Wishing all my friends, all the success and happiness in life. Thank you for making my life worth living.

********************************

If ever you re alone,
In trouble, Down or Blue.
You know where to find me.
Am always there for you.

Doesnt matter where i stay.
Doesnt matter how and what.
Doesnt matter why and when.
When you need someone to talk to,
Am here to be your friend.

You need someone to hold your hand,
Or a hug that says I care.
If you ever need a shoulder to cry on,
Call my name and I ll be there.

When eveything seems a burden.
Even the life seems too harsh.
All I need is a glance from you.
I will solve it no matter wat.

For what you ve done and been to me
In my heart I hold you close.
Its your love. Your friendship.
In my life, that I value the most.

All I want to say is,
Good times. Or be it bad my friend.
I am always here to share it,
Throughout my life, till it ends.

You are the gift of life to me.
So I ask nothing in return.
All I wish and pray for our friendship
Is strength to flame the sun

I dont know how to put it
Or if I was able to convey
I dont know what to say
I dont know if it reaches you
But a Happy Friendship Day !!!

Delhi Book Club Meet – Sunday, May4th, 2008.

“Am late. Am late. Am late.” murmuring to myself, I was almost running on the white slippery marble. The meet was supposed to be held at Crossword, Citywalk, Saket. Soon as I reached there, near the entrance, I found very beautiful, lovely, pretty lady smiling and looking at me and I was like “Do I know her? Is she one of the participants?” In all this confusion, talking to myself, I went straight to her. I was right. She was Vaani, an architect by profession and a book lover by taste. A quite gurl actually, but i guess will open up soon as we have something interesting to talk. And hello, she is a Richard Bach Fan. Gosh !! I have been looking for one for so long now, my cuz would be so happy with me. I finally found her one… Along with her, there was this handsome young chap called Diwakar. Diwakar is a software engineer, but I didnt know that he has engineered on a lot other things as well. I did come to know later on when he started talking and after I visited his blog. Interesting character I must say.

I asked them if they found anyone, who happens to be there, for the meet. And the answer was “Kisi ko jaante kahan hai.” Yea, right we were all strangers to each other. Despite requesting all to drop in their details on the wiki again and again, i only found email adresses. Sad. India is not so forward yet. Not all check emails on the move. So we had no other option left but stare at strangers or wait. So I thought I ll go check if I could find someone whom I know or can recognise.

I think I knew where I could find Arpita, with what I knew of her and her Dickens’ story. Ofcourse, in the classics section. So I took one full round and went to the classics section and there I found this cute lil gurl, who was cribbing with books. Ayyoooda dangerous ones. Cant think of em even touching them, after i left school. Now I havent met Arpita before but have seen her pic in her profile, which is almost a thumbnail. So I went close and said to her “Arpita”. Bang on !! I was right. She was Arpita. She responded “Navin”. So we shook hands and she introduced me to her mate, Raashi. Raashi and Arpita are doing MPHIL in sociology from JNU. Both learned research scholars. My god, I am getting jealous and filled with inferiority complex … What have I been doing all my life? Nothing.

Anyway, so we were five of us now. Sounds fair for the second meet which was not much advertised and was up at the wiki only a couple of days ago. There were in total nine participants who registered. Usually my formula says only 45 % of the total on the list attend such non commercial social meets. Anyway, we decided we will wait for others till 5:00 pm if anyone turns up and then start off with the meet. In this whole ten or fifteen minutes, we stared at almost every visitor, as if he came in for the meet. Alas, noone else made it I guess. Since we were fantastic five I decided I ll do away with the deadly plan, that Arpita and me had in brewing, to rope in readers from the bookstore if noone turns up. Not needed now I guess. Five is a good number and I like it.

The weather outside was getting better. It drizzled a little while i was coming so it was much much cooler than it usually is, these days. And it was windy as well. So we decided we ll sit out. We found us a Round Table for the conference. Tch Tch.. I should have clicked that round table, was apt for the scene. Nevermind. So, the meet started with a very informal round of intro from eveyone and then we just let it flow. From books to movies, from movies to music, science to fiction, mysteries to poetries, biographies to sociology, bla bla bla. Talks and interesting reviews from DK on movies, seemed to pep up, us all. Prolly, Vaani pointed out that he was a bit tired and she thought would be reluctant to participate in the discussion but I guess he was the tiger there. It was absolute fun !!

Infact we blabbered so much that Arpita started feeling hungry. Sorry Arpita. Bad joke. So her quest for a cuisine started, she was actually confused by the variety of offerings over there but finally settled for Crispy Chicken Noodles. LOL.. And others too reluctant to go for anything, So I thought we ll do away with a cold coffee for everyone. It was Sunday so it was thoda rush over there. We had to wait in the queue. Somehow these guys managed to catch hold of a place where we could sit, while I was getting the coffee. Vaani helped me with it. So nice of her. So… By now we were comfortable with each other, so I guess the next time we can have an agenda to follow and perhaps more participants as well. At around seven or so, two of us decided to call it off, Vaani and D-Walker (I hope tou dont mind me calling you that Diwaker), since they were from almost the other end of the capital. Infact one from the outskirts. So we took us a group snap and called it off for the day. Visit my Flickr album for the snaps of the DBC Meet.

“Where does it go from here?” I asked. Should we continue with this. I never did knew that its going to be catapulted back to me. Well, for the moment I guess I had nothing to say but later on I came up with craziest ideas which you can find on the DBC wiki.

Was the meet over? No. Two participants did leave but it was not over. We decided we ll stay for some more time and enjoy the talks and ofcourse the lovely romantic weather. What Vaani and Diwakar had missed on the day, was the cute, lovely, funny poem by our very talented poet, Arpita. A poem she wrote on somebody’s nose. Interesting observations there Arpita. LOL .. Did I tell you, I was scared of what this cheeky talented gurl might come up with on us after the meet. .. I hope she doesn’t do us that honour. But she z got a gift for sure. Not many out there can imagine as well as execute and express what they imagine. Very Impressive !!!

Raashi on the other hand was no match either. She is a research scholar and recently did some research work on Mirza Ghalib. She had loads to say and all of it was very very interesting. Something which I could have never thought of, or bothered to get into. I now realise I have missed so much and there is so much to learn, so much to know, so much to discover. Am learning so much. Every participant had something or the other to give. Each one of them, very unique, special and gifted. Dunno about others, but it was a great experience for me. It was a lovely, entertaining yet educating evening and I enjoyed every moment, every bit of it.

This was the second meet of DBC and was completely different from the first one. Two meets in consecutive months. Each of em being special and entertaining its own sweet way. I never did knew that my returning to books will be so grand. So entertaining and social. I guess am getting strung to this now. Reading books and writing poetries. Two new hobbies in a months time. Not bad. Not bad at all. Infact.. tis a very good stress burster. So if you have a very stressed life with work, do try this out. Am sure you gonna enjoy this. Possibly you can join us at the next meet which I guess should happen by the end of this month. Considering the fact, the mails I have been getting, and the people who are keen to join in, am sure the next meet is gonna be even more exciting. Do consider it and be there. You can find the details at http://delhibookclubmeet.pbwiki.com

The meet was worth the two IPL matches I missed. Infact lot lot more than that !!

Holi was great … Perrrrfectt !! … full of colors, water balloons, eggs, tomatoes, cheese, navrattan korma, chicken, sauce, curd n ofcourse mud n water … wondering if we used chicken, paneer or mud to play holi .. .. was totally unplanned, unexpected though .. but yes we did … the whole day we kidded around running after each other.. targetting new victims.. n then compromising targets.. ended relaxed and tired .. capturing those magical, energetic moments to our memories (visit My Flickr album).. but the fun, banter, jokes continued to the bowling alley, city mall and right through to Vrindaavan … we reached there at 4:17 am .. i dont remember when was the last time i had been to a temple … that too four in the morning (lol .. i get up only after seven or eight)… but whatever it was .. it was refreshing … a journey to ancient artistic traditions ..the morning in the temple starts with Hare Raama Hare Krsna bhajan … the bhajan was sweet … soft and auspicous to grace everyone present there .. the chimes, gongs, bells, shankhnad and clapping filled the air with some magic of great positive energy .. it was very energizing .. kinda rejuvenated us to life.. restoring the peace of mind we lose in our overly stressed lives .. now when i talk of energy …cant miss to discuss Vipul who hadnt actually slept for past 48 hours, did all of what we did the whole day, yet drove to and fro throughout the day .. and the whole night .. One hell of a job .. incredible energy n stamina .. Hats off !!!

who else can do that?? ONLY VIPUL .. VIPUL ..

I have noticed that I have many interests, and I m rarely dedicated to them, so almost all the time I tend to be outsider almost everywhere. I like to meet people, I like to talk but am more of a hobbyist in the jungle of serious folks, be it technokrafts, enterepreneurs or enthusiasts. “Err .. conferences .. new one.. yes yes may be u ll find me there”. However, at the same time, am one lazy bugger who wont move an inch unless there is a dire need for it. Almost all the time this ends up with me being a victim to the eleventh hour battles. Poor me …;)

Though at times, the rush of adrenalin makes me do work at a faster rate than people can imagine and “I guess thats ma USP”. And Yes, at times am unpredictable, but almost all the time I try to learn, percieve and judge people whom I meet.

“Am sure everyone does that . .. every now and then ..“

So, in most conferences, I get to meet lots of ppl, ppl whom I had previously only known through the cables wires or the wifi connectivity. And believe me none of them are disappointing. “Lol .. may be I am to many. ”

So in most conferences, we see people wearing name tags so that’s of some help incase I don’t remember em or know them at all. Oh did I tell you, am not so good with faces.

It so happened that I was speaking at one of such conferences, when a not so familiar face caught my attention. It was a lovely lady, gazing at me, continously. Now this participant was not so particularly unique but became the focus of my attention throughout my talk, for her hungry stare. This happened because, she didnt took her eyes off my face. Even after the talk, while I was in the question – answer session, she kept me watching hungrily. It was strange, but I loved it. Infact her concentration and fascination made me forget some very important comments I was supposed to make.

So, right after my talk, I started looking out for this new acquaintance in the crowd, who enthralled me with her hungry eyes. Mine was the last session before tea so people were moving haphazardly, here and there, in flocks.

I found my admirer loittering around in the corridor. I cant describe how excited I was to meet her in person. I rushed near the door and confronted her.

“Excuse me “ – I said.

She didn’t make a move. I said it again “Excuse me madam”. A bit firmer this time.

She turned back, and looked at me. I could notice the surprise on her face. I was speechless. I mumbled some words thanking her for the appreciation to attend my session. I was waiting for her to ask me something. Something about the session.

“Did u get something out of my session” – I blabbered.

“Eh well .. not really, I couldn’t get you” – she said.

It was almost like I was thrown from the topmost floor of the building.

She continued. “Well .. actually I had difficulty understanding you.”

“… err ..You see I forgot to bring my hearing aid” – she said.

I could take it no more. I almost thought I captivated her with my words. Lol. My heart was still thumping harder.

I spoke to myself “So she kept her eyes glued to me because she wanted to interpret my lips.. ”.

Ah well, Whatever it was, this eye contact gave me immense pleasure and satisfaction and inspired me to talk that session out with full confidence. I was so tired.

I asked her for a coffee and narrated her what my whole session was all about. Oh btw, did I tell you she was twice my age and was a veteran journalist. We made good friends after that. And talked of what not. From society to culture, from economy to battles. It was so educating. I also found out that she had a son almost my age, residing in the U S of A. I found her amazing all throughout and I guess that was a very natural feeling which could happen to anybody who met her. I was her fan.

So Powerful conviction was of those beautiful eyes, I still cant forget that gaze.

Last night I got a message that she is no more. She died of cancer.

After the presentations were over an expert panel discussion took over which was a very good experience. The expert team(comprising mostly of VC’s) are veterans in their respective field.

Mr. Alok Mittal, Cannan Partners, Band of Angels
Mr. Vish Bajaj, CEO ValueFirst
Mr. Chirag Jain, Webaroo, VP India Operations, Delhi
Mr. Karanbir Nag, Silicon Valley Bank India Advisors Pvt Limited
Mr. Arvind Jha, VP Monsoon Multimedia
Mr. Manoj Dawane, COO, Airtel

Finally its time to wrap up but before we moved out we chatted for a while of how to take this platform further to a good focus oriented community building. We plan to meet once a month. This meet will be an informal one which will last for two hours (say). A lot more things still needs to be discussed before it really kicks off.

Carpool using sms based services is first of its kind in the whole world. They call it KoolPool. Its a Cool revolutionary idea for sure but how cool can it really get ?

Is there a need for something like this !

Rapidly growing number of vehicles on road do add to roaring ask for the solution to traffic nuisance n accidents caused. It ll surely cut down the cost of consumption of fuel as well as the travelling time. Needless to say the size of roads still remain the same unlike the consumer in car industry which has risen significantly due to the economy rise.

Usually people dont opt for public transport bcoz with a wheel they are free n independent to reach anywhere n everywhere, anytime, but when it comes to fun and uncertainty, hooking yourself with a complete stranger can be fun but as of security n trust … mmm am not sure, how much that ll succeed but this is a practical solution to too-many-vehicles (10 lac cars in mumbai, according to their figures) on road. They are targeting just 6500 right now. Quiete achievable figure.

How does it work …

You ll have to register at their site and you ll be given a registered photo id card with full Ridetime (say for a period of 3 months). A ride giver gets points while a ride taker spends it. This concept is welcomed by corporates as they say. Airtel mobile phone users will be the quality testers kinda for them. Already 3000 users have registered. ICICI Bank, HPCL and Radio City have opted to join the revolution.

I must say its a great idea when it comes to Scial networking, reducing Traffic on road,cutting the cost of consumption of fuel, but the constraints n the uncertainty that comes along will be the deciding factor.

Mobile 2.0 being the centric topic discussed. Points put up to define it were user generated content, paradigm shift, major feature upgrades, demand supply curve, connectivity as commodity and mediated transactions.

Sunil Goyal pointed out correctly what we really need is a User 2.0 which really appeals to me. Ultimately the User Experience cashes it all.However very well pointed out by Vish Bajaj (CEO ValueFirst) that deployment of 2.0 is not uniform due to the economy constraints accross the globe.