Me Myself and the crazy world

Today Maybe this is not the right time and the right world for me. I should have been born way back in the 14 th century, when men went on voyages across oceans and continents on conquests that would change course of history, conquests that would make them richer in monetary terms and also in life's experiences. Conquests where they would observe and accumulate knowledge of hitherto unknown. Conquests that would yield, nothing but would still be worthwhile and fun for someone with a keen sense of observation. But gone are those days. Voyage has taken the shape of a high speed flight plan, or a cruise with well chalked out routes and no surprises in store. The world has become one big city and the whole earth can be watched and unraveled in detail on a puny 14 inch monitor, using google maps or wikimapia with the latest addition of street views and 3D imagery. Lest there is too less to discover, still lesser to know that might need one to go out of the confines of his abode.

After eons, I finally got an opportunity to have lunch with my buddies in the break room today. And as we sat chatting anything and everything and came up to the possibility of defragmenting a man to allow him to tie up his whole body to serve specific purpose. It came up that I could serve vengeance to the extent of creating a bug that evolves and reproduces itself that no one could debug it for it will create copies of itself faster than one could remove it, if ever someone tried to convert my body into a robotic manifestation. And someone just said that my joke was something to be thought about. A bug that evolves... Well, it is not. If only we look, such bugs are all around us. But those are too small to be noticed, and probably that's why those are called viruses. Still it was an idea nonetheless. An idea different from a perspective we usually take. Such gibberish, such unusual and unexpected conditions lead to real innovation. I still remember reading about how Schwarzc

Space time curves over itself. That's every Physicist's dream or nightmare. Those who say it does would love to hear someone prove it, those who say it does not live in a constant apprehension of someone proving it right. So is the Schrodinger's cat. The cat in the box is both dead and alive, unless the box is opened. So is an electron which is both matter and wave, and will continue to be unless we humans actually devise a way to "see" it. But it's the inexplicability of what is and what not defines the region where we "live". It's the inexplicability that calls for the need of opening the box or searching for the way to see an electron, and makes the pursuit worthwhile. The pursuit is life. A consistent, predefined, meticulously engineered, straight line might be the best suited approach of building a minaret but it never draws the "life" that's in the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The realization was sudden when I sat on the passenger s

The weather is just like back home when winter started. Miss those winter days of, the steaming cup of hot tea which I could have both when mummy made and when bua made. The days of endless. meaningless walks on canal road, when every few steps led to a meeting with another friend. The days when we were free to create all that laughter and ruckus on the road, the way Bulli would cry out the honourable salutation of "Bhai ko", God alone knows what that meant but that was our way of saying rather shouting a powerful hello. I remember the woolen cap that mummy wanted me to wear and I would'nt. And to top it Kamal would come wearing one, showing off as an example. I remember the occasional momos and soup. The days of miscalls. When we wanted to be independent. When we took tutions to earn and get that sense of independence. The days when we earned and spent without a thought, for it was for spending that we earned. Yet we saved. Those were the days when Kamal would miscall me

Ever since I sold off my own bike, I have been riding different ones of my friends. The biking trips do not seem to get deterred and we keep riding kilometers over kilometers. Let's first visit some fast facts; I am always afraid of sitting pillion because of two reasons. I do not know how to sit comfortably as pillion and I believe more in myself as the rider rather than leaving my life in the hands of the other rider. But then, I cannot keep riding all the time. So recently I rode a Karizma and an Avenger and here is my take on these two bikes. Had been, occasionally, riding that Karizma for some time, now. Yesterday was no different. As ever propounded by Hero Honda, Karizma is one powerful bike with good looks. It rides high and fast but even after riding it multiple times, I could never get the hang of this bike. The very first problem that it poses is the sheer height of this thing which moves the CG very high. The bike never seems safe to me above 80 KMPH. It's not that

Just as the chapter in Pune nears it's end, things that I waited for long are getting born... So is born a new group in Infy, the UKG group. The group is a common platform for those who belong to the land of gods, Uttarakhand, and are working with Infosys. Had been searching for one such platform for my last four years stint in Infosys and ever since I was posted in Pune. And as fate has it, the group has come up with a bang and not any whimper, just recently... "Recently" is the time when I am all set to pack my bags and move on from Pune, and explore some new places. When four years of hard effort has brought lot of fun, accolades, responsibility and fame (maybe I am also infamous in certain circles, but fine with me. God and Devil, incarnate, that I am). And all I think of is "Oh my god! There were so many of us living in our own holes in Pune, never aware of the hole next door". Till now, I had only met Hemant and Gaurav, in Pune, who were actually my buddie

Had a tryst with people who need to be "told". There is no lacking of those in the world around, is a fact. People need others to "tell them" instead of being decisive enough to know. The growing demand and popularity of these so called God men is a clear indication of where the world is headed. They are self proclaimed "God men" that mob turns towards to be told. These men tell the mob what is right and what is wrong. They tell them the path to the correct way of life. And the mob follows. But the question arises, why to follow? Who told them what is right and what is wrong? Who told them that what they consider a sin, is actually so? Yesterday itself, I heard a sane man argue with Baba Ramdev regarding his statement against Gays. Evidently, as ever the God man put forth his decision, instead of putting forth an argument. Not that I am against all these God men. Some of them are really doing well, such as Ramdev himself who is "teaching" yoga. W

Startup: The eyes open and the fan's whirring. It's dark outside the window and I have just broken from my deep reverie. Surprisingly the light in the living room is switched on. How can that be? Usually I am the one who sleeps late on weekends then who's up now? Habitually I pick up my phone lying next to me on bed. I check the time and it says 2030. OK. I just keep it back. And then it hits me. 2030, how come? I pick up my other phone and it's also showing 2030. Thoughts stream through the mind. What happened? Where did the day go away? It was Saturday night that I was sleeping through so how can it be 2030. Did I sleep through the entire Sunday. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! It can't be. Did I waste an entire day sleeping. Booting: The executables start running one by one. The system started restoring. Secondary storage charged up. No. I had not wasted the Sunday. No I had not slept through the entire Sunday. I remember now, it was Sunday afternoon whe

The Precursor (The year of passing out my 11 th standard. Year 1999): I had had my maiden "alone" travelling trip to my hometown, last year. This year demanded something more from me. This was the same year that Rahul bhaiyya had completed his 12 th and out of the blue we decided to visit Purnagiri. The plan was set, and the five of us completed the trip on the full moon of May. We came back with loads of knowledge from the trip, which would come handy in the year to come. The days that were (The year of passing out 12 th standard. Year 2000): Last year we had made the voyage to Purnagiri under the supervision of Bhaiyya log. This was our year, our time, our entrance into the world of adults. Who had thought I would resent it so much now. Maybe those who we were, all of us share that resentment. Still those were the days and Santosh and I were learned ones from the experiences of the year before. And the gang became larger and larger. It started with Santosh, Deepak and I,

Reading this blog post can be injurious to sense and sensibility The Friday had started signaling about the coming onslaught of madness, since early morning. 0800 hrs: I check my watch and find myself still in bed. It's raining outside and the weather was awesome. The idea of facing another day of work holed up inside the office, away from the cool breeze propelled the desire for making the most of this day. After all what life would it be if we didn't enjoy the days that can be (NOM to the other days when it's so hot outside that one can fry omlettes on my head). And heck I am late for office. 0815 hrs: There is no water for the bath. I had slept late last night just because I had turned on the water pump to fill up the overhead tank. I had reached home, late on Thursday night, thanks to the project that is ready for changes when even existing problems are not resolved. What am I? God… (Maybe :P. Aham Brahmasmi. Wah wah!!!). Had realized late, only after I had my dinner, t

Yesterday I was talking to my Dad on my regular phone call home. As usual we always discuss the whereabouts, weather and work. The weather was hot and I was sulking about it. It was work, yesterday, that we talked about. For once I talked about the huge work load that's present these days. The task of cleaning up the garbage of a code that was written by those who left for greener pastures is daunting. And on top of it, the coffee machine was broke on my floor and the swimming pool was closed. The testers keep pinging like incessant waves hitting the beach. Work these days is what never ends. I just had to get up and call it a day. Still work is what has to be done, it's what I do. And that means I may skip a meal or two, when I get engrossed. I even lose any grip on time, place or the world around me. Just remembered that yesterday, a colleague came over and asked something, but I was so engrossed that I could not understand a word of what she said. Even today I cannot recolle

It's a pitch black cat with fur of white underneath. The first time I met her, it was a cold winter evening of March 2008 and it lay sprawled under the silencer of my bike which was still warm after half an hour since I had returned from office. I had come downstairs to retrieve the keys from my bike fuel lock, which I habitually forget. She lay sprawled, a young kitten, and purred slightly as I reached my bike to remove the keys, as if reprimanding me for having broken its reverie. I was equally overwhelmed by the nonchalance of a wild cat who didn't show any signs of fear. Instead it moved over and rubbed itself against the fabric of my trousers demanding redemption for my fault. I paid in full, for I brought a pack of Tiger biscuits and broke them into small pieces as I fed her. An uncommon sight watching a cat devour Tiger... And it became a friend, not just my friend but of everyone living in our flat and even of the family that lives in the flat downstairs... It'

Was just taking my shower on this hot day and I just thought "Damn!!! I really want water." But just by belonging to the land of mightiest rivers, white water rapids, deep forests and "Gods" does not ensure that I shall have what I want in terms of all the water I need. Just a day back, I was picking up my bike from the Infy car parking and saw the Ozone board outside building 12 which said "Recycled water used only for watering plants". And now as I took the bath, this one line conjures up in my mind, out of the blue."Recycled" was the word. Sure the water was used only for watering plants, but it was serving a purpose. All the more, the water cycle took care of the rest, took care that the water ultimately passed back to our drinking cups and quench our thirst. And in this frenzy of thoughts, I thought a thought of using recycled water all across my city Haldwani… How about it? As I see it, the city is perfectly designed for the purpose. Every

While the country is still waking up to the fact of dwindling number of Tigers, it so happened that the Times of India published the news "Now, more tigers a problem?" featuring one of the most successful Tiger reserves in India, The Corbett National Park. Located in a realm that I would consider my own, the place is always in my mind. And now the news boasts of an immense population of Tigers in the Park, numbered at 162. There have been some recent and frequent conflicts between people and the Tigers of this Park. But considering that as a sign of overpopulation of Tigers is outright lunacy. The story, aptly, attributes the reason as rapid commercialization of the area. But as it usually happens in this land, the authorities are quick to reach conclusions. A land where the gullible masses limit themselves to headlines. In a country of politicians, who are just that and their problem solving abilities are limited to creating ruckus, it is always threatening to even think abo

This page pays tribute to those of us who were wannabe soldiers, few years back. Few of us really made it and many of us didn't. Fate has it that all of us, others, turned into Software engineers or management executives... And are the niche group; alive, kicking and performing to the best of a person's ability today. Thinking aloud it appears that it was the whole desire for the perfection required to be a "Man in the uniform" that turned us into what we are today. Sometimes when I am working with my team, I feel like an oddity. No one else, around, barks tasks in conference rooms, takes up responsibility of tasks which require sticking one's neck into the guillotine, plots elaborate plans and loves to draw the plan, architecture just like some map, on the white board (I have heard that it does happen in places like NASA, Google and few others, but thats a different world altogether. Its an oddity here). I don't know how many of my buddies, (Prithvi, if you r

Yesterday I had a great time starting very early morning, with the Ishquia show at 0850 AM at INOX, after a bike ride of a whole 16 KMs. Then we went to Pantaloons where the gals wanted to have some shopping. It turned out to be a shopping spree for the guys. But that is all normal stuff. So where is the cranky, nerdy, thinking kind of Gautam... Well ladies and gentlemen, here I come... At Pantaloons, as it happens with me mostly I was checking out things in the fragrances section, though highly reluctant to buy any as I have enough right now to burn a corn field in it. Still, others had paid the bills and we were about to leave when one of the gals (no names... Rule no 1 lolzzz... don't get the joke, watch Transporter) went over to try out the Polaroid sunglasses. We all flocked over and the salesperson told her that "These are Polaroids" "So what about it?" "Well these are not tinted or colored and can be used for night driving. And I tell you what? Look

The war between question and acceptance has been perpetual. This is just a new chapter where another "asker" tries to hold ground till he can and then go down into history... Surrounded all around by "believers" trying hard to make me believe too, it becomes a necessity to voice out my logic somewhere. And it is always futile to talk logic to those who believe. These days I am sharing my small accommodation with a believer who has "experienced God". And I still ask, has he? He believes so, yes. The argument usually springs from a pamphlet to join so and so course on such and such dates for spiritual healing. Healing!!! But am I ill. "You are". "How?" "You must believe you are ill and you will be healed. Join the course and you will know it, just like when you go to the doctor and he tells you." "But the doctor gives me reasons, conducts tests and shows me results" "Here you will experience, they will show you ho

This weekend seems too very long and its forcing me back to the old thinking mood. But what I think today is quite different. I think about "where do all these ideas to think about, come from". And lo! I again have an idea to dwell upon...Had been watching nat geo for many hours now, and all those shows about the universe push me to think "once again" about what all is there to fathom. I am not awed by the immensity of universe and not the kinds who go spiritual about the insignificance of man. I just think one thought, its so large and its so vast. And from a man's stature, it applies to not just to the whole Universe but even to this earth. And the thought comes to me, "Another trip to another place?"Now the mind has acted, I just need to muster enthusiastic men who are ready to accompany me to these new places... Future weekends should not be boring again. P.S: Watched a show where our ancestors traveled through rivers, oceans and through uncharted

The wind was calm and the snow fell like cotton wool and he stood looking apprehensively, far into the depths of the valley below and beyond. Only one thought loomed large in his mind, as he sipped from the steaming mug in his hands, and the very thought of it shuddered his body and his soul to their core. "Should I do this? To what end had all my pursuits till date led, that have now brought me here wishing for this. Is this the end? And do I have the courage to do this." The coffee went cold as he reminisced his life so far and all that he had wished and worked for. Sipping on the dark sour and cold liquid became hard, and he got up from the edge of the cliff and moved towards the "Tourist cafe" to replenish his supplies, with a new steaming mug. "Yes" he thought, "this is exactly the time to change, to bolster up the courage and take life head on. "Yes, after successful completion of 15 years being a techie, pitting wits against men and materi

This one comes from another blog page of mine that no longer exists: The ideas expressed in the blog are completely my own and the events are "unfortunately" real. I have, infact, recently proposed a further revolutionary idea which is under development under my "supervision" (How I wish I was developing instead of supervising?) which is all set to take toll on me... Well thats life and thats the way I am... So here it goes... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quite recently I was entrusted with the task of "improving testing performance and automating it to suit the needs of our application". The task was accomplished even before the assignees could blink their eyes... Job done? Alas no!!! There came an "ever expected" suggestion... "A job well done. It can decrease our task of testing and will not require manual testing intervention and i

just read the "first posting" to a new blog... wow... (The link is available in header) the sumptuous idea of chicken curry rescuing the world out of the claws of global recession... just wondering what next? Environmental and climatic catastrophes? Viola!!! Why not? Breed chicken on a poultry farm is real environmental friendly. Those who know about poultry farming know that chicken feed comes from chicken only. And whatever little is required in addition comes from food industry waste. Its much like recycling at 100 % potential... Well so the chicken goes green as we humans spare the conversion of the life giving vegetation into vegetable... Who knows, as a later step, our scientists plant a few genes from plants into our poultry and make it photosynthesize... A pure figment of imagination... Naah!!! The present we live in today, was imagination of future of those in past...