Apni kahani likhni hai, apni hi zubaan likhni hai
har lamhe ko qaid karna hai, uski har daastan likhni hai
But why I am writing this??? I came to lab thinking to work for few hours and that too in weekend!!
Good Idea!! But Destiny and desires don't think alike.
It might not be as dramatic and unexpected as O Henry's stories but often circumstances surprise us in more than trivial ways. The seed of our thought might not reach the fruition but that doesn't mean the end of the world.
As usual first check out my mails and orkut!! Ah...it’s “Shilpi Birthday"!!!
It’s my dearest buddie's birthday today. So it’s a special day for me!! So what gift can I give??? A call and few conversations will be good. But then in lab you can’t do that and in home laptop is not working!!
So ..ok I will write a blog ..
Heck of lab work!!!
And I just got transported back in time, aeons ago, to when birthdays used to be so much fun. A gala event to look forward to!! That’s too a friend who was my first “Crush”.
But at this point I want to define few loves!! Though its sounds much like a philosophical viewpoint!!
Love is which lasts for 2 months.
Big love ----- which lasts for 2 years.
Great Love is which change the life of the person. Great Love knows no comparison. A lady in love feels her man as the BEST. A man in love feels his lady as the BEST. People in Great Love are everybody and everything to each other.
It's no secret that I was a teensy bit in love with her but I don’t know which category I belong to at that time. Might be none….as it was one sided…hehe!!!
But really I have done all the crazy stuffs for her “love” in my school days. I still remember writing her name on each page of my books as well on copies. Did 35 km of cycling on hot (45 degrees) days to just get a glimpse of her ….
Ah so wonderful days!!! If you are in Sweden then you need to travel to different country even to get experience of 33 degrees forget about 45 degrees.
Well, the destiny had its own desires. She went to different school and to different city. I loose contact after that.
As we grew up these things seemed kinda arcane. But again destiny had its all writing, this time role was played by Orkut!!! You won’t belief, when friends told me that we can search old pals, her name was first one to crp up on search!!! And I still remember she was first friend to be added on my orkut list!!! Yet those early love days remain my sweetest memories!!!
Anyways, this post is actually dedicated to my dearest buddy. dunno why today suddenly brought back all those memories. :)). May be love never dies!!
A very very happy budday to you once again buds.
Have an awesome day today! Wish I could be there with you to celebrate!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
A great Kiss!!
These days a new colleague of mine had joined our group. She seemed to be very interested in India and her people. So after our work we decided to leave together and as most girl after few conversations she got going.
Journey was fun. Believe me. She was very eager to know my opinion about act of "public kissing" in India. She was utterly disturbed at the Indian public's display of anger for recent Richard Gere's kissing of Shilpa Shetty on an AIDS campaigning stage. To my shock and surprise, she was so aware of this news. I know many of you may not be. She had the concern that why are Indians so cynical about kissing in public- even about just kissing on cheeks. She considered it to be kinda greeting. Now it was my turn to put the "act of public kissing" in Indian context. I talked about the differences between Western and our culture and about the difference in their thought processes. Beliefs of our older generations and changing mindset of the younger generations. It went on for a few minutes and I assured him that 5 years down the line she won't have any such complains with the Indians:) She was satisfied. Se seemed to be happy and excited about her trip in November to “GUA” rather than “GOA”. After a while, infront of our seat, two beautiful couples then started kissing and we both loved glaring in each other eye, with a beautiful smile.
As my destination was coming near, I thought I also belong to younger generation and how come I assure her to wait for 5 long years. And inspired by yesterday great win over Pakistan and beautiful eyes of my colleague I decided let her know that “Young Indians” had arrived…in other words “CHAK DE INDIA”.
So just before getting down as we both moved towards each other to give warm hug and that moment I decided to go for a “Kiss”.
So I hold her a bit longer and gently lock up my lips!!!
I thought that she may be surprised but she responded with a smile.
Probably I assured him that 5 years down the line are not far ahead!!!
Journey was fun. Believe me. She was very eager to know my opinion about act of "public kissing" in India. She was utterly disturbed at the Indian public's display of anger for recent Richard Gere's kissing of Shilpa Shetty on an AIDS campaigning stage. To my shock and surprise, she was so aware of this news. I know many of you may not be. She had the concern that why are Indians so cynical about kissing in public- even about just kissing on cheeks. She considered it to be kinda greeting. Now it was my turn to put the "act of public kissing" in Indian context. I talked about the differences between Western and our culture and about the difference in their thought processes. Beliefs of our older generations and changing mindset of the younger generations. It went on for a few minutes and I assured him that 5 years down the line she won't have any such complains with the Indians:) She was satisfied. Se seemed to be happy and excited about her trip in November to “GUA” rather than “GOA”. After a while, infront of our seat, two beautiful couples then started kissing and we both loved glaring in each other eye, with a beautiful smile.
As my destination was coming near, I thought I also belong to younger generation and how come I assure her to wait for 5 long years. And inspired by yesterday great win over Pakistan and beautiful eyes of my colleague I decided let her know that “Young Indians” had arrived…in other words “CHAK DE INDIA”.
So just before getting down as we both moved towards each other to give warm hug and that moment I decided to go for a “Kiss”.
So I hold her a bit longer and gently lock up my lips!!!
I thought that she may be surprised but she responded with a smile.
Probably I assured him that 5 years down the line are not far ahead!!!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Sweden Journey
So I’ve been in Sweden for more than 2 years now. Many of my firneds ask about the country and its free culture so I thought why not to write something on this front after all I have spend precious 2 years of my life. It’s a beautiful country sparsely populated with reserved, yet friendly and extremely helpful people. As with every new place, there’s a tendency to form somewhat of a love-hate relationship with the surroundings as you adjust to all the differences. As an Indian in Sweden, there are a couple of things that really stick out to me as distinct differences. Below I will try and present (in a completely objective way) the more outstanding points. Many of my friends ask about my city so for them I have uploaded the video about my city Gothenburg “we love you”.
1. Alcohol and Swedes
Everyone knows that alcohol is ridiculously expensive in Sweden due to high tax. The more widely experienced of you may also know that to buy alcohol in Sweden (for anything over 3.5 %) you must take yourself down to the government controlled monopoly Systembolaget (fondly known as Systema).
Hmmm interesting!! Swedes will simply become a bit vague, shuffle their feet and repeat that it really is for the good of everyone. So, then is every Swede an alcohol-aware tea-totalling bore? No, quite on the contrary…
2. Socailism
- Sweden has a very good social system. For residents, health care is very cheap and comprehensive. Support for the underprivileged in society also appears to be very good. Gender equality has been tackled so intensely in Sweden that it could be argued to favour women. Sweden also probably has the worlds most comprehensive maternal support program. To the foreign visitor, this is best evidenced through birth rates. I don’t know the figures, but from walking around, Swedish couples appear to have their children young, and have at least two of them. Prams (baby sitter) and gorgeous young mothers abound. And not just your normal runs of the mill simple pram. Swedes opt for high-tech, sturdy, all weather, all terrain option. The pram in Sweden almost appears to be somewhat of a status symbol. Cruise past any cafe on a Sunday morning and you will see it filled with young parents and their respective prams. Fighting your way to find a table through the pram-based obstacle course can be tricky business, so in some cafes you must leave your pram outside. Not a problem! The modern Swedish pram is equipped with locks more sophisticated than I’ve seen on expensive mountain bikes.
- You can also equip your pram with custom made number plates! Cute!
- Just because you have a baby in Sweden, it shouldn’t limit you to going anywhere. On a sunny January day (-11°C and clear) don’t be surprised to see parents pushing prams through fresh snow along country lanes.
- If you have a pram, you can travel for free on public transport in Stockholm. This may be why it is possible to see children approaching 4 still being pushed around in a pram.
Seriously, if I had to live in Stockholm, adopting baby seems to be quite a reasonable idea.
Enough said.
3. Work ethic
- Sweden is truly a wonderful place to work. As an Indian, I am familiar with being branded ‘relaxed’. To be honest, I have never seen anything as relaxed as the Swedish work place. In Sweden, relaxation, spending time with family and having fun is held equal to, if not more important than working life. It’s an interesting concept. Sometimes I wonder how things ever get done here, but amazingly they always do. Maybe it takes a little more time, but eventually the goods are delivered. It is entirely possible that trolls, Sweden’s mythical little people, are actually secretly running the country at night when everyone has gone home for the day.
- One word: meetings. Swedes *love* to have meetings. It is totally acceptable to spend a whole day doing nothing other than drift from one meeting to the next. Sometimes it is necessary to have a meeting to decide when you should next have a meeting. Or to have a meeting to decide what to discuss at the next meeting. It is important, as a Swede in the workplace, to have a healthy fervour for meetings, and making all decisions in a group based and democratic way. No item is too trivial to discuss at a meeting, and of course no meeting is complete without coffee.
So how come I continue to write my views without a coffee!! Till then you enjoy the movie!!
1. Alcohol and Swedes
Everyone knows that alcohol is ridiculously expensive in Sweden due to high tax. The more widely experienced of you may also know that to buy alcohol in Sweden (for anything over 3.5 %) you must take yourself down to the government controlled monopoly Systembolaget (fondly known as Systema).
Hmmm interesting!! Swedes will simply become a bit vague, shuffle their feet and repeat that it really is for the good of everyone. So, then is every Swede an alcohol-aware tea-totalling bore? No, quite on the contrary…
2. Socailism
- Sweden has a very good social system. For residents, health care is very cheap and comprehensive. Support for the underprivileged in society also appears to be very good. Gender equality has been tackled so intensely in Sweden that it could be argued to favour women. Sweden also probably has the worlds most comprehensive maternal support program. To the foreign visitor, this is best evidenced through birth rates. I don’t know the figures, but from walking around, Swedish couples appear to have their children young, and have at least two of them. Prams (baby sitter) and gorgeous young mothers abound. And not just your normal runs of the mill simple pram. Swedes opt for high-tech, sturdy, all weather, all terrain option. The pram in Sweden almost appears to be somewhat of a status symbol. Cruise past any cafe on a Sunday morning and you will see it filled with young parents and their respective prams. Fighting your way to find a table through the pram-based obstacle course can be tricky business, so in some cafes you must leave your pram outside. Not a problem! The modern Swedish pram is equipped with locks more sophisticated than I’ve seen on expensive mountain bikes.
- You can also equip your pram with custom made number plates! Cute!
- Just because you have a baby in Sweden, it shouldn’t limit you to going anywhere. On a sunny January day (-11°C and clear) don’t be surprised to see parents pushing prams through fresh snow along country lanes.
- If you have a pram, you can travel for free on public transport in Stockholm. This may be why it is possible to see children approaching 4 still being pushed around in a pram.
Seriously, if I had to live in Stockholm, adopting baby seems to be quite a reasonable idea.
Enough said.
3. Work ethic
- Sweden is truly a wonderful place to work. As an Indian, I am familiar with being branded ‘relaxed’. To be honest, I have never seen anything as relaxed as the Swedish work place. In Sweden, relaxation, spending time with family and having fun is held equal to, if not more important than working life. It’s an interesting concept. Sometimes I wonder how things ever get done here, but amazingly they always do. Maybe it takes a little more time, but eventually the goods are delivered. It is entirely possible that trolls, Sweden’s mythical little people, are actually secretly running the country at night when everyone has gone home for the day.
- One word: meetings. Swedes *love* to have meetings. It is totally acceptable to spend a whole day doing nothing other than drift from one meeting to the next. Sometimes it is necessary to have a meeting to decide when you should next have a meeting. Or to have a meeting to decide what to discuss at the next meeting. It is important, as a Swede in the workplace, to have a healthy fervour for meetings, and making all decisions in a group based and democratic way. No item is too trivial to discuss at a meeting, and of course no meeting is complete without coffee.
So how come I continue to write my views without a coffee!! Till then you enjoy the movie!!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Virtual IPOD
Came across website called IVOON PLAYER. It lets you upload songs, add songs other people have uploaded and create a virtual IPOD. This can be later be played online or can be embeded in myspace or blogspot. Please dont be shocked to hear Himesh Topping the chat and asian rock on my player as I added songs from other peoples playlist. My taste in music is not that strange.
The player is really neat have a look. The touchpad scrolls like a real IPOD. Please hit play and enjoy!!!
The player is really neat have a look. The touchpad scrolls like a real IPOD. Please hit play and enjoy!!!
Spice up your boring slideshows
Today I created my first Photostory based on best pics tag in picassa. The apps was easy to use and makes your photos come to life with different transition effects and backgroud music. At the moment it can only be played back on the computer but sonic makes add in which makes it possible to burn your photostory to dvd's for playback. Anyways please have a look at my first attempt and let me know how it is.
A Tribute To My Grandfather
Recently, I lost a person that meant a lot to me. And in losing him, it closed a chapter of my life that I was not really ready to close. And so this is a tribute to my grandfather, a man that will be missed very much by his 5 surviving children, numerous grandchildren, and a new crop of great-great-grandchildren.
Words escape me as I look to the loss of my grandfather, Ramniklal Worah, surely the human mind is not equipped to fathom the depth of this tragedy, and that too early on Sunday morning, when you are still in your bed.
As I stopped to reminisce about the past and take a trip down memory lane, tears welled up in my eyes when I thought of all the sacrifices he made for us and the great love he had shown to all. Black-haired, with tanned skin and a big forehead- my grandfather was one giving and selfless man, who found contentment though leading a simple life. He was frugal and spent little on himself but was extremely generous when it comes to his family. He always put his family before himself; he never did things purely for his own benefit. He loved us all very much- his grandchildren especially, whom he pampered so much.
Ask me being the only son in family!!!
Within this man there was no shadow of turning. A true friend, he has supported me through the various battles of vilification and sharing experience with me of many historical watershed moments of our country’s new birth. His skills, acumen and innate diplomatic qualities qualified him perfectly for the necessary negotiations which ushered in our valuable families ties. Ask him about underground maps of our colliery and even the satellites will not point that accuracy which he had. That’s why his colleagues used to call him “Mining Sardar”. A voracious reader to the extent that he reads even the labels of the mineral bottle, and everything he lays his hands upon leave aside just books, newspapers & magazines. Mind you he can read complete “Chitralekha” and “India Today” in a single night!! He was a person who keeps on thinking something or the other and the result you can see is the lands over his skull getting barren due to overwork underneath it i.e. grey cells. Ask my local librarian, first person to visit library and last one to leave!!
Another good quality which he followed till his last journey also was his value for "Time". He was so punctual about the time. I remembered numerous occasions where he used to send me to railways station hours before the train timings. He will hardly get late in any of the occasions or functions. Even his last breath was on Sunday and as usual all people came to his funeral at right time without disturbing there usual work timings. He was a wonderful man and lived his life in kindness and service. His example still motivates me to be a better person.
Grandpa’s passing ends our living three generation. He had leave behind all aspects of his features in my faces. This past week, I’ve noticed this as I have looked at myself in the mirror. I have your smile and your eyes. And when I smile, my eyes squint and nearly disappear. Many of us Parker’s have these very features. How can we forget you when your presence is so visible in all of us? We never will.
Grandpa, thank you for teaching us hard work. Thank you for your kindness and support to us and our families. You always seemed interested in what we were making of ourselves. We greatly appreciated this. We will miss you.
I wish I could have lived closer in his last days to this wonderful man!
Words escape me as I look to the loss of my grandfather, Ramniklal Worah, surely the human mind is not equipped to fathom the depth of this tragedy, and that too early on Sunday morning, when you are still in your bed.
As I stopped to reminisce about the past and take a trip down memory lane, tears welled up in my eyes when I thought of all the sacrifices he made for us and the great love he had shown to all. Black-haired, with tanned skin and a big forehead- my grandfather was one giving and selfless man, who found contentment though leading a simple life. He was frugal and spent little on himself but was extremely generous when it comes to his family. He always put his family before himself; he never did things purely for his own benefit. He loved us all very much- his grandchildren especially, whom he pampered so much.
Ask me being the only son in family!!!
Within this man there was no shadow of turning. A true friend, he has supported me through the various battles of vilification and sharing experience with me of many historical watershed moments of our country’s new birth. His skills, acumen and innate diplomatic qualities qualified him perfectly for the necessary negotiations which ushered in our valuable families ties. Ask him about underground maps of our colliery and even the satellites will not point that accuracy which he had. That’s why his colleagues used to call him “Mining Sardar”. A voracious reader to the extent that he reads even the labels of the mineral bottle, and everything he lays his hands upon leave aside just books, newspapers & magazines. Mind you he can read complete “Chitralekha” and “India Today” in a single night!! He was a person who keeps on thinking something or the other and the result you can see is the lands over his skull getting barren due to overwork underneath it i.e. grey cells. Ask my local librarian, first person to visit library and last one to leave!!
Another good quality which he followed till his last journey also was his value for "Time". He was so punctual about the time. I remembered numerous occasions where he used to send me to railways station hours before the train timings. He will hardly get late in any of the occasions or functions. Even his last breath was on Sunday and as usual all people came to his funeral at right time without disturbing there usual work timings. He was a wonderful man and lived his life in kindness and service. His example still motivates me to be a better person.
Grandpa’s passing ends our living three generation. He had leave behind all aspects of his features in my faces. This past week, I’ve noticed this as I have looked at myself in the mirror. I have your smile and your eyes. And when I smile, my eyes squint and nearly disappear. Many of us Parker’s have these very features. How can we forget you when your presence is so visible in all of us? We never will.
Grandpa, thank you for teaching us hard work. Thank you for your kindness and support to us and our families. You always seemed interested in what we were making of ourselves. We greatly appreciated this. We will miss you.
I wish I could have lived closer in his last days to this wonderful man!
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