How to get a N.O.C for transferring your vehicle to other state?

If you are planning to move to a new place in a different state in India and are planning to take your vehicle along, you would need a No Objection Certificate (N.O.C) from your RTO jurisdiction. Before going any further let me clarify that, you do not need to take N.O.C for transferring your vehicle to a different place within the same state.

The process for obtaining N.O.C. for transferring your vehicle is a cumbersome one as it involves getting various approvals from different agencies. I recently had to shift from Hyderabad (residing at Madhapur) to Gurgaon and wanted to take my bike along with me there. For the benefit of ‘Mango People’, I have listed down the steps that you need follow to get your N.O.C within a week.

Pre – requisite: Things you will need to get N.O.C

1. Original RC
2. ID proof
3.  Local address proof
4. Xerox copies of Insurance, Pollution clearance certificate

Procedure to be followed:

• Obtain traffic clearance certificate: In order to obtain a traffic clearance certificate, you need to write an application to the DCP, traffic police Hyderabad for issue of N.O.C from a traffic perspective. In the application you have to write the name of the place you are shifting to and also mention the details of your vehicle (i.e. most of the details mentioned in the RC). Along with this application attach your ID proof and Xerox of RC. Go to the traffic control room at Lakdikapul (Near West side signal) and submit your application at counter no.2. The person there will take your application, verify if you have any challans pending. If there are no challans pending he will issue a traffic clearance certificate. You do not need to pay anything here and the N.O.C will be issued free of cost. The process will take about 30 minutes.

• Obtain a police clearance certificate: In order to obtain a police clearance certificate, you need to write an application to the DCP, central crime station, Cyberabad for issue of N.O.C from a police perspective. Along with this application attach your ID proof, Address Proof and Xerox of RC. Now take your application and submit it to the nearest Meeseva centre. Your application would be submitted online at the Meeseva centre and you would be given an acknowledgement receipt. Here you need to pay a total of 135 rupees as the charges for issue of N.O.C. You can track the status of your application online at the Meeseva online portal. Once your application is approved, you can collect your police clearance certificate from the Meeseva centre where you submitted your application. The official timeline for issuing the police clearance certificate is 7 days. However, I got my certificate within 3 days.

• Apply for N.O.C. at R.T.O:   Fill up Form 28 in triplicate and attach 1 rupee revenue stamps on each of the forms. Take a pencil print of the chassis number on each of the three forms. Along with Form 28 in triplicate attach your ID proof, Traffic clearance certificate, Police clearance certificate, Xerox of RC, Insurance and Pollution clearance. Go to R.T.O at Attapur in Mehdipatnam and get your documents verified by the administrative officer. After this go to counter no. 4 and submit your application. Here you will have to pay a total of 85 rupees as charges. You need to carry your original RC as this has to be submitted along with your application. The applications are accepted between 11-1 pm and the N.O.C will be issued on the same day between 4-5 pm.

P.S. I followed the above procedure and got my N.O.C. within 5 days without paying any bribes. Have a little patience and All the best!

If you have any queries, feel free to reach out to me :)

A ‘Friends’ among ourselves

I am not an avid watcher of the American sitcoms, but of the few that I have watched, Friends has been ‘The Best'. The story of Friends revolves around the lives of six friends, Chandler, Joey, Ross, Monica, Rachael and Phoebe who live in Manhattan, New York.

In the midst all the people who live in Hyderabad, we are six friends who are having the time of their lives in Madhapur, Hyderabad. We have our own versions of Chandler, Joey, Ross, Monica, Rachael and Phoebe. Let me take you through them.

L to R: Umesh, Supreet, Swati, Susmita, Bhavesh, Mohit

Chandler (a.k.a Bhavesh): Bhavesh is a master in financial analysis. He is known in Hyderabad for his sarcastic sense of humour and can come up with the weirdest of PJ’s when you least expect them. His luck with women is as bad as it can get. He has or atleast has had problems talking with women and ends up being just friends with them, let alone dating them. (probably he likes it that way :P)

Joey (a.k.a Umesh): Just like Joey, Umesh loves food! (A guy from Netherlands said:  This guy can eat insane amounts of food at Barbeque nation!) Flirting comes naturally to him and he attracts girls towards himself like a magnet. He is the most care free person you will meet in the whole of Hyderabad and at times talks some serious stuff.

Ross (a.k.a Supreet): This guy is just obsessed with ‘Physics’. He goes around explaining physics of how things happen to just about everyone. He is geeky, lovable and good at heart though a bit impulsive at times. He has lost count of the number of times he has been on and off relationships, but still wants to be in one.

Monica (a.k.a Susmita): She is best friends with Rachael and acts like the mother hen of the group. This girl is obsessed with cleaning her room and wants it not just to be clean but to be ’Monica Clean’. No one teases her that she is fat, but she herself tells us every other day how she is getting fat and wants to reduce weight. By the way she is also a good chef.

Rachael (a.k.a Swati): She is the youngest in the group, is a HR consultant and a wannabe shopping consultant. She is childish and her favorite pass time is gossiping.  She is a master of all the tantrums (nakhras) that a girl can throw at you.

Phoebe (a.k.a Mohit): He is the male version of phoebe in our group. Just like Phoebe sings ‘Smelly cat Smelly cat’ our Mohit sings ‘In my head, In my head...Zombie Zombie’ in the most pathetic manner. He is good at heart and has conflicts with our Ross ‘n’ number of times on a variety of topics. He is an epitome of eccentricity and as our Chandler says “inhone toh logon ko frustiyane mein Ph. D kar rakhi hai”.

We also have a Gunther (a.k.a Shashank) amongst us. He makes brief appearances and rarely speaks anything.

P.S. Just to clarify... Our Monica is not fat. I am too scared of her :P

Dedicated to the residents of #402, Manikanta Residency and #102 SVP Nilayam

Flashback Happens

You are sitting on a chair, in the darkness, staring out into the moonlit sky, trying to draw out a skew figure connecting the stars. If this has ever happened to you then you are in either one of the situations below:

• Completely ‘Vella’…and have nothing to do.
• Lost in the thoughts, thinking of someone.
• At a junction of life, where you don’t know what to do.
• There is a slow sad melody playing in the background.

You are looking into the sky, seeking out to the messiah to help you. You stare at complete blackness, unknowing of what path to take. Your mind wanders, at its will, memories flow and then FLASHBACKS HAPPEN.

I met two of my old friends, after probably a gap of 10 years or so. We hadn’t met each other in a long time, hadn’t been in touch, didn’t even have each other’s numbers and were just friends on Facebook. 

In December, 2011 we had a reunion, met each other’s friends and formed a little group of our own. We were kids back then, each of us now grown up adults standing on their own feet, ready to enjoy their newly found freedom.

We worked hard, but partied harder! Hung out with each other in whatever free time we had. Life was a breeze in the fast lanes of Hyderabad.

It started with a ‘legendary’ (Yes! that’s the word) party @ Kismet, The Park on New Year’s Eve. A night, on which, we drank till we couldn’t stand any longer and danced till we dropped dead. I barely remember anything else. 

We used to hang out @caffe latte, a kinda ‘how I met your mother like place’. A place where, we talked all sorts of crap, took out all our frustrations, spent all our hard earned money and above all a place for every occasion especially on Karoke nights.

We explored almost all the cool places but in the end I loved the late night parties @ Adi’s and my own den. Here were two places that were home to the greatest ‘nautankis’ of all times.

There were sudden plans and each one was instantaneous and legendary in itself. Whatever the destination, Club 8, Rush Sports Bar, Spoil, Airport etc. (I just can’t remember them all) all of them have an epic story to tell.

Three of them stand out though.

• The night in Spoil, on which ‘Chumpi’ scored a DJ and ‘Poo’ took on the DJ.
• The night on which ‘Chumpi’, ‘Prabs’, ‘Suppu’ and ‘Pranu’ went out for a night bike ride. We flouted all rules, performed stunts and took the police to task. (I can’t explain further)
• My B’Day celebrations in Airport with ‘Chumpi’. I have never had a better one in my life.

We stood up for each other, took care of each other, formed a little world of our own and were happy living in it. Today, we are separated by distance, though our hearts are bound by the thread of friendship. We sit in different parts of the country/city and when we close our eyes…It all Flashes Back.

At this very moment, I remember and miss

• ‘Chumpi’, for all the bossing around she did, for all the ‘nautanki’ she did, for making awkward all the situations we were in, in short for being herself.
• ‘Yash’ for being the cool daddy of our group. For taking all the tensions on himself. But dude, we kinda loved/hated you being senti now and then and crying ‘what am I doing with my life’.
• ‘Prabs’ for the sheer hot and awesome chick she thought she was and actually was. For how she managed to do ‘nautanki’ without being high. And that famous dance step of her.
• ‘Adi’ for the care free, performer of the year guy he was. Never cared a thing about the crap we did! 
• ‘Nehi’ for the bringing the hyderabadi flavor in us. For showing us what a pro she was in everything.
• ‘Poo’ who loved all of us so much, that she came from as far as RJY to party with us.

P.S. Sentiyapa on a day where I missed being with each and every one of you. :)

Ditch your “EX”... Find your “X”

It has been a long time that I have really had some time to myself. Running from here to there, after and behind things, living through ups and downs...Gosh life is hectic! Strange as it may seem but I finally managed to find some time for me on a crowded APSRTC bus on the roads of Hyderabad.

You plug in those noise isolation ear phones, immerse yourself in the lyrics of your favourite song, add to that the cool breeze on a summer evening ...doesn't matter you are in a crowded bus with chaos around...thoughts and memories come flooding back!

The thought of the day is Ditch your “EX”... Find your “X”!

For those of you who have loved and didn’t get anything in return this is your mantra! You haven’t lost anything... In fact you gained a lot...saved a lot of time, energy and money. Kick that “Ex” outta your mind and begin the hunt for the new “X”.

The “X” may be a new GF/BF, new passion, new hobby, new fantasy or a new desire. Find it, Pursue it and Nail it.

No longer will you wait for that lonely message in the day, No longer will you feel the pain of unreturned calls, No longer will you stalk him/her on FB and no longer will you get depressed thinking of your “Ex”. Swallow the bitter pill and Move on. There is plenty available in the market.

Initiate the change and you will feel a whole lot better. Discover the joy in talking with your family more often, feel the love and care of your mom again and experience the warmth of your dad!

Channelize your energy into your work/studies and in no time you will find success kissing your feet. Find some new friends...Hangout...Party...Go to movies...In short...Get a life!

Become the master of your whims and fancies again. Do the things you loved doing but haven’t done in a long time. Hit the gym...Join a dance class...Learn to play the guitar...Pamper yourself...Splurge money on You... You should be the King/Queen in your life!

Be spontaneous...Live life as it comes...Take it in the stride!

The sooner you ditch your “Ex” and find your “X” the better.

The search has well and truly began!

P.S. A compilation of self motivating thoughts on a journey from Secunderabad to Madhapur in the crowded APSRTC Bus No. 10H. 

Winter Mornings... And a Plate of Kachori

Winter Mornings are my favourite. They are cold, foggy and you just want to continue sleeping endlessly curled up in that “Razzai”. The rays of sunlight through the fog seem ever so fresh and welcoming. The morning tea/coffee tastes so much more delicious. 

People may say that there is hardly any winter in Hyderabad, it is summer 365 days. Point taken, but the early mornings do get slightly chilly and the morning tea/coffee still tastes more delicious at this time of the year. More importantly, I love being curled up in my “Razzai” and sleeping that little bit extra every winter morning.

About a year ago, exactly at this time of the year, I had got my first job offer and was sleeping peacefully curled up in the “Razzai”, while bunking Prof. Jawed’s first class in the morning. Let me share with you the scene of that morning.

Location: Room No. 59, ‘C’-Wing, Sapphire Hostel, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad.

It’s 7.30 in the morning. The alarm rings... “Good morning! ...Good morning! ...It’s time to wake up” (Yes it’s my alarm tone, an unknown lady wakes me up every day with her sexy voice :P). I put the alarm to snooze and sleep again hoping to wake up in five minutes. The snoozing of five minutes turns to sleeping of two hours and I finally wake up at 9.30. 

Oh Shit! “Jawed ki class phir miss kar di”. Realizing that I would never make it in time for the next class at 9.40, I call up my friend to say “Bhai, Please proxy laga dena yaar”. 

Phone Rings...

Friend: Hello... (Still Sleeping)

Me: Bhai, proxy ......... Abe so raha hai kya??? 

Friend: Haan yaar, abhi utha hun

Me: Abe time dekha hai... 9.30. ... Jawed ki class miss ho gayi!!!!

Friend: Bhak saala... and he blurts out a spell of expletives!!!

Me: Matiya yaar... chal Kachori khane chalte hain...! 

Friend: Thek hai, Jaldi aa jayio...nai toh khatam ho jayegi!

I get ready and head to my friend’s room. On my way, I peep into Dev and Sam’s room to check if any one of them had gone to the class. No chance of that happening!!! They were still sleeping and as I was about to leave Dev wakes up and says in that typical ‘Banarsi’ tone of his... ‘yaar ho sake toh proxy laga dena’

Me, Dev and Shalabh @ Canteen!

We reach canteen, put our legs up and shout... ‘Robin do plate kachori lana yaar’. On his phatphatiya scooter comes our ‘Jigyasa’. Looking tensed, he asks...Bhai attendance li kya aaj ??... and we both start laughing at his face!!!

Soon we are joined by Waffy, Jhabru, Maddu, Tingri, Pandey and others... and the ‘Bakchodi of Mining 2k11’ begins!!!

Today, a year later, I wake up on a chilly Hyderabad morning. I inadvertently pick up the phone to dial my friends number only to realise... that I am in Flat No. 402 and not in Room No. 59.

P.S... This post is dedicated to my friend Shalabh Malik, for all those winter mornings in which we bunked the class and went, just to have that Rs 4  Plate Kachori!

P.S... Deeps... Thank You for giving me the idea of writing this post! 

An Upgrade to hostel life!!!

Hostel Days! ... Each time, I talk with anyone of my batch mates those memories just come flooding back. No Jhanjhat and No Jhigjhig.... Bindaas full on Masti ...that’s what it was.

Having moved on from the laid back and lazy 'Hostel Days' to the present, fast and stretched to the limit, 'Bachelor Days', I finally get a day to dwell on my thoughts. The day I spent today, is typical to what I would have done on a lazy Sunday in ISM, albeit that it’s an Upgrade to Hostel Life. How??? Read on...

• In the hostel, you live in a twin-sharing room as dirty and messy as it can get. Now, you share a 3 BHK flat and your flat is the same even though you have a ‘Bai’ and pay her for keeping it clean.
• In the hostel, you invariably get late for the first class and then finally take a ‘Cycle Rickshaw’ to make it in time for the attendance. Now also you invariably get late for office and then drive your bike at break neck speed to reach office in time.
• In the hostel you sit together with friends and all of you throw slangs at the professors for not giving enough marks. Now also you sit together with your colleagues and discuss how you are being paid less compared to your competitors, though in a slightly dignified language.
• In the hostel you have to satisfy yourselves with whatever the mess has to offer. Now you have a cook and choose to eat what you want and even have McDonalds and Dominos at your disposal. But after a few months you realise that you no longer fit into your college jeans and need to reduce that pot belly coming up!
• When you are in the hostel your parents ask ... Do you have a girlfriend???...Are you in a relationship??? Now, your parents are ready to give you the license and ask... Why don’t you get married and start a family??? (Not the case with me, but definitely with some of my seniors and elder friends!)
• In the hostel you spend your dad’s money without the slightest hesitation for movies, girlfriends, boozing etc. etc. and had to give an explanation as to how and why you spent it. Now you spend your own money for the same things and don’t have to explain it to anyone. But one thing remains same... At the end of the month you had zero balance then, and you have zero balance now also!!!

Life moves on. You have a new job, You move to a new place, You meet new people but 'You' remain constant.

In hostel You learnt ‘Matiyana’, You learnt ‘Bakchodi’, You learnt giving ‘Fundaes’ but most importantly You learnt to how to be a ‘Bhokali’ ISMITE. (Even if you aren’t :P)

Hostel Days... Those were the best days of my life!!!

M@verick’s signing off... Proud to be a product of Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad!

P.S. For those who don’t understand the words used in the last paragraph... Get in touch with any ISMITE and he/she will explain in detail the meaning of these! :)

First Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to me and all my readers!!! :)

I have finally completed one year as a blogger. Finally managed to pursue one of my hobbies seriously and actually managed to keep it going for an year! Whoa!

Some of you have appreciated my posts and some of you have criticized them. I thank all of you for actually sparing some time to read my blog!.  I really appreciate it.


As of now I have Midsems on my head. I really think they should do away with exams in the 8th semester! After getting a job who wants to read all this crap!

 Keep reading my experiences and thoughts on life.

Cheers Readers!

For now it's M@verick signing off!!! :)

SENSEX and the Opposite Sex!

For the past few weeks there are two things I have been doing with dedication. One of them is to follow the SENSEX and invest my virtual money in it. The other is to follow the ‘Birds’ (Cute Chicks), as my friend calls it, on the campus, on FB, on the phone or on any other medium of interaction possible.

This Sunday morning, as I woke up alone in my room and picked up the copy of Economic Times lying on the floor, I had some weird similarities between these two distinct subjects cropping up in my mind. Let me share them with you.

'Bird Hunting' by applying Stock Fundas!

One of the basic investment strategies is to invest early and long in fundamentally strong stocks. People who would have invested in Reliance, Infosys etc. say 4-5 years back surely would have made a lot of money by now. The same strategy applies to these ‘Birds’. You have to identify the fundamentally strong ‘Birds’ (Those who have the right mix of Beauty and Brains!) early and invest long in them. I say early because if you don’t have a fundamentally strong ‘Bird’ in your cage by the time you are in class 11 or 12 then the chances of you finding one are diminishing by the day!

Investors are advised to ‘Cherry Pick’ their stocks according to their budget and risk profile. Likewise you too need to ‘Cherry Pick’ your ‘Birds’, according to your personality and taste. Just like you don't put your money on every stock listed on the SENSEX, don't try and hit on every 'Bird' on the Radar. If you pick someone way out of your league, it is more likely that the 'Bird' would use you, burn a hole in your pocket and then finally dump you!

Before investing in any stock you are advised to take a good look at the P/E ratio (Price/Equity ratio), Balance sheet and Dividends of the stock. Similarly, before you hit on any ‘Bird’ do analyse her ‘S/A ratio’ (Sex Appeal/Attitude ratio). Scrutinise her ‘Balance sheets’ i.e.  Family background (Make sure that she doesn’t have any rowdy brother or a mafia don father!), Past relationships (If any) etc. Most importantly, estimate and calculate your ‘Dividends’ (you all know what I mean by this ryt?).

Just like the prices of stocks fluctuate on the SENSEX, the ratings of these ‘Birds’ also fluctuate on the Opposite Sex’s Radar. The minute we see a cute girl, wearing a sexy outfit, swaggering in the canteen we have a ‘BUY’ call on her. We have scores of Boys taking the ‘Buy’ call and investing their time and money trying to hit on the girl. Soon she is “The THING” in the campus. The next week/month when we hear the news that she is now committed with an ‘X’ guy, we have a ‘SELL’ call on her.

Right now we have a recession of these ‘Birds’ on the campus. May be like the government influxes liquidity in the market by tweaking interest rates, the admin needs to influx liquidity in the campus by tweaking reservation policies!

For now its M@verick signing off!!! :)


P.S. All you girls who read this post... Don't misunderstand that i think of you as 'Birds'... Its just one of my fantasy posts! If I like anyone of you... it's b'coz I like you from my heart... My heart doesn't know any fundas of investment, trading, profits... It knows only the funda of Love!

Unplanned Plans!

One of my friends has already blogged about the topic I had in mind. 

So…What should I do?  

Cry and complain that he telepathically stole my ideas (Even though I myself told him the topic)??
 

Common… I say what the heck! Let me pick a random topic and just blog… Let me test my capabilities (I doubt if I have any :P).
 

Life is a sweet bitch that makes your plans go haywire 8 out of 10 times. Listing out the instances when I planned and they worked out would turn out to be in the ISM lingo… P*t*e de raha hai saala!
 

Here are some instances when my Unplanned Plans worked out…

• Each time there was a quiz competition in ISM I would plan to participate and prepare for it, only to be disappointed that I didn’t even qualify the prelims. Three days ago, I won the quiz competition @ Srijan ’11. How?
B’coz, I was not actually present when the prelims were being held. Instead a junior wrote my name in the team and called me when he had qualified!
Mind you I did answer some questions in the final round… especially the last question to clinch victory. I swear there was no politics involved in this and we won the final round fair and square.

• Three weeks ago, I had booked return tickets in the Howrah-Yeshvantpur Duronto to go home just in case I got tickets for the India-England match at Bengaluru. I didn’t get the tickets before the date of journey and also forgot to cancel the ticket before chart preparation. Cancelling tickets now meant a loss of 1000 bugs. Hence, I took the train and went home.
What a journey it was! Met some fantastic people on the train, finally got the tickets on the day before the match, saw Sachin Tendulkar (A.K.A. GOD!!!) score a century and the match got tied!!! Whoa!!!

• Five months ago, I enacted the best example in my life that sometimes your Unplanned Plans do work and when they do you get rewarded big time! I got my first job when I didn’t prepare an iota for the interview and told all sorts of things which came to my head in the interview.

• Two years ago, I and a group of my friends went on a trip to Puri. We decided to go at 10 in the morning and had a train at 5 in the evening. From travelling in 3 tier A.C. with general tickets in hand to wandering in Puri in search of accommodation to spending those awesome nights on the beach, the trip had every ingredient in it to make it -as they say- Simply Awesome!!!
 

It is already 1.30 in the night and I am feeling sleepy. I was in the mood to write and just had to write something because today is her B’Day. She is the reason this blog exists and she is the reason I discovered this passion of mine. I hope I have come up with something bearable.

For now its M@verick Signing off! :)

P.S. Many Many Happy Returns Of the Day!

       May God Bless You and May You have an awesome year ahead!

       Wishing you a Happy Birthday!!!

P.S. ............. you are too Lovely!!!

Revived… Times have changed!

It had rained then from my eyes and it has rained today from the heavens. I wonder what it is with these rains but they always bring a smile on my face. More importantly, they put me in a mood to blog.

Two months ago, I was a psychotic person, supposedly in love with this girl. I was a workaholic, burning my ass off to crack the CAT. I had almost no hopes of getting a job, let alone it being a decent and respectable one. I was hopeless, jobless and fed up with almost everything that was there. In short, I was all that I was not meant to be.

Today, two months later… Times have changed… Indeed they have changed dramatically.

I am no longer the psycho I used to be. I am no longer a workaholic, but have got back the ISM instilled attitude of ‘Matiyaopan’. I am now happily employed yet jobless (b’coz I have nothing worthwhile to do). I am hopeful of my life and in love with almost everything that is there. In short, I am all that I ever wanted to be. Common! Live life as it comes, but live it in style!

I getting placed… is either a horrendous mistake by the company or I am exorbitantly talented and lucky. Whatever it is… I don’t give a damn! I am in and it’s all that matters!

Just before I left home after the durga puja vacations, I told to my grand mom that with your blessings and if everything goes well your grandson will have a job in his hands within a few days. She blessed me and assured me that I was very lucky and shall get what I wanted. How true her words were!

But seriously, even in my wildest dreams I did not know that I would do the things I did on the day before the placements.

A written aptitude test was to be held at 6:00 PM on 26th October. On the morning of 26th October, I and two of my friends went to Big Bazaar at 9.30 AM to buy formal shirts for ourselves. On coming to know that it would open at 11.00 AM we went to the Café Coffee Day shop to while away our time. But just then, my crazy friends (Jhabru and Waffy) came up with the idea of going to the Movie ‘Jhoota hi Sahi’ being screened at Fame, Dhanbad. Despite my earnest attempts to resist them they convinced me and dragged me to the movie. Predicatably, the movie was a complete waste of time and money.

Post the movie, we went into Big Bazaar and bought shirts for ourselves. It was already 2:00 PM by then. Knowing that we would miss lunch at the mess we decided to fill ourselves with Pizzaa’s and other junk food available. On coming back to the hostel at 3:00 PM, I came to know that the test had been preponed to 4:00 PM and we had to submit a CV on the spot. Damn it!

CV???  From where would that come from??? I hadn’t prepared one b’coz I didn’t think I would need one… that too so quickly. Cut, Copy, Paste and Edit...all in just fifteen minutes... that’s how the CV was done. I went for the test and surprisingly topped it. Next day, I got through the interview and the rest as they say is history. 27th October shall be remembered as one of the most memorable days in my life.

But the question remains…Would my actions be justified if I hadn’t got through the aptitude test and the interview?

For the past three semesters, I have been going to a movie on Friday night just before the week of the exams. The preparation leave has progressively become redundant in its purpose of preparing me for the exams. Exams are reduced to one night stands which reaffirm my capacity to complete the semester’s syllabus in just a matter of few hours. They hone your skills to read, understand and memorize huge chunks of information in the least possible time. It’s a challenge to read that little bit less every semester and still score that little bit extra each semester. Bring it on! I love these challenges!

Being jobless after getting a job is one of the most heavenly feelings one could ever experience. All that is left is to find that elusive ‘Miss Right’ of mine. I have zeroed in on one of the many available ones and hope to get it right this time. She is so sweet and cute that every action and word of her makes me go crazy. In these chilly winter nights the warmth of her thoughts radiate and keep me warm. I am falling for her…

As I was conversing on the phone on my hostel’s terrace during the preparation leave for the end-semester exams, a friend of mine walked by me and said… ‘Final year mein agar kisine masti ki hai to vo Supreet Srinivas hai’. I brushed aside his comment saying… ‘Saale funde mat de’. Today I wonder if there is any truth in his comment.

For now it's M@verick signing off... :)

'My Memories Of Ganesh Chaturthi'

'Gowri Ganapathi Habba' (as in Kannada) is one of the many festivals that is celebrated in India. In the cluster of festivals that are celebrated in India, if I had to pick one, to which I look forward the most, it would undoubtedly be this festival.

The reasons:-

•    It’s a festival, of which, I have fond memories as a child and relate to, far more deeply than any other festival.

•    All through my stay in this college, the photo of ‘Lord Ganesh’ is the only photo of any God that I have in my room. So, he is the only one who has listened to all my little wishes and fulfilled them almost every time.

Today, on this auspicious occasion of ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’, for the fourth time in a row, I have missed being at home. Even after having darshan of ‘Lord Ganesh’s’ idol in front of the Penman auditorium I don’t feel satiated. I sense a degree of hollowness around me today.

Despite being powerless to do anything, but eager to fill up the hollowness, all I could do was to look at some old pictures of our family celebrating the festival. I lay on my bed recollecting old memories of this festival.

A pic of  'Ganesh Puja' at my home in 2006...brings back memories.

Here is brief account of them:-

•    When I was 4 or 5, I remember my family celebrating the festival in our ancestral home in Mysore. I used to hate the puja for running so late, because until the puja got over I was not allowed to have my favorite delicacies.

•    When I was 6 or 7, I liked the festival because on the next day of the festival we were allowed to go to school in civil dress. Thus, I could wear my new clothes to school!

•    When I was 10, I remember how I used to compete with my Dad while doing puja, because I was not given priority…LOL!  That year, we had a very grand celebration at our quarters (if I remember correctly, G-201 was the Quarter No) in ONGC colony Sibsagar, Assam. My Dad had invited almost the entire colony for the puja and there was such a rush in the house! I think my mom was furious at him after that!

•    When I was 13, I remember that my Dad couldn’t make it home for the festival, as he was on duty, and I had done the puja instead of him. I recollect my grand mom sitting beside me and teaching me how to do it.

•    When I was 17(in my JEE year), I loved the festival, B’coz it gave me a day off from the rigorous and boring routine of solving tricky problems. Being the complete foodie I was at that time, I remember how I had overloaded myself with the wonderful delicacies on offer and had a stomach ache in the night. (Even today, my mom doesn’t know that I had gone out in the night to get Pudinhara tablets!). Also, this was the last time I had been at home for the festival.

•    First year in college…I was feeling sad that I was not at home and would not be able to have darshan of even a single ‘Ganesha’. I was relieved and elated when I came to know that there was puja in ‘Diamond Hostel’. At least something is better than nothing.

•    Second year in college…Everything was same as in first year, except that I knew what was in store. To add salt to injury, as if missing home was not enough, there was a gas cylinder strike that day and all the messes were off for the day. Had to contend myself with maggi in the canteen.

•    Third year in college… Had become so used to it, that it didn’t matter anymore

Final year in college… Now everything seems redundant, but the desire is endless. It seems I have forgotten how my family ceremonially celebrated the festival. Even though the mess is running I have fasted voluntarily.

I am looking at the photo of ‘Lord Ganesh’ in my room and making another one of my little wishes…

You know what it is…

P.S. :- Happy 'Ganesh Chaturthi' to All!

P.S. :- I missed you in the 'Shining white', but my imagination takes me places as to how simple and elegant you must have been.

If I’d only known…

If I’d only known…

That you would come to know like this,
I would have risked telling you,
After all,’twas meant for you and only you…
 

If I’d only known…

That you would react this way,
I would have told you straight away
Without any further delay…

If I’d only known…
That it would make you smile,
I would have gone many a mile
To make it worthwhile…

If I’d only known…
That it would make you happy,
I would have removed everything crappy
Even if it meant, making me sappy...

P.S.: –    You are as beautiful from the inside,
              As you are from the outside.
              And I would do everything to keep that smile,
              Even if it meant turning the tide…!!

Changing ISM...Will it ever be the same again?

It has been three years, since I joined this college and I am now in the final year of my college life. During this time I.S.M. has changed from the outside as well as from the inside.

Constructions galore in ISM! Be it the New L.H.C. Complex near R.D., or the Amber Hostel between Topaz and Emerald, or the Jasper Hostel in front of R.D. If any of our old alumni were to visit the campus they wouldn’t recognize anything else other than the Heritage Building, Central Library and the Diamond Hostel.

External change in ISM may be necessary, because it urgently needs to gear up its infrastructure to meet the increase in intake of students. But what concerns me the most is the internal change at ISM, The change in culture at ISM. Take for instance the following example…

The other day I was at the library entrance filling up the details on the entry register. As I filled up the details, I saw a boy walk into the library, that too audaciously, in lowers and slippers. Being the final year, I called the boy over and asked him which year he was and why was he at the library in lowers and slippers? The guard too pinched in and firmly questioned the boy.

To my astonishment, the boy in turn asked me who was I to ask him what he was wearing. Take that for arrogance! That too from a first year! Anger swelled up in me and I was about to slap him. But somehow I restrained myself and walked off in frustration keeping in mind the anti ragging affidavit we all  had given earlier.

Hahah!!!... Imagine this in I.S.M.!!! :D

If the same incident had happened 3 years ago the boy would have been probably ragged badly and all his arrogance would have been put to dust. But, times have changed. Today, seniors are afraid of the first years and not vice-versa, courtesy the strict anti-ragging regulations in the campus.

A single complaint is all it takes to get an FIR registered against your name in the nearest police station and ruin your potential career. Which idiot would risk his lucrative, potential career to rag a first year for five minutes of fun?

The current batch of first years have been vested with so much power and they are using it so blatantly that it has even prompted the Dean of Student's Welfare to give them a stern warning to be in their limits. This seems to have had no effect on our beloved juniors as they have turned the L.H.C. canteen, which was a place for numerous meetings of various societies in the campus, into a place for playing Truth and Dare in the evenings.  

I agree that unrestricted ragging is a nuisance, but restricting it totally is also a nuisance. Lack of ragging leads to lack of discipline and a lack of personality development among the first years. Even some of our open-minded faculty might have felt this while taking classes.


Ragging is a form of interaction of seniors and juniors. It creates that special bond between them. I.S.M. has its legacy on the senior-junior relationship. I have felt this personally, as in all the three years of my vocational training at various mines, I have always been taken care of by my seniors as if I was their own brother.

I guess the new regulations shall cause more harm than good. The legacy of I.S.M. is dying a slow but sure death. I.S.M. may never be the same again and the change may well be permanent.



P.S. - Ufff... I love the way you jiggle your semi-dried hair...if only, I could see you do it everyday.

'The Eyes'

One advice which I have been advocating to my friends, rather frequently these days is that…‘BhaiLog…Ladki ke Peeche Mat Bhago…Barbaad Ho Jaooge’. 

Having said that… what I advocate to them is what I follow academically. Special Thanks to one of my best friends (read as the lone student of the lonely tutor), who inspired me by his words, actions and motivated me to join the spicy world of ‘Laundiyabazi’.

God has been kind to me, for he has given me a special pair of eyes. Not only do they make me ineligible for a certain profession in India, but have also made my choice of profession much easier. In addition to being the source of my vision, they perform the added duty of communicating with my princess so often, when words have failed me.

So, equipped with my special pair of eyes, I craned my neck to scan the crowd for those bespectacled, almond eyes of her. Within seconds, I found them and it was just a matter of time before our eyes met.

I don’t know why, but I somehow felt that her eyes looked different that day. Apart from the fact that her moist eyes were unresistingly beautiful, I felt that they had volumes to speak to me.

I was ready to listen…she had volumes to speak…but as fate would have it…we were not talking.

If not the master, at least I have become the jack of reading from her eyes. I know that there is something that’s bothering her. From her actions and from her body language I sense that there is something amiss. I am concerned and I am worried.

But that was until yesterday…because today, I saw her smiling!

All that matters to me is to see her happy, to see her smile each and every day of my life.

If only, we had been talking.

P.S. – Be better than the best, faster than the rest and only then will you win all the races in your life.   

‘A Driver or a Kirana Store Owner?’

The screen flickered and the page began to refresh… I whispered my silent prayers to God… Please let this one be good. 
 

God did all that he could and I did all, but what I needed to… Hence the obvious result. Though my sixth sense had given me the signals as to what was about to emerge, I chose to consciously ignore it. Ignorance is not always bliss and so it turned out to be.

I packed my bags and began to leave. In my mind were questions, unanswered…

How did it happen? Why did it happen? And most importantly, what implications does it have???

All my efforts and pains had resulted in no gains. They say ‘No Gain without pain’ but ‘why is there No Gain even after so much Pain???’

I have foundered badly this time and it’s time to introspect. Fate has rapped me on the knuckles. My bones are broken and I am shattered, just like when you have been struck by a rude jolt of lightning.

Some would say that you require such ‘jolts’ at frequent intervals to keep you on your toes. But what’s the point of such 'jolts' if they derail you completely? What should you do? Continue mechanically despite these ‘jolts’ or…?

In fact, everything I do these days is mechanically motivated. I attend classes mechanically just to say ‘Present sir’ as my name is called out on the roll call. I eat food mechanically just to satisfy my hunger, despite the food's awful taste. Even my smile is mechanically motivated just to please others.

I have forgotten what it is to smile from the heart. When was the last time I did it? Frankly, I don’t even remember. Damn it! But I am mechanically happy, being mechanical.
 

So, post my mechanical dinner that night, I lay on my bed thinking of, what alternate career options I had, if I failed miserably in all the planned ones. I came up with two weird, but funny ones.

The first one is to become a driver of one of the ‘Vayu Vajra’ (Volvo buses in Bengaluru) busses in Bengaluru. Not only, would it satisfy my passion of driving those huge busses but it would also allow me to stay put in Bengaluru and drive endlessly on its arterial roads. In addition to it being a Govt. job, you get  to collect lots of money from the passengers. On top of it, you get to be in A.C. the whole day!

Imagine me as the driver of one of these!

The second one is to borrow some money and set up a ‘Kirana Store’ (a provision store) in her locality. All you need is some basic common sense and a bit of arithmetic to keep you going. Moreover, it’s a decent occupation (at least you can make out a living!) and would give me a chance to be close to her, despite being far.

I will have to set up a 'Kirana Store' like one of these...or else in this age she won't even look at my shop. Competition!

After laughing mechanically at my, rather foolish thoughts, I decided that I better go to sleep and not denigrate myself by acting upon these stupid ideas. The reasons being…

What if she came onto the bus I was driving and asked me… ‘Bhaiya M.G. road ke liye ek ticket dena’ or she came to my ‘Kirana store’ and asked me  ‘Bhaiya ek kilo cheeni aur ek kilo namak dena’.

Oh My god! I Can’t take that.

Aaaahhhh!!!! Bhaiya My Foot!!! 

P.S. - Have you become invisible or it's just that I have become blind?

Selfish Or Selfless???

The ‘Race’ is on and the ‘runners’ are running faster than they ever have. Some of the runners are professionalized-amateurs who can see nothing but the finish line. Some of them are running just because they have to and don’t care a damn about the result. They are just content with being a sportive participant.

Then, there are runners like me, who were in the race initially but lost course in the middle because they couldn’t understand why they were running after all, and now don’t know whether to continue running or take a break and change track.

I see that my legs are moving, yet I am going nowhere, because I am practically running at the same place.  When I see the runners, who put on their ‘roller skates’ and skated fast enough to beat us by almost  a mile, I ask myself weren’t you and they equals at one point of time?

The answer is an obvious one.

As I frantically try to find a scapegoat I could do no better than to look at my own feet.  Oh! This was easier than I thought… I didn’t have proper footwear!

My twice repaired and now torn Woodland sandals which I had bought in my first year and my now sole less Addidas shoes signify my dilapidated condition. I am so lazy and afraid of the worst that I could neither get them repaired nor replaced, but have been switching from one to the other so that neither of them gets completely redundant.

What’s with this new miserly attitude of mine ah? I refuse to spend even an iota of money, (I don’t have much of it either!) even for my basic amenities. Earlier, I had a crispy wallet but now it’s an empty one. Sign of things to come? Where has it all gone? I know it will comeback…but when?

It continues to rain here and despite knowing the repercussions I continue to get drenched in the it each and every time. The sails of my ship are torn and the ship will very soon be scuttled... but I still remember each and every comment on your facebook profile photo…why???

A place I once considered ‘Heaven’ and wanted to return to as soon as I left it is no longer as alluring as it was. The inmates are giving the hints one by one and to the best of my abilities I am correctly interpreting them.

On top of all this I have this silly question cropping up in my mind…

Have I become more selfish or selfless???

Or

Should I become more selfish or selfless???

Any answers?????

What If I Get Married To A Foreigner?

If you are a college student then you would probably agree with me that you love and hate your summer vacations at the same time.

You eagerly await your vacations because it gives you a chance to be at home full time, enjoy the delicacies prepared by your mother, relax and live life as you want albeit, the usual restrictions at home. But you also eagerly wait for the vacations to get over simply because an able bodied person cannot just simply sit at home and idle away his time. You miss the fast paced life at college, the boring lectures, the buzzing canteen and the bindaas hostel life.
 

Hmmm...so getting bored at home I decided to go to Bengaluru for the weekend. Saturday was spent meeting my college friends who were interning at Shell and Sunday was spent visiting both of my aunts who lived in Bengaluru. On Monday I returned home.
 

While returning home, as I sat near the bus window with my eyes wandering in the lush green fields I recollected how I had similar conversations with both of my aunts. I remembered one of my aunts telling me about arrangements for her daughter who is going to the U.S. next month for her P.H.D. While my other aunt told me about how her elder son, who is already doing his P.H.D. in Germany was doing.
 

So, with both my elder cousins set to go abroad for higher studies the next in the firing line was me. I shall either be expected to land a hefty job(which i don’t see happening b’coz i hate mining) or  tread the same path like them after two years(If I don’t clear the CAT this year). I tried to steer my mind clear of these futuristic thoughts for I know one thing for sure,  whatever I shall plan shall never happen.
 

With nothing much to do other than seeing half the bus sleeping you cannot help but allow your mind to have random thoughts. I chuckled to myself as I thought about the side-effects of one going abroad for higher studies. What If one of my cousins or me for that matter went abroad and fell in love with a foreigner? To further complicate the matter got married to her?
 

With inter-caste marriages only looked down upon in my family marrying a foreigner would be a catastrophe!  I could not help smiling to myself and imagine my life post my marriage to a foreigner!
 

So here is a brief account of the problems I would face...

1)Firstly, even though my parents are fairly open minded I don’t think they would be open to this kind of stuff. I shall be blamed endlessly for reducing to ashes the name of our family.

2)Secondly, all my relatives would go Ga-Ga! Over the matter, for if and when I meet them their eyes would stare at me asking why?  Aren’t there enough girls in India?

3) Thirdly, since most of the food available abroad is Non-Veg, my wife would not know a damn thing about cooking Indian Vegetarian food. So all hopes of my wife cooking delicious food for me shall be buried. (Even though she can learn it, she will never be as good as my mom).    

4)Then, there will be the language problem between her and my not so modern relatives. I shall be ousted from the Hindu-Brahmin Community for having flawed the rules(as if I care)
 

5) As long as I shall live in India I shall have to contend with my fellow countrymen staring at me and asking OMG! Are they a married couple?

6)I don’t want to bore you by bringing out the religious and cultural differences. But, for an example imagine my foreigner wife, just out of the bed at 9 in the morning wearing noodle-strap top coming in the way of my mom going to perform her Tulsi Puja. I can’t imagine my mom’s face red with anger and she blurting out SHIVA! SHIVA!
 

7) Last but not the least I can’t help but laugh at imagining our kids...would they be Black or White?...But surely if racism exists in that period they shall be subjected to that... Aah My poor Kids!

P.S. Don't worry all Indian Girls...My priority for you is higher than them :P

  

Top posts from indian bloggers community...Tangy Tuesday Picks!!!

The Most Beautiful Game!!!

It was the summer of 1998 and I was 8 years old then. We had recently moved into the O.N.G.C. colony in Sibsagar, Assam. I had just returned from school and was in a playful mood. I picked up the remote and tuned into one of the sports channels. What I saw on T.V. then, still has a lasting impression in my memory even today.

On the screen was ‘Zizou’ the mid-field maestro from France performing his trademark ‘Zidane Spin Move’. The one in which he spins, fakes, cuts, tricks and turns while juggling the ball. He executed the move with such elegance, grace and timing that I was left spell bounded. As it must have happened with so many young kids at that time…I too had become a ‘Zizou fan’.

By evening I was at my dad’s side asking him to get me a football. Within two days I had my own football and was out in the park trying to do a ‘Zidane move’. Despite my earnest efforts I was only as good at it as an infant is in taking his first steps! The 1998 FIFA World Cup gave me the first taste of the ‘Most Beautiful Game’.

Since then four years had passed. My dad had been transferred and we had moved to Rajahmundry, A.P.  I had got lost in the cricket mania and almost forgot that a game called football actually existed. Playing cricket with my school friends was one of the top priorities of the weekend. (Oh Gosh I miss those days so badly!!!)

But the 2002 FIFA World Cup revived my fond memories. Thanks to a certain ‘Ronaldo’ and a certain ‘Beckham’ the passion in me was reignited.  Watching Ronaldo perform those bamboozling step-over’s and Beckham smash those curling free kicks into the back of the net gave me a different kind of high. .. I had contracted the Football Fever.


The effect of the Football Fever was such that cricket suddenly took a back seat and I had myself practicing football in the weekends. Posters of Zidane, Ronaldo and Beckham adored the walls of my bedroom. By the end of the world cup I had mastered the only thing I would ever learn to do with a football…Smash a curling free kick into the back of the net…a’ la David Beckham!!!

The 2002 World Cup taught me much more than just how to take a free kick. I now understood the game much better than what I did previously. Post World cup playing the FIFA 2002 soccer game on the computer provided a new experience. It gave me a chance to connect with my football idols and the gaming excitement was just too much….I became a football addict.

Just like a drug addict needs doses of drugs frequently, I like a football addict needed Goals. My dosage of goals came from Manchester United in the English Premier League. Frankly, I liked Manchester United only because of one player…David Beckham.

8 years have passed since I became a football addict. Beckham, ZIdane, Ronaldo have all moved on. Even I have moved on but my love for the game and Manchester United has grown leaps and bounds.

With Just a day to go for the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup I have re-contracted the Football Fever. The game has found its new stars in Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka’, Fernando Torres and Wayne Rooney…just to name a few. The stage is set in South Africa for the biggest extravaganza in the history of football.

The next one month shall provide us some of the most spectacular footballing moments. Look forward to the
Mesmerizing dribbling of Lionel Messi…

Majestic Step-over’s and Thunderous, Swirling free kicks of Cristiano Ronaldo…

Splitting through balls from Kaka’…

And the Bursting Runs of Torres and Rooney.

My heart cheers for England…but the mind says the Spanish Armada is too powerful! So let’s have an England-Spain Final on July 11. What say?

P.S. - 

Waka Waka...This time its for Africa...I even postponed my return to college by 2 days to catch the 'if possible' England-Spain Final.

P.S. -

I am missing you...Wish i had wings :) 

Penultimate Rain...

I cut the phone and stood there with those words still ringing in my ears. It took a moment for the gravity of the situation to sink into me. Slowly it dawned on me…

Today was the last day…My last chance...My only hope. Tomorrow she will be gone and I shall be left all alone with an eternal emptiness in my heart. All I shall have with me is scant but vivid memories of her…

The sky was busy, gathering clouds and getting darker by the minute. By your instincts you could tell…it was going to rain. I looked up at it hoping for a sign, a clue as to what to do. But, as always it was silent or spoke in a language alien to me.

Innumerable thoughts clattered in my mind. But this was not the time to sit and think, it was time to act. I set about searching for her, running around madly here and there looking for her.  I searched and searched everywhere but as fate would have it… she was nowhere to be found.

Tears swelled up in my eyes and that strange feeling got into me. The feeling of losing her…the feeling of being away from her…that feeling of not seeing her…that feeling of not being able to hear her voice. 

As if the sky had read my mind and wanted to sympathize with me, it started to drizzle. The wind started brewing up and was now blowing fiercely. It was as if the storm in my heart was playing itself in front of my eyes.  Soon the drizzle turned into heavy rainfall. I stood there getting drenched.

The rain might have quenched the thirst and given respite from the heat to scores of people but it sure wrecked my chances of meeting her. Now, even my remotest hopes had faded away.

Why does it always happen to me? Why does fortune never favor me?

I looked up to the sky again and said…give me one last chance. Dejected I walked back.

Soaked to the skin, I entered my room. As I changed to dry clothes, my mind was restless as a bee trying to conjure up some possibility of meeting her. I sat looking out of the window and the smell of the wet earth made me nostalgic. Even though I wanted to do it personally, I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. I picked up the phone and dialed her number.

She picked up and said ‘Hello’. 

I said ‘Hi’.

But words failed me after that. Hearing her pristine voice felt so soothing that nothing came out of my mouth. I cut the call and damned myself for being an idiot…a jerk…a nincompoop.

I calmed myself and dialed again. She picked up the phone and answered angrily ‘who is this?’ I introduced myself and blabbered something on the phone nonstop without giving her a chance to speak. I don’t know what I said or how I said but, I said all that I wanted to.

I wondered if she understood anything.  But her final words said it all.

I had conveyed my message and she had understood it flawlessly. I was relieved and elated.

Now, the exile shall turn fruitful. 

P.S.

The innocence of your words on the phone allayed all my fears.

Corridor Of Silence...

The IPL saga manages to capture everyone’s attention no matter how much one may try to be distant from it. Though I am an ardent follower of cricket, especially the IPL, time has drastically changed my outlook. It is time to ask the question…How much is too much?

Commentators often describe the area just in and around the off stump as the ‘corridor of uncertainty’. Bowlers are advised to get the ball in it  and the thumb rule says…No matter how good the batsmen is , how barren the pitch is, if you put it in there consistently, the batsmen will knick it, sometime or the other.

Both Lalit Modi and Shashi Tharoor have paid the price for fishing in the ‘corridor of uncertainty’ and are back in the pavilion. But what concerns me more is the ‘Corridor of silence’, in my life.

The ‘corridor of silence’ belongs exclusively to me and my princess. It opens for a mere 30 seconds every day and is the place where two immigrants meet. I stand at one end, waiting for her to appear and the corridor to open. As soon as it opens, the world seems to transform. I anxiously walk inside and at the same time as I look up, she looks down and our eyes meet for a fraction of a second. This fraction of a second is what I yearn for, everyday. It is my tonic to life. As I pass by her I can feel the aura, charisma and the magnetism which binds me to her. What follows is pure silence and I am left thirsty wanting for more.

The ‘corridor of silence’ closes and I am back to this material world with only my memories to cherish.

As I cherish the memories I wonder…

How much patience should I have with this silence?

When do I know it is too much?

Am I misinterpreting the signs?

I don’t know…

GOD knows it and/or She knows it. Take your time, but both of you please let me know…

Meanwhile, I shall tirelessly continue to bowl on this barren pitch of unconditional love to this exquisite batsman, hoping that my consistency in the ‘corridor of uncertainty’ will reap its rewards in the ‘corridor of silence’.


P.S. ...
23rd April, is the birthday of my loving mother. This post is dedicated to you.
Wishing you a Happy Birthday!!!
I love you mom.