R-Rated

A (slightly belated but) very happy Independence Day to all you folks!! Enjoyed my first long weekend in India (Janmashtami, August 14th). For the first time in my life, I experienced a full blown version of Lord Krishna's puja at a friend's place at midnight on Friday. The attention to detail was fantastic and the devotion displayed by Pandit ji and his cronies was thoroughly remarkable. The amazing fact about the night was the heavy downpour at midnight, which coincidentally was the case when Lord Krishna was born. Saturday and Sunday were equally painful because of the boredom. I still have not been able to get the laptop fixed (which was supposed to have been done by now already). Leaving for Bombay this weekend to spend Ganesh Chaturthi, first time after marriage in India and enjoy some quality time with family, friends and specially Mayank's baby girl, whom they have named Nayonika (Expressive Eyes). I will know my fate (supposedly) of my US trip end of this month, ...

An eventful weekend to say the least. While returning from work on Friday night, lost my wallet and mobile phone to a group of thugs that entered the bus just a couple of stops from my destination. In a packed bus (possibly one of the last to leave the Wipro campus) with not an inch to move, this group identified me as a weakling. It hit me just as I alighted from the bus that my wallet and the phone were missing, and so were the group that probably whisked them. A double whammy! one from the back jeans pocket and one from the front. Called up the bank to block the debit card from misuse. Next morning, made a stop at the Police Station to lodge a complaint and subsequently expect some action from them. High hopes. I end up paying the cops Rs 100/- for notarizing my report. For a moment, I didn't know who the thieves were. Got a new Nokia with the same number (after paying Airtel Rs 75/- for the same). The really disheartening thing about the whole incident is the fact that it happe...

Went out to Nandi Hills and Bannerghatta National Park with roommate and his friends on Sunday. Had a terrific time with all of them. Got up at 5:40am on Sunday (after ages) and reached a beautiful foggy Nandi Hills at around 7:30am. Cloud covered hill top made it an amazing view and the crisp weather made it haunting. Later in the afternoon made a trip to the National Park, which to my satisfaction, had a lot of wild life to offer. The park staff had their and the animals' welfare as a top priority by posting signs that made the public sit up and take notice about tossing their garbage in dust bins only, not to tease any animals etc. But, looks like we were surrounded by blind people who just did not care for the advisories. Trash all over the place. One particularly funny moment was when an (educated) person was calling the leopard out to him as if he was petting a dog or a cat. One growl and he would wet his pants, thats for sure. Thats another thing where people need to be educ...

Nicely settled in Bommanahalli, about 12 km from Electronics City. Good roommates to hang out with. The 3 others that I live with are from Delhi, Lucknow and Ujjain. The guys from Lucknow and Ujjain have a feel-good nature about them and life is very comfortable (for now). Finished a small assignment and attended the induction program (normally reserved for freshers). Why I have not been inducted even after 2+ years in Wipro could very well be a topic for another day. Kind of getting restless about staying in India (direct contradiction from the first paragraph). This restlessness is coming out due to professional committments only. Have to, have to travel back to States at the first opportunity. Awaiting my turn very patiently. Had my first tryst with the "stomach upset" bug couple of nights ago and I am still not completely out of it. Root cause analysis and preliminary investigations have led me to the Daal that was served on Tuesday night. FIR has been lodged at the near...

Nicely settling in to a kind of routine. Getting re-used to the dust and traffic, cows and dogs, shit and trash. No complaints what-so-ever. Hasn't rained for the past few days but the weather has been kind. Cool breeze still wafts through the air and the sweat glands are keeping their mouths shut!! Just getting hooked onto Suduko on the cellphone. Let's see how long does this love affair lasts. Planning to go to Mumbai soon. Just don't know when.

Seems like a weird occurrence in the Cyber Zone inside Wipro El. City. There are about 50-55 PCs through which one can surf personal email websites like Gmail, Yahoo etc. I have used about 5-6 computers for my personal use and the alarming fact is the number of resumes/CV that are saved on the desktops. Employees really want to get the hell out of here seems like. Hope they get what they want. Going to check my first house today at a place called J.P. Nagar about 8-10 kms from EC. Lets hope the search ends successfully and I get to move in to a house before Sunday. More to follow.

So after a chaotic and scary air travel from New York to Bombay to Bangalore, I reported to work on Monday, July 13th only for my Manager to tell me that he was at another location and would not be in the office the whole day. Great start. With the help of a colleague, managed to look around the campus (which to me looks more like an engineering college campus than a technological major). People are hooked on to their cell phones all throughout the day. It is going to be fun little experiment for me trying to settle here. I am not familiar with the city and it is going to take some effort from my end to get those nerves settled. I was almost expecting to be duped once I landed here but that adventure so far has been smooth. The weather here is fantastic. Cool and calm. Guest House is comfortable and within the campus and the office building is exactly at a 3 minute walk from the GH. Workwise things are a bit slow (it's only been one day for God's sake)!! Will write more as I co...