Dad's Daughter

No words to express but only silence with a bit of tears.

Disclaimer :  Before you actually step into reading this master piece ,  i would like to claim that this is not my own creation instead i found it on some blog space and that of sharing it here. One of the very touching stories i have read, hope you will enjoy.... Cheers to the author for a brilliant job..

‘you have done a brilliant work Rajesh. You have been given….rrrrhhhhh……Raaaajjjeeeessshhhh………… Raaaajjjeeeessshhhh.’- what!! I woke up from a sudden jerk. ‘Raaajeeessshhh….’…I heard my wife yelling. What’s w/ her? Always yelling for something or the other. I can’t be in peace even in my dreams. Shucks!! Angrily, I kicked my blanket and got down. ‘Raaajesssh….’  ‘Coming Meera..what’s w/ you. Why are you shouting like this..’.


 I hurried down the stairs.  I saw Meera, my sweet(??!!) wife, sitting in the couch giving breakfast to my 7yr old daughter  Achala. Both looked happy, watching TV.  I got confused at the whole scenario. I came running down, expecting some kind of earthquake, but instead here everything was in place. I looked at my wife & daughter. She smiled at me back.  Now, I more got confused, what’s happening here? Am I in a dream?


‘Meera…’
‘Yeah Rajesh…’
‘You called me. In fact yelled.’
‘Yes. You are right!’
‘Everything is fine here right? Why you screamed like that then…’
‘It’s ‘cos it’s going to be 8am now.’


 I couldn’t understand what she was trying to say. Is she playing some kind of prank? Is this the time for all these? I have to be in office by 9am for a meeting.  


 ‘Yes. It’s going to be 8am.Right! So…?’
‘Rajesh, don’t tell me, you forgot…today is 27th ‘
‘27th..What 27th? 


‘Don’t tell me you don’t remember?’
  Meera gave me an ‘I’ll kill you’ look. Is it her birthday? No it’s somewhere at the year end. Is it my daughter’s? No no , we celebrated last month only right. Got it. Should be our Anniversary.


 ‘Hey Meera, How will I forget our Anniversary…’ 
‘Whaattttttt????….Anniversaryyyyy???…..’


 Got it. It’s not our anniversary. Before I get killed…What’s w/ 27th. What ?? what?? Come on Rajesh!! Think. Nothing hit my mind. I looked at my daughter for a clue. She turned her face away. What’s with all women? Why can’t they be straight forward & say things. With so much work pressure, how on earth I am supposed to remember all the dates?. If I say something, then Meera will pick up a fight, and I will miss the meeting, my whole day will be gone. I made up my mind to surrender.  


 ‘Meera, Sorry, I don’t remember. This medicine I am taking for cough, Something happened..my memory is deteriorating ..What’s today?’  Meera doesn’t seem like buying that excuse from me.


 ’Meera, please tell me’ I asked in a pitiable tone..


‘Rajesh..You don’t remember at all?’  I moved my head left & right meaning NO. I kept my face like I am a patient suffering from ‘amnesia'. 


'Rajesh, As part of annual day celebrations, today is 'Daddy's Day' in Acchu's school. I have been telling you for the past 3 weeks. Now don’t tell me you forgot. You already promised that you will go with her to her school'
I couldn’t believe that I accepted for something like that. 'Meeraa..did I??'
'Yes. You did'
‘at what time it starts..?'
'By 8:30am and ends at 1pm'.


Gosh!! 9am!! I have such a critical meeting. How I will attend all these.


“Meera, you could have reminded me yesterday right?’


‘Oh I didn’t remind you? Great. I didn’t call to your office. Or remind you in the evening and before going to bed’


Might be I wouldn’t have heard it. Or slipped out of my memory. What ever!!


'Meera! Can’t you attend all these. Why should I??'
"Rajesh. It’s Daddy's Day!...DADDY'ss!!!!!'
'Oh yeah....but...'
'But what????...'
'errrh....might be some other day...'
'What? You want the school to postpone the function?'
'No..No…actually..what..I am saying is..'
'What Rajesh??? What?? Tell me. You promised Acchu and are you going to disappoint her? '
I stood there totally helpless. I looked at my daughter. She was all dressed up and ready to go. She looked like, she will cry any time. I saw Meera. She gave me a murderous look. I thought for a moment and my mind raced with many calculations. Important meeting. I can’t miss for sure. Half a day is too much. So many deliverables will get affected. I can’t face Meera again if I don’t go. Might be I can postpone the meeting by an hour and for name sake visit that function and escape to office. 


 'Meera, I will go, but I can spend only 1 hour..'
'No...that’s not..'


Before Meera finished the sentence, Acchu rushed to me 'Thanks daddy. 1hour. Mom, 1hour is enough mom. Please don’t fight mom. Daddy, get ready soon..' she nudged me.
 ‘Do you know her school name and the route for the school or you want me to tell???’ Asking that Meera threw me an angry look and left the living room. I rushed up, got ready. Called my manager & told that I got stuck in traffic jam and postponed the meeting to 10am. 


I took Achala to her school. I felt somehow entering the school, ‘cos it’s the 2nd time, I am entering her school. In fact 1st time. I once dropped her outside her school gate. The school had a big playground, Small Park with all kids playing equipments. Some stalls were put up. So many kids with their fathers moved around here & there.  Suddenly I felt some one touching my hand 


‘Are you achala’s daddy?’ – A small kid asked. She had curly hair and bubbly smile. 


‘Yes,,,My Daddy..…’ – Achala responded in an excited tone. And some kids ran towards me and Achala started introducing everyone. 


‘Daddy! this is Rohit, this is zakir, Anis, Sylvia, Divya..’ – I told hello to everyone. 


‘Daddy, Daddy, Zakir is my best friend.’ – I smiled at that cute blue eyed boy. 


‘Uncle, Acchu told that you have so much work and you won’t be able to come. She told she won’t come in today. You don’t have work Uncle?’ – Zakir asked me.


I suddenly felt very bad on how my daughter has understood me. ‘No Zakir, I don’t have work’


‘Daddy, they are calling for the games. ‘ . Zakir ran to his father and waved his hands at me & achala. I took achala by hand and walked towards the stage. They were announcing the 1st game. Fathers will be given a sheet containing questions about their kids.  Fathers have to fill about their kids which will be verified with the kids response.


Achala was all excited about the game and she was all set to go. But I felt shivers. I looked at my daughter. Suddenly, I felt very far from her, and the reality hit me, that I don’t know anything about my very own daughter. I blurted out ‘Acchu..we will attend the next game..This one ..’ She gave me a deep stare. I thought she is going to cry or shout or do something. But instead she pulled out a small paper from her jeans pocket and gave it to me. Completely baffled, I opened the sheet.

My name is Achala. My birthday March 21st. I am 7yrs old. I like butterfly. Superman. Dairy milk. painting. dancing. I am in  1st standard A section. I like Dora. Mango. Apple. Fried rice. Jelly. I don’t like banana. I drink  boost.. I like yellow color. My nick name is ‘Honey dew’


And the list went on with small, small spelling mistakes. I looked at Acchu. ‘Daddy, read it, I know they will keep this game. So I wrote it 2 days back itself, to give you if you come. If they ask anything about me, write there. Ok Now go & attend the game’. Most of the things, my daughter has written & gave me, I never knew anything about it. I suddenly felt a lump in my throat. I went to the stage waved my hand to Acchu and got the question sheet. Since Acchu gave the sheet, I came to know about her & I answered almost all the questions. Then they asked Acchu on stage and asked the questions to her. We got the 2nd highest mark in that game. Acchu came running towards me and hugged me. They gave a ‘toy guitar’. Everyone congratulated us. Thou’ I won that game, I felt like a loser. I know, I don’t deserve this. I don’t know anything about my daughter.
She looked very happy showing that guitar to her best friend, zakir . What a kid she is. Understanding that her dad is totally hopeless and don’t want to let her dad down, before others she prepared that sheet and gave to me. The lump in my throat started getting bigger and my heart became heavy. I caressed her hair. What a beautiful smile she has and such big eyes. Does she miss a wing to get qualified as an angel? I have never admired my daughter or even watched her in all these years. She has that cute dimple of Meera’s as well as her eyes. Does that curling lip edges when she smiles, is mine? How I missed all this in my life.


Achala pulled me to the stalls there and I got some eatables and ballons for her and zakir.. She kept talking about the next game and suddenly my mobile rang. Oops!! Is it already 10am. I looked at Acchu . Suddenly her face became dark. She looked totally upset and asked in an low voice ‘Daddy! You have to leave now?’
 I looked at my mobile. My manager was calling. It’s already 10am. I looked at Acchu. I looked around. All those happy kids with their fathers. I thought about my school days, where my dad used to come for all sports day, annual day, sit with me, cheer me up. Every day morning, while dropping me to school, he will wait near the gate until my head disappear. Evening, he will come & pick me up in his cycle, and I will be telling him all the stories that happened that day in school. 


I saw Acchu. How many untold stories my daughter has kept in her heart to say me? I thought about all those days, where I yearned for a girl child and I wonder, how much of my time I gave her.I pulled her closer, gave a kiss on her fore head ‘No Honey! I am not going. I will be here only…we will attend all games and roam around whole day.ok?’ 


‘Really?’ – She asked in an unbelievable tone.
 ‘Yes sweetz’


‘Thank you Daddy!’ – Achala kissed my cheeks and ran to her friends. School teaches you something or the other always. This time, ‘back to school’ has taught me a wonderful life’s lesson. I called my manager & told that am running high fever and can’t come in today. I know, I can handle things tomorrow. Today my daughter needs me more than anyone can need me in this world. With a lighter heart, I got up; ran towards Acchu, lifted her and gave her a big swing. She erupted into an uncontrollable laughter. The lump in my throat started melting away.

“Hot chocolate” aka “Life”!!!

Well this blog is something for which i really need to have my disclamiers spot on:
Disclaimer: The intellegience behind this post is not mine, what a wonderful thought this post carries; i had an oppurtunity to borrow this thought from one of my acquantinance I hope this post creates a meaninful entity among all my other posts which are totally my sole property. Its time for a cup of coffee folks , reach out for your cups.

It was nice Saturday afternoon we, a group of friends from college, well established in their careers, were discussing about their lives at a class reunion seating on a green grass cushion of Cubbon Park.  Amit says “Buddy things are bad, too much of work at office…can not give enough time to my family”. Rahaul says “ha ha ha….see that is why I am still so happy no family no tension”. Amit says “huh!!! What crap. I know you spend whole night in office and then next day you call me whether there is any opening in my company.” We started laughing. Amit continues “Buddy it is not the family problem, it is the work, the rat race and running behind money attitude”. Chitra says “Yes I do agree that point. But what shall I do. Now market is bad, it is difficult to get a job so need to listen to my boss. Also my company pay is good how I can leave that”. Later the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work, lives and relationships. Danny finally breaks the thread and says “yeah yeah…we all are in a ‘chakra buhu’ need to come out of…lets meet Vijay Sir one day and discuss about that”. So we decided to go visit our old university professor, who was always an inspiration to them.

It was nice house inside IISC campus very nice and peaceful place. Offering us hot chocolate, our professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups.  Some cups were porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite. He invited each to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor shared his thoughts.

 “Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. 

While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.”

“The cup that you are drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What each of you really wanted was hot chocolate.  You did not want the cup . . . but you consciously went for the best cups. And soon, you began to eye one another’s cups.”

I said in my mind “Common proff, I mean that is what we want. We struggled so much to get a nice comfortable life”.

There was streak silence and our beloved professor continues “Now friends, please consider this . . .Life is the hot chocolate . . . your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life.”

 “The cup you have does not define, nor does it change, the quality of life you are living. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. Always remember this . . . . . . . God brews the hot chocolate, He does not choose the cup.”

He looked at me with a wink in his eye, “ya I know you do not believe in God….so for you it is the destiny”.

He continues, “The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have!!”

Danny added “Steve Jobs says …Stay Hugry, Stay Foolish”.

Proff says “yes very true, that is for knowledge not for success”.

He continues, “Live simply ...Care deeply...Speak kindly...Love generously...and if you can love generously something the success will come and will knock you door and will bring happiness along. So do not chase the success be the best and try to excel”

We all are dumb stuck. He broke the silence and said loudly “Enjoy your hot chocolate gentlemen!!! Remember, the richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least. By the way did you guys watched ‘3 idiots’…..’”

Nanna Patashale

Nanna Pattashale: Human Memory, wow! Such a wonderful creation of GOD. It’s high time that I have to appreciate that fact and thank GOD for his every small creation which makes life so fruitful and worthy. And it was a day to recall and cherish the most wonderful period of my life, I am feeling short of words to write anything about the topic I have chosen, because it is something which is so very close to my heart and sometimes too much of happiness makes your mouth shut, hence I am just gonna jot down something my memory holds as the topic can easily fit it any large book. At the same time I am happy enough that my memory is not a volatile one...

  Well, where to start? , there are so many special things and little sad bits as well. At this moment I just want to dress up with my school uniform with a bit of mud stuck onto it, with a ugly little watch tied to my hand, with a hair style which only smells raw coconut oil, with a shoe lays untied, and running behind a bus to catch it all the way while struggling to get my breadth back and finally boarding it just to stand on those edge of the foot boards waving my hands at all those walking on the streets and starring at those cute girls as well J and much more things.… I think at this moment it all seems fine on paper and on my webpage and the only right I have is to cherish them and preserve them for a very long time to come...I am sure each one of you also feels the same, going back to childhood is always the top priority on anyones wish list and so is mine.

I dedicate this memory to one very important person who has influenced my life so much with his simplicity, humbleness and the passion towards what he does and more over such a down to earth person he was its my very lovable class teacher who directed me for 3 continuous years with so much of love towards his students it’s our M.V. Prakash sir (M.V.P sir)  sadly my unlucky post is not in a position to reach him as my Sir passed away last year and as tears roll out of my eyes I sincerely pray that his soul attains at most peace and I hope my prayers reach him and convey that he is always remembered  and loved ,and  not to forget those naughty class mates who played a significant role to create such wonderful pages of my life , this one goes out for them as well.

Always nice to see a old buddy's message isn't it?, and here it comes as an invitation to have a get together . Wow! I was thrilled to see it, it got the message on 14^th August I was travelling out with my colleagues, and the plan was to meet the next day i.e. Independence Day at our very old Dr .Ambedkar Stadium , I thought it’s going to be double damaka tomorrow. I was waiting for sunrise. There I go to celebrate three reasons, First Get together which later became Get no one together :-)… Second a grand 10 years of completion , of my friendship with my close buddy , Third Independence Day … Hmmm am I creating a lot of hype? … I don’t know what I am doing, just filling pages? Anyways I want to get started, a tiring last day, very reluctant to get up from bed but still had to, because it’s a promise that I had to fulfill. Here I go with a lot of anticipation, with my old buddy I stepped into the stadium, and my school is too long a distance from my home so I had to cover a lot of earth with is 4 kms. :-) Goose bumps! , After listening to those drum sounds with some great Kannada classical songs it was the most expected one. A great sight which took me straight 10 years back, with a lot of activites on ground , it remembered me of two things one was Chetan Bhagat's wonderfull speech at Symboisis which was proved to be so true on this day as i choose to go back to school , and those sports made me recall my childhood where i had two prizes one for running race and another for some different sport which i don't remember . I wanted to go back to school :(... I was very eager to get a glimpse of all my teachers with my camera at a complete zoom. But 10x was too less to capture the greats.  Shot some wonderful pictures and it was getting late just to realize that none of my classmates had arrived. 

And next comes the sad part of day, the whole day was screwed up with this disaster, but still a rare hope that someone might turn up, so finally we were 4 out of expected 20 who happened to keep up our words and there we will go with a Flory of conversations for the next 4 hours, we all went 10 years back and as I mentioned earlier it was a grand 10 years of celebration of our friendship, what a milestone to achieve. And at last a tight hug is what every friend expects … A conversation which was so intense, we probably went back to discuss every incident of every hour of every day of our 3 most beautiful years.  I just want to take an oath of writing a book on this, and hopefully I do it one day. What next? You have to just wait for the next, and that’s my book ….With each day, each ones experience been documented, hopefully I turn my memories into words and into expressions and bring it in front of my friends. 

Team FuBoOz

This one will probably go down as the one of the best trips of my life. The reason is very simple, it’s because of the great Hilarious team we had and I knew before start that it’s going to be very big this time but not so much that I almost lost my life in it :-)……. Read on to know what I mean …. Coming to the write up I almost spent a week to find a suitable name for my post, the content was very clear I can write it in an hr but how to name it? , On what basis to name, it had every ingredient to make it the best one so the name should be as special as the moment, and here went the name, I dedicated this to the whole team which made it happen and it’s our Team Fubooz :-)...

The trip was an intense drama with all crazy stuffs which one could ever imagine being exhibited, everyone were charged up, including the driver who was forced to be so :-)…   After this trip I always feel that at least there should be one marriage every month :-), so that we can plan for a trip ..…Driving a team requires a lot of co-ordination and I felt it started at the right time and we had the recipe ready a month before the event with mails floating across teams and companies, NDS to SAP, SAP to NDS, NDS to McAfee :-)... Like a Merry go Round …. The event was Marriage I am sure none of us would have imagined the outcome would be of this extent as the focus was only on the marriage part and even I dint had any plans for the event , Just bunked office (Took a formal leave :))  and threw myself onto my old office …. Hmmm back to my old office I was a bit nervous to meet everyone as it was my first visit after my quit and I felt great to meet again such wonderful people who were part of my life for quite some time, I really dint expect such a reception it was a very kind gesture shown even from my Ex- Manager :-), I am sure I wouldn’t have received the same from any other organization.... Another happier thing was my Name board was still there hanging at my desk, it was not because for my remembrance it’s just that no one replaced me after I left :-) (just kidding) … Next is time management which every one of us are poor in keeping up . Again we started late, a bit more late we would probably given a send off note to newly wedded couple. But I have to acknowledge the fact that if we were not late, we would have reached early , if we would reached early , we would have missed a lot of fun , So all izzzzzz well :-)… All the events which were triggered later was only because we left late so no regrets  on this.  


                                  Hmmm let me begin the actual Game….. Time is running out and we are yet to switch our gears and make a move, finally we got out and boarded the Cab and it was time for masti, real masti … With our “Sur ka Maharaj Anoop Raj “ready to sing a Flory of songs to us as we begin antakshari…. But wait a moment, it doesn’t end here nor starts here as we had to halt because we realized the cab we boarded was a wrong one … Ha ha ha :-)…. Now this is what is called hilarious, we just got into some cab which was standing outside the campus? Or what was it?

 

A small mess at the midst of wonderful evening downpour, we were almost settling down but a small confusion, anyways things got sorted out and we strode our way to a long wonderful journey….And now it’s dancing and singing time we had a great time in the cab, with hot pakkodas and mirchi baggies … We were getting very late, the crew were very hungry and eager to relish the taste of Hassan Chicken biryani and finally we are there , hmm our sultan was in brand grand suit , it was my first visit for a Muslim community marriage so was were curious to check how it would be … We decided to fresh up before attending the reception so a quick refresh and we are back to greet the couple , a very good reception from the family members and they served good food… 

What next? …If you people think we are going to sleep now then you are probably next to dumb :-)….. The real drama starts now, it’s not like Mani ratnam’s movie where he sits, plans, visualizes for years and starts the drama he has his limitations. :-).. We guys don’t, it was 11:30 PM when we stepped out from the marriage hall and the next half an hour any one on Hassan Main road wouldn’t have dared to see our pranks. My camera was the center of attraction and without which our trip could have missed a major blend …. We took crazy pics covering every possible corner; we were traffic cops, Ice creams wallas, we took many avatars which were all instantaneous, pictures speak more than words just take a look…:-)

It doesn’t end here, I thought of having a nice nap all night but very fortunately sleeping is not permitted when our group is around… One more round of photography and I thought uffff I am gonna sleep now, but for God’s sake it was T20 semi finals  on that  day ENGLAND vs PAKISTAN and my dreams of sleeping was a dream :-)…. What a close match it was, finally my dream came true with Pakistan loosing the match, we started dancing like hell and screaming at the top of our voice, After some time Knock Knock on the door the hotel boy warns to be silent, just goes to show what we can do at midnight 1:00 :-)... Hassan was out of bounds to bear us.. At last we slept at 2:30 to get up at 5:00 in the morning … At any cost we had to get up to enjoy our next day and the most daunting task was to make our boys woke up and it proved to be a bit tough but somehow we made it and there we go ahead for an exciting day …. Left Hassan at 7:00 AM without tea, breakfast … We were dam hungry … Next what? … Mulyangiri? , Kemmangundi, Belur? No first breakfast, on the way a beautiful restaurant hmmm my mouth started watering, but looking at the menu the pockets started burning... Coffee at just 40/- .Idly, vada I don’t even remember the price …:-)…So just a small coffee another round of photo session and there way go ahead again…

 Next place was probably the most beautiful creation ever made by Man and the one which represents the Rich History of Hoysala dynasty, yes if you had guessed right its Belur I remember visiting it when I was very young but this visit was something amazing  , no matter how true when we say history keeps on repeating  every idol and statue in this famous Chennakesava Temple signifies that its true … 

The Guide who showed us the temple was truly a knowledge hub who revealed some unbelievable facts which made me proud having born in a land which holds such strong culture and background , I was truly elated after this visit , I urge my readers to visit  this place at least once and believe me you will be thrilled with the history . Just a hard fact, the time taken to build this temple was 103 years which goes to show the dedication and perseverance... Hats off to everyone who were a part of this mission.  Next was the crunch time, its breakfast time had a quick breakfast and left Belur …..Left belur just to reach a wonderful place, I have never been to any place as this before hence it goes down as a very memorable moment …. It was like outside the world, admidst nature, far from mess, very peacefull …If there is anything Beautiful in karnataka its Namma Malanadu :-), another thing which made me pat my shoulder. By the way the name of the place is Mulaynagiri; the highest peak in Karnataka measuring 6317ft which was an absolute treat for eyes, very Steep Mountains with lush green and very dense forest though we dint reached the peak which I think was something we should have done considering how beautiful the temple at the peak was we couldn’t go due to time constraints and less provision for the cab to move over those small roads, but we dint miss the fun , time to exhibit our creativity by posing to some crazy pics , this time frame was simply ecstatic I can still sense and feel the fun even while I am writing we were on top of the world baby :-)…. Just goes to show how much fun a bunch can produce with the right people at any place on earth :-)…

Finally time was calling to stop hence we did and next what ?..... Headed towards Hebbe falls. Wait! My hand is trembling, I am afraid to write the next paragraph now started shivering a bit. But still I will manage ….Hebbe falls is a renowned waterfall in karnataka which gushes down from a height of 551ft …Road to hebbe, the road to hebbe is not as easy as one might imagine. It won’t be wrong if I say the road to hebbe was one of the most enthralling parts of our trip and that part is called the jeep journey. After a lot of negotiation, talks and hussles we hired a jeep which we thought was very expensive but later proved we were wrong. No other vehicle can be daring enough to be drone through those roads, a superb ride on extremely tough roads with some serious singing led us finally to hebbe …… 

What a sight, a true nature’s paradise, the next episode was a nightmare for me I really feel extremely lucky and blessed for having being alive on earth … I  realised how important it is to have your Life insured :-)… Now I have a life insurance :-)…Team fubooz steps into the rock embedded falls to take a nice swim . I slowly pondered around with small steps towards the center and there I go …Dupppppppp... I started drowing. One, two, three, I stepped into a deep hollow place it was very deep I virtually lost my breath I came up two times not able to screm for help totally lost my grip , my heart beat started incrementing  .. Just 5 seconds and out would have been my journey to creamatorium then came a helping hand which pulled me out from heaven … I realised what life is. I wish it would not happen ever again …A wholehearted thanks to my life saviour. A black patch on such a wonderfull trip , slowly got my breath and relaxed a bit … The next 4 hours I was never in this world all thoughts came in hunting my mind and slowly recovered from my first ever tragic story .. Nice to write ones own tragic story though J….

Finally the end of our journey a wonderfull two complete days which I can never forget in my life … People say document your memories and that’s exactly what I have done … Finally a lesson learnt …” If you can’t appreciate both good and bad things you can’t grow as a person” Bad things are there to make you strong not to demolish you and I learnt a lot from this Bad thing.. Life is very very short make is as sweet as possible…Ta ta .. Bye Bye…And last but not the least ... Team Fubooz simply Rocks :-)...

SKANADAGIRI AKA HILARIOUS

Six heroes on there way and Bla bla bla ..........


Time never waits for anyone , but we keep waiting for others because we dont keep up our time .....So it dint start as we planned a bit delayed but the delay was good because we could eat panipuri :-)...


Have you ever imagined a moonlight trek done on a Amavasya i.e, on a no moon day sorry sorry no moon night .we guys are meant to do things differently always :-)
well let me not explain what amavasya is , i hope you know else just google it .... we later realised we should have done the trek on Pournami which would have been an everlasting experience  , amavasya was not bad though unless you forget to get some tourch lights to help you out , we had ample i guess...


We left around 9:30 PM with all guns blazing , some dressed in the marraige suits :-) .... Observe closely ...

Pakka comedy trip with a lot of husstles and challenges , you know why ? ...Read on ..


Non of us had an idea where skanadgiri was i just heard about it before and had a brief look into google map before departing , which really made us pay the price , i am not talking about petrol price its because
we couldnt find the way for a long time until we found someone to lead us through the way...Else we would have gone to andhra border at midnight 1.


We Guys are always poor planners but excellent executers ...At the end thats what is needed eventually.


After a lot of discussions we came up with the place skandagiri , because of our low budget just like S.Narayan movies.I Know he dont care about critics , anyways a Hollywood movie is slowly going to release with a massive budget not Narayan's , plz dont misinterpret its ours ..


The plan was to leave on shivaratri , but obstacles are always there in lives and since we are the go getters we decided to go the next day sorry typo error the next night , and it was valentines day...A lot of emotions and send offs for a drive of 50 Kms , with a gentle reminder! we were not suppose to cross 40Kmph strict guidlines given from our Trip master but myself and deepu hated driving slowly ... Macha but Next time pakka Above 100Kmph with safety gears....


With strong back packs we were ready for a steady slow ride.


I will tell you it was an amazing journey , night ride with only stars in the sky ..simply superb .

Next was the nightmare , we reached chikkabalapur at 12:30 .. empty roads , dogs barking and chasing the
bikes we lost the way and drove a long wrong way and totally messed it ... Guys were upset until we found a sumo guy for the help , he showed us the way and we were happy to reach the base called Papangi mutt aka kalavarahalli , a struggled exploration though...

Rejoicing our Reeeacccch

Next we had to climb the hill and we hired a guide a very costly guide our budget got screwed :-)... 

He was Probably earning more than any software engineer and without paying taxes :-).....,

one of us decided to settle as a skandagiri trek guide but again some of us had problems in lives called girl frnds (Just kidding) and lucky i dont have one ..... :-)

Our struggle started here we had a married guy trekking with us who couldnt even imagine climbing such a steep hill our struggle was not climibing the hill but to make him clim the hill ... God even you cant make him climb ... He was literally crawling all the way and at one stage had totally given up ...but as i said we are the go getters and we finally did it and time to rejoice , a sigh of relief.....


It was deep dark when we reached the peak , just imagine closing your eyes and walking a small wrong step would lead you straight to heaven or hell , where ever you are destined to go :-)


Next we started eating whatever we had brought ,midnight starlight dinner and started bonfire with dance .... Note : only me, dili and deepu were dancing ...We danced the way we want but no one to see , only blunder was i forgot to record it in my cam i am sure it would have been a memory to cherish.

The next big thing , come on how can someone sleep when we have come to enjoy . Everyone were enjoying like anything but our guys were completely flat till sunrise ...I was just walking all over the place alone, at that time i wished i had that special person holding my hand :-)

Sunrise is what everyone was waiting for , and there it came.....


WOW!... ecstatic , simply mind blowing .... God's best gift are his creations , what a sight it was , a must watch for anyone on this earth ..


We forgot all pains we had while climbing ,a cool breeze with classic cloud formation made the morning worth....

But its not worth staying a long time on top, once the sun comes up with full flow its hot and burns you up so had to get down and it was tiring with the sun up..


Getting down was a bit easy and a bit dangerous also ... Finally we reached down and turned back and saw the hill and patted our back for having climbling it all night..


What next ? ..... Our Deepu became busy speaking to his close friends , the dogs and the monkeys out there while we were planning for the return...


Everyone was tired to do anything after such a hectic walk , we had half minds going to nandi hills so turned towards a small village nearby in search of some lake or stream of water to get freshed up but this turned out very disappointing as we dint find any thing we expected but it was nice to see a village which gave us a pleasent calm atmosphere unlike the messed up bangalore with its traffic...


Chalo we returned back , and our speed master deepu wanted to realise his dreams of driving at 100Kmph so he raced away and we four guys drove slowly and reached bangalore...


The highlight of the trek was the sunrise and our leg pains it was a very good experience ....A short and a sweet one...


Don't go away i am coming back , stay online :-)

SAP-RECAPITULATION

I hope you will enjoy it reading as much I enjoyed writing and reading.
Highlights @ SAP. Live match already played from 02.07.2008-15.01.2010.


Folks...... Read on... :)
The characters are not fictious they are facts, no direct names used.... :)


A college passed out on June 28th 2008 ....Waiting for an opportunity to prove my worth....... Joining SAP on July 2nd 2008 with a lot of aspirations and expectations...Entering International Arena without even playing Domestic matches ….


June 26th 2008 was my final day of interview at SAP, not final round though i had to go through a couple of them to successfully qualify....


The aesthetic beauty of the Campus itself said that I should make it this time. Probably the biggest in Bangalore after ITPL ….
Totally I had to go through 6 rounds.... Obviously a lot of them, but how will anyone filter the best from more than 100 resumes :)


My cell starts ringing , I am driving my bike at 100Kmph I don’t want to pick it , but I don’t know what made me to do so .... Fortunately that was a call which I was eagerly waiting to receive from a long time.
Congratulations Mr. Balaji you have qualified successfully into SAP ... You will join in 2 days from now..... Hurray I did it :)


I was selected to work in a testing team.... i was itching to go into development at college days ... Come on, shouldn’t one of the college toppers dream of that! :)…Chalo Kaminey SAP me kise be kam karo acha hota hai ….. :)


Before Joining SAP I absolutely dint had an idea what SAP works on …. I just knew it’s a company which contributes more than 60% to world’s GDP(Directly or Indirectly). That itself speaks volumes on what this company does and can do…. I was on top of the world, but had no money to treat my friends.:)


The first month passed away with some preliminary warm up games, they call it Trainings in corporate language. For me , a new Technology, new world … It seemed like Greek and Latin for few days .Many experienced colleagues in the induction batch were sprinting away I was the only tortoise crawling at my own pace….


A month passed away very soon at my very slow pace and my manager calls me to join the team …. Arre yaar ABAP training is only half done and I want to complete it… My manager says you are a tester and you don’t need it, only critical decision makers can become good managers :)….An all rounder has a high probability of getting injured than any other players, so chuck it my boy…. :)
The first day into my Team, my manager gives a shock ….you have a video conference meet with a German colleague which happens to be your Team lead …. Wanna know what was shocking in this? …..Imagine Nehra opening the batting against Australia in world cup finals, you will face the music…. My manager asks me, I think you know German ….This took me by surprise, I don’t remember specifying it in my resume and later I realized he was just kidding …. Good sense of humor:),…. in mid afternoon one of the senior pro introduces me to the whole team … Handshakes all the way but no place to sit :) ….. Please wait a while we arrange a system for you…… The day ended …. Very happy to know the team but no pretty girls :) ….
The next few days I spent in the training rooms as there were not systems available ….Definitely not on Bench, playing warm up games….:)


One fine day project allocation, I was given some docs to read and some exercises to work on. Good way to put someone on track, next came the first event@ SAP …. Everyone received a mail for “Celebration of Independence day”, I was charged up …. I always wanted to organize and be a part of all such activities. The celebration started, sung National Anthem … Nice feeling of togetherness… I couldn’t contribute anything for this event…. Sad boy at the end …..

Independence Day August 2008

The days passed very smoothly, no pressure, cool environment, very supportive colleagues.
Time to start exploring SAP….I read a lot of blogs … watched some exceptional videos on SAP-TV (http://www.sap-tv.com/)……hooked onto the library…, made a lot of notes, all unwanted for my work :)…. Mind you I did all these managing my work load.….. I was equally productive my friends :)….


Then I found a best friend at SAP …. SAP developer’s network (http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn) …. Wow! What a forum it is …. You post a query; you will receive an answer within a page refresh …. Geniuses working day and night to solve problems …. Some real world out of the box problems…. I couldn’t get anything out of it …. It was far beyond my reach …. But reading was worth, some day I might post an answer.
Slowly I realized I was no more meeting the demands of my work, I was not doing justice for my work …. Only for the fact that I dint know properly what I was doing … It takes anyone time to settle in an Organization like SAP, but don’t take too much time either because your review might be somewhere in the corner waiting for you :)… SAP is an ocean , you really need to be a whale to swim …. I slowly tried to understand but no proper clarity though ….


Ah finally my project was allocated, a colleague from my team was quitting from SAP I had to take up that task … I started working on a component which deals with Budget and accounts. Nice one I was enjoying it, because I loved Finance…But very soon moved to HR….. They both go hand in hand … … Perfect synchronization…..


Oct 15th 2008, probably my best day at SAP …. I joined a community called “SAP TALK”, which encouraged people to come up stage and speak, which basically aimed at improving the communication skills of an individual ….. My most favorite thing is to speak, and share ideas…. I always wanted to speak infornt of people starting from my school days and this group gave me that opportunity ….. And what an experience it was, not because I spoke well (I think I never did compared to the community standards), but just because the quality of the people with whom I interacted with, and the kind of speeches I witnessed made this experience everlasting….. Speeches which were nerve cracking, dramatic, motivational were all part and parcel of this group …. When you speak to a crowd you know what you are ….. Go ahead and join this group (for all people in SAP) ….. Don’t miss the Jam sessions …they will create butterflies in your stomach, and brings your heart into mouth ….It’s like a bouncer directed at your face, you are not steady , they strike you .


Coffee with friends, birthday parties every month ….. I never felt the IT pressure which we always discussed in College days…..Target 150 from 100 over’s. :) ..No pressure….. No doubt why SAP was named "Germany's Best Employer" for the fourth year running, as well as top ranked among companies and in 2009 it bags the “Top Software Company” from Data Quest awards…. The best thing about SAP is the way it values it employees and the work culture it provides …. It directly influences the productivity of the employees…. I was a very happy employee…. :)


Next festival season, SAP celebrated all major festivals ….. Onam, Kannada Rajoystava to name a few….

The only sad thing was we dint had any team outing in 2008 due to some recessional factors and cost saving measures. :)


New Year came …. Celebration, maste, vacation…. A truly enriching year with a lot to take home (Not in terms of money or gifts)..Please don’t misunderstand :)….


Next big thing was the new Organizational set up … 2009 dhamaka …. Many new teams formed ….New managers’ rolled in ….....But not as big as SAP’s acquisition of Business object, which was the major one in computer history :)….. Had a 1-1 meet with my new manager, nice experience …He sounded very good ….Planning, forecast, and discussions everything started on the desk….

Team 2008

Team 2010

March 3rd 2009, my birthday ….. My team celebrated my birthday and we had a gala time …. Thanks team :)

 .

Birthday 2009

July 2nd 2009, exactly a year after I joined SAP one of my colleague and a close friend of mine quits SAP …. My happy day becomes some ones sad day …:)… Happy because 1yr anniversary for me and sad because my friend Quits …. Mid noon send off at Coffee day …. Late evening for the movie “New York “ evening show PVR followed by a Night out at my colleague’s house with a little Beer and vodka :)..Secret reveled at last …. That was my first time and probably was the last ….The day becomes an unforgettable for one more reason, our manager is changed …Batsman gets out and play a new match, part and parcel of any cricket match … Same here. :)

Now the next big thing …. SAP was competing with Infosys and TCS as far as the hiring is concerned in testing arena…..Not in terms of Revenue or Customer Base, which SAP was way ahead of….…. Many new players wear their Debut caps.


Now this phase was the most exciting time for me, because it’s teaching time and I loved teaching…
It gave me a chance to interact with new people and share my knowledge. Hmmm it doesn’t end here … there comes one more batch ….. And one more and a final one. :)
So totally 4 batches of Colleagues in a span of 5 months ….It meant more interaction, more friends … Total around 25 of them ….. This was a wonderful experience …. Not just wonderful but a diversified experience, people from different parts of India …. It was like Diversity day @ SAP for me….

Induction 1&2 (Some are missing)

Induction Batch 3&4 

September 9th 2009: Bowling@Amoeba@Leela palace followed by Dinner

Our first outing, this was a fun filled day with amazing energy.....I missed the target most of the times at the play because my aim was to miss it. J ……Next late night dinner ….It was not just dinner it’s time to rag the juniors, couple of senior pros came up with some action packed mantra , which was amazingly small yet funny ….Want a demo ? , then u should probably meet them.

Bowling@ Amoeba

October 2009 : This month witnessed a huge devastation of the northern part of Karnataka which was stuck by mighty floods…. Between September 29th and October 4th, 15 districts of Northern and Coastal Karnataka in Southern India, were hit by the most severe flooding in the last 100 years. ……The unprecedented rainfall took 229 lives, killed nearly 8000 cattle, destroyed crops in over 22 lakh hectares of land, and rendered over 7 lakh people homeless.
What was SAP’s response …? It was overwhelming…. It keeps me wondering how much we can achieve as a team rather as individuals …….SAP clear purpose and Geleyara balaga achieved something remarkable , along with the employees contributing there one day’s salary, funds crossing more than 1 crore were collected ….… Not just money, SAP plans to build 2000 residents, 375 homes needed, 35 acres being made available at Raghunathanahalli…. What was more satisfying for me? ……I could lend my hand for this purpose …. A great purpose served …….we sponsor Copenhagen by making it Hopenhagen …… we extend every bit of our hands for all social causes ….What next..? …. We celebrate our success through “social focus and joy of Giving week “…., to mark an end for the initiative….Great month….
  

Flood Affected people from North Karnataka

SAP CLEAR PURPOSE IN ACTION 

 November: This is probably the most awaiting moment, atleast for the kannadiagas …. We wait ever year for this month, and forget later :)…… Yes its Rajoystava season …Hachevu kannadada deepa….. SAP Geleyara balaga proved their part with a cracking evening… wow! , What an event it was, probably the best I have seen@ SAP…. Any kannadaiga would have been proud by the magnitude of the events that was displayed, the complete history, heritage and custom of Karnataka was exhibited spectacularly …. Every person in the hall had got goose bumps for sure :) … I was proud to be born in Karnataka… Jai Karnataka mathe :) …

Annual day: A day to look back and enjoy your success and look forward for change….

Attended annual day at school and college days but nothing as big as this one on a grand stage….Mesmerized by some great events and the unforgettable standup comedy, everyone busted into laughter the whole evening…. Chilled Beer, Dancing to Music… One of the best days in the year …..Reached home at 12 :)


Next the New Year 2010…...SAP Roll’s out new product strategy …. Wanna know the result? , Don’t toggle, wait for 2014…... I will probably read it in New York Times or I may return back to SAP ….. Target 300 in 10 over’s :) …Even you can be one of the subscribers for the product….


Folks there is mammoth amount of information to be shared I can probably write a book on it….
I don’t want to bug you people with a lot of content :)……. One of my content evaluator says it’s too much; people can’t spend more time to read your blog :)… He is yelling at me to stop it … Obliged my Dost…..


And all my team mates out there keep hunting for bugs :) …… One of my colleague said that the only word he dislikes in English language is Bugs so he replaces B with H……Hugs :) …. I give a million of them 2 u….


For further updates on this Blog .... Stay Connected.... :)


Have a blast in 2010 ….. Live for today, enjoy life (the way you want :))…
Alvida….


Finally i want to show you all  the precious gift i possess ....
Follow this link ........Video dedicated to me from my team ....