Monday, June 30, 2008

Pappu Can't Dance Sala

Posted by Varun | Monday, June 30, 2008 | Category: , | 9 comments

Disclaimer: Non IT people or people not associated with IT in anyway may not find the post humorous.

This song from the movie Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is catchy but have you put in a thought on why you've liked that song. It's a song about a person who cannot do something. In this case, he cannot dance. You are laughing at him!!? What if somebody changes that song to 'Pappu can't code saala'. Have you ever thought about it?

Here goes the song;

Hai muscular (hai muscular) Hai popular (hai popular)
Hai muscular, hai popular (Every IT guy's dream. He has already joined a gym or thinking about joining one)
Spectacular! He’s a bachelor (he’s a bachelor, he’s a bachelor)
Pappu ki gadi tez hai, Pappu kudiyon mein craze hai
Pappu ki aankein light blue, Pappu dikhta angrezz hai (angrezz hai)
Rado ki ghadi hathon mein, Perfume gucci vala (One on-site trip and you can buy any designer wear you want)
[Par Pappu can't code sala] 2
..
Paida Pappu hua to kismatein chamaki
Aur uske muh mein thi chandi ki chamchi
(hey yeh yeh) Pappu ke paas hai paisa
(hey yeh yeh) Hathon ki mail ke jaisa
(hey yeh yeh) Pappu yaaron ka yaar hai
(hey yeh yeh) Pappu dildar hai star hai
[Par Pappu can't code sala] 2
..
Papa kehte hain bada naam karega
Mera Pappu to aisa kaam karega
(hey yeh yeh) Pappu ke paas hai MBA (Planning to crack CAT or GMAT yet again)
(hey yeh yeh) Karta hai France mein holiday
(hey yeh yeh) Pappu guitar bajata hai
(hey yeh yeh) Jahaan jata hai chhaaa jaaaa ta hai
[Par Pappu can't code sala] 2
Par Pappu can’t code sala…

It fits perfectly... Doesn't it???

There might be great programmers and coders who might have got offended by the post. I apologize for that but think about you as a fresher. I am sure all you knew about coding was just #include stdio.h. When you have Google why do you want to code anyway.

You can watch and Listen to the original song on youtube.

Enough of humour! Let me come back to some preaching. Put yourself in other person's shoe before you comment or laugh at him. In case you manage to laugh at yourself when you are in the other person's shoe, you are free to do anything you please. I for once loved the original and my own version of the song :)

I just need to change my ghadi, perfume and get a MBA. And yes, how can I forget the gym. I am planning to join one soon :)

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Utilize your free time - My Way

Posted by Varun | Wednesday, June 25, 2008 | Category: | 13 comments

Here are few things you can do (rather I do) when you (I) have some free time;

1. Read Newspapers - All of them you can find. e-papers included.

2. Read Horoscopes - Read them when you are nearing close of play. You'll feel great that you proved it wrong yet again.

3. Read Blogs - All kinds of them. From celebrity Blogs to Blogs on Cooking. From Blogs on Sports to Blogs on Literature. I feel women make sensible writers but there are few exceptions when it comes to men. You are reading one of them :)

4. Wish a Friend / Relative - If it's a friend's / Relative's birthday or Anniversary make it a point to call them. I know it'll consume 2 min of your precious time but try wasting those 2 min once in a while. Given us an option we'll choose e-mail any day but it consumes more than 2 min. Think about it!!

5. Call a friend - My favourite pass time is going through phone book of my cell phone. Pick a person who is never expecting your call. Surprise him or her. Make his or her day. The same applies to chatting online. Buzz a friend.

6. Reply to e-mails - It feels great to see a reply any day any time of the year. We wait for acknowledgment in every facet of our life . Even a packet switched network waits for acknowledgment (techie stuff... cannot really help it) then why not acknowledge an e-mail. Please do it. Trust me, the feel good factor will be there both sides. The person who sent the reply will feel as good as the person who received it.

7. Write - Best way to express something is to write. Not just blogs. Write a hand written letter. It's something that has not lost its value with time. It's in fact priceless these days as you rarely find one. Write e-mails, greeting cards, in fact write anything and everything you like. If you feel you express better when you speak, go ahead find a good listener.

8. Play - I love playing games on my PC or my laptop even at this age. This is the first thing I do when I cannot think of anything else. Even a game of solitaire will cheer you up provided you win. You'll have that sense of satisfaction that you won something. Tip: Play at the easiest level. You'll never win the hardest level in your first attempt. In case you have company and like outdoor games a game of cricket or football wouldn't do any harm.Yes, Gym is a great option too.

9. Listen to Music - Thanks to my sis, i have a Microsoft Zune. Now don't ask me what's that. It's a 30GB mp3 player, a Microsoft product. Find a great pair of earphones or a headphones that suits your mp3 player or Walkman or a Disc man without which the music listening experience will not be as good as you want it to be. Do not disturb others by playing music on speakers. Speakers are for Cars and home theaters. Listening to radio is a good option in a city like Mumbai but don't try listening to radio for long in Bangalore. It's pathetic.

10. Keep updating yourself - I'll not ask you about the latest graphics card that NVidia released for gaming but you should at least know that NVidia is a company that makes graphic cards for computers. This is an offshoot of point of 1 and 3. If you read you'll know. There's another option to make yourself aware of the happening. My mom uses this option extensively. Listen to what people talk, ask questions, understand. If you don't update yourself, you'll have very few common topics to talk when you meet any stranger.

11. Making friends on orkut is not socializing - Cyberspace is an imaginary space where everybody is your friend. But you do not live in cyberspace. Wake up!!. Try to use it as a medium to find your long lost friends and a medium to keep in touch. In case you are lucky enough to get his or her number go to point 5 :)

12. Talk - Go home and talk. To your parents, your room mates. This is the only medium to vent out your anger/frustration or share your happiness. Your day will be complete if you manage to do it. In case you don't find anyone when you come back home, pick the best listener from your phone book and call him or her.

13. Dine Out - A dinner once in a while in a restaurant with good ambience and most importantly great food will surely enlighten you

14. TV - I know its addictive but try avoiding it. Ekta Kkaappoorr is the only person making money out of it. Why do you want to help her? There are more needy people in India.

15. Watch a Movie - How the hell did I forget this one. I was about to post this blog without movies. Guess its the sign of me blending in Bangalore. Rent a movie, watch movie channels or the best option would be to go to a theater and watch an uninterrupted movie.

You'll not find Read Books or Novels in my list because i hardly read them. It's definitely a brilliant option. I plan to get it into my list sooner than later.

All said and done if your mommy wants you to run to the nearest veggie store and pick sabji for her, it surely takes the highest priority.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

New Number 9XXXX 23130

Posted by Varun | Tuesday, June 24, 2008 | Category: | 2 comments

In case you had my old number and in case you've noticed, the last 5 digits are same. There's no big history behind this number nor there is any numerology involved. It's just that i am emotionally attached to it. 23130 was our first land line number in Mandya which makes it the first phone number of my life. As long as i can get the last 5 digits of my choice i would continue this wherever i go. It's just a miniscule attempt to keep myself attached to Mandya. A place I love so dearly.

Call me!! :)

Monday, June 23, 2008

Karan Johar's following me

Posted by Varun | Monday, June 23, 2008 | Category: | 3 comments

Karan Johar has now placed his step into the world of blogging. For that matter even Amitabh Bachchan and Amir Khan have followed me. I had my own blog way before these guys knew what blogging is all about. This is starting to become a trend now. Bollywood or Indian Film Industry as Big B fondly calls it has finally noticed the importance of internet as a medium to interact with fans, and promote their new movies. The websites (for new movies) were always there but websites never gave the opportunity to interact. By reading a blog a fan feels that he's getting to know that star better than ever and he always has the liberty to drop his comments on whatever his star has written. These guys now a day reply to the comments as well there by ensuring the readership stays on.

Just in case you are interested in reading their blogs, here are the links;

Amitabh Bachchan - http://blogs.bigadda.com/ab/
Amir Khan - http://www.aamirkhan.com/blog.htm
Karan Johar - http://www.mynameiskaran.com/

I am not saying that these guys are good or great writers but they certainly have connected with the outside world quite well.

I am waiting for SRK to start writing. He is one intelligent actor who can make a great writer too. He started blogging briefly during the IPL but that was just about his Knight Riders.

I an honest in admitting that I like TV channels like zoom that showcase Bollywood gossip almost 24 x 7. But as soon as I came to know that news channels get news from blogs like these, I straight away jumped into the idea of reading instead of watching. It’s always better to get the news straight from the source. It gets twisted and turned by the time it reaches us.

If you’ve noticed, I have been quite selfish and have written only about me in the past. This is an attempt to write something out of the box. Will think about writing more stuff like this based on the response I get. Do leave a comment if you find some time.

Looking forward to other great actors joining the blog bandwagon.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Homecoming

Posted by Varun | Thursday, June 12, 2008 | Category: , | 5 comments

I was definitely planning to write a post on this one but thought it could wait. I guess it cannot wait any longer as the loyal readers have already started demanding. What more motivation does a writer need!? So here I am, sharing my feelings and experiences. The feeling of a farewell, the experience of a first class train journey and the feeling of coming home after three long years;

The D-Day - It was my last working day in Tech Mahindra. I was wating for this day when I resigned. I was waiting for my notice period to finish so that I can join the new organization as soon as possible. But when the day finally came, I was sad. I did not want to go. I did not want to leave my old organization. I did not want to quit. I wanted to be there, be there with my friends, and be in Mumbai.

It hurts when you have to leave something
so close to your heart and when you know you are leaving it permanently, it truly hurts. The celebration committee had arranged a farewell party. A year ago, I was in the celebration committee as well and had arranged few farewell parties. I had always seen smiling faces and happy people. So it was obvious that I thought that my farewell party would be a happy affair. But it struck me that it is not really one when people asked me to speak. Speak a few words. Here goes my speech. I might not be able to reproduce everything correctly but it was more or less like this.

'I am emotionally attached to the team, team mates and the organization since it’s my first company and am feeling really bad that am leaving. Sometimes there comes a point in life where you have to take a decision and move on. I guess it’s that kind of a time in my life. I am moving on. All the best to you all and enjoy the party.'
This was what I could utter at that point in the noisy canteen but the sudden flow of words touched my heart and few others hearts as well. I could see a tear here and there. Was I crying? No I was not. Somebody once told me that I am kanjoos when it comes to crying. I guess I am. I treasure my tears. After the party, it was time to bid good bye to everyone and make a move which I gleefully did. Sarkar Raaj completed the day for me (4 stars for the movie but not recommended for AB Baby’s fans). It was a day that vanished in the blink of an eye like a B2 stealth bomber unnoticed by the radar. Before I knew, I was out of Tech Mahindra :(

This post will be incomplete if I fail to mention two names. It’s in fact three now. Prakruthi (Pakuthi), Giridhar(Bhava or Jiju) and the latest addition, little miss sunshine Anshu :). They are the prime reason for me to have liked Mumbai. When people in my college where thinking twice about going to Mumbai, I jumped into the idea. I knew I had Pakuthi and Bhava. She was not just my sister; she was my guardian, my guide and most importantly my GPS :). Yes, my global positioning system. I never got lost in Mumbai.

Just the thought of leaving her brought tears into my eyes. Yes dears, I cried. It was quite late at night but still sent a message to pakuthi saying that I’ll miss her and bhava terribly. Just the thought that I cannot go to her home next weekend was a lil painful. I’ll miss this lovely couple the most. There are such great times we’ve spent together. Like all celebritie
s, I now have my favourite holiday destination. It’s Pakuthi’s place, Mumbai :). I know for a fact that I’ll be welcome there all the time. It was emotional; wasn’t it? I can’t quite believe myself too. Let me move on to the train journey.

It was a gloomy morning with dark clouds hovering around ready to burst any time. The idiotic meru cabs were not able to find me a cab and it was left to me to find myself a cab and find one fast as it was already 7.15 am and I had to catch a train from dadar at 8.20 am. I was in Bandra at Pakuthi’s place. I moved to her place on Sunday. Luckily, I found a cab quite easily and loaded the entire luggage. Rushed to 4th floor to collect my lunch and breakfast packed by my dear sis. Could see a small pearl like tear just below Pakuthi’s eyes when I hugged her but I guess she controlled herself quite well. The pearl couldn’t complete its journey down. Bid good bye to everyone there and rushed back to the taxi. Meri saari jama poonji usi taxi mein thi :).


By the time the taxi could come to a halt at the Dadar station the clouds burst open in full glory. It was literally pouring down. I had no other option than to take the first coolie with a trolley in his hand. I didn’t want my luggage to get wet. I had no time to even ask him the fare. My first priority was to take my luggage to a dry place. He charged me 120 rupees. Can you believe it? I know he found a bakra early in the morning but I got my work done which was much more important to me at that point of time. Moreover, I knew that my dad wouldn’t allow even a single coolie to come near my luggage in Bangalore and we’ll make up for the money that I splurged here.

Dadar is not the starting point of this train and it stops here for only 2 min. I was really worried because the luggage was HEAVY and I knew it’ll be a tough task to board the train with such heavy luggage. The only glimmer of hope was that the coolie had promised me that my reserved train coach will stop right in fro
nt of me. The train was on time. To my utter disbelief and dismay, the compartment or the boogie that I had to board went two coaches ahead from where I was standing. The Daud started. A 30 to 40 kilo trolley suitcase in one hand, a 10 kilo laptop bag filled with all other electronic gadgets I possess (sometimes I wonder why I do I own so many gadgets) on my shoulder, The other hand had to carry a 15 to 20 kilo bag plus the packed lunch. I somehow managed to board the train with no causalities. Tension, worries, sab ek jhatke mein khallas.

The reservation chart on internet had told me that my coach number was HA1 and the seat number was ‘C’. I was sure that there must be so
me mistake in that chart but surprisingly there was not any. ‘C’ was for coupe ‘C’. I was travelling first class. There are only 3 coupes in the entire train. This was a twin coupe. The other two accommodate 4 people each. There were only 10 people who were traveling 1st class in a train that had more than 25 coaches with almost 72 people in every coach. Felt great!! Felt classy!! Felt awesome!! The first class coupe has beds large enough to even fit the old Adnan Sami in terms of width and in terms of height; it was more than 6 feet. The coupe has nice bed lamps too. It has a wardrobe where you can hang your clothes and a wash basin. The only thing missing was an electrical power point. It might be because the coach we were travelling was a very old one. My co-passenger, a 22 yr old guy from infy was supposed to board the train at Pune. This gave me opportunity to snap few pictures of the coupe. It was fun setting the auto timer and posing for the photographs :).

The sun couldn’t be seen anywhere throughout the entire 24 hr journey. It was either raining or cloudy everywhere. Looking at the weather, AC felt like luxury. Lonavala looked like jannat. It always looks like one during rainy season. This is my third rainy reason in Mumbai and I’m glad I didn’t miss it this time. Clicked a few snaps there as well. After Lonavala, I made a futile attempt to sleep but failed miserably. It became difficult to kill time. I resorted to music and it definitely helped. By the time I was thru with my music, it was 2.00 pm. It was lunch time. Had the delicious ‘Puliyogare’ (tamarind rice) and curd rice. It was after lunch that I felt a lil sleepy. Not even wasting a single min, I prepared my bed and crashed. This time I succeeded. The train had stopped at Sholapur when I woke up at around 5.30 pm.

The guy trying to sell fresh fruit juice woke me up. He got me interested. It was raining quite heavily out in Sholapur but I still managed to find that person who woke me up and bought a glass of watermelon juice. The juice was sweet and so was the feeling of drinking it in rain. My co-passenger also woke up at about the same time. The only difference was that he went to bed almost 3 hrs earlier than I did. As the train slowly made its outside Sholapur station, we spoke. What can two software engineers speak about? What started as a boring conversation later turned to an advice session as that guy was a fresher who’s just joined IT and I am now a 3 year pro :). When it comes to giving advice to people, I never get bored. I love it.

The dinner was good. The menu was Puri, Sabji, Dal, Chawal and Dahi. It was good enough for the 30 rupees I paid for it. I had ordered for it in Sholapur itself due to the unavailability of a pantry car in the train. After dinner it was a little g-mailing using my gprs connection. Went to bed listening to music. Woke up at around 7.30 am to find that I have already reached outskirts of Bangalore. Felt great that I have finally reached, but the stupid train took another hour and 20 min to reach Bangalore station.

I was well aware on which side of the train the platform would come, as I had spoken to my dad. Literally dragged my heavy luggage through the corridor and placed it near the door. My co-passenger followed me. It was a wonderful feeling to see my dad waiting for me at the station. It always feels great if someone comes to pick you up at a station, airport, bus stand etc. Doesn’t it? We reached home at around 9.45 am to the waiting arms of my granny and mommy dear. I was finally home. Home sweet home! I was quick in unpacking my luggage and arranging my wardrobe as I did not have to go back from where I came from this time.

It’s still sinking in that I have finally shifted to Bangalore. I guess it’ll sink in completely once I start to work. Mom and Dad still have this feeling that I might go back to Mumbai but am here to stay. Here to stay!