Thanks Sheldon Cooper. I got US Visa because of you.

I don't know what went into my mind. When I was standing in front of US Visa Officer at US Embassy in Mumbai, I ACTED EXACTLY LIKE SHELDON COOPER. The Nerdy Stance, The Talking, The Mannerisms. For a moment I felt like dual personality coming out of me.

April Madness ! Turning 29 & Alone !

Keep Moving !

...

Down the memory lane... strolling haplessly.


ciao

Why Art Of Living ?

A lot of people ask Why Art Of Living?

The only reason sufficient  is because I say go ..

I'm a devout Atheist. Someone who has left prayers and temples since 10th grade.. (immediately after getting the horns.. that's what we call in Hindi.. singh nikal aane ke bad..). Since then I never prayed, stayed miles away from religious gurus/saints/leaders. Still I have faith in gaining knowledge. So continued reading the scriptures like Vedas, Geeta and many other books from prominent religions.

After all this reading, my belief in Atheism got concrete because especially no scriptures in Hindu religion ask you to worship any God. If one read them by heart and know the meaning ..interpret it in correct and true sense, one will understand the concept of "Oneness".  The point of telling all this is, I'm NOT a religious God happy guy!!! Even then, If Vikram Hazra sings his Bhajans I will get up and dance.  Because I'hv broken those inner barrier. I'm still the same..non believer but I appreciate the Art Of Living for bringing in the spirituality and the calmness in society.

Now enough prologue.. coming straight to the point.

Think about this.

We have seen many baba's/gurus/saints/leaders. You can find them easily on any devotional channel.

Who are their followers? Ans: Most of the people are illiterate masses, and sometimes the miracle happy fools who want them to do a magic trick and take away their sorrows.

Who are the followers of Art Of Living: Ans: The elite class of society as well as masses. From NASA/ MIT / IIT / graduates / Engineers/ Doctors ... to the simple breadwinners in small towns. Mostly the highly educated young folks all over the world in 134 countries. Even the teachers of Art Of Living are Graduates from premium institutes. They enjoy the company of Guruji more than earning big bucks. THIS IS THE KEY DIFFERENCE.

Why these many so well educated people turning towards AOL. Because AOL is not about any religion,nation,sect or follower-ship. It's all about learning the vast knowledge and implementing it in real life. Sri Sri is not a magician to perform tricks and heal you. But certainly he is the leader who teaches you how you yourself can heal you. and That's why we call them GURUJI. He will not preach but teach you physical and breathing exercises  which will help you keep fit. He will clean your thought process from stress so you can make clear decisions and stop worrying. I was very reluctant in my initial encounter with AOL when people used to say "Jai Gurudev". I was not able to get these words out of my mouth because I had strong forces inside telling me why should I say that? One day I listened to Sri Sri, He also used to say "Jai Gurudev". I was puzzled. Everyone says jai Gurudev for Him, then for whom he is saying the same? He explained it very well, after listening to that the inner barrier was gone. It's all about gaining the knowledge and dissolving your ego and learning the best of spiritual teaching which is above any religion. This knowledge is pure.

I know that even after reading this people will say, I'm happy I don't  need AOL. Yes, stay the same. Because that's the very essence of AOL. Stay Happy, stress free and keep smiling and spread happiness to the others. :)

Personal note:

After attending the Yes+ course, I became fan of AOL. Direct interaction with Sri Sri /Bawa/Dinesh/Rashmin was very good. After seeing them I understood that earning money is not the only thing. Giving it back to society means a lot. I'hv been to AOL ashram many times, doing seva is the most blissful experience. No one teaches you, you learn your lessons the best way after doing the seva. It teaches you a lot. Cutting the vegetables, cleaning the utensils and floor...that was my education. Those small acts of  Seva will get you immense knowledge. You dont need highfi classrooms or dignified speakers. When you do seva you learn a lot by yourself. Try it.

JAI GURUDEV.

The Breed Called IT Engineers !

There's always a bright side... a silver lining as they say.

I have many friends added on facebook who are fueled by their passion.

Some like botany, some like astronomy, some like photography (bird, nature, wildlife, astro, wedding etc), some like trekking, some like painting, some like singing, some like cycling, running ... WOW Did you see any IT thing in there.

They are full time loyal employees to their companies, but the fraction of time they get out of their schedules, they dedicate it fully pursuing their passions. Some of them have gone so far that they are like institutions. You ask them and they are as good as experts working dedicatedly (i dont know if this word exists) in that field.

Soo whats the point of writing all this?

 Well, the point to be noted is, people scream from base of their stomach that how IT has taken away their lives, how it has imbalanced work-life. To all those guys: IT (Information Technology - some call it "software job") has given you enough money in your hand which you can use to pursue your dreams, chase your passion. You get money, you get two days off in a week and if you are not right behind seeking loans for materialistic things then it's right time for you to chase your passion. Whatever you do, the crux is if you are well placed in your job... you know you can finish the work by just concentrating not more than 4 hours a day.

That is a fact. You may have to slog in the beginning but as you grow mature you master several things, and if you wisely plan your projects you will wonder how easily without much stress they can be finished. This leaves behind the the most important thing other than money ..the much needed TIME to master your skills involving your passion.

Now something personal

I don't know much about human psychology, but I think we discover our passion very early ...may be in our school days. At least that's what happened to me and most of my friends. I am interested in sky watching, astronomy from a very tender age.. that was first passion. Then came physics, cosmology,  computers and photography.

Everything is linked... now I use computers to track the planets and constellations and use my photography skills to capture the wonderful universe, celestial marvels. My pics is my wealth. I love to do this and I will keep doing it.

Leap Year !!! 29Feb2012 !

Special blog on a special day !

Next time will be in 2016 !!! Who knows where I will be. Who can say ! nobody!
Where the world will be heading for !

If I write a blog after 4 years on this exact day, I will surely remember the time just as I am writing this.
#tags to remind me the events of today.
 #isg #2630 #skywatching #agile #visa #shilp #JD #kuberavihar #D5100 #pune #mylife #myrules !

If tomorrow never comes...

-ciao

Occasional blog on a Leisurely spent weekend.

Chilled out  weekend... no hurry no worry. just chill out.. enjoy whatever you are doing.. go wherever you want to, do whatever you like and ignore everything else you don't like.

Pretty simple..huh...

HOPE

Nonetheless howsoever I might have said I expected this but alas it pains in the end. It's never easy to let go something, with it, it leaves small beautiful permanent prints. what can I say in despair. It's life it's practical no dream world. not always bound by cause and effect, many things beyond that. How you wish is not how it happens always.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GONiLbKSX3k

Aarambh hai prachand

Rajputana ho ya Maratha sab ki yahi soch hai. 

Prajantra kuch raas nahi aa raha hai. Sab aatank hi aatank hai.

Life is so much beautiful you can never get enough out of it.

It's just a matter of getting right perspective. 

HNY 2012

Welcome 2012.

Wish you all Happy New Year!

Traditional Year End Blog ..Adios 2011.

This new year is ending on a positive note unlike last few years.

May be because I have calmed down the pace of dreams or may be because of that AOL course which helped me to be contented with what I have and accept people as they are.

Quickfire of memorabilia,

1. January: I don't remember what I did on 31st night. I guess I was at home.

                    (Thanks to Bals he knew what I did on 31st,

                    I was at LOR emptying a full Glenlivet. It was wonderful night.)

                    Got John Deere offer, waiting to get relieved.

                    In confusion of European or American MNC, I chose American.
                    Last party at LOR with Bals & Jay !
                    RIP: Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. A gem of voice.

2. February: With tears in eyes left Bangalore. Joined @ John Deere Pune.

                      4 years of Out of Maharashtra stay ended.

                      Got a flat near Naren's apartment.
                      Get-together with Pune friends.
                      Trip to Mahabaleswhwar was fun.
                      Bryan Adam's Live Concert !

3. March: My sister, Soni came to stay with me. For the first time we were

                 in same city. Those were nice days.

4. April: India won the cricket world cup. Wandered on the roads till midnight

              creating chaos.

              My Birthday. Soni did wonderful surprise decoration. It's still there on

              the wall. :)

               Mom and dad came to Pune, we did a lot and lots of shopping for

              Soni's wedding.

              Got to know why all men hate a place called "Tulsibaug" in Pune.

              Celebrated Baba's Birthday at Pune.

5. May: Soni went back home.  Lots of work.. no play.

6. June: Jiju Sachin came back from US. Soni's Engagement

              and wedding followed on 12th June. One of the best moments of life.

              Same month Jiju and Soni went to US.

                 

              Naren got married on 11th June.

7. July: Trek to Bhimashankar, one of the most adventurous.

8. August: Trek to Lohgad, Jejuri and other places around Pune.
                  Celebrated Independence day in a school.
                  Team outing to Adventure+ near Pune.

                  The storm named Anna Hazare shook the Government.

                   It was good to see, the good for nothing software engineers
                   were rallying in support of Anna.
                    

9. September: Getting the flavor of real Agile processes at office. Zombie life.
                       
                        Ganpati festival @ home, the visit got abruptly disturbed because
                        of a theft incident at Pune flat. Had to come back the very next day.
                        Surprisingly nothing got stolen. Robbers were not so tech savvy.

                        Jayant got blessed with a baby girl.

10. October: Kerala-Wayanad tour. Most wonderful tour of the year.
                      Had nice time with all friends from Bangalore.
                      Diwali @ Home...after a loooong time.
                      RIP: Steve Jobs, Dennis Ritchie, Jagjit Singh, Shammi Kapoor.

11. November: The much needed AOL course. Sri Sri himself conducted the three day

                          course at Bangalore. Understood the meaning of word "Seva".

                          The Panchkarma Kerala massage...wow.

                          Rahul got married.

12. December: Rajubhai got married. Havent yet called him after his marriage.
                         Pitbull Live in Concert! Rocking Time !

                         Suresh joined Infy and got shifted to Pune.
                         Christmas Eve party @ HRC.. Surrya joined the system gang.

                         I started wearing specs.                         

                         Nice month... cool and composed. but again Zombieeeee life.
                         And finally a Glimmer of Hope...

P.S. Kasab is still alive, and Lokapal is still debated.

ciao.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 in advance !

Ambulance !

That piercing loud sound of Ambulance siren. Instantly evokes cold shivers through my Spine.
One life is on the wire. In city's hectic traffic, that one life is struggling to pass though the obstacles.
Years of journey on a deciding note of that one transit.

In a flash everything comes to a standstill, the vertical plane of number of years of life spans horizontally over that route, the Ambulance takes.

Had I been a writer I would have wrote a book on what goes inside & outside of Ambulance in those close moments of life's encounters.
How many are lucky enough to reach there in time...and how many...


GB...

ciao.

The Blend

I don't know what's the matter. ..but sometimes I have seen friends asking, what's the deal about Katol, why all Katolians are so different.. I tell you today why it is so...

It's a blend.. like a scotch made up of fine grains.. Katol is a smalltown, but it has it's own heritage... Educational institutions played thee most important role in blending this scotch... Nowadays many new convent school are opening up and the scotch is loosing it's fervor...

I am proud to be a student of BRHS. Banarasidas Ruiya...from high school till junior college. 8 years.

And this is true for all those mate in this journey...

We got very good teachers, but the most important is TIME & TALKS... the time we spent sitting beside the canal.. in the libraries..on school playground..near the lake...in the labs..at the stadium....& riding on bicycles.

It's the TIME & the TALKS that blended the scotch with that fervor... each one of us...discussed about all the hell ..most of us were fortunate to walk that path, yes there are one or two friends who couldn't achieve at this stage ...but I'm damn sure ..they are getting matured and will surpass the rest in a flash. We are never doubtful about each other so there is always respect for each other at any given time. low or high.. we gonna fly.

Each one of us had a dream, each of us had imagined future for ourselves and for our country, sound cliched but that's true.. when you are in company of good and fearless people you discuss all that comes your way. We embarrassed freedom much earlier than the rest of the world. When everyone around us is running in the rat-race for marks we were striving already for knowledge through healthy competition among us. We never compared anything in our group but everyone wanted to hit the spot. We took pride in getting less marks by solving the complex problem first.. We focused on learning the whole, not satisfied with the narrow view. We always believed in taking the control of tough situations. That's the whole thing about this blend...   we can be seen standing strong at the tipping point, because we believe that's our start point, we are trained in that way.  That's why sometimes we are accused of approaching things in a different way. We love those accusations. 

I'm more fortunate than others coz I got into another institution... UCOE. To get there the strength came from the TIME & TALKS... Will you learn Engineering in a Primary School? I did.

and so are my friends at UCOE... What hopes will you carry when you get into primary school classrooms to learn your Engineering lessons..many would feel there future is doomed, but not us. We had SkyHigh hopes, because we took the charge in our own hands. We never said a word about what we are not getting, instead we said we have this much to offer... We learned it that way, so we remember the lessons forever, and still cherish those days! 

Now we may have settled down, but the urges we have will come back to us in near future, they will not let us sleep easily. Because we had talked about our future and about the country. ..country part is still undone.

The TALKS are registered there in the subconscious with a specific TIME. They will make us act at that time.

That's all about this blend, may not be perfect, may not be smooth, but it has it's own strength, feel and fervor.

-ciao

Love Love Love

It's difficult to keep up with blogging when you have so many social blabbering websites ;) The words slip here and there and don't just build up enough pressure to come out like a blog article.

Even then there are moments which are so compelling that makes you revisit your own world... bare & raw.

It happened last weekend.

I was at Bangalore attending a social gathering of around 6 thousand people as part of Art of Living three day course.

After the first day, I got the feeling like I was sent to rehab for three days after committing some social crime.  I shared the feeling with my friend Toshi, who came along, after being forced to join repetitively. he was also sailing in the same feelings. We were like bunch of happy bachelors just experimenting with this new way of life. Nothing much serious about it. We thought it's just three days let's endure.

Day 2  of the course and Guruji arrived. People opened up before him.
During the course of event many participants shared there life experiences. Without any offense and with anonymity I am writing this.

There was a lady she stood up and told, "I was about to finish my life just before coming to this place. I have decided to commit suicide, but now I want to live. I am happy now, I have accepted those who wronged with me. I made peace with life."

After few moments another lady spoke. "I came here with my sister who lost her only son a week before. She was not at all able to forget him and was not talking to anyone so we took her here. " after this she handed over the mic to her sister to open up.... what we heard after that was soul wrenching... she started to speak.. " I lost my son a week back.. he was  a brave good boy.. he got murdered by rowdy people when he intercepted and saved a girl from them. he was my cute child ..but now he is no more.. I am not able to come out of this grief..but after coming here and after doing the processes I am accepting this fact. I haven't talked to anyone about this...but now i'm feeling some strength within me."

Another lady stood up who raised her two kids after her husbands early demise. She was much strong from within and was beaming with strength.

A girl from the crowd was crying and she told that she was given away to someone else after her birth. She was not able to forgive her mother for this and was always carrying that anger within her... but she dropped that anger after coming to this place and listening to Guruji's words.

These are not cooked up stories but the real people and there problems.

Me and my friend were silent after listening to all this. We had a different assumption before coming here.. that the world is happy go lucky and just come around here to spend some nice time. But hell no, we were dumb wrong. People came with their real problems in hope to find a solution, and many of them got the solution.
The solution was simple. for all the problems the solution was.... Letting go and Love. and that's what is the mission of this organization... to create a stress free, violence free society. One world filled with Love.


At the end of Day 2, we were left thinking how lucky we are so far...


-ciao
P.S. : title:  my answers to three questions asked on day 1.

Kshan

Kshan ek pure premacha, pudhe varshav pado marnancha.

Bullshit

He was sitting on a rock thinking to himself.

It's the feeling that he moved ahead in space leaving the time behind.

Time tied tightly somewhere in past. Can't escape to catch up with him.

How many times he turned back, staring into the hopeless eyes of time,

He needed that time with him, but the time could not escape.

Slowly he forgot about the time, and kept on moving in space,

Without time, it was a quite journey no beats no ticks,

Now the vision is so much blurred in the darkness of space,

when he turned around , he doesn't see anything, not the time,

neither the moments around which it has tied itself.

he lost all that time, he never bothered to count those ticks.

Missing Hildesheim

Hildesheim ... 

Hildesheim, Nothing great about this quite small town in Germany,

Except the fact that, whosoever has stayed here knows true meaning of the word "Friendship".

23, Karthauser Strasse, Hildesheim.

Nice Video "Dancing Hildesheim" :)
Almost all places in Hildesheim are shown in this video, would have loved to see Mittelallee, 1000 year old Rose bush, Itzum and several other nooks and corners of this town...  

It was a Jolly Good Weekend - Bangalore-Wayanad-Bangalore

More to be written here ...


ciao.

When it's time, you know !