Delayed: First Day at work

It wasn't really the anxiety, but more of the soft comfy bed that sinked in perfectly to support the spinal chord and the warm three or four tire bed sheets with beautiful embroidery covering me. It is 4 in morning and i am not able to sleep just before the first day of starting my first job.

After having spent almost 2 years sleeping on the sleeping bed laid on the bare wooden floor with a polyester carpet, the discomfort i felt on the wide bed being guarded by two sentinel lamps each mounted on a beautiful wooden cabinet, was something i was not anticipating. Or perhaps it was the silence that was bothering me. Especially when you spent past one year in an apartment that lies just behind the drive thru of a "jack in the box". Yeah, for sure, they do good business at night. I wasn't suppose to think about sales volume of fast food chain shop at 4:21 in morning just hours before i start to work, i was also feeling fatigue now but the sleep was yet not ready to seep.

I don't remember when i went to sleep but it should be sometime after 4:29 and I don't really remember turning off the 7:15 am alarm i set on my phone to report to office at 8.45 for the orientation scheduled for NCG (New college graduates). However the sleeping NCG, who was still oblivion to the fact that he has graduated a month back, was brought back to worldliness precisely at 8:38 by a phone call. And for the first time i felt the sense of gratitude to that annoying man lady voice from the moving company asking me what address she should move my stuff to. (She has been bothering me for a week now, her voice tone reminds me of my class 4 teacher always rebuking me to about my untidy writing and asking me to tuck my shirt in properly). Freshly out of the bed trying to collect my senses to understand what is going on I budge her away and ask her to call me some other time. yes, the feeling of gratitude is not always convenient to get reflected.

It took me few minutes to realize that i have already made my countrymen proud, by following the Indian timings on my first day of my job in a foreign land, I rushed to the bathroom to find out that i forget to put the toothbrush in my shaving pouch. Generally when faced with the scenario i rub salt on my teeth, but all i had was tea, sugar and milk as part of my kitchen grocery. Yes I only carried the most Essential things.

At 9:33 am before entering the company i checked my phone for the time. I was not at my cheerful best after having to rush to work without a cup of tea or brushing my teeth and almost an hour late. However, i made sure i took a quick shower, perhaps i did not want people to run away from me on the very first day. The recruiter who has always been very nice to me while talking on phone, this time looked perturbed and with a sure bitterness asks "You were suppose to be here at 8:45 for orientation did not you read the letter?". Now there are some moments, when you realize that your tongue is frozen in your mouth due to chills running down ur spine. This was one of those moments. I stare at her for a minute with a stupid grin on my face, making sure i hide my unbrushed teeth at the same time. And then I fabricate an utterly nonsense excuse which if i share here would put the intelligence of NCGs in doubt.

I was later on introduced into the orientation room with three other new employees listening to the presentation. Series of unfortunate events continued throughout the orientation with me not finding a pen to fill up the forms, and not carrying the required documents. As the day ended i had a bleak idea of what am i going to do here. My manager walked me through the team members. The day past in doing errands, getting my id card, acquiring a laptop and desktop, doing some paper work. The day ended at around 6.00 when i decided to walk out of the company. I thought i was leaving earlier than it usually would be. I know as the years pass the first day would fade away from the memory, but i hope the journey is worth cherishing for the life time.

Dinga Dinga Dee: Israel Goes Bhojpuri way

If you thought that warfare and romance can't go hand in hand, think again as the days of equating war with gloom, destruction,gory blood and hatred are numbered as now its more about wooing a girl by offering your 'commitment' and 'security' and pledge your heart to her and singing an English song in Bhojupuri setup. Sounds interesting? checkout the new AV promotion of Rafael, an Israel based defense company, used during Aero India 2009

Rafael, has supposedly decide to salvage itself, perhaps after supplying weapons to inflict death on harmless Palestine citizens in Gaza, and the path it took is to entertain the world audience by producing a C grade Bhojpuri item number, enacted by the Phoreners, and for maintaining the global appeal they sing it in English.(something kannada cinema knew years before, when they made Rajkumar star in tik tik tik)

Statutory warning: This piece of video can lead to pain in stomach and back due to excessive laughing and rolling on the floor. This might prove weapon of mass hysteria of inflicting pain on rest of us.A MUST WATCH though





Notice the million dollar ambiance raised on one of the far fetched refugee camp, with pictures of Hanumanji(in a romantic song?) and Ambemata on tiger in the background and garland embellished missile on sides. This would put best of the bhojpuri songs to shame. God, Guns and Gori all in one frame. A footage never enacted on celluloid is all set to win hearts and money of Indian Defense system, (which is a metaphor of the girl in song).Hail Rafael! Hail Bhojupuri Cinema!

The reason you dont need to Market Nano in India!!

25 Random Things About Me.( In no order of relevance or importance)

1. I am an agnostic, neither do I have faith to accept God's presence nor the courage to deny His existence.

2. I dislike phone talks. I am almost a phone challenged person. I am unable to understand what to say on phone after I am done with basic communication. I am very easily peeved by people who talk lot on phone.

3. I tried playing harmonium and tabla at a very age of 10, but lacked the attention span to learn any of the two.(I think i was a dyslexic child.)

4. I can be hyper impatient in many ways and nonchalant in many others.

5. I want do lot of travelling across the globe. At least visit 20 countries before I die.

6. If I did not have middle-class anxieties about an assured livelihood, I would have gone into the Liberal Arts—Film making, Political Science or English Literature. But I did have anxieties. So I did engineering.
[When I was struggling whether to go to Economics or Engineering, a gentleman of our locality, a very nice man, asked me “What do you want? A beautiful wife, a secure life or satisfaction?” This made my choice easy.](courtesy GreatBong)

7. Overtly public display of affection makes me uncomfortable. Still i think i am very Romantic at heart.

8. I love movies or may i say i love stories told through visual medium. For instance, I can remember many of the dialogues, song lines an character names of a movie, several years after watching it.

9. I find it much easier to make friendships online than in real life.

10. I am not very fond of bathing, especially in "not very hot" weather of California. I avoid taking bath daily. I give excuses like too much water washes away the pigmentation of your skin or exposure to access of water is the reason for 70% of hair loss among Asian men, when asked for an explanation.

11. I wanted to learn Karate when i was a kid. My mom did not allow me, as she was told by a friend of hers that learning Karate can give kids epileptical seizure or convulsions.

12. I could never find a correct answer of a mathematical expression using a Logarithmic Tables. This was the primary reason for me not doing well in Chemistry at board exams. I still have nightmares sometimes of having to solve problems of physical chemistry. I liked organic chemistry.

13. I am a vegetarian, I once decided to cook chicken at home, however was disgusted at the smell and feel of the frozen chickens and have (so far) stayed a vegetarian. My mom often inquires about my dietary preferences and is not entirely convinced when i tell her i m still a vegetarian. I eat eggs.

14. Parag Sharma happens to be one my oldest and best friends. We are two very different individuals, still i feel we make great buddies. Not having able to attend his marriage is one of the regrets i have. I think he is too bossy and hyper discerning and i generally end up disliking such people, but i still like him.

15. I have lived at 13 addresses in 5 cities and 2 countries.I have visited 3 countries( 17 more to go)

16. I wish to gain some weight and have physique of Salman Khan. This is what i wish to achieve before i turn 30 and maintain it since then.

17. I am an avid tea drinker. I sometimes drink more than 3 cups of tea in a day.

18. I was once asked whom would i like to be reincarnated as? I answered AR Rehman. I am happy about the choice i made.

19. I started using foul language in high school. I am trying to get rid of the habit. But i am not very sure if that is required.

20. I don’t wish to grow old and want to stay 25 rest of my life. And i also feel the life cycle should be reverse(like Benjamin Button)

21. I have to buy or borrow new earphones almost every 4 months as i keep breaking them by accidentally stepping on them.

22. My dad traveled more than 400 kms on a bicycle in a single journey. I am very proud of him. I repeated a similar feat on a motorbike. I don't think my kids would be very much proud about that.

23. I sometimes keep things unfinished.
24.
25.

Slumdog millionaire: Desi maal Videshi packaging

Danny Boyle's Slumdog millionaire was released in selected theaters around United States on 12th of November. It is receiving rave reviews and is considered strong contender for Academy awards.



I have yet to see it, but i read the book it is based on. From trailer it is extremely clear, Slumdog millionaire is based on 'Q & A' by Vikas Swaroop, a story of an illiterate slum dweller called Ram Mohammad Thomas(why such a strange name forms a part of narrative, however movie changes it to Jamal Malik, how can u expect an American audience to grasp the uniquely strange Indian diversity) who is resident to dharavi zoppadpati in Mumbai, he gets chance to play Kaun Banega Crorepati and to everybody's surprise wins crore rupees. How he does that, is what the story is all about. Very interestingly the author unfolds that how all the incidents in the boy’s life has helped him to answer all the questions.It is story about destiny and hope. And like all such stories they make great reading.

I read the book more than a year ago, and no sooner did i realize how brilliant the premise was, i knew it had a potential for a great cinema, especially Bollywood cinema. Search Fox Light and Danny Boyle too realized that and made a Slumdog Millionaire and now they would laughing to the bank and awards ceremony. Soon some Sanjay Gupta or Kunal Kohli from india would grab a cd from church gate and remake slumdog millionare which would fail drastically. That would complete the circle.

Danny Boyle is a smart director, he knows movie based on Q & A cannot be uprooted from India (although when Kunal Kohli remakes it we'll have couple of romantic songs shot in Switzerland and Mauritius). I am skeptical about how Boyle captures the Indian essence. I know technically he is unbeatable but that was true for all his predecessor Hollywood film makers who have ended up making caricature of Indian way of life.However, the promos look amazing and I am awaiting its release.

Movies are only for Fun!

I have always believed that movies, the medium as we know, is not meant to inspire or change perspective. i feel like scoffing people who say watching lage raho munnabhai changed the way they thought about the mahatma and now they believe in philosophy of non-violence. Not getting much into it, i strongly believe LRM depicted Gandhiji in an extremely shallow light, just to fit him in the premise of the movie and i am totally allergic to the way the actor enacted mahatma. I have similar feelings for Rang De Basanti or Swades . I enjoyed all the three of the movies as a entertaining cinema and had great time watching them but never saw them as a life changing experience.

Call it my callousness or conventionalism, I believe that change in perspective or belief system is an outcome of serious effort put by an individual to cleanse his thought process that can be aided by literature and history books and often demands coming out of the comfort zone of ones belief system challenging the accepted thinking , rather than 2 and half hours of pop corn cinema seen in the comfort of cozy multiplex, whose basic objective is to reach to as large as possible audience by cratering to the accepted beliefs and tastes.

A Dummies Guide: US financial crisis

An interesting email forward came to my rescue helping me to deal with my financial ineptitude regarding whats this economic slow down all about. It is like answer to one of those Google interview questions(How do u explain economic slow down to a 5th grader?)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once there was a little island country. The land of this country was the tiny island itself. The total money in circulation was 2 dollars as there were only two pieces of 1 dollar coins circulating around. 1) There were 3 citizens living on this island country. A owned the land. B and C each owned 1 dollar.

2) B decided to purchase the land from A for 1 dollar. So, now A and C own 1 dollar each while B owned a piece of land that is worth 1 dollar.

* The net asset of the country now = 3 dollars.

3) Now C thought that since there is only one piece of land in the country, and land is non producible asset, its value must definitely go up. So, he borrowed 1 dollar from A, and together with his own 1 dollar, he bought the land from B for 2 dollars.

*A has a loan to C of 1 dollar, so his net asset is 1 dollar.
* B sold his land and got 2 dollars, so his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C owned the piece of land worth 2 dollars but with his 1 dollar debt to A, his net residual asset is 1 dollar.
* Thus, the net asset of the country = 4 dollars.

4) A saw that the land he once owned has risen in value. He regretted having sold it. Luckily, he has a 1 dollar loan to C. He then borrowed 2 dollars from B and acquired the land back from C for 3 dollars. The payment is by 2 dollars cash (which he borrowed) and cancellation of the 1 dollar loan to C.
As a result, A now owned a piece of land that is worth 3 dollars. But since he owed B 2 dollars, his net asset is 1 dollar.
* B loaned 2 dollars to A. So his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C now has the 2 coins. His net asset is also 2 dollars.
* The net asset of the country = 5 dollars. A bubble is building up.

(5) B saw that the value of land kept rising. He also wanted to own the land. So he bought the land from A for 4 dollars. The payment is by borrowing 2 dollars from C, and cancellation of his 2 dollars loan to A.

* As a result, A has got his debt cleared and he got the 2 coins. His net asset is 2 dollars.
* B owned a piece of land that is worth 4 dollars, but since he has a debt of 2 dollars with C, his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C loaned 2 dollars to B, so his net asset is 2 dollars.
* The net asset of the country = 6 dollars; even though, the country has only one piece of land and 2 Dollars in circulation.

(6) Everybody has made money and everybody felt happy and prosperous.

(7) One day an evil wind blew, and an evil thought came to C's mind. "Hey, what if the land price stop going up, how could B repay my loan. There is only 2 dollars in circulation, and, I think after all the land that B owns is worth at most only 1 dollar, and no more."

(8) A also thought the same way.

(9) Nobody wanted to buy land anymore.

* So, in the end, A owns the 2 dollar coins, his net asset is 2 dollars.
* B owed C 2 dollars and the land he owned which he thought worth 4 dollars is now 1 dollar. So his net asset is only 1 dollar.
* C has a loan of 2 dollars to B. But it is a bad debt. Although his net asset is still 2 dollars, his Heart is palpitating.
* The net asset of the country = 3 dollars again.

(10) So, who has stolen the 3 dollars from the country ? Of course, before the bubble burst B thought his land was worth 4 dollars. Actually, right before the collapse, the net asset of the country was 6 dollars on paper.

B's net asset is still 2 dollars, his heart is palpitating.

(11) B had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. C as to relinquish his 2 dollars bad debt to B, but in return he acquired the land which is worth 1 dollar now.

* A owns the 2 coins, his net asset is 2 dollars.
* B is bankrupt, his net asset is 0 dollar. ( he lost everything )
* C got no choice but end up with a land worth only 1 dollar
* The net asset of the country = 3 dollars.


************ **End of the story; BUT ************ ********* ******

There is however a redistribution of wealth.
A is the winner, B is the loser, C is lucky that he is spared.

A few points worth noting -
(1) When a bubble is building up, the debt of individuals to one another in a country is also building up.
(2) This story of the island is a closed system whereby there is no other country and hence no foreign debt. The worth of the asset can only be calculated using the island's own currency. Hence, there is no net loss.
(3) An over-damped system is assumed when the bubble burst, meaning the land's value did not go down to below 1 dollar.
(4) When the bubble burst, the fellow with cash is the winner. The fellows having the land or extending loan to others are the losers. The asset could shrink or in worst case, they go bankrupt.
(5) If there is another citizen D either holding a dollar or another piece of land but refrains from taking part in the game, he will neither win nor lose. But he will see the value of his money or land go up and down like a see saw.
(6) When the bubble was in the growing phase, everybody made money.
(7) If you are smart and know that you are living in a growing bubble, it is worthwhile to borrow money (like A ) and take part in the game. But you must know when you should change everything back to cash.
(8) As in the case of land, the above phenomenon applies to stocks as well.
(9) The actual worth of land or stocks depend largely on psychology..