The bright light

Round the corner, I spotted a bright light,
I traveled towards it all night,
To reach my goal, I had to fight,
sweat out and work with all my might,
And, every passing day, my goal seemed closer to sight.

The journey was a mixture of fun and toil,
Filled with patches of both brown and green,
Some of the days were full of turmoil,
Rest of them were hard work - clean,
Every night, I burnt the midnight oil.

Around me, people pitied my plight,
Undeterred, I continued my flight,
Perseverance was the mantra,
Hard work was my sole tantra,
Unperturbed I inched my way,
Far far away from my bay.

One sunny day, I reached the bright light,
The joy of achievement was boundless,
The beauty of the goal left me speechless,
The joyful tears of my eyes were countless,
The smell of victory was fabulous.

Friends and Family, listen to me,
Everything in the world can be achieved by thee,
Toil hard, and keep your spirits high,
Be cheerful always, and never sigh,
Round the corner when you spot the bright light,
Run for it, with all your might !

Five Point Someone - Play by Evam

Well, There might not be many people who've not read the book - Five Point Someone. An instant hit, the book was written by Chetan Bhagat, an IIT-IIM guy, and I believe, the concept and the brand name were the two main reason for its quick success. (The second book by Chetan was One night at the Call center, and this was, if I can say Bull shit).

Five Point Someone - the book - is a one-shot read, but definitely not the kind of book that'll have a lasting impact. Nevertheless, I read the book at one shot, and quite liked the concept - probably because I was in college when I read the book. So, when last week, a friend told me about Evam staging this play at Rangashankara, I badly wanted to watch it.

The desire to watch the play was strong, but I never booked the tickets, and so, I landed at Rangashankara, and barged my way through a crowd of people who were in the waiting list. I someone managed to finally get the last few tickets there ! What a relief, and I am so glad, that, for once I got lucky !


Rangashankara - My first time here. I donot have words to describe the place. AWESOME !!!!!! I loved the arrangements. Be it the food, or the decors, everything looked so much theatre-types (I cudn't find any other word for it. hehe)

Sets - Very simple . The play is one of the best examples of "Sense and simplicity" (sorry Philips!). I could count exactly 4 things on stage - one elevated stage(supposed to be top of the building at IIT), a cot, a table and a chair (and ofcourse the actors) - There was nothing else on the stage - Yet, these props were just enough to enact every scene in the best manner.

Actors - Every single person appeared real. A small anecdote from my expeience : Me and Ranjini were having lunch at the eat-out in Ranga Shankara, and we came across a guy having meals. He was hogging like it was nobody's business, and like he'd never seen food. Later, I realised, he was none other than Alok, the fat glutton and the nerdy mugger, of the play !
It seemed like the characters in the play were very close to their real-life. Be it Ryan, Alok, or Hari, not to forget a mention at all the profs - esp. Prof Cherian (His baritone voice sent me gaga over him! ) - all of them were aptly chosen to suite their character.
How can I forget the narrator - Hari's alter self - The concept of having two ppl enact as Hari, and his alter-self - brought in tremendous clarity and kept up the sense of humor - esp. when Hari's alter self faces the audience after every scene.

This play was directed by the youngest directory of Madras talkies, and I don't think anyone could have done a better job! In short, this was a brilliant experience. Evam will always remain one of my favorite theater group - Their youth, their precision, their profiessionality, and the smiles they bring to everyone's face is commendable !

My first FAILURE in an interview....

I woke up in the morning, feeling extremely elated - cos this was the day my 2 months of waiting were gonna bear fruit. Yes, I am talking of my SP results. Today was D-DAY, and the results were gonna be announced.
I was one of the several sincere aspirants, who wanted a break-through MBA career. My one and only call for the season was an SP Jain call. It was a DO or DIE situation for me, and I prepared decently well for an interview that could have brought a new dimension to my life. After my January 29th interview, I was confident. Very confident, cos in my perception I had a kick-ass interview . I have NOT seen a failure in life, and believed, my success graph WILL go up. The confidence reigned in me day and night. I dreamt of residing in Mumbai as an SP-ite. I started thinking of what I would do for my DOCC project. I started thinking of how I would fund my education. I had a clear-cut plan in mind. I agree, there were times I thought, I ll give another shot at CAT, but, somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew I wanted it - Cos I know the trauma and pressure of preparing for CAT for another year.
Anyways, I was at office, refreshing http://www.spjimr.org time and again - hoping that my dreams will come true. Believe me, I spent the whole day at office refreshing http://www.spjimr.org. And, finally, when I saw the results, i couldnt find my name. I was so sure, something went wrong that I kept reading every name in the list. It took me ten minutes to digest that I've not been selected. Wierd, but, I couldnt cry. I wanted to, but I couldn't. I wish I did.
Confident as I was, the moment I saw my name wasnt there, my mind ran towards CAT 2008. Its gonna be a tough journey, but I always believe that hard work and sincerity pays , no matter what. I guess, the feeling is yet to sink into me currently, but I soooo hope, that, when it does, I remain as confident as ever!
Its a different story, my CAT 2007 journey ended in a tragedy - But, I had a beautiful time going through it - Be it the Saturday-Sunday mocks with friends, the Byju's CAT classes, Analysis of mocks, or the combined studies - I had a rocking time.
It would be unfair, if I dont thank my good friends Pratima and Harsha - I've shared with them my every emotion , and they were as excited for me as I was in the morning. I was so touched to see Pratima refreshing the results page every now and then to check my results. I'm blessed to have friends like them !

Ode to the past...

Dedicated to a changing phase of life.. A change that'll keep many things unchanged within.....

I sat, watched tv, and quietly forgot,
I ate, and quietly walked off,
I read the paper, and quietly sat down,
I did all I would normally when in town,
Difference : Something was wrong.


I laughed, and jumped and played,
I fought and made up, all in a game,
I cheated, and confessed,
I listened, and I professed,
Today, I remember these, I feel depressed.


The chitter-chatter in the last bench,
The run to the filter to thirst quench,
The Saturday lunches and rain drenches,
The Section-A-B fights, and HOD's speeches,
These are memories, I'll cherish ever.


The excitement of first time earning,
The joy of pop-corns, and bad movie groaning,
The desperate gang meetings, and despair at low turning,
The joy of the first hike, and birthday treating,
For the last time, let me embrace,
For the last time, let me tell, in grace,
For the last time, let me have a ball.....
I'll miss you all....
A LOT ! A LOT ! A LOT !

Ode to the Activa...

Every morning, I take my Activa to office, travel for an hour, and travel back for an hour. This journey has created an intimate bonding between me and my Activa, and its inspired me to honor it with a little gift ;)


From my window, I spot my Activa near the gate,
The Activa, which is, to me a soul-mate,
Its been with me through thick and thin,
Its carried me and my belongings without dropping a pin.

From my window, I spot my Activa near the gate,
The Activa, which never failed its brake,
Its taken me to college right on time,
And always saved me of a fine.

From my window, I spot my Activa near the gate,
The Activa, to which, I most relate,
Its my most priced possession,
From my most priced person, is a confession.

From my window, I spot my Activa near the gate,
The Activa, on which, I'll go for my dream-date,
It'll take me by the river side,
And off I'll go on a romantic boat-ride.

From my window, I spot my Activa near the gate,
The Activa, for which, my love will never abate,
Buy a car, someday I will,
Sell the Activa, never I will.

From my window, I spot my Activa near the gate......

The Kite Runner - A Review

Last week, I got a chance to read a captivating book by Khaled Hosseini, called the Kite Runner. The story revolves around two characters : Amir and Hassan, and portrays the gratitude that Hassan has towards his master and friend, Amir. It covers every bit of emotion in both these characters. The plot begins with Kabul, and the happy days of Kabul during the monarchy there. It talks about the fall of the monarchy, and how it affected the lives of people there. And amidst this curfew, the author unfolds the story of Hassan and Amir. Amir flees Kabul with his dad due to the curfew and finds abode in America. They abandon their luxurious home and business in Kabul, and make living in America in a small Afghan colony. The climax of the story when Amir goes back to Kabul in search of (I wont tell you this) is the most heart rendering part of the book.

Once in hand, the book becomes so intriguing that its hard to keep away from reading it.Its the most captivating, emotional, tearful story I've read in recent times, and I would easily rate it a nine on ten . I am waiting to catch the movie which released last december in UK.

The One Rupee Tip

Its a lousy Saturday, and I cant stop my mind from traveling down the memory lane. A small incident comes to my mind.

This should have been in my 7th or 8th standard, when I was living with my grandparents in a serene village. Life was about going to school, studying, going for temple festivals, weddings, etc. (There was hardly any eating out, meeting friends, etc). My close friend, Chethana's mom was running a primary school in those days, and she was taking her students out on a trip to Maria park in Cochin (One hour from my place). She was very fond of me, and Che (thats Chethana) and me were (are) inseparable pals. Che's mom asked my grandparents if I could join them on their school trip too, and they agreed. I was really excited about this one (cos it was on a rare occasion that I could step out). I got some pocket money from my granny , around 50 bucks if I remember right, and I was excited at the thought of eating chicken Manchurian at the park.

I remember we sang rhymes (cos the bus was full of primary school kids), chit-chatted (something Che and me love doing), and discussed some school-gossip. At the park, we tried all the rides, we went horse riding, climbed trees (lol), etc. During lunch time, me and Che went to a restaurant in the Park. It was probably very rare that I got the independence of going to a restaurant with a friend. (usually someone accompanied us.) It was a self service restaurant. I went to place the order. After placing the order, my mind started running in the direction of giving a tip to the guy. I've always seen dad tipping the waiters, but I'd never been to a self service restaurant before (not that I could recall then), and I was unsure if I should. Finally I made up my mind to tip him, and gave him a rupee and said "Vechholu" ("Keep it"). I had that air about me when I said that. (lol).
Waiter : "What is that?"
Me: "That's for you. Just keep it"
Waiter: "Aiyaaey.. I don't want it"
Me: "Its alright. Keep it"
Waiter: "We don't accept this"

I quietly walked off :(

It was quite humiliating for me then. Che had a hearty laugh on hearing the story. I avoided going near that restaurant for the rest of the day I spent in the park. Now, when I look back, I feel, One rupee may have been a big thing for me as a child, but I wish he could have valued it like I did... Or, probably, I was meddling with non-corrupt human :)

Whatever be it, this incident is still fresh in my memory, and I invariably recall it, whenever I tip a waiter.