2010-04-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

Old friends.

There is some thing about meeting old friends, the really close ones especially. And its more than just enjoyably reminiscing about old times. You could have a delightful conversation about nearly anything in the world, old or new, and the connection would just be there. It’s as if you have travelled through some kind of time-space continuum and nothing has changed over the years. When I compare this with some discussions I have with people I have been getting to know or understand lately, I realize how guarded I am on most of those occasions. Its not that you don't trust these folks any less but it probably has to do with the experiences you have had in the recent past that generates a sense of discomfort within you. That having been said, I could probably be reading this post a few years down the line and finding these same folks fitting perfectly in the category of old and close friends. Fact of the matter is that there are always going to be some numbers in your telephone directory that you can call upon even after a hiatus of a few years and have a conversation, albeit meaningless banter, that can help you look at things the way you once did and to bring back the verve within your attitude that once was.

2010-03-08T22:28:00.000-08:00

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all. -Oscar Wilde

This Arbit string of notes-to-self has to do with the seemingly salient resolve expressed in the previous post.

GoPlaces.UnkownDestinations.KnownDestinations.Freebird.ClearDustOff.Restring.Tune.Strum.Hum.Regut.Run.Stamina.Sweat.Swear.Breathe.Break.Reenergize.Zoom.Focus.Shoot.Edit.Rasterize.Desaturate.RGB.CMYK.DreamTheater.SteveVai.Ozzy.Byrds.Beatles.Gulp.Glug.Taste.Sip.Swig.

Live!

2010-02-27T20:43:00.000-08:00

Where does the time go?
Between countless emails, endless meetings and later than late work hours; while sitting in your car through anfractuous traffic-ridden roads or fretting at the airport desperately awaiting the departure of perennially delayed flights; that’s where it all goes. Time, I mean. Why? Well, because it’s the only way we know to be. Or at least I have come to know to be. The question really though is, is this the best way to be? Certainly not. What really complicates the matter further is, notwithstanding being in full acknowledgement of the problem and the lurking danger of getting disconnected with most things social and real, a mysterious and unusually strong reluctance on our parts to address it.

It needs to be addressed, if not instanter, gradually; and may not be systematically but certainly with some resolve and firmness.

2005-08-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

Its been a month at IIFT and its about time I wrote something.
But instead of writing about the crazy PDP tht went on till 4 in the morn, or the 12hr or less notice surprise quizzes , or how all of us drank Sistoo's water and Manveet flicked his wallet or how Pookie missed her first yoga class and ended up with 2 DGPs or about the newest South Indian filmstar on campus Mr.Sasi Kumar and his 'OK I sleep man' philosophy in life; I am gonna write about a very interesting conversation I overheard in the mess one afternoon.

SasiKumar(sasi):I really admire one thing about you man-whatever be the class you manage to fall asleep man...whatever be the class
Abhinav Parihar(nautanki):hehe..its a gift
sasi:i know it really is
nautanki:but I cant really do tht anymore
sasi:why?
nautanki:the stats prof. tht Bajpai has warned me...if I sleep in class again he'll take me to Mr.Ravi Shankar and if hes not there he'll take me to the DG...so you'll find me paying attention in all classes from now on
sasi:thts really bad man
nautanki:I know...I think I should do something about it.....if I dont sleep in the class then when will I sleep.
sasi:yeah thts true man
nautanki:I think I'll sleep a lil bit in everones class but not in Bajpai's class.
sasi:yeah tht will be better man.ok man I go now.bye man Abhijeet.
moi:where you goin.
sasi:I go to the room now then I move to FMS man

2005-07-30T03:45:00.000-07:00

Heres the link to a blog I used to write previously

http://rbimonthlyplan.blogspot.com/

You may concude that I am dypsomaniac who needs immediate help.........all I can say is that you'll be absolutely right.

2005-07-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

Instead of wasting my time introducing myself-have had enuf of tht at the PDPs at IIFT- I am gonna post a story one of my best friends (anna) had written.

Guga and the Five Talking Leopards

Caution :- Please keep your brains aside, if you have them, before reading this .

This story dates not too long ago. In fact, it dates just about 2 months ago, when the batch of 2004 finished engineering, and we all headed out for a much needed rest. We headed back home, and Guga headed back home too..only he took hours more to reach his house, as he stayed at Borivli, and would take ages to reach there. But that isn’t the crux of this story, so let’s move on.
Guga reached home after a long and tiring journey, through hills and forests, over mountains and plains. By the time he had reached home, all his other friends were already online! (All his friends come online at 11pm). Guga started his computer whose comfit was as follows:-
1. Pentium 1 100Mhz
2. 16mb EDO RAM
3. 1 GB hard disk
And other stuff which is too obsolete to even write here.
He started his PC, but had to soon go offline, as his system could not handle running internet explorer and MSN messenger at the same time. He tried repeatedly for three weeks, but to no avail. Tired and frustrated, he finally looked out of his window, just to find that his neighbourhood was infested with hundreds of yellow spotted cat- like creatures, more commonly referred to as Leopards. Guga being Guga, the ever calm and collected dude, did not panic. He instead decided he would go down for a stroll, and maybe share a plate of rice with those four legged beasts. Walking down the stairs from his fourth floor apartment, he noticed something was abnormal. The leopards were actually walking on two feet, and one of them was actually smoking a cigarette! Disgusted, Guga walked ahead, when suddenly a leopard knocked him down, and in one swift motion carried him back into his house. Too stunned to react, the only thing Guga could observe was that his precious computer was being lifted and carried away by that offending feline!

The next morning, his friends called him to offer condolences, after reading in the papers that leopards had escaped from National Park, infested Borivli and had plundered the town. Guga vowed he would avenge his loss and began to train to become a Leopard hunter, the kind no one had ever seen before. His ambition was now to become the richest leopard hunter of them all...and he called Rohan Khopkar to buy National Park for him. Sadly, Rohan had bought Pune and had started ruling there. He then called his roomie Abeer Garg, who refused to recognize him, since he had now become poor as a result of shifting to Borivli. His last hope was Aniket Vichare, who did not even acknowledge Guga existed. He called Andy too, to ask if there was any Horizon money left, but he was too busy dancing with. We all know who.

Disappointed and betrayed by the RICH westernites, but strong willed nevertheless, Guga took his Zen and zoomed off into National Park, in search of his elusive computer. No one could blame him for being so desperate, since GC and new alumni committee had already kicked him out of his favourite cabin, the RAIT alumni association headquarters.
After a quick drive and three plates of Dal rice later, he reached National Park. Guga, for those of you who are unaware, is least afraid of the dark, as demonstrated during the trip to Matheran, where he was rechristened JACKAL for these very exploits. It was already dark, and he could hardly see a thing. But night-vision Guga had other ideas. Using his new found leopard track down tactics, he soon found that there was a group of leopards loitering around nearby bushes. Quickly, Guga picked up his gun, and darted off to where he had sensed the leopard movements. Approaching the bushes, he cautiously moved forward, ensuring that the incident of Horizon 2004 last day did not repeat. He did behind a large bush, to observe what was happening. To his amazement, he saw that Shiladitya had also been captured, and was using Gugas computer to make a poster for the leopards! This infuriated Guga even more, since Shiladitya was using Guga’s computer, the same one which could not run MSN and IE together, to run Photoshop!
Seething with anger, Guga moved ahead, determined to knock the very existence of every living thing that he saw. He observed a leopard watching MTV, when suddenly the leopard turned to him and said in a loud female voice “Where the hell do you think you are going??” with a characteristic index finger rotational movement. Guga was too stunned to react, firstly because he remembered someone else with the same kind of mannerism, secondly and more importantly, how the hell could leopards talk?!? Gathering all the courage he had left, Guga went ahead to get his computer, and maybe even save Shiladitya in the process. Getting closer, he found that Shiladitya had developed characteristic leopard like spots and was slowly but surely also becoming a leopard. He tried to call out to him, but all he heard in return was a faint RASSSTERRRIZE, muffled by intermittent growls. This was too much of a shock for poor Guga (pun intended), and he moved away from there. He then was looking around to see which leopard was weak enough to be attacked, when he came across a female leopard with a lot of hair on her hands, carrying William Stallings. Guga had seen enough by now, to figure out who she was, and decided to avoid her, since we all know who he had seen. But alas, he already had been seen, and she yelled ‘ABHIJEET!!!!!!’ Sensing it was too late, Guga went up to her, just be to asked questions like “ What the Leopardian Distance of non offset QPSK? ” and “What is the basic principle of spotted RS232 interface? “. Guga knew that this was too much. He had come fully prepared for combat, but all his past three encounters had been no shows.

Tired and famished, he headed back to the car, brought out his Tiffin box, ate the fried rice specially packed for him and headed diametrically opposite to the direction he headed back from. He had found his computer, but no feasible way to get it back. Aimlessly walking, he suddenly came across three weak leopards. Guga needed no second invitation, and finally his career as a hunter had begun. Three gunshots and three dead bodies later, he was surrounded by hordes of leopard-men, who were baying for his blood. A leopard suddenly jumped ahead, and in a typically PANZY voice said “ Fight me! Cultural Secretary of RAIT!!”Guga had undergone enough training in Leopard hunting now, to fight him bare handed, and the single combat started. Half an hour into the fight, he realized that the leopard he was fighting was the Thadomal Fashion show team head, who had not been paid the prize money yet, and as a mark of protest had not even changed the outfit he was wearing during the Fashion show (We all remember the leopard sequence, don’t we?) and had now actually turned into a leopard. Guga managed to defeat him, (no one knows if he paid him the money or actually defeat him), but that was it. He had seen enough leopards for a day. His mind was filled with spots. He wondered whether all the people he knew were turning into leopards. Moving towards his car, he suddenly spotted his 8th semester Internal project Guide. Being as respectful as he was, he moved towards his car and asked him if he wanted a lift anywhere. He was just about to mention to him what he saw; when he observed that his Internal Guide had a tail! He knew what was coming, so as a preventive measure, he aimed at him and shot him dead. A weak old voice from the dying leopard-man then said “I shall have my revenge”.

Guga was completely disillusioned. He had seen five talking leopards, and could not find anybody after that who believed what he just experienced. Nevil, Anna, Vishal, Rupin, Andy and practically all his friends thought his loneliness in Borivli had got to him and pitied him. All they hoped was his condition improved with time. A month down the line, it was time for results. Anna flunked as usual, Rupin betrayed Anna by passing, Nevil was relieved that he cleared, Vishal got a first class as usual. And Guga? He checked his result. The leopard- man’s curse had come true!
His 8th semester Project marks? NONE! He wily old leopard – man had marked him absent!

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PS.If anyone wants to know the real context of the story or an explanation of the insane elements included in it please get in touch with me personally :-P

RadioGuga