Entre a la LAND OF CAMEL PISS !!!

It was an early morning flight, six something ..i was awake the entire night talking to people who called me to give their best wishes.Norten (My best BUD) was awake trying to help me pack my stuff,weighed it every time he dumped something into my bag .These airline officials are so fussy about how much your luggage weighs he kept saying!! a few kilos more and you end up paying a fortune.He did insist i carry some porn but the stern look on my face gave him the message, now i realize he was right i should have carried some of em.

My parent's are a bunch of liberal people unlike other folks who cry on your shoulder's and embarrass you to no end at the airport,like matured individual's a firm handshake from Mr Rangan (my dad) and a hug from Mom, they wished me luck and bid adieu........

Living alone?? free will!!!Answerable to none...No more boring South Indian food.All these thoughts rushed through this aimless mind as i cleared the immigration section and walked towards my terminal.I had never given a thought what an Oil Rich Country like 'ArabLand' had to offer to a guy who goes clubbing on a weekend blowing up his salary on the 15th of every month but the money and the kind of work i would be exposed to thrilled me to no end,I was elated.After a couple of cigarettes in a nasty washroom, I sighed in relief.Smoking can be a problem at Bombay Airport, you really need to squeeze yourself in a room filled with smoke and nicotine lovers.

Finally after all that wait!!i boarded the flight all set for my next Destination 'Arab Land'.Tired of staying awake, i was fast asleep without a clue.All i could see in my dreams were camel's carrying barrels of Oil.A few hours later!! the lights came on,i looked outside the window rubbing my eyes ignorant about the people round me to get an aerial view. Well it turned out to be quite scary all i could see is 'DESERT'.My fear had reached new heights could sense a rush in the blood..


I was told that Arabs's are a bunch of proud but mindless people who take pride in being stupid.Well i thought of this as an opportunity to reap the benefits as i consider myself to be equally dumb :P Like a lost soul i reached the immigration section waiting for my visa to arrive and it did finally. After a couple of questions, the officials started to converse in arabic it did sound funny for a while all i could understand was 'ALLAH'.I tried to curb my laughter but all that sound... i was in splits!!!

Two weeks back,I had this telephonic interview with this soft spoken gentleman named SAM, a two min chat!!I agreed on the terms and we had a deal.
In a few days he finished all the formalities on my behalf and said that he would pick me up from the airport.

As i walked out ,among those sulking faces i saw a smiling face,a tall grey skinned Malayali with his spectacles on waved at me looked like a geek to me ... yes he turned out to be one!!! he greeted me with a smile and a gentle handshake.I was escorted to his vehicle in the parking lot where he helped me unload my stuff.We traveled our way back early in the morning to the Intergraph headquarters,yes that is the name of my company that specializes in Geospatial and Engineering solutions.

I noticed that the roads were empty and clean unlike the roads in Bombay where you travel through bumpy roads for hours and never make it on time.We had a formal chat on our way back and managed to reach the office in minutes. I gazed at this isolated two storey building on this lonely street which unfortunately looks quite pathetic even today. Nevertheless to hide my disappointment, i smiled and walked in to the premises.I was greeted with smiling faces & firm handshakes by unknown entities finally being escorted to the cabin where i had to report to this gentleman named Mr.Mahmood Riaz who was the Busines Unit head for Intergraph.I could see the 'Power to SEE' logo on the door must be some kinda Intergraph patriot i said to myself..

A Pakistani bloke in his late thirties fair, tall, balding scalp walked towards me and said Welcome to the Intergraph family.What family? hello!! i just walked in.Well dumbstruck for a while i regained my consicousness and smiled backed saying 'MY Pleasure'.Well there was another surprise in store for me, it was the holy month of Ramadan.Heard of it but what has that got to do with my work???

Since i was not familiar with it, i managed to gather some information in the pantry where i was offered some coffee. I was told for a month i could not eat from sunrise till sunset in public as it was considered an offence.If caught!!! i could be sent to Prison.DUH!!!Is this why i left Bombay for? What the Fuck!!Perplexed for a moment I borrowed a ciggarette from one of em and rushed to the nearest washroom for a smoke.....I kept saying all the time have i made the right decision have I ??

I was shown my desk where lay an HP notebook which is now an integral part of my life..Some people walked in and introduced themselves as my colleagues a few Indian's, Pakistanis some Afros and Arabs.It all happened so quickly i was wondering what lay in store for me???

It was a slow start, but soon it turned out to be a tedious one.Years went by multiple client interactions and a couple of deals i was now dealing in multiple engineering applications providing solutions for Oil & Gas Companies. My colleagues Waqar,Sam Rosh ,Taimoor, Alwyn & Samson have been fairly good to me with whom i have developed a bond over the years.Today we are one happy family trying to make a living in this alien not so perfect country.

As of today,i am just one among the many.Well we were a team of five and now we are twelve...

It can be shocking and amusing at times to be in a land that is so different in terms of culture, diversity and ways of life.But i feel that this is where i was destined to be, it feels like i was here yesterday..

Struggles ,Trouble's & Triumph :P

Finally!!!!!!!!! i was no longer a slave of books and journals.No more boring lectures not so kind professors and yes!! the strange concept that you need to cram all the way to be a good engineer, 'i am done' i kept saying this all the way adjusting my long locks with a smile on my face.

My parents 'sighed' in relief that this long NOT SO PERFECT ride at MGM college of engineering was overrr.Not that i had worked my ARSE out to get my Chemical Engineering degree,i never really bothered. We often said "there's always a next time to clear your backlogs" :).So i was out with not so amazing grades hunting for a job with no gr8 hopes pinned up.

Well party time was over and time for some serious stuff 'MONEY'.So this hunt began for a job in various EPC's(Engineering Procurement & Commissioning) and managed to get a few interview call's as well .The most embarrassing time's were when these brilliant minds from Oil & Gas sector fired you with questions you could hardly interpret. Personal interview's had always been my biggest fear, every time they posed a question i had no answers and i was left with no excuses to cover up for my bad grades during my undergraduate years. I regretted the fact that i had skipped so many lectures just to smoke and have a tea with a couple of fucked up people at Shiva's not so hygienic tea stall.You are fuck up i kept saying in my mind .After a series of predictable dissapointments and setbacks,i realized how badly i had screwed up my life.So i resorted to drinking a way to get away from this big bad world and cursing everyone for not giving me a chance.

I still remember this interview call which i had to attend on a Monday morning ,we had a booze party in a club the night before and u bet i was zonked!!!All that drinking lead to a predictable hangover and a few curses early in the morning from mommy dearest. My father smiling as always graciously offered me a 100 rupees and wished me luck.

I rushed to the nearest bus stop with hopes of making it on time i knew i had to this time i was out of luck for quite sometime.I managed to flick a cigarette from my dad's case not that he wasn't aware of but he was cool bloke and understood my urge to flick a ciggarette.So huffing and puffing till the last drag, i managed to reach the venue to find 200 employees waiting to submit their CV's.Well after a few interactions, i realized i was the odd man out no match for these geeks with some brilliant scores!!!Well surprisingly i managed to clear my written exam's and was held for the next round of interviews(PI),i was well prepared this time consulted a few friends and a professor who was a well wisher and read them time and again to avoid future dissapointments.

Everything seemed like a DREAM i was clearing every hurdle comfortably and had answers to every question they posed looks like all that drinking finally paid.
So after clearing the first round of technical interview i had to meet the Senior vice PResident Mr Thakkar for the final PI.I overheard someone say that he was the founder of some XYZ engineering company and was the best in the business.

Finally i was caller for,tucked in my shirt collected my long locks with a rubber band to look presentable knocked the door of Mr Ace,perplexed confused!!! having reached so far...i was jittery and did not know what was in store.To my surprise he greeted me with a smile and made me comfortable.

The conversation began, it went well for a while a few technical questions which i managed to answer with a lot of conviction and then he popped up the golden question, as always i was asked why such a mediocre score in Engineering .This time i replied with a smile that not everyone is kind as you sir,on a serious note i harped the same lines they want to hear but he listened for a while,then he smiled and asked me how much was i expecting??Finally a ray of light!! a fool's hope to be precise.It indicates that you have won the battle and you are this close to getting the job.I was modest enough and asked for a decent sum for which he unwillingly nodded. I don't blame them they are supposed to save every penny for the company.

So Mr Thakkar at his diplomatic best said that they will get back to me at the earliest and wished me luck.

'DILEMMA' that i was in as always will i get this job or not??So i decided to go to my native place Chennai and take a breather and blow up my brother's money.
This was one vacation i was enjoying away from the crowd,treated like a prince cigarettes for free and a drink before dinner with my best buddy my father's brother in law.Fifteen peaceful days had to end and i was cursing my way back home thinking about the fact that i had to check classifields on a Wednesday looking for a job.

On a lazy afternoon, i was walking down to the nearest tea stall to avoid all that silence at home and i got a call !!!Congratulations he said, yes finally i got the job in one of the better companies in Bombay.Was i dreaming!!!had lady luck finally smiled has the dark omen vanished these thoughts ran through my head.I had to reach their office next monday to join with all my certificates to collect my offer letter.

Yes Sir !!! i said holding my excitement, had to tell someone i called my father and he was extremely happy and said he would treat me with a drink tonite.And then i called her!! the only one who had the time & patience to listen to my misadventures.Some people can give you those light moments in your life which a bunch of drunk friends can't.All that silence and a worried mom!!she was my knight in shining amour.I promised to take her to the movies which i never did a penny pincher that i was... Didn't disclose it to mom till dad came home and spilled the beans, frowned for a while but then mom was happy.That night we had some decent food and dad reached out for a bottle of whiskey. My best bud till date norten as always was all merry and ready to get drunk!!! Cant remember anything after that..

It's not that i am self sufficient as of today and life is good!!but the hardship effort and anxiety that lies in getting a decent job and fulfilling your duties will make you realize that nothing in this life is a piece of cake!!!forget the cake i am still fighting for the cherry :)Things may not be that perfect round you but you can try and value what you are offered IN SHORT...... be grateful
ADIOS!!

Duniya-Dev D(Rangan's version)

There are some songs that stay with you forever,u dunno why??? but they depict our journey so farrr... with a lot of conviction and some brilliant poetry to sum it up. Musicians of modern time's are enterprising in short experimental, but they need to express /emote with more conviction.

Well back to 'Duniya' when i heard this song for the first time,i was'nt sure why such a worldly song when people have no time to look back into their own lives.It may not come across as one of the most optimistic song nevertheless it has it's moments.It takes a sneak peek into our flamboyant, ugly at times & calculative existenz where everything is measured with a reason. It truly states that we lack the judgement & wisdom to distinguish between good & bad.

There are some interesting lines in this song, you are struck by a shadow without a sound, you end up in hell with demons waiting to kick your ass.There is a booby trap that you encounter on every lane /street that you stroll, waiting to inflict pain in every possible way.And if you manage to escape one,they lure you with things you cannot refuse finally ending up in a coffin with screws all around.


So he sums it up everytime by saying,this is one big circus one has to endure for centuries to come and guess wat!!!! The ticket is for free:)

Brother Amitabh Bhattacharya you have a point,thank you for reminding us of what we are , we do our bit as and when we get the opportunity. But we choose to act and react to situations we are forced into,the line you are referring to is a dot which can be ignored & shunned to achieve our purpose.

So 'DUNIYA' be it round,rectangular or a Right angled Traingle there are boundaries defined, beyond which one cannot reach out!!!

Tryst with My SELF ESTEEM???

Well it was just another boring day at work,surfing!! customer queries blah blah blahhh.........and then i came across this very unusual mail,asking me to be a part of some 'SELF ESTEEM' training program??? DUHHH!!!After 20 odd Demo's,rigorous client interactions,multitasking this is what those morons had to offer,Pathetic!!!

So they finally managed to take away the only thing i ever had
'Self Belief'.

Like all zombies!!!(colleagues)early in the morning, I managed to reach this isolated tower expecting nothing but some stupid arab/afro trying to make me realise what a 'LOSER' i am.

Well the only thing good about the training was,i was in the company of some good friends and they were all geared up to mess with this so called lady wisdom.I could see vengeful eyes waiting to pounce,dont blame em, every one of us had our share of reasons.


So the CIRCUS began,we saw a smiling face trying to interact with sad faces.There were a few trying to speak their mind but sounded something else.She passed on a Book with 50 odd pages talking about some 20 golden rules to improve your self esteem.

Wait a minute??? i have seen this before GOTCHAAAAAAAA!!!You tube BABY :P
$200/employee for a You Tube video???Well after this, their self esteem would be in DOLDRUMS :)

So this had to go on for another 8 hours, i had realised staying quiet would make us go ZZZZZZZZZ, so we started yakking crapping and god knows wat???She walked up to me asking me about my positive strength's 'SARCASM' is all i could say then.

But the trainer was good for a change,she spoke & interacted well with our constant feedback's, but she soon realized that none of us really cared what she had to say after a point.

AT 3,we had reached the pinnacle of boredom and with some spies around ,everything around seemed to have reached a standstill.

So after enduring this agony for 8 antagonizing hours,all i could think of is A DRINK!!Guess what???i did manage,well it was fun time finally!!hit so hard without a clue i was flying far away in NO MAN'S LAND.This was my getaway from this insanity, unfortunate times :(

So the next day, i was expected to move around,beam with pride with a smile on my face with my head held high:) are they for real???Could have been better, if i stayed back HOME reading the last few pages of 'MAXIMUM CITY'.

Words of Wisdom:To some it doesn't really matter if u really have something to say,it's just the sound that matters.Never mind !!!