बीती ताहि बिसार दे

शाम हो चली थी, ट्रेन पटरी पर पूरी गति से दौड़ रही थी, आदित्य देव अस्त होने की तैयारी में थे। आकाश में लालिमा छा गई थी और धरती पर धुंधलका आने लगा था। 

एक बार नजर अनायास ही शून्य से सामने गुजरते नजारों पे आ टिकी

वही तेज भागती पटरी, वही हरे भरे खेत, 

सन सन कर एक के बाद एक गुजरते पेड़

और दूर गगन में अस्त होता सूर्य

एक बारगी लगा कॉलेज के दिन लौट आए

दुर्ग से रायपुर जा रहा हूं शायद, अभी स्टील प्लांट गुजरता होगा। 

घर पहुंच मां को कुछ गरमा गर्म खिलाने को कहूंगा, और कुछ ना हुआ तो उसके हाथ का दाल चावल भी चलेगा।

तीव्र गति से सरपट भागती ट्रेन से भी तेज ये मन, न जाने अनायास ही आज पीछे की ओर हो लिया। 

तभी अचानक किसी भाई साहब ने बगल में छींक कर एक्सक्यूज मि कहा। उनकी गोरी शकल पे ध्यान गया तो इर्द गिर्द का भान हुआ। ये तो मैं अपनो के बीच नहीं हूं। ये ट्रेन दुर्ग से रायपुर नहीं, लंदन से रेडिंग की ओर जाती है। 

ऐसा लगा जैसे किसी ने मन के कान खींच कर अतीत से वर्तमान में पटक दिया हो। मन तो मन ठहरा, उसे तो आदत है टाइम ट्रैवल की। वो फिर खिड़की से बाहर हरे खेतो में हिंदुस्तान खोजने लगा। पर तब तक मानस पटल ने अतीत के दरीचो को बंद कर दिया था। 

मन, मन मसोस कर वर्तमान में ठहर गया और सुंदर अतीत की ललक में एक लुभावना वर्तमान रचने लगा। काश बीस साल पहले घर ना छोड़ता, काश के घर के आस पास कोई अच्छी नौकरी मिल जाती। फलां को देखो, वो तो वहीं हैं, लाख डेढ़ लाख होम टाउन में बैठ कर कमा रहा है महीने के। गाड़ी,घर किसी चीज की कमी नहीं। मां बाप भाई बहन का साथ है सो अलग। काश ये जीवन चुना होता। क्या मिल गया दूर देश आके, ना खुद का घर है, ना बात करने को चार लोग। पैसे पाउंड में हैं तो खर्चे भी। जो थोड़ा बहुत बच गया वो भी इस सुरसा के मुख की तरह बढ़ते खर्चों की भेंट चढ़ जाता है। आग लगे इस भागदौड़ को। स्वामी विवेकानंद सही कह गए की चलो मन जाए घर अपने, इस परदेस में ओ परदेस में , क्यों परदेसी रहे, चलो मन जाए घर अपने

मस्तिष्क ने भी अपनी कही। कहा कि अंग्रेजी में एक कहावत है, nostalgia is a liar. जब हृदय भूतकाल की सैर पर निकलता है तो मेमोरी ट्रेन सिर्फ अच्छी यादों के स्टेशन पर थमती है। ये हमारे मन मस्तिष्क का डिफेंस मैकेनिज्म है। बुरी यादें मन भुला देता है। वो हरे भरे लहलहाते खेत याद रहते हैं, पर रायपुर घुसते ही नाक सड़ा देने वाली बदबू याद नहीं रहती। कॉलेज की सुनहरी यादों में हर दूसरे सेमेस्टर में फेल होना याद नहीं आता। दोस्तो की चुहलबाज़ी याद रहती है पर घंटो बैठ मैकेनिकल इंजीनियरिंग की किताबो में सर फोड़ना याद नहीं आता। ये कहना बहुत आसान है कि कोई लौटा दे मेरे बीते हुए दिन पर अगर सच में बीते दिन लौट आए तो छाती पीट लेंगे। कहेंगे की हाय बड़ी मुश्किल से तो एमबीए में एडमिशन लिया था क्या कहते हो फिर से CAT के गले में घंटी बांधनी होगी?? इसलिए यादें, यादें ही रहे तो अच्छा। फिर लौट आया गुजरा जमाना तो एक जमाना फिर गुजारना होगा। 

एक दूसरी कहावत है अंग्रेज़ी में, the grass is always greener on the other side, हिंदी में कहते है पड़ोसी का मकान हमेशा अच्छा लगता है । जिस फलां को होम टाउन में फलता फूलता देख हम आहें भरते हैं वोह शायद हमें देख यही करता हो। की देखो भाई ने तो बीस साल में मुंबई पुणे दिल्ली बैंगलोर लंदन सब नाप लिया और हमने तो कुछ अनुभव किया ही नहीं। 

अपनी स्तिथि से संतोष पाना शायद बाबा रामदेव के भी बस का नहीं तो हम तो ठहरे अदना इंसान। बस इतना ही कर सकते हैं कि जब पड़ोस का मकान अच्छा लगे, तो एक नजर अपने आशियाने पर भी डाले। जहां आज आप हैं, वहां भविष्य में मेमोरी ट्रेन की अच्छी यादों का स्टेशन बनेगा। आपका वर्तमान आगे जाकर अतीत की सुनहरी यादें बनेगा। तो जी भर के जिए इस आज को। 

बीती ताहि बिसार दे, आगे कि सुधि ले 

धन्यवाद

Saurabh Roy 

27th May 2021

 Writing after a rather short break now. Time is not an issue, but sometimes it seems very futile. I mean let's admit it, no one's ever going to read it. Don't know when Google decides to close blogger as people now tweet, retweet and share. Not many have to patience to write and read lengthy articles or posts. Definitely not something written by a fairly average person like me. But anyways hope Blogger sticks around and I can still comeback and see my posts decade from now. 

Assuming I am alive till then..

Yes, in last one year I have come to realize how big of an assumption life is. It is fickle, it is unpredictable and it can be cut short anytime. We are now living in the times of Corona Virus. Almost 1.5 years since this virus has wreaked havoc on the world. Different people have different claims over its origin, spread and affects. I am neither a scientist not a doctor so all that I can do is protect myself and my family at all cost. Thankfully there is a vaccine now, and it is currently effective in most of the cases/variants/mutations, if not all. My parents got their doses. I got mine. Still worried about my Younger brother and his wife in India, also worried sick about my daughter, There is no vaccine yet for kids and whilst they had better resistance to the virus in first wave, the second wave seems to be more deadly. Predictions are that a third wave can be catastrophic to kids. I can just hope that majority of the people are vaccinated and we all collectively get herd immunity before the third wave approaches.. 

The virus has caused a train wreck of a damage in India. Everyone I talk to back home knows somebody who has died due to the virus. In my previous post I had mentioned my best friend loosing his father. Little did I knew that I would myself loose two of my own uncles. My father's younger brother and his oldest brother in law succumbed to the virus. Lost a distant cousin from my mother side,  an office colleague (old manager actually, who also figures in one my old posts about iPhones).  One very close friend lost his pregnant wife to this virus as well. If this was not enough I also lost a recently found running mate Colonel Vinay in a road accident. That friendship ended before it could even start. At one point of time this month when I heard about the death of my friend's wife, I just broke down completely. Started sobbing like a baby. Honestly I just couldn't take it. It was like, god how many more faces will go permanently. Above all, the fear of losing more and losing up close. This is no longer a lockdown where people sit at home and play Ludo online. This is now people arranging oxygen and meds so that their son, father, mother, daughter, wife, husband can live. 

But there is a ray of hope. The vaccine drive is going in full swing. A good chunk of people have realized how important it is to get vaccinated, follow social distancing and also how useless our entire political leadership is. A good chunk by the way, not all of them. 

I can just pray for the well being of myself, my loved ones and the whole Humanity. Hope God has still not given up on us. Here's to a hope that my next post can be a bit more cheerful. 

Thanks for your patient reading (if at all anyone did)

Tinu...

12 Sept 2020

आज फिर काफी समय बाद कुछ लिखने का जी कर रहा है। कुछ दिनों से मन अशांत है। दांत दुख रहे है और सर्दी ने जकड़ रखा है और तड़के सुबह एक गहरे मित्र के पिताजी की अकस्मात निधन की खबर आई। और इन सब के ऊपर पूरे विश्व में फैली ये महामारी कोविड। 

वैसे तो पूरा संसार साल २०२० को जी भर के गलिया दे रहा है, पर में अगर अपनी कहूं तो अब तक ये साल कुछ मिला जुला रहा, और आगे की भगवान जाने।  मै इस साल जनवरी हुकूमते ब्रिटानिया में रहने आ गया अपने बीवी बच्चा समेत। ये सपना कई सालो से मन में था मेरे और श्रीमती जी के, और अब ये पूरा भी हो गया। कंपनी ने बिज़नेस क्लास की सैर भी करा दी और बहुत सारी सुविधाएं भी दी। तनख्वाह थोड़ी कम है पर गुजर जाती है। पर फिर भी मेहनत का फल मिला ऐसा जान पड़ता है। नौकरी जैसी की प्राइवेट होती है भगवान भरोसे वैसी ही है। जीवन में पूरे हुए हर सपने की तरह ये सपना भी इतनी देर से पूरा हुआ कि समझ नहीं आता खुश हूं की दुखी। बीवी खुश है कि चार लोगो को बता सके कि मै तो इंग्लैंड में रहती हूं, पर दुखी भी है कि यहां तो सब काम खुद करना पड़ता है झाड़ू से लेकर रसोई तक सब सिर पे आन पड़ा है। वैसे लॉकडाउन हो जाने से मै अब काफी मदद कर पाता हूं पर फिर भी मेहनत तो है।

पर यहां, ऐसी काफी सुविधाएं, जो की हिन्दुस्तान में बहुत सस्ती और बहुतायत में थी, अब नहीं है। जैसे की घर पे एक झाड़ू लगाने वाली, सस्ते छोटे मोटे पंसारी की दुकान या छोटा मोटा सा एक होटल जहां सौ रुपए में बढ़िया गरमा गर्म डोसा और इडली मिल जाए। ऐसा कुछ भी नहीं है यहां। हर चीज बहुत महंगी है । इस पर ये दांत का दर्द। यहां सिर्फ देखने के दस हजार रूपए लगते है। और नकली दांत का तो पूछिए मत, बस ये जान लीजिए घर की डाउन पेमेंट हो जाए हिन्दुस्तान में। 

खैर,पर कुछ अच्छी बात भी है। खाली खाली सुंदर से रास्ते, हर दस कदम पे एक सुंदर सा बगीचा, छोटे छोटे सुंदर घर, बिजली पानी की कोई किल्लत नहीं। ट्रेन बस सब आरामदायक, कोई भीड़ भड़क्का नहीं। खुली और साफ हवा। और एक अलग ही व्यावसायिक माहौल जहां काफी कुछ नया सीखने को है। 

हां घर दूर है पर घर तो बेंगलुरु से भी दूर ही था। यह तो तभी सोच लेना चाहिए था जब पन्द्रह साल पहले घर छोड़ दिया था। कभी कभी बुरा लगता है पर सोचता हूं शायद घर पर रहता तो और बुरा लगता, कौन जाने। जैसा कि कहते हैं बगल वाले घर की घास हमेशा हरी दिखती है। 

आज के लिए बस इतना ही। अब जा के बीवी के लिए कॉफी बनाओ और बच्चे के लिए दूध। सब मिल बैठकर सिनेमा देख लेते हैं शायद मन बहल जाए। अब दातों का जो होगा होगा देखी जाएगी। 

अगर आपने पढ़ा तो आशा करता हूं अच्छा लगा होगा अगर ना अच्छा लगा तो क्षमा चाहता हूं। मुझे दो तीन साल बाद लिख कर बढ़ा अच्छा लगा।

धन्यवाद😊😊

iPhone X and me

Apple recently launched iPhone 8 and X along with some variants and accessories. No I am not going to review them.
The next day of launch, I went for a cup of tea in a Corporate tapri (small tea shop) near my hunky dory office, with two of my colleagues.
"So new iPhone has launched huh" I said. Soon enough both the folks were all gaga about the features of the phone they hoped to lay their hands soon (Mind you, they can afford it, and I am not building to a kidney joke ). 

One of the guy was 'kind' enough to mention about the series of iPhones he had in his home, right from 3 to 7, and soon enough he might have 8/X. There were some excited voices and I could hear, retina something,video, photo, dual camera, bezel something, etc etc wtf. .
Discussion ended and we left towards office building.
When the guys were a bit ahead, I non chalantly took my cheap (6K Rupees, yeah that's right) Redmi 1S out of my pocket and stared at it. "I should at least get the broken cover replaced", I thought. But the second moment I knew how futile it would be. Just like the last one, Vaanya will crack this up in a day or two. My wife had recently tried to 'gift' me the latest Nokia 6 phone and I had pretty ruthlessly made her return that. In my entire career span of 9 point something years I have barely purchased 3 phones.

When it comes to phones I am not driven by what's the latest, instead, I focus on what I need, or shall we say, what's the minimum I can expect, and can afford. An i-phone doesn't fit the bill.  Young people might find difficult to grasp what I said..

That's it actually.. Not much going apart from this..

P.S: Above post was written way before it was published. I did get a new phone day before yesterday. Needless to say it is cheap, but does the job..

Marital madness

The marital ads around you.(in India)

The girl's requirement mainly highlight their strong need of a 7 figure salaried husband,  irrespective of the absence or paltry existence of their own salaries.💃🏼💃🏼💃🏼 

The boys similarly are fixated on an hour glass figure and fair skin,  irrespective of their own beer belly and Bournville complexion. 😬😬😬

The fun part is post marriage...

This is when you realise all you both needed was love and respect.. 💏😊😊😊

It's better to be loved by a guy sitting beside you in a public transport rather than being abused by a sadist in his fancy car. 

Thanks for your patient reading
Tinu...

Note to friends from social media

Usually my FB/ Twitter timeline is filled with political garbage,  misplaced jingoism and pseudo feminist crap. Mostly copied or shared from unverified and untrue sources. Quite harmful I'd say. We must be cautious of not only what others are posting but also mindful of what we put out there. Mis-information is one of the biggest perils of this information age. Allow me to elaborate by examples. 

1. Political:
Mr A is very much against one political party. He every day puts post and comment against them. He refuses to acknowledge and overlooks any good work by that party. He can never appreciate rationale. Mr A is a duffer.

You are not as duffer as Mr A, but you read his TL daily, you don't verify his post from credible resources. Before you know it, you are as duffer as Mr A. You may be against him or with him doesn't matter. You would be still be a duffer. 

2. Personal:
Ms B had a bad relationship. All day she shares posts that maligns men and eulogise women. Ms B is now firmly anti men, pseudo feminist lady. She posts what suits her, not what is correct. She is trying to address her problems from wrong resources and knitting her own web of problems. Ms B is looser.

You are not a looser like Ms B. You read her TL daily, but you don't verify it. Your partner is a good lad. He isn't perfect but has some really good qualities. Before you know it, you will start looking your guy from Ms B's tainted glasses. Only his imperfections will be visible to you. Soon you will join Ms B's loosers club.
Above example applies to both gender.

3. Pictures and videos
This one is pretty serious and I will be recounting my own experience rather than example. Won't share the names for personal and safety reasons.
I was friends online with a lady I knew. She was married. This was the time of Orkut. She had a long list of virtual friends many of whom were not personally known to her. She was pretty comfortable in sharing her pics, sometimes in attires that were fairly minimalistic (sorry, couldn't think of any other politically correct word). Anyways who am I to judge.
But long after orkut was out of vogue, I saw her pics on another guys system who couldn't possibly be her friend. A close look and I realised my friends pics were in a porn pic site. There were filthy comments all over it. I reported those pics, but what's out there on net is out there forever.

Wether you realise it or not your online postings gives people a idea of the real you and also at times gives a fairly good idea of your personal life. Not saying that it is wrong, but just saying that what it means. Share responsibly, post with care. We all have a fairly large friend list and a lot many of them are not your friends in true sense of the word.

As usual that was long. Thanks for your patient reading...
Tinu...

Gender Equality

We live in a world where a boy dating many girls is a Casanova, but a girl doing the same is slut,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

We live in a world where a mother gets a full quarter of paid maternity leave, but paternity leaves don't go beyond a week,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

We live in a world where a girl is denied higher education, and a boy is pushed into it,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

We live in a world where a husband hitting his wife is a crime, but a wife hitting her  husband is a WhatsApp joke,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

He wants a fair, slim, 'homely' wife. But himself is fat, can't cook , won't cook guy,
Yes, he also talks of gender equality.

She wants a tall, seven figure salaried, well settled (not with in-laws) guy. But herself earns in five figures, can't cook, won't cook girl,
Yes, she also wants gender equality.

We live in a world where a guy moving up in office is either talented or a chamcha, but a girl moving up, is definitely sleeping with boss,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

We live in a world which constantly reminds of a mother's great sacrifice in nurturing you, but never mentions that silent father, who always kept your fancy dress above his worn out shoes,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

We live in a world where a fifty year old unmarried actor is still the most eligible bachelor, but a 40 something unmarried actress is a sad story,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

We live in a world where a woman doing a job and also taking care of house is deemed a super-woman, but a man doing the same is just doing his duty,
Yet we dream of gender equality.

Thanks for your patient reading...
Tinu...

P.s : If the above post offends you, I truly don't give a damn. If you beg to differ, please leave a comment.

Perils of Online wisdom

I am writing again today. It's exciting actually. The best part of blogging here now is the fact that probably no one's going to read it. So I am not worried about likes or retweets. It's now my own personal diary.
Wanted to say something very harmful happening around us. Social media 'gyaan' or 'wisdom' . It's short, catchy, and mostly untrue and harmful. I am not just talking about the misinformation that is being spread for political reasons, but more on a personal front. We are shaping behaviours, we are creating attitude. We are using creative one liners to justify, or worse, glorify wrong perceptions. Take this for an example, a post in FB said " It is beautiful when you stop caring for things in life and start living free". How on earth stop caring in your life makes someone free. One must be mad or utterly selfish to not care for anything. I care about my family, my job, friends etc. It does not make me their slave. This is just a sample. Online space is full of brain devoid things like this. People read them, find the one which is convenient for them. Probably something which would justify their faults and use it frequently, oh and also share it online. Allow me to explain how this works. Today by my bad luck I stumbled upon Splistsvilla, a sleazy cheap reality show in MTV. A girl contestant proudly said, she thinks all men are dogs and they need to be trained. She then asked what's wrong with that as it is her personal view. If it were a tweet she would probably also tell everyone to stop 'judging' her. Reality is, all men are not dogs, there is everything wrong with your 'personal' view and we will be bloody judging you and your persona on your views.
Next time you see such sweeping statements online, I request you to think about it. See if it is true for you or truth in general. If the later is not the case, challenge it then and there.
Thanks for your patient reading...
Tinu...

परिवर्तन

आज फिर दो साल के अंतराल के पश्चात कुछ लिख रहा हूँ. काफी कुछ बदल गया है। व्यक्तिगत एवं व्यवसायिक जीवन में कुछ बड़े परिवर्तन हुए है। पर शायद दुनिया मेरे जीवन से कहीं ज्यादा गति से परिवर्तित हुई है। अब देख लीजिये, पहली बार हिंदी में लिख रहा हूँ, वह भी लैपटॉप मे नहीं, मोबाइल में। एंड्राइड ने जैसे सारा संसार अपने में समां लिया हो। हर परिवर्तन कुछ अच्छा और बुरा समेटे लाता है। पिछ्ले 5 साल में एंड्राइड ने ऐसा ज़ोर पकड़ा है की अब तकरीबन हर चीज़ का एप्लीकेशन बन गया है, काफी कुछ आसानी से हो जाता है। पर ये भी सच है की हम आत्मनिर्भरता से मोबाइल निर्भरता की और भाग रहे है। परंतु ये मनुष्य की प्रवित्ति पर निर्भर है। अब डायनामाइट से पहाड़ तोड़ने है की घर, इसका निर्णय तो हमें ही लेना ह, डायनामाइट ने नहीं ।

अरे हाँ बड़ी बात तो रह गयीे। मैं तकरीबन दो साल पहले पिता बना, एक बहुत सुन्दर और नटखट बेटी का। भगवान से बेटी मांगी और उस ने सुन ली।  जीवन पूरा उसके इर्द गिर्द घूमता है। अपने आँखों के सामने उसे पैदा होते देखा और अब बड़ा होते हुए देख रहा हूँ। सब एक किसी चलचित्र की तरह याद है। उसका इस संसार में आना, पहली हंसी, पहले कदम, पहले शब्द, सब कुछ मस्तिष्क के एक सुरक्षित कोने में सहेज के रख दिया है।सच कहूँ तो पहली बार पता चला की प्रेम किसे कहते है। परमेश्वर को कोटि कोटि नमन।।।

नाम है वान्या, जिसका एक अर्थ है आदर्श पुत्री।

पढ़ने के लिए धन्यवाद, ज्यादा समय नष्ट हुआ लगता हो तो लॉगआउट करे और ट्विटर में जाए।

Why so long?

Four years and no posts... Yes I am alive and I Do remember the password. I am married now, since three years. Hope that explains my absence :P

Nostalgia (Me as well)

Going through sam's post and Venky's reaction made me nostalgic as well, so taking the feel from sam and idea from venky, here is a post, a collection of pics and some interesting memories associated with it.

The story, From top, left to right

Pic 1- Venky being molested by sam, just look at the expression of poor little venky. This brutal act by sam was frequent, and with all of us, till date I doubt about sam's sexual orientation.(Pun intended sam, if you are reading this)

Pic 2- Yeah venky wasn't alone facing this, thats me, you don't know what your roommates can turn into. Expressions on ritesh is worth watching, what a horny guy.

Pic 3- Me and Sanjiv Rai in my flat at ber sarai, Rai sahab was my first roomie in hostel, wonderful guy, very creative. You will love him, hate him, praise him, he can accomodate in all your emotions. A perfect partner if you are looking out to do something insane(he will be always one step ahead in that insanity)

Pic 4- Thats TDH(tall dark handsome) ani, hottie richa and naughty pooja, a pic clicked at one the many parties organized by LBSIM in Delhi flying club. Almost every party of LBS was at DFC only, so it didn't came as a surprise when Adesh(my roommate at ber sarai) got commited with Upasana (a great frnd and our director's daughter) at DFC. As for richa, poo and ani, words fail to describe the bond I shared with these guys

Pic 5- Residents of 55-A Ber sarai posing after India won T20 world cup, a historic day in Indian cricket, this posing was followed by a mad road side dance with local dholis in the narrow lanes of Ber sarai.

Pic 6- Me with sachin goel at lbs on rose day. All these roses and we were single for the rest of our days at LBSIM, we should have picked some red roses I guess

Pic 7- Ritesh garg on congo, the guy was the spinal cord of music club mantra. My brief stint with music started and ended at LBS. I will always be thankful to each and every member of Mantra to give me those unforgettable moments of my life.

Pic 8- A rose created out of tomatoes by our lovely friend Juhi. The pic is significant for many reasons cause that was one significant day or night shall I say. After this was clicked and consumed, we went on to India Gate, me, ani, venkat, sam and santosh. The small trip to India Gate brought out a fabulous writer ani out of hiding by the means of his blog , his first post, a night of many first times, remember sindhu(if at all you are reading this).

Pic 9- Back bencher association alias BBA, the pic is incomplete though, it lacks me, ani and rahul. All these guy were my roommates, wonderful guys to be with. Have a whole post dedicated to my roommates Link .

Pic 10- First party of BBA. What a hell of a party at piyush's room. Two things I can never forget , piyush's disgusted looks, when he accidentally got a peek inside rahul's underwear and santosh's hysterical non stop laugh at end.

Pic 11- Last train from Delhi, I left Delhi after this was clicked, missed my farewell party...sad very sad...can't say anything else. Just after this pic I got tears rolling down my cheeks.. Very significant day, will tell in my next post why..

Pic 12- Holi at LBSIM, I celebrated holi after 4 years at LBS(thanks to my engg college) and haven't celebrated holy ever since, till date.

Thanks for your patient reading,

Tinu...

P.S Special thanks to sam and venky for writing nostalgia in their blogs.

Helped alive by a Undertaker

Hi folks, this is about a real life experience I had during my stint as a summer trainee at TERI in Delhi. For the background of it, during our MBA we are supposed to work with a corporate for summer project in order to complete our first year. I got placed in The Energy and Research Institute(TERI). The profile demanded me to do a feasibility study of Biomass Gasifiers TERI had designed especially in commercial applications. The damn thing was a chulha, which worked on biomass. It not only worked with ease of a LPG gas but was cheaper also. I had to suggest the company on all the 4P's i.e product, price, place and promotion. Somewhere during the project I realized that I should know the whole distribution of firewood, if it is there at all. The distribution of Biomass fuel or pellets as we called it would be quite similar to it. But I didn't had a clue of the firewood network(who does??) so I consulted my marketing professor Mr Pankaj Priya, bingo and he had a weird idea... Why don't you go a shamshaan Ghat(crematorium) and find out..???

So here I was, a fully formally dressed MBA grad, hanging a laptop, standing on the gates of Munirka Shamshaan Ghat.. When I barged in, there were two people burning(may god bless them), the workers were quite amused to see me. They were used to see people in groups usually carrying a dead on there shoulder. A jazzy young college grad, wearing a equally flashy(and cheap) shades, carrying a laptop was too much for a crematorium. I asked for the incharge, and the chandaal(undertaker) came out of his room. He was surprised, to say the least, and when I told him that I needed his help in my MBA project he was floored. I was immediately invited in, he had a small room with only one messy bed(not much lively visitors eh..) I looked for a place for both of us to sit since the bed was quite messy and guess what, he made me sit on a coffin, that was the only other thing available. Then he went on explaining on everything about firewood network. I must confess, I got more information than I asked for, the guy not only knew his job but also all things connected to it. How wood is obtained from wholesalers in west Delhi, how to bring it here to retail (crematoriums, retailers from slum etc), what is the source of wood, at what price wholesaler gets it, what are the margins etc etc.. That served my purpose, I thanked him. When I started going out he offered me tea, I could not refuse. So then we had hot tea in hot delhi at a hot crematorium. I am guessing I am the only one in my entire clan who had a tea inside a crematorium. Usually when we burn our dead, we come back and purify ourselves by bathing and doing some rituals, but here I was having tea with a friendly undertaker, forget rituals I didn't even bothered myself with a bath after coming out, I had to go elsewhere. Thinking of this now makes me philosophical, how easily we forget the existence and importance of some people. All I can say is that was a whole new perspective

Last words of the undertaker to me--- "Sahab fir miliyega zarurat ho to"(Sir, please come again if you need me)...I don't know if I would ever need him alive again, but his kind would definitely of use once I am all done.

Thanks for your patient reading.

Tinu..

Life lately

Well some of the things happening around my life, both proffessional and personal
Professional-

My company market share not so attractive in my territory, though growing and gaining. The fact I survived confirmation process, got a promotion and got another raise, doesn't change the fact that frequent threats of termination continue, no fresh attractive jobs in the market, not for me atleast. But here is some silver lining in the cloud, at the end of the day I am enjoying it,I am loving the nature of my job, though I know it won't be so good for a future relationship I intend to be in, but still I like it. As Mr Narayan murthy says"Love your job not the company" that is exactly the case with me, so I guess my endurance is increasing. I have started becoming what was expected of me, a crook(yeah these were the exact words). I love when I take money out of someone's pocket, my cousin(the only other salesperson in the clan) once rightly said that it is one of the toughest task, and believe me its such a fun and satisfaction when you do that. I even get anxious when my boss doesn't issue a fresh threat or scolding. Finally some professionally closer people in my team. Professional challenges have somehow help me grow in my personal life as well. I am less mercurial nowadays, I take life easy, a job in sales has taught me patience and humility. My outlook towards things have changed a lot I am more polite to people. I had never been able to break the ice in an encounter, but now I am getting good at that. I easily get someone's viewpoint or intention, be it right or wrong. It would be now harder to deceive me as compared to last year. I am 2 years in work ex, and I am handling what is fully acknowledged as the toughest territory and the most challenging across Maharshtra. As far as my knowledge goes I am the youngest network manager this territory has ever seen so there is a lot to cover, and thankfully I am surrounded by few of the very highly professional people around me, both in my company as well as network. A lot to learn from their experiences and actions.

Personal
Personal life is witnessing a huge change. I am fat, yes I am, Yes I am (just 12 kg short of 1 quintal ) I am away from music now. Forget singing, I have left even, listening it properly. Its buried within me now, somewhere deep. The need for a soul-mate is increasing day by day, never felt it all my life, and everyday news of friends getting married and making babies isn't helping much either. I am very lazy sometimes, I don't save, spend too much mindlessly. My job requires me to be attentive, aggressive, quick and patient, doing that more than 12 hrs a day I can't stop doing it back home also.. All in all bhai logo, life thori badal geli hai...

Thanks for your patient reading

Tinu...

Regionalism in here, why the hell???

Hi, as usual something around me makes me write this. Over the past one year we have witnessed violent forms of separatist activities in our nation. Telangana wanted to be a seperate state and so propagators of vandalism(sorry I don't think they were anything else) decided to torch buses and harm public properties, Pakistani flag was hosted at some square at shrinagar on Independence day, some hapless people were branded as 'North Indians' and these 'immigrants' were ruthlessly beaten and some even killed in one state, worst part, I observed many educated people giving open thumbs up to the theory. This was recent, earlier there were beatings of bengalis in assam or the khalistan movement for independent Punjab, or the lesser violent harit pradesh, vidharbha, bundelkhand, rajputana etc etc. This makes me think why is this happening?? Why the nation of Mahatma Gandhi is resorting to violence and making a mockery of the concept of 'Akhand Bharat' or say unified India. Here are few reasons, one in this post and the others in the posts to come.

My personal views and on a very lighter note, there can be a theory, a psychological reason, a subtle one, and that is, the fact we were actually a divided lot for most of our history, even a slightest interest in history will tell you that the biggest democracy on planet wasn't a democracy for most of its history. The doctrine of unity in diversity is actually a very recent one, we have been independent states for the most of our known history. These states were mostly on the basis of region and language,( not religion as many people may think), though there were national figures in Delhi(sultans and mughals) and Patna(Guptas and Mauryas) but Dravidians were mostly oblivious to that supremacy and other states had there own rulers who were either completely independent, or at the most, accepted the bigger power by paying taxes but by and large managing states on there own. So basically we were historically divided.

So may be this is the psychological base for some psychos who are on the way to divide this country once again just like we were few hundred years ago. Can somebody please tell these retards that times have CHANGED, we leave among trains and flights now, not between bullock carts and horses. These guys are mentally sick and are very bad student of history. They never understood that why Chandragupta maurya won against Alexander the great. They studied Peshwas but never understood why were they defeated at last battle of Panipat, they never learnt why East India company managed to enter this country and rule with a handful of people over millions of us over a period of 200 years.

These maniacs must be stopped as History has the habit of repeating itself.

Thanks for your patient reading.

Tinu...

They said, I thought

Hi folks, first post to begin the year with. My blogging has reduced drastically last year, hope this year I write more often..So here it goes, some famous quotes I read, and this is what I thought.

1. "Honesty is the best policy"- William Shakespere

---Oh yeah, you can say that, you were never a salesman

2. "Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence"-- George Washington

---N.D.Tiwari....man, you should have listened to George...

3. "As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality"--Albert Einstein

---So after stuff like E=MC sq, you are allowed to say intellect crap like that.

4. "Delay is preferable to error"--Thomas Jefferson

---Try telling that to my boss

5. "A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person" --Mignon Mclaughlin

---Or, Not getting caught with the another one..

6. “We are Indians, firstly and lastly.” - B. R. Ambedkar

---People forgot

7. "Lost time is never found again. "--Benjamin Franklin.

---Why go lookin ??

8. "Formula for success: rise early, work hard--J.Paul Getty

---Or just, marry someone rich..

9. "I never knew how to worship until I knew how to love." Henry Ward Beecher

---Coz after that I was always on God's mercy

10. "Men talk to my boobs!"-- Mallika Sherawat

---Yeah coz its impossible to handle your loud mouth

Thanks for your patient reading

Tinu..

Why exactly was he Great....

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a.k.a Mahatama Gandhi, Bapu, Father of the nation, India. The tale to his path to leadership and his deeds and words, has been written numerous time by many people. People ranging from great philosophers, leaders and crores of children have written volumes about him be it biographies, novel, blogs and offcourse the 'My great leader' essays in school. So am I writing anything different ???? the answer would be nah...he is too great and I am too amateur to do so. So different questions, why am I writing it..?? well, haven't really written anything for long and it was his b'day today, October 2'nd and also I happen to saw a movie today named Inglorious Bastards, which has something to do with fuhrer or more commonly known as Hitler. The movie was a shit, according to me, for your viewpoint, go see the damn movie. At the end of the movie I was wondering something else, what makes a leader great, the thought process took me to Bapu and then narrowed down to the question why was he considered so great... ??

All his sermons, deeds, visions missions put together I was convinced for only one thing as to why he was great. He was great according to me because, for the reasons or cause showed by him, people were ready to bear with any adversity for a prolonged time. I choose my words cautiously, cause it would be very easy to write that people were ready to die for him. But that was not the case entirely, there have been many leaders for whom people are ready to give up there lives, even Osama bin laden would account to be a great leader then, why not, he gives his people a cause and thousands of mujhaiddin kill themselves(and innocent people surrounding them). Mahatma had that conviction, cause and charisma that enable people to surrender themselves to him, like a true devotee surrenders to god. Bapu said give up your made in xyz stuff and people made bonfires of British clothes, Bapu said endure pain and people broke their heads without even lifting a finger to the person causing the pain. Many leaders give you a reason and you are convinced and march and die for him, it all happens within a speech and lasts for days months and year to come but the struggles ends as soon as the euphoria goes, smart leader makes full effort to build that euphoria and then makes best of the time when people are in that influence because once the tide is over, the ocean is calm again. But for Mahatma people were ready to suffer, endure and change themselves for lifetime, and that whats so great about him. I mean is it so easy to give up your everything, your loved ones, your cherished possessions, even your own life , that too for a societal cause..?? I mean Aasharam bapu makes u give up stuff, ravishankar from art of living makes u do so, but, here you give up your personal stuff to earn something personal again, peace of mind, moksha, whatever. Mahatma made a saint out of every Indian for a common cause, Independence. People can be made to kill or get killed easily, every now and then we have witnessed leaders like fuhrer, Laden, etc to do so successfully, you just have to find a point where they can be made to be felt cheated and urge them to be revengeful, bammm, you have a, kill or get killed recruit in your cadre. The road Bapu taught meant that you get cheated humiliated, beaten, tortured, even killed for a common cause and, you don't react back, you just protest and wait for the action. Come what may you never react. That, I feel is the most hardest thing you can make a human do, act against your natural instincts. Leader were born, made, dropped, conjured, they came, they conquered, they did it, they failed, but Mahatma was unparalleled, he also is alleged to have make mistake, why won't he, he wasn't god at the end of the day, but the path he showed, what he made people do was simply amazing. A leader in all aspects, really great. My homage to Mahatma Gandhi.

Thanks for your patient reading

Tinu..

What makes me smile.... :)

Well I am back after long....finally got something to write...was in some orkut community wen I saw an interesting thread which made me think(after a long time) and write this...There is a difference between laughing and smiling..both the expressions though sound similar or one being an extension of another, still there is a big difference in the reason from which these two culminate... so here's a post where I put some thing which makes me smile... Here it goes...

Watching any season of f.r.i.e.n.d.s...seeing kids enjoy there world.....giving someone a pleasant surprise...getting a pleasant surprise from someone...leg pulling...India winning any thing anywhere.....any girl flirting...any boy checking out a babe....getting/giving a gift....riding a bike at/above 100 kmph..car above 150....achieving target...someone blushing...rain falling on my cheeks wen I face heaven....reading a sms,which is funny yet not adult....watching someone sleep in class...seeing a teenager trying to be grown up....reading thoughtful blogs...meeting an old friend...getting something after hard work...some fool trying to be smart....a lame excuse...hugging someone I like...Mamma n baba very happy over something...listening a nice tune....some amateur singing nicely....me successfully picking up a tune...two lovers faking a fight...something romantic....watching the city from a tall building....boss making a mistake....Getting applause...someone praising...bringing a smile in someone's face...the list goes on...will update later

Pain of a small town father...

Hi folks, feels gud to be back after so many days, was busy with work. So this post is about a poem my baba wrote, he wasn't fine from past few weeks, and neither of me or my young bro could go to Raipur to see him and take him to a Doctor, none of us could get leave. I got busy with my work and shanu(my bro) was busy with his college(which resembles very close to military school). So at the end we were frustated and tensed, and my parents were helpless. So here it goes, a small wrk from Mr. N.K.Roy, my papa..

Budhape ne di dastak, majbur sharir hua natmastak

paristhitia parikul bani, bimari ne kisi ki na suni

kamjor larkharate doctor ke pass gaye, dhakka gali siwa kuch na paaye

doctor ne jawaab diya kal aana,MRI aur saari jaanch kara lana

hum kehte gaye aur udhar parchi ban kar taiyaar,

hum samajh gaye doctor ne kar diya vaayapar

larkharate jhaanch sabhi kar aaya, kewal patni ka kandha saath aaya

bacchhe durasth, padhai ko majboor, 

chah kar na kuch kar sake, chutti na hui manjoor

kaha padhai se nikale jaaoge, fir shaayad naukri kabhi na paaoge

shaayad yehi aaj ka jeevan hai, karo sangharsh rahe santosh yehi amulya dhan hai....

The idea to post this was to tell the plight of parents and their children, who come from small towns to big cities in search of a good career and a stable future. Somewhere down the line we are so much focused about our future and so much in binding with it, that we tend to forget our past, place from where we came from. But I guess, putting your career at stake isn't a good idea  either, and this is the dilemma of all of us guys who as MNS puts it are 'outsiders' or 'migrants', we all at times, are in so called 'dharamsankat' as to how to choose between your social and professional duties. Somebody is missing his son or daughter, somebody is missing his wife but we can't go back home because in real world you need money and a decent professional life...So we sacrifice, sacrifice of feelings, sacrifice of social duties, sacrifice of love. But still the Indian middle class wakes up every morning, struggles with life, struggles with office boss, struggles with local politics, struggles with everything and comes back home, yet managing a smile on his face, kyunki

"mann mein hai vishas, pura hai vishwaas

hum honge kamyaab ek din"

Thanks for your patient reading

Tinu..

Some unsaid rules of Mumbai transport mechanism

1. Always stand in queues, be it train ticket counter, auto/taxi stand, bus stand etc.
2. In local train the person at gate will always make way for the people off/on boarding at station, if he blocks the way than he is to be pushed and then whatever happens to him/her is neither our responsibility nor interest
3. If you stand between the space available between two seat rows , then its your responsibility to keep everyone's bag at the place given above and if somebody vacates the seat near you, then you will be the one sitting on that seat
   
4. Auto rickshaw will charge as per meter only, no matter how short or long the distance is.
5. Its absolutely safe for girls to travel back home by train even if it is the last 1:40 am local
6. No talks with strangers while transportation, at the max hi hello..the principle is live and let live..and do not interfere
7. Always run and rush to catch your local even if it is fully empty, and also jump before the train stops if you are at gates and rush to the fob. Run run run keep running atleast walk fast.
8. Never ever attempt to eve teasing coz you will never know how many ppl(other than the gal) will kick your ass.
9. Its perfectly ok if somebody steps on your foot in train or bus. No regrets or apologies
10. Once again RUN RUN RUN...KEEP RUNNING...
    

Be Mad to be happy...

Just a thought crossed my mind...was talking to a virtual friend..fellow blogger(retired, dormant whatever) isha ray...we both were talking bout the daily torture of targets..me in TVS she in Kingfisher a nice thought came to my mind while our discussion..
I therefore quote myself..... "all that I have to do is to be partially mad...and pretend that 2moro doesn't exists and today is over...so no targets 2moro and bad day is already over" Good isn't it..
Thanks for your patient reading..
Tinu...