Wednesday, March 28, 2007

New Office... At LAST!!!

Wooooohoooooo.... Today was my first day in my new office!!!

The new premises are great. At last, I feel like I am working in a reputed software company! Probably this is at par with any other s/w office, but it's new to me, cause my earlier workplace had the amenities of an auto-garage.

I spent a whole lot of time exploring today. I guess I have the essential vantage points covered. That includes the inner coffee machine, the cafeteria, toilets, the resting rooms and the gymnasium. The place is rather big, and quite confusing, given the vast number of loops and passages around. It will take me a few days to be confident of my way about the place.

The gymnasium looks state-of-the-art, the coffee is decent and the work area is great. The AC does not freeze you, my cubicle is in the aisle near the windows, and the view is great. What more can I ask for??? :)

The best part is the cafeteria. It is simply fabulous. Its just what we have all been asking for, and a bit more too! Good food served throughout the day, besides other dry eatables and drinks available. It's the single most critical factor for outstation singletons like me, who work their asses off in a software job. I was soo happy, I had this goofy smile splashed across my face all day!!!

Guys, the verdict is out. The new place ROCKS!!!

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

A panorama with a perspective...

Panorama, as given by my digi-cams guidebook, is an exceptionally wide angled picture which requires unearthly skill posessed only by my camera. Atleast, thats what the guide book claims :)

Well, the panorama I refer to is quite commonplace. There is this place near my home in Mumbai, a large 6 lane highway near the seaface. (It is immortalized innumerable shootings and sightings in Bollywood movies of the likes of Dhoom et al). Since I was on an extended vacation to Mumbai, and a terrible throat infection prevented (and still prevents) me from long conversations, I drifted off to the sealink for a refreshing walk.

That place is actually excellent for an evening walk. It is thronged by joggers and walkers of all ages and sizes. The other most populous denizens of this area are the millions of couples, yes, human couples, that arrive by the dozen, reserve places on the stone embankment and proceed to ummm... well.... just make out in public. It is so dense that once I was jogging down the track, and there was no place for about 200mts for me to stop and rest without violating someones privacy. Can't really blame them, no real private spots left in Mumbai. What pisses me off the groups of lecherous yougsters that roam the palce to ogle at the couples... I mean... sheesh man, thats really stupid.

Nevertheless, I ended up yesterday evening, all alone with my MP3 player, on the sealink. After a long time, I had solitude and time, both at the same time. You need both these simultaneously to actually THINK. So I plugged in the earphones, sat on a luckily empty spot on the embankment, and just gazed out at the evening skyline of the city of dreams.

I dont know what it was, maybe it really was the solitude and time, I had this absolutely surreal feeling sitting there gazing out into the creek. The whole world whizzed past me, joggers on their rounds, boats in the creek, planes in the evening sky, people around me, and I just sat there. Thats when I noticed, that Mumbai has an excellent skyline. A rather commonplace observation, people would say. NAY I say, not for a hardcore Mumbaikar.

And not for me definately. I had the whole vista right in front of me, like I had just painted it. Right from Bandra creek, across Mahim and Dadar Chowpatty to Worli and the Land's end. And every building, every feature adn colour in the sky ahead of me, had some emotion, some memory, some reference attached to it. That just gave a whole new perspective to a seemingly smelly and sodden creekside view... It made it a panorama, a panorama with a perspective.

The most prominant structure, the Hinduja Hospital. Hospital's rarely evoke pleasant memories, atleast not for me. I lost 2 very dear friends to a freak accident, another friend was admitted there with multiple fractures. I can see myself standing there on those steps, waiting anxiously for some news, trying to be cheerful. Thats is an image that evokes just pain, no mixed emotions here.

The sodden creekside railway crossing before Bandra station. That used to be a 'landmark' once upon a time. Whenever I return from junior college by train, the sodden smell of the creek reminds us all that Bandra is here, gotta get off!!! The Mahin and Dadar chowpatty are places for the immersion of large idols during Ganpati. I remember going to my friends balcony to view the immersion. His grandfather was a detective (???, atleast thats what he told me, and at age 12, that was rather believable), so he had this high power binoculars which we used. That really was an enjoyable time :)

At one side is the Taj Land's End hotel, and the actual sealing bridge construction, all this adjoining my engineering college. He he he, I cant really go into the memories connected to that, that would take a LOT of space. Maybe I'll put a synopsis here some of these days.

And at the farthest end, is the end of Worli. The tall TV tower with its red blinking lights, and the hideously tall skyscrapers and the enormous construction crane. If the rest represented some memory of my past, this was one part where i'd want to associate my future. As I sat there listening to my mp3s, I logged this silent dream. That is, if I ever make it big, thats where I'd want to live. In one of those shimmering skyscrapers, amidst all the hustle and bustle of the high life. But hey, thats just a dream. Lets just hope for its fulfillment... CHEERS!!!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Word wrap???!!!!

Had gone to restaurant near office in Pune. This is the actual line I read advertising a local English speech training institute. I cant recollect what they called themselves, but this is how their tagline goes:
"We teach you to speak English fluently and confidentally!!!"

What the heck!??

Troniiiix... Tronix... ta ta ta!!!

Sounds weird??? Not to me. Thats the chant we used in college to spur us on. No, I aint a roman gladiator or a cricketer who needs all that cheering, but this was one rallying point for anyone or anything to do with Electronics Engineering in my college. Its typical, you know, the standard department chant, that is used indescriminately from sports days to annual dance competitions to fisticuff fights.

'Tronix...', is a snazzy and rather cool shorthand for 'Electronics Engineering Department is the best'. Besides its commonplace utilities, it was used most potently during Euphoria, the annual cultural fest in college. I mean c'mon, (70x4=) 300 odd boys and girls belting this chant out in perfect sync repeatedly, is QUITE a thing. And the statutory use was before and after Elecs dept dance or skit. Before, to basically shut the others up, and after, to show em whos the boss!!! We cudnt give a damn about the condition of our throats, once the mood got to us. We would cheer for the freshers, juniors, seniors, boo the other departments, get into fights, even physical ones, all with the chant in our minds... TRONIIIIIX...TRONIX!!!

Its amazing what such a seemingly insignificant sound can achieve. Its by far the best form of bonding I have discovered. It makes people from diverse backgrounds and experience stick together like super-glue! And fellas, you've gotta be cheered for once to know what it is like. During our final year performance, I was to perform a solo on 'Rang de Basanti' in the finale sequence. Despite the hours of practice, the wardrobe decided to malfuncation. Hey, don't gasp, nothing like what the term implies. It's just that it was a typical Punjabi Costume with all the headgear, and the flourish on top was loose, and hung right into my left eye. It absolutely impossible to concentrate on anything when you have needles being pricked into your eyes I'm sure, and thats exactly what it felt like. But the moment the song reached the fast beat, the crowd roared! Believe me, at that moment I didnt care two hoots about the sagging headgear or a loose dhoti, I danced my heart out. I could here the gang chanting... I still get goosebumps when I think of it.

And Euphoria just happened again in college. I missed it. Many of my batchmates attended as ex-students. Missing Euphoria SUCKS! Some people would surely find this rather childish and immature for a guy who is working now. Big deal, its just a college fest. That too one you have sat through 4 times, and of a college you are no more a part of, and of a culture you are no more SUPPOSED to be a part of. Grow UP they say.

But hey, maybe I dont want to. OK, ive really grown and matured in the last few months, ever since I went of to training and started living alone in new city, among new and unfamiliar people. Yeah, I've made that transition, boyz to men. But a part of me still is hanging back there, in the coridoors of college, in the coffee shop with friends, on the cricket field on weekends, all drenched up during holi, yelling at 12.30 in middle of the night on getting my Matlab program correct, still teasing friends and getting teased in return, fighting with each other over petty things and forgetting as quickly. Is it all that bad???

Sunday, March 11, 2007

The flipside of living alone

The sound of living alone in your own home, working, and earning, all for yourself, is not just interesting, but quite mouth watering to say the least. And so here I am, in Pune, working, and living. Its fun, no doubt. The freedom from responsibility, no one to answer to, and no one to stop you. Yeah, how liberating is that!!!
But, ummm well, get down to earth, my boy.
Like all others, this coin too has its flipside too, and a big freaking flip side at that. For starters, well, where do I start???!!!! The food in office is deplorable, cooking is out of question, travelling in Pune is like navigating an asteroid shower in space, the heat can dry you into a log of firewood in no time.
FOOD. Big problem. Compounded by the fact that office food is barely edible, and hotel food aint manna either. I cant cook, and dont even want to.
TRAVELLING. Problem. The roads are a mosaic of patchy tar, and that too only where they exist. Where they dont, it gives you a sneak-peek into what Mars must be like. Two-wheelers are mad, car drivers are insane, truck drivers are lunatics, and bus drivers are bloody maniacs. Nothing less. Distances are huge, especially my office from home.
WORK. Its a fact, tried and tested, 'first-job' suck!!! I hate my cubicle, I hate my office, I hate the place where it is situated (The place is called 'Bhosari', you can't blame me for hating it, now, can you?) The work I have to do, makes 12th std look like PHd studies. And that is boring.
FRIENDS. or rather the lack of them. BIGGEST problem. Miss everyone a lot.

But, you see, cant keep cribbing for life, can we? So I have learnt to handle it. Found this good restaurant nearby, that serves decent dinner. Cannot avoid lunch in office, so be it. Learnt to eat that as well. I make coffee and breakfast in the morning. At times when we get fed up with this routine, theres always Smokin' Joes or Janaseva Bhojanalay to liven things up. Nimish has bought a bike, and travelling by that saves a truckload o time. Heck, I learnt to ride one myslef, and am actually using my bro's bike myself! Work can be dreary, but I make a consious effort to do new things there. Learn new concepts, talk to everyone around office, look for opportunities improvements in the existing system, et al...Friends, well, that was a bit tougher. Made some new friends in office, really nice people. Got together with a lot of my cousins. Its actually quite interesting, I mean all these years, we hardly met, and now we are really good friends, apart from being related. I regularly keep in touch with old friends, internet is your best pal at such times. Got a partner in Nimish. "Its not like we hold hands and take windy walks or something", we're just team members, and also flatmates. Know each other since college, so it is great company.
But nevertheless, I still miss my friends a lot. Miss ALL my college friends, my building friends, and all the others too. Miss the times we had together, miss the fun we had together, miss the fights we had together, miss the reunions we had together, miss the trips we had together, miss every moment spent together. Cant really help it at times, being 200km away isnt too much these days, but it still is quite a bit for a spftware professional who doesnt get too many holidays. All in all, however far I might be, how many new people i meet, I will always, ALWAYS remember these people of old.

1 Night @ the Office

Hey, been a long time since I last wrote. But thats because hectic office hours are complicating my mind a lot, so much so that i cant make anymore confessions. But, here goes...
One such instance was this last friday, when on short notice it was decided that we work on the same night, instead of the day when usual mortals work.
So were to turn nocturnal for 1 night. A weird thought struck me, that this is quite like a college time night out with friends, cause here were me, Nimish, Brijesh and Vivek, (who are both older yet quite cool). A tiny difference was that we were supposed to be working our asses off. But that can be overlooked for the moment.
The idea of working late is scary for some, for most, but my personal experience was quite enjoyable. The work wasn't too hard, and we have actually practiced a lot for it. So it was pretty much smooth sailing. We had to order dinner, at 10 in the night. Around 10.15 I found myself poking around the half asleep shops in the near vicinity in Bhosari MIDC(yes, that is the (rather obscene) name of the area where my office is), looking for coke and chips. True to Bhosari tradition, I didnt get any chips, and just one bottle fo overpriced Thumbs-Up. Fair-enough, I said, weve coem her to work and not party.
So, our run started, with me n Nimish gobling Pav-Bhaji and simultaneously keying in jobs with oily fingers. That really points out the virtues of Pizzas in such situations, though many refuse to realise this. Our work activities were done by around 2.30AM, rather thats when we actually did what is referred to as 'Dukaan Band'... which means logoff, shut the monitor, and officially shut shop for the day (or the night in this case). Its only after that when the fun should have started.
But unfortunately, we were dog tired, and Brijesh had to leave, Vivek was too sleepy. So i went around exploring the place. I checked out my office terrace, which is a restaurant oven during dyatime, was actually a sight at night. I never thought the vista(its called the 'view' in the usually hot daytimes) would be as beautiful as what I was beholding. The entire place was empty, which suited me just fine. It was just me and the humming air-conditioner. The entire sity around me was lit up with tiny specs of light. The air was cold, yet not chilly. Bhosari being an entirely industrial area, has lots of factories, some of which were billowing quiet white smoke, barely visible plumes in the surrounding darkness. Distant towers and antennas blinked their red beacons. The trees rustled with a cool night breeze. The entire front porch was lit up with yellow light, gicing a surreal air to the whole place. All in all, it was enchanting to be all alone on that roof-top. Its only at such times and places, can one hear the 'inner voice'. I'm not being too philosophical, but atleast I think I have an inner voice. And I say that so confidently because of the simple fact that I talk to it often.
This inner voice need'nt be some incarnation of Gandhi or anything filmi. Its just yourself you are talking to... a la.. 'Main aur meri tanhayee, aksar yeh battein karte hain'... ar atleast somewhat like that. And only when the noise and jabber of the rest of the world is shut out, can you hear what YOU have to say. One can discuss a lot of things, your dreams, aspirations; congratualte yourself on your success, berate yourself for your mistakes; hum a different tune, say sorry for things you cant easily apologise for, speak you heart out. I do that, whenever possible. I was trying the same that day, but maybe I was just too mesmerized by what I saw, or was just too sleepy, I didnt really hear or say much.
So, I just went to the resting room, stretched out and slept off.
Quite an experience I must say. More so because it was hardly what I expected to wanted. Guess that prepares me for next saturday, which will be another night @ office. I'll try to be better prepared with the chips next time...