Wrong window!

Many a times I face embarrassing situations in life. Intensity of few being really awkward; even now when I think of it. Makes me use this statement 'Oh Sh**! why did I do this?'

This one happened last week on a weekday at office. Just like any other day I logged on to my system as soon as I reached my desk. Usually, for official chats through messenger I mind my language and the way I handle my words(that does not mean for unofficial chats I am the other way round. But a little relaxed is what I mean).

I had to chat a while with my immediate-senior regarding a forthcoming meeting. A little later a second window popped up;one of my friends started a chat session with me(an informal one). I went ahead and typed 'from morning samma bulb for me' (meaning : from morning I am like a Monkey ,making a fool out of me from others or precisely doing idiotic things and getting a 'you dumbo' stare from others).
Immediately I got a response 'Y?'. One tiny brain cell of mine made me look at the name of the person in that window (which I normally never do) before I typed my next dialogue. 'Oh my god, what have I done' saying this to myself I immediately typed 'Sorry, that was not for you, sorry,sorry'.

I had typed that statement in my immediate-senior's messenger window who does know Tamil. He sent me back a 'laughing' smiley which made me feel 'Oh Sh**! why did I do this?'

When nature calls....

(Scene at Hum-Tum's Bangalore office)

Tum(guy): Wow what a weather? Shall we go for a movie today?
Hum(girl): Hey look at that building.What do you think is the idea behind this construction?(Tum turns innovative at times)
Tum: I thought I asked you something....
Hum: Oh, now leave that alone. Answer my question. I know you can't think better than me. At least make attempts in clearing my doubts.
Tum: Oh ya? now let me take a plunge...... this building? (he points at that building)
Hum: Yeah that conically-square one.
Tum: Well.....don't you know what this building is for? Dear, this is the new toilet-building at our office.
Hum: Wha........at?

Tum: Yes, see..... this building has 4 floors and one corner of the forth-floor ends as a sharp pointed structure just like a jet aircraft
Hum: Excuse me, you think I am from Venus. I know how it looks like and all. You tell me whats the purpose of this building.
Tum: From now on we got to use this buildings for our 'nature calls'.
Hum: (Imagines)!!!
Tum: Ya.....as we already have some 36 odd buildings here at our office the administration decided to construct a separate building exclusively for toilets.
Hum: But then..........this 'toilet' building has so many floors.....it looks like a modern shopping mall!
Tum: Yeah! this is built by international architects with modern facilities. Separate toilets in all floors.

Hum: Oh! but this one is far off from the first building. How will people manage to run from there and reach here when 'nature is calling them immediately'?
Tum: Good question. I knew there is no one brilliant as you are and only you can ask such tricky questions.
Hum: Yeah! even i know that.
Tum: The admin have to think about it I guess.
Hum: OK, then why does the top most floor has a pointed edge just like a rocket?
Tum: Oh that? that's for the Senior Managers!
Hum: Wha.....at? Senior managers? you mean toiletries are divided as per roles here?
Tum: Yes.First floor for engineers, second floor for senior engineers, third floor for managers, and top most floor for senior managers and dignitaries...
Hum: Oh! partiality man! so we people cant go to the top most floor then?
Tum: We can dear, when water pipelines don't work in first floor toilets we can use the ones at other floors.
Hum: Hmmm, now that's gentleman-ship!

Tum: Now, did you believe all that?
Hum: ?!?!?

Bengalooru 1 - The ultimate destination?

I have decided to write my thoughts and experiences, about the 'Garden City', 'Silicon Valley'. I have planned to pen them up in parts as the package is too huge to be presented in a small storage. As a disclaimer I would like to inform that the write up is highly MY perception about the place and has nothing to do with others belief about the place.

To start with, facts about Bangalore which I feel are the visible 'diamonds' of the 'crown' which this destination has been sworn with,

• Bangalore has highest number of pubs in India.
• Bangalore has highest number of cocaine addicts in India.
• Bangalore has the highest number of software companies in India - 212
• Bangalore has the biggest statue of Shiva & Hanuman in the world.
• Bangalore has only 42% of local population (i.e. Kannadigas). Hence a true cosmopolitan with around 20% Tamilians, 13% Telugites, 10% Keralites, 8% European-origin, 7% from other parts of India.
• Bangalore has produced the maximum number of models from a specific area.
• Bangalore was founded in 2ND Century and still has the same infrastructure drainage & sanitary systems - the oldest in the world.

* courtesy Yatish Shivaprasad

Any well-settled or settling person when asked to chose between places in India or rather south-India would opt for Bangalore as 'The Ultimate Destination'. Starting from weather, growth, accessibility, jobs, real estate, education everything is ready-made here. When facilities comes for free who would willingly opt a knotty decision. Bangalore(I love referring places as Bangalore,Madras,Bombay,Calcutta rather than their current names) has developed immensely when compared to any other place is all acceptable. But should the improvement be considered a boon or bane, as insecurity arises along with development.Ask the IT janta, and they would anytime chose Bangalore as their ultimate destination as its popularly known as the 'IT-hub'.

I am somehow reminded by 'Prathiba Murthy's' ruthless murder in Bangalore at this moment. Of course, it is not safe for a woman to travel alone in a night cab in any place for that matter. Still such a merciless killing happened only here. Technology has improved massively is what we all boast about, but these kind of cruel activities still exist.

If KSRTC(Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation) had not given a job for our Shivaji Rao Gaekwad(South-Indian superstar Rajnikanth)we would have missed a legend. I know a person, who was lucky enough to travel in the bus in which Rajni was a bus conductor(bus route- Srinagara to Majestic). I remember traveling in a bus recently in Bangalore when the bus conductor actually refused to help me know where the bus goes(I could not help myself as the name boards in the buses were all written in Kannada). I later found out I was in the wrong bus and was literally begging the driver to open the automatic door of the bus in the bus stand.

To be continued...

Impact! Come and get confused!!!

I never had a slightest thought that it would be like this. But it actually is not that horrible. Still the intensity could have been a little lesser; for the impact it made had pschycological disturbances. When our mindset is pre-framed, sudden changes are not accepted into the framework and this drastically disturbs the physical and mental aspects.

Entities around tend to interfere deep into our emotions as they are bonded with us through the generic aspect called relationship. When the intensity of interference is more and most importantly worse we let lose our firmness towards rightness. It is when we feel our mind starts wandering without knowing which the right path is. These kinds of pschycological disturbances not only affect the current mindset but also the goodness we had planned for the near and far future.

We still can’t blame on the other entities as such, when we as a primary entity need to analyze if the effect could have been reduced when we had reacted to it differently; as that would help us the next time when we face it.

That day !

Today when i woke up at around 8.00 a.m enjoying my holiday to its fullest, I thought about a question which used to come in my mind some years back.'Oh, why getting up so early on a holiday?'.

Some years back at around 6.00 a.m I used to wake up and get ready wearing a cleanly pressed uniform and white shoes. I used to go to school riding my cycle with my brother sitting behind. Though he was not a born barrel, the then little guy used to firmly make his back comfortable on the seat, which in turn made me exert more force to make the vehicle move. He was not given a cycle of his own until he came to his seventh class which obviously made me the victim till then.

We normally reach our school in ten minutes. Students were made to stand in many rows in front of the flag pole waiting for the chief guest to arrive. Patriotic songs, a historic play, few speeches used to be the regular agenda. I remember one such I-day celebrations ,when for an historic play I was asked to do the role of Sarojini Naidu. Not much to act though, I was the only lady amidst the guys who played Subash Chandra bose, Mahathma Gandhi etc; dressed up in an off-white saree with a black-framed spectacle. A typical 'Rang De Basanthi' kind. I had severe cold that day still managed to perform my role well. We did win the prize for the best play.

Few more years back from there, when I was still younger there were times when I was waiting for the flag hoisting to get over for those chocolates and paper flags.After a few years the level of patriotism raised to its fullest. The flag hoisting normally gets over in half-an-hour time after which we return home humming the national anthem.

Today, I saw the national flag getting hoisted - virtually, on the television screen by our leads. As time flies by we do miss certain good moments.

Phew.....!!!! not BL-5C

As the television screen was flashing "Nokia cautions users against 'exploding' batteries", not waiting a moment I grabbed my phone out of my bag and took the battery to check if it was under trouble.

During the process, dropped the mobile at least twice on the floor, went into deep thoughts listening to what the lady with the blazers was reading out on the television. Started asking myself,"Which mobile should I now go for? Too many new varieties have come in the market. Flip or slide, or the one with more pixels or the new one which no one has, at office?" As this is an unexpected investment I decided to cut down my shopping expenses this month. Like the Shrek's Donkey my mind kept on yapping within.

One of my friends who is a technology engineer never uses a mobile phone. She says she is fed up by the massive usage of it, these days. I call her the 'Lady Buddha' - sacrificing is not all that easy. After all mobile plays a vital role in every one's life. I still can't sacrifice my chocolate Feast(ice cream) and Ecstasy (dessert) when I am actually in the middle of vigorous dieting!!!

'Sani' Bhagavan's new home!

With 'SaniPeyarchi'(Sani-Saturn; peyarchi-shift) happening all over TamilNadu and other South-Indian states, most Hindus who have a strong belief in astrology would be browsing through newspapers and Internet to check if the Bhagavan (god) is standing in a favorable position for self and their near and dear ones. No matter how hip-hop a person belonging to this generation is; if his/her parents strongly believe in astrology then one can't escape the 'parikarams'(alternative actions performed to reduce the bad effect) stated under their star sign (Natchathiram).My mom said this year 'Sani' is shifting from Kataga Raasi (Cancer) to Simha Raasi (Leo) and from there he is glancing at Viruchigam(Scorpion) which fortunately/unfortunately turns out to be my star. Worrying about the after effects she started reading the papers vigorously.

'ThinaMalar','ThinaThanthi','Thinakaran','Kalki','Kumudham','Kungumam','Vikatan'(these are popular Tamil newspapers and magazines)- you name it we have it! .I thought I would have nice fun comparing the information given in all these dailies and weeklies; which I do normally. Not to my surprise, the news in each one of them varied distinctly from the other. While one says I have to visit Tanjore temple, the other says Trichy Pillayar(Lord Ganesha) is my target god. As if, the other gods would say,"Not my turn girl, contact Ganesha" when approached.

Turning on the radio to enjoy a soothing tune, there came Mr.X with his 'Indraya RaasiPalan'(future perception.Precisely how your day is going to be). While my thumb was about to make a move to switch channels he said, "Viruchiga raasi neyargale,iniku naal muzhuvadhum sorvu, thollai, thukkam"(meaning- the people who belong to Viruchigam star would find this day a not so lucky one with depression added to it ). Though I keep boasting that I never believe in astrology; a tiny cell inside my body started shivering. Again, as usual i told myself "I care a damn" and gave work to my thumb. The day went fantastically superb with lots of fun and frolic. And I totally forgot what Mr.X said until I turned on the radio the next day.

My perception is trust in self, positive attitude, faith in god, target goals in life, wise decision wins all not so worthy statements.

Recipe - Fruits with dates syrup!

As and when we do our fitness exercises and yoga at home; when it turns out to be a holiday its better to go for an alternative breakfast than the regular idly-dosa-pongal(popular South Indian breakfast). As fruits are universally accepted food for healthy life we can research how to make our breakfast more interesting with them. Trying out various combinations with whatever is available at home would help our body to be fit along with keeping our creativity intact. I never used to like dates until I tried this combination. These days dates come in syrup form readily available in markets.This one is a regular fruit salad, though gives a peculiar taste.Try out this combination,

Ingredients:
Apple
Mango
Banana
Guava
Papaya
Milk
Dates Syrup (now this is the extra item I am adding to the regular fruit salad which gives it a unique taste)

Directions:
1. Cut all the fruits into smaller cubes.
2. Mix them in a big bowl.
3. Add milk and refrigerate.
4. Before serving add 1 tablespoon dates syrup.

** Again as one's own creativity goes, you can add cashew, dry grapes, and some nuts available at home. Diet conscious people avoid them.

Yummy, is it not?

Dog Days!

Trend these days is body wash, massage, manicure, pedicure, and final touch-ups all come for just Rs.1600. Tell this to a girl and you can see a maximum portion of her eyeballs out. Be it male or female, this is the cost of a complete package for a royal look. Now stop elevating your hopes. Still if you get ready to visit this place, take your dog along with you. Yes, the package is for the dogs.

Maybe the person who actually does the body wash for the dogs keeps his fingers crossed till he is done;for his life is at risk.We normally shout out when the beautician suddenly goes wrong scratching our skin during a hair cut. What would the dogs do? Even though they are brought up in posh localities in a royal manner; they are dogs by nature.

Now once the wash is over, a perfect massage is done for the dog. Then the doggy, be it a male or female undergoes manicure and pedicure treatments. For men who are not aware, did that sound like pedigree? Pedicure is a treatment done for the legs to give a decent look; while the former is for hands. Now if its a female dog they get free hair clips too. When everything is done the doggy is ready to walk the red carpet.

Its not all over here. Dog-dating is another aspect, wherein one can leave their dog's name and gender in the dog beauty parlors. And once a perfect match comes the owner is contacted for a date. The dog owners can accompany their dogs while they date. Try being decent enough not to peep into their (dog's) personal affairs.

The whole idea is to be welcomed as pets need to be given some good treatments too.After all, dogs are man's immediate friends!

Hell-met!

Accidents are not accidental at all times. Certain deliberate mistakes which we think could be taken as a 'never mind ' at that moment might raise disastrous puzzles which would be unanswered for the rest of the life. Everyone is not god or for that matter every entity in this world is not borne to think in a wise manner especially when crucial decisions are to be made. But when it comes between life and 'anything else' I feel even a real nerd should decide to take up his life as top priority.

With the recent helmet rule being declared here in Chennai (South-India), I personally feel some sort of increase in the existing disciplinary action. Still there are people who feel "a rule can't change me”. Now they are the losers who easily get into a life with disastrous puzzles. And mind you, only a few of them get proper solutions.

Many leading corporate here in Chennai also abide by the helmet rule and insist their employees to lead a safe life. Certain corporate also feel following a rule would be better than self-discipline. This indirectly means they don’t allow employees without helmets inside their premises. Now our 'Romeos' have come up with a new notion. Recently I saw a few of them carrying their helmets along with them without wearing it. They stop the bike exactly in front of the office gate, wear the helmet, and get in. What are they trying to prove? Following company rules? Well, yes. But what’s the use of a 'thing' which is not used for the right purpose and at the right place?

On the other hand, at few places it is nice to see both the driver and the co-passenger wearing helmets even on lonely roads. Its not just education, but respect for self and others which makes these people follow the rules and safeguard themselves without causing much pain to their near and dear ones.

Friends - at all seasons!

On a friendship day......
My mom helped me recollect few moments of the day when I wore a frock with lot of frills and was taken to 'Fatima Junior English School’, with a five star chocolate in my right hand and milk bikis in my left hand. I was a brave kid then, mom also told me that I went and spoke to a little girl of my height who then became my first friend in life. A F-R-I-E-N-D is a person without whom a life is incomplete. At all stages in our lives we would have met numerous friends out of whom few or many accompany us as lifetime mates.

"A friend is a present you give yourself" was a quote I read sometime back which made me put this write-up here. A friend pays your exam fees, a friend feeds you, a friend laughs when you laugh, a friend jogs with you, a friend carries you when you are hurt, a friend lends his shoulders for you to rest on it, a friend makes you laugh when he is around or not, a friend gives you company when you gave your worst attempt in the exams, a friend takes care of your mom when you are out of the country, a friend readily accepts to put his signature as the first witness for your marriage, a friend makes you cry when you miss him.

Mother Teresa says "Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say." My friend never listened to what I said. He kept irritating me by eating the oily molaga-bajji from that roadside shop which was the last thing I wanted him to do.

Rewinding my memory tape many years back from now; I remember the moment when I put on Lord Shiva's costumes for a fancy dress competition and Lavanya was dressed up in the form of an angel. Roughly calculating I was in my third class then; when I and Lavanya traveled in a cycle-rickshaw back home from school after the competition. She kept on giggling at me as the paper snake around my neck started drooping. I wanted to take a revenge back on her in the future, for, she kept on teasing me till I reached home. Believe me, she became my best pal in no time.

I can see myself fight with Sindhu who was my enemy during the 6Th class; later turned out to be my best ever friend. Aparna who joined my life a little later gave a new definition as 'anu-apu'(as I am popularly known as anu). Trust me we shared everything including my first crush; of course neither of us knew that the other had the same person in mind. Jeevisha, I liked those Punjabi sweets she gave me; I used to envy her as she always stood first in class-My lovable pal at high school.

Swetha is truly a gift; she taught me how to be innocent; for, she is one. Sidd, as he has mentioned in my testimonial ;walked on the other side of the road during the first few days I met him; later I was introduced to him by our common friend. Today I am searching for that common friend to kick her for introducing him to me - a little late in my life!!! My best ever friend today; and he is that molaga-bajji guy mentioned above.Arthy was my sweetheart during college. I still remember the time when we both shared the same berth in the train during our visit to Bangalore.

During my first day at office met this guy Ram who tried teasing me all the time. Again, most my friends start their relationships with me, this way. After a few months he told me I can't be his friend anymore. At times, this happens in many of our lives!

Archana and Faz were the ones with whom I enjoyed the maximum. It’s always fun to know what happens in an all girls PG.On the whole, I compare myself as a pot which is perfectly painted and designed with aesthetic artwork. Without my friends I would have been a raw clay.Each one added their own color to me and made my life so meaningful !

What to and what not to - on a conference call !

Attending conference calls are a part of everyday agenda for an IT professional especially when the client is a thousand nautical miles away. During a conference call usually one person speaks while the rest of the team maintains pin-drop silence so that the person at the other end clearly visualizes what is being conveyed. Basic etiquette says that one has to wait till the current conversation between the two ends. As the name goes, it is usually the team lead who leads the call, based on his/her experience and interaction with the clients.

Every member in the team will have his/her own notion about the topic being discussed. It is the obvious duty of the leader to stop or pause at a level and enquire the team if anyone has queued their thoughts to be poured in. Now comes the real thought. What to ask and what not to? What will others/Manager/Leader/Client think about me? Is this a valid question? Or can i raise it a little later? Can i personally meet the leader later and clarify this doubt? Will everyone copy my idea? Will it be too much to ask this question? How to ask the question? How do I open my mouth? Is it a sin if I talk in this meeting? These are the FAQ's in most of the minds.

A meeting with the client is organized in the first place to clarify the doubts of the entire team so that there does not arise any problems in a long run. When a 'valid' doubt arises its better to shoot it out then and there rather than carrying it over your head for later clarifications.Why worrying the thought that if the others around would think you are a fool. I believe you should risk being a fool for a minute rather than remaining a fool for a lifetime! That does not directly give the credit of asking the most silliest, dumbest questions in a high level meeting. Now which is a silly question and which is not? A self-analysis would help answer this question.

According to me planning, assertiveness, time and of course a little guts projects a successful personality!

Why are some heroines not so heroic?

*Disclaimer: The write-up is about present day Tamil heroines!!!

2007 is being a successful year for Tamil cinema. Though there are a lot many to hit the list for the rest of the year; with movies like 'Pachakili Muthucharam', 'Mozhi','Unnale Unnale', 'Paruthiveeran', 'Pokiri', and last but never the least 'Sivaji', Kollywood has given its audience a variety of flavors.

Out of a thousand movies, considering a few which flashes in my mind now, or rather the ones I watched recently raises a question that; do Tamil heroines need to know more than glamour? Let me quote a few heroines whom I admired recently Anne Hathaway in 'Princess Diaries' , Kate Hudson in 'Raising Helen', Angelina Jolie in 'Life Or Something Like It' , always on-the-top Julia Roberts in 'My Best Friend's Wedding'(like everyone else I would have seen this movie a number of times).

In the movie 'Pokiri', Asin who is considered to be the best these days has proved that she is yet another commercial heroine; nothing more nothing less! Maybe to attain this level of popularity she had previously acted in commercial-glamour roles. But once people have framed her as the most-favored one; as film-critic Madhan quoted, she needs to do a lot of homework! Not just Asin, many other recent day Tamil heroines have to work hard to retain their names or rather to get a name. I recently saw a banner 'Trisha Foundation' by Trisha fan club members. No comments!

I have not seen Shriya's acting in any other movies than 'Sivaji'. I had a notion that Shankar would have made anyone do that role. But I did like Shriya's dance for the songs. I can say she has put in some effort. Sangeetha gave a stunning performance in 'Pithamagan'. Like how actor Vikram got his fame a little late in his life, same holds good for Sangeetha too. Jothika is comparatively better than other female leads, but after I watched Jennifer Anniston in 'Derailed', my notion about her acting in 'Pachakili Muthucharam' drastically came down. Present day Tamil heroines should willingly take up challenging roles and create history rather than dancing for an item number in a commercial picture.