Bitches Brew

I like jazz. Maybe. I mean im a musical novice. I listen to a bit of rock mainly… quite a bit actually. But then its not all rock, I mean I listen to Hindustani classical too... bit of a range there… for somebody who doesn’t know the first thing about generating music so to speak.
Point being, there are times in my life when I like jazz. Like right now, when im driving home from another hard days work filled with extremely pretentious discussions. Discussions about ridiculous topics generally, but executed with thoughtful frowns on everybody’s face to make it seem important.
Wandering again.
I like the drive home after the days work. Its not a quiet drive, there’s always music playing. It’s funny though, it’s the music that makes the drive quiet in a way. The music generally cuts out everything else… gives me some me time. Now since I listen to rock more often, I tend to either hum or scream with the song playing. Depending on the song and my mood in any order.
With jazz, with my ignorance about it and all, I tend to let it play and let my mind follow its own thoughts. Not very deep thoughts or anything like that. They’re my own (the thoughts I mean). That’s their only claim to fame here.
So, yeah this album is playing and my thoughts had drifted to a day on the beach when I reach the signal. It was red of course. I mean you generally have to wait for the green twice before crossing this particular junction anyway. The car to my right suddenly moves forward a couple of yards or so to fill up the gap between itself and the car in front of it causing me to instintively turn that way and look straight at a random lady leaning against her steering wheel and looking left… at me. You know how uncomfortable those post-breaking-of-eye-contact-looking-everywhere-but-back-at-the-eye moments are. Im super vain and all, but she had probably turned because of the music, I mean you don’t get to hear this kind of stuff often. I mean it’s so rare that most people arent aware of its existance even. More importantly, she isn’t a looker by any stretch. So the whole leaning on wheel, looking sideways is a tad repulsive. I mean even if she was seriously hot or something, that wouldn’t have… maybe it would have… been attractive. You can get away with any amounts of dumbness if sufficiently hot anyway.
The signal turns green and I manage to get sufficiently ahead of her by the next red and wait out an uneventful signal. Next green, me out of there. The signal being the NGEF junction on old madras road. Now the stretch parallel to the track between the NGEF junction and under bridge just before kasturi nagar is the best part of my day. It has been so for as long as I can remember. No actually, when in school, I liked the hours of cricket between 4 and 7 odd better, but now, this definitely is. This tragically lasts at most a minute and a half though. There’s something serene and dark about that place. Even with all the traffic and all, it some how grips me. Maybe the track to the right being elevated enough to not allow us to look beyond it and hence giving an illusion of us being at the end of the civilized world… I don’t know honestly.

My thoughts generally border on the park that’s formed in my head without really getting in. This park is my second travel to Cambodia and all the shit that I had to take there and the consequences, the reward, Karma and all that. This is central. This is a set of seriously depressing memories. Like I said, the stretch is just the best part of my day… not the happiest. You tend to look back fondly on the sad memories for some reason. There is a certain romance in the hell you went through… in retrospect.

You know, this whole post is probably just the introduction to some long winded reflective crap. Get the whole mental aspect out of the way stuff. It’s funny how the word mental suddenly made people start wondering. All I mean to say is, this is mentally normal, just very unapologetic.
You go through a very trying time and are releived (in rare cases, happy) it’s over. The memory stays with you a while, the details fresh but the pain reduced. You can let the memory go or you can jot it down. I choose the latter.

I pass the underbridge and turn right to kasturi nagar. This part is even better drivewise. Now there’s another track (which was on the bridge I just passed), to the left this time and apartments to the left. Curving road, fastish and sparse traffic at any time. Heaven in Bangalore. Also, this marks the clear transition from the city to the suburbs of the north east. North-east… the best part of any place. Take India for instance. I’d give my arm to be in the north east right now.

The whole north-east reference is actually a long running joke with a friend from south Bangalore. This friend is the second person in the know who I spoke to before starting this whole jotting down exercise. The friend being from south bangalore is referred to as southie in the jokes. This brings us to another theme which is very central. The north-south divide.

People tend to ignore this. I used to ignore it the best I could for a while. Experience has taught me that there is no getting away from it. So much so that im fairly certain that it’s stupidity to look the other way and pretend that it doesn’t exist. Im going to speak my mind, im going to lay down facts and im going to do this in as unbiased a manner as possible. Only unapologetic.

Past kasturi nagar, the place gets further residential. Now here’s the best part of this place. There are a few colleges around and this has brought is a hell of a lot of people from China and surrounding countries and Afros (not sure where from… met a couple from Kenya, but most of them arent from there, if american, then african americans, else africans… can we use the term afro and not be racist or inaccurate? Let me know if otherwise).

The Chinese chics are perfect. I agree that maybe the teeth are an issue… but then who the hell looks a gift horse in the teeth anyway?
They are just perfect. Just incredibly beautiful in a completely sexual sort of way (the word sexy just doesn’t say it these days). You can absoloutely worship a Chinese (or thereabouts) lady without any depth of emotions if you know what I mean.
I know im married and all, just that I don’t want to pretend it screwed around with my thought process or anatomy. Of course I love my wife and am fairly certain about being loyal and all… just that the chinese are super sexy (or the longer version of that word) and there’s no denying that… unless you’re blind maybe.

The beauty of the whole asian girl thing with me is, it’s completely shallow. Completely sexual. Complete worship. It’s probably because of their accent (not the fake ones who’ve lived in the USA or somewhere). Maybe it’s just me.
I’m an Indian you know. If you’re one too, you’d know what I mean when I say that I have had the weight of 12000 odd years of culture hurled at me at a head shattering velocity. This culture could be now be assumed to be encased in a massive wooden box and placed on my head and parts of it trickling into my brain all the while and me hunching under the weight.
I think it started off as a very rich school of thought. Lets leave it at that.
Point being, sexuality was integral to our culture for significant periods of those 12000 odd years maybe its that part that has trickled down in larger doses to my brain. Let’s blame culture now.

Perfect.

Anyway, me home now. Laptop’s taking hellishly long to start up (high time I replaced it). Wife’s been back a while, went out just now to pick up a gift for a wedding. Nice and quiet. Im wondering if something like “you can feel lonely in a room full of people hammering you with opinions and the exact opposite of it when in car all by yourself” sounds cliched enough to conclude a writeup like this…
Finally started up… I start typing

A day in the life

The time is half past 8 in the morning and a red Volvo (an Indian version) stops and a horde of people descend.. looking to cross the road.. I am one among that horde… I glance sideways and suddenly I see I am not the only one.. similar groups of people are waiting to cross that road and run along to start their day in one of the software technology parks of Bangalore..
This is me.. The Antagonist.. amongst a horde of software engineers going to earn their proverbial bread,,
Its been this way since I gave up using my own mode of transport and started depending on the oh so reliable (no satire here, it is really very reliable) public transport in the city of Bengaluru.
A year and half in this city and I have definitely learnt a lot of things during my stay here..
First and foremost.. the normal human tendency to yell at the locals.. be it pune or Bangalore or timbuktoo.. the locals are the most irriating lot and by the locals I don’t mean the regular set of people who live there day in and out.. it means the particular set of fanatics who think they own the place… by that I have postulated a law which states that.. “the average kannadiga.. is an idiot”. He doesn’t understand simple logic or instructions… people coming from outside.. mallus.. telugu.. tamil.. and the saffron attired bearded bozo’s community.. and the local urban Bangalore populace come and trample upon him and he’s still happy… but I guess he cannot help much.. the time for upgradation has long gone..
I guess the same will happen to the local populace of pune one day.. (which I most definitely and fondly wish it does) due to my strange hate hate and more hate relationship with the average puneite… (Veeru , The Wise One and Watson excluded from this list… they’re humans not puneites and even if they were they’re way above)
Secondly.. during Karnataka rajyotsava.. don’t ever argue with anyone especially if you have a vehicle with an MH passing… you’re most likely to be on the losing side…
Thirdly… while hiring an auto.. quote the 1/3rd price of what the auto driver says.. and 99 times out of 100 after a little haggling he’ll happily take u there.. this is coz even that 1/3rd price is in the range of 100% inflation.. and you thought Chennai was the king in that…
Then now shifting to the “engineer” breed of people.. they’re worse than even the average kannadiga… with a sub zero iq.. and an inconsequentially programmed life.. (if you call that a life).. the average engineer in this city believes he’s doing a miracle.. reading out specs sent out from onsite for us to chew on.. and has his customary cup of coffee .. lunch .. smoke.. and ends the day at end.. on a typical Friday in bangalore whether its mails or sms’s the most commonly asked question is …
“what are your plans for the weekend”
and the most customary greeting is
“happy weekend”…
What’s a happy weekend?? That’s the most irritating part.. and what do you find them doing on that oh so pleasing weekend?? Sleeping till noon.. conserving energy to read mails and speak in English for the next week… it’s a vicious cycle this..
Yeah there are those enthusiasts who actually head out… cycling.. hiking.. biking.. many other ings.. other than sleeping.. tv watching.. and b***ing… but that’s a very abysmal number.. but I guess theres still hope as long as these people are there…
The pub capital of the country.. and yeah.. there are still a few pubs on brigade and MG Road that have that old aura on them.. where you can chill out for a drink.. and spend some quiet time with yourself… :)..
This is to cut a long story short.. that a year and half in this city has given me the way ahead… a long way to go still… but once you are in bengaluru no matter what the people .. no matter what the climate (which is fantastic by the way) it starts growing on you.. but then there are ahmedabad and delhi that have already grown on me.. so I guess this’ll take time.. but yeah.. its one of those cities I’d love to settle down in… apart from the other 2…
And despite all this… the community of “engineers” that haunts the major part of this place… have a sub zero iq.. nothing can change that.. not even Bangalore…

.. to be continued…

-Antya

The Bard Signs Off

Foreword:
Read on...

The Article:
11th August 2004 is still etched clearly in my memory. It was the dayI walked into the maze called ‘Sharda Center’ without knowing whereexactly I was going.
Coming from a string of small names, working with a brand ‘MBT’ wassomething I hadn’t realized would happen so soon. Little did I realizethat it was the beginning of a rather wonderful, intriguing, mindboggling journey that ends today. Today marks an end to one of themost enriching phases of my life in terms of both professional andpersonal growth
Starting as a subcontractor (C2995) the journey began with the i-MBTteam, easily one of the best teams and one of the most wonderful setof people I’ve worked with.The ever smiling Santosh Gokhale (I still haven’t figured out why hewas smiling all the way thru my interview) who taught me to navigate thru Sharda Center. The wise man Dinesh Velhal, Hrishikesh Das (DasBabu), Abhi, Nishit, GaG, Sunil, Spanati, Amey, Anoop (Guptajee),Niladri (Tan), Snigdha, Poonam, Nivedita and not to forget VarshaMehendale (the best manager I’ve worked with).
Somewhere in the middle of all this on 5th May 2005 I came on payrollof MBT (10978).
We were infact the first team to be moved to what we called Kalapaniduring that time, what is now known as Panchsheel. A couple ofarticles written by a couple of us during that time will give you afair idea of what it was during that time. Yet we survived ... theroads, the arduous bus journeys from Sharda to Panchsheel, the 5 floortreks (there was no lift in the Panchsheel building when we moved).Gradually each one of moved out of the project to go our separateways. Komodo, AHAK, Antya, GaG were born during that time, and sowere thinshark and fiteklub , the blog wars, the incessant banter issomething none of us will ever forget.
I still remember the time when I got married. Tan, Amey and Abhijitused to draw on my whiteboard on my desk. A man hanging from a noosewith a caption ‘x days to go’ with x being the number of days as acountdown to my marriage. And when I came back from leave all I saywas a man hanging from the noose. Guys, that was pretty prophetic.
The last of my assignments on i-MBT was the rechristening of i-MBT towhat you now call ‘Spectrum’.
Then came the shift from .NET to Siebel, frustrating at first andthen interesting and intriguing and pretty enriching finally.Work pressure, and more work pressure, a new horizon , new challengesand roles were a hallmark of this stint, a stint that ends today.
Was lucky to have met some really interesting people as well during this time.The ever so humble, Sanjay Tajne and Ravi Natekar ... immensestorehouses of knowledge, the people who helped me grind my teeth inSiebel.Jaisith, Achal, Rajitha, Raveendra, Pramod Patil, Pritam, ManojPatil, Avinash Burgula, Dhaval, Vishal, Lokpal, Anindo, SudhanshuAgashe, Ambrish Raval, Priyadarshani Jadhav, from Pune ... all uniquein their own way. Many forgettable ones as well, hence forgotten. Manyother interesting persons from each of whom I gained a unique outlookabout life. Each a gem, it was really a pleasure to have known themall.
Then the move to Bangalore for reasons now known to a select few.
More pressure and more interesting people. A totally new mindset, atotally new life. The entire T2R team, again one of the mosteffervescent teams I have worked with. Specially people like Bimal,Vinod Nair, Vinod Bagi, Vikranth (Wishing him a happy married life),Anil and his entire test team, Duttsaab, the 3 Rajesh’s (Naik, Mysoreand N) who are great friends. Bhagwan , Bharat (never seen him getangry). From all these people I’ve learnt something or the other.
Then a short stint with Huawei and a special thank you to Vinod Vermaand Ravi Charan without whose support I could not have survived one ofthe toughest phases in my personal life. A special thank you to bothof you.
I have had the opportunity of working under the best managers andworking for the best people in this organization, this note willdefinitely not be complete without mentioning the contribution ofVarsha Mehendale, Vivek Takawale, Vaijayanthi Rangarajan, HrishikeshDas and Sushil Kurian without whose guidance and mentoring thisjourney would not have been so enriching and easy.
Also the Techmate editorial group , the journey from a 2 membereditorial board to what it is know. These are the people who made lifebearable in times of crisis and pressure. Hawkeye, TP, Mav, Mystique,Nirvana, Ramlal , Omshafu, Saricaustic you guys rock.
As I look back on the last 5 years, I realize that I have gained a lotof experience, am enriched. There’s a fond wish that this journeycould have continued further but there comes a time in life where youhave to make a choice. This is the choice I made, and as I now set tostart life afresh (sometimes life leads you and you do not end uphaving a choice at all ;)), I would like to thank all those who havemade this journey worthwhile. Without you all this journey never wouldhave been possible.
29th October 2009, As I look around, I realize that from tomorrowonwards I will not walk these corridors again, something I felt that Imoved to Bangalore, but then this is what it is with Tech M. It growson you. It has become a part of me, something that will be confined tomemories from tomorrow. Something that will be a cherished memory fortimes to come. A part of me feels bad to leave behind something I’vealways held close to my heart while another part of me is ready totake flight towards a new horizon.
To all those who were a part of me in this journey I wish you ‘All theBest’ in life. Be true to yourself and you will achieve what you want.
To all the rest of my friends (Juri , Reuben, Kanchan, Amar , Ranji,Dr Manish … the list is mighty big it might take a further page but Iguess they got the message),a big thank you for tolerating myidiosyncrasies, all of you will be sorely missed.
I carry fond memories from this place, and the time spent and friendsearned during my tenure here will always be special… veddy veddyspecial…J
And to the select few who managed to decipher me in these 5 years… ‘S’long and thanks for all the fish’ :)

-Antya