Singular Times

Someone told me the other day I was popular,
Which made me sit down and wonder,
Why then was everything i did,
Always in the singular?

I see my friends,
All doing stuff in groups,
And I query myself,
Where is my troupe?

Standards 5th to 10th were nice,
Groups I was in by choice,
School was a good time,
I was always in a circle rather than a line.

Then came the time of the boards,
People studied tons to get on the board,
Me being my own lazy self,
Messed up in the final test.

That act separated me from my peers of long time,
And put me in a new place ,
The only saving grace of mine,
Was that I got the stream of my taste.

As time went on,
I grew fond of this place,
Science and beyond,
I was taking to it with good grace.

As the two years closed their lid,
No group was I in particular,
Why was everything i did,
Always in the singular?

The 12th boards were history,
Engineering dished out more mates,
Some on a completely different trajectory,
Some with similar tastes.

As these four years closed their lid,
No synergy did I achieve in particular,
Why was everything i did,
Always in the singular?

Graduation brought me a new world,
A world of an office, a salary and a cellphone,
Lucky Me, I was told,
That my office was my second home.

As these three years closed their lid,
I had not achieved anything spectacular,
Why, i say, was everything i did,
Always in the singular?

And so started my MBA reform,
The business suits, the case studies and the works,
New bonds i managed to form,
With all those aspiring to be young turks.

I learned my way through,
And had my fun on the way,
All the effort paid off,
When i got anchored on the first placement day.

As these two years closed their lid,
Made me realise that maybe my thinking was in error,
Why did I say everything i did,
Was always in the singular?

Its been 18 months since I reset my time,
And my network is on the incline,
Definitely back are the good times,
I am again in a circle, rather than a line.

Hill Station-ed

"It's only work if somebody makes you do it" ~ Calvin.

I agree! But sometimes when someone makes you do something, it turns out to be refreshingly... well... refreshing! Something similar happened to me one week in October. We had a representative from reputed US Automobile major visiting us in that week. The major agenda included showcasing our capabilities in the Automotive space. A regular in any of our regular client visits. However there was a twist in this tale. The agenda this time around included taking the client to a hydro power generating station en route to Mumbai. The site zeroed in was Tata Power dam at Walwan, Lonavala.

Now to anyone who is from in and around Maharashta knows of Lonavla. Known more for its Chikki and Bhushi dam than anything else. Ideal weekend getaway for all Mumbaikars and Punekars. Not really for its power generation capabilities.

My job in this visit was like that of a foot soldier in an army of the middle ages . It invloved going to the site of the battle (so to speak) in advance and analysing the situation to ensure smooth passage once the real army (so to speak) arrives. Interesting eh?

Nevertheless, after significant arguments with my co-creators (read Father and Mother), i decided to set off to Lonavala on my trusted steed.. My 5 years young, Flame red, Pulsar 150. Now Ive always loved road trips on 2 wheels (haven't had many to speak of though). So i packed in my Sony Cybershot in my bag, switched on some music and headed out.

The old Pune-Mumbai highway, till a few years ago, used to be a single lane, slow poke of a road which articulated graphically the "progress" India had made in road infrastructure. However, this time round, I was pleasantly surprised to find the road converted into a two lane (each way), even spread of concrete. The fact that i went in October also made for the entire ride to be very picturesque.

On the way. i stopped to shoot the lovely waters of the Indrayani river and also some egrets having a mid morning snack in the placid river waters.

After reaching Lonavala, I headed to Fariyas hotel for some work. After having a particularly expensive potion of noodles there, I headed off to the Tata Power dam (Walwan dam) for the piece-de-resistance of this trip. The backwaters of the dam were SPECTACULAR! I had gone to the directors bunglow and the view from the patio there was simply breathtaking. I was in a good mood to settle down on a deck chair and take a nap. Sadly, photography is not permitted there and i couldnt capture some quick shots.

Walwan dam has been closed to public citing security concerns since the 26/11 atacks on the Taj. However, since i was from a group company and spoke nicely to the caretaker there, i was let in without too much of a fuss. Another little cheap thrill for me. To boldly go where no non-Tata mortal is allowed to go.

Once i was done dealing witht he people at the Walwan, i set off for some photo ops to the hills behind INS Shivajji on he way to Aamby Valley. The climb upto Aamby valley and the scenery around there is something anyone who loves nature must experience once their limetimes atleast. It somehow tends to bring the calm back into your stressed bodies even though you are hundreds and thousands of feet above the inhabited valley below.

I manged to click some interesting sights while i was there along with testing the self timer on my Sony to the fullest [:-D]. Talk about Narcissism!

On my way home i came across a HUGE statue of Ganpati bappa on Dehu road. Which really made me spontaneously cry out.."GOD Almighty!"..[:-)]

The Trumps

I was cleaning out my closet today (figuratively and actually) and i came across something i didnt even remember i still possessed. Something i used to be crazy about when i was a kid. Something that kept me and my friends occupied for hours on end. Something very simple and innocuous... Trump cards!

Now back in the very early 90s, electronic entertainment had not yet caught he fancy of us kids. We preferred to be outdoors getting our hands dirty. Now one of the sedate activities was to play Trump cards. For those who dont know what trump cards are, ill explain. They are basically a stack of cards about one particular class of items. For eg. Cars, WWF wrestlers (favorite!), fighter jets etc etc. The cards were dealt out to a number of players. The objective was to get back all cards to yourself by calling out the highest line item in your card. It was great fun!

Now ofcourse, being oversmart kids, we used to have a lot of variation of our own. The most common for us was something calleda "choosy". Now this involved selecting the 5 best cards from your pack and keeping them away as the ultimate trump weapon.

Feels good reminescing about old times. Especially those when life wasnt as complicated. Simpler times, simpler lives.