Sunday, March 16, 2008

Best of F.R.I.E.N.D.S

The post is inspired by this!!

I'll be there for you,When the rain starts to pour!I'll be there for you ,Like I've been there before! I'll be there for you, 'Cause you're there for me too!

These lines sum up what friendship really means,you just have to be there for each other come what may! and with age,marriage,children,jobs it so difficult to hold onto such friends!And if you still have friends on whom you can bank upon and be your very own self ...no pretensions,no hypocricy, just plain friendship nothing else! you must be the blessed one!

So this post is to people who have been there for me and have made difference to my life!

rayshma: She is THE reason of me been what i am today,professionally as well as personally!i was new to mumbai when i met her and use to feel and look like a lost soul!From her i learned how to be politically correct, how to give good spanking without making others feel bad about it, how to write stinkers, how to network ,how to handle difficult situations,how to follow up , how to enjoy,how not to crib,how to love food and so on and so forth! Had best of my times with her while watching Hindi movie,eating out , having coffee and apple cake and planet m barista,getting high, laughing over at almost nothing,ganging against people like oz,mithrani,AH!So much so that i couldn't imagine that she would just go away one day to US and leave me alone here! She means so much to me and whenever i am in a fix i think if reshma would have been here what would she have done and i get the solution to my problem! sounds filmy*most of my posts do!*but very true!

V,KJ &M: I have to write about the three togther,cause if we four are not together we feel something is missing! They are very much the reason that i enjoy my work at D!

V:he is king of comedy!can pull out jokes and bring smile onto your face even in the worst of the situations when a hearty laugh is miles away! he can just say a line and everything eases out like there was no trouble at all,you just needed to smile! People confide in him a lot,don't know why,but ya people do!His understanding about women in general is good *he claims to have more than 10 affairs -he is married though to a bong girl after going around with her for almost 10 yrs*!he means a lot to us - we can depend on him for almost anything,he is just a phone call away!

KJ: She is a kid with a pure heart...so pure that i doubt if she has any secrets in her life or whether can she ever keep a thing secret in her life...so much so that even if kj has to go to loo, everyone in our corridor will come to know of it..LOL! She is the life ! Always giving us enough reasons to pull her legs,tease and make fun of and still not feel bad about it!Professionally i really appreciate the amount of efforts she puts in and so does D...she got spot award*best employee award* as a recognition of all her efforts!

M:He is gujju to the core!!Snacks is spelt as snakes and drop is spelt as drope in his gujju dictionary! And for all this he pays a heavy price...getting pulled at every now and then! but when it comes to xls and numbers he is just amazing and impressive. The magic xls sheet that he creates for all our expenditures is just too confound and i really can't make head our tail out of it! *he is a CA and we make him do MIS and invoicing*If i visit orkut twice a day then he visits moneycontrol like 10 times a day and saving money is his motto! but behind all this is a person who is very caring ,understanding and helpful! *for reshma- he is married to a bong as well*

So when these three meet the fourth one thats me...the hell breaks loose and we have a ball of a time,4 very different us pulling each others legs,making sarci comments,eating food,visiting CCD,chandigarh trip...all in all a complete dhamal!

Mrids: We have seen soo much together that we have started taking each others presence in life for granted! and ya we pay the price for that! but so be it...

Sheetal: My all weather friend*literally* since my school days!she is more like an elder sister to me!She is my problem solver*thats why she is so good at coding*!i go to her with all my problems and she has a solution! She is brains with beauty *she looks like Madhuri Dixit and guys use to die to see her!so much so it use to get difficult moving around the city with her* and a amazingly warm person!

Priyanka: She is another mad friend,who means a lot!People like her are really few...guess they don't manufacture such lot anymore!The attitude,girth and the poise is worth a watch! She thought me how to be honest to one self and how to be rooted all the time!

Then there are my engg college frens - trupti,sonal and kavita have hardly met them since ages! but still whenever we meet in some permutation combination there is still lot to share!Miss them a lot!

*Post on -reason for this post deletion and posting it back...coming soon*

Monday, March 10, 2008

Jo Beet gayi so Baat Gayi!

Vik has published this poem on his blog! But i fell in love with this poem and wanted it to be a part of me too!

This is for the following people to read,understand,learn and act!

1. Who crib in almost all the situations
2. Who keep on waiting for something good to happen to them and forget how to make the most of now!
3. Who think that despite all good happening to them...that they don't have it all!
4. For people who are feeling low...just like that!
5. For People who think that best days of their lives have gone past!
6. People who regret their own decisions in life


जीवन मैं एक सितारा था
माना वेह बेहद प्यारा था
वेह डूब गया टू डूब गया
अम्बर के आनन को देखो
कितने इसके तारे टूटे
कितने इसके प्यारे छूटे
जो छूट गए फिर कहाँ मिले
पर बोलो टूटे तारों पर
कब अम्बर शोक मनाता है
जो बीत गई सो बात गई

जीवन मैं था वह एक कुसुम
थे उसपर नित्य निछावर तुम
वह सूख गया टू सूख गया
मधुवन की छाती को देखो
सूखी कितनी इसकी कलियाँ
मुरझाई कितनी बल्ल्रियाँ
जो मुरझाई फिर वह कहाँ खिली
पर बोलों सूखे फूलों पर
कब मधुबन शोर मचाता है
जो बीत गई सो बात गई

जीवन मैं मधु का प्याला था
तुमने तन मन से डाला था
वह टूट गया तोह टूट गया
मधिरालय के आँगन को देखो
कितने प्याले हिल जाते हैं
गिर मिटटी मैं मिल जाते है
जो गिरते है कब उठते है
पर बोलो टूटे प्यालों पर
कब मधिराल्याँ पछताता है
जो बीत गई सो बात गई

मृदु मिटटी के है बने हुए
मधु घुट फूटा ही करते है
लघु जीवन ले कर आए है
प्याले टूटा ही करते है
फ़िर भी मदिरालय के अन्दर
मधु के घट है मधु प्याले है
जो मादकता के मारे है
वेह मधु लूटा ही करते है
वेह कचा पीने वाला है
जिसकी ममता घट प्यालों पर
जो सच्चे मधु से जला हुआ
कब रोता है चिल्लाता है
जो बीत गई सो बात गई

- Source - Madhushaalaa by Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

And i am still alive!

this is one of tags assigned to me by none other than rayshma!She gave permission to add some mrich masala,but this one is spicy enough,so this one is dished out san spices, as in no exaggerations!

It sends a chill down my spine even as i write it almost one half year after the incident occured.It was Diwali time and coz Diwali is all about get-togethers and family we decided to travel to Bhopal, where my in-laws are based. Bhopal is not well connected to mumbai on flight route,only jet and ic fly to Bhopal, and tickets rates at diwali time were well outside our budget.Hence we booked a train ticket to Bhopal, trains were also over crowded so ashu booked on some arbit train which leaves Mumbai at 4.30 pm from Lokmanya tilak terminus (kurla) and reaches Bhopal early morning. We had to leave on thursday.

And that year SRK starrer don was to be released during diwali and the cult had tied up with one of the leading operator and my client for mobile promotion of the movie.I was in office early that day,knew it would be a bad day as the issues on the promos were getting bigger and bigger - ads not getting approved,copy not in line with the brief,print ad getting cancelled and so on and so forth.Had decided to leave office by 2,so that i reach in time and avoid getting delayed because of Diwali rush.But as expected,had a concall coming up *unplanned one* frm the big boss and THE client - and it was all about giving a nice thrashing to carrot,AH,MO and last but not the least me!I managed to leave the call half-way and rushed out to get the first cab to station,it was 3.50!

Mumbai traffic was at its peak!Slow moving traffic,signal not working,accident on the way...and time was flying by as though it had wings!Panick calls to ashu continued endlessly,didnt know what to do! it was 4.30 and i was 5 mins away from the station.Ashu suggested that i go back to work and take the flight next morning*at watever cost* to bhopal,though i had my doubts on the availability of tickets!

I rchd kurla terminus and i could see the train moving out of the platform.I called ashu and asked him to pull the chain!Ashu refused! Ah! wat a time to follow values!well i thought i was smart enough!i jumped out of the cab paid him some money,didnt bother to check how much the fare came to...and started running...well guys only kajol and kareena run after the moving train and get to meet srk and shahid...in reality its bit different!

Two guys came with thier rick and said "madam aap hume 600 rupaiya dena,hum train pakdwa dege"!without thinking*actually thinking it will be cheaper than spending lots on the flight* i hopped into their auto and they said "madam paisa ready rakho" i could see the train coming to a halt...i thought i will give ashu a surprise!! i pulled out Rs.600 from my wallet and handed over to one of the guy!!he turned back to me and said "aapne to Rs.200 hi diya hai"...and i saw what he did! and that is when i realised ...i am dead...my battery was low...one side was the train other side was jhuggis *small township*!my life was in hand of these two guys!Anything could have happened and very easily,they could have robbed me,raped me,killed me...almost anything...the train started moving again and i was still in the auto...

I called up ashu and said "ashu pls save me...i am with goons,if you want to see me alive u have to pull the chain"!train came to a halt again,i had baggage and i started running on tracks this time *first and last time*...two guys behind me asking for money...more money...i had given them 1500 till now! i rch the last boogie and the train started moving...last call to ashu - pull the chain again,i am near the last boogie which is a woman general compartment...get down and the next station and pick me up...my battery gave up..

Managed to climb the train,those two men were behind me and kept on asking for money...had given them 2k by now...Indian women are really strong,realised it that day!As soon as the women in that general compartment realised that these guys were bothering me...they shooed them away!For the first time i realised how vulnerable I am!i sat in the compartment praying all the time and thanking God for the women compartment...ya i actually did!

The train reached thane in 45 mins and i jumped onto the platform...ashu and advika were on the platform...i ran and hugged them with tears rolling down and some scratches here and there because of all the jumping and running i did...it was blessing to see them again and to be with them after what seem to be life after death!!

Somehow the rendezvous with that particular station has been always been scary.We went to nagpur this time around for my cousin’s engagement and jst to reach in time I left office early to board a 8.00 pm *it turned out to be 8.30* train. I reached that damn place at 6.30!! I called up V and just asked him to join me there…ashu wld have taken atleast an hr to reach,since he had to pick up advika. V and M came all the way just to accompany me ...friends do make a lot of difference to your life!!