2009

A collection of recollections about the year that just went by from some of the people I know...

Neha Pandey: my marriage
Shweta Suthar: otherwise most amazing thing happend in my life is that everything has got back to zero . i gave up my house i love the most, i gave up my marriage, job. so for me its like a new life!
Vivek Bangde: Sapna got married and my niece Siya was born close to my birthday
Aparna Rajgopalan: oh i turned 25 :P although i don't feel i have accomplished anything yet
Shadi Lahham: the day i met my gf
Divya Dave: my marriage
Guru Charan Das: joined in Warwick
Sachin Rathod: my CAR
Sana Pundeer: when my first freelance project completed successfully... in goa!! and when my best friend name her baby after me!
Bhavin Mali: I learned that whatever u do, it's absolutely impossible to stop loving someone... if u try like I did, u just end up wasting time....
Kaushik Sarkar: getting a male pet dog home
Neha Nahata: new job
Abhishek Majumdar: Designdaku!
Shivani Gakkar: after all these years of studying, i finally started working
Sara Bani: i lost a very important person and/but found my to-be-husband
Devesh Mistry: had gone to tokyo saw a new culture and met ppl. ... worked finally on a real car project and its coming out in the expo.... n we bought a new car...
Pavan Misra: getting married.... :D

2004

The year did set up lots that was to follow in future. I failed at my first attempt to enter NID, but decided to try again. Saw friends falling in and falling out of love all around me, it was all kind of uncanny. Had lost all interest in work, but still continued to be the blue eyed boy in my dept.

Bangalore was nice as usual, and we explored many food joints and other places like Rangashankara etc. Guddu got pregnant, and I had my first stint with cooking.

A rather uneventful year, actually.

2003

The year was so much about wor2 for me, or rather figuring out the work expected out of me. I had moved in with guddu & vishal, and was already falling in love with Bangalore. It was generally a happy year actually, though a little dull. One project at work - Scooty wheel hub weight reduction, was almost a killer, especially with numerous Mysore visits and my habit of picking up arguments :) I made two lasting friends at TVS, our VP BLP Simha and Guru.

And yes I had already started thinking about NID.

2002

2002 was quite an important year for me. It started with preparations for Ingenium, but the riots kind of derailed process. The riots also in a way defined not just that year, but many more to come. I questioned things a lot, and got only a few answers. Discarded some friends, the realisations were brutal...

College finished and started with my very first job. Started bloating with excessive rice in Hosur, and made some lasting friends from the GET group there. Learnt about the Gilbert's Syndrome, and perhaps for the first time got comfortable with computers.

Some people had even more interesting lives, while some had a dull year. A few views are shared below...

Bhavin Mali: may be that was the year when my frnd gave me a tiny photo of my first major crush which i had in my wallet till I came to NID!!
Amit Dongre: my first break-up, also met taru
Sana Pundeer: i discovered that i loved sculpting
Ashish Shah: had a major crush on the gal i liked the most.... was gathering some guts from few months to propose her n came to know that she already was into relationship just before a month... :(
Vijay Rajan: oh yeah my trip to goa with college friends
Samreth Singh: cheated for the first and last time? well first at least, last i dunno!
Shivani Gakkar: studied abnormal psychology and hindu philosophy and got totally mindfucked but enjoyed it, had an awesome time singing in college fests
Arpit Agarwal: "unsuccessful at everything attempted"
Sachin Rathod: i went to Amritsar for our annual Architectural Festival called NASA, and my team won a trophy there
Anand Bhushan: Definitely the most iconic year of this decade!!!! Christina Aguilera's album Stripped had released and the fashionistas went berserk!!! Fake Tans, Deadlock Hair, Pierced Navels, G- Strings were all the order of the day! Every boy and girl in my college that time began to cultivate a more sexually provocative image of themselves! Basically we got Dirrrrrrrrrrrrrty!!!!!
Divya Dave: i rode yamaha rx 100 and since then became my favorite bike :)
Abhishek Singh: i scored 3 goals in the football finals...
Namya Kapadia: i met with an accident just before a party, but still danced and had fun :)
Anuj Sharma: my first visit abroad..uk for study
Sudhir Bania: bike trip from Mumbai to Dahanu...a 20 km stretch along the sea coast...
Abhishek Majumdar: riding a bike in the rain with make-shift raincoat made from plastic sheets on my way from a construction site
Mousumi Biswas: me going to manali for three days on 26th
Apurba Pawar: "i grew up"
Ankur Sharma: had to run away with two damsels in distress in the middle of the night to save them from the local goons inf bangalore...
Muzayun: many of my firsts - my first train travel all alone, bangalore first time in life and i had my first mobile phone, my first cheers whatever you call it.
Bharat Pant: The birth of Divyesh would probably be the most important memory of 2002

2001

Another year...that's what it was for me. Can't think of anything so significant, someone proposed to me in college and I had no clue how to respond, so I promptly said no :) I got my first job that year with TVS Motors, where I joined the next year. Quite a dull year, but not so dull for many...

Amit Dongre: i think my ex gf was my gf then and we had a 'good' time
Shilpi Yadav: i was in college first year n had changed my eye color to grey
Janak Raghuraman: the only thing I can think about was going to JNCASR for the summer..
Bhavya Kamaliya: i was sick of a mad girl n got over being frndz with her.......she was a sicko....bitch.....
Ashish Shah: had topped in 2001 and was ranked all india 6th
Shweta Suthar: i had lost my drawing the final one my dad had left them behind the auto and i had a final jury 3 days later
Divya Dave: joined an entrance exam preparation class for architecture and had an amazing time for one full month, though i stood 4th in the state, i never thought about taking it up as a career even then
Vikram: got to know about the field of architecture
Utkarsh Gautam: gone to mumbai first time with my mom for engg. admission then again alone :) also first time on such a long journey, and first time in mumbai locals
Krity Gera: i started drinking in year 2001 on valentine's day
Jilesh Patel: in 2001 I was free, virgin and careless and in the same year I got married, lost my virginity :-( and started think about life
Ankush Sabharwal: 2001 was most probably working on the college mad mag; we made it from scratch, even did the layout and got the printing done and my fave chick in college ran off with another guy
Amrita Singh: my sister got married during this year and i didn't need to give my pre-board exam of +12 because of that!
Kiran Gaikwad: i enjoyed my love life
Tripti Sethi: preparing for ingenium...
Bindhu Malini: made music for the college play, was madly in love, was part of a great tamil play on war, was almost failing in class, was deeply immersed in NCC and went on the mad crazy magnificent trip to Orissa
Shweta Saxena: i was threatened by a junior when i ragged her in college, but fortunately i escaped :)
Anand Bhushan: 2001 was the year when i got drunk for the first time!!!! had my first cigarette! have rockin sex! attended my first fashion week!!!!! went to a gay bar for the first time! danced on tabletops in goa! phew!!!!! i loved 2001....!!!!!!
Vivek Bangde: saw an amazing gal...surabhi...
Guru Charan Das: I topped in 5th sem, got 82%
Aparna Rajgopalan: i finished school! and i was HAPPY and RELIEVED to be done with it!
Muzayun: did lots of louis khan sheets - architects would know what would that do to you, had my first officially month long night out sessions in the design studios. love was sinking me in, and i was soon on the train's track.

2000 - the beginning of a decade

I never thought of the year 2000 as the first year of a new decade. Now that the decade is finally ending, I am trying to recollect what made the last ten years special, not just for me, but also for people around me.

Decade is just a man-made term, but recollections are intrinsically inbuilt in each one of us, but often we forget looking back and looking within...

Here are some feedback from some of the people that were asked this question...

Sachin Rathod: broke a bone
Salil Bhargava: had my first cigarette
Divya Dave: made two very special friends that year
Abhinash Mohanty: started with NID
Ankush Sabharwal: maybe i saw my first xxx porn
Neha Pandey: PASSED HIGHSCHOOL WITH DIFFICULTY
Manoj AG: used a condom for the first time
Shruti Raheja: well i for one I didn't do so well in my exams, I did an internship with ABN AMRO, I worked with an architect....and yet I knew this wasn't my calling.....
Shweta Saxena: i got into architecture
Sanjeev behera: I would say the friendship was the most significant thing to happen in my life in 2000
Utkarsh Gautam: didn't get through any entrance exam
Subodh Gyan: i joined first job in my life
Ashish Shah: we had shifted to our new apartment!
Amarnath Shaw: my elder brother made me realized how important it is to study and study with a purpose
Sana Pundeer: probably the first time i got asked out
Suchitra Agarwal: i gt through nift
Ravi: i was in orissa and didn't see any of my family members for the whole year for the fist time in life
Varun Srivastava: started the year with a bang at the Essel World in Mumbai
Neha: 10th board exams
Vivek: i scored 92.5% in PCM so got through engineering in the first round unlike others
Nachiketa: scored the highest marks in hindi 10th board exams
Amrita Singh: me and my group won the first prize in dumb charades, just by luck :)
Mohammad Farag: I dropped college and focused on work...which was a life shift...
Sara Bani: i think i met my best friend the one i have even now - ambra
Anand Bhushan: i went from curvy queen latifah to anorexic chic kate moss! and 2000 had the midriff making a comeback! sigh! i miss 2000!

honey-green-tea

We had green tea today morning in office, more for health and curiosity reasons than of course its taste. Divya supplied the fresh and brand new bottle of mouthwatering Indian honey and I supplied the tea (Indian again). Vikram, Divya and me then decided to be the tea tasters. The first video attached shows the detailed process of making this exotic honey green tea while the second one shows the after effects.

Learn and enjoy!

a december morning...

4 traffic policemen keenly looking at the road to catch any traffic offenders and a bike with three men (none with the mandatory helmets) zoom past them and into the BRTS lane to cross the road. Surprisingly they didn't even look at the bike or the bikers. I was impressed.

An old woman crossed the road wearing a khakhi saree outside Dharnidhar derasar, and for a second I thought it was again a traffic constable albeit with a stoop. Another was a car with a big red L, whose driver was adamant about not letting anyone overtake his mighty car; a few lucky men on their cycles did, however, manage to speak past him.

A couple of cars almost crashed on the Shyamal crossroads, leading to heated arguments and lots of early morning commotion; nothing new here though. No fist-fights, so I didn't bother to stop and enjoy the scene, unlike many other fellow bikers.

Again looked at the numerous neem trees and their highly useful leaves. I used to extremely regular with them before Italy, never touched again them after that. Wonder how to inspire myself again for that.

Saw loads of food on the way, especially outside Prahlad Nagar garden, didn't stop to pick any. A couple fondling on the bike parked outside the garden looked up at me, and gave absolutely no expression. I was at least expecting irritation. Nothing at all was kind of weird.

Love Handles

Unlike the name itself, Love Handles have a rather bland meaning - excess fat around the waistline. A quick net research did not give any information on the origin of this rather interesting word. Perhaps this could be it - Bunches of excess fat at the waist, which one’s lover can grasp.

Like most fat on the body, Love Handles are also made of body tissue containing stored fat that serves as a source of energy; it also cushions and insulates vital organs. This is the best possible reason for having these, apart from the one (the ergonomic one) mentioned above.

There are numerous websites and videos with step by step guide to reduce these, however, most experts agree that spot reductions are impossible to achieve. Most still continue to try and often fail miserably.

Here are some images of these infamous and rather undesirable (for most) bulges of excess fat.




I can see this is an extremely boring post, and am rather keen on making it much more spicy. I have added a bit of masala through the images above, however, talking more on this could be positively risky!

The Water Bearer - Aquarius

My loyal mug!

This is what I see right now, an empty mug of tea. Many reflections about this drink, starting from how I started drinking it in the first place keep coming back to me from time to time. But what I see today is less of reflection, and more of print. I wonder how much of this is actually true/ applicable to me, but here it is.

The Water Bearer - Aquarius

The independent Aquarian tends to have fixed and positive opinions whilst at the same time being tolerant to the ideas of others. Aquarians make good friends and like to be of service to others although they are unforgiving to those who deceive them and often need solitude to pursue their chosen interest. The idealistic Aquarian, however, should beware of making ambitious plans which are seldom completed.

Sign - water waves
Planet - Uranus
Element - Air
Stone - Amethyst
Metal - Aluminium
Colours - Purple, Turquoise, Gray, Black
Flowers - Orchid
Herbs - Valerian
Suitable careers - Scientist, Lecturer, Translator, Entertainer (sadly no designer here)

Convocation series (an old post) - My first birthday again!

This one has a lot of Hulla Gulla especially with Divya in it :)

It was one of my best birthdays, all because of the people around me. The actual celebrations were even more grand...about 5 birthdays together! There was Kiwi cake for me...and most of it ended up on my face and hair!

It all seems to be so far away...however this daily journey to the studio through the Pigeon path can never be forgotten. Everyone will have good, bad and ugly memories (ya, I have them all) associated. Things have changed so much...for all of us in the video. We have all come so far away, something that will go on for the rest of our lives.

Its such an irrelevant video for most of us, except for those who feature in it.

P.S. this was an old post, saved last year even before convocation. Found it today...

Untitled...

Mass graves of men who died in the last two decades of armed struggle found in the last eighteen months by various human rights groups in the valley. Unnamed/ unmarked graved filled with dead bodies. Is it possible to remain apolitical when this happens in your background? I remember during the Godhra riots I felt so much turbulence inside. For Kashmiris this must have been going on for the last 20 years.

Mont Blanc is in the Supreme Court. The case involves their use of Mahatma for a pen they launched recently.

Tiger Woods now has seven women claiming to have had an affair with him. Needless to say, his record of hits is enviable even outside the golf course.

In other news, Karunanidhi might resign soon, India signs a nuke deal with Russia and Telangana under fire.

Flamingo dance/ Weddings/ Disaster

One of the most challenging things about attending an Indian marriage is the dance that precedes the actually marriage ceremony, especially if you belong to the groom's side. One requires special training in a sort of dance, which curiously reminds one of desperate flamingos dancing to attract the females and failing badly. This usually happens in the baraat and no one is generally spared, most of the times not even the groom.

Men and sometimes women look not only funny (and of course 'wannabe flamingos'), but also become the centre of attraction for the onlookers. A very entertaining site indeed, if you are not a part of the flamingo pack!

Of course there are varieties of birdies running and jumping around on the road ahead of the poor ghodi! There are some trained ones, Abhishek Singh and Vivek Bangde types, who dance confidently and lead the flamingo pack. Pro marriage dancers like them are needed to save the pack. Then there are some like Mahesh, who dance in their own world. They don't care even if the female flamingo doesn't look at them, they are like sufis...aiming for direct connection with the almighty with their flamingo dance (though its rather difficult to explain why the do this in a baraat). Then there is another type which dances for a second and then goes back in the background (clicking snaps, screaming to make conversations with fellow dancers, messaging on phone and so on); Vivek Amberkar falls in this category. And then there are some really stupid ones, who insist on dancing all through the baraat, without any idea of what they are doing, jumping around like ducks let loose on a beach trying to fly off, when chased by beach dragons - I am a certified member of this gang, maybe Bhavin also comes close. We are the funniest to watch but still insist on dancing - aankhir yaar ki shaadi hai!

There is nothing more embarrassing than looking at your own video dancing in a baraat. The only way to avoid this is by avoiding the baraat itself, a monumental task by itself! Of course one also has to then bear the wrath of the groom/ friends/ family etc.

I am looking for suggestions on how to make the most of this flamingo dance in the next wedding I attend. Are there coaching classes for something like this? In Ahmedbaad, maybe? I am willing to go to Mumbai also to master this art, provided someone is willing to help a log of wood like me. Any suggestions?