2 hrs before take off...

Move to Delhi

2010-06-13T09:37:00.001-07:00

Leaving chennai was not an easy decision. The weather in chennai was the best last week. Ironical that it happned to be my last week in the city of music and arts.I like Delhi for its parks that have great jogging trails, the wider roads and better infrastructure. The extreme weather and driving have been challenging so far. I need to get in shape, focus more at work ( get back to 1994-1997 mode) and strike a balance. Reads vague i guess but i know what that means. It's gonna be a great experience and I need t prove a point!

2010 is here

2010-01-12T08:03:00.000-08:00

Well 2009 was great wasn't it? Yes the Goa trip was a nice way to end the year. Hope to spend the next year doing better work in all spheres of life. Learn't a new song last year , felt nice singing it to mom and dad. Kutchery season was a wash out this year. The Job market seems to be looking up . I hope to get a move on.

Back again and injured

2009-09-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Landed in Denver, Colarado yesterday evening. It's been raining all of yesterday and today morning looked nice and sunny. I had planned to do some outdoor running during this trip. So first thing this morning I woke up at 4.30 a.m got a cuppa black coffee and changed into running gear. It was quite chilly outside and the I stepped out into the empty pavement outsde the Mariott tech centre. I took my first leap and my leg slipped , twisting my ankle damnn!!! Can you believe how things can go sour when all looks rosy :-( . Neways the lump is not too bad , and I am busy doing ice pack and resting the left ankle now.

Hopefully i should be able to run after a week

Gully Cricket

2009-06-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

I have been down with a viral attack this week. Saturday didn't have anything interesting to offer.A routine visit to the doc, some very tasty glaxo pills to chew and tons of bread to eat were some of the things lined up. Naturally I was sulking and looked out of the balcony in hope.

Pushpavanam colony ( read as: Garden/Forest of flowers) , is the name of our neighbourhood in Chennai. BTW, I am yet to spot any of those flowers in the last 6 months :-) .The colony is a narrow by-lane with some 20 odd families living on both sides. Today morning the by lane turned into a cricket field with some interesting talent. Here is a profile of the players involved:
1. Kid1 - 12 yrs old , right hand bat and bowl,big hitter
2, Kid2: 10 yrs old - quite thin, right hand bat ,wristy stroke maker
3. Man : 35 yrs old - Left hand bat and chinaman , needless to say big hitter,dressed in banyan and nice Zari veshti/dhoti

The match was action packed. Kid2 started the proceedings when i reached the balcony;Man was bowling. The first few balls were gentle leg breaks that the kid flicked on the leg side. Kid2's shots made me think why Indian turn out to be good wristy players (Likes of Laxman, Azhar) . I think most kids start batting with heavy bats and find it hard to extend the arm and drive the ball straight. Coupled with the fact that the ball was turning, made it all the more compelling for Kid2 to just un-cock those wrists and send the ball to square leg.

All this while Man was getting support from the pavilion ( his under 10 daughter watching from the balcony above) . So guess what happens next, the last ball of his over is a zooter. A fast yorker bowled with a wrist spinners action, cleaned up Kid 2. Man was jumping in joy and his daughter came running down to congratulate her dad. Kid 2 was digusted and shook his head and muttered somethin like "Damn !! that was unfair you were supposed to be a spinner". I was reminded of my school days when my dad used the exact same trick to spoil my budding innings during gully cricket matches. The only difference was that i was twice the size of Kid2 and that dad was quite calm after he got me out. He would only bowl when your truly was at the crease and walk out of the match once I was cleaned up . Dad's are so much Fun!
Now it was the turn of Man to take guard . As mentioned earlier he was a lefty and had a loose grip on the handle. It was easy to guess that he was in a hurry to score. Kid 1 took the ball and started with a couple of loosners. Man defended the first one and the second one was driven to mid on. The next ball was fullish and faster and man unleased a powerful drive that sent the ball to the boundary. Ball four was send over the ropes quite easily. Man was super elated and was signalling to his wifey and waving the bat in joy. Ball five was also powerfully driven and Kid 1 was looking at the sky. By now, Man was giving some advice to the kids on finer aspects of seam bowling et. al. Kid 1 went back to his run up and signaled that this was the final delivery coming. Man took guard and before I relaized what happened, Kid 1 send a super fast zooter and cleaned up Man. hahhahahahahaha, i burst out laughing , what a super reply by Kid 1. Man quickly returned the bat to Kid 2 and left for the comfort of his balcony.

I came back beaming and started to blog. I am always suprised by how life gives us such pleasures (if i may use that word) during seemingly hopeless circumstances. If only we spotted such opportunities and took away the joy. Saturday looks quite promising now !!

Jerry Man

Home sweet home

2009-06-03T03:15:00.000-07:00

Our rented place in Alwarpet is quite nice. I have most of things that I love at stone thowing distance. The music sabhas, coffee world , gym et.al . The Fitness one centre near my house draws a lot of celebrities . It is nice to see Sanjay subramanyam and Sudha raghunathan frequent the health club.I guess it does not hurt to keep those lungs healthy if you are a Carnatic vocalist.

The wedding was a pretty fun affair especially the cocktails arranged by Missus' folks. Some of my close high school friends and grad school colleagues attended the function to make it memorable. The coimbatore reception was well attended too.My high school principal, hindi teacher, neighbours from chidhoood were there to wish us. That's when it struck me that a well attended wedding is like a potrait that stays in your memory forever.

Missus has been having a hectic time at work. Even my workload has gone up quite a bit after the wedding. I have started driving regularly in Chennai. Needless to stay scratched the car once already trying to park in our narrow parking lot. Damn why don't we have more space in cities , driving in the US used to be so easy. And Yes the biriyani at the Park hotel is simply superr!!

Merry Christmas and Good bye bachelorhood

2008-12-25T17:19:00.000-08:00

As yet another year draws to an end, things are changing in my life. Feb 15'th and 16'th are the dates for my wedding. When i came out of B-school i was hoping to learn a lot on the professional front. Like everything else in life there was a surprise , I took more decisions on the personal front and learnt a lot. I am happy that the families finally agreed .I must thank my better half for being so understanding and keeping the calm in the midst of chaos.

Now its time to get in shape to look dapper on the D-day.The Golds gym in Temecula has motivated me to run at higher speeds. The pulls ups count has gone up too . Yesterday i went to attend the Christmas mass at the local methodist church. I really enjoyed the choir and the words of wisdom advice from pastor . He rattled off some scary stats on the rate of foreclosures in the US ( one every 10 secs) .
I am flying back to India in a couple of days. I can't wait to get into the wedding frenzy and enjoy my last few days of bachelorhood with family and friends.
Here is wishing merry christmas and a happy new yr to all!!
Jerry Man

Sigh

2008-10-14T22:03:00.000-07:00

I am back in chennai after a 5 month break. This is the first time i am starting to feel the pinch of this double digit inflation. I realize that my pay hike has been nullified by the rising prices. Hovewer there is a bigger challenge at hand now. I need to shed close to 8 kgs that i gained during the US trip ; My cooking is not all that bad . I started running again but the effects of the weight gain are showing . I struggle to cross the 6k mark damn!!
There were a few weddings( those of close school and high school friends) that i never wanted to miss . Made it to 2 of those, had to miss Natchi's thanks to the Detroit trip in April. Still can't believe that the bunch of us who rode bicycles and played together have graduated in life . I keep thinking of those great times and wish each of them the great life ahead.
This weekend i am planning to do my annual Sabarimala trip. The Chennai music season is coming up , I hope i can attend a good number of concerts this year too. I also need to find a new guru.

Math Tuitions 9'th Std

2008-06-23T16:46:00.000-07:00

Just finished watching Al Pacino in 'Scent of a Woman' . The final speech on integrity by Col. Frank W Slade reminds me of people who stood up for me in life. Not an exact analogy , but Mr .Ananthakrisnan my Math tuition master in Saibaba Colony Coimbatore fits the bill. He for one believed that I could pass in Math .Through his unique style of coaching rather than instructing ,made me believe in my abilities. Somehow everytime i pass his house in Coimbatore my eyes search for that nameboard. Its not there anymore , I dunoo where he is or even if master is still alive. I still remember you Sir!
Have to get a strong Starbucks cappuchino ,the LA heat is a barrier to the walk.I 'll do it for the double tall cappuchino:-)

Los Angeles and Detroit

2008-06-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

Have done some crazy travelling in the month of April. I like Lufthansa more than Singapore air. Saw a lot of potholes in the roads at Detroit;that was a surprise! As i sit staring at the San Bernadino valley from my 16'th floor seat in LA ,i am reminded of one such lazy friday afternoon a few yrs back when this blog got created. I was in downtown Sacramento then. I think coming back to the US was a never an option for me,when i left this country in 2006. Makes me think a lot.

I also visited my office in Coimbatore before i flew out to LA. The office is located at a very quiet spot in the backdrop of the western ghats. Its a nice place for a picnic . Oh yeah i saw Harold and Kumar -part 2 - not as good as the first one. I liked the bit when the FBI guys interrogate the parents , that was a laugh riot. Iron Man was super cool.

Walking through the woods

2008-03-29T06:26:00.000-07:00

I have been in Coimbatore for the most of March. I decided to take a walk instead of my routine run today. Somehow i found my way into the Forest College campus . Every step i took reminded me of those bicycle rides Sundar, Hari ,Shibu ,Ganesh and I took to school through the dense greenery on the campus. Somehow everytime I think of childhood i wonder and exclaim "wow! i wish i could just relive those moments" .
The cricket ground is stil there , I sat there to watch a few overs of a game. Every path in the campus reminded me of some day or some incident from my school days. I missed the company of my high school buddies. It left me with a great feeling . Sometimes I feel all that we take forward in life are memories. Heck, lemme me get a shower!

Shock !

2008-02-12T05:59:00.000-08:00

Balamurali , my music class collegue called me a few times this morning. A few missed calls later i picked up the phone . My music guru Shri Reji George expired yesterday night. I spoke to him last saturday morning. May his soul rest in peace. The student in me still longs for all those golden words of musical advice he gave and promised !
I am yet to recover , this has been a really forgettable week in my life .Somehow death is one event which brings everyone back to ground, reminds us that all that's created has to be destroyed eventually.

What a day, WACAAAAAAA!!!!

2008-01-19T02:26:00.000-08:00

Today is a highpoint my career as a Indian cricket fan! Totally Totally Super Victory.

Some great exhibition of swing bowling and team work by India. A victory at the WACA esp for a team from the sub continent is special . Special it wil be till we find the next Tendulkar hahaha!! Lets see how the Aussies come back at Adelaide and if the Indians press on the gas from here
Still recovering from the moment

Loonies and all those Sane Citizens

2008-01-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

A very happy new year !!
I watched Tare Zameen Par today. Brilliant movie and as usual Mr Aamir Khan has hit a home run. I am lost in thought , the movie made me ask a lot of questions. Humans have created a very complex world out there, and the incentives are only for those who understand these complexities:-) .
Most of our academics, at least in India focusses on training the mind not to pursue those streaks of madnesses we experience as a child. Instead it makes us understand only those aspects of life that our past generations have unearthed.We focus our energies trying to build on theories and concepts already engineered.What about the unknown ?? . Maybe we fail to understand the world of the in-sane, the retarded and the mad fellas out there...

Mylapore Experience

2007-12-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

Jai and I went for a carnatic concert featuring the Ranjani-Gayathri combo. The queue outside the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan hall clearly showed thier fan following. The rasikas consisting mainly of 'mama-mamis' with thier trademark filter coffee flasks made the evening lively. The highlights of the concert were the 'Thodi' kirthanai ,the meera bhajan and the tukaram abhang in that order. I thought the crowd lacked discipline , quite few cell phones ringing and people leaving the concert before the mangalam piece.

My dad told me about the mylapore 'mess'(mess= restaurant) culture. We went to Mylai mess that was opposite to the B.V.B hall for dinner. The place has hardly been renovated and maintains its old legacy even today. The menu card is also very typical of the Madras tiffin culture . I had Badam halwa , Kichadi and podi dosai for dinner. As usual I must elate... it was Yummm!!! Not the most cleanest place but yes i felt the place has preserved its soul :-).The first eat out that plays carnatic music all day long . One of my best evening's since i came to Chennai.

Music Classes

2007-12-06T07:47:00.000-08:00

I have finished 2 classes with my guru Shree Reji George . I am enjoying the experience, he is very friendly and a true master when it comes to enforcing rules. Guess what, he asked me a few puzzles before we started , caught me on the wrong foot ! His 7 yr old kid Eleena gave all the right answers to those puzzles .

I have learnt a small kirthan in the raga Brindavani ( latest avatar of Brindavana Saranga) . I have been practicing the song all week. My grasping of music has come down a wee bit ,have to get that on track.The Chennai music season is in full swing ,I have to make it to some concerts this yr too. The trip to Hyderabad and Mumbai also need to be planned out.Work is happening at snails pace . The yearly trip to Sabarimala was super as usual!
This year has been very eventful, i hope it ends well and leads to yet another great one for all!

Music in the air

2007-11-06T07:59:00.000-08:00

Its that time of the year in this city that i really look forward to. The music season is underway in chennai .The november fest has some interesting programs this year. Lotsa fusion, hindustani and classical music being staged in the Music Academy . The plan to visit Sabarimala during the second week means i miss out on some of those programs. I definitely want to make it for Hariharan's session and Sikkil Gurucharan . Some planning to do if i have to make it to those 2.

I have to appear before a potential carnatic music guru in the coming weeks. One examination i don't wanna screw up . Hope to get his tutorship and kickstart a new learning . This time its for something i really love !

After ages!

2007-09-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

India defeated Australia in the 20-20 semi final at Kingsmead,Durban. I have waited for ages to see this day , all i can say is I am happy :-) .Yuvraj's sixer mania continues and dhoni's amazing captaincy is sending all his critics scurrying for cover. Hope we give them a real whopping in the home series and the summer down under . Go India Go!! Its an Indo-Pak final Can it get any better than this ??

WoHaaa!

2007-09-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

I finished off my first consulting project :secondary research and typing in MS office 2007 last week. Its time to take stock on what I have done after my B-School stint ended. Personal life has been super ,very interesting to say the least . I am yet to join a music class .I think this one will have to wait for a bit, lotsa travel coming up and I am busy getting my passport stamped with every god damn visa possible . I have become a netizen in every sense of the word ,hardly watch the TV . I finally realize what internet is doing to the other traditional forms of media.A lot has been written about Youtube , Orkut and the other avtars of thier kind , but when I actually feel thier impact on my lifestyle it makes me think. For good or bad...my mom thinks its the latter,she made no fuss on voicing her opinion when i visited coimby a few weeks back.

The food up north is yumm. The Lassi is yummier :-) . I watched a few movies. 'Fracture' was quite gripping ,very well narrated with a nice twist at the end. The ISB gang is planning to watch 'The Bourne Ultimatum' this weekend. That shud be good fun. It was nice catching up with Yan this week ...can't see any effects of fatherhood in him yet.

Bourne Again

2007-08-16T03:15:00.000-07:00

The Bourne series , i mean the movies are among my favourites. Managed to watch a pirated DVD of the 'The Bourne Ultimatum' . The screenplay and background score are 'Wow' ,i want to watch the movie again in a theatre. Matt Daemon plays Jason Bourne to perfection yet again.

Working from Home

2007-07-31T01:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a month since i started working from home. I think i have addressed the biggest pain point of my official life in chennai. Staying indoors has its problems like claustrophobia, laziness and lack of appetite .The last one is serious .I have lost some 7 kgs since May 28'th . Gosh!

Work has been quite interesting. I also managed my first night out last week,without much hassle. Missed a nice weekend trek thanks to work . I am not complaining ,coz the month before that was paid vacation (tax free ) .

My running regimen has gone for a toss .The max i ran after eaching chennai was 6 kms a month ago.The marathon looks like a distant dream. I watched a few movies Sivaji-the last 10 mts were a treat for rajni fans, One crap mallu movie, Apocalypto -super movie esp the jaguar chasing the mayan was wow!! , Music and Lyrics -cute and Cheeni Kum -Illayaraja's BGM was surreal.

I'll be stationed in chennai till the the end of August atleast. Like every city i have lived in Chennai took me a while to get adjusted to.Sometimes i wonder do cities rub off some of thier character on us ?...

Networks work!

2007-07-08T23:40:00.000-07:00

All right i just discovered that we don't meet new people in life ,make friends , get into relationships by sheer luck .The last few weeks have made me believe that we were destined to be so and in some way are already linked to these individuals either through a common friend or some wierd conection.

Meeting with Roy , the i-banker and long lost friend was one such incident. The Madhu sir--> his wife-->Kathakali --> Dad was some connection. Roy bugger hasn't changed .We caught up with gossip, sob stories, high points in career and recollected old fun times at Residency on saturday.

Phew time to head back to chennai and get back into the grind. I am looking forward to the next weekend :-) Its raining all over again

Adios!

Bob's Wedding

2007-06-28T22:28:00.001-07:00

Tirupathi was a very different experience. Felt peaceful ,something about the idol .Can't get the right word.It was divine. The place is very clean .
I was watching Bob and Matha at the wedding. I could see the happiness of finally getting together , it was written all over thier smiles. God bless!

Its...

2007-06-28T06:42:00.000-07:00

Its happening ...
Its raining all over again...
Its the smell of blossom...

Weddings Galore

2007-06-17T22:59:00.000-07:00

The weekend was 'cool' , i mean it in every sense of the word. Coimbatore was like some holiday spot in winter wow! .The place was windy ,overcast and less cramped.
I attended 2 weddings. Did the customary photographs and wishing .Been doing quite a bit of that off late .
Met my high school teacher at Shyam's wedding.She was one of my favourites in school. I was really surprised when she recognized me by name.I have changed quite a bit ( read shed some flab)since i passed out in 1997,Hmm..teachers some are so special. It was such a pleasure meeting Kausalya madam,still the same warm hearted lady.

and yes the second class train ride during the onward journey brought me back to earth. I had to clean my bunker thanks to some great indian traveller's eating spree. The ride back was much better, hari was in the same coupe as well.So lotsa guy talk and employer abuse happened in between some sane conversation around telecom strategy et.al. What else do you expect when 3 M.B.A grads meet up ? Not music :-)

Chennai Safari

2007-06-10T21:45:00.001-07:00

Hola!
Alright my work life has more commute than work . I got a place to sit after 2 weeks hahah...
Don't ask me what we did during the time spent in office . Its time to get back to quizzing and dumb charades.
The heat beats the crap outta me everyday. Thanks to the air conditioner at home i manage to stay sane. The besant nagar area is quite nice ,i got a DVD parlour at stone throwing distance from my studio.The plan is to get my laptop this weekend from coimby and start the movie mania.
Met a lot of friends at the Satyam theatre on saturday. Looks like this is 'the only' hangout in chennai . Bad signs...Club hopping is happening ,the DJ at havana is super.
My employer is a firm believer that blogging adds to employee productivity and I concur :-)

Caught up with a few movies .The songs in 'Life ..in a Metro' are quite good. 'Pirates of ..' was a nice 3 hr sleep.

Cheers

End of Vacation

2007-05-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

Its almost over , the 1 year hiatus from work.
The coimby holiday wasn't too bad huh?
I did eat lotsa masala dosas, worked out in patches and saw a few movies. Chennai i hear is facing some kinda heat wave .I seem to move to every city when it is at its hottest.

Yesterday I saw how a lousy sales guy can screw up business.The sales person at the tile shop was so sloppy he lost a 50 K business . Man now i know why CRM and all the Customer jargon sells in b-schools and in the industry.

Road Stunts

2007-05-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

The Great Indian Road Trick:

When you drive on Indian roads you see these individuals lurking by the sides eager to cross. Now the funny part is the way they signal to the driver.There are a few ways to do this.

1. Sprint like a looney almost saying hit me if you can....
2. If its a highway then you do a few jumps to land on the divider...peek n do the same to cross over.This one need a triple jump specialist.Saw one in hyderabad a few months ago.
3. Take one step,the driver slows the vehicle,now you retaract ,the driver steps on the gas and then you sprint...This one is a prankster. Will need some ass whopping!

I just did the second ,not on a highway but on a pretty busy road. I was quite good . The driver didnt honk !

Mumbai, food and more food!

2007-05-15T23:50:00.000-07:00

The Mumbai trip was very different this time. Instead of running family errands I went restaraunt hopping in Colaba last week. Dipti almost did a Mumbai guide gig , took me to some non descipt places amidst a host of must visits food joints.The B-Skool network does help huh?
Cafe Mondegar was pretty cool, it was good value for money in the heat.I loved the cartoons on the walls ,nice work. The Manglorean food at Mahesh Lunch Home is a must have if you like coconut loaded stuff.
The effect of CNG were visible this time . The pollution in mumbai has come down by some measure.The cab rides from Bandra to borivali were choke free.
The kids in the family have become quite a handful..there was one spiderman fan who kept jumping all over me screaming the spiderman song ...made me feel a couple of decades younger.There was one painter who taught me how to draw an flower vase. Talent and mischief its all there...

And all this hoopla over wide roads and super freeways is no use in metros...the Indian driver loves to do the curves ...bang a few and miss more .

Visited my undergrad friend's new house yesterday. CM's new house is a beauty..saw teak flooring in a house for the first time.
Some frigging thief stole my wallet yesterday,gosh i hope i get back the leather ..its been with me for 9 dog years!

Yercaud Picnic

2007-05-03T03:01:00.001-07:00

Hogenekkal was so hot .Luckily the waterfall ride and swimming helped to cool off a bit. Yercaud was really beautiful and the weather was just perfect. I visited the Monfort school thanks to Ashok who is an alumni of the school. The facilities in the campus are state of the art. The emphasis on all round development of a student was evident ,no wonder my engineering classmates from Monfort were good sportsmen.

The tea kada experience in Rasipuram was awesome too. I must say you do get good tea and bun in these small shops.
The road from Salem to Erode esp till Perundurai is a driver's nightmare. I sincerely feel this stretch must be declared an adventure zone , its been well dug up and tweaked ( thanks to the 4 lane work) to give adrenalin rushes to passengers!

The trip to mumbai is an all family affair...lets see what the manjeri clan is upto on the west coast

Thrissur Party

2007-04-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

There were no sprinklers, no DJ's and no spirits yesterday but boy didn't I have fun. Some 10000 people dancing in the isles under simmering heat (90% humidity) would not qualify as a perfect party setting,but thats 'Thrissur(Thri-Shiva-Peroor) Pooram'.The best party I have had this year!
The percussion quality of both 'melam' and 'panjavadhyam' was supreme,in fact kept me swaying and jumping in the air for 3 hrs this morning and yesterday night. The fireworks added to the entertainment in the wee hours of the day.
The roads in kerala have improved .We hit 100+ kmph consistently, this was unimaginable a few years back.I got a big jack fruit packed from Mg'kavu.I pack off to yercaud with my engineering buddies tomorrow.

Looks like the blog is goin to be a travelogue in the coming weeks.

Multithreaded Queue

2007-04-14T07:28:00.000-07:00

While waiting outside the Sabarimalai shrine I was part of a human clone of the famous Hi-Tech concept .In moments of religious fervor humans do forget the need to maintain etiquette and respect for one another.

Summer Retreat

2007-04-10T23:25:00.000-07:00

Like every campus stint I left the ISB with a truckload of goodies like networks (read friends) , memories, crushes, frameworks etc . The walk upto the seating area on the day of the convocation was awesome. Photographers from the media clicking and the standing ovation from friends ,family and invitees were highlights.

I have started working on my action items for the month.

Eat one masala dosa a day at Annapoorna. ( bang on here!)
Learn to drive in India (getting there)
Watch as many movies as I can ( 2 down here)
Find a place to work out( no progress)

Tomorrow i am off to sabarimala with dad. I have to check out the barista in race course this week.Hoping to explore the new face of Coimby in the coming month!

Its 1.36 a.m...

2007-03-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

What started as a damn painful day ended quite well. I drove some 25 odd kms to practice for the music show on the 24'th . The Krishnamurthy's were a great host. When you spend 5 hrs doing what comes naturally to you its peace,yeah it is!

I recorded my first mallu song on the comp tonight, took me a while to get the pronunciations right. The SV 2 party is on , rocking as usual and I am in my room listening to good old Illayaraja. Doing what you like the do the most when you want to is a rarity in life ,this is one such moment.

PS:The Kawasaki caliber is an awful bike , good that i did'nt buy one in 1998

Afterthoughts

2007-02-25T09:19:00.000-08:00

I have sent out e-mails and yelled over phone announcing yet another career move.The reactions have been mixed to say the least. General complaint has been why technology again,why not finance or consulting?

I have only one answer to counter such questions. You need a lot of focus and intellectual horsepower to make these dream jobs. To generate that effort you need to really love such careers. Sadly i never liked finance and consulting was more of an accident.I never gave a 100% towards my consulting or finance preps at the ISB.I chose Chennai and this job with a reason in mind. Most it has to do with my interest in music and wanting to stay close to my family. If you really know what you love in life then such decisions come easy.My job was never my first love it was just a means to an end.Hence I found it very easy to ditch one international offer too.

A job or a career is not something you wish to flaunt, it should be something that comes naturally to you,something that makes you feel good while you are at it.Some individuals associate thier existence and self esteem to the brand image of thier employer. That is a sorry state to be in .
Today Sashi uncle made me sing to a few guests at his residence.I didn't do all that well,but they have invited me to sing at thier daughters wedding in a few weeks. I know music makes me feel at home and i feel super cool when I am at it.I felt good .Dunoo if I will make that career switch yet but I am happy that I am making a few moves in the right direction...

Legends of Rock

2007-02-21T20:27:00.000-08:00

This place was a total surprise.
They gave me drums to play at a pub yesterday. I tried to use all my 'melam' and 'panjavadhyam' fundaes to create some rythm. People who have a sense for music and don't mind sipping spirits must try this place in Kormangala. I want to go to a Karaoke bar next ,thinking of opening one in coimby someday.
KK and rama have planned something for friday. The day before I parked at Forum and watched 2 movies back to back. Guru didn't live upto the hype.I thought the screenplay and narration was missing the genius of the 'man-i-rathnam' who is known for his unique style. Cameron Diaz looks as pretty as ever!!

Ding Dong Bell!

2007-02-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

I have never blogged about my ISB academics and school work before.It sucks when you sit for a consulting interview all day, sign the letter of intent and then get dinged ! Damn .Can't get over it.
Am planning to take a few days off to hit bangalore.
Still my goal to do stay close to coimbatore and music is very much alive. Lets see how Chennai treats me after ISB. I am signing out of the placement process tomorrow!

Many more happy returns

2007-01-31T12:21:00.000-08:00

For a change I had some company on my b'day. I got dunked and had a spiked up hair ( read cake and cream gelled hair) .It was fun.
Its been a long time since i had people around me for my birthday.I think in the midst of all the flight hopping and late nights over the last 5 years I missed those moments of belonging and friendship that a b'day brings.After all there are things in life that money can't buy! for everything else there is ...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/docrahul/sets/72157594512530295/

Happy Holidays of 2006

2007-01-02T06:07:00.000-08:00

Hola!

The last 5 days were quite memorable.Sometimes last minute plans turn out to be great , atleast my experience says so.

Chennai 'Marghazi'(Winter) music festival was a super affair.I got to hear P.Unnikrishnan and K.J Yesudas. Unnikrishnan was in some form, his kutcheri was more of a demonstration , I was clueless for most of the concert ..(maybe this shows my level of undestanding of carnatic music). Still he did create a few 'Aaha' moments for novices like me.Food was quite fantastic ,how can I not get goood food ?? touchwood!
Yesudas' performance was very standard initially.He started with 'Pavanaguru' ,'Telisi Rama' and then the god just took off... Some of his improvisations on alapanais left the ISB gang spellbound. It was sad that I had to leave mid way..heard the rest of the concert was better.
Coimby had no surprises this time . New yrs eve was spent at The Residency with mom and dad..had a peaceful dinner sans any spirits:-) .
The new house looks quite neat ;I went there this morning . I got some gyan from the owner of a hair cutting salon (Kennedy Hair Lines) on the real estate market in Saibaba Colony. I realised how small pockets like this have thier own networks and market intelligence. The MBA jargon and ISB toolkits might not works as well as I expect in such cases.
I had loads of Gulab Jamoons and a few Annapoorna masala dosas.

Pretty decent beginning to 2007 .

Peterpan-Tak Bisakah

2006-12-23T22:17:00.000-08:00

Music is universal , check this one out pretty cool. The bollywood copy is making rounds everywhere

The Indonesian rock err... alternate whatever really rocks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZTqg1MgkTY

Post Show Nostalgia

2006-12-08T07:52:00.000-08:00

Narayan and I chatted with singer Mathangi(ex Star Vijay hostess) at the ISB cafe for close to an hour. The current crop of celebrities are very approachable and friendly. She did most of the taking as we listened.

Check out this link to read more abt Amit Heri the lead guitar performer and his band http://www.theotherfestival.com/2002/amith.html

Keith Peters played some lead pieces on the bass. Hows that for mastery! Amit Heri did his jig with the lead guitar . The duo scaled new heights and left me awestruck.Mathangi sang the carnatic alapanais beautifully and I loved the Yaman Kalyani piece.

The show was very satisfying . They played Hamsadhwani ,Nattai(Mahaganapathim) and Yaman Kalyani (Krishna Nee Begane) with guitars and the flute to support the vocals. Very well composed and executed...kudos to the troupe

Keith Peters & Co at ISB

2006-12-08T01:40:00.000-08:00

What a surprise!
I bumped into 'The God' of bass guitar in the indian music scene today morning outisde my student village. I had no clue who he was though i saw the guitar hanging on his shoulder. I made up for the lost opportunity by getting introduced to Keith at the cafe. I got his autograph on a torn visiting card.I also expressed my pleasure on meeting him and passed on a compliment . Keith had no airs about him and my compliment took him by surprise. A smile followed:-)

I am looking forward to the rock show in the evening . Fusion music is 'in' these days and the evening promises some great entertainment.

Man-Jerry

5'th Anniversary Celebrations

2006-12-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

I am posting some pics taken at the show yesterday. This is the best sound system i have performed on till date .I felt like a rock star!!

Fuzon

2006-11-30T06:29:00.000-08:00

I have been hearing 'More Saiyaan' by Fuzon and 'Kandisa' by Indian Ocean for close to 8 hrs now...humming it all along . Bob and Rahul must be thinking something just hit me. All those classical music aficianados might understand how it feels to discover music thats close to ones heart.

Its not often that you get to hear something this soulful. I am really amazed by the classical depth of Fuzon. Brilliant songs!!
For all those who are wondering whats all this ga-gaaaing about..listen to them!

Check out 'More Saiyaan' and 'Aankhon Ke Sagar' by Fuzon
Here is a intro to Fuzon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuz%C3%B6n_(band)

PS: All the other music geeks can laugh at my sheer ignorance . I was the only one in yesterdays get together who hadn't heard them before.So this post goes to the likes of 'Man-Jerry' who haven't been upto date with the fusion music scene for the past 5 years or so.

Cifran and Bacardi

2006-11-04T13:25:00.000-08:00

Well if you are wondering what the title of the post says ..Hmmmm i have been upto something ludicrous. Popped a cifran thanks to the sarovar food and washed it down with 4 pegs of bacardi !

I must say it hit me big time..been listening to floyd for a while now,...have to post these line to express what i feel

"Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the english way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought Id something more to say"

These line are from "Time" one of my favourites ,
Daaa Da Daaa..the night is still young..i can hear "Hey You" on my iPod now .
All the walls around me are spinning:-)

Vivek

Anticlimax

2006-10-26T23:22:00.000-07:00

The scene last sunday was that of a peaceful week ahead. I had 3 classes scheduled for 5 days ,a rarity at ISB . Today if i count the total number of hours i slept this week it would barely cross 15 ,damn!!
My presentation skill levels hit rock bottom on wednesday ,I have decided to work on that more from now on. I got hooked to karoke singing last night and recorded 3 songs at one go ! All that at the expense of Logistics and Supply Chain pre reads:-)
We plan to get some good Italian food for dinner tonight . Good food is always welcome .
And yes my life line the Nokia mobile went into coma..needs a battery transplant ..I wish my dear friend a speedy recovery and hope to have him back to service!

Karaoke Party, Section-A Farewell Night at B&C

2006-09-29T03:41:00.000-07:00

The Karaoke night on the 16’th of September was super fun. Its been close to 4 years since I held a microphone and sang. Sometimes I feel why I have to push myself so much to work, to do an MBA when all I love doing in life is listening to music and singing. My section decided to have one final party at bottle’s and chimneys. The party had its own high’s and low’s but all’s well that ends well. The DJ played ‘Coming back to Life’ to cheer up all Floyd fans at the end. I had one of my best trips that night, realized that we don’t see life happening around us in our mad race to scale peaks. I sat back and watched things happening around me, every minute move people were making and gee I must say I enjoyed every bit of what I saw. Wish there was a slow motion button somewhere I could use to slow things down!

I am going to Coimbatore on the 9’th of October. It will be fun to hang around ‘Puliyamaram stop’ (read ‘Tamarind tree stop’), the ‘Annachi shops’ (read grocery stores) and visit Annapoorna to dine on some good old masala dosas . Mom is all excited to have me home, need to buy my first ever suit when I go home. That’s something to look forward to …

Atha Pookkalam Pics

2006-09-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

The Onam celebrations at ISB had a great looking 'pookalam' thanks to the enthu shown by students and spouses. The food was very non mallu ,the best the sarovar guys could manage i guess . I am posting a few photos taken yesterday

L'Oreal Saloon & Scotch Party

2006-08-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

It was great to sip Chivas after so long . The drink was really smooth yet I managed to break the glass at Warty's place.
Got a much needed hair cut at the newly opened L'Oreal saloon in the city.L'Oreal has launched a franchise model based chain in India and being a B-school student i could not resist checking out the place.Neat interiors and lots of telugu speaking hairdressers . My telugu is super ,yet i did have trouble conversing with the guy who gave me the hair cut ..Damm need to learn this language

I was watching the owner selling a hair gel to a rich 50 + 'dude' . It is really interesting to see how vulnerable human's are when they are not prepared for a business transaction. This 50 + dude did have a good mane , yet felt the need to ask the saloon guy regarding the kind of gels he sold and in 10 mts was convinced that he wanted a 500 + L'Oreal Fx wax :-)
Gone are days of good old coconut oil ! .By the way even I have a unopened Redeken and Crew Fiber lying in my bag .

Formal Wear Was fun

2006-08-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

Section A decided to dress up for this term . I managed to borrow a blazer to comply with the theme . I am posting some photos ...

Floyd and Rum

2006-07-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

Finally i did plan something to perfection . We had a party to start term 3 . I decided to get drunk ,came back early and am listening to Floyd . The party is still rocking but i guess Floyd over 4 pegs of White rum is something different! Its been a wierd week till now the weekend seems to promise some great fun . Sundar my high school buddy is getting married . The trip to chennai will be an opportunity to meet old friends . I can't believe Sundar is getting married !! I still remember the math exam for 9'th grade when sundar first helped me out with logarithms and all the fiasco that happened during the exams ..hahhahaha .

Yan my Deloitte buddy is joining the shanghai office,thats great news .I wish him and Sarah a great time ahead. Last year this time was like hell . I had a broken arm and was all alone in Redmond ...this is much better than that state ..Floyd over rum :-)

Another Break Goes By

2006-07-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

Term 2 break was quite relaxing . Motorcycle Diaries and Hotel Rwanda were really classy movies.I have been thinking quite a bit after watching these movies .Loads of confusion and some nostalgia . I am meeting up with a bunch of old colleagues from Infy Mangalore tonight. Lots of talk is gonna happen over alcohol .

The weather outside is just awesome .I also saw a baby cobra yesterday ,looked dangerously stunning :-)

KK's Wedding

2006-07-03T00:18:00.000-07:00

It was so good to chat up with college buddies after 5 years . We had a great time at KK's wedding .Bangalore was nice and cool and mom's Jack fruit jam('Chakka Varattiyathu') made the day for me. It was crazy travel...I have been depressed since saturday night ,Brazil's exit from the world cup being the main reason . I need some energy today ..the feeling is killing me

Samba ,Salsa and Brazil!

2006-06-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

To see Brazil play at thier best is to watch a Salsa preformance by a genius . From the 45'th minute till the 15 minutes past the half time it was magic . Even a sluggish Ronaldo managed to score 2 goals . I reacted in true spirits by stretching my vocal chords to thier limits.

Brazill!! La la La la La La La Brazilllll!!!

Red & Blue Day || Term 2 Kicks off

2006-06-12T07:29:00.000-07:00

We decided to start the mother of all terms in a colourful fashion ...

End of Term1

2006-06-06T23:08:00.000-07:00

Term 1 officially ended yesterday. Writing exams after 5 yrs was quite an experience. B&C (Barrels and Chimneys) plays sad music especially if you want to listen to rock over alcohol . The campus looks deserted but a bunch of us have stayed back to make to most out of the 5 day holiday. Planning to watch a few movies and cross the 6 km barrier over the week . Thats the short term goal

Derailed,Braindead etc...

2006-05-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

This week is loaded and the title conveys the state I am in . Economics and Finance are killers atleast for me .I ran 5 kms today and still I am stressed Gosh!

Nitin got dunked and this picture was taken right before the ritual.

Snakes , Photo Shoots and Gossip

2006-05-14T05:10:00.000-07:00

Saw 2 friendly snakes on campus over the week . High probability of sighting one i must admit . Got invited for a ISB photo shoot ,this was another random event . News spreads thick and fast on this campus .

The final version of the friendly snake story was that the snake tried to take a shot at my eye and i had a narrow escape . Gossip at its best .

I don't even know if the group photos we took will come on the ISB 2007 brochure. Neither do I intend to have another close encounter with those snakes. Wild wild ISB !

I have to finish my statistics lessons gosh...

More Parties

2006-05-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

The ISB crowd does work hard and play harder. The Thursday night bash at Ahala ,Taj Krishna was full of action. Drinks were very expensive ,thanks to the white rum i gulped down at SV 3 before leaving I had some fire in my belly before I saw the drinks menu at the lounge.

We did our first assignement yesterday and have one coming on Wednesday and between the 2 deadline there is one nice little party squeezed in tonight :-)

Looks like the ISB recipe for student life is parties sandwiched between assignments and quizzes and topped with some end term tests.I am having a great time ,made loads of friends . Yeah Manu made me attend one Salsa class too .I don't wanna comment on the feedback I got . I think its better to stick Tambi Folk and Urban Dappankuttu for naturals like me !!

ISB Fun ,Section Snaps

2006-04-24T23:43:00.000-07:00

I am posting a few snaps that we took during the first week . Frisbee final win,the group song for talent night etc...The Drum band comprising of Megh and I did generate a few decibels :-)

Parties and ISB Crowd!

2006-04-19T05:35:00.000-07:00

I partied like mad during the first week here. Shyam told me the ISB parties are great and yes I must admit the 2 i have attended rock!

Rain dance on 16'th night was super ..but the alum sendoff yesterday night at Student Village 1 was awsome!! There was ample space for loners like me . GR and mama made the occasion special. I did dance with lots of interesting people in bits...networking The B-school mantra:-)

The Frisbee practice today was great fun. I have bumped into so many people I already knew here.A High school batchmate, Infosys training batch mates,Infosys colleagues . No one from Deloitte thankfully that makes me unique. I dont think i'll blog much once Term 1 starts ...

Adios

Mumbai,Family and Kids

2006-04-04T22:27:00.000-07:00

I did'nt have time to get over the jet lag...the mumbai trip happened in a jiffy! I should say the hangover of consulting life has stayed with me..

Met the next generation of the Manjeri clan...Sharmistha,Aditya, Slokh ,Aansh and Manu . I had a great weekend in Mumbai..Kids are so talented these days...I was laughing,playing...making monkey faces .Shammu gave me a compliment too ...she felt I was cute..hahahaha..wonderful kids

Oppol and Ranganath ettan were perfect hosts...has anyone tasted a beetroot ladoo before??
I did thanks to Oppol...I must admit my family has some great cooks...
Air Deccan the 'no frills' airline needs to hire some better pilots..the air conditioning duct hung loose after we landed in coimbatore yesterday..courtesy the pilot who was overspeeding after we touched down . I saw a few relieved co passengers after we un boarded the A-320!
I have been prompt with my running regimen..Coimby is hotter than Mumbai..I am off to Sabarimalai today

Last Weekend in US of A

2006-03-25T09:40:00.000-08:00

Came to San Jose yesterday night ...The Seattle skyline from the airplane window looked awesome. Have a few send off treat's this weekend before i head to chennai tomorrow late night from SFO.

Thoovanathumbikal and Thrissur

2006-03-12T15:44:00.000-08:00

I have a fascination for the temple town of Thrissur .My best summer vacation after i finished my 6'th standard annual exam was spent there. The Thrissur slang ,the Thrissur Round,Vadakkunnathan temple, the speeding buses ,Thrissur Pooram,Nandappettan's friends are unforgettable memories.This time when i went with Dad, many old timers remembered the 12 year old kid from Coimbatore who sat under the Banyan tree eating mangoes ,watching the buses race each other .I was trying to pick up Malayalam reading the names of buses those days...

After 2 years of wait i get to see this classic again.I sat up till 3 a.m to download the movie yesterday . Every time I see this flick there is a sense of contentment .I think the climax has a lot to do with this . The movies keeps haunting me for hours after i watch it and this happens every single time. Especiallly the background score when Jayakrishnan first sees Clara in the rains ..wow !

Padmarajan's characterization of Jayakrishnan is flawless. There are shades of Jayakrishnan in every male . The degrees vary but I am sure every guy has his list of first's and no matter how many seconds and third's happen the first's will remain special and unforgettable . I coudn't help feeling nostalgic ..I am satisfied yet another time .

The Countdown has begun...

2006-03-10T19:00:00.000-08:00

Exactly 2 weeks and 2 days to go. I came to the land of opportunities eager to go back in 3 months.
I must admit ,these 2 years have changed my life .,my thought process ,my way of looking at problems. I have been lucky to say the least. Its been a wonderful stay . I am riding a wave am I? ..no i am not a surfer ,but I can feel the excitement of one.

Work has been good during the last few weeks . Order Management geek ...nah ! Everybody in Deloitte had nice words to say .I think I did far better during my 1.5 years at Deloitte than during my 3 years at Infosys. The firm has treated me very well.

I have been watching too many movies of late .'Brokenback ' was wierd .If you are not 'Queer' (Yes am using the same term as the protagonist did in the movie) ,you will find this one Wierd. heheheheh ...i can't help laughing at this line
'Capote' was much better..classy especially the climax ..Philip Seymour Hoffman has come out with a riveting performance.I hate to compare ,but the whole ending reminded me of 'Sadayam' a MT classic starring Lal . Its not the story or the acting but the whole Death in the air feeling . I got totally depressed had to gulp down 3 shots of expresso to feel better ..Hail Starbucks!!

I hear Starbucks is coming to India..thev got one loyal customer in thier bag but I don't think i'll be able to afford thier price tag while I am at ISB. Talking of ISB ,dad tells me that my school buddie Ramki V has featured in an article about ISB placements in the Times of India. BVB Coimbatore Alumni in the news.

My Sony laptop has been shipped . I have the got the first tool which every B-school student carries. It ushers me to the world of MS-excel and powerpoint.

ISB Calling!

2006-02-27T17:24:00.000-08:00

July 16'th(05) -->Oct 8'th(05)-->Feb 27'th (06)

The day i broke my arm at college inn , I knew that the incident happened as if it was all preplanned. I sat down fighting depression,homesickness and all the negative thoughts that would surface everymorning . The only support that i could cling on to was faith that all things happen for good.

The 3-4 weeks prep for GMAT gave a not so great looking number on the scorecard.Some people suggested i take another shot at the test.Still I stood by my faith that if July 16'th happened for no fault of mine ,then something good is in store.

Today morning I woke up to start working at 6.00 A.M .I saw this gmail pop up flashing that i have made it to ISB PGP Class of 2007.For a moment i thought it was a nice dream ,coz the results were expected to be out tomorrow.

I didn't react for a while ,all that happened was a tear drop falling on my mouse pad!
Woke up my roommate and thumped my fist in the air..poor guy he was startled by all the frenzy

Sometimes there is some force that shows us the light when we are lost in the pitch darkness of life...

Faith it is ,Faith it will be ...God is great

Karachi Massacre & MS Dhoni

2006-02-19T05:07:00.000-08:00

Its 5.13 a.m on a Sunday morning.I saw Mahendra Singh Dhoni in action for the first time..India pulled off a victory chasing in the so called trademark fashion in the Hutch Series.

The thing that impressed me about this win was the attitude shown by Yuvraj and Dhoni during the chase.Yuvraj has matured ,I never doubted his talent esp after seeing him in Sydney making 140 odd against the Aussies in the VB series.

MS Dhoni is raw talent...awesome bhp when he's revved up..The four sixes esp the last one off Mohammed Sami was a sight worth the night out i managed! This lad has potential ...I wish he smashes the Aussies at Perth or MCG in the coming years in a similar fashion...Go Dhoni Go!!

To hell with Bird Shit

2006-02-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

Philadelphia was a heavy dessert to top the Idiyappan that we cooked today. Tom Hanks was apt , Denzel Washington was his at his funny best trying to stay put against all the non hetrosexuals hitting on him.

At least the movies was not as depressing as the Million Dollar Baby

I decided to go for the Starbucks kick next and guess what a pigeon spat crap on me..what a memorable experience...Idiyappan,followed by Philadelphia and Pigeon shit to top it all... ...Jabrooniiiiiii!!

It can only happen to me but i have had this experience once before .I was riding to my tutions when i was in 12'th grade and a crow spat his/her crap right into my left eye...Now i leave it to the reader to work out the probability of that happening geez:-)

Little Si

2006-02-05T15:42:00.000-08:00

Reactions after we hiked up Little Si last week ..Hmmm Can't figure out the way to upload that video yet:-)

Outdoor Week

2006-02-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

Last week was unusual..it rained forever nothing unusual in Seattle,but i was outdoors most of the time. Now thats drastic change in behavior ..last august i had one month at home ..hardly stepped out of E127 Chelsea Square when it was sunny outside.

Watched a few movies

Munich is a good movie from Mr Speilberg after some time ,its a long movie but the Mossad --> CIA --> KGB --> Palestine plot was very informative .

Memoirs of a Geisha has a pretty Ziyi Zhang and some good photography .

Rang De Basanti ..the talk of the town was 'Ok' .The media hype and reviews were playing in my mind when i watched it ,sadly I felt the movie was a drag esp after the intermission. Aaamir Khan lived upto the expectations..I wonder what would have happened to 'Rang De' minus Mr Khan ..Still a welcome change in Bollywood

Yan and I climbed up Little Si ..yes i have conquered a peak ( read it as hill ...).The 6 miles round trip ...in wet weather ,after having put on 3-4 kilos thanks to the india trip did'nt do any harm!

Will be back with some photos and a cracker of a video starring the brave Sherpa Manjeri !

Washington DC & webMethods

2006-01-28T08:53:00.000-08:00

Fairfax VA was not as cold as I expected..the training was really good .Having a person with Consulting experience doing the teaching makes a big difference.Mr Phil Leary was probably one of the best trainers i have had in my 5 years of corporate life.

Apart from the 8 hrs inside the training room ,we did 2 desi dinners,PF Chang's and one chipotle, I ran 10 miles last week ..Well it was covered in three tread mill sessions ,averages to 3.33 /session Not bad!!

Have plans to watch Rang De Basnati...go trekking...and praying that the manager from Chicago does not call me this weekend:-)

Its Yesudas singing Hamsadhwani..gotta plug my ears into that ......

TaTa!!

PSG Tech and Bangy Pics

2006-01-22T07:05:00.000-08:00

Holiday ,Coimby and Friends

2006-01-22T06:33:00.000-08:00

Phew 35 days just evaporated! The holiday was FUN

Mom and Dad gave me great company .Mom broke down a few times during the last week ,I had to control my tears on more than one occassion, like some Desi movies of the 80's..:-).

I sang for them a few times...when you see tears in mom's eyes after you sing..hmmmm can't think of words to describe that feeling!

The first week was the best coz most of the happenings were unplanned .

My top 5 for this trip goes like this ...

1.Pongal music festival in coimbatore...Unnikrishnan & Gayathri/Ranjini Combo were just mindblowing...Unnikrishnan's Bhairavi krithi touched new heights.. Jan 12'th -17'th

2.Trips to Kerala .Mulamkunnathu kavu guest house was better than i expected..The Melam at the temple on Dec 17'th for the annual flower festival('Niramala' in malayalam) made me jump in the air a few times. Guruvayoor and Vadakunnathan temples have an aura of thier own . Hotel Shree bhavan at Ollur serves some best of breed and best in class chutney...goes very well with Ghee Roast:-)

3. Early morning jogs at GCT .For some reason the track at GCT has a special place in my heart...felt nostalgic when i ran there...not that i trained for the Olympics there ...but those little moments of motivation that i felt when i ran there during my college days!

4.Visits to Annapoorna ...Masala Dosas and Idly Vada Sambar ..I ate like a famished kid .Relived my school days ...funtastic!!

5.My daily trip to the Sidhi Vinayaka Temple at A. K Nagar SB Colony.

Sundar and I had a great time for New Years....Bacardi flowed all night till we crashed .Deepa and I became good friends and she gave me great company during those lunch meetings ...esp the one at Barista.

Reached Redmond yesterday..and I already have one travel plan on my plate ..Gotta get ready for the East Coast winter.

X Man-jerry!!

2005-12-13T08:38:00.000-08:00

Yan and I tried goofing around Sacramento downtown with some Ski gear... 13 more hrs to take off ...Mom and Dad I can't wait to see you!

Junior Achievement Experience...

2005-12-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

I volunteered to teach at a public school at Rocklin near Sacramento today. I went there feeling drowsy ..blame it on the lack of workout today.
The moment we started I could feel the energy in the room. The 40 kids I taught for 3 hours were so enthusiastic ..I feel like a battery after a recharge. Some interesting observation...things I felt I never did when i went to 3'rd grade.

1. Kids ask so many questions?? ..I hardly asked any at school except when I fell asleep and the teacher caught me napping

2. The questions are not dumb ...they listen to every single word you say.
I was taking about the role of a city planner ..and kept using a masculine gender all through to refer to the subject.

Shoot question 1. Is the city planner generally a 'He ' Mr Viv???

3.They make noise but at the count of 5 its pin drop silence.(Gees How many times at BVB have I been sent out for non stop chattering ...)

4.The teacher students ratio was 1:20 and maybe that contributed a lot to the the learning and the interest .

I got some feedback too....
Aaron thought I was a natural ..Mrs Barnhart the teacher felt I am too Softspoken..

Childhood and the innocence associated with it are topics often written about ...today I have experienced the joy of being a child in the company of some wonderful kids..waooooo It was Fun!

On the whole a great day offsite ...away from the Consulting life ..the brick and mortar realm at downtown Sacramento...

Cliffhanging:-)

2005-11-30T14:47:00.000-08:00

Who said I can't climb???

The entire Deloitte team tried some outdoor activity yesterday at the indoor rock climbing gym Rancho Cordova

Thanksgiving Weekend Escapede

2005-11-30T14:31:00.000-08:00

SFO-->Las Vegas in 5.5 hrs on a V8 Ford Expedition was fun..so was the guys only night at Sapphire in Las Vegas...Meeting a bunch of old friends 5 years after pasing out from college was nostalgic.We did try everything posssible to relive those evergreen days..each one had a story to tell , a few extra pounds of flesh has done no harm ...signs of prosperity i guess!

We tried dancing at Grand Canyon al.la Ash in 'Jeans' ....

Bowling at Sacramento

2005-11-17T15:31:00.000-08:00

Had a great time with the Deloitte Team at "Country Club Lanes" ...Enjoyed the match between the Performance Team and Dev team.After a long time i had the thrills of showing some passion for a game ...

Am also posting a pic from the Seattle Office..luv the backdrop on this one ..floor 33 4'th Ave downtown Seattle has some great views..

Hooked to Devagandhari

2005-11-02T18:11:00.000-08:00

Who sings Devagandhari the best??

I have been listening to Ksheera Sagara Shayana sung by a few greats..I seem to like Balamurali Krishna's the most,T.N Seshagopalan's the next followed by KJY's and Unnikrishnan's ..in that order

This Krithi soothens me everytime i go through a taxing day or have a forgetable day.Have to fly back to Seattle tomorrow..its going to be a cold weekend ,lots of laundry ,essay writing ,training ..Action packed

The God is Back

2005-10-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

Writes Anand Vasu in Cricinfo
"As he walked back to the pavilion, raising the bat to acknowledge the raucous applause of a grateful Nagpur crowd, the Sri Lankans would have heaved a sigh of relief to see the back of that No. 33 jersey. One is not sure why Tendulkar chose that number on his comeback, rather than the customary No. 10, but hey, it hardly matters what number plate you hang on some machines. A Ferrari is still always a Ferrari."

My eyes lit up as i read the write up posted above.We tried to get video streaming link yesterday but it did'nt work well at the Sheraton.

Sachinnnnn...Sachinnn...!! the chant will continue at Mohali for sure

CADDIS Stunts

2005-10-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

Between scheduled Load tests and performance tuning exercises we did manage some stunts ..choreographed by Yan

Team CADDIS has also been practicing football throws to add variety to office life .

Work can be fun too..have to get ready for a hair cut before the weekly errand to Sunnyvale

Laterzz

Sunnyvale Summit

2005-10-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

Caught up with KK at the Mariott Sunnyvale after almost 2 yrs.The Sangamam plan( we call meetings by this name) at Saravana Bhavan turned out to be a reality.

Met a stud Rajan and reserved Mabban there.It was good fun having the traditional 'Manga' for 2 full days.The lunch at Madhu's place topped with Chardonnay was worth the 2 hr drive from Sacramento.

The next 2 months will be good fun ..hope to make up for the 2 months of solitude in Seattle ,July and August 2005 were like hell

Hamsadhwani & Yesudas

2005-10-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

If there was something i wish i could do ,i wish i could render 'Vathapi Ganapathim' like Yesudas (http://www.musicindiaonline.com/l/1/m/artist.12/ ) ..search for Vathapi Ganapathim

I am totally at awe,spellbound ..dasettan is divine!!

GMAT is done what next?

2005-10-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

GMAT quant was a breeze contrary to my expectation.I am satisfied with my score given the time and effort i put in.Wish i had done the OG one more time,but all's well that ends well.

A special thanks to Sathish and Siva who came all the way to the Pro Metric testing centre and made sure i was in the best spirits to take the test.

The ISB dream is still distant but i can see light at the end of the tunnnel :-)

Sahana & Rayil Sneham

2005-09-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

I managed to get hold of a beautiful jingle in Sahana sung by KS Chitra for Minbinbangal that used to be aired on Doordarshan during my school days.I have listened to it all afternoon ,can't get enough of it.

Did some research on Sahana,Neelambari and the effect of gamakas on ragas.It was an amazing 2 hours of browsing .I wish i had done this long back .I used to hate the saturday and sunday errand to Sakthi Apartments in Church Road to go for my 'Pattu ' class.

The last 2 monthhs would have been unimaginable without music.It seems to liven me up in testing times .I have tried my best to learn Ksheerasagara Shayana,Jagadhodharana and Vandanamu Raghunandana and am in the process of fine tuning my rendering of these masterpieces.

Hope to finish learning them by end of december ,want to sing it to mom and dad whenn i go for mmy holiday! .

Sri Krishna Sweets Mysurpa...

2005-09-29T10:41:00.000-07:00

Sudharshan got a box of Mysurpa from India..Makes me go Ga-Ga over coimbatore food ..my list of coimbatore must eat's are as follows....
1.Masala Dosa at Annapoorna
2.Sri Krishna Sweets Mysurpa
3.Water Melons on Thadagam road
4.Veggie Puff at NMB bakery coimbatore
5.Panner Sodas and Vanilla Ice Cream at Iyer & Co RS Puram or SB Colony

Some of these are the chief contibutors to my 6 feet n 80 kg plus frame:-)

Experiencing a different form of high ..'Sugar High' .I wish i could get most of the my other favourites in Sacramento

Cheers!

Back on Road!

2005-09-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

Clyde my physio has cleared me for regular workout...I am on the moon.

Natchi and I ran close to 3 miles today ,feels awesome.... the joy of running,the joy of getting back on the road!

Filter coffee to follow that made my day,thanks to Natchi:-)

The BooKoo Challenge!

2005-09-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

Gary surprised us by volunteering to get the cans today

Yan introduced the team to this new drink called 'BooKoo' (www.bookooenergy.com) .The BooKoo challenge has caught on ,we did a bottoms up today .I could take this for my GMAT which is looming large ,2 more weeks to go.

BooKoo Rocks!!

Arm Wrestling for Dummies!!

2005-09-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

Long Time!!

Gosh that was one helluva break ...breaking the humerus can be quite a task and when that happens at a pub over alcohol and 100 odd people hear the bone crack..Yikessss!!!
July 16'th 10.58 p.m venue College Inn,Seattle..the victim Mr Manjeri..!

All those macho men and wannabe stallones please if you dont have the right technique and like me have the habit of taking to a liquid diet high on Uncle Jack ..remember this sport is not cricket where you have the luxury of pads,gloves,guards or helmets.. Arm Wrestling is not a joke.It Hurts when you break bones,but for the morphine high you get at the hospital the experience sucks:-)

I am so relieved i can lift my left arm these days.I have called up every random name i could think of over the past 2 months to have some semblance of human contact.
A big 'Thank You' to mom (i miss u sooo much) ,dad,Ash,Sathish,Gaurav,Santhosh ,Santhosh's Mom,the bloke who prayed for me at the hospital,,..Dr Bransford,Sundar ,Jai and Priya.
The accident did have its effects on my lifestyle i have started staying at the Sheraton Grand,started dieting ,been off Uncle Jack for 2 months ,Starbucks is back ,a new hairstyle
Life can't get more puzzling huh??
Till Later

Back to Tahoe!

2005-07-04T17:57:00.002-07:00

If you have the right company ,it hardy matters where you are headed..coz time just evaporates leaving behind a great experience to cherish for long.I visited Tahoe,Reno and Napa this weekend ,its become a July 4'th must visit for me ..but this time it was just Jai's presence that made the difference.

Vikram U r the Man!!

2005-06-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

I decided to make my next post after watching Vikram in ‘Anniyan’. Before I jot down my observations and comments on this one, I wanted to go down the memory lane to the years 1985-89.My holidays at 83 Palanisamy st KK pudur were spent right in front of our Orson TV watching countless Mallu, Tambi, Hindi and English flicks .Dad used to be a partner at 2 video shops on NSR road.’Audio Videos’ and ‘Sight and Sound’, rather funny names when I try to recollect them in my mind now. We also had this amazing collection of Mallu classics at home. Being the son of PG (Dad’s called that in his circles),I could walk into our shop and pick up loads of videocassettes and return them well after the normal time limit for renting.
I grew up watching movies of Padmarajan, MT Vasudevan Nair and Bharathan. This also happened to be the golden era of Malayalam movies and I still believe that some of the mallu movies that came during that period were a class apart. These movies set an extremely high benchmark for acting standards Some movies that I have watched umpteen times are ‘Rangam’, ’Chilambu’, ’Thoovanathumbikal’, ‘Amrudhangamaya’ etc..actually the list is quite long. During the early 90's i watched more of Manirathnam and K.Balachander classics in tamil. All the while Lalettan was my favorite actor (Malluism at its best :-)) till I added Kamal Hassan and Aamir khan to that list.
In fact Lalettan is the only actor whose autograph I have .I still remember that evening in 1987 when Mr Ramesh my dad’s friend took me on his Yezdi to the ‘Ayur Vaidhya Sala’ centre in Ramanathapuram where he was getting treated after a mishap that happened on the sets of ‘Cheppu’. The first question Lalettan asked me was ‘Pulli evideya padikkkunathe’( where do you study??) with a typical Trivandrum slang .Wow he made the day for me!!!
Without realizing I had developed an amazing appetite to watch and critic movies at a young age. Not something that I can put in my resume, but still it has been one of my favorite hobbies …typical of any Indian middle class dude huh?

High school days were spent watching those early AR Rahman musicals ,Madhuri Dixit, Urmila Matondkar ( I guess my hormones took over from then :-))…..Sometime during my first year of college I remember watching a Mamooty starrer when I first noticed Vikram .My first impression was that this guy needs a good break because he looked like a star material being misused as a second fiddle to heroes. I later found out that our man had been around for a while and that ‘Meera’ was his first film way back in the late eighties. I almost forgot his name till my 8’th semister in college. ‘Sethu ‘ had hit the road and Mr Vaathu my college mate came back and did a great publicity gig praising Vikram for his stellar performance. Prashant…of all people persuaded me to watch the movie. Vikram did surprise me with his performance and I gave myself a pat on the back for having realized his potential a few years back!!
Five years hence when I look at Vikram’s roles he has one trait that puts him in my all time list of favorites -Versatility. ’Pithamagan’,’Sethu’,’Dhool’, ‘Dhill’ ..I have enjoyed each of his movies….For a change a cop really looked like one in ‘Samy’…he fits the bill for the next macho hero in every count…
The action sequences have never been this realistic ..for when he punches and villan’s go air born I am forced to belive it is true ..He represents the new generation super hero who matches the heroine in looks and attire and can walk away with all the credits .…U r the man!!

2005-06-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

Got back from San Diego this evening ..hardly remember my co passengers coz I was dead tired and half asleep listening to 'Yesudas' during the flight journey...
'Rouse ' is the perfect description of what we did at San Diego all weekend...
First Jai surprised me at the airport by showing up in bermudas and his new frenchie did add to the confusion..yes my pre KG till high school buddy had changed so much that i almost missed him in the crowd of mexicans...Till i heard his trademark high pitched 'Machiii' ..i was in a dilemma.

I did have a fairly adventurous ride to La Jolla (la Hoia….) thanks to Jai’s Driving gimmicks..Every now and then he kept reminding me that his Nissan Maxima was a 260 bhp stud..and that did’nt help the cause either..
We picked up some buttermilk,curd and orange juice to enroute to La Jolla parkway. Dinner happened in a jiffy and before I realized murli had joined us and we were recollecting our high school stories, crushes, fiascos…nostalgia would be an understatement to describe the what I was feeling that night. It was non stop chit chat for three hours till we had dissected every topic from ‘Sakthivel Tution ‘ to ‘11th std Lakshwadweep trip’. So many incidents and the fact that each one of us remembered every minute detail of it was just fascinating…
Early on Saturday 28’th May ,we drove to the Sea World San Diego. Jai persuaded me to sit in the roller coaster called ‘Atlantis..’ . I was reminded of my Giant wheel ride in 2003 in Mangalore.I have decided that super fast motion is not for me:-) . Had it been some other occasion I wud have avoided the invite but the thought of having some fun with my school buddies made me go the extra mile. By 1.00 p.m we were all complaining of starvation and headed home to feast on dominoz pizza
The eating frenzy was followed by a nice nap.Saturday evening was spent at Coranado island and at night we hit 'On Broadway' a discotheque in downtown San Diego.By 9 in the night yours truly had downed 5 jacks and was all set to move .We had 4 dance floors to use that night and i decided to head to the one that was playing disco. By 10.30 p.m Jai and I were inventing dance steps that wud not qualify for demo before any sane audience. Murli did all the watching .Prabhu Deva ,Jackson..Mithunda..Well I did better most of them thanks to the Uncle Jack Daniels .By 12.00 am Jai and Murli were busy doing hip hop and yours truly was still at the same floor having a nice time. At 1.00 am I decided to wrap up things and called my buddies to head back home.
Sunday was spent visiting the San Diego Zoo. For a change the reptiles in a Zoo were active..the King Cobra there was just a beauty. I remember my previous encounter with the same species when I was in my 5'th or 6'th grade at the Thrissur zoo, the thing hardly moved back then.
Evening was spent at the old town watching a pretty senorita explain the art of mind reading .Watched Madagascar with Jai at the Multiplex that night I liked the movie especially the dialogues .The movie made me feel a lot younger bringing back memories of days spent at 83 Palanisamy street, KK Pudur..watching Tom and Jerry .Those were the days……

Monday was half over when I woke up…Jai had a good lunch ready in no time..sambar,…podimas and pachadi Yummy!!! Felt sad while bidding adieu to Jai at the airport. I reassured myself by humming ‘I walk Alone ..I walk Alone…’

Even during the San Diego trip I had unexpected rendezvous with individuals…Poornima at Sea World, Mrs. Sandhya at the Zoo..that was a surprise coz she never told me about the marriage till I left Mangalore!

The San Diego trip was like journey back in time to year 1996 ..I was 16 then never missed an opportunity to have a laugh with high school buddies, never cared to look around while speaking…fun unlimited. I wish I had more of these days in my life ,coz corporate life does get one dimensional at times, but for those $$$...

The Year that was!

2005-05-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

Come May 30'th I will be completing one year in the US.I remember telling Sundar my best pal at the Meenambakkam airport on the 29'th May last year 'De i will be back in 3 months'.I can only smile ironically at that statement today.From a uncertain 24 year old ..the US experience has made me a independent,open minded and calculative individual.

I like recollecting past events,so let me start off with events and dates...

Some dates that flash past in no particular order..Aug 10'th,Oct 23'rd,Jan 10'th..Dec 9'th,Nov 2'nd,Nov 19'th .Some were days of sorrow,some days of ecstasy ..some a start of a new journey,some were nights of drunken chivalry(Nov 2'nd..heheheh).
I had the great pleasure of listenting to SPB unplugged at the Chabot college ...his 'Ilaya Nila' was truly a masterpiece,met Maddy a few weeks back at San Jose,cudn't break thru the hordes of preety aunties n gals to talk to the dude tho.
Now a list surprising rendezvous ..
Jayanthra Jayachandran(1997 ELS sec who ragged me during Rotafest 1997),Saranyan(dude how many times have i fought with you at the BVB assembly),Swetha...,Vasanth,Sunil Shankar outside Saravana Bhavan Sunnyvale...,AK at the Madras Cafe.
Some new friends to add to my ever growing list of friends....PrasadJoshi,Aishwarya,Ruchi,Thiruu.Siva ,Mary and Yan.
I have realised how brand conscious i am..some that i added Calvin Klien,iPod,Banana Republic,Starbucks,Ray Ban(finally finally i have a true mallu brand!!! ),Deloitte,Jack Daniels...

Movie of the year..Napoleon Dynamite..coz the movie made me laugh like never for some unknown wierdo reason..l

Song of the year...
kadhal tana naa na na!!

I finally realised that though love and hatred are opposites there is a very thin line that seperates the two.
It is often the person whom you love the most that you might eventually have to hate.In essence these words depict exteme states of ones mind and have no literal existence.I guess its time to end this crap and hit the sack!

The San Diego Invite

2005-05-27T15:43:00.000-07:00

It's been a laid back friday at office .Had a expresso,a mocha .and a extra sweet lemonade today and yours truly is half asleep by early afternoon.
Spent the most of week finishing up pending work to meet the deadline on the 30'th and now i dont have anything to do on a beautiful friday..and that was some motivation to start blogging!

Last weekend when i spoke to the San Diego BVB gang comprising of Jai and moorli..i had a pleasant surprise waiting ..an invite to visit the So Cal coast.San Diego i was told is the party place in California and the thought of partying had its effect on the spending pattern last Saturday when i drove to San jose to watch Kana Kanden,120 bucks spent at JC Pennys on clothes phew!
Its gonna be 4 years since i last met Jai and murli..I saw the schedule for the next few days lots of beaches and night spots in the list..
Hoping to strike some gold!!