2 hours of Nothingness !

I don't know if you have heard about sensory deprivation chambers or Isolation Tanks. It's an interesting concept where in all the sensory inputs to the brain are cut-off in an isolation tank. I tried it today and the experience is really worth sharing.
I came to know about isolation tanks through a friend of mine, Koshy . It sounded so exciting, I could not wait to give it a try. There are two isolation tanks in LA, I chose the one in Venice, Float Labs. On calling, I found that the waiting line for the sessions is 3 weeks long (These guys are making a killing !). Well, finally after a long wait, the day arrived.

The way it works is you are put into a highly saline water tank (800 lbs of epsom salt) so that you float. The isolation tank is pitch dark and is usually noise proof, so sensory inputs to your eyes and ears are cut-off. Then as you float, any touch sensations are gone. Effectively, your mind for the first-time is free of your senses/body.

Entering into the tank, I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive after reading about some out of body experiences of a few people. I settled into the tank, floating in the saline water, trying to pick the most relaxed position. The first 10-15 minutes, I was enjoying my floating experience which was very much a sensory one. However, after 15 minutes, I started drifting into a dream like state, I couldn't feel my body, but thoughts kept coming in. I continued in this dream like state for sometime before coming back to senses and realizing that I was in an isolation tank. This cycle of loosing bodily sense and returning back must have occurred around four times during those two hours in the tank. Somehow, I lost my sense of time. Really, I don't know how quickly those two hours passed.

When I came out, it felt so good. The colors were brighter, sounds conspicuous and smells, stronger. All the body aches were gone. I was feeling so relaxed as if woke up after 10 hours of deep sleep. After this experience, I believe Isolation Tanks are one of the best tools to fight stress and stay relaxed. I didn't had any out of the body experiences, no talking with dolphins crap.
After reading this, if you find yourself even  remotely interested, I recommend this link:

Happy Floating !!

In the Hebrew Land

Shalom..Boker Tov..

Scene 1 (At Mumbai International Airport,while being grilled by security personnels,hereby referred to as SP)
SP : Who packed the stuffs for your trip
Me : Myself(Cant you see my marital status, I am single!!)
SP: When did you kept your luggage after packing?
Me : In the Room
SP : Was it left unattended?
Me : (Haan bolenge to chaar sawal aur,better tell no) No.
SP : How did u arrive to mumbai?
Me : In company cab
SP: Did you stop in between for tea\snacks?
Me : Yeah, we did
SP : Ok..so then the bag was left unattended?
Me : (ghuma fira ke ek hi sawaal) No the driver was there
SP : Was the driver aware that you are travelling to Israel?
Me : No, not at all
and many more...

Scene 2 :(While returning back to India at Ben Gurion International Airport)
To begin with same questions as above(Guess they have a list of questions to ask). Then :
SP : How do you pronounce your name?
Me : Its Ashutosh Dubey
SP : Whats your parents name?
Me : (Passpoort nahi dekha kya sab likha hai..)
SP : Okk..tell me one thing, whats the origin of your last name?
Me : (Now how do I explain the Dubey\dwivedis and the two vedas theory :P) It indicates ancient indian priest class.
SP : And the origin of your first name?
Me : (saala,hamara naam pe hi kyun?) It is the name of one of Indian Gods.
and many more blah blah..

Such arduous is the security process while moving in\out of Israel. The good thing is , I never had to open my check in luggage at the immigration. Perhpas they have the latest x-ray equipments, something which can reduce the queue size at Indian airports too.Humor apart, Israel has been a fun trip for me. while I am still at the airport waiting for the boarding, I can clearly recollect a few memories from the trip.

Office & Colleagues : It was great to see the faces of colleagues whom we talked on phone for past one year or so. The testing team for my development assignment stays mostly at Israel. So, for most of the time,we are on confrontational path. But it was pleasant to see their happy faces when we met.:)

Scooba Diving at Eilat : Wow, undoubtedly the best 30 minutes at Israel. This is one such experience, I wud like to have again and again. Watching the colouful marine life of red sea, colourful fishes,star fish and many other creatures in their natural set up was an excellent exp. We went about 7 meters deep into the sea and I saw things which till now I had seen on discovery only. Swimming with all the diving gears is such a easy thing and almost everyone can do it.

Jerusalem and Dead sea : Wow dead sea..you cant sink here, no matter how hard you try to. And moreover,the mud of dead sea is considered very good for skin so I was like rubbing those muds again and again on my body in the hope of getting a good\bright skin :). Also visiting Jerusalem for me was like visiting an ancient historical site. They have tried to keep the city in the same look as it was 2000 years ago. The market is Jerusalem was similar to what we find in say like Varanasi,Dwarka etc. The city holds a special international importance for being home to three important religions of the world. At the 'wailing wall' which is an important monumnet for Jews and is one of the boundaries of Al aqsa mosque, I found an foriegner and a Rabbi(Jewish Priests) arguing about religions. Felt like jumping into their discussion but had to drop the idea as my friends were waiting for me.


There are many more and it wont be possible to recount all of them..Overall, I am finishing this middle east trip on a plesant note(As well as the blog, because its time to board the flight..).
take care..wish me a happy flight..

Naxal Menace

Some of my earliest memories while growing up are those of my villagers carrying rifles on their back and preparing for their imminent fight against the naxals. Our village was one of the first targets of the Naxals in the region. It was way back in 92-93 and these were still the early days of Naxal terror.
I remember two fierce encounters between Naxals and my villagers and that includes my family members too. So, I can't keep myself from expressing views on the current war that PC has launched against them.
One of the encounters is still afresh in my mind, I used to study in 4th std at the village school and with 100 odd strength of the school, all students knew each other quite well. One day, I saw one of my classmates (who belonged to basti where mostly labour class families lived) holding a pamphlet and on reading, I cud see the name of my great grand father on it. Probably, the naxals came to that basti last night and distributed these pamphlets. Dadaji was asked to handover a large part of his land holdings to this naxal group or face dire consequences. In the lunch, I took this pamphlet to him, reading the contents to him. He was 90 year old then and I was amazed why they would target such an old guy. Later, on growing up, I realized dadaji was merely symbolizing those who holded bigger plots of land and hence was the choosen one :) .

After sometime, I dont really remember how much, it was the harvest season of paddy crops and I was playing in the khalihan alongwith my friends when we heard some gun shots. The sounds were coming from across the canal flowing by, it was at this place that most of our harvested paddy was kept. Naxals had declared a war on us, they came in huge numbers and planned to take away the harvest. Man, what a moment it was, I could see the whole village up in arms against them. I never saw such a unity in my village apart from those times.A long encounter, probably for 6-7 hours followed, resulting in the death of one of the Naxals. There were a dozen policemen too,but they happened to be mute spectators as they neither had the will nor the fire power to take on the might of Naxalites. Finally, the naxalites backed off, gradually they dispersed in the night after the death of one of their colleagues.

The positive outcome of this encounter was that during the dreadful era of 96-97 when almost whole of Bihar (at that time Jharkhand too was a part of Bihar) was burning under the terror of Maoists,PWG and Ranvir Sena, our village and neighbouring areas enjoyed total peace. Atleast there were no killings on this account.

For the government, I believe , they should have acted much before. Its been here for two decades and could have been stopped by exercising a proper mix of force and developmental activities. I dont totally buy the lack of development theory as is being propagated by some of the Maoist empathisers. Its true that poor people are found in large numbers in such groups, but its because they get easily influenced. They are exposed a perfectly oiled machinery of maoist brain wash with audio,video and literature.
Those who are sympathising with Maoists (read Arundhati Roy and co) are doing no service to the nation. Nepal is already paying the price of not taking these insurgents seriously and it should be a lesson enough for us.

Too Hard to Resist..

Some things are highly tempting and addictive, but none more than gambling and you just have to visit a Casino to believe me. I went to one,called Crown Entertainment Plaza,quite a big one. To be honest,such a thing you only get to watch in Bond movies until you come to places like these.

It was huge,it takes almost 30 minutes to walk from one extreme to another.Open 24*7,one can find every type of human species gambling over here , black, white, asian, african, adolescent, old aged, hot ones and some others not so hot.I guess, its not for making money that people come here, they just come here because they have to.Its an addiction, more tempting than say alcohol or even a hot chick. Senile people seemed glued to television like gambling machines,holding dollar coins in a plastic cup shaped container on one hand and a sparkling wine on the other,it seemed a perfect pass time for them. The figures on the screens read like credit (means the dollar coins those screens have eatem away) 300.20 and Win $52.20 . They say a lot :).

But the more thrilling and tempting form of gambling was taking place on those tables with traditional card games and fortune wheels.It really was incredible,the gamblers came with girls, orderred a wine, took out a few hundred dollars,bought chips with those bills and the game begins.

The temptation was too hard for us to resist ,and ultimately we gave in. We analysed a particular game (or tried to) which has big wheels moving and eventually the wheel will stop with the pointer pointing to some number on the wheel. The one who has placed his on that number will get multiples of his money while others placing bets on other number will loose.Suppose,you placed a bet on 11, if fortunately,the pointer points to 11, you get 11 times of the money you bet upon.The higher number meant higher multiples but lesser occurences and hence higher risk.After a really long observation and analysis,we concluded that placing bets on 5 and 3 for at least 4 times is almost sure to bring profits. The probability theory I read for CAT did helped :).
So we placed bets :), the attendent signalled 'No More Bets' and wheels (of fortune) moved.It was 5,hurray we won..in the first,second and so on..I guess, this is what they call it beginners luck.So say after 6 bets, we were already in 100% profit. But gambling had already started playing on our minds and one of my friend placing the bets decided to take some risks. We deviated from our agreed principle of sticking to 5 and 3 only,and he placed bet on 23, We lost, then we placed on 11 and again we lost. The beginners luck seemed to have deserted us so soon :) .Very soon we were back to square one,with no profit ,no loss we decided to stop placing the bets. We did, but as I say,its highly tempting
and one of the friends agains decided to play :). This time he sticked to 5 and 3 principle and he was in profits. Seemed we had found a secret.After a comfortable profit,he decided to skip the game. It was already 3 in the morning and we decided to move to our hotel.Though, I wasn't gambling(for some very very different reasons) and was merely being part of the team of my friends who were gambling, I must say that many a times the temptation to give it a try was too impulsive to resist.I can just imagine about those regular to the place,how hard it must be for them to walk away from the place.

Before,completing this piece, I would like to leave you with some lines which were everywhere in the casino warning gamblers not to overdo things..


In the End,the Machines will win..

The only thing you can controle in this game is yourself..

Dont chase your losses,walk away..

Set yourself a limit and stick to it...

The Australian Summer..

It's been almost two weeks over here in Melbourne and I feel more relaxed now as compared to the first few days when I was adjusting my biological clocks according to the new timings. 5:30 hours ahead of India,which meant I had to sleep early and wake early.
On weekdays,its mostly the office and then when in the room,its the time to catch up with friends online and phone calls.On weekends,I have been trying to move out and explore melbourne more.
First weekend, began in style.On friday, I catched up with an online friend of mine who was interested in astrology. A drive to melborune suburbs,thai dinner and then some high speed driving across the formula one track :),thats how the the day winded.

saturday : I heard that the Indian Tennis Player Somdev Dev varman was having his qualifying match at Melbourne Park. I went there,all alone. Why? Because I knew no one would give a damn to a qualifying match and hence I decided to go alone and support my fellow country man. However,he lost :(. neways, I made two new friends in Venkatesh and Sandeep (both from AP) who were a big tennis Fan :).

Next day, I came to know that Federer was organising a Exhibition match for Haiti Quake victims.I thought it was a golden chance to have a glimpse of all the tennis bigwigs. I asked a few more friends(I knew they would be interested) and we headed to Rod Laver Arena. Man, I must tell you it was a awesome event. 100% dollar vasool :).All the top players, Federer,Nadal,Hewitt,Serena williams,Andy Roddick etc were there and entertaining the crowd.

This weekend, I met another online friend, a buddhist from Siberia,very much interested in Indian Culture and arts. The whole day passed strolling on melbourne streets,visiting museums,gardens and galleries with this friend.Finally spent the evening at a Suraj sir's place(Mech,2k4) . I played some games there and since it was my first encounter with motion sensor games, I was completely bowled over by the experience. May be I'll purchase something like this back in India. I mean, if you are playing a tennis game,your hands should move as if you are holding a racket :). Its a good exercise too.

Planning for a beach visit tomorrow morning. The weather is expected to be HOT tomorrow and I too am expecting a similar crowd ;) .Keep watching this space for more.Till then take care, bbye..

||सत्यम शिवम् सुन्दरम ||

आज विचार हुआ कि हम हिंदी में लिखें. फिर सोचता हूँ क्या लिखूं ? सप्ताहांत पे ही थोडा समय मिलता है कुछ लिखने का , परन्तु दफ्तर की व्यस्तता के कारण आजकल समय थोडा कम मिलता है |
पिछले सप्ताहांत मैं उज्जैन गया हुआ था और महाकाल के दर्शन किये | महाकाल शिवलिंग कि विशेषता ये है कि यहाँ प्रातः काल ब्रह्म मुहुर्त में भगवान की भस्म आरती कि जाती है |ये भस्म एक जलती चिता से चंडाल द्वारा लाया जाता है | कहा जाता है कि जब आप किसी ऐसे इंसान से मिलें या फिर ऐसी घटना का हिस्सा हों जहाँ आप खुद को असहज महसूस
करें , तो जान लीजिये कि ये आपके मानसिक सीमाओं का विस्तार है | महाकाल कि भस्म आरती भी हमारे लिए एक ऐसा ही मौका था |

हमारे समाज में लाश और चिता अत्यंत अपवित्र माने जाते हैं | किसी के मरने के बाद ११ दिन का कर्मकांड होता है पुनः पवित्र होने के लिए| लेकिन यहाँ हिन्दू धर्मं के सबसे बड़े देवता (यहाँ में राम और शिव के बीच कोई तुलना नहीं कर रहा ,मैं दोनों को ही बड़ा मानता हूँ ) शिव ,जिनके नाम का शाब्दिक मतलब भी कल्याण होता है (और कहा भी गया है 'सत्यम शिवम् सुन्दरम ') को चिता भस्म का श्रृंगार किया जाता है | विडम्बना ये रही की भगवान के दरबार में भी जाने के लिए हमें रिश्वत का सहारा लेना पड़ा | बात ये थी की भस्म आरती में बहुत भीड़ होने के कारण सरकार एक दिन पहले ही पास देती है , और सिर्फ पास वाले लोग ही भस्म आरती देख सकते हैं | चूँकि हम उज्जैन शाम को पहुंचे ,हमें ये पास एक दुसरे आदमी से खरीदना पड़ा और इस निःशुल्क पास के लिए हमने दिए ५०० रूपये |अंतत: हम खुश ही थे की इतनी दूर से आने के बाद , भस्म आरती देख पाएंगे. भस्म आरती सुबह ४ बजे प्रारंभ होती है , शिवलिंग पे जल चढाने के बाद हम मंदिर के गर्भगृह के बाहर प्रांगन में बैठे जहाँ बाकि पासधारी बैठे हुए थे |अभी भी मेरे मन में या उत्कंठा बनी हुई थी की भस्म चढ़ने के बाद भी शिवलिंग क्या उतना ही पवित्र माना जायेगा या फिर से उसे नहलाया जायेगा पवित्र करने के लिए. क्या भस्म राजित शिवलिंग को छूने के बाद मैं खुद अपवित्र नही हो जाऊंगा, क्या मुझे भस्म प्रसाद ग्रहण करना चाहिए ?

इस उधेड़बुन के बीच आरती प्रारंभ हुई , शिवलिंग का अभिषेक होने लगा , और मंत्रोच्चार के बीच थोड़ी देर में एक अधनंगा ,काला कलूटा इंसान जिसकी हालत ऐसी थी मनो अभी होली खेल के लौटा हो और होली भी कीचड वाली | पहचानते देर न लगी की ये शमशान से भस्म लेकर आया हुआ चंडाल है | और उसे सीधा मंदिर के गर्भगृह में प्रवेश मिला, जो जगह अत्यंत पवित्र मानी जाती है ,वहां २४ पहर श्मशान में बिताने वाले एक चंडाल को प्रवेश !!! खैर, ये भोले बाबा की ख़ास बात है वहां तो भुत पिशाच ,देव,दानव सबको जगह मिलती है , सब एक सामान | शिवलिंग के श्रृंगार के बाद , एक पुजारी ने सारी महिलाओं को अपने चेहरे ढँक लेने को बोला क्यूंकि अब भस्म चढ़ने वाली थी और महिलाओं को ये दृश्य देखने को माना किया जाता है | क्यों? ये मुझे नहीं पता, शायद इसलिए की महिलाएं कोमल ह्रदय की होती हैं, उन्हें शमशान पे जाने से मना किया जाता है , इसलिए चिता भस्म चढ़ते देखने से भी माना किया जाता है | और अब वो कार्यक्रम प्रारंभ हुआ जिसके लिए हम इतनी दूर से आये थे, भस्म श्रृंगार | ये दृश्य कई मायनो में जीवन और मृत्यु को एक साथ दर्शाता है | जीवन की क्षणभंगुरता को दर्शाता है और मृत्यु के सौदर्य को भी इंगित करता है | शिव के कई रूप हैं , अर्धनारीश्वर , पंचमुखी इत्यादि लेकिन इस महाकाल रूप की विशेषता है की इसमें मृत्यु रूपी एकमात्र सत्य को प्रदर्शित किया गया है | मंत्रोच्चार के बीच ,शिवलिंग पे पड़ता भस्म ये एक ऐसा दृश्य है , जो कोई भी जल्दी नहीं भूल सकता | पुरे गर्भगृह में बस भस्म ही भस्म , मनो स्वयं यमराज नृत्य कर रहे हो महाकाल को रिझाने के लिए | थोड़ी देर में ही वो शिवलिंग पे पद रही राख उड़ कर हमारे तक भी पहुँच गयी , समझ में नहीं रहा था की चिता की राख के संसर्ग में आने के बाद , क्या हम भी अपवित्र हो गए ? फिर खुद में ही ये विचार आया की पवित्रता, अपवित्रता तो शिव से ही निकली हैं , न हम शिव को मानते न खुद की पवित्रता या अपवित्रता का ख्याल मन में आता | और जब ये राख स्वयं शिव से ही निकली है तो फिर क्या सोचना , क्यूंकि शिव से जुडी हर चीज को हम पवित्र ही मानते हैं |

यूँ थोड़ी देर के अन्तः द्वन्द के बाद मन के अन्दर की एक दुर्बलता दूर हुई | पवित्रता या अपवित्रता तो हमारे विचारों की होती है ,निर्जीव पदार्थों की नहीं | वैसे भी हमारे ग्रंथों ने इस सत्य को बार बार कहा है की , हमारा शारीर पंच तत्वों का बना हुआ है और मृत्यु के बाद ये उन्ही पंच तत्वों में विलीन हो जाता है |
उज्जैन यात्रा के बाद मैंने इस कथन को सच पाया की जहाँ आप खुद को असहज पाते हैं , वहां आपके मानसिक विस्तार की तयारी है ऐसा मानिये |

Amidst the Nature and Closer with God

This weekend I undertook a trip to a few beautiful places around pune. These places assume additional significance for me as they provided an ideal blend of spirituality with nature. The places I am talking about are Triambakeshwar and Bheemashankar . These two belong to the most revered dwadash jyotirlinga(the 12 most auspicious Shivlings on the planet).

Here are a few pics that I took at these spots. However, I must add that these pics fall way short of depicting the woooooowwww effect when one sees the picturesque valleys at these places.



------A Beautiful Confluence of Mountains,water and Greenery-------



--------------------------Isn't It Beautiful--------------------









------ Triambakeshwar : Adya(The First) Jyotirlinga------




-------------------- I am in love with this place------------------




-------- Bheemashankar Temple : Amidst a wildlife Sactuary---------

30 Minutes with Anshoo Gaur

What would you say about a man who happens to be in the industry just for 14 years and is the India head of a company widely known as the market leader in its domain(OSS & BSS),add the fact that the india centre of the company is the largest world over.
I had a chance to meet this person one-on-one in his office and with the silly,sometimes childish questions which I shooted on him ,he showed a remarkable patience.

Back in december,2008 when i first attended a townhall by Anshoo Gaur, Head Amdocs India, i could hardly resist myself from getting impressed by the flair and charm of this person. I must add that two most impressive personalities I know at amdocs are Anshoo gaur and suresh menon,another director at amdocs, . FYI, suresh is part of my network at linkedin and I have already met Anshoo(haha,just to impress you :) ).

The meeting was scheduled at 1300 hrs and his secretary reminded me two times in the day in case I had forgot.How could I? I was looking forward to the meeting and a few of my colleagues too ,whom I had told abt it. Reached his office 5 minutes earlier,was told to wait in the lounge and I had already started feeling the aura around a CEO. On the table were two nasscom magazines costing a few dollars(I have this habit of looking at the price of anything I come across) and I could barely look into it when the secretary told me to go inside .

Went inside,shaked hands and it began,Anshoo looked out for my performace report in his database,cudn't find it so he had to rely on whatever I told him about me.After a few formal questions which are meant to be confidential for a company and hence I wont go into their details, I started with my barrage of questions.

To start with, I asked him that Amdocs should keep visiting ISM,Dhanbad for the school was a good one and was looking to forge a long term relationship with Amdocs. Anshoo then dwelt upon the quality of campuses they visit and how low they had recruited from campuses this year. However, he noted my point and promised he'd talk to the Recruiting Head,HR.

Moving on, I asked him about his stellar success he had in the industry in just 14 years and from here onwards I took control of the discussion though,he was the one talking for most of the time(hehe).

The first word that came out of him was hard work,he said that he was not ashamed in being called a workaholic. According to him, if you work hard, most certainly you'll get lucky. For him luck means being in the right place at the right time and hard work was the key to it. Then he stressed on the importance of doing a valuable work and not just any work . Though most of the things he said sound cliched,but when the words come from a person who has applied those cliched principles in life, they assume significance and penetrate deeper.

The discussion also gave me an insight into how amdocs wok. For eg. when he said that in his earlier days at sabre during requirement gathering sessions,he used to promise his client more than 15% productivity without even looking at the difficulty of project, I could easily relate it to my life at amdocs. Most of my colleagues at the company would agree to the fact that probably that's how the sales team of amdocs works. Being a nascent developer,I have often bore the brunt of fulfilling a particularly hard requirement that was promised by the site team .

Going forward,he talked about the future plans of amdocs india and how they plan to cut on costs by recruting more and more freshers. Although, freshers require an investment in terms of training ,but once ready they are productive as well as cost effective. When we were done and the clock was showing that we were approaching the end time,anshoo said "I want you to leave with the note that coming year is going to be very exciting for India development centre and there will be ample oppurtunities for the personal growth of employees as well as the for the growth of amdocs india".I could sense genuine optimism in his words as only a few days back, amdocs had managed to win a major client.

I have often wondered,how he managed to climb the top echelons of amdocs management in just 2 years of his stay in the company? After the meeting I was clear,how he has managed to do this. The answer was still the same old cliched word 'HARD WORK'.

It's The Climb..

People like me have a habit of poking into any topic evenif they dont know ABC of it,but there are some people who speak words of wisdom,written by experience on the slate called life.I oftem chit-chat with this colleague cum friend of mine while returning from office to home.Today also seemed no different and then the talks moved on to a altogether different plane. Suddenly we were talking about meanings of life and success. Unlike my nature,this time I preferred to listen, for the words smelled the wisdom of experience.

I won't reveal the identity of the person,but the tale I would, definitely.Its not a script full of cinematic climax,just a plain story of three friends,two among them inebriated, biking at some 100 kph,a headon collision with a fast moving Bus and my friend reached that grey area between life and death,where they play tug of war between them, with you as the trophy. Life won in the end but left behind some lessons which I think he is not going to forget for the rest of his life.

The lessons :

Think about what consequence your next action is going to have on your life.In his case the accident changed the course of their life. The consequences of that unfortunate moment,he and his family are still facing today.
He says "If you think about 10 positive outcomes before doing anything,think atleast about 20 negative outcomes and be prepared for them". The statement seemed negative to me,which I thought were arising out of deep impact of an unfortunate incident.But he clarified,you got to have a fallback plan in place.Move on the path you dreamed of, but be sure to calculate after you walk a certain distance whether this is the path you dreamed of,whther the grass that seemed greener from the distance is really so.He meant to say that you always need to keep gauging and correcting your path,if needed.

Though I like the phrase 'A spectacular failure is better than a mediocre success',his words made me think and hence this blog.
Moving onto a different note, in recent days,I have collected a few good video songs
which can pull you out from deep agony and frustation.

This one,i rate best of the lot. Watch it for these lines :

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody's gonna have to loose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about whats waiting on the other side
It's the Climb ,yeah!!!It's the Climb



This one is also an awesome video..'Eye of the Tiger'.Watch this video for these lines
So many times, it happens too fast
You change your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

Enjoy..

A Trip to Ayodhya

Yesterday was Ramnavami(The day Lord Rama took incarnation on Earth),and I just learnt it in the night while talking to my Mother on phone that it was Ramnavami today.For the first time since I can remember it's been so that I didn't offer my prayers on the ocasion and I feel a little upset about it.Blame it on office works or anything else,It shouldn't have happened.

A few months back,I was to Ayodhya on the ocasion of Chhath,It was my 3rd trip to the sacred city(not so scared politically though).In Ayodhya,as my dad keep saying,Lord Ram rules every part of life and everyone,without making any discrimination.
The politics encircling the Ayodhya seems to have left untouched the residents there and around.
It was an Ocasion AkshayNavami then and I could see a large number of villagers from around Ayodhya flocking it to the city.It's difficult to guess for what they'd been praying to the lord,Moksha(Freedom from Death & Birth Cycles) or Material desires.But one thing was for sure Ram ruled their Heart.Probably,the political wave that marred Ayodhya for a while has downgraded and Lord is back to his usual business i.e. blessing his devotees.

In the evening,I went to 'Kanak Bhavan',the most revered temple of Ayodhya.One thing which amazed me was that inspite of all the halla-hooplah around Ram Janm Bhoomi Temple,people of Ayodhya pay highest regards to 'Kanak Bhavan' and treat it above the Janm Bhoomi Temple.'Shayan Arti'(The Arti before the Lord goes to sleep) at Kanak Bhavan is one event where one can find a large number of local residents,bussinesmen coming to have a Darshan after their daily works.The logic as someone explained to me latter was a little funny but still it showed the place which Lord Ram occupies in their Heart.It was..
"Let the lord remain free for other piligrims for the whole day as we are his people, his nagarwasi(persons belonging to same place) so we'll get a special treatment if we go to see him when the lord is most relaxed i.e. the sleeping time.[:)]"
The arti sung at this time is also a different one and reflects this atitude of the locals there.
Can't really say,whether the Locals are getting a special treatment from their lord but they seem contented with their Lord.They seem to be making no complaints...

A Mock Election for Real

Venue : Village School,Khairadeep,Aurangabad,Bihar
Date : A Month of April Probably,Year 1993
Time:Classes Resuming after Lunch Break

HeadMaster : We shall study the The Chapter of Bal Sabha today.
(Bal Sabha is a concept that was introduced by Bihar State text Book Corporation to make primary students familiar with election process in a playful manner.)

As was the custom,students read one paragraph each followed by Master Saab explaining
the paragraph.The concept of bal sabha was thrilling enough for these 4th standard Kids who were not even in there teens.Mohan,a student of the class was feeling restless to say something.He was the topper of his class and a favourite of Master saab.

Mohan : Master saab,can we organise Bal Sabha in our School?

That's how it began,the kids were about to have their first tryst with something called election.Excitement was in the air.Hurriedly,whole of the school was summoned inside
the only hall or room in the school.Kids were happy to have got relieved from studies for the remaining day.The process was explained to everyone,everybody had to write the names of the candidates they wished to endorse.

Master saab asked for candidates to come forward.Mohan being the one who proposed was the obvious choice,a girl surabhi also came forward and the process kicked off with 100 odd voters and two candidates for the post of Prime-minister of Bal Sabha.
Counting was done by master saab himself and mohan emerged winner.

HeadMaster:Boy's a prime-minister is helped by his cabinate in carrying out his duty.We'll have our cabinate too.

Some posts were created by Master saab for the cabinate and he himself handpicked the post-holders too.The posts were :
Bagwani Mantri
Safai Mantri
Prarthna Mantri etc.

Surabhi was Made Bagwani Mantri and Bal Sabha started funcioning from next day onwards.Surabhi,being the bagwani mantri ensured that she collected all the varieties of flowers available in the small village and get them planted inside the school premises.Safai Mantri took care that school campus was properly groomed every morning and ensured the participation of each student.He also proposed "Leepai" every thursday for the campus(Leepai is done with a mix of cow-dung and water on the bare soily surfaces,considered auspicious).This was the most popular move,as every student
involved in leepa got a official permission from master saab to have a dip in canal flowing by so that the students could get themselved cleaned of cow-dung on their bodies.Swimming in canal was always a popular activity among those school kids.

With flowers blooming and the campus cleaner,the mood in school was festive.The kids found their first encounter with the democratic process called election more than good.However,they were told by Master Saab that it was a mock election and they should see the real ones too.

A few months later,assembly elections took place in Bihar and the same school was choosen as polling booth for a couple of neighbouring villages.The kids having grown a little older were eager to watch this 'real election' with the memories of the
'mock election' still fresh in their mind.

A few gun shots,hooliganism and extremely tense faces,this is how the real election marked their first impression on kids.As they grew older further,more of such 'real elections' were held. The memory of Bal Sabbha\Mock elections gradually got replaced by that of Real Elections.

After some 16 years later,on the eve of another real election,one of the kids
remembers his first encounter with election(though a mock one) and wishes
"If my first impression could have been the last too".

P.S. : Mohan ---> The Author

Some Pics From Pune...

Hi!

Here are some pics from pune,In and around :...
!
!
!
!



-----------------------------@About to reach Top------------------------------


-----------------------------@Trekking with Frnds---------------------------------


-------------------------------@Udhar ki Topi..-------------------------------------


-------------------------------@Free ki Boating :)------------------------------


--------------------------------@Panchset Dam---------------------------------


-------------------------@First Hand Trekking Experience :)-------------------------



-------------------------------@Karla caves-----------------------------------




--------------------------------@Karla Caves----------------------------




---------------------------------@Karla Caves------------------------------




----------------------------------@Karla Caves-----------------------------




----------------------------------@Karla Caves----------------------------




----------------------------------@Karla Caves------------------------------




-------@Lonawala..The Magnificent Sahyadri Shivling,as they call this peak-------




--------------------@Lonawala..The Sahyadri Mountain Ranges---------------------




-----------------------@Lonawala..The Scenic Beauty-----------------------


Cheers,
Ashutosh

The CAT Story..

It was 09:15 AM,dated 9th January,Friday.I was just into the office and logged into the site where they has said CAT results would be published.
Entering....
CAT tr. no:7230475, application no.-******(earlier,it had the exact no. but I changed it after reading abt information security threats :)) and the bang happens...

Quant :50 98.98%ile
DI :33 91.84%ile
Verbal:66 98.78%ile

Overall :149 99.61%ile

Hey, I am expecting something more..there must be some more info as to which IIMs I have got calls from.Is there a mistake? Must be.It's Unbelievable ,there must be a couple of calls.But there wasn't any.Neither at that moment nor in the days to come.

I am still clueless as to what might have gone wrong.One thing was clear, I was a little short in DI,but still it was enough to clear the cutoffs of B,C(PGDCM),L and I(Not to Mention Shillong).
I am trying to look for ways by which I can find out what went wrong.RTI seems one option and am thinking about it.

@Pune

During last one month or so,life has been fast paced and hence my absence from the blogosphere.I apologise to my readers specially rohit,who's always looking for some new entries here.For your info,I have been relocated to pune by my comapny.

BTW,pune was a refreshing break from the chilling cold of gurgaon.Most of my friends being at Pune meant, it was a distant cry from the monotonous life of Gurgaon which was more or less limited to books,newspapers and movies(on weekends).
This weekend six of us Daruka,Chidi,dangi,anuj ,jhandu and me made a trip to lonawala,khandal and karla caves(More on this in coming blog [:)]).
A brief interaction with my manager here indicated that my honeymoon with the company is over and it's time form some serious action meaning,Unlike Gurgaon,I don't have the luxury of long leisures with small refreshing(yeah, refrshing) tasks in between.Now it's the opposite way around.
Let's hope I enjoy this life too..
Will be back with another post shortly..

Breathing in Corporate World @Amdocs

So finally after 16 years of academics(sounds too much na...mujhe bhi yahi lagta hai..) I had my first breath in the corporate world..
I joined Amdocs,Gurgaon on 23rd june..That's why I cudn't continue on "FastForward India:2 years Hence" column..I'll be continuing with next piece of that series very soon...
btw life is taking a new turn..from a student to a professional and from dhanbad to Gurgaon...I'm just hoping the excitement goes on..I have been put into the testing team over here and consequently I have all the time of the world in my kitty at office..(haha)..

Real Estate prices at gurgaon are soaring by each passing hour and hence I somehow managed to have a rented room in a locality near by the office..
but for those who can manage,delhi seems to be a better idea for staying as the life there is more happening(it's been 2 weeks only of my stay,follow at ur own risk :))and u can still make it to gurgaon for office as most of the companies provide you with cab facilities for commuting between delhi and gurgaon..
Finally,the best thing at Amdocs, food at the cafetaria...ummm...it's mouth-watering..so all joining amdocs,get ur apetites tuned in for some extra bites coz your digestive system will have to work overtime for those extra ones [:)]

FastForward India : 2 Years Hence(Part 2)

It was a new experience for me as all of us(me and 4 mentors)
were located at different places(continents rather.. 2 of themwere in USA,one in Canada and one in Bangalore with me in Dhanbad) and we used to exploit conference feature of yahoo messenger fully[:)].
Initials discussions focussed mainly on the social issues to start and work with,suggestions were asked from all and we recieved almost a dozen.(The full details can be had from the link http://ff-india.blogspot.com)After a lot of Brainstorming sessions we zeroed on to pursue 3 of themas pilot projects which meant that these were to be run as beta version and after a fixed time frame the projects were to be evaluated and their feasibility and sustainability analysed.This experience was to be used in implementation of the tested projects at National Level(we planned really well :)).
In the meantime ,FFI was growing in numbers at ISM thanx to the equally dedicated efforts of Mohit Ranjan.We used to brief volunteers about FFI ,its vision and plans,the initial response was very enthusiastic and it all seemed too easy to work with(I was wrong big time)

Winter Trip

Then someone came with the idea of a trip to various NGO's to give volunteers a first hand idea of how organisations function and see the society we were going to work with more closely.
After a lot of discussions and modifications in plan we finalised on three venues Kolkata,Jamshedpur and Bodhgaya.
About 15 volunteers with me and mohit set on to a journey to understand the better of Under-priviledged India. Be it one of the poorest regions in Nation,the 24 parganas in west bengal,the remotest jungles of Jharkhand or the selfless devotion of Monks of Bodhgaya ,it was an Inspirational Journey for me atleast.
During the course of trip,we met Deputy Commissioner of Jamshedpur Mr. Nitin kulkarni who was very kind in offering us to use his sumo for a tour of Jamshedpur(such a behaviour was highly appreciated by us specially in India where bureaucrats are know for their High-handedness). Another inspiring personna we met was Mr. kabir who was leading the famous Maitreya Foundation at Bodhgaya, born in London and an Oxford graduate,he decided to devote his life to the service of humanity and Budhism.

Though,I found the Trip immensely enriching but looking from a different angle as to the amount of Money spent on trip(Fully Sponsored by FFI) and the productivity Gained henceforth in terms of volunteers' motivation, I would wish for a better Value for My money.Probably there were many other factors playing their role which we realised later on.

The trip was refreshing and had prepared us in some way for the larger battle that lied ahead..the actual implementation of projects which was to start in the new semester commencing just after the trip...

(To Be Continued...)

FastForward India : 2 years hence..

The piece which I am going to type down below is a tale of
one of the most valued learning experiences of mine so far
in this short span of life.Infact one of the best things
to have happened to me in the four years of ISM life.
Yes,the title says it all..I'm talking about fastforward India.

The brainchild of some young ISM passouts based in USA/Canada,
FFI was still in thought process and evolving when I was called
to take on the lead,organise the volunteers and start the ground
operations of the organisation.

It was to be a philanthropic organisation aimed to make the
society a better place to be by analysing various social problems
and coming up with innovative solutions.Things I had in plenty
were funds(I thought so),inspiration and guidance from my mentors
(Namely Durga Prasad Pandey,Jitendra Mohan Jha,Shulabh Gupta and
Priyank Nandan).But it still was a herculean task,I was about to
move into pre-final years of my B.Tech degree and never had any
chance to see the working of such a fully functional Organisation.
Though one such initiative Kartavya was in full blooms at that time in
ISM,but I was not associated with it,not even remotely.
However, on top of all this ,I was eager to accept the
challenge,the reasons:-

(a) Before the starting of placement season,I was desperately
looking to add something 'special' to my resume which otherwise
looked so ordinary at that time with my Average GPA and usual
stuffs like projects,training and blah blah

(b) Deep Inside ,I always had it in me that I can be good team
player/leader and the oppurtunity gave me a chance to test my
skills and hone them.

Thus,the journey Began,a journey which was so enriching in
learning and satisfying to soul that now,when I have passed out
from ISM(where the organisation is functioning currently) I wish
to extend it to wherever I go..not for the abovementioned
reasons but for the sheer satisfaction that comes from within
when you feel that you are adding value to the society around
you,you are contributing your bit in the great Vision 2020 of our
former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalamand that you too can
proudly say,I am not just living for me or my family..I am
contributing to a larger cause....

(To Be Continued...)

Fact or Fiction?

I don't know whether u believe in spirits or not. I am someone who lies in between. I have been always doubtful regarding the authenticity of any story or phenomena related to ghosts/spirits. Simultaneously,i never deny their existence.

The story I am going to tell you today will probably help clear the air to some extent.
Way back in 2k4,me and some friends were having a discussion on planechit(the so called process by which spirits are called upon and made to answer questions in symbolic way ). As we came to know,during the process,all the interested ppl sit in a circle and concentrate on a metallic coin and invite the spirits onto the coin toanswer their queries. As always,some of us were not convinced with the theory,we decided to prove it wrong,not to convince others but to ourselves.
I had a different explanation to the whole process,My take was,if the coin moves at all,it's solely due to concentration and not because of any ghost moving it. So we four decided to go for it and check whether our assumption was right or not.

Cometh the hour,we all four assembled into a quiet room,put a circle around the coin so that if it moves,it will be noticeable.It was decided that everybody would concentrate in a common direction for the coin to move,so that we have substantial force to make it happen.Wwith the index finger of all four(mohit,bhanu,bibhuti and me) placed lightly on the coin, we started. Seconds passed trying to concentrate,a few minutes passed and we all were concentrating hard enough. It seemed the whole world around me has vanished and the only thing that remains is coin.
After approximately 15 minutes,the unthinkable happened,THE COIN MOVED..yes and that too by a clear few inches,it seemed some force was pulling the coin in the direction we concentrated. Then someone from us said stop and we all stopped.
It was unbelievable,we all were glaring each other in complete disbelief as if asking whether you forcely pulled the coin. But, a mere glimpse in the eyes of rest three was sufficient for me and others to believe what we have witnessed. We all sweared to each other not to have done it forcibly. It was still hard to believe,a coin moving by force of concentration!!!! Till now,I had read such things only in books,today I saw it. We all knew no one would believe it, and we didn't even tried to convince others. But inside all of us we knew the truth and that was sufficient without anyone else endorsing our views.

After the experiment,no one took the 2 rupee coin,for some fear was still there that there may be spirits coming uninvited(none wanted to take risk). However, I took it(hehe...bhuton ke dar se 2 rupya kyun chhodein)..

And even today, this piece of writing is for believers only. None-believers may try it out themselves and share there experiences with me. I would be quite happy to hear from them.

Sutta Song

I remember girls deserting the arena when the band Pentagram started chanting " B*C*
Sutta" along with us at ISM during srijan2k6. However, I had a completely different experience at IIT KGP.

Recently I attended a party by Nettech(an organisation which gives summer training in network management). Since some of my friends were a part of the training, I was also invited.Approximately 300 guys and gals in almost equal proportion were dancing to the tunes and adding to the beauty of the evening.

Someone played the song "sutta" and I cud hear all the girls crying and whistling passionately.It was as if this song had the effect of a Booster on their souls.
when the song was changed I heard some girls shouting "sir,B*C* Sutta fir se"(aaila!! bharosa nai hua kya)..

Guys became almost electrified on this response of girls..some of the guys went further and the famous XLRI song("danda" ) was on the decks now..To add to my amazement the gals were still tapping their legs..

After the party, at my room I was wondering ,what was it that made the ISM girls leave the arena then back in 2k6. Has india changed so much in last one year??
By the way, here at KGP I also heard the female version of "sutta" by the gals of NIT,K.. (Mail me, If you need this song)

Well, after all this I am forced to change my perceptions about gals..I would suggest you should too,if you haven't.

VISA TRIP

Haha...my Visa trip..though this might have turned out to be a US trip .
thanx to US onsulate,it cudn't

It was interesting to know how they delayed(better say denied my visa)..
After crossing 2 security checks and 2 counters where they check for
your papers..It turned out to be my photograph was not according to
their specifications..and the pretty lady needed my hostel phone no.
too..(plz don't assume any other reason except VISA )..I had to move
out getting a photograph according to their specifications and
crossing all those counters and checks again..

In b/w I cud see some pretty young ladies waiting for their Interview
with me..along with two old couples,one student aspiring for MS,
one wipro Business Executive alongwith his family and one journalism student(probably)..
Tension as usual..they were preparing for the Interview the way we
prepare for Our exams..asking questions among themselves viz.

"the executive to his wife-what do you do mam?
wife - I am a teacher
exec. -How long you have been teaching
wife - ****
exec - Why do you want to move to USA?
wife - *** "

I cud see a tension prevelant on all the faces except mine.Reason,
I thought I was genuine and had nothing to hide..no need to prepare
for these simple questions (I was wrong..hehe)

However I took the chance to talk with one of the girl sitting
beside me. She was a Wipro employee,was tense.I queried for wht papers
she has brought etc...

Inbetween, I cud see 3 ppl being denied their VISA outrightly and the
Journalism student was allowed.They were two ppl taking interviews.
One a young US guy (say Mr. x),the other being a Lady on two separate
counters.

The moment arrives,my name is called..went to the counter,It was Mr. x
waiting for me(pahla kela...socha tha wo lady legi Interview)--

Mr. x- gudafternoon sir
me- (with a forced smile) gud afternoon
Mr. x- How are you sir?(jaise abhi chai,coffee ke liye puchhega)
me- fine and you?
Mr. x- fine sir, please scan your fingers on the red scanner
Me- ok(karna pada )
Mr. x- (going thru my papers, I was feeling the tension now)
where r u going sir?
me- decatur,georgia near Atlanta(again with a forced smile)
Mr. X- what is the purpose?
me- (m**** application me likhe to the sab kuchh)summer Internship
Mr. x- Why did u choose this internship?
me- (thinking for a while,US ghumna tha aur kya)-The Internship Involves
microcontroller programming which is my area of Interest besides,
this being a foreign Internship adds much value in india.
(koka....microprocessor me C+ aya tha:))
Mr. X- I think you may need a J1 visa
Me- I had a talk with a fellow who had done his Undergard Intern
In US and he told a B1 visa would do.
Mr. x- Ok,lemme confirm ..don't go any where(went inside a room,increasing my
tension further,comes back talks to a person besides him )
Mr. x- Mr. Dubey,this is not a problem for us(does some work on desktop )..
we have a different issue(awaz more soft and frndly...I cud sense
something wrong,nahi to Itne pyar se baat karne ki koi jarurat nahi thi)
Mr. x- (smiling) someone with your name has done something in US and we'll
require an additional clearance from washington(bomb dropped!!aailaaa)
Me- so get it.how much time it's gonna take?
Mr. x- It may take months sir(ho gaya)..(sensing my disappointment) however in
some case It cases I have seen it coming it within a month also
(consolation complete...)

Me- (giving a shatterred look) what about my internship sir
(man to kar raha tha galiyane ka)
Mr. x- but this check will be necessary when u go for your higher degrees ,
Job or for an eventual Internship Next year(matlab..s*** Internship
to bhul hi jao aagey fir kabhi jana hai to meri baat mano)
Me- I see..but can't you ask for a fast processing of things.
Mr. x- sorry sir,we can't do anything in this regard...

*********(kuchh aur baatein)

This way My visa trip comes to an end............................................
Kahani se sikh-Never go for an US Internship..East or West India is The Best