The Diary Pages Finale

Hi,

Just came across a blog page where the entire Diary Pages has already been published. For those who were gripped to the seat, reading the first page of the diary, you can check out the remaining here.


Will end the Diary Page edition with a saying:

As with all other things, what one can expect always from a woman, is the 'unexpected'.

I can see many of you nodding your heads off ;) The saying is admittedly right...!

DIARY PAGES - 1

Everyone writes diary. For someone the diary plays a close friend , in whom we confide all our secrets.,. and for some a daily schedule planner. Much more interesting is when we read someone else diary. I know it holds much more ecstasy rather than watching T.V or doing something. Given below is some pages from random diary.,. It kept me glued to subsequent pages. Here starts the pages. . . . .

HE:
I wait everyday till 8.00 in the office even if there is no work. All of my teammates ask me why; how can I tell them that I don't wait for any personal or official work but the only reason why I wait is the 'secretary'- a girl in my 8.00 p.m. Chinchwad bus. 'Secretary' is not her real name, it's sort of a code name given to her by me and my friends. Truly speaking, I like her. She might not be one of those who look like Aishwarya Rai or Preitty Zinta, but she is cute and simple and that's the reason I like her. For past 6 months I have been staring at her in the bus, while going to office and coming back from the office. When I get into bus, somehow my eyes search the whole bus just to have her glimpse.
I never had a girlfriend till now, not that I don't like to have friendship with girls but somehow they usually prefer tall-dark-handsome qualities in their boyfriends, out of which I possess none. I don't want to jump to any relationship like this with the secretary but at least just a friendship, is it possible?
I want to talk to her. I want to have friendship with her. I know her name, for I had seen her ID card one day. But I don't have the guts to talk to her. I even don't know whether she knows me even by face. I know, no one can help me here; no-one other than myself, but I simply have no guts. At least someone probably a common friend, might at least formally introduce us to each other.

SHE:
There is one guy in my office bus. His name is Niranjan. I think he likes me, for me and even my friends have observed him many times staring at myself. Even when he gets into the bus, rather than searching for an empty seat, his eyes search the whole bus for me. Don't know why but I kind of like it. Sometimes the feeling of knowing that someone loves you is far better than actually loving somebody. I didn't have any affair till today, not that I didn't like or love anyone, there was a guy in my college, whom I liked a lot but somehow he stayed away from me, not that he didn't like me but probably because I am not that beautiful and he wanted someone much more better than me.
This guy, Niru, that's what his friends call him, I had heard it once in the bus; he seems to be interested in me, not sure about love as such but friendship might not be bad. At least the guy seems to be descent one. I would like to be his friend, but how can I go forward? Afterall he is the boy, he should come one step ahead …not me.


P.S: This is a forward which i received from my colleague and which Iam putting up for other's enjoyment. So he(Ashu) as my first point of contact , gets the credit. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely unhoped for... :)

Happier or Wealthier... The Secret !!

I was surfing the blogosphere when i came across a article called "Does being Wealthy makes you Happy". You can check that here.

The article mentioned the researches being done and the conclusion henceforth that Richer Economies needn't necessarily mean a Happier Economy. I will leave you to go through the article and come up with your conclusions, what i wanted to muse about now is about the "Reverse-Flow" here. By "Reverse-Flow", i mean the diametrical question "Does being Happy means you will be Wealthy" ? And i assume many of you will be nodding your heads. Yes, indeed we will be Wealthy, if we are Happy.


Let me state a simple illustration. According to one of the research conducted (to find if people are happier when their economic conditions improve, there was an important observation which says that poorer people are satisfied with their living where as when the economic conditions improve, it is usually accompanied by a little insatisfaction as the need to want more increases. Its like a person walking envies the person who goes by cycle and once he gets a cycle , he looks on the bike rider and wants it. After bike, it is car,plane etc.(Of course, you cant own a plane, unless you are loaded with immense money !!, i meant traveling by plane !! ) The inherent need for more things can be attributed to Man's mind set. He basically needs more to satisfy his ego, whatever name we give to it... So the question of Happy if being Wealthy might go on and on, depending upon what we see...


Yet i feel that if one ask Being Wealthy if Happy might give us a clue to how we can really be happy as well as wealthy. Happiness is nothing but a state of mind. And there can be only one person who can be responsible for his state. It is "His/Her". Like what we say, we cannot ofcourse control what happens to us, but we may control to some extent how we react to it. There we go is the secret of the Happiness. Just understand that if we decide which will let us make happy can go a long way in determining our wealth. Wealth can be in monetary ways or it can be Peace, Health etc,., varying from each person to other.

Suppose for a person,his mindset is like "Having more Money makes me Happy", a little re-framing of his mindset to say that "Being Happy brings more Money to me" will ensure you are Happier as well as you will have abundant money. We all know, whatever we say to our mind, it believes what we say and manifest accordingly what we want.

Like Paulo Coelho said:

““When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.””

Lallo Farce !!

Had received this video as a mail forward. Found it too hard resisting against putting in the blog.

As he says,

My mother always told me not to handle a buffalo by its tail, but always catch it by its horns. And I have used that lesson in everything in my life, including the Railways.

He indeed takes head on anyone who obstructs his path ;)

A Day with the IIM Alumnus

“The beauty of empowering others is that your own power is not diminished in the process.”

-- Barbara Colorose

Today we have a guest with us who has with himself an abundant of experience and worldly knowledge. An Alumnus of IIM-A, and is an avid writer. He has written many articles and poems which have appeared in Times of India. Its indeed a pleasure and a honour to have such an experienced person in the PERFECT show.

THE PERFECT SHOW:

Host: Prashant Sree : ME
Guest: Kishore Astana : KA

ME: Kishore, Welcome to the show.
KA: Thank You Prashant.

ME: So, What are you passionate about in Life?
KA: I am passionate about credibility. This includes saying what you mean, being honest with yourself and others, not cheating anyone even in petty matters such as jumping the queue, being non-punctual, etc.

ME: Ideal values... What have you learnt in your life which you would like to share with others ?
KA:I have learnt that we are only taking part in a drama on this earth. We have the freedom to define our roles to a certain extent but, in the end, it is all an act. Unfortunately many amongst us who have taken over the roles of rich or powerful people tend to believe that this is their actual persona and they become arrogant. Many others who have taken the roles of poor and underprivileged, take this as their real self and get demoralised.

ME: Thats right. The part of people realizing their original role and living accordingly will make world a much happier place.. If you are given a wish to change one thing in world, what would you change ?
KA: This is a difficult one. There are so many things I would like to change. However, if it was one thing, it would be this – I would like to see everyone treating everyone else with genuine, from-the-heart, unconditional politeness and courtesy, whether it is on the road, in work situations or in any other place or occasion.

A very close second would be this - I would like all men to realise that women are their betters in most things and deserve to be treated with respect owed to those who are wiser, more compassionate and more considerate. However, as I said, there are so many things I would like to change.

Eradication of caste-ism, inculcating greater honesty and work ethic amongst Indians etc. would be close third.There are some things which are critical to our spiritual existence which I would like to change. One is bringing in greater spirituality in religion, along with the conviction that religious rituals must be targeted towards spiritual enlightenment and not just wish-fulfilment.

ME: I do wish that becomes true. Since you have mentioned Spirituality, i feel you will like this Question. Who is your Favourite Mythological Hero and why ?
KA:My favourite mythological hero is Karn:. He was the noblest of the Pandavs and was never recognised as such and yet, he carried himself with a dignity, wisdom and élan which few of the others in Mahabharat did.

ME: Hmmm. What would you like to stand for in your life ?
KA:I would like to stand for an India which had leaders with humble egos, vision, honesty, wisdom, knowledge and the ability to work hard, whose wealth did not increase after they came to power. I would like to stand for an India which had leaders who carried the masses up with them and who united India instead of dividing it along fault-lines defined by caste, religion, language, region and so on. There was a time we had leaders such as Sardar Ballabh Bhai Patel and Lal Bahadur Shastri. Regrettably, we do not have their like any more.

ME: And what you feel is your charm ?
KA:When I am with someone, I try to give that person my whole attention and to address the issues raised to the best of my ability. I also try to treat people at all socio-economic levels with the same degree of courtesy.

ME: Thats really good. Giving your 100% concentration to someone, makes them feel special. I think i need to inculcate that in myself completely ;) Ok, now your Thumb Rule for Life ?
KA:Do unto others what you would wish to be done to you, if the positions were interchanged.


ME: Since you are an avid writer, Iam sure you would have had good influences.Which books have been your Favorite Influences till now ?
KA:I am That, (teachings of Nisargadutta Maharaj), Be as You Are (teachings of Ramana Maharshi), Autobiography of a Yogi (Paramhansa Yogananda), Seth Speaks (Jane Roberts), The Nature of Personal Reality (Jane Roberts).

ME:And Who have been your Role Models and why ?
KA:I have tried to be my own role model, keeping in mind an ‘ideal’ to which I would like to conform. Thus, when I do something which is not in line with this ideal, I review it and take corrective action so as not to repeat it. The closest ‘other’ which I can think of as a role model has been Nirja, my wife of 36 years, from whom I have learnt wisdom, self-control, organisation, consideration for others, hard-headed realism and the ability to shun laziness.

ME: Thank You Kishore for sharing your insights and for enlightening us about the things which you have learnt in your life. Thank You and Wish you all the Best.
KA: Its my pleasure.

“Everything you are against weakens you. Everything you are for empowers you.”

-- Wayne Dyer

The Last Lecture - By Randy Pausch

"Prof Randy Pausch delivering The Last Lecture"

In one of my previous post named "A Day With a CalTech Educatee" (one of the series of the PERFECT SHOW interviews which i host),I had interviewed Prakhar- a NITT alumnae who is pursuing his studies in Caltech University,Poseidon.

Well, this post is not about that. Its about a person whom Prakhar had told me over the course of interview. A man named Randy Pausch. I didn't have any idea about who the man was. I just assumed it must have been a Professor giving a talk to his students.

Now on a Saturday afternoon, when i was just browsing through my friends blog, i stumbled across a page which had a video about the talk given by Randy Pausch. I came to know who he was then.

To keep a big story short, Randy Pausch is a professor in Carnegie Mellon and he has been afflicted with pancreatic cancer and he has only 3 more months to live. He shares his experiences, his insights and his thoughts in a talk called the "The Last Lecture", which has been downloaded by countless people all around the world and he still continues to encourage people to pursue their dreams.

Not only the talk is inspiring and revealing, i can bet that whoever sees the talk, by the end of seeing it, will be wiser and lose a tear or two.You can check this out @
http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=ithct48cqw

Experience is what you get when you dont get what you want

- Prof. Randy Pausch.

A Gem of Thought:

Going ahead with the Paulo Coelho's "The Zahir", i would loke to share a few of the gems. One of the profound learnings was this.



The author says that if people learn about 3 things, they can persist in any situations, however difficult it may be.

• First, When ever a person decides to confront a difficult situation , he learns that he has much more capabilities to face the situation than he thought he had.

• Secondly, there is atleast someone in this world who is undergoing similar suffering as your's. Hence you are not the only one who is troubled but you can take peace from the fact that there are many people aboard the same boat.

• Thirdly, If a person decides to spread love around himself, inspite of any kind of situations , the providence has no choice but to give back the same love to you. So do unto others what you want to be done to yourself.

Powerful statements indeed !!

Keep Smiling and Keep Living. :)

Do you know why the standard gauge length of the train is 143.75 cms or 4ft 8 & 1/2 inches.

Currently reading Paulo Coelho's "The Zahir". I feel that it's a book bearing the author's experiences and provides insights in to his thinking. A must read for anyone who has a spiritual( what did u say ?? ) inclination. Will share some of the learnings from the book from time to time.

One of the impressive takes from the book is about a question the author raises in the book. He wonders what would be the distance between the 2 tracks of a train(gauge length) . He finds out that the distance is 143.75 cm or 4ft 8 & 1/2 inches. He wonders why the distance cant be a whole no say 150 cm or 5 ft so that it will be a easy number to remember.


On further googling one finds the truth that , it was the Romans who decided the gauge length to be 143.75cms or 4'8 & 1/2''. Really, I'm not joking. It goes like this: The standard gauge length we use today is 143.75cms or 4'8&1/2'' because the distance between the wheels of the tram-ways was 4'8 & 1/2''. And why that length for tram-ways because the distance between the 2 wheels of a chariots driven by horses was 4'8 & 1/2''. And why that. Because the roads which the Romans had laid was of the width 4'8 & 1/2''. So here we are amidst all the technological advancements, are still adhering to the rules set by the ancient Romans.

Now thats something which isn't of much bother to us or for anyone. Who bothers if the distance is 4'8 & 1/2'' or 5'. But what set me ticking off was the fact that how many of us do still follow certain things laid long back by someone in so many spheres of life. May it be education, fashion, Technology, family... the list goes on. It may vary from person to person, the nature of prescripts each one has, yet there lies a common denominator. We follow certain things as told by someone rather than how we want to follow it. The end result we huff-puff our way through our life, living each of our precious moments living someone's else life rather than living ours. If only each of the person can dare to live according to his/her dreams, the world will certainly be a much different place to live in.

"Have a plan for your life or else life has a plan for you."

A Day With a CalTech Educatee !!

Aeronautics was neither an industry nor a science. It was a miracle.

— Igor Sikorsky

We have an youngster back again in the PERFECT Show. This Young man has been fascinated by Planes ( have heard that somewhere , Right ?? ). Well, we are not talking about honorable A.P.J.Abdul Kalam in his young days, but about Prakhar Malhotra, a graduate, pursuing his MS Aeronautics in California Institute of Technology (Caltech),Pasadena, California, United States.Some of his achievements till date are:

• A Member of CALTECH Y- a community service and extracurricular activities organization affiliated to Caltech
• Was Awarded Rajiv Gandhi Science Talent Research Scholar-05 by government of India for the Best Summer Research Project in the country.
• Was awarded Caltech Graduate Fellowship for pursuing masters in aeronautics at California Institute of Technology, USA.

The flight commences --->

THE PERFECT SHOW:

Host: Prashant Sree - ME
Guest: Prakhar Mehotra - PM

ME: Hi Prakhar, Welcome to the show.
PM: Thank You.

ME: Here's the launcher.,. What are you passionate about in Life ?
PM: I am passionate about Planes..Space shuttles

ME:How did your passion began ?
PM: Hmm...Truly speaking i am passionate about discovering something new, something different ..thats y i am at Caltech doing research :)

ME: Good to hear that. so how did it all began ?
PM: Aaa..it all began with my summer research fellowship at IIT-K. and with my meetings with Prof Sanjay Mittal. It was he who inculcated the seeds of research in me & gave lots of cool fundas of life.

ME: Now, the 2nd launcher :). What have you learnt in life till now, which you would like to share with others ?
PM: How to be patient...and that Marks don't make a man. i have also learned how to wait and to trust people...and to listen to what others r saying.

ME: Good insight !! :) Particularly the 2nd one.,. Can you provide any instance for us ?
PM: Suppose you are in a team,,,,then,,,we must wait and give other members some time before expecting something from them and my experience says they will show there best & give there best.

ME: I really like that Now the 3D radar.. If you can have any one wish to change anything in the world, , what will u wish for ?
PM: Aa...tough one...mmm..I would change the mindset of our politicians.

ME: hahah :) Any thing realistic ;)
PM: Mmm..i would change...i would change the visa rules :) :)

ME: Lol :) Speaking from Experience..?
PM: Ya ..i will change the visa rules :)

ME: Cool :). Then who is your favorite mythological hero ?
PM: Lord Ram.. he is ideal

ME: And your reasons ?
PM: He is ideal son/husband/brother/warrior.

ME: :) He indeed is. Ok now , What would you like to stand for in your life ?
PM: Nothing great,,,,i don't want any one to remember me...just that...to whomsoever i meet in my life...he/she should not get sad/disappointed because of me. i will try my level best to make everyone i meet happy and help them that's all. i should bring smile on face of everyone i speak with.

ME: I appreciate that very much friend. Now, what do you consider your charm in your life ?
PM: I guess...my thinking that what ever happens, happens for the best. Even from failure .You get experience. Experience is what you get,when u don't get what u want - Prof. Randy Pausch

ME: Is he your professor or a legendary philosopher ?
PM: He is a professor at Carnegie Mellon. He gave an awesome talk. i took this line from him but..ya i feel never feel sad that you failed.

ME: A good one !! What is your thumb rule for life ?
PM: Keep trying...do your part...leave no stone unturned and leave rest to the one sitting up there.

ME: Nice !! Who are your role models till now ?
PM: My parents...Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam..Prof. Sanjay Mittal. And ya "Dream Dream dream. Dream transform into thoughts and thoughts into actions " Dr. Kalam told me when i met him at IIT

CALTECH OBSERVATORY

ME: Oh, you had a talk with him ?
PM: ya...For 5 minutes. He had also come to Caltech. Talked with him on individual basis for 5 minutes. He told me to come back to country and serve it.

ME: Interesting buddy !! Which books have motivated you very much !!
PM: Wings of Fire, Argumentative Indian and...Inheritance of loss

ME: Thats it buddy. We have come to the end of today's show. Thank You very much for being a guest in the show. Iam sure that you will go on to achieve many more laurels for our country. I wish you, on behalf of my readers success in all endeavors.
PM: Thank You. It was a pleasure to be in the show.


Well Thats it folks, Hope you enjoyed the Show as much as I did. I myself had many learnings to take from this. Iam sure that you too had your own share to take :).

To Sum up::

Real flight and dreams of flight go together. Both are part of the same movement. Not A before B, but all together.

— Thomas Pynchon

Noetic Muses !!

Had finished reading a novel. Came across certain thoughts which certainly reflected more than what they appeared and worth entertaining. Here are they:

• When you change much of the outside, you can't help but mix up the inside.

• A human's body is a logical extension of his/her mind.

• Too many people turn away from their perfectly natural inclination to try to be concerned human beings.

If you got what you read, kudos to you.,. Share with others unto what you have understood.

If you are yet to get, ask , and you shall be given. ;)

The Orange Girl - II - Contd

As i gradually floated back to reality from the wispy magical romantic moment, i was in for another great shock. There sitting before me was the Orange Girl. I was sitting in the side window seat and she was sitting in the opposite corner at the window seat. The movie reverie started again, this time with images of Rajesh Khanna humming the tune "Mere sapno ki rani", and chasing the heroine Sharmila Tagore,aboard a train. The only difference was that we were sitting on the opposite ends of a single compartment, instead of she on a train and a me on a jeep. But why bother about such small details when you are focussed on the big picture !!

Just then my reverie was broken by someone. Now obviously irritated by the sudden intercession, i looked on to see who was it. An man was standing on the inner side of the compartment. He was of middle age. He asked me: Son, is the lower side berth your seat. I was like yes it is. He then asked me if i can shift over to the middle berth as he had muscular strain and he can take the lower side berth. Usually this had become a natural phenomenon whenever i traveled by train, i had to exchange the seats with someone if i had got a lower berth. Actually its not the concept of giving my seat that annoyed me, but the fact that once you feel that you have settled comfortably when someone comes and asks you to move which didnt go with me. And in this case, not only was i disturbed from my reverie but also was asked to give up my seat.


Just when i was about to say no, without giving it a thought, when my super conscious mind began to work. It dawned on me that if i exchanged seats with the person, i will be sitting on seat opposite to that of the Orange Girl and that i had a good chance at having a conversation with the girl. I had heard of the adage "Give something to win something" Now i was seeing it working in reality ;) So i in all my best manners pro-offered the man,my seat , which the man accepted happily and i was a much happier than him. I always took precaution to book upper berth so that i needn't have to exchange the seat.. but in this case, i got lower seat against all my expectations which ended up with me getting a chance to sit opposite to the girl. (Another proof of divine premeditation). Just when i went and took my place opposite to the girl, a boy came and sat near her. This was some thing completely unexpected.

You had all the necessary ingredients for a movie. A hero, a heroine and a villain. Though masquerading as a hero was pretty easy and romantic, the concept of villain entering the picture was a sore thought. As long a villain appears in a movie , it is fine as our Super heroes are bestowed with unimaginable luck and power and they thwart the villain easily. Where as in real life, its a different ground altogether. I dont have supernatural powers,(though luck seemed to be in my side, divine premeditation ;) ) and i was wondering how to face this new challenge. .The girl had become just one of the other girls. Not any more a Dream Girl, the status reserved only for my soul mate.The girl and boy were talking happily obvious to their surroundings and to a smoke burning opposite to them. [me ;( ]. You see, life has a funny way of throwing up surprises. When you feel that you have scaled the world, it comes behind you with a lead pipe and know what leave you wondering what the hell went wrong. And sometimes, when you feel too lost, you have the lady luck smiling on you.

Fortunately this time, i was on the kinder end of the life. A lady(The Orange Girl Mother, i came to know this later) came and said to the boy, "Arun, enough of pestering your sister. Now come out. The Train will start shortly.". The words couldnt have been any more sweeter. My lousing spirit became lively again and the back ground music of "Mere Sapno Ki Rani" song started off again with renewed enthusiasm. The boy went outside, the girl also went outside with her
BROTHER, and said Good bye's to her parents and relatives. I didnt mean to eaves drop on their conversation, yet it was like the Orange Girl's parent had escorted her to the station where they had met one of their other close relatives. So they were in the next compartment having a talk, wherein the Orange Girl had come to her seat.The Boy(her brother) who got bored with the elders talk had come along to talk with his sister. So All is well that ends well. The train took off slowly and the journey started. It was like only 3 of us were in the compartment, (I, the orange girl & the Old man who was in the opposite side seat). I wanted to have a conversation with the girl but being not exactly a REMO, i preferred her to start the conversation.

As her parents had left, the Orange Girl took out a book and began to browse through that. I had heard that Like minded people tend to go well together. So not wanting to stay behind, i also took out my book, and began flipping the pages, emphasising more on making sound turning the pages rather on on reading them. Sometime went by. I wanted to ask her name. For that starting a conversation was imperative.But then my tongue seemed to had made a decision to play tongue twister. Even if you tried to speaking, no sound came out. Yet, since it was lucky predestined day for me, i had another chance. The Orange Girl searched for something in her bag and let out a sigh of desperation. And then she looked at the Old Man's bag.Being a born Sherlock holmes, my intuitive detective skills suggested that she had missed something. But what, i think, my intuitive detective skills weren't sufficient to fathom. But then i followed up her direction of eye vision and found that she was looking at the water bottle in the Old Man's bag. Putting together the jumble
pieces, i figured out that she would have missed her water bottle and that she was thirsty now.I thought i will ask her if she needs water, and hence bringing together my best manners, i said "Water". Actually i wanted to ask her "Do you want Water", yet due to the tongue twisting game, my tongue was indulged in, just the last word "Water" came out. On hearing water, she got a bit surprised and presented a blank look.

Reprimanding myself , i repeated again "Water"( Ooof,Not Again !! ), but this time, i shook the water bottle which i had for emphasis. She smiled a bit and took the bottle and drank water. Then She returned the bottle with a sweet Thanks. Words couldnt have been anymore sweeter. The word 'Thanks' kept on echoing in my ears for sometime.I tugged the water bottle to the safe interiors of the bag as i didnt want any more people to come asking for water. Its not like i didnt wanted to give water to other, yet this water bottle had achieved a significant value. Then only it occured to me that i hadnt yet asked her name. Now that her thirst was over, she went back to her book reading. I had a pretty uphill task at hand.

Starting a conversation would not only be hard but very tough. You see, when you get smitten , not only your tongue refuses to abide with you, you have heavy gushes of air going up and down your wind pipe, making it look like as if you are inhaling huge gushes of air. Not to say about the heart beat. It skyrockets to around 120 beats/minute as if you had just finished a mega marathon race. Yet my brain with divine intervention, recalled a learning attrributed to my reading habits.I had read somewhere that when you feel highly tensed up and unable to concentrate, follow the steps to become calm again. 1) Close your eyes. 2) Take a deep breath. 3) Count from 1 to 10. 4) Then, how many times should one do that ... Hmmm.. Ya, got it. 3 times. Ya. Repeat the steps 3 times. . So applying Zen methodology to effect, i did the required steps. By the count of 10 at the 3rd time, i had returned back to my normal state.(Amazing Isnt !!). For those of you Agreeing, Thats a stupendous 'No; for you. Its like this, i had returned back to normal state because i had concentrated on my breathing. By focussing on something else rather than the one which caused the anxiety, i was able to calm myself.

Now i felt confident to start conversing with the Orange Girl. But again the very thought of her threatened to raise my anxietiness again. Immediately launching into action, i asked her "What is your Name" ? 'TICKET' ,came the reply. Whatever the answer i was expecting, 'TICKET" was way beyond what i expected. It might be true that along with globalisation, Indians had taken a liking to foreign culture, adopting various practices of the foreigners in our life. Assuming that people had taken a liking to English Names like Briddget, Matilda, by all standards "TICKET" seemed an unusual name... Again the sound "TICKET" came. I looked to my left and found the Ticket Collector checking the Orange Girl's ticked. I realised only then that i was lost in my own world, and had not seen the TC and mistook TICKET for the Girl's name. I took out my ticket and waited. Meanwhile the Old man furnished his tickets and was explaining to the TC that his friend will be getting on to the train. He was pointing the name, Arun in the list saying that he has his ticket who will be joining him in the next station. Sometimes, one experiences a stroke of brilliance. Similar one happened then. I was planning to ask the girl her name, why not look it outright in the TC list.Congratulating myself for coming up with a clever strategy, i went near him and gave the TC my ticket , all the while scanning the page to find my name and a girl name neaby.

Aha, i found the name easily and brimming with excitement as if i had been awarded the Nobel Prize, i came back to my seat, her name already imprinted in my grey cells.It was quite late by now, and it was time to sleep.The girl started making arrangements to sleep. I too realised that having a conversation was not possible now and that i will do that in morning once i get up. I too went to sleep. It seemed that i had slept for a while, because when i woke up , and checked out the Girls seat, she was not there. Which meant i had slept late, i checked if it wasnt too late. I saw that in the corner of the seat, she had left her handkerchief. I took her kerchief and went out the train. The train was still standing at the platform, meaning that i still had time to find the Orange Girl.. I went outside and saw in a distant distance, she was walking at a slow pace. I raced fast and called out her name. I reached her fast and offered her the kerchief.

She smiled and then took the kerchief and said Thanks. Since i had run, my heart was beating fast, i somehow managed to say- Anything for you. The next answer was like a slap in the face.."Naiye"(translates to Dog). I was like what.. After all the romantic thoughts, ending up like this. Though i didnt want to utter obscenities to a girl, i thought i will get the kerchief back from her. I pulled the kerchief from her hand for which she pulled it back. I wasnt going to let it go like this and if she persisted i will show who Iam. I heaved the kerchief with all my might, for which not only the kerchief got pulled from my hand, i felt a hard hand on my back. "Ravi naiye, get up from bed". Its 9 now, only 3 more hours for the exam to start. It was my friend Mohan who was pulling my bedsheet away from me and was trying to wake me up. Meaning, Orange Girl, Ticket, Kerchief all was a part of the dream. ;-( Today was the last day of the exam after which our semester hols were supposed to start. Seemed like, i started imagining about my holiday schedule even before it started.

Mohan said that he was trying to wake me up from 8 and i was uttering words like "Tickets", "Water" etc. Thanking him profusely and cursing myself for sleeping over time that too on a day of final exam, i rushed up to refresh myself and do a final round of revision. The fact that the Orange Girl had come only in dream making my point stronger that my dream girl was somewhere waiting for me. You never know When you dream materializes, yet will cherish the memories of the Orange Girl till then. :)

THE END.

Note: I hope you liked the narration and if you have any comments on that i would like to hear from you. I also thank my roomie Laxman for his help in framing some parts of the story and for patiently listening to my countless narrations at weird timings.

Dedicated to all the singles looking for their soul mates. :)

Get rid of Credit Calls - 100% Performance Guaranteed.

Before you start imagining that the above lines are a marketing gag, let me clarify that Iam yet to get into such business ;). It is about the credit calls from credit companies which Iam sure all people, (particularly the software people) are plagued with. On an average, in a week a software professional can expect to get calls from atleast 5-6 different credit companies. And how our contact numbers end up in the hands of the Credit Call Folks(CCF) is a mystery.

One explanation goes like Credit companies have an arrangement of sharing the information of the customers or so called prospective clients between themselves. Their symbiotic relationship ends with we getting miffed.

Iam not sure how many of us know that when we sign the Credit card agreement,there is an statement (written in very small font) which states that the Card Holder gives the Credit Card companies the right to share our contact numbers with other Credit Companies so as to provide enhanced servies to us.(Encouraging a person to take more credit and being in debt is indeed a great service !! )

To stop the incessant calls from CCF, I had heard of a solution where if we register in a site or send a sms(which one Iam not sure) to a particular number,our contact numbers will not be shared with other credit card companies. But the effort taken to lodge a complaint and by the day where we see the results will be for long.

In the fast paced world, where we look for immediate results, i came across a solution effectively practised by one of my friend , which not only guarantees immediate results, but also guarantees long term stability. So i thought i will share it with others for everyone's benefit.



A typical conversation that happens when a CCF calls you. Phone rings... Trink Trink..

You: Hello
CCF: Good Morning Sir/Madam (S/M).

You: Good Morning.
CCF: S/M Iam XXX calling on behalf of XXX Bank. We are offering New credit facilities to our esteemed Customers. Can you provide some details about yourself ?

You:(Think) Ok, so what Iam supposed to do ??
CCF: S/M, Which company are you working for ?

You: ABC company
CCF: How much will be your annual salary ?

You: Around 20K
CCF: What is your designation in the company ?

You: Software Engineer
CCF: S/M, we have an concession for your company specially. We offer Gold Value Credit card, where you get 5% cash back offer blah blah .......

Depending on whether you are interested, you go for it(Be assured that in the day itself, you will get calls from atleast 2 other CCF). If you are not interested, you say i already have a Credit card and after giving an excuse you keep down the phone albiet the calls from CCF will come incessantly.

Now the solution to the problem, Where in the conversation goes like this.

Phone Rings ... Trink Tring. You know that a CCF is calling you from the typical nos.

You: Hello
CCF: Good Morning S/M

You: Good Morning S/M
CCF: S/M Iam ...... calling on behalf of XXX Bank. We are offering New credit facilities to our esteemed Customers. Can you provide some details about yourself ?

You: Ok S/M
CCF: Which company are you working for ?

You: ABC company
CCF: What is your designation in the company ?

You:Handy Man
CCF: Are you a permanent employee or on a contract basis ?

You: Iam on a Contract basis
CCF: How much will be your annual salary ?

You: Around 4K.
CCF: Oh.

You: I need a Credit card please. When can i get one.
CCF: (No response or will ask some other Q about your finance)

You: Please give me a Credit card. I badly need one.
CCF: ( Keeps down the phone.)

Not only the CCF himself keeps down the phone, he also updates the database about your eligibility criteria(in a way informing other companies also). Hence no other Credit card company will call you up again. My friend who followed this strategy hasnt got any calls from any CCF after this one conversation.

So we have a solution quite Simple yet Effective !!

If you have come across any such information or any experience, why not share it with others. I would be glad to know of other creative ways to stop Credit calls...:)