey wheres that Orkut marketing guy that will be 201o0 dollars 201 $ per word written. If I dont get my money soon.........

Grrrrrrrrr phissss (thats the noise of someone snoring)

Well this blog of mine is dedicated to a cause which I have fought against for ages. The snoring sound of someone sleeping in the vicinity. More often than not u go to the person and say 'Boss u snore real loud'. The patent reply is 'Cmon u are kidding me. I sure dont think I make even an iota of sound in my sleep'...'Of course u do'...'Whats the proof?'....'Well look at my bloodshot eyes. I couldnt sleep a wink last nite due to that soundless sleep of urs.'....The most creative souls counter back saying 'You know what u snore too'....
It takes ages for a person to admit it. But even if he/she (its not a male thing gals. And the sound is not pleasing from females either) does, whats the use? coz there is nothing the person can do abt it. Well after years of research there are a few things to counter this malady.
(1) Keep another pillow with u and cover it over ur other ear
(2) Pinch the person and wake him/her up and pretend u are sleeping. This will hopefully give u leeway of arnd 3-4 mins to fall asleep.
(3) If the person has a mobile near by call up and hang up before he or she picks it up.
(4) The last thing to do is go and sleep in another room or house or town where u are not able to hear the sound...
Keep me posted if u have any more ways. I ll acknowledge u in my thesis on the same. Till then I ll snore er sleep over it......(No I dont snore.....)

India in Slow Motion - A Must Read

Well continuing the patriotic fervour...lets re-phrase it... the enlightening of Rang De Basanti, I just completed 'India in Slow Motion' by Mark Tully. For those of u who havent heard the name before, he is an expat BBC journalist who comes out to be more Indian than most others...maybe even myself. He has lived in India for countless years now and observed its obfuscated and self - deprecating state. In this book he has come out with short stories...well not exactly stories but instances of the various facets of the great country. He delves into the problems or phenomena of various parts of the country and dishes out the facts that undermine progress as the developed world knows it. He exposes...well that sounds dramatic..but at least focuses on the neta-babu nexus and how the bureaucracy is hampering the country's development.
In the process of reading this book, I was introduced to a whole new or may I say a better perspective of looking at problems like Child Labor, Communalism and E-governance (not a problem but a solution that one) It gave me an insight into how and why the Kashmiri people have become alienated by India or Indians. I was also able to understand a lot of post independence India which thanks to our great educational system, I was unaware. This was earlier done by books like 'All the Janata Men' and 'All Indiras Men' (well not the exact title) by authors whose name I dont recall. (Thanks Dad for preserving those)
All in all this is one book you should not miss out on. Next on my reading list is 'Seven Habits of highly effective people' Will Keep u guys posted on that......ciao

Jimmy Carter Zindabad

Sometimes when one is on the road, it can get real confusing. But the next time I am lost I ll ask for directions to get to Jimmy Carter Boulevard. This guy is my fav President man. Coz I knw exactly how to get back home when I am onto that Road.
Well the day began early for me as me and 2 others were gonna go for our Drivers license (just the learners so I am still not thru with that one yet) And for some freakish reasons we were sent back frm that DMV office. But for Vishwanath's (Vish in short) insistence we wud have gone back home. But he was admant that we shud go to another DMV and try our luck there. (that was the only good thing he did in the day) So off we went looking for it. We were not supported by Mapquest this time arnd, but were fortunate to get some timely help by a gas station shop clerk (wow i didnt know there was such a post... ok i made that up but u knw who I am talkin abt) We were able to get our licenses after arnd 2-3 hours. (I came to a single conclusion, Govt works with the same mindset everywhere..more on that in some other blog) Anyways so we finished our work there and embarked on a journey beyond any journey I have embarked on. (Sorry 4got the word that wud fit this phrase) We circled arnd Atlanta looking for a way to get back home. Our driver, the able Tushar (by default coz none of the others had a pakka license) has a penchant for panicking at the wrong time. And he has no directional sense at all. So we were outsourced the navigational part. Strict instructions being, 'Tell me when to turn befor 1-2 mins. But more often than not we were as slow or as fast as he was in readin g signs. And we used to shout 'Yahaan Right Le' and the next moment there were profanities thrown at us ' Teri Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep....Pehle bolneka na. Last minute kaise turn karoon. By the time the day ended He was an expert at making a U-turn. But that was not all he made a mistake in not turning on his own after that. And we wre agin at the mercy of a Gas station.
Ok now u are thinking how Jimmy Carter is my messiah. Well that was one road we encountered at least 4-5 times and barring the last time we were always travelling the wrong way or took the wrong turn on that one. So on our last attempt, I finally put my foot down and said we are going the wrong direction on this one (Well Its my blog so I get to be the Hero, all others can write their own versions....after buying the copyrights frm me of course) After many trails and tribulations we reached home safely. And the best part is as we got near our house, Tushar was enlightened and said, 'Yeh road kuch jaana pehchaana lag raha hai. Ab mujhe pata hai. Yahaan se right lena hai' (Subtitles This road looks familiar. I know how to get home from here. We take a right) Ya ya ya u guessed right we had to take a left there and we got our opportunity to throw profanities at our able driver (Teri beep beep beep) Jimmy Carter Zindabad.

Color Me Saffron

'Color Me Saffron' seems outta place right. But so does Rang De Basanti. I tried to give it a modern connotation by converting it into English. But I dont feel that Rang De Basanti is so outta place, specifically after watching the movie by the same name. The analogy drawn between todays India and that of the pre-Independance is amazing. The film succeeds in not enthralling the audience by patriotic fervor, but by pushing us into a space where we as a generation dont like to delve into. A space where we are forced to think about how we feel about our nation and our role in its present and future. Well let me take back the word force and replace it with coax because forcing would be the jingoistics of a 'Border' or a 'Kargil'. No Sir, this movie does not even preach about how one needs to give a thought to our great nation like the slow yet very well made 'Swades' does. RDB just leads u into the world of todays youth and shakes the foundation of our cynicism and lets us re-visit our value system.
Be it the dashing yet vulnerable DJ (inconspicuously played by Aamir) or the anachronistic believer played by a typecasted yet brilliant Atul Kulkarni, every one of the characters are people who u meet everyday. They are characters to which we relate to. And they say things which we must have said at some point of time in our life in India. The film depicts a slow yet sudden change in the mindset of the characters and on some level of that of the audience without ever slackening the pace of the movie. Well I would like to go on and on about the movie's unique concept and brilliance, but I would not like to spoil it for the reader. Its a movie to be experienced and promises to be a timeless piece.
But then, I would like to share with u the feelings this movie has aroused in my mind. This has certainly made me re-think (forgive me for the repetitiveness) about the place I call home and analyse why we as Indians expect others to take up the cudgels against something which we all know is wrong. We always expect someone else to clean the house for us dont we? And the cynicism in the belief 'Is Des ka kuch nahi ho sakta' is really killing India as we know it. Maybe we need to change the India as we know it. I have experienced a change in myself after watching this movie. I dont know whether this will last beyond this weekend or maybe even tonite. Nor do I know whether I will be able to stand up for what I believe is right. All I know is that if watching this movie really changes some of us to fight the 'system' then it has found its mark.
So till the next blog.....Range De Basanti.........

My impressions of Americans

Well the day I set foot in the US, I thought I wud be surrounded by all kinda yuppies u see on US tv shows or movies. But after living here for arnd a month now, I am kinda thinking theres a lot of analogy between america and India. In India, the ppl come from different states and here they are from different countries. Although u would feel that everyone here would speak english, when u venture into a Walmart (ya thats the version of big bazaar in the US. Hey dont groan I knw big bazaar came into existence much later), you kinda see ppl speaking different languages viz. latino, Indian, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, etc. (well not so many I made a few of them up) Anyways the point is everyone has their own separate world.
One thing I appreciated a lot out here is the kindnesss and warmth (maybe I came across the warmer lot. I ll keep u posted on that) Everyone (not literally but in office or near ur apartment) says a 'Hi' or a 'Morning' (good is silent...many a times), when they see u. I am fortunate enough to work with some good ppl in office. You wont believe my skiing escapade (well kinda...a perfect use of the figure of speech hyperbole....gosh I still remember my grammer lessons) has become famous with the ppl I work. It was one of the things to do in my lifetime for many of em. Getting back to the point, my SME (thats jargon for Subject matter expert...well wait a minute thats jargon too... lets say my point of contact in my project), who I had worked with over the phone (simple word for conference calls) gave me a box of chocalates on the day I arrived in office and It had 'Sanchit, Welcome to the US' written on it. It was totally amazing.
Well, I am sure I will update my impressions once I venture out into new places. Maybe I ll come up with a series 'Desi does America' (hehehe thats a nice one right. I got inspired by a US TV series 'Daisy does America'. Hope I dont have copyright issues with the makers) thats all in this blog.

Being Sanjeev Kapoor

Well almost reminiscent of the movie 'Being John Malkovich', I d love to be Sanjeev Kappor for a while. Actually everyday from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm thats our time of cooking. I always had this feeling that I was a good cook. Well I still have conviction about the same. To tell u the truth, I have experimented my cooking prowess since the age of 10. But have become a bit rusty with time. Since I havent entered the kitchen for the past 2 yrs.
Hey u know what its 7:30 pm and its time for me to go into battle er kitchen. Asta La vista.

New Years at Gatlinburg

We (me and my roomies Piyush and Ruturaj. Photos in the same order ) had gone to Smoky Mountain, Gatlinburg in Tennessee state on New Years day. Its a 4 hour drive from Atlanta. We got up at 4 in the morn got there at arnd 9:00 odd. Then we had to go up by cable ride to a place high up in the smoky mountains. We had to rent skiis and other equipment. Initially I was not able to move forward because of the slope. But then as I started trying out different stances, I got a hang of it. It was a beatiful resort with a huge Snow slope. But since we were not experts we did not venture into the higher level. We started skiing on the lower slopes. I fell down a few times but always got up wiser in terms of how I shud not be skiing. There was a similarity with skating so I was not uncomfortable at any point of time.The last few times were good as I was able to control my braking and did not bang into or get banged by others (dont take the slang for that!). It was loads of fun. But it was really taxing on the leg muscles. At arnd 2 pm we packed up and returned to the Gatlinburg township (similar to Mall Road of Shimla or Lonavala) where we had our lunch.

Then we went back to our car (rented Ford Focus) and slept for 2-3 hours. We went back to search for a place to celebrate the New Years Eve. The whole place was packed with ppl and there was a line to get into each and every eatary. Fortunately, we landed up at a place called Puckers pub which had karaoke and was a typical american pub. Here we took a table and stayed there till midnight. The ambience was amazing and loads of ppl were totally drunk. The line to the toilet was really long and a few females were actually wainting in the mens line coz their toilet was overcrowded. (before u get any thoughts this was a single person one) It was similar o the dirty ones in India. (sorry if u were eating while reading this blog. I am gonna make sure I dont write such stuff anymore) But the country music and all was really nice.

At the stroke of midnite, the town had a huge tower which had fireworks and ppl were lined up on the streets to watch the festivities. It was really awesome. We stayed there and wandered the streets till arnd 1:30 am and then went back to our car in the parking lot. There was a big rush of cars to get out of the parking lot and so we thought we ll wait for an hour or so and then we left for Atlanta.
It was an amazing New Years Eve.....

My Trip to the US

After a lot of mehnat mashakkat in my Indian company, I got to here the magic words 'tu onsite jayega' (actually had heard em before but they were just gajars for all that I knw) Anyways so after hurrying through all the shopping and formalities, my bags were finally packed. All goodies like puran poli, masale papd and all were carefully concealed in the pressure cooker and other utensils. I called up everyone I knew and started for the airport with a whole paltan from the family. My friend Yogendra did'nt turn up (as usual) but I know he must have been stuck someplace (as usual again).
Anyways so once at the airport, I thought I wud check in my baggage and then come out and meet my family. uh huh wrong I did not get the opportunity to do that and they ended up waiting outside till 2 am. Really sorry for that guys. I was fortunate to meet one of my company's Bosses in the same plane and we chatted for quite some time over a glass of beer (so guys from my company behave. I ve got friends up there :)
As I sat in my seat in the airline I realised I shudnt have asked for a window seat. I was trapped between the window and a huge guy (who I thought spanish but later found out that he was an Indian settled in NY for 35 yrs) anyways to cut the long story short always ask for a seat by the aisle. It helps ur mobility for...u knw waht.
My stopver was in Paris and I absolutely fell in love with the french landscape with greeen fields and small roofed houses (similar to yash chopra film songs:) I was really pissed at myself for not carrying my credit card as I could not call back home. After a million security checks and a few hours at the Paris airport, I was finally in my plane to Miami. I suddenly found the difference between American food and Indian food as I had my first airline meal. It was bland to the core, palatable enough to consume.
As the plane came close to Miami, I was amazed at the beauty of the place. Blue water, roads, great looking houses, beaches and boats. It was amazing!!! I did my port of entry here. (just jargon for entering the US) The funny part is everyone I talked to started talking to me in Spanish. They instantly marked me as a makku (mexican) or may be I seemed like a latino hunk ala Enrique (who am I kiddin) . After getting my bags from the airport, I took a connecting flight to Atlanta and have been here since then. More later.......(I know u heaved a sigh of relief that the blog got over. Am bored myself! ciao!)