Good-Bye 2014 !

Bang !! My first blog post for the year 2015 has arrived.

When I look back for the good things which happened to me I could see many. I had got a new job in the heart of Pune, SB Road, although the excitement did not last much longer as we had to move to new facility at Yerwada. But these 6 months here was memorable. I could drive my car on the traffic less and evergreen Pune University road. Explore eateries in Aundh, FC road and feel like a Punekar. Although I visited Good luck cafe` thrice, I could recite some world famous dishes served there. Vaishali's Mysore Dosa and SPDP was always in the list but it had always fallen to tomorrow's plan which never came. I was feeling homelike in office. A walk to Sujata Mastani, Model Colony to have Mango mastani and to Poona Baking Company in JW Marriot across the street next to the office to have cold coffee was worth it.

Like every other year, we all best buddies had been to Mahableshwar but this time with a different reason. The reason being to throw bachelor party for Tony Peswani. However, needless to say but it was more of formal party than bachelor party which is shown in Hindi movies.

My best friend, Tony, got married to his love life Tejashree Katkar. It was like a Big Fat Indian Wedding. I was dancing flawlessly on the streets of Pimpri during his Baarat and took a little responsibility of managing his guests and relatives during his reception. It was fun and will always be remembered.

Rains were fun. I relished tea standing at the office open terrace cafeteria above Pantaloons gazing at the mighty JW Marriot and the cloud laden Chaturshringi Hills. After lunch, walk on Shivaji Housing Society with lush green trees around was very soothing.

We moved to the new facility in Yerwada which they called it office of the future. With the open space culture I could now remember people by their faces.

Durga Puja was a bit cold this time even though it was with family but honestly it just went with a flash. Diwali was fun with friends around and lighting some crackers with Mom  [ I know I have contributed to air pollution :-( ].

Got a chance to visit Kolkata in December with my family's first ever air travel experience from Pune. There we met my maternal grandparents in Kolkata city itself, all my relatives in Bashirhat and took blessings at Dakshineshwar temple. Although it was a 4 day trip, planning went perfect with limited time remaining. I and my sister, Mahua, need to return to Pune because of her university online exams. This was the first time Mahua was away from parents and she survived a week with it.

To get back some dancing moves, I participated in Hysteria-2015, an annual office event. We are trained by real good dance choreographers and the practice is still on.

To cut this post short, I am penning down only few things which are worth remembering.
Happy New Year 2015!

Read more...

10 Years and counting ! Mera dost, mera saathi - mera bike.

My life has gone through various highs and lows and still continuing with my life journey in similar fashion, my bike: Hero Honda - Passion Plus survived it all. This year my handsome and daring bike completed 10 years and is still serving me as a good friend.

It seemed everything happened yesterday when I started recollecting all the nostalgic days with my bike. Although it is street bike or like any other normal bike, I meant more than a sports bike to me. I grew up in a family where my father was the only bread and butter earner while Mom used to take utmost care of our family. After the outcome of my SSC results, feeling happy with the percentage of marks, dad decided to gift me a bike. He worked very hard in his daily job to save the money for down-payment and finally cutting through his daily expenses to pay the EMIs. It made me realize to achieve something valuable in life which would be a best thing that I could ever gift my dad, my hero.

Be it a heavy rain or extra chill winter mornings or empty pockets, my bike survived it all. One incident I could remember is when my health deteriorated. I was attending a programming class and suddenly my stomach aching like never before and I could hardly survive the severe pain thereby making me a bit dizzy. I immediately got out of the class and drove to home safely. If it wasn't for the bike, it would had been very difficult to get back home. With a monthly tight budget during my undergraduate days, the bike gave me the best-est average of 60 km per liter and zero maintenance but I made sure I am maintaining its good health.

It went through the hills of Lonavala, Manavli and Sinhagad fort in heavy rains and stood alone in the sunny heat in FC Road, JM Road. It helped me passed the busy streets of traffic laden Hinjewadi by discovering new short cuts.

Recently, on discussion with my best friend Rohit regarding buying a new bike by selling this off I could realize that I could hardly get detach from it. Such was my attachment for this non-living being. Later, Rohit and me decided not to sell off our bikes whatever come may as it had been besides us during good as well as bad times.

Such is my care, attachment and passion for my passion plus. I am really thankful to it for still standing besides me like always and I wish it could read this post. ;)

Read more...

My Santa is here!

Whatever it may, happiness comes in many ways. This Christmas, happiness had come to me in terms of gifts from Santa Claus.

Few people in my office came up with an idea of secret Santa and this idea amazed me a lot. Like every other winter mornings, I woke up to have tea at a famous tea centre near my place with my friend Anurag. After sipping and relishing our tea, we marched towards a store to buy various assorted chocolates for secret Santa gifts. After reaching office I submitted the gifts to a volunteer who was dressed in a Santa cap. The gifts distribution began and unfortunately I could not attend it. But to my surprise I received gifts which really made me happy. Sometimes small things in life, like receiving a gift from an unknown person brings Cheer and Joy.

Next day, on 24th, Santa came to me again while I was refuelling my car at Shell Fuel Station. Wishing me merry Christmas with a smiling face, he gifted me a wonderful pen. Now this really made my day as I again received a gift from Santa himself.

This years' Christmas was very memorable to me as I received two gifts which made me happy.
Merry Christmas!

Read more...

Trip To Goa 2011

A quick plan, some random meetings, request for leave with manager and finally tickets booking by Pavan Omkar - these all things signified that the boys of IBM Cognos,Pune were all set for Goa leaving their thinkpads behind. On 24th February 2011, 3:30pm IST, we assembled in Pune station and board Goa express at 4:30pm IST. The journey was filled with fun as Sameer Wakode was setting the environment which was continuously filled with laughter. There were really some cool name inventions like Batura, PO(many meanings), PG(many meanings) and KD which I will never forget. Each and every moment of the trip was captured mainly by Ganesh Kedari(Ganya) and rest were Sameer Wakode, Sameer Inamdar and Pavan Omkar(PO). PO and Sameer Inamdar loved taking their solo photographs.

Starting with Day 1: We got down in Vasco Railway station at 5:00pm IST and board a bus to Panjim. And again from Panjim we board a bus to Calangute and got down near Rio disco. We all approached near our rooms which was located 2mins from Calangute beach(All thanks to PO for booking a room with awesome view). Throwing away our luggage bags, everyone rushed towards to beach. Some got wet into the sea while some folks including me, Ganya and Sam Wakode were resting on shack having breakfast. After the quick breakfast, we headed towards Aarambol beach some 15kms away from Calangute. We had hired 4 bikes (Avenger, Pulsar, Eterno and Activa). After the lunch in Aarambol beach, we headed towards our room in Calangute beach at 2:oopm IST. After some rest, we went to the beach where we played volley ball diving in the water while PO was playing cricket. After spending some time in water, we walked along the beach. In evening while heading towards night cruise some folks including me got separated from the group while Haaris Shaikh and Ganya took the roadway from Panjim bridge. The separated folks got a chance to travel via Launch(A motor boat used to dispose people including their bikes to the opposite side of the river and thankfully it was free of charge [;)] ). There was some utter confusion between all of us which resulted in the delay in boarding the cruise. We board the cruise at 8:30pm IST and lucky we got a chance to choose our seats as we were first in the queue while boarding the cruise. Inside the cruise, there were many performances which were 2 Goan folk dance, short dance by children visiting the cruise, couple dance in which a aunty in saree along her husband rocked the floor leaving the young couples stunded and finally, it ended with a lovely Portugese dance performance. Leaving all these things behind and standing in the crowd(we all were sitting), Ganya was busy capturing the night time scenic beauty of Goa. After the cruise, we headed towards AnandSagar restaurant while PO and Shivraj Desale decided to headed towards the beach along with their parcel. After our dinner we followed them towards the beach. On the way to beach during the night we encountered two dogs gazing at us. PO and Desale were on high. I called up PO and told him about the situation. To which he said "Dude, humko bhi dikha tha. Tu tension matle, full confidence se aaa.." and it proved right. There were some mind blowing dialogues - "Iss raith main toh jaadu hain" said by PO and falling in the sand. "Kya Anny, itne door Goa main tu kya sone aaya hain, nite out kab marega" again said by Mr.PO to me on high state when we started insisting him to come along with us as it was already late. As it was 1:30am we all decided to take our 2 warriors back to the room. Refusing to come along us, Shivraj, who was in cloud 9 said the most famous lines "Stop behaving like Gaals Guuyssssss....!!!". Believe me, it was PO, who like a never stopping alarm clock woke all of us at morning 7:15am IST. Tremendous stamina dude !!.

Day 2: Morning breakfast was done at AnandSagar Restuarant which from 5mins walking distance from our room. After the breakfast, we headed towards Fort Aguada. The scenic beauty of Panjim was explored from here. We carried a map for the places we need to explore. On the way to Aguada, Avenger's fuel tank was empty. As PO and Shivraj had to travel downslope, very less effort was required to fill in again. From Fort Aguada we headed towards Old Goa were we explored BOM of Jesus(tremendous architecture), St. Xavier's museum(specially to see the oil painting of Vasco-da-Gama), tower of Augustine( trust me guys, I was stunded by the huge architecture), sunset at Miramar beach and finally Dona Paula. There is something unique about Dona Paula as the images, specially the horizon, are still there in my mind. From Dona Paula we all headed back to our room in Calangute for a quick bath and wearing fashionable clothes. We kickstarted our evening at 8:45pm IST by heading towards Ingo market - Saturday night market, Arpora. There was a huge rush out here as we struggled to get a parking. As we entered, we saw a Israili band performing and all the foreigners chilling out and dancing, enjoying the soothing music. Believe me this market is not for Indians. This a place where a INR 10 simple thing was sold at INR 950 to Russians. So if your code crashes this a place where you can try your career [;)]. We headed up the hill(market was situated on hill slope) and on the way we saw a man, dressed like a comedian, was entertaining people with his hats accompainied by his friend who was playing guitar in background to support his comedy moments. Lastly, we reached the hill top were a foreigner, standing out of the crowd, was madly dancing on trance music. At 11:00pm IST we headed towards TITO's. Only one word for TITO's - "Wooooooooooowwww !!!". After loosing all our energies on dance floor, we headed towards Baga beach for dinner at 1am IST. Dinner tables were set on the beach with Enigma playing in background. Two candles were set on each table. Now imagine what will be the view with more than 100 tables?? After the dinner, all of us fully tired except PO and Shivraj headed towards the room. With PO's intense energy he took all of us excluding Sam Wakode, Sam Inamdar and Haaris to Calangute beach where we raised a toast with Champangue and Red Wine. Lying on the shack, Red wine, cool breeze blowing, sound of the waves and counting the stars. It was an heavenly experience.

Day 3: On 11:00pm IST we started heading towards Fort Charpora(the one where DCH shooting took place). Such was the scenic view from Chapora, we did not felt like coming back. We spent some time here photographing and enjoying the scenic beauty. The view of Morjim beach from Charpora was a million dollar view. There was a lagoon, flock of birds and the waves were approaching as if dolphins were approaching to the shore. From Fort Charpora we headed towards Vagator beach which is basically a rocky beach. Here, we had our lunch which was followed by a power nap lying on the shack after a heavy lunch. It was evening and while returning back we lost our way. This proved a boon to us as we explored the inner Goa with Old houses, kucha roads and lots and lots of trees. On the way, I and Ganya stopped at Baga beach to enjoy the sunset. It was so serene as the orange sun was drowning into the sea. After clicking some good pictures, we headed towards Calangute main market. Here we did some shopping and dinner. All done with the dinner we headed back to our room. After that we headed towards the beach at 11:00pm IST where we saw the World Cup match between India vs England which ended up in a draw. Leaving all things behind we enjoyed under the night sky lying on the shack and got back into the room at 1:30pm IST.

Day 4: It was our last day in Goa. We decided to head towards the Calangute beach for water rides. Previously, I was scared to take the banana ride but after wearing the live jacket gave me some confidence to float as I am a novice swimmer. We as started with Jet ride. In this ride it was PO who did not drove the bike. Then the bumper ride where we sit on the ballon and a rope to is attached on the motor boat. Finally came the banana ride in which I, Ganya and Shivraj decided to go first. Then on some more than 70ft deep sea we were dropped. The rubber boat came upon me and I managed to come out of it. After Shivraj and me climbing up the rubber boat, it was Ganya who again downturned the boat while climding up and again we were in waters struggling to come up. After the banana ride, we were taken to the middle of the sea for para-sailing. It mindblowing experience as if we were flying without wings high up in the sky. After the rides, we headed towards our room and with our luggage we headed towards Margaon station. There were some funny moments in train like PO bringing the phone near his face while talking even tough it was on hands free. The family asking Haaris not to sing during the night as they were getting disturbed. And finaly the Haaris's snoor which can be heard loudly in the moving train.

Such was our wonderful journey to Goa with 7 odd friends from IBM Cognos enjoying their life to their fullest. Now, I decided that once in a year I will surely visit Goa. So what's next?? PO start booking the tickets in advance for _________..

Read more...

COFFEE HOUSE -MANNA DEY

hmmmmmmmmm……..hmmmmmmmm
coffee house er sei adda ta ajj ar nei ajj ar nei
kothai hariye gelo shonali bikel gulo sei ajj ar nei

nikhiles paris e, moidol dhaka te nei tara ajj kono khobor e
grand er guiterist gouaniz d’souza ghumiye ache je kobor e
ka ke jeno bhalobeshe aghat peye je shes e pagla garod e ache roma roy
amol ta bhugche dhoronto cancer e jibon kore ni take khoma haiiiiiiii

coffee house er sei adda ta ajj ar nei ajj ar nei
kothai hariye gelo shonali bikel gulo sei ajj ar nei

shujata e ajj sodo sob cheye shuke ache
shunechi tu lakh poti shami tar
hire r johorot e aga gora mora she
nami dami bari ghari ache tar
art college er chele nikhileshaonlal biggapon er chobi akto
ar chukh vora kotha niye nirbak srota hoye d’souza ta sodo bose thakto
ohhhhhhhhhh

coffee house er sei adda ta ajj ar nei ajj ar nei
kothai hariye gelo shonali bikel gulo sei ajj ar nei
lalalalalalala

ekta table e sei 3/4 ghonta
char minar sodo thote jolto
kokhono bishnu dey kokhono jamini rai
ei niye torko ta cholto
rod jor brishti te jekhanei je thakok
kaj sere thik eshe jortam
charte te suro kore jomiye adda mere
sare 7 tai thik uthtam

coffee house er sei adda ta ajj ar nei ajj ar nei
lalalalalalallalala……..

kobi kobi chehra kadhe te julano bag
muche jabe amol er naam ta
ekta kobita o tar holo nako kothao chapa
pelo na she protiva r dam ta
office er sosal e memture natok e
roma roy obhinoy korto
kagoj er reporter moidol eshe roj
ki likheche tai sodo porto

coffee house er sei adda ta ajj ar nei ajj ar nei
kothai hariye gelo shonali bikel gulo sei ajj ar nei

sei 7 jon nei ajj table ta tobo ache
7 ta peyala ajj o khali nei
ek bhagane je ajj esheche nutun kuri
sodo sei sedin er mali nei
koto shopner rod uther ei soffe house e
koto shopno megh e deke jai
koto jon elo gelo
koto jon e asbe
coffee house ta sodo theke jai
coffee house er sei adda ta ajj ar nei ajj ar nei
kothai hariye gelo shonali bikel gulo sei ajj ar nei
hhhmmmmmmmmmm lalalalalalala

Read more...

Wonderful poem !!

Koi Deewana Kehta Hai Koi Pagal Samajhta Hai
Magar Dharti Ki Bechani Ko Bus Badal Samajhta Hai
Mein Tujhse Door Kaisa Hoon, Tu Mujhse Door Kaisi Hai
Ye Tera Dil Samajhta Hai Ya Mera Dil Samajhta Hai

K Mohhabat Ek Ehsason Ki Pavan Si Kahani Hai
Kabhi Kabira Deewana Tha Kabhi Meera Deewani Hai
Yahan Sab Log Kehte Hain Meri Aakhon Mein Aansu Hai
Jo Tu Samjhe To Moti Hai Jo Na Samjhe To Pani Hai

Samander Peer Ka Aander Hai Lekin Ro Nahi Sakta
Ye Aansu Pyar Ka Moti Hai Isko Kho Nahi Sakta
Meri Chahataon Ko Dulhan Tu Bana Lena Magar Sun Le
Jo Mera Ho Nahi Paya Wo Tera Ho Nahi Sakta

Bharar Koi Kumudani Par Machal Baitha To Hungama
Hamare Dil Mein Koi Khawab Pal Baitha To Hungama
Aabhi Tak Doob Kar Sunte The Sab Kissa Mohhabat Ka
Mein Kisse Ko Hakikat Mein Badal Baitha To Hungama...

Read more...

Chai wala DOST..

In the winter mornings nothing feels like heaven for having a sip of tea or coffee. It became a regular routine for us friends to visit the famous tea stall in DY Patil, Pimpri. There we made many friends who were only recognized by their face and a good morning smile. In the daily process, one of the helper of the owner became our friend. Even tough we use to stand outside of the crowd he uses to approach us offering tea and donuts.


In one foggy morning, the guy approached us but this time his eyes looking dull.

“What happened bro???” I asked him.

“Nothing serious. I have some mild fever” He said.

“Did you take medicine??” I asked him as tough I achieved MBBS along with BE.

“No dude. I need to come to work in early morning. So no time..” He said with a sad face.

Immediately, I along with Amit, went in search for a medicine shop and bought a crocin for him. It was the last time we met him since semester exams were on the go.

It had been 2 years for me not been gone there. After my engineering years got over, I went to the engineering book store to return all the wasteful stuff. On my way back home I saw the boy again. But this time he owned a tea stall (seemed like a cafeteria). Twist-turning by bike from the crowd I managed to reach the other side of the road. I entered this stall with a smile.

“How are you man??” he asked me with amazed look.

“I am fine. How about you?” I asked.

“I am fine too. Its been a long time I had seen you. Where are you these days?”

“Do you still remember me?”

“Yes buddy. How can I forget the person who got a crocin for me? I am 10th standard fail but my memory is pretty strong. Thank you for helping me that day. This tea is especially for you. Have it dude”

I sipped the tea with a great achievement as if standing next to Obama I won a nobel prize. But the satisfaction of getting remembered by someone, for some deed you had done, was truly awesome..


Img src: http://images.travelpod.com/users/kalsi_kaur/1.1234778400.img_3685_new.jpg

Read more...

The FB game on Shahrukh

Click on the image to get an enlarge view..



The game starts from Yashada's profile...

Read more...

Colorful Spirit

Happiness and sorrows can be well depicted by means of colors. Thinking as a powerful medium of one’s social skills I have tried my best to write this post. The concept which urged me to follow this topic was a Bengali song sung by great Kishore Kumar. It says like this-

“Tears don’t have color..But still there are many pictures drawn to express it..”

The joy of getting a new color television at home and watching the first cricket match in GREEN field with colors of BLUE. The joy of getting a video game and playing Mario with RED shirt, BROWN bricks, GREEN trees and BLUE sky and completing it first in my society was like a great achievement. The joy of pressing the power button of CPU for first time and watching the Windows logo with RED, GREEN, BLUE and YELLOW had no bounds. Starting with the memory drawing in kinder garden using best possible use of colors till learning the RGB and CMY model in multimedia is one of the happiest moments which brings smile in a computer engineer’s face.


The joy of getting up early in the morning to welcome the YELLOW rays of sun in ORANGE room with arms spread wide. The view of GREEN garden from balcony with GREYISH mist acclaim with smile. With a BROWN coffee checking my BLACK, SILVER and RED phone for new text messages. And finally starting my PC to see the glorious Taj Mahal in WHITE and checking for new email alerts with colorful graffiti. All these are normal things in everyone’s life but the power of my subconscious mind helped me to discover the happiness with colors. Hope you too discover it and give a thought about it if possible.


Thank you for reading this colorful post and wishing you all the COLORS in LIFE.

----------------------

Img source: http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss115/xcraziiibabiii1x/crayons.jpg

Read more...

Experiencing the GOVERNMENT MUSIC..

Everyday I had a look at TOI’s common man cartoon and laugh at the situation which he is facing in various circumstances. I never gave a thought that amongst all odds I will be also facing the same thing someday or the other and hence, finally the judgment day arrived.

I needed a birth certificate which will be required in my further recruitment process. After inquiring many places and hospitals I came to know that it is made in the municipal corporation which falls in my area code. In the hot sunny afternoon, I kick started my bike and made my way for accomplishing the mission.

I arrived at the office. There where many directions and respective departments written other than English and Hindi. I had a problem in translating them so I thought to seek help from the security guard. On inquiring him, he spoke the language so fast that I was confused with the things but finally his gestures helped me to make my way.

There were various departments but as you are in government office you’ll not find the one you needed most desperately. On asking one of the employ “Uncle,ye birth certificate ka department kidhar hain???”

He said ”Ye block ke peche hain…Udhar jake puchoo mil jayega…”.Thanking him I left for the next block with a pinch of hope in my pocket.

Crossing all the files and cupboards which are symbolizing work activity in a government building I reached the other department. After scanning for a while I couldn’t find the sign board. All where busy with some work except a woman. There I got the target.
I approached her and said ”Namaste aunty..!!! ye birth certificate ka dept kaha par hain??”
She laughed at me as if I had cracked a joke and replied “Main yahan nayi hoon..Mujhe nahi pata..Unse pucho”

Man, it was so frustrating. I could not control my temper. But mentally I was prepared for such things to happen. As I approached a man, seeing me approaching towards him he started talking to his colleague. I interrupted his discussion and asked him the same thing. He too, directed me to the next block. Trying to find my way I reached the dead end but no sign board stating the thing I wanted.

I approached a clerk and asked “Excuse me!!!..Namaste uncle..Ye birth certi…??”

Without allowing me to complete my sentence he said “Wo Do cupboard ke bich main…”

Dude there were so many cupboards but between which 2?? I started walking in random direction hoping to spot it. Seeing me moving he stopped me saying “Kaha pe ja rahe hoo??? Wo tho waha pe hain.. Dekho udhar..”

Finally I reached my destination reading the Greek symbols. With astonishment I knocked at the door but no one answered. I cared to ask the person outside is this the right place. He said ”Madam andar hain.. Jaoo bindaasss..”

Without knocking I opened the door. The office was filled with two desktops with a screensaver running but no one inside.

In disappointment I came outside and asked the clerk “Madam andar nahi hain???”

He did not reply any thing and continued his work of ‘Crtl+C’-‘Crtl+V’ from file to another. After some wait I interrupted him saying “Uncle, Madam ka lunch time hain kya???”

In frustration he said “Mujhe kyun puch rahe hoo?? Dikh nahi raha main kaam kar raha hoon??? Baar baar disturb mat karo..”..I dunno regarding what disturbance? We Indians are good at copy-paste blankly..

Seeking a place to sit I saw a lady walking in the cabin. I followed her and took her permission to get in.
“Hello madam..Mera Birth-certificate chahiye tha..”
She said ”Aap rehene ko kidhar??”
“Pimpri-gaon”
“Paida kidhar hue?? Hospital ya Gaon main??”
“Hospital”
“Konse???”
“Mostly Swaminathan..” it was the only hospital I remembered that was there in 80’s.
“Thek hain…Naam bataoo..”
“Aniket madam.. Aniket Pal”
After searching for a while she did not find my name in the list. Being a BE in computer and using all my stupid database skills I asked her to search with all possible strings. But all failed.

“Ek kaam karo..Jijamata hospital jaaoo.. waha pucho kya procedure hain.. phir mere paas aaoo.. main bana dungi..”

Keeping my right hand in back pocket I said “Kuch settlement karo na madam…Kar do baad main dekhte hain.. main rukhne ko tayar hoon.. aap sirf time bataoo kitna lagega..???”

She told she is helpless and asked me to follow the procedure. With all disappointment I left the building with only one knowledge that “Birth Certificate Department is at the Dead End..!!!”

---------------------------------

Image source: http://planet6oclock.com/planet6oclock/?q=common-man-r-k-laxman-cartoons

Read more...

The Thing on which the world rotates…

After many days I came across a meaningful thing which I realized to be posted on my blog. The meaningful thing on which every individual’s self-respect and status in society depends on. The thing is nothing but MONEY..



I got back to my college days where every individual was treated as a person rather than seeing the status of the person. In those wonderful years I never thought upon life after college can change drastically. Even tough I got recruited into two major MNCs but joining is yet not confirmed, I have faced many situations in monetary concerns. This is a phase which comes in everyone’s life in some or the other way. It is either by daily problems or by magical words.



Such magical words had vibrated my ears too. It happened to be from one of my good friend. But instead of taking it seriously and hammering it back, I took it the other way round. I came across many such people who will salute you just because you can pay his expense. After college when you are looking for job it becomes difficult for us to ask monetary help from family and think friends might help you out as we had helped them in difficult times. Once I was out with a friend and faced the same situation which every guy faces. It is about Petrol in Bike. Thinking my friend will help me out but it was vice-versa. He said “Aniket, kya kanjusi karta hain yaar…???” and started narrating all those unwanted things on which I spent without thinking. I was shocked after hearing it and those words were flowing in my whole body along with speeding blood.



But instead of fighting him, I gave a thought about it. Whatever he said was true. In life, there should be no dependency on others. Now I made a decision, which is much matured, which is more emphasizing. Whenever there is a monetary transaction, it will be on 50-50 basis. I have posted this because this situation may arise in your life too. Instead of firing back to opposite party with all our frustration, try finding the truth behind it. It is all about the word power game and this is how the life moves ON..

Read more...

Styles in Table Tennis

This article is all about different types of grips or playing styles preferred by the advanced players in the world of table tennis. Remember that there is no rule of holding racket, bat or paddle by ITTF. You can grip it in any way you like. Competitive players grip it in many ways but mainly two types of grips are more popular. They are shake-hand style and pen-hold style. In course of history of table tennis we have seen some unfamiliar grips like seemllier grip, V grip and pistol grip. Sadly these grips are not seen much at higher level of play. It would be unfair to say that these styles of play are inferior because there are few users of it and are less seen in big events. Anyway one should choose the grip with what one is comfortable with and not which is popular.

Shake-hand style
It is oldest type and most popular type of grip in ping-pong. It is quite an easy grip to play with. Here we grip the racket just like hand shaking; the index finger is extended along the bottom of the racket, with the thumb being relaxed on the blade or rubber. The bottom three fingers are used to grip the handle. There are two types of it.
Shakehand shallow grip- here the thumb is placed on handle, generate more power.
Shakehand deep grip-here the thumb is placed on rubber.
As said earlier, this style of play is easy to learn with and the player hits the ball comfortably on forehand and backhand but they have disadvantage of hitting the ball coming to their body. At professional level players get expert in it. These players stay close to the table. They don’t need to move much. They comfortably hit different types of shorts like loop, counter drive chopper etc. More than 85% players opt for this style all over the globe. In India more than 95% players are shakehanders. The Europeans were dominating in 40s and 50s with this style and currently they stand same with other type grips.

Penhold style
As the name implies, this grip is similar to holding a pen for writing. The thumb and index finger hold on to the racket handle, while the other three fingers curl or spread around the back of the racket. It is bit difficult to grip in and play for hours. Also they learn and progress slow as compared to their shakehand counterparts. It seems to be frustrating for these grip players at beginner level but it don’t prove to be an inferior style. Also they have disadvantaged in backhand but strong at forehand and near their body. They have to turn their wrist, hand and body in an unnatural way to hit at backhand. Reply to topspin at backhand is tough for them. The backhand weakness can be covered adequately with excellent footwork, or supplemented with the recent reverse penhold backhand loop innovation. They should posses higher stamina and cover most of table at forehand. They are good and natural spinners of ball. Nevertheless, penholders dominated from 60s to 90s in this sport. Now they are still competing well at various events. This style is categorized in three types.

Traditional Chinese Grip – last three fingers curl around the back of the racket, easy in push and block at backhand.

Japanese/Korean Grip –The fingers on the back of the bat are extended straight out rather than curled. It adds power at forehand shorts. They can generate more spin but have restricted movement at backhand

Reverse Penhold Backhand (RPB) Grip- Here the back of the penhold bat is used to hit the backhand. Typically the fingers are held in a similar fashion to the traditional Chinese penhold grip. It is a new innovation by Chinese. Drawback at backhand is reduced.

Minor styles
Seemiller grip-In the Seemiller grip, the racket is held similarly to the shakehand grip, but with a 90 degree turn so that the thumb and index finger are used to grip the sides of the bat. Both forehand and backhand are played with the same side of the bat, although the bat can be turned to use the other side. It is typically used with a combination bat.
V Grip-The V grip in table tennis is so called because the blade is held between the index and middle fingers, which are spread apart similar to the ‘V for Victory’ sign to begin with. The index and middle fingers are then curled down to grip the blade, while the last two fingers wrap around the handle. The thumb is placed where comfortable.
Whatever type of grip you may have, you can still be a champion. It is totally unfair to say any form of grip is superior and history has shown us that. At current situation experts never consider any style as superior. People like you and give you respect when u play well and win not of style you posses. I am a penholder and people gave respect when I won matches but was criticized at beginning for my style. so be a champion and prove yourself.

Read more...

The Virtual Fight..

“Always do your Karma, do not wait for the fruit because if you dream of the fruit you will never do your Karma well..” one of the teachings of Bhagwat Gita. But at times the scenario might change.

A friend from Hyderabad who is in my FE group was in town. So we all mates decided to meet up and share a gala time. After a long thought Kunal decided the venue in CCD in FC road. I had lots of trouble with my bike parking as the one-way plan is being implemented on experimental basis and traffic was flowing in an alarming rate. But somehow I managed to cross the other side of the road and find a place to park. Traffic conditions in Pune rock and the roads with potholes filled with ample water during monsoon for poor people to wash out clothes and utensils..

We all entered CCD and started scanning for a better place. All we needed was a place which was isolated from others and with fewer disturbances. But we landed up with nothing. So we sat in a round table and keeping an eye on the sofa which we found out a better place to murmur.

It was a 90-10 situation for me. 90% concentration on sofa while 10% concentration on the conversation. Suddenly there was some displacement noise from other end and I was on my toes. As the folks left I started moving towards my destination of achieving it but it had been acquired by other group when I was half the way. I stared at them at mere disappointment. To my surprise the manager came and asked them to shift as that place was already booked by Prasad. Thanks to him.. Kabhi tho dimag chala uska.. After that ours win situation was toasted by cappuchino..

Read more...

Joyful Morning

Morning alarm rang and Mom dragged me out of the bed for me to drop sister to school. After having a joyful ride, I returned home fresh. Directly I went starting my computer checking for any new emails, scraps and notifications. After a few minutes, to my surprise, my classmate Rohit pinged me on gtalk. The chat began with the morning greetings and then he said that he is coming to a bank near my place at noon. With this chance we can meet and exchange some words. But for time being I thought that the chance of meeting him is 50-50 as its being a long time.

Things have changed from half pant to full pant so called trouser and from water bottle hanging around the neck to beer can across our fingers. Things gradually change with time and so are people.

While heading towards meeting him made me remember my school days. Today I am not in touch with much of my school friends as everyone is busy in their own life. The joys of playing hide and seek to kho-kho to king kong to football and basketball flashed in my mind.

When I reached the destination I surprised to see a completely changed friend. We use to call him “Rabbit” as he had Bugs-Bunny looks but now I met a matured Rohit with a manly voice – “PAPA rabbit”.. lolzzz

We started with chai-time gupshup with 5-6 cups of tea and 5 grass taken by Rohit. We were in touch via social networking sites. What I have knew about him was that he has become a stunt biker. I vouch for his stunts as I saw many of his videos uploaded on web. I got to know many things regarding bikes which I was unaware of. I learnt from him that he is nocturnal with his CBR 600RR by heading towards Lonavala with his fellow mates. Our talks continued with all the memories of school days with cups of tea in front of us. Anyways it was a joyful morning remembering all the good times spend during school days.

This post is dedicated to my friend Rohit Kulkarni who was my schoolmate and now completed his BE in E&TC.

Read more...