Fun with Spellings

The Hope

2009-01-19T23:06:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow, Barack Hussein Obama. the guy no one knew four years back will be the 44th President of USA. For some he is a savior, for some the ultimate ray of hope, some feel he will bring the change they always wished! Personally I don’t know how he becoming the President changes my life or anyone I know!!

Anyways on late night Saturday, I was having a similar discussion with my friends and our discussion moved towards two points. A) Would US have voted for a Black president in the Eighties; in other words has average Joe’s perspective against Black changed in the last 20 years and B) Will educated American look at Black’s in a different perspective.

As usual, there was a healthy discussion with all the quotations from CNN. MSNBC and FOX and most of us believed nothing has change or will change.
At this point “the intellect” who is always a healthy participant in discussion, but has moderate views, and never gets exited to a point where words start coming out faster than normal conversation gave an exciting speech which turned the tables.
His view- passionate,
His choice of words- articulate
His belief - truthful
In a way his argument had the same effect what Obama’s speech in 2004 had on Americans. No one could oppose it!!

I will not divulge in his views on question (A) but will jump to the second question… “Will Obama change the way people look at Black's ?"
He believed that Americans will give Black’s a chance because of Obama. The reasoning was, we generally don’t know about other culture(s) and have a pre-conceived thought about them. However if we come in contact with someone belonging to the other culture our pre-conceived thoughts are broken and we see the whole community in a different perspective. For example today as an Indian, We know very little about Mexicans. What we have pre-conceived is that the community is a cheap labor force in USA and most of them are illegal immigrants! (How much of that is true we don’t know) Now let's say tomorrow we have kids, and they go to school, and have Mexican friends, who visit our house, then we will learn something about them and not see them only as a three bucks an hour labor force.
Using this example he explained that most Americans will give blacks a second chance. Learning about their president they will learn something about the other community and will break their pre-conceived ideas.
I know, my writing does not do justice to his argument, but if you had listened to this guy you would agree with me that there was no opposition.
It was a speech, which for a blink made me believe “Change has arrived” and maybe tomorrow with Obama taking the oath somehow my life will also be affected!

God Bless America!

-Purvin

Waiting

2008-03-02T13:53:00.000-05:00

Horizon across the wild sea,
I imagine you waiting for me.
The sun streaks in the sky,
Reminds me of our good times.

Distance between us kills me,
I wish, You were with me.
Time tests every love,
We are bound to be one!

Staring at the horizon I think of you,
Close my eyes and picture you.
This sunset makes me smile
We are one day closer sitting side-by-side.

-Purvin

Walls

2007-10-29T15:51:00.000-04:00

Year ago I landed in you,
With uncertain future to pursue,
Never did I dream you will be my closest,
Today as I write, I say, you were the best I had.

Several memories are attached with you,
I shared my best and worst with you.
From engagements to break-ups you have heard all,
For me you were always more than 4 walls.

With time you grew on me,
So it’s tough to leave you finally.
But as always good things come to an end,
Hence, I shall move ahead.

The future’s bright where everything I own,
But trust-me, I will remember you lifelong.

~Purvin

Bring it to me!

2007-04-14T11:49:00.000-04:00

Bring it to me,
I wanna see,
What’s left in me!

Bring it to me,
Drown me deep down!
Where rising be the only path!

Bring it to me,
Drag me into darkness,
Where the light of hope is the only road!

Bring it to me,
Run tears down the cheeks,
Where smiles of time will fade away the salty liquids!

Bring it to me,
Break my heart!
But hey, there’s no way you break my soul!

So, bring it to me,
Bring it to me,
And I shall see
What’s left in me!

~Purvin

White Fumes

2007-03-29T16:43:00.000-04:00

He was 19, young and restless,
Girls were crazy, he needed them to impress.
Out he went, bought his first pack,
Life was great, smoking cigarettes!

Time passed by and confidence grew,
He believed, smoking would never affect his roots.
Slow and steady he worked his way up,
He doesn’t remember when he became a chain smoker!

Now it’s a decade old habit and he feels he is correct,
While smoking he does not regret!

Then one fine day he met a pro,
20 years smoker had let it go!
That man ignited a spark in his mind,
He decided to change his lifestyle.

News of him quitting spread like wildfire,
He was left with no option but to follow his word.
Family supported, girlfriend stood by him,
His determination paid off, he quit smoking!

Now it’s a decade of non-smoking life,
He is healthy than ever,
And runs marathon in record time!

One fine day he saw a kid,
Trying to buy cigarettes to get a kick.
Looking at the kid reminded him of himself,
Without wasting time, he explained the kid what was ahead.

That fine day he felt great,
He saved one more life for the evil of cigarettes!!

~Purvin

Budget-2007

2007-02-28T11:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, India’s honorable finance minister P. Chidambaram (I suppose he has earned this respect) presented the fourth budget of the first Congress led collusion government. I am neither an economist nor have any formal background in finance, my sole link to Indian economy is that I am a regular reader of economic times (www.economictimes.com). So while the experts evaluate the budget, I will take my pick on it.

To start with, I feel there is nothing out of the box in this budget. No big eye-catching changes, no new policies, neither are there any great disappointment. However when our country is growing at 9.2% GDP, everyone did expect some path-breaking changes. Personally, I would have liked some inputs or change in policies related to Infrastructure development (unfortunately nothing of that sort can be seen). Money is pumped into education and healthcare, however I do feel money for education is never managed efficiently. Yes, comparing Indian healthcare system with the rest of the world, this was badly needed money. The major talk in pre-budget analysis was on the 6.77% inflation on Feb3rd, 2007 and some analysis shows that the way Indian inflation is calculated its not entirely correct and the real number is somewhere around 9%( I read this in The Economist magazine, though did not understand the details of it). I did not see any changes made in the budget, which would say the inflation, will be tackled via this or that policy.

On personal front the increase of 10,000/- in the IT-exemption limit is a good figure. It’s a rise of 10% in exemption from the previous 1,000,00 exemption limit. Thus the raise in exemption higher than the inflation rate is a good feature. IT-exemption limit of 1,45,000/- for women and 50,000/- for HUF if not great but definitely a good figure. From my last trip to India, I found out that service tax of almost 12% on all goods is a big deal and speculations were for raising the bar, however FM left the 12% untouched so its good for “aam aadmi”.

As I am talking of Budget would like to present my views on the railway budget. The Business School Poster-boy, “Shri. Lallu Prasad Yadad”, has done exceptionally well. I believe, the profits over 20,000 CR Rs in last fiscal year and a growth of over 15% is truly one of the biggest turn-around stories for almost bankrupt Railways. I feel the 4% cut in AC trains fares and 1Re cut in unreserved compartments fares will go well for Lallu’s political career. Also the dispersion of ticket counter with introduction of e-tickets, TC’s having handheld device and converting all super-fast train Wi-fi will help in improving railways image. Once again, with my limited knowledge on this subject I did like the approach taken by railways, and I wish the year 2007 as declared “The year of cleanliness” by Railways brings about some drastic change in its overall look.

To sum up my views Lalu did good but for Chidambaram I feel it’s a so-so budget where the FM did nothing, but let the things run the way they are. So it’s more like a low risk approach. Is it good or bad? We will find it out next year!

Perfect World

2007-02-09T18:24:00.000-05:00

I like you, you like me,

I adjust you, You adjust me.

I comfy you , You comfy me

In a perfect world, everyone's Happy.

Friend's are friends, relatives are family,

No one cry's and everyone's merry.

Thoughts never clash, voices never raised,

In a perfect world, Harmony prevails.

Satisfaction is sort; you are on top of world.

People believe, in what you believe.

Praises are heard with no jealousy.

In a perfect world, you have a King's identity.

That's a world everyone longs for,

All your life you work for one.

But let's not forget

The perfect world Is a Fantacy!

My dear friend- Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T10:08:00.000-05:00

The valley of darkness midist happy mountains,
Smiling faces overshadowing the sorrows,
Tears don't show, yet heart cries,
Why are you sad in holiday times?

No one's perfect neither are you,
A friend, philosopher, soul mate, who saddens you?
I wish the new year brings back your smile
What's the fun of joyful days without the experience of gloomy nights!

I pray the clouds of darkness pass by
Leading you in a different life
Life where you trust thee men,
The world full of roses with no thorns on them.

Truth prevails!

2006-09-26T21:06:00.000-04:00

Writers rock, with words on blogs.
Believe it or not, it's their internal thoughts!

How much you try, you can't publish crap!
The stories are fake, but they reflect your internal fear.

Try to be a joker, and not one in the article,
Someone somewhere knows the central character is the writer.

No one likes to reveal his identity,
Yet falls in the pits of exposing his individuality.

I end over here with just one line,

These are not my thoughts but from a friend of mine !!!

An evening in Paris!!

2006-09-14T18:56:00.000-04:00

My trip to paris was a last minute decision on my business trip to Germany.
Soon after arriving at Colgone Airport (Germay) I took a sub-way to the central train station. I had around 3 hrs at the station, hence decided to have some food.

Language for food!

The Koln train station had a pretty decent food court. But the problem was language. Everything was in German. After looking around all the restaurants I decided to use my sign-language. I found a spinach strombolli at one of the restaurants, but it was sitting between lot of meat stuff. So I asked the guy out there
Me: English?
SK: Neigh ( No)
I said shit.. it is going to be difficult... I pointed my finger to the stuff I wanted and said
“Vegetarian”
The guy said something which I did not understand.. so tried my luck at another place…
Finally at one of the restaurants there was a girl who was ready to speak in English…
And I found a piece of bread ( one used for hot-dogs) with tomatos and big pieces of mozzereala cheese. .. Looked wired but was ready to experiment! The cheese was some different kind of cheese but somehow I managed to finish the stuff.

Trip on Thayles

Seeking advice from my roomi.. I had booked tickets on a super-fast train. The Thalys ( Can call it a sister train of the much popular TGV)
This was by far the best public transport I have ever traveled in. Trust me . .. it was far too comfortable from an airplane and not at-all expensive.

Gard De Nord-Paris

Finally my train reached Paris…. And my cousin (Dolly ) was waiting for me!!! Good she was there.. as I had no guts to travel alone in this city…

Paris view from Sacre-coeur

Sacre-coeur is a famous church in Paris which is located on heights. You could get an wide angle view of Paris from this church. It was a blessed sight and surely one of the important sight-seeing spots in Paris. The monument itself looks majestic…. Its one of the places where you can go an sit for hours and watch the sun-set and enjoy the blissful sight. Unfortunately I only had a little bit more time on hand than Robert Langdon of “Da Vinci” and so did not wait longer at this place. But before leaving “Satyam” ( Dolly’s fiancée) took me to almost back of the monument and showed me the first glimpse of Effile Tower!

Begatte on Subway.

The only mode of transportation I used in Paris was Subway. People in France eat a peculiar kind of bread. It’s called "Begatte". It's almost like a two feet long sub bread. The important point is they buy one begatte daily!.. And in the eveing you would see almost everyone walking home with one begatte under their arm-pits!! I also decided to taste this French bread. On my way to Effile tower from Sacre-coeure I had a begatte!!

Wonder of the World.

Effil tower! Of the seven wonders of the world, and the third one I was visiting. The tower is big, magnums and definitely beautiful. It stands in the center of Paris city on the banks of river Seine and kisses the sky!! The curve on the tower is simply amazing…
The visitor’s line was not too big. So I climbed to the highest point of the tower. It was a clear night and the city looked awesome from the top. But will add one more note.. I have been up so many towers that now it does not excite me any more.. From next time onwards I am going to click photographers of the tower but will refrain from climbing it, except if Leaning tower of Pizza is opened to climb again!!!

Crapes at Effil

Climbing down from Effil we were hungry, so decided to eat. There was a road stall which sold "Crapes" another French cuisine. Crapes is like a dosa/pancake with filling of chocolate or cheese. And its served after folding it to a quarter of a circle. I really loved it.

Ride on Seine

By now all three of us ( Dolly, Satyam and myself) were dead tired and had planned to return back. But as we were sitting on the banks of river Seine and enjoying Crapes. Satyam asked if I was interested in the cruise ride.. which we eventually did.

The cruise was a 1 hr long boat ride and it went past some of the important monuments of paris.
I certainly don’t remember all the monuments but it did go past the Lover, Concord, Norte Dame, The university area, The bridge of love ( don’t remember its name) The famous paris ancient hotel and many other places. This was an excellent time to see Paris night life… I saw group of students and friends sitting on the embankment on sides of the river and partying around in open-air. At one point there was an open gathering where people came and tried to perform tango. It was not a paid place. But a casual gathering for people who loved tango. My cousin told me that the place is pretty famous in Paris!!
I should say the decision to go on the cruise ride was really good. As it was the best part of the trip!.

Gardens of Versellis.

Day two we got up late .. and after some Indian snacks. Headed out to the Versailles Palace. While we were in Subway.. Satyam had an idea, so we droped out at the Opera station. Don’t have much knowledge about the western music.. but the place did look like a big theater. And there were names of four famous guys out there. Out of the four, I could only identify Mozart!! Right in front of Opera there was shooting going on for the next Miss France. 10 beautiful girls were posing… and boy they looked hot!!!!
Got back on subway and reached the palace.

The palace from distance looked like an ok monument.. but like any good architecheral work the monument grew up with getting near to it…. I was not interested in knowing where the king ate and where he slept. So we skipped the inner tour of the palace. ( BTW this is the same palace where Lakshmi Mittal’s daughter’s wedding took place). So I went to the Garden’s of Versailles. Its in the back of the palace.. and they are the reason for the palace to be so famous!!!
There was some French Opera kind of music going on in the garders and it had beautiful fountains. As you stand beneath the palace and look at the gardens it looks like a never ending garden. There are hundreds of sculptures and each one was way to different.

Arc de triomphe

The saying goes “ All roads lead to rome” If you look at the arial view of this monument you will feel that all roads lead to arc de triomphe. It has 13 roads meeting at this intersection.

We got down from the sub-way at the parliament house. Here I saw the original ancient French road (the black brick roads) and we started walking towards Arc.
Just near to the monument there’s the most famous Paris shopping street. The Montaigne
.. or something I forgot the name. My cousin updated me as it’s the fashion street of the world. Any new fashion related stuff first appears on this street in the world. It had shops by some of the biggest name in the world of fashion. Also there was the worlds largest perfume shop named Saagoda! It was like a scented heaven in there. Anywasy things were why too expensive. for a louzee shopper like me!!

Road side table dinner.

Had walked and traveled enough for the day . It was almost 6:30 and we were hungry. So on this fasion street. There were some restaurants with tables on the road. Entered one of those and had a quick bite! And there we enjoyed the rest of the evening chit-chatting for almost 3 hrs….Returned back to the apartment and were ready to sleep.

Good-Bye Paris…

I should say it was a wonderful trip to Paris.. I never expected to visit so-many places. It was fun to see my cousin over there and catch-up with her on old times… I did not understand French more than two words but it felt a very sweet language to listen to. And also the babes out there were stunning… People do dress well in Paris not like Americans where Shorts super-seeds any other outfit!!!!

Finally I should .say.. it was just one day trip ..and I do regret not trying the french wine...but probably the best trip of 2006!!

Change is Permanent!

2006-08-01T18:32:00.000-04:00

Season's come and go,
Loose old contacts, find new to flow.

Present feels like an end,
Unknow future makes you sad.

Time and again future defies you,
Past was glorious but present's beautiful.

Don't stop at the turn of life,
Take the plunge and enjoy the ride!

Emotions are not the way of life,
They make you sad but fade off with time.

Good and bad always take turn,
One can't be discovered without experiencing another.

So be cheerful in your present,
Remember that Change is permanent!

Angels & Demons

2006-07-12T14:19:00.000-04:00

Angels and Demons, we are none,
The deeds we do, makes us one.

Project yourself as one,
People interpret you another.
The only satisfaction you have,
You were true to yourself.

Satisfaction can be gained from both,
Guilt is there if you were forced.
Manipulation of thoughts makes you sad,
That’s the way to satisfy the emptiness of unexpectedness!

No one knows the perfect path,
Choose as you feel, considering it’s the correct road.
If you fail in time,
Don’t be shy to move back and make a right.

With time one will understand,
The path is good for you but unfavorable for rest.
So look out for your own Angle,
Quite possible it could be others Demon!

What happens in Vegas, Stay's in Vegas!

2006-07-06T17:50:00.000-04:00

Neither do I have a writer's block nor am I feeling lazy to write. As a matter of fact at present I have three full pages of material to post here!! but will remain true to the subject line :)

It was an unique trip. As far as my experiences from the trip, shall let you guys/girls imagine as you wish!!!

~Purvin

Perfect Party

2006-06-28T16:06:00.000-04:00

Go to a party
Catch a girl,
Sit in a corner
With a glass of rum.

Talk on life
Discuss having fun,
Wave to friends
Dancing on floor.

Keep an eye
On your girl,
Smile to people
Don't reveil the sorrow.

Flash lights annoy you
But show you love.
When party ends
Drop your girl!

Catch your buddies
Have party post-mortem!
Giggle remembering her jokes
Blush when teased in turn!

That's what is a perfect party
Wish I had one!

VVN Dairy

2006-06-17T11:03:00.000-04:00

4 Strangers came close,
Their friendship was like a tight threaded rope.
Never before had they such good friends,
This friendship goes beyond the Vidhyanagar fence.

One was bubbly other an artist,
They both were roomies but stayed like a family.
Other side had a combination of cool and mature,
They both biked around untill dawn!

Summer afternoons were mostly at C-Cube,
with evenings followed by a Satyanarayan’s scoop.
Daily meeting at Kashyap’s gate,
This was a routine which they could not escape.

Bike, Kinetic and Scooty parked
Memorial visits have left its mark.
Together they rocked on the streets of town,
Drive to Baroda was the best they had done.

Others came and passed by,
They four seldom fight!
College fest was always a treat,
They painted and rocked the show, no matter what was the theme.

Time passed and 3 had sweethearts,
One was left to listen to their stories of heart!
Never did they leave him alone,
The evening meetings were sparse but sensible then before.

Today they are in different parts of the world,
Seldom do they chat but often recall.
I wish they could meet again,
The Kashyap gate’s the place, which no one shall forget!

Soul

2006-05-31T21:57:00.000-04:00

Am I a loner in the world of sentiment!
Why don’t I cry when in pain?

Do I stop aiming at future, and cherish the moments,
Will that help me grow or pull me back in caves?

Have I forgotten to react? And mastered the art of act!
Why am I not impressed by nature or the falling droplet?

Do I care for care and help in time,
That’s a question I thy not defy.

But whatever shall be the case,
I am happy as a bird, flying in open space!

Fling

2006-05-29T12:55:00.000-04:00

She's 35 and frustrated for a night,
He's 19 and naive for party time.
Her captive eyes could stalk any guy
But she decided to wait for her time.

Her cross-legged posture next to the bar
Caught his attention 20 feet far.
Lack of confidence, yet desire to rock,
He hit on her with martini on rock.

Graciously she accepts the first drink of the night,
What followed was a big surprise.
Music started and so did martini's effect
Two puffs of dope they were on the floor entangled and desperate!

Loudspeaker wall and bass beats effect
He felt her body from front and back.

Night was long and it was time for goodbye
He offered her a lift, which she could not deny
Summer was hot and they were high
He took her on a scenic motorbike ride

Stopping at her door
She asked him to come home.
He was all excited
Yet did not know what to do?

Slowly she kissed him and led him inside
Shutting the door, he slipped her dress above her thigh.
Then followed vigorous kissing and final jump in bed
Undoing her bra he realized that this was not what he anticipated.

Pulling off, he did his zip
He said sorry looking at a picture of her two kids
Never ever did he returned back to disc
That night was sensuous but he was happy, as a family didn't separate!

Adolescence

2006-05-25T21:58:00.000-04:00

She was 15, He was 9,
She came daily for bread, biscuit and wine.
Never before he felt attracted towards girls,
Looking at her he realized females have a different form.

Short skirts revealed her legs,
His hands trembled filling up bag of eggs.
Now his eyes kept gazing at her breast,
Her loose bra straps made him sweat.

This went on as years passed by,
Suddenly she started coming with a guy.
His childhood fantasy was shattered by reality,
He stopped talking to her sweetly!

She was ignorant of his love,
Confused by his behavior she stopped visiting the store.
Time ran by and he became mature,
Adolescence is an age when everyone falls in love.

But his love for her was divine,
I bet he shall never forget her in this life!

Ek pal

2006-05-11T21:54:00.000-04:00

Dhalte Suraj aur Chand ka milap,
Paathar se takrati pavan ki aawaaz.
Durr kahi chehel-pehel aur nazdeek ka sannaataa,
Gagan me panchi ka pharpharaana.

Hari subjilon pe geela paseena,
Man mohit karta zheel ka leharaana.
Durr aasmaan me uthta choolhe ka dhuaa,
Ped par gilhario ka lukka-chuppi khelna.

Beithe idhar lekar din ki thakaan,
Yeh nazaara lautaata hai meri Muskaan!

P.S- Spellings edited by Sal

Safety First!!

2006-05-04T19:05:00.000-04:00

In Gujarat, the month of January has two special events for kids, one is the scary second-mid term exams in school and other is Uttrayan. A fine balance needs to be made to have maximum enjoyment and healthy studies for mid-terms. My mom used to give me permission for daily 2 hours from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM for kite flying. To utilize maximum of my fun time, I used to get ready with my kites, thread and other required accessories before time.

One fine day at 4:30, sitting in living room, I was doing my home-work and was all geared up to rush out at 5:00. Some neighboring house-wives had gathered at my place for there evening gossip. One of them was a 25 something newly married lady. As she entered, she saw me and was shocked!! Ignoring other females sitting on other side of the room she asked me angrily,

What is that? What are you wearing on your finger?

I was all geared up for flying kits and had worn a finger protector so that I don’t get cuts on my finger from sharp threads. This protector is a long tubular hollow structure with one closed end, made out of rubber (latex) generally orange colored. Yup guys it looks like a condom!! And the aunt who was not from Gujarat thought I was wearing a condom on my finger! (I can't imagine what must be going on in her mind while she asked me this wired question!)

I was a kid and did not know that similar to my finger protector there exists another product named condom which also functions for protection however for a different sport! At that point one of the other aunt's intervened and explains the function of finger protector and calmed this 25 something sexy lady. All of them smiled mysteriously at each other.

At that point I could not understand the reason behind those smiles, but today whenever I thing of the incident it brings a mysterious smile on my face!

Gujjubhai!

2006-04-27T21:20:00.000-04:00

(P.S. Read all the name in the desi gujju accent. Like Shah should be read as Sa. )

Jignesh Talati, born in Bhavnagar on 7th June 1981, was Kokilaben and Mahendrabhai’s only son. Soon after his birth, they moved to Amdavad and most of Jignesh's toddler age passed in the old-city of Amdavad (pol/chali). With god's grace Mahendrabhai's bussiness was doing good, so they bought a 2 bedroom-hall-kitchen flat in Vastrapur area (developing subsurb of Amdavad). Buying this flat and later on a Maruti 800CC car, the family considered themselves to have well-settled.

Prior to marriage , after attempting three trials, Mahendrabhai had completed B. Com from Jasudbai Maanhardas Chudasma College , and Kokilaben was 12th fail but if someone asked her she used to bluff about clearing B.A, hence both were uneducated considering modern educational standards.

As Jigesh's (Jigu) parents were not educated they thought of fulfilling their own dreams by giving their son the best education. So Jignesh was send to P.K.Desai English medium school in Vastrapur. Initially Kokilaben used to supervise Jigu's daily homework, but when he reached 4th Standard, Kokilaben was unable to help him. So she decided to have a tution teacher for Jiju. Kokilaben’s logic behind having a tuition teacher was that, daily teacher shall help Jigu with his homework and make him smart and intelligent, and thus Jigu will get 1st Rank in class like Mahendrabhai's elder brother's son Rajesh!!! So talking to some neighbor’s, she found a nice middle aged Tamil sir. Everyday after school, dot at 5 PM when all the kid's from the nearby society used to gather to play cricket in front of their flat, Jignesh used to do his homework with the half-bald, big mustache, dark complexion, big bellied Tamil sir. This guy used to come daily to their house on a kinetic-luna and carried a cotton bag (thelo) on his shoulders for his personal stuff. Even in the middle of burning summer, this guy would not leave a drop of hot tea prepared fresh by kokilaben, and by the time Jigu finished his homework, Sir would have finished full plate of gujju snacks. However to no one's surprise Jignesh never got 1st Rank in exams, but yes, he was considered an average student in his class and that was satisfactory for Kokilaben.

Time passed by and tuition teacher's kept on changing, now Jignesh was growing big and as he was exposed to the modern society, he sometimes felt embraced for his parents rustic habits. But he respected them a lot and never expressed his feelings in front of them. Also to respect their views he used to daily go to Derasar (Temple) and on Sundays did a full puja in traditional temple clothes. I could say Jignesh was a pleasant boy and with his average achievements, he made his parents proud.

Jigu reached Xth Standard (Board). It was decided, that for one full year all Jignesh had to do was to study. This was considered the single most important year in his life. Kokilaben got rid of the cable TV and gave sacrifice of her favorite TV program " Karna hai Bahu se Pyaar" so that Jigu is not distracted from studies. Daily Mahendrabhai used to get up at 5:00 AM and wake-up Jigu for his morning studies. This went on for one year and everyone from there near and dear one's, to Mahendrabhai's customer knew that Jigu was in tenth standard, and studying hard. A week before the exam the family visited the exam center and measured the height of the table. For the last one week Jigu gave practice exams on a table of similar height to get his hand adjusted to the height. The day before Jigu's final exam hundred's of people called to wish him "Best Luck". Even if they never cleared any exam with good grades, they gave him all the advice he could get. Seriously you can consider that never before had Mahandrabhai's phone rang as much as it did that day!! During the exam daily Mahendarbhai and Kokilaben used to go to drop Jigu to his Board exam center. For 3 hours Kokilaben used to sit outside the school, to give Jigu moral support, who was writing an exam like other one million students!! Finally everyone’s wishes paid off and Jigu passed with overall 72% and got 100/100 in maths. On this achievement ( which was very mediocre!! ) Mahandrabhai distributed sweets among his friends and family and proudly told his illiterate business friends

" La apdo Jigu, ganith ma aval number lavyo "

But this excitement did not last long as Jigu decided to opt for science stream. (Or rather he was forced by his family to go for science stream and become a doctor!!)

Right from 11th standard the study pressure was back for 12th. Kokilaben's new mantra was

" Dikra, ek ej varash mahant kar le, pacche to aaram ej aaram che!! Jo saru banish to daktar banish, nahi to emni ( means mahandrabhai) gaadi per besvu padse!!!"

Jigu left no stones unturned With his new companion "specks" he used to study day and night. So much was the pressure of studies that once or twice Kokilaben had to give him sleeping pills so that he could rest. But Jignesh had exam fear and no one could help him with it.
Again the day prior to his 12th Exam the phone did not stop ringing for best wishes. But this time Jigu was under stress so instead of attending the phones personally, Kokilaben would answer the phone and take people's wishes. Exams went by and Jigu felt as if he had accomplished the impossible in the world. Next day after exam he really did not know what to do with his time. Cable TV was back and Kokilaben was relived to watch her favorite programs and gossip about the future storyline in afternoon with neighboring ladies.

The summer of 99 was Jignesh's best time. As the results were not yet out, he was enjoying the moment of his life. The guy who never slept past 5:30 in the morning for the past three year started to sleep until 11 AM. After getting up he used to watch TV for 2 hours and then had a whole-sum meal of ras-rotli. In evenings, he used to play cricket and later on hang out on streets with his friends until late night. Truly Jignesh's lifestyle had changed. During this summer vacation he also visited his maternal uncle in Bhavnagar. Jignesh considered himself to be above the rest of his rusty Bhavnagri cousins. But he did like the way they talk and used to check out the local girls with them on luna. He used to laugh at his cousins who did not speak proper english and would try to impress girls by speaking half-english half-gujarati sentence like
"Madam, your tire is puncher (meaning the tire of her vehicle is puncher not her!!),
Can I maddad you"

Soon after his Bhavnagar visit 12th results came out. The results were up on internet and Jignesh had secured only 68%. Jignesh had passed with a first class!! But the marks were not good to get admission in a medical school. That day at 301 Shantivan ( their flat) the mood of the house was worse than the day Jignesh's grandfather had died!!

Some called to inquire for the result and did not know how to react. Jignesh had passed but he was not a hero... Mahandrabhai cried in front of his son as if the world had come to an end, and watching his father cry, Jignesh also started to cry. Kokilaben never required a reason to cry so she also joined the rest of the family.. It was a pitiful yet hilarious sight to watch. Finally the next door neighbor Aparnaben had to come and keep them quite.

But as life goes on everyone was back to normal in a couple of days and it was decided that Jignesh shall be an engineer! On the day of admission, Jignesh got admit to chemical engineering branch payment seat in Karamchandas Bheekabahi Patel College of Engineering and Technology at Unjha. The family was happy as Jignesh shall be a first class engineer in 4 years. However the college was inaugurated a couple of days back, and its campus or college building shall not be built in the next 5 years, hence Jignesh shall not be studying in the college building but in a make-shift small primary school building near-by the proposed college. But Jignesh was happy as he would be an engineer. As admission was done, Mahandrabhai started to call his friends and boast about Jigu over cellphone and Kokilaben created a scene outside the admission hall by crying loudly as Jignesh shall have to go and live in a hostel on his own. Actually Unjha was only 1 hr from Ahmedabad so Jigu would come home every weekend but who would explain this logic to Kokilaben!

Here Jiju’s school carrier comes to an end. Coming from a background where no one even uttered a word of English, Jigu had come a long way. Unfortunately he could not become a “daktar” and earn millions, but his family choose a field for him which was considered a gate way to U.S of A.
Stay tuned for Jignesh’s love life in college and his road to USA!!!!

Reservations

2006-04-22T13:54:00.000-04:00

Dr. Manmohan Singh is by far the most educated prime-minister India has seen. Browsing through his CV, I think, globally no other country’s primer will have educational background as good as Dr. Singh. In the past 2 years as PM, he has made our country proud. Probably he truly made “India shining” and redefined brand “India”. I am not sure if the credit for India’s economic prosperity should be give to the government or not, but as a prime minister he can always claim for the credit!

On policy fronts, I really appreciate his capabilities to project India as a mature and responsible nation. His approach to project India as a helping and elderly brother nation during Tsunami had a big impact, in the way international community looked at India. During those times India’s help to Sri-lanka and Maldives did not go un-noticed, also the decision of not accepting monetary-aid had strengthened India’s rising position in global-economy.

Again his ministerial capabilities surfaced when he pursued the might superpower Americans to think of changing their own legislation, so that India could get civilian nuclear energy. I am not sure if the nuclear deal with USA shall be sealed or not, but the hype around the deal has definitely worked as free publicity for India’s strengths and capabilities. I believe triggering the nuclear-deal with USA is this government’s biggest achievement.

In past two years Dr. Singh has very maturely acted as a prime minister. Even without clear majority in the parliament, he tactfully handled economic growth issues, sideling the annoying communist-left. To tell the truth, I am a pro-BJP person, but looking at government’s past two years performance had definitely changed my views on Congress and I started to like them. However recently, Dr. Singh’s comments for pushing reservations in Private Indian Inc. were absurd, and totally off-track from economic progress.

How could someone as learned as Dr. Singh profess about jobs given not on merit bases but on cast and economic conditions? I can understand its once again regional elections time, yet the statement is too big for consideration as just another election promise. It more or less defines the ideology Congress wants to adopt for securing there minority and illiterate vote bank.

It’s been more than 50 years we attained our Independence and I am depressed to learn that even educated ministers profess for reservations. I am not against up-bringing of the so called socially and economically backward class, but history’s a proof that favourism has never reaped any developing results. On the contrary it had negative impacts on development.

I believe if there needs to be reservation; it should only be at the kinder garden school, where at the first step of up-bringing, the kids are given an equal opportunity baseless of their family background. From there onwards it should be a merit based selection of candidates. If money is an issue, then government should come up with 0% interest loans for child care and education. There are many other ways of bring up a deprived community, but definitely the reservation of jobs in private sector is by far the most absurd policy any government can think off!

India is considered a major player in building the 21st Century, and whom does our government want to lead in this roll? The truly worthy people, or the under-performers who have secured highly responsible jobs, just because they were born in an environment with fewer facilities? It’s a question the government should ask themselves. What’s more important to them, some votes, or the future of the country and partly of the world?

Freedom of Speech

2006-04-19T21:04:00.000-04:00

Scene:
Somewhere in North-east USA, around lunch time, three desi guys are sitting under an umbrella table outside a cafe. After four months of snow and winter finally Sun had shine and it's about 75 degrees Fahrenheitt. Lets call these three guys Siddharth (Sid), Anuj and Vivek (Vicky).

Sid: Yaar, tum done ke peeche teen phatake aa rahi hai.. Maa kasam who beechwali chapti to kamal hai!!! Yaar garmiyo me yeh goriya kya dikti hai! Lagtha hai kapde pahana bhool jati hai! hehehe..

(Anuj turning around to throw an empty soda bottle in dustbin and checking out the girls)

Anuj: Hai, abe chamdi to dekh....makhan hai makhan! Pata nahi muje kab milengi aise ladki.

The girls passed-by their table and Vicky checked them out from back...

Vicky: Loudly "Bhe*****" (No one in the surrounding area reacted to this hindi slang.) Kya figure hai!! Oye kudiye, jara hamari taraf to dhek....kasam se teri raate na savar du to mere naam Vicky nahi!!!!

The chicks had no clue about the guys checking them and passing comments on them, so they kept walking. And these guys laughed their hearts out.

Guys that's a perfect example of "Freedom of Speech" Knowing a native foreign language in US is by far the biggest asset. It gives the power to express, private stuff in public, without catching anyone's attention.

I sometimes feel what's in USA and should go back to India. But guys now it's really difficult to leave this wonderful gift back in USA and go home. On a down side when surrounded by Indian community it sometimes gets frustrating to control oneself from expressing the emotions in public!!

On other hand, people who do not understand our language are irritated, and what else can they do, they know no head or tail of what we are talking?

I was once at the receiving end of 'Freedom of speech'.

On a boring Sunday evening, my roommate and I went out for Chinese dinner. It's a well known fact that the lady at the Chinese restaurant takes order in English and then passes it to the open kitchen behind her in Chinese!
Unfortunately that day we two were the only customer in the restaurant and it seemed the chapti (Chinese lady) did not care much about us as her customer. The lady was pissed on the guy working in kitchen (probably her husband). So they started arguing in Chinese at top of their voices. My roommate and me did not understand a word of their conversation and they kept torching us with their language until we were done with our meal. It was so annoying that at one point we felt like leaving the restaurant without paying!!!

Thus expressing in native language in public could be fun for one but definitely annoying for the other. Having said that, does it mean we should leave our freedom of expression and talk in English in public? Or should we ignore what others feel and enjoy our freedom?

Nine point someone

2006-04-16T15:29:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I was reading the novel "Five Point Someone" by Chetan Bhagat. The book is about 3 guys from IIT (Top league Engineering College in India) and their pranks at school. Reading through I remembered one of my own pranks. It’s not as funny as Chetan Bhagat's autobiographical story, but you guys will definitely enjoy it.

Ideally in GCET (my college) all labs close at 6 PM. I along with group of friends were in the college web-site development group, hence had some computer administrative rights as well as a key to the computer room to work late nights. More than work, the free internet attracted us at nights and certainly the air-conditioned room was like heaven in summers!

Coming back, my close friend Harry (I shall not refer real name) was a techno geek. Somehow browsing through the underground websites he found a software which tracks your key strokes and transforms them in a doc file. Hence to test the software Harry loaded it on couple of computers in the lab, including the lecture's computer in the side cabin. (Yes the foolish peon had given us keys to our lecturer's cabin!!). The software runs in background so no one could know about it. The next day Harry was overjoyed to find out our lecture's password. We all were thrilled as well as amazed at this finding!!!

Later on, it was Harry's birthday and the rest of us thought of giving him some unusual gift!! " The next mid-term's question paper” It was easy, we all knew the password. All we had to do was login using lecture's password and browse through his documents, which we easily did.

As a birthday gift Harry got the most unusual gift he could ever imagine in his life (Let me tell you no one of us saw the question paper until now). Late night after the 12' O Clock party Harry and I went to our usual hang out place. The Sardar Patel Memorial, about 5 km from our college. It's dark and peaceful out there with no one around …

Suddenly something happened and I felt, it’s wrong to steal the question paper and ever much worst to hack someone's password!!

As a good friend and philosopher I told Harry that we had done wrong, hence should not look at the question paper and also remove the software from all the computers. Harry always listened to me and somewhere his conscience also bit him so he tore off the question paper without looking at it and decided to remove the software from all computers( Mind you Harry had a Nine plus GPA and he was not a Five point someone!).

The following night five of us were there in the lab and Harry announced his intension which was graciously accepted by rest. So he opened lecture's cabin and started the network connection to log in to the system and then remove the software.

Unfortunately that day one of our senior professor was also working a night out in his own private cabin on the other side of the building. As bad things are destined to happen, He could see the lecturer’s computer up on his network and got suspicious, so he came running to our lab. The door was locked but prof also had a key! When our professor entered the room, he saw Harry standing in front of lecture's computer typing something. Hell broke out… and we were in big shit!!

Professor asked for our IDs and lab keys... and asked us to see him first thing in the morning. That night was terrible… and I really don't have words to describe how it felt…. But next morning Harry went to Professor’s cabin and made up a story that he was logging into the system to get some web-site related stuff which we could not get from our own computer. All techno theories which I did not understand at all. Somehow the professor knew Harry was making up all this but then the professor also liked Harry as he was a nine point someone and kind of a good guy by nature. So instead of suspending us he left us with just asking to write a written apology!!!

Wow… we all were out of this mess with minimal damage… really the nine point something GPA does count!!! Also, it was funny that we were not caught trying to steal but were caught trying to fix our mistake!!

Band of Brothers

2006-04-15T00:22:00.000-04:00

Five soldiers camped together,
To achieve a firm holding.
They had nothing in their pockets,
Except a world full of dreams.

Unknown to new surrounding,
They remained in-tact.
No one had an individual identity,
But were recognized as one pack.

Together they had fun
With limited ammunition and guns.
If there calculations were right
One victory shall set them on winning stride.

Once a soldier got injured and replaced,
New soldier was temporary, yet found a permanent place.
Never did anyone go hungry to bed,
Helping each other was the strength of this camp.

Time passed by and family called one of them back.
This time the replacement was a character himself.

Now they were anxious with enemy in sight.
They knew, taming the enemy, world shall be beautiful,
With no difficulties in life!

As strong determination had brought them to battlefield,
They waited patiently for luck to strike.
In turns they attacked the enemy,
Victory was there's, with green bills coming day and night.

Mobilization started, with victory cup in hand,
They were happy for the victory,
But sad as they parted!

Come this fall a year shall pass,
Not in a common camp,
They cherish the memories of past!

Get Well Soon!

2006-04-08T10:33:00.000-04:00

He is charming He's joyful!!
Everyone loves him by virtue.
When he speaks, people listen
Not everyone possesses the knowledge to question!

Now in his dearth,
Collectively we scratch our head.
People be patient,
In time his absence shall pay back.

A blush on his face shall not satisfy,
We want him back with a big smile.

The dark office makes us sad,
We are charged-up to welcome him back.
Hope he returns quickly for everyone's joy,
Cello-Pack misses him, Big time!!

In awe of Idol!!

2006-04-05T20:50:00.000-04:00

It's been two years I came to US, and gradually have lost track of any Hindi serials currently telecast on Indian channels. (I don't have Indian channels on my cable network!)

Two years back TVS SA RA GA MA (now with an additional PA at the end) and Channel V Popstar were the two famous singing competition shows. Lately there is a phenomenal craze for Indian Idol-2 show (Indian version of the famous American Idol).

Yesterday while browsing through my usual web-sites, I found the latest episode of Indian Idol-2 on desivideos ( www.desivideos.net). Casually I clicked the link and started watching it.

Guys, I should say the show is really awesome, it gradually grew on me !! By the end of the show I felt, I should also vote from here, unfortunately I was too late!!!

I really thank the person who added to the world of video piracy, by uploading the episode. I am eagerly awaiting for the next episode to find out who is selected in the final two!!.

If you guys get time, then you should also watch Indian Idol-2 , its cool to watch the participants performing and above all the master of copy-cat "Anu Malik" trying to act like Simon of American Idol!!

http://desivideos.net/2006/04/indian-idol-april-3rd-episode-misc.html

Filmi ho to filmi raho!!

2006-04-04T20:03:00.000-04:00

A couple of days back I read Aamir Khan’s interview. Lately Aamir had stopped giving interviews, and he was trying to justify himself in this interview.

According to Aamir, he had lost faith in Indian media, as he was always mis-quoted and they were trying to intrude his privacy. He even raised allegations against Times of India (TOI) publishing his photographs without his permission, and another news channel aired his audio interview, which he never gave! Now these all looks very absurd to me. Publishing articles without permission can happen, but airing some celebrity’s voice without him being interviewed seems a bit fishy!! ( I know sound can be altered!! But news channel will not take such big risks!!).

Aamir Khan has always tried to portray himself different from the league, so called Tom Hanks of Indian Cinema. I personally like his movies but clearly he is no Tom Hanks.

About his shying away from media, I believe its more of a career move than anything else. Aamir always tries to intrude into his director’s work and later when the film is a success, he is credited in some way or another. Now with Mangal Panday a disaster, Aamir should be considered responsible for its failure, which the media did. With no answers to defend himself, he opted for silence. Then came Rang De Basanti where he gave a power-packed performance. But in RDB Aamir’s character was equal and not above the rest of the actors. It made sense for him not to come out with blazing guns, else the movie could have been over-hyped and people might be disappointment with his less important role.
To me his not giving interview was a strategic career move than any other absurd reason given by him.

Coming back to the current interview he gave. He has openly criticized TOI and favored The Hindu and Indian Express. That’s publicity for the rest of the newspapers. It's well-known Aamir does not attend Filmfare Awards (which belong to TOI) and now when no one cares weather he attends them or not, these fresh allegations are aired!

Aamir is a public figure and with fame comes paparazzi. One needs to accept it and work along with it. Amitabh Bachchan is a bigger star yet he has never complained about media, Why? Does Amitabh not want a personal life? Sure he does, but he accepts his professions pros and cons and lives with them. There is no need to complain about privacy. All film stars know from the beginning of their career, that their life shall be closely monitored.

To summarize, Aamir is an excellent actor but his current stand of trying to create a saintly image is totally absurd. To me he is one of the Three Khan’s of Bollywood, one of the finest actor of Indian cinema, but by no means he is different from the rest of the league!

Fanaa

2006-04-03T17:56:00.000-04:00

He saw her at the stairs, standing timid and confused,
The stripes turtle neck added to her looks.
How could he know, she will change him in time,
He considered her just another girl passing by.

But as destiny had its call, they met again,
Sat for a brief chat and things were never the same.
Suddenly he realized, she's the one,
Not knowing what she was thinking in return.

Time passed by often they met,
Trying to know each other, those were brief yet sensible chats.
Hopes started to built, peers pushed him from behind,
How could he know, the future ahead of time.

Twice in a row the phone rang,
Thing became clear, it was not him but his friend.
Earth shattered; he had the shock of his life,
Not able to react, he wished he could cry.

But strong character was he, regained his sense,
Decided, if not him, he shall help.
As always helping others was what he liked,
Here he was standing with the chance of his life.

As always destiny had a bigger surprise,
Things didn't work for her either and she lost her smile.
How hard did he tried to fix her life,
Facts are facts which one needs to accept as they come by.

Now she was alone looking for a friend,
Who better could have hugged her than a past admirer and a friend's friend!

With tender and sweet thoughts he tried to console,
Trying to explain world is beautiful be brave and bold!
Considering her situation he understood she needed time,
His only request was don't be disheartened; with winter passing, again sun shall shine!

Home calling was his duty and he had to leave her alone,
Those were the best times when she found a new mentor.
Coming back he saw the change in her eyes,
Happy for her new avatar he let time drift by.

Then came a shocker, which I shall not describe,
Friend turned stabber, and she believed he lead the crime.
How I wish, she could have understood,
He was under a vow what else could he do?

As truth prevailed, trust was broken,
Slowly she drifted away leaving him alone in this world.
Yet they were friends, but things were not the same,
Suddenly he found himself in her awe again!

Firmly believing, she will not change,
This time he chose not to reveal his thoughts like a pouring rain.
But things had to explode, so did they
As expected once again she ran away!

That was an end to the story of his life,
As asked by her, he killed himself inside his mind.
Time passed by and still they meet around like minds,
He's the only person she never hated in the group of five.

Now the times are stable and they make fun of those times,
She is busy chasing her dreams like a furious knight!
I wish someday, she would stop visiting him in his dreams,
The only regret he has, why didn't destiny choose her for him.

Hey my fellow readers, don't weep to the sorrowful end,
As hope is his best friend and time his only enemy!

-Purvin

Indian Retail

2006-04-02T14:05:00.000-04:00

Mukesh Ambani (Chairman of Reliance Industries-India) is planning to plunge into the booming Indian retail market. As always, Reliance thinks big and this time is no different. From the news sources it seems Reliance is planning a retail chain, similar to Wal-Mart; Single destination for all daily and house-hold needs.

Indian retail market is typically made-up of small individual shops selling generic products. An average Indian consumer has to visit different shops to satisfy all their needs. With Reliance entering retail market, this might change!!

I am personally not against growth of any sort of business. But I do believe there’s a distinct fun in visiting small shops for one or two products and then move on to another store. Also the surprise element of what’s in that store shall always remain. Sometimes it’s not only a decision of what you want to buy, but also a decision of, from where to buy? Then arises the question of bargaining. Indian consumers (especially mid-age women) do not feel satisfied with there shopping until they pay less then the quoted price!! I think bargaining (which shall never happen in retail-chains) gives a personal satisfaction over the prescribed discounts offered in retail chains.

I am not against Wal-Mart style shopping; which definitely saves time and energy. But to me that is too monotones. Each time you visit Wal-Mart you know exactly which aisle you need to look, and sometimes the rack for a product is also know to you. They do have different varieties for each product, yet the scope of choice is not the same as you will get in a small store. Lastly the personal touch of individual store is always missing in retail chains.

I feel shopping in India is a cheerful and delightful activity; it’s an outing for a family. Where as shopping in Wal-Mart seems more like a necessity.

Main Aisa Hi Hoon

2006-04-01T11:17:00.000-05:00

The title is a fun phrase mostly used among friends as a passing joke, but if analyzed in-depth, the statement signifies a very strong and adamant stand. It's a friendly way of conveying, "Come what may, I won't change." That to me is a character statement!

So what builds a character?

I firmly believe personal character evolves from the environment and culture you are exposed to. Surrounding plays a major role in building-up of the thought process, which leads to form a personal character.

Coming back, I often think chit-chatting among friends if suddenly you are offended, Is it good to put your feet down by using comments like "Main aisa hi hoon"? Or it's better to laugh out and move forward considering nothing ever happened? Most of us would say a fine balance between the two approaches is a perfect answer. But my question is where to draw a line between them?
Secondly, does the approach we select slowly starts molding our character/ attitude or the person we are? If yes, then how should one decide what kind of person he should be?

I sincerely feel it's a delicate moment when one stands-up for himself. Most of the times your friends/pals will understand you and your feelings, but at times matters can go worst. As it's wisely said that it takes years to build true friendship, but only a split second to destroy it!

Personally, I have made many passing comments on my friends, which I really don't mean in true sense. But I fear some day these mischievous remarks might make me loose a good friend!

Hum Bihar se aye hu!!

2006-03-31T18:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of years back there was a famous joke making rounds, then the President of America "Bill Clinton" visits Bihar and conveys to Laloo Prasad Yadav,
"Give Bihar to my government and we will make Bihar like USA in one year."
To which Laloo, then the chief-minister of Bihar argues,
"Give USA to my government and I shall make it like Bihar in one day!!!!"

With two years as a railway minister, Laloo Prasad Yadav's ministry has out-performed any other ministry in the government in terms of performance, profit and expectations. No one in their dreams would have imagined awarding an important ministry to Laloo would reap the profits, it currently does. This guy, who is an epitome of illiteracy and whose name tops every list portraying corruption in government, has single-handedly transformed the Indian Railways into a cash-cow enterprise.

Before Laloo, "Indian railways" running cost was a burden on government. Each minister prior to Laloo had only increased ticket fares, not reasoning trains running efficiencies, nor did they try to profit on Indian railways true strengths. Weather it's keeping the tickets fares in-check or marketing railways goods department, Laloo has impressed the masses as well as the classes. For once people are discussing Laloo's performance and his ministerial skills instead of his Bihari accent!!

Laloo is trying to reason like an Industrial/ Production manager by trying to decrease the turn around time and accommodate more trains per route. He does not consider the mammoth Indian Railways as a monopoly business, but is trying to compete with the booming Indian Airline industry. He is in true sense optimizing Indian Railways potential!!

I always believed in education and its benefits.. But for once this Bihari Joker has made me believe in now the very famous statement

" You need not be from Harvard to function efficiently"

Do you smoke Pot?

2006-03-30T21:40:00.000-05:00

At my work place, I have pinned-up different sketches which I drew during my free time in school/college days.

One of the sketches I drew was of a leaflet. This sketch is one of my favorites, as I have used only dots to shade the whole sketch. Don't want to sound arrogant, but guys this sketch really looks like its sketched by a professional!!

So as this beautiful sketch was hanging, our company's V.P. Finance/ HR noticed it. She is really a sweet lady and compliments all my sketches, but this time instead of complements she asked a question.

"DO YOU SMOKE POT?"

I have never even smoked a cigarette in my life, so was a bit shocked by the question. Answering negatively I asked her why did she think so? To which she answered:

" The painting (sketch) looks like enlarged weed leaves!!"

Wow!! Heard of people getting confused with modern art. But this was very normal art! Anyways not to create more curiosity among collogues, I quietly removed the sketch and put it inside a drawer!!

Success & Failure

2006-03-29T23:28:00.000-05:00

What is success? How do I measure you?
Are you followed by hard-work and dedication? Or do you visit by fluke?
Do you need fame to be named? Or a blushing smile is good to recognise you?
Whatever way you wish to be defined, the truth is, everyone longs for you!

Failure why do you come to me, how do I get rid of you?
Are you a sign of end, or an inspiration to improve?
I pray not to see you again, but meeting you makes me grow,
So do pay a flying visit, but don't make me your home.

Umeed

2006-03-28T19:02:00.000-05:00

Ea dost, Dil tera tutta hai,
Phir gum ke badal mandriya hai!
Lekin umeed ki jis kiran pe tu zinda hai,
Woh ujale ban ke khushya phir layegi.

Zindagi ke unh lamho ko yaad kar,
jab charo taraf phool khil-khilaya thee!
Dunya ka yeh dastur hai,
KePatzhad ke maussam me marne ko jee chahata hai!

Tu mayus na hona mere yaar,
Aur is kasti ko aage badhana.
Yeh samundar hai bahot phela,
Kahi to teri nav ka kinara hoga!

Nickname Confusion

2006-03-28T18:46:00.000-05:00

American's have a habit of standardizing each and everything. That holds true for nicknames also. For e.g. Anthony is commonly addressed as Tony, so is William by Bill. I knew about it but generally did not paid much attention to it.
One fine day two gentlemen named Anthony and William from Ronald O'Mara Engineers visited me for an up-coming project at my workplace, and everything went fine.Now after two-three days this guy Anthony calls me for an update on their proposal. Generally I get useless sales calls throughout the day and I kind of answer them anything rubbish that comes to my mind. So this guy calls and speaks.
Guy: Hi, this is Tony from O'Mara.
At this point I am trying to recall who is this Tony and what the hell is O'Mara!Then he goes
Guy: Bill and myself were wondering when do you want to start the project!!
As off I am still trying to figure-out who is Tony and O'Mara and now who is this Bill?I though this is one of those sales-reps once again disturbing me, So stupidly I answered him the following.
Myself: Well! At present it seems we are not interested in moving forward but shall get back to you as soon as we make a decision!!
So Mr. Tony or lets call him Anthony was quite confused and replied
Tony: Frankly Purvin, we though you wanted to work very quickly on this project and were expecting an answer. Anyways let us know whenever you are ready to move forward. Thanks.
After hanging-up the phone I dig through my files to find out who was calling, to realize its Anthony (Tony) and William (Bill) from Ronald O'Mara Engineering company (O'Mara) guys working on one of our important project!!
Screw Me!!!!!

Kash!!

2006-03-25T13:44:00.000-05:00

Kash main lekhak hota..
To apni aashao ko shabdh de pata..

Kash me gayak hota..
To kisiki zindagi me sangeet la pata..

Kash main chitrakar hota..
To unki chabhi ko tasveer me badal pata..

Kash main shayer hota..
To apne dare-e-dil ko baya kar pata..

Shopping satisfaction…..

2006-03-19T17:11:00.000-05:00

Today after a long time I went out for shopping with Kavin and Kaushal….
It’s a well know fact that I am not good at shopping for clothes and in past have also outsourced shopping to friends…!!!!
Actually when I go out for shopping somehow I don’t like any clothes… or they do not fit me….. But the bottom-line is I am not able to buy clothes which I really need!!!!

Hence, today after a heavy lunch in Mandir... I though history is going to repeat……
But to my surprise... I was on a shopping spree and bought 7 t-shirts and cool “GAP” jeans!!!
Needed another pair of pants….. But will wait for next time…

I hope my jinx of not buying clothes has finally fallen out…!!!!! Will let you guys know about it…..

-Purvin

Mobile Connectivity!!!!

2006-03-18T12:14:00.000-05:00

Some of my friends claim.. that I talk on phone more than I talk with people in person…Which is kind of true..
It all started with most of my friends.. who are more of a family… started to leave Buffalo.. and we all still wanted to keep contact on regular basis with each other…so we started to call each other…
I still remember.. initially we all used to wait until 9:00 PM… to call.. and then some friends on west coast… used to blabber that they can’t stay in contact.. because of the different time zone…….
But evolution started to take place in talking over the phone…
Most of us are usually free or rather not buzy during the time frame of 5:30 to 8:00… Soon after 8:00 PM… get people around us and who shall want to talk over the phone.. when they have people around???…….
So eventually we started to leave the free time behind us.. and kind of started our conversation in peak time minutes…

The talks are not specific.. or rather there’s no agenda to chat about… its just the simple hi.. hello.. and kind of talk about anything that comes to mind.. usually what you would talk with anyone sitting next to you….( obviously someone you are familiar with…..)

So much is the attachment over the phone… that in past it did happen that if some one was in need to talk.. they did call at wired hours…. Knowing that the other person… shall defiantly attend the call whatever time it shall be………

Then there is this silly game going on of waking up other’s over the phone… when you are mistakenly awake early than usual time on a weekend…

In all.. For me phone has kind of keep my friendship alive… and I feel like we all still live together.. It’s just that we don’t see each other often!!!!

March is history… April follows…. May is in line … with July in sight!!!

2006-03-17T18:21:00.000-05:00

This is my travel schedule for the next 4 months.. And nothing more excites me these days then planning for the trips ahead of me….
The other day I was talking to Kaushal… that weekends pass-by so quickly.. And if we are traveling… it flies by at jet-speed. However while traveling, don't realize when the Happy Friday converts to Monday Blues…. But ultimately it's fun….

So to start with March.. There was really no plan to leave Buffalo…. But one of my close friends… met with an car accident in Rochester.. and they needed a ride back to Buffalo…So a tragedy turned into a drive for so called "Hum Paach"…….
One more weekend flew by kissing the sun-shine on the sparkling black tar roads….

Come April… and have to go to attend.. What I have started to term as Monthly 90'cornell Meeting.. (Though all the members of 90 Cornell are not there… ) But it so turns out...... that approximately.. Every month or so… either the guys from Philly and DC come up to Buffalo.. Or I am down there… As for April meet.. as of now… there is no agenda.. Except for a vague plan to visit.. a near-by beach area…..

May.. is home calling for most of my friend… UB is having its convocation.. And the guys… who toiled with books for almost 2.5 yrs!!(I got it in 1.5!!) Will all get dressed up.. for one fine day… to show the world that… they are engineers… However convocation is just an excuse.. It’s a time for get together.. and this time the main attraction will be the new addition to our family…… Shashi shall be here with Snigdha. And we all shall meet snigdha for the first time…..

June as of now seems dull… but I am sure we will definitely find out some place.. Before it arrives.. And finally July 4th weekend..
Guys.. I never ever have made such a planning in advance….. But the re-union capital shall be shifted to LA…. And as of now it seems LA rocks… will be an understatement… So guys…. Looking forward to these months… and the trips….which is always. Fun!!!!!

--
-Purvin

Hum Paach Bandar .....ek dusre ke hum dard!!!

2006-03-16T19:29:00.000-05:00

OK.. so first Blog!!!
Needs to be good.... needs to be nice... needs to be perfect!!
But ther's nothing perfect in life.. and so with my blog ......
But first blog so it needs to be inspirational.......!!
Well my only source of inspiration is that there is a blog mania going on among some of my friends...and then the discussing following its comments section...
Frankly I am a pathatic writer.. and no one can agree to this more than my two prof's.. who had to proof my Master's Thesis.... I definatly own them big time....

But with time everything changes.... as change is the only thing constant... so some day I shall also change... and publish a book on english!!!!!
rolf.......

Accutually I am in a very happy mood just now.... and read on a friends blog that people kind of come up with fundas and express them when they are a bit low...!! so don't have must to write just now.. but keep visiting... I will be back with a good story!!!!

Finally I am know more by my sketch.. and that has always acted as an inspiration for me.. so no chance that my first blog shall not have my own sketch!!! and the title..... no relevence!!!!!!

Enjoy!!