just like that

Once in every four years, we come across

(i) the biggest sporting extravaganza on the planet.
(ii) the existence of sports like Boxing, Weightlifting and Shooting.
(iii) small African countries that can't be found on the map winning many medals.
(iv) an entire nation of one billion and more waiting with bated breath for that single gold/silver/bronze.

That time has come. Lets pray and hope for the best!

I finally got my posting this month at work. Coimbatore will be my new home. The Manchester of South India, the city and its surrounding geographies are in the middle of an economic boom. For the first time, I see a city where manufacturing is above par the services/agriculture in terms of employment as well as wealth creation. The cost of living, not surprisingly, seems to be nearly as high, if not more than, Chennai. In fact, one of my friends went to the extent of suggesting that it is costlier than Bangalore.

Anyways, since I am going to be here for sometime, you will have enough of Coimbatore snippets in the days to come. Just thought I will make a post as I begin another journey in a new city. I am looking forward to the challenges and hope to have fun in the way!

You know Valentine’s Day is near when

a) The normal stationery shop you visit is suddenly full of ‘You are the one for me’ cards and heart-shaped gifts.

b) Your newspaper comes with special ‘love’ supplements.

c) The news channels run breaking news as “One crore red roses sold in February”.

d) Shopping malls run all sorts of Ms. And Mr. contests.

e) A lot of (otherwise idle) bloggers write some silly post on it :)

As of now, the only missing link is the self-proclaimed moral police who pop-out on occasions like this and tell people what is right for them and the society. (I guess they will give it a skip this time as they are busy with other ‘Maha’ issues)

Anyways, my earliest memory of V-day goes back to eighth standard - I overheard a conversation while standing in the prayer line at school which went as follows “Do you know today is lover’s day?” “Yeah! I know. And Ganesh is going to propose to Divya” (Names changed to protect identities :) ). But it wasn’t until I was 15 that I actually came to know about the dress-color codes to be followed. I remember being furious with myself for not having a green shirt with me (Green, supposedly, was to indicate to your target segment that you were available). These two silly events keeping come back to me whenever I think of V-day. Since my other adult years did not provide any reason to remember Feb 14 in any special way, its time to bring this aimless post to an end now!

I wish all of you a Happy Valentine’s Day. Enjoy the day. Love everyone and throw away any of your old hatred for anyone! And above all, treat every day of the year as V-Day. Let your heart go on!

Since we are already in February, it is probably a bit too late for the 2007 year post, but since I had started writing it sometime back, I might as well complete it. This should also satisfy all my readers who have been complaining about too much of cricket posts :)

It was a year of two parts – the one on campus and the one after.

The one on campus

The last few days on campus were quite enjoyable as was most of the two years. Birthday cakes and treats, parties, movie downloads, yearbook testimonials, placement preparations, a few last-minute love stories, and farewell trips with friends – it was all happening! And then came the three biggest days in any B-school’s calendar – Day 0, Day 1 and Day 2. (Yes, all those stories you read in papers about placement getting over in half-a-day are, mildly put, pure #%$*). Anyways, blessed with a buoyant economy and a hard-working placement committee, we all got our dream placements. Delighted mothers, relieved fathers, and proud siblings - the convocation was really the icing on that huge cake called IIM Indore.

And then it was finally time to leave - everyone had to, except that no one really wanted to! There are moments in life when you wish you had an opportunity to go back and do it all over again - that feeling came over me as I stood near the stairs of my hostel block and took one final look at the home of my two years. And when I finally boarded the train at Indore, I knew I was finishing up on one important journey and starting on another.

The one after

The one month period after campus and before work was bliss - I slept a lot, ate even more and generally didn’t do any productive work. And then I joined work. The first four-and-a half months was so hectic and so full of travel that it passed before I could say ‘paint’. After that it’s been relatively peaceful with occasional bursts of work.

On the personal front, a six day week meant just one day for all the catching up - catching up with friends, coming online on Gtalk, sleeping long hours and all the efforts towards getting a driving license and passport (both still continue to be in the pipeline). Thanks to weekday night shows, I managed to stay in touch with the film stars. And by installing DISHTV, my lifelong ambition of watching Sachin bat on a 29 inch screen was also fulfilled :)

There is one more very significant thing that happened in the year of 2007. Right through my school and college days, I have tried everything from drinking Complan (Yes, I was a Complan boy!) to working out at the gym to put on weight. None of it had ever worked even a little bit and I had given up hopes long time ago. And yet, magically, this year, with almost no effort from my side, I put on so much weight that for the first time in life, I was actually worried about my diet :). For this reason alone, 2007 would go into the annals of my biography as a very important year. 2008, u better have something really special up your sleeve :)