Monday, April 19, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Hamara Bajaj
Last month I received a mail from our admin dept, asking to pay the road tax for my non-Maharastra registered vehicle. The normally busy RTO was at our facility to aid payment of the road tax. I was really overwhelmed to see such a dedication toward one’s duty. If somebody has visited the RTO office, he/she must have experienced the load these guys carry. Your driving test won’t last for more than three minutes. In those three minutes the guy asks you, your details, examines whether you can start/drive the vehicle (including reverse gear), and if you know driving rules and certifies you as responsible driver. No doubt, thanks to these conscientious drivers, we daily experience road chaos and so many road accidents. I think due to the burden to carry out this noble cause, the driving tests on that holy day wouldn’t have lasted for more than a minute.
Moreover to support this cause our active admin dept had also shared otherwise company confidential employee data with RTO, without even informing the employees. Once hitting such mail, I started wondering which of my vehicles has non-Maharashtra registration, since both my bike and car are registered in Pune. Suddenly I remembered MFK 680, the Bajaj Super which I used to drive in early days of joining the company (although it is registered in Maharashtra, the query fired on database must be ‘like MH*’).
I bought this scooter from one of Vipin’s colleagues, seven years back. After paying Rs 2000, he handed over the scooter keys and its registration/transfer papers with word of advice (free of cost), “don’t bother to transfer the scooter on your name, it will cost more”. Well even he and his predecessor also never cared about it. At that time, my lady had just crossed her teens and entering her early twenties. But I and Vipin were overjoyed and full of excitement at the moment. Two reasons, first we paid from our own pocket, more specifically from Vipin’s salary, and second, we didn’t told anything to our parents about our adventure.
Sooner I got my first job at Finolex cables and started driving to Pimpri for second shift (4 PM to 11 PM), as for general shift the PMT was more affordable and for night shift I never used to go. Vipin used to be awaked till I would reach home, hoping to see me in one piece.
After six months I joined Sunrise systems and started working at one of their customer site, KOEL. The girl who joined the same site along with me happened to stay nearby my home and asked me if I could pick and drop her on my scooter. I couldn’t explain her experience of the first day ride, but the next morning she humbly declined my offer calling me to tell that she would prefer her age old scooty than my youthful scooter.
Alongside my job, I was also doing my PG diploma from NCST where I met Ameya, Saurabh, Swati and Vishakha. I don’t know what was wrong with Vishakha, but whenever I offered her the lift, my scooter used to get punctured and ultimately I had to end up asking Swati for lift. I was staying at Senapati Bapat road then. In the morning, I used to go at Ameya’s place and after picking him up, then to the Petrol pump for Rs 20 Petrol and then to Sharada Center for NCST. This scooter turned me into complete environmentalist, making me realize the importance on each and every drop of petrol. So, on either sides of the slope at Symbiosis, I made it a habit to turn off the engine to take advantage of the steep slope and reach home or Kamala Nehru Park.
One day when I reached Ameya’s place, at parking I could feel something different, something obviously very different in that scooter. Failed to make out what was wrong, I called Ameya, and when he tried to ride as pillion, we got it, the sit was missing. Fortunately we found it in the midway and now Ameya had one more job to do as a pillion, holding the sit so that he would not fell off. When parked, we choose to keep it in front dicky. This lasted till one day when Ameya had to go to Hinjwadi for an interview and had to hold the sit by one hand for entire 17 +17 km as he forgot to take the dicky key. Coming back, in entire disgust, he wrapped packing tape around entire sit making it the perfect fix, as they say; necessity is the mother of invention.
Although renovated five year’s back (after tearing off Ameya’s favorite jeans), today she stands proudly, full of dust and rust, in my uncle’s garage. I would have paid her road tax, if only there had been any provision in law to drive 27 year old scooter on road.
Moreover to support this cause our active admin dept had also shared otherwise company confidential employee data with RTO, without even informing the employees. Once hitting such mail, I started wondering which of my vehicles has non-Maharashtra registration, since both my bike and car are registered in Pune. Suddenly I remembered MFK 680, the Bajaj Super which I used to drive in early days of joining the company (although it is registered in Maharashtra, the query fired on database must be ‘like MH*’).
I bought this scooter from one of Vipin’s colleagues, seven years back. After paying Rs 2000, he handed over the scooter keys and its registration/transfer papers with word of advice (free of cost), “don’t bother to transfer the scooter on your name, it will cost more”. Well even he and his predecessor also never cared about it. At that time, my lady had just crossed her teens and entering her early twenties. But I and Vipin were overjoyed and full of excitement at the moment. Two reasons, first we paid from our own pocket, more specifically from Vipin’s salary, and second, we didn’t told anything to our parents about our adventure.
Sooner I got my first job at Finolex cables and started driving to Pimpri for second shift (4 PM to 11 PM), as for general shift the PMT was more affordable and for night shift I never used to go. Vipin used to be awaked till I would reach home, hoping to see me in one piece.
After six months I joined Sunrise systems and started working at one of their customer site, KOEL. The girl who joined the same site along with me happened to stay nearby my home and asked me if I could pick and drop her on my scooter. I couldn’t explain her experience of the first day ride, but the next morning she humbly declined my offer calling me to tell that she would prefer her age old scooty than my youthful scooter.
Alongside my job, I was also doing my PG diploma from NCST where I met Ameya, Saurabh, Swati and Vishakha. I don’t know what was wrong with Vishakha, but whenever I offered her the lift, my scooter used to get punctured and ultimately I had to end up asking Swati for lift. I was staying at Senapati Bapat road then. In the morning, I used to go at Ameya’s place and after picking him up, then to the Petrol pump for Rs 20 Petrol and then to Sharada Center for NCST. This scooter turned me into complete environmentalist, making me realize the importance on each and every drop of petrol. So, on either sides of the slope at Symbiosis, I made it a habit to turn off the engine to take advantage of the steep slope and reach home or Kamala Nehru Park.
One day when I reached Ameya’s place, at parking I could feel something different, something obviously very different in that scooter. Failed to make out what was wrong, I called Ameya, and when he tried to ride as pillion, we got it, the sit was missing. Fortunately we found it in the midway and now Ameya had one more job to do as a pillion, holding the sit so that he would not fell off. When parked, we choose to keep it in front dicky. This lasted till one day when Ameya had to go to Hinjwadi for an interview and had to hold the sit by one hand for entire 17 +17 km as he forgot to take the dicky key. Coming back, in entire disgust, he wrapped packing tape around entire sit making it the perfect fix, as they say; necessity is the mother of invention.
Although renovated five year’s back (after tearing off Ameya’s favorite jeans), today she stands proudly, full of dust and rust, in my uncle’s garage. I would have paid her road tax, if only there had been any provision in law to drive 27 year old scooter on road.
Monday, February 1, 2010
coming back to life
This might seem to be abstract today, but I wrote this a year back, trying my way out of those gloomy days.
Every situation has her words, doesn’t matter whether you are happy, sad or lost. Your heart rhymes it to sing a song of life, voluntarily, anonymous to you, making every moment priceless. And when thousands of questions fill your mind keeping no room to find an answer, suddenly you could hear that melody, rhythmic, still meaningful, conveying the same which your heart was trying to convince for last few days.
While I talk about heart, never able to figure it out, what that really means. Science says, it does not have power to think. Then why do we say, listen to your heart. The entity without self being, but still you could understand her language, and not what your head says.
Afterall what are emotional and practical thoughts? may be two parts of the same brain, confusing you with two conflicting thoughts. When I choose a difficult path to come out of the situation, I suppose I listen to my heart, because what my head points is convenient way, (or practical?). Is being practical means being selfish and brutal? I would never find an answer to this.
To conclude these vague thoughts, here are the lines from Pink Floyd,
where were u, when I was burnt n broken
while the days slip by from my window watching
n where were u when I was hurt n helpless
b’cause the things u say n things u do surround m
while u were hanging urself on someone else’s words
n dying to believe in what u heard
I was staring straight into the shining sun
lost in thoughts n lost in time
while the seeds of life n seeds of change were planted
outside d rain felt dark n slow
while I pondered on this dangerous but irresistible pastime
I took d heavenly ride thr’ our silence
I knew d moment had arrived
for killing d past n coming back to life
I took d heavenly ride thr’ our silence
I knew d waiting had begun
heading straight into d shining sun
Every situation has her words, doesn’t matter whether you are happy, sad or lost. Your heart rhymes it to sing a song of life, voluntarily, anonymous to you, making every moment priceless. And when thousands of questions fill your mind keeping no room to find an answer, suddenly you could hear that melody, rhythmic, still meaningful, conveying the same which your heart was trying to convince for last few days.
While I talk about heart, never able to figure it out, what that really means. Science says, it does not have power to think. Then why do we say, listen to your heart. The entity without self being, but still you could understand her language, and not what your head says.
Afterall what are emotional and practical thoughts? may be two parts of the same brain, confusing you with two conflicting thoughts. When I choose a difficult path to come out of the situation, I suppose I listen to my heart, because what my head points is convenient way, (or practical?). Is being practical means being selfish and brutal? I would never find an answer to this.
To conclude these vague thoughts, here are the lines from Pink Floyd,
where were u, when I was burnt n broken
while the days slip by from my window watching
n where were u when I was hurt n helpless
b’cause the things u say n things u do surround m
while u were hanging urself on someone else’s words
n dying to believe in what u heard
I was staring straight into the shining sun
lost in thoughts n lost in time
while the seeds of life n seeds of change were planted
outside d rain felt dark n slow
while I pondered on this dangerous but irresistible pastime
I took d heavenly ride thr’ our silence
I knew d moment had arrived
for killing d past n coming back to life
I took d heavenly ride thr’ our silence
I knew d waiting had begun
heading straight into d shining sun
Friday, January 15, 2010
January 10, Sandy’s B’day
Last Sunday, it was Sandy’s B’day and I was at Chiplun. Fortunately Vishal reminded me of this auspicious day when SandyBaba took his Avtar on this holy planet. There is something special about this saintly creature; hardly had any subject been remained untouched with his authoritative commentary. And then after, if any dupe shows some guts to annotate it further with incongruity, our know-all friend just fumes. Despite being such an expert commentator he needs assistance in almost everything he does, right from paying his electricity bill to watching TV alone, he wants somebody around.
Really, last thirty months at Persistent had never been so enjoyable if he wouldn’t have been around. I met this terrific friend in very first fortnight, as a project team member. I was new joinee and was looking out for somebody to talk, to share my lunch table, and to help me to get acquainted with this new workplace. With Sandy Persistent remained no alien place anymore.
Like Sandy, many of my friends I met, over past few years stood by me when needed and made my life beautiful and to whom I never said THANK YOU but I would definitely like to say SORRY.
Thank you for being there when I was in mess, bringing cake on my birthday without fail and bringing wishes on every auspicious occasion like Dashera, Diwali, New Year, Makarsankranti, 26th Jan, 15 Aug and Labor day.
Sorry for forgetting your birthdays without forgetting. No matter how hard I try to remember my friend’s birthdays and how much closer he/she is, it’s almost certain that I am going to fail to wish him/her. It hits me only after I receive at least fifteen messages on friendship day that I have to wish all those special people in my life.
So thumbs up to my New Year resolution number one - better late than never, get ready for my belated birthday wishes. :)
Really, last thirty months at Persistent had never been so enjoyable if he wouldn’t have been around. I met this terrific friend in very first fortnight, as a project team member. I was new joinee and was looking out for somebody to talk, to share my lunch table, and to help me to get acquainted with this new workplace. With Sandy Persistent remained no alien place anymore.
Like Sandy, many of my friends I met, over past few years stood by me when needed and made my life beautiful and to whom I never said THANK YOU but I would definitely like to say SORRY.
Thank you for being there when I was in mess, bringing cake on my birthday without fail and bringing wishes on every auspicious occasion like Dashera, Diwali, New Year, Makarsankranti, 26th Jan, 15 Aug and Labor day.
Sorry for forgetting your birthdays without forgetting. No matter how hard I try to remember my friend’s birthdays and how much closer he/she is, it’s almost certain that I am going to fail to wish him/her. It hits me only after I receive at least fifteen messages on friendship day that I have to wish all those special people in my life.
So thumbs up to my New Year resolution number one - better late than never, get ready for my belated birthday wishes. :)
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