Seriously Ill

Hrudaya, my x-team mate is suffering from serious illness. He’s been here in China from last 10 months. Now most of his colleagues returned to India, he has virtually no one to talk to all the day from last one and half month. He stays in the next room to mine at hotel. So I got to talk to him sometimes in a week when both of us have come back from office early.

Today he said, “saala, bore hote hote bhi bore ho gaya hoon.”

 

The great gyan ki baat.

Anyway, lagta hai kal se apoon ko usko daily dose dena padega.

HalfWorld Conspiracy

One of the time pass here in China is to get together in somebody’s room after office and share all the mitha-mitha experience of the day. The experience mostly centered around conversations with Chinese colleagues. Here is one.

 

One of our teammate had come from Shenzhen to our place Nanjing from last 2 weeks. His Chinese colleague-cum-friend(let’s call him John) was asking him to visit Nanjing Memorial Hall, which was built in remembrance of Japanese Invasion and massacre in 1937. This friend of mine could not go in the weekends. Next Monday he faced the question why he had not visited the place from John.

John again explained him how to reach there. And even offered to go with him in case it is difficult for Abhijit to go alone!

Abhijit could not understand why John was so enthusiastic for him to visit the place, so he directly asked John. Here is John’s explanation in his words(Well almost).

 

"You see. The place is very nice but not so famous. I ask everybody to go there. You specially go. You go without forget. You see, if all Chinese and Indian people have seen the place, Means half the world has seen the place."

 

Aaila! The guy has a vision.

 

Vegetarian Chicken

I, being a vegetarian, have many times received requests to taste chicken with argument that it’s a vegetarian chicken. They are joking of course.

 

Last weekend we visited Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple. Me and my wife were among few vegetarians in our group. My wife spotted a sign board “Vegetarian Restaurant”.

 

Now to understand the emotions we felt at that time, imagine this: You are in a country where people don’t distinguish food by Vegetarian Food or Non-vegetarian food. Food is food. You are eating rice and some sabji (with no masala.  No salt. No nothing. Only boiled vegetables). Now you are roaming in some city from the morning and its almost afternoon and you haven’t taken anything other than pulpy orange gulps. Now you are in the sacred place of Buddha temple, and there is Vegetarian Restaurant signboard! Just part of the temple itself.

 

Sometimes some things can’t be expressed in words. For me this was one of the times and things.

 

We decided to have lunch at the restaurant immediately after we are done with the temple.(I even suggested to have lunch first and then continue for temple, which was rejected even before I finish the sentence.) The pakka non-veggies in our group also got ready to accompany us. May be Buddha had his magic on these guys.

 

After finishing the temple visit,

we took chairs on the restaurant.

Got the menu.

Saw the menu.

Got shock of lifetime.

Took some photos.

Left the place.

 

 

 

 

Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.

New Year Sankalp

1.       Finish my old (last year’s, last to last year’s and last to last to last year’s) Sankalp(s)

2.       Keep one resolution secret from everyone until its achieved. This gotta work! Learned from Sayesha

 

New Folder

How many "New Folder" do you have in your system?

Does it indicate we are not efficient in managing data in our system?

I've got 8. How many you've got ?

Try searching !

She was She

My Love,

This is the first time in our 10 years of life together that I have picked up a pen to write to you. And that too now, when we are no longer together. We spent ten long years together! Very few such relations last so long these days. And I am glad we did.

I still remember the day when I first saw you. I was with my father in the market. And you were standing in that big store of our town. I didn’t know what you were looking at, but you were looking straight in one direction undisturbed by the gazes of almost everyone who were passing from there. That image of yours was captured in my heart forever. From the moment I laid my eyes on you, I was sure that you were the one. Soon I came to know that you were a relative of that big store owner. And I started planning to de-relate you from him and make you a part of my family. I was not sure if you even noticed me then, but was sure you would someday soon. From that day I started praying God every night to roll the things in our favor.

When I first mentioned you at home, not everybody was happy. Papa was OK but mom was reluctant. May be she was hesitated by the thought of expenditure for our possible union especially when she came to know that the big store owner was your relative. But slowly I was able to convince her. Rest of the arrangements with your parents went very smoothly. And to my parent’s and somewhat mine surprise, the store owner uncle played a very positive role for that. Do you remember during all these days we could manage to meet only at the store and I didn’t know much about you. I was very curious but there was no way. The store owner uncle (I really keep forgetting his name. You know that I am weak at all this) would not allow you to come out with me.

Finally after 2 months the day came, when you became part of our family. God had really rolled out the things pretty fast. You remember how my mom and sister welcomed you. How that Shweta auntie and other neighbors were peeping in to have a look at you. They couldn't believe the amount we spent on the event. (My mom kept telling them.) But there you were, entering our home with me as gorgeous as you were when I first saw you. May be more.

In those few days I was not sure whether I was living my life with you or roaming in some dreamland. We couldn't go out to some far place immediately, but we made it by going on long rides everyday in the evening. Do you remember we used to go visit my friends and I am sure many of them were jealous of you being with me. And sometimes I enjoyed that.

We both were young and had to make it in our life. I had to travel to this new city far away from our home. I promised to get you there as soon as possible. But that soon came only after 2 years. You never complained. Many times I couldn't go out with you despite promises, because of my new job. Every evening when I got back from work, I would find you as I left you in the morning, smiling. Many times I promised myself to go for a short ride with you after dinner every night, but like many of my other promises they never got fulfilled.

They say you realize someone's value, after someone leaves you. I don't know about others, but that's exactly what has happened to me. Now that you are not with me, and this time I think forever, I miss you a lot. A lot. I know now it’s too late from my side to save the relation, but dear bicycle I miss you a lot. I know you might not have been willing to depart from me, but its God’s will. May be the person who stole you from my home needs you more than I do. I hope and am confident that you will serve your new master well. Give me a smile if you see me somewhere on the road. You are my first love and will always remain.

*Based on a true incident.

2 States

This Sunday I bought the "2 States: The Story of My Marriage" the new book by Chetan Bhagat. I was expecting better from him this time compared to his last two misadventures, but to my surprise the book was much much better !

Yes, one sort of sequel to his first book, this book is full of dialoguebaji, real life experience that you dont put in words but Chetan Bhagat can, a very little masala(this was the expectation anyway!), exploration on Tamil vs Punjabi culture, what the big banks have to offer at workplace, etc etc.

The story starts when an IIMA boy, Krish, falls in love with an extra ordinary beautiful IIMA girl Ananya(extra ordinary by IIMA standards). Krish is son of a retired Punjabi armyman and hardcore punjabi housewife. Ananya is from a Purest of Pure Iyer Brahmin cast in Tamilnadu.

Dont care about the end, whether it is happy ending or sad ending. Chetan has made sure that the path upto the ending is exciting. (Read:its not the destination that matters, its the journey.) Its the story of the same boy who has his stunts during IITD in 'Five Point Someone' and is now participating in the second at IIMA. Arguably the story line resembles Chetan's own life, as his real life wife Anusha is from Tamilnadu and himself from Delhi.

Overall its a very good book. I would give 4.5 out of 5 to this.*

*About the rating trust-ability of my rating, 'Five point someone' has been given 5/5, 'One night @ call centre': 3/5 and 'Three Mistakes': 2.5/5.