Cricket ain't gonna be the same again !!!

The master dancing down the pitch and sky rocketting the leather so high that had it plucked the gorgeous air hostess out of the plane wouldn't have caused much of a surprise. That's what we have been seeing since the last 12 years and probably for the last time ever. The dawn that arrived way back in June 1996 has reached the dusk & am pretty sure Cricket ain't gonna be the same again for me.

For guys like me, who are in their mid to late twenties, the actual cricket started around the year 1989. It was the time when the likes of Gavaskars, Vengsarkars, Amarnaths & Shastris were fading into oblivion and our fathers were in a state we currently are in. We untill then had only heard of the heroics but didn't really visualize it, probably that made the impact less impounding. I still remember the first time i saw a live match on TV, it was the Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket. I was hardly 4 years old then but still remember the joy and excitement it generated in our drawing room. As Indians were thrashing the Pakis, i was riding upon my dad's shoulders and dancing along with him infront of our new Weston TV. Some things remain etched in your memory and one such incident was Ravi Shastri riding his Audi with the entire team on it after winning the Man of the Series Award for his exemplary all round display throughout the series.





Cut to the year 1989, arrived on the Indian cricket scene a wobbly haired kid who didn't look like the other lots in the team. He was the one responsible for making my Nani skip her daily Puja to see cricket. More than anything else he was an inspiration, someone who showed even kids can play with Men. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar ought to be the guy responsible for doubling the cricket viewership in India. My mama was not a cricket loyalist before his debut but things changed later on. The way he fought back after being hit by a bloody delivery, the way he played his cover drives, his backfoot punches & his front foot sixes made each kid emulate him. Before his arrival kids loved to do both but later on if you were not a batsman in your gully team, you are not there in the team. This was the effect this 16teen year old had on the entire nation



Thanks again to a bespectaled studious looking guy who brought back the magic of bowling. Seeing him bowl felt like someone coming straight to the playground after his chemistry lab practicals. The long white sweater was nothing less than an apron. Anil Kumble was sheer dedication, determination & hardwork. His 6/12 against the west indians & 10 wicket haul against arch rivals pakistan ought to be one of the finest display of spin bowling. He was not a wizard in turning the ball, but i somehow feel its his 100% behind each delivery that seemed to have paid off.

Azzarudins, Manjrekars, Prabhakars & Jadejas were also at the peak of their carreers and cricket was fun to watch.



Year 1996, ought to be a glorious year in Indian cricket. It gave us two of the finest servants who would serve Indian Cricket for a decade to follow. Enter the "God of Offside " & "The Wall of Indian Cricket " onto the cricket scene in the same test match. It was Test Match number 1328 & was a memorable one. While Sourav showed his audacity en'route his Century on debut, Rahul showed his class. Eventhough he was unlucky to get out on 95 but he let the world know his arrival onto the big scene.

Indian Cricket was in safe hands which was further strengthened by the arrival of a cricketer with a very short name. My name is Laxman ... Sai Laxman ... Venkata Sai Laxman .... Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman. Well that was Laxman immitating Bond ... James Bond. Eventhough he had made his debut in the year 1996, it was year 2000 which actually brought him into limelight. He has the knick of tormenting and torturing the aussies and he has been doing it till date with utmost sincereity.

Now as we step into the year 2009, we might not see each of them for too long. With Kumble already out, Sourav playing his last match as i pen down this blog, i dont see the other 3 carrying on for long.

I had to be in india this time, coz i desperatley needed to see my favourite champ playing all his shots for one last time & i hate America for not airing Cricket matches. Sourav Ganguly is someone i admire immensely. Of the Big 5 of Indian Cricket, perhaps "Dada " is the one who received equated number of Bouquets & Brickbats. He was Inspiration & courage personified & showed us how to give it back to the opponents over the face.




If anyone fits to the example of a Phoenix then it ought to be my Dada. The way he rose from ashes to stardom again, looks like he took a cue from the mythical bird. Now as he plays his last test match i just hope he scores a ton and sign off the way he had signed in a decade back.

If Sachin stands for Flamboyance, Kumble for Dedication, Rahul for Craftness, Laxman for Elegance then Sourav for Inspiration & Courage.

For me cricket ain't gonna be the same again, and it would take only a Sourav to fill the void of Sourav which am not sure would happen.

Hats off to the loyal servants of Indian Cricket and hope the glorious legacy continues hereafter ....

Howzzzzz thatttttttttt !!!!!

My Business Partner !!!

Cometh ...9th September 2006 :

"What makes your life go Red ??? " yup, if i can trust my memory, this was the first question i asked her or should i say "Scrapped" her. The mention of the word "SCRAP" does in itself brings forth the point that i met her over "Orkut". Her profile pic showed her in a Red Dress with a tinge of red all over. " Relationship Status : Single ". I didn't want to belive it, how on earth a beautiful gal like her be single at the age of 22 ? But often when Heart & Brain fight, the cardiac muscles win over the cranial muscles and that's what exactly happened. I started R&D over her orkut profile to see if i can get to know her more. Thanks 2 the not so robust security feature of Orkut, i was able to se a couple of her album pics. To tell that i was impressed would be an understatement. I scrapped her expecting she would reply back but again my cranial muscles got into disagreement.

Anonymous:
yeah its pure happiness n since its my last yr at college so thngs r pretty vibrant n fun...!!

She replied, which meant the cranial muscles had lost again & i didn't seem to mind though. We exchanged scraps after that & the frequency increased with the days passing by.
Greed is something that's had to be denounced. After talking to her over orkut & yahoo messenger, now i was expecting her to pass me on her cell number & as expected out of any decent gal, she refused politely saying it was too early. I wasn't in a hurry either as i believed in the saying "Good Things take time to happen". We stayed in the same city hardly at a distance of 2 Kms from each other, but even this 2 kms seemed like a long way to tread !!! I even had her number, but a decent guy that i am, apart from messaging her a couple of times and calling her up twice from my office extension i didn't ever talk 2 her. "I am committed 2 someone" were the 5 dreaded words she told me after a fortnight. Man !!! that means my cranial muscles were correct !!! they had told this to me the very first day. Now that they had told me this earleir, perhaps i shudn't be underestimating them henceforth. But for the time being, the interaction lessened as we both got involved in our respective lives. She left for Bangalore after somedays for ther intensive training. A good friend that she was by now, i got her sms, updating me her new cell number. Seconds rolled into minutes, minutes to hours & hours to days. We never lost touch completely but it was very rare. Getting each other's updates once in every two weeks seemed to be the normal trend.

Cut to 21st February 2008 :
It was my birthday and she asked me for my number. She wanted to wish me but i guess more than that i longed to get wished by her, so i keyed in my number with lightining speed over my gtalk window. As expected her voice was as sweet as she was in her pic & we had a lengthy chat for the first time. She had come back to the same city & for good amount of time. We hit it off really well, and from then on we talked often. With the amount of SMS'es we exchanged, had Vodaphone made note of it, we would have been in the Service Provider's elite list :-). 50 to 70 messages was a normal affair and at days when she slept a tad late it would nearly touch a 100. But reaching 2 this century score was very rare as invariably most of the time she was the one who generally dozed off abruptly exactly at around 12:00 in the midnight. I don't exactly remember the number of times i waited for her message to come but that was not to be as perhaps she didn't have access to her cell phone in her dreamland.

Days passed by and our friendship grew before one day we finally decided to meet over coffee. When i first saw her, she was dressed up all green (green kurta & jeans ) and looked as if fighting for the noble cause of green revolution :-) Okies, here i have to describe her "She ended at 5 ft from the Ground Level, a very adorable and sexy mid-length hairstyle with defined ends with split front bangs marginally covering the face, sharp features with slight chubby cheeks and eyes ... what do i say about them, doe eyed with kohl outlining them to give them a definite look, she seemed to have perfected the art of Kohl application". Overall to sum up her appearance she looked Enchanting.

I was not really nervous but i had a million butterflies in my stomach, a million because actually my tummy is spacious enough to have all of them flying in all possible directions :-) jokes apart i guess she woauld have been taken aback by my appearance and particularly my Helmet.

It was nothing less than the Head armour wore by Alexander the Great but she manged to behave absolutely normal and gave me a smile that would have turn a raring bull to a swan. We decided on a coffee and within seconds we were zooming off to the nearest Barsista Coffee shop. I was taking out this pretty hot chick as a pillion on my bike and that to for a coffee date ... wow !!!! She shared the experience of her first job, the professional ambience over there and how she dreamt of getting into a decent of getting into a reputed Business school. That evening ought to be one amongst the few days where traffic in the city was at the peak. We covered a distance of 2 kms in about an 42 minutes. Finally we reached the cafe and had a pretty short chat as she was getting late, but somehow it seemed as if we had been talking since ages and i looked forward to meeting her again.

We met often after that, our routine being, me picking up from her office gate, roaming around throught he busy city roads and finally ending near her house. There was a speed breaker, couple of meters ahead of her house and that was the max i could ride upto. We had been very good friends by now but still there were somethings she didn't tell me or should i say, i didn't ask her.

Like any guy would want to know, i aksed her about that special one as i still remembered she letting me know earlier that she was already taken and not up for grab :-(. Shouldn't be going into the details as to what had perspired between her and him, but things didn't end up as it should have been. They had broke up, the reason being family issues. How on earth caste could have created an issue for such a lovely girl, but unfortunately it did. Had i been in his place, atleast i would have taken this lil angel to my parents & am sure they would have agreed, she beign such a well cultured, lovely and sensible girl, no one would have wanted to miss her out.

As days went by i came to know she was deeply hurt by the whole incident and still is. The loss of a relationship can be incredibly hard - you feel so much pain. There's not only the grief from losing someone important in your life, but the pain of seeing your hopes and dreams of a future life together disappear as well. Despite such pain she was trying hard to cope up with unfavourable things and get back to normalcy. I had to be with her. Her state made me emotionally attached to her. Donno if i was playing my part well but i tried my level best, and our interaction continued. I still remember the day she suddenly wept when we were in Pune, i felt so helpless as i couldn't do much to pacify her down. I hated to see this girl cry, she was just not meant to suffer all these things.

She had a very extensive and wide variety of friend circle and here i would be honest ... i particularly felt jealous when she talked about the guy friends she has and how dearly she misses some of them. Hey what was this happening to me ? Am i supposed to feel jealous ? I shouldn't actually but i was feeling it, something was cooking up within me. Was i in Love ??? Not sure (I had a beautiful feeling for her but was not sure if that's love as i didn't experience the feeling of love anytime before in my life :-) ) ... Did i care for her ??? Yes (I was crestfallen when she didn't make it to TISS), Did i like her ??? A lot (I didn't have the slightest doubt on this one ) I had answers to all my questions.

Cut to 21st July 2008 :

We had know each other for 6 months now and things had changed a bit now. She had got the job she always wanted to do and i was more than happy on hearing it, the earlier one she was into was not meant for her. Of all the things she was not really appreciative of the fact that her manager commuted in a share auto and that sight posed a question mark on the entry level associate's brains :-) however the bad thing being she would now move out 2 a different city. Even i had USA Calling me and was suppose to leave India in a couple of weeks time. We had one week together when she would be alone in the city, her parents being out of station. One fine evening while we were wandering which disc to hit, her cell phone buzzed. It was one of her friend and that to a guy who called her to meet. She asked me if i was fine with the idea of inviting him as well, eventhough i was not, the decent fella that i am, i agreed instantly. Well had i been in that guy's palce and would have known that she'z with someone else i would have backed out myself because i strongly believe "Two z a Company & Three z Crowd " but the one sitting up there deep within the blue clouds doesn't make decent and sensible guys like me in lots :-) We had a good time though in the pub with i literally gulping down Raw Orange Juice with lots of ice as they preferred Vodka. Did i tell earlier that am a Teetoteller ??? If not then actually am one of them. That's the reason i avoided having it even after a dozen requests from them. It was 12 in the night and we were supposed to leave !!! Remember, we had come in a bike and the guy who joined us later drove a car. I should have dropped her back home, but she for some reason chose to travel by car. They both asked me to leave, while the guy said he will drop her home. I felt bad, more than that i felt a bit offended. Judged from outside that seemed to be a perfect option, as a car is 10 times more safer than a bike at 12 in the night with a pretty girl as a pillion. But i was in no mood to get consoled by Logic at that moment. I saw them zooming off in that car as i stood there near my bike. As i drove back i was perturbed by questions, Did i bore her a lot all these days ? Was she more comfortable and enjoyed the other guy's company & at the same time i longed for her to reach safely home asap. I even had a feeling of following the car but that shouldn't be a thing i be doing. After all he is a friend of her as i was. Some things happened that night which i was not aware of till the very previous week untill she herself told me. How could she hide such an important thing from me, when we again met the next day ? Was i expecting a bit too much from her ? Was i being too sensitive ? & was i even that important to her, so that she would share all personal things happenign with her to me ? As i write down this am still searching for the answeres to the questions posed above & i hope i will get it someday.

Now that we are far away from each other, thanks to GTALK we still talk daily. And know what whenever she tells me about having been to a movie or dinner with a guy i feel jealous :-) and now i have one more guy to be jealous of ... it's her Boss whom she finds too cute :-)

Having said all this, i would just like to tell her that no matter what happens i would always be there for you as a friend. God forbid you get into any unfavourable situations, you can alwasy count on me as your friend.

Remember the list of things we have to do as partners right from Buying an IPL Team in the next league naming it as Black Royals to starting a chain of Autorickshaws :-)

Thus the title of the Blog "My Business Partner" :-)

A Musical Bumpy Ride !!!!

It was a monday morning and i was already running late to office by atleast an hour. To make matters worse i had misplaced my bike keys the earlier night, and the only other option to have helped me reach office was to hire an auto. When i say an auto, i mean an AUTORICKSHAW. Out here in Hyderabad like in many other Indian cities, we have the luxury of commuting in an auto which would be shared by other passengers as well. To put matters bluntly, one would pay less than half of what he/she would have paid had they travelled all alone. This came as a major factor to ensure one doesn't have to cough out astronomical sums at end of the journey. But as we know when we compromise on price, we might end up not getting a great deal. That's what exactly happened on that fafeful monday morning.



I stood there underneath a huge hoarding which read "It's better to be Mr. Late than to be Late Mr." It was a public interest message hoarding put up by GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation). As i waited for the auto to pass by, i could sense a strong fragrance besides me. I turned around to see a lovely girl dressed outrageously standing besides me. It didn't take me long to figure out that she was also waiting for an auto .... a shared auto to be precise :-)



As i was thinking of it suddenly an auto screeched and stopped inches away from me. It seemed like a brand new auto decorated by garlands at the front end. I guess the driver hardly saw me, and had the pretty gal stood a couple of metres away from me, am pretty much sure that i would have been run over and probably the auto parked on me. I stared at the driver and said "Dekh ke Bhai ... Maaroge Kya ?" to which he just smiled and so did the gal. I let her board the auto first as a mark of courtesy. We were the 1st & 2nd to occupy the seats of the fateful auto. "Rashmi Joshi - Infosys" read the ID Card and i was pretty much happy because her being from Infosys meant we would be together till the tad end of the journey. The auto started and so did the crooning. "Oooooooooo Huzoooooorrrrrrr Tera Tera Tera Surooooorrrrr" played as if there was no tomorrow, i expected a soft romantic number but this song was the one i least longed to listen. Before my ear drums would have popped out i said "Thoda Volume Kam Karo Yaar" to which he slowed it down a bit. She gave a faint smile & seemed the driver felt offended.



From then on started the ordeal. The speed grew slowly and he picked up passenger from each nook and corner of the street. By the time we had reached half the distance, there were already 9 persons occupying the auto including the driver himself. The only good thing was Rashmi Joshi sitting quite close to me ;o). I didn't mind it that much because somehow even such a horrible crowd didn't seem to cramp us up, for space. As both of us seem to be enjoying each others company .... well i somehow felt she kinda liked me :-). Just when we seem to be getting into the skins of SRK & Kajol, Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jaana Sanam playing behind us, we were jolted badly and there was a crashing sound whfich followed by a Dhadaaaammmmmm !!!!! All the romance, all the smiling & all the sweet thoughts including SRK & Kajol flew rite off the auto. Even though i couldn't see SRK & Kajol falling off but all of a sudden i could see only 3 heads in front of me which earlier to the crash was 5. That meant 2 poor souls sitting at the extreme corners to the driver flew out like champagne bottle corks :-) I looked out and saw them on either side of the road. Luckily it was just a bad fall and no external injuries whatsoever, but am sure their asses would have hurt like hell. Imagine one flying out and landing straight over the boulders on their bumps !!! The things that followed, had it been captured through a camera and viewed sometime later would have surley got tonnes of laughters !!! "Teri M** Ki, Saale G*^du, Auto chala raha tha ya teri @#$%$%@"# ka @#$%$%@ chala raha tha" Swearings flying thick & fast from either end and crowd gathered all around in no time. With due consideration to the pity of my fellow commuters eventhough i found the incident quite pathetic, i was dying to control my laughter. Its hard to describe but the song that still played in the background just didn't help the cause of me staying grave. "Dheere Chalna, Dheere Chalna, Dheere Chalna" from the movie Paheli. I just didn't see the matter pacifying soon, so i was at ease trying to enjoy the situation, so did Rashmi.



As they fought like cats & dogs we laughed over the incident and conversed about oneself. After 15 to 20 minutes of high voltage melodrama that could have easily put any Sunny Deol movie to shame, things were back to normalcy and the wheels of the auto started to roll. Everything was the same except those two commuters who didn't find it a good option to bet their lives on this driver anymore. As we went ahead there was pindrop silence which was further helped by the gap between two songs that played over the radio. I could see the Infosys office nearing and Rashmi started opening her purse to pull out exact change that ought to be given to the driver for the services he offered :-) as she got off, i smiled at her and she reciprocated !!! "Do mail me at Rash.Josh@gmail.com incase you are not too loaded with work" i nodded and waved at her. I could see her catwalking into the office gate and so did the driver with eyes wide open.



"Chalein ??? Pehle se hi kaafi late ho gaya he" i uttered and he started. 30 Seconds into the last Lap & "Just move it,everybody in the party just move it ... Tauba mein pyaar karke " played loudly turning the auto into an Disc ... how i hated the RJ for playing this song because i could see the Hero cum Driver literally swaying to the music as he drove real fast. "Sahi gaana he sir, Jhakaas music he ... isse sune to paon control mein nahi rehta". I could see the joy the poor fella was having, seemed like he completely forgot the numerous slaps delivered to him a couple of minutes before. Eventhough i was praying of reaching office asap, i felt good for him. Power of music i should say.



As i got down, i gave him a smile and he was still jumping over his seat to the beats.
"Sahi Dance karte ho aap, film mein try karo :)" i said to him handing him over the fare and he seemed to be exhilarited by my comments and gave a big grin.


I walked into my office without any physical damage but that day my journey from Miyapur to Gachibowli was completely devoid of a dull moment for sure :-)

Raping the Moral Values 4 TRP

This blog of mine, might project me as someone whoz against Women Empowerment, Narrow Minded, Double Standard and what not. But just the fact that i might be branded with the above mentioned adjectives, i couldn't help but pen down my thoughts which i feel i should have.

It was 7 P.M IST and i as always was flipping across the channels as usual.

As any normal guy would do, i paused on channel No:32, the top right corner logo read not because i loved the channel but just it showed more flesh than any of its counterparts.

I caught the promos of a program that was suppose to start the subsequent week entitled "MTv Splitsvilla". It was supposed to be from the same team who produced the Hit TRP raking show MTv Roadies. Roadies i felt was a show which was seriously one of its kind and came as a breathe of fresh air amongst the whole bunch of reality singing & dancing shows.

As the reels rolled my emotions underwent a gamut of expressions. It started with Excitement (as it seemed like a new kinda reality show), Amazement (as the concept was something which was sure to raise anyone's eyebrow) & finally Shame & Anger (as what i witnessed thereafter was better if left undescribed but i prefer describing it).

I am someone who believes in the saying "Women are God's best creations". I still reaffirm the fact but after witnessing this weird show, i would love to deduct these 20 odd women from that esteemed list.

Before i sound like an extremist, lemme tell u the concept of the show as thought by the so called creative directors of the show. The excerpts from the official MTv channel on the show follows :



Two dishy men. Twenty sexy ladies. One villa in gorgeous Goa. And the torrid game of love…
MTV brings you Splitsvilla, the newest, sexiest, naughtiest reality show on television. Two steaming-hot hunks get to pick and choose from 20 sizzling-hot girls based on certain 'tasks' they have to perform every episode. (Now, now. Behave!) Obviously the ladies are going to go all out to grab their attention. We mean ALL OUT.It's a dirty fight to the finish. We're going to be lucky witnesses to some unbelievable drama, treachery, sabotage, cat-fights, politics, back-stabbing, bitching and scheming. Watch the girls undergo stress, fear, exhaustion, depression. Watch them try to outdo each other with their womanly wiles (flaunt their stuff and how!) as the two lucky guys sit back and enjoy the show.



What started next would make even the most liberal person wear his thinking cap.

20 scantily dressed women being interviewed one after the other being asked the question as to what can they do to woo the boys in the villa. The answers as expected didn't vary much as each of them was just ready to do whatever the boys ask for. Yep u heard it right "Whatever the Boys asked for & they would be more than happy to oblige". What was this going on ??? I asked myself. I hated the concept but watched it just to measure the depth of insanity this show would go to & believe me it hit rock bottom.
Normally at the end of the 25 Mins show which had already showed the girls trying to woo the guys by agreeing to do just anything starting from being cosy, falling off on them, donning revealing outfits and even jumping into the pools on a slight whiff of wish from the guys. The entire sight was plain pathetic. To make the matter more demeaning for the Women Community, the so called Cool Dudes, at the end of the episode were entrusted with the power of throwing out a girl of their choice out of the villa branding her as a "Bore", "Lifeless" or "Not My Types". The girls on their part seem to look nervous, anxious and filled with jubiliation & what not just to get the nod from the guys to stay put for one more week. Just seeing this fact is so demeaning even for a guy like me, so am amazed what a girl would feel.



The guys are just Mr. Nobody, they dont possess any special quality and neither are they some kinda celebrity. They have been choosen for perhaps making the show more real as normal audience would relate to such stuffs but its just not done.

I belive the winners of this contest would win a prize money of 5 lakhs INR & a chance to host a show on MTv. But on second thoughts is this enough for someone to stoop so low ??? For these girls it is ... and this fact is disturbing.

As i watch in amazement i was reminded of the Women Empowerment Associations and several other voluntary organizations raising a hue & cry over the ad of fairness creams as those depicted the dark complexion as a vice and fair complexion as a virtue. I wonder what they are in hibernation this time, when the show being aired nationally is nothing less than Raping Women's self respect.

Again i would like to re-iterate the fact that am not against women empowerment, but if this is what our modern day women are being projected as then there's something serious which is affecting our so called generation X.

Hope i never come across this serial again, and if you do then am sure you would echo my thoughts.

Adios .....

The Bitter Truth

" Disclaimer: This plot is purely fictional, resembelance to anybody, alive or dead, is purely coincidental"

Admist deep slumber i was shaken off all of a sudden by my fellow commuter, i looked at him in shock and disbelief for being so cruel to me. Perhaps judging my expression he realised that he had acted upon a bit too hyperactively in waking me off and just to pacify things, gave me a cordial smile and said "Aapka stop aa gaya sir :-)". I looked around and saw the bus which a couple of minutes ago was zooming off as if it was the last time its running on the road, standing still waiting for me to alight as soon as possible. The passengers looking at me with a tinge of anger and the conductor standing near the door holding it open for me made me feel they had to wait for a bit longer for me to get up. To save me from more embarassment i rose up my seat, collected my huge bag from the rack above and in the process nearly tripped myself on the lap of a beautiful woman sitting on the opposite seat. More than her it was her husband who helped me in regaining my balance so that i dont fall off on her wife :o), i dont think his wife would have minded much, had i landed on her lap. I stepped down the bus, smiled at the conductor who was polite enough to reciprocate. He slammed the door as i looked, hit the bus a couple of times with his stone like tough hands and said "Chal Re" which made the Bus zoom off into thin air. I could see the messages "Please Keep Distance ; Blow Horn " fading away with the Bus.

I picked up my bag, put it on my shoulders and started walking down the road. The weather was awesome as if it had rained cats & dogs the earlier night, and with cool breeze blowing it made me feel more sleepy. My Tissot told me it was 7 A.M and i was quite happy to have made it on time, coz more often that nought these busses run late. As i headed towards my Uncle's house i thought of stopping by Uma Shankar Tea Stall, this being the famous tea stall in the area. "Kaise ho bhaiya ji" asked the person sitting on the counter. He knew me pretty well as i was a frequent visitor at his shop whenever i was in that place. "Bas theek thaak" i replied. As he handed me over the Tea, i asked "Aur kaise chal raha he sab ??". "Sab bhagwaan ki kripa he" he answered. I asked him about Uncle and Aunty to which he said "Ab kaise honge bhaiya, bilkul akele pad gaye hain, koi he bhi to nahi paas mein, ek doosre ke sahaare hain bas". I nodded my head and sipped the Tea and was off the shop in a couple of minutes. As i walk towards the house which is not pretty far off, let me give you a insight of where have i come and for what so that you dont feel alieniated with the happenings hereafter. I am here to meet my Uncle & Aunty. Uncle was a Teacher who retired last Month and aunty was the perfect Home maker. They had 3 Kids comprising 2 Sons and a Daughter all of them happily married, and as destiny would have it they all were miles away from home busy in each other's lives. Now that i have reached the House lemme get to the Present Mode.

The House stood at the end of the Road, it was an independent house with a big courtyard surrounding the entire house. It was the typical kind of old big houses one comes across in not so big towns. There was a garden of pretty decent size and inorder to get into the actual house one had to span across the garden. There was a huge mango tree at the far corner of the garden and in totality all this gave the house a perfect picture.

"Ding Dong" rang the calling bell as i pressed it, waiting for someone to come out. As i stood there i felt an eerie silence brooding over the House. A couple of years ago this house used to be a hub, hustling & bustling with People, but after the migration of my cousins, it looked as dead as a House can be. I could see the transformation of the Home to a House. First the Elder Son got married and a couple of months later went to USA for an onsite assignment as they would call it in the Software Terminology. Then it was the time for the only daughter of the house and she was married off with much grandeur & fanfare. And as the last nail on the coffin would have it, the youngest of the trio also left for UK a couple of months ago after making it to a decent university to pursue his Masters.

I heard from Mummy that after this, not everything was going fine in the lives of the Old Couple and thats the reason i made it a point to visit them during my Long Leave from work. As i was thinking about all this i heard the door open silently on my back, and as i turned around i saw my aunty standing with her welcoming smile as ever. I loved when she smiled coz she had a dimple and that looked great on her. I often used to joke her saying i would marry a girl having a dimple like my aunt's. She came closed and hugged me and i could see my Uncle following suit. I wished them both and we proceeded in. I felt, both of them had lost much weight and were looking comparatively leaner. As i reached the drawing room, i saw a big family photo hanging which was taken perhaps on the day of the daughter's wedding. The house was a huge one but it looked wrecked as if most portions of it was hardly trodded upon. The look owed its existance to a quite logical reason though, how would a 10 roomed house supposed to look when its practically inhabited by two souls. I could not belive its the same house, coz earlier it was so crowded that even such a big house looked a tad small at times, but as they say time changes everything & so did it had an effect here as well.

As i was getting acclamatised to the new environ, i saw aunty busy preparing breakfast for me and Uncle helping her with tea. They were an ideal couple in true sense with uncle always coming to the aid of aunty. It felt so good seeing both of them so much in love with each other even after 35 years of their marriage. I headed towards the restroom to refresh myself and joined them back an hour later. "Tu abhi bhi itna time toilet mein rehta he" asked my aunty seeing me back. I smiled & nodded and we all sat together on the big wooden dinning table. There were 8 chairs of which 2 were being used till date and the third one coming to action today on my arrival. We discussed about a whole lot things ranging from each others health, my job, my marriage topic which i avoided quickly, and finally an extensive discussion on their three kids and what are they upto recently. "Why don't you go to USA and stay there for a couple of months with Sanjay Bhaiya" i asked. On hearing this they looked at each other and tried to avoid the question but when i refused to buzz from that query, Uncle said "Passport keliye apply kiya he, milte hi kuch plan banega", the reply seemed logical enough. After finishing my breakfast aunty asked me to take a nap as i had travelled the whole of previous night. As i lied down thinking about beautiful girl in the bus the previous night, i heard the phone ringing in the drawing room, "Long ring he, sanjay ka hoga" said uncle and both of them literally ran towards the phone. I was taken aback seeing the excitement a phone call had generated, this showed how alone they were and how dearly they missed their kids. After both of them talked for around 15 minutes with aunty doing the majority of the talking they hung up. I was not exactly feeling sleepy so i again proceeded towards the living room. Aunty on seeing me said "Sanjay calls us once every week, he is very responsible" . She was beaming with happiness as she said this, even Uncle looked revitalised as if they just had some kinda magic potion. How less parents expect when it comes to kids showing concern for them. He had hardly done his duty by calling once a week but even that seemed to make him a perfect son in view of his parents. The day passed on with both of them not failing to mention about their kids at the slighest chance. They treated me like VVIP Guest and i felt as if they were trying to live their life which had become so monotonus a bit differently.

I was ushered with all kinds of foods and desserts and finally it was time for the afternoon nap. They both proceeded towards the bed room and i sat on the sofa in the living room flipping across the newspapers. As i was going through the backdated papers, i found a big white Envelope which read "Sanjeevani Clinic". I was shocked to see it, the reason being, this clinic has a good reputation in treating patients mainly suffering from Brain Tumour. I quickly took the reports out and it didn't take me long enough to know that Aunty has been diagnosed with "Meningioma" its a kind of tumor that arises from the Meninges (the membranes covering the brain & spinal cord) and occurs mostly in Middle-aged women. I couldn't belive what i was seeing, i was sure no one would have known about this coz in that case atleast my Mama should have told me as she tells me about each and everything that used to happen within our relatives. And moreover we were a closely knit family so there was not even a bleak chance of such news getting supressed. I breezed through the reports and with the little medical knowledge i had i knew she had surpassed the initial stages and was in a pretty precarious state. To put my thoughts to confirmation i took my uncle's car and headed straight to Sanjeevani Clinic with the reports. After an extensive discussion with the Doctor, "How many days doctor?" i asked to which he replied in a grim tone "A couple of months more". The ground slipped out of my feet on hearing this. "Does she know about this" i asked again, the doctor in response to this just nodded the head indicating that both of them infact know this. As i was descending down the stairs i just could not help my cheeks getting wet thanks to the tears which rolled down swiftly. I loved my aunty and here i was told that a couple of months more and the my Aunty was going to be reffered as "WAS" instead of "IS". I was not going to let this happen at any cost, i had a plan and so i went back to the house.

It was 6 in the evening and as i entered the house i saw both deeply engrossed in gardening. "Where had you been" asked Aunty, i said was just off for a ride. I helped them in their gardening activity, infact both of them had a common passion and that was Gardening. As we 3 reached the big mango tree, aunty said "This tree is going to bear fruit in 4 Months, i will give you lots of mangoes" suddenly after saying this they both looked at each other and then aunty said again "Even if am not there, Unlce will give you the mangoes" and she started smiling and uncle looked faded and jaded. I knew what she meant but kept quiet as i was on the lookout of the correct time. We went back inside the house and sat there for the evening tea. I felt thats the time i should be bringing the topic.

"When are your passports expected?" i asked, to which my uncle said that it would take a month or so. I was off the idea that if i would be able to send them off to USA within a short span of time, then there are chances of aunty getting expert treatment and recovering soon. But a month seemed a bit far off for my plans to materialize. I could not think about any other way to initiate the topic, so i said bluntly "Does sanjay bhaiya know about this?", "About what?" said Aunty, "About your Tumor" i replied in a stern voice. I was infact angry on them for keeping such a news under secrecy & more than aunty i felt uncle was to be blamed. They both were shocked to the core on hearing this from me, what followed thereafter was aunty trying to expain me that she was fine the Doctors have the habbit of exaagerating things. She asked me to keep it a secret as well but thats the last thing i was going to do. I said am going to talk about this with all including their Kids, to which she reacted violently. That didn't have much impact on me as i knew what i was doing was right. Even Uncle seemed to appreciate my idea of going sending them off to US & getting her treated there. I assured them of their passports arriving within a week and asked them to make up their minds at the earliest. I knew quite a lot of people from the Passport Office and was confident that some bucks would change hands the passports would be issued. The next big thing remained breaking this news to the Entire family. As expected this news came as a blow to each of the family members and a gloom descended over all the near and dear ones. A week had passed and the passports were issued well on time. I was back to my workplace but was coordinating everything. As i sat there in my office trying to get the tickets booked for Uncle & Aunty, my cell phone rang "Sanjay Bhaiya- USA" was the name flashing. I picked up the call and started talking to him about the flights, schedules and everything. After everything had been discussed he said "Are you sure its Brain Tumor" i was confused on hearing this, what did he mean when he asked me this question? I had literally read out the report to him, faxed him the same and described my discussions with the Doctor at stretch, just to make him sure it was Brain Tumor. It was not the question he asked but the way he did that made me feel real bad. He meant if i am not sure its Brain Tumor and if it can be cured in India than there's no logic in coming to USA and treating her. I was red with anger but he was about 7 years elder to me, i tried to be a normal as possible. Here his mother was going to live for a month and half more and there he was in search of Logic ? How shameful on his part, and what was this for ? Just to save a few Dollars ? I felt like am in the days when movies like Avtaar, Ghar Sansaar etc were made. I finally passed him the number of the Doctor who was treating aunty but while doing this never did i thought in my wilderness that this was going to be the mistake that would cost someone her life. I got a call about a couple of hours later from the same dollar loving son and was asked to hold on and not to go ahead with booking of tickets. I didn't want to talk to him so i hung up. But i sensed something fishy so i set off for aunty's house the next day. Mummy & Papa accompanied me this time and aunty looked worser. She had become leaner and looked really sick and frail. My Mama could not hold back her tears as its was her sister going through the pain. I enquired Uncle about Sanjay Bhaiya asking me to hold on the booking to tickets, to which he said "Sanjay had a talk to the Doctor and it was decided that she can be treated here" i knew this could happen as the doctor here took it as an ego clash when he was asked if American Doctors can treat the patient better then him. As Uncle said this, he could not hold back his tears. He knew aunty was fighting a loosing Battle and he couldn't do much about it. They had splurged all their wealth on their Kid's education, and marriage and was not exactly in a position to afford the flight tickets and all other expenses entirely of his own. And moreover when the one who should be bearing the expenses was a bit hesitant there was hardly anything uncle could have done. I felt terrible, went aside and called up Shilpa Didi, aunty's only daughter so that she could talk to Sanjay Bhaiya & try to convince her. She agreed to what i was saying but at the same time wasn't that keen on being able to convince his elder brother. I was like "What the heck is going on in this so called ideal family". I mailed the youngest of them and he replied he is gonna come after his semesters. I could sense things going terribly out of hand. I could not see my aunty dying like this. I called up Sanjay Bhaiya & said i am going to bear the flight tickets and all expenses but please let me send them as soon as possible coz with each passing day the hopes are fading. He took it as an offence and created a scene "Do you think i dont care for my parents? Who are you to decide on things? Dont show me money, i have enuf of them" were some of the questions he threw at me. I would have replied to everything had aunty not stopped me. I guess she didn't want to spoil our relation and i felt she had already given up. All these things made me feel so very tied up, i couldn't even do a bit for my aunty.

Days passed, treatment continued and i was told that she was recovering. I kept a tab on her by talking to her daily, she was indeed happy that now Sanjay is calling thrice a week instead of once, Vicky the younger one had booked his tickets and arriving in another 15 days and Shilpa's Baby is growing fat and calling her "Naani" . Mama was there with Aunty all these days.

It was a Friday morning, as i was about to start for office i got a call on my Cell "Bhaskar Uncle" was the name that flashed. Just seeing the number flashing lots of thoughts spanned across my mind and so did the smiling face of Aunty. I took the call with my hands trembling "Aunty is no more" said my Papa from the other side of the line. I had suspected the same but when it actually happened, it blanked my mind. I stood there like a lamp post and all the past times with aunty played in front of me like a movie in a 70mm Theatre. I disconnected the phone and just could not control my tears. They were in no mood to stop and gushed out as if there was not another day.

I reached there the next day, was lucky enough to see Aunty for the last time, uncle was crestfallen, he just embraced me and wept like a baby. He knew we had tried as much as we can and more than that he would have been shocked by his Kid's behaviours. The only one by the side of aunty was my mother and Shilpa Didi had joined a couple of hours back. So practically none of the Children were present when she breathed her last. "Sanjay & Vicky would be reaching here in a couple of Days" said someone. It hardly mattered to me, i didn't want to see their faces again in life.

This was a perfect example of Dollar Dreams coming trumps over Blood Ties.

As i write this i am sure there might not be many Sanjay Bhaiyas or for that instance Vickys in the world at present but there are many who are miles away from there Parents.

Building a carreer, Fullfiling your dreams, Attaining Success and all are perfectly fine untill & unless the aforesaid things are within Limits. Its our Parents whom we owe our lives to, and when it comes to them, anything and everything relating to them should be the highest priorities in our lives. Its not everyday that we are gonna have them in our lives but as long as we do, why not treat them like Kings & Queens.

Now even if at some point of time Sanjay Bhaiya wins a Nobel Prize or any other Trophy for instance, in my books he would still be the most unlucky, poorest & villianous person to have ever born.

Intolerable Separations

" Disclaimer: This plot is purely fictional, resembelance to anybody, alive or dead, is purely coincidental"

I happen to be one of those who are yet to be in a serious kind of relationship. The reason of me loosing out on the aforementioned pleasure is not my dumbness or the fact that I resembled an alien who invaded this planet very recently when it comes to looks but just that I never wanted to be in a relation. I was quite happy being single and flaunted it with pride. The only time I hated being single is when I would see the instructions “ STAG ENTRY RESTRICTED” outside a happening disc or pub, but even this hatred fizzled out in no time. I saw my friends deeply in love. Most of the time I found them talking to their cell phones with grim faces strolling across big rooms. I believed with Love comes an extra baggage of worry that seems to snowball with each passing day and I preferred not to carry that extra baggage.

I don’t remeber falling in love anytime but yes there were couple of instances wherein I felt I came real close. I managed to get out of those as later at some point of time i felt as if they are not the ones whom i was supposed to spend my entire life with. I never worried about my relations getting an approval from my family coz all they wanted is me being happy, So there was no definite checks on Caste, Creed and Religion. And even if i didn't have such filters acting upon my search process i was never Love Struck. This made me feel I was destined to have an arranged marriage and I had no issues with it.

I am a complete movie buff and irrespective of the reviews each movie garners, I make it a point to watch almost all movies. I still remember it was a fine Sunday morning and a very lazy one too. I got up a bit late around 11 o ‘clock and grabbed the Newspaper kept by my side. I started flipping through the papers and came across some very interesting slice of news which ranged from Right of Information Act being passed in the parliament to Heat Wave still prevailing across the country. The last thing I wanted in a Sunday is to read all sorts of depressing news so I thought of making myself a cup of hot ginger tea. On my way to the kitchen is saw my cousin lying on the bed like a helpless donkey who had been made to work all night. I really pity him for working on Saturday but that’s all I could do. As I sipped the cup of tea I thought of catching up on a movie to beat the Sunday Blues. “Tere Naam: 12:30 P.M “, this piece of info interested me and I set out for the movie. Phoned a couple of friends to join me on my way but things didn’t fall in place so I dared seeing the movie alone.

As I reached the theatre, I saw a swarm of bees buzzing in and around the booking counter disguising themselves as Human Beings. I was pretty sure of not getting the tickets but thought of giving it a try. As I was trying to sneak myself in half way in the queue I saw a huge dark man staring at me as if he would smash me rite on the spot, so not being too daring I gave an embarrassed smiley and pulled myself out of the queue.

As I turned around I saw the most beautiful woman face on the earth. I was spellbound, flabbergasted and left gasping for air. There stood an angel, so gentle, so pious and so serene. I felt happy from inside; even she was looking out for tickets. The thing that bothered me at that instance was who accompanied her to the theater and very soon my worries were put to grave when I saw her friends coming towards her who were all girls. Probably I looked the most descent of the lot standing there, the reason am saying this is one of the girls who was the more tomboyish types came over to me and asked me if I got myself tickets. I saw a chance there and didn’t miss to dance on that. I immediately directed them towards a blacker and without much issue we got the tickets, and since we went together we were given the tickets in a single row. They thanked me and headed towards the screen. I am not sure but I guess the angel I was hooked onto caught something in my eyes, probably the way I looked at her, she was the only one who turned around to see where I was going. I felt a bit on top of the world. The movie was an ultimate sentimental movie and the girls seem to be completely lost. I just for the sake of not letting the girl disappear after the show showed my proactiveness in getting atleast her number.

Things started with SMS and that’s when I got addicted to messaging. I am the one who believes there are some things which can be communicated only over SMS. Things went on pretty fast, I guess we both liked each other, and I still remember the day I proposed her. It was also via SMS. I haven’t waited for a reply with more anxiety than the reply. “ Are you sure this is Love “was the reply. I was shocked for a couple of minutes and then came the next reply “ i too love you, how about celebrating our Love tonight”. I was in pure ecstasy and felt like I have got everything in my life. Still the thought of that moment fills me with pleasure. I had to dress up as a Hero and she as a Heroine. That night was a night to remember as we both were together, being with each other was not a new thing but since we both just knew about our being a couple added to the newness. I remember taking her to a Lake side restaurant. I don’t remember the amount of time we spent there but we were the last to leave the place. I knew she was my girl and she meant the world to me. Bryan Adams once said “When you can see your Unborn Children in her Eyes, you can be sure that you love the woman” and that’s what I was seeing. We were so into each other that the world seemed to start and end with us.

After a couple of days it was time for our parents to know about their Kids. It was not at all a issue as we both hardly had any hurdles, we came from the same Caste, and from well to do families and all other things which seem to interest the Parents more just fell perfectly in place.

Now that we had gone public it was time for knowing each other better and better and with each passing day, our decision to get along just seemed more and more perfect. I can’t remember a day when we had a serious fight, baring the normal childish fights over deciding on a movie, or not replying to her messages on the day of a cricket match. I really missed incase we didn’t have such petty arguments and used to always think of ways to initiate some. The best part was the Hug I used to get from my angel after the argument.

Movies, Restaurants, Outings were a passé, and now it was time for the homely thing. She used to come over to my place on the weekends and even on weekdays. We cooked delicious food, and most of the time I was entrusted with the cutting department. She always said, girls love guys who cooked and on my questioning her back as to why she loves me then she would say “Exceptions do exist” and smiled. Even though we were a couple in true sense we refrained ourselves from getting too physical and the maximum extent we had let ourselves was a soft kiss over the lips or a tight hug. Things seemed so very perfect that she had often get apprehensive about that fact. We both had friends whose love lives were nothing but a mess, somewhere it’s the Parents not agreeing, while for some it was frequent duels over petty things which would blow out of proportion. But everything was god gifted in our paradise.

It was the month of May 2004 and was a Wednesday. While in deep sleep I got a call from my angel and she asked me to drop her at the airport. I was confused, why Airport all of a sudden??? I went to her place and she was standing there at the apartment gate and looked tense. I got off my bike an went straight at her with a confused look. As I was approaching her facial reaction changed and she wept like a baby. I t was too much for me as the last thing I wanted to see is tears in her eyes. “Papa had a heart attack and admitted in Hospital “was her reply. I hugged her and assured her that everything would be fine, and then we set off for the airport. We were running a bit late as the flight was scheduled to depart on 12:30 and by the time we left her apartment it was already 11:30. On our way 2 the airport I had a flat tyre, a near death accident wherein we were just about to be knocked down by a huge dumper.

These things puzzled me, and I felt something inauspicious gonna happen, but putting a brave front we reached the airport. When we reached we came to know about the flight’s delay by an hour. I asked her to get on with the security check and all other necessary formalities and waited for her near the visitor’s quadrant. She came and since she had her checks done was not allowed to cross the bar and come over this side. We just stood besides each other and kept staring at each other. I donno why but I was at loss of words and so was she, she was still weeping and I holding her hands. I could very well understand the trauma she was going through. Papa had called me while she was away for the security check and informed me that the attack was infact very serious and he is still not in his senses, so anything could have happened. I felt a bit weird at a point of time when she told me “I pray to God to give my remaining age to my papa and see him through this period” though I didn’t utter a word as it was a daughter’s sentiment flowing for her Daddy dearest.

Finally it was time for her to leave, I still remember the last time I touched her, she had tears filled in her big eyes and so did I, she kissed me on my cheeks and said “Take Care Honey, will call you once I reach there and please do miss me “saying this she threw a faint smile and turned away towards the exit door. I could see her walking slowly with the head looking down. I was feeling suffocated, as she reached the final lap, she turned around and waved her hands and I reciprocated. My angel was gone with the wind and I was back in my room. The scheduled flying time was 1 hr 15 mins. I went home and did a Puja asking the almighty to take care of all troubles. I didn’t have my lunch that day and was just lying grazing at the ceiling waiting for her call. The clock struck 4 and no calls yet, I called home to enquire if she reached. She hadn’t reached, I called on her cell, but she didn’t pick up, I called the airline authorities and they acknowledged the safe landing of the flight. I was getting restless; I was cursing her for the first time for being so irresponsible and not lifting her phone. It was already 5 and my patience gave up. I called my parents to check the status, and they sounded a bit weird. I mean no one was telling me where she was, I checked on uncle’s condition and came to know that he has recovered from danger.

As I was talking to my mama as to why she hadn’t reached I heard her weeping quietly. I was sure she wept as her voice changed all of a sudden; perhaps papa caught it and snatched the phone from mama. “When is the next flight??? “My papa asked me. I said “Why?” to which he asked me to come soon. I was sure something had happened. Perhaps Uncle passed away and I have to come. I without delay booked myself on the next flight and reached there the next day early morning. That night has got to be the worst in my life till date, i could literally count the number of spins the ceiling fan would have made throughout the night.

As I reached I saw my cousins at the airport with grim faces standing to receive me, “What Happened?” I asked them but none of them said a word, as we were driving back home on the way I saw a White Indica car badly smashed by the roadside. The car had turned into rubble, and the accident seemed gruesome. I donno why but I at once asked “Is she safe?” again silence prevailed in response to my question. I was having a mixed emotion of Anger and Fear. I kept on asking and got enough hint of something that had gone terribly wrong.

As we drove into her house, I saw a crowd gathering, I literally felt like a dead man, I just was loosing my senses, however I got down from the car, walked slowly as a zombie so that I didn’t want to come across the truth a bit too fast. As I climbed the stairs, I saw my sisters running towards me, they embraced me and started weeping terribly. The entire house rocked with Cries. I could see my mama, papa, her mama all weeping but I could not see the one I wanted to, she was nowhere to be seen. I thought she was besides the dead body of her papa and went inside.

What I saw made me drop dead, my princess was lying there on the bed, there was not a inch of unaffected place on her face, cuts and wounds all around, and there she lied with the eyes closed. I collapsed after reaching her, I just could not cry aloud, I wanted to scream, I wanted to shake her up but all I could do is watch her intently. How on earth did I want her to look at me and gimme the familiar smile, but this was not to be. At the far end of the corner I saw uncle lying asleep after being give a heavy dose of sedatives. How i hated her for saying those words at the airport of extending the life of her father at the cost of hers. I never imagined GOD was so calculative that he actually had to cut through one's life inorder to extend the others. I knew i was being selfish but seeing her lie lifeless just drained all my selflessnes out. I had just lost my world, and memories flashed across.

Her smile, her arguments, her care, her shopping for long hours everything had come to an abrupt end. She had met with a terrible accident while on her way from the airport, and the car I just saw on the highway was the one she was traveling in.

I still ask God the question “Why she ??? She had hardly seen the world, she had so much to live for” and will keep asking till I get the answer. So for one who had seen such a tragedy, all other issues relating to Love seemed like kid’s play.

I still believe if everything goes fine in a relationship then that’s the time we should be keeping a tab on destiny, coz you never know when you come face 2 face with the ugly face of destiny. As I pen down my thoughts i can hear the Enrique song playing somewhere faintly, the lyrics are just meant for me .... Its hard for me to hold back my tears.

"Somebody wants you, Somebody needs you.Somebody dreams about you every single night.Somebody cant breathe, without you it's lonely.Somebody hopes that one day you will see, that somebody's me ....
How, how did we go wrong? It was so good, and now it's gone,And I pray at night, that our path's soon will cross. What we had, isn't lost.Cause you are always right here in my thoughts.."

Riding through a Dreadful Night

As I sit here vaguely thinking what should I be doing, a thought flashed like an omlette in a hot pan " Am I loosing out on my social contacts ??? ". I haven't received a single scrap since a couple of days, none of my friends are online on any of the messengers I have logged myself onto, not a soul around to chat with, and as if these were not enough, I am sitting here at 2:27 A.M IST in my office and thats exactly when I thought I should blog down my feelings .
Am neither a watchman nor a theif coz they really dont have such luxuries like a laptop, a blogspot id, a centrally air conditioned cubicle, and pipping hot expresso at their disposal. I was neither a supernatural entity and that left me with just one more career option which is as easy like guessing the number of days in a week.
Now that you have guessed it right lemme tell you that I work for a Production Support project. Did I hear " Whats that ??? " okie just to explain it in simple terms, normally people working in PS Projects are the ones who are responsible to work 24*7 to support a business that runs 24*7 and the reason for the business running 24*7 is to make money 24*7. I guess I have made that a tad confusing, so to simplify it further, we are the people who have a sword dangling over our heads at all time and it becomes worse to such an extent that we end up hallucinating disasters even while in deep slumber. There was a survey by some consulting firm which came out with a statement " People working in Prod Support Projects are 10 Times more prepared to take shocks than the rest " on my part I found it quite logical, what perplexed me though is how did they derive that numerical number "10".
At this very instant, I am in a shift which is referred to as "GRAVEYARD SHIFT" and I dont think there could have been any better nomenclature coz being in this shift ensures your path to GRAVEYARD is laid without much fuss. Its not that I have been in this shift for the first time but the gap of 77 days was pretty long. Now am back working in graveyard shift but just for a day. As I write this, the only thing that keeps me going is fact that I do have an off tomorrow. As is sit here I can hear more than a couple of noises very clearly, the ticking of 5 clocks simultaneously depicting 5 different time zones just on the wall behind me, a loud snoring at the far end of the floor, 100s of CPUs humming in sync, and ocassional beeps of electronic doors which meant, apart from me there are some souls still moving around. I sit there looking at my monitor and I see Batch Jobs running as if they are into a 100 Metres race, I open the messenger windows and see all my friends are either offline or idle, I refresh the orkut page to check for any new scrap arrival. Succeeding nowhere I take a more relaxing position and try to sleep, I give myself up completley and now its for the sleep to embrace me. Suddenly I hear the tone of SMS flooding my Inbox and ripping apart the silence that brooded the floor. I get up hurriedly and in the process fall off the chair only to see series of Batch Jobs abending left, right and center. There are times when you just loose your mind, I mean your brain goes on a strike and you just dont relate to the simplest of things happening around you. It was one of those days, and my friend out there in USA working with Client was able to sense it. What followed later is, he doing all the stuffs necessary and I just looking blankly at the screen. I tried helping him but my brain was just refusing to get back to work. After a couple of "No Worries" and "Soooper" by my friend everything was put back to place and we recovered from the abends.
I got up and looked around, I was slowly regaining consciousness when I sighted a big green board with sign "EMERGENCY FIRE EXIT" more than the Text it was the pictorial representation that seemed the perfect thing for me to do. It was a guy running for his life with as much energy and desperation and he was headed straight towards the door reading "EXIT" in big bold letters :-)