Trip to Garhwa

So, another trip to somewhere...what is such a big deal about it? If only you had known how
sudden and at what time it came! Going to join in a new company, searching for a new house
(that too in mumbai), running for last minute approvals in a company which is as good as a
govt. organisation....phew!! And if this was not enough...there was a hardly any time in
between...2 days and half in maximum...so let us start with the news....

All of a sudden..when I was jumping between places and running for approvals..the news came
Your cousin sister's marriage is fixed and you must be there at Tilak Ceremony...and you have
only 10 days to go...start!! Well...well...well...start I did by first calculating all the combinations
to get it right...searching the flights...what is the best way to handle it...man how can such an
important thing be fixed in such a way...I wish things were simpler and more manageble...

Hardly left with any other option and finally finding some way to handle it..here it is
Reach Ranchi on 24th November...relax for 20 odd hours(thank god!) and then off to Garhwa
and return back almost immediately..catch flight without any rest and back to Bombay...
If it was not enough...complete all the last formality in the company for the next two days and
join the new one the next day...no rest..nothing...you are not supposed to!!

I do not know whom to blame and what to say....

To reach Ranchi by AI flight from Mumbai is a pain(no matter what people say). Below is why...

The plane timing is 8 AM ( but they always start at 8.30)...You must reach airport by 7 AM
It takes around 1.45-2 hours from my place to be there...So I should start at 5.30 AM!?
So, I must get up around 4.30 AM...If not your flight is gone...Well better not to sleep and start
a little early and then sleep at plane(if you can manage)

So, I reached airport at 6.30 AM...although fresh but with red eyes(u know why) and the took
my boarding pass..surprised to see that I can go for security right away...did that...now reached
the required gate number and sitting on a really good chair...why good?Because it invites me to
sleep but god forbid I can't...just asking my brain not to sleep I sat in a relaxed position.

Now it is 7 AM and still 45 minutes to go..before they start entry...I observed the situation there
. In Mumbai there is always crowd...no matter where you are...even at odd times...I saw people
with different backgrounds...middle class people...high class people..all waiting...

I managed to sleep for some 15 minutes...and then the time arrived...the announcement was
made...I just took big steps..show my pass..took my place...windows sit always..

Only this time it was not to be...one gentleman arrived with his family and since they were late
were provided odd seats...now the hostess and the gentleman were requesting people to make
arrangements...it was weird and took some 15-20 minutes..in the process I lost my prized seat
for the first time..sitting in a D instead of A or F? And since it was close to the passage...it is
almost impossible if you are not disturbed by people moving...and then there is always one or the
other refreshment coming...result? I hardly managed to sleep...too bad.. :(

I was surprised to see one hostess. The first time I saw someone again. She was middle aged
and it is quite common to see old or middle aged hostess in Air India. The services offered
by these hostess is good by the way. They don't throw attitude and are quite dutiful. Also
for the first time this aircraft was piloted by a woman. A first here also!

Reached Ranchi almost an hour late..at 2 PM and by the time I reached home it was 3.30 PM..
The rest of the day was passed in arranging for the next day journey and talking to parents...
In the evening I took my food...after a month..again...Maa ke haath ka khana...wonderful!
By the time I could realize it was night and I slept...finally...it was a deep sleep...thank God

In the morning...i hurriedly did everything and the driver too arrived( since the journey was
long, a special driver was send by my uncle)...We started at 11 AM...

I observed again and found out that the driver has never drove a car..all his life he was driving
a bus or a lorry..but never a car...and he to drive for such a long distance...well!

I sat at the front and hence followed an unsaid rule...I am not supposed to sleep during the
way...Nobody is, who seats beside the driver...else god save you...

The driver struggled to understand the nuances of Maruti Alto...and I struggled to sit in such
a small car...

It was an election time and in the way there was a motorcade coming with bikers in the end..
Father asked the driver to get down from the main road and give them the whole way...he
forgot he was talking to a police driver..he just gave a little space...one of the biker was drunk,
so all of a sudden, thought to get ahead of all the bikers, take a sharp 90 degree turn, scratched
one of the car's door and its glass and moved away breaking the back dumper a little.
After that the driver heard an earful from father...for almost the whole journey...and thanks
to this incident..he was very very careful from then onwards..u win some..u lose some..

The journey was exciting and painful both at the same time. There were good scenery and the
road was horrible. For the first time I saw potholes at regular intervals during the way and
sometimes it was only potholes and no road...or some potholes and some road. Often it required
a master to manipulate the steering to avoid them...but often it was impossible...The result..a
tired body...Some 6 six years ago I had passed the same road..but back then it was a beauty...
now...a disaster...Now I understand how easy it is for naxals to attack at will at highways..they
have this beautiful helper which forces the driver to move at very slow speed..nobody dares to
pass this road at night..not even policemen! And you can not even fix this? You are not supposed
to..if you did...be ready to lose your life!

During the way we crossed a town..i observed there were huge crowd at main chowks and people
were discussing something....I was puzzled..Last time there were no such thing..I asked father
what it is all about...he said they were discussing whom to vote...and after the consensus arrives
that party will get the mandate. No independent minds here...That's why they suffer...Votes
can be influenced and even bought...

We reached the place...it was 6.30 PM and the sun was set..we could feel the cold...quite cold...

Driver struggled to park the car at the place pointed out by father...and heard the comments..

I was surprised to see the hotel. Quite beautiful for this place and there was a red carpet till
outside..even inside it was quite arranged and the room was quite clean. They offered evening
snacks and those too were of good quality. I really never expected this.

Even the mobile network was good there..I managed to connect internet in my laptop...
After normal greetings to my uncle and elder people...they started the talk with philosphy and
spirituality...and I silently checked the net and responded only if something interesting popped
up. Then they moved to naxal problems and office problems..I left the laptop and joined the
conversation..the end result was..if you want to solve the naxal problem..give police the free
hand and spare them from human rights people and right to information act..they said when
punjab problem can be solved..why can't we solve this..after all this is very similar...local people
influenced by outside forces. Interesting enough! And in office if you want to succeed, don't try
to do anything...the more you do something..the more trouble will come..at least in govt. office
this is how things are....

The ceremony was at 11 PM...we started to move to the place at 9 PM. Fortunately it was
quite nearby. After some good coffee, food was served..which again was fantastic. Again the
surprise was that non-veg was also served..that too mutton!!

I moved directly to the pandal for the thing I came from Bombay. They informed that I, infact,
was the most important person for today. Dressed like a simpleton, I smiled as all were wearing
very good suits. Everything was done almost perfectly and the pundit was chanting
the mantra perfectly, only at the end I did something unknowingly..but then it helped all to
smile and laugh a lot. I had threw the rice on the ladies when I was supposed to throw them
at the tilak offerings!!

Moved to my room directly after that...and slept for an hour or two..before I left for Ranchi.
Since it was morning the journey was covered an hour faster. I managed to go to my home and
rested before I left for Bombay. Surprise again as there were more security checks in Ranchi
than in Bombay and the flight reached Bombay airport 5 minute before time. It was not until
10.45 PM when I reached my room and then after some time went to sleep...

The journey was complete and must say it was worth it. Don't know when next I will be
taking the same..maybe never...

The recession has officially arrived. Last some months have been good for me. Hope it works fine further. Waiting eagerly for 25th December when i will leave for home. And i seriously hope that i will be able to update this blog regularly..

End Game begins!!

The appraisal ensured that the end game has commenced. Client vist was wonderful. My
acceptance has been good and work is going on fine in my company. But then life needs a change.
waiting for that elusive change!!

A blog after 2 years almost!! Well in the meantime i joined TCS Mumbai. Had lots of arguments
with the leads, ups, downs and finally got what i wanted...A career revolving around Java!
After done almost 3 projects in development in Java, won't say gr8 feelings...but c'mon
somethin is better than nothing! The fourth development project is going on and it is using
Agile way. Meetings and discussions is what steals the show. The product may be good
according to client and managers...but developer won't be very happy. I hope some developer
somewhere develops a new way which satisfies all! I know it is impossible also!!

The speed with which my friends are getting married is surprising me. Those who are still
bachelors are going onsite. So, my communications are going all time low.

Chess is also not going gr8. I was able to beat my mobile though..but there is no consistency.

Bought a new mobile in 2007 (Nokia N73 Music Editin) and a new laptop in 2008 (DV 6767TX)

Now settled in Belapur...small business town in Navi Mumbai...with space for everybody.

Hope something new happens in my life..maybe i am hoping against the hope.......

State of a Cinema Theater
After a long time (3 years exatly), i got a chance to see a movie(Fanaa) in Sujata ( the best theater of Ranchi). The original planwas to go for 11-2 show. We( I and my friend Kunj) reachedthere around 11 and neither we nor the black ticketwallahs could meeteach other. We left to do a little job only to return back by 12.After all we were determined to see the movie that day.I went to ticket counter and was the first one to stand there.Kunj was near the vehicle and he saw black ticketwallahs abusing eachother that they failed to sell around 30 DC tickets. Perhaps theywere beginners in this business as when we had tried to find them wefailed to hear the familiar voice of "x ka y"!! Now it is just toohard to find them by their face unless one is a regular movie buff.Anyway I observed the ticket counter.

I first went to see amovie in Sujata with my uncle in 1986 . It still was the same afterso many years. Maybe they did not found any need to change as it wasdoing its job of selling tickets properly. It ishardly of any concern to them that in which environment it is beingsold. I was under the shade but there was no respite from the heat.Infact there was a cold breeze coming from inside the ticket counter.I do not know how as there was no fan inside. It tookaround 1 hour and people start coming in groups. Earlier people willcome and go away saying there is pleanty of time left and thattickets will be sold from 1 PM. It never started fromthat time but yes people were gathered and it became very tough tostand there.Tickets distribution started from 1.15 PM but the mantra of ladiesfirst was applied. There was a seperate queue for them. I had to waitfor 20 minutes before it started at my place. And of course theperson who was giving away tickets to ladies and not caring to startat our place got his fair share of abuses from people behind me. Theywere saying this is a daily routine. At one side woman say they areequal to men and on another side they never oppose the specialprivileges given to them. Lots of other points were said. I was a muteobserver. Being first in line i got my ticket soon but not withoutany drama. There was a single way through which money and ticket canbe exchanged at the counter. I gave my money and took my hand awayonly to find that it was a blunder. Others put their hand to givetheir money and were not allowing me to take my ticket. I had toargue before i got my prize possession. It took around 2 hours to getit. I was quite tired. Lots of drama happened later on which i sawfrom a distance. People stand on each other to get tickets at the lastmoment. I was saved from those horrible experiences.

To enter the hall was not an easy task either. there was a long queuewhich was lathi charged at the last moment so that there is no chaoswhile they enter. I keep away to enter very late. Who want to getlathi after already tired for getting tickets!! ladies were allowedto enter from a special passage made for them.The hall was at its worst this time. It had more heat and humiditythan outside and if the film had not been good, i just don't know howwould i spent 3 hours there. Although Sujata boasts of having AC itwas never felt. People said if u sit near to walls you may feel it.Aaamir and Kajol acted according to their repute and the film wasgood overall. The ending was a typical Aamir movie ending. I canrecommend one to see this movie but not at Sujata.One may ask why didn't you took advance ticket by tele-booking whichis available at Sujata, i will say it is because it is very unreliable and one may never get tickets by it.

At multiplexes the experience is just the opposite. You just go,take the ticket (no queues there) and see the movie having goodworking AC. Ticket costs around 4-5 times more but then you not onlysave time but also saved from such bad experiences. If the film is aflop( common thing these days) you can sleep peacefully in AC atleast!! The good news is that there is chances of multiplexes beingconstructed at Hinoo, Ranchi very soon.

TV Today

These days it is just a nightmare to see TV programs. I am virtually
forced to check each one of them these days (as i am waiting for my
joining letter)with great patience and verify whom to give my time.
so here is a brief description of the famous ones and what
they offer.

Honestly I do not see the saas-bahu serials. What i do see is a short
glimpse of them during the so called prime time(torture time for me)
when all popular channels show them. Star TV stands on top in their
defence and it is simply boycotted by me alone. My mother sees them
with great interest and so no chance mates than to leave the TV room.
The director feels no shame in projecting a good 30 year old lady as
one of 80 year grand mother. Worse that lady wears saaris ( poor
saari must be feeling ashamed in the body of 80 year old), good
black hair, excellent make-up(to look young!!). The grand-daughter of
that lady looks older than her in contrast. This pattern is visible
in all of them. Men (projected as grand-fathr) look older by their
greyed hair(thank god), and by wearing clothes suitable for
their age. The stories are worse. A lady marries 5 times, dies and
escapes umpteen times and often the actors are dumped and new actors
are brought which makes this all thing very messy. A story runs for
good 5 years and they add all kind of twists and turns to see their
TRP ratings falling like a castle of cards.


Some channels have brought new concepts.Majority fails badly as the
story length is increased without any reason( remember Jassi jaisi
koi nahin). Some add hit numbers in between and the actors dance and
wear clothes which is really shocking to see. Other fails bcoz the
cast is no good and neither is the story. All in all very poor
situation and there is no hope of any great change.

Horror shows are really comedy shows. Comedy shows become horror
shows. I really think there is good shortage of writers in TV
industry. There was a time when ulta-pulta, with its
limited resources was a big hit among masses. Now with so good
infrastructure and so many advances they have lost the basic touch
that really matters. Nothing more to say here.


News channels. The less we say the better. Some 10 years back Aaj tak
was shown at 11 PM for about half hours and was seen by masses with
gr8 interest. It is now 24 hour channel with extensions channels like
Tej and Delhi Aaj Tak. It is not seen with even 10% of interest.
Worse to check the authenticity of its news we check the other
channels. Reporters of all the channels ask questions even a big
idiot won't ask. Like when akshardam temple was attacked and lots of
people were badly hurt, what they asked "Aap kaisa mahsoos kar rahe
hain". What rubbish reporting. NDTV is using films as a medium to
project themselves as News channel no. 1. It can be done with
authentic news, good reporting and use of new technologies as they
come. They fail in basic areas and think can woo viewers.


The cartoon channels show cartoons i never heard of during my time.
Most of them are blind copy of Chinese and Japanese versions and
don't raise the adrenalin. It is very hard if not impossible to see
them and know what is happening. The story line is very poor and
they fail in their basic idea( to make one laugh or feel relax).


Movie channels shows the same movie many times in a week. Good movies
are shown rarely and i don't want to be tortured by the bad ones. I
check the news paper to see if today i can spend any time on them.
Otherwise it is of no use really.

Sincerely speaking only these channels are seen by majority of
viewers. Fed up with them i take refuge in Discovery Channel and
family. Most of the time they are good except the fact they
all are pro-US. Nature shows are the best thing. One feels relaxed by
seeing the beauty, gets humour by seeing the behavior of animals and
we came close to nature for which we give least time from our time
table. Science stories, Detective stories, History and all are also a
treat to watch.