Aspirations Revisited ... !!

Sabhtarsha and I have known each other for 11 years now. Actually a bit less coz the first 3 years were spent just being class mates without any indication of being long time friends. One of the better friends that I have made in life. We have tread quite a similar path in our careers so far with subtle differences of course. And we keep crossing each other's paths.

We did our Graduation and Post Graduation from the great Fergusson College and have been friends ever since our MCS days. Or should I say our Swing days? One and the same thing.

We both got through the first company on Campus. Persistent Systems. Ended up in the same BU. More or less, we ended up in the same product but were doing different things. Out of the 10 that made it from Fergusson, we were 2 out of 3 who were not provided Placement. Where was the similarity going to end? Sooner than later I thought. But it didn't.

We ended up at ATN through I guess one of the only Ads that ATN has published in the papers. And we learnt everything we know today at ATN. Almost 5 years more were spent exploring each other's likes, dislikes, tantrums, falaana, timka. And then there were aspirations.

We both are quite straight forward and blunt. Brash at times. He is more sober than me I guess.

At all times, we knew what set us apart. We both knew that Sabhtarsha is much more technically sound as compared to me. I dont need to mention that actually. All our friends will vouch for that. But at the same time, we both knew that if you take into account everything other than being technical, I was better. This will also be confirmed by all our friends that know us.

He was destined to be a technical Guru. I was destined to be non-technical, people management, project management kind of a guy. And so we pursued. I always envisioned he will be an Architect sooner than later. He always felt I would be a Manager around the same time.

Then I quit ATN.

Today, we are in a strange situation. Sabhtarsha happens to be a Manager at ATN. With appraisal time at work and my promotion due as a Manager, I have been asked by the organization to become an Architect and not a Manager. Strange are the ways the world functions.

When I was asked to change my preference to Architect, I thought of Sabhtarsha. I smiled to the person speaking to me. He asked me the reason and I told him our story. Its still uncertain whether I will be promoted or not to either a Manager or an Architect. But that's immaterial.

I called Sabhtarsha and we met near ATN and spoke of the old times. Our aspirations. Our current standing. Very happy for each other and there is still a long way to go.

Good times.

Cheers ... !!

MadRAZMATAZZ ... !!

Its been 13 years since I last visited Chennai. I guess it was called Madras then. I had some very emotional memories of this place. The last time I was here was with my best friend, Aditya who sadly passed away in 2007. The flight was close to touching down in Chennai when it was circling over the sea. It was obvious that we were flying above Marina Beach. Chepauk stood out like a huge black box. I was with Aditya at Marina just one day prior to our departure from Chennai in 1998. Sigh.

It was quite unexpected that I was to go to Chennai. It was late Monday afternoon when I was informed about a visit to Chennai for 3 days starting from Tuesday. I was to go there with Lokesh and join Guru in Chennai for a KT session for the team being set up in Chennai.

To be honest, Chennai did not give me the same big city feeling that a Mumbai or Delhi or Hyderabad gives me. Even entering MEPZ which is supposedly the IT park of Chennai did not impress me coz it looked like the old industries of Pimpri-Chinchwad area in Pune.

Anyway, the 3 days in Chennai were great fun.

We reached Chennai at 0730 on Tuesday morning and reached office by 0830. Well before anyone showed up. The KT started at 11 am and I started it and it had a very smooth flow to it. The 3 of us were really enjoying this KT without any PPT or other documents. Just a marker and the White board. Frankly, I just got up on Tuesday morning at home in Pune and got myself to the airport at 0430 hours. I hardly knew what I had to speak before I left for Chennai. So having said that, I was surprised at myself and the others for having answered all questions asked by the audience. Well done.

We were now brimming with confidence and that took us into the lunch break and we had some local stuff like Rassam Rice, Sambhar rice, etc. The 2nd session continued in the same way and we had a great KT day.

We were discussing plans to drive to Pondicherry but being a Union territory, friends in Chennai said that stuff shuts down by 11 pm over there and we will need to find a place to stay to avoid the cops. Plan dropped. Now what? Booze anyone? Sure.

Guru took us to a fine bar called Aatangudi close to MEPZ. We started at 7 pm and were there till 11 discussing vague stuff like whom do you like the best in the team as a person and as a crush. Whom do you hate the most, etc. It was insane. When people are drunk, they can say such a lot of great stuff and in a great way about people they like. In the same way, the manner to express anger about people whom you hate is equally enjoyable. It was 11 pm. Now what?

We had our guest house booked but we hadnt been there yet. Lokesh and I set off in a cab with Guru and Uday on their bike. It took us some time to locate our guest house but Whoa. What a place.

A huge 3 BHK with one bedroom allocated for 2 people. So Lokesh and I took one. Uday and Guru being locals had to go home some time. The other 2 rooms were occupied by other folks. We had a cook for everyone who made us lovely tea at 12:30. A Wi-fi router, A/C, lavish bath and we were set for the night. The terrace was huge and we made frequent visits for tea over there. To make matters worse, I forgot my Pyjamas at home. So I was going around in a towel all along.

We played cards. Surprising. :) I taught them how to play a game called Minimum and the very popular Maharashtrian game of Mendi Coat. It was fun and Cards + Tea ensured we were up till 0530 hours. Having slept at 2200 hours on Monday night and having got up at 0330 on Tuesday morning, we were asleep for just 6 hours since Monday. Damn it.

Guru and Uday went home at 0530 hours. Lokesh and I reached office by 11 the next day all drowsy. The next day again had some KT sessions. In the evening, we decided to head off to Marina. In a local bus. Yeah.

It took us around 1.5 hours to reach Marina. We had some Fried Fish, Bhajias and Ice cream there. Marina reminds you so much about Juhu. Beautiful place which has unnecessarily been commercialized. Sigh. We were still hungry and we also had Yuvaraja with us today. He is also a local from Chennai who was in Pune for 2 months back in February. He wanted us to have food at Sarvanam, one of the most popular South-Indian joints around the world. Apparently, present in 18 countries. Impressive.

So we were back in a bus headed to Chennai Central. There is a Sarvanam branch at Chennai Central itself. And it was a lip smacking delight. Parota Bhaji, Chilli Parota, Ghee Idli, Sambhar Rice. Just out of the top draw. Yuvaraja left for home. The 4 of us boarded a local train to Guindy. And then a cab to the guest house. It was 12 again. We played some more cards and some more tea was consumed. This time we needed to sleep early since we didnt have any sleep. But the bed supported only 2 people. But we had to adjust for 4. So be it. Done with plenty of space to spare.

The last day was more of a drag. Our flight was at 2115 hours and we decided to go down for final round of tea and gupshup at 1900 hours. We also called the cab so that it arrives by 1930 and we can reach the airport in time. At least we thought so.

It was 1940 and no signs of the cab. We called him and he said he will be there in 5 minutes. Called him again and he said it will take 10 minutes more. It was 1955. This was getting scary. Finally, we called him again and he said the number of the cab is 5588 and the name of the cab driver too. The cab turned up but to our surprise the cab driver said that he had to pick up someone else. Doomed.

We were fortunate enough to get an auto immediately who demanded Rs. 170. We did not care. We just wanted to reach the airport. He said that it will take 20 minutes to reach. It was 2005. The auto driver was driving like a man possessed and we were hoping we would be alive by the time we reached the airport. And then calamity strikes. We ran out of petrol. What more can go wrong? We were still around 3 kms from the airport. We started yelling at him but to no avail. He did not understand Hindi or English and we did not get Tamil. Panic struck, we started waving at cars and buses to stop but it was of no use. Finally, we saw an auto and literally stopped in front of it. We just jumped into the auto and asked him to take us to the airport. Now this guy was in no hurry at all and was driving at his own sweet pace.

But, we were at the aiport at 2035. 40 minutes away from departure. And now we realised that autos are not allowed inside the airport campus. Dratch. We ran for 2-3 minutes to reach the Departures gate and showed our tickets to the Guard. Problem. This was International Departures gate. Man. A jog for another 2-3 minutes got us to Domestic Departures gate. We got out Boarding passes and the lady said "Gate 7. 1st floor." OK. Again a jog for 1 minute got us to Gate 7, 1st floor. But it was a Delhi flight. As John McEnroe would say ... YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS.

We had not even looked at our boarding passes. It said Gate 2. Where the hell is Gate 2 now? Ground floor of course. Back to the jog again. Reached gate 2 to realise we are the last 2 to get in to the bus that takes us to the aircraft.

Just the icing on the cake for the most memorable 3 days in Chennai.

Some incidents ...

Me: How do you guys survive over here man?
Guru: You mean the humidity?
Me: No dude. The crowd. The girls. There is hardly anyone to look at.
Guru: Aah. I see. Yeah. North Indians are very beautiful.
Me: Well yeah. But, even Pune has such a great crowd. You will agree right?
Guru; Yes buddy. By North Indians, I meant north of Chennai.

Lokesh: (singing a song from Robot) Kilimanjaro. Ladki parvat ki yaaron. Iska roop nikhaaro. Yaaro Yaaro. De do hamein ek chhoti bosi. (and then stops singing). What is the meaning of Bosi in Tamil?
Yuvaraja and Guru: Bosi? Whats that? We have never heard such a word.
Lokesh: Its there in the song
Yuvaraja and Guru: We dont know
Lokesh: Maybe it means a kiss. Ok, what do you call a kiss in Tamil?
Yuvaraja: Muttam
Me and Lokesh: (look at each other and burst out laughing)
Yuvarja and Guru wonder why.
Lokesh: It sounds so funny.
Yuvaraja: Why? Is there a meaning for Muttam in Hindi?
Me: Yes. Kind of. It means Piss or Pee.
Guru and Yuvaraja start laughing. This is the time when we get into the lift and are waiting for the door to close.
Lokesh: How funny will it sound if I say to my girl friend ... Can you give me a Muttam?
At this very time, 3 girls enter the lift and stare at Lokesh. Yuvaraja and Guru yell at Lokesh to cool it. Its a big issue here. ROFL.


It was fun. Cheers ... !!

Two Tales Of A City ... !!

I am back.

Its almost like every post of mine is a I AM BACK post. Unfortunately.

Here I am sitting at home and basically just relaxing. Am I? Well, weekdays are quite hectic in office and even today was hectic despite me taking a day off. Some long pending household chores. But that's done. Perhaps the best take-away from a holiday spent at home is home-made hot lunch. Delicious.

But anyway, life at office has been so fulfilling. I have already bragged about my new responsibilities in some previous post. So its no use repeating that.

I have had the chance to work with some very cool people. One of them being Guru. The background is that we needed some Senior SQL developer and he joined the team in December when I was on leave for a week. So, when I came back from my leave, Guru was the first person I met. He hails from Chennai and was supposed to be in Pune for just 2 months. Well yeah. ;)

It's August and every attempt of his to return to Chennai seems to be running into a road block. In the meanwhile, he seems to be enjoying his stint in Pune. It's not that bad after all.

But my first distinct memory of Guru goes back to either December or January. We were having a casual chat about some basic introductory stuff like Where are you from OR Where have you worked previously.

The chat meandered towards whether both of us have been abroad. And we both had. He mentioned that he had worked for L&T Infotech. I told him that I went abroad working for Tieto which is a Finland based company. And then it was like back to my strange relationship with co-incidences.

I mentioned to him that I was in Sweden. Being in Malmo, you tend to mention Sweden as compared to Malmo since it is not one of the more popular cities of Sweden. Surprise surprise. Guru was also in Sweden. I probed him about which part of Sweden had he been to. Without taking the name of the city, he mentioned something like its a small city in the southern part of Sweden. Then I mentioned to him that I had also stayed in a small city in Sweden called Malmo.

That's it. He didnt need another invitation. Guru happens to be very touchy about Malmo and how he regrets returning back to India from Malmo. He intends to be buried in Malmo apparently, maybe at the cemetry in front of Gustav Adolfs Torg. Since then, barely a week passes without us talking about Malmo and trying to find out ways to return to Malmo. We have even irritated our team mates with our Malmo tales. As a co-incidence, we both still carry our Skanetrafiken cards in our wallets. When I showed him my green Skanetrafiken card, he was quick to flip through his wallet and show me his white Skanetrafiken card. Memories.

And another co-incidence. He lived at Davidshallsgatan which was like one bus stop prior to the one I got down at, at Mollevansgatan. We both knew identical super markets, hang outs, etc.

And the discussions dont seem to end.

Two tales of two super sentimental losers about a beauty of a place called Malmo.

Cheers ... !!

Badhaai Ho ... !!

No, its not something great that has happened in my life.

One of those things in life for which I am infamous for ... my sad sense of humor.

A colleague of mine was on leave for a week. He called me from his hometown just to ask about what is happening in office. I was in the middle of some important work at that time and I was not paying too much attention to the discussion on phone while pretending to take immense interest in it. After discussing about the state of affairs for around 2 minutes, he said ...

He - Aapke liye ek khush khabari hai ...
Me - Haan haan bolo ...
He - Meri shaadi fix ho gayi ...

This was the time I completely ignored the task I was doing and started wondering why it could be a good news for me if his wedding has been fixed. This guy is probably the sweetest person in the team by a long distance and is extremely innocent. Had it been a bumchum, my reply to that statement would have downright cheap ... I am sure all my good friends reading this know what I mean ;)

Anyway ... since I could not completely ignore the job at hand and I could also not afford to hurt him and I wanted to finish the discussion soon, I had to say something ... and I failed miserably at it ... my exact words were ...

Chalo ... tumko aur mujhko bohot bohot badhaai ho ... tum aa jaao fir saath mein celebrate karte hai ... (one can possibly think of gazillion meanings for that statement)

Dratch ... after about an hour or so ... I realised what I had said ... even though I knew it was something uncalled for ... I still feel ... hell forget it ... he said it was a good news for me so why cant I congratulate myself for that ...

Just a day in the life of Pratik Beri ... RIP bro ...

Cheers ... !!

Losing a P ... !!

One of the saddest days of my life ... DAPP disintegrates and here I am sitting at a place far away from the mayhem ... Prakash leaves Pune ... to pursue something better in Noida ... surely a FLAG AT HALF MAST day ...

KYA DIN THE YAAR ... I have repeated this statement with Biwi so many times over the last 4 days ... its such a crushing blow when we both come back to India ... Prakash Bajiya saale ... :(

He will be missed ... from his unmimickable sense of singing ... to his innovative card games ... from his total negligence of timing :P ... to his filthy mouth ... :D ... kya kar diya saale ... I have never had such a MIXED FEELINGS birthday ever ...

My friend Adi's demise is still the worst moment in my life ... but this is a close second ... suddenly I feel too old realising that life has to go on and this is very much close to what's in store post our 30s ...

I dont have too many good (read: close) friends and its doubly screwing when someone as close as Prakash goes away ... I cant stop thinking about how lost we are going to be on weekends ... especially Friday evenings ...

Dev Uncle's kitchen, Meghdoot, Signature, TOaks, Marz-O-Rin, Pizza Hut, Tamhini Valley, Nivaant ... it brings tears when I foresee that DAPP would not be frequenting these places ...

Its with immense pain that I write that each of the members of DAPP would be in a different city starting tomorrow ...

Chal koi nahi bande ... here's wishing him all the best in life ... dekhe to sahi ki Noida mein woh baat hai bhi yaa nahi ...

signing off with a patented Prakash Bajiya dialogue ... one that he used when we reached the top of Rajgad on a terrible windy, rainy and slippery trek ...

Ban naa chaahte ho duniya ki sabse badi company? :P

and I would like to dedicate one more of his punchlines (I have also been using it of late :D) to Prakash ... JAZBA HAI BANDE MEIN ...

Cheers mate ... and Plan C yaad rakhna :P

Regretting a Joy ... !!

Ouch ... this week has been excruciatingly painful ... Paris dreams went up in the air ... er ... ash ... and there are still signs that this may continue ... something tells me I am never gonna visit Iceland in my life :P

This was followed by me not being present for the Bachelor's party of one of my dear friends ... Sabhtarsha ... and today he enters wedlock ...

After irritating the hell out of each other for 9 years ... from FC to Persistent to AT ... it almost felt like I was wedded to him ... and I am hoping my wife does not read the last statement :P

Here's wishing my good old fat (I heard he has been gymming :P but I also heard he has not given up on Good Luck yet :P) friend a sweet married life ... have a good one mate ...

I hope Sabhtarsha is an even better husband than he is a friend ...

Cheers ... !!

Crackerjack weekend ... !!

And even that is an understatement.

It was an enthralling weekend ... er ... extended enthralling weekend. We didnt even know it would turn out to be such a showpiece.

When Biwi and I came back from swimming on Thursday morning, we were at Meghdoot having an Uttapam and discussing what we would do tomorrow (it was Biwi's birthday). We both had applied for leave but we were unsure as to what we would end up doing. Dinesh had said that he will also be on leave if there is some plan. Prakash had said that he will not get a leave come what may. Somehow, MUMBAI came up ... :)

No more discussion was needed. We were going into flashback mode. Back in 2004, I had just learned how to drive a car and Biwi was working in Mumbai at that time. I had borrowed money from numerous friends (I was not working then) and managed to go to Mumbai to surprise Biwi on her Birthday. We had gone to Marine Drive to cut the Birthday cake. Yes ... we were going to do that again.

The plan was to leave Pune by 9 pm and reach Marine Drive by midnight. Spend time at Marine Drive. Move on to Taj and Cafe Leopold and round it off with a drive on the Worli-Bandra sea link (it was toll free for another 4 days :P). With this discussed, we left for office on Thursday.

Biwi and I reached home at 8 pm and were ready to leave in another 30 minutes. Prakash came home. We left at 8:45 pm and moved to Chandni Chowk. We met Dinesh over there and left for Mumbai. We all were very hungry and had to stop near Indira Institute to have some food. By the time we left, it was 10:30 pm. The drive till Lonavala was hassle free but fog engulfed the road at Khandala. Visibility was sketchy and driving was extremely slow. To make matters worse, the land slides had caused 2 lanes to be shut. When we started descending the Ghat, fog disappeared but only to be replaced by rain. It was breezy rain till Panvel but when we entered New Mumbai, it started pouring down. Fortunately, the time was such that there were hardly any vehicles on the road. It was scary to watch cars parked on the road itself. All the images of News channels came storming back about the dreadful Mumbai rains. By the time we cleared Chembur and Sion, the rain was getting even more heavier. We reached Marine Drive at 1 am. It was just drizzling now and we thought it was quite apt coz we had to cut the Birthday cake. We all got down and Biwi did the needful.












We enjoyed for around an hour. There was a police van just behind our car which prompted us to get moving. We moved on to the Taj and it was a mixed feeling. We were driving through the lanes of Colaba asking for directions. The next thing we knew was that we were in the Taj driveway. An ensemble of security personnel greeted us. We had no intention of going inside the Taj. We asked them for directions for Cafe Leopold. Since there was a divider in place, we had to go towards the end of the Taj and take a U-turn. It was both fascinating and gruelling to watch to Taj from so close. There were still some dark spots around. Sigh. Towards the corner of our eyes, we could see the Gateway of India in all its splendor. It looks even better on a rainy overcast night without a crowd.



We reached Cafe Leopold but I guess it was too late. The shutters were semi closed and we thought we can give it a miss.



Right then. Onto the Worli-Bandra sea link. We kept asking for directions to reach Kemp's Corner in Worli. We even thought of getting down and visiting Haji Ali but the rain was so heavy that walking down the sea for 15 minutes didnt sound very exciting. We finally reached the sea link and wasnt it awesome? Hats off. It looks like a showpiece. In hindsight, it could be said that it should be looked at during the daytime but nevertheless it was a spectacle at night. Clicking pics was difficult due to the rain. The police didnt allow us to get down from the car and stand on the bridge. After spending around 30 minutes, we moved on.








We got down at Bandra and moved towards Pune via Sion, Chembur and Vashi. The rain was incessant and showed no respite at all. We needed some snacks and tea since I was feeling sleepy while driving. We halted at a hotel just before Lonavala. Biwi took over from me in the car and I dozed off a bit. Then we experienced 10 minutes of mayhem.

Towards Khandala, we were driving from the centre lane and the car stopped all of a sudden. There was a truck around 20 meters behind us and we had to make sure the car didnt retrace. The hand break was not pulled up completely so I pulled it hard. I took the driver's seat but the hand break was not ready to come down. Wet hands made it all the more difficult. There was a mini traffic jam coz of us and the truck behind evaded us by a whisker. Finally, we were able to get the hand break off and moved on. Phew ... !!

We reached Pune at 7 am and went to Good Luck. Had some Naashta and dropped Dinesh at Chandni Chowk. Prakash also went home while Biwi and I hit the sack as soon as we reached home.

The Birthday was spent at my in-laws place. My Saala had bought a new Pulsar 180. We all went to Dagdushet Ganpati to perform pooja. Some shopping ensued and at 8 pm, DAPP were back together at Inox. We saw Ice Age 3. Delightful movie. A must watch. I would advise everyone to catch a night show during some weekend coz families get their kids and its a fun atmosphere in the movie hall listening to giggles and crackles of kids. We came to our place after the movie and Dinesh and Prakash had got some crackers.

We were not sure if 11 pm was the right time for crackers but still we went ahead. After some shots, 2 guys came storming out of a society and started yelling at us. We knew it was our fault and apologized immediately but there guys were not ready to cool down. Finally, we asked them to take any action they desire against us before moving on.

I met Pranay and Devyani at Good Luck on Saturday morning (Biwi was working). It was funny. I had gone to Mumbai the same day that they had come down to Pune. :). We walked till IMDR (for old time's sake :P)and chatted for an hour or so. Then I went to Gaurav's place. Initially, only Gaurav and I were supposed to meet. But we were joined by Charan, Amol and Pushkar. We had a great time chatting away till evening. Amol was the show stealer as always. Kudos sire :P.

Dinesh and Prakash had got an aquarium for Biwi as her Birthday gift. The 2 fish are very cute. We have named them Nemo and Peaches. :P
It was a typical DAPP Saturday night.

Sunday was consumed mostly by sleep and rounded off with the marathon Wimbledon final. IT WAS ALL IN THE EYES ... ANDY BLINKED FIRST ... !!

Cheers to a wonderful weekend ... !!

Halo of countryside ... !!

I could actually imagine that ...

It was a fun trip. One of my most satisfying moments in life. Staying in a city, we somehow always cringe to break free ... explore unchartered territory ... do something you have never done before ... basically you want to add to your resume of experiences ....

We picked the long weekend of 1st May to visit Sangaon. This is a small village on the outskirts of Kolhapur ... for people who know a bit more ... Sangaon is a stone's throw away from Kaagal ... well not exactly a stone's throw ... its around 6 kms from Kaagal. Biwi's Nanaji owns a farm (I dont like that word ... hence I am going to use the word Khet from now on ...) at Sangaon. I had been to this Khet once before but I had hardly explored it ... this time it was going to be different ... it was a nice incentive to go there ... since we had not been to Kolhapur in over 2 years ...

My in-laws were also going to join us there. Hence, we planned it in such a way that we will use one car and one bike to travel to Sangaon. Everyone assembled at our place at 4 am on Friday ... thats Dinesh, Prakash, father-in-law (Pappa), mother-in-law(Mummy), Biwi and I. Prakash and Dinesh started on Dinesh's bike while the rest travelled in our car.

I wont delve too much into the journey ... except that it was a short and sweet drive ... with hardly any traffic ... toll booths were idle ... we stopped for Naashta at Karad ... Prakash swapped places with Biwi in Satara ... and I swapped places with Biwi in Karad ... driving a Pulsar on NH-4 is a heavenly experience ... we went from Karad to Kaagal in 57 minutes ... :) ... Biwi did an admirable job anchoring our car till Sangaon ... in fact she drove beautifully ... Dinesh swapped places with Pappa in Kaagal ... Pappa and I bought from cooking oil from Kaagal and reached Sangaon ... by now everyone from Kolhapur (read Biwi's Nanaji's family ... thats Nana, Nani, Mama, Mami, Mausis, Mama's kids, Mausi's kids) had reached the Khet ... Sangaon is divided into 2 parts ... Sangaon Kasba (this is more of a marketplace kind of a place) and Juna Sangaon (this is where the Khet is and it is a very quiet place with Khets all around) ...

After exchanging pleasantries it was time to make plans for the day ... the menu for the day was Mutton and Chicken Rassa ... or more specifically Kombda Rassa ... and Vade to boot ... this is the famous Kombda Vade ... the menu was mentioned as soon as we reached the Khet ... so we wanted to be very hungry before devouring all that ... Nanaji took us to the well (Kua) of the Khet ... the cock went through the sacrifice ordeal ... Yes its not good viewing ... but that's that ...








The next thing to do was swim in the well ... I had done that during my last visit too ... but somehow it felt amazing this time around ... the fact that it was close to 40 degrees outside and almost ice-cold in the well made it all the more enjoyable ... Pappa, Nanaji, Shivam and Soham (Mama's kids) joined us in the well and it was mayhem ... Dinesh went into a diving frenzy ... from unprecedented heights ... I too joined later and we started a "Mutka" regime ... it is diving in such a way that your legs go into the water before your head ... and in doing so ... you should cross your legs ... difficult proposition ... :P




Anyway, we swam for around 2 hours and it needed someone to come and drag us out of the well ... we were hungry now ... and the food made our day ... Kombda vade were lip-smacking ... couple that with Mutton ... Masala rice ... plain rice ... and off-the-tava-chapatis ... since Prakash and Dinesh were coming to Sangaon for the first time ... they were forced to eat a lot ... and I mean it ... they were sweating profusely throughout (I have been through this before :P) ...

We lazed around in the courtyard and tried to find some sleep ... but the heat and some ants made it difficult ... we garnered some sleep before everyone assembled for tea at around 5 pm ... tea was just a starter ... the amount of junk food on offer made us skip a beat ... biscuits ... poha-chiwda ... chips ... nuts ... cashews ... bhutta ... and they kept coming ...




We decided to visit the river that flows through Juna Sangaon ... its around a km from the Khet. The walk from the Khet to the river was extremely picturesque and it culminated into the most ideal setting of a river flowing through the countryside with a wooden over bridge and acres of land to park your backside and get submerged in this aura ... there was a jamun tree over there and this being jamun season ... we had plenty of jamuns ... it was getting dark and walked back to the Khet ... the heat was still very much present and we were feeling the itch to have something chilled ... being a small village we were doubtful if we would get anything ... we walked from the Khet to Kasba Sangaon ... we were fortunate enough to find a shop selling soft drinks and ice cream ... well ice cream in a village sounded a better option ... and it was ... we all felt much better after the ice cream went down the system ... we walked back and it was now time for cards ...














Everyone went off to sleep at around 10 pm in the house and reminded us about the positions we need to take in the house when we plan to sleep ... we ignored it at that time only to repent later ... :P ... playing cards has also become such a ritual ... and Minimum at that ... its a fun game and keeps you engrossed ... Biwi, Prakash, Dinesh and I laughed the night away ... mainly discussing about all that we observed with the people present on the Khet ... poor souls ... it was like despite being good hosts they were the laughing stock ... :) ... it was only when we started hearing weird noises that we decided to call it quits and go off to sleep ... even then we went in the house and started laughing ... much to the dismay of all those who had already dozed off by now ... there were lots of mosquitoes ... so it was not trivial to find sleep ... luckily we had bought some mosquito coils ... and got saved ... but we were still laughing so much that it made us get up and go to the kitchen just to finish off the laughing ... we were asleep in some time ... and that completed a most memorable first day of the trip at Sangaon ...







The next day was spent pretty much doing the same stuff ... a heavy Gaon kaa Naashta ... playing cricket with Soham and Shivam ... swimming in the well ... a heavy lunch (again :P) ... pursuit of sleep in the afternoon ... etc ... there was a small difference though ... Prakash, Dinesh and I wanted to have a bath in the bore well ... just adjacent to the Khet ... but it was occupied by some women who were washing their (?) clothes ... we sought refuge under the tamarind tree (we saw almost every type of tree during the 3 days) ... sang some very unfortunate songs :P ... maybe that hastened the washing by the women ... but we also knew that the water will not be available for eternity ... and as ill luck would have it ... the water stopped as soon as Dinesh and I stepped in ... dratch ... we had a bath with whatever water was left but Prakash had to go back to the Khet and have a bath ...

The evenings were something we looked forward to coz the heat during the day was relentless ... we wanted to go back to Kasba Sangaon to have ice cream like yesterday ... only today we didnt realise what the time was ... the elders advised us against going coz it can be dangerous during the night ... but we still wanted to go and we did ... just that our CITY minds refused to accept that we were not in a CITY ... we reached Kasba Sangaon at around 9:30 pm ... and it was pitch dark and pin drop silence ... Yes ... the Gaon was fast asleep ... and we were left looking stupid ... no other option but to head back to the Khet ... it was nevertheless a good experience walking through the brazen paths late in the night ...

On reaching the Khet ... we played cards but there were even more mosquitoes than yesterday ... so we decided to go in and have some fun but everyone was asleep ... so we decided we will sleep in the kitchen ... chatted for a while ... played cards and then dozed off ...

The day of the trip was the final day ... as usual we got up and had Naashta ... this was followed by the most intense cricket matches that I have ever played ... and thats quite a statement ... it was Mama, Biwi, Dinesh and Shivam in 1 team while Prakash, Mummy, Pappa and I represented the other team ... quite a mismatch considering the fact that Mama has played (and still plays) state level cricket ... not that we were going to play with a season ball ... but still ... the first 2 matches were quite close ... we fielded first in both matches ... it was a 6 over affair ... Mama's team made 47 ... we sent Mummy and Pappa as our openers and we struggled :) ... when both of them got out ... it was upto me and Prakash ... we batted well and made sure we are within striking distance of the total ... but Prakash got out ... we still needed around 20 in 2 overs and one of those was going to be bowled by Mama ... I extracted 7 off Mama's over ... and we still needed 13 off the last over ... Mama tossed the ball to Biwi ... this was going to be interesting ... I didnt know whether I should go for the win :P ... but Yeah ... a loss is a loss ... even worse if its against my wife ... :) ... the first ball was a four ... the next was two ... then a dot ball ... we needed 7 off 3 ... the next was a four ... 3 off 2 ... dot ball ... 3 off 1 ... this was the moment of the match ... I thought I hit the perfect shot straight down Biwi's left hand ... but Mama just stuck his hand out ... the ball stuck and he ran me out at the bowler's end ... they rejoiced so much that all the elders busy preparing for lunch came out and asked what all the noise was all about ... and they went back holding their heads when they came to know that it was just a match ... but they didnt say GROW UP ... :)

The next match was also close ... I was surprised how well I played in the first match since I had not held a cricket bat for ages ... but Mama was a crucial factor ... he was so central to their scheme of things ... again they put up a huge score ... 58 ... and we had to get 59 ... this time we sent Prakash and Mummy to open ... both got out in the first over to Biwi ... Biwi was stellar with her bowling ... kudos ... :) ... so it was left to me and Pappa ... Pappa also got out in the next over to Mama ... and we had to make 50 in 4 overs ... hardly an inspiration ... but I soldiered on ... I targetted the overs that were not bowled by Mama ... hit lots of boundaries ... in fact I got 13 in one of Mama's overs ... we needed 22 in 2 overs ... Mama bowled the penultimate over ... and he bowled well ... I managed only 7 ... and we were left with 15 to get off 6 ... again Biwi was going to bowl ... Deja Vu ... or was it? ... I hit the first 2 balls for 4 ... we needed 7 off 4 ... the next ball was bowled almost at my chest and I fended it off to get 2 runs ... a huge argument ensued coz I definitely thought it was a no-ball ... but Mama was not ready to listen ... it was very competitive ... so it was 5 off 3 ... dot ball ... 5 off 2 ... and I got out ... bowled ... Ouch that hurts ... lost 2 close matches ... the third match was one sided coz we lost by a huge margin ... sob ...

we then headed to the well ... and this time we were going to make it count ... almost everyone on view was in the well ... Dinesh, Prakash, Biwi, Soham, Shivam, Pappa, Mummy (though she didnt swim), Nilambari(Biwi's cousin ... or shud I say Saali :P), Mama and myself ... it was highly enjoyable ... but Pappa, Mama and Mummy wernt there for long ... Dinesh and I went off on a diving spree ... we went further and further up until it started looking scary from up ... the dive from the highest point was extremely nerve racking ... its funny that you know you are not falling on firm ground ... its just water and yet you feel you will get hurt ... but what a dive it was ... from hot air(when you are about to jump) to cooler breeze (when mid-air) and finally cold water ... quite a transition ... that made us repeat it ... 3 hours came and went ... then finally we came out ...




We had planned to leave for Pune at around 1:30 pm ... so we needed to have lunch and get going ... the moment we came out of the well and reality dawned that we will be leaving soon, the mood dropped ... we talked of deferring our departure ... and everyone agreed ... so we were back to being happy ... Mami and Maheshwari (another Saali) had come to the well to inform us that lunch is ready ... we could not see people all dry ... we somehow managed to get Mami to the well and Biwi poured a bucket of water on her ... Maheshwari was close but not very close and she was already retracting ... I ran and got hold of her ... and after some time even she bore the brunt of the same bucket of water ... so now we were much more satisfied ... :)

Mami was hell bent for revenge ... and she started filling a bucket as soon as we reached the house ... but to her dismay I really didnt have an issue getting wet again ... in fact I loved it ... she started filling a second bucket ... someone called out for her and she turned ... then it was easy for me to come and pick up the same bucket of water and pour it on her ... 2-1 to me ... :P ... and thats how it stayed ... first leg goes to me ... revenge is promised for next time ... we will see ... an away win is very important :P ...

It was again very hot and we really wanted something cold. When I asked around about how many are ready for a beer ... I got a decent response ... it was Mummy, Pappa, Prakash, Biwi and Mama ... I too decided to have beer ... yes I have quit drinking but the occasion got to me ... cant help it ... Dinesh and Prakash went to Kasba Sangaon and got beer, soft drinks and chakna ... we all went back to the well and sat in the shade of a tree ... we were joined by 2 of Pappa's friends ... one of them was called DESAI SAAHAB ... and wasnt he funny ... he talked till the cows came home ... we were busy sipping beer and soft drinks and this man was just going on and on about the food he likes ... the places he has visited across India ... his farmhouse in Goa ... how there is no place like Goa (I quite agree) ... all the others did was nod in approval ... there were some trademark dialogues that are expected when people get high ... like "Our doors are always open for you Desai Saahab" (Yes it was said in English :P) ...

Finally, we went and had lunch ...

Lunch was prepared by one of Biwi's cousin grandfathers ... quite a task to explain the relation ... but he had made delicious chicken biryani ... cashew and raisins just added to the flavor and we devoured everything that came our way since it was the Last Supper ... eerrr ... Last Lunch at Sangaon ... after that we dozed off outside in the shade of yet another tree ... we got up at around 5 pm ... had tea and were ready to leave ... I must admit it was sad to leave such a divine place ... the food and the people were just amazing ... but all good things come to an end sometime ... and so did this ... we left Sangaon at 8 pm ... 7 hours behind schedule ... knowing that the next day in office will hurt ... both physically and emotionally ...

Adios Sangaon ... but we will be back ... Prakash is already planning his honeymoon at Sangaon ... :P'

Cheers ... !!

Wishes ... !!

A year wiser? I doubt that ... a year older? I more than vouch for that ...

As has become a ritual with me ... I spent my birthday away from work ... and with my family ... and more importantly ... at HOME ... doing stuff that I like a lot ...

Well ... I am almost at the footsteps of an age which is described as VETERAN in cricketing terminology ... it just feels like yesterday that the TEENS deserted me ... and here I am staring at the wrong end of the TWENTIES ... I have started inviting stares from people who are not a lot older than me and I still find it convenient to call them UNCLE ... and I am getting used to the fact that more and more teenagers are calling me UNCLE ... :) ... call that a residue of age ...

So it was nice to sit in front of the TV the entire day ... watch IPL ... gorge on Mangoes ... swim ... chat on Yahoo to absolute strangers ... sleep (in all its splendor) ... and finally have a 4 course HOMELY LUNCH ...

people who matter ... wished ... Biwi decorated our room ... Dinesh and Prakash gave a nice gift ... and all 3 made it a point to come back from office early ... so that we could have a good evening ... Chocolate cake from Copper Chocs never disappoints ... couple that with a quiet dinner at Signature ... and a prank hour (with target as Prakash) ... some chatter about out trip to Sangaon in a couple of days time ... and finally some more chatter while lazying in the society garden ... till 3 in the morning ... thats more than handy recipe for a good old fashioned Birthday ...

Happy Birthday Pratik Omprakash Beri ... some things in life are priceless ... for all others ... you need MONEY ... ;)

Cheers ... !!

Missing ADDY ... !!

Its the 2nd death anniversary of Addy today and I am missing him a lot.

Its funny how the image of someone who is no more with us always stays the same. No matter how old you get.

Take care bro ... !!

Friends get hitched ... !!

Three of my good friends got married over the last week or so. Its fun attending weddings ... especially if all 3 were in 3 different cities and with 3 different set of people.

The first one was on December 20 in Pune. It was the Nikaah of Murtaza and Rashida. We had gone with some of our close Fergys friends. It had been such a long time since I last attended a Muslim wedding. I could not have missed it at any cost. We were not disappointed. The Biryani ... the kababs ... and the curry along with Rumaali roti and ice creams were of the highest order. The only thing disappointing was when Murtaza chatted to me 3 days later and told me that lot of the food got wasted since lots of people didnt turn up. That was like a dagger. I could have done with some more of that food. How can people afford not too attend such a feast ... !!







Bhushan and Minal got married the next day at Kolhapur. This time Charan, Prashant, Lalit and I went to Kolhapur to attend the wedding. The drive to and fro Kolhapur was amazing with that kind of company. It was a typical Kolhapuri wedding ... an entertaining Baraat with everyone dancing on the roads ... lots of pretty faces for the eye exercise ... and Zhanzhanit Kolhapuri Jevan with Papads, Achaar, Masaale Bhaat, Tava Bhaaji, Batata Vade, Puri, Chapati and Moong Halwa.






Yesterday, Pranay and Devyani got married at Thane. One more chance to visit my favorite city of Mumbai. Pranay is one of my closest friends and it felt great to see my GD getting married. This guy has had his share of ups and downs. More downs than ups. I admire him for the way he has taken everything in his stride. Great person and a great advertisment for friendship. The company here was totally different. Mahesh, Anay, Rupesh, Ankur, Swapnil and Gunjan. Not to forget ... Biwi was also with me :). Again, food was amazing ... mostly on the lines of Bhushan's wedding. . Our return train was from VT. It was such an eerie feeling to be walking across the length of VT (I dont like calling it CST) ... there were some bullet marks visible on one of the walls and it only made us look away ... just imagining the massacre is such an exercise in thought.

But, its a time to rejoice for 3 couples ... time for them to have a fabulous life in matrimony ... Cheers to Murtu, Bhugho and Bunty ... way to go gentlemen ... !!

DAPP Calendar is ready ... !!

It looks great. That being an understatement.

I have said it a gazillion time before that it gives me immense joy to execute a plan successfully. The DAPP (for late risers its DineshAmrutaPratikPrakash)Calendar was planned last month and it has come out better than expected.

We spent nearly a day shortlisting the photos for the Calendar. The theme for the Calendar was ... 3 pics for each month ... one individual pic ... one group pic .... and the last one would be a miscallaenous pic that all of us liked ... for example ... a scenery or something abstract. As far as possible, the individual pic and the group pic for any given month should not contain the same people. For example, if my pic is chosen as the individual pic for the month of April ... the group pic should contain Dinesh, Prakash and Biwi. But that was not possible for every month ... :(

Selecting the pics for the final Calendar was an arduous task but we saw it through. Once we had pics for all 12 months ready ... we decided we will have 3 more pages. The first page would be a cover that will have all 4 of us in the pic ... the second page would be a Collage containing lots of pics of the 4 of us ... this page will be present between the pages for June and July ... and finally the last page would contain another pic that contains all 4 of us. We were extremely lucky to get 2 pics that contain all 4 of us.

Once we had pics for all 15 pages ready, I sought the help of my colleague at work ... Rahul ... who downloaded some nice 2009 Calendar templates and effectively organized all the pics on the template. Thanks for that Rahul. I got the pages printed from Exquisite printers as referred to by Rahul and then got all 3 calendars binded from ABC. It looks even better on paper than on the computer.

Here is a sneak peek at THE DAPP CALENDAR FOR 2009 ... !!
































Cheers ... !!