Season of Surprises....

Friend : Hey one good news .....
Me :Sollu machi epo da kalyanam ?????

This conversation has become quite common these days. If you receive a call from your friend after quite sometime and you are able to sense some excitement in the tone, you can be certain that they have called you to invite either for their engagement or marriage. I have been served with too many surprises from my friends in the last month and I have ended up with almost no clue as to how to react to few of those. It all started of with Prudhvi a year back and now it is coming thick and fast. It has even made me think that I am growing a little old to be a bachelor anymore though I enjoy it like ever before.... :)

I have reacted differently to each, I was angry at a friend and shouted at him. The best surprise was from my best pal and I was nearly flabbergasted hearing him. I am still finding it really difficult to get out of the shock. But then slowly and steadily I have realized that opinion differs a lot when it comes to the choice of girl to marry. It has been quite contrasting from the same guys who were sighting similar girls together in college and company. As expected beauty has taken a step back seat and other stuff have taken precedence. Compatibility, character, purpose of life, expectations of family and of course horoscope, caste and status have been major influences in these decisions. Few choose what's best for them and others choose what's best for the family and a very few even leave the choice to their parents which is really a huge surprise these days. No matter how these decisions are taken, it is important that they take the best decision for it influences the rest of the life to come, to a great extent.

I am sure everyone is happy with their decisions and wish them a prosperous life ahead and hope we are in touch even after our marriages. Lesson learnt recently, do all you can do to help your friends narrow down on the best partner, only if you are asked for, never offer any advice or even suggestions after a decision is made by them and their family,for everyone knows whats best for them. You might not be in the same boat as they are, just wish them good luck. :)

Traitor

 “Miss that boy only did this miss "... This is not something rare in our school life and somehow everyone school and every class end up having someone who always is a pet to the staff and acts as a traitor and inform them of all the wrong doings that we indulge in. We did have one such guy in our class and though the entire class didn’t like him a lot for what he was doing he continued with that till we came out of the school. Though it’s unfortunate it is understandable that people in younger age trying to get a name for themselves among the staff just by giving them the information which we would have never given, but when you find such a guy even in college then that’s really unfortunate and when you realize that he did all that betraying just for a girl then that’s totally ridiculous. We had one such creature in our batch and we would curse our self for the rest of our lives for letting him go unpunished for what he did to us after our 2^nd year college tour.

That was our first tour in college life and I would never argue that what we did was completely right in the tour. Of course we did few things which we should have avoided, but at the same time we were not at fault completely either. We were trying to enjoy the trip and I should say we went beyond our limits a couple of times. I am sure most of us would agree to this in our department. I assumed that the issues were resolved amicably among us in the later part of the tour and we did have a good time after that till we came to know that there had been a complaint against a group of guys me being one among them. I was startled to see such a complaint going against us for we did nothing that was mentioned in the complaint to the principal. What was worst part here was we never knew who made this complaint for almost a week and I really appreciate that bastard for the way he did all this that we almost took over couple of weeks to find who he was.

The experience of going through the enquiry was interesting and I escaped from punishment while other was charged of Rs 5000 to Rs 7000 for what we did and it was a bitter experience for us to go through in our college though we learnt enough from it. As for the second tour was concerned it was further more bitter for various reasons and I made it a point that I had no photos of it to remind me of anything from the tour J I should accept that the locations chosen for the tour was amazing and I would love to take my wife there for a trip. Well the interesting fact here is that the traitor was there even in the second tour trying to get along with all of us but never did we speak with that son of a bitch again as we had done before and I still blame us that we didn’t thrash him for what he did to us. But I just loved the way he was treated by my dear friend from Hyderabad in our farewell and also when he was getting his autographed shirt signed by all of us. I never signed it but my friend did by writing "Bastard stop betraying friends and be loyal in future". He would have regretted asking his signature.

I hope someone betrays him big time in his life, I might sound silly here but I seriously wish that someone ditches him so that he would go through what we had gone through in college. What prompted me in writing this blog is, I saw someone comment in one of his photos as “Hero” which actually should have been “Zero”….. Bloody mother $%^&#@ ….. Pardon me with the tone of this blog. By the way Mr.Traitor if at all you happen to read this blog you should really be grateful for I have been a true gentleman and have not given your name out here.

Photography

I just couldn't resist staring at this picture. 

This has become my wallpaper both in my Lappy and Phone. 

Let me know if someone gets the same picture in 800 x 600 resolution.

Raavanan

I am a huge fan of Mani Ratnam and a review on Raavanan was inevitable from me. I somehow managed to get tickets of the movie for the second day and I went on top of a food poison and fever, only to be disappointed. The movie though had few stuff to be appreciated like cinematography, music and the hard work put in by the artists.

To say the least, cinematography was mesmerizing and it would take a while before anyone could match those visuals. The music has been topping the charts without any surprise, but the way the songs were handled in the movie was really pathetic. "Usurae poguthey Usurae Poguthey" an emotional song came in just like that when there was nothing emotional in the scene. I was bloody disappointed with that and I should say I never recovered from it at all till date. I hated the dialogues in between the song, I wonder why the director would want to choose such a place for the leads to interact when ARR does what he does the best. It would have been perfect had he placed the song where vikram tries to propose (kind of) Aishwarya."Kaattu Sirukki" was completely wasted and all I could do was, have pity on A.R.Rahman. May be he should continue touring western countries as he has been doing these days instead of composing for someone who is going to waste the song.

It would be impossible to find any flaws when it comes to the performance of each and every character, right from the leads to the supporting characters and even ones who has very little scenes like veeras's brother have done a fabulous job. The stunt director should have stayed with the crew throughout the shoot for they had taken such risky shots all through the movie. The locations where excellent and I wonder how Mani managed to convince his stars to shoot in those beautifully dangerous places. May be his reputation helps him here.... :) I am sure at some point of time in the movie people would be confused as to whom Mani is trying to depict as hero, Veera or Dev, but I would say he has just shown us the reality that every individual has grey shades in them. I really liked this attempt of Mani in the movie.

For people wondering how this movie could be bad when most things are good in it, here comes the reason, the major elements for any movie to me is story and screenplay. The movie claimed to be an adaptation of the great epic Ramayanam has a weak story line and the screenplay doesn't help it recover either. One could easily predict what’s next and the movie is short of any twists or turns except for the last 10 minutes which is again little predictable. It was nice that Aishwarya didn’t end up with Veera and I also liked the way Mani left the movie there instead of her getting together with Dev either. He doesn’t deserve to get her back for sure. The end was perfect and couldn’t have been better. But at the end all I could do was awe at the way everyone has given their heart and soul into the movie and not at the movie itself and that has lead to the failure of the movie. The pity is that all these hard work has gone for nothing because of a weak story line and an ordinary screenplay. A few might end with awards thought for their individual brilliance but none of that could save the movie from going to grave in the first couple of weeks of its release. This coming from an ace director like Mani is a huge disappointment not only to me but also to the most ardent fans of the director.

Beauty

Real beauty of a girl is revealed, not when she is in a cocktail dress, not when she is done with her routine in beauty parlour, not when she is in with her make-up for her wedding, not when she is in her casuals with a free floating hair, not when she in a traditional attire, and certainly not when she is in her revealing best, but it is revealed when she has nothing in her mind and when she doesn't try to appear different from what she is and when she is not aware of who is looking at her and that is when she is in "Deep Sleep". The sad fact is that not many get to see the real beauty of a girl.

She/He...And a love story

NOTE: This was a forward from a Girl.Read till the end; nothing’s more worthy than the ending… The reason for posting this is many replied to the forward saying this was very true from the bottom of their heart.....

Friend:  Happy birthday!  
She  : Haan...tha......nk yo....u...was just getting up from the bed.
 
Friend  : Oh! That means I am the first to wish you!  
She  : Naa! He has already wished me at 12 in the night.
 
Friend  : Who???  
She  : Come on, who else, Nitin.
 
Friend  : Oh, ok. So, what's the plan for today?  
She  : Nitin told me that he has a surprise gift for me for my Birthday. And also we are going to Flower Show today. I am excited! I have never seen the flower show that happens in Lal Baug. Actually that itself is the most wonderful gift for me.


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Friend  : "Did you go to Palace grounds all the way from Basavanagudi, to see Bryan Adam's show!!! Who accompanied you?"  
She  : Nitin
 
Friend  : By the way, who referred your CV in  Infosys ? I mean you don't know anyone there, right?  
She  : No, he forwarded my CV to one of his friends there.
 
Friend  : I heard that the HR round interview went on till 8pm in the night. I think you faced difficulty in returning to your room.  
She  : No, he had come to pick me up. He came from his office, dropped me to my room and he returned to his room at around 11pm. He didn't have dinner also. I asked him to have at my room. Poor Nitin.


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Friend  : If you are supposed to go home tomorrow itself then what about reservation?  
She  : I have told him, he will go to Majestic and would get it done, and he told he has some work in Majestic. That's why I am relaxed a bit.


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Friend  : Hello...what about our sari shopping program in Malleshwaram?  
She  : Listen, I will call you later.
 
Friend  :  You didn't call me back in the morning, so I called now.  
She  : Yeah, when you called I was in Koramangala, with Nitin. He was very upset in the morning. He had a fight with his elder brother. So, it wouldn't have been fair on my part to leave him alone. If I am with him in such situation very soon he comes back to normalcy. So I postponed the Malleshwaram program.


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Friend  : Hey! What happened? You seem to be very happy today.  
She  : Why not?  You know today is one of the most happiest days for me. Nitin got an onsite assignment in UK, for 6 months! That's why I am very happy. All of his work paid today. He had been waiting for this opportunity since long. He'll be leaving next month.
 
Friend  : You will miss him.  
She  : Badly. I must thank Rohit, through him only I got to know Nitin. Without Nitin it would have been very difficult for me to stay in this alien city with no friends, relatives . He has been so caring friend all through my tough times in this city, he is so mature, so understanding...a true friend.
 
Friend  : He loves you yaar.  
She  : I know. He has expressed his feelings towards me.
 
Friend  : Hey…When did he do that? You didn’t tell me…and what was your reply?
She  : Come on yaar…chill… You know my answer what would have been.

Friend  : Don't you love him?  
She  : I don't want to.
 
Friend  : Don't tell me. You also have a soft corner for him, if not love. 
She  : I don't want to commit.
 
Friend  : What is stopping you? I really don't understand. When  Miya-beevi  are  razi kya karega kazi ?  
She  : Please...don't say like that. I never told him that I love him or something like that, though he has tried to convince me.
 
Friend  : Are you a fool not to understand his feelings which are so clear from outside only? Poor fellow, don't leave him alone.  
She  : He is nice, but not my kind of guy. He is just a friend, I never had those feelings for him. I have told him everything about me and my family. He knows how orthodox my parents are. They can never expect me marrying a guy from a different state. They trust me. Come what may, I will not hurt my parent's feelings. I cannot imagine also. Now they are happily searching a guy for me in my native place.

Friend  : But you should marry a guy who loves you the most, not the one you like. And it’s clearly visible how much you mean to him.
She  : Please…I don’t want to discuss about him anymore. I will gradually move away from him….I believe my parents will definitely find a good alliance..
  
Friend  : Hmm, I don't understand at all. I am thinking how Nitin will take this. Hope he will move on.


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She  :  This Saturday I have to go home, a guy is coming to see me.  
Friend  : Oh! Is it? Good news yaar. Your first interview! Wish you all the best.
 
Friend  : Any guesses, who is he?  
She  :  Please yaar. I am least bothered and least interested. For the sake of my parents' happiness I have agreed for this.


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Friend  : What about the interview, I was expecting your call actually?  
She  :  Nothing so special. I didn't like the guy's attitude. I told my parents clearly. My parents are very understanding and so they too told me that they won't go ahead with this matter.


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Friend  : Yesterday your mobile was engaged for more than half an hour. I kept trying, but I slept after 11pm.  
She  : Yeah, I was talking to Nitin. He is very much worried about my marriage. He is concerned whether I would get a guy of my choice or not, whether I would be happy with him or not. I was very sad to know this. But I am helpless. I pacified him and convinced that whatever my parents do, that will be the best for me, so no need to worry.
 
Friend  : How Nitin will feel after you get married? Will he not be upset all the time?  
She  :  Time will change everything. He will start living again. Was he not leading a normal life before I came into his life?
I don’t like him “that” much to marry him. I have already told him about this. Anyway my parents will choose the best for me, a really nice, caring guy.
It's all matter of time. Even I can't do anything other than pacifying him and myself with these philosophical statements.


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Finally "  She " got engaged with a guy of her parent's choice (with her "yes" of course). She is in touch with both Nitin and the new "  him " regularly through chatting in Google Talk.
Now she ignores Nitin’s SMSs and pings, coz she doesn’t feel “comfortable” with that, as her alliance is fixed now.


Finally "  She " got happily married to "  him ", very soon converting Nitin into memories. But deleting the memories was slow and impossible for Nitin.


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Why do girls do like this?  What was Nitin’s fault? Why is that the girl who meant the world for him, treats him just like any other guy?


She needs him when she is new to the city.
She needs his help in finding out a PG or hostel for her
She makes him prepare a good-format-CV for her
She needs him to drop her to the venue of a walk-in interview
She expects him to collect all the consultants' mail ids
She needs him while preparing for the interviews
She needs his help in identifying HER skill sets, strengths and weakness!
She wants him to conduct a mock-interview for her!
She gives her yahoo mail id password so that he can forward her CV to consultants through internet in his office (in office hours!)
She needs him for boosting her confidence when she fails in the 1^st  written test in her life
She wants him to take her to M.G Road , Brigade Road, Forum and Big bazaar
She needs his company while visiting all the temples in Malleshwaram on Vijayadashami, though he is not a believer of God.
She asks his opinions on importance of marriage  
She wants him to be a shoulder to cry when her parents force her for marriage
She needs his help in preparing her mind for the first interview with a guy
She needs his help in deciding about the marriage proposal
She loves to share her happiness with him when she gets engaged
She expects him to attend her marriage (Come on guys, he is a true friend of her!)


The guy does all this honestly, without saying a single "No".


He loves her.
He cares for her.
Whatever he is today; it is only because of her entry in to his life.
He treats her as his life.
He dreams to be her life-partner.
She changed him.
It is only because of her, he is smiling.
It is only because of her, he has forgotten the past bitter experiences.
She is the first person in his life to influence him so much.
He was the "  bhatka hua musafir  " and she came as his " manzil ".
He threw the cigarette in the dust-bin because of her.
He has cultivated a positive attitude towards marriage and family because of her.
She is the perfect Indian woman he has ever seen.
He keeps a photo of Lord Krishna in his purse now; only because of her (also it is her favorite deity!).
Weekends come and go without his notice; it is only because of her.
He stopped going to office on Weekends; it is only because of her.
Onsite project was his dream; he puts all his efforts now, not to get an onsite assignment but to make her happy.


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The girl depends on the guy as if she never lived and can never live without him. Guy behaves as if he has taken birth on this earth only to care for that lady. She treats him as a shoulder to cry and he treats her as a puppy in a rain storm. She loves to depend and he loves to take care, finally they fall in so called "love", ultimately adding an unnecessary trauma to life.
Girls want a perfect life partner but they don't want to hurt their parents' feelings, guys know that they can't get her but still they want to care for her(because they want her to be happy wherever she is and with whoever she is).
Great! Or shall I say crap!


Or I think no need to be so serious about it.


She gets engaged, life goes on...
Long lasting phone calls become short and sweet, life goes on...
A heart which was used to "Good morning", “Good night” and “Happy journey” SMSs learns to be happy with just the "Happy weekend" and SMSs, life goes on...
No more "Unread messages" in the Gmail, life goes on...
No one to share coffee at "Barista" at the end of a tiring working day, life goes on...
No more consultants' calls to be diverted and life goes on...
He stops taking care of his health, life goes on…
He resumes smoking again, life goes on...
He is still living in flashback, and no looking back for her, but life goes on...
He starts drinking, life goes on...
He gets promoted, he is a manager, she is mother of two kids, and life goes on...
He earns a lot, but lost forever, life goes on…
He still wonders what went wrong, life goes on…
He smiles in the pain recollecting the time spent with her, and she is happy with her family, but life goes on…

Can anyone say that it has never happened in your life...Dare to say no...It happens with all… If not this, at least something equivalent… Or maybe you are neither “Her” nor “Nitin”, but  the “Friend”

Graceful Exit

It has been 4 and half years since I joined my company and the entire journey has been a really interesting. Having joined with no knowledge of programming languages I feel I have done enough, though little lucky at times, to survive all these years without any major hassles. I might not have got all I wanted but I think I got enough to be satisfied if not happy. A chance to fly abroad, a visit to New York and to awe at the beauty of Niagara would have been only in dreams if not for this industry… :)  I would have even got another chance at these on a long term basis if not for my decision to quit the company.

The decision to quit had been pending for quite some time since there was a change in the reporting structure with my Manager moving out to a different project. There is a very familiar quote in the industry which goes like this… “People don’t leave the company, they just leave their managers”. I didn’t give it a serious thought  until I decided to quit. Though there were many factors playing a major role in my decision to quit like family, life style and money, the prime reason for me starting to look out was the way I was handled in the project. I have to thank few for they urged me to look out instead of getting comfortable with what I had. I have always dreamed of turning my tag red before I could leave but then I had to decide against it and that’s one of very few regrets I have while leaving the company. The other one being I was not allowed to use my H1 visa. I somehow never got the criteria these people have, to narrow down on people to be in long term assignment.  The same people are given chance again and again for some reason, and the reason is self explanatory in this video.…. :)   Anyways I am out of it now, and may be had I gone for a long term few would have tagged me as a “Jakku Boy” too…. :) 

The last a thing any human would want in life is a good funeral and the last thing any employer would want is a graceful exit. The exit was as smooth as the joining process was in my company. We stayed till 10 that day with all friends and were talking like we would never have another chance to talk. But that was in a way true as I find is highly impossible for every one of us to come together and have a long useless chat...:) We have already failed in one such attempt after me coming out of the company. People have their own priorities and none can be blamed here. So it was nice that we spent enough time on my last day. Of all the exits I have seen in my tenure somehow I feel mine was the best and many would agree to that also for some obvious reasons. If there is an another opportunity for me to be associated with my previous employee I will be more than ready to do it, for it was 4 wonderful years for me after college.

Lesson Learnt: Write anything when your soul is into it. Else you are going get a post like this. This is not how it was in my mind 2 months back. But somehow I am not able to put it the way I had in mind 2 months back. This will go down as one of the worst post by me.... :)