Bachelor Blues

The typical day begins at 0715 when my alarm goes off. I have two alarms set at varying times to irritate me and get me outta bed. And then it begins.. at around 0745. I start with boiling the milk and making some coffee and corn-flakes (while brushing my teeth). Next, a quick shower followed by a lil puja and changing into something barely presentable at work. Then it's time to gulp the coffee and the corn flakes, sometimes together.... I finally manage to leave home at 0900 and make it to office around 0930 (I walked half a km today as well).

Evenings are slightly more hectic, depending on when I get to leave office. It's peaceful nowadays, but then it's a question of fixing up dinner and minor stuff like that. I managed to discover and visit a few good places in the Koramangala area.

1. Chandni Chowk - It's a pity I didn't take my camera there. Should have. Will do so next time. The place has an interesting ambience and is done in a well..err... Chandni sorta way :-s You gotta see it to believe it. The food is not that great and is quite highly priced as well. I was lookin for some authentic Punjabi food and I was dissappointed. They served me regular Dal instead of Dal Tadka (I was there with a bunch of colleagues). The waiter kept insisting that it was Dal Tadka that he had served me and refused to believe otherwise. He even went to bizarre lengths of explaining that Dal Makhani was of a different colour. I don't think he quite got me there. The 'Chhaass' was dissappointing as well.

2. Casa Picola - Nice place, close to Raheja Arcade. I tried some of the Continental stuff, the pasta was good, the pizza was also nice. Very unlike Pizza Hut/Domino's fare.. which was a refreshing change. Priced very well. VFM.

3. Utsav - Opposite Raheja Arcade. Superb Dal Tadka (hehehe) and Jeera rice and Kulchas and rotis. VFM again, though they have a pub right next to the restaurant - which kinda jars the ambience.

4. Aangan - Positively the best place to have Punjabi fare in this part of town. I had some terrific Tandoori Rotis and Bhindi Masala and Chhaass to die for. Ran into some old acquaintances from Mumbai while I was there. One thing I noticed - there were only North Indians in this joint. Maybe proves the point. Slightly highly priced but VFM.

Post dinner, comes the time to wash my clothes :) and iron them as well....

Yesterday, I managed to finish of a client meeting early and ventured to Vellara Jn to find the guitar strings. By some quirk of fate and traffic, I ended up on Brigade Road, opposite Rhythm Musicals. I got my strings there and also finished the session with an impromptu guitar camp for some budding musicians. That was fun.

Being back home alone wasn't :)

Have booked my tickets for Kerala. Leaving on Friday, back on Monday morning.

Enjoy Maadi

My first weekend in Bangalore - the IT capital of the world, and what do I do?

I attended a seminar on Development and Management of IT & Outsourced Business at XIME. Damn cool place, wish it were a lil more reachable in terms of distance. I could almost hop over to Tamil Nadu from there.

Surviving in Bangalore is easy.

The first trick is to know how to deal with rickshaw-wallahs. The important thing to remember is that there is almost nothing you can do about them. You simply have to give in, especially when you are in a deserted street in the middle of the night, among people who don't particularly like to hear Hindi. And streets tend to get deserted over here mighty soon. By 2130, people tend to leave the streets and by 2230, the ghosts come out to play. These ricks, true to the 'IT spirit' of the place charge on both a 'Fixed Price' and 'T & M (Time & Material [pay as you use]) basis. So, it's quite possible that the guy will tell you that he will take you from A to B for Rs.30 on Monday; on Tuesday the rick guy says - Metered fare + Rs.10 extra. And if one wastes time in complex calculations at this point of time, he just zooms off.

The second trick is to know when to get off. Okay, before you get any naughty thoughts in your pretty heads - I am talking of Hosur Road. Possibly one of the worst places to be, in Bangalore. Unfortunately, 80% of Bangalore seems to think the other way for various reasons (including the fact that MOST IT companies are located along this unlovely 'highway'). The road planning itself is done in a way so that there are millions of crossings criss-crossing the highway at strategic points which results in endless traffic jams. So the trick is to know when to get off the rickshaw and walk it down.

Sometimes it's tough communicating with the rickshaw fellows. You talk to them in Hindi and they reply to you in a seemingly foreign language. It actually takes a while to register that they are speaking in Hindi as well. So the conversation is kinda like communicating to cosmonauts (note the Russky tilt) on the moon. You talk, there's a delay and then they talk, some more delay. The length of the delay is directly proportional to the amount of words in the sentence.

It's a different thing that cosmonauts never really landed on the Moon. They had other priorities, while the Americans were busy trying to set records for maximum number of Moon landings.

All said and done, am waiting for the salary to come in so I can go and get my Thunderbird.

It's not so bad as it seems. Koshy's on St.Mark's Road is a nice joint to go to on weekdays and weekends, depending on when you can actually spare the time. I had some great Egg Curry & Rice on Sunday afternoon with a dear friend. Quite an experience. I had been to Koshy's on my last visit here, but then we sat in the non-smoking section (which is more comfortable). No, I wasn't smoking this time around. Chumma, for the sake of novelty.

I managed to snap two strings of the guitar on Saturday. The first by accident, and the second out of irritation. Unfortunately, shops tend to be closed on Sundays over here so I had to live without the electric guitar on the weekend. Unfortnately, I haven't been able to catch up with any of my friends over here.

This weekend is different though. I am going to Kerala for the weekend, there's been a death in the family and I shall be meeting my parents there.

Btw, Enjoy Maadi doesn't mean you find someone called Maadi to enjoy... just means - Enjoy. The Maadi is incidental only.

Bangalore Blues

Oh hell, I miss Mumbai. Especially on the weekend that I was here. I guess, working in office on Monday and Tuesday kinda helped alleviate the loneliness.

Met Diptea and her friends on Saturday for dinner. One of the things that I noted was that there are not too many Mumbaikars who have made the transition to Bangalore; though one does find tons of Delhiites and NEites here.

It's been an interesting and warm reception at the Bangalore office. Very nice. Just that it's so hectic. Got tons of things to take care of.

It's a lot of fun to setup house. Ah, the lil things that I have been taking for granted till now!! Like a teaspoon for example, or that pet jar... Hmmm.

Well, off now. Shall update soon.

But yes, the guitars arrived in one piece in the truck :D

The Ganesha pics are here.

Bangalore pics are gonna come up soon.

Geeks, Gates, Google and Ganpati

"...they have this slogan that they are going to organize the world's information. Our slogan is that we are going to give people tools to let them organize the world's information..."

Thus spake Gates, of Microsoft fame, about Google (they) in a candid-yet-guarded interview on CNET.com. The very fact that Gates has acknowledged Google (albeit critically) marks a huge change and can be probably touted as a victory by Googlephiles around the world. Billy goes on to say that the market can actually accommodate Open-Source technologies and that there is more than just one RIGHT model. True to form, he maintains that Microsoft rules :)

Geeky stuff apart, the Ganpati festival is on in full swing. My daily route is in a state of semi-paralysis on account of daily bandobasts that result in traffic jams stretching to tens of kilometres. I managed to take quite a few pictures, will post them in the next one.

I will be flying to Bangalore on Saturday; still can't quite come to terms with it. Mixed feelings. I am not sure how long the Bangalore stint will be. Maybe forever? :) But it's gonna be tough as hell to kinda make do with any city that's not Mumbai.

Oh, tomorrow I will be getting my permanent two-wheeler licence made!

And most of today morning was spent in a long interview with a really experienced candidate. Got an excellent insight into the workings of IT services for the Airline industry there. Maybe I will Prategize on that soon.

Enticers & Prategists

Holiday, and I am feeling half dead. Or maybe just lethargic. Probably the heavy lunch and late breakfast...

Updated Prategy.

Also rode the Enticer on Sunday night; was fun. I love the broad foot rest. It was nice to be able to 'cruise'. Should be fun on the bird. I intend to get him as soon as I get to Bangalore.

Speaking of which, I have managed to narrow down a house in Koramangala. Working out logistics now. 9 days to go.

I wrote a song

If there were a word called 'songette'; this one would surely qualify for the title :)

Points to remember:
1) Don't get too swayed by the title
2) Please excuse the sounds of traffic in the background

Biking

I am testing. Can't seem to get the blog page.

P.S. After I 'posted/puiblished' this, the blog seems to be restored. Don't know what went wrong, I am guessing that some file was corrupted somewhere and the repubilshing did the trick.

Now since I am here, I might as well add that I had a great time riding the bikes today. Tried two - a Bajaj (boxer?) and a Pulsar. Tried the Boxer first and the Pulsar next. Have a fair idea of how much fun it's gonna be on an Enfield (thought I heard one go past the house just now).

I wasn't exactly worried about riding a bike, but it was easier than I thought. I guess, being a whiz on 4 wheels helps. The basic fundamentals are the same. However, having said that, I must say - Riding a bike is a helluva lot more PHYSICAL than driving a car.

As I said, fun.

Will bike some more tomorrow; unless I am called in at work (which I am actually looking forward to!!! Hahaha!!!). Will try an Enticer tomorrow :)

And then for the license :D

Update

This weekend, I intend to try and learn how to ride a bike :)
I also need to buy some stuff that I will need while staying alone in Bangalore. Hardly two weeks to go and I don't have a house yet, hehe. What's new?

Okay, so I wrote a poem.

Solos To Do

Listening to Uriah Heep. Wish I could play the solo in July Morning. And also the one in Maggot Brain (not by Uriah Heep, in case you are too lazy to click on the link).