Nice way to begin a New Year !

We met in 2005 when we were around 18 years old. Due to our common entrance test scores, we found ourselves at a new college together. We were unsure of so many things like college culture, teachers, placements etc. But we were lucky to have found the people we liked and who made the journey of 4 years a pleasurable and enjoyable learning experience.

In first year, all group formation stages happened i.e Initial meetings, getting-to-know-each-other periods, forming of opinions, judging, small silly fights, times spent in studying together, eating together, roaming and shopping etc. helped in creating a bond and trust between us girls.
We understood and accepted our idiosyncrasies and enjoyed them by pulling each others legs about it !

The peer learning that I had in this group was amazing. Every person helped directly or indirectly to help others improve on their weak points ! And it is a learning that continues even today ! We have been together for almost 9 years and in constant touch even when life's pressure of Job and Marriage are on us !

A best way to start a new year is to meet old friends ! Meeting them assures us of the existence and nurturing of a bond that humans need and should value ! They help us to assess our growth in terms of maturity, physical changes, changes in our method of thinking, our distractions, our priorities and changes that have happened in us for good or bad and provide us a great source of emotional resilience to face any kind of challenge.

Thanks to Shwe, Nee and Sou, this bond is continuing even today and hope it continues for a long long time ! Thanks for a wonderful new start to a new year girls and the continuing tradition of Shwe's gifts for us for each new year !! Love you all !!!

Friends....

 Friends drift into our lives like unknown flowers from the wind. Without them you don't know who you would have been or who you actually are. They shape you for good and prepare you for the bad. Like different flowers for different seasons you have different friends for different reasons.The degree of closeness that you share with them will definitely differ and most of the times it is directly proportional to the number of adversities you have faced together(sorry but could not resist using the science jargon here). Of course, after sometime those flowers are again blown away from you by the forces of nature, reminding you that life after-all has to move on. And If you are lucky, a few flowers stays with you to keep you grounded and constantly reminds you that life is a gift to be valued, enjoyed and nurtured. Let's hope that different bright colourful flowers drift into our lives and let those flowers which we really need, stay on with us forever !!!!!

Bolo Na....

I was going through my friend's new phone when I re-discovered this song. This song is sung by Sona Mohapatra and was a huge hit when it was released. Was nice to hear it after a long time. It's lyrics are very meaningful and written in simple hindi. The music score, especially the guitar, is very soothing. So listen and enjoy !

Thanks Guys !!!

I was sitting in the library today going through a magazine when suddenly 2 hands covered my eyes and another pair of hands confiscated my purse and cell phone. The culprits, Lakshman And Karthek had arrived from Mysore DC yesterday to attend a session for 2 days and today to exhort a treat out of me. We had pizzas and juice and desserts from Amul by which time Sai and Merin too had joined. Had a gala time for 2 hours pulling each other's legs and getting to know latest updates in Lakshman's and Karthek's love lives. These 2 guys along with Rakesh formed the Mysore trio in our gang who had amazing infectious energy which made the whole group come alive even in our Mysore days. Was nice to meet these guys after a long time. And yes they decided to be generous and gave me a gift too ! Thanks for the awesome gift guys ! You made my day ! Love you all :) :) :)

PS : As I expected, these 3 guys started fighting over the chocolates I had sent and Rakesh called up to complain :D

You guys ROCK !!! :)

B2B Awesome Events !

Had 2 back to back awesome events in my company recently.
One was by Prof. Michael Sandel from Harvard University on March 12 and the other was a rock concert by Agam - the Band on March 14.

The first one was an interactive public lecture organised by Infosys Science Foundation titled -
"Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do"? The lecture started off with case studies with some really deep insights and different perspectives about the dilemmas we face in real life. The lecture definitely stimulated our white cells in the brain and was an experience of its kind. Tough questions on contemporary issues were thrown at us and was discussed from different perspectives. A really wonderful lecture series organised by the foundation.


The other was a rock band concert organised by Infosys Sports and Hobbies track. Agam - The Band performed enthralling the audience with their superb mix of Indian classical music and rock genre performance. We didnt know much of this band and me and my team mate sat at the aisles to make a quick exit if it got boring. But that was not required as the band was too good with an unforgettable performance of the song "Har Har Mahadev" !

Sources : Images by Infosys Science Foundation and Infosys Bangalore DC.

The Hindu : Today's Paper / OPINION : What they don't teach you at Indian B-schools

The Hindu : Today's Paper / OPINION : What they don't teach you at Indian B-schools

Nice article !
And yes what better day than today to read and post this article right ?

HAPPY HOLI !!!

Ah, Valentine's Day!

Thanks to the advertising and marketing industry, Valentine’s Day is a much dreaded day for those who are single and also to those who are committed.

To those who are committed, the hassles they have to face are pretty much less. They just have to follow the below 2 golden rules to have a smooth day.

1. Decide on a gift for your GF/BF/Finace and

2. Spend a lot of money apart form gifts on lunch/dinner/movie/party and you can be assured of having a smooth sail for the day.

It’s we singles who face the brunt of all that marketing blitzkrieg and our woes starts right from morning –

1. First we must choose a dress that doesn’t singularly denote any of the below colors. Better to wear a dress with multiple colors or patterns because, according to some-idiots-definition, the following colours stand for the following reasons –

Pink color dress - Going to propose (you will be thought of as someone desperate)
Orange color dress - Already in love (you will be thought of someone who is too easy to get)
Blue color dress - Applications welcomed (the most dangerous option)
Black color dress - Not interested in love (again a bad option, Trust me)
Yellow color dress - Failure in love (actually looks like a safe option, but beware you might termed as a loser)
Green color dress - Accepted a love (again judged as too easy to get)
Red color dress - Already booked ( booked ? is this some bus ticket ? )
White color dress - Double sided (Ok even I am not sure what this means)

So if you are one of those brave souls who don’t care about the above rules and can handle the winks/teasings from your friends, Hats off!

And to other mortal normal beings like me, we have to continue to step 2.

2. Ok so once you decide on the dress, make sure you don’t wear any new accessories on that day like watch/earrings/ties/perfumes etc. coz your Frenemies ( on feb 14th the Frenemies list includes friends/team-mates/project-mates/batch mates etc.) because they will have a field day ragging you about it.

3. Don’t ever make the mistake of being seen alone with a friend of opposite sex in a public place even though he/she is your best friend.

4. Always be on alert because on this day, will get a lot of false proposals from unknown mobile numbers/mails etc which would in fact be your friends playing pranks on you. So handle it with Élan and charisma and beat them at their own trick!

5. Never EVER say you are busy working when a friend pings or calls you out for a break! This is the most difficult trap to get out of!

6. And never make the mistake of going home late on a Valentine’s Day on account of work! There will be hell to pay for :)

Song I am listening to: Can't get you out of my head *WINKS*