Wake up sid!!

wake up sid turned to be a good watch.. time well spent!! the story line like most hindi films was predictable.. u knew what was going to happen in the next 5 mins of the movie beforehand!! except of a couple of occasions!! like when aisha walks out of the house in the middle of the night because of the mess.. shes not on the terrace but at sonia's place.. :)

this is not going to be a movie review but a cute and not so cute insights of the movie from me!! read it and enjoy!!

Disclaimer: if u dont enjoy..well u cant do anything expect mite be leave a comment (which i can delete too.. :D) .. i am the writer here!!

PS: sounding pompous.. nopes!! just the truth!!

cute and not so cute insights!!

- aisha from calcutta wanting to make it big in bombay - people like me who have grown up in bombay take the opportunities this city has to offer for granted!! i believe theres no place like bombay..

- sid knowing/realizing that his father too was a photographer at some time and he got his eye for photography cause of that... i know very little abt my parents - what they did... when they were young, when they were my age, when they got married cause thats when they started dating the same person (i am assuming), when they wanted to have some fun, their hobbies, their fav passtime.. hmmm.. questions i have never asked my parents!! i think i should..

- love finds u in the strangest of places!! u never know when or where love can hit u and u never ever know how u would react when u realise!! stereotypes of the perfect boyfriend/ perfect husband or my type of guy dont hold true when love hits u!!

- bandra reclamation has a fantastic terrace view flats.. me want one!! :D

anyways i liked the movie.. like all movies which depend on how much u take off them...

Wake up sid rocked for me.. got me off my slumber!!

Whats ur clock set to??

i was driving in the morning and my eye went to my radio clock to check whats the time and to see if i crossed the right point at the right time.. u see my office has this rule, if u come after 10am 3 times in a month, 1/2 days salary is cut. so keeping track of time is very important and 1 1/2 yrs of driving to this place has made it possible to realise when i would be late irrespective of the amt of traffic on the road. my GPS tracker (my brain) mapped with the time gives me a fair idea when i would reach office.. 

so coming to the blog topic..  

so i was driving and my clocks set 5 mins ahead of the time on my mobile.. just for safe keeping of my half days salary.. !! :) the time that the RJ said was 8 mins behind what i had set.. doing the math, it was 3 min behind my phone time.. so! it got me thinking.. what do u set ur clock to??? 

mine now is set to the office punch in machine.. so that i dont get late.. but i realised thats fast also.. 

when i travelled by train -- it was the train timing clock

when i went to college/school - it was that clock

for people who have kids - i think it would be the school ka clock

for my parents - its the TV time so that they dont miss their shows.. but thats a problem too.. each channel has a diff time!! :)) specially the news channels where the time shows..

or should u have ur clock tuned to Happy Hours time.. for savings!! recession u see!! heheh

or should u have ur clock set to the internet/phone network... who sets that time!!

or should u depend on the swiss for time!! arent they the most accurate watch makers!! :) 

so the profound thought is... is there like an accurate time.. should we see the stars, the sun and the moon to get the universal accurate time.. or for that matter, do we need to be that accurate in time anyways!! heheh 

 like the big giant clock at CST station.. that would be a good clock to match ur time.. bombay runs on that clock.. but with indian mentality, is that clock serviced ever... is that the accurate time.. i dont even know if thats serviced!! i wish i had access to such infor.. "Is the clock at CST serviced? How accurate is that time? " 

with the lack of this info or info on a master time keeper clock, i shall simply say... tune ur clock to what makes ur life simple!!  if that at some point in time in the future changes, makes life less simple, change the time to make it more simple.. Simple!! hehehe

Customer care stories... Chapter 3

In your daily life, u come across some really small stuff which if made better and someone would have thought abt them, would have made life so much more easier!! :)) 

i have come across loads of such small instances that i am combining into a single blog.. not so elaborate to have a separate blog for each.. so here goes...

Please Note: this blog will be updated  as and when small experience keep happening. 

u would think that applying for a credit card is simple and easy work.. u fill a form, submit it, someone calls, takes ur details and supporting documents, confirms what u have written is what u are and voila u have a credit card. easier said than done... 

1) the easy process is made complicated by numerous processes and levels of touch points

2) the touchpoints arent all the time accessible, be it the internet page or the call centre number. 

3) Banks dont seem to be in the mood to give credit cards. credit in this time of recession is becoming a taboo word... 

4) Delay in the process to close the loop!! one dept takes the request, the 2nd dept doesnt respond.  

Situation 1: ICICI Bank- online application for credit card. 

one way that ICICI allows u to apply for a credit card is through their online banking. once u have logged in using your login details, u get to apply for a credit card. Logic says, if i have logged in and the bank has authenticated my details, the credit card application should be a click away or relevant detail that are pre-existing in the database should be prepopulated and u should be asked to fill in the rest.. nopes!! u have to fill 4 pages of details and more than once ur connection gets disconnected, the page doesnt load on submit and u have to fill in the details all over again. 

ease of website creation results in loss of logic results in repeated work and waste of time for people. 

Situation 2: Citibank - application for a credit card- 

Citibank allows u to apply for a credit card on their call centre. u do that once giving them similar 4 page  details, they give u a ref no. The search option for status of application is only the ref no. if u forget there is no other way to check on the status. u simply need to apply again.. 4 pages long info to be told again.. poor cc exec will become ur best friend if in case u get to speak to the same person.. will know more abt u in a call then ur partner would know in 3 dates!! :D

incomplete database mapping results in one ref no search option results in repeated work and and waste of time for both the applier and the cc exec.  

Situation 3: Club mahindra- Mail exchange for basic information

Club mahindra membership works in funny ways.. u pay abt 2 lacs for their 25 yrs of free holiday but unfortunately never get to go on vacations when u wanna go.. thats another blog altogether.. this ones a place for small situations. the customer care at club mahindra likes to exchange more than 1 mail to answer to questions.. the same thing happened to me once more this time. to find out 2 info on what is a House unit and what is the impact of the house unit booking on my membership, there were 4 mails exchanged. if only the cc exec had read the mail well, work would be better done, time would be saved!! 

Customer care stories... Chapter 4

Chapter 4: ICICI Prudential!! 

not all customer care stories are bad. there are these few occasional good ones that u come across which re-inforce the fact that somewhere some customer care execs know their jobs.. this was a particularly interesting and nice story for me, specially cause this was a rather round about situation and needed to be tackled by someone who knew the systems and was well versed with her work. (her only cause this cc exec was a lady.. no reference to a gendre of the society!! :))

the background is: i have a health insurance with ICICI Prudential and i pay the premium for it once a yr.  so when i had to make my payment this yr, it so turned out that i accidently made the payment twice, once from my credit card and the 2nd time from my bank account. the 2nd attempt from the bank account was made only cause the online interface gave me an error message when i tried the credit card payment..  thats besides the point. so ICICI Pru people call me and tell me that i have made a premium payment twice and if i can show either proof they will refund my amount. credit card statements come once a month, mine was not due for another 20 days, so bank account statement was the best thing. 

so as instructed, i take my bank statement, go to the nearest icici pru branch.. there are 2 execs sitting there, just abt on their way out to have what i think is a cup of tea at 330pm. one of them stays back.. (shes the hero of my story).  i explain the whole story to her and all she needed was my policy no to check on the status and straighten things out. she gave me a plain paper and told me to just write an application to reverse and voila it would be done. 

(now comes the delight part) the TAT for a reversal is 7-10 days with a DD coming in at ur postal address. i mentioned to her that, that was a long time and i needed the money faster if possible. (month end that yaar!! paise khatam ho gaye the.. :D) she asked me, if i had an  icici bank account and if i can get an ECS on the account and have a direct credit done into the account. TAT down to 4 days. music to my ears. the last formality was to fill the ECS form. of course as unprepared as i was, no cheque, no details. so she waited patiently till i got all my details in place and filled the form and gave it to her. in 4 days like she said, the money comes into my account.. :) 

learning: 

1) cc execs who know the systems are better at their jobs. knowledge comes from good training, transparent and logical systems and longitivity in the job.

2) a little patience and straight thinking can solve all the problems. this comes from a good state of mind and a sense of belonging to the company - called employee satisfaction. 

Customer care stories... Chapter 2

theres a fight for Chapter 2 cause there are 4 more chapters that have come up since chapter 1 has been put in place.. 

so personal experience is chapter 2.. 

neeru at icici bank, mahalaxmi...

Once upon a time.. i bought a car "Super Sexy Silver Santro" and took a 4 yr loan for it. i am now the proud owner of this beautiful piece of machinary as my loan is cleared. Please Note: You need to take a NOC from the bank where ur loan was and take it to the bombay RTO registrar office to have it attested on your registration book. that proves that u own the car. 

(i like this please note section, my way of imparting my learning to the world :D ) 

So with all my car papers, i head to the ICICI bank, Mahalaxmi branch twice to get this NOC letter. 

The 1st experience, i was truly impressed and delighted with the whole transaction. The sweet lady (cc exec) took my papers, checked her system for my account, there was some outstanding, asked me to clear that. So i go stand in front of an empty cashier counter waiting. another sweet lady (cc exec) calls the cashier from inside to make sure i dont wait long. truly appreciated!! once my payment is done, all clear, the 1st sweet lady puts in a request for the NOC in her system and tells me it shall be couriered to my billing address. (Now starts the reason for the 2nd visit.. pls read on). The billing address turns out to be of my old office and now that i dont work there, i have it changed to my residence. i shall live there for a while that was sure..!! :) so!! address change and NOC requests put in place into the ICICI system. NOC TAT given as 4 working days. too good to be true but it went on very smoothly.. 

Within this TAT, i get a call from a courier agency saying I dont work at the billing address and i cannot deliver the NOC letter there... I realised, too good to be true.. my address change did not go through. so post a conversation with the courier guy, he tells me that it shall be sent back to the branch, pls go collect it from there. (See 2nd visit reason shows face) its already been a week since i put in the request. So i head back to the branch and explain to them, this is what happened.. they check their records, ask me to fill in an envelope with the RIGHT address (which is by the way no different than the one in their system) and tell me that in 4 working day the NOC will be posted to the right address. (Now starts the brilliance of the cc execs) I ask them, when i had already put in an address change request, why has it NOC been delivered to the wrong address.  there comes the brilliant answer - "the updating and courier happen from 2 diff locations, we only update the address, why it has not been couriered to it, we cant tell u" hello!! isnt it the same system!!! million dollar question, and then the tubelight glows!! the exec with the help of the 1st sweet lady, checks a few things and finds out that the address change happened after the courier request was processed. so not effective.. on not so happy realisation, the NOC shall be couriered in 4 working days only. I told them, its already been 6 days, cant it be done quicker.. they put things into motion and tell me that in 2 days i shall get my NOC at the right address and i got it!! :)

3 good things: 

1) 1st interaction was hasslefree, smooth and delightful

2) courier came in within 4 days

3) rectification post not so happy realisation was done - prompt action taken

3 bad things: 

1) major system goof-up, address change not getting effective before courier request resulting in 2nd visit and 8 days delay 

2) Not taking responsibility as a company.. "this happens from 2 diff locations", talking and being defensive as a department. 

3) Redo of the entire process for the exec - waste of time and enery for both parties. 

my policy: systems generally dont work as u want them.. they are programs put together in isolation of each other. when u mix them, they shall react. keep that in mind. 

cc execs need to know that they are the company's representatives and not representatives of their job profiles... keep that in mind and u shall always check before u speak.  

Customer care stories... Chapter 1

Abhi in the mulund icici branch saturday 23rd may 2009..

A simple thing as depositing cheque n exchanging foreign currency took 45 mins at 10 in the morning... Why because cc exec knowledge in systems was incomplete... N incompetent people are employed or replaced to do a job.

Lets start at the very begining.. (i love this part) 

Once upon a time... Heres what happened... He goes into the branch n a clerk is sitting to take cheques.. He gives his cheque with the deposit slip duly filled to the clerk sitting at the counter.. The clerk takes the cheque, tears the deposit slip and doesnt stamp it, simply hands it over to Abhi. On asking for a stamp the clerk says "stamp nahi milega, yahan stamp nahi hota..." ahmmm... When did that process change... as always u need to take a stand and fight for ur rights, abhi asked for the branch manager and then the clerk stamps the deposit slip.. couldnt he have followed the process and just done it the 1st time.. 

if that was not enough... 2nd incident on the same day in the same place.. The cc exec had no clue on how to convert foreign exchange  n if it can be deposited into someone elses account..  

Please Note: for future foreign exchange transactions "u cant do that cause u need to submit it into the account who's passport copy u r submitting.. "

so without prior clarification given, abhi fills up a form with the other account number, the entire page with all the required details and submits the form to get the process completed. the exec tells him that he cant do it.. (pls refer to "Please Note:" portion of the blog). so abhi fills another form and hands it over to the lady. now as all of us know, exchange rates change.. and logically when u r exchanging foreign currency, the prevailing rate is what u apply. unfortunately our lady was a little confused cause she wasnt sure whether to change currency on yesterday's rate or today's. she did go to the branch manager and confirm but precious time was wasted in that process. then, she has no idea about when the money would get deposited to the account.. TATs are missing.. now if the bank cant give a TAT for an activity done by them, then theres something wrong... yet again!! :) it finally did get done.. but at the cost of a lot of patience and a lot of time.. in the age where time is money...at the cost of money too.. (only notional)... 

common line of problem: Issue with every cc exec is defensiveness n hurry to just get the work done, even if thats not the right way to do it..

my policy: Listen, understand, plan and THEN act. good lineup of words.. only if they are followed!! :)) 

Customer care stories... Preface

i am now using my blog to do my bit for betterment of mankind.. (kinda not possible cause my blogs read only by my friends who are in the same field as me and also in the same state as me.. ) 

i am going to write abt all the fantastic and unique customer care stories my friends and i are having.. ranging from service industries to ur normal pan tapri guy on every street!! lets see how these stories go... u never know mite just end up compiling a book on this also.. hahahah

it all started with my friend Abhishek telling me that because i had soooooooo many experiences with cc execs and generally blew my top, i sld write abt them... so cause it was his idea, his exp is what i pen down 1st.

also, i will not be masking names and details.. this is my blog and i truly holly swear by its authentication and back each work that i write.

also to make it clear, these are just stories - incidents that are heartfelt, time consuming and wasted (may i add) true stories of innocent hardworking people, no claims, no feedback requests, no finger pointing.. :)) 

exaggeration is allowed and to an extent expected... and facts can be skewed.. i dont remember details very well.. look at the bigger picture!! details can be twisted!! :D

Disclaimer: "All characters in this blog are not fictitious, and any resemblance to anyone, dead or alive, is purely coincidental and intended."

Stomp - The Ambassadors - London Theatre

STOMP.. the fantastic foot tapping 1 hr 45 mins of amazing music was an experience i shall remember for a long time.. yes, it was my 1st play, 1st musical, 1st experience of london theatre, time out with my bro and sis in law in london.. but there are more reasons for this play to be extra special.. :) 

stomp the art form is an amazing exp and very atheletic and very energetic i believe.. the stamina u would need to do just 3 mins of that would be so much that it took my breath away when i saw it on the dance india dance show. on this stage, stomping was taken to another level.. they gave new meaning to kitchen items like brooms, sticks, vessels, pans, plastic cans, garbage cans, plastic bags, glasses, paper and whatever u can find around the kitchen.. 

for 1 hr 45 mins, 8 very talented  men and women entertained us with innovative sounds turned into music with these various articles one after another, one act after another.. it was no less than awesome to hear foot tapping music from every instrument and sounds mixed by each of the 8 people.. they even managed to add humour to the whole show.. all this was done with non of then saying a word.. just the sound of the music and occasional greetings 'oye' from them.. it was amazing to see the kind of innovative percussion instruments and sounds that they made to fill the show duration with an unforgettable moments.  an interesting audience participation bit made the show memorable for all of us there..  we were repeating clapping sequences that one main guy was telling us to do.. it was awesome, there were 2 such sections where the audience was involved, the 2nd one being slightly tougher than the 1st time to give us a taste of how awesome and easy it was to make music out of simple claps and the way u clap, full hands, cupped hands, fingers.. it also showed us how diff it is to control the claps to give u that right mix and right sequence of music.. very nice!! loved every moment of it.. 

my sis in law and i were constantly hit with resemblences of what they were doing to a lot of art forms and cultures from India. be it the navratri dandiya with sticks, to Kalarippayattu the ancient martial art of kerela.. seemed like a modern version of those dance forms.. 

all in all an experience that was both special and unique.. hats off to all those dancers to give us a high energy, high stamina, high entertainment, high musical show called Stomp for 1 hr 45 mins and not huff or puff post that.. they sure looked like they could go on for a while longer.. hope everyone gets a chance to experience this amazing play at the Ambassador.. 

i am glad my bro and sil took me to this one..  

official review: 

Formed by two percussion lovers, Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, in 1991, 'Stomp' has been thrilling audiences in the West End and all over the world for over a decade. Initially performing in Brighton (England) and touring the United Kingdom, 'Stomp' was so popular with audiences that it opened in New York at the Orpheum Theatre in 1994, only three years after its conception. After almost ten years of rave reviews in the United States, the 'Stomp' team returned to London to open their West End show. In September of 2007 'Stomp' moved to it's present location, the Ambassadors Theatre, after its initial opening five years earlier at the Vaudeville Theatre. The production was so successful in it's British and American incarnations that the show has gone on to open in almost forty different countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and all over Europe. The London branch of the show, overseen by Yes/No Productions and Glynis Henderson Productions, has been awarded a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Choreography. The 'Stomp' team have also appeared on television ('Sesame Street'), in commercials (for Target and Coca-Cola), on a Quincy Jones album ('Q's Jook Joint'), and on movie soundtracks ('Tank Girl' and 'Riot'). 

Perhaps the main attraction audiences have to 'Stomp' is that the performance shows that anything is possible. Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, the creators, developed a 'musical' that relied solely on the power of percussion: drumming, tapping, clapping, hitting, stomping - just about every form of rhythm creation was incorporated. Though the musical has no steadfast storyline and there is no dialogue between the performers, 'Stomp' aims to show the unique personalities of each person on stage by emphasising the unique ways they create rhythm. Typically the show includes eight performers who use all sorts of props for the sole purpose of making noise. Matchboxes, garbage cans and lids, bottles, plungers, poles, wood planks, cigarette lighters, sinks, pens, sand, drumsticks, brooms, chalk and water are all props that have been used in shows, though just about anything can be thrown in on the whim of the dancers on stage. The performers use hand-claps and tap-dance moves to communicate 'conversations' to one another, while exaggerated facial and body expressions highlight the relationships amongst the group. 'Stomp' aims to be funny, entertaining, and above all irresistibly infectious, with the audience encouraged to make noise! 

As 'Stomp' is open and touring in several different countries there tends to be a circulation of performers amongst the various shows. The original British cast (Luke Cresswell, Nick Dwyer, Sarah Eddy, Theseus Gerard, Fraser Morrison, David Olrod, Carl Smith and Fiona Wilkes) may make appearances on special occasions or in particular international shows, though the present London production has been refreshed to include a host of new talent. Currently 'Stomp' and the Ambassador Theatre are taking bookings up until early February of 2009, so there are still plenty of opportunities to see one of the most unique London musicals ever staged.

How do you show your loved ones that you love them?

An awesome note written Abhi... profound and true!! :)

How do you show your loved you love them?

Saying it is good; it is definitely a start. But if all you do is 'say', it begins to wear thin after a while.
So what do you do? Buy him or her things? Things are not bad either, but if you are buying things for your loved one thinking that alone should be sufficient you are going to find yourself with a resentful one instead.
The Bible says that perfect love casts out fear. Sometimes resentment is born out of fear.

Love needs to be shown in a person's attitude. One great way of expressing love is an uncritical attitude. Nothing kills love faster than criticism. There has to be a degree of freedom in any relationship.
Freedom goes hand in glove with love. Virginia Satir mentioned five freedoms:
The freedom to see and hear what is here, instead of what should be, was, or will be;
The freedom to say what they feel and think, instead of what they should;
The freedom to feel what they feel instead of what they ought ;
The freedom to ask for what they want, instead of always waiting for permission,
The freedom to take risks on their behalf instead of choosing to be only "secure" and not rock the boat.
Go through the list again, slowly this time around and carefully examine your relationships. Answer the following questions:
How do you show your loved ones that you love them?
Do you let them love you back by giving them the freedom to them?
Being protective of the one you love is a very natural by produce of love the emotion. However, love is more than just the feeling; it is very much the doing also. Giving your loved one the space and freedom to grow in that relationship is definitely a practice of love the verb.

--
Cheers!!!

Abhi

Seven Pounds (Will Smith)

to realise that someone can think and plan to end his life only so that he can help some complete strangers live a better life was a far-fetched idea.. haven't seen a human being this but its an awesome story and mite be the only way he knew to repent for his past deeds.

this is such an intense movie.. u didnt figure out the story till the very end and then u understand what all he does to make his intentions take shape.. they are a few pointers in the movie that if u notice, would get a better understanding of the movie and its directions but very minor ones that can be easily missed.. to think of it, not very sure if there were any indications also.. :) the intensity of the movie just sinks u in completely.. the intense acting of the fantastic Will Smith blows ur mind when u realise what he is wanting to do and how he goes abt the whole thing.

the fantastic acting that i noticed this time from Will Smith was the change in his facial expressions when he was talking to someone, that really bright smile on his face and when no ones looking that intense pain and intense longing to be able to help that person, 2 very contrasting and very extreme feelings changing at the flash of an eye.. awesome!! hes proved once again post Persuit of Happyness that he is a fantabulous actor and brings a grt deal of authenticity to the roles he plays.

All in all, a grt movie with no message that i would want to take out.. a pleasure to watch... :)

From Wiki:

Directed by	Gabriele Muccino
Produced by	Todd Black Jason Blumenthal James Lassiter Will Smith Steve Tisch
Written by	Grant Nieporte
Starring	Will Smith Rosario Dawson Woody Harrelson Michael Ealy Barry Pepper
Music by	Angelo Milli
Cinematography	Philippe Le Sourd
Editing by	Hughes Winborne
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Running time	123 min.

Two years ago Tim Thomas (Will Smith) was in a car crash, which was caused by him using his mobile phone; seven people died: six strangers and his fiancée, Sarah Jenson (Robinne Lee).

A year after the crash, and having quit his job as an aeronautical engineer, Tim donates a lung lobe to his brother, Ben (Michael Ealy), an IRS employee. Six months later he donates part of his liver to a child services worker named Holly (Judyann Elder). After that he begins searching for more candidates to receive donations. He finds George (Bill Smitrovich), a junior hockey coach, and donates a kidney to him, and then donates bone marrow to a young boy named Nicholas (Quintin Kelley).

Two weeks before he dies he contacts Holly and asks if she knows anyone who deserves help. She suggests Connie Tepos (Elpidia Carrillo), who lives with an abusive boyfriend. Tim moves out of his house and into a local motel taking with him his pet box jellyfish. One night, after being beaten, Connie contacts Tim and he gives her the keys and deed to his beach house. She takes her two children and moves in to their new home.

Having stolen his brother's credentials, and making himself known by his brother's name Ben, he checks out candidates for his two final donations. The first is Ezra Turner (Woody Harrelson), a blind meat salesman who plays the piano. Tim calls Ezra Turner and harasses him at work to check if he is quick to anger. Ezra remains calm and Tim decides he is worthy.

He then contacts Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson), a self-employed greeting card printer who has a heart condition and a rare blood type. He spends time with her, weeding her garden and fixing her rare Heidelberg printer. He begins to fall in love with her and decides that as her condition has worsened he needs to make his donation.

His brother tracks him down to Emily's house. Ben then demands that Tim return his IRS ID to him. Tim leaves and returns to the motel. He fills the bathtub with ice water to preserve his vital organs, climbs in, and then commits suicide by pulling his extremely poisonous jellyfish into the water with him. His friend Dan (Barry Pepper) acts as executor to ensure that his organs are donated to Emily and Ezra. Ezra Turner receives his corneas and Emily receives his heart. Afterwards, Emily meets Ezra at a concert and they begin to talk.

What goes around comes around!! ??

is it true!! is it really true that what goes around always comes around!!
are u in some way responsible for all the happiness and the sorrow that u face in life!! do u have a tallied balance sheet at the end of ur life!! should have asked my grandfather, is it time for u to die when u have balanced out ur life.. the goods to the bads, the joys to the sorrows.. when do u realize that and how do u know that ur sorrows and joys are equated cause to me the sorrows generally feel much bigger than the joys!! on hindside, only after the sorrows are gone do u realize that they needed to be there... profound thinking...

Anyways!! what i meant while thinking of that was more positive and happy!! If u r happy today, u have or would have done something good at some point in time in ur life.. The Geeta says that "karm kar phal ki iccha mat kar" which 2nds my thought of "what goes around comes around".. then the key item to this is PATIENCE. its not like good deeds come with a validity or a limited period offer, so u know that for this good deed done today, i shall be happy on this day in the future. u just have to wait and might never know that the happiness caused today was because of which good deed. :)

Another side to this line can be, what goes to another person, comes back to u from that person. so if u r good to someone, they inturn generally are good to u too.. which makes more sense and relevance. :) mite be thats why people in love generally make each other happy continuously, in more ways that one, in much higher magnitudes than before.. what goes around.. comes around!! :) too many new angels coming up with this thought... most times than less (at least with me) the level of involvement for 2 people are diff at the same time, which means that the magnitude of what goes around isnt the same as what comes around or cld also mean that what u give could mean a lot more than u think or intended too, which might be the reason for dissatisfaction, expectations not being met and the inequality in what goes around coming around. so how do u map that.. the solution to all of this is talking, communication.. (this is turning out to be a self-improvement life topic.. :D)..

third side to this line.. what abt the things that u do unknowingly, without the intention to hurt.. are circumstances or mistakes in life also counted as good deeds and bad deeds?? does that also come around and what if u r truly sorry for what happens and in some cases have paid the price for it too.. would that still come around??

bottom line, what goes around does come around, in more forms that one, in more ways that one, in diff magnitudes and appearance than one. so watch out the next time u yell at some telecaller, some bank exec, in the traffic, at ur friends.. they mite just give it back to u.. :)..

happy coming around!!

Glow on your face.. :)

i have a friend whos recently got married to the love of her life.. the usual family not accepting, then a 2 yr struggle and then parents reluctantly agreeing and later understanding that that guy is the best guy for their daughter. the usual indian family drama.. its been abt 3 months now and every time i meet her, she has a glow on her face.. a moonlit, backlit kinda glow to her face that looks soooo awesome that u just wanna stare at her face.. :)

it shows so much from her face that she is happy... that the love of her life is taking care of her.. like she belongs to someone really special.. like all that she wished for in life of a partner has come true with him and loads more.. but most important is how she feels abt herself, the confidence, the strength, the resilience that she now feels... when she smiles, her eyes lite up, her smile broadens just thinking abt him and ya her smile has ceramic braces and 2 side holes where her premolars were heheh... inspite of that shes got the most incredible smile and the most glowing face i have seen on her for a really long time... beauty product advertisers can actually use her to sell their products.

i think, its all abt how happy u r in life, how nice u feel and its generally because of one reason... that one thing or person in my friends case, that makes u feel that way and look like the moonlight on your face or make the sun, moon and stars envious enough to turn red.. Coincidently, last nite the sky did show a very envious red moon, beautiful but very envious. the sun is already red anyways!! :)

to more moonlights and red envious moons in the sky.. to the glow on your face.. :)

Masakali MasaKali - Delhi 6

Mr Prasoon Joshi, creative director - Chairman, McCann-Erickson, the writer for great songs from movies like Dilli 6, Ghajini, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, Taare Zameen Par, Fana, Rang De Basanti, Black, Rok Sako To Rok Lo, Phir Milenge , Hum Tum, Aankhen, Lajja .. someone who has written a song like "Meri Ma" from TZP which created a wave in the country with the lyrics and the strength in the words. the music added life to it anyways but it was the lyrics were awesome. Another grt wordings from Prasoon Joshi was "Is Bar Nahi" on the Mumbai 26/11 attacks.

Now such a person with profound deep words, fantastic sounding full of meaning, come out with a song like Masakali.

i mean have u read the lyrics!!

"Zara Phank jhatak Gai, Dhool Atak aur Lachak Machak Ke Duur Bhatak" and the bombay link to Heera Panna re.. :) hahahahha!!

this is awesome range of thinking.. the lyrics, the absolute not making any sense, random words put together with the feeling that they belong together and in no other way!! u actually have to read the lyrics so that u can sing along with the song and its such a fantastic tune that u cannot miss out on it. In the telecom sense,

if its the highest set RBT, ur song has arrived. it is the way it is, songs become a hit not by standard way of defining success but by telecom paralance. :D specially for the telecom guys, once a telecom always a telecom.
the song actually has been made so popular that it actually came in the papers too.. hahahah...

The lyrics now are:

Aye Masakali MasaKali
UD MataaKali MataaKali

Aye Masakali MasaKali
Ud Mataak Kali Mataak Kali

Aye Masakali Masa masa MasaKali
UD Mataak Kali Mataak Kali

Masakali MasaKali
Ud Mataak Kali Mataak Kali

Zara Phank jhatak Gai
Dhool Atak aur Lachak Machak Ke Duur Bhatak

Ud dagar dagar kasbe kuche nukkad basti

Mein yeah e yeah e

Itdi se Mud Ada Ud
Kar Le Puri Dil ki Tamanna
Hawa se Jud Ada Se Ud
Purr Bhuur bhurrr Phuurrr
Tu hai Hera Panna Ree

Masakali MasaKali
Ud Mataak Kali Mataak Kali

Masakali Masa masa Masa Kali
Hey Matak

Ghar tera saloni
Badal ki colony
Dekhade thenga In sabko jo udna na jane

Udiyo na dariyo
Kar manmani manmaani manmanni
Badhiyo naa mudiyon kar nadani

Udiyo na dariyo
Kar manmani manmaani manmanni
Badhiyo naa mudiyon kar naadani

Bas Than le muskaan le
Keh sana nana nana hawa

Baas thaan le tu jaan le
Keh sana nana na na na hawa

Aye Masakali MasaKali
UD MataaKali MataaKali

Aye Masakali MasaKali
UD MataaK mataak

re re re re re re
ra ra ra ra

Hey hey hey hyyy
ho ho hoo hoo

Tujhe kya gum tera ristha
Gagan ki basuri se hai
Pawan ki guftagu se hai
Suraj ki roshani se hai

Udiyo na dariyo
Kar manmani manmaani manmanni
Badhiyo naa mudiyon kar nadani

Udiyo na dariyo
Kar manmani manmaani manmanni
Badhiyo naa mudiyon kar naadani

abb Than le muskaan le
Keh sana nana nana hawa

Baas thaan le tu jaan le
Keh sana nana na na na hawa

Masakali MasaKali
UD MataaK MataaK MataakKali
Masakali Masa Masa MasaKali
MataaK mataak

re re re re re re
ra ra ra ra

Hey hey hey hyyy
ho ho hoo hoo

re re re re re re
ra ra ra ra

Hey hey hey hyyy
ho ho hoo hoo
Hey heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

Validation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

Reshma, a very dear friend forwarded this short movie on youtube to see.. from the name i thought it would be a self motivational speech kinds, but cause it was a short film, it felt like it would be a story with a message. its only after u see it that u realize that Validation is beyond giving u a message on how to live life or how to be happy but actually shows u the complete effect of 1 small nice gesture by this one man who has a normal job and a normal life.

He "validates" everyone who came to get their parking validated at his counter. he is a parking attendant. a few genuine complements from him actually had such a profound effect on the people that they queued up to feel nice because of his words.

The change point in this man's life was when he fails to make the woman he falls in love with, smile. thats when he looses the will to make people smile and feel nice abt themselves. he gets back to making people feel nice when he sees a young couple out on vacation wanting him to take their snap. He makes them smile from their hearts because of the words he says.. he reminds them of the love they share and how lucky they are. He started getting smiles off people while taking their photographs. one such photo was of an old lady in a wheelchair who because of what he said had a very very beautiful smile on her face.

The worlds a small place, this lady happens to be the mother of the woman he loves and she starts to smile only cause her mom smiles... thats the best part of the story.. his dream to be with the one he loves and to roam the world with her, that comes true!!

the picture pasted is the last few mins of the film.. seemed to be the most beautiful end to it..

2 things that make u smile are the people around u, strangers or people u care abt. when people u care abt smile, u smile from ur heart, ur eyes lit up and u stay that way for a long time. when strangers make u smile, the day seems brighter. this stranger's gesture can be a nice smile, a kind word, a complement or just a pleasant face. if i am the stranger, when u think of it, not very difficult things to do.. simple but still not done!! :)
looks like simple things in life get ignored!! :)

hoping to do the simple things in life..

When life seems to be a rerun!!

sometimes life gets to a point when today seems the same as yesterday or the day before that or the day before that... routine is alright sometimes, u get up, get ready, go to work, come back, eat and sleep.. but when the traffic conditions along with the kind of cars are also the same on the road, it does become a rerun or a "deja vu" kinds..

Unfortunately the condition on the roads is so awesome, that u have the time to check out the colour, make, number plate, the toy handing off the rear view mirror, the seat covers and also the people with what they are doing.. u kinda develop a relationship with them, without them knowing.. they become ur road buddies.. :D
thats another blog taking abt road buddies and things that happen on the road and how u master the exact time to touch a place so that traffic is the least.. have a thesis on that which very surprisingly holds true and is proved everyday..

back to the reruns!!
reruns in a way are good, cause there no extra effort, its like sleeping.. u r so used to it that its just something u do.. no thought.. if life was all abt reruns, it would be life.. people will be in 1 state of mind forever which would be boring.. TV serials also have a limited reruns after which they run out their own life. but Exceptions always there - "Friends" those reruns dont die.. :)

going in for another rerun episode of my life.. going home!! :) catch u later in the 2nd repeat of the same rerun!!