University Institute of Technology, Barkatullah University Campus, Bhopal

10th September, 2001, my first day in college, and Dinesh Agarwal sir came for the first lecture. I was amused why my other classmates were wearing some sort of a dress, the girls with bright red ribbons in their hairs and the guys had the same red coloured socks. Only after the first 2 lectures i realised why i wasn't dressed like them, because i belonged to the hostel and the others were either localites or people who chose not to live in the hostel and live elsewhere, either rented apartments or PG accomodation. Sometimes i wonder, how parents too had to bend in front of the seniors of the college, just to make sure their kid is safe and nothing out of place happens to their wards, strange case, unheard atleast in the place where i came from, a small town of Uttar Pradesh. Anyways, coming back to the college, after the 3rd lecture, we, the hostlers were told to come to the pharmacy department and stand with other seniors and stop the roads leading to the deaprtments, including our own for getting PCI recognition for the Department of Pharmacy, BU. While it was a source of entertainment for a few, i was already cursing as to why were we there, when we should be in college. But there was no answer, infact a group of 3rd year B.E. senior girls were passing and they wanted an introduction from the 1st year juniors at the hostel. Someone among us, may have tried to look how the seniors girls looked like, and another moment, we all heard this loud chorus, 'Eyes Down'. I was amused, a small town guy, and girls telling him to keep his eyes down, ha ha ha ha ha......

I will continue the story....an abend in Production is forcing me to call off for the day. Take care !!

Bhopal - the city of lakes

A cool and cloudy morning greeted us, the day we landed in Bhopal. My first look outside the window and it was Nishatpura, and BHopal in brackets which caught my attention and like a sailor seeing the first sight of land after wandering into the sea of thoughts, thoughts about the course life was taking, about near and dear ones, friends, i exclaimed, " Is Bhopal district so vast, that for the next 4 hours or so, we are going to move within the boundaries?" It was 7 AM and Malwa express from New Delhi was slowly crouching towards its destination. Unknown to both of us, the train and me, I thought the train would reach Bhopal at 11AM and the train whistling romantically as if to signal, here my boy, this is your land of deeds, for the next 4 years, you will not only live but enjoy the most memorable 4 years of your life. May GOD bless you. The lady beside us gave a curious look and told, it will stop after another 2 minutes and welcome to Bhopal - the city of lakes. With a sudden sense of urgency myself and papa started packing our small yet essential beddings and i started looking out for Mamaji, who would be coming to pick us from the railway station, and there he was, with his head high and hands open to welcome the visitors, from a distant land, yet so much his own relatives. Out of station, we took bus no. 9 to Jawahar Chowk and i had a view of the city, sometimes which seemed to me like Meerut, with the Muslim areas, but then it unfolded as if two lovers ready to hug each other. Right after the Police headquarters, the slope started, we climbing on it, with small, yet significant turns, i could see the Shymla hills on one side and the other side had the Birla temple and Vidhan Sabha one, a light drizzle was like the icing on the cake. Once into the house and after the usual greetings and breakfast, we moved to the Polytechnic hostel where the counselling was taking place, mine was scheduled the next day and i was quite confident i would select LNCT with electronics and communications branch. The statistics available there was hinting that i may get my desired college with the desired branch and i was simply grateful that i came to Bhopal and would be getting into a good college and branch, but destiny had other plans and for good, for sure. That evening passes peacefully and the next day i was there at the session. Without much difficulty and the advice of my father i took a seat in Electronics and Communications engineering at University Institute of Technology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal. I was so happy. That day, 27th August, 2001, i had my first glimpse of the university, with bhaiyya, glimpses of my alma matter, a place where my heart and mind would reside, the mind trained for the world outside and the heart caressed. Surendra Place (SP), Habibganj naka, M P Nagar, Sargam talkies, Chota talab, hill top Birla temple and Vidhan Sabha, all seemed to be welcoming me, bring me in their fold, lovingly.

This was my introduction to Bhopal, the place i love.

Prashant

Prashant is derived from the word "shant" which means quiet, or tranquil. There are two theories as to the origin of the name. The first is simply that adding "pra" creates a superlative of "shant", so it can be thought of as meaning "Great Peace". The other is that it is a combination of two words: "Param" + "Shant" = Prashant. Of note, the Pacific Ocean is called the Prashant Mahasagar (प्रशान्त महासागर) in Hindi and Nepali, with the term "Prashant" being used to translate the English word "pacific.One more meaning that can be associated to name "Prashant" is Serious. Where "kant" means Light or aura.

Photos from my Alma matter - Jawahar Hostel

Hillarious scraps

Saap Ne Piya Bakri Ka Khoon .....
Waah! Waah!..
Saap Ne Piya Bakri Ka Khoon .....
Waah! Waah!...
Good Afternoon! Good Afternoon! Good Afternoon!!

Tere Pyaar Mein Paagal Ho Gaya Peter .....
Waah! Waah!..
Tere Pyaar Mein Paagal Ho Gaya Peter .....
Waah! Waah!...
Ab Hero Honda Splendor, 80 km Prati Litre .. !!

Bahaar Aane Se Pehle Fizaa Aa Gayii .....
Waah! Waah!....
Bahaar Aane Se Pehle Fizaa Aa Gayii .....
Waah! Waah!....
Phool Ko Khilne Se Pehle Bakri Kha Gayii .. !!

Kaam KAro !!!!

sharaab

The day i become famous enough that writing a autobiography becomes a profitable venture, among others i would mention Jawahar Hostel, Cheppu/ Cheppandy, hyderabad and last but not the least beautiful girls। There was a scene in the movie, MAIN HOON NA, wherein songs started playing as soon as Shahrukh use to see Sushmita, same thing happened to me today।

Ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga, jaisa khilta gulaab, jaise shayar ka khab, jaise ujli kiran, jaise van mein hiran, jaise mandir mein ho koi jalta diyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....ho ooooo

I had seen this girl in the cafeteria with a guy and i was so mesmerised that i took my sandwich and sat at a place where i could comfortably look at her and praise the Almighty for this lovely creation, a MASTER STROKE। After that day, i saw her again in the lift and today, after nearly २ months she was here, २ cubicle far from me। Came to meet someone, pink top and blue jeans, she was like an angel, who had come to brighten my day, to prove that love at first sight did exist in our own world, that Ranjha was not a buffoon and that Romeo was done away because of a reason। Bells started ringing in my head, my system seemed like a devil who was pulling me away from her,betraying me for my fellow cubiclemate, as if yelling that i won't let you be her's. And she, soft as wool, clear as the shining glass, her lips like the petals of rose, eyes - dark and big, as if a pearl shining in the sand, the aura around her ready to suck my energy as if comforting me, i am your ONLY desire, after me, you see none, feel none, need none.

Sometimes i think of destiny, why did this alarm ring only when she was about to be mine !!

OSO and Tare Zameen par

I know it has been long since OSO - Om Shanti Om and TZP - Taare Zamin Par, hit the theatres. But, i always wanted to write why i preferred OSO over TZP. If i recall the days from my childhood when going to movies with parents was a rare event, i always preferred movies which had songs i could sing later, watch with awe how the hero could fight 10 people at the same time and still remain unscathed and how in the end the heroine went to her hero. Later when i started going out with my friends, i started liking so called art movies or based on some real life incidents. After watching these movies, i had one sentiment for sure, pessimism. Life did seem hard from the newspapers and now the 24*7 news channels not leaving any stone unturned to be the first one to report some event. It seems as if we were born to hear people bickering with each other, someone who goes to some other country in search of better opportunities and uplifting his standard of living and his peers, getting bogged down and pressurised to come back after certain years of success, the saas-bahut sops, slowly changing the way women were portrayed in Indian television and film industry.
OSO - among the movies to be released around Diwali 2007 was a welcome respite. I found all the elements of cinema i had so much wanted to see all these years. It had song and dance, a beautiful actress, and equal suitor in the form of Shah Rukh Khan and other co actors. The plot, a pure fiction, was so set that even before the audience could contemplate what was about to happen, the whole story moved around 20 years ahead. But then, still all the song, dance, action was not missing and the film ended on a happier note. I am happy. I got all what i expected from cinema, atleast there was a difference between a news channel and a movie.
TZP - although normally, i appreciate any effort by an individual or society to try and bring socially/financially/physically or otherwise backward people into the mainstream, this one where people boasted they had wanted to cry out loud while watching the movie, put me on the defensive. Why should i go and put in my 3 hours and 150 rs just to watch someone weep or get myself pulled in some emotion which our cinema is capable of, BUT, forget the moment i step out of the theatre. If cinema can make me compassionate about something, i have no issues, BUT, if it was so capable, things may have changed a bit more. And what happened after the movie, what is being done for the type of kids shown in the movie, by the general public or some gov agencies, how far have they come, is worth debatable.

Till then, i am singing, 'Aankhon mein teri ajab si ajab se adayein hai'

continued................

Now let me recollect the special moments of my stay in hyderabad.

1. Varun sir took me out for lunch, the day i got my offer letter. We ordered more than we could eat and by the time we left, i could see my bed and varun sir dragged his feet for office.
2. Me and Suresh sir went to take delivery of his Unicorn (AP29 H 3456, right sirji ??) and we met his bhaiyya too and as the bike was getting ready, bhaiyya treated us with Mirchi bhajji (pakora) .
3. Varun sir use to wake me up once he came from office and use to say, 'padh lo nahi to assessment mein back lag jayegi'. Caring [:)]
4. Vipin sir told a simple and true story to Vidhur boss, and at a later stage had to create a false story to stop Vidhur from discussing it with anyone else. And guess, Vidhur was terrified. ha ha ha ha aha..............

5. Chilakur and Balaji - discussion on them should be left for the future....

6. Me and Suresh sir, both with a regular pizza and coke in hand, sitting on the seats beside the lake at EAT STREET, eyeing other pretty girls, a modern day DOSTANA.
7. Sweet pongal was cooked by suresh sir, we both got all the ingredients from outside and suresh sir promised me it would be too tasty to resist. It finally landed in the sink, we both had our dinner at Prasadz. Vipin sir and Varun sir were in bhopal.
8. Priyesh Kokje initially varun sir's replacement but could survive only a month. He was advised by me to do some testing which he did not do perhaps. What testing, is better kept to myself...
9. Bonalu festival and the drum beats, they infact seemed to be at their peak just when we wanted to pull our sheets and off to sleep.
10. Vipin sir was going home, me and suresh sir came to drop him at the railway station. While returning back, the kick of his bike broke and i was alone to fend off the pulsar. Somehow i reached home with a kick in my hand, and anguish in my mind. I never knew getting a new kick was that easy..
12. Prashant sir and my numerous trips with him, sometime to prasadz, sometimes to his establishment and others at our Sri Sai Residency.

In all i really enjoyed my stay there. Sometimes i feel, only when i was not there, made it so special.

From Bhopal to Hyderabad

Four years before, these days i was collecting all the documents relevant to my joining at Satyam Computer Services Limited at Hyderabad on 25 July 2005. I was so happy, i would be flying the first time in my life, on a early morning Indian Airlines flight from Delhi to Hyderabad. I had been to hyderabad a fortnight back to collect my offer letter from the Mayfair Centre and had made friends with the erstwhile dayscholar seniors, Vipin Mishra and Varun Joshi (henceforth addressed as Vipin sir and Varun sir) and the friend indeed Suresh Vishwanath (henceforth Suresh Sir).
After completing the joining formalities, i had my induction at Satyam Technology Centre (STC) and that was the day when the training started formally. During the initial training days i did not have many friends from satyam training but back home i had wonderful time with my friends, we visited Hussain sagar lake, watched movies at Prasadz and had fun filled dinner at Vidhur's mess. In due time, my training finished and we got a 2 week vacation to go home for Diwali, that too paid leaves. That diwali was very special, i was a software engineer with India's 4th largest IT company of those times and people showered their praises on me, called up their relations for a suitable girl for me and the likes, slowly the vacation came to an end and i returned back to Hyderabad. Once back from vacation, i was on bench, virtually a period to enjoy your day to the maximum, not knowing when a call to a project may change your life, reduced to the 4 * 4 periphery of the office cubicle and occasional chat/coffee with colleagues. A week later a bombshell called CHENNAI dropped on me and 8 more training mates and we were instructed to report for a training for 2 weeks and it was assumed that end of those two weeks we have to move to Chennai. Never in my thoughts i had thought of leaving hyderabad and going to some other city. The quintessential charm of the city, my friends at room and the ones i got at Satyam were air and water for me, without them i no longer thought to be alive. Such was our bonding, after having a chat with my room mates i use to take Suresh sir's bike and move to the flats of my friends in the neighbourhood, chat and have fun till 1 or 2 AM and then return back to my flat and sleep like a log, only to wake up after one and all had gone to office. Coming back to the training part, during those 2 weeks i realised that i would spend these 2 weeks in the most beautiful way, partying and enjoying with friends rather then on thinking what would become of me once i move to chennai, with almost all new faces and environment. Luckliy the training went of well and we were told that we will not be going before december end (training was held during the 2nd and 3rd week of November 2005). During those training days, much to our astonishement and happiness, a college senior whom i jelled well with, Lt Prashant Trivedi( henceforth Prashant Sir) got his first posting as hyderabad and the erstwhile establishment quite near to our place. Two incidents during that phase changed our lives, 1st was when one evening Varun sir told he is going to join a company in Mumbai and may move out around the first week of December and another was the arrival of Prashant sir. None of us wanted Varun sir to go, we had so much to celebrate and enjoy, his going created a void in the house, but finally he had to go.