Thanks to Debasis Sir, Preeta Ma’m and Lalwani Sir

As the classes of microeconomics, macroeconomics and finance were coming to a close the students of the Public Relations committee of PGDSM MIT junior batch came up with the initiative of expressing their gratitude in a special way. Much to the surprise of Debasis Sir and Preeta Ma’m they were presented with a card and memento after their classes were completed. Adding value was the fact that the ‘Thank You’ card was signed by all the 60 participants of the batch :)

The class enjoyed the teaching methodology and the enthusiasm that the faculty had towards making economics fun to learn. Avdhut aptly remarked that these economic sessions made them comprehend ‘Economic Times’ better!!

The card for Debasis Sir was aptly addressed – “To someone whose marginal utility will never diminish”. Preeta Ma’m’s was addressed – “To someone whose macro image will never always stay with us”.

Prof. Debasis wished the class for all their future endeavours and also said that that was a very memorable day of his life. Preeta Ma’m also expressed her appreciation by saying that such moments make a teachers life more special. The class cheered them on.

A similar card was presented to Prof Lalwani when the financial accounting classes came to a close. Financial Accounting, an unfamiliar subject for many was made interesting and fun to learn. In his address to the class Lalwani Sir remarked that enjoyed teaching such a lively batch of participants!!

And of course, the card to Lalwani Sir said – “To someone who brought the ‘Mavji Bhai’ in each of us” :)

Trek to Kemmanagundi

It’s been a couple of weeks since we went trekking in this beautiful hill top region nestled in the Chickmagalur region of Karnataka but I got time to make a blog entry only now.

With very little prior preparations a group of us from office set out for this picturesque hill station on a Friday night around 220 kms from Bangalore. Info available on the net indicated that the best way to reach the place is by your transport and so we hired our own private vehicle. The journey went pretty smooth and it took us only 7 hours to reach the place! This was amazing cos many other places I've been to in Karnataka require almost an entire night of tedious bus journeys. Needless to say we hardly slept:) We were also lucky to have a fabulous stereo system on board!

As most of us were not really tired we set out for the trek to Hebbe Falls early morning after a refreshing cup of tea. The lodge by the Forest Horticultural Dept is well maintained and you can almost be assured of a room booking without earlier confirmation. Initially the trek route was pretty even with hardly any flora and fauna. You could find few isolated trees and lots of barren land. It was only much later that we realized we were completely on the wrong track! There were hardly any folks around and after a detour we managed to find the right path to the water falls. In between we had to cross many small rivulets of water while also ensuring that we don’t loose our balance on the wet rocks :)

The water falls itself was stunningly beautiful! Gushing down from a height of 168 m the droplets of water streaking our faces was incredible. But sadly the water was freezing cold!! Except for a few spirited guys none of us managed to get into it! We waited until noon hoping that the temperature of the water would rise but no luck :(
we just enjoyed it from afar!

None of us were in any shape to make the return 12 kms journey back to the lodge by foot :P and hence we hired a jeep. Had a nice bumpy jeep ride back. Luckily for us the lunch at the lodge was pretty good and made up for the lack of breakfast. In the evening we decided to skip the trek to the famous "Z" sunset point and instead just wandered around in the beautiful hilly region. Lazy people us :)

After a rather huge dinner spread at Chikmangulur we headed back and reached Bangalore during the wee hours of Sunday morning. All in all a good break from the daily activities and what made it truly memorable was the natural beauty of the place. A must visit for people who have never been there before!

Nick of time..

Phew! Had a near brush with a near fatal accident yesterday evening. Am still recovering from the numbness. Not anyone's fault really - just one of those things...

Now before you start wondering whats this all about let me get to the point :) I was walking back to office from Brigade Road last evening with my good pal Ramya when all of a sudden a BMTC bus came zooming at us from behind. The driver applied the brakes in the nick of time! Could almost feel the huge bus a few inches from us. I had never felt so close to death before..am sure that if the driver had not used his presence of mind things could have gone bad. Anyways alls well that ends well and am glad I am here typing this blog today :)

Yo Bangalore!

Growing up in this beautiful city of Bangalore I am intrigued by the number of changes it has gone through over the years. Some for the better, others not so.

I simply love this city - everything including the traffic and the pollution: p That sounds a little far fetched but considering the benefits it has to offer I would prefer not to live anywhere else. The vibrant mix of people, the innumerable hangouts, the many professional opportunities and the nightlife all add to its beauty and charm. Added to it the happy go lucky attitude of most folks here make Bangalore the ideal place to live in! I remember as a kid the eagerly awaited trips to Vidhana Soudha and Cubbon Park where all we wanted to do was munch roadside corn with no care in the world. Another definite advantage is the fantastic weather we are pampered with :)

Things do not remain the same however and changes were bound to occur. Although in Bangalore’s case I do believe that many of them are actually good! The IT/Biotech revolution has paved the road for exciting opportunities along with putting Bangalore on the global world map. And the quality of life has definitely improved! The amount of money a young engineer makes when he just starts out these days is probably what his parents used to do when they reached middle age.

But like most things everything is not so rosy. The burgeoning crowds makes me long for that good old Bangalore when one could walk freely on the streets without risking the chance of being brushed aside by someone else walking on the same side of you! Everywhere one goes the first thing that strikes is the crowds and the traffic. Just visit some mall like Forum Koramangala on a weekend and you’ll know exactly what I mean :P

But yeah all said and done am glad that my Dad took the decision of moving to this city nearly a quarter century ago and me getting the chance to grow up here :)

On another unrelated note I am really peeved with India’s poor show in its first match of the World Cup :( Was definitely expecting a much more mature performance. But the die-hard optimist in me still refuses to lose hope and am sure we’ll be back with a bang!

I've learned...

Everyone once in a while you get a forward that really makes u sit up and think. This is one of them which I came across while clearing my mailbox just now. And instead of doing a Shift+Del I thought its better to put it up here so that I come back to it when I want to :)

Its amazing how the author captures a wealth of wisdom in a few crisp words. And at no point does he hint of any regret although one might be inclined to think so based on the title.
I feel life is all about experiences and learning from them. If u're gonna do everything the correct way the very first time round there wouldnt be any fun would it? Instead its so much more enriching to live life to the fullest and learn from the mistakes along the way..

Now instead of digressing further lets get to the mail :p
I've highlighted the ones I really liked :)
>>

I've learned....
That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for

I've learned....
That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned....
That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned...
That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and
loved.

I've learned....
That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?

I've learned....
That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned....
That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned...
That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned...
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned....
That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned....
That there's nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks.

I've learned...
That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I've learned....
That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned...
That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned....
That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned...
That I wish I could have told those I cared about that I love them one more time before they passed away.

I've learned....
That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned....
That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned....
That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.

I've learned....
That when your newly born child holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.

I've learned....
That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned....
That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I've learned ...
That it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when it is a life threatening situation.

-- This is Rex Barker C.S. (Carefully Studying life) saying that I've learned.... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

I say a little pray for u..

"Good friends add a little sparkle of joy to each and every day"
"Friendship is the inexpressible feeling of feeling safe with someone cos u neither have to weigh your words nor measure your thoughts."

The above two quotes are my favorites when it comes to friendship and the importance of friends in my life. I have always believed that having a set of good pals can brighten up any day. I have been lucky to have had such friends all through my life - ppl whom I know will stand by me no matter what. All I need to do is make one phone call :) And by this I do not mean the innumerable acquaintances that one encounters all the time. I would rather have a set of a few close pals rather than many fair weather ones.

Goals..

I attended this workshop on "goal setting" as part of a soft skills training programme from office sometime back and it set me thinking. Besides highlighting the importance of goals the trainer also actually made us write down a few goals that we want to achieve both in our personal and professional life. And he wanted us to be specific :) Like if someone says "i want to loose weight" he would ask them to rephrase that to "I want to loose 5 kgs by end of June 07"
Boy I was fascinated!
Here goes then..

Short Term: (by Dec 07)
1) Parasailing : Jakkur also will do :) Ideally though it wud be near the southern coast of Indian islands ..maldives, lakswadeep etc
2) Visit Rajasthan : strange it never happened for a person who has travelled so much
3) white water rafting in the sita river (maharashtra) / Ganges
4) Catch up on at least SOME of the happening movies in town - I havent been watching any off late.
5) Complete reading the books - LSSD by Lacos and C++ by Stroustrup
6) Read at least one good book every month
7) Carefully read the newspaper everyday (and not just scan!) --ongoing
8) Resume baddie or swimming

Long Term:
1) Write a book (the subject can be anything) - definitely wanna give this one a shot. Maybe when I'm 40 and wiser and mature :)
2) Buy a car for myself..have already thought of one :)
3) Be a mentor for someone at the workplace

Fantasies (not exactly goals)
1) Give a good speech -- done
2) Visit a proper disc -- done
3) And lots more :)

Success...

Read this quote somewhere and found it to be so very true!

What does success mean ??
>>>>
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
--- inaccurately attributed to
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Random Thoughts

One of my pals pointed out that I had hardly blogged ever since I first created my bloggers account nearly two months ago :P
And if this continues its soon gonna die a natural death. Aah!

Not that I had nothing to write about but life has been such a roller coaster ever since the new year has begun that I hardly found the time or the inclination to pen down my thoughts. Its kinda difficult to imagine that we are already nearing the end of the second month! Whoever said "time flies" hit the nail on the head.

The surprising thing this new year was my health going from bad to worse on and off. Started off with a terrible cough and when that finally got ok I went down with fever. Surprising cos I have always enjoyed good health :p On the positive side I did enjoy all the attention I got at home and office :) Me thinks falling ill is not so bad after all :)

Another kick I got this year was becoming my aunt a few days ago. My elder sister delivered a baby boy in Gurgaon and this coming at a time when I was going through a personal low was quite heartening. Helped me get back on track and be grateful for the little things in life that we generally take for granted. It was an awesome experience and I am just waiting to see the kiddo when he comes home next month :)