midnight rant

Late in the night, around 1 am, virtually visualising the fighting thoughts in my mind winning over my sweet sleep. Wonder why always damn mental thoughts win over the angelic sleep. To counter it, thought of scribbling something over here, which I have missed for the past few days

Goneby weekend marked my successfull 26th 'special' day after GOD felt I should be in this divine place. Well, it was a quite a funday, thanks to my dear friends around and few across the sea(s). Not always you get to read/hear good things about your self, making you feel special to those people and for yourself.

And as I had thought off, spent time in the vicinity of the soothing waters. Aint I love being myself with water around!!! Unfortunately, Singapore deosnt boast of the beaches like I used to enjoy in US, anyways got to be content with watever at my disposal.

Felt very ecstatic reminscing the wonderful moments throughout the year, lessons learnt, mysteries uncovered, loads of success, challenges ahead(BIG one indeed) above all when I look back I feel happy for what has passed by. Touchwood!! And when I am content, thats when I try to embrace the waters.

Tons of wishes, (forgotten) long mails, specially made card from P3A (guys please dont exhaust your innovative ideas :D), specially sent roses, wishes from the restaurant people during dinner retreat *thanks to restaurant juntaa, loud Birthday song was so infectious triggered off to atleast 5 other tables in the restaurant wonder if 'all' bday boys/gals were dining in the same place*, above all my rendezvous with the waters was just a blesssing in disguise.

While I reread most of the ecards *aint I love being loved*, this particuar SMS put me in state of confusion for quite a while. It reads

Guzar jaayenge bin unke bhi acche vo pal
jinhe hum intezaar aur vo waqt kehte hain
kya pata kyun bhool gaye voh dosti
jisse hum rishta aur voh ek lafzz kehte hain

Seriously wonder if this was those typical SMS forwards I used to receive while I was in India or if it really meant something.... Still googling but for now I can only utter Suabhaan Allah :-)

Happy Diwali

Happy Diwali and a very prosperous New Year to all of you J

On a sultry weekend evening, forced my gang to join me for DON, courtesy of which at the end of the show, they literally threatened me at point-blank to either refund their ticket fare or let they call me DON ‘sarcastically’ hereafter. Considering the huge amount, I agreed for the latter. May be DON would be a dud, but I still love SRK…muaaahhhhhhh.

No I am not writing anything about the movie. Ok guys, keep enjoying your long weekend and don’t I envy you all :-)

Cheerios..
'Donned' pakku

Being Pakku

After a long time, had real fun watching hamaara des playing cricket match. No its not that they had a “thumping” win. But, for the company I had while watching it. Had helluva funtime with my ‘chaddi-dost’ *I don’t want to translate this*. Sunday evening- india playing in their homegorund punctuated with priayanka-SRK’s(she looks good sumtimes only sumtimes) appearance with loads of desi food in front of you, amongst the enthusiastic kannada-speaking mass. Could you ask for anything more!!

Month back, when I was waiting for my hot Aloo Parata to be served, after watching ‘Stalin’, heard a voice screaming ‘lo.. prakashaa’ from back. First thing I was excited because I heard someone talking kannada and then was bit confused if I should respond back as my name is quite common. And above that, I know only 2 people in Singapore (who don’t call me as prakashaa)but for my colleagues, who are not kannadigas anyway.

With a confused look, when I did a ‘palhat’, my memoirs flashed back to the days of 1989-93. Yeah, after almost 13 years, I found my ‘chaddi-dost’, in an alien place like SG. And, he recognized me. Wowwww…

Some details about this guy. He was this mediocre student, who would finish his daily ‘copywriting’ homework after coming to school and in the school-ground, while we used to play ‘choo-chendu’ (kids play where using the ball as the weapon, hit the opposite team member as hard as possible and never lose possession of the ball). He was very enthusiastic in sports. But, most of the times I always had a grudge on him.

Because, he always gave me ‘panna’. ‘Panna’ was again a kid’s game, where a kid using his 5 fingers can hit as hard as possible to the other guys (only if there was a mutual agreement for accepting/giving ‘panna’) legs or hands. This can be done only once in a day. Most of the days, I would see reddish mark of 5 small fingers etched on my thigh muscles. Yeah it used to pain like heck. And he always used to target my thighs as the impact was more. And I would silently see a fair-complexioned skin turn red in seconds.

The convent school we studied did not let us (bawyz) wear full trousers till standard 5. Buoy, the bare skin pained so much after the hit. Well, its not that I was always in the receiving end. I too used to derive ‘mogambo-style’ grin whenever I landed a ‘panna’. But his skin had more fat and never turned red. We used to call him ‘emme-charma’ (Buffalos skin)

Back to present!! It was really nice to see him after such long years. Firstly, he asked me what I was doing in SG? Then, he poses ‘maga.. preethi hege iddalloo??’..*yikes, damn how will I know of her* and here too, he had to put me in an embarrassing position. He started talking about how she made fun of me, how she would have my name in her ‘Talkative List’ by default and make me kneel down outside classroom and other unmentionables *my primary school antics can make another post*…damn that too in front of my friends.

Thankfully, paratas arrived and focus shifted to food. To be frank, I was excited to meet my primary school friend, déjà vu kinds and therein, got to know about lot of others. He is doing good in SG after almost a years stay here and eager to get back to des. Happy for him and my other primary school friends!! Nostalgia kicked in, when we spoke of our childhood days. So shifted focus to work and here too, he works in our rival company. Hahahhahaah

And after all the censored guys talk, he uttered ‘le maga, innaa buddhaa tarane iddiyallvo.. cigarette sedalla anthiya, kudiyodila anthiya, girlfriends illa anthiya..thu nan magane changeae aagilla neenu bengaloor indaa aachee bandmeluuu’ *Dude..you are still the same!! no smoking, no girl-friend, no booze.. you havnt changed mann, (he doesn’t consider occasional beer as boozing and I hadnt mentioned him of my crushes, anyways crushes are not like GFs).

I just had a smile, the smile of being pakku.. Yippieee!!!!!

Errr....

Last few days has been dull phase at work with few critical issues (Touchwood!). My manager aware of this wanted me to attend a meeting with a customer. Till date, I have never attended any project bidding meetings with customers. Ecstatic I was but also tensed that ‘why was a technical guy like me called to such a meeting’.

There was this one big conference hall with huge white screen for presentation. People sat around a round table clad in ties/suits. I was the only guy without formal ‘suitwallah’ attire. Yikesss!!! I was cursing my manager for putting me in such an awkward position. How mean of him?? Anyways, if he had even asked me to come in ‘those’ formal attire, I seriously would not have. I just hate wearing a tie. The only instance I wore was during my sisters’ marriage. Somehow, I need to cultivate the habit of wearing one.

So people around started talking on the project which our company was bidding. And my manager was convincing them that we have the ‘synergy’ to take it up. Wondering why I was there, I was least bothered of all the proceedings. Dealing projects in terms of $ has not been my forte till now. Happily, I was reciting the dialogues of ‘Kanda Naal Mudhal’ which I had watched umpteenth time last night.

For a change, this aint Trisha movie. Still I love the movie!! More here. Ok, back to where I was. As my manager started walking through the project proposal document, after few minutes, my eyes popped up. No, he hadnt mistakingly attached Aish’s Cannes 2004 snappo ;-)

“The design I had given was different’, me yelled with a vigour of a person who had found 6 lane roads in bangalore. *The technical document which I had given to my manager and the one in the proposal had a major deviation*

All the eyes in the room which was planted on the huge screen did a U-turn to see the bastard who had interrupted the session. I made a boo-boo!! My small brain then pondered over that my own company was presenting the proposal. Now, I had to somehow convince the people there, that my ‘dear’ company had done a mishap without inviting my managers’ ire. So use all the little (damn) management words I knew to cover up the soup.

Finally, the deal was signed with a note that the design had to be changed *sigh* And my manager pounded me with the extra work which my client-company does not consider as billable.

Moral of the Story: Never drool over a movie in a hi-profile meeting. If you do so, do it religiously. Don’t come out of it mid-way, as you would be spoiling the continuity of the movie (in your imagination) and also the meeting.

cheerios

I love my MAN.....

Yet again, as the festivals shower my motherland, I am missing all the pomp and fun. For the third consecutive year, I missed ‘Ayutha Pooja’.

Apart from gobbling up the different kind of sweet/savouries, the best thing I miss doing is washing my bikes.

The 8th day (??) of ‘Navaratri’ will make sure that I am awake at sunrise. In whatsoever deep slumber I am!! Because I love my bike(s). This is one day, where I feel the utmost respect for my ‘vaahan’ which takes me round Bangalore without making any fuss.

Few years back, when I started riding, I never felt the feeling of ‘my bike’. It was like afterall its just a bike. But on one fine day enroute to work, I fortunately missed a major road mishap from happening. Obviously, it was not my driving skills; the way things turned out made me feel a sense of belonging for my bike. From then on, it is been ‘my macho man’.

Especially on ‘Ayutha Pooje’, I make sure that I clean up my bike, for almost 2-3 hours(Purposefully I do not give it for external mechanic clean). For all the 2-3 hours, dad would be yelling ‘don’t spill water unnecessarily, try to remove the stains by scrubbing it, not by influx of water’. Hahahhah but my act continues. Pakku always try to get the floss by using more and more water.

The whole act of washing, cleansing and making it ready for the ‘pooja’ is enticing enough. After being a washerman, I change myself to pakku purohit. Performing pooja is not new to me. I just love that, because that’s when I am with my own self.

But ‘gaadi pooje’ is different, as it is done in the open. After applying vibhuti-turmeric-kumkum on exactly 5 relevant places over the bike, me performs the pooja, praying for a safer journey all through the year (more and more mileage obviously!!)

Dad feels that even if it’s a bike pooja, it should be a complete one. When I say complete, all the ‘panchamahabhuta’ should be invoked. They are a)earth- this is usually done by phodofying the coconut onto the ground b)water – the same coconut water is sprinkled over the bike or the water mixed with turmeric c)Air – me thinks the agarbathi pooja is for this (not sure) d) space – mom says to look at the skies before performing the ‘mangalarthi’ e) Fire – obviously pooja performed by lighting up camphor.

After all this is the funniest part, ‘pachkofying’ the turmeric-kumkum greased lemon. Two lemons are kept in front of the tyres to be squeezed. Now while performing the pooja, the bike is standing still thanks to center stand and not side stand (me thinks side stand is for sleeping and centre stand is for standing LOL). The whole point is I need to switch start my bike-without applying brakes for a certain distance, properly ‘pachkofying’ the lemon such that the powerful squeeze makes it to spill over the engines. All this in bare foot !!!

My macho man has never let me down, every time it has been a perfect timing. After all, he likes me. Note that, the bike is never started after the wash. Mechanically, it should take some Kilojoules of heat to be generated within the engine to nullify the spilled water drops. Still, he sees to it that the bike starts properly in one go and the pooja is complete.

Some words about my MAN. Initially, when I drove my economically feasible bike (Victor), it was always an executive driving to office with helmets on and proper motor gear. With all traffic rules in mind, trying to be as efficient as I could be. I liked Victor so much that, I never sold it off. But from the day I bought my Honda, it is been sheer fun on even Bangalore roads (not that I break rules). Not many people believe that, never been penalized even after so many years of riding. Touchwood!! Its smart aggressive ride away from rash driving.

I just love my Unicorn-the sexy looking. The macho man he is, does not even crib if a fatoo is my pillion. He has helped me increase my collection of Shades. Yep, I bought a few more in Singapore. All branded ones, with each totally different from the other. I am just waiting to land in Bang (don’t know when it will happen) and do a John Abraham on my Honda.

Hmm..I miss my Honda in Singapore. Even though my roomie has a 200 cc ‘Phantom’, I am advised not to ride on Singapore roads as it is too synthetic. I shall strictly abide by it, even if it means traveling my MRTs

As I set forth my eyes on the Fords, Palios, Hondas – I shall surely not giveup the pleasure of my Honda ride. Any person who rides a Honda shall unanimously say this :-)

Enjoy your week ahead!!! and desis esp the bangaloreans, enjoy the holidays. GOD alone knows when you people work ;-)

The 'Giggler' is back...

Eventfull week it was, both at work and personally. No, this weekend was devoid of any movie watching in theatres. Roamed around in WakeBoard World Cup 2006 and with some gadget-shopping finished off the weekend.

But, thanks to my home theatre system, converted my living room into a dolby dts theatre(not literally). And I watched the same movies which I could have watched atleast 20-30 times!

The two ladies I admire the most in glam industry(currently- as my loyalty varies with changing times!!) played the perfect 'virtual' host. Yep, Trisha and 'the giggler'. Well, I have written enough about Trisha in this space. Now that I have a complete list of her movies (original, no piracy please), its just that I need time to keep drooling over her time and again.

Buoy.. I just want to talk to her once. Hoping that she would land in Singapore at the earliest :-). I get to meet her and she spares some time for pakku. Now please dont stop me from dreaming. Sometimes dreams come true :-) And this special picture of her(which was given to me only.. ok ok juss kidding:-)), shall always adorn my disk space. And now, this space too.

Yippie!! And the 'giggler' is back after a long hiatus. This time as a courtesan!!!. Legends say, enacting that kind of role is the final hurdle in an actors(female) movie career. Hope she comes off in flying colors. Not many of her contemporaries have scaled the legend in Rekha (as a courtesan), with Madhuri Nene coming close. If she does it, it will surely go down as THE ACHIEVEMENT.

And, as my buddy SV, flies off to Sammys land, wishing him all the very best in his endeavours and hope he comes back from US without much troubling his female friends there..:-)

Happy Dusshera and enjoy the long weekend :-)