Hey folks,
CNN IBN had invited Freedom Blogs on the occassion of Independence Day. I decided to write down my thoughts about our country. Apparently, they picked it and have posted it on their site. I don't know if they have selected all of them or is it random or is it because liked the article. So, I won't brag about the same :-). Here's a link to my article
http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/iday2007/blog_story.php?id=46778
If you go back one page, you can view some more blogs, a few are very well written - Worth a read..!!!
-Deepesh.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Friday, August 3, 2007
The tyranny of Auto-drivers
It may be an abrupt start, but I really don't want to waste any time in getting to the point. For the past few weeks, I have been travelling from home to work and back via autorickshaws. 22 years in this city and let's say, I have been travelling by ricks since 1999 - a long 8 years, I have never witnessed the attitude of rickshaw drivers that I have seen in this period of time. Let me paint you a picture of the conversations I had with rickshaw-walas everyday -
Week 1 : I am a newbie....
Me : Magarpatta City ???
RW : 25 Rs extra.
Me : It's 9.00 A.M ..Not P.M...Are you kidding me ?
RW : turning his face around "Aana hai toh aao..."
We all must have read or heard about the comity among these folks sometime or the other. I got to play the victim this time. I had to come to terms with him. Trust me, if one of them says no, none will agree.
Week 2 : I act smart..But, they are smarter...
Me : Hadapsar ??
RW : Hadapsar mein kahan ?
Me : Near Hadapsar signal ....Sundar Sankul
(I did not want to mention Magarpatta City..Sundar Sankul is a residential complex near Magarpatta City).
RW : 20 Rs extra...
Me : Why should I pay you extra ?? It's not even late night ...
RW : We don't find customers back from there. And the Rickshawwalas there don't allow us to occupy positions at their stops/stands.
Me : What crap?? Let's go..Let me see who stops you..
After some argument, I had to agree for 15 Rs extra..
Week 3 : A bit more smarter .. I hid my I-card and tried to pull the right chords...
Same conversation happened and he asked me for extra money...
Me : I am one of your first customers for the day. If you say no, you might have to bear the brunt of an ill-omened day. (They have a concept called BONI or something similar, where-in the first customer for the day is to be treated with respect. I capitalized on that)
RW : (thinking....) Okay, fine..Let's go..!!!
This argument did not work with everyone though, so I knew I had to come up with something new to survice my final week....
Week 4 : The final week...Not a single Rejection..Yippie...
Same initial conversation..
RW : Where in Hadapsar ??
Me : MegaCentre ..It's right at the signal...
RW : Okay, fine ..Let's go...
Once, we reached the front gate of MegaCentre..
Me : Arrey...Shit..The front gate is closed to outsiders..You will have to take the backside route..
The backside gate is through Magarpatta city..I'll guide you..
RW : (looked baffled) Aaahh..okay...!!!
Finally, he dropped me at Magarpatta city and left. I knew what I had done was wrong in general, but, the animosity that had filled me up over these days had forced me to do so.
I must admit that on a couple of instances, I had my share of good luck with acquiescent rickshaw-walas.
But, on the contrary, one of the instances is worth describing :
One evening, a rickshaw-wala agreed to go by regular fare and on the way, he told me to pay him extra. I refuted adamantly. He argued incessantly and gave irrelevant arguments like
"Hum gareeb hain..!! Main public service karta hoon...Aapki regular salary hai..Hamari baat samjho...bla bla bla..".
The yapping got intolerable and I had to tell him to shut-up or stop the rick. I, definitely, did not want him to stop the rick, since that would land me in a little-or-no-transport zone. Fortunately, he carried on. On reaching home, he refused to pay back the whole balance. It was a meagre amount, but I had already had enough of this crap. I saw a couple of cops standing close-by and threatened to call them. Afraid that he was, he returned the amount. Infact, he even offered me extra money......
Till date, I cannot understand the reason behind this change of attitude and mendicant-like behaviour. What makes them do this ?? And most of you might not know, but these folks make a neat 15-17K each month. Even if we deduct the overhauling and diesel charges, they are left with 10K.
I have learnt a lesson and I hope that people who read this blog will be more careful in the future.
-Deepesh.
Week 1 : I am a newbie....
Me : Magarpatta City ???
RW : 25 Rs extra.
Me : It's 9.00 A.M ..Not P.M...Are you kidding me ?
RW : turning his face around "Aana hai toh aao..."
We all must have read or heard about the comity among these folks sometime or the other. I got to play the victim this time. I had to come to terms with him. Trust me, if one of them says no, none will agree.
Week 2 : I act smart..But, they are smarter...
Me : Hadapsar ??
RW : Hadapsar mein kahan ?
Me : Near Hadapsar signal ....Sundar Sankul
(I did not want to mention Magarpatta City..Sundar Sankul is a residential complex near Magarpatta City).
RW : 20 Rs extra...
Me : Why should I pay you extra ?? It's not even late night ...
RW : We don't find customers back from there. And the Rickshawwalas there don't allow us to occupy positions at their stops/stands.
Me : What crap?? Let's go..Let me see who stops you..
After some argument, I had to agree for 15 Rs extra..
Week 3 : A bit more smarter .. I hid my I-card and tried to pull the right chords...
Same conversation happened and he asked me for extra money...
Me : I am one of your first customers for the day. If you say no, you might have to bear the brunt of an ill-omened day. (They have a concept called BONI or something similar, where-in the first customer for the day is to be treated with respect. I capitalized on that)
RW : (thinking....) Okay, fine..Let's go..!!!
This argument did not work with everyone though, so I knew I had to come up with something new to survice my final week....
Week 4 : The final week...Not a single Rejection..Yippie...
Same initial conversation..
RW : Where in Hadapsar ??
Me : MegaCentre ..It's right at the signal...
RW : Okay, fine ..Let's go...
Once, we reached the front gate of MegaCentre..
Me : Arrey...Shit..The front gate is closed to outsiders..You will have to take the backside route..
The backside gate is through Magarpatta city..I'll guide you..
RW : (looked baffled) Aaahh..okay...!!!
Finally, he dropped me at Magarpatta city and left. I knew what I had done was wrong in general, but, the animosity that had filled me up over these days had forced me to do so.
I must admit that on a couple of instances, I had my share of good luck with acquiescent rickshaw-walas.
But, on the contrary, one of the instances is worth describing :
One evening, a rickshaw-wala agreed to go by regular fare and on the way, he told me to pay him extra. I refuted adamantly. He argued incessantly and gave irrelevant arguments like
"Hum gareeb hain..!! Main public service karta hoon...Aapki regular salary hai..Hamari baat samjho...bla bla bla..".
The yapping got intolerable and I had to tell him to shut-up or stop the rick. I, definitely, did not want him to stop the rick, since that would land me in a little-or-no-transport zone. Fortunately, he carried on. On reaching home, he refused to pay back the whole balance. It was a meagre amount, but I had already had enough of this crap. I saw a couple of cops standing close-by and threatened to call them. Afraid that he was, he returned the amount. Infact, he even offered me extra money......
Till date, I cannot understand the reason behind this change of attitude and mendicant-like behaviour. What makes them do this ?? And most of you might not know, but these folks make a neat 15-17K each month. Even if we deduct the overhauling and diesel charges, they are left with 10K.
I have learnt a lesson and I hope that people who read this blog will be more careful in the future.
-Deepesh.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
A Passion worth 15 lakhs....
Hey,
Did any of you happen to read an article regarding a loaded Jalandhar wastrel dishing out 15 lacs for a cool cellphone number ? And the reason for this outlay - he got a compliment from a friend for one of his earlier numbers, which he found easy to remember. Wooow..!!!!
Give it a thought - how easy or cumbersome would it be for someone to remember a cellphone number ?
My first argument would be - who the hell remembers phone numbers ? I mean, as far as I am aware, everyone stores them in their cellphones.
Secondly, anyone who calls you often, eventually might remember your number. So, the onus, if I may say so, is on the caller, not on the one holding the number.
On the other hand, I appreciate his allegiance towards his passion. He claims to be fond of collecting such unique numbers. Anyone who does not share his passion, like me, would not agree with him. For instance, I am passionate about cellphones and like to switch frequently. So, anyone, who is not of the same view, would consider me a lamebrain and a spendthrift.
Coming back to this lad's case, the passion seems to have landed him in trouble. Well, the Income Tax department guys are known to be lurking for such preys. So, a week past this news came out, they sniffed their way to his doorstep, only to find that its not only cellphone numbers, its cars as well. Apparently, he has fleet of cars, all bearing unparalleled numbers.
I am unable to fathom the amount he might have had to shell out for these numbers considering he paid a whopping 15 lacs for cellphone numbers.
Man, what is wrong with him?? 15 lacs ?? for just numbers ?? that too for someone else's convenience ???
On the one hand, we have a plethora of schemes being launched by all the cellphone companies to make sure their customers can stay away from lengthier bills and on the other hand, we have people who are willing to cover up for the possible losses of these operators. Fair enough...!!Going by that, the more people start bidding for cellphone numbers, the cellphone charges will plummet further. Good for you and me..what say?
-Deepesh.
Did any of you happen to read an article regarding a loaded Jalandhar wastrel dishing out 15 lacs for a cool cellphone number ? And the reason for this outlay - he got a compliment from a friend for one of his earlier numbers, which he found easy to remember. Wooow..!!!!
Give it a thought - how easy or cumbersome would it be for someone to remember a cellphone number ?
My first argument would be - who the hell remembers phone numbers ? I mean, as far as I am aware, everyone stores them in their cellphones.
Secondly, anyone who calls you often, eventually might remember your number. So, the onus, if I may say so, is on the caller, not on the one holding the number.
On the other hand, I appreciate his allegiance towards his passion. He claims to be fond of collecting such unique numbers. Anyone who does not share his passion, like me, would not agree with him. For instance, I am passionate about cellphones and like to switch frequently. So, anyone, who is not of the same view, would consider me a lamebrain and a spendthrift.
Coming back to this lad's case, the passion seems to have landed him in trouble. Well, the Income Tax department guys are known to be lurking for such preys. So, a week past this news came out, they sniffed their way to his doorstep, only to find that its not only cellphone numbers, its cars as well. Apparently, he has fleet of cars, all bearing unparalleled numbers.
I am unable to fathom the amount he might have had to shell out for these numbers considering he paid a whopping 15 lacs for cellphone numbers.
Man, what is wrong with him?? 15 lacs ?? for just numbers ?? that too for someone else's convenience ???
On the one hand, we have a plethora of schemes being launched by all the cellphone companies to make sure their customers can stay away from lengthier bills and on the other hand, we have people who are willing to cover up for the possible losses of these operators. Fair enough...!!Going by that, the more people start bidding for cellphone numbers, the cellphone charges will plummet further. Good for you and me..what say?
-Deepesh.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
BROTHERS-in-RIVALS
How often do we hear about brothers turning hostile due to reasons like money, ego, politics, et al ? More often than not, this animosity is driven by 2 major factors - MONEY and POLITICS. The incident that rings a bell almost instantaneously is the Pramod-Pravin Mahajan saga. Most of us are aware of it. There is one such BROTHERS-in-RIVALS story that many of us might not be congnizant of.
The story dates back to 1924, Herzogenaurach -
Two brothers decided to enter into a joint venture. Belonging to a family of cobblers and having garnered significant experience in this area, it was only logical of them to venture into the world of shoes. They called their company Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory. Their business boomed in some time and letters started pouring in from people interested in buying their shoes. Soon, they were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes a year. MONEY having played it cards well, it was time for POLITICS to step in. (Remember, MONEY and POLITICS - Hey, that makes up "MP"). Both the brothers were members of the Nazi party. During the World War II, the brothers were driven by dubitable situations and a series of misinterpretations transforming them into rivals. What next? - They decided to go separate ways and split the company. Each one took his share and took it off from there own his own. Ironically, both the companies are business rivals today and one of the most successful shoe manufacturers.
Don't you want to know the names of these BROTHERS-in-RIVALS and which companies do they own ?
Let me put an end to all speculation -
The elder one is - Rudolph Dassler - PUMA
The younger one is - Adolf Dassler - ADIDAS
Today, both these companies deal in sportswear, shoes, accessories of superior quality and and are equally preponderant.
This makes me contemplate - what would they have done together?
-Deepesh.
The story dates back to 1924, Herzogenaurach -
Two brothers decided to enter into a joint venture. Belonging to a family of cobblers and having garnered significant experience in this area, it was only logical of them to venture into the world of shoes. They called their company Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory. Their business boomed in some time and letters started pouring in from people interested in buying their shoes. Soon, they were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes a year. MONEY having played it cards well, it was time for POLITICS to step in. (Remember, MONEY and POLITICS - Hey, that makes up "MP"). Both the brothers were members of the Nazi party. During the World War II, the brothers were driven by dubitable situations and a series of misinterpretations transforming them into rivals. What next? - They decided to go separate ways and split the company. Each one took his share and took it off from there own his own. Ironically, both the companies are business rivals today and one of the most successful shoe manufacturers.
Don't you want to know the names of these BROTHERS-in-RIVALS and which companies do they own ?
Let me put an end to all speculation -
The elder one is - Rudolph Dassler - PUMA
The younger one is - Adolf Dassler - ADIDAS
Today, both these companies deal in sportswear, shoes, accessories of superior quality and and are equally preponderant.
This makes me contemplate - what would they have done together?
-Deepesh.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Little China..!!!
Statutory warning : The below content may force you to give up your low-cal foods, turn you into a insatiable gourmand or make you more affable..Beware!!!
Soups, iced tea, fish fingers, chilly chicken, Momos (chicken and vegetable), veg manchurian, rice, noodles, squids, crabs, lamb, mushrooms, icecreams, pastries, custards, and much more...
What's this??
Well, this was my menu for lunch on Sunday, 20th May at Mainland China where I had gone with the intention of catching up with members of a community "Pune Eat Outs". The community basicallly consists of people from different walks of life but coveting the same need - "GOOD FOOD". Having said this and with the above menu, one can definitely say that the community surely lives upto your expectations, doesn't it? With so much to choose from, it certainly was a challenge to eat it all. But, being a non-vegeterian food lover, I decided to sacrifice the veggie delicacies (definitely no regrets :D ).
As far as the food goes, not much to complain about except for the squids (Yeah, I finally tried them...!!). I was disappointed, to say the least.
Well turning the wheel in a different direction, let me talk about the amicable people I got to meet out there. After some last minute cancellations, there were about 40 members who had come. These included people from the IT industry, architecture, marketing, food joint owners, students and the youngest member was a 10 month old baby Hymn.
Amongst so many people it is very easy for a new member (did I say this was my first meet ? ) to get lost. But, instead of sitting in one place and binging, everyone would change places whenever they moved for a helping. Towards the end (four hours later) some seniors (rather, non first-timers) ragged the new-comers but,everyone took it in a friendly spirit. The energy levels were high and so were the noise levels. The meet ended with a traditional PEO photo session followed by final goodbyes and handshakes(ofcourse to meet again in 6 weeks). Tout ensemble, an experience worth sharing and one which can be better understood by being a part of it all.
If I were to tout one good part of this event, I would say
"It's not one...It's many!!!""
Anyways,
Hope you had fun reading this blog..!!
-Deepesh
Soups, iced tea, fish fingers, chilly chicken, Momos (chicken and vegetable), veg manchurian, rice, noodles, squids, crabs, lamb, mushrooms, icecreams, pastries, custards, and much more...
What's this??
Well, this was my menu for lunch on Sunday, 20th May at Mainland China where I had gone with the intention of catching up with members of a community "Pune Eat Outs". The community basicallly consists of people from different walks of life but coveting the same need - "GOOD FOOD". Having said this and with the above menu, one can definitely say that the community surely lives upto your expectations, doesn't it? With so much to choose from, it certainly was a challenge to eat it all. But, being a non-vegeterian food lover, I decided to sacrifice the veggie delicacies (definitely no regrets :D ).
As far as the food goes, not much to complain about except for the squids (Yeah, I finally tried them...!!). I was disappointed, to say the least.
Well turning the wheel in a different direction, let me talk about the amicable people I got to meet out there. After some last minute cancellations, there were about 40 members who had come. These included people from the IT industry, architecture, marketing, food joint owners, students and the youngest member was a 10 month old baby Hymn.
Amongst so many people it is very easy for a new member (did I say this was my first meet ? ) to get lost. But, instead of sitting in one place and binging, everyone would change places whenever they moved for a helping. Towards the end (four hours later) some seniors (rather, non first-timers) ragged the new-comers but,everyone took it in a friendly spirit. The energy levels were high and so were the noise levels. The meet ended with a traditional PEO photo session followed by final goodbyes and handshakes(ofcourse to meet again in 6 weeks). Tout ensemble, an experience worth sharing and one which can be better understood by being a part of it all.
If I were to tout one good part of this event, I would say
"It's not one...It's many!!!""
Anyways,
Hope you had fun reading this blog..!!
-Deepesh
Friday, April 27, 2007
Who am I ?
Phewwwwwwwwww......!!!!!!!
Finally, after a long plod through the settings, profile, and other unimportant details, here I am writing my first blog. But, I still haven't figured out a way of uploading my snap into my profile. You can say, I was too impatient and anxious to start writing. Instead, I'll just throw it here.
First things first.
Q) Who am I ?
Ans : No, I am not spiderman..(sad joke ..huh??)
You really wanna know, have a look at my profile ..:P Just kidding..read ahead...
The word "Introduction" rings a bell...
The word "Introduction" rings a bell...
I have always wondered, why do most people enjoying brushing aside their introductions.
I once came across a spring chicken whose Introduction read :
-"Find out yourself"
Another one saying,
-"Difficult....very difficult"
A greybeard (with due respect)
-"God knows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Funny people...
Well, anyways, this is about me..(I always tend to digress from the main topic..:D )
So, I am Deepesh, a resident of Pune.
A software engineer by profession working for Sybase India Pvt Ltd.
I am a foodie to the core and I keep adding some extra pounds to my calorie-collection every now and then. And then I strive, although in vain, to get rid of them by hitting the gym on and off. Weekdays stand for WORK and weekends translate into exuberant outings with family and close friends.
Well, that's all about me. This is not a matrimonial page for me to quote my age, skin colour, n-figure pay, bla bla bla..
But, watch out for a blog on this (matrimonial ads)in near future...:D
Sayonara,
Deepesh.
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