Here I am

Hello....
Not much of work today..infact,frankly speaking no work today ;) Came to office at 12:40 pm...which is around 40 minutes late than usual...and as of now no work at all...I hate online studying...So, I am waiting for 2:30 pm...so that I can go out for lunch..and as far as work is concerned..I will be receiving a file at 11:20 am EST..which makes it around 8:45 pm IST..I have to work upon that..till then simply no work today...
How did I land here? Interesting story to be narrated..It's 2:07 pm and I have to wind up by 2:30 pm..I don't wanna make Shipra wait for lunch and I don't like to leave drafted blogs..once I begin to write..I end up by pressing the "publish post" button..So, here I begin...
It all began in March 2006....I was enjoying a nice evening nap in my hostel room...when someone came in "Hey...get up..Satyam is coming for a placement pool..we need to go to Allahabad tomorrow.." What rubbish!! never had any company come for our seniors,why would they come for us...rumour spreaders all around!! But,to be true...it left me with a thought "Sacchi aa rahi hai kya? ;)" All 4 of us..Garima,Shipra,Savita and myself got up reluctantly...somebody told.."Satyam's written comprises puzzles". And woooooo..you could see everyone in the hostel with a "Shakuntala Devi puzzle book" in their hands...I went,washed my face...by then Shipra and Savita had seriously started off...It was very boring...seriously very boring...I went to another friend's room and began to frame the Curriculum Vitaes for all four of us...Seriously..four of us had same CVs..we had same objectives,same skills and same hobbies!! :)
We went to Allahabad...all companies used to come to one of the colleges there "United College Of Engineering and Research"...Well,people appeared for the written..people passed..people failed...as for me and Garima...our luck failed..The hall tickets(kind of admit card)that we were given was fake!!Our entire IT Branch had got fake hall tickets..so we could not appear for the test..Wow!! thank God I didn't study those puzzles ;).When other students were waiting for their interview results to be declared, the unlucky(or may be lucky) bunch of IT students from Northern India Engineering College were enjoying the cool Ganges breezes at the Naini Bridge...beautiful it was...Ahh!! I am getting nostalgic!! Well...we came back...some of our batch mates were placed...to be true..yes..I felt bad when I saw some less deserving people with a job in their pockets...so the strive had begun now...
Next HCL Technologies came in...Uffffffff!! Such a tough written test they had set up...obviously I could not pass..no regrets whatsoever...
Then came in Syntel...I tell you,that was the best question paper I had ever seen...all full of silly mathematical questions and easy vocabulary...I did well..but.......Syntel had to select only 3 students among I don't know how many thousands...again a trip to the Naini bridge and then back to Lucknow...
The world was seeming to be a dark room filled with despair..Some more of our batchmates had been placed by now and comments like "Ho jaega...dont worry..kismat hai.."etc etc had started to pour in..It's actually pathetic when people come to you with basket full of sympathies...
Then came Birla Soft..another tough paper...I wont be able to solve it even if it's given to me now..what minute details of RDBMS and OS and what not!! Well,Siddhartha qualified the written..and as for me,Garima and Shipra..we concluded "Hamari job kabhi nai lag sakti.." Given up!! Savita did that long back :)
Soon came in the news...Infy is coming...I requested these two to try luck once..one last time..we went like brave soldiers.....bad experience again...Now,I gave up.."I will never go in for any company...finish!!!!!!" I am a good for nothing...
Then...7th July 2006..I-flex came in...I had decided not to go..I was resting at home..enjoying the semester break...even mom dad had given up..they are always like that..joyous in my happiness and doomed in my despair..love you mom dad!! A friend called up..."Chalo na ghoom ke aate hain Allahabad..please.." Reluctantly,I went..appeared for the test..had not studied a single word after the Syntel experience(no doubt the Birla Soft paper seemed tough ;))..well I qualified the written test...8th of July 2006 was supposed to be the day for the interviews..Morale had boosted up by now.."If I clear the technical...no ways will I fail in the HR". Yeah..my friends used to call me "Confidence ki tokri"..So,technical,HR all cleared..and I was holding the offer letter of I-flex Solutions Ltd. in my hands by 9:00 pm on 8th of July 2006...First time I came from Allahabad "non empty handed"......
Final year of college was better now...got a chance to enjoy more..lesser worries..had a job in hand...Joined I-flex on 13th August 2007...must say,I enjoyed and learned a lot...had a nice time,met some of the best people of my life there...but.....after 2.8 years..I began to get bored..with what? work? Nahh..with the salary!!!!!!
Then began another phase..naukri.com,monsterjob.com etc etc...TCS was my first experience..they needed testers..I was a developer...doomed!!
Then came a "growing company"...I went to their teenie-meenie office..and after looking at my profile they said "Sorry Ma'm we can not afford you."Oh wow!!!I deserved a pat on the back ;)
Then Syntel again....didn't make for it...then Cognizant..was not eligible for it...then one fine day.....when my blood had almost reached the boiling point..I had just reached home after a tiring day at office...my cell buzzed..."Hi,this is Immaculate from Indus Valley Partners". Frankly speaking,I was so tired that neither did I get the lady's name nor the company's :) Well..went through a couple of rounds of interview...and here I am.......Going for lunch..
Bbye...take care..

The cat and the rabbit

Let me narrate to you a short story..Well, I don't promise it would be short one, because I often end up writing long write-ups..so my readers are requested to bear up:)
In the beautiful meadows there lived two friends...a kitten and a baby rabbit..They were the best of friends..innocent,understanding,with a heart brimming with love and care for each other..The rabbit was often threatened by his clan to keep himself away from the clever kitten..They thought that the kitten might harm their baby when she grew up into a cat..The rabbit did get frightened at times,but he trusted his cute kitty.Never even in her dreams could she imagine of causing any harm to her mate..this the rabbit knew well..They grew up spending happy jolly days together..bonded with love..they were always there with each other.Time went by..they grew up..a white rabbit with shallow pink eyes...a cute white spotless cat..the rabbit was quiet..the cat was chirpy..the rabbit was shy..the cat was brave..the rabbit was wise and the cat trusted his wisdom..the cat was naive and the rabbit trusted her innocence..They were incomplete without each other..they were complimentary to each other..
One sad and gloomy day the rabbit's mother died...for the very first time the cat saw tears in her friend's eyes.She understood that she could no longer afford to be kiddish..she had to be a friend as well as a loving and caring mom at times..The rabbit was in despair..he loved his mom like any other kid does..he was quiet..he wrapped himself with more silence...
The cat saw him through all these phases in life..and she understood in her heart..that her friend has lost so much..such a big loss...she had to be the best friend ever and give him all the love of the universe.
Finally the rabbit's clan decided to separate them for ever...Ages back they had had bad experiences with the cats..so they thought that cats are not good to be made friends with... :(
The rabbit pleaded..tried his best to convince that his friend was sooo good to him..she had such a nice heart..but there was no one to listen...The rabbit's family took him away with them to a different place..away from the cat..they were never meant to see each other again :(
The cat roamed about lonely in the places where she used to wander about with her best friend..Days turned into months,months to years..and they never met again...Destiny had separated them from each other.. :(

Now, my dear friends....tell me frankly how many of you related the cat and the rabbit to yourself and some dear friend whom you lost forever?And be true..you must have kept yourself in the place of the kitten..right?The one whose friend left her and went away...My dear friends..there is a famous saying in hindi "Dunia mein bahut gham hai..apna gham fir bhi kam hai".
The cat is sad...thats one part of the story..but did anyone care to think about the rabbit?Neither did his clan nor did you..all your sympathies went with the cat...right?
Try to look at the other side of the story..what happened to the rabbit?His clan did not care about him...separated him from his best buddy and thereafter till he lived,he had to live without his friend whom he loved equally..the cat could sit by her mom and tell how much she missed the rabbit..but to whom would the rabbit talk?
So,my dear friends...if ever you find yourself to be the cat...don't forget that wherever your rabbit is...he/she misses you equally..perhaps much more..rather than cursing destiny to have separated you,pray to God for your best buddy's happiness...Love and care have no bounds..no limits...let your love flow in the air and reach to your rabbit..He needs it more than you do...

Don't let anyone feel bad..

Its often true.."Howsoever tough times you face today..you shall always have a beautiful memory of it tomorrow"...
My heart goes back to somewhere around 1995...I will narrate to you a small incidence of my life.I was a student of the seventh standard at that time.I studied in St. Mary's Convent Kanpur.One fine day,it was declared in school that the buses won't be running today...some strike due to diesel rates increase and all!!(Yeah...it always happens..and general public suffers.. :)). Now,my school was some good distance away from home.It used to take me approximately an hour and a half by bus to reach school...No mobile phones in those days..No landline even at my place..and yeah, I was not a pocket money kid ;)Now the question was..How do I reach home? School ended at 1:30 pm...We all rushed out of the gates..I was an extreme introvert kind of a child..As of now, I think I should have consulted my bus mates as to how were they planning to go..and I should have joined them...But no...something extra ordinary had to happen that day..
I moved on..and yes..I should not forget to mention,I took along a class one kid with me as well..why?? Just beccause her grandpa and my grandpa were good friends..What would his grandpa think of me no...if I left that kid alone..So...no money..an extra person along..nervous..frightened I moved on..........
I knew the way home..and the means of transport required as well..School to Bada Chauraha via rickshaw..20 bucks..bada chauraha to gumti by shared tempo..5 bucks..gumti to govind nagar by tempo again...3 bucks..govind nagar to home by rickshaw...5 bucks..Hmmm...so it comes to 33 bucks..and yes,don't forget to double the sum for that grandpa's grand daughter I was carrying along!! Morals do crush your common sense at times!! It often happens with me.."How will he/she feel?" "Why should I hurt him/her?" These thoughts are like parachutes..they open up when you are in the air heading towards nowhere...
Well...back to 1995...I hired a rickshaw.."Bhaia...bada chauraha chalenge?" "Haan chalenge..bees rupaya lagega"...Confidently I boarded along with my bag,water bottle and Harshita..yes..that was her name...As we reached bada chauraha...I began feeling nervous...Now what? Where do I get those 20 bucks from?What if this fellow cuts off my hands and leaves me there to beg???Oh..Why didn't I call up papa at his factory..or my neighbour aunty..or why didn't I tell my teachers,my seniors!! :( Tears rolled down my cheek..and in a meek voice I said to the rickshaw wala "Side mein rokna..." There was a tempo standing there which I had to board next...I said to that tempo driver "Uncle,can you please give 20 Rs. to this rickshaw wala? I will pay you ahead..when I reach home..You will take me to gumti no? The tempo wala..a generous sardar..muttered some words..even that rickshaw wala did...and the first payment settled there..Whoosh!!!! I was going to gumti now...half the distance covered..The gumti tempos hault at the govind nagar tempo stand..from here I had to take a tempo to govind nagar and I owed the tempo driver 20+5+5 = 30 bucks...Now will the next tempo wala be so good?I wondered..that dumb harshita was annoying me now...Why the hell did I carry her along???Well, I again gathered courage..found a tempo to govind nagar and the driver was an old fella.."Dadaji..I don't have money." "So??". "Can you pay this sardar ji uncle 30 Rs.? I will give it to you at govind nagar..please dadaji..my mom is waiting at home for me :(" That's fair enough I guess to melt an old man....He took out the money from his pocket..and I heard them say "Kaise bacche hain..huh"...I was least bothered...I got a place to sit in the govind nagar wala tempo...I was heading towards home...I calculated..30+3+3 = 36 Rs......Should I throw this dumb kid out??Expresionless thingy..no better than the bag I was carrying on my back!! People have faces which resemble some or the other geometrical shape..square,round oval...but hers was a biiig question mark.....Uff!!
Govind Nagar!!!"Yes child...you gotta gimme 36 bucks..You will give it or shall I take you to the police?" My God!!!!!!! Now what????I told him dadaji,my house is in Barra-2, I need to hire a rickshaw from here to home...a rickshaw wala came there..he and that tempo wala dadaji were friends I guess..he called him by some name..he took 36 Rs. from him which the rickshaw man gave readily..and that old dadaji told him "Take these children to their home..and if they again start a story,take them to the police".. :(
He was so fond of the police!! yukks...bad dadaji...my grandpa is soooooo good..Well that rickshaw wala continuously kept cursing me and threatening me..but I was not that worried now..coz I knew I was not a fraud..I was going home..and I was so late...poor mom!! She must be so worried..There I could see Home.....with grandpa,granny and mom waiting at the gate for me...They were so puzzled!!Questions fired......"Where is your bus?Why this rickshaw?Where did you get down?Did you have money?" I assured them that I would explain everything..first pay off this fella...Mom went in and brought her purse..and when I told her that this guy needs to be paid 36+5 = 41 Rs.. everyone was shocked!! Why so much?? Where are you coming from? Are you all right? Eeeeeeeeee...Are they quiz masters or what...or am I in the rapid fire round...?I told them I will explain every detail...Just then.....guess what????????
That little dumb question mark who was with me as the heaviest burden I knew..fleed towards the confectionary shop!!! She took out a 50 Rs note from her bag and asked for chocolate and chips and what not!!! Damn it!!!! She had money!!!! and she was silent throughout the way...I felt like killing her...but I stopped..her grandpa would feel bad naa?" :)

I begin writing.......

Hello...
Those of you knowing me,must be aware that I love to write... till yesterday I wrote on paper...today,having no work around...I thought of creating a blog....I googled about it "How to create a blog" and here I go.... Trust me friends... whenever you feel low or depressed or even joyous or overwhelmed, when you are feeling some bizzare kind of a feeling...when you don't have anyone to share with...just start writing... you might not be a very good writer or a poet....but,if you have feelings...just don't keep them botled in your heart....write them down...may be even jot them down in points....I don't say that write for the entire world to see what you wrote...write for your own self...whatever you feel like...just let your feelings flow.................