Once More..One last time..

Dear Sachin, How are you doing ? (Awkwardness) Let me first introduce myself. I am a reserved, reluctant sort of character - generally directionless, good at drifting from one thing to another - school, jobs, love, marriage, ah and this cruel middle age. I do a few things in life decently well, but come on! - I am not really fantastic at anything in particular like yourself. ( God, that straight drive. Sigh) I am more than a hundred million strong. We may dress differently, diss at the young Kohlis and Rainas with varying intensities and dialects, but at the core we are one person. For simplicities sake, let me call myself The Tendulkar Generation.  So once again- how are you Sachin? I hope this letter finds you in the best of health.  If you are wondering, we have run into each other many times - in hotel lobbies, from behind tasteless nets and rusted barbed wires, at innocuous inaugurations, and mostly through those Taiwan made TVs. I have seen you, copied you, cried when you were Shoulder Before Wicket and boy have I celebrated when Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar cuts loose. God, how time flies. There you were. Young boy, around my age, curly hair, twinkle in eye, and dragging a bat clearly too heavy in your hands. There you were, with that quick glance at the heavens, that stare down the pitch, and that disturbing little one quarter squat.  And boy did I scream and laugh out loud. Somebody get him a better fitting box! And then I corrected myself. Heck, on second thoughts let him be. Everything he does is beautiful, and he hasnt even hit the ball yet. It is difficult to say how and when exactly this connect started. Was it when you took that last West Indian wicket to leave a match tied at 126? Was it when you made grown men squeal while a cricket ball took flight like the sand that surrounded it? Or was it on that day when you flew back from a father's funeral to that quick look at the heavens, that stare down the pitch, and that squat.  Who cares ? We connected like kids do with elder brothers, like elder brothers do with fathers, and like fathers do with their friends from another time. In whatever role you played - teenage freak, opener for India, reluctant captain, honest young man, wise solid anchor - you remained everything that was right with our world. Sachin, you made us happy, like no one else ever did. Top Edge, Fielder getting underneath it. Tendulkar out. Match Over. Return to exams, to nagging parents, to grainy Doordarshan and to monotonous lives. Top Edge, Fielder getting underneath it. Tendulkar out. Match Over. Return to spreadsheet, to nagging wives, and to monotonous lives. That was you twenty years ago. That was me twenty years ago. That was you yesterday. That was me yesterday. I may have lost a few hair , and gained a few kilos, but with you around that stubborn part inside of me still believed I was a kid, and felt capable of pulling off amazing things in life. After all, the calendar may have ticked over and the shades may have changed, but you were still tonking it in Blue. We were always surrounded by bullies, we were always fighting our way through. If Tendulkar can, I can.  Dear Childhood. Rest in Peace. It was good while it lasted. Sachin, you must come across a gazzillion such notes from your fans to meet you, pose with you, shake your hand and well... be a part of the Sachin Tendulkar experience on Facebook and what not.  But as your earliest admirer, I - the Tendulkar Generation, never really gave much thought to all of this. But today, I want my pound of flesh. I make my first and last request to you. And I am going to be firm about it. You better listen dude. This is not how romance ends. There has to be one last look over the shoulders. Sachin Tendulkar, you have to play it one more time. Do it against Pakistan, or do it against Nigeria - it does not matter. It never did. Very honestly, like I have said before, cricket for us was Sachin Tendulkar versus 8 international teams. You have to play one last time, and you have to do it in Blue.  After that, they may well retire the Jersey or they may retire the damn color blue , dont care. Play it one more time, is that too much to ask? And yes, thanks for all the memories. - The Tendulkar Generation .. P.S.: Courtesy Arpit Srivastava..BIIB Batch 2009-11..superb writing sir

Writing tips by David Ogilvy Himself

Interesting how this blog post help me keep pace with certain very special things in life,
Just surfing across the internet landed me this very beautiful piece of article
Not that i really care about this Ogilvy guy but then i just happened to casually read across this article with half a mind...found it to be interesting re read it and now i want to preserve it...

so this one is for the great "DAVID OGILVY."

Learning about how to improve my communication by watching advertising professionals is the best way to learn.
They have thirty seconds to get you to influence you to invest your money in buying what they are selling to you.
They persuade you with stories, visuals, data and above all, an interesting way of communicating ideas.
David Ogilvy was an icon in that space.
Here is the master communicator’s memo titled “How to Write” to his employees written on September 7th, 1982. Here it is:

The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People, who think well, write well.
Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well. Here are 10 hints:
1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times.
2. Write the way you talk. Naturally.

3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.
6. Check your quotations.
7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning — and then edit it.
8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
10. If you want ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want.”

Source: The Unpublished David Ogilvy: A Selection of His Writings from the Files of His Partners
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P.S.: My boss told me that i have to improve on my writing skills...well at least i am trying.. :P

Story of my life..!!

From where i see now
i don't what i am seeing

from where i see now
i don't know if i am supposed to be seeing

from where i see now
i have only hope at my side

but then i think of you my heart
and all i know is there will be light somewhere

it has taken a lot of time to come
but i know it will come by in some

the more i am tested the more is my fight
for itz against my very own might

i am standing still strong with 6 inches tall
and with u by my side i will never fall

i dont know if it is right or wrong
but somehow it seems
for what i was born

for all i know i may be wrong
and maybe i am a bit headstrong
so what i say, i will live with it in song


i feel for her who gave me life
bless her god with all my life

for there is very little i could do for her
and i wish i can somehow repay her

this is my story...maybe itz too sad
but that is what i have apprently had

and so i say

from where i see now
i dont seem to great

but yet i will take my chances
coz that is where the coin bounces

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P.S.: It seems the worst will happen...and i will be sorry anyways..

Habits- Interesting Analogy

Hey guys while reading stuff on the internet i came across something worthwhile,
Thought it might be of interest to some of you atleast..do read..



Habits are the result of our brain’s effort to spend less energy in doing routine things. This happens when the brain creates a routine out of a sequence of actions so that it can be done effortlessly. The efficient brain spends less time thinking about basic behaviors. Some habits are useful – e.g. we do not forget how to drive after a long vacation.

Habit formation is a three-step loop of cue, routine and reward. A cue is a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use. Routine can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally, the reward tells your brain to figure out if this particular loop is worth remembering for the future. Over time, this loop—cue, routine, reward; cue, routine, reward—becomes more and more automatic. When the cue makes you crave for a reward a habit is born.

A habit cannot be eradicated but can be replaced with another by conscious effort. To change a habit replace the routine while keeping the cue and reward the same. You reach home (cue) read a book instead of switching on the TV (new routine) & then reward yourself (doing what you do while watching TV eg: having a cup of tea). The new habit has to be done repeatedly so that your brain gets used to the new habit. "If you believe you can change — if you make it a habit — the change becomes real," the author concludes. "This is the real power of habit: the insight that your habits are what you choose them to be."

Read : The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life by Charles Duhigg

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P.S.: Coming early to office has it'sown advantages.. :)

Mumbai- Seems strange

The city that never sleeps but what if I wanted to sleep

The life is so fast paced but what if I wanted it to go slow

A great career and professional life but what about personal life

A real challenge for the beginners and what then

A life full of commitments to others and no time for oneself

The trains the rush the crowd the madness the rains it’s all relentless

But I need time..i need to slow down..i want to feel..i want to enjoy

I want to live again

So little did I know it back then when I had left Mumbai 2 years ago for my high profile MBA at a premier college, I had always thought of it as going from Mumbai “the city” to Pune “the not so city” and also felt that I come from a better city with better life, now 2 years hence I find myself back in my Big City and yet somehow everything seems so out of place..

2 months since I am back here and the initial façade of being back has died down so now when I sit down and think about it I somehow miss pune. Soo I am thinking of paying it a visit soon

I want to live those memories again some time soon, Pune i am coming soon

P.S.: The Job seems to be taking it’s toll .. I feel insane 

Ohh I have soo missed Mumbai..!!

Coming back from pune to mumbai was an emotional moment...not the coming back part but the whole leaving a part of my life behind and stuff...
Although i come back as a learned man (probably that's what i think) but pune will have a important place within me..
1st day at work...in mumbai...1st day in feild...1st the in the humid climate...1st day in the locals...all my memories came rushing back...i feel like i have been re energized or something..
The rush..the traffic..the roads..the noise...the madness...i had missed it all for some time now..but

I am Back..

Not much hass changed apart from a few more flyovers...little more traffic...and some extra people...
apart from all this the city still feels the same...it breathing heavy...it's still fun...it's still full of crazy people...it still has places to hang out and sit idle...it still is a home to many dreamers out there....and still the rickshaw wala's are talkative and a source of all information....(i wonder if the Intelligence ever tried them out for information)..

But all in all the city is still Happenning...and i soo love it....
Mumbai rocks..!! as it always did...
I love my city and no matter where ever i stay in the future i would always want to be back....
Cause today i know in my heart i am truly a MUMBAIKAR...

a word of advice to my friends who have got their joining in mumbai...

Yeh hai Mumbai Meri Jaan

The very reason why you hate the city
from the beggars...to the locals...
the heavy rush...to the heavy rains...
the dirt and pollution to the slums......is what defines Mumbai...
LIVE IT.

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P.S.: 1000s flock to the city everyday and yet the city absorbs everyone..
it doesn't differentiate....it loves everyone equally...the city is not the problem...WE ARE.. 

It Open's at the END

The last episode of friends is what came to my mind when i left E-3(our flat),
The empty flat just made me remember that scene.
It was probably just not what i ever wanted to happen but again i had to move on
Today i feel if i could redo the past 2 years with all my friends and my room mates i will so happily do it,
I almost cried when i had to leave my home,everybody had already left and i was the last one,
Packing my stuff and sitting there in the dust with a few closed ones is when i realized it is really the end to this amazing journey of my career,SBS ends,MBA ends,student life ends,and so does a important phase in my life,
Got a job now,but no doubt learning will go on.

sipping a cup of tea i was thinking to myself,GOD please don't make me go through this ever again,but then am i asking him to stop me from growing,
Yes it is sad,so what.?
Emotions are very hard to understand,they don't show you the right path, they make you foolish, what has to be done has to be done is what i am making myself understand,
But so many memories
The way we talked together,laughed together,saw movies,had parties,fought and again came together,made fun of each other, will all be gone..i will always remember it...though I have many stories to tell.
But isn't life all about this moving on and going around telling stories..
"Woh jawani hi kya jismain kahani na ho".....but "kahani toh khatam bhi hoti hai na"

I don't feel good but i don't need to with time there will be a new story with new characters.
to enjoy and to,to breakup and again makeup is only human...so every now and then we are put to test...to see if we are still human..Law of nature...true story.."wink" ;)

It's been a wonderful time at E-3 specia..and today when it has all ended...i feel it has opened a emotional warehouse which i had been storing for a long time.
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P.S.:    :(   :(   I am truly SAD