Need a break...

seems like I ran out of ideas.. or may be ran out of memories. Also, lost my touch in writing good posts. Well.. how did I know that.. coz.. posts are piling up in the "Not Published" folder on my laptop. I wrote 3 posts and dint publish them as I felt they aren't upto the mark.

Hmmm.. time to take a break... meet u soon.. hopefully in the new year. This year will be a forgettable one for me. Nothing to cherish other than July 12th and 13th. And ofcourse I have to keep in my mind abt dadz health condition. Oh.. yeah.. I'll also remember that little stupid who made scratches on my bike.

Indian team was ruthless….

Warning: This one is for cricket lovers. If u aren’t one among them, u may feel bored reading this post :-).

“Indian team was ruthless against England. “ – Peter Roebuck, after India taking a 4-0 lead in the ongoing series.
"I don't know how we will combat India. They are playing fantastic, fearless cricket, and we will have to produce something special to beat them." –KP, after England lost to India in the 5th match.

As a diehard Cricket fan, especially of Indian Cricket, I was really happy to hear this. Since I started watching cricket I rarely got a chance to correlate Indian team with words like confident, consistent, comprehensive, fearless, aggressive and so on. Probably, I can do that now. Hmmm… may be too early to say but still, beating the world champions 2-0 in test series and England 5-0 in ODIs is not an ordinary task. Remember, England were on a high after beating SA both in tests and ODIs.

In 90s, Indian cricket was nothing but Sachin. India won because of Sachin and lost because of Sachin. His' play brought such a crazy impact on spectators (and the guys in the dressing room) that there are times when people used to think like..everything goes India's way if Sachin stays at the crease, no matter if he scores runs or not.Though there was enough talent in players like Azhar, Jadeja, Kambli etc., they all played around Sachin. And most importantly the team lacked consistency.

Dada taking over the captaincy brought a lil change. He was ready to challenge the opposition on and off the field. Itz under his captaincy that the young cricketers like Yuvraj, Kaif , RP Singh were groomed. He really backed them well under crucial situations. But the team was lacking an important quality to pluck the top position from the Aussies…. Yes…. Killer Instinct.

The aussies never give up on any match. If they win a match by 150 runs, in the next match they’ll try to win by 151 runs. If in a series of 5 ODIs they lead by 3-0, they’ll try to extend that lead to 5-0. They demoralize the opposition with their play(with their talk as well ;) ) in such a way that the opposition would even forget the basics of cricket. That special quality helped the aussies to retain the top position, both in Tests and ODIs, for almost 12 years. I can sense such a killer instinct now in our Indian Team, led by Dhoni.

The best thing I like about Dhoni is his temperament. He rarely shows his emotions on his face. Within a short period as a captain he has impressed almost everyone.. not just with his tactics but with his attitude as well. Have you ever seen a captain allowing a retiring senior pro to lead the team for couple of overs.? Thatz just an awesome gesture. Just to let u know how Dhoni sees the lighter side of a tense situation….. In the 4th ODI against Eng, Gambhir was fumbling every ball coming his way. Finally he got hold of a catch(of course in the 2nd attempt :-)) and Dhoni came across to him and gave his gloves and indicated to keep it with himself. He knows how to handle the team in every situation.

With the little knowledge I have in cricket, I can sense that Indian team is in able hands. Youngsters like RohitSharma, GautamGambhir, SureshRaina, IshanthSharma are still on a learning curve. Selectors need to persist with them even if they fail in couple of matches. I should definitely mention about RohitSharma. Hez a serious talent. If at all therz someone who can fill in Sachin’s shoes, Rohit will be the front runner. Hez going through a rough patch now. But I’m sure he’ll be back with a bang. After all, as Boycott says “Form is temporary, Class is permanent”.

Wow.. I have completed the post without talking about my swt lil kid at any instance.. great.. keep it up.. :-)

బెంగుళూరులో అంతే

హెచ్చరిక: ఈ పోస్ట్ "తెలుగు" అనే భాషలో వ్రాయబడింది. hey dude .. wassup mate... cool... లాంటి పదాలకు అలవాటు పడిన సాఫ్ట్ వేర్ ఇంజనీర్లు దయచేసి తెలుగు ని గుర్తుతెచ్చుకొని ఈ పోస్ట్ చదవండి.
ఈ పోస్ట్ తెలుగులో వ్రాయటానికి రెండు కారణాలు ఉన్నాయి.
1. ఇంత వరకు నేను ఒక్క పోస్ట్ కూడా తెలుగు లో వ్రాయలేదు.
2. మొదటి పాయింట్నే మళ్లీ చదవండి.
         కొన్ని పర్సనల్ reasons వల్ల నేను temporary గా బెంగుళూరు ఆఫీసు నుంచి వర్క్ చేస్తున్నాను. నాకు ముందు నుంచి ఎందుకో బెంగుళూరు నచ్చదు. కారణాలు అడిగితే చెప్పలేను. బహుశా ఆ కారణాలు తెలుసుకోవడానికే ఇక్కడి నుంచి వర్క్ చేస్తున్నానేమో.
         మొదటి రోజు ఆఫీసుకు త్వరగా వెళ్దామని early మార్నింగ్ 9:30 కి లేచి రెడీ అయ్యాను. దేశంలో ఏమి జరుగుతోందో తెలుసుకుందామని న్యూస్ ఛానల్ పెట్టాను. అందులో ఒకడు ఎదురుగా laptop పెట్టుకొని వారం రోజుల క్రితం జరిగిన తాజా న్యూస్ చదువుతున్నాడు. కాసేపటికి suit వేసుకున్నావిడ వచ్చి గోడ మీదున్న ఇండియా మ్యాపును చూపిస్తూ వాతావరణ వివరాలు చెప్పటం మొదలుపెట్టింది. ముఖ్యంగా బెంగుళూరులో, ఆరు నూరైన, ఇలియానా రాశి ఆయినా , వర్షం మాత్రం పడదు అని చెప్పింది. సరే అని ఆఫీసుకు బయలుదేరాను. బాగా ఎండగా ఉంది. పర్లేదు ఈ మధ్య న్యూస్లో కూడా నిజాలు చెప్తున్నారు అని అనుకొంటుండగా మా పక్క రూమ్లో ఉన్న మలయాళం వాడు పెద్ద జెర్కిన్ వేసుకొని బయటకు వచ్చాడు. వాడిని చూసి "పిచ్చివాడా" అని తెలుగులో నవ్వుకున్నాను. వాడు కూడా నన్ను చూసి మలయాళంలో అదోలా నవ్వాడు. ఒక గంట తర్వాత ఆఫీసులో ఉన్నాను... తడిసిన బట్టలతో. అప్పుడు తెలిసింది వాడి మలయాళం నవ్వుకు అర్థం ఏమిటో. Basic గా బెంగుళూరు లో ఒక థియరీ ఉంది. ఏంటంటే , మనం ఎప్పుడైతే వర్షం పడదు అనుకుంటామో అప్పుడు పడుతుంది. ఎప్పుడైతే పడుతుంది అనుకుంటామో అప్పుడు కూడా పడుతుంది.
         Last weekend సినిమాకు వెళ్దామని నా ఫ్రెండ్తో బైక్ లో బయల్దేరాను. దారిలో ఏదో కన్నడ పోస్టరులో ("ఏదో" అనేది కన్నడ సినిమా పేరనుకుంటే మీ ఖర్మ) హన్సిక నడుము మీద వాడెవడో చెయ్యివేసి నిల్చున్నాడు. "ఎవడ్రవాడు బొచ్చు పీకేసిన బ్రాయిలర్ కోడిలా ఉన్నాడు ?" అని కన్నడ సినిమాలు చూసే నా తెలుగు ఫ్రెండ్ రవిగాడిని అడిగా. " వాడే ఇక్కడ top హీరో " అని అన్నాడు. ఓహో ఇక్కడ top అంటే ఇంత low నా అని అనిపించింది.( గమనిక: నేను ఇప్పుడు చెప్పిన విషయం ఇక్కడ అమ్మాయిలు వేసుకునే top కి కూడా వర్తిస్తుంది.)
         మొన్నామధ్య ఊరి నుంచి వస్తూ Majesticలో దిగాను. రూంకి వెళ్ళటానికి రిచ్ గా ఉంటుందని volvo సిటి బస్ లో ఎక్కా. టికెట్ 35/- అన్నాడు( ఇంకో 35/- వేస్తే మళ్లీ మా ఊరికి వెల్లిపోవచ్చు). బస్సు వాయువేగంతో దూసుకుపోతోంది.ఇంతలో ట్రాఫిక్ సిగ్నల్ పడింది. అంతే... వెంటనే బస్సులో నుంచి అయిదారుమంది చకచకా కిందకు దిగి పక్కనే ఉన్న టీ కొట్టులోకి వెళ్లారు.వారిలో డ్రైవర్ కూడా ఉన్నాడు. ఒక 4506 సెకన్ల తర్వాత గ్రీన్ సిగ్నల్ పడటంతో డ్రైవర్ బస్ స్టార్ట్ చేశాడు. "ఏంటయ్యా next సిగ్నల్ దగ్గర కూడా టీ కి ఆపుతావ?" అని డ్రైవర్ ని అడిగా . "లేదు సార్.. అక్కడ టిఫిన్ బ్రేక్ ఉంటుంది" అని casualగా అన్నాడు. ఇలా టీలు టిఫిన్లు చేసుకుంటూ రెండు గంటల తర్వాత నా స్టాప్ దగ్గర దించాడు. ఏమైన ...బెంగుళూరు ట్రాఫిక్ సూపర్.
         ఆగ్రా వెళ్లి తాజ్ మహల్ చూడకపోవటం ఎంత తప్పో బెంగుళూరు వెళ్లి Brigade road.. Forum చూడకపోవటం అంతే తప్పని ఎవరో అంటే .. సరే అని నేను, నరేష్ గాడు(పేరు మారుద్దాం అనుకున్నా.. అవసరం లేదనిపించింది) Forum కి వెళ్లాం. అక్కడికి వెళ్లాక తెలిసింది బెంగుళూరు ఎంత పేద నగరమొ అని.ఫాపం..వేసుకోవటానికి బట్టలు కూడా లేని వాళ్లు కనిపించారక్కడ. ఒకడు చినిగిపోయిన జీన్స్ వేసుకుంటె మరో అమ్మాయి ఒంటినిండా కప్పుకోవటానికి బట్టలు లేక చిన్న నిక్కర్ వేసుకొచ్చింది. సమాజ సేవకుడు, ఆపధ్భాందవుడు, పేదల పాలిట పెన్నిధి లాంటి బిరుదులకు మారుపేరైన మా నరేష్ గాడు కళ్లనీళ్లు పెట్టుకుంటూ ఆ అమ్మాయి దగ్గరకు వెళ్లి తన ప్యాంటు తీసివ్వబోయాడు. ఆ అమ్మాయి వాడి వైపు విచిత్రంగా,వింతగా,వికారంగా, ఇంకా వివిధ రకాలుగా చూసి .. విసురుగా అక్కడినించి వెళ్లిపోయింది."ఎందుకురా ఆ అమ్మాయి అలా చూసింది?" అని కళ్లు తుడుచుకుంటూ అడిగాడు నరేష్ గాడు. ఏం చెప్పాలో తెలీక "బెంగుళూరులో అంతే " అని చెప్పి అక్కడినించి తీసుకెళ్లిపోయా :-) .
Amidst all these things I still like bangalore for one obvious reason... She stays here.

More than a month…

There are days when I never missed to meet her on her birthday...hmmm.. on our birthday. There are days when I travelled all the way from Hyderabad to Bangalore for no reason other than to see her. Even if I had any reason, it mattered only after her.

Itz changed now. Its been more than a month since I came to Bangalore and we met only once and that too for the sake of one of our mutual friend. Sep 17^th was the last day when I talked to her .. heartfully. From then, all our conversations were on SMS. Every nite she sends an SMS that she reached safely to home and I reply back to it. This became soooo mechanical that she just sends “Gud Nite .. Tc.. Bye” and I reply back saying “GN..tc..luv u.. bye”.

We were never in this situation in the past 10+ years. I know I’m majorly responsible for this. Or may be , my sweet lil kid!! Can I say we both are responsible for this situation?

Itz a tough time in my life. But the toughest time is yet to come. I’ll let you guys know about the reason for this situation and about the so called “toughest time in my life”, in one more post. I never wrote a post with tears rolling out of my eyes… oops.. guys shudn’t cry. I’m trying my best to not to do that.

Some sweet lil memories with her

Warning: When I was in school I tend to hate History. Reason?.. god.. itz tough to remember dates. So, don’t try to remember the dates in this post coz they r in no way related to u and in no way useful to u.

I saw her for the first time somewhere in Nov 1997. Looooong back.. right?. It took more than a year to talk my first words with her. The two best things I liked about her, then and now are, her innocent face and her damn beautiful eyes. From then, it was a long memorable journey.

In these 10 years, before taking every critical decision, I used to think of her.. like.. if I do this, can I be close to her? Or does this decision take me away from her? … I never revealed this craziness even to her. One such decision was coming back from Vikas Junior College to the college where she studied. The reason I said was ‘Home Sick’. My dad would have beaten me up if I had told the actual reason :-).

The 2 years of intermediate was good. One mistake I did was expressing my love to her in inter 1^st year, in an indirect way. I know, it was just out of infatuation. I laugh at myself when I think of it even now :-). We became good friends in 2^nd year. Aug 10^th , 2000, I dialed her number for the first time. I swear, my heartbeat doubled when I entered her home for the first time on 29^th Sep 2000. But her family members were really nice. On the last day of our inter, ie., on 13^th Apr 2001, she came to my home. I still have the paper in my wallet, on which she wrote,

When the golden sun is shining
When of others you are thinking
Just spare me a minute or toooo dear….

I felt bad when I didn’t get a good rank in EAMCET. She joined Btech in MITS and I had to go back to Vikas bcoz MITS doesn’t offer EAMCET longterm coaching :-). I used to call her on every Saturday. I received a letter from her on 24^th Apr 2002, with her best wishes for my EAMCET. I got a decent rank and had my first handshake with her on May 17, 2002.

No surprises. I joined in MITS. I know it would be a bit embarrassing to be her junior. Hell with that.. I just wanna b close to her. I definitely had a good time with her in Btech, though I had to bear the “Who the hell is this guy” kind of looks from her classmates :-). We saw our first movie on 3^rd Nov 2002. Ofcourse it was not just we two, our school friends were there. I was asking her for a long time to come out with me and finally on 1^st Apr 2005 she did come to SnowDrops, the one hotspot for MITSians.

Suddenly I remembered that she was in her final sem. She will leave me soon. Yes, her family left to Bangalore on 14^th Sep 2005. Ufff.. I had to spend one more year in MITS minus my sweet lil kid :-( . This is the time when I realized that I love her. From then, it was just phone calls between us. On 28^th Feb 2006 she came all the way from Bangalore with a good news that shez selected for Satyam and had to report in Hyderabad.

And then, completion of my Btech, job hunt, travelling between Bangalore and Hyderabad, it just went on. But whenever I went to Hyd, we used to meet and have fun. When I decided to continue my job search staying at Hyd, she got a project in Bangalore and had to move there. Hmmm.. I wasn’t happy for myself but I was happy for her as she always wanted to stay with her family.

There are hell lot of dates to be mentioned where I had some good memories with her in Hyderabad. It needs one more post to type down all of them :-).

And ofcourse you all know about July 12^th and 13^th 2008, of which I mentioned in my last post. Hmmm…you may feel..” why the hell did he remember all these dates?”… well.. I donno… I just feel that these are some of my sweet lil memories with my sweet lil kid.

And finally, ____________, the day when she accepts my love.

Unfortunately, the above blank will never be filled :-(

Simple things that can change ….

….the world around us. Wow…. Now thatz the start of a serious n boring post.

The society is messed up. No one cares for anyone. Everyone are selfish. No one feels the responisibility..Perfect.. you are absolutely right. Now… Do you ever question urself, “Am I a responsible citizen?” Don’t luk at me seriously.. it holds gud for me aswell. When I say responsible that doesn’t mean that u shud become an IAS or IPS officer and serve the society or join the army and fight for the country.

I’ll just try to quote some situations which we might come across hell lot of times in our day 2 day life, where a simple responsible act from us makes the world around a better place to live.

ATMs, Ticket reservation counters, Billing in malls..etc.,.. yup.. I’m talking abt following the queue. Everyone are busy and have some or other urgent work. But if you don’t follow the line it will become more confusing and irritating. If someone tries to break the line, say them softly to not to do that. If he/she doesn’t listen, raise ur voice and I bet at least 2 other people will join u. That will make things easier. Well, at ATMs I feel like changing the notice from “Only one person allowed at a time” to “Only one human being allowed at a time”

Have you ever seen these things in public places which say… “Use Me” ? thatz right…. Dustbins. Have u ever used them? Atleast have u ever felt like using them? You are sitting in a park with ur gal. She asks for coffee, you run all the way and bring it. You pay 10 bucks for it , have 5 sips of it and y can’t u take just 2 steps and throw the cup in dustbin. Now don’t ask me , “Will I reach the dustbin in 2 steps in every park?”:-) This is our world guys. Therez nothing wrong in keeping it clean.

How many of you switch the mobile phones to silent mode at places like cinema Halls and Temples? Plz raise ur hands…one..two..three.. wow almost everyone. Hey Naresh and Raveendra(names not changed :-)) raise ur hands properly. “Why should I keep it in silent mode?” Ofcourse Sir.. ur mobile ur wish. But you have no rights to disturb the people around u.

The one I’m going to mention is very common in Hyderabad. You are in the middle of a traffic jam and you are very well aware that in no way you are going to move unless the traffic is cleared. But still some guys blow horn continuously. Is it necessary? Just think once. Next time, tell ur boy friend not to do that :-). As we are talking abt traffic I’ll mention one more thing. Please don’t jump signals though I’m not the right person to say this coz I myself did that more than once. Yes.. at times there may b very little traffic and still the signals are ON. In such situations, go for it but be 110% sure that no other vehicle comes across ur way...may b in the next 10 seconds or more.

Finally, I’m no one to compel u to follow these things and if u r already implementing I would be more than happy. Still there are so many examples like using the footover bridge instead of running across the roads, using the indicators of our vehicles properly and so on.. But if I continue typing down like this my laptop will commit suicide. By the way, to follow these things therz no need to learn the so called corporate etiquette or be aware of the words like civic sense, social responsibility.. blah blah blah. We just need a little bit of common sense.

So Close yet So Far Away

Warning: After reading this post don’t ask me ” y the hell have u written such a long post?” I tried my best to edit it.By the way this is one more version of my previous post.

Have you ever had a weekend when you felt that you are the happiest person in the world.

On the other side…

Have u ever had a weekend when you felt like you were so close to her yet so far away.

The above lines explain the two extremes of my feelings when she came here on 12^th and 13^th of July 2008.

Hmmm.. it took one and half years of arguments and two months of silence to bring her here, though I was aware that itz too difficult for her to come alone, just to see me and … only me.

Finally the day has come. Itz always a nice feeling when you know that the gal u luv the most is coming to see you.. just you. I donno y guys get too tensed when a gal is coming to see them, changing the shirt twice and washing the face thrice. Nonsense.. I’m not that type. oops.. where is the T-shirt that she said she liked in one of my pics? Oh! Here it is. So, what was I saying? :-)

The first place I took her was to the company where I work. Yeah.. I know .. itz not quite a romantic place to take such a beautiful gal but you can’t find a lonely place, to talk, than a software company on weekends. I showed her my cubicle, wandered round the office , had a chat for some time and came out. We went to Spicy Venue, a decent restaurant to have lunch.

As the sun started settling down we reached EatStreet. This was the last place we visited together when she was here 2 years ago. This is a place where you find hell lot of food and donno what to eat. Then we sat on the park just beside EatStreet where a number of fortune tellers irritated us to listen to what they say, which we never did. If it was my friend Kiran(name changed on request.. actual name is Naresh Kumar Kareti… not karate.. Kareti,works for TCS Chennai :-)), he would have told their own fortune :-) . Then we had a walk across the necklace road and drove back to her hostel.

Next morning we went to Birla Mandir. If I remember right, the last time I went there was with her and I never visited it in the last 2 years… reason.. I donno. Next place.. ADLABS..the new multiplex in Hyderabad and the movie..”Jaane Tu Ya Jaane na”. I felt she would njoy watching it…. with me. Did you.. my sweet lil kid ?.Hmmm.. wish to have the same climax for my story aswell :-). Ufff… hungry….there you go.. Minerva Coffee Shop.. one of the best vegetarian restaurants in Hyderabad.

Now the interesting part, we had to catch a bus to Banglore at 5:50pm. We reached there by 5:15 and were waiting. 5:30.. 6:00.. 6:15. Good news… the bus got cancelled and no alternate one arranged. I swear, I felt sorry for myself coz if she doesn’t reach Banglore by 8:30AM Monday, she’ll just kill me :-) . Fortunately, we had seats in KSRTC bus and I was relieved. The only thing I remember in our journey was, me resting on her and holding her hand tightly or the other way round. Thatz when I felt I was so close to her yet so far away :-( .

Now, after reading this post don’t ask me whether we are friends or lovers. Shez my lover and unfortunately I’m still her friend :-(.

Have u ever had a weekend....

... when the gal, for whom u were waiting for more than a year , has come to see u and … only u.

Have u ever had a weekend when the gal u luv the most, got on ur bike for the first time.

Have u ever had a weekend when you spent two full days with ‘her’….just with her, roaming around the city.

Have u ever had a weekend when you had lunch with her in one of the best vegetarian restaurants in the city.

Have u ever had a weekend when you saw a movie with her, and the characters in the movie are sooo close to both of u that you identify urself with them.

Have u ever had a weekend when you extended your weekend till Monday, just for the sake of travelling with her.

Have u ever had a weekend when you reserved the bus tickets and the bus got cancelled and you have to bare with the serious looks of her as she needs to report in the office at any cost on Monday :-) .

Have u ever had a weekend when you travelled with your loved one for more than 500kms, resting on her and holding her hand tightly throughout the journey.

Have u ever had a weekend when you went to LandMark in The Forum(bglr), picked up the books, The Doomsday Conspiracy(Sidney Sheldon) and Hotel(Arthur Hailey), and while paying the bill came to know that you lost your ATM card :-) .

Have you ever had a weekend when you felt that you are the happiest person in the world.

After all these… finally,

Have u ever had a weekend when you felt like you were so close to her but still so far away :-( .

Hmmm… quite an eventful weekend and my most memorable one, by all means, till date.

Dear sweet lil kid,my mind tells me not to see you again unless I can see you all the time because it hurts too much to say goodbye

Me, My Bike and 10,000KMs

Rs.72000/- ….. 150CC….270kgs… Ebony Black…. Bajaj Pulsar DTSi…. AP9 BH 6466. Thatz my first possession. Proudly celebrated itz first birthday on April 11^th 2008. Coincidentally, I travelled 10,000kms on my bike.

It was kind of a mixed journey with two minor accidents and more than two signal jumpings :-) . All this happened to be in Hyderabad. Therz a hard and fast rule with Hyderabad Traffic Police. Wear Helmet and they never check whether u have a license or don’t even bother if u robbed the bike. But…. but….but… this rule doesn’t apply in month endings :-). Though u wear a helmet and have all the papers, they’ll check for some or other violation of rule. A stylish number plate, half painted headlight, no rear view mirrors.. can be anything.. If nothing works finally they decide that itz a ‘No Parking’ zone and write a receipt for that. Hmmm…very strict.

It was my dream to have my own bike. Yamaha YBX was my first love. But when I saw Pulsar I decided to get that beast. I call it a beast coz in no way it suits my physique. One more obvious reason, my Lucky likes it a lot(I donno y I keep referring her in all my posts… hmmm.. tough to forget the one u luv the most). Anyways, finally when I felt I’m sound enough to buy the bike, I just went to the showroom , completed the formalities and got the keys in my hand. But I swear, I was really afraid when I thought of Hyderabad Traffic. Thanks to Moinu who helped me in getting used to the bike and to the traffic.

In this one year I became more n more comfortable with my bike, touched a maximum speed of 92 KMPH. Four galz got on my bike… two of them got married :-( . But my bike is still waiting for the gal who really matters the most..pcch..poor bike :-( .

I’m reaaaaaaaaaally tired of routine office work. Need a break. Wishing to go for a long drive with my Lucky. Hoping to happen it soon.

“How hard can you play when no one is watching(Sunil's quote)”. This has nothing to do with this post. Just felt like finishing the post with a nice quote.

I lost the battle

Finally, I give up. I lost the battle of love. I tried every sensible way to convince her. I tried to prove that I was much more stubborn and serious in her matter than what she thinks, but was all in vain. I never regret for loving her. Shez the ever best thing happened to me in my life. She still feels that we can be good friends for a lifetime, which I believe is a bit difficult. Hmmm… it takes time to cope up with this situation.

While I was surfing the net, I just came across this saying…. a timely one….

“The friendship between a man and a woman which does not lead to marriage or desire for marriage may be a life long experience of the greatest value to themselves and to all their circle of acquaintance and of activity; but for this type of friendship both a rare man and a rare woman are needed. Perhaps it should be added that either the man or the woman thus deeply bound in lifelong friendship who seeks marriage must find a still rarer man or woman to wed, to make such a three cornered comradeship a permanent success.”

I hope I would find such a rarer woman in my life.

Itz more than 10 years when we first met. I really had a marvelous time with her all these days. I’m sure she feels the same way (Am I right, my sweet little kid…?). Practically, we can’t go together for a long time in the future. But I would cherish every little moment I had with her.

Thank you, my sweet little kid, for all the experiences, for all the support and for....... everything. Wishing we could be together for as long as possible.

Hmmm... a very serious post .. right? What to do... at times u have to be serious about certain things, especially when it involves ur life in it.

Thanks for reading. By the way, I’m looking for a girlfriend. Interested gals can rush in with their resumes. Freshers are preferred :-) .

Jab I Met

Warning:This is a long post.. don't curse me if you feel bored by reading this :-) .

27^th Jan 2008 …Sunday…Bangalore (Bengalur.. to bring some Indianness to it..), my sister and her family were flying back to US after a 2 month visit to India . Those two months were really wonderful ,playing with my nephew, answering his silly questions and enjoying his every little act. Hmmm… itz really hard to give a sendoff .After wishing adieu to them I hurried to Koramangala to catch a bus to Hyderabad . Thanks to Vamsi who reserved the ticket. As usual the bus was punctually late. (Sorry vamsi.. I used ur dialogue :-) ) .

The final boarding point was Kalaspalyam. As a change from my regular journeys, two beautiful girls got on to the bus. One was married ( don’t ask me, “how you know that”?) and the other appeared to be a college student. Though they were strangers till then, they started talking like they know each other for a long time. The only reason was, both of them were Bengali. The married girl works for SBI as manager, and her husband for HDFC. Shez traveling to Hyderabad to attend a meeting. How do I know all these things….. coz my seat was just behind theirs :-) . That doesn’t mean that I was hearing their conversation… It is like.. they were shouting so loud that their conversation was directly downloaded into my ear and saved in my brain :-).

One more techie (works for HCL) was sitting by my side. He started conversation with me and we were sharing our ideas on the IT field. Of course, he was much more experienced than me. As I was a bit bored, I started listening to music. After some time I noticed that the married gal (Do I need to call her a lady ?.. naa.. shez veeeeeeeery young.) was feeling sick and was about to vomit . The other gal ran to the conductor, brought a cover and helped her. Then she made her feel a bit relaxed and comforted her.

I was back into my music until the bus halted at a hotel for dinner. I saw the two girls in the hotel. Generally I never talk much and with gals… hmm I don’t even dare to open my mouth L. But that day, I don’t know y I felt like asking the sick girl about howz she feeling. I asked her and she replied, “I’m feeling better, Thank you.”. We were back into the bus.

Till then I haven’t talked with the other gal. As far as I know there are two ways in starting a conversation with a co passenger. One, by asking if they like music and the other, if they like reading novels . Fortunately, I saw the gal reading the novel, “The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari” by Robin Sharma. As I was aware of Robin Sharma’s other works, it became easy for me to start the conversation. Believe me, within half an hour, she was talking to me as if we were friends for life. The conversation that started at around 10:30pm lasted upto 3AM and obviously I was just a listener for most of the time :-) . She was talking about her family, her interests. She was shouting ,laughing,enjoying every little moment. I felt as if she was the most happiest person in the world. For a moment I thought she must be a 21 year old child. She told me about Food Technology (the degree shez pursuing), her class room moments, about how she hangout with her friends. Shez quite a character and very open minded. Itz really hard to find such characters these days. It was one of the most memorable journeys in my life(Of course, the best one will always be the journey I made the other way..from Hyd to Bglr with my lucky :-) ).

I donno when we fell asleep. We reached Hyderabad at around 6:30AM. Her boarding point was prior to mine. We wished goodbye to each other and she got down the bus. I wish I could meet her again. But how :-( .What if, in the middle of our journey she missed her mobile and I dialed her number to trace it. Yes, the same thing happened :-) . Two days later I called her again and shez doing well.

Does the title “Jab I Met” is anyway related to this blog.? Yes it is. Itz the apt title (stock dialogue of our tollywood directors :-)) for this blog. If the director of “Jab We Met” has seen this gal, I’m sure he should have taken the inspiration to mould Kareena’s character in that movie. FYI, in no way I suite the character of Shahid Kapoor. Thatz y I used the title “Jab I Met” :-) .

By the way her name is Chandralekha. Friends call her Riya.