#8 Bangalorised.... AM I?

FYI
This one is my first post from mumbai and hence the post rallies around transition time and my experiences on it.

In case you have been kind enough and have taken a moment to go thru the previous post, you would be aware of the fact that I am now a BEROZGAR who is supposed to be studying for his MBA entrance's.
Instead here I am blogging down a few feelings and narrating my relocation back home ..

Happiness:
Boy o' boy... I was happy/glad/enthusiastic/euphoric to come back home .. come back to Mumbai.

If earning my first salary was some feeling.. returning home with a successful year behind me and achieving what none in my family have ever done.. was parallel and as satisfying.

Confusion:
It took about a week for the euphoria to subside and the tension to build in .. that i am here and for things to work out good.. am counting on myself to achieve something for which ppl generally
spend years (eg. shariq - approx 2 yrs if i am not wrong.)
Optimism... "Not that impossible a task i say after all its just High school math that you need to go thru"
Pessimism.. "You cheap dumb shit.. I WILL BACK MYSELF.. crap. Dude were you drunk when u took such a decision???"

F**k I am not gonna make it this time... lets find a job and work for one more year.. next yr u can be more prepared and 2+ work ex will also be a good time to do a MBA.
As it is sitting around at home .. something that was a bliss about a year ago is way out of the comfort range now.

Frustration:
Finding a job in Mumbai was never gonna be easy...
with a year of ex on Wince i am far from stable in any off the IT fields out here. The Irony is I always wanted to be in RND in Mindtree and now i realize had i been in ITS (either java or dotnet) finding a job would be a piece of cake.
Well the struggle is one..
With offers half the scale of what MT gave.. its hardly gonna be digestible.

Missing:
i dont know if it is this state of disarray or just that i was stable in bangalore with a cool fixed income and all alone to bust all of it..
but the fact remains... that i miss that life in bangalore..
those night time rides on my bike ... the cool un-sultry weather .. the freedom.. it was awesome

Guess the most important part was ... FINANCIAL SECURITY
well the final decision on bangalore and the missing concept will have to wait till the time i get another source of income here :P

But to be honest... the time i spent in bangalore.. would definitely fall under GOOD TIMES category.. and a big chunk of the credit goes to the biggest waste bags of bangalore ... the OTHLA Gang..

#7

had thought of starting the blog with the idea that this bit of writing will improve my hold over the language and at the same time give timely insight to pals back home about whats going on out here in bengaluru..

Well lets just say the improvement has one to one mapping to the frequency of the posts...
cant blame me though, there's been a lot of thinking and managing going on to make me a MAD.. BAD.. SAD imbecile retard.

major part of last four months was searching for THE ANSWER..
what to do in life...
what do i opt for MBA.. MS????
the good part is .. thankfully atleast have a final call on this one. :)

Past 4 months have also bore witness to a couple of life changing events.
1) 4th Sep:
Completed 1 yr at Mindtree Consulting Ltd. More importantly its 1 year of survival in Bangalore against all odds. Cant explain the enormous boost in confidence 4th sEp facilitated.
having that coveted "YR" on the resume sure feels good.. i mean it really feels good.
.. Would like to call this year as a CRASH COURSE ON SURVIVAL INSTINCTS.
I sure have had my tests on the way, C2 debacle... First ever Job assigned in the TEAM(WINCE,BSP,PORTING,CIRRUS LOGIC were all jargons then).. MINDTREE's tumble from 1021 to 850 to 530's ...etc etc

But the imp part is i still stand.. and was strong enough to take a bold step that would be counted as the second major event of the recent life.

(Play BLIND and raise the stakes..........................)
2) 21st Sep:Since the decision was made.. it was time to be strong and back my self on it. Many would call it a rash and very unsafe decision to QUIT the company like Mindtree without a proper back up in Mumbai.
But as i see it is... I NEED TO GET BACK to STUDY.
Took the decision late on Friday and put my papers in. Thanks to loss of phone failed to convey the message to the OTHLA gang and decided to wait till monday and prepare myself to face the TSUNAMI of questions .
but there was SHITIZ.. one of those who just has to shoot first and think later. (More like the age old - girl type GOSSIPPY character)

This big a decision..... wanted to tell it myself to the pals but dudeja stole the thunder off one of the most critical events of my career.. (Probably shouldnt write it here but just cant let it go)

whats done is done... THE RESIGNATION.

MUMBAI.. here i come


(entire post may seem a bit more abrupt, but thats how i am right now and thought of posting it before i get back to mumbai..
and the title is intentionally left BLANK)

#6 Vada PAV

Its been a while since the last blog, blame the excess amount of documentation that am doing in office to fill up my quota of writing.

Better late than never

As I sat down to pen down a blog, in office today, loads of things came to mind that were worth a discussion.
and the winner was VADA PAV's (thanks to the latest trip to city market last weekend)
am wondering why didn't i think of writing bout the vada pav's earlier.

The story says that some time in the 60's or the 70's a mill worker always managed to skip his breakfast to make it on time to his work place (sounds familiar na).
Concerned about his health his mother thought of a new way for him to be able to take his BHAJI (Mashed/diced potatoes mixed with green chillies,ginger and a tadka(tempering) of mustard seeds and turmeric.)and have it on the move.

She made balls of the bhaji dipped them into batter made of gram flour and deep fried them. Thus was born the VADA.
Later came along the pav and so did the Chutney (essentially garlic and red chilli.)

Am not sure if the tale is true or not, but who cares all i know is some smart Maharashtrian cook did magic and stumbled upon what is now the MOST common and exhaustively consumed fast food in Maharashtra.

Well next in line would be the PAV BHAJI and samosas.May be can write more on them next time, this one is all about VADA PAV's.

To think of it, now i cant recollect a single adolescent day when i wouldn't have had them. (barring the religious 8 days of PARYUSHAN when I follow all the rules of Jainism.)
But never did i realize the IMPORTANCE of a vada pav in my daily diet.It is here in Bangalore living alone and surviving on crappy Food court food and Bihari dude'sDUBBA service,
that i realize how much i was dependent on a vada pav to get my daily dose of nutrition.

Skipped Breakfast to reach college on time : have a vada pav in coll canteen and are good to go.
Not feeling Hungry enough to have a full course lunch : Vada pav shall just about fill your tummy to last the time period, after which you can come back to the canteen.
Evening snacks : Vadav Pav and Bhajji Pav, an ideal combination that does not fill you so much as to screw your dinner.
Night time(12 AM - 6:30 AM) : Studying for an exam scheduled tommorrow, need to take a break and are a bit hungry.. just go to the nearest station have a vada pav with a cutting 'CHAI' to rejunivate yourself.

what ever time of the day it might be, it was the ideal grub.

Well here in Bangalore the Vada pavs got replaced with Maggie at office and Idli Sambhar or Khara Bath , not to talk less of these, but they dont quiet give the spice burn and satisfaction
that a vada pav leaves behind.

Have been zealously attempting to hunt down a place where i would get a decent Vada Pav out here in Bangalore.
Considering the sizable population of the Marathi speaking people here down South, the idea of getting a good vada pav wasn't surrealistic.

Calling the initial attempts a CATASTROPHE would be an understatement.

Attempt 1: Bombay special vada pav at some small chat place in a corner on Brigade Road. This place is supposedly famous for its Chats Calcutta style.
Paid 10 bucks for a vada pav with a SWEET pav and vada of the size of a marble.
Was hoping they would balance the size and cost in the TASTE department.
*Munch*

** SPAT**
need i say more.

Attempt 2: About 3 months later got the news of a place in Jayanagar 9th block.
A Maharashtrian style eatery.
I couldn't contain my enthusiasm looking at the menu.
This had to be it. Some place trying to be Maharashtrian to the core cant mess up big time
with the vada pav.
And to an extent it wasnt that disappointing. The lady had put some heart into the vada
preparation but the sweet pav was ruining the taste and the chutney wasnt that great
either.
For a person buying vada pavs at Rs2.50 (early days) and Rs 5 (last time i had it in
mumbai) the Price tag of Rs 10 was too high though.
But it was a vada pav nonetheless.

Attempt 3: 2 more months flew by, and this time i got the news from lets say a bit unexpected
source. The OTHLA (Karthik M V).
It was a weekend and he lead a couple of house trapped frustrated pals Shariq, Shitiz and
Myself to the CITY MARKET.
Was pleasently shocked to see the much hyped City Market, reminded me of the Crawford
market and Walkeshwar locations back home.
Walked for about 15 - 20 mins via the small creepy lanes of the market and made our way
to the BOMBAY VADA PAV centre.
How should i describe those..

"Registaan ke pyaase ko chilled beer mili thi"

Not only was the pav normal (Not Sweet) but they also served fried green chilli with it.
My Joy knew no bounds as three of us started hogging one vada pav after the other. Shitiz
didn't seem that interested in them dispite the fact he has spent last 4 yrs in Maharashtra,
guess its something to do with this NO SPICE mantra.

Attempt 4: This small eatery in J.P.Nagar was brought to my notice by dad's pal who's been in
Bangalore since a long time now.
Well over all the place wasnt bad, the food they served pretty much had the mumbai taste
to it. Coming to the point the Vada pav was GOOD.
Not as good as the one i had in City Market, but considering the proximity to the house and
a nice balance of the taste, this one seemes to be a good bet.

For somebody from Mumbai where i could locate at least 2 vada pav stalls on every main road, this count of 4 that too spread all over Bangalore seems a bit awkward.

Guess this is one of the price i have to pay to stay away from "AMCHI MUMBAI"

A vada pav which once was a staple daily food item has now become a ONCE IN A WHILE delicacy for me.

#5 Bangalore Traffic:

#define Bangalore South Bangalore

Well this is one topic I wanted to write on since my first blog. But of course there were other more important things to blog about then.

It is not that am fazed by the jams and the long waits at those signals, I have witnessed all those in Mumbai as well. What irritates is the huge difference in the reason for the occurrence of the same event in these two diff cities.

If I may give a rough estimate in Mumbai for the jams , 75% of the time the infrastructure would be the reason. The potholes in Mumbai need no introduction to any one and how can I not mention the great ability of the BMC and other service bodies to dig up any and all the roads possible.

But if you search for a reason in Benagaluru, the credit goes to the great TRAFFIC and ROAD SENSE that the people in general have.
let make it very clear... Miserable and Pathetic are not enough to describe it.

Of course am talking about the majority and NOT ALL of them. I have spotted diamonds in this coal field but they are too few to get noticed and most of the times found suffering at the hands of the majority.
The ratio would go as 90:10 for people:infrastructure responsible for the bad traffic conditions.
Am giving that 10% to infra just to cover the at times insane ONE-WAYs that they keep dynamically changing.

(I know there are gonna be a few voices raised at this one, but cant ignore the truth guys.
In case you agree with me well and good and incase not....
WEll it really doesnt matter na.. its my blog and its my vote that rulzz here. :D )


Actually, how much ever i try i cant muster enough words and sentences to portray my heart felt feelings for the same.

What i can do here is .. pen down the unstated but hard wired rules of driving a vehicle on the roads of Bangalore that i have found till date.

THE COMMANDMENTS

1) Entire road is your property and yours alone. Nobody else is supposed to be on it while you are.

2)Thou shall not be ready to wait at any junction , unless the lord (pandu) is standing right in front of your vehicle.

3)Thou shall not allow any one to over take from the right. It is the biggest sin thou can ever commit and thou shall be sent to CHENNAI* to manage auto traffic out there.

4)Thou shall never be dependent on the availability of a tar road to drive thy two wheeler.

5)Thou shall not give signals while switching lanes on YOUR own road.

6)If thy vehicle is the slowest on the road then thou shalt drive it on the right lane of a two lane road. Incase it is a single lane road thou shalt drive it right in the center of it.

Auxiliary Clause: Thou shall never ever follow lane rules and drive at the right most space available on the road.

7)If thou is driving a BUS or a lorry, thou shall ignore the presence of all the vehicles in thy vicinity. In case the subject is making his presence felt , please understand he has already testated a will and written a suicide note. Thou shall do all in your power to arrange the subjects meeting with the almighty.

8)If thou finds a brethren on the road thou shall take thy bus right next to his so that thou can block the entire road to make sure nobody troubles thy brethren.

9)If thou art driving an Auto, thou shall never get an emission test done on thy vehicle and drive like a serial killer whose only aim is to kill atleast 10 bike riders everyday (pillion riders are excluded from the count, are to be considered as bonus).

11) Thou shall drive the vehicle on full beam ALWAYS with in the city limits. This is a universal rule and is also applicable is you are gonna drive on Mumbai roads.

12)Even though thou wants to go straight thee shall be on the left lane and make sure the subject who wants to take a free left turn shall not be able to do it.

13)If thou are a TAXI/CAB driver, driving like a lady driver shall not suffice at any cost. Thou shall how to master the art of driving like a girl, driving at 100kph spots a cockroach under her seat.

Pedestrian decree:
- Not having wheels is no reason to feel low. It is still YOUR own road and you can stand anywhere on it at any given time.
- You shall not look and care about the traffic flying in your direction from the lane closer to you.
HE WILL HAVE TO STOP NO MATTER WHAT.
You would concentrate only on the traffic on the far lane of the road.


Authors Note:
I) Since i live in south bangalore all my encounters and discoveries were local. I have almost no idea how the traffic sense is on the other parts of the city, but it is the optimist with in me that wants to give a chance and believe that it is better than down here in south, hence the initial hash defining of the name to restrict the context to South Bangalore.
AM i a coder or what!!!!!

II) * - I have never visited CHENNAI, but have heard from reliable sources (PM who hails from the city and other seniors) that the condition in bangalore is a lot better than in chennai.. Well i aint dumb to not get the point after that.

#4 I me myself…

Who am I?

Kaushal,

Well the answer was obvious na,

But think of it what is it that relates to “I” part?

Kaushal: means pure Talent (could be at anything).

What talents do I posses wholly to rightfully claim the title?

Who am I?

A student..

On a Philosophical note..

A student who wants to learn, learn and learn. Well that’s what I have been doing with material studies and struggle for degrees.

But the real learning, the knowledge of life, the knowledge of self has always eluded me.

If I am not learning what I seek, then how am I a student?

Who am I?

An engineer, a code collie, a Technician

HMM…

This one I can’t deny, somewhere somehow that’s what I am.

But I don’t feel the oneness with them. I long for small shift out of it.

And if I don’t feel that connection with it, how come I am that?

Who am I?

A critic...

Well this one thing I can be dam good at, Criticizing things.

Be it anything, from food to weather to Indian cricket team’s performance to any dam thing, I can bring out the fault in it.

But I know how to appreciate the beauty of nature, the emotion of love for people you care about, the happiness seeing the smile on a kids face, etc.

And if I know to appreciate, then how am I to call myself a complete critic?

Who am I?

An Individual..

A singular entity that has to stand out on its own in the crowd of millions.

But I can’t really be that individualist, since I need company; I need that crowd around me in the first place.

Then how do I stand out and over all of them?????

How am I an individual then?

Who am I?

A Jain...

If not an individual on the whole then I ought to be a part of large group uh. Born among them I have to be a part of them.

But I haven’t been able to follow the rules and norms followed by Jains.

If I can not abide by the followings and beliefs of the group,

Then can I really be a part of that group?

Who am I?

A life..

Could be the simplest of answers wont it, but is it so simple?

Life as a term, I feel stresses more on the soul side of it. There is one more physical side to existence which the term does not do any justice to.

Who am I?

A Human Being…

Hmm think of it, seems good to cover the physical aspect as well as the spiritual part that a human being is supposed to have.

But is it the complete answer?

Who am I then?

ON the material side of things…

The only option to which I could not find any conflicts was

An INDIAN.

From my heart and soul I AM.

AND

Who am I?

ME.

With all the emotions and individualistic attributes and the part of a group and various small talents which are still on their way to perfection and various other unnamed, unnoticed, unexplored dimensions, which come out to define my character on time need basis.

SON.

Yes I am a son to my parents.

With all the love, affection and caring that I have received.

Some good sons call themselves to be indebted by their parents for everything parents do for them.

Well for a son I am, I feel it is something too powerful and pure to be considered in the petty human forms of calculations like debt and obligations.

Yes that’s it hai na..

Given a question we tend to look into the most complex solutions assuming the thing to be answered can not be a small one, guess that’s human nature. But being wrong and finding the answer to the truth in itself is a power that we have and practice.

Who am I?

ME.

#3 The Realization brought about by a MISHAP

On commencing my journey into this corporate world I had a brief idea of different challenges I would be facing ahead, one of them being Physical Fitness.

The point here is I always have thought myself of as an athlete. My association with games (basketball, badminton, football and cricket) all throughout my childhood and colleges days easily justified the thought.

This as I get it now was the greatest reason for my undoing.

Over the months had many keen observers point out that, 8 hours on the office chair and no activity after that wasn’t proving good for me. They had caught the out bursting paunch, which I had conveniently ignored all the while. Guess what my reply to them used to be “It’s a Sign of Prosperity”, and was promptly joined by fellow suffers of the syndrome (Afzal and Karthik).

Its not that I was total ignorant of the drop in stamina and fitness,while playing Cricket and Badminton on weekends had showed me my loss. Was hoping the weekend activity will come to my rescue and take me back to my cocoon of an (fit) athlete.

Life was going cool on those grounds until last saturday.

The Event:

Saturdays generally come with a decision to make, Cricket at 7:30 AM or Badminton at 10:30 AM. Well this time round opted for the later one.

I was a bit late than my usual time and was trying my best to speed up and make it in time to be able to play at least 5 to 6 games at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, but the hardships inflicted by the traffic jams was adding salt to the injury.

Had just crossed the Town Hall when I realized, the back of the bike was wobbling around. Being new to the arena of biking couldn’t straight away realize what was the issue. The first thing that came to mind was the scene from Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke where Amir and gang get hold of there goods from the goons and are returning home in a hurry to stop the ongoing auction but the back wheel of the tempo gets loose and eventually peels itself off (too much of hindi movies na.. probably should cut down on them).

Petrified with the images of that scene (Since my bike respectively is new and can’t imagine such loose nuts on it) gave a signal and brought the bike to halt near the Halasuru Gate Police Station. Got the bike on main stand and gave the wheel a spin to see if it wobbled, BUT IT DIDN’T.

Half hoping things are perfect climbed up on it again and gave it an electric start. Had just taken off when the same wobbly feeling came back, this time there was no mistaking, something was wrong with my ride.

It was in this second round of examinations that it occurred to me to check the air pressure in the wheel (Bingo!!! Der aae durust aae :D)

Frustrated that will be missing my game today, went to a constable standing at the gate of the police station and enquired about a service station or a petrol pump (petrol bunk for all bangaloreans ).The guy took what looked like an eternity and suggested I move towards the LAL BAUG area.

To get a second opinion on it called Bhargav who was waiting at the Chinnaswamy for a racquet that I was supposed to get for him. According to him some distance ahead close to the Kanteveera stadium there were a few petrol pumps where I could get a bit of assistance. Since both the options needed me to cross over to the other side of the main road, was a bit skeptical bout the idea. (I trust the driving pattern of the bus drivers in Bangalore too much to attempt something like that)

Finally following a local dude’s suggestion took a left and dived into the locality behind the police station, arranged the racquet's and helmet so that it would be a bit comfortable to hold them and would still be able to effectively push the bike.

I would have hardly covered 2 crosses pushing my bike when started feeling a bit of stress on my left arm. Ignoring those tweaking muscles continued to cautiously push my ride ahead avoiding the potholes as much as possible (But we all know that’s an impossibility right?). Those pathetic roads meant I had to maneuver the bike left and right every now and then, this wasn’t helping the cause one bit.

By the time I had advanced three more crosses could feel the sweat rising on the brow.
Dam this was hard. I knew it was going to be difficult to push the bike but didn’t expect myself to loose it in mere 5 crosses.

I was down and out, wondered if J.K.Rowling had imagined and tried to portray this kind of pain when she talked about the unforgivable curse “CRUCIO”.

I paused, put the bike on its side stand and took a look around for a possible source of aid, but there was none to be found.

It was my battle and MINE ALONE…

This went on for about another 12 odd crosses close to a kilometer mark. Guess that is when the exhaustion really started creeping in and my legs were starting to give up on me.

I was so engrossed in pushing myself up for the task that ..

I BLOODY MISSED A GARAGE ON THE LEFT OF THE ROAD.

Thankfully the attendant, out for some fresh air I guess spotted me and shouted out loud.

I have no idea what made him think I didn’t want to get my wheel mended by him, especially when his appearance out of nowhere seemed like some divine intervention. Assuming a possible client was going out of hand, he started full blast of explanations that as why I shouldn’t go ahead. Got a few hints as if he was talking about more money or something, but couldn’t get the head and tail of what he was shouting cause 1) he was mixing Kannada with Hindi 2) I was too tired to even try and concentrate to figure out what was he shouting out.

When he was close by I nodded OK and turned my bike around (AAAHHH the pain).

I rested my bike near his shop on the side stand and was looking for a place to sit and give much needed rest to my limbs. It took me about 5 minutes to snap out of woolgathering and realize that this over enthusiastic person who almost pleaded to get me in had returned to his job inside the shop.

It is so amazing, first he gets me to stop and come back to his shop (which I anyways would have had I realized it was there) and then goes back to what he was doing completely ignoring my presence. Somebody help to understand this attitude.

With rage boiling up to no limits I snapped at him and asked him to attend to my bike. It took him some time to lift his ass and come out to where my bike was parked.

The way he went about banging his tools and working on the wheel, it looked like he was bestowing a great favor on me. Would have gladly accepted the attitude if he was planning to do it for free :D.

Anyways it took him about 15 minutes to get through with the work and by the time I had got it confirmed from Bhargav and Karthik as to what the price for this service could be.

After quiet some amount of bargaining we settled at 25, which I gladly paid and rode my bike to start my homeward journey.

Reached home after a pretty uneventful journey and dropped dead on the bed. Took some time to get myself together and pondered over the morning events. Was feeling very low and depressed not because of the tiredness, it was the realization that was hitting hard.

This was never supposed to happen to me, so i thought. All throughout my teenage life had caught my elder brothers with the belly and made fun of them, even called them lazy for not making enough attempts to get back into shape.

And here I was now at the receiving end of all this…..

A day after all that, getting over all the bad mood that had seeped in, resolved myself to stand up against it and not follow the leads of my predecessor’s and keep blaming the office hours and work pattern and do nothing about it. Now I guess its all in the attitude. All you have to do is get an attitude to be fit and I believe I am on route for it.

The first approach would be to join a gym and give the body some stretching and exertion that it was accustomed to in the past.

Afzal bro if you are reading this we need to act on it right away and start using the gym at the office. Let us not hide behind the pretext of the sexy weatherand the lazy, resting mood that the rains have brought into bangalore. Shariq in case you too are interested for it, will let you use the treadmill only after I have, since don’t want the treadmill to breakdown before I get a chance to burn a few calories.

Will end this one with the hope that , will definitely go ahead with implementing the plan with in a week of publishing this , to avoid the mockery that would come along if I didn’t :p.

#2 CHUMMA … The Irony

There are two different ways a person reading the title will approach this piece of blog, depending upon where she/he hails from. The deciding factor boils down to the extent of reader’s interaction with people living in SOUTH INDIA (people with origins in South + people relocated here).

The main reason is existence of the word in two or more languages (Hindi, Kannada and probably other South Indian dialect’s) WITH DIFFERENT meanings.

In case you are from a HINDI speaking zone and have no idea about the languages in South of India, you would probably be guessing this blog has got something to do with KISS (me kissing somebody, vice versa or something along similar lines).Well you are a bit wrong footed here.

For most of us the word was probably introduced by Kimi Katkar and BIG B himself in the movie HUM (one of my personal favorites) and is not heard or used that often.

And if you are from the other half lot, you would probably be guessing what kind of title is this, since for you CHUMMA is not a kiss but just simple TIME PASS.

I have no idea how did they come upon relating chumma with time pass, weather it’s a mere slang of some other longer word or it actually is present in the scripts, all I know is it’s dam famous and probably the most frequently used word in this part of the world.

YES guys (pals from the first category) believe it or not, chumma here means simple time pass, no relevant reason for an action. Imagine what happens when the two meanings merge into each other in the general sense I.e. chumma = kiss = time pass, no big deal kinda situation, what do ya get???????

A Imran Hashmi + Malika Shrawat movie, with more chummas then dialogues

New to Bangalore, had a lot to learn bout the culture and life down here. In those initial days of highly accelerated learning curve had made an image of the language used here. Since both Hindi and Kannada directly or indirectly link their origin to Sanskrit, my initial approach was to try and catch all the similar sounding words, map it with their meaning in which ever language I knew and get the essence of the sentence spoken.

Here surfaced the CHUMMA.

Applying the same concept I aptly took the HINDI meaning for the word and tried to make some sense of the dialogue. Boy what a shock that was…….

Actually was planning to somehow explain the entire shock effect in the blog, but now that I have got accustomed to the word, can’t really construct the same scenario to appropriately put it into my words.

What I will do is give a few samples of it so that the point is somehow registered.

A limited encounters where the word was used in an English statement.

“Let’s go and chumma do it guys”

“Chumma wanted to pull your leg re”

For obvious reasons cant pen down the countless times have heard it in Kannada dialogues.

Will end this one with a few examples of the its usage, so that my pals from Mumbai get accustomed to this word and save themselves the shock and the confusion in case I happen to use it in their presence.

Q: What are we up to?

A: Chumma nothing at all pal.

Q: Why did you do that?

A: chumma wanted to screw it.

Q: Define a Boss.

A: An old fellow who claims to know lot of things and chumma sits around shouting at you for all the wrong reasons.

…. And the list goes on and on. Probably will have a lot more situations in comments when the guys from here read this one and decide to convert a few from Kannada to English.

On yoUr MArk ... GeT Set Goooooooooo

How did I come upon blogging????

Good question….

To this one I have some weak links but no definite answer. Let me try giving you the BIG PICTURE

A bit of Myself: Am not an outspoken guy or a much of talker if you have to understand it that way. Of course I do have my moments when everyone around either by force or will, listen to me intently, but am sure all of us have those precious moments in life when your word is given some credibility (If you still haven’t had them dude, there are some major unattended issues better hunt for them fast.)

To put it into one line “I think am something close to being an Introvert but standing with my back to it”. (Confusing na.. well I was confused how to put it so it had to come out this way.)

Past Life: Back in Mumbai finding like minded freaks was never an issue. Any new place I was into, be it K.J.Somaiya (junior coll) or RAIT (Engi coll) was always fortunate enough to find guys who had similar ideas (bunk classes, kill some professors or even blast the whole dam university building just before or after the results. If you are an engineer am sure you understand how famous these ideologies were)

Well to cut the long story short always had pals around to manage and balance any mood and make life cool out of those as well.

Present Life: Bangalore (oops) Bengaluru…..

All new fresh start, an attempt in life to do different things which I would have never been able to do in Mumbai. My first job and guess what ????? found a bunch of junkies here too, proudly categorized as the RED CODERS. Well we have a few scholars too in it but the rest of us have done a fabulous job in making them as useless as we are. We call ourselves the OTHLA GANG (for the sane readers not knowing Kannada OTHLA = jobless, useless personality). A major credit for this piece of art goes to a bunch of othlas from the gang viz the big boss OTHLA aka karthik, the mallu queen aka ANN amma , Bhargavacharya and the dude who has parted ways with the company (and is no longer around with fruit plates during lunch) Anand

So all you guys who are utterly disgusted at reading this one you know whom to blame (Bad inspiration can never result in good art...)

Well but they are not the only reason..

There is one more major contributing factor

WHAT DO I DO ON WEEKENDS?????????????

Weekdays is fine with work and all to keep me occupied, but come weekend and the problem starts, face one of the biggest hurdles of staying alone in a city where you have recently settled your ass.

The othla gang comes into rescue at times but, they can’t be here forever can they? with their prior commitments and huge list of pals. Distributing the 2 days of weekend such that you give equal time to all the pals you wanna be with is a difficult task, which I would have faced had this been Mumbai and not bengaluru (How I wish it would be so), hence no pestering them with sms’s and mails and calls.

The need to do something other than blind surfing the net and watching movies one after the other at home and living in a room with just your comp and a bed doesn't give one much options either..

So this is one activity to which am gonna look forward to on weekends. Don’t know how good the blogs will turn out to be, but no harm trying na if nothing else at least my writing skills might get a movement in the upward facing graph, however less in magnitude the upward displacement might be.

Hoping for the best…..