tHe eMpLoYeD vAgAbOnD

All-in-a-day's-work?

2006-11-29T01:37:00.003-08:00

Well to start with, I dont really know why I'm writing this..

I have been travelling a lot these days, sometimes local, sometimes to different states. Quite a percentage of these travels have been by bus (yeah.. cant belive that) and many a times by the (in)famous 'lal-dabba' - the ST.

What fascinates me the most during these journeys is not the never ending green (usually sugarcane or rice) fields, or the sight of 'simple' gaav ki kudiyaan, or the beautiful village sunsets (clear skies make the sun look like a large orange fireball which is usually faded by the ever-increasing layers of smog in the urbans), but the work.. and life of a conductor!

He wakes up at the most unearthly hours and sleeps at times when most of us are working or dining. Although one would find his job the most well defined but immensely monotonous, it actually isn't (no.. i'm not planning to take it up as alternate profession)

Dressed in the same clothes everyday (all govt jobs have pathetic dress codes), they travel through places most of us havent heard of. They meet a variety of people (probably the most) from all castes, age groups and lifestyles - everyday. For a salary they couldnt boast of, some of them have enough know-how of different streams of the different industries - something even your boss cant boast of!

Quite truly.. all that glitters is not gold, and so is its corollary.

Solitude..

2006-10-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

The hibernation is over
Each one heads out a different way
Moving, finding, venturing alien lands
A new story each day

College life has sung its swan song
Those lukkha days said its last good bye
But memories still linger behind
Of college canteen and anna's chai

Its hard to understand
Why distances grow with age
Success in each one's mind
What's in is change

This uncertainty engulfs me
The fact that we may never meet again
To leave me in my solitude
Making desperate attempts to dodge the rain

No Captions Attached..

2006-08-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

Posing for Peace!!

Slimy web..

Skillful lighting..

A new day awaits us..

Crystallo-graphic effects..

A Thin Line Between..

2006-08-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

Love and Hate
Brave and Foolhardy
Caring and Nagging
Adventurous and Crazy
Calculating and Cunning
Make and Break
Creation and Destruction
Success and Failure
Faith and Foolishness

Love and Lust
Brilliance and Excellence
Genius and Ingenious
Good and Great
Realism and Pessimism
High and Drunk
Known and Famous
Religion and Spirituality
Want and Desperation

and finally one of my favorites:
There's a thin line between being almost there and being there.

So many people give up on their dreams, not knowing how close they were to realizing it.

Keep the Faith.

Another Critic Against Government

2006-08-12T07:26:00.000-07:00

There's one thing that an Indian citizen knows well if not anything. That precisely would be cursing the Indian Government and its policies - either in practice or in the making. And rightly too.

Everyone here knows- or rather doesn't know what goes on behind the usually 'seen' handshakes and the 'fights' in the Parliament. Every policy made or to be made is so intricately formulated so as to protect the rights of the 'few' with whom rests the power. Common man is but a mere puppet in the hands of these political masterminds.

A generally seen phenomena about the price hikes (atleast for petrol) is hiking it up slightly higher than required.. then when there is mass rebellion against it, reduce it to a comfortable zone. Why..? If the prices are soaring everywhere, why subsidise? And to what extent. And where are the so called Five Year Plans. Is the committee that 'plans' not updated about the latest developments worldwide and recognise what sort of action needs to be taken so the Common Indian is protected?

The latest RTI Act - probably the most welcome and talked of Act in recent times, needs to be amended? Why? Obviously, since it gives away too much of power to the common man and leaves very little for 'filling the white pockets' with the Ministers. It was a fight against all odds to win the enactment of such an Act. And when it finally came, within months of being rightly used by the people, it needs amendment. There are a few seemingly righteous people like Anna Hazare and Arun Bhatia fighting for the people's Rights.

But there is another side to this.. every coin has two sides. The real reason why people still complain about mismanagement in the Government is simple- they just keep complaining. No one wants to come forward with a solution or a brave decision of not accepting or tolerating injustice. An everyday example of slipping a 100 buck note to the cop is an act of 'tolerance' - as I would put it. Small steps like not committiing a mistake in the first place and then not 'bribing' the next time your caught might help. Try being a little considerate for the 'poor' Government lacking funds required for the 'welfare' of the Indians.

Remember - One person cannot make all the difference. But when a large number joins in against corruption, maybe we could see a more well managed India. And maybe someday, the Common Man will have to power to fight righteously for himself. And maybe someday the policies will be made in the true sense of 'welfare of the people'. The list goes on and on..

Also - Only one failure for a recognised law (in science) can completely destroy its worth.
Only one spark is enough for a flame to ignite.
One weak pillar can shake the foundation of a palace.
Only one - YOU can make a difference to improve the society.
Social Injustice only exists until it is tolerated.

It might sound ridiculous (it did to me when I heard it first), but come to think of it, you really can make a difference. Try it.. Be brave.. But dont be stupid..! Cheers.

Bang-lure

2006-08-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

Bangalore a.k.a. the City of Gardens - well its not very different from back home -Pune.

Well the first thing you notice wen you enter a new 'city' is that you've been cheated by the rickshaw-wala or the taxi-wala.. "its a city thing.. you know what I mean?".. N yeah that was my first observation too, wen i paid a whooping 110 bucks for a lift from the Cant Stn to Indiranagar II (ppl who know this area wud tell you wy they're laughing their wits out).

The other striking observation came while I took a lonely walk down the 'Main's and the 'Crosses'. There were traffic cops out there at 9 p.m.! Thats one thing one wouldn't find in Pune.

I would be understating to call myself lucky being in a place like Indiranagar and not paying a penny for the stay and the food - the rent out here is sky-rocketing wit people shelling out 16.5K per month for a 3B apartment.

The only thing missing here is company - everyone's parted.. going their own ways for careers and higher studies. But thats a phase eveyone needs to pass least once - distance makes the heart grow fonder.. but seriously speaking, with all the tech advances, distance no longer means much to many- we have phones, internet wit messengers and things are jus getting better by the day.. we cud imagine a world as small as a village.

All said and done, Bangalore has treated me quite well for my first visit.. and there's so much more to see out here..

Too quite.. for too Long..

2006-05-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

its been quite a while since i last posted..

lemme c.. aah it sbeen ages hasnt it?.. but come 9th of June.. n there'll be an endless no. of posts on this..

Goooooo..GOA

2006-02-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

well.. this one's for the land that most of us worship.. the land of beautiful beaches, sizzling sunsets n low-ly (priced) liquor!
last summer (June 05) was the first time for me to Goa wit pals.. can call it the best time i had till then..

eight of us in a Volvo.. off in the eve at 6-ish.. we hit Amboli Ghat at li'l past midnight and the driver drove like there was no tumaro.. steep slope downwards.. no light.. road is turnin right sharply.. and this guy is on 50k Sumtime's wonder how we even made it to Goa..
well we had a blast at Goa,.. bikes on rent.. beaches all to ourselves (off-season),.. a cafe - 6 Pack to loaf aroung at and all the booze we can probably have for dirt-cheap prices.. wat more could v ask for..

4 days weren't enuf for us.. but pockets were runnin dry so we planned nother one this sem..
this time round it was a diff story.. stayed at a better place (Sterling).. had better food..
and most of all a pleasure to a man's eyes.. it was almost end of season time and Goa was filled wit all the skin we missed on our last trip!.. but well thats a different story

the place jus seems to get better every time u visit..

Well,.. said

2005-10-13T22:40:00.000-07:00

It's your choice how much you let something affect you, no matter how big or small it is.

Profs and Submissions..

2005-10-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

I cant find enough words in my vocab to describe the faculty at VIT, Chem Dept. forget describing them during submission time. Well, be it any branch, these a******s can't get enough (sadistic) pleasure making everyone run around as if their lives were at stake. SOBs all of them
Well this is the scene in our dept - a week ago, nobody had done more than 2 of 8 full-imperial drawings. somewhere in the mid-week, our self-assumed HOD comes and tells us that we'll be having our subs on Monday - so 4 days, 6 sheets - fine
whats more we've to present to our biatches our progress in our projects, fine -
whats better is we've to submit a full 15-20 page report on our elective seminar including transperancies -all on Monday??

say again - my vocab is too small - - -

God.. ?

2005-10-05T07:05:00.000-07:00

yeah.. yeah.. i know its been a really long time since my last post..
this time round though.. i have a kinda hot debate for ya'll

May the FORCE be with you..? (no this is nothin to do with Star Wars)
But in reality is there ANY Force?

The one question that keeps following me is that whether a supreme force, all-powering omni-present even exists.. or is just a fiction of our imaginaton blown outta proportion.. I know i'm soundin like an atheist, but truly speakin, I am..

My point of argument is that if there is God, why do they say, your destiny is in your hands?.. I mean who can believe stories like Lance Armstrong, having a cancer, coing back and then winning the longest cycle race in the world, not once, not twice..

And then there's a part where the Devil, Satan comes into picture. Anything wrong happens, blame it on him, anything good happens, praise the Lord???
Is it some kinda game where humans are meager toys in a fight between good and bad, God and Satan?
Ok, for a moment, even if we conclude that there is some superpower guiding each one of us, where does the question come of Praising him, counting His blessings and Thanking Him for 'em? If He is a superpower, and guiding each one of us, then there is absolutely no need to Praise Him, right?.. and since we dont have any means to see Him, or Feel Him, we start worshipping Idols??? How ill-logical and something so baseless??
And so he guides everyone, meaning good or bad..? will He guide you?.. Now they say, its Satan who guides the mis-deeds of humans..? Why? Or is it just that its a dual-identity playin games with us? What about the terrorists?. who guides them, they do it in the name of Religion, for crying out loud... what religion do they follow, do they praise the Devil, is that their religion?.. or is it just mis-interpretation of what is written in the Religious Books?

Coming to Religious Books, what do they tell you in the end, that all powers lie within you, dormant, oyu just have to wake them up.. good or bad, you have to decide.. plus whats good for one, may be ridiculous for someone else. then who guides these two individuals? Same Him, or one by Him and one by His other half?

I dont mean to hurt anyone's feeling here, neither do i want to shake anyone's faith, but i'd like to know - there must be something that pushes you to believe in Him, praise Him.. - what is it..? or is it just somethin your parents told you to do and the whole world does it, so even I will- kinda attitude?..

I know this is long one, but i need to get some inputs from everyone.. write in
please do visit www.doesgodexist.org for practical insights on GOD.

iNdiAn AuDieNCe

2005-09-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

'Sex sells'.. the saying cannot get more emphasised than in Bollywood movies. Bollywood- a place where movies like Aashiq Banaya Aapne's shows are increased (in a popular multiplex) and those for a patriotic movie Mangal Pandey are reduced.

Obviously, the multiplex looks at it as business. But it reflects on what the Indian audience demand. Mangal Pandey, in my view, told us the story of the sacrifices made by a single hero for ridding the country from the Raj. But movies like ABA, Barsaat, James, etc which arguably have no story make their mark at the box office? Why- one reason.. Audiences prefer to watch pretty girls dancing in skimpy dresses(wont be surprised if they'd disappear soon) than to watch something that narrates bravery. Not that Mangal Pandey failed to compromise to add in some sultry shots, all in the name of selling the movie.

When will the audience wake up and appreciate movies with a moral? Not anywhere b4 31st century I guess??

UNBELIEVABLE - ? U bet

2005-09-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

Just a really nice pic thats taken here.. in PUNE
and I'm telling u something u will never believe. you'll have to come down to my place to believe this..
its EVENING and the Eastern skies..
do u believe me.. no???
Obviously not.. neither did i.. that's why I clicked it.. come over and I'll prove it.. but I still have not found the answer as to HOW?

CAT..GRE..GMAT..GATE

2005-09-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

Yes you guessed it right(?).. the list goes on and on.. its never-ending
How many of us are giving more than one of these just to get into top colleges for a rat-race called Career?

And how few of us know what we really want from a career - money, passion, knowledge.. or all?
I seriously think that with the amount of time, money and efforts wasted on preparing and appearing for these exams, it would take hardly any to first think about the road that follows and why would you like to take it.

So many people just let go or may i say.. postpone their dream, passion, likings just to stick to these so-called career shaping exams.
Not that i have anything against them or against people appearing for multiple exams.. but i have learnt through one big experience.. i'm sure u have too - ENGINEERING
So many students take their post 12th course as Engg just because they dont see anything else ahead.. Everyone's doing it.. why not sail with them?
No aim.. Dont know what Engineering is.. dont know where it takes you..
aah but so what.. they are doing it.. i certainly can.. but to get successful or satifactory rewards for your efforts one needs to see what he/she can do that other's cant..
I may sound a little to philosophical here . but ain't i right?

A DoWnFaL Hath CoMe?

2005-09-13T13:13:00.000-07:00

Is it destiny,luck,or fate?
For the giants' greatness to abate..
or just a bad phase?
All driven into a haze..?

But for the creme-de-la-creme to fall all at once is not just co-incidence.. Does it make one believe that stars do decide one's destiny? Or can we say that the year was just a bad one for the topmost sports fraternity?
Although this co-incidence doesn't seem to affect Mr Rapido (All take bow). He just seems tireless.. never ending stamina and pin-point accuracy.

Back to all those who it applies to - Schumi with Ferrari, Man U, Tiger Woods, and how can i forget Australia..?

I feel its just a break- and they all will be back with a new level of greatness.. wat say?

This guy IS GOD

2005-09-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

Go RAPIDO..

Never was so interested in Tennis.. till i saw this guy.. As of now i rate him best even ahead of Pete Sampras coz he's got a lot of tennis to play..

Sad for Agassi too.. but hey he's got somethin(one) Federer doesn't.. any guesses??

Blogged!

2005-09-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

Yello all you bloggers.. post all your comments, complaints now that you have a chance..