Shiv Agarwal

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Men are just happier people!

Thu 30th Jun 2005, 1150 am

Men Are Just Happier People - What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can be President. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car Mechanics tell you the truth.

The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100.

People never stare at your chest when you are talking to them. The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time. Phone conservations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks. A 5 day vacation requires only one suitcase . You can open all of your own jars.

You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original colour. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe even decades. You only have to shave your face and neck.

You can play with toys all your life. Your belly usually hides your big hips. One wallet and one pair of shoes one colour for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a moustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

-S

Courtesy: Sukesh!


Happy Father's Day

Thu 30th June 2005, 12:40 am



-S

Courtesy: Maaru :)

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Tue 28 Jun 2005, 1030 pm

Was generally doing TP on the net today after the regular emails etc etc. And stumbled upon a blog. And it took me by surprise. It was an almost exact replica of everything I have experienced in life till date, the feelings, the victories, the highs and lows and believe me this was no general stuff.

The kind of stuff posted is something which will probably never appear on my blog. But yeah I do know it is online somewhere, available for the world to read, if ever interested. Have contacted this person. Lets see if he responds.

Bye for now. Will go and spend some post dinner time chatting with mom and dad ...

-S

A warm thank you!

Tue 28 June 2005, 1015 pm

Been away for some time. And am simply amazed to see the amount of good wishes I have received ... some from friends I am yet to meet, I have only met them online! Not to mention the numerous phone calls ... I was so wrong to think that I am the only one who reads this blog!

The past few days have been quite hard, full of running around and tense moments. Almost drove me crazy. Felt very very lonely at times. But as they say, "all is well that ends well". Hopefully should be more regular now ...

-S


Sunday, June 19, 2005

From Boys to Men

Sun Jun 19 2005, 4:30 pm


1990: We were all the same
2005: We are doctors, engineers, managers, sailors, CAs, artists and what not! We have gone 'oer sea or mount or plain!'

-S

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Fly India Fly

Fri 17 Jun 2005, 1115 am



Picked up the morning newspaper and went to the one place where no one else can come and interfere and lemme read in peace! I am king and the owner of the newspaper for the next 10 mins!

As usual glanced through the headlines, city news etc etc and moved to the biz section. For a second I thought I had mistakenly picked up yesterdays newspaper. Once again the top story was an Indian airliner stealing the show at the Paris Air Show.

This was indeed fresh news. Another Indian airline placed an order worth 6 bn USD for new aircrafts at the show! I had not even heard of the airline before – Indigo!!!!! All I knew was that Indigo was a car!!!

Indigo is another low cost airline which all of a sudden has made waves in this country after Air Deccan, SpiceJet and apex fares from the others. And with an order which is almost 6 times the turnover of Infosys, India’s aviation sector seems to be finally taking off. Good job Praful Patel!

India has about 200 jets as of now and has placed orders for another 150. This, compared to 6000 in the US!!!!! The gap is too huge but the rate at which this sector is growing its just a matter of time.

This also means huge employment opportunities in the country from pilots to air hostesses to ground staff. There is soon going to be a plethora of jobs and half to full page Times Ascent ads like the ones KF Airlines posted some time back.

Institutes like Frankfinn will spring up in every nook and corner of the country just like IT training institutes did when the software bug bit the nation.

All in the entire picture seems good, based of course on the assumption that the airlines have a sound revenue model backing them. Its surely not going to be easy recovering costs selling tickets at 50% discount etc.

For now, Indian Railways, you have competition.

And then the biggest doubt as my 87 year old granny raised when I was discussing all this with her, “Beta, do these guys know how to take off and land an airplane?”. I said, “I sincerely hope so!”

-S

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Height of Baniyagiri

Wed 15 Jun 2005, 1348 hrs

Riaz sent me this message about a baniya
today (I belong to this community. Supposedly old time traders known for their miserly instincts!).

Q: How often do you have sex?
Baniya: Alternate days
Q: Why??? (puzzled at the fixed time table!)
Baniya (With a sad expression): Kay kare bhaaya. Ek din to condom sukhane mein hi lag jaave hai.

-S

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

The Monsoons are here

Tue 14 Jun 2005, 11:40 pm

Well the monsoons have finally announced their arrival here. Mercury levels have dipped, the grass is finally green and weatherwise Pune can now give any hill station a run for its money.

And what amazing fun it is driving in the rain at full speed on the empty roads with windows rolled down and the cool breeze hitting you straight in the face. What a respite from the suffocation of the AC while driving.

I am not one of those who gets absolutely excited about the monsoon ... but this could well be my last encounter with good weather (I dont consider weather up north in the capital good!) for quite a while ... hence putting it down here :)

-S

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

BJP ... On its way down?

Wed Jun 8 2005, 8:30 pm

Have received various comments about my post on Lalu Land. Some said don’t write about politics but how long can you keep the topic away from someone whose destiny (read janampatri) reads nothing but politics!

Been in bed all day battling a bout of severe infection. And to keep me company was Mr. L.K. Advani, President, Bhartiya Janta Party (no electricity here so don’t know whether his resignation has been accepted formally). Every channel I switched to all I could see was India’s high profile politician being coaxed into withdrawing his resignation and talks of the future of the BJP, the only party if at all which provided some sort of competition to the Nehru Gandhi clan, the Congress.

Lets just go through the sequence of events that led to this turmoil.

The Trigger:

Advani (moved to India from Pakistan post ’47) goes on a week long visit to Pakistan. He visited his school too amongst other places. He must have felt the same way I did when I went to Vincents last week. Is asked to inaugurate the restoration work of ancient temples. During the speech he quotes Jinnah verbatim in which Jinnah envisioned Pakistan being a secular state. Mind you this was not Advani’s remark. It was a quote.

What got reported:

Indian media goes all out saying Advani calls Jinnah secular. Pro Hindu outfits like the Sangh Parivar and the VHP go in a frenzy. Mass protests mark Indian streets with effigies being burnt all around.

The Reaction:

Advani returns after 3 days and resigns from the post of the President of the BJP. No questions asked. All he said was his statements were quoted out of context.

The BJP all of a sudden has now realized that it is without any person whom they can look upto as a leader.

What next? BJP leaders make a beeline outside Advani’s residence asking him to reconsider. All of a sudden, Advani finds himself in the midst of people who claim that he did not say anything wrong. Frantic calls are being made to Vajpayee and other senior leaders. But where were all these people when Advani was in Pakistan and there were all round protests back home in India? Did it take a resignation for them to show their support and solidarity towards the senior most man in the party after Vajpayee.

Meanwhile, the BJP’s troubles have worsened. Its an irony that they are actually supposed to be celebrating their 25th year! The humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha last year and in almost every subsequent assembly election the BJP badly needed to get its act together. And this is not what the doctor ordered.

This could read good news for the party’s second rung of leaders (Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Pramod Mahajan and the likes) who have been trying to break into the top leadership of the party for many years now. But none of them command the same amount of respect and stature as that of Advani or Vajpayee. With Bihar elections looming large the party is desperate to have Advani back.

The party also needs to get its ideological position right. The BJP has always been looked upon as a pro Hindu party and that’s how it will always be. Any attempts to portray themselves as secular or pro minority are simply a waste of time. As a result the BJP has strained relations with old time supporters as well like the RSS, Shiv Sena and the VHP without having gained much ground on the secular front either.

Could this be the downturn of the BJP, the party that in my opinion actually put India on the road to progress … you never know. Meanwhile the Congress which underwent similar turmoils before Sonia Gandhi stepped in is enjoying every bit of it. This is politics, and in India it’s a little bit more.

-S

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Can India really afford a second election in Bihar?

Mon 6th June 2005, 1730 hrs

A classic example of power hungry politics was displayed recently when the UPA Government dissolved the Bihar Assembly in the dead of the night and ordered a second round of elections in the poverty stricken, illiteracy bound state of Bihar.

The reason: Horse Trading by the NDA when they bought out elected MLAs of the LJP (Paswan's party)

Though everyone knows that such efforts may indeed be on, there is no sure shot evidence. The Governor himself has gone on record saying that he received no concrete complaint against the so called horse trading. Then why the dissolution? The answer is simply that Lalu and Paswan could not see Bihar being run by anyone but themselves ... they probably dont want the state to see better days coz tht would mean the end of their 'rule' in the State!

Why did they dissolve the assembly in the middle of the night?
Reason: The NDA had mustered the majority and would have staked claim the next morning! Would have been too late to wait till dawn.

And even if horse trading was indeed going on is the term the right one to use. If two thirds of the elected members of your party are willing to defect for a sum of money or a seat in the new Government, it doesnt speak to well of your own party does it Mr. Paswan?

And Laluji, the most vociferous opponent of horse trading has an enviable record at the sport himself!
1990: Won over a third of BJP MLAs when the BJP withdrew support
1993: Split the 19 member JMM coz he was against the formation of Jharkhand
1995: On the eve of the polls he split the CPI(ML)
1999: Split the CPI
2002: Split the JD(U)

At the end of the day the biggest loser is going to be this country. India will hold another election in Bihar and apend crores from its coffers on another election which could well have been avoided. There has been a PIL against this in the SC, but am sure nothing will come of it. Its ironic that the man who filed this PIL is also named Shiv!

-S

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Vincenti Dabitur

Thu June 02 2005, 11:20 pm

Some things in life are just not planned.

After lunch, Vik and I out of the blue landed up at India Ice Cream. Though just 2 mins from home I have never been there since I left St. Vincent’s. This is no multinational chain of ice creams. It’s a local ice cream store, but is every Vincentian’s lunch break hang out!

Soon after, we were walking towards school! Absolutely unplanned. Summer vacations are still on, and there was pin drop silence in the huge campus which is otherwise bubbling with activity. Except for a small boy desperately trying to fly a kite in the middle of the ground and a few peons doing regular maintenance work there was no one. I remember coming to school last year around the same time … its very much the same … except the addition of the magnificent Fr. Oesch Hall and a new school bus with a new color! Vik preferred the old blue trademark Vincent’s bus shade, I didn’t mind this one either … it finally looked like a school bus!

We sat under the huge pipal tree of the school and memories of the best days of our life flashed across our minds … all the mischief we did in class … principals … teachers … friends … the canteen … scouts … everything!

And just like us, Balwinder (Balli) a classmate of ours, casually walked in, just to pay school a visit! Vow, what a surprise! And then it was like a mini reunion of the batch of 1997! We talked and laughed and laughed … haven’t laughed like that in ages. Didn’t realize how time flew!

All plans for the afternoon went kaput … but it was worth it!

The Vincents Anthem:

Vincenti Dabitur ! That noble clarion call
Resounds in every heart, and beckons us all
Come, let us rally round, and by its spirit stand
Thus, shall we truly serve our School, our Home, our Land

Vincenti Dabitur ! Vincenti Dabitur !
Students fair and true, we shall dare and do, and win.

Vincenti Dabitur ! We follow with delight
Though paths beset with woe we'll ne'er quail with fright
Though life may take us far o'er sea or mount or plain
From proud and grateful hearts we'll swear our School refrain

Vincenti Dabitur ! Vincenti Dabitur !
Students fair and true, we shall dare and do, and win.

-S

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Does every post have to have something here?

02 June 2005, 3 am

Gawd! Its three in the morning ... finally feeling sleepy! No wonder I dont get up until almost lunch time! Always knew something was missing in life recently, guess its breakfast! Dont know how long this luxury will last. But who cares about tomorrow ... thought of posting about Bihar's politics, but then Laloo is not the best way to start your day off isn't it?


Good night ... or is it Good Morning!

-S

The Road to FMS – Murphy’s Law : What you least expect, happens - Part II

01 June 2005, 2350 hrs.

FMS – D Day

We planned to leave at 5. It was 8:30 and we were still in Pune. And yeah, none of us knew the roads in Mumbai! Fortunately we reached the outskirts of Mumbai by 11 am, 3hrs before the exam. Joys of driving on the Mumbai Pune Expressway you see! But now we still had to find the centre. 2 hrs of driving in the crazy Mumbai heat and traffic and after a million wrong turns, my centre was nowhere in sight! And to help us out were some great specimens, rickshawallahs who only made gestures either by hand or their eyes (we almost thought talking was taxed in Mumbai), another started laughing at us when we told him where we had to go and he realised how far we were from our destination, felt like socking his face then and there, and how can I forget the dude whose directions were longer than the Ramayan.

Vikrant even suggested skipping the exam and chilling out in Bandra! His exact words were, “Shiv, anyways you not gonna get a call! Tell folks at home you did not make it.” Did anyone hear me call him my best friend? And suddenly out of nowhere we are bang in front of my centre! Thank God!

Also met Mihir Kanitkar, my classmate at Vincents (spent 12 years of my life here) by chance. His rickshaw crossed me while I was standing by the road. To meet someone like that in Bombay was truly amazing.

After four and a half hours of driving I was pooped. But still had an exam to take! Went to the classroom and started yawning. The guy sitting in front of me almost fainted when he heard my antics of the day! He was so tense. And I was so sleepy!

The paper started and I started enjoying it. Don’t know what got triggered but it did not feel like an examination. Just one of those papers which click with you I guess. In the heart of hearts I knew I had done well.

The rest of the day in Bombay was quite eventful to say the least. Our car got towed away twice for wrong parking within 2 hours, we never parked after tht, got stuck in an hour long traffic jam thanks to Saurabh driving on the wrong side of the road in a city like Mumbai, and to top it all we were on the way to Ahmedabad! We finally reached Pune at about midnight, swearing never to drive down again!

FMS – Stage II

So I finally made it to the final 400. But only 60 were going to be selected. 1 in 7! Now what? Is it even worth a shot I asked myself. Anyways I just badly needed a holiday from work and it had been 6 years that I had visited my relatives in Delhi. The call couldn’t have come at a better time. For me it was more of a vacation!

As luck would have it, I converted my SP Jain call just hours before leaving for Delhi! With a backup in hand, tension for me was something which existed only in the dictionary. The interview was one of the best I ever had, the only one which comes close is ISB, Hyderabad. The extempore and group discussion were satisfactory! On hindsight everything is always cool isn’t it!

Results were declared the next day itself. I was in. (Why the hell would I be wasting so much time otherwise!! :))

The story about the FMS watchman telling me on the phone I am not in and me driving down to the Faculty in the middle of the night to cross check with the notice board, I shall save for some other time! I sure am going to meet that dude when I get there and probably treat him to a chai!!

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I will be moving to Delhi! Dilli apun aarela hai! Tumhari Hindi sudhaarne ko ...

-S