Ferro Rocher...

A rich creamy imported chocalte which makes even older janta want it.Its no kids chocolate but a luxury one..wrapped a piece in golden foil and conceals in it a mystery
Umm.. Am I sounding like this blog entry is about a delicious lil chocolate ball ?
If Yes,then I should hurry up with the apology to the chocolate lovers..who are salivating by just thinking about it right now.. that its not chocolate, dear :-)
Its just that years ago,a thought struck my mind (chocolate obessed mind perhaps.. ;) ) , that a person is like a Ferro Rocher only..
Now,don’t give me a horror struck look (half expecting a real ferro rocher in your wide open mouth by itself :-P) I mean , if we just dissect this beautiful delicate sweet lil candy and see how finely it has been built , how one can compare this to a person. My perspective to this whole idea is about how we approach a person.
When we see someone nice, we are attracted by its outward personality…looks..Intelligence.. etc etc.. (beautiful dull golden foil wrapped around..which attracts everybody) but as we interact with that person , we realize that behind that there are other aspects too some rough,some smooth,interesting,plain dull but these are the traits which are implicit to a person (relate it to the crunchy flaky thin wafer layer on top of which thin chocolate nutty layer perfectly lie )
As we increase our interest in that person,try to know him/her better,interacting on a personal level, first we encounter some defences which people build around themselves to ward off the other people from knowing their trueselves and most people in anybody’s life reach to that point only in knowing a person and consider that they know a person in and out and this level showcases the real one.(and gives adjectives like strong person,calm,matured,sincere,studious,sweet,cute, haughty ,..etc etc.. people consider themselves a perfect judge sometimes :-P). If you are unable to connect to the chocolate, lemme remind you about the hard chocalte coating that emerges as we crack down the nutty wafery thing…
Very few people go behind that in knwong a person as that requires an effort and true genuine intention to know a person.But when they go nearer,they realize that real charisma of one person lies here only.All the defences break through and a soft,pure soul comes out which is truly worth knowing and loving (compare it to the sweet dark chocolate pleasure which oozes out as u break through hard chocolate coat)This is the time you fall for that peson and couldn’t bring yourself to break that charm … that magic, that this discovery has brought upon.
And as you flow with that you realize that true person is actually a strong human being,solid firm on its principles , loyal …honest to the core and would not disappear from your life and is truly worth keeping with you till eternity. If you have become truly engrossed in this, this part speaks of that hard solid hazelnut which is the only thing which doesn’t melt in your mouth and is the true treasure hidden in the charismatic chocolate layers.
Now I think dissecting it would not complete the whole experience, you need to discover it yourself to get to know of its real value. :-)
Happy choclating :-D

Joy in tiny packet :-)

d li'l things you do for me..n nobody else make me feel good.. d li'l things you do for me..making me smile n no one else could! that's why i like to sit next to you, n hear your mad stories, i know they're not true..n i like that we share a secret or two together....! :-)

This is the tagline of latest Vodafone ad , brainchild of Ogilvy & Mather India. Though the ad campaign’s main idea is just to tell customers abut Vodafone delights... but this ad has something which touched our hearts.. Which compelled me to break from the ILP series and write something about it..

The background music, lyrics and the whole picturization ...takes us into a different world.. It invokes an idea.. a series of thoughts about your dear ones.. to whom u r d special one or who are your special ones.. .I have always been a firm believer in the idea of tiny tiny things being the key to your happiness.. though not denying the fact that big things (about u always dreamt of n all) also bring their own share of happiness..
My main point is that in the quest of big things we should not forget the joy which comes in small packets.. because most of the times these joys are priceless..


Talking about a recent incident in my life.. I was looking for a table lamp for my room(to complement my dark blue wall :D) and have already searched in the lifestyle showrooms.. but couldn’t find any which caught my eye and also, fitted into my budget..In trade fair , I found something innovative..economically priced lamp from Kerala...and it took my heart away.. so whenever I see it..now..a smile finds its way to my lips.. Which I guess is d most important thing..


Sometimes little things like a small gift..specially handmade gifts...a caring loving gesture or just a genuine word of praise from somebody makes u happy.. Specially when it comes from the person who is special for u.. it can be a friend , spouse , parents or sibling..anyone who is close to your heart.. that gift/gesture from the loved one makes for a sweet memory in your life.. n I am sure everybody's life is full of such tiny miny sweet memories...
As kids, everybody loved such things..loved blowing bubbles.. staring at stars, moon..doing little creative things but as we grow up we forget all this..for every gift we receive/give we look at the price tag.. not fair!!! :-(
Going by this notion,handmade things.. like a simple card holds no value.. which is actually totally insane idea to be thought even... as for those things.. there is no price.. their value can be measured only in the love and affection which has gone into making of that..u don’t have to be a great artist for this..its d gesture and your affection which counts..
Even a special attention from a person close to u .. means a lot..u feel loved.. cared upon.. a happy feeling tingles in u ..whenever u think about it..
While talking to people close to us.. there is actually no reason behind an argument..u switch between topics as u feel like.. love telling about things..explaining tiny tiny details n above all, love listening to the ideas .. stories...incidents..of others...sharing a piece of life with them... These are the things which flashes in front of our eyes.. when we find ourselves lonely..
Crux of the matter is that if we only keep running behind our goals..ambitions..in the maddening race to achieve the best..what we are losing in between is the peace of mind..basic right to be happy.. n losing out the opportunity to actually see the beauty of life in those not-so-important tiny things...

If u haven’t tried… just try it once to see your life from this perspective..I am sure you will love it.. :-)

ILP @ tcs part 1

I thought i would be frequently jotting down my thoughts after last year series of blog enteries.. but this mystic cloud has flown away from this writer bug.. as the monsoon season has come to an end .. mystic cloud got sm lil space in sky to fly back .. n make it's presence felt by giving delhi ppl its first winter rains of the season..

so this time around will continue from where i left my last post .. coz for the sake of continuation of the journey and also for the fact that about wat i am going to write , has got its anniversary just around d corner.. :)

23rd nov,2009 - the day i joined tcs..
23rd nov,2010 - the day on which i will complete my 1 yr in tcs(1st year of my professional life)

ahhh... its been a full 1 year.. which doesnt seem long... jaise kal ki hi baat ho..
Being born and brought up in delhi only,this was the first time i actualy went outside from delhi to stay ..
Ahmedabad my destination for atleast 1-1.5 months.. I was skeptical but equally excited about embarking on my professional zindagi..
we reached gandhinagar,infocity on 22nd nov,a day before the start of ILP(initial learning period)..
it was more of a combo of residential + office space.. which was gud in a way.. no hassle about taking ny transport to the office.. n our office tower was only 5 min(10 min,if u are also wearing first time heels like me , or 3 min if u have started running from hostel to office at 8:57 am :-P) walk from our residential blocks.. Infocity is in the out skirts of gandhinagar..so basically it was very quite types.. specially compared to our shor sharabe wali delhi :)
The first day of my office was VERY BORING , full of inductions abt smthing or the other.. second day wid same menu followed soon.. then came the lectures and labs... n our life skill classes..
I, who have always seen oneself as non-coder.. was little uneasy bt fully determined to learn coding but i eventually learned dt its not about language in which u code bt about logic ..which even an non coder like me can have... n i have discovered amateur coder in me there in ILP.

apart from tech n all.. what we had was fun... apart from 1st week(which we took rather seriously and did all assignments) , it was a paid vacation.Though the period was only 1.5 months..it was as memorable as my college life... "chote packet me fun" can be easily put as a title for dt..

life skill classes were the fun part .. participated in debates..team building games..smthing or the other activity to help us interact wth each other.. In ILP , I made great friends... learned about others culture.. discussed our respective regions' golgappas.. :-P sachi it was one memorable experince which i miss soo much now

Also,the weekend trips to here and there places were the cherry on the top of choclate truffle(isse yaad aya.. infocity has one awesum pastry shop..choclate room(which doesnt have branch in delhi :-( )) ... lothal trip was a fun road journey in a tempo :P .. then mount abu one ... and best was weekend trip to diu.. wow..all the memories just swept past me..leaving there sweet fragrance.

I soo wish to go back to that time.. specially now.. when life has become a monotonous routine...

Few days before going for TCS … ILP

[This post was written before going to ILP, though I am posting it now]


26th mar,2008 - Day I got placed in TCS through campus drive

16th oct, 2009 - Day I got my joining date n place for TCS ILP[initial learning program]- choti diwali [best diwali gift I could hv]
before dt ..I was jst vella..doing nothing ..every day was holiday from last 5 months... knew dt I should be utilising my time doing smthing..bt didnt do a single thing towards dt...

I was a perfect lazy kid :) always worrying wen my DOJ would cm.. :-( … first came my Iflex joining as 12oct,2009...I got all confused abt wat decision to take.. bt finally I didnt go...n took d risk to wait for tcs!!(how.. wobbled my mind was then!! :-| )

Then suddenly wen I was just lazing arnd at home...my ph stirred..zzz..zzz..I dunno y only one thought flashed after seeing mumbai no. tcs ka hai ye!! B-)
n it was..actually!!(my sixth sense..uh?)

v were d only batch who were informed abt doj 40 days beforehand..
then preparation started.. aram se.. shopping n stuff.. making list of things to take .. refreshing it now and then.. , meeting ppl before going.. all those due treats..

I thought dre was enuf time.. bahut din pehle hi sab tyaari ho jayegi..
bt here I m sitting wid only few days left..n still prep going on...
everything stacked up on floor to put in luggage bags..
bt dre is another feeling.. becoming strong wid every min... "dt I would be leaving my home in few days..."
feeling heavy in heart... first time...away frm home..
Initially I used to think I wouldn’t be feeling home sick dre.. bt now m loosing dt confidence ..

Right now listening to dis song "college days" by gaurav.. making me all d more nostalgic...
frm college to first job..is a big step .. transforms u to a lil differnt person.. personality keeps on evolving as u move on in life…[yeah..m d perfect example of dt]

If u take d instantaneous value frm d stream of feelings..n sample it .. u would find many mixed emotions… a lil excitement...a lil fear..a lil apprehension...lil :-) lil :-( .. ohh.. I m so complex a compound.. :-O

Excited as well as nervous.. before embarking on my new journey… lets us..how it turns out to be.. :-)

23rd NOv,2009.. joining date of our batch in tcs... :-)

Story @ days went in waiting for Tcs joining..

College finished on 31st may, 2009...after that... we were officially free from college life..[Though in last sem, we were doing industrial training so. our college life ended with end of 7th sem]


After that...Next thing which v were awaiting of, was our joining in respective companies...we were like...Ok...1 month is a relaxing period for us. After that ..busy to hona hi hai...koi nhi...abhi timepas kro..

Initially… it was fine...we were visiting places. having fun. Those kinds of things. which we were not able to do coz of exams in every alternate month..

Then...as second month after college, came to an end… things started getting worse...we were not enjoying d freedom...
The usual conversation that used to follow us around everywhere goes like this-

smbody- 'beta,ajkal kya kar re ho..'
me-[in pre-rehearsed tone]-'uncleji/aunty ji..kuch nhi..bs joining ki wait kr re hai' [ followed wid a forceful smile]
smbody- 'oohk..kidr lgi hai job waise..' [dey used to presume dt i was unable to get myself a job till now..huh!]
me- 'tcs me...[on getting puzzled looks smtimes]..tata consultancy services'
smbody- 'acha..achi company hai..hmm...package kya de re hai'
me- 'abhi to fresher ko jyda nhi dete..so 3.15lkah..'[again,followed wid a weak smile]
smbody- 'bs 3.15...govt.college se krne ke bad bhi...'
me-'hhmm... kya kr sakte hai..bs joining de dein..' :(

That's y at d end...I stopped meeting ppl only...Wen I was sick n tired of d same old conversation..

In last 3 months…every day was full of frustation..irritation..hopelessness..[ I already registered myself in every possible naukri site… which boldly proclaims that within a day or two,you will be getting calls from reputed companies..though..what actually are dose reputed companies..everybody knws...bpos...even they used to flatly refuse ppl wid engineering degree. as if v r criminals] ..days passed by doing nothing..spending time at every social networking site possible. following tcs orkut community religiously for every second update/rumour..

My day schedule was fixed.. for every day of d week..of month..
used to get up at 11-11:30..followed by breakfast n newspaper..then bath...then..afternoon nap..then lunch at 4-4:30..followed by time pass tv..then..internet surfing..phone calls...tea...fruits...tv..internet...dinner at 10:30-11...again Internet/novel..n end d day at 2am...

seriously... It was hell!!!
joining was not coming..dey were not giving any probable dates..no contacts to get job elsewhere..market for freshers was not opening coz of recession..no walk ins..it was frustration to d core!!
each day i used to think...y mee? y me?? :-/