Lemon Fresh from Office

It was just another grim meeting of project when our PM asked (in hindi) one of the team member about a deliverable which has to be sent yesterday. Our dear friend, who has learnt Hindi through few of his Hindi speaking friends and some typical Mumbai masala films and who still need to be corrected for his improper use of nouns , pronouns and rest of grammar, replied “diya na main kal tere ko, tere mailbox me atak gaya hoga ”. This one liner caused a red sheen on my PM’s cheek, a screwed smile on our face and a proud expression on my dear friend’s face who just replied to his PM’s question in Hindi. :P

After A While

It’s been a long time since I have written over here (almost two months!). I almost missed to write about so many things, my blog’s first birthday (Yes, it’s almost a year since I have started writing yippee!) and also my birthday (and I realized that I am growing old), movie which I wanted to see so much (Eclipse), my shift to a flat (after spending almost 2 yrs in a PG) and my first trip to States. Phewww… the one thing which has really taken a lot of time was house hunting (and I think it deserve a separate post, which I will write soon) and then making house a home. But now I decided to be regular here and I am all set for that, just wishing Mr. Balaji to fix my broadband connection soon so that I can start scribing again ;)

Confession of a Tea-a-holic II : Adieu

From today I am not receiving my favorite tea at my desk because my company decided to cancel the contract for handmade tea and coffee and replace it with much popular (and criticized) machine tea and coffee. Yesterday was the last day of “Mallesh bhaiyya (the person who serves tea on our floor)” and he gave the last handmade tea to us by telling that tomorrow he is leaving for Kerala (his native) .It was a very nostalgic moment as he was the one serving tea to us from past so many years. He will serve tea to us at 9.30 in the morning (as if telling us to leave early morning laziness and start working) and at 3 in the evening (awakening us from the after lunch syndrome). Requests for an extra cup of tea or special tea (without sugar or coffee with less milk) were seldom entertained.A few health conscious people would give their green tea bags and honey to him and he will provide special tea at your desk. He knew the preferences of everybody in the floor , whether it’s tea for me, coffee for Mr. Narasimhan , badam milk for Anil or boost for Vishnu . If you are suffering from common cold, he will give you a cup of piping hot milk so that you can add turmeric to it and drink. Yesterday was his last day (and so was the last day of my fav brew) and we gave him farewell by gifting him a shirt and a watch. His place has been taken by a glitzy coffee machine, which serves you a variety of coffee like cappuccino, espresso and latte (which most of the time tastes the same) but serves you a tea which is too frothy and too western. I so much missed my ginger tea and coffee drinkers missed their typical south Indian filter coffee.

Today morning I too joined the queue (which was never there earlier) in the pantry for getting tea and saw everybody giving same disappointed looks to the coffee machine. Everybody was missing the smiling face of Mallesh Bhaiyaa, his warm “Good Mornings “and also their favorite brew. Today, I realized that technology comes with certain disadvantages too and some things can never be replaced by machine. You can replace the entity but you can’t replace emotions.

Why Women are Complicated

Got this forward and couldn't resist to put it here.



PS: I strongly oppose "women being complicated" ;) What's your say ??

The FIFA Fever

I could see the world cup fever catching up from the month start. Newspapers started with a world cup special page and even my favorite page 3 papers were not spared with it. My inbox started receiving world cup forwards whether it’s the schedule, top players or link to websites catering to the world cup news and I faithfully forwarded them across( so that I can delete them and relieve my inbox with space crunch) . Alas, people mistook my sending FIFA forwards to them as my being an ardent football fan and I got more forwards back. Sorry going back to the football fever conversation, as soon as the K’naan’s ‘waving song’ soundtrack was released I could hear it all across my office bay (as ringtones) and also as dialer tones(though I should confess that I love this song!!). Today (being Friday a casual wear day), I could see people wearing different team’s jersey to show their support to teams. My friends asked me which team I am supporting ? Which obviously I took as most embarrassing question as I rarely know which team play better apart from some famous few like Brazil or Argentina(which I think everybody would be supporting ;) . Hence, to be on a safe side I replied Greece (Nop , I really like Greece as Greek man are considered most handsome ;) ) . As if this question was not enough they asked me who my favorite player is. Gotcha!!! . Now, this was more embarrassing then the first question. I know only few players like Beckham (who is not playing), Zidane(who I think is retires now) and Ronaldo( God knows if he is still there :| ).Thankfully somebody took the conversation to some other track and I was spared. Coming back to my bay I can see people leaving early so as to get some beers and catch up with the first match today. This weekend, outings (if any) are surly going to be in some sports bar. Anyways, I have decided to follow this world cup devotedly (so that I can answer some basic question at least). Though I don’t have any favorite team as yet but I just wish that the best team wins.



At last the final words before the world cup begins :)

Give me freedom, give me fire, give me reason, take me higher
See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets are, exaliftin , as we lose our inhibition,
Celebration its around us, every nation, all around us

Singin forever young, singin songs underneath that sun
Lets rejoice in the beautiful game.
And together at the end of the day.

WE ALL SAY

When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom Just like a wavin’ flag
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
- K'Naan


Pic courtesy :eazysong.blogspot.com

Different Faces of love

Read news in TOI sometime back about a grandmother becoming a surrogate for her daughter’s baby. But, I am not talking about surrogacy or the ethical issues involving that in my post here. It is about unconditional love between the daughter and her husband. The lady has been born without a uterus. This doesn’t deter her husband (then a lover) to marry her especially in a community where bearing a child is considered to be your foremost duty.

The second one, (which again I read in TOI) is about a guy who discovers that he has cancer just few months before his marriage. He undergoes treatment for cancer while his friends speculated about his marriage, especially, since it was only months (as it was an arranged alliance) that they know each other and have started chatting. But to everybody’s surprise the guy told them that the girl insists on marrying him despite his denial after his cancer episode and want him to go for sperm banking.
But then every story doesn’t have a happy ending. The one which I am writing about happened to one of my known. She was engaged and about to get married when one day while on her way back home she got strangled in the bus door and came under the bus. She was saved though she lost one of her leg. While she was lying unconscious in the hospital, oblivious to the fact that she has lost her leg, her to be in-laws and fiancée didn’t waste a single moment to cancel the marriage.

I never thought of putting this incident over here. But these two columns which I read in newspaper sometime back, forced me to write about it. I see her sometimes and wish to tell her not to worry about people from her past, there’s a reason why they didn’t make it to your future.Perhaps they are just not worth it.Love deserves respect and you somebody better.

Alcohorscope : Your Drinking Personality

Got this as a forward this morning and thought will share it with all my blog buddies. This post tells you your expected behaviour(based on your sunsign) after you get drunk ;) . Check this out :->

ARIES : Drinking style: Impulsive Aries people like to party and sometime sdon't know when to call it a night. Their competitive streak makes them prone to closing-time shot contests. They're sloppy, fun drunks, and they get mighty flirty after a couple tipples. Getting Aries people drunk I sa good way to get what you want out of them, should other methods fail. Aries can become bellicose when blotto, but they will assume that whatever happened should be forgiven (if not forgotten) by sunrise. They can be counted on to do the same for you -- so long as you haven't gone and done anything really horrible to them last night, you sneaky Gemini.

TAURUS Drinking style : Taurus prefers to drink at a leisurely pace, aiming for a mellow glow rather than a full-on zonk. Since a truly intoxicated Taurus is a one-person stampede, the kind of bull-in-a-china-shop inebriate who spills red wine on white carpets and tells fart jokes to employers, the preference for wining and dining (or Bud and buddies) to body shots and barfing is quite fortunate for the rest of us. This is not to say thatthe Bull is by any means a teetotaler -- god, no. A squiffy Taurus will get, er, gregarious (full of loud mouth soup, some would say) and is extremely amusing to drag to a karaoke bar when intoxicated.

GEMINI Drinking style : Gemini’s can drink without changing their behavior much-- they're so naturally chatty and short-attention-spanned that it's just hard to tell sometimes. They can amaze you by conversing with finesse and allusion, then doing something to belie an extremely advanced state of intoxication, like puking in your shoe. Gemini’s possess the magic ability to flirt successfully (and uninfuriatingly, which is very tricky) with several people at once. They like to order different cocktails every round -- repetition is boring -- and may create a theme (like yellow drinks: beer, sauvignon blanc and limoncello) for their own amusement.


CANCER Drinking style : Cancer is a comfort drinker -- and an extra wine with dinner or an after-work beer or six can be extra comforting, can't it, Cancer darling? Like fellow water signs Scorpio and Pisces, Crabs must guard against lushery. Cancers are brilliant at ferreting out secret parties and insinuating themselves on VIP lists -- and, in true Hollywood style, Cancers are never really drunk; instead, they get "tired and emotional" (read: weepy when lubricated). But there’s nothing better than swapping stories (and spit) over a few bottles of inky red wine with your favorite Cancer. Even your second-favorite Cancer will do. The sign also rules the flavor vanilla, and you'd be adored if you served up a vanilla vodka and soda.

LEO Drinking style : Leo likes to drink and dance -- they're often fabulous dancers, and usually pretty good drinkers as well, losing their commanding dignity and turning kittenish. Of course, they're quite aware they're darling -Leos will be Leos, after all. They generally know their limit, probably because they loathe losing self-control. When they get over-refreshed, expect flirting to ensue -- and perhaps not with the one what rung them. But Leo's not the type to break rules even when drunk, so just try to ignore it (try harder, Cancer) and expects a sheepish (and hung over) Lion to make it up to you the next day.

VIRGO Drinking style : Cerebral Virgos are compelled to impose order onto their bender. Their famously fussy quest for purity could lead to drinking less than other signs, sure --but it could also lead to drinking booze neat, to sucking down organic wine or just to brand loyalty. They rarely get fully shellacked -- but, oh, when they do! Virgo's controlled by the intellect, but there’s an unbridled beast lurking within, and they let it loose when walloped. It's dead sexy (and surprisingly unsloppy). As one Virgo friend used to declare, "I'm going to drink myself into a low-level of intelligence tonight." A toast to the sub genius IQ!

LIBRA Drinking style : "I'm jusht a social drinker," slurs Libra, "it's jusht that I'm so damn social?" Libra loves nothing more than to party, mingle and relate to everyone. Whether dipped in favor of Good Libra (with Insta-Frienddevice set to "on") or heavier on the Evil Libra side (they are little instigators when bored), the Scales can really work a room. Charming as they are, Libras are notoriously lacking in self-control, however, which can get them into all sorts of trouble --including wearing their wobbly boots waaaay too early in the evening, flirting with every man/woman in the roomor even blacking out the night's events entirely. Oops!

SCORPIO Drinking style : Don't ever tell Scorpios they've had enough, for they’ll smirk at you and quietly but intentionally keep tippling till they're hog-whimpering drunk, out of 100-proof spite. Scorpios like to drink, and screw you if you have a problem with that. Most of them seethe sauce as something to savor in itself, and not asa personality-altering tool -- though if depressed, self-loathing Scorps seek total obliteration. But generally, they're fascinating drinking pals, brilliant conversationalists and dizzying flirts. They also remember everything -- especially what you did when you were blitzed. Only drink with a Scorpio who likes you.

SAGITTARIUS Drinking style : In vino veritas -- and, for Sagittarius, in booze blurtiness: When buttered, they'll spill all your secrets and many of their own. Tactlessness aside, Sagittarius is just plain fun to drink with. This is a sign of serious partying (what else would you expect from the sign of Sinatra, Keith Richards, the Bush twins and Anna Nicole Smith?). They're the people who chat up everyone in the room, then persuade the entire crowd to travel somewhere else -- like a nightclub, or a playground, or Cancun. Good-natured hijinks are sure to ensue (including a high possibility of loopy groping; spontaneous Sag is a brilliant booty call).

CAPRICORN Drinking style : Capricorn is usually described as practical, steadfast, money-hungry and status-thirsty -- no wonder they get left off the astrological cocktail-party list. But this is the sign of David Bowie and Annie Lennox, not to mention Elvis. Capricorn is the true rock star: independent, powerful and seriously charismatic, not too eager to please. And if they make money being themselves, who’re you to quibble? But just like most rock stars, they’re either totally on or totally off, and they generally need a little social lubricant to loosen up and enjoy the after party, especially if they can hookup with a cute groupie.

AQUARIUS Drinking style : Aquarius and drinking don't go together that well(except for water, that is). They have an innate tendency toward know-it-allism, and if they get an idea while sizzled, they're more stubborn than a stain or a stone. If they're throwing a party or organizing an outing, however, they're too preoccupied with their duties to get combative -- and they make perfectly charming drunks in that case. Fortunately, they’re usually capital drink-nursers. They also make the best designated drivers (if you can get them before they start raising their wrist):Aquarius is fascinated by drunk people and capable of holding interesting conversations with soused strangers while sober.

PISCES Drinking style : If you're a Pisces, you've probably already heard that you share a sign and an addictive personality --with Liz Taylor, Lisa Minnelli and Kurt Cobain. Not only do Pisces like to lose themselves in the dreamy, out-there feeling that only hooch can give, but they build up a mighty tolerance fast. Who needs an expensive date like that? On the other hand, they’re fabulously enchanting partners, whether in conversation or in crime. With the right Pisces, you can start out sharing a pitcher of margaritas and windup in bed together for days. The phrase "addictive personality" can be read two ways, you know. ...


Disclaimer: Got it as a forward, so don't know the source of this post.But whosoever is the author , kudos to him.

BTW it's my 50th post. Cheers to blogging !!!!