A beautiful marriage proposal

Just finished watching the Indian classic movie Shree 420. Yes, you correctly felt my aversion for the term Bollywood!
If there is something that took me with itself, is the Raj's marriage proposal to the poor school teacher Vidya.

Raj innocently opens up to her, his feelings towards her, which along with honest expression of love, also reflect a promise to support her with all the essentials, a house, clothing, and other amenities. In the same sentence, he reiterates his sense of responsibility when he expresses concern about the education of the children that will form a part of his family subsequent to marriage.
Silly as it may sound, but in the context of a poor chap, the proposal and the expression of the fear of his inability to support the relationship in same act does indeed reflect a sense of responsibility that effects from a commitment to deep rooted love.
On the other hand, the fair lady, in the role of a traditional Indian girl, who is unable to express her love in explicit words, her speech impeded by hesitation and shyness, indicates the same by uttering few words to reciprocate that the other partner may be there to join him in his efforts and support the cause.
Few more seconds of this realization is so well expressed by the artists that it seems difficult to be expressed through words. The inability of human kind to express new found love and her mute expressions of affirmation and hesitation combined, are so well enacted.
The act followed by a beautiful song and lyrics reinforcing the promises made in dialogue form great few minutes.

If you ever come across this movie, try to appreciate this one so beautiful act that begins few minutes after the first hour of the movie.
Regards.

How to put it?

It is strange, but it seems that it has always been so that at the turn of each year a change has been infecting my life in a positive or negative way. Since last few years the turn of the year has been bringing a turn of events in my own life as well.

Strange so it seems, but it is true. Or maybe that is how I perceive the events at the turn of the year. Maybe that the events happening throughout the year are of similar nature but it is my own inability to put those events in the same perspective as I do with these.

Whatever, but is seems as though the time around month of my birth has been programmed to obey some astronomical rules and each year as the calender ticks by, this astronomical trigger comes into play and presents a challenge that takes all my senses and wits to task. Sometimes along with wits, emotions as well. :-)

Not a coincidence that this blog is titled Recursive-Vortex. Most of the time our lives keeps falling into the iterations of a recursion that are consequent of our actions that are in turn initiated by our desires and ambitions as we strive to fulfill them. And we find ourselves analyzing and introspecting the same set of situations, thoughts, outcomes and principles that we have been a few units of time ago. For me this unit of time seems to be a year.

And I firmly believe that like each time, this will pass away after playing a bit with my metal and leave for me an experience worthy of cherishing, leaving a wiser, abler, happier and content person behind.

Hope you could make something out of it.
Keep recursing for good :-)

Take care.

back to good 'ol routine

The festival season is over and has left a tired body and thoroughly entertained soul behind. So the body needs a good night's sleep and a warm bath (in reverse order ;-) ) to recuperate for the coming days.

Celebrations however went well. Lots of relatives, some of whom we met after so many years was a good experience. The whole weekend was engulfed in a spiritual atmosphere and lots of things to do that kept at least me confused what to do myself and what to delegate.

But finally all concluded well and here I am back at my place preparing for the week and thinking what I was doing at the office when I left for home.

I would also like to mention that I have been riding home and back which s around 150KM one way. The experience has been great with changing scenery that varies according to weather and time of the day is something that I find refreshing! This time the same was marred by some festive traffic, so had to be extra cautious in towns. When on the open road this ride does  a great job both at taking me around and comforting my back. People whom I tell that I use it for traveling back and forth from home often wonder what shape would my back be in. I believe that my bike takes good care of it (rear mono-shock you see).  All I feel after 3 hrs of riding is a little tiredness and hunger. ;)

So off to regular routine.
See ya.

An auspicious diwali

Since few weeks, family was thinking to have an 'Akhand Path' (a three day long continous recitation of holy sikh scriptures concluded with a prayer and kitchen for all) at home to seek spiritual blessings and thank the Akal Purakh for his blessings till now.
Early morning today, on Diwali, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Saroop blessed our home and will be here till sunday noon till conclusion of the ceremony when the 'Hukam' (holy order for the family) will be pronounced.
The 'Granthis' (Sikh priests) would recite, in continuation, the whole 'Bani' from Sri Guru Granth Sahib in changing turns through night and day. Thank to them for such hard work and praying for well being of our family.
I wish God blesses our home with prosperity, contentment and keeps the problems, worries and disease away.
Happy Diwali to all.

(posted from mobile device)

Lets discuss

Festive season is around and there is lot going on around be both in the office (product release) and at home.

Home especially because apart from Diwali and Vishwakarma, we have another religious function this time all during three consecutive days! So I am seeing some busy and rather eventful days.

A few day ago, I told you that I have something serious to discuss. Some questions have been looming in my mind and eating up my free-time thoughts. Hence I have decided to share the same with you so that I may have some opinions.

The first to come is not on this blog but here.

You are invited to have an opinion on the same and share with the rest of the readers.

Thank you.

Salman's Dabanng | review

Got my hands on a Dabanng DVD this weekend. Popped it in and it didn't pooped at all :-)

Now this would be one of the very few moments and very likely to be the only one instance of it when I am willing to appreciate Mr. Khan without any regrets. No offenses to Salman khan fans but he has been in the bottom 10 percentile of my list. Mostly because of the non-sense acts of hopping around without a sense of  story at all that characterizes most of Salman flicks. Matter of taste!

In this one as well, there is a characteristic, madness that is sole forte of Sallu baba but this time managed to bring a smile each time. An inspector on a sort of mission impossible, starts to sing on the tune of a bandit's cellphone while the scripted momentary ceasefire allowed the dueling both enough time for the lawmaker to ask the bandit to forward the tone! Eh! I was about to shut it down the very moment. But the the special effects that were more realistic, almost within the boundaries of physical laws and great particle effects (if we ignore the impulsive force of Mr. Panday's muscles)  made me to adhere to the chair a bit more.

Bit by bit, the movie finally ended with numerous instances of what trademarked crazy Panday's style and forced me to smile, not out of sheer wit of the situation but due to the whole volleys of PJs that just kept coming.

Well, to conclude, I was well entertained and enjoyed the SFX effects throughout. Not to mention the beautiful portrayal of Mrs Pandey (Sonakshi) as an assertive, strong and drop dead attractive in that rural backdrop. A perfect match for the like of Mr. Chulbul Pandey.

"Chulbul". One of a kind name for the hottest star of the movie acts as another ingredient of entertainment here amongst many. Not to mention his brother "Makhhi" :-)

From the special effects, I am pretty sure Bollywood will soon compete the west. Let us see what they bring forth next.

Enjoy the hurdanng@Dabanng!

Weekend Ho!

At last! much awaited weekend is here and this time I have decided to take the weekend off!
By weekend off I mean that I am not going to study, research or so anything of that sort that I used to do earlier...just surf and sloth and of course attend to my online diary here.

So, sleeping eating and add some well done workout to compensate for Aloo Parathas. That is what that day today was.

So that's most of it.

See ya round because I have some serious discussions to do with you all. Nighty!

Hectic week(s) indeed

All work and no play makes life a dull affair. But sometimes call of the duty has to be answered. And this time, in the last one and a half year of joyous days at work, it was the time for some serious patching up that ate into couple of my weekends.

That was not all about it. Cherry on the cake is that I have some academia to attend to as well that has ironically coincided with some important dates at the office. Result? An almost 7x7 routine of technical thinking and concentrating that has been going for second week now.


It is good that I am not as much as a social worm as rest of the world wants me to be. So my expectations from the weekend evenings are modest. All I can see is that such expectations have left me bit more relaxed than my counterparts who are partners in my affairs these days. :-)

Corollary? Concluding nothing here. Just diary talk.

Take care
See ya round

test post

Just testing the remote update feature that my rudimentary but recently bought cell phone provides.

Been down to earth today.

Actually pretty down, down enough to taste it. And along with me went the pillion rider!

They say there is a kid inside us that wants to explore, run around jump around and enjoy life and also that we should listen to this kid every once in a while. So today we agreed to listen to this kid and go on a small trip towards the nearest hills.

As the kid would, whether inside us or outside, run around and like any kid (or you during childhood) trip and fall and bruise herself once in a while, then get up and move on, I did to.

Tripped! Along with my ride and bruised a knee :-)

For the curious ones, the reply to the "Kaise hua?" question should go like, "While I was riding on the bike with a pillion rider to some nice place, in a construction zone next to a fly-over, the bike's suddenly became unstable and we went nearer to the road than anyone else there before we knew it. :-)
It turned out that the road we were on was being relayed and there was about 4-5 inch difference in the level of  road that we were riding and the part that was relaid that ran along us and I unknowingly swayed slightly over the part being relayed and bike got off balance."

Fact is that I am notoriously known for driving fast but at the moment we were at 43 (I remember that). Also was driving calmly because of a mileage-check regime going on. I would love to conclude that when you are going to fall, you are going to fall. So drive at whatever speed you feel safe as per given conditions (your's, traffic's, weather's, road's and ride's).

Well, I am now feeling like a bruised kid and taking the small reminder from my knee every time I flex it in my stride.

Yes it is also a first scratch on my 3M old bike, glad that it also took some beating on my behalf like a buddy. Also happy that pillion rider is fine :-)

Time out! Gotta use peroxide :-)

Take care.

PS: Going to continue the unfinished adventure real soon :-)

I'm done with 'em

Them be the pills!

My dentist says you get a 'C' from the dentist when you get an 'A' from rest of the world! Sounds to be true.

Not exactly A but quite busy managing random stuff.

We ignore minor things like health and general well being in favor of all the more important things in life like work goals and targets and don't indulge into unproductive things like recreation and fun. And then a worn out body demands attention by acting up and reminding you of its existence through some tell tale signs.

In last couple of weeks I have taken enough pills to kill almost every kind of pathogen known to mankind
and attended three different docs for the ammunition. :-)

So now my body is rewarding me for attention that it got by allowing me to workout after a whole ten days. Stretching those tendons after so many days was a great relief.

Hope to continue with the less important things in life while attending all the more important stuff :-)

-Take care.

Brain Stormed!

After a day bundled with meetings, there are still few more hours and few more tasks to go before my day ends. Few of these tasks include appending my knowledge with something that is worth putting into practice in my profession.

Learning something new is adventurous and ignites a childlike curiosity whenever something new unfolds in front of you and reveals a new world of possibilities that one gets empowered to explore and exploit. Or simply the sense of 'knowing' that you acquire when you learn something is equally amusing.

Reading just for sake of knowledge. So to say.

A learned wanderer has her own peculiar charm radiating out of her persona that infects everyone around them. Such a person moves about in life with a subtle sense of confidence that we can sense even when she is not communicating.

But how much can we storm our brains to learn? I start learning something, then something else, till I have learned enough then someone invents something new and the new standards are en-vogue. Now I need to learn that.

I always end up Recursing this Vortex of ever evolving world of knowledge. And I am not the only one facing this knowledge-deficit.

Like the core of a nebula where a new star is conceived and born every now and then, this unknown yet knowable world of knowledge keeps on presenting something worth brainstorming every now and then.


I just hope that an already stormed brain may take this additional brainstorming and still stay functional ;-)

Stop inventing guys!

Where have I been?

I have dared to show up back here after much self consolation that its human to err.

It generally takes less than quarter of an hour to share something with people who matter through this online medium. But still, having been away for more than a month I now conclude that what keeps us from indulging in something that we enjoy the most is the quest for something that is of more importance to persons other than yourself.

Or maybe because we tend to set others' expectations from ourselves so high that we are always in a state of competition with our poor self that God had decided that we be on this planet just to fulfill those. It seems that it has become all the more hard to 'just be yourself'.

If that is true with the majority of us, then I would say that right now I am paying the price of this by abandoning myself from some of the activities that I most enjoy. Blogging being one of them.

I hope to see you soon!
Good night

Long weekend spent sinfully

Yeah! Sinfully.
By the way, how sinful can a teetotaler- vegetarian get?

Not having anything to read, having not contributed to own or others' knowledge, not having worked for three days. That is sinful as far as my definition of the thing goes!

Not only food, I have been a sloth all these days only moving about to pick up the phone, take a shower, have meals and drink all the odd stuff believed to relieve you of the heat. Home-sweet-home as comfortable it always is. But the heat topped by sincere efforts of our PSWEB (Punjab State's Without-Electricity Board), makes one wish for the generator-fed office even on a weekend!


Did I tell you I drove all the way to Jalandhar from Chandigarh this weekend? And Back! That was the part that I actually enjoyed the most about this weekend. Now, pardon me mention my bike again after devoting a whole post to it earlier, but it rides well, and feels well planted on the road, that even after driving for 2.5 hrs non stop (twice), my back is as happy as it was before the start of the journey. My comfort only marred by the sleep deprivedness (is that a  real word?) effected by early rising to escape the heat of the day. I managed to set our at 6.20 each time and reaching the destination at around 8:45. Just before the Sun could rise enough to start biting into my skin. :-)

I hope this night will help me recharge enough to attend the two day-long meetings that are to commence tomorrow and day thence.

Well, hope you also had a nice weekend.
Take care.

-Akashdeep

Got a new ride!

With ride I mean a bike.

After lots of analysis and considerations and re-considerations about various pros and cons of various options available in the market, I decided to take a bit risky option guided by the excitement that this new bike seemed to promise.

Apart from a couple of things that a conservative buyer will really miss, this new entrant promises the best of both the worlds.

A month or so was spent in (over) analyzing the available options and weighing them each on the scale of freshness, power, reliability, personal taste, practicality and safely etc, it was a tie between the Suzuki GSX 150 R and the new Honda CB Unicorn Dazzler. Dazzler won due to it's fresh looks, aggressive styling, lots of advanced features, lower weight that definitely adds to performance, and age old reliability promised by the Unicorn engine. Not to mention the attention to details and workmanship.

So, assisted by a colleague who was more enthusiastic than me in getting the bike (such gestures only show how closely people relate to each other sometimes) off we went to the show room stealing a few hours from the office (legally!)

Only to find that there was a truckload of new arrivals waiting to be unloaded. After a little coercion, little convincing and some requests, the whole scene turned its attention towards us.

And after a couple of more hours of wait (that seemed longer at the time) I was finally able to start it to actually ride it off!

As of now its the second day and the Dazzler has managed to impress me with every thing it does right from the animation on the HUD when it is first turned on to the effortless sweeping past every odd thing on the road act.

Also got two queries at the traffic stops asking what bike it is? Not a surprise because it is launched just a couple of week ago and mine is first of the first lot! Great value for money isn't it? ;)

Finally, I thank the overseer for finding me worth bestowing this pleasure.

You are invited for a free ride anytime!
Good night

What works for you?

Every once in a while we tend to be overwhelmed by the effort of trying to draw a straight line for ourselves out of the chaos of so many obscure, wavering, incomplete scribblings of fate on our daily routine. So much so that that we completely forget ourselves as we are created by the Almighty!

Wao! that got kinda heavy. Wasn't my intention. In short, we ignore ourselves in the chaotic life that it has turned into these days meeting all the demands of family, career and society.

All of us have a 'chill-factor', a 'stress-busting-mantra' that we act upon to connect with our real inner self. Or for those who are not much inclined towards spiritualism; the term is 'chill-out'.Whatever makes us forget that sense of emergency, schedule and targets that always hovers on our mind and soul, is what provides the ultimate relaxation to our minds and rejuvenates our controller:the mind, I would define as the 'stress-busting-mantra', 'chill-factor' or whatever nomenclature we may choose.

So, the point remains, what to choose to 'let-the-steam-go'?

What is your 'stress-buster-mantra'? What is your 'chill-factor'? What is that doing what you forget the universe and are totally engrossed in the task/activity at hand, Freeing your mind of all the worries?

I never made an inventory of these factors but these days it is the health regime that I have subject myself to.

At gym, you do not think about pending bills, career goals and latest technology update that you need to obtain. You only think what you are going to do in the next few minutes. How much to breath. How much to stress yourself. What weight to use. What is the next exercise. And on top of that you know that it is working for you. Eroding the lipids in your blood stream is the first thing we need in this pizza infected world :-)

It will be foolish to generalize this very subjective matter. But an the core, whatever makes you forget the stress causing factors is something worth pursuing each day even if it is for half an hour.

Some forget the world while painting, some while shopping, some enjoy cooking while some forget the world in meditation of the creator at a temple. While there are also some who prefer to loose sense of world and responsibility for an hour at a tavern!

Whatever the method, we should be wise in choosing the time and nature of indulgence for the betterment of  self and the society. Of course someone is going to be really off the budget who shops an hour daily to relax!

-Akashdeep
aka Aki

Back on!

Hi there!
I know you might be wondering where did I went during the last few days. Making the long story short, I would recommend this:
Blogging Blackouts

Whatever the reason, it was a spell of Blogging Blackout that engulfed me for the last...how many days??... I don't know...anyways..here I am...for how long, I am unsure..lets let it go on its own pace...

My latest read

English translation of Panchtantra (the five ways). As of now, I am not able to read Sanskrit but translation suffices for the time being. :-)

Also I am not a literary scholar so can live with the imperfections and deviations from the original Sanskrit text that must be there due to limitations of the modern language. I also learnt that many Sanskrit terms have no equivalent in any of the modern languages like French, Gernam, English and Persian. To me that indicates that the translations will always remain imperfect from most of the Indian languages that derive from Sanskrit.

About the book, it is a collection of five sets of stories known to have been taught to sons of a king by his priest promising him that his sons will be able to follow the stories to survive the real world and if not, he may give up his name!

Just started to read so no major opinions but yes, the author has said that no other literary work has ever used such a plot and style to teach wisdom to the real world through stories that are mostly based on animals as characters.

One thing however I noticed that the translator has translated the names of characters literally, so you get names of kings as Powerful-Fighter and his clergymen named Increase and Thought etc. That sound  tasteless whereas original name might be having some relevance to the nature of the character.

Well, some day I hope to read the original Sanskrit script as well. The language that has the most ancient and valuable literary work ever produced.

I go into the bed with Arthur W. Ryder's Panchtantra today. Good night.

Power shortage's impact on Punjab's progress

Lack of power. I mean the ACUTE lack of power and exceedingly high prices of power in Punjab are pushing everything towards a devastating situation. I will discuss impact on Industry, Education, Information Technology and Agriculture here.

I am into IT, had tough time coping with power cuts when I was studying, have friends from manufacturing industry and I belong to traditional Punjab. So I can relate to many problems that Punjabis are facing due to power shortage.

Please do justify the post by providing your frank opinions.


Industry:
Already fighting the inflation, rise in fuel prices, industrialists are forced to use Gensets which are far more costlier than electricity (which is again getting costly). Government forces the industrialists to reduce working hours in peak demand season while they have to pay the same price to labor and employees. Economy of production is also lost due to lesser productive hours. All these conditions lead to non profitable business, less paid (and unhappy) labor, unstable businesses and tough competition from the neighbor states and imports.

Education:
Although much much profitable venture, there is no direct impact except the students belonging to lesser privileged families who cannot afford/have alternative energy sources. In the hard-to-live months of summer and post-rains humid period, the lack comfort of even a fan poses enough distraction that the level of concentration goes down considerably. This especially applies to the students of higher education and the ones preparing for competitive examinations.

During the night hours, either students don't get enough sleep or enough time to do late study or enough distractions due to power failures that it is enough to impact the students from Punjab gearing up for National competitive exams.

Given the high number of daily hours of power cuts, the above facts cannot be deemed inconclusive at all.

Information Technology:
IT no doubt survives on power! The online systems and development tasks, services and international collaboration all depend on the devices/equipment that needs 100% power supply.

Lack of power gives Punjabi IT industry a major cost-challenge. Moreover, IT has very small share in India, let alone Punjab. Most of the IT business flows in from international arenas. Lack of continuous power leads to poorer service as compared to the competing industry in other states.

A teleconference ending in the middle of a management meeting due to a power failure is not going to impress the international community at all. Leading to what? Lack of confidence and interest on the IT industry.

On the contrary, indirectly, use of backup equipment and alternative power sources impacts the IT industry much in the same way as other industries discussed above.

Its a well known fact that IT industry has not moved further northwards than Chandigarh due to this (infrastructure is another issue but not to be discussed here) reason. Anyone needs more explanations why IT Park, Mohali cannot pick up much big names in IT?

Agriculture:
Bread and butter of more than 75% of Punjab.

It is not that electricity is free for them that means there is enough of it for them. One water pump needs enough power to run the home equipment for around 5-10 households!

So if there are few of them around the place, enough power is needed to keep them running. Also, most of the time, the tube-wells are shared among various fields and households as well. The schedule of watering the crops are dependent on season and amount of rainfall. Also, various crops have varying demands. This causes a tight schedule for irrigation. The schedule also depends on the combination of crop needs, weather and number of fields and households sharing the tube-well.

Farmer community has been wailing for the power, even if paid, but at least it should be provided. When it is free, there is no accountability for anything. Neither the production, nor the consumption.

Realization:
Or is it?
Time to wake up for the govt? I think it has passed already!

Now that they have come up with the wonderful power plant projects to be completed in 2013. Advertising their ninth-stitch in full page newspaper advertisements. These plants are not to be completed in coming couple of years if we be optimistic. And the power they will generate will barely be enough to sustain the energy needs at that time.

How about the energy needs for five or say ten years later? Still no plans!

And the cherry on the cake is that they always come up with funny ideas to save electricity. For instance, shut down shopping malls earlier, open govt offices for shorter hours, shut down industries earlier (see above for repercussions of this), even compromise citizens' safety by shutting the street lights earlier at some places.

Why don't they just ask us to shut down all the electrical equipment and stop earning, studying, progressing, enjoying and live in caves? Seems like we will end up like this one day!

Till the fan turns, I sleep. Or I sleep at the office!
Good Night.

Stretching out

There are few kind of reliefs. Although an attempt to classify these so very subjective experiences will be akin to painting on water. Still I hope that you will relate to a good chunk of what is to follow.

So, lets talk of a short term relief that you get from say, a piece of chocolate or a massage or a session at the gym, or a crazy night out or a ride on a joy ride or speeding your bike up to the last breath or fixing something quickly at work to demonstrate your technological might and earn a silent applause and so on. Lasting a few minutes and to be forgotten the next day.

The long term relief that you get after you conquer a major obstacle in your life or an achievement that marks you as a star in the circle where you matter the most or a sense of contentment that one might feel after living much of his/her life successfully. Success, again being a pretty subjective experience but the relief experienced by the sense of being one running in your veins is equally simulating. Examples? Haven't you sometimes, sitting silently away from the day and the world, introspected about how you have built your career or about the hard work and effort that you have been putting in to keep those relationships close to you that way or how you have been, by persistence and perseverance,  able to bring your children up to be good citizens (or maybe rich ones :-) )? Although I am writing about these, I am still to experience these long term reliefs or lets, analogically, call them contentment.

But the relief that I am talking about here is another sort of relief that lasts for a few weeks or a few days. The relief that you get after completing a self-assigned project. The relief of having the privilege to rest for a while and recharge yourself by living at a slower pace than what you were living at for last few weeks. The relief as if your exams were just over!

I just spilled that!

Yes these were these exams combined with juggling of other chores at the office and at home that have been keeping me on my toes and keeping my battery low all these past few weeks. Moreover some other expectations that have been a reason for anxiety have unfolded in favorable manner. So pretty rightfully, I am now feeling relieved and simply stretching out for now before the next spell of hard work comes down to let me test my limits yet again.

For now, I am off to 'stretch out' on my mattress! You too follow suit :-)
Good Night

Sinful day

Almost a month!
Finally, though, I am again able to share a moment with...! With whom? Lets say, "To whomsoever it ever may concern" :-)

So finally, I am again able to share a few moments with whomsoever it may concern with. One thing though, as I started writing today, it was supposed to be an account of my Friday's sins. But as I got the first few words, my eyes caught the glimpse of tiny clock in the notification area of my pc. It's 12:02. And AM. So the day I was living in just a few moments ago is now history! See, the day just ended in a jiffy, so had the month! I have no regret as I have lived the day well and pretty much (sin) fully.

Starting with a busy day at office where we missed some deadlines and trying to cope with it (sins I said. Remember?), then again not giving the well deserved share of thought and time to my today's PG examination and flying off from the office to examination center in mid-day and ending the day with pool and a sinful two doses of coke and few bits of fiery Manchurian, I think the way I spend the day justified the title. The pool part was what I enjoyed though.

Don't tell anyone that I did not (fully) enjoy the revered hangout of sector 17-The Down Under @ HM2

Well, when you live at lightening speed, you are bound to make some boo-boos, slip a little and sleep a little more :-) More on lightening speed later.

Sleep is the next thing on my mind now so that my weekend won't. be low on battery, apart from the heap of documents that I have to get my bed rid of before I am able to jump into it. :-)

While I do the cleaning, you continue your dreaming,
-Good night.

Blogging blackouts!

Quoting from here:

"Blogging blackouts are the periods of time where some unknown force keeps you away from blogging. These stretches of time find you allergic to the keyboard particularly updating your blog.You suddenly don’t have much to say, this temporary liking of yours for real-life interaction outweighs the desire to write and eventually while online you keep busy yourself elsewhere in social media or news. They come to you in small unannounced fits; even you are unaware they are about to occur. Has is it ever happened to you?"

A loud resounding 'Yes' is what I would say to that. If you have been blogging ever, you will definitely relate to the above.

The last couple of weeks (maybe a month) have been a Blogging Blackout for me. But unlike as said in the quote above, it was not for no reason. There were apparently many reasons. Mostly concerning my personal life and changes around it that kept me wondering and thinking that I did not had enough energy left to come up to my PC and punch something on to this online diary of mine.

It is not that all those things that happened around me in the past few days were stressful and damaging in any way and that I was going through a tough time managing my affairs. Rather it was a period akin to living through all the events of a life in a very short time. Certain good and certain not-so-welcome events happened around me so quickly that I was left behind in an effort to understand what all was going on, reflections of which I have expressed here and here.

But now it seems that the turbulence has settled down, or has at least begun to and here I am again, attending to one of my my favorite places on the web.

So? See ya again soon!

Weekend ho!

After a very hectic and interesting day at the office the only blessing we seek is a relaxing weekend to recharge the mental batteries and lubricate the worn down thinking machine housed in our craniums.

So was I hoping until I made that fateful call to my DEd center. I have to appear in an exam tomorrow! Three subjects and only a few hours to pray (read prepare ;) ). I remembered someone's words:

"Next time, be proactive. Not reactive."

This was not the "Next time". I have been a sloth and now I am all mentally set to pay it with a sleepless night and over worked brain over the weekend which I otherwise spend watching a movie or doing something else considered counterproductive if done during the weekdays.

So, time to go off to the study table...

Take care!

Busy Busy Busy

Busy Busy Happy Busy Busy Busy Cheered up Busy Busy Busy Excited Busy Busy Learning Busy Busy Working Busy Busy Busy Busy Busy Enjoying Busy :-)

Cya!

Reverberations continue...

When your stars take a turn, in unison with the ever altering crisscrosses on your palms, scores of things happen around you and you feel straddled in a vortex of events, not able to figure out the significance of either and the probable consequence of any.

This Vortex of changes is not new to you. You have witnessed it earlier and you know how it passes by, and how while it is passing by, you will be blessed with a valuable treasure of wisdom and truth.

These happenings, however confusing and illogical they might seem, are connected to something mystical and divine, a touch of conspiracy is what we feel in those moments. A conspiracy that happens in the Universe to permanently alter the path that leads us to our destinies and in turn, change our destinies as well.

Seems like someone has been watching us doing the right and wrong while fooling around in the world and decides our new destiny on the basis of some positive and negative scores on some divine scorecard based on some divine principles. Something has to be done to direct us to this new path so that our new destination may be ours. The interim judgment is made.

And the conspiracy begins...

Mysterious reverberations

Somewhat strange, somewhat welcome, somewhat surprising, somewhat disturbing, somewhat auspicious, somewhat mystical.

Such has been the essence of last couple of weeks' life.

This time of every year has been a time of major changes in my life if I go by the experience of past few. As if the guardian of destiny writes new chapter in my life every year and subjects me to new tests and educates me of my new limits in the process.


This year around again, certain changes around me have again put me in a fix and I am feeling a mixture of pride, blessing and sadness all at the same time. But given our skills to modify the perspective, and company of some friends who keep mentoring me to sharpen this skill of mine, it becomes all the more easier to view the happenings around you as a new opportunity for growing still more mature, trusting still more in your luck. And I feel brave enough to give my luck a little push off the edge and see the edge growing to accommodate you!

I might be experimenting with my luck, there isn't a slightest of  uncertainty about the outcome as everything is going to end well.

That's how it has been all these times :-)


Lets see...
Good Night

Acckkk! Chhhooooo!!

Common cold turns common people into an uncommon state. Both mental and physical.

Indications were setting on since this Wednesday. But today I woke up with a mild temperature accompanied by a blocked nose and sore throat. On top of that a rumbling tummy. And my head decided to warn me about all that is going wrong with the body with a nice headache!

First step out of the bed and...

Acchhoooo!! :-)  Was someone's remembering me? Not exactly.

And that was just the beginning for the day.

Well but all that was not going to deter me in anyways and with an agenda already lined up for the day. It was not the correct time to give in to little ills. However united they were. They won't stand a chance here. And when I have to do some errands around the city, sitting and relaxing was out of question even though it was a weekend off from work.

Many friends suggested many things, if you honor them, you got to trust those strange sounding remedies anyways. So based on that, I turned myself into a Guinea pig and tried Pepper Tea (regular cup of tea with half teaspoon of pepper. It works!),  Ginger tea, Sualin tablets (for throat), Strepsils, Anulom Vilom Pranayam etc etc.

I apologize to friends who suggested medications as I believe that we should not resort to medications if the ailment is not that severe or the discomfort manageable. In my case, discomfort of a running nose, a headache, and a sore throat did not merit a medical treatment. Even when all of them charged at my loving body together.

So, for the upset tummy, I skipped a dinner and took big pinch of Ajwain and water only. Runny nose? Only one cure for that! ;-)

Tell you what? Anulom Vilom Pranayam relieves blocked and runny nose immediately and longer you practice it longer are you relieved for. But one precaution though, keep lots of tissues handy! :-)

Sore throat kept on getting better n better with Ginger tea and Strepsils. Does that counts as medication? Doctor might have suggested a course of antibiotics for a week. So I think not.


Now with a minor discomfort of blocked nose, the ordeal seems to be fairly over. So see you in a still better shape tomorrow.

One last thought though. Having to move around the city in such condition taught me how to blow nose in public without making a noise! ;-)

Happy sneezing!

Dear Recursive Vortex,

I have not been attending to you as frequently these days. But don't you believe that I am no more that faithful friend of yours as I was a couple of weeks ago.

There must be a reason right?

So primarily, I have been lazy because I don't want my fingers numb from typing in this cold spell.

Moreover, and of course because of the same reason, my day has been restricted to getting out of the bed, eating, to the office, then back, eating again, and into the bed...cozy bed...warm bed.

Who dares to move out of the bed and onto the cold stricken computer? Somehow, courtesy my land lord, the breeze is free to roam about my lobby and it enjoys victimizing a lone blogger in the late night hours forcing him to retreat into the quilt. Unless I gift myself a laptop, you have to make good with these small absences of mine off and on.

But how long will this cold breeze last? Eventually, Earth will show its better half to the Sun god and warm its inhabitants accelerating and comforting the lives thereof.

The lone blogger is glad to be back in his chair.

As faithful as ever...

The Indian that should be. Then India would be

I was at home this weekend.

Reason?

Well I am at liberty to not to disclose that...he he.

No. Nothing particular. But yes, the prospect of spending a long weekend at home was enough to cause this visit. One leave and you get a four days long break and those nostalgic fragrances of mom's kitchen throughout the mini vacation!

Tempted already...? Apply a leave :-)

Uh oh! Wait a sec...What is the title of this post? Those fragrances led me away from the subject.

So it is about this guy I met on the way back to Chandigarh on the 26th. A south Indian working at some Bharat Forge, in a division specializing in Crankshaft manufacture for medium to heavy diesel engines, was on a quality improvement and troubleshooting tour at Swaraj Mazda.

Come on! Don't tell me you don't know what a Crankshaft is?
What...? Okay. Agreed.
How will you know as you have not been exposed to such stuff. Also agreed that there are many things that you may know but I don't. No doubts about that..But at least have a look at the Crankshaft.

Are we comfortable now? Lets continue...

As a passenger, I avoid making friends so I was just being formal and precise (someone will smile at me being precise!) towards about his inquiries but you can sense when you connect to someone and tend to involuntarily open up.

I can't recall much of the discussion but it began from the manufacture of crankshaft and its inherent difficulties. Terms like expansion coefficient, tolerance, heat-deformation were discussed and I was pretty much able to follow him.

It was not his technical prowess that impressed me but the thought process with which this person was pursuing the visit.

It was noble.

I came to know that he was here to analyze the causes of failures (apparently this cold wave had caused much more failures than anticipated), suggest improved diagnostic techniques, collaborate etc

But his mission was not to earn a praise or look up to an appraisal or to flaunt his technical might at the others back at Pune....or at me. He was concerned about the association of the two companies. For he viewed that association as the bread and butter of many thousands of workers. All from the lowest grade laborer onwards. He was aware of the crisis that may occur if he fails to resolve the issue with Swaraj Mazda as a lost customer may mean lay offs in a particular division if viewed at a bit higher scale.

"All businesses shall grow. No company shall shut down'".

While quoting above, his concern was whole class of individuals that are associated with a particular industry.
He seemed to be at no more than a senior engineer's rank. But the vision and thoughts that he possessed were even more enlightening than that of many CEO's around. If at a higher management position, such a person will aim for not only profits and processes but also for the spirit of belonging to a nation and bringing forth changes that really matter to everyone alike.

But our engineer had his own doubts as well. All those common to every organization where some people are fearing loss of control and others are too closed to think beyond multiplying number of machines rather than improving processes to improve productivity. He was unable to see why we are not having common rail and turbo charged engines in the traditional vehicles that still ran on age old, unreliable and failure-prone technologies.

As in Gandhiji's Talisman that used to be inscribed at the opening page of my every N.C.E.R.T textbook:

"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?
Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away."

That is the Indian that should be. And then India would Be. For the world to witness its glory.

Goodnight!

How many pieces of metal make a Bike?

Like me, if you have been paying microscopic attention to skillful hands of the mechanics and to scores of curious looking pieces of metal that a mechanic disassembles and reassembles each time you get your bike fixed for burping in public, and on top of that if you have taken the risk of looking (and feeling) stupid by asking questions that you know are stupid to the mechanic fraternity (add to that the cost digesting humiliation of a frowning bike-vet staring at you), you must be knowing that in your bike, there is a component called the Carburetor. :)

You knew already? Even without going through the ordeal like me?  You are a genius!

Well, I have not finished yet.

So, Inside the Carburetor, there is a component called 'Float' housed inside yet another component called 'Float-Bowl'. Now this Float is attached to a small 'Float-Pin' that governs a minuscule passage from where fuel is fed into the Float-Bowl and your vehicle breathes through this fuel to get something called Fuel-Air mixture that burns in the Cylinder to push the Piston and...blah ..blah ...blah...and move the bike forward.

That was the prelude :)

The meat of the story is that if some adventurous particle of impurity that should be no more than size of a sand grain, dodges the fuel filter and accidentally (or intentionally) wedges itself between that minute passage and the Float-Pin, will cause the failure of Float mechanism leading to a situation called "Overflow".

The beauty of this situation is that then you cannot keep the Fuel-Tank valve open because that faulty passage will lead to a full Float-Bowl. Means that all the fuel will overflow from a drain pipe at the top of Float-Bowl draining all the fuel in the tank. Not good for the wallet and the mileage. And you cannot close the Fuel-Tank valve because the Bike will stall from need of fuel.

Today, during the morning rush hour, while I was standing at a traffic signal, when I smelled leaking fuel and saw the fuel dripping form overflow duct, It did not took much diagnosis to understand that my Bike had symptoms of an overflow!

Pretty funny situation to get into on a fine morning.

Quick solution was needed. So I decided to play the 'Float-Pin' myself and turn the Fuel-Tank valve off and on all the way helping the Bike get enough fuel to breathe but not enough to let it overflow. Then opening again when it begins to stall.

Somehow, I made it to the office and that adventurous piece of impurity or whatever it was, decided to give up. Return trip was asymptomatic. :)

Now you know how it helps to ask funny questions to mechanics?

Believe me, that two gram piece of metal is equal in worth to any other piece of metal that makes a bike.

For the curious reader. A Float-Pin. less than 5 mm in diameter, 15 mm high (or long depending on how you are holding it), rubber tip at the top and a spring in the shaft as well. Quite an artwork. Isn't it?

Before I turn philosophic on worth of other smaller components of rest of our world and society...


See ya! :)

The good, the bad and the ugly winter

Its been quite a while since my last post but I assure the reader that I was not being a sloth all this time :) This week has been rather eventful for me.

Sometime I was of course put off by the cold that seems to be quite overwhelming this season. It seems like the Mother Nature has made her mind to give a fair chance to the winter wear manufacturers. Now they can pull off the 40 + 60 percent sale placards and go full throttle on the customers' wallet for the customers have been left with no place to hide from the cold wave that has pushed mercury into the negative scales.

There is one very motherly quality to Mother Nature as well, you run away from her and she will come chasing you making you shiver even under the warmest of quilts. But when you brace her and you feel that warmth even in this chilling cold.

Commuting to and from the office on my two wheeler is one every day occasion when I cannot escape from the cold. The dogs are no longer playful, birds are still bathing in the dew falling from the skies. Even my inanimate, cold-paralyzed bike has to be pampered for a few minutes before I can take take off  for 25 minutes of ride through the foggy morning. Breeze is gentle and only able to slowly animate dew bathed leaves. The Laborers, School Buses, Cars, Joggers, Municipal sweepers, Rickshaw pullers all seem drowsy and slowed down. As if my regular morning is now being played at 0.5 X

Everything blurred and dim like an underexposed photo plate. Even the mighty Sun God is unable to defeat the dense fog and has surrendered to Mother Nature, politely staying hidden behind the translucent homogenous cloud composed of vapor-frosted-dust, waiting for its turn to show up whenever permitted.

Night walks are beautiful. The streetlights hidden behind the roadside trees expel few rays of incandescence through the leaves into the fog lighting up the path it travels before illuminating the roads in a theatrical hue. Traveling through this show of lights is very enjoyable even when your fingertips are getting a bit numb while still under the leather gloves.

However, thinking of those poor people who do not have enough to cover themselves and no brick walls to hide from the chill, The cold breeze for them would be like a witch that transforms itself into a cold spell and seeps into their feeble tent-houses through every possible hole and crevice, making its presence known to their human skin. They would keep themselves coiled from the fear of this witch and pray for its departure at the earliest. For them a day without sun is no less than a torture that they have endorsed for themselves since birth.

That's Life...
But it shall go on.

Trip to Sri Anandpur Sahib

09-Jan-2010, Farewell to two of our much respected Senior Managers.

What could be a better place to bid them good bye in the light of blessings of Almighty.

For me personally, they are out of those few persons whom I try to idealize. Not everyday you meet people who being at such a high positions, are as close to you as a colleague of yours. I wonder who won't feel enthused to give their best when guided by such mentors. Even if it is a challenge, a goal, a fault of yours, or a self-improvement objective, it is conveyed by them in such a manner that is seems too puny to be insurmountable. I feel lucky to have worked for them.

The travel was decided to be through a train amidst the apprehensions of delay due to foggy weather conditions. These apprehensions later proved to be false. With more than two dozen of my teammates the trip was sure going to be a thorough entertainer. An Antaakshri session that lasted all the way up and random songs during the return trip that varied according to the mood (read extent of tiredness :) ).

Though this was my second visit to the place, it was the first time I went into the Fort Anandgarh. The place where Guru Gobind Singh Ji had stayed before engaging a historical battle of Chamkaur with the Mughal army.

The walls still show the age old bricks that have witnessed the history and probably the eyes of Guru Ji have glanced over those walls sometime in the past. Some Sikh warriors might have been standing with folded hands there while taking orders from the Guru Ji. These all thoughts were overwhelming.

Also went to Bauli Saahib gurdwara, where lies the source of fresh groundwater that Guru Ji had pointed to by his arrow.
138 steps to the water source and back was exercise for some, warm up for others and exhaustive for some. I realized the importance of spending six months a year at gym when I found myself comfortable during the return to the top :)

Back home, all sound and fresh, I was thankful for the moment. Next day was Sunday. All errands that are normally distributed over two days have to be accomplished in one!

Off to the bed I went!

PS: For information about the Fort Anandgarh please refer :

• http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/events/siege_of_anandpur.html
• http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Anandgarh
  

The Dawn

Hey there all you people!! Welcome to the new year! Just realized that I am about to write the first post for the new year.

Well, spending the new year eve with parents and the next day with grand parents is how it worked out for me this time. And somewhat similarly for most of the times in the past as well. It feels so warm to have your parents with you while you watch the past year ticking out and new one ticking in.

A round of greetings kept on flowing and while I watched them helplessly from my cell, unable to reply because of restricted features of my cell's browser, I was so eagerly waiting to acknowledge them as soon I was able to land my hands on my desktop.

Whats so special about those wishes?

Although years pass by again and again, it takes quite a happy God to be a blessed mortal who is able to secure a cubic millimeter in someone's heart so that you are not skipped while your near ones are performing a mental fuzzy search on their list of contacts to deliver those simple notes of warmth on such special occasions.


Given that how human we are, and that being human, how often we err and displease His creatures and in turn Him, it is no less than an eternal blessing that someone still finds pleasure in sharing their happiness with you. The above becomes more relevant then.

About the rest of the weekend, Friday went into an official errand that has been pain of my neck since years. Hopefully nearing resolution now.

Saturday, I went to grandparents' place in the countryside. The winter spell was cast there as well but somehow felt great to look through the foggy vistas of the countryside and a fresh pollution free breath of air. There might not be as many CO2 breathers in the whole village as there are in a simple office complex in cities. Quite a comfortable thought for us city-zens!

Sunday, here I am excited to see the new renovated office that is still in progress. Yes, we are expanding! Drop your CVs to me, you might be lucky :)

The return trip bus driver gave me a shock! I usually greet them at the end of the travels and so did I this time. To my surprise the crazy fellow was red eyed, limping, and about to tip over with alcohol and still he was driving a bus packed with 50 passengers!
And how re returned my greetings? "It is all by the God's grace sir, that we keep on serving you people. Otherwise we are mere mortals" said he.Funny and ironic at the same time! Dear driver, I and the others too were just one chance behind the discovery of this fact that we were mortals. And I totally agree now that it is with God's grace only that we are being served. Damn!

That observation was enough to explain me the sudden erratic braking after a half an hour stop at Ropar, one hour away from the terminus.

That apart, lets end this day to a wish that brings in a new dawn in all of our lives, a fresh view of life and a fresh mind to look at old things with a new perspective. Don't turn your head upside down. That is not what I meant by the new perspective :-)

The number 2010 kinda seems good for the mankind, 2009 seemed a bit creepy to me from the beginning! lols

Good Night :)