And yours truly is back....

Wow...its been more than 2 years since I last visited my blog....at times I wondered whether I wanted to carry on with it at all...but I am glad I kept it coz I am back...and what a roller coaster ride the past 2 years have been!!
When I last wrote I was in NYC....things have changed a lot since then....
One thing which has changed for the better is my attitude towards fitness and physical excercise. Post the gluttony that was NYC, I figured I had to do something to remain fit and by the power of sheer mental strength I starved myself back to my original shape (losing 10 kgs on the way). However, in the process I also figured that staying away from food is not healthy at all and hence this renewed drive towards excercise. All this has resulted in me running in the Mumbai Marathon and the Delhi Half Marathon (ya ya I ran only the 7km races- but still wot the heck, a couple of years before even that would have been unthinkable).
I am big time into kick boxing now- and that is some activity man! It reminds me of the yoga classes in school (which we had only upto 5th standard) after which I had never done the sort of stretching, lunging, back bending, huffing and puffing that the trainer makes me do these days.
Anyways, due to paucity of time, I will bid goodbye for the present. But yes, writing more on the blog seems to be a top priority for me now and hence I shall return!

And this is how life goes by....

3 weeks of having been in New york and it seems like forever...and there r so many things to write about that i am wondering where to start...
oh well...first things first...i seriosuly dont understand the obsession that ppl hav with a manhattan address....i mean junta who happens to stay in new york always hav this "oh u r from jersey city...that village!" kind of attitude...
tho the truth is that the area i stay in..which is newport is one of the most peaceful, green, serene and friendly place i have seen..and i am happy to actually hav the river hudson flowing closeby and being able to see the empire state building from my apartment window!

as someone has truly said..."if u liv in manhattan...wot do u see out of your window...jersey city...while if u stay in jersey wot do u get to c out of the window...manhattan!"...

and i happened to visit a friend who stays in downtown manhattan and was appalled to hear the noise and see the cramped situation in that area..sheesh!..and then we hav people who go gaga over a manhattan adress!
anyways working in manhattan is one thing and staying theres is totally different...

on a different note there is the weather in NY...i just hav to write about it given its temperamental nature!...i mean yesterday was soooo windy that i almost got blown off in 'the wizard of oz' style...my umbrella of course had to bear the major brunt of the cyclonic winds that were blowing...(ok ok i know they werent 'cyclonic' but they sure seemed so for a first timer like me)...now the poor umbrella got totally inverted the moment i stepped out of the main entrance of the world financial centre...so by the time i crossed the Merill Lynch entrance i was totally drenched...so much for the foresight of actually hunting for my umbrella before leaving for office and missing the 9 am ferry in the process!

now living in New york does hav its pleasures..theres an amazing variety of stuff u culd do..i mean u just hav to make a wish and u get it..so a couple of weekends ago i tried my hand at rafting in the delaware water gap....good fun!
then went sight seeing in washington dc with a whirlwind tour of a day....
also caught fanaa at an indian theatre in manhattan....nice hall with the option of hving Samosas being a surprise advantage....ohh how i miss PVR!..
also managed to catch a musical at broadway....actually 'The' musical which every1 talks about...'Chicago'....was quite an experience..tho we could hav gotten better seats had we booked in advance but nevertheless...i somehow prefer this on the spur of the moment decision making which is so much more fun....
last weekend saw me surveying the art and sculpture in the Metropolitan museum and also opening an account in the New york public library...went to the mid town manhattan branch and found out that we could actually issue 30 books at one go!!..

also made a crazy plan to go to the USTA National Tennis stadium but abandoned it midway coz it was friday evening..in a crowded subway..with major rain happening outside and the prospect of missing out on a party with indian khana..so decided will keep it for another day..when i can actually go and buy tickets for the US open..since the ticket centre opens form the 12th of june...

Oh new york...wot pleasures do u hide...
Just looking at the grayline double decker ride...
through the manhattan streets gives me a thrill...
as i silently resolve that one day i will...
book tickets for the bus and take the round tour...
no matter how many hours it takes me...2,3,...four?
and ofcourse seeing the US open final would b a dream come true...
for me...would it b for u?

life on the 30th floor...

"in the ides of may i flew out of my clan,
exploring new lands was my gameplan,
but left behind were my memories in the great homeland,
experiences imprinted in immortal sand"...

blogs title inspired by location of office in world financial center
time of day: afternoon in new york....past midnight in india
mood of the day: reflective, thoughtful, philosophical...

well its been 2 weeks for me here in the big apple and its high time i put down my coherent thoughts together...
the great part about coming to work every morning is the ferry ride we get to take across the Hudson River....
as a kid..and even during MBA i used to wish for a job that would compel me to get out of bed every morning and rush to office...well in a way the wish has surely come true...the experience of the wind blowing around you as u climb to the open deck on the ferry with the manhattan skyline laid out before u like a neat breakfast platter is something that i cannot ever forget...and ofcourse if i ever go to work in any other location i shall forever end up comparing this to it and never find things up to the mark..so dear god keep me in this utopian state if u can!!

"devon and blakeleys salads are my lunch,
doing things productive as grilled chicken i munch,
the thousand island dressing makes things all the more sweet,
giving me energy to willingly greet,
all and sundry who come my way,
thus passes my eventful day...
in the office on the 30th floor...when god closes a window he sure does open a door!"

NY Ahoy!

Wonder of wonders I find myself in New York city..call it a large stroke of luck or what u will but i actually am in the big Apple...and cant stop gloating about it! :)
maybe it is the kiddish wonder of my first visit to the States or just the thrill of having made it this far...i dont know but yes i sure am feeling euphoric....
now to begin at the beginning..the first feeling of excitement started with me getting the US visa...after an uneventful, though much hyped and feared interview at the US embassy in Chanakyapuri...from then on there was literally no looking back, as tickets were booked, suitcases packed, woollens bought, relatives informed and hajaar admin formalities completed...
finally on the night of 11th may the Baleno drove into the nizammudin mess to pick me up for the airport....and after bidding my goodbyes i was soon into the Lufthansa flight..LH761 to Frankfurt...and i was travelling business class mind you!...from there i changed into the LH 400 which flew into JFK on the morning of the 12th...and an awesome welcome awaited me as i went past customs and immigration at lightning speed to find my Utog cab awaiting me at the arrivals exit. the cab driver turned out to be from sadda Punjab and very affectionately pointed out the sights and sounds of NYC as we passed. He explained how the city was split into 5 boroughs bronx, brooklyn, queens, manhattan and staten island...and how his brother-in-law's cousins nephew works for xyzee company which is a big name in the US...etc..so had a good time chatting him on the ways of the big bad world of New york...
ok rite now there is really loads to write...and even more to experience and discover...so i think i will stop here and continue when i have more energy..have to unpack and stuff bfore i go off into dreamland...so gnite and good luck! :)

struggle, success and structure?

A life unplanned..
(p.s: ok the idea behind this poetic offering came from a friends' friend's blog...the way it was conveyed caught my attention and hence the concept has been adapted to urs truly's life)

(p.p.s: this was written on march 13th....)

11 years ago, life seemed too good to be true,
we played we laughed as older we grew,
there werent too many worries except the next class test
...what role i was going to get in the annual school fest,
and endless phone conversations with friends old and new...

5 years ago was when a new beginning was made...
i started college..St. Stephens...i made the grade!!
there was relief and bewilderment and some home sickness on the side,
there was economics and residence and the start of a joy ride..
the aura of red bricks and the memories which stayed...

1 year ago i heaved a heavy sigh..
for 3 hectic terms of my MBA had just gone by..
with more wisdom in my head...but a few lesser hair,
with more contacts in my diary..but "no time to stand and stare",
i tried to see my future in the cloudy Bangalore sky...

Yesterday, was my birthday and i also got a job,
for me a moment historic, a pleasure no one could rob,
tomorrow is a new journey like the ones that went past,
a year, five years, a decade, i know not till when it will last,
but one things for sure..i ain't just another face in the mob!

A senti post....

Yes I will miss IIMB....term 1..H-113, L-12, name tags, well-shaped classrooms, mad and quirky profs, strangeness and familiarity, the first week, the first quiz, the first deadline, bracket, movies, forum, nite outs, 0411091, D-103, mugging, copying, st gallen, term 4 weekends, ccs,ppts, fachchas, friends, foes, admirers, crushes, mentors and mentees, ccd, cp, cases, submissions, after dinner walks, afternoon siestas, forms, resumes, seniors, block parties, matki phod, diwali, vista and fii, spidi, unmaad, d-mezz, term 6---the end
yes it was a joy ride....but this is where i get off...

ciao IIM Bangalore....

do keep me somewhere in the recesses of ur memory as one of the many who served time and grew up in ur hallowed environs....

An ode to PPTs...

A PPT a day keeps happiness away,
Oh!..how each morning we pray,
That today be an uneventful day..
When we wont have PPT games to play,
Somehow find an excuse not to attend..
the days PPTs, by trying to pretend,
Sickness, Ill-Health or Pre-occupation,
with tasks more urgent..using our imagination
to dodge, avoid or somehow escape,
the impending torture, the mental rape!

Of listening to rubbish spewed
by a 60 yar old ageing dude,
(with 2-3 cronies standing by his sides,
to hold him if he slips or slides)

All of us wearing fancy trousers and shirts,
the girls avoiding flashy skirts
putting our mobile phones on silent or vibration
but ultimately playing games on them in sheer desperation

Oh the ennui, the sheer boredom,
of listening to stale repetitive wisdom,

but there is at times the silver lining
when at the end with our hearts pining,
we somehow manage to spot the attendance sheet
like goats at the slaughter we begin to bleat,
out of sheer excitement at getting some return
for it is obvious that there was nothing to learn
from the PPT..and so it carries on,
we toil like the hardowrking pawn
in a game of chess,at placecom's behest
never ever do we get some rest
from the rapid fire schedule of these talks
Oh! how my mind balks
at the very thought of getting ready
and keeping my sleepy head steady
so as not to get fined
and hence I play games of the mind
to use my superior mental powers,
to get an early reprieve from these PPT showers
and rush into the mess for a well earned meal
(now isnt that a neat deal?)

and hence at last my story comes to an end
hope u had fn and didnt hav to pretend
a fake interest, that we hav to construe
for we r perenially stuck to PPTs with araldite glue!