Life these days

I have finally spent more than a week in the campus continuously and settled down :P. This is our penultimate month in the campus and life has never been better here. With no subjects and classes (though it hardly matters as I can see looking at others’ routine), I have the liberty and flexibility to do anything anytime.

This semester has been dominated by quickies (trips planned in less then 10 minutes) and our perseverance of staying outside hostel for as much as we can. Everything looks so much accessible and bogmalo is the new jhopdi where you can go daily and just relax. The other sensation has been the hukkah which I could not bring to the room because of so much of dancing around (DISCO’s) these days, but got to know of places where we can go every now and then. Pool has become our alternative to daily exercise with Kesarval conveniently placed. Hiring cabs has been forbidden now for Goa is a nice place with nice people ready to give lifts anytime and sometimes I just think why did I shelled out so much bucks on transport earlier. (even Sethi got a lift yesterday!)

The heat is trying its best to keep us inside but damn, we are good! Lunch takes average one hour these days followed by a trip to juice corner. Snacks have been tagged with the ‘choti jhopdi’ and dinner with whatever we do not visit in the day. It’s only breakfast to which injustice has been done but that is because sleep is really good at convincing us to ignore it :P. Now just about a month left in the campus, really want to make the best out of it. Tennis court would get completed by weekend and what we had planned of playing since the start of semester would finally be materialized. Lots of things happening for the first time in the last semester and others are reviving themselves in one way or another. We have actually started going to children's park and benches again (one of our first year's regulars).Road trips have become frequent and nite outs too. Discussing about our stay over here and the things we have done is the best time pass.It feels really great doing nothing and just living for the moment for you know these moments would be hard to come by again.

PS: Resist temptation from evil (i.e discussing maggi revolution). Amen.

Good to be back

And here I am.Back to the place which has been my home and friends who have been my family for the past 3 years. This time it is special because we have come after a 6 month break and moreover this is our last semseter in BITS GOA.
I plan to do lot many things in this sem and a 'TO DO' list is being made with the assistance of my friends. We have ticked the first thing on the list and I think we should have done it way before and that is 'New year celebration in Goa'.Living in goa for past 3 years is different and celebrating new year over here is something else! To cut it short, it was the awesomest new year ever. If this happens when beach parties are banned and security is tight, I can't even imagine what must be the case like when everything was allowed. Nonetheless we had an awesome time. Be it the club we danced till 4 in night or the beach where firecrackers mesmerized us at midnight, or the hot Indian chicks( Foreigners are a common view now you see ;)) or the pole dance by drunk chicks in clubs, had a memorable new year!
Now coming back to campus life,had a dreadful time first two days since campus was deserted and I was allotted AH3. But my heart sways for AH4 and I finally managed to get a room in it. This is the hostel where I have had the most pleasant moments in Goa.Today we have our registration in some one hour. Campus is buzzing with kids I don't know, first yearites probably whom we are still to interact with ;). Nobody is speaking about placements and I think people have accepted the fact that there won't be any this sem :P. So better to enjoy the last sem. Two mba results out,the 'big' one is due this week. Lotsa thing in mind, but hardly any time to apply my thoughts on anything.
All I can say is it feels good to be back.Good to find the old faces moving pass the corridor. Eating at our joints(although they suck) and doing nothing but vellagiri which we are best at. People are skeptical that they would have nothing to do after two months. But as of now, I am enjoying the campus and hopefully would find ways to keep us all entertained :D.

PS:HAPPY NEW YEAR :D

The Day I was Conned

I must confess I have never felt so stupid in my life. I have traveled in almost all parts of the country and in almost all modes of transport and when I boarded my train on15th Dec from Bangalore to Jodhpur, it was no big deal.

But yes, this was the first time I was traveling 45 hours straight (because I had to take my bike back to my hometown in the same train). I changed my ticket from 3^rd AC to 2^nd for the first time and I got an upper birth which I changed to lower birth (I have always preferred upper birth though; but my cabin had just two guys, so took it).For the first time I accepted food from a stranger (as I mentioned that person was to be my sole companion for next 48 hours), and ya ok, we chatted for quite some hours. For the first time I had just 100 bucks left with me during a journey and I really did not minded him paying my expenses (him being a businessman going on a business trip to Jodhpur to seal a deal with Bikaji Namkeens).

So let us talk about this businessman. He knew everyone and I mean everyone in the pantry car; from waiters to managers to the TT of the train. He had relatives at almost every other stop we had. He was on calls for almost the entire time. He was the owner of ticket booth of PVR cinemas, Forum Mall, Bangalore, he was the contractor of food in Rajdhani express and he had local businesses in railways and many other diverse fields. Every damn tea boy and attendant was treating him as he was the Prince and yes, he was carrying 95k cash with him which he showed to me. He was a fat small guy who looked stupid, and more importantly looked genuine. All this description explains why did I trusted the guy and why did I had his food and why did I chatted with him.

Now it was 3.30 am in night that I got up and found two of my mobiles (Sony Ericsson P990i and Nokia 3220) missing and my wallet secure (thankfully it just had 100 bucks ,so the thief must have shown some pity). I told the ‘businessmen’ about it and he said his wallet was missing too which had some 5k cash. Rest 90k he had it in his pocket. So he made me write a complaint letter which he said he’ll deliver to RPF Ahemdabad so that they can track the thief down and he also assured since he is a railway employee, they’ll be more vigilant for this case. In the morning he told that 1 Lakh rupee has been taken out from his ICICI credit card which was there in his wallet. Now he told me that he has to get down at Marwar Junction(a town near Jodhpur) for some work and he’ll be in Jodhpur the next day where we can meet up with my Dad for verification at Jodhpur station. I had his number and he gave me landline nos. of his home at Bangalore and Marwar. HE asked if he can borrow my Ipod for 1 day because he’ll be bored otherwise and he’ll give it back tomorrow when we meet. And I gave him, because after all we had become friends.

Next day I called him and he said he has some business deal in Bikaner and he’ll meet up tomorrow. And we spoke for him on 4-5 occasions on the same day and the next. Finally on 19^th, he said he’ll be coming railway station in 15mins and that was the last time I spoke with him. His phone was unreachable after that and I realized finally what a fool I had been. It took me two days to connect all the things and how he played his role to perfection to con me.Obviously all land line nos. were fake.

Probably first time in my life, I have been deceived in such a manner and I am just helpless and can do nothing about it. I can just imagine his face filled with satisfaction, he even pulled the last act of taking my Ipod to perfection, and what a fool I had been the whole time. I know I won’t be able to recover my phones or ipod or my 600 contacts or 1200 messages or pics or anything else. But I just wish I meet that person once more in this life and can get even. Just hoping to get my hands on him one day in future….

In short, this trip is something I’ll like to erase from my memory. Nothing good came out of it except few important lessons that you all can infer yourself.

PS: I may seem really stupid after the whole narration and probably I am. But I can just say one thing about that guy, he was good, fucking good.

PS2 files-part 2

Koramangala- The place where we stay has given us the advantage to try restaurants of all
kinds.Some of our regulars:

a. Chandani Chowk: Floor is made of gravel,seats of stone,speakers in the shape of matki, bill comes in jewellary case and waiters wear a turban :D.So you can imagine. Somewhat expensive,but worth it. The only place where I had tea in kullar(mud vessel) and perhaps the maximum I spent on a cup of tea out here.Same goes for jalebi(but yah not served in kullar :P).
b. Dal roti: Due to some reason,we are no more welcome there(thanks to amogh) :D.Neways a nice place to have proper north Indian food. Malai kofta and Egg parantha(not as a combo :P) are just too good!
c. Yo China: One advice,never go there. Pathetic service and arrogant waiters.
d. Pizza places:The usuals; Pizza Hut,Domino's,US Pizza,Pizza Corner. Saved us often. More of a default option.
e. Anand: Perhaps the only place where I can eat decent aloo tikki and mirchi bada!Not to forget dhoklas. The taste atleast seems familiar to the North Indian food.
f. Mast Kalandar: Khichdi!!! You get a 'close to' home cooked khichdi. What more can you ask for.
g. Fornetto's- This is a newbie. Serves free soup in the beginning and is offering 50% discount. Cheapest food at good quality.On the last day we have planned to drink the free soup and get away after that ;).
h. Curry House- Awesome egg curry and gajar ka halwa(ya I know,weird combo).
i. Corner House: Death bar chocolate.Say no more.
j. Gangotri: Ask Prasoon. He is crazy about it.Infact they have even asked him to be the new face and brand ambassador of the restaurant.
k. Juice junction: Fruit basket and paneer cheese sandwich. Yummy.
l. Casa Picola: Pasta and stakes.
m. Gramin: Proper North Indian food with good ambience. And a place where you get decent lassi.
n. Aangan: Kadi Pakoda \m/
o. Kormangala Biryani House: As the name suggests,Best biryani in the area.
p. Paramount: Appam chicken :P. Dosa in chicken. sounds awful,but trust me its good.
q. Mushroom: Biryani and decent food.
r. Barista: I'll write a post about this place later.Just crazy about this place.
s. More than paranthas: Never been there. Suyog spent 700 bucks for 2 paranthas :P. so I guess you can skip it.
t. Parantha place:Just below our house. 15 bucks one parantha \m/.
u. Bakery: It had to be mentioned. egg patties have been our savior and so is the tea and bun which has been my breakfast(whenever I had a breakfast i.e)
v. Oasis: The best food court in any mall. You'll find from anything and everything under the roof.Also a place where you can watch cricket and not order anything :P.
w. Ammi's Biryani: The name suggest what its famous for.
x. Pizza port:I have not included in the usual pizza places because this is one of its kind. Everything you get here is like 1+1 free :D. Ideal place for home delivery.
y. Ghar ka khana: Another ideal place from where you can get food delivered home.
z. Kebab Magic- For non veg lovers :P

Am sure this list gonna help next sem guys. Bahut mehnat ki itni sari jagah dhoondne mei :D. phew.

PS:still more to come ;)

PS2 files-part 1

I guess time to bid goodbye to Bengaluru is closing in.With less then two weeks left, I have so much to write about this place. Well I'll keep posting whenever I find time.Some of the unforgettable memories.And am sure this gonna help other batch mates coming next semester:

1.FORUM on weekends: Watching movie at PVR in forum mall has almost become a ritual here. Sometimes we have seen movies for the heck of it and I am even embarrassed to mention such movies! Tops the list is Mission Istanbul,so you people can imagine ;). The best of them(serious this time :P) was perhaps Dark Knight which I saw with some 20 more Bitsians.

2.Church Street and around:This place is in midst of bustling Brigade road and has the best food joints and pubs in town. It is said if you have not tried each and every restaurant on this street, your visit to Bangalore is not complete.Here are few of its gems(I'll refrain from mentioning the dishes as it will make the post too long,personal inquiries are welcome ;)). Three Quarter Chinese(awesomest chinese food), IndiJoes and Yokos(best sizzlers in town), Soul(pasta and stake), Javacity,Koshi, Stakehouse(name suggests what its famous for),and many more(please pardon me for forgetting few).And yah,there is amoeba where you can do bowling and play video games :D.

3.Rock gigs: This city offers the best gigs in the country and you can find rock fans in plenty! Best places to watch a gig are Legends of Rock, La rock, Purple Haze and Hard Rock cafe. We were fortunate enough to witness the last gig of Kingfisher rock fest at HRC. That place is a must see(eating there is not advisable :D,unless you visit there on the day you receive your salary).

4.Team trips:I was lucky to get a team where outings are frequent. Some of the awesome places we have been to are guhantara(cave resort,already written a post about it), then there is E zone where we did karting, paint ball, etc, Cosmo mall(bowling, video games etc) and few other places.

5.Hukkah places: Must have tried every place that offers hukkah in town.Mochas(obb
tops the list),had also become our weekend ritual until we found other places.It was like movie+mochas+dominos=weekend in our early days here.Then we found places like paramount(not all that great though,roof top ambience is good), soul(awesome hukkah with coke base;food is also great), Hypnos(one of the rare places that offers hukkah+drinks),to name a few.

6.Traffic police encounters:I won't say these were good,but yah unforgettable for sure.Its like you have to pay a road tax of 2.8k if you want to drive in Karnataka and obb I dint pay it.So I had made this calculation that even if am caught 6 times and charged 300 on an avg( with my bargaining expertise :P),I'll save some 1k bucks.But am doing better,getting caught once a month on an average(fingers crossed).

PS1: more coming later
PS2:Don't ask about my haircut

Those were the days

One thing that is common to our generation is our craze for cricket.. We have been born and brought up in an environment where watching cricket matches is like a ritual and cricketers our heroes..Though I have lost the enthusiasm I used to have when I was quite young(I have turned 21 :O) and used to play it regularly,but even now, given a chance I won't miss a match and play a match for that matter..
Yesterday,at our flat,we had this discussion on cricket which brought the old memories and I could visualize each and every match we discussed..Like almost every Indian, I am a big big fan of Sachin..My flatmate Amogh is someone to whom you can't say anything bad about Saurav(and you should have seen the fear on Suyog's face when he said something bad about dada,and then me and Raju burst into laughter)..Raju bhaiya is a fan of cricinfo.com, and also someone who'll catch anyone who makes up any statistics(and that person usually is Suyog :P)..
Last night we covered almost all games in the 90's and it left our adrenaline pumping so much that I decided to write a blog today..All of us surely miss Sharjah and the innings played by Sachin and the sixes he gave to Mcgrath,Olonga and so many others..What Saurav did at toronto was mesmerizing and so was Yuvraj and Kaif's partnership against England..Not to forget Sachin's sizzling 186 against New Zealand,Saurav's blitzkrieg against Srilanka in Taunton, Laxman's marathon knock against Aussies, Srinath-Kumble partnership against Aussies at Banglaore, Sachin tormenting Pakistan in world cup,Kumble taking 10 wickets against Pak, there are so many memories that it will take days to write about all of them..
We also learnt some interesting facts about people like Mohinder Amarnath who has been out not only due to 'handling the ball' but also due to 'obstruction of the field'..and the explanation given by Raju is that "usne wicketkeeper ko utha liya hoga taki vo use run out na kar sake"..can't blame him,that is the only way he thought field could be obstructed :D..some other names also came up, which am sure, would only come to people who lived cricket in their youth.. people like praveen aamre,manoj prabhakar(I somehow hated this fellow and couldn't figure out why did he used to open till now), Vinod kambli,Robin singh,S.ramesh and many others who came and left..

Point is that in our generation,most of us have found cricket indispensable in our lives and watching matches has always been so much fun..In recent times I can remember the day we were shown the 20-20 world cup final between Ind-Pak in our college audi and it was so much fun watching it with 2000 more college mates..Trends have changed,new players like Dhoni, Yuvraj have taken the front seat, but still we all will remember those days..and it seems India is going on the right track these days,hopefully they'll perform the same way and give us more reason to celebrate..kudos to us and our passion for cricket :P..


PS:Don't ask about CAT ;)

lol@us

I went to Taj Residency a few days back to attend a conference on EDA tools(skip the name if you are not studying electronics)..I was pretty excited about it since the opportunity to eat free food at Taj has always been tempting :P and one of my friend who had attended the same conference in Delhi said that free goodies will be provided.. So I reached that place at 10 am so that I don't miss the breakfast :P..But when I stepped inside, half of my excitement went away when I saw the long queue of people waiting to get breakfast..I couldn't help smiling at myself, that it is not just me, who wants to have a piece of Taj..
The organizers were distributing a bag containing a jacket and t-shirt and people were just not happy with 'a bag'..they wanted more.. I could get hand on just 1 :D ..anyways the conference started and it was not all that boring which I had expected..The lunch was scheduled at 1 pm and it was 12.45 that I realized people had started leaving their seats(though the speaker had not finished) and by 12.55 people were almost rushing to the buffet!When I went to eat at 1,there seemed to be an endless queue..and I thought "WTF,these people are suppose to be elite members of electronic community all over the world"..LOL@US..I clicked on some snaps to pass time and got food at 1.30..
Then a thought came in my mind..My purpose of coming to the conference was over..I had food,I got goodies,so now why the hell should I wait and listen to 3 more seminars :D.. Though had a some what guilt feeling, I quietly left the place..But when I came to the parking lot, I again was surprised to see so many people going home after lunch..It was not just me and the guilt feeling just vanished into thin air.. I again laughed and thought this will make for a nice blog :P..
Now comes the interesting part..When I came home and checked my bag,I found a ladies purse in it..I thought its strange that these people gifted even a ladies purse..But since it was free, I thought whats the harm..I'll gift it to some one else :P.. I opened the purse and found some cash and then it struck me..I ,by mistake, took someone else's purse in hurry.. WTF.. I saw a phone number written on it and dialed the number to return the purse and guess what..the person at the receiving end could not understand Hindi nor English!! Now who could possibly not know any of these languages!!! I got to know that the lady was from Coimboitre,Tamil Nadu and after many phone calls and messages managed to get her address!!But by that time she had left for her hometown..I had to mail the purse.. :-|So I'll say over all experience at Taj was not all that great..LOL@ME..

Hariyali Chicken

For all veggie lovers,the title has got nothing to do with food,so please carry on :).. n for the cannibals,I assure you its still spicey and worthy enough to read..Well continuing from my previous post,we started our journey on friday to 'guhantara',a cave resort,at around 9 am.. In the middle of the journey somebody suddenly asked, "are there any interns"? and unfortunately I was the only one..fir kya tha,they called me up front and started ragging( and mind it, I was never ragged in college :P)..initially they told me to do the normal proposing to a girl and stuff, acting as bus conductor etc..but I did a grave mistake by wearing a t-shirt with the caption "Life is unfair. So many girls,so little time".. One of them asked me to elaborate on that for 5 mins..then came my reply "It does not hold true for Broadcom, where there are just 4 girls out of 30 in my department..here I have so much of time,but no girl around :P "..(btw neither does it hold true for BITS :D)
Now you all must be wondering, what the hell is hariyali chicken and what the crap am I talking about :P..enough of suspense,I guess..each of us was given a colour to chose once we reached the resort..I chose green and my team's name was "Hariyali chicken"..other teams were "Blue tooth","Orange Flame" and "Pink Panther"..Had lot many games such as advertising product,Dumbsheras etc.. Later we played beach volleyball and cricket..after the lunch(which itself will need a post to describe,am skipping it for your sake) we all dropped in the swimming pool followed by rain dance in the evening..we were declared the winner because of our innovative name and enthusiasm in all games and we won most of them...on our way back,"Singh is Kingg" became the slogan of all the drunkards..whatever the song others might be singing, "Singh is Kingg" somehow managed to come in every song..I guess all sorts of permutation and combinations of rythms and tones must have been experimented with "Singh is Kingg" that day.. it was really hilarious..
The best part about the trip was that not even once I felt that I am working in a company and not a student anymore(this thought haunts me many a times)..It was so much fun interacting with managers,singing songs with them,dancing and playing..indeed it was the most memorable day in Bangalore so far..