You all must have heard the proverb..."u got food in your hand but you couldn't put it in your mouth".Well, something similar happened to me.
My orientation ended recently with a trip to a camp near the Smoky mountains, a really beautiful place and a 45 min drive from my college, though we did not exactly go to the mountains. It was a nice trip but the journey was not like how we have in India, with Dumb C, antakshari etc..., it was just sit and talk as there was a mixture of a few Indians, lots of chinkis (japs, chinese, koreans and taiwanese) and a bit of europeans and canadians.
The place was good, as soon as we went there, we had some salads and bread to eat (for veggies, non veggies had lot of choices), followed by some activities like canoeing, riflery, wall climbing, zip line(going from one end of the rope to another end at a lower elevation tied from the top) etc..we wanted to go canoeing but the bus was full, someone said there's gonna be a 2nd trip later, so we went to riflery. That part is run by a guy who's a shooter in the US military. The targets were not some 100 balloons in front of you like in India. It was a sheet of paper with those usual concentric circles, 50m or 50 ft away (dunno exactly) and we had to wear those googles, headphones etc. and shoot them. Well, my career as a sniper is out of the question...I missed all 5 as I could not even make out the target properly with goggles over my goggles!
well, we went back for canoeing, they said, no more trips :(
well, we went to zipline and wall climbing instead, but it was so crowded we ditched it. we went swimming then. man, what an awesome sight that was! we were swimming along with blonde babes in bikinis and playing waterpolo with them ;). this went on for about 2 hrs..
Then we went to archery, was much better in bows and arrows, infact i even hit a bull's eye (almost), came back for dinner and had lasagna.
After dinner, there was some group activity where we were supposed to talk and some bullshit like that, that took a lot of time. the chinks talk a lot, and we cant even understand their english!
there were 5 topics, but it was cut down to 3 (thankfully!). By then it was dark, around 8.30 PM (it gets dark only then). There were 3 options for us then, a bonfire (no way!), a night swim (hmm. interesting..), but we took the 3rd option, the V-swing. There were 8 of us for this, 7 indians and 1 chinki (i always thought that chinki was a guy, turned out to be a girl, we were discussing those things right in front of her, of course in hindi). now, this V-swing requires 8 ppl, 7 to pull a rope and 1 person to swing. First you'll have to wear all protective straps, then go up a ladder where there is a rope and they'll tie you to that. then, all of us, will start pulling a rope tied to him and he is carried upwards, more than 100 ft from the ground. then he jerks the rope open and starts swinging like tarzan!! the best part of that is, it is pitch dark and in the middle of a forest and we swing from a rope for around 5-8 mins!!! one by one, 3 guys and the chink finished swinging, I was next in line, all ready with straps and helmet etc.. The time was 9.35 PM, we were supposed to go back at 9.45 PM. everybody thought I'll finish it and probably the next guy in line. The person before me gave us a scare first, he started swinging, went some where and did not even shout! and after a while, he realized that and we heard a 'Aaaaahhhhhh....' from the trees and he came swinging back, much to our relief. Anyway, he finshed, I was all set, and then..the damned rope got stuck somewhere in the trees and they started looking for it, and after a few mins, they said, "guys, its gonna take some time, please remove your harness and get back to the main area, or u'll miss the bus!!" man, I was so f.....g close!! :(
All in all, an exhilerating experience...just missed in the end.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Friday, August 19, 2005
Bangalore is called the silicon valley....oops
Ever heard of foot-in-mouth disease?? Seems like I am contracting that disease after coming to US. Let me expalin a bit more.
We had our orientation today. Everything was going great. Then came this girl from new-york who was supposed to be our mentor for the day.She looked great but was married. Spoke abt her ex-boyfriend for some time(phew.. I pity her husband). Then she started asking things abt our background. When it was my turn, I said my name and I am from india. she asked me the city. I said bangalore. She was curious. She had never heard of the city. So I started to explain that the city is in the south of india and it is also called the silicon valley. This made her blush. I never understood why. But after a few mins of silence, she asked me what the silicon valley meant. I said bangalore is the hub of IT industries so they compare it with silicon valley of US california belt. With a smile, she replied that she thought that silicon valey as a slang for that "silicone" implanted(guess where!!) place . It was my turn to get shocked this time. Then onwards, the mentorship program went flat down with only academics and university to talk abt.
Phew.. talk abt bragging abt ur city and end up being the implant..
We had our orientation today. Everything was going great. Then came this girl from new-york who was supposed to be our mentor for the day.She looked great but was married. Spoke abt her ex-boyfriend for some time(phew.. I pity her husband). Then she started asking things abt our background. When it was my turn, I said my name and I am from india. she asked me the city. I said bangalore. She was curious. She had never heard of the city. So I started to explain that the city is in the south of india and it is also called the silicon valley. This made her blush. I never understood why. But after a few mins of silence, she asked me what the silicon valley meant. I said bangalore is the hub of IT industries so they compare it with silicon valley of US california belt. With a smile, she replied that she thought that silicon valey as a slang for that "silicone" implanted(guess where!!) place . It was my turn to get shocked this time. Then onwards, the mentorship program went flat down with only academics and university to talk abt.
Phew.. talk abt bragging abt ur city and end up being the implant..
Sunday, August 14, 2005
My Pre US adventures
Hello everybody,
Right now, I am in the US, in Knoxville, TN to be precise (I think most of you guys know that anyway). So far I haven't had any interesting adventures as I am just settling in, but I am confident there are loads of things to come in the future. Hunting for part time jobs right now, though I have got one as a tutor for undergraduates( This is a little tricky one. I get paid by no. of students per hour, e.g. 8 students, $8 per hour, something like that. The problem is, this is not a regular class, only extra tutorials. If 1 student bunks, I get $1 less that day, also, students who register pay only for classes they attend. Also, getting 8 students is no easy task!!). Anyways, I might get some other job at Dining, tech support etc... and if I get one, I'll take that.so thats my life right now...
Anyways, I had resigned from Infy on the 6th of July itself and sa at home for a month. Before that, I had taken 20 days leave(LOP) for "preparing" for my Masters. But the only thing I did in those 20 days was watch some 100 movies, hog like a pig and gain a few kgs. So i decided to compensate by working harder after the resignation. So first day, I actually took out a book on electronic circuits, got stuck for an hour trying to understand how equation 1 got differenciated to equation 2, left all hopes after 1 hour and threw away the book. Did not touch sudy books for the next few days, while I again started watching movies, but was also shopping for some time.
Meanwhile, mom started to teach me cooking and I showed deep interest in that. Now, I have learnt so many dishes that i can start a catering service business here!! But i think I need a B1 visa for that ;)
After a few days, I took out the book on digital design and started studying. This time I was stuck with K-Maps (not that i struggled, I started solving all exercise problems just for fun). After a while I realised, it is not so important and proceeded further.
My dental experience:
My visit to the dentist is one thing I can never forget (who'll forget??). The doctor has a huge clinic and it looks really good. He is also a professor and gets many students to his clinic to explain things. BTW, all students were girls, some babes also!
When I went inside, there was a patient withhis mouth wide open and the doctor and some 5 girls seeing inside. I sneered at the man's plight. Well, my turn came and the doctor told all the girls to examine me!! I got shit scared, being treated like a guinea pig by final year students!! luckily, the girl who treated me had some experience and did a good job, though I gave her a tough time, she admitted later. BTW, I had some 15 cavities!! (2 months in switzerland, atleast 4 chocolates a day, chocolate supply athome for next 1.5 months. 15 is a small no.). All the 15 cavities were filled in the same day and it took 1.5 hrs, with my mouth fully open most of the time. OMG, that was one horrible day!!
My other visits to doctors went fine, I had to make a lot of visits in the end as I caught viral fever with one week to go. had all sorts of medication one can think of, but now I think i am allright.
In the meanwhile, we had some gettogethers, the class one did not go well, because of have rains. Only me, nidhi, Harris and Yogs met up on a sunday evening and later, most of the other guys at the airport, that too for 5 mins. Had a big problem with excess baggage and started throwing things, some back to mom, some in my friends bag, some in my cabin baggage etc..Anyways, thanks guys, all those who came to the airport to see me off. I never had the chance to talk properly then.
My flight was Ok. Met a friend of mine in mumbai who came to the airport and we went to dinner and had pav bhaji. Well, all those who want to taste pav bhaji of aamchi mumbai and think Bangalore is bad (many people in Infy were complaining about the abd quality in Bangalore compared to mumbai), think again. It tasted the same. nothing special. Anyways, London was boring. Sat for 5 hrs doing nothing as the airport is expensive. Even to browse the internet, i had to shell out 1 pound! Anyway, I had a friend for company and a book, and I spent time. From London to Chicago, there were some good movies in the flight like Kung fu hustle, some jlo movie, monster-in-law, million $ baby among others. Chicago is a real busy airport, and immigration took more than an hour. Anyway, I had lots of time for the next flight and everything went smoothly. The local flights there are real small, 40 seater capacity and they do not serve anything other than juice and peanuts. Well, not a big problem, and I landed in Knoxville at 10.39 PM, Indian students had come to pick me up, so went with them to the apartment.
Well, hopefully everything goes well and I get assistantships ASAP. do pitch in the comments (i know there is nothing special in this post, wrote it just for the heck of it. No posts for a long time, thats why). Nidhi, by now even you'll be in US. Put down ur experience as well. Lets publish more posts guys!
Cheers,
Vicky
Right now, I am in the US, in Knoxville, TN to be precise (I think most of you guys know that anyway). So far I haven't had any interesting adventures as I am just settling in, but I am confident there are loads of things to come in the future. Hunting for part time jobs right now, though I have got one as a tutor for undergraduates( This is a little tricky one. I get paid by no. of students per hour, e.g. 8 students, $8 per hour, something like that. The problem is, this is not a regular class, only extra tutorials. If 1 student bunks, I get $1 less that day, also, students who register pay only for classes they attend. Also, getting 8 students is no easy task!!). Anyways, I might get some other job at Dining, tech support etc... and if I get one, I'll take that.so thats my life right now...
Anyways, I had resigned from Infy on the 6th of July itself and sa at home for a month. Before that, I had taken 20 days leave(LOP) for "preparing" for my Masters. But the only thing I did in those 20 days was watch some 100 movies, hog like a pig and gain a few kgs. So i decided to compensate by working harder after the resignation. So first day, I actually took out a book on electronic circuits, got stuck for an hour trying to understand how equation 1 got differenciated to equation 2, left all hopes after 1 hour and threw away the book. Did not touch sudy books for the next few days, while I again started watching movies, but was also shopping for some time.
Meanwhile, mom started to teach me cooking and I showed deep interest in that. Now, I have learnt so many dishes that i can start a catering service business here!! But i think I need a B1 visa for that ;)
After a few days, I took out the book on digital design and started studying. This time I was stuck with K-Maps (not that i struggled, I started solving all exercise problems just for fun). After a while I realised, it is not so important and proceeded further.
My dental experience:
My visit to the dentist is one thing I can never forget (who'll forget??). The doctor has a huge clinic and it looks really good. He is also a professor and gets many students to his clinic to explain things. BTW, all students were girls, some babes also!
When I went inside, there was a patient withhis mouth wide open and the doctor and some 5 girls seeing inside. I sneered at the man's plight. Well, my turn came and the doctor told all the girls to examine me!! I got shit scared, being treated like a guinea pig by final year students!! luckily, the girl who treated me had some experience and did a good job, though I gave her a tough time, she admitted later. BTW, I had some 15 cavities!! (2 months in switzerland, atleast 4 chocolates a day, chocolate supply athome for next 1.5 months. 15 is a small no.). All the 15 cavities were filled in the same day and it took 1.5 hrs, with my mouth fully open most of the time. OMG, that was one horrible day!!
My other visits to doctors went fine, I had to make a lot of visits in the end as I caught viral fever with one week to go. had all sorts of medication one can think of, but now I think i am allright.
In the meanwhile, we had some gettogethers, the class one did not go well, because of have rains. Only me, nidhi, Harris and Yogs met up on a sunday evening and later, most of the other guys at the airport, that too for 5 mins. Had a big problem with excess baggage and started throwing things, some back to mom, some in my friends bag, some in my cabin baggage etc..Anyways, thanks guys, all those who came to the airport to see me off. I never had the chance to talk properly then.
My flight was Ok. Met a friend of mine in mumbai who came to the airport and we went to dinner and had pav bhaji. Well, all those who want to taste pav bhaji of aamchi mumbai and think Bangalore is bad (many people in Infy were complaining about the abd quality in Bangalore compared to mumbai), think again. It tasted the same. nothing special. Anyways, London was boring. Sat for 5 hrs doing nothing as the airport is expensive. Even to browse the internet, i had to shell out 1 pound! Anyway, I had a friend for company and a book, and I spent time. From London to Chicago, there were some good movies in the flight like Kung fu hustle, some jlo movie, monster-in-law, million $ baby among others. Chicago is a real busy airport, and immigration took more than an hour. Anyway, I had lots of time for the next flight and everything went smoothly. The local flights there are real small, 40 seater capacity and they do not serve anything other than juice and peanuts. Well, not a big problem, and I landed in Knoxville at 10.39 PM, Indian students had come to pick me up, so went with them to the apartment.
Well, hopefully everything goes well and I get assistantships ASAP. do pitch in the comments (i know there is nothing special in this post, wrote it just for the heck of it. No posts for a long time, thats why). Nidhi, by now even you'll be in US. Put down ur experience as well. Lets publish more posts guys!
Cheers,
Vicky
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
sequel to the sequel
So many days have gone past since I wrote the 1st part of my 2nd trip experience to Switzerland. Frankly speaking, I myself have forgotten what happened in the rest of the trip. But I am completing this for the sake of completeness, and also for the very small percentage of people who seemed interested. I have tried my best. This one is a real test for my memory.
so where did we end last time?
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hmmm...ok
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So after having visiting the art museum and all, the next week was spent with me most of the time in office, many time going out for dinner and then coming back to work till 1 AM types, though we went bowling one night and it was awesome! The bowling alleys are dark but the pins, the ball glow in the dark and it is quite a different experience from the amoebas and the megabowls here.
(Latest News Update: Infy Mysore also has a similar bowling alley now!)
The next weekend, we went to Luzern for a boat ride in lake Luzern. This is one awesome place, the lake and the boat ride. During the ride, there are many mountains like Mt.Pilatus, Titlis etc... and the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful. By this time, I had bought a digicam but took my normal camera that day which had only 10 shots left, thinking it just a lake and some scenery, more than enough. One of the biggest mistakes of my life. Anyways, our boat dropped us at a place called Vitznau if I remember right. From there it continues till Brunnen, another beautiful place with a small village along the lake and a Fjord formation. We thought of roaming around in Vitznau for an hour, maybe sit in a pub or cafe till the boat comes back and then catch it to head back home.
In Vitznau, we saw this small cogwheel train and we were interested. When we enquired, they said it is a mountain train and goes to another mountain, Mt.Rigi. We decided to take that train and take the next ship after 1.5 hours as we still had lot of time and it was around 4 PM still. Now, how can I forget this place. If heaven was on earth, it would be there, atleast for some time!
As the train goes up, since it is ascending a mountain at an angle, everything looks inclined outside, the mountains, lake, everything! and what a beautiful view of the lake and mountains! Terrific!We spent some time in Rigi and decided to come back by cable car which was operating that time. and that is another wonderful experience, as it comes down, you feel you are falling down! Anyway, we came down and took the boat, and this boat was unique. It was working on the piston-shaft principle which made the turbines to rotate and take the boat forward. and these were not small, they were huge. Not as huge as those shown in Titanic, but relatively huge. The boat itself was pretty big and we could call that a mini ship, with 2 decks, cafetaria etc....Then we took the train back to Basel after getting down the boat in Luzern, bringing an end to a wonderful weekend.
Again, the week was filled with loads of work, and I had to interact daily with someone from the client side, who acted like a joker, and a guy from a rival company also providing part of services to the same client. This client guy was really strange, and dumb. He works only from Monday to Wednesday and is off on the other days. And on these 3 days, he wears the same set of clothes, a red Corduroy shirt and a cream Corduroy pant and sneakers. And he was wearing the same dress for 3 continuous weeks, and also for the next 3 weeks, my friend there told me. I think he spends the long weekend washing them. On the other hand, the rival company guy was speaking in a tone more monotonous than a robot, and was very irritating. We used to hate him big time.
During this week, one of my colleagues was looking for a house and had the following conversation over the phone with someone he thought was a house owner, the no. he got from the net somehow.
C - colleague, O- other person on the phone (he was speaking in broken english, with european accent of course, but I am mentioned more or less what we heard)
C - Hi, I am looking for an apartment
O - ok, you need an apartment!
C - yes. I work in Hammerstrasse and I am looking for something close by..
and the conversation went on for some 5-8 mins and we could not understand anything...after some time...
C - ok, I want to come and see the apartment today
O- Yes. you can come today!
C - Thank you. What is the rent for the apartment? the cost?
O - Ok, the cost is 35 CHF (swiss francs)
C - 35 CHF!!! (thinking - either this is a steal in broad daylight or something's gone terribly wrong)
C - ok. Is this a house for rent?
O - No, this is a hairdressing saloon.
by this time, we were all ROTFL while he was looking like a fool!
C - I am sorry. I do not want the apartment.
O - Oh. I am sorry you had to cancel the appointment.
Moral of the story: Listen carefully, learn local language, don't trust the internet for everything.
Another instance.
This happened to me when I went to a shop having a sale on bags and suitcases. I just wanted to know how long the sale will be held.
M - Me, S - shopkeeper
M - Guten Mitaak (good afternoon)
S - Guten Mitaak
M - English?
S - Nein. (No)
M - Ok. Ich (I) need large bag. (I am not good in German. I just know some basic words)somehow she understood bag and started showing me some bags
M- No sale, no sale. how many tagen rabat? (how many days discount)
dumbass she is, she did not understand that.
S - Rabat? Yes, rabat..this one, this one (in german)
M- Noooo! no sale. HOW MANY TAGEN RABAT?
S - Rabat? Yes, rabat on this one (and she started showing me those bags again)
after a few more tries in asking her and failing, I was fed up, my friend was laughing at my plight, the shopkeeper was very confused and I decided to chuck that and come after a few days and buy it off if the sale was still being held.
A little gyan: Wie viele (pronounced Vee feealay) is the german equivalent for how many. I learnt later.
Well, back to my "adventures". I had one more weekend left in Switzerland and I knew I won't get another chance, atleast for the time being as I was planning to resign on coming back. So we decided to visit some place that weekend. We had planned on Meiringen, a very beautiful place with deep gorges and the Riehenback falls, where Sherlock Holmes dies according to the book. But as the weathermen predicted rain in that area, we decided to go to another place called Appenzall or Appenzellerland. Now, I remembered seeing this name somewhere but could not remember where. I got the answer recently when i was checking some old mails and this place was part of a mail whose subject line was something like "Some places you need to see in your life", along with some other beautiful places in the world.
Now, this place is a very traditional place. You get to see the traditional swiss culture only in this place. The houses, the streets, the restaurants, all are quite different from ones in Basel, Zurich etc..There is greenery everywhere. A really beautiful place and a must see for all those who have planned a trip to Switzerland for a few days. This place has got some good restaurants but they are different from the other conventional ones, though we did find a Pizzeria onthe way back. The menu was in German and from the words, it lokked like only ham, pork, veal etc.. available there. Luckily, one restaurant had a small veg menu also and some of us veggies ordered spring rolls (one of the best I have eaten so far), while one of them ordered thai rice (same thing), veg curry and banana chutney which was available!!
Highlight of the day: I was posing for a snap in my digicam (this time I was not so stupid) in front of a huge field and I knelt down and caught hold of a wire for support. It turned out to be a live wire fence! Luckily, it was Sunday and it was switched off!! (wonder why?). Anyways, I would have been dead meat that day and this story would never have been written...
The last week in office was to be my last onsite assignment week from Infy and there were some celebrations, some treats from my side (Those guys demand treat for everything. I almost ended up treating breakfast, lunch and dinner for 3 continuus days!). Work was hectic though. My last day was pretty tough as I took some time off in the evening to buy the chocolates and the suitcase and so I had to work late to finish it. Worked till 10.30 PM, then left to a pub where my friends were waiting, sat there till 12 AM,went towards home but my colleague who stayes in the same building in another floor invited us for some tea, sat there talking and sipping tea till 1.30 AM till my colleague got bored and threw us out as she wanted to sleep, then me and my friend contemplated on going to those "interesting" places but we decided otherwise as I had to catch the 6 AM train to Zurich and I still had not packed. Was done with packing by 3.30 AM, slept till 5.00 and left home by 5.30 to the railway station to head back home.Had a lot of problems coming back like excess baggage, army knife in cabin baggage etc...but finally I reached home safely (not before having a small accident on good ol' Mysore road), thus bringing an end to an amazing trip.
Whew! I have remembered most of it! Thanks for being patient!! :)
Vikas
PS: I am no longer in Infy and am leaving to the US for further studies early next month. Lets catch up guys before that! And I will trouble you with some US stories later ;)
so where did we end last time?
(scroll down)
.
.
.
(scroll down)
.
.
hmmm...ok
(scroll up)
.
.
.
(scroll up)
.
.
So after having visiting the art museum and all, the next week was spent with me most of the time in office, many time going out for dinner and then coming back to work till 1 AM types, though we went bowling one night and it was awesome! The bowling alleys are dark but the pins, the ball glow in the dark and it is quite a different experience from the amoebas and the megabowls here.
(Latest News Update: Infy Mysore also has a similar bowling alley now!)
The next weekend, we went to Luzern for a boat ride in lake Luzern. This is one awesome place, the lake and the boat ride. During the ride, there are many mountains like Mt.Pilatus, Titlis etc... and the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful. By this time, I had bought a digicam but took my normal camera that day which had only 10 shots left, thinking it just a lake and some scenery, more than enough. One of the biggest mistakes of my life. Anyways, our boat dropped us at a place called Vitznau if I remember right. From there it continues till Brunnen, another beautiful place with a small village along the lake and a Fjord formation. We thought of roaming around in Vitznau for an hour, maybe sit in a pub or cafe till the boat comes back and then catch it to head back home.
In Vitznau, we saw this small cogwheel train and we were interested. When we enquired, they said it is a mountain train and goes to another mountain, Mt.Rigi. We decided to take that train and take the next ship after 1.5 hours as we still had lot of time and it was around 4 PM still. Now, how can I forget this place. If heaven was on earth, it would be there, atleast for some time!
As the train goes up, since it is ascending a mountain at an angle, everything looks inclined outside, the mountains, lake, everything! and what a beautiful view of the lake and mountains! Terrific!We spent some time in Rigi and decided to come back by cable car which was operating that time. and that is another wonderful experience, as it comes down, you feel you are falling down! Anyway, we came down and took the boat, and this boat was unique. It was working on the piston-shaft principle which made the turbines to rotate and take the boat forward. and these were not small, they were huge. Not as huge as those shown in Titanic, but relatively huge. The boat itself was pretty big and we could call that a mini ship, with 2 decks, cafetaria etc....Then we took the train back to Basel after getting down the boat in Luzern, bringing an end to a wonderful weekend.
Again, the week was filled with loads of work, and I had to interact daily with someone from the client side, who acted like a joker, and a guy from a rival company also providing part of services to the same client. This client guy was really strange, and dumb. He works only from Monday to Wednesday and is off on the other days. And on these 3 days, he wears the same set of clothes, a red Corduroy shirt and a cream Corduroy pant and sneakers. And he was wearing the same dress for 3 continuous weeks, and also for the next 3 weeks, my friend there told me. I think he spends the long weekend washing them. On the other hand, the rival company guy was speaking in a tone more monotonous than a robot, and was very irritating. We used to hate him big time.
During this week, one of my colleagues was looking for a house and had the following conversation over the phone with someone he thought was a house owner, the no. he got from the net somehow.
C - colleague, O- other person on the phone (he was speaking in broken english, with european accent of course, but I am mentioned more or less what we heard)
C - Hi, I am looking for an apartment
O - ok, you need an apartment!
C - yes. I work in Hammerstrasse and I am looking for something close by..
and the conversation went on for some 5-8 mins and we could not understand anything...after some time...
C - ok, I want to come and see the apartment today
O- Yes. you can come today!
C - Thank you. What is the rent for the apartment? the cost?
O - Ok, the cost is 35 CHF (swiss francs)
C - 35 CHF!!! (thinking - either this is a steal in broad daylight or something's gone terribly wrong)
C - ok. Is this a house for rent?
O - No, this is a hairdressing saloon.
by this time, we were all ROTFL while he was looking like a fool!
C - I am sorry. I do not want the apartment.
O - Oh. I am sorry you had to cancel the appointment.
Moral of the story: Listen carefully, learn local language, don't trust the internet for everything.
Another instance.
This happened to me when I went to a shop having a sale on bags and suitcases. I just wanted to know how long the sale will be held.
M - Me, S - shopkeeper
M - Guten Mitaak (good afternoon)
S - Guten Mitaak
M - English?
S - Nein. (No)
M - Ok. Ich (I) need large bag. (I am not good in German. I just know some basic words)somehow she understood bag and started showing me some bags
M- No sale, no sale. how many tagen rabat? (how many days discount)
dumbass she is, she did not understand that.
S - Rabat? Yes, rabat..this one, this one (in german)
M- Noooo! no sale. HOW MANY TAGEN RABAT?
S - Rabat? Yes, rabat on this one (and she started showing me those bags again)
after a few more tries in asking her and failing, I was fed up, my friend was laughing at my plight, the shopkeeper was very confused and I decided to chuck that and come after a few days and buy it off if the sale was still being held.
A little gyan: Wie viele (pronounced Vee feealay) is the german equivalent for how many. I learnt later.
Well, back to my "adventures". I had one more weekend left in Switzerland and I knew I won't get another chance, atleast for the time being as I was planning to resign on coming back. So we decided to visit some place that weekend. We had planned on Meiringen, a very beautiful place with deep gorges and the Riehenback falls, where Sherlock Holmes dies according to the book. But as the weathermen predicted rain in that area, we decided to go to another place called Appenzall or Appenzellerland. Now, I remembered seeing this name somewhere but could not remember where. I got the answer recently when i was checking some old mails and this place was part of a mail whose subject line was something like "Some places you need to see in your life", along with some other beautiful places in the world.
Now, this place is a very traditional place. You get to see the traditional swiss culture only in this place. The houses, the streets, the restaurants, all are quite different from ones in Basel, Zurich etc..There is greenery everywhere. A really beautiful place and a must see for all those who have planned a trip to Switzerland for a few days. This place has got some good restaurants but they are different from the other conventional ones, though we did find a Pizzeria onthe way back. The menu was in German and from the words, it lokked like only ham, pork, veal etc.. available there. Luckily, one restaurant had a small veg menu also and some of us veggies ordered spring rolls (one of the best I have eaten so far), while one of them ordered thai rice (same thing), veg curry and banana chutney which was available!!
Highlight of the day: I was posing for a snap in my digicam (this time I was not so stupid) in front of a huge field and I knelt down and caught hold of a wire for support. It turned out to be a live wire fence! Luckily, it was Sunday and it was switched off!! (wonder why?). Anyways, I would have been dead meat that day and this story would never have been written...
The last week in office was to be my last onsite assignment week from Infy and there were some celebrations, some treats from my side (Those guys demand treat for everything. I almost ended up treating breakfast, lunch and dinner for 3 continuus days!). Work was hectic though. My last day was pretty tough as I took some time off in the evening to buy the chocolates and the suitcase and so I had to work late to finish it. Worked till 10.30 PM, then left to a pub where my friends were waiting, sat there till 12 AM,went towards home but my colleague who stayes in the same building in another floor invited us for some tea, sat there talking and sipping tea till 1.30 AM till my colleague got bored and threw us out as she wanted to sleep, then me and my friend contemplated on going to those "interesting" places but we decided otherwise as I had to catch the 6 AM train to Zurich and I still had not packed. Was done with packing by 3.30 AM, slept till 5.00 and left home by 5.30 to the railway station to head back home.Had a lot of problems coming back like excess baggage, army knife in cabin baggage etc...but finally I reached home safely (not before having a small accident on good ol' Mysore road), thus bringing an end to an amazing trip.
Whew! I have remembered most of it! Thanks for being patient!! :)
Vikas
PS: I am no longer in Infy and am leaving to the US for further studies early next month. Lets catch up guys before that! And I will trouble you with some US stories later ;)
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Is it raining??
It all started when Harris called us over for a 1 day trip to Bisile Ghat. Nidhi and Muddy had agreed and so I also agreed. There were 15 people in all, and there were 5 bikes and a car.
Sat Night 9:50 PM:
I was all set to go, I had packed 1 set of clothes, camera and my jacket and I was waiting in the bus stop for Nidhi and Muddy. Muddy came with a bag filled with clothes enough for a week. Bus came on time and it was a sleeper coach, so we could sleep flat on our backs. Along the way, Muddy was talking about his exploits in Montreal where he had visited for 3 months on project work. He finally drifted to sleep after some time and so did we. There was some delay midway ad the bus reached Mangalore Sunday morning an hour late.
Sunday morning:
We felt very happy seeing the pleasent weather without clouds as it had rained most of Saturday. Harris picked us up and we went to is house and within 5 mins after we went inside, it started pouring!! Luckily, the rain stopped after 15 mins and by then, we had freshed up and ready to go. Harris told that 3 people have dropped out along with the car, but we had an extra bike and so it was 6 bikes, 12 people. We met the others in Infy campus (building, rather) and we left around 8.30 AM for breakfast where I had awesome Neer Dosa (H2O Dosa in Infy kamat restaurant). After packing lunch, we all left for Bisile Ghat which was around 130 km from Mangalore. Nidhi driving one of the bikes and me sitting behind, and Muddy behind Harris. We hardly covered 20 kms when it started raining again. But we decided to drive in the rain and we continued. After around 50 kms, we took a break for some snaps when it started pouring cats and dogs and we were on the highway with only trees on either side!! But somehow we managed a steady 50- 60 kmph inspite of these rains. One sad thing about these rains are that they are very heavy drops and hit you hard. Boy, it sure is tough in these conditions.
Kundya village:
We reached this place called Kundya which around 85 kms from Mangalore at around 1 - 1.15 PM. From here you have to take a diversion to Bisile and Subramanya. Took a break there for 'Chai - Biskut', in the meanwhile the rain also had stopped. Harry's bike had a small accident and the brake had gone loose. Muddy, sitting pillion was getting shoulder pain and was worried about how he can bowl to the kids with whom he plays cricket in the evenings! Anyways, we started again there but Harry had to drive slowly so he asked us to carry on and he will follow behind.
The Ghat sections:
These regions are mainly forest regions and receive plenty of rainfall, so all along we were driving in the rain. One of the guys, Nadeem, from RV 2003 Mech batch zoomed ahead of the others and we kinda lost him but as there was only 1 direction, uphill, we drove on. But we decided to turn back at 3 PM as it becomes dark by around 4 and it will be almost impossible to come back soon. We also had a bus to catch back home. On the way, we found a superb waterfall where we took some snaps, went further up with no sign of Nadeem. We had covered around 70% of the hill. But we decided to come back as the time was already 4 PM, but luckily the rain had stopped again and was bright for a change. Had lunch near the waterfall after taking a dip (drenched all the way, then taking a dip!!) around 4.30 and headed back to the main road to wait for Nadeem. He joined us some 15 mins after we came down and he had gone to the top! With all 12 of us down now, we headed back to Mangalore after decided to meet again at the highway for tea-break.
Is it raining?
What looked like bright and pleasent weather for some time suddenly changed to heavy rain with around 85 kms left to home. Me and Nidhi, who was driving stopped at a small shed for some time as rain was very heavy. There was also a man with his daughter standing there. He asked us 'Male bartaidya? (Is it raining?)'. Visibly irritated, I wanted to say that it is not rain but the Gods had a big time booze party last night and all are peeing at the same time, but I kept quiet. This time, the rain did not look like stopping, so we decided to continue. We drove for another 35 kms or so when we came across Kadaba, a small town. There 2 more bikes joined us but we lost them before I could put on my jacket and leave. But we caught up with them during their pee-break and from there, we were together for the remaining 55 odd kms.
The Highway:
Having already entered the highway, more problems were to follow. One thing, the highway NH48 had absolutely no streetlights atleast for a 50 km stretch and traffic is high in the evenings, particularly trucks and buses. Also, it was getting dark by 6.30 itself. But there was no stopping us and we maintained an average speed of 45 kmph and we expected to reach home by around 8.15 PM at this rate. We also had to stop for a while to wait for 1 bike which was a little behind, also our asses were sore, our backs were sore, name a body part, it was sore! So we did some streching exercises on the highway, in the rain! By then, the other bike came and we again headed for another session for Pain-in-the-arse. We reached mangalore at around 8.35 - 8.40 PM and went to Infosys first. can't remember how much we cursed Harry for taking us there instead of home!However, we reached home at around 8.50 PM and I ran first to the bathroom for a small shower and change to dry clothes! I contacted the bus service and they told that bus is at 10.40 and not 10 which was a relief to us. We all finished a can of Moov spray as we were applying to all parts of the body.
Getting back home:
We were ready by 9.45 kinds and harry again went out in the rain to get an auto but he could never find one. So he asked us to come by bike again (not again, we just dried up!!) till Infy as we get autos there. Muddy was complaining of body pain all over from the brains to the balls. But we had no option and we took the bike, midway we found an auto, kept the bike there itself and boarded the auto. We reached the bus stop at around 10.15, and started looking around for a place to eat. All nearby restaurants were closed, so we had to settle for biscuits, chips and Slice for dinner. But we did not mind anything once we boarded the bus and put our asses to rest. Finally, we reached Bangalore at around 7.30 AM, thus bringing an end to one helluva trip...oops ride.
Positives??
A beautiful place. Worth a visit, if not for the heavy rains...
My shoes got cleaned after a looooong time.
After THIS experience, I don't mind going out in any rain in Bangalore!!
Epilogue:
My home, after coming back..
Mom/Dad: Welcome back. How was the trip?
Me: It was fine.
M/D: Why is everything wet? shoes, bag, jacket, shirt?
V: Oh, nothing, we just got stuck in the rain for some time.
M/D: Rain? You said you were going by car?
V: Yeah, car got cancelled last minute so we went by bike.
M/D: And how long were you drenched.
V: Not much, maybe the last 15-20 kms while driving back home. We could not stop then as the rain would not stop.
M/D: 15-20 kms!!! (can't imagine how they would react if I had told them the truth, drenched for around 150-200 kms). You are bound to sleep for a couple of days now! No more trips for the time being!
V: Aw! it's ok, I'll be fine...
M: by the way, how far is the place from Mangalore.
V: not much, around 60 kms. (another lie...)
M: 60 kms!! By bike!!!
Sat Night 9:50 PM:
I was all set to go, I had packed 1 set of clothes, camera and my jacket and I was waiting in the bus stop for Nidhi and Muddy. Muddy came with a bag filled with clothes enough for a week. Bus came on time and it was a sleeper coach, so we could sleep flat on our backs. Along the way, Muddy was talking about his exploits in Montreal where he had visited for 3 months on project work. He finally drifted to sleep after some time and so did we. There was some delay midway ad the bus reached Mangalore Sunday morning an hour late.
Sunday morning:
We felt very happy seeing the pleasent weather without clouds as it had rained most of Saturday. Harris picked us up and we went to is house and within 5 mins after we went inside, it started pouring!! Luckily, the rain stopped after 15 mins and by then, we had freshed up and ready to go. Harris told that 3 people have dropped out along with the car, but we had an extra bike and so it was 6 bikes, 12 people. We met the others in Infy campus (building, rather) and we left around 8.30 AM for breakfast where I had awesome Neer Dosa (H2O Dosa in Infy kamat restaurant). After packing lunch, we all left for Bisile Ghat which was around 130 km from Mangalore. Nidhi driving one of the bikes and me sitting behind, and Muddy behind Harris. We hardly covered 20 kms when it started raining again. But we decided to drive in the rain and we continued. After around 50 kms, we took a break for some snaps when it started pouring cats and dogs and we were on the highway with only trees on either side!! But somehow we managed a steady 50- 60 kmph inspite of these rains. One sad thing about these rains are that they are very heavy drops and hit you hard. Boy, it sure is tough in these conditions.
Kundya village:
We reached this place called Kundya which around 85 kms from Mangalore at around 1 - 1.15 PM. From here you have to take a diversion to Bisile and Subramanya. Took a break there for 'Chai - Biskut', in the meanwhile the rain also had stopped. Harry's bike had a small accident and the brake had gone loose. Muddy, sitting pillion was getting shoulder pain and was worried about how he can bowl to the kids with whom he plays cricket in the evenings! Anyways, we started again there but Harry had to drive slowly so he asked us to carry on and he will follow behind.
The Ghat sections:
These regions are mainly forest regions and receive plenty of rainfall, so all along we were driving in the rain. One of the guys, Nadeem, from RV 2003 Mech batch zoomed ahead of the others and we kinda lost him but as there was only 1 direction, uphill, we drove on. But we decided to turn back at 3 PM as it becomes dark by around 4 and it will be almost impossible to come back soon. We also had a bus to catch back home. On the way, we found a superb waterfall where we took some snaps, went further up with no sign of Nadeem. We had covered around 70% of the hill. But we decided to come back as the time was already 4 PM, but luckily the rain had stopped again and was bright for a change. Had lunch near the waterfall after taking a dip (drenched all the way, then taking a dip!!) around 4.30 and headed back to the main road to wait for Nadeem. He joined us some 15 mins after we came down and he had gone to the top! With all 12 of us down now, we headed back to Mangalore after decided to meet again at the highway for tea-break.
Is it raining?
What looked like bright and pleasent weather for some time suddenly changed to heavy rain with around 85 kms left to home. Me and Nidhi, who was driving stopped at a small shed for some time as rain was very heavy. There was also a man with his daughter standing there. He asked us 'Male bartaidya? (Is it raining?)'. Visibly irritated, I wanted to say that it is not rain but the Gods had a big time booze party last night and all are peeing at the same time, but I kept quiet. This time, the rain did not look like stopping, so we decided to continue. We drove for another 35 kms or so when we came across Kadaba, a small town. There 2 more bikes joined us but we lost them before I could put on my jacket and leave. But we caught up with them during their pee-break and from there, we were together for the remaining 55 odd kms.
The Highway:
Having already entered the highway, more problems were to follow. One thing, the highway NH48 had absolutely no streetlights atleast for a 50 km stretch and traffic is high in the evenings, particularly trucks and buses. Also, it was getting dark by 6.30 itself. But there was no stopping us and we maintained an average speed of 45 kmph and we expected to reach home by around 8.15 PM at this rate. We also had to stop for a while to wait for 1 bike which was a little behind, also our asses were sore, our backs were sore, name a body part, it was sore! So we did some streching exercises on the highway, in the rain! By then, the other bike came and we again headed for another session for Pain-in-the-arse. We reached mangalore at around 8.35 - 8.40 PM and went to Infosys first. can't remember how much we cursed Harry for taking us there instead of home!However, we reached home at around 8.50 PM and I ran first to the bathroom for a small shower and change to dry clothes! I contacted the bus service and they told that bus is at 10.40 and not 10 which was a relief to us. We all finished a can of Moov spray as we were applying to all parts of the body.
Getting back home:
We were ready by 9.45 kinds and harry again went out in the rain to get an auto but he could never find one. So he asked us to come by bike again (not again, we just dried up!!) till Infy as we get autos there. Muddy was complaining of body pain all over from the brains to the balls. But we had no option and we took the bike, midway we found an auto, kept the bike there itself and boarded the auto. We reached the bus stop at around 10.15, and started looking around for a place to eat. All nearby restaurants were closed, so we had to settle for biscuits, chips and Slice for dinner. But we did not mind anything once we boarded the bus and put our asses to rest. Finally, we reached Bangalore at around 7.30 AM, thus bringing an end to one helluva trip...oops ride.
Positives??
A beautiful place. Worth a visit, if not for the heavy rains...
My shoes got cleaned after a looooong time.
After THIS experience, I don't mind going out in any rain in Bangalore!!
Epilogue:
My home, after coming back..
Mom/Dad: Welcome back. How was the trip?
Me: It was fine.
M/D: Why is everything wet? shoes, bag, jacket, shirt?
V: Oh, nothing, we just got stuck in the rain for some time.
M/D: Rain? You said you were going by car?
V: Yeah, car got cancelled last minute so we went by bike.
M/D: And how long were you drenched.
V: Not much, maybe the last 15-20 kms while driving back home. We could not stop then as the rain would not stop.
M/D: 15-20 kms!!! (can't imagine how they would react if I had told them the truth, drenched for around 150-200 kms). You are bound to sleep for a couple of days now! No more trips for the time being!
V: Aw! it's ok, I'll be fine...
M: by the way, how far is the place from Mangalore.
V: not much, around 60 kms. (another lie...)
M: 60 kms!! By bike!!!
Monday, May 30, 2005
Frustration!!!
For all those intending to go to the US of A (and maybe some other countries too...), this might be "helpful"
The following conversation shows the plight of a south Indian guy (or the plight of the American guy??) in the US...
"Your name?"
"Dinesh."
"How do you spell it?"
"D-I-N...."
"Slow, slow, T?"
"No, D."
"Is that T as in Tom, or D as in Dennis?"
"No, not Dennis, my name is Dinesh."
"I know that. I am asking you, is that a T as in Tom, or D as in ... as inDetroit?"
"I don't know who Tom is, and I haven't been to Detroit. I just came to the US from Madras."
"OK, OK, I know that. Is that T-I- or D-I- ?"
"D. D-I-. D-I-N-E-S-H."
"Is that your last name or first name?"
"Uh? Dinesh is my name."
"OK. What is your Last name?"
"That is my first and last name. Dinesh."
"Then, is your name Dinesh Dinesh?"
"No. My name is Dinesh."
"But what is your LAST NAME? I am ASKING YOU ABOUT YOUR LAST NAME."
"I told you, Dinesh. I always had the same name, from birth till now.DINESH. That's my name."
"OK, what is your family name?"
"Family? Family name? My family doesn't have a name."
"What do the neighbors call you?"
"Dinesh."
"Not you. Your whole family. What do they call your family?"
"Beedida bhat'rr."
"So, that is your family name. Do you understand? How do you spell that?"
"Spell what?"
"B.D. whatever you said, what your neighbors call your family."
"Oh, that ... Beedida bhat'rr.""What do you need that for? It only means 'the brahmin who makes beedis.'"
"What are B-Ds?""Not B-D. Beedi, is like a cigarette, you see, they roll the tobacco in aleaf and tie a threadaround it. 25 in a kattu."
"25 in a what?""Kattu, or katta, whatever. Like a bunch, you see. If there is even one less or one more, myfather could always tell without counting. He then taught me how to do it."
"I am not worried about your 'cutter' or whatever. What-is-your-last-name?"
"I told you, Dinesh."
"OK, OK, I don't want to go over this again. What is common to the names of all the members ofyour family?"
"They are all in Sanskrit. My first sister is Suneetha, the second sister isSumathi ... "
"Not about the language. When you write your name, and your sister writes her name, what do you two have in common?"
"We have the same handwriting. Even my father can't tell our handwritings apart."
"Blast it! What is your father's name?"
"G.K.Nettar."
"What does G.K. stand for?"
"His name, Gopala Krishna."
"Then what is Nettar?"
"That is our house name."
"House name? Aha, does every one at your house have this name?"
"It is not our name. It is the name of our house. Strictly speaking, itshould be Honnadka. But my father was too lazy to change it. My father was born in Honnadka, but,see, my grandfatherwas born in Nettar."
"What was his name?"
"I told you, G.K.Nettar."
"Your grandfather was also called G.K. whatever?"
"No. That is my father."
"Then what is your grandfather's name?"
"Govinda Bhat. See, my relatives still call me Mangalore Govinda. Because itis a tradition to name the first son after his grandfather.All the brothers of my father have done this. So, we have Honnadka Govinda,Jogibettu Govinda,Kanchodu Govinda, and I am Mangalore Govinda."
"So, then, your name is Mangalore Govinda, not Dinesh."
"No. My name is Dinesh. Mangalore Govinda is how my relatives call me. Thatis not my Name."
"What do they call your sister?"
"Ammanni."
"What? You said her name is Sooneetha."
"Yes, that is her name, Suneetha, but we call her Ammanni."
"Is that her nick-name?"
"No. she doesn't have a nick name. Only our neighbor's daughter has a nickname. She is called 'padarasa'. She is very active. That's why."
"What about your brother?"
"I have no brothers. But then, you can count all those Govindas as mybrothers too. See, theyare really kind of my brothers."
"OK, what are their names?"
"The oldest one, he is my big brother. He is called GovindaNNa."
"Govind Anna? Then Anna is his last name."
"No, ANNA, not anna. ANNA means big brother."
"What is his NAME?"
"His name is Govinda Bhat."
"Then your last name is But."
"Not but, Bhat, B-H-A-T. But that's not his name, you see."
"If that's not his name, what is it? Why does he have it in his name?"
"Bhat simply means he is a brahmin. He might as well write Rao, like hisfather does, or Sharma,like my father's second brother does."
"How does he write his name in official papers?"
"Nettar Govinda Bhat. That's how he writes it."
"How does his father write it?""Nettar Venkata Subba Rao."
"Aha, I can see now. Your father is G.K.Nettar, his brother is Nettar something Rao... your lastname is then Nettar. Aha, I got it."
"But Nettar is not the last name. It is the house name."
"I don't care. Tell me one last time, what is YOUR last name?"
"But I told you, my last name is the same as my first name, my only name,Dinesh."
"Then, I am going to write Nettar here. I don't care if it is your housename, your grandfather'sname, your dog's name, whatever. It is your last name. How do you spell it?
N-E-..."
"N-E-T-T-A-R."
"N-E-T-T-? Is that T as in Tom or D as in Dennis?"
"My name is Dinesh, not Dennis."
"AARRGGHHHHH. Do we have to go through this again? Here, write it down.."
"That's it. From now on, you are Dinesh Nettar, Dinesh is your first name,and Nettar is your lastname. OK?"
The following conversation shows the plight of a south Indian guy (or the plight of the American guy??) in the US...
"Your name?"
"Dinesh."
"How do you spell it?"
"D-I-N...."
"Slow, slow, T?"
"No, D."
"Is that T as in Tom, or D as in Dennis?"
"No, not Dennis, my name is Dinesh."
"I know that. I am asking you, is that a T as in Tom, or D as in ... as inDetroit?"
"I don't know who Tom is, and I haven't been to Detroit. I just came to the US from Madras."
"OK, OK, I know that. Is that T-I- or D-I- ?"
"D. D-I-. D-I-N-E-S-H."
"Is that your last name or first name?"
"Uh? Dinesh is my name."
"OK. What is your Last name?"
"That is my first and last name. Dinesh."
"Then, is your name Dinesh Dinesh?"
"No. My name is Dinesh."
"But what is your LAST NAME? I am ASKING YOU ABOUT YOUR LAST NAME."
"I told you, Dinesh. I always had the same name, from birth till now.DINESH. That's my name."
"OK, what is your family name?"
"Family? Family name? My family doesn't have a name."
"What do the neighbors call you?"
"Dinesh."
"Not you. Your whole family. What do they call your family?"
"Beedida bhat'rr."
"So, that is your family name. Do you understand? How do you spell that?"
"Spell what?"
"B.D. whatever you said, what your neighbors call your family."
"Oh, that ... Beedida bhat'rr.""What do you need that for? It only means 'the brahmin who makes beedis.'"
"What are B-Ds?""Not B-D. Beedi, is like a cigarette, you see, they roll the tobacco in aleaf and tie a threadaround it. 25 in a kattu."
"25 in a what?""Kattu, or katta, whatever. Like a bunch, you see. If there is even one less or one more, myfather could always tell without counting. He then taught me how to do it."
"I am not worried about your 'cutter' or whatever. What-is-your-last-name?"
"I told you, Dinesh."
"OK, OK, I don't want to go over this again. What is common to the names of all the members ofyour family?"
"They are all in Sanskrit. My first sister is Suneetha, the second sister isSumathi ... "
"Not about the language. When you write your name, and your sister writes her name, what do you two have in common?"
"We have the same handwriting. Even my father can't tell our handwritings apart."
"Blast it! What is your father's name?"
"G.K.Nettar."
"What does G.K. stand for?"
"His name, Gopala Krishna."
"Then what is Nettar?"
"That is our house name."
"House name? Aha, does every one at your house have this name?"
"It is not our name. It is the name of our house. Strictly speaking, itshould be Honnadka. But my father was too lazy to change it. My father was born in Honnadka, but,see, my grandfatherwas born in Nettar."
"What was his name?"
"I told you, G.K.Nettar."
"Your grandfather was also called G.K. whatever?"
"No. That is my father."
"Then what is your grandfather's name?"
"Govinda Bhat. See, my relatives still call me Mangalore Govinda. Because itis a tradition to name the first son after his grandfather.All the brothers of my father have done this. So, we have Honnadka Govinda,Jogibettu Govinda,Kanchodu Govinda, and I am Mangalore Govinda."
"So, then, your name is Mangalore Govinda, not Dinesh."
"No. My name is Dinesh. Mangalore Govinda is how my relatives call me. Thatis not my Name."
"What do they call your sister?"
"Ammanni."
"What? You said her name is Sooneetha."
"Yes, that is her name, Suneetha, but we call her Ammanni."
"Is that her nick-name?"
"No. she doesn't have a nick name. Only our neighbor's daughter has a nickname. She is called 'padarasa'. She is very active. That's why."
"What about your brother?"
"I have no brothers. But then, you can count all those Govindas as mybrothers too. See, theyare really kind of my brothers."
"OK, what are their names?"
"The oldest one, he is my big brother. He is called GovindaNNa."
"Govind Anna? Then Anna is his last name."
"No, ANNA, not anna. ANNA means big brother."
"What is his NAME?"
"His name is Govinda Bhat."
"Then your last name is But."
"Not but, Bhat, B-H-A-T. But that's not his name, you see."
"If that's not his name, what is it? Why does he have it in his name?"
"Bhat simply means he is a brahmin. He might as well write Rao, like hisfather does, or Sharma,like my father's second brother does."
"How does he write his name in official papers?"
"Nettar Govinda Bhat. That's how he writes it."
"How does his father write it?""Nettar Venkata Subba Rao."
"Aha, I can see now. Your father is G.K.Nettar, his brother is Nettar something Rao... your lastname is then Nettar. Aha, I got it."
"But Nettar is not the last name. It is the house name."
"I don't care. Tell me one last time, what is YOUR last name?"
"But I told you, my last name is the same as my first name, my only name,Dinesh."
"Then, I am going to write Nettar here. I don't care if it is your housename, your grandfather'sname, your dog's name, whatever. It is your last name. How do you spell it?
N-E-..."
"N-E-T-T-A-R."
"N-E-T-T-? Is that T as in Tom or D as in Dennis?"
"My name is Dinesh, not Dennis."
"AARRGGHHHHH. Do we have to go through this again? Here, write it down.."
"That's it. From now on, you are Dinesh Nettar, Dinesh is your first name,and Nettar is your lastname. OK?"
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Vikas's theory for good "bluffing"
Hey all,
First of all, to all those who actually liked my Swiss stories, just wait a little while while I compose the last part...Till then, try to understand this theory. Others, do I have to tell u anything more?
Vikas's (me!) theory for good bluffing states that
"The ability to "bluff" is directly proportional to the amount of alcohol content in the human body".
I will explain the details about this later as we talk about the events leading to the formulation of my theory.
Well, for starters, some of us class ppl were planning a reunion. Ambar suggested we all go to his place as his parents are out of town. So we decided to make it there.
Unfortunately, only 6 of us turned out (actually, that's a decent number considering our history) including Ambar. Myself, Nidhi, Jyo, Dipti and Ashwini. We were discussing various topics like Ambar's Kovai and Mumbai trips, Ashwini's "testing" job, our class trip to Mekedatu where we washed Andy's shirt, Divya's marriage and Dipti's prospective grooms ;).
The reunion went on till 8.30 PM when the girls started to leave home. Me and Nidhi had decided to stay there and so I had taken my DVD player and a few movies alongwith me.
beforethat, me and Nidhi went to buy dinner, came back drenched in the rains while Ambar went to the liquor shop. Looking at Ambar, the shop owner suggested "Raja" whisky ;) , but clever Ambar brought some Royal Challenge and vodka.
We decided to watch Hot shots and Bourne identity from my DVD collection. started watching hot shots while me and Ambar started having hot "Vodka" shots while Nidhi was content with a "Fanta" shot. After finishing off the vodka and dinner, we opened the RC while Ambar brought his pack of cards for a game of Bluff. (Sniff..Sniff..Something's burning..it's Muddy!).
The first game went on well for some time with Ambar and myself winning the game and Nidhi left with a load of cards. That's when I though of this theory. Even Ambar thought of it and claimed that drunk men play better!
After a few more rounds of drinking RC, we decided to play one more game. This time again, me and Ambar emerged victorious even better than the first game providing substantial proof for my theory!!
By the end of the game, I was already sloshed and was not in a condition to watch Bourne Identity which had started by then, and so I went to sleep. Ambar and Nidhi soon followed suit. So that brought an end to an awesome reunion night!!
Moral of the story: Always booze before starting a game of bluff
First of all, to all those who actually liked my Swiss stories, just wait a little while while I compose the last part...Till then, try to understand this theory. Others, do I have to tell u anything more?
Vikas's (me!) theory for good bluffing states that
"The ability to "bluff" is directly proportional to the amount of alcohol content in the human body".
I will explain the details about this later as we talk about the events leading to the formulation of my theory.
Well, for starters, some of us class ppl were planning a reunion. Ambar suggested we all go to his place as his parents are out of town. So we decided to make it there.
Unfortunately, only 6 of us turned out (actually, that's a decent number considering our history) including Ambar. Myself, Nidhi, Jyo, Dipti and Ashwini. We were discussing various topics like Ambar's Kovai and Mumbai trips, Ashwini's "testing" job, our class trip to Mekedatu where we washed Andy's shirt, Divya's marriage and Dipti's prospective grooms ;).
The reunion went on till 8.30 PM when the girls started to leave home. Me and Nidhi had decided to stay there and so I had taken my DVD player and a few movies alongwith me.
beforethat, me and Nidhi went to buy dinner, came back drenched in the rains while Ambar went to the liquor shop. Looking at Ambar, the shop owner suggested "Raja" whisky ;) , but clever Ambar brought some Royal Challenge and vodka.
We decided to watch Hot shots and Bourne identity from my DVD collection. started watching hot shots while me and Ambar started having hot "Vodka" shots while Nidhi was content with a "Fanta" shot. After finishing off the vodka and dinner, we opened the RC while Ambar brought his pack of cards for a game of Bluff. (Sniff..Sniff..Something's burning..it's Muddy!).
The first game went on well for some time with Ambar and myself winning the game and Nidhi left with a load of cards. That's when I though of this theory. Even Ambar thought of it and claimed that drunk men play better!
After a few more rounds of drinking RC, we decided to play one more game. This time again, me and Ambar emerged victorious even better than the first game providing substantial proof for my theory!!
By the end of the game, I was already sloshed and was not in a condition to watch Bourne Identity which had started by then, and so I went to sleep. Ambar and Nidhi soon followed suit. So that brought an end to an awesome reunion night!!
Moral of the story: Always booze before starting a game of bluff
Thursday, May 26, 2005
The Poem
I wonder how many of you remember the poem Vijay (c/o UMich, not N.I.) wrote in 8th semester while suffering through a particularly torturous seminar.
It is completely irrelevant as to who was giving the seminar.
Anyways, presenting........
Written by
Vijay Swaminathan
26/4/03.
It is completely irrelevant as to who was giving the seminar.
Anyways, presenting........
FREEEEE IS ALL I WANT TO BE
Para1:
Seminars,lectures,presentations and the ilk
Who the hell r u trying to bilk
Science and tech are not ur forte
U should be tried in a Moslem court
Chorus:
O’humanoids,o’humanoids
Why doest thou try?
All u do is make me cry!
Para2:
Pentium 3 and a fundoo laser
Do u even understand an eraser
Why don’t u explain the working of a pen
That is lot closer to ur ken
Chorus:
Para3:
All I want is a little sleep
But what u do is make me weep
Balloon asks whats the funda
And u answer bla bla bla
Chorus:
Para4:
So bored am I ,u make me think
When will u finish u stupid fink
Ur seminar is fine except for one thing
In fact ,that is the problem “u know not one damn thing”.
Chorus:
Para5:
As u make ur thoughts flow
In my brain u have kicked up a row
Oh! Will u not stop I beg u please
In fact,I will pay u just to leave
Chorus
Para6:
I see Anthil watching u
Then I realize ur trying to add 2 and 2
Get the answer u may not
Leave us alone u definitely will not
I look at the board and then the fan
The most clever thing on stage is not the man
Chorus:
Para7:
I sit here writing poetry
Something I wouldn’t read ,even for a fee
As I listen to u o’humanoid
I think id rather tear out my adenoids
Chorus:
Para8:
Bows and arrows ,swords and spear
It is u that I most fear
Once im out, I promise thee
Catch me here u will not
Trap me again in this rot
Chorus:
Para9:
All is fair in love and war
But this is pushing things too far
For the bell u make me pine
Ur killing me,u stupid swine
Chorus:
Para10:
Up above the world so high
O’god let me go ,u make me cry
Slide after slide u make me see
U have the IQ of a tree
Chorus:
Para11:
Now on the stage is my friend Kow
I stare at him as u take a bow
Kow will talk on power line
All I can think is “when will I dine”
Rumble rumble ,I hear my stomach growl
Beware y’all .i am on the prowl
Chorus:
Para12:
As I see balloons bald pate
Shut and sealed is my fate
He will listen to whatever u pout
And ask some stupid inane doubt
Chorus:
Para13:
Kow my friend ,u r too cool
But u must know balloon is a fool
He will talk and talk ,as u sit
Listen to him and u will fall into a bottomless pit.
Chorus:
Para14:
TRING goes the bell so sweet
Listening to it is such a treat
Getting thro this was quite a feat
Keep going and ur dead meat
Chorus:
Para15:
To all those who have read this till now
U have the patience of a cow
With all my heart I thank thee
Its 1:30 and I SET THEE FREE.
Written by
Vijay Swaminathan
26/4/03.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Sequel
Hi there,
Here I am, back again to describe the sequel to my first article 'Why Yash Chopra....'. Those who have read the 1st part will be knowing about the things that happened last time, for those who haven't read...read them, lazy bums...I do not have the patience to do a recap. BTW, the old disclaimer should hold good for this also...be careful.
Well, to begin with, I was given another assignment in Basel and I was to go there for 1.5 months, I celebrated the news by attending Mark Knopfler's show the same day after giving an excuse in office. Unfortunately, my flight tickets and visa did not arrive on time and I had to postpone my trip by 4 days. I was patient enough and the big day came..again. No irritating passengers sitting next to me this time, thank god! (Part 1, remember), no babes either but :(.
Landed in Zurich without problems, took the train to Basel, had a seat when a girl in front of me who looked Indian invited me over to her seat. Turned out that she was a South African. Just chatted with her for some time and then both of us got bored. Anyway, the journey was only 1 hr, so no big deal. After checking in to my apartment, refreshed myself and left for office. Had a good start there, 2 projects were signed off after UAT and it was treat time followed by onsite project party..Had the privilege of attending both onsite and offshore project parties! :) Got a chance to taste the "real" Black Forest icecream, Boy, that was good!! what we get here is crap after tasting that.
Highlight of the party: the large pizza ordered by my colleague and his wife which was meant for 2 according to the menu, but was actually meant for 10, according to its size!! 2 people had to carry it over to them. In the meanwhile, I made a foolish remark that I like olives ( I meant those tiny black olive pieces which we get here) and everybody started putting green olives (full fruit, not a piece) in my plate which tasted yuck!!
Well, more good news was to follow when i came to know we had 4.5 days holidays next week for Easter. So 7 of us decided to go to Lugano Friday morning, a beautiful place bordering Italy. As it was holiday season, we could not stay in proper Lugano, but we got a house in a place called Ponte Cremanaga, which was 5 mins from Italian checkpost. A beautiful house, planned superbly, we could never believe that it could hold 7 beds along with hall, kithen and bathroom from outer appearence! BTW, you can check the photo of the house and the places in the yahoo! link http://photos.yahoo.com/vikasyv_2000 and select Swiss Tour 2.
Lugano is a very beautiful place with Lake Lugano and few mountains which we could hike. Sadly, it was raining Saturday for most of the day, so our entire morning was confined to our house, sipping tea, playing games and having fun. Noon, we set out to the lake and took a walk to a place called Caslano along the lake and then we did a bit of hiking on one of the mountains, but could not do much as it was raining and it was slippery.
Sunday morning, we decided to go to Locarno, another beautiful place close to Lugano. From there, we decided to go to a place called Valle Maggia, which looked really good on the brochures. After getting down at the stop, we looked around for info. But as it was Easter Sunday and everything was closed, we had absolutely no clue as to where to go. Just walked around, found a nice river which was filled with stones and ice cold water..took some snaps and left the place by noon after lunch as we had to come back to basel by night. Overall, not much adventure, but a nice relaxing trip.
Some info: Switzerland does not have its own culture and generally will be similar to the neighbouring country to which the town or city is located. In Basel, everything is German, place is clean, dogs are polite etc...However, in lugano, everything is Italian, not so clean, dogs start barking etc...which reminds us of India.
Fart in Swiss Italian means Travel in English. I was really confused wherever I saw a bus stop in Locarno as I saw the message "Fart Locarno". Somehow I felt the atmosphere as not so good around...;)
Monday was a record day for me. I was in 3 different cities on the same day! Let me explain...In basel, there is an annual exhibition known as Baselworld where people all over the world(mostlyIndia and China) come to exhibit their diamond jewellery and watches. During this time, there is no accomodation available for us, so I had booked a hotel in a city called Olten, around 40 km from basel. (Takes 35 mins avg by train, still much better than travelling from my house to E-city by bus). So Monday morning, I had to checkout form my basel (count =1) apartment and travel to Olten(count++) with all my luggage. Checked in there, had lunch, had no clue as to what to do there and so I decided to go to Bern(count++). Bern is a beautiful city, confined in a U shape and bordered by a canal along the 'U' and a complete covered market. All along the city, there are fountains and monuments. At the end after crossing the canal, there is a small hill with a rose garden from where u can view the entire city...Awesome! so after a nice journey, came back to Olten in preparation for a long week ahead...
The next weekend was spent in Basel, roaming over the city, visited some Art museum, was in office as well..so the weekend passed away without much action.
More to come later...First some feedback on this. till then Adios
Ah-me-goes!!
Here I am, back again to describe the sequel to my first article 'Why Yash Chopra....'. Those who have read the 1st part will be knowing about the things that happened last time, for those who haven't read...read them, lazy bums...I do not have the patience to do a recap. BTW, the old disclaimer should hold good for this also...be careful.
Well, to begin with, I was given another assignment in Basel and I was to go there for 1.5 months, I celebrated the news by attending Mark Knopfler's show the same day after giving an excuse in office. Unfortunately, my flight tickets and visa did not arrive on time and I had to postpone my trip by 4 days. I was patient enough and the big day came..again. No irritating passengers sitting next to me this time, thank god! (Part 1, remember), no babes either but :(.
Landed in Zurich without problems, took the train to Basel, had a seat when a girl in front of me who looked Indian invited me over to her seat. Turned out that she was a South African. Just chatted with her for some time and then both of us got bored. Anyway, the journey was only 1 hr, so no big deal. After checking in to my apartment, refreshed myself and left for office. Had a good start there, 2 projects were signed off after UAT and it was treat time followed by onsite project party..Had the privilege of attending both onsite and offshore project parties! :) Got a chance to taste the "real" Black Forest icecream, Boy, that was good!! what we get here is crap after tasting that.
Highlight of the party: the large pizza ordered by my colleague and his wife which was meant for 2 according to the menu, but was actually meant for 10, according to its size!! 2 people had to carry it over to them. In the meanwhile, I made a foolish remark that I like olives ( I meant those tiny black olive pieces which we get here) and everybody started putting green olives (full fruit, not a piece) in my plate which tasted yuck!!
Well, more good news was to follow when i came to know we had 4.5 days holidays next week for Easter. So 7 of us decided to go to Lugano Friday morning, a beautiful place bordering Italy. As it was holiday season, we could not stay in proper Lugano, but we got a house in a place called Ponte Cremanaga, which was 5 mins from Italian checkpost. A beautiful house, planned superbly, we could never believe that it could hold 7 beds along with hall, kithen and bathroom from outer appearence! BTW, you can check the photo of the house and the places in the yahoo! link http://photos.yahoo.com/vikasyv_2000 and select Swiss Tour 2.
Lugano is a very beautiful place with Lake Lugano and few mountains which we could hike. Sadly, it was raining Saturday for most of the day, so our entire morning was confined to our house, sipping tea, playing games and having fun. Noon, we set out to the lake and took a walk to a place called Caslano along the lake and then we did a bit of hiking on one of the mountains, but could not do much as it was raining and it was slippery.
Sunday morning, we decided to go to Locarno, another beautiful place close to Lugano. From there, we decided to go to a place called Valle Maggia, which looked really good on the brochures. After getting down at the stop, we looked around for info. But as it was Easter Sunday and everything was closed, we had absolutely no clue as to where to go. Just walked around, found a nice river which was filled with stones and ice cold water..took some snaps and left the place by noon after lunch as we had to come back to basel by night. Overall, not much adventure, but a nice relaxing trip.
Some info: Switzerland does not have its own culture and generally will be similar to the neighbouring country to which the town or city is located. In Basel, everything is German, place is clean, dogs are polite etc...However, in lugano, everything is Italian, not so clean, dogs start barking etc...which reminds us of India.
Fart in Swiss Italian means Travel in English. I was really confused wherever I saw a bus stop in Locarno as I saw the message "Fart Locarno". Somehow I felt the atmosphere as not so good around...;)
Monday was a record day for me. I was in 3 different cities on the same day! Let me explain...In basel, there is an annual exhibition known as Baselworld where people all over the world(mostlyIndia and China) come to exhibit their diamond jewellery and watches. During this time, there is no accomodation available for us, so I had booked a hotel in a city called Olten, around 40 km from basel. (Takes 35 mins avg by train, still much better than travelling from my house to E-city by bus). So Monday morning, I had to checkout form my basel (count =1) apartment and travel to Olten(count++) with all my luggage. Checked in there, had lunch, had no clue as to what to do there and so I decided to go to Bern(count++). Bern is a beautiful city, confined in a U shape and bordered by a canal along the 'U' and a complete covered market. All along the city, there are fountains and monuments. At the end after crossing the canal, there is a small hill with a rose garden from where u can view the entire city...Awesome! so after a nice journey, came back to Olten in preparation for a long week ahead...
The next weekend was spent in Basel, roaming over the city, visited some Art museum, was in office as well..so the weekend passed away without much action.
More to come later...First some feedback on this. till then Adios
Ah-me-goes!!
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Excellent post!
Hey all,
This post- I picked it up (couldnt resist it!!) from our senior Gowri's blog: gowriwrites.blogspot.com. (Heck! after the amount of notes, records, textbooks that we begged, loaned and forgot to return ;o) from our seniors, this was a breeze!) This aptly describes our 4 years in college!
Thinking of College…….
Lectures:
Cows and Bulls, Hangman, Listen intermittently, Giggle, Nod when you meet the lecturer’s gaze.
Labs:
Data sheets – the only thing that costs 25 ps a piece and still no one buys them.
PK supervises connection: “This wire will goes to here aa?”
Copy graphs; also the Aim, Apparatus, Theory, Procedure and Result! And….Inference!
Mass bunk:
Indefinite suspension. Enter HOD’s room. Get blasted for an hour. Blame lecturers. Classes resume.
Two days before internals:
Ask for important questions.
Day before internals:
Beg for important questions. PK gives seven. Shamelessly ask for the most important five.
Internals:
Blue books – sometimes empty, sometimes full. (Before the test I mean!)
First year: Study a week before internals.
Second year: A day before internals.
Third year: During the interval between two internals.
Fourth year: Study? What study?
Three types of people: Those who copy. Those who help others copy. Those who sit in the first bench and do not participate in such activities.
Internal Results:
One whole period wonderfully spent. Bargain for marks. Complete chaos.
Study Holidays:
Krishna Xerox: Bump into school mates you didn’t want to meet.
“I heard the exams are getting postponed”. “Who told you?” “No one, I just heard”!!!!
Exams are on schedule. Mug, mug, mug. I mean “mugs” of coffee!
Day of the exam:
Cram in the bus stop, in the bus, on the walk to the department, outside the exam hall.
“Please check your pockets desks and other places (!!). If you are found to have chits, you will be debarred for three years only” Three years ONLY??
Semester Holidays:
One week breather between semesters.
Results:
Pass. Fail. Revaluation.
Yet another semester……..
This post- I picked it up (couldnt resist it!!) from our senior Gowri's blog: gowriwrites.blogspot.com. (Heck! after the amount of notes, records, textbooks that we begged, loaned and forgot to return ;o) from our seniors, this was a breeze!) This aptly describes our 4 years in college!
Thinking of College…….
Lectures:
Cows and Bulls, Hangman, Listen intermittently, Giggle, Nod when you meet the lecturer’s gaze.
Labs:
Data sheets – the only thing that costs 25 ps a piece and still no one buys them.
PK supervises connection: “This wire will goes to here aa?”
Copy graphs; also the Aim, Apparatus, Theory, Procedure and Result! And….Inference!
Mass bunk:
Indefinite suspension. Enter HOD’s room. Get blasted for an hour. Blame lecturers. Classes resume.
Two days before internals:
Ask for important questions.
Day before internals:
Beg for important questions. PK gives seven. Shamelessly ask for the most important five.
Internals:
Blue books – sometimes empty, sometimes full. (Before the test I mean!)
First year: Study a week before internals.
Second year: A day before internals.
Third year: During the interval between two internals.
Fourth year: Study? What study?
Three types of people: Those who copy. Those who help others copy. Those who sit in the first bench and do not participate in such activities.
Internal Results:
One whole period wonderfully spent. Bargain for marks. Complete chaos.
Study Holidays:
Krishna Xerox: Bump into school mates you didn’t want to meet.
“I heard the exams are getting postponed”. “Who told you?” “No one, I just heard”!!!!
Exams are on schedule. Mug, mug, mug. I mean “mugs” of coffee!
Day of the exam:
Cram in the bus stop, in the bus, on the walk to the department, outside the exam hall.
“Please check your pockets desks and other places (!!). If you are found to have chits, you will be debarred for three years only” Three years ONLY??
Semester Holidays:
One week breather between semesters.
Results:
Pass. Fail. Revaluation.
Yet another semester……..
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