Preachings from Travel!

Wind on my way and music in my head!

Millions of thoughts and countless dreams

This unsettling mind seeks more every time.

The prisoner in me asks to be set free.

I travel! I travel to settle! I travel to seek!

 

Hills to the right and oceans to the left.

I ride through this foggy path feeling vowed.

A piece of paradise wonderfully done.

Just for me! Just for me!

I travel for the oceans! I travel for the hills!

 

There is a ocean to be explored inside me.

There is a mountain of thoughts to settle.

I hear the oceans preaching wilderness.

I hear hills preaching solitude.

I need a bit of this and a bit of that.

I travel for solitude! I travel for wilderness!

 

The sun kissed waves and the drenched forest.

A peacock invites faraway and cuckoos sing.

Streams piercing through the hills.

White sands with seashells and the soothing seawinds.

I travel for the waves! I travel for the nature!

 

Wind on my way and music in my head!

Millions of thoughts and countless dreams.

This unsettling mind seeks more every time.

There is a prisoner in me to be set free.

I travel! I travel to settle! I travel to seek!

 

It feels good to blog after a long long long time. This poem / song / phrases are inspired by my current travels. Hope I can continue this.

Until next time

Have a wonderful week / month / year.

Auto, Bus and the Night.

Life

I had booked Volvo to move on Friday evening for Dussera holidays (3 days). As always, was excited to go home. I came to office on Friday, smiling, waiting for hours to pass. All looked happy in office or maybe it was a reflection of my inner self; it was a busy week after all. The office was decorated with jasmine, sunflowers etc on the eve of Ayudha pooja. The aroma was exquisite. The lighted lamps ensured the required cultural look. We had ayudha pooja and were given sweets and fruits. I left office around 6.15 pm and reached room around 7 pm. My bus was at 9.45 pm and it was an hour drive from my room to bus stand. So i had lot of time left. I sat on my bed eating fruits and sweets. After that i lay on my bed, not to sleep but to relax, but the day had different plans. It was 9.40 pm when i opened my eyes, I yelled “oh god” and felt like slapping myself for my idiocy. I was dumbstruck, later relaxed for 2 mins. There was no buses still morning as all the buses were booked and i would waste 1 full day for my idiocy. My cell read the message from KSRTC (Bus service), there was a cell number of conductor. I called him immediately.

Me: Sir my PNR No is —-. I’m caught in traffic at Ramapuram i can’t make it to the bus stand in time. Please can you say from which route the bus will travel so that i can catch the bus in the middle.

Conductor: Sir the driver is new he just knows the route but he doesn’t know which place would be near to ramapuram. I will check with someone and call you. The bus will leave at 9.55 pm see if you can make it.

Me: No sir i can’t. Please check the route and confirm so that i can catch the bus from middle.

Conductor: “ok sir”.

I ran towards bathroom washed my face, hand combed my hairs and put on my clothes in 5 mins and left the room. An auto stood idle just close to my room. I spoke with my broken Tamil (local language). The drunken auto driver demanded a huge amount. I was not in a position to bargain so i agreed and strongly demanded that he has to ride fast. As the auto rushed towards the main road i called the conductor.

Me: Sir where should i come??

Conductor: Sir there is a flyover about 10 Kms from ramapuram. The bus will be there by another 15 mins. Please come there.

I gave the phone to auto driver to confirm the address with conductor so that he can drop me at the exact location without any ambiguity. The auto driver took shortcuts and rushed. He said me the auto did not have brakes with a laugh (showing all his teeth). I was shocked, without brakes this drunken auto driver rode his auto like Ferrari, at one point he almost crashed a woman walking on the side of the road and suddenly deviated the auto. He was scolded by all the travellers for his rash driving but he didn’t care. I said him to be careful. The auto jumped over the humps and raced. The auto driver seemed to enjoy his night ride; he kept on laughing and saying the auto has no brakes. I was scared to hell as what may come. I thought i will meet with an accident or if iam lucky enough will catch the bus safely.

Meanwhile i got a call from conductor “Sir we have reached and are waiting for you from 5 mins, where are you? All the passengers are complaining”

Me: “Sir i will reach there in another 3 mins, almost there. Please wait.”

The auto driver said he didn’t know where the bus would stop exactly and he has to ask the local people who are there for the exact route. I was breathing heavily and thought i will miss the bus for sure. I was angry on myself. 3 mins passed the auto passed through the narrow shortcut roads of Chennai (God knows where i was travelling; all i could do was trust this auto driver and motivate him to ride faster). *Phone rings*

Conductor: “Sir we have waited for 10 mins, all passengers are furious and angry. Where are you exactly?? “

Me: “Iam getting down from the fly over bridge (I lie). Sir I’m really sorry for the delay, please wait for some more minutes.”

Conductor: “Sir we will wait for another 5 more minutes, if you don’t arrive we will leave”.

The auto driver said we are near the flyover and he has to confirm where the bus would actually pass through. He asked a person and the person said he has no idea”. I grew anxious. I asked another person, He confirmed us that we had to climb this bridge and get to the other side and it was nearly a 1 km from here. I said the auto driver to rush. It was already 5 mins and my phone rang.

Conductor: “Sir, sorry we are leaving its too late.”(*I could hear the engine start*)

Me: “Sir i am just 2 mins away, I can see the bus from top of the bridge (I lie). If i don’t reach there in another 3 mins you can leave. I have exams tomorrow (I lie), please help me.”

Conductor: “Okay sir you have another 3 mins, the engine will be on. Make it fast.”

Meanwhile the auto raced like a Ferrari and almost covered 600 to 700 mtrs. Auto driver confirmed we will be there in a minute. I gathered the money to pay to the auto driver. The auto finally reached the spot and i could see the conductor looking at the road, anticipating me at any moment.  The auto stopped and the bus was on the other side of the road so i had to cross the 4 lane Highway. I payed the auto driver and said him thank you many times. He was happy as though he landed on the moon. He was surely a hero for me today. I waved at the conductor and he signalled to rush. It took me another 3 mins to cross the highway as it was packed with fast moving vehicles. The conductor at the entrance advised me to apologize to the passengers for the delay. I got into the bus and said out loud “Sorry people i couldn’t make it up in time. Big thanks for your patience. It was really important for me. Sorry again and thank you”. Some old man yelled back “its okay, it happens”.  The crowd gave *It’s okay* kind of expression. Finally i sat on my seat sighing loud and closed my eyes for 2 mins. The girl next to me asked “why were you late?”. I said the truth. She smiled and said “OMG this is one hell of a night for you then!!”

Me: “Yes this is one hell of a night” *Smiling*. Yes that was one hell of a night.

It’s been a while since i have even thought of writing. Lot of introspection done, questions asked (To myself) and answered. Away from all social networking sites and only thinking about myself to find answers about my life. Finally i now know what i want, what keeps me happy and am working on it.

 

Until Next one,

Be thankful, Keep smiling.  

HECTIC DAY AND AFTER THOUGHTS

It was a hectic day at office. I had worked 8 hrs at a stretch preparing slides for the meeting. You can never satisfy your boss completely, can you? After reviewing and modifying the slides n number of times, he gave his acceptance and began to study the slides for the final time. I was frustrated, tired and mentally trafficked. All my mind craved was for some peace and idle time to recover. I took a deep breath as always and looked around. It was a busy week for everyone, all had the same face as me (tired and frustrated). So looking around for people was not distracting, so i changed my focus on things. Among all the things there was this magical note pinned to the side board of one of the cubicle.

“What did you lose that you weep? What did you bring with you, which you think you have lost? What did you create, which you think got destroyed? Whatever you have, you received from here. Whatever you have given, you have given only here. You came empty handed, you will leave empty handed. What is yours today belonged to someone else yesterday and will belong to someone else tomorrow. You are mistakenly enjoying the thought that this is yours. It is this false happiness that is the cause of your sorrows. Source- Bhagavad githa”.

After reading this, I was in a dilemma. This is one of the classic experiences in my life to realize the power of words. It can turn your world upside down. These words were magical and seemed to have exactly answered my situation. I began to question myself and analyse everything around me and went deep and buried in my thoughts for a while.

Aren’t we so riveted in work and financial matters, that we disregard ourselves and beauty around us. All we crave for is good perks and promotions. Our life ends before we know it. We end our life saving money, buying property, cars and what not. We want to have all the luxuries available in this planet. We don’t have ends on our dreams and desires. All we lack is mental peace. We are from nature, for nature and are nature. We are one of the species in this earth blessed by intelligence and imagination which is spoiling our life style to a great extent. We have turned this once called beautiful earth to a dungeon. We have created borders and invented nuclear bombs. If someone is really up there watching all this. He would be laughing his head off at all this drama we have created due to covetousness for luxury, prestige and others.

Most of us live here for society. It’s always like “what does he/she thinks if i do this and that?”. Not caring what others feel and deeming ourselves is the ultimate freedom one can have. Do what you love the most, that job which makes you tireless and bore less no matter how much time you spend on it. Unfortunately I’m yet to find mine. Be in the present, it is your cup of tea which you can have and enjoy. Don’t stick to the past or worry about future.

If we fast forward 100 yrs from now, only a handful will remember you existed and 200yrs from now your existence will be a myth, unless you achieve something really inspiring. So is it worth this entire struggle without doing something which really makes you happy from inside. It’s your story; make sure it is a classic one. Take risks, help others, merge with nature, laugh out loud, be kind and all the things which makes you beautiful from inside.

Until Next One,

Wishing you a happy September,

PRADEEP CN

ONE LAZY AFTERNOON

Enjoy

Every mom is the best cook a child is proud of. The food she prepares is not only scrumptious but also has love and tons of memories in it. One afternoon after a warm shower the food was served. I gobbled up everything and complemented my mom. She smiled and was satisfied. After a warm shower and a heavy meal, only thing that satisfies you is a long afternoon sleep. I lay dead on my bed and within seconds was carried far away.

A strong, chilled wind gushed through the window and woke me. I opened my eyes slowly. Everything of me felt delicate. My mind was completely blank. I just lay on the bed looking at the floor. The black ants worked in straight line carrying particles of sweet which i had dropped. There were two lines in opposite direction. Every ant touched the opposite ant passing. I wondered why? I shifted my position, the clock read 3.35 pm. So i had slept for 3 hours i realized. I looked out of the window, An eagle sailed with the wind far way. I was mesmerized and jealous of the unique gift it possessed. I tried to continue my sleep by closing my eyes but guess i had reached my saturation. Everything remained silent except for the leaking tap and the clock. I got up and sat on the bed. It seemed strange i was hungry and tired.

I washed my face and hand combed my hair. The tiredness seemed to have disappeared. I felt fresh, energetic and every worry seemed to have taken a long run away. My mind still remained blank and made me feel wonderful. I slowly walked down the staircase stretching my body. My mom was washing the utensils in the kitchen. She smiled on seeing me and i smiled back at her. I plugged in to hear some soothing music and wandered around. My mom served me boost. I walked into the backyard sipping it. The weather was cloudy and looked like it was 6pm though it was around 4. As i walked, squirrels ran to their trees. Strong winds continued to blow and i loved it. i walked to my neighbours backyard to see the ever grazing cow. I always loved cows for its eyes and innocence. I scrubbed its forehead. It waved its tail appreciating my concern. After i was done i sat on the wall of the well and observed. The water level remained the same always. Weather did not have an effect on the same. Small plants grew on the walls. Lots of fish and a tortoise sheltered in it. I saw my rippled reflection in the well.

I saw my cousin’s 2 year old son playing with his toys and he seemed very happy. He too was enjoying every bit of this lovely evening. I went to him and played childish games for a while with him remembering my childhood. I just absorbed everything around me. Everything seemed perfect this evening. I had a happy soul after a long time. My mom was collecting all the dried clothes and i joined to help her out. She asked me to pluck the flowers from the garden and i did the same. It started drizzling as i entered my house. I sat in the balcony ending my evening observing the rain and eating the hot pakodas which my mom offered.

City life offers all the luxuries for life but for inner happiness you got to be far away from all the huzzle-buzzle and drama at least once in a while. For me life is all about how many such peaceful and pleasant evenings i will have. Iam sure i will savour many such evenings.

I end this by saying it out loud “MOM – I LOVE YOU”.

Until next one.

Wishing you many such evenings,

PRADEEP CN

BLETHERING NIGHT WITH DEAD COUPLE

Dark room

“Ghosts”, the word itself has anonymity in it. I have always been a big aficionado of ghost stories. The terms soul, sixth sense, heaven, hell, subconscious are all attached and drives you far away from present to another world. Isn’t it bizarre when something which we haven’t seen or felt makes us petrified and engrossed when we heed or dream about it. When i was young i would watch many movies and TV series related to this part of the world. When we friends hung out in the nights our main topic of discussion was about spirits. I always craved to experience supernatural world. I had many questions, Do they really exist? Are these invisible creatures waiting for a chance to pounce on us? Do these creatures sit beside me when i am asleep? How do they look? Are there good ones among them?
One of my friend said he knew the procedure to invoke ghosts to converse with them. We were thrilled on hearing this and pleaded him to perform. So it was decided, tonight we would invite ghosts to have a chat with us in hostel. I was excited and anxious (These two emotions are rarely experienced jointly). We bought five candles, cardboard sheet and a one rupee coin. Every holy thing was removed from the room. It was 12 am, my friend started. He wrote alphabets from A to Z and 0 to 9 along the borders of the cardboard sheet. In the middle he drew a small circle to fit a rupee coin and bottom of it he wrote “YES / NO”. Four candles were lit on four sides of the sheet. The lights were turned off, windows wide open and the dark world awaited us to be explored. All five of us sat chaining each other’s hand to form a broken circle (The right hand of my friend who was performing wasn’t chained). Each of my friend candle lit face reflected anxiousness.
We were given strict commands “Please don’t unchain your hands until the act is complete. Concentrate and have a strong belief that what you are performing is true. Recite “O Holy Spirit please enter the coin” n number of times until at least one candle extinguishes. “. As we closed our eyes and began chanting, a dog howled and barked far away. The room remained silent except for the tick tock sound of the wall clock. The weather and the candle heat made us sweat. As we concentrated hard chanting, a strong wind blew inside and the window closed with a thud. A candle went off. My friend said us to open our eyes and place of our fingers on the coin. He asked “O holy spirit are you here?” The coin slowly pulled our fingers towards yes. We were scared and dumbstruck with eyes wide open. My heart beat at the pace of a squirrel’s. My friend enquired “Who are you?” The coin pulled our shivering hands among the alphabets “Iam Rachel from moodbidrai (A town near to Mangalore, Karnataka). 31 years old. Dead in a road accident 2 years before. My husband Jerald is also here”
My friend went on enquiring. The couple were travelling back after a function and were hit by a lorry. They have a six year old son named john who is presently cared by his grandmother. She said they miss him a lot and are v sad that they could not be with him. Both were doctors who worked in a government hospital in moodbidrai. She said her home address and where they were buried. i asked her “Where do you spirits stay, Are there good ones among you?”. She replied “we don’t have any shape or colour. We are just energy present everywhere. Just like people we have good and bad ones. Some are wicked, some kind, some crazy”. We finally got comfortable with them and this enquiry went on for about an hour. Finally we requested them to depart. We began reciting “O holy spirits please leave the room”. The spirits gushed away with the wind opening the window. We were speechless about the experience and slept peacefully.
On the weekends we five of us set out in search of the address in our bicycles. At the outskirts of moodbidrai lay a beautiful house behind a thick garden. A Doberman barked on seeing us. A child came out of the house and scrubbed the barking dog. We called the child and he ran towards us smiling. We asked “What’s your name in thulu (Regional language of south Karnataka)?”. The child replied “John. Who are you? Should i call granny, she is inside”. We said “No” and gave him a five star and departed. We also went to the cemetery where they were buried and placed few flowers on the coffin. So i had my experience and answers which i always craved for.

UNTIL NEXT ONE

Stay Awake-Stay Alert

PRADEEP CN

LITTLE THINGS FOR A BETTER INDIA

“Jana gana mana. . .” Our national song. It makes us patriotic and proud when we sing and hear it. It’s a pleasure to sing, standing straight and rigid with eyes set straight showing at most respect from your soul. Every line of it has its own connotation and tenor thus making all of us united in spite of divergence in terms of language, region, caste, creed, colour, status and what not. Every child is made to sing our national anthem daily but very few schools teaches what it means. Schools must teach what every line means so that every child enjoys the exquisiteness of it. It’s sad that majority of colleges don’t have the practice of singing our national anthem except in some gathering. Wouldn’t it be good if colleges inculcated the same custom which we had in our schools? Are our schedules so busy that we don’t have 5 to 10 mins time to sing our national anthem?  I don’t think so. Government should make it mandatory for every institution and organisation in India to sing it with at most respect. It’s just not about singing, what it actually does is, it creates an awareness that am an Indian for every 5 min in a day which will do a hell lot of good to our nation.

The word tax makes us gauche. We feel we are losing a part of our hard earned income. All yearn for benefits from government but no one wants to pay back. I think the main reason for the same is our corrupt government. People feel whatever we pay does no wonders but finds the pockets of these corrupt politicians. Everywhere you see roads damaged within half of its expected life, Government hospital without proper medications, government colleges bribing seats neglecting the eligible. The term government servant is no more the same. The way they treat you in all government offices makes you hate government and makes you forget government is “For the people, By the people, Of the people”. I think to eradicate this people should know and feel proud about where there money is used. Government should give the tax payer details where his money is invested or used and he should be able to monitor whether the money he pays is used as it was justified. If this system is incorporated am sure most people will be happy and proud to pay their taxes regularly.

I think it’s every Indian’s duty to do a part to his society no matter how small his service may be. Every parent must imbibe patriotism in his child. Teach him how cultured and rich our India was. Let him know and feel the struggles of our freedom fighters. Let him know the works of genius minds like Vishweshwarya, Raman, JC Bose etc. This country has everything essential to become the most influential country in this world but requires right set of people to change the system and modest effort from every citizen for a better INDIA.  Let’s act and hope for the same.

 

Until next one

Think over it

PRADEEP CN

Life’s Little Pleasures – 1

I am always a firm believer of little pleasures of life. When you learn the art of enjoying all the small things, events or acts around you, it will always keep you happy no matter what stage you are in. Any happiness from big achievements are short termed but the small ones are the ones which you experience every minute,hour,day. It is your inner beauty which can absorb happiness in everything around you and which keeps you content about what you have. So here I am sitting in my backyard with my coffee and laptop remembering and jolting down a couple of them. Nature has been a biggest entertainer for me from my childhood and will always be. In the long term these are the ones which remain in our memories and make us happy. so here i go. . .

The Magic Stick Story

From my young age to till date magic and magicians always fascinate me. Though i know now that everything has a scientific justification behind it, i still wonder when i see some magic shows. My dad had a simple stick which was black throughout except the edges had white patches around them. Exactly like the ones magicians use. My dad said to me that it was a magic stick and could create whatever i wanted with it, if i said the right combination of words at the right time and he lent it to me. I was enthralled about the stick and the wonders it could create. I always kept it close to me and would try out all combination of words expecting it to create wonders at any time. Though i realized later it was a simple stick and my dad had lied about it. Now i wonder how a simple stick kept me happy and mesmerized me throughout. I had imagined so much from the simple stick. It made a young boy think he was on top of the world and could do anything if he said the right combination of words at the right time. .  !!!

Beauty of Butterflies and Grasshoppers

My aunt’s old ancestral house is around 80 years old. Though old it has a beauty of its own which no other modern house can compete with. The best part about the old fashioned house was its backyard. It is where i learnt so many minute and amazing things about nature. The backyard had a garden which was about 8000 sq ft. In it they have 3 coconut trees, pomegranate tree, guava tree, chikku tree and many others. In the middle there are a variety of flowers and other plants grown, which offered the aroma required to make the garden even more beautiful. Small weeds grew in patches here and there. The garden was ecstatic with different kinds of birds which sheltered on the coconut trees. I would go around bare footed watching everything the beautiful garden had to offer. Among all this, the thing that mesmerized me the most were the Butterflies, grasshoppers and the ladybugs. Different kinds of butterflies visited the garden for the nectar it offered. I would observe the butterflies and loved it for the designs it had on its wings. I and Ramu the puppy would go around trying to catch a butterfly but would succeed once in a hundredth time. Grasshoppers and ladybugs were easy to catch. Ramu would always chase the grasshoppers and it would leap one or two meters at a single stretch when it detected anything with its compound eye. I had the knack to catch it, i would slowly go close to it and with a single sway would catch it. After catching i would tie a thread around its head and would have control over it. I would play with it for some time and would release it off. The lady bugs were the easiest to catch and i admired it for the red background with black dots on it, there was something that made this bug beautiful. This things though simple had a major impact on my young age. i visited the garden yesterday and nothing has changed and i always wish nothing changes. it is and always will be my fairyland. . . !!

I didn’t have a lot of toys to play with instead i had the environment around me that mesmerised me always. I would never sit idle when i was young. I was very naughty and a curious child. There are still many things to say but i think will stop here (My mom is already yelling, got to go). Hope it reminded your childhood and i made sense. Well it was nice to go back and enjoy each of it. Will talk a lot more in the coming future. . . . .to be contd

Until then,

Stay childish – Be Happy

PRADEEP CN 

MY Phase Change Experience – 2

Cont….

It was 5.30 am when my fast-track beeps woke me. i sat on my bed thinking. All the random thoughts began to flow in my mind. What dress to wear?  How do i conduct myself? (Everything seemed entirely new to me). Every now and then i would jump into the future and think about a situation and how i would and should react. These thoughts made me twitchy (I usually don’t think this much on anything). So after half n hour i got up, stretched myself , took a deep breath and went in front of the mirror  and said to myself “ Hey there don’t think too much . Everything will be fine. Go with the flow. Just be frank”. I relaxed myself and had a nice warm shower with a light relaxing music, got ready and tried to look my best because i believe in what people say first impressions have long lasting image of you. As i entered the floor where i would work it made me go vow in my mind. Everything was so clean and shiny. The lights, cubicles and what not my floor even had a T.V for entertainment. But only one thing looked strange. None of them seemed from my age group. 60% of people had grey hairs and looked they were in late 40’s another 20% in mid 30’s and 10 % looked late 20’s and early 30’s.

HR welcomed me and enquired about how i feel. I just replied “Great sir!”. I could see my colleagues watching me curiously and discussing among themselves about who i was. HR took me on an Introducing spree. “This is safety Dept, This is tendering Dept, This is procurement etc etc”. All seemed happy seeing the new and young boy; all had smile on their faces. i was pretty sure it reminded them about their  early days as fresher, i could see in their eyes and smile (some even confessed). I felt good about the way i reacted and replied. I smiled at everyone and spoke frankly about how i felt and received many smiles in return. I got more than 50 smiles (you generally don’t get that many) that morning which made me feel good and valuable. HR said me he has to take me to operational head of L&T Thermal power plant construction. The thought of meeting him seemed scary. I had heard his speech in the orientation. He was a tall and dark man who spoke so boldly and the style which he expressed his thoughts indicated he was very knowledgeable and one of the integral part of the top management and now i was meeting him in an hour or two. My thoughts which were silent still then marched back into my head and created ripples. Again i gained control over my thoughts and said myself “you give your best”. HR took me to his cabin. He greeted me with a wide smile as though he knew me from years and i gave my best one. I was surprised the way i spoke to him. i was not a bit scared or didn’t do anything awkward. I answered to all his queries confidently and maturely with a smile after every answer and he kept returning his. He called his assistant and based on the requirements he posted me in “PLANT AND MACHINERY (P&M)” department and greeted me “all the best” with his widest smile and a firm handshake. I was posted directly under P&M Head who was also one of the most influential people of top management.

I was growing in confidence now (maybe i had an adrenaline rush back there and it still continued).  I met my boss and he was a short man who was in his late 40’s and all his hairs had turned white which gave him a matured look. HR introduced me and left. He began asking me about everything; my college, placements, family, place everything which went about half an hour. Then he began his story how he joined l&t as a fresher, his college life etc which again went about half n hour. I went on giving my smiles for every sentence or two. I could see how excited he was when he went to his past. His face and words expressed everything. After an hour of discussion he called his another subordinate who worked for him, introduced me and asked him to train me. I left his cabin with an all the best.  My senior took me to my cubicle and it was awesome. I had my system and a comfy chair and above all i was sitting next to a window (No i can’t actually call it a window it was a transparent glass). Out of which i could see trees with flowers. Birds chirping around and having fun and i could also see streets outside office, a great way to pass time if i get any. The feeling was good, everything had finally settled. My random thoughts received peace and the day passed in registering for id, canteen, recreational club, wandering around and making new friends(who were at least 5 years older to me) etc. At the ended of the day it felt great, a sense of satisfaction of where i had landed in life. My actual training would start tomorrow so i prepared mentally for it and had a sound sleep.

My senior began to explain the overview of my department. It is to provide right kind of equipments for site jobs, handling spare inventory, handling breakdowns, hiring of equipments from outside vendor, maintenance of equipments, analysis on cost spent on these equipment for price reduction etc etc. So being in headquarters we had to handle around 4000 equipments whose value is around 400Cr spread across almost all parts of India in various sites. Equipments included cranes, batching plants, concrete pumps, boom placer, welding machines etc etc. The job felt interesting and challenging and gave a sense of satisfaction for the engineer in me. I was taken to a place where there were around 100’s of manuals and was asked to go through them to gain technical knowledge regarding all the equipments. So i began from cranes and began reading everything it seemed interesting how the concept of centre of gravity played a vital role in cranes for lifting load. I would ask if i had any doubt and would get it cleared. I was a lot more sincere than my college because i was paid for it. Though i gained all the theoretical technical knowledge required i did not have a feel of actually how a crane works practically so i requested my boss to send me to site for a month or two so i can learn practically and he agreed and said he will plan for it. After my work daily i would use the gym or play any game in the campus. The best part is you can play anything you want; L&T re-creational clubs is one of the finest and provides all the facilities for re-creational activities.

The first friend whom i met was an IIT post graduate who sat beside me. He was simple, brainy, sincere etc and what not; we became good friends as the days rolled. He thought me many things personally as well as professionally. I learnt a lot from him. The second one was a procurement department guy he was funny and bindhas in nature. Marriage was his biggest problem. Though he was 29 he was still unmarried. He had some Naga-dhosham in his horoscope so he did not find a girl, though he was tall and average looking with a good salary. He would make me laugh to the core and we enjoyed each other’s company. As time passed i had lot of friends and every face in the office became familiar. Days rolled and nearly three months got completed and one fine day my boss called me and informed me that i will be going for 3 months training in Punjab site and i have to be prepared for that. Though initially i was a little uncomfortable of moving out but other thoughts of visiting different places, experiencing different culture made me happy and i would get goose bumps when i thought about it. so i exactly had 1 week left to pack-up. . . . . . contd 

Writing this was a pleasure for 2 reasons. one i went to the past and savoured every bit of it and the other iam happy that i have a good memory of everthing. i know its been a long post but i really enjoyed passing over my memory lane and expressing every feeling to you. your feedback is valuable please make sure you let me know how you felt.

Until then

Stay Happy –  Stay Crazy . . . !

PRADEEP CN

My Phase Change Experience-1

Hello encha ullaru? (Miss South kendhra and its people)

 It’s been a year since i stopped blogging and i regret it. I always wanted to but i did not, not that i was super busy with my work life and other stuffs but it just did not happen. Finally decided to start of today and promising myself that i will have at least one post a week. My last post “Advent of technology redefines the future” got selected as best article on theme for college magazine and was awarded on college day (my first and last award of my college life). Well now i have tons and tons to say about my past year. It was a mixed bunch of events with mixed feelings, emotions and great learning.

I was the one of the lucky few who got selected in L&T Ecc without any effort from my end and only got selected using commonsense, sheer luck and of course decent grades. With two job offers on my back i spent the last days of my college life with pride. Finally It seemed to me that i had achieved something in life. All my dear ones were happy for me. As days rolled, I couldn’t get over the thought of leaving college and south Kendhra. It was here since my PU i had a life. A life filled with joy, happiness, craziness, attractions etc etc. I usually thought what the big deal about leaving college is but now i realise why college is so special in one’s life. Finally the D day had come to say goodbyes to people, place and every part of nitte. I knew deep inside i will never see at least 90% of these faces again in my life. So wished everyone best of luck in their future journey and sat on my life boat to sail out of college. It was not that my college life was awesome always but i enjoyed being free and i loved the place, people and unremitting rain for its wonderful memories and learning. Then came the vacations.

These vacations were different as it was not vacations actually. I checked my mails every hour or two for my DOJ, within two weeks after college i got my joining date. It was exactly one month from now. I got excited, nervous, happy etc (mixed feelings) as days rolled on. Sometimes i would have butterflies in my stomach when i thought am going to work. Sometimes i would feel sad that all the fun is finally over. Sometimes i would dream what my work would be. I purchased my first fast track watch (always wanted one) and lots of clothes (mostly formals) and got ready for entering so called “professional life”. Finally the day had arrived to answer all my questions (what exactly life would now be like?). i still remember the last night at home. I could not sleep; i really cannot term the feeling i had. It was for the first time something made me feel that way. 

“Orientation in Chennai for 3 days and posting after that anywhere in India” my DOJ letter said. I had been staying far from my parents from high school and was used to it. But now i prayed god to post me in southindia. Every attitude of me was strange from the one i had back in college and before that. We were given rooms in a 5 star hotel (my 1st time) i just enjoyed everything about the stay. The room, pool, food and even the glass had its uniqueness and 5 star touches and i was feeling like a celebrity all of a sudden. Now i got my answer why 5 star hotels are so rated and talked about which i always wondered when i was young. Among all these posting worm was spoiling all my fun. The next morning I had a good shower got ready in black and white and had an awesome breakfast. We were given our temporary ID card and taken a ride in l&t bus. 3 days were all about company boasting about its achievements and laurels. I did feel proud and bored. The L&T campus in Chennai makes you go vow. It set an example why it is the biggest construction company with its unique buildings. Finally the 3rd day had arrived and every one were busy pleading the HR to reveal their posting details and he kept numb and said it will be declared evening. However when i asked he said “You are the lucky one and your life is cool”. I wandered what it meant?. Thousands of thoughts rolled in my head and i got excited and nervous as the evening approached. We were given posting orders by our Vice-president and i was given the posting order at the last and the HR read it out loud “PRADEEP CN posting in Chennai Head quarters”. Those words made me so happy, i had opened my mouth so wide showing all my teeth and collected it and just could not control being happy. Among others many southindia guys got posting in Punjab, rajasthan, Kolkata etc sites and other way round for north Indian guys. All were unhappy but i was the only one who was so happy and thanked god, the thought of working in such a beautiful campus and the holidays i get every weekend to go home made me happy, happier and happiest (we don’t get holidays in sites, No not even on Sundays imagine!!). All were given train tickets to travel to their respective sites but i was given a guest house to stay along with other guy. We all took photos with each other at all the places in the campus.

So tomorrow would be my first day at work. I set targets in my mind that i will work smart and hard and promised myself that i will enjoy to the core in the weekends. All thoughts flowed in my mind and i had a peaceful sleep which i missed from many days. I had a little bit of excitement about work but that did not stop me for the same.  so here goes my blog after a long time, i know this was only about me but i thought you know me first so that whatever i write in the future will be much more interesting.

I have tons of interesting things to say after this. Expect more in my next one (my worklife, Trainining in Punjab for 3 months, my north India tour etc etc). Among all these one thing always stayed in my mind “NMAMIT – My college “. I always went back to the past and thought “last year at this time we had our fests in college, I was doing my project etc etc”. “NITTE and NMAMIT i really miss you”. Hope at least some like it.

Until my next one.                                                                   

Stay Happy – Stay Crazy.

PRADEEP CN