My friend and co-worker Jake who is also the most vocal advocate of Microsoft technologies I know of, starts blogging – Jake on IT. Welcome to the world of blogging Jake!
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Then what are you doing here? Didn’t you know that there is a Little Red Riding Hood In Town?
Duh!
My favourite snippet:
…
To see a spot of green,
in the sky of blue.
For a word of encouragement,
to make this seem true.
To walk through a meadow of marigolds,
And let go of fears never told.
To wake up in the middle of a fantasy,
And feel its touch of ecstasy.
I hold in that cry,
As my inspiration runs dry.…
Isn’t it simply beautiful? I can totally relate to the poem; I guess most people can. This poem is definitely going on my cubicle wall.
I just had a very hectic 30-40 days.
Trip to Bangalore was fun. Worked hard for a couple of days and then freaked out with Moin, Subodh and Sallu for a day. Pics coming up shortly.
Went home for Mom’s birthday. Had a nice time hogging on home food and spending time with family.
Suman and Sanket got engaged in Bharuch. Had gone there to attend the function and had a nice time. Bharuch is a nice small place. Enjoyed with Suman’s gang and with Sanket’s family. Had good dabeli, pani puri and lots of ice cream even though I had an upset stomach. Return train journey was fun. Photos coming up as soon as Sanket/Suman send them to me.
Murthy finally managed to send my new digicam over from the US. Technically not mine since I gifted the camera to Mom but I have taken most of pics till now. It is a Canon PowerShot A570 IS, a decent point-and-click camera though I am yet to take great shots with it – many snaps are simply overexposed.
Tons of work at office. Team is growing so lots of things to do. Extremely busy at work nowadays.
Went to Ahmedabad for Christmas holidays. Sanket, Subodh and Sallu were in town. Bharat (who is in Ahmedabad only) played host most of the time. Also met Pankit. Had a blast with these guys. Had lots of coffee, went bowling but mostly it was talking. Also had a party at a friend’s place. Enjoyed a hell lot. Photos coming up shortly.
Also went to Moin’s home on Bakra Id – had amazing chicken biryani! Moin was also flying to Riyadh the same day so said bye to him. Photos coming up shortly.
My friend Mona got married to Sanjay Nair (so now technically she is also a Nair!). They hosted a reception at the City Lake Restaurant in Vastrapur, met Ushma there (she is as much the prankster today as she ever was) and also met Sanjay for the first time. Nice chap though could not talk much with him since there were many people vying for his attention. Was really difficult for me (and for Sanket) to drag ourselves to the reception after the party the previous night but I am glad we did. Photos coming up for this too.
My friend Pratik is also getting married in January. To Pulkit – I know I know it’s a guy’s name… I am still thinking of a good nickname for her. They make a nice couple. Am still getting to know Pulkit. She is my new best friends for reasons that will not be disclosed on this blog 
Pratik and I are sort of the founding members of the Devdas chapter of the Prakash gang so am both happy and sad that he is changing boats. But I still have enough people for company so am not too worried
Suman and I went down to Ahmedabad for New Year’s eve too. Sanket came down from Bharuch. Pratik, Pulkit, Mona, Pravin and Bharat. Ushered in the new year with lots of food, phone calls, dancing, singing and masti. Photos coming up in a few days.
Saw Taare Zameen Par with family (Dad, Mom and Nani). Liked the movie but was really happy because my family also loved it. Dad very rarely likes Hindi movies but even he loved this one! Mom and Nani also loved it… I wonder if it was because they had seen Om Shanti Om just a couple of days back? Hmmm.
That’s all for now. Hopefully I will blog more regularly this year. Happy New 2008!
I will be in Bangalore from Wednesday evening to Sunday morning for a client-organized meeting. I will be extremely busy till Friday evening but then onwards I plan to meet up with a few friends. Should be fun
I keep having these bouts of determination and enthusiasm when I blog many times in a week and then there are times like these when I hardly blog at all. Sometimes I do not have anything to say, sometimes I am just to lazy and once in a blue moon I am too busy to blog.
Life is going on as usual. Nothing new to report. Work is normal. Personal life is normal. Well… as normal as normal can be 
I have about 6 posts as drafts that I hope to complete in a few days and publish the final version. Keep your fingers crossed.
Brother has moved to Vizag and I am sort of missing him. Actually we used to hang out at least once in a week when he was in Mumbai. Lots of friends from abroad have landed up in India (or will be arriving soon). I am trying to meet as many as possible. I met Bantu in Ahmedabad. I also met Mona, Nehal, Pulkit and Pravin. I had a nice time with all of them. Janak is also in India for a week and yesterday we met up for a few hours before he left for Ahmedabad. We talked about old times and new and we realized that he, I and many of our close friends were in the same boat in more ways than one. So none of us will be really alone Sobha is also in town… not sure if and when we will meet up but it felt nice talking to her after such a long time (nice detailed talk is still pending).
It is wedding season and I am making many trips outside of Mumbai to attend the engagements or wedding of many of my close friends. I have about 9 such events lined up but will not be able to attend all 
I am trying to attend as many as I can but simply cannot attend all because of the schedule. I wish I could take a month’s leave, chill out at home and attend all the functions!
Well… that’s all for now. Take care and enjoy life!
I came to Mumbai from Delhi to join a new project a little more than an year ago.
It was an exciting move for me. I was going to lead the team. I was moving much closer to home. I was going to the city so central to the Indian mindset, the home of Bollywood, the financial capital of India and the city nickname the city of dreams. I was also moving closer to many of my friends… I had lots of friends in Mumbai and Mumbai is also closer to Bangalore where my brother lived. Continue reading ‘Mumbai’
Aishwar, Krishna and Varun @ Bandra, Mumbai (June 2007)
Sachin’s Birthday @ Urban Tadka, Kandivali, Mumbai (June 2007)
Seeing Punit off @ International Airport, Mumbai (June 2007)
Friends @ Infiniti Mall, Andheri, Mumbai (June 2007)
Over second and third cups flow matters of high finance, high state, common gossip and low comedy. [Coffee] is a social binder, a warmer of tongues, a soberer of minds, a stimulant of wit, a foiler of sleep if you want it so. From roadside mugs to the classic demi-tasse, it is the perfect democrat. ~ Author Unknown
Coffee… aah… You have got me daydreaming already. Good coffee, good conversation and light music is one of my heavens. Give me a coffee anytime, morning, afternoon, evening, night and I will be happy.
My penchant for coffee is at least partially due to my genes. Otherwise how would a Malayalee born and brought up in Gujjuland still prefer coffee over tea? Of course my dear Dad, a hardcore coffee drinker, is also responsible. When at home, my Mom and brother are predominantly tea drinkers, my Dad and I belong to the coffee camp (See clarification below ). In Mallu breakfast and afternoon snacks are both referred to as having “Kaapi” – i.e. having “coffee”.
Coffee is for bonding. My Dad is an expert coffee maker and can make the famous 1-meter south-Indian coffee. This is when you make coffee normally but work it into a nice solid frothy drink by repeatedly pouring it into one glass from another from a height of approximately 1 meter in a smooth swinging motion. And even today when Dad and I are up late watching some movie we suddenly look at each other and I see the glint in his eyes… he is asking do you want some black coffee? And of course I say yes. And in 5 mins both of us are sipping some nice black coffee.
Most of my friends are coffee lovers. Some of were coffee lovers, some of them drink coffee just to give me company and some became coffee lovers on my insistence. Some of the best memories and conversations have been had over steaming cups of coffee. I have bonded with best friends over coffee and felt comfortable with total strangers over a coffee table. Exam times were an excuse for having endless cups of coffee and not for studying. My board exam marks are more than ample proof of that. Even today at work hot coffees and cold coffees are my constant companions.
I am not a connoisseur, I don’t like exotic coffees. I like my coffee hot, simple, reasonably bitter and in large quantities. My favourites are espressos and cafe latte. Earlier I used to like strong bitter coffees. Lately I have been liking mild milky coffees more. I guess that is something to do about how I changed over the years or something like that. Has some research scholar out there done any research on the correlation between coffee types and people behaviours?… I am sure there should be something like that out there. One of the things on my wishlist is a nice coffee maker. One that takes in coffee beans, grinds it and brews it fresh. Should be another experience altogether.
Going to the CCD near our house is a weekend must-do for my gang here. Actually for me… I force them to come along. We went there last week and had tons of fun singing old songs and bugging the people around us in general. I went to that CCD yesterday again to meet an old schoolfriend of mine, Krishna after 10 longs years. Went to CCD again yesterday with a friend of mine and had a long, nice and interesting conversation over cafe latte. And today Aishwar, again a classmate of mine from school days is in town so Krishna, Aishwar and I will be meeting up in the evening somewhere in Bandra over a cup of, yes you guessed it right, coffee.
All this thinking about coffee has made me yearn for some right now. Anybody coming for a cup of coffee?
Clarification: Vineet clarifies that he is also a soldier from the coffee camp but defects to the tea camp when at home because Mom makes very good tea. Come to think of it… when at home I too have lots of tea.
Here are a few more interesting quotes about coffee all filched from Quote Garden.
Coffee, the finest organic suspension ever devised. ~ Star Trek: Voyager
Coffee smells like freshly ground heaven. ~ Jessi Lane Adams
A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems. ~ Paul Erdos
Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after. ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh
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