PS – Its nice

I finished reading P.S I Love you a few days back. Yes it’s the one on which the movie P.S I Love you is based.

Nisha and Paru are not much of fans of the book but to my surprise many people at work loved the book. I had actually people coming over to my desk and talking to me about the story.

I could relate some parts of the book to “Eat, Pray, Love”. The book is about how a lady learns to live life to the fullest all over again – slowly and steadily after her husband’s death. It’s an emotional book, but very beautifully written.

If you’re ready to deal with a lot of emotions, then you should read this book. The movie and book are a little different; so if you have seen the movie and have liked it then do read the book. You will love it.

Well that’s – P.S. I Love You..

Priya –Anil Wedding

Last week was Priya’s wedding. God bless the lovely couple. They make a cute couple. Btw Priya was looking stunning; absolutely beautiful. As usual true to ourselves we were pulling Priya’s leg even on the stage.. She wanted to just kicks off the stage. J

After the wedding Soumya was heading to Pune to start her new job! Thank God she has finally moved to Pune. We are all relived and happy for her. I am going to miss you sweetheart.

It’s nice that all of us are slowing moving on to the next phase of our respective lives; but I also miss the wonderful times we have had. The meetings at Inorbit - just to unwind and crib about anything and everything. I am sure that the next time we meet; the venue might change but the cribbing will still remain!

At the wedding I also happen to meet my school teacher. That was refreshing change. It so amazing to see our teachers and the joy they have to see that their students have turned out pretty good.

Anyway I wish the couple the best in life….. I hope to meet Priya and Soumya soooooooooooooon.

Trying times ahead!

Well its not so good time for me now…my ear piercing seems to be giving me a problem. For the past two days it doesn’t look good.. The doctor has given me some medicines and I hope it turns out ok.. Meanwhile my loved ones are all upset about it (as expected) and want me to remove the earring.

However for all those who know me I don’t give up that easily. Still hoping that it heals soon! At least I won’t regret that I didn’t try my best. Well if not now there is always a next time but I am not going to give up on this one.. No compromises here!

For now I just need to wait and watch…..

Lost in Symbols!

I just finished reading “The Lost Symbol” – Dan Brown… my verdict – ‘definitely worth a read’. I have always enjoyed reading Dan Browns books and this is no exception to that. You will find it hard to put down once you start reading.

The suspense is amazing - you get hooked on to the book all throughout. However, if you’re looking for some serious mysterious code or rather a surprising revelation like the ‘Da Vinci Code’ you wont find that much in this book. Of course in true Dan Brown style there is a lot of code cracking; but the suspense after all the code cracking was not that socking or 'different'.

The impressive part is the amount of research that goes in writing his books. After reading each book I have thought at least once – ‘is it possible that all that is written in the book is true??’

In fact whoever has read his books generally have the same option – it makes you think is this fact or fiction.

Personally, I enjoyed the book and do think that its worth a read!

Back home

Aaah a long overdue for my blog – first things first.. I am back at home in Mumbai and after a really long struggle I have left L&T Infotech. Last Wednesday was my last working day. As in the offer letter; they made sure I served the entire 90 days period!

Anyway that’s all over finally. I am definitely missing all the fun part in Chennai and working with Extreme Network was a good experience; but I guess all good things come to an end at some point in time..so just need to move on.

Now I am all set to start something new and I am all excited about it. Hoping for the best and well that all for now!

Random thoughts…

Yesterday was a busy but, feel good kind of day. All morning we did some cleaning and got rid of a lot of old stuff. Thinking about it now; for me it was a mixed feeling – I have started packing my bags to go back to Bombay. I am not sure on the exact date on when I will head back, but yeah it looks like I will be back by the end of this month or 1st week of Nov. I came to Chennai on 19th July; except for the uncertainty and the sultry climate; it was one of the best and the most enjoyable three months.

When I was packing yesterday, my 3 year old nephew Krishna came up to me and asked me what I was doing.. I said I have to go back to Bombay and I packing for that and he said “But I don’t want you to goooooo”. He then sat inside my suitcase and say “You pack me in then”. That moment was certainly worth living up to the inhumane climate of Chennai. I have already started wondering how horrible it’s going to be away from these two darling kids. I am used to be woken up by Amu or Krishna every morningJ, now their routine is very much a part of me too.

I will miss Paru’s same playlist every evening - she makes it a point to put it on cause all those songs which she plays are “rap”, “hip-hop” type of song..something that’s just not my choice. Basically the songs get onto my nerves. Well there is no need to say that it’s going to be difficult without Nischechi and Vinchettan. They make sure that Paru and I have everything we need..we don’t need to worry about anything actually.

I wouldn’t deny that I am looking forward to go back to Bombay. There are a lot of things that I am looking forward to do there.. lot of change that I have been waiting for. For one I have decided that I want to join French classes once I get back (hope that actually works). Apart for all that, my friends are waiting for me to get back. I too am waiting to meet them. Everyday Soumya, Priya, Sri…….. and almost all my friends just want to know when I am getting back to Bombay. It’s a lot to look forward to.

Even though I have all this; still somewhere at the back of my mind it doesn’t feel too good to leave…cause after all I am going away from one “home” to another…..

Post long weekend blues.. worse than Monday morning blues I tell u!

The weekend that just passed was a long weekend for me….the first after 1st May. As in the case of most of us I have been waiting for the “long” weekend from May onwards; but I never imagined I would spend it in my native place.

Anyway I had gone to Palakkad (Pgt – Kerala). Vin chetan (my jij) is always to the rescue for my ticket booking n mind u he is always ready to help without any complains what-so-ever. (He has begun contemplating on starting a part-time travel agency :P) I got my onward ticket only on train that reaches Pgt at ard 3.45 in the morning :( (Trust me that way too early for someone who doesnt see daylight before 7AM). The last time when Paru n I went; we got the tickets for the train that reaches at 5 A.M. You should ask Paru about how paranoid I was all night that we will miss the station..so u can imagine my state, that too travelling alone for the every first time by train! Well getting up on time was least my problem just as yet.

A few weeks back there was an article in the Times of India (Mumbai edition) that the sheets used the trains are washed once in 6 months or so. I can vouch for that now for sure!! Generally, I don’t even touch those sheets; unfortunately one of the sheets was on the seat and within minutes I had rashes all over my back. Though I am chutki by height still I can’t sit up on a lower seat (thank god I am not that short!). Any chance of sleeping even for a few hours were down the drain…finally I was sitting up all nite n trying to figure out where the train has reached – a difficult task for 2 reasons:
1 have not the remotest of idea on the route and
2 there is no way to make out at 3 in the nite in an AC compartment!

Everyone in the compartment were sleeping peacefully..... even on the floor while I was sitting up like an “ullu” (basically means an owl but for all practical purposes u can substitute it with an “idiot”) trying to figure out where I am. Finally I called up my va (valliacchan == uncle) and that too at nick of time cause he said “Darling just getting down from the train. The train is just entering the platform!“

I reached home at 4.30 and head straight for the bathroom for a nice hot water bath and then for a nice sleep :) Vamma (valliamma == aunty) woke me up at 7.30 in the morn to go to the temple. Basically being an amblavasi (temple community) family and to add to it Navrathri time --- dude ur heading out to the temple most of the morning (I too like to go to the temple; obviously I complain - just for fun).

Going from a pot boiling climate of Chennai to the lovely soothing weather in Pgt is just “WOW…ILOVE IT HERE”. Vamma had a tough time just making me get up from the porch; I just wanted to stay there all day enjoying the weather. I reached on Saturday morn while Nisha chech was coming in the evening with the kids. Chech has a certain affinity to airport; off-late cause in most cases she spend a lot of time at the airport due to some delay. Her recent adventure trip was from Calicut to Chennai.. she was supposed to arrive at around 9 in the morning and finally landed at 9 in the evening at home. She did an all India yatra and came from Calicut via Coimbatore - Mumbai and finally reached Chennai. Basically you get the idea about her adventures. (let me stop here or else I will have to find a new apartment to stay!!). Anyway as usual her flight as late; but no complains for me - I had a lovely time with my ettan(elder brother) Tinku.

I didn’t get return tickets thanks to Paru’s rush to go out somewhere. Dudet u owe me half my flight ticket fare ! Sunday we had some pooja at home and lots of guests. Cooking is also fun when there a lot of people at home. When all the guests left all I could think of is the number vessels we used to make tea. We made black tea, two rounds of normal tea and some filter coffee and there were about 10 vessels…not to mention all the tea cups :)

Monday got busy with Amu (my sweet bhabhi). She had to taken to hospital for check-up (she is expecting and I am hoping it’s a girl). So I was in-charge of cooking. Well I have a bit of the awesome Pgt sister culinary skills so my Monday was mainly in the kitchen... Finally it was time to head back to the pot-boiler and before I realized it my long weekend is now history..but a history I really enjoyed!

Thursday 13th August 2009…

It seems to be just another day; but it’s one of the most unforgettable day for me. Unforgettable not in a happy sense but 13th August 2008 was my last working day at Hexaware – the place I still treasure with all my heart.

I joined Hexaware on 7th August 2006. First and foremost it was the company that gave me - my first pay check; a job when I was dejected and had lost even the slightest of self-confidence. I went for a walk-in interview for freshers’ on 4th Aug 2006 and they asked me to report for training at Pollachi (in Tamil Nadu) on the very next day… my family and friends were amazed and proud of me. This was my very first achievement.

Every step at Hex taught me something or the other. I had brilliant and wonderful seniors; something more than what any fresher could ask for. They were never really “project managers” or “project leads” but senior who care for you. Sam uncle’s lesson “Don’t get attached to anyone in IT.. cause no one stays here forever” is one thing that I will always remember; also thanks a lot Sam for putting me into development, I do realize what you meant when told me that – it the best feeling to see something that you have developed, working fine. Sanjeev (Sirji) our PM; who used to leave work only after we girls go home - even if it meant that he had to wait till 11 /12 in the night. Seldom do you get senior like this!

Personally, I have my friends Anshul, Vineeth, Anand, Mahesh, Samit, Rahul, SP, Chutki (Shital), Pinku-tinku(Pinank), KD and of course my brother Chetan.. These are the wonderful people that only Hex would have brought in my life. The list kept on increasing with NT, Rupal, Usha - all joining the group of the lovely people that I know. I miss you guys.(Sorry to all those whom I have not mentioned here.. it just that there are too many to mention :) ) Just wish that I could turn back time and live those entire two year again. Our trips to Harihareshwar, Bandra bandstand, US, Kerala – always makes me smile.

Apart from my Siebel friends the Pollachi training gave me a whole list of friends (I would need a whole blog space to pen them down, but yeah to name a few..) Deep, Harshit, Swati, Avani … you guys are the best!

Professionally, Hex gave me the best break a fresher can ask.. onsite within one year.. on project from day one.. training in specialized area like Siebel.. What else could I ask for? The numerous “night-out” for completing our work! If you were to open any of the girls’ desk-draws you would find spare clothes and a toothbrush- toothpaste for sure (in case of the guys don’t expect clothes but a brush n paste for sure). We were always prepared for a night out even with pillows!

Over the two year I have also been through a lot of “downs” n not just the rosy “ups”. All of them in my group quitting one by one.. Anshul being the first; most of them of course joined either Cap or Delloitte n I am the only one left out. The “last day” of each one of us was the worst time. I still remember my last day where I carried back 2 big bags full of thing from my desk draws (I often wonder how come I had so much of stuff holed up in my desk!). I remember walk out of the doors one last time...Even after all this when I look back I can’t help it but just smile back on the wonderful 2 years!!!

Tagged !

Paru has tagged me to write this fantastic 4 article. So here is my list of favorite 4's

4 books / authors I can read over and over again

The Harry Potter series – J.K RowlingYes I am a die-hard Harry Potter fan… I think the book is a lucky a charm for me and have read almost all the books about 3 times.

Digital Fortress – Dan Brown
Maybe cause I am a computer engineer the whole algorithm breaking story was a thrill to read.

Angles and Demons – Dan Brown
Another one of my favorite by the same author – wish I could think like Robert Langdon!

Black Friday - The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts - S. Hussain ZaidiThis book is a must read book.. It really makes you think about what is happening in the world.

4 of my all time favorite songs I would dedicate to someone special
The songs say it all… I wont write anything for this list
Nothing gonna change my love for you - Glenn Mederios
Tu bin baataye mujhe le chal kahi - Rang De BasantiI will be right here waiting 4 u – Richard Marxs
Mujhe raat din - Sangarsh.

4 “Kodak moments”
Rashmi’s ashirwad ceremony – this one moment is the best I have ever come across

I love the expression on Krishna’s face

Take a look at Srinu :)

Just came back after my Hexaware training at Pollachi and the two days I spent with these kids felt like in heaven

4 places I want to visit
Venice: One of a kind place; want to go there once.


LA: People who know me, know this one. I have been crazy about going to LA since my college days. Maybe the main attraction is Disneyland.


Lakshwadeep: Looks like an amazing place to go to


Seychelles: Just realize that 3 out of the 4 places in my list are scenic waterfronts! But yeah this is another place I want to go to

4 trips I cherish the most
Sahara Lake City 2004 - This is one of the amazing place and the most beautiful place I have seen. Its near Lonavala, Maharashtra.

US 2005 - We went to visit rash.. I have always excited about going to the US and this one trip was the best time.

US 2007 - My first onsite trip. This would be my best trip; for everyday during those four months have only given me good memories (even if it meant working at 2 in the night)

Kerala 2008 - My first trip with friends. We went to the backwaters of Kerala, Munnar and Trivandrum.

4 favorite desertsFor these the pictures say it all!Chocolate cake
Sizzling brownie
Gajar ka halwa
Mangoes

4 favorite moviesAll hp movies – Well I love Harry Potter that’s all I have to say!
A beautiful mind - Te most amazing part is the suspense when we realize that John Nash’s friend is also a hallucination.

Jab we met – this is one movie I totally relate to and connect with the character a lot. It’s a total stress-buster movie for me. I have never missed it even once on the T.V ( only if I know that its playing on TV)

Manichrathazu – all mallus will know the significance of this movie. For the rest of you it’s the original version of “Bhool Bhuliya” (Hindi) and “Chandramukhi” (Tamil). Both the movies are no comparison for Shobhana’s “Vida mate”


4 favorite comic charactersCalvin n Hobbes
Calvin seem to be a pretty dumb kid if you look at his grades but just take a look at his vocab or his knowledge on dinosaurs and u will be amazed. Thanks Rash n Raj for gifting me the entire series. I love it
Tintin
The ace report. I like his adventures and the cynical expressions of Captain HaddockArchiesMy favorite in this Jughead and Betty. Unfortunately Archie decided to marry Veronica

Tom n Jerry
Almost all of us have grown up watching these two chase each other. I am sure most of us think that Jerry is the naughty and always get Tom into trouble but I think its Tom’s actions that get him into trouble most of the time.


4 all time favorite TV showsFriendsOh My God!!! Even though I have seen most of the episodes I still like to watch them over n over again. There has never been any show that has been half as entertaining as this one……Sarabhai vs. sarabhiThis one is a show I started watching only recently but they are a hilarious gang. Especially when Maya criticizes Monisha. You have to see this to understand what I am saying. “It just so middle class!”

Full house
I have seen each and every episode of Full house and love Nikki, Alex n of course Jessi. He used to be my heart-throb at one point in timeHe-manBy the power of grey skull…I have the powerrrrrrrrr. Lets face it, most of you can hear that ringing in your ears when you are reading this

4 people I would tag
UV - Urvish, now you have to write another post
http://mavenic-ramblings.blogspot.com/
Vinod Chettan - Please write this for me :)
http://2yearsinchennai.blogspot.com/
Shrikanth - My coll friend; someone who does write well n gives me advice on how to improve my blogs
www.yibiy.wordpress.com

Anu - Another coll friend of min... i hope he has the time to write a post :(
http://anubhavvanmali.blogspot.com/

What’s in a name you ask ehh?? – Well loads of fun

It’s been just over 5 days that I have been in Chennai, but whenever it come to talking about the places here, the names of the different places sound way too funny. Living in Bombay (yes guys I still prefer calling it Bombay not Mumbai n Madras not Chennai which btw also sounds funny) I am used to names like Bandra, Churchigate, Marine lines, Charkop, Chandivili, Borivili to name a few; these name sound so happening n normal to me – pun every much intended. Now let’s look at some of the name here – Tiruvanmiyur, Gummidipoondi, Sullurpeta, Chengalpattu; etc and the funniest for me till now – Guindy (not sure if I spelt this rite!). I am sure half or rather all my north Indian friends will not be able to pronounce even one name in above list. In Bombay we have beautiful names like Andheri (which in Hindi literally mean darkness..recollect the song ‘Andheri raato mein’ from ‘Shahensha’) not to forget CST – now what was the full form of CST??????? Well I think it just a matter of getting used to the names; but it sure is fun when you come to a new city and hear place there.

Well that’s about place, let’s talk about human name (at times inhuman!!!!!! )
In south India, the general tendency is to name the kids with God’s name.. live e.g. me “Lakshmi” (now while we are at it - it is “Lakshmi” and not “Laxmi”) . It seems my name is my great – grandmother’s name but the fact is that most south Indians love to name their kids with Godly name (probably hoping that they have some good qualities). In my family we have – Parvathy, Sreedevi, Lakshmi, Arjun and ‘n’ forms of Krishna – Ramakrishnan, Jayakrishnan, Muralidharan, Krishna, Krishnan, Haridas, Srinath….. (well come to think of it all the guys in my mum's side family are some or the other form of Krishna / Vishnu). When I reached Madras my aunt called me and asked “Have the wives of Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva moved in together?” (I am staying with Parvathy). One morning Rita (my friend in LnT) was telling that she has decided to take my name early in the morning at least around 10 times – her logic ????She says chanting “Lakshmi Ramakrishnan“ probably will her get some ‘punya’, after all it does cover 3 Gods !!!!!

Now-a-days it’s the fashion for hifi names. This I would say is the biggest setback due to the Internet. Most of our generation couple hunt on the Internet for a ‘different’ name for their kid.. to cite a few e.g. Suri, Aidan, Anana (or was that banana). The first question generally after hearing such a name is how the heck to you pronounce them and the next thing is what does it mean. At the back of our mind we think ‘Lord what a weird name.. poor kiddo’

One generation back there was a huge trend to name the kids as a combination of the mother and fathers' name. Mum’s Lisa, Dad’s Joseph – then kid is Lijo – you get my point, right? I am glad my name was not “Sura” or “Rasu”. Imagine Rash was named “Rasu” and I was named “Sura”. Look around you may still find victim of such combi names! My friend in hex used to tell me that at first he used to find it every odd to call out to me cause it felt ancient! But again I am glad that my name is far better than many I have come across. The other I came across a name Sitalakshmi – wives of 2 gods in 1 (ek pe ek free offer!), another one was “pachepazham” (Pache mean green/ raw and pazham mean fruit / banana). Oh boy! I really wonder how did his parents come up with such a name. The other day my friend Amibika was telling that she loves the name “Paris” so we went ahead and suggested to name her kid “Delhi”, “Agra” or maybe “London” :)

In the north, especially Sikh Punjabi names, you can’t be too sure if it’s a boy or a girl. A name Kawaljeet can be a boy or a girl. Same is the case with names like Kiran, Madhu, etc. Basically even though I feel that my name is ancient ------ I am glad I am “Lakshmi” or "Laksh" for some of my special friends!

Initial adventures

When I first told everyone that I was to move-in to IIT my aunt warned me that there was a certain “Anil” – the squirrel staying in the kitchen but no one had seen it yet (so that was indeed relieving). I reached on Sunday at around 9.30 in the morning. Paru came to pick me up from the airport and from that time onwards itself she had given me the entire day’s schedule. We decided to first hit the grocery shop. Finally with all the essentials purchased we were all set to start cooking; there started my first adventure – I enter the kitchen to find a lizard with size of an iguana running all around the kitchen n I ran (maybe even faster than usain bolt :) ) out of the kitchen. Somehow with Paru in the front we started cooking.

Monday – 20th July 2009
Paru leaves for work @ 6.40 in the morn... being the elder one I thought of making lunch for her and me. When we entered the kitchen leave apart the fact that the iguana lizard was still lurking around; we could hear a lot of squeaking sounds. This confirmed that “Anil” is definitely living there (though I had a doubt why my sis is calling it “anil” n not “anila” tending to her kids.. later on she tells me that “anil” means squirrel in Tamil ;-) ).. after about 5 mins we saw a squirrel coming in through the ventilator and running on the wall. Boy all I could think of was where do I run to!!! It’s either the iguana lizard or the squirrel... both bad options. In short all plans to cook were cancelled. I had no plans to even enter the kitchen. The first day @ office was nice - when I think about it first days are always awesome. Nevertheless in the evening Nishchechi came to pick me up. Went home and there were my two lil cutey pies. Vamma and NishChechi decided to come over to IIT to solve the "Anil" problem and after giving the 2 darling a bath we came to IIT. Back @ IIT, the maid got down the squirrel's nest and put it outside in the balcony. When we all saw how small the lil squirrel kids were we didnt have the heart to put them out in the open so guess what was done...they were put back on the loft! Finally we decided that the maid would get it to some safe place tomorrow.. Well tomorrow may be another adventure.......lets wait and watch!

IIT Madras -- I am falling in love with this campus

L&T gave me the chance to come to Chennai for a project. I didnt want to miss this opportunity for anything. It was a blessing in disguise for me cause I would be able to spend time with my love – Krishna n Amu.

I am staying at my cherriacchan’s quarters @ IIT. I have often wondered that it takes a lot to enter into the IIT...years of focus, efforts, dedication and most of all the perseverance to make it in there. Why do people go through all this to get in? What makes this the premier and the most sought after institute in India?? By every passing day, my stay in this beautiful place is answering all my question - Walking around the campus just makes you realize that it’s a different world all together. The central library is as big as one section of my engineering college or may be even as big as my college building. The magnitude and grandeur of the campus just enthralls anyone entering it. In short it is a self sufficient world with a pin code of its own! Now that I am ‘just’ staying at the IIT all I can say is its worth every bit of the effort…..

My first blog!

Finally it’s my turn to start blogging - the latest fad for me … I remember when we were in school, having a “hotmail” or “yahoo” account was the IN thing to talk about. Slowly it moved on to Gmail; later this was replaced by Orkut. In my orkutting experience, on our first day Soumya and I were not even sure of how to post scraps. We ended up writing replies to our scraps in our own scrap books!!!!
Now my craze is to blog. I must say Rashmi’s friend Urvish is the inspiration for this; his blogs about their engineering days was actually the first time I read anyone’s blogs n something I njoyed a lot. Now of course Paru – a regular blogger –is the reason I finally sat down to write them down. Another reason is that I want to make my stay at IIT Madras the most memorable one n the best way for me would be to write down my daily “adventures”......