ATM Cards can't buy all good things in life..

ATM Cards can't buy all good things in life.. and today was one of those days!

The Day I did not have even 8 Rs in My Pocket to buy a BHUTTA from the roadside.. July 11, 2010 ... not even in d dashboard of my car.. not a single 10 Rs Note.. I searched everywhere.. how embarassing!!!!! I got to be careful.. and keep my mind in place.. n money too :) ATM cards certainly don't work for all Good Things in Life.. I surely realize.

Fools Rush In.. Where Angels fear to tread..

Being a cynic & a critic, I was always fascinated with this phrase.. and it was part of a romantic song by Bryan Adams as well, one of my favorite songs infact. Whenever I would see people blindly running in a rat race, doing things because everybody else was doing those and making foolish mistakes I would just go back to this phrase and wondered at times how this originated.. Here's the Story (And I have attached the link, for more inquisitive minds):

Meaning : The rash or inexperienced will attempt things that wiser people are more cautious of.

Origin

'Fool' is now a more derogatory insult than it was when this proverb was coined, in the early 18th century. At that time a fool wasn't a simpleton, lacking in intelligence, simply someone who had behaved foolishly.

Fools rush in'Fools rush in...' has a precise derivation, in that it is a quotation from the English poet Alexander Pope's An essay on criticism, 1709(Quoting only the relevant para):

...." No Place so Sacred from such Fops is barr'd,
Nor is Paul's Church more safe than Paul's Church-yard:
Nay, fly to Altars; there they'll talk you dead;
For Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread."

The 'fools' that Pope targetted there were the literary critics of the day.

The line has been taken up by a string of notable writers since:

- Thomas Hardy, in The Woodlanders, 1887:

"He felt shy of entering Grace's presence as her reconstituted lover - before definite information as to her future state was forthcoming; it seemed too nearly like the act of those who rush in where angels fear to tread."

Stupid Specie of Humans 'Indians' :) .. Mindless Blabbering

Stupid Specie of Humans 'Indians' :) .. Mindless Blabbering.

When a sane friend of mine requested to take off the blasphemous comments on Indian Masses (Well there are no Classes, whatever exists on this part of earth is a rotten specie of humans.. all of them just MASSES), I thought of transferring them here:

1. They.. They won't pay taxes.. but Drive their fat cars on pot-holes.. and for the damaged axels and damaged everything else pay to the Garage owner MORE than what they would have paid to the Govt.!!! Pay Taxes Folks.. and drive on good roads ;-)

2. They.. they won't pay taxes and let the local govt. build good Educational Infrastructure and Great Universities and Colleges.. but They.. they will send their kids to far off places to study.. and spend 10 times more for a similar education nearby.. if only they had paid the Taxes! Indians.. Stupid Indians!!! :) .. The Masses are to be blamed.. not the Govt.!!

3. They.. they have made a mess of a b'ful land-mass called India. The Humans.. the specie called INDIANS. :)

Random Rambling of the Bumbling mind..

Just thought of Archiving the random FB status that I wrote but couldn't update, as it was too big:

Years of efforts, piles of books, equations, numbers, theories.. and then life.. the People.. the work.. years of struggle.. Numb Humans, dumb humans, Intelligent ones, Wasted ones, Egoistic ones, Jealous, Over Zealous, Ambitious, Ambiguous, confused.., few loving and understanding.. and those occasional Humble ones!!!... few good friends.. and their good wishes, the wishes that mean a world.. and then that occasional success.. that piecemeal success.. but that little success is so sweet.. it should be sweet.. it has to be!!!!... I yearn for it, i'll earn it always.. and I'll find it sweet always..!!!

40 Minutes: Most memorable meetings.. and some Duds

Found GP to be an amazingly intellectual & compassionate guy. Though some people wittingly contributed the chemistry to uncanny resemblance in our appearances.. but the reason was there were two people with great amount of passion for surroundings meeting and trying to discuss every thing up in an hour!!.. We discussed work, we discussed India, US and UK. And, we discussed the cultures, the families, the warmth in people in India and every where else, exchanged experiences and subtly admired each other's point of view.

I talked about my work as passionately I could or may be just about near to it.. though I was not at my best .. I am certainly capable of even more intense conversation about work, however I was Glad that the person at the other end was amazing understanding, appreciative and could comprehend the things in correct perspective.

The best part was that he was enjoying the rain that he was seeing out of window & he enjoyed whatever he saw from Hotel to the Office.. I hardly do.. So I put him in the correct perspective by telling that.. all that you saw needs a lot of improvement..

Humor was an inherent part of this extremely serious discussion about work.. and that's where I admire people who have it.

I would rate this as one of my best Meetings Ever.

I surely remember a few other meetings which made me learn so many things

- The one with Flex Industries CEO about 7 years back, I dun't remember the name of the Old Man

- One with a CEO called ATAM PAUL about 13 years back. Back then it was a learning working on complicated spreadsheet formulas on his miniature laptop.. unfortunately I said NO to his offering. Though he had offered the job dispite myself being not able to perform the spreadsheet calculations that he wanted. I wanted to focus on my studies.

- One at a forgettable Organization that I left as soon as I joined. But the South Indian Finance AVP was impressed that a North Indian had demonstrated some brains.

- One with the WNS team, the Video Conference Interview was one of my most exciting ones. I just happened to have all the answers to their questions and left them no choice.

- With my Current Organization Central Hiring Team, when I told the HR manager that I would not work at a place more than 15 minutes drive from my place he said " I like your approach, I will call you when I have an Opening in Gurgaon" and after 3 months he called me up and said "would you like to work"?


My simplest Interview was with E-funds, the Smoking Chimney of an HR called me only one question after having a look at my resume "Do you really want to work in this Role?"

My worst interview was at EXL about 9 years back, the Lady Interviewing me was just too beautiful!! ;-)

I found happiness.. !!!!!!

I found happiness.. god sent it to me.. it was not football.. not Africa.. it was singing shaking Shakira!!! & the Meditation Chant goes like - Waka Waka eh eh!!! Come join me in my happiness.. make it yours!!! LOL

Trust me, rarely do you come across songs that can make you cheerful and this one is a perfect exaple.. it just makes you feel good. Here are a few words:

"You're a good soldier
Choosing your battles
Pick yourself up
And dust yourself off
And back in the saddle"

Might not be the greatest of the poetry, but if you listen carefully enough it's quite inspiring and makes you dance at the same time. And you know what? Only Shakira could do this probly ;-)

Miles to go before I sleep..

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Discovering Rahul Bose..

Rahul Bose, I always liked his as an Actor for the few films that I had seen. Thakshak, Shaurya & Pyar ke side effects are the ones I can quickly recollect. However, when you go through his entire portfolio of work you can find that he has worked on a good number of amzing stories from human life.

The other day I was reading the stories of all his work and found Antaheen, Kalpurush and The Japanese Wife quite intriguing. I could even relate to the simplistic characters that he portrayed in these films. Here is the entire list & you can click on the link for more:

1994 English, August
1995 A Mouthful of Sky
1996 Bomgay The Lefty
1998 Bombay Boys
1999 Split Wide Open
Thakshak
2001 Everybody Says I'm Fine!
2002 Mr. and Mrs. Iyer
2003 Jhankaar Beats
Ek Din 24 Ghante
Mumbai Matinee
Chameli
2004 White Noise
2005 The Fall
Scrum in the Mud
Silsilay
15 Park Avenue
Ctrl+Alt+Del
2006 Anuranan
Pyaar Ke Side Effects
The Other Side of Bollywood
2007 Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii
2008 Before the Rains
Shaurya
Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam
Dil Kabaddi
Tahaan
Kaalpurush
2009 Antaheen
The Whisperers
2010 Fired Joy Mittal
Mumbai Chakachak
Ghost Ghost Na Raha
I Am Jay
The Japanese Wife
Kuch Love Jaisa
Bits and Pieces
Click and Marry
2011 Africa

Antaheen is in Bengali, I am looking for a Hindi or English Dubbing. If anyone finds a copy please do let me know the source.

Farming.. Farmlands.. and dreams!

Was searching details of the kind of farming that can be done in Rajasthan & found interesting things like Emu Farming & Various Other things that I was actually looking for.


Found this blog interesting & whatever is being done by them is inspiring. A few lines from their about me:

"In 1992 having finally opted out of the corporate world, we now live on our 40-acre farm at the very edge of the Thar Desert in Alwar District of Rajasthan. Our major involvement is with a sustainable form of rural development."

Form more you may click on the link.

Please Listen..

When I ask you to listen to me
and you start giving me advice,
you have not done what I asked.

When I ask you to listen to me
and you begin to tell me why I shouldn't feel that way,
you are trampling on my feelings.

When I ask you to listen to me
and you feel you have to do something
to solve my problem,
you have failed me, strange as that may seem.

Listen!
All I ask is that you listen.
Don't talk or do - just hear me.
Advice is cheap - 20 cents will get you both
Dear Abby and Billy Graham in the same newspaper.
And I can do for myself; I am not helpless.
Maybe discouraged and faltering, but not helpless.

When you do something for me that I can
and need to do for myself,
you contribute to my fear and inadequacy.
But when you accept as a simple fact
that I feel what I feel, no matter how irrational,
then I can stop trying to convince you
and get about this business of understanding
what's behind this irrational feeling.
And when that's clear, the answers are obvious
and I don't need advice.
Irrational feelings make sense
when we understand what's behind them.

Perhaps that's why prayer works - sometimes -
for some people, because God is mute.
and he doesn't give advice or try to fix things.
God just listens and lets you work it out for yourself.

So please listen, and just hear me.
And if you want to talk,
wait a minute for your turn,
and I will listen to you.

A Credo For My Relationships With Others - Dr. Thomas Gordon

A Credo For My Relationships With Others
Dr. Thomas Gordon

You and I are in a relationship, which I value and want to keep. Yet each of us is a separate person with unique needs and the right to meet those needs.

When you are having problems meeting your needs I will listen with genuine acceptance so as to facilitate your finding your own solutions instead of depending on mine. I also will respect your right to choose your own beliefs and develop your own values, different though they may be from mine.

However, when your behavior interferes with what I must do to get my own needs met, I will tell you openly and honestly how your behavior affects me, trusting that you respect my needs and feelings enough to try to change the behavior that is unacceptable to me. Also, whenever some behavior of mine is unacceptable to you, I hope you will tell me openly and honestly so I can change my behavior.

At those times when one of us cannot change to meet the other's needs, let us acknowledge that we have a conflict and commit ourselves to resolve each such conflict without either of us resorting to the use of power to win at the expense of the other's losing. I respect your needs, but I also must respect my own. So let us always strive to search for a solution that will be acceptable to both of us. Your needs will be met, and so will mine - neither will lose, both will win.

In this way, you can continue to develop as a person through satisfying your needs, and so can I. Thus, ours can be a healthy relationship in which both of us can strive to become what we are capable of being. And we can continue to relate to each other with mutual respect, love and peace.

Life & I.. My tryst with emotions...

(Wrote Something on my own, after quite a while):

On this long journey.. I kept walking.. I was tired but I didn't stop laughing.. I stopped.. i dreamed, I thought it might just come true.. i held on to my dreams for long.. before my insecurities wrenched me.. i gave in for a while.. but the dreamer never really let it be..

I collected thoughts.. I collected memories.. thought there'd be the time.. the right moment, but that was never to be.. and then I believed they'd sink slowly b'cus life is.. as they say.. a sea..

I found it hard, to walk the thorny path.. life.. a dense scary forest.. it seemed. I thought of escapes, they never seemed right.. and I chose to go back.. to the road less travelled.. that lead me to.. the dense forest again. I wondered if i was sane, my heart assured but never the brain.. damn the insecurities.. wish i could hide 'em and never let 'em show up again

I toughened myself (so i believed), I found diversions.. the mysterious forest.. i just thought of letting go. And, God ensured I failed miserably and he ensured I stick to his plans. Whatever I did, he knew why.. I told my self it was truth.. deep within I knew it was a lie.. I kept on walking and I saw many cross by.. walking to the opposite side.. I tried joining them, and I wondered why I laughed when I wanted to cry..

Peace..

Tell unto your heart, "Peace, be still"!

The problems we face today can appear too overwhelming for just one person to make any difference, but it is with the individual that changes begin. We can all make a difference, however small our contribution. We can recycle, buy green, petition, lobby governments, volunteer, show kindness to a stranger, or just send love to a friend. There are an infinite number of ways.

I invite you to become part of the ever-growing consciousness and efforts to achieve peace and harmony on Earth, with respect for all of nature and all of life.

Forgot the source that I copied it from, but found it as a captivating capture of the random thoughts (Search in google for Original Source):

Soft computer screen ambiance
casts shadows over fantasies

contacts dry on unblinking eyes
its all varying degrees of surreality


nothing changes in an instant
though that may be what it seems

it's all behind the curtain, magicians
switching up the pieces while we sleep

rearrange perceived reality,
involuntary heart eviction, conviction.

choices made, promises broken
no resisting the necessary, its all

momentary circumstantial exception.
unexpected pattern of repetition

grain grinds against preconceived
reason asserted attempting preservation

lost as souls once torn apart collide
in the frenzied recognition of emotion

undeniable existence of impression.
There is something to be said for

that which goes and returns unquestioned

Waste not.. Want Not

Waste not..
that which exists
within the palm
of your hand
for time wanes
slipping away
regardless of
plans made.



Want not
that which glimmers
upon the horizon
in sun setting
golden rays
shadowing reality
with the desperation
of a lost day.

Waste not
time spent
questioning
circumstances.
Forge a path
beyond uncertainty
with wooden spoon
determination.

Want not
projected desires
assigned without
destiny in mind.
Allow moments
of awestruck fascination
in the fluid plans of design.
Get to know the you, you find.

An American

I am posting this, because I'm free after a long time.. for one and I really wanted to post this somehwere and not let it die in the emails.

My American Mom (since she calls me her Indian son, it's fair only to call her so..)sent this to me and I really understand the spirit behind this message. Also, since I know a bit of America's history as well, I truly believe in this message.

Written by an Australian Dentist:

To Kill an American You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper, an offer of a reward to anyone20who killed an American, any American.

So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is . So they would know when they found one.. (Good one, mate!!!!)

'An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish , Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.

An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American is Christian , or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan . The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.

An American is also free to believe in no religion..For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world.
The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence , which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return..

When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country!

As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan ..

The national symbol of America , The Statue of Liberty , welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America

Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11 , 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.

So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo , and Stalin , and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself . Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.

London Diary

No! it's still not complete.. & the reason is there's lot to write, it's already 10 pages & i'm still writing.. and I gotta edit a bit as well! Hopefully i'll be able to put together my London Memoires very soon..

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Saw this movie recently.. and got addicted to it. Spent hours on the web researching reviews on it, people's opinion and watching the music vidoes.. Ended up making a blog on it. Truly fascinating subject.. but it's just a movie.
Check out the Blog here:

www.bonnyzEternalSunshine.blogspot.com

Sourav Ganguly... The Die-hard Spirit

Wanted to write about him.. for long, but you know.. when you try too hard for something you are bound to struggle! I wanted to get equipped with all the stats n then sit n write smthing bout my Hero.. but that was not to be. Guess i'm better off writing things in an unstructured manner.. unless they happen to be related with my work or studies.. lol

Hmm so here I am.. the one who truly believed that Ganguly was the only and the only player who brought the real glory to Indian cricket (dunn wanna talk bout the '83 cup thing..). He was the only guy I ever saw.. giving it back to the aussies and the pakis.. both with the bat & with the mouth. He just was not scared of losing something.. of anything infact.. not even his wicket. I had never seen any Indian.. so bold on the field, I'm not even talking about the class of his batting.. which is incomparable in its own ways. I have not seen anyone hit those sixes... as easy as that!!

Now let us go through some headlines.. (yeah i'v some stuff ready..):

Ganguly and Chappel asked to patch up - Sep 27, 2005
Ganguly ignored for the next three one dayers - Oct 28, 2005
Amidst th by-lanes of Behala, someone awaits a return - Nov21, 2005
Ganguly Loses test captaincy to Dravid - Nov 22, 2005
Ganguly axed for the 3rd Test - December 14, 2006
Ganguly fails to find a place for the one-day series in Pak - Jan, 2006
Ganguly axed again - Feb 23,2006
Will the the prince charm us again? - April 3, 2006
Sehwag asked to plaster his mouth on Ganguly issue - May 09, 2006
Struggling Saurav gets one last chance against Pakistan - July 20, 2006
Ganguly drops an email bomb on Jagmohan dalmia - July 22, 2006
Sourav, Kumble Ignored for Champions Trophy - Sept 03, 2006

For more.. get 'em there:
http://www.cricketfundas.com/souravganguly.html

It isn't farewell time as yet for Saurav!!! - One of the best reads.. find it there:
http://www.cricketfundas.com/gangulyjune7.html

He is back finally.. & aggregating more than he ever did.. But more than anything else.. its his shear grit & determination which has made this 'come-back' story more interesting.. infact I would say its gonna be a legend of sorts, its 'text-book' stuff with the moral of the story sounding like -

" When the going gets tough, the tough gets goin".

Slow.. & Confused.. what's wrong with that?

Slow.. & Confused.. what's wrong with that?

I find that people often are very quick to grade others as 'slow in taking decisions' or 'confused'.. Well, what I interpret from that is.. people who don't easily make stupid mistakes - are called confused! I truly believe that life is surely not like flying an aeroplane or guiding a rocket into the sky.. so.. supersonic quick speed in taking decisions is definately not required. May be I myself am a slow (read as 'careful') decision maker.. thats why I am here trying to justify that kinda approach.. but I love my deliberated decision making approach.

Had I been chosen to drop a bomb on 'Hiroshima & Nagasaki' ..probably lot of destruction would have been avoided, thousands of people would have been saved.., and nobody would have been crippled for life.. Cus I know I would have been very slow.. I wud have thought 10.. 20.. 100 times.. n may just not have dropped the bladdy bomb... So why shouldn't I love myself for being confused.. being slow.. & for making deliberated decisions..??

I love myself.. love myself for being confused everytime I have to make a decision.. 'cus i'm confused for 'anybody' but not for myself.. I know what wanna do & dunn mind deliberating on it.. Most importantly.. those who really know you, and those who really care for you, those who are not trying to extract a favour out of you.. will never ask you to 'not be slow' in making decisions. My bestest buddies & my loving family has alwz given me time .. n whale of it.. to make my decisions..

So, for the rest of the world i'll alwz be 'painfully slow'... while for my bestest buddies, n my loving family i'll alwz be a caring person.. who does all sort of deliberations, thinks about everything.. n then makes a wise decision! ;D

Awwww.. thats been an awfully painful.. slow write-up.. i gotta end it here or else i'd start sounding like a bladdy preacher :-p lol...