So I bid you all adieu…

“Time made me, Time found you, Time made us friends, Time changed trends, Time made us smile, Time made us loose, Time educated us, Time made us learn and Time made us earn too, Time...And now it's Time for a Goodbye (Time changes every second, but hey it cannot change me and you :))................Cheers”
- my gtalk status

And it SPEAKs a lot. It speaks a story from start to current. Today, when I see myself setting to a different direction, I find a new change in me. I don’t get sleepy here. But I want to save that for the new place. I don’t want to eat out today. May be because I know for the next many months, I don’t have that home food. And today I feel a lot more responsible and many more…

And it’s not me who feel like this. ‘Friends’ too!! Ladies and gentlemen who never initiated chats with me, started becoming initiators. ‘Hies’, ‘Hellos’, ‘Take Care’ and ‘Best of Luck’ messages flooded my already very untidy desktop fetching me a comfy feeling of ‘bye-bye’ (muah!). And you like it. At my office too, as soon as I went public with my ‘bye-bye’, all had strange goodbye stamps with warm smiles on their faces. And you like it…damn you like that farewell’s limelight.

Will be missing my friends, will be missing my city and more importantly will be missing some part of me too. May God give me strength to cope up with activities like washing clothes, etc. Washing clothes! Oh my God. My prediction is that I will be close to the nomadic culture very soon and may end up becoming a nomad itself.

I am optimistic wanderer and an explorer. That’s sums up for a ‘wild animal’. And wild animals love humans. A new place and you meet some new people. And like always, you will find some new maniacs like yourself. Cheers

It’s late and have to travel early morning…….I bid you all adieu…

“choti si ye duniya,
anjaane raaste hai mere,
kahin tum miloge,
to poochenge haal,
choti si ye duniya”

I commit SPEAKing PICtures will be alive

Late Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan: An Ironic End

“mein khud se to parchit na hua
par ratano ko jaanene ki tamaana rahkta hoon
vo chale gaye to kya hua
unki ruuh se milne ki aasha karta hoon”

Sentiments inside me were high. My timeline stopped for a few seconds and the cursory look changed into a pensive stare. And I smiled because I realized my helplessness. Wish I was a God. Wish I was a judge of humanity. But reality always ditches you…ironic! Isn’t it?

Mumbai saw India’s deadliest terrorist attacks in recent times this Nov. On 26th Nov around 1 AM IST, my friend Karan (currently in Mumbai) told me to switch my TV on. Period. That night I went to sleep around 5 in the morning, witnessing the ordeal LIVE. Seeing terrorists firing at reporters from a hijacked police car and that too LIVE on television shocked me. I believe ‘Shock’ is a small term here; for 15 min I wasn’t able to understand the television. Everything was happening like a bad dream. Wish it would have been a dream and not a reality ever. But…Won’t say more…read newspapers

Approx. 180 died in the attacks…

On 3rd Dec 2008, I came across Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s profile on Orkut. Major Sandeep passed away while he was in command in Operation Cyclone at Taj Heritage Hotel in Mumbai. At first glance, the profile seemed an original one. He had a ‘stud-y’ profile pic along with many pics and videos in his collection.

Bang! something I saw which perturbed me…

Out of the 4 videos appearing on his profile, 3 belonged to a band named ‘Strings’ (a Pakistani band, one of my favorites too). I went inside his video collection and found 15 out of 24 videos selected by him belonged to Strings. Huff! A storm was there in my mind. I don’t know what struck me; may be I became too emotional in that hour of morning (3 AM). I asked my conscience how this can be possible, on one hand he loved songs by Pakistanis and on other he was killed by bullets of Pakistanis. IRONY…many incidents have no justification yet they happen…why? (Even I have no answer to it)
Ps: - Some of the videos selected by him – Khawab, Zinda Hoon, Duur, Aakri Alvida Na Ho. (Even the names are ironic! Isn’t it?)

I am putting a picture of the martyr symbolizing the calmness reflected from him (read for more on Sandeep). God should have been more compassionate towards him…May his soul rest in peace
‘Do not come up, I will handle them’

- Maj. Sandeep Unnikrishnan- 1977-2008

Lastly, I read some statements about Porkistan in international media. They are ‘to the point’ and I won’t strike any word out of it. JUST Totally Apt and Befitting for Porkistan.
“Pakistan has everything that gives you an international migraine. It has nuclear weapons, it has terrorism, extremists, corruption, is very poor and it's in a location that's really, really important (referring to neighbourhood of India)…” - former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright.
Porkistan will face very tough times ahead (and anybody having doubts is basically fooling himself!! BEWARE).

JAI HIND

Manali & the snow mountains

After beautiful beaches, dry deserts, high hills, plain plains, highways and even expressways (thanks to office, it’s a part of my life now), there was something missing on the list…SNOW. And where do we get this? Apart from freezer, we get this chemical substance in its natural form on mountain peaks above those high hillstations.

Manali is one of the busiest hillstations in North India (Himachal Pradesh). Its distance from New Delhi is 532 km. How to reach Manali?

1) Catch an airline to nearest airport (Bhuntoor), 2 hrs from Manali (NOT ADVICABLE, it cuts your scenic beauty adventure)
2) Buses from Delhi (ISBT) and Chandigarh (for gutsy persons only)
3) Hi-tech AC ‘suppose-to-be-comfortable’ Volvo Buses, runs from CP, Delhi (Advisable, rest depends on luck)
4) Self-DRIVED Bikes and Cars (strictly for guys seeking adventure)

(I went by option no. 3, though I regret for that)

Ideally the journey to Manali from Delhi takes max 14 hours, but the best part when you travel in INDIA, by INDIAN vehicles, driven by INDIAN drivers is that the whole traveling experience results in something unique…hence making it to unique adventures series very easily.

We started on a Thursday (Oct'08) at 7:00 PM from CP (Delhi) in a HP Tourism owned VOLVO. En route the passengers were tortured by showing a big bollywood flop ‘ONE TWO THREE’ (God bless them) starring Paresh Rawal, Sunil Shetty and Tushar Kapor (He is already blessed from God). Though must compliment, the consequence was positive; passengers complained more of headache syndrome rather than normal-vomit one (Thanks God). Early Morning, all woke up to see that the Volvo was halted (flat tyre). It took 1 hr to change it (so many nuts and nuts were there in it, God bless its designer). We finally landed there next day at 11:15 AM. The only positive thing in the journey was the scenic beauty – NH-21 highway alongside Beas river and the Himalayas…pleasure to eyes.


DAY ONE

Friday was dedicated to local site-seeing. The only ‘recommendable’ places to visit – Hidamba Temple (located amidst very very tall trees; seems situated in dense rain forests, also has a charming architecture).
Another place to visit can be Vaishist Kund (hot water pipes from ground). Rest all places are just meant for filling the pamphlet. Fare: Taxi (Alto/Indica) - Rs. 350-500 for local site-seeing (negotiable).
Friday evening can be reserved for roaming at THE MALL (a tourist place found in every hillstation). The Mall must be having atleast 10 restaurants on it, but the coincidence and the fact is that 9 out of 10 share a common name (Sher-e-Punjab). The 10th one did some smart work while naming, it goes by the name ‘Shan-e-Punjab’. Just wonder the mentality of people !

DAY TWO

Saturday was the day. It was reserved for Rohtang Pass (15000ft, 51 km from Manali). For Rohtang pass, try to leave from Manali as early as possible. Two reasons for the early start; firstly, you will witness awesome picturesque snapshots of nature (silver horizon b/t thick clouds and dim rays of crepuscular). And more importantly the second reason, reduced traffic. Road to Rohtang is bearable except at some curves where jams are inevitable. Ideally, the 51 km journey from Manali to Rohtang Pass shouldn’t take more than 3 hours. Fair for Alto/Indica - Rs1000, for Qualis/Travera/Enova - Rs 1200. Also, you can hire snow suits from shops en route (Fair – Rs 250 per suit, negotiable).

Once you reach there, prepare yourself and your legs. Snow near parking is available, but that’s all ‘about-to-be-melt’ dust covered types, non-uniform and patchy (yet you will find majority of domestic tourists enjoying here). Best way to enjoy snow is to go up and up and up and UP. Walk 2-3 km and the world there changes. Purity in air and in thoughts come at ease. Not many people can be seen from there. Not many trees can be seen from there. Not many ‘man-made’ things can be seen from there. In situations like these, ‘you’ and ‘your shadows’ are more private and close. As you ascend, number of maniacs (trekkers) decrease exponentially.
Few points to remember (assuming you have no protective equipment with you):
1) TAP hard on ice to test whether the snow base is hard or soft. Incase it is soft; you may find half of you inside snow. And just incase it’s a ditch,….hee hee…Devil’s den is there.
2) Nature has created some damn patches every 100m. Take stall and make your gum-boots snow-free. Else, your feet will freeze.
3) While descending, sliding is the best option…enjoyable and fast.
4) DO NOT THROW PLASTIC THERE


At the highest point of my ascend, there were some camps belonging to BRO (Border Roads Organization, India). They were stationed temporarily there. As it was the last point of my ‘UP’ journey, a nearby jawan came to me asking me to wipe my sweat. Reasons? Sweat is absorbed by the clothes and turns solid due to conversion to ice. Now, because skin at higher altitudes becomes dry, this ‘sweat-turned-ice’ tend to cause rashes and even cuts, which may hurt at some areas of the body. Boye! Information first hand is so0O intriguing and fascinating. Salute to the guys who clear roads at that altitude so that tourists like we can have a visit.
“Aap log to yahan ghoomne aate ho, kabhi yahan ek-do din rehke dekho….mauj aa jayegi”
(You come here to have a visit, try living one-two days…enthusiasm/excitement/etc will come automatically)

Descend by sliding only. Don’t take sledges or tubes for sliding; try sliding without any apparatus for attaining maximum fun and speed. On way back one can do Paragliding (recommendable). Points are there on way from Rohtang Pass to Manali. There are three variants – short (3-4 min, Rs 700), medium (8-10 min, Rs 2000), long (25-30 min, Rs 3500).

DAY THREE








Early morning you can visit a wasteland ‘Nature’s Park’ situated in the heart of Manali. Nobody goes there and that’s the advantage. Try your morning walk here…you won’t regret.

One can utilize the third day for Manikaran. Manikaran is 85 km from Manali and is famous for hot natural geysers. The water is so hot that rice and pulses can be cooked in it. Leave Manali around 7 am and be back till 3 pm incase you have to catch the evening Volvo (departure – 6 pm). Fare of taxi to Manikaran – Rs. 1500 (negotiable)

Return trip was the best and the worst part. While on our way back to Delhi on Volvo we were 36 people including a group of Chinese girls (5 in number), 2 Germans and 2 Italians. Our journey started at 7 pm from Manali and was again suppose to end after 14 hours. The bus started with 10 litres of diesel in it and after visiting 3 gas stations and spending over Rs 50000, it was finally full. This ‘hi-tech’ bus was not having enough tubelights; forget TV/ Radio; and the best part AC wasn’t working (though some of the passengers who were I guess mechanical engineers repaired it somehow…GOD bless them). One more interesting thing, bus was having just one driver (though it is mandatory to carry two). And that one driver decided to sleep when the clock touched 12 am. He went to the boot and made himself comfortable and slept for a good two hours (yaaaaaawn), while many passengers were busy dialing numbers (or may be they were playing ‘snake’ on their mobiles??). After many stops, intended mischief by the driver and numerous other hassles, we finally ended our journey on Sunday around 1:30 pm at CP (New Delhi).

ps: Manali is colloquially called ‘Switzerland of middle class’ as it's a hot destination for young couples. Incase you don’t fit in here, try to go with friends as adventure activities like trekking, rock climbing, rafting ,etc are in abundance here.

ICICI – "I had an eerie experience"

How and again how…How do we sometimes land on the ‘planets of Troubles’ without any routes? Sometimes you do live like Alice (Alice in TROUBLEland)…

I had a frustrating ‘money-losing’ experience few days back. At 6:45 pm, I got a call from a lady. Unlike Chetan Bhagat’s ON@TCC, the call was not from any God/Goddess, rather she belonged to ICICI. Her message was simple, somewhat strange and shocking too. “Sir, aapke cash mein fake note mile hai”.

CHEERS n ROCK ON…party was on for me…

The prelude is important. At 11:30 am, I went to ICICI for depositing a large amount in person. It was the first time I was depositing money in my 4 month old ICICI account. Coupon system was followed to implement FIFO (first in first out) approach. As my turn came, the man at the counter asked me to deposit the whole money in envelope; rather to the cashier. Though I was a bit skeptical about depositing in packet, I trusted the system. After depositing it, I was told it will come in account after 2 hours.

I went back and did what I love most – slept…

At 6:45 pm I got that call informing me about a fake 500 Rupee note in my cash. I rushed and I ran. I was told I won’t be getting back that fake note (which I knew beforehand). Point to highlight here that ‘fake note’ was taken from Canara Bank. My first question to them was ‘why wasn’t I informed after 2 hours after my deposition?’. To which they replied, the camera systems weren’t working so it got delayed. My second question was ‘ Why did he asked me to deposit in envelope?” To which they replied…(silence)…

After my persistent request (which later started sounding like demand), I was shown the fake note on camera. They deposited the rest of the amount…and the icing on the cake was done by there ATM machine, which I guess was having some network problems. Sadly, the impression about ICICI services has compelled me to change my bank.

Some days are like that. You just can’t help yourself. I walked away with a smile hoping my hard earned 500 bugs reach somebody needy on this DIWALI…

JAI HO LAXMI MAATE

Body of Lies

Everything in this life is summarized by titles. Consider the school days, where it is customary to give titles like Mr. Stud, Ms. Photogenic, etc to every student. Your English teacher must have taught you about the importance of ‘titles’ when writing essays and blogs. Some days back I read a book ‘Joker in the Pack’ and understood the meaning of title only after completing 90% of the book and boye! it was apt (Bad reader I am)

‘Body of lies’ is too a strange title when you evaluate it from its trailers. From trailers it looks like an espionage killer thriller (‘spy game’ types). But again DO go by the title when you go for it…

Movie has two great actors; Russell Crowe (Ed) and Leonardo DiCaprio (Roger). Plot wise, not much new is there in it. Russell Crowe works for CIA (Los Angles) and gives directions to DiCaprio (his CIA operative in Iraq, Jordan, Dubai, Syria, etc etc). Movie does revolve from one country to other to another symbolizing geographical reach of terror. DiCaprio is given assignments by his boss and after his initial assignment in Iraq, is sent to Jordan to get Al Salim (head of a terror group). There he seeks help of Jordan’s GID (general intelligence dept.) to nab Al Salim. Meanwhile Ed plants another operative thereby jeopardizing the plan and getting Roger hurt. Roger while getting the treatment becomes affectionate towards the nurse. Then there are more plans to nab Al Salim which flop….In the climax, the nurse is taken up by Al Salim’s men and wants Roger in return. Rogers agrees and as he is to be executed, SOMEBODY (not me) saves him…Who??…find out. In addition, movie has some high intensity nasty dialogue-baazi in it. There are dialogues which may sound provocative to some; for example ‘He wants to come America in one piece and go to heavens in thousands’, ‘He is the one who touches his head 4-5 times a day’ and few more. One scene which caused the whole audience to applaud happened when the Al-Salem men foxed American spy-satellites in the middle of the desert...technolgies cannot outdo everybody (a reminder!!)

Castwise this movie attracts two very famous men of Hollywood. Both have done legendary movies in past and are great crowd pullers. Crowe in this movie looks mighty fatty and carries a strange nerdy look (one who can live without oxygen but not without specs and earphones). Denzil Washington or Bruce Willis could have easily replaced Crowe here. On the contrary, DiCaprio is fantastically shot. He runs, he kills and he acts brilliantly. Though one might fear about him going for stereotyping killer roles (The Departed, Blood Diamond types). A special mention for Mark Strong (played head of Jordanian GID). An amazing scene presence and emotionless dialogue delievery made him at par with the other two actors.

If you like kills, thrills, spy-satellites and offcourse, the two legendry men…go for it
JUST REMEMBER !!

“Nobody’s innocent in this shit”

An irrelevant view of life at IIMs: Joker in the Pack

I bought this book at XVIII World Book Fair, Delhi (2008). My affiliation towards ‘campus dairies’ forced me to own this one (though it took my 195 INR in the process to own this one…circumspecting if 150 would have accelerated its sales).

After IITians Chetan Bhagat (5.sum1, ON@TCC) & Tushar Raheja (Anything for you’ ma’am), novelists here are IIM graduates (Ritesh Sharma, Neeraj Pahlajani).

This read is not like Five Point Someone, which gives a total campus feel; rather it’s like a tale. Best way to describe is to say ‘it’s an autobiography of a guy named Shekhar Verma’. Shekhar is a boy in which you can find many shades of yourself (until he gets into IIM-B). Book speaks about his life; childhood to graduation to post graduation.

Within the first few pages, nostalgia strikes in full force once he talks about DD serials, Mummy kasam, ice-pice and other bachpan ki yaadein (memories from childhood). As he gets older, he becomes non-serious, he becomes non-sincere and he gets multiple unimpressive grades (free with a girlfriend). Then a day comes and the phoenix is released. The boy gets into IIM-B (one of the factor which influenced me to buy this book).

The author narration about IIM-B is descriptive explaining about various clubs, committees and how they process & refine their resumes from infinite iterations to impress world-class companies (ones having surplus capital). Another very interesting sub-plot within the book lies at the time of summer placements; in which he gets into a domestic FMCG and is asked to travel tier-two cities of UP (Rampur, Meerut,…) and West Bengal (Kharagpur, Midnapur,…). Story attains pace and becomes fascinating as our IIM-B hero deals his work with people having diverse backgrounds (his Banglore boss, UP bhaiyas and Bengali babus). All this was done to get a PPO, which again was aimed to act as another bright point in his resume (Wondering!! the importance of resume??). However, the disappointment arises as book reaches its climax ‘final placements time’, which is stretched at some points.
Also climax of the book reveals the justification about the title ‘Joker in the pack’ and the tagline ‘An irreverent view of life at IIMs’, which seemed a bit strange to me at first look, but after the read, they are apt.

One thing which was very annoying sometimes was the names of the protagonist’s friend…Champak, Chummi, Thoku…are they funny?
Lastly, every campus book reminds you about the past. Some lines did the same to me. So I decided to present awards to some lines…

‘ghar ghar ki kahani’ award

“And the best way to do that, for them, was the ‘safe way’ of an MNC job, as a ‘government job’ had been before liberalization. This philosophy prevails despite the fact that some of the richest and the most popular people in the world have been entrepreneurs or skilled artists who backed their talent and, consequently, money became incidental. It would, I realized, be some time before kids would actually be encouraged to purse their interests rather than test scores.”

‘gender biasing’ award

“in the trainees’ room, somebody announced that it was Nitika, another intern’s birthday. It seemed some of the guys were happier than she was.”

‘Illusion in a zip file’ award

“How we managed to fit into that already packed bus is still a mystery to me – it’s no wonder India is a magical land, we pull off tricks everywhere.”

‘Biggest Problem of IIT-Guwahati Males’

“Take a look around, thirty five girls in a batch of two hundred. Out of the one hundred sixty five guys, one hundred fifty have never had a girlfriend. Out of these one hundred ten have never had a female friend, or worse still, female interaction. How can you call these people desperate…they’re needy!”

‘Mithun Dada ka Dialogue – A Tribute'

“Waqt se phele, aur kismet se zyada, na kisi ko kuch mila hai, aur na kuch milega”
(Nobody gets anything more than what’s in their fate, or before it’s their time)

ROCK ON and LIVE ON

One fine Saturday, you goto a mnc office and GOD switches off building’s AC just to help you to ROCK ON……….shoo cute naa (reaction from one my colleague)

What do you understand by a ROCKSTAR!
To get the zest of this movie, it is very important to get the meaning of this word. A rockstar is anybody who overcomes his conscience to get his passion fulfilled and if his passion is true, we say it’s ROCKing…

Back to movie…

Rock ON is a movie which makes a conscious attempt to Rock you through some Rock songs (in Hindi) and also makes an unconscious attempt to teach us a moral. It is a story of four dudes - Aditya (Farhan Akhtar), Joe (Arjun Rampal), KD (Purab Kohli) and Rob (Luke Kenny), all with stylish long hairstyles. They use to jam together and wanted to touch glory through their band ‘Magic’ (oops, it’s ‘MagiK’…Why ‘K’? Is Ekta Kapour behind this? Is ‘K’ bringing them luck?). Anyways, as movie moves, ego issues emerge (as they came in DCH) and one of the members punches other (DCH had a slap). They break-up…after that…one becomes a successful business guy and other remains no-where (as in DCH). Tring tring!! The woman power comes into picture (Prachi Desai as Aditya’s wife). Under emotional circumstances, she manages to reunite the band and again an opportunity comes for them to touch glory. Rest is known…

Music by Shankar-Ehsan-Loy is super-class. Farhan ‘naturally-distorted’ voice gives a natural ‘ROCKy’ texture in his singing. Songs esp. ‘socha hai’, ‘tum ho to’, ‘rock on’ and ‘meri laundry’ all are very nicely composed and performed.

Casting is done almost perfectly. Some years back uncle Javed Akhtar’s son (Farhan Akhtar) directed a movie by the name of DCH (Dil Chahta Hai) and till now it enjoys a cult status when we speak of teen flicks. Now, the ‘son’ has matured and turned into a rockstar, and is perfect in doing do. At no point of time, Farhan Aktar (as lead guitarist, Aditya) looks like a debutant. KD is the ‘one-liner’ delivery centre. His attitude of ‘be chilled by getting filled’ is funny and adorable. Rob is the dark horse (expect professional mature stuff from him). Arjun Rampal (as Joe, the lead guitarist) works like an ‘energy-less’ donkey (slow n steady yet wins the race). He is fine in senti scenes, but he could have shown more adrenaline during the rock concerts sequences.

What surprised me totally was the ‘U’ certificate given to ‘ROCK ON’. Man! I wasn’t expecting this; after all it’s about rockstars. Words like Booze, Dope and Condoms are assumed with them. This movie makes a statement – you need not be a junglee to become a rockstar, you just need to be a rockstar (refer starting para for definition).

Every good movie has a baseline. It too has one -

‘It’s never late to say YES to your dreams’.
LIVE ON before you become a dream.

Jaaaaaane Tu....Ya Jaane Na

2008 is a disaster for movies. Movies like Krazzy 4 can compel anybody to NOT watch bollywood flicks. So, here comes a movie namely Jaane tu…ya jaane na (JTYJN) with which am opening my movie review account of 2008…

Ratings first – 3/5 (assessing the current bollywood scene). Jaane tu…to start with is a romantic teen flick with a very charming portrait of college life.

Storyline isn’t that great nor is it a creative masterpiece but still it has something new…thanks to the newcomers.
Here is a brief abstract of Jaane tu…..story :-
Set up in Mumbai, we have a college, in it a gang of friends and residing in that are our couple. RATS, the boy (Imran aka Jai) and MEOW, the girl (Aditi aka Jenelia) are the main protagonist here. RATS is a smarty who believes in principle of ‘ahinsha’ and prefers working from brain rather than bones; CATS in the converse of RATS, she believes in ‘eye for an eye’ and is willing to slap/abuse naughty guys anyday anytime anysecond. In the first half of the movie, the boy and the girl are JUST FRIENDS and deny any ‘beyond-friendship’ relationship. First half is a reflection of college masti and silly fun-filled incidents. As the plot proceeds towards the second half, the campus mind attains maturity and we see an adaptation of the famous ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ plot (remember that KKK…Kabaadi Khan-Kajol-Rani Mukherjee movie). Both, RATS and MEOW know what type of partner they need and as usual they get it VVery easily. So RATS gets a cutie who cracks world’s worst PJs and MEOW gets a stud. But soon, their anxiety/ crush ends and both now suffer from emotional imbalances. End you all now…it’s predictable. Overall, second half doesn’t match upto first half in terms of college masti but still you never feel its been stretched except the climax.

Few things I fail to understand; Arbaaz and Sohail Khan as Rajasthani Cowdays (Man, who got this idea!! Will he give more ideas like these in more bollywood movies??). However, few things which were really very impressive and unique w.r.t. routine bollywood like Jai not carrying a cell because he didn’t felt to have one…(Man, this sounds like a rational thought)

Now the characters (USP of the movie).

Imran Khan (Jai/RATS) – Confident Talented Dude - A future romantic hero was sure. He has a face which girls love and somewhere I found his effort comparable to Ruslaan Mumtaz of Mp3. He has potential, he has Aamir Khan's backing…rest is future.

Jenelia (Aditi/MEOW) – Cute Innocent Boxer - Her performance looks original and mature (unlike Hazel in MP3). The casting team could have given this role to any hot chick supermodel but then they won’t get the performance or that originality which she has delivered.

Prateek Patil (played Aditi’s bro) – Devil’s Advocate - Man, I am waiting for his next movie. Got less than 10 scenes in movie but every scene by him was full of class. The way he used sarcastic humour in his dialogues…superb…played an essential role in the plot.

Music is given by AR Rehman who once again proves he can adapt to any script. From senti song ‘Kabhi Kabhi Aditi’ to dance track ‘Pappu can’t dance saala’, his work is really outstanding. The songs esp. the songs of first half set up a good platform and amplify the viewer interest.

Some lines from Jaane tu –

"Pyara sa ladka chahiye hota, toh tujhse shaadi kar leiti, I want a man" – Aditi
“Everybody knows that Rats and Meow are perfect for each other, but do they really know?” – Somebody at airport
“Yes i am running, sometimes thats what all we can do” – Aditi

REJOICE FRIENDSHIP

Since friendship topic has been touched, how about Tom n Jerry :)...

At Office

am very busy at my desk, plz disturb

The 70’s music and today’s College life

Am standing on the edge of my graduation life (result awaited), and today went into the flashback of my college life (thanks to slam book of classmates). Somehow, got an idea to relate some of our old bollywood songs to the college life…so let’s draw an analogy between there lyrics and the life of a college goer.

NUMERO-UNO (the FREASHERS song)

“aaj unse pahli mulaaqaat hogi
phir aamne saamne baat hogi
phir hogaa kyaa, kyaa pataa kyaa khabar
phir hogaa kyaa, kyaa pataa kyaa khabar”

Looks like a ‘first-date’ song, sung by aashiqs for their Miss(es). But I have a different perceptive to this…for me it is a ‘first-day’ song of college life (sung by Mr. Fresher for his dear Profs). Song taken from movie ‘Paraya Dhan’

TWO (for the Girls)

“haseeno ne bulaya, gale se bhi lagaya
bhout samajhaya, yahi na samajha
bhout bola hai bechara, na jaane kis pe aayega
hai apna dil to aawaara, na jaane kis pe aayega”

This is dedicated to college girls esp. class ki ladies. Rest – no comments. Song taken from movie ‘Solva Saal’.

THREE (Paradox)

“haal chaal theek thaak hai
Sab kuch theek thaak hai
B.A. kiya hai, M.A. kiya
Lagta vo bhi ayeve kiya
Kaam nahi hai varna yahan
Aapki dua se sab theek thaak hai”

This song is dedicated to current scene of INDIAN IT industry. The lyrics speak of irony. Most of us (computer engineers) have two jobs, but no joinings. Some of the companies have deferred their joinings by one year, but still, most of us are enjoying and as they say “all is fine here”. Song taken from movie ‘Mere Apne’.

FOUR (Hard-Work)

Placement time is a critical phrase. Some of us are selected and some of us not. Wordings like “duniya ki is bheed mein sabse peeche hum khade” and songs like
“"Khoon Pasina ki milegi to khaayenge
Nahi to yaaron hum bhuke hi so jayenge"
these, tell you the harsh truth and are really uncomfortable to deal with…Song taken from movie ‘Khoon Pasina’

FIVE (oo la la – STYLE)

“hai apna jeena, yahi jeena
TASHAN mein TASHAN mein TASHAN mein
TASHAN mein”

The way we move our cars on roads….got it!! Catch me if you can. Song taken from movie ‘Tashan’

SIX (Help Needed)

“oo aaj mausam bada beimaan hai
Bada beimaan hai aaj mausam
aana wala koi toofan hai
koi tufaan hai, aaj mausam”

Looking out of window into the GODs for their help. But when?? When you are in the examination room. You stare at sky, you curse weather and you start predicting cyclones, tycoons, hurricanes (you just turn to satellites) and then you go to toilet for passing that exam. Love live college toilets. Song taken from movie ‘Loafer’

SEVEN (Some Dedications)

“dil ko dekho chehraa na dekho
chehron ne laakhon ko loota
dil sacha aur chehra jhoota
dil sacha aur chehra jhoota

jo apni sachi soorat dikha dein
aise nahin duniyawale
sab ne hi apne cheharon ke aage
jhoot ke parde hain daale
meethi honthon pe baat, dil mein rehti hai khaat
dil ka honthon se naata hi jhoota
dil sacha aur chehra jhoota”

Dedicated to all hypocrites and liars of college. Song taken from movie ‘Saacha Jhootha’

EIGHT (Sleep Motivator)

“Ek Din Sapne Mein Dekha Sapna
Kya???
Arre Woh Jo Hai Na Amitabh Apna
Bachchan???
Haan!
Markit Se Out Hua, Logon Ko Doubt Hua
Meri Vajah Se Woh Gaya Gaya Gaya Gaya
Kismat To Badali, Kya Kahoon Really
Main Amitabh Ho Gaya
Ho Sapne Mein Dekha Sapna

Daaye Mein Hema, Baaye Pe Zeenat
Saamne Rekha, Peechhe Jo Dekha”

Incase you thinking where to fit in this song…someday try to attend a PDS or DP class. You will automatically be transported to a different world (dreamland) and once you land there…can anybody stop you!! Song belongs to Golmaal (old).

NINE (Optimism)

“Chhodo kal ki baatein, kal ki baat puraani
Naye daur mein likhenge milkar nayi kahaani”

This song is an important one. It signifies the power to excel in future despite our weak past (hmmm…I mean our poor grades). Song taken from movie ‘Hum Hindustani’

TEN (Hidden Love)

“Bhole bhale,
Bhole bhale dil ko behlate rahe,
Tanhai mein tere khayalon ko sajate rahe,
Kabhi kabhi tho, aavaaz dekar, mujhko jagaya khabon
ne,
Maine tere liye hi saat rang ke sapne chune,
Sapne, surile sapne”

This is song is from the movie ‘Anand’ and speaks about how can a lover sacrifice something like ‘Sleep’ for his/her loved one :P. One of my personal favorites.


ELEVEN (Carefree)

“Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Udata Chala Gaya

Barbadiyon Ka Shok Manana Fizul Tha
Barbadiyon Ka Jashan Manata Chala Gaya”

Take life as it comes and be Happy always. Song taken from movie ‘Hum Dono’ (1961)

TWELVE (Plz Don’t Go)

“rukhja o jaane wali rukja
Main to rahi teri mainzil ka
Nazro main tere main bura sahi
Aadmi bura nahi main dilka…”

'A loved one going away from the lover' song…bakwaas analogy…Well this song, I dedicate it to a special teacher who went to Microsoft. Sirji, I have improved !! Song taken from movie ‘Kanhaiya’

THIRTEEN (the Viva Song)

“kishore : sa re ga maa, ma sa re gaa, ga sa re maa, ma ga re sa
rafi : pa dha pa ma ma pa ma ga ra pa ma ma ga re sa
dono : sa re ga maa, ma sa re gaa, ga sa re maa, ma ga re sa “

I call it the viva song. Student ‘ONE’ says something. Student ‘TWO’ says something. And then they both start to ‘blah-blah’ and it result in something ear-pinching!! basically the examiner passes you with this strategy. Song is from the movie ‘Chupke Chupke’.

FOURTEEN (Waiting Song)

“din Dhal jaaye haay, raat naa jaay
tuu to na aae terii, yaad sataaye,
din Dhal jaaye”

This is a waiting song esp. used when one has to wait for his project mentors and guides. Song belongs to movie ‘Guide’

FIFTEEN (Bbye)

Farewell time…and a brilliant way to bid adieu to all classmates…song (slightly modified) taken from ‘rangoli’

“choti si ye duniya
anjaane raaste hai mere
kahin tum miloge
to poochenge haal
choti si ye duniya”

Cheers
AG

♪♪ "Walk the Streets of Love" ♪♪

Yesterday when me and Stanley were completing our usual routine i.e. Night Walk at 2 A.M., I saw a very sad doggy (Why was he sad!! May be his dinner bone was rotten?). Anyways, Stanley said to me about his similarity to aashiqs (lovers) types. Dunno why, but the sad doggy looked really sad. Stanley was almost in tears and suggested something really insane "Lets arrange a b*tch for him". God save Stanley. My heart says to dedicate a song for that very sad doggy...lets play him "Streets of Love"

STREETS OF LOVE
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)

You're awful bright, you're awful smart
I must admit you broke my heart
The awful truth is really sad
I must admit I was awful bad

While lovers laugh and music plays
I stumble by and I hide my pain
The lights are lit, the moon is gone
I think I've crossed the Rubicon

I walk the streets of love and they're full of tears
And I walk the streets of love and they're full of fears

While music pumps from passing cars
A couple watch me from a bar
A band just played the wedding march
And the corner store mends broken hearts
And a woman asks me for a dance
Oh it's free of charge, just one more chance

I walk the streets of love and they're full of tears
Walk the streets of love for a thousand years

Oh tell me now
I... Oh I walk the streets of love, yeah and they're drenched with tears... Oh

You had the moves, you had the cards
I must admit you were awful smart
The awful truth is awful sad
I must admit I was awful bad

And I walk the streets of love and they're drenched with tears
And I walk the streets of love for a thousand years... Oh

Walk the streets of love and they're drenched with tears
Oh every night, oh there's only one and not enough for him
Oh I, yeah and they're full of tears
Oh everybody talk about it
Everybody be walking down it
Yeah but I found out.... oh yes that I...

Oh yes I do
Oh the streets of love, yeah, they're drenched with, drenched with in tears...
I... oh yeah I don't want to..

Recorded in June of 2005. Released on the album A Bigger Bang on September 5, 2005
Lead Vocals, Electric Guitar: Mick Jagger Electric Guitars: Keith Richards & Ron Wood Drums: Charlie Watts Bass: Darryl Jones Pianos & Organs: Chuck Leavell & Matt Clifford (also Strings)

When you don't get what you want.............

3:46 AM

When you don’t get what you want!! what to do?? Dial-a-friend and ..........smile obviously

One of my best friends had this episode few seconds back. And since I was involved in his counseling, I think I should write for me, you and hum…a philosophical chat…(though it was a never ending chat, have tried to shorten it)

His name his Mr….lets give him a fictitious name Mr. Ch* (maarega saala mujhe kissi din), but still lets talk and more importantly lets write. Let the pole go into the hole (I mean the hole in his heart). Ya! Incase you are a shit like him who can’t understand this metaphor (or whatever you call it), let me make it clear…he has his HEART BREAK-UP (hello why call me!! dial 101)…or something BREAK-UP or GOD knows what all BREAK-ed in him.

For first 10 minutes, all I could hear was a shattered narration of some cyclone-affected human body.
Me: what happened
Him: …DREAMS SHATTERED, HEART SINKING, MIND NOT DOING THE THINKING JOB…. (and God knows what all good things happened with him…may be he tasted shit and was telling me the symptoms…may be some cyclone developed inside his body)
Me: Brother what happened
Him (sadness to extremes, whining situations): Yaar aaj DIL toot gaya…vo saalon ke sapne toot gaye
Me: Okie, first tell me where you are?
Him: Maut se ek kadam duur
Me [sarcastically]: Chal badiya hai, at atlast you got there. Humari aisi kissmat kahan”
Him [Sunny-Deol types]: B ke ****, MC kaisa dost hai tu…, U thinking am talking F*** here
Me: ok calm down first, sorry, may you go-on n please everything in full-details
Him: Yaar, I called her today…right now
Me: You mean around 1 AM in this lovely dark night
Him: Ya
Me: Great…aage bol
Him: I told her about my situation
Me: What
Him: That I can’t stop pondering about her…and today she has to give the answer of that question in Boolean terminology
Me: Good, Digital Logic inserted in between…rascal
Him: Yaar am serious…that day jab we met, I felt strongly to indirectly know the answer through questions like what she thought me?, whether she liked me or not…
Me: What was the reply?
Him: The lady replied ‘Me dunno know much about you’…but today I asked her directly and told her as a friend please answer in simple Y/N. And she chose N against Y
Me: You asked the reason?
Him: I did. She replied - ‘I never thought of you in that manner. I can understand your feelings but __ (rechristened to Mr. Ch* here), me never had that mutual understanding w.r.t type of feelings you are talking about.
Him: I even asked her about whether it is possible in future. The simple, sweet and most importantly honest reply was even more HEART BREAKing [a pathetic giggle]
Me: Tell me that simple, sweet and honest reply
Him: Her words - ‘And I can’t see that coming in future.’
Me [suprized with unintended smile]: Okay, thats a really simple and SWEET answer. So, what’s the problem now!!
Him: Help me get over this BREAK-UP thing…
Me: What BREAK-UP!! I wonder whether it was ever a UP at any time. Come on dude, don’t tell you didn’t understand her reply…do you understand importance of the word ‘mutual’…I dunno think there was any duplex sharing of interest ever in your case and to say the bottomline - she wasn’t your love EVER!! What am going to say is harsh but true – your as*hole were having hallucinations which were totally absurd and seriously self-pleasing. Man! Your way and her way of thinking are drastically diverging and are wrong paths. And about the future thing, me must acknowledge the girl. Atleast she isn’t playing or giving flirting type answers. In my eyes it’s a very decent reply…don’t derive wrong ad-hoc conclusions.
Him: [pause…he must have tears in his eyes after this reply i.e. my counseling…even devil not smiling here]
Him: Yaaaaaar…where am I now? [a low decibel shout]

call disconnect -> redial -> I called back and the story continues…

Me: Calm down…nothing has happened. See the best way to live life is to see everything in a positive sense. Tension kya be…
Him: [silent…silent…silent…he simply lost it…either he lost his power of speech or MTNL was playing tricks]
Me: Hello…Hello __(Ch*). (oye,, Where is he??...thoughts of him committing suicide coming into my mind…fear…horror…)
Him: (after 2 sec), ya am here
Me: Bas****, you just F***ed me…
(back to normal vocals)
Be fine…see, frankly and honestly I would say the fault is all yours! And if you I want I can tell you. You can be more cautious next time to try (hunk’s giggle...imagine yourself)
Him: Bol
Me: The fault lies in your views basically. In relationships, you can’t be highly optimistic. It is not a machine with whom you are expecting some satisfactory results. You are dealing with humans. And humans are random. You just can’t deceide any relationship’s fate based upon your optimistic view. “Expectations always lead to disappointments”, one of my principles of life and am really cool about that.
Ch*, my friend just try to shift your optimism onto the career side. Be an optimist while you are dealing with team members in projects, presentations and more crap things. And you will a more successful life…
Him: Sahi keh raha hai
Me: And one thing more – try to see things with rationalism and practicality. Try to understand that you can’t create feelings; Remember that one-liner ‘feelings can’t be created, but feelings can create things’!! And about her, just leave her, if that feel comes to her, you are lucky or else do…hmmm…anything (apart from calling me in this lovely hour). Doggy, you got it.
Him: Hee hee, thank you man…Doggy’s best friend…hee hee [oho again]
Me [sarcastically]: Ya, I know, am made for F***ed up people like you and these days have started late night shifts too.
Him: Hee hee (that irritating girle type giggles, I finally got it…angelic work from Devil)
Me: Acha tell me, for how long you knew her
Him: half-a-decade
Me: Waah, waah mere aashiq waah
Him: Ya, I know…but…
Me: What?? Don’t tell me, you were afraid about the nO answer!! Dude, where was your practical mind!! What happened to your rationalism!! And then you Bas****s throw the throne of MCP to me
Him: Ya, that fear is always there. And I also know fear of failure is an emblem of weakness. May be I was weak; or I am weak
[disappointment in his environment…pause of 5 sec…]
Him: May be, I should learn from you. Guess, being a MCP is a strong show of character. Just love you buddy [again that aggravating Hee Hee]
Me: ya, I know that. A few moments back you were having the same love for a different sex. They say ‘time changes everything’ and nowdays, it is changing gender too. This environment if full of gayness now…what a lovely romantic late night heart-to-heart talk am having. I can clearly see what’s there in destiny for me. [sarcasm to limits]
….

And the conversation went on while the world slept…

Ch* will me kill me for this post. Ch*, my friend if you are reading this do forgive me and don't think about silly suicide attempts. Oh bloody hell, F***, I can see him now. He is standing in front of me. I am standing in front of him. Both are breathing concurrently. I can clearly see him in the mirror…
[All smiles to Devil]
Hope, the fool was out of you :P Well was wondering if CB can write asskicking fiction (5.sum1) , why can’t I…may be me and you too should write a book…Three Mistakes of My Life – ‘Love, Friends and Myself’
[Devil still smiles]

6: 11 AM

The JOB tale @ the great INDIAN IT sector

(naukri-e-nautanki ki daastan)

11th class...provisional admission to XI class...and I asking myself...”ANKIT science lena chahiye ki commerce”...
confused: a short MENTOS break...
panic mode 'on' and hence took a blunder - took science with bio (left after board results), took comp sc. instead (SUPW period in senior-secondary)
(all I can say, me had a very wrong perception that taking the process ‘science in XII -> an engg. Degree -> an easy job in hand..’.)
though now its a paradox...sab BAKWAAS, and can be strictly avoided

Anyways, this tale talks about “yeh hai meri kahani” w.r.t placements regarding two-sitting-IT-office jobs. Though personally, I do feel working within defined boundaries in an AC office will ruin your originality but I guess nobody is that BOLD to reject jobs these days. I hope a read through this write-up will give you an idea about the entry into IT sector.
Me belongs to a central university located in Delhi (passed by an act of Parliament), hence it has decent placements. For all readers, here is the first hand experience (the following includes: the companies that visited our campus in chronological order, packages offered, written test difficulty, tryst with interviewers and the lovely experiences from the merriment interviews)

Keywords used (for the sake of yourself PLEASE do not try to Google them, there exposure is dangerous than that of carcinogenic substances) – DS (data structures), CN (computer networks), OS (operating systems), OOPS (object-oriented programming), C (don’t confuse with the English letter ‘C’ or as a short-hand for sea or see; it is much vast than that) and lastly, CS guy (a computer science student)
Itinerary :-
NOTE: since am a former CS student, I was eligible in IT firms only. This write-up should be read in light of a personal experience (only).

TCS
Our seniors and ancestors have said no matter what happens TCS will be the first company visiting our campus.
Advantage TCS: huge turnover, job security, huge projects, onsite chances (sexy), nice training
Disadvantage TCS: less money, can place you anywhere, already a crowd there, less capita offering per B.Tech value
Package offered: 3.15 l.p.a (lakhs per annum)
Difficulty of written paper: GRE Barrons (12th edition), English section can be cleared by ‘right-clicking’ in MS word. Hardly 5% got rejected here (my class)
Experience: TCS booked 3 days for the whole selection process for a total 300 students (approx figure). First day, first five hours, the network problems mocked us. Finally, when I got a chance, the system said “you are not authorized to use this machine”. Next day, planned to tour the place again, so went again. Thank GOD, it was working this time. I passed the English section thanks to MS Word (trick – right click, synonyms -> answers in front of eyes). Maths was VIII standard. CR was from GRE Barrons 12th edition, though many had no clue of that book...but CR was do-able.
Interview: With no curiosity and perhaps no preparation, I went inside to meet the two interviewers (one aunty and one uncle). The 'about-me' question got finished in 20 min (from singing to blogging, I covered all with unmatched confidence). Can, even remember those self-composed words...

"Bandi nahi hai college mein
Padhai ne maar daala
Aur phir, hum me se kuch bhaage
Aur Bunk maar daala"

It was after all an interview for an IT job, so they asked 'what are classes, objects' type questions for judging technical abilities. Later, he asked about my fav subject in school and got the reply as 'MATHS'. Old memories revisited...integration by parts formula, differentiation of sin(x)cos(x), functions, volume of cone...and more past mathematical memories (adorable). Technical interview took 1 hr 15 min (snoozing). HR was shit. An oldie was there. Asked me “whats RDMS”. Replied. Post 5 mins, “Okie, thank you ANKIT. You have any questions for us”, he asked me with a stare. I developed an intuition that I should ask him something “Sir, actually I dunno want to go into developing, can I start my career on consultancy front”.
End Result: Took 61. The list had ANKIT GUPTA in it (but he belonged to EC, me belong to CS).


ARICENT (earlier known as FLEXTRONICS/HUGHES)
Advantage Aricent: worldwide brand in Telecommunications, a core firm status
Disadvantage Aricent: one domain work-culture, not into consultancy, late joinings
Package offered: 3.5 l.p.a
Difficulty of written paper: a series of 7 papers of 10 minutes each without break. In my view, DS was the toughest of all, but all were do-able. 34 cleared out of ~100. After TCS's HR mess up, devoted 20 hrs to refresh my C/C++ concepts. So, written wasn't a problem.
Experience: an absolutely professional cum impressive approach for campus recruitment.
Interview: was a bit nervous before the interviews and sadly, it did result some panic. The same 'about-me' question was done in 5 min and frankly, messed up it completely (first-impression lost). He then came to my fav topic DS (wow); and bang! asked me to code 'deletion in a B-tree' Phat li (GOD help me)!! My already pondering mind went into deep-shock-R&D state, and started penning the algo for it. Post 5 min, code was no-where (He knew this). Then, he asked me 5 more codes (relatively simpler – merging two LL without third pointer, inorder of binary-tree, deletion of middle node in DLL and one more) and all answered to satisfaction. My interview went for 1hr 30 min in which I was asked CN, OS, OOPS. Unfortunately, I blundered in OS and, I guess, said some absurd terms while answering :(...and got the FEEL of disappointment there only. Nevertheless, must say the interviewer was a nice humble guy and did ask some really relevant question like 'how will you develop a blogging site'..glad, I answered it...(would love to have a boss like him).
End Result: Though not selected, but the experience was affable. First time, encountered a real core technical interview and was fun actually. Took 11 finally.


BHARTI TELESOFT
Advantage BT: Delhi placements, chance to work on new wireless technologies, joining (July, 2008)
Disadvantage BT: package, a fear of ending up with call-centre technical work
Package offered: 2.8 l.p.a
Difficulty of written paper: cut off was 50%, marking with +2, -1. In all, 8 qualified out of ~100.
Experience: Frankly, the presentation was not good (rather some would rate it pathetic), but...
End Result: Took 5.


IMPETUS
Advantage Impetus: package, core products company, Noida placemnt
Disadvantage Impetus: job security, little onsite, deliveries of offer letters are pending
Package offered: 3.8 l.p.a
Difficulty of written paper: questions from last year papers were sufficient.
Interview: I had 2 interviews of 15 min each (technical and HR). First interview, where the 'about-me' questioned wasn't asked. All they asked in both 15 + 15 min interview was 'what happened in TCS/ ARICENT'. Don’t know what were they doing? Nevermind, a special mention about classmate cum friend Ieeesh, who went inside for the interview and came out with interviewer's drink. He made the day a laughing riot. Man...just love his attitude “if you want me for that peanut-job, earn me” !!
End Result: Took ~10 with maximum of them already having a job. Glad, I wasn't there...
Experience – Was disappointed but saw it as an opportunity to learn more…After Impetus, my views went strongly against ‘honest-is-the-policy-based’ answers, but now, after almost 1 year, I am forced to re-consider honest answers too.


SAPIENT
Advantage Sapient: package, good onsite, good work, a lot of exposure
Disadvantage Sapient: - lots of work, lately fired 4% of its workforce, joinings extended to 2009
Package offered: 4.2 l.p.a
Difficulty of written paper: 1 subjective question (2003 repeat), shit!! am surprised how I missed it, easier than expected. Result was astonishing. 11 selected...though some expected and obvious names weren't there!!
Interview: I did not qualify the written but got feedback...that the whole process wasn't that tuff (emphasis on ‘programming in OO Environment’). A do-able on an avg. day.
End Result: Took 7


CSC (INDIA)
CSC is known as an extension to our college (one of fav teachers used to call it as CSCJMI). More than twenty of my immediate seniors are enjoying there. Dunno why, but they share a special relationship with our college.
Advantage CSC: Good paymaster, Noida placement, no hard work, ash-maaro type environment
Disadvantage CSC: type of work, largely depends on what you get (FSG/GTS/GIS), no joining date till now :(
Package offered: 3.6 l.p.a + some incentives
Difficulty of written paper: 2 written (apti + technical). Apti was easy. 56 shortlisted out of 94. Technical was full of C (55 ques) and EC (20 ques). C was of ok-ok standard. In total, 75 questions in 40 min. 31 selected for GD (bakwaas idea in my view)...24 finally went for interviews
Interview: technical interview was fun. The interviewer was an ex-student of our college and we started by discussing about route no. 507 and traveling in buses. On technical front, questions on DS, CN and OS were asked. HR was taken by a ‘smart’ lady and as I was informed that my technical written marks were highest (51/75...wow), I guess the statement was made there ;) Here, too she asked that irritating googly 'what happened in earlier companies', but this time, THE dude had a preplanned answer (lesson from Impetus) :p
End Result: All guys who weren't meant for compu. engg. landed up at CSC...”CHEERS” . Took 13.
Experience: was a hefty day BUT the night-out after my first job was one of the best days that I have lived so far in my 22 years.


SATYAM
Advantage Satyam: onsite, established brand like TCS, etc
Disadvantage Satyam: package, lot in crowd, Hyderabad placement (high probability)
Package offered: 3.1 l.p.a
Experience: got feedback that the whole process was ok (barring GD, the elimination round).
End Result: Took 11.


HUGHES SYSTEQUE
Advantage HS: a core firm, sexy package, perks, a good exposure
Disadvantage HS: headcount of 250 guys, you have to do work there, recently deferred joining to Sept (2008)
Package offered: 4.25 l.p.a + a lot extra (travel, food, etc)
Difficulty of written test: 2 written tests (apti + technical), Apti was of good standard, Technical was ok-ok. 18 selected out of ~64. Many top-rankers, geeks and good coders got rejected in technical. A lot of speculation spread regarding there marking strategies.
Experience: Sat as a dummy, n if he is reading, please say thanx the next time we meet (if we)!! Interview was not easy.
End Result: 5 got selected


ACCENTURE (INDIA)
Advantage Accenture: globally recognized, established brand, FORTUNE rank #1, job security, onsite chances, nice training
Disadvantage Accenture: less money, can place you anywhere, a crowd there, less capita offering per B.Tech value
Package offered: 2.7 (fixed) + .3 (variable) + .1 (relocation) = 3.1 l.p.a
Difficulty of written test: Entered into the room, and wrote jokes (even snapped them :P), very easy paper, ~98 selected out of ~200.
Experience: got feedback that interviews were easy 'Whats the difference b/t C and C++' types questions
End Result: 28 selected


NEWGEN
Advantage Newgen: core products company, good R&D cell, a lot to learn, joining (July, 2008)
Disadvantage Newgen: less onsite, very small building, some say gender-imbalance too [:p]
Package offered: 3.75 l.p.a
Difficulty of written test: I was using my second chance here. All the writtens (apti, tech, pycho) were very easy.18 shortlisted for final interview.
Experience: well once you are placed, you feel damn confident and can counter many ‘i-dunno-know-answers’ questions with smart answers (read ‘lies’). 2 interviews – one technical + one HR. Technical had questions of DS (coding of LL, DLL, recursive programs), CN, Compilers. HR was ok-ok.
End Result: 2 selected. Utilized my last chance at the right time.

ps: incase in interviews, you see your technical answers non-impressing, don't panic. What I take from experience is that, in every company there will be ample number of non-tech questions to assess your 'mind-thinking-speed'. Try to give them smart confident replies (doesn't matter incase you are using lies in these). Try to be original. An example -

If the interviewer asks - "What do you think! Why should I take you?"
Throw him a reply - "Why not" ;)

(once you are placed, you will feel cosy to reply in this fashion :))

There were more firms for recruitments. Since I wasn’t involved further, I can’t write in detail. Some of them – Google INDIA (non-tech), Servigistics, Abacus Software, Evalueserve, Keane Softwares, etc. Oh! There was MICROSOFT too (package of 8-9 L.p.a) , but it came for GIRLS only ;)…What is happening in the name of ‘diversity’?
Amidst the lowering IT industry, there were plenty core ones for electrical and mechanical brothers & non-brothers. Some of the biggies were – Ashok Leyland, Ansals Ltd., Voltas, DRDO, L&T Ltd, Schneider Electric, Blue Star, Lahmeyer, Unitech Ltd., ACC Ltd., NDPL, Lanco Infratech, ABB, etc.

IRONY - the IT sector is so down these days that only some of the above- mentioned companies have given joinings, seems rest all are interested in deferring.
We became engineers (somehow!!), we got an on-campus job (God blessed us) and then we got multiple jobs (Demons blessed us) and now, after the college completion, we don’t even know about the joinings. Hey guys, I can remember a class song for this irony – “Haal Chaal Theek Thaak Hai” from the movie “Mere Apne”, sung by “Kishore and Mukesh”…do listen