Corporate World

 Well here is my take on corporate world. I have been in the corporate world for about 3 years and it had been a roller coaster ride. Sometimes things around me were complex and sometimes I made things complex around me. I started off in an electronics company where I understood how juvenile and stupid engineers are. There was a person who held training sessions  and he used to harass us all the time. He even used to tell us that he will complain to the division head if we answered some questions wrongly. Interns were treated as people without self-respect. We swam through that pool with difficulty and landed in a job. I was happy in the job for over an year as I was under a cool manager and I liked it very much there.. One fine day, this cool manager left our company and things began to get complex.  I had to shift to a new division because of lack of good manager who can finish the project. 

I joined this company happily freeing myself off the baggage in my own way. I kept getting shock after shock. People were just like school children here. My manager wanted me to work round the clock as this is  a "scratch project". Life long being little bit smarter made me be around this bookworms ho never think outside the box. The mindset of a manager in India is generally like this: As you are a bachelor you don't have any life other than office life. Well these manage try to dictate your life. Icing on the cake is I learnt a lot about the design work. My life has been always like that study hard and things will be good in your future. Things are going to get worse but never better unless you take up the reins of the horse you are riding on. I see people around me I am afraid my life is going to be like that.

A sloka

 I am not an ardent follower of any religion.I don't pray to any god, yet I like some of the slokas describing Hindu gods. It's my idiosyncrasy may be! Every now and then I try to recite some sankrit poems. I somehow like pronouncing all those difficult sanskrit words. Of course knowing the meaning is even better.
Here is one Sloka on Krishna a Hindu God.

kasturi tilakam lalaata palake,
vakshasthale kaustubham, nasaagre navamouktikam
karatale venum, kare kankanam
sarvaange harichandanam cha kalayam, kanthe cha muktaavali
gopastree pariveshtitho, vijayate gopaala choodamanee
vijayate gopaala choodamanee

Meaning of this sloka: 
Oh Sri Krishna ! You have been decorated with Kasturi Tilakam, a beautiful Namam on the smooth forehead; 
You have an ornament of Kausthubham on your Vakshasthalam, the seat of Sri Maha Lakshmi (on the chest); 
On the nose, You have nava mouktikam, another ornament; 
On your fingertips, You have a Flute; You also have a Bracelet on Your wrist; 
Your entire body is bedecked with sandawood paste giving out fragrance; 
Your neck too is surrounded by another ornament; 
You are the giver of Mukti (salvation) to the lady-cowherds who went rounds and rounds around You; 
Oh that Lord, Victory to You -The Ornament to the ornaments of cowherd (meaning, the commonest of the common man too has his wealth in Him) !

The last laugh!

Well, recently a so called beautiful girl took revenge on me. It is because I had my share of fun rejecting doing something for her. One obvious thing is she not beautiful to me so I was able to deny what she asked me to do. Keep yourself in a beautiful girl’s shoes (she a beautiful girl because she is considered beautiful by many) and think like one. Your life will be very easy, boys flocking around you to do your stuff. If you attend an interview the interviewer will talk to you in a very sweet manner on the other hand he will talk to a guy as if he is nuts. Simply, nobody will say no to this group. I knew she was not used to such treatment and she wanted to give it back to me. It was (may be evil) fun talking to that girl in a simply straight forward manner rather than accepting things politely. Situation is this: Our Company completed 25 years and it is celebrating it by throwing a party in The Taj. We are allowed to bring either our parents or spouse/significant other. Significant other here means your fiancé or boy friend if you are a girl or girl friend if you are a boy. Well, in India meanings change and some of the guys / girls wanted to bring their mama, papa, grandfather, grandmother, their neighbors, their childhood friends  and if possible their cab driver, too. So our HR tried to explain how the whole thing works and tried educating them but some vehemently denied listening to her saying she was trying to mislead them by saying some bull crap. 

While this Bollywood scene is going on, a girl walks to me saying her slots are over (may be she is bringing all her boyfriends and ex boyfriends to the party) and starts talking to me in a very sweet manner (if a girl approaches you and talks in a sweet manner she definitely wants you to do something for her. Male brains haven’t evolved yet to understand them) I understood that she wants something from me, but still I smiled back and exchanged some niceties (after all, she is my colleague). Then she asked me if I am bringing someone with me. I told her that I have my own tragic stories and experiences with girls(may be or may be not) and I want to  be in peace for some time. Then she nicely says there is one friend of mine who wants to come to the party and may be if you can take one more pass that will be helpful. Well, I thought if it is a girl that’s not a prob and she can come with me. Because nobody will be having any doubts about my sexuality. I wanted to avoid my manager asking “Teja, heard that you came with a boy is that true?” she in a low voice says it’s a guy, a friend of her who wants to come to the party. I hated her asking me to bring a guy with me without any shame. I already tried explaining to her before  about this situation but again she dared to ask. I hesitated for a moment, but thought what the hell. I told her if I take a pass for her friend I have to take a pass for one of my friends who is waiting eagerly for my approval. I told that straight away to her, few guys beside her were looking at me in a strange way(may be thinking: that’s not the way to talk to a beautiful girl pal).Then I went to my cubicle without giving a second look to her. It felt good! Later, one of my friends comes to my cubicle and asks about my significant other  for which I answered there is none. The same girl I mentioned above happens to sit near my cubicle. She over hears and says well, what will he do it is his destiny! I know I got under her skin and thought I should calm things down, but what the hell who cares! I had the last laugh after all !

The Motor Cycle Dairies

I have been reading The Motor Cycle dairies lately. I feel so close to che Guevara. Most of the guys are like this at heart they would like the concept of being wanderers all their life. Girls please excuse(you definitely don't have the heart to understand anything related to adventure, may be not all of you but most of you).

Che described all the events wonderfully. He definitely has the heart of a poet and courage of a revolutionary.

Right now, I am in love with the way he describes things in this book! I am feeling immense pleasure reading this book! This book was straight from the heart of an young man in love with nature, with women and most importantly with adventure.A paragraph from his book:

Easter Island!The imaginations stops in its ascending flight to turn somersaults at the very thought:"Over there having a white boy friend is an honour";"Work? Ha!the women do everything  - you just eat, sleep and keep them content." This marvelous place where the weather is perfect, the women are perfect, the food perfect, the work perfect(in it beatific non existence). What does it matter if we stay there a year; who cares about studying, work(I am damn sure men are good thinkers there!I wish I were born in this place!In my place getting IIT is the sole purpose of life and I wish this place was bombed in the second world war! women!never mind!), family etc. In a shop window a giant crayfish winks at us, and from his bed of lettuce his whole body tells us, "I'm from Easter Island, where the weather is perfect, the women are perfect.."

My mother and a girl

This is not a dedication or I am not writing this because of any occasion like mother's day. Some recent events that have happened in my life made me think about certain things. I liked a girl (don't mistake it to a marriage proposal or some other kind of proposal just liked a girl like any other guy!), which was a bad choice (of course my friends always make fun of my choice of girls). I was thinking about the reasons why I liked this girl in particular. It made me find out how much influence my mother has on me. Right from the way this girl climbs the stairs (in a jig jag manner so that it will be easier) to the utter dedication to anything she does there were many similarities between her and my mother.  Like a foundation of a house my mother is the most important member of my house. I can't imagine how my father would have managed to control us without her help even for few days. I haven't seen her waking up after me once in my life, not that girls should be like this but I don't know how she manages to wake up so early consistently. She herself a voracious reader used to tell us the importance of education through various examples when we were children, though we never cared about it. She imparted a sense of discipline in us. We used to hate the regular watering of plants before going to play but now I realize how different I am from others because of such disciplined childhood. I never cared about studies when I was a kid. Only naughty and not so docile kids were asked to come to class on Saturdays. When I was in 2nd class, I remember the Saturday when I was asked to come and complete all the pending class notes. My mother too came with me and completed all the class notes for me! I vividly remember the picture of her, through the classroom window, writing my notes while I was playing outside with other kids. I don't remember her comparing my grades with other kids. She never worried about others at all. The first thing I notice about people is they are very much excited about others. How is your son doing? How much does he earn? How is his college? People keep firing all such questions at others. Why do you even care about such things? I have never seen my mother asking about others' kids like that. I have immense respect to that quality of hers. Why do you even want to compare one individual with another? Just don't discriminate any person based on education or on the salary he earns. Good grades and a good job don't make one any better person!. All her life she had been very disciplined, her daily routine used to be like this: waking up early in the morning, cleaning the house dirtied by us the before day, start cooking for all of us while simultaneously listening to radio. At around 7:00 am she would wake me up (mostly my father but occasionally my mother) to make me listen to a program on some famous characters like Da Vinci, Galileo etc. At around 7:30 am she would start making breakfast for us and then we would to be ready by 8:00 am waiting for our lunch boxes which mostly were ready on time. It was like that till I went to a hostel in 10th grade. During nights, she was generally engrossed in her office work. She has never pampered me too much like other moms but I realized the love she has for me when she reached my hostel, far away from my house, just to confirm that I was safe. Probably, she had a bad dream. For the first time, I have seen a woman crying for me on that day. I don't think I will get those moments from any other woman. She has sacrificed so much for us. Though she used to read a lot, because of us, she gave up that reading habit, but she reads often whenever she gets time and gives some intelligent advices to my dad.   Now  a days as we both siblings live away from our home she has a lot of time in her hands and I don't think she is enjoying it much. She got used to the busy life for almost 15 years and suddenly changing it is difficult. Hope she will find her long lost reading habit which was her friend for many years.

The age factor!

Most of the atoms which make up both our bodies were made in supernova explosions around ten billion years ago. During those years they’ve floated about the cosmos, provided fuel for many generations of stars, congealed under the force of gravity into our planet, flowed through mosquitoes, dinosaurs, whales, and everything else. Matter has always been changing forms and we’re nature’s latest creation. We’re very old yet our awareness of this world is what is constantly being born anew. The body’s like a sort of lense through which our consciousness peeks through to experience the world. But it’s just a temporary stage. This human experience is short and fleeting. That isn’t to minimize the importance of our lives, it’s just to say that we’re a part of something a lot bigger. A flow. A development. The world is ever-changing and we’re all a part of that. If you realize this, I don’t think you’ll so bad about your age. You’ll realize we’re all VERY old, billions of years old, connected to a very large process for which no force imaginable could ever separate you.

I find the ultimate contentment and peace in that thought. I’ve studied cosmology and how stars form. I’ve looked into the big bang, and Einstein’s theory of relativity. I’ve cranked equations modeling gravitation. I’ve learned how our planet formed, how the rocks flow, how and why the winds blow, why the rains pour, and why the seasons change. I’ve studied biology and pondered the inner workings of cells, how they duplicate, generate energy, and evolve into larger organisms. I’ve charted the evolution of humans from early simple swimming creatures in the ocean to us today. I’ve looked into history and how humans have formed the first civilizations. What led to our success? Where have we failed?

Take some time and just fly down that time-line, billions and billions and billions of years. It just goes on and on and on and on. Watch the big bang. Watch the space expand, the radiation cool, and let the first atoms of Hydrogen, Helium, and bits of Lithium form. Watch gravity pull them into the first stars, shining bright and beautiful and then exploding in giant bursts of radiance. THe radiance is so powerful that new denser atoms are formed. The entire periodic table of elements explodes off into space. You’re being born. Nature’s at work making you! Now watch our sun form from a giant gas cloud. It’s twirling and spinning, faster, and faster, and faster, clumping into a smaller and smaller ball, and then BOOM. It lights up! Watch little chunks of rock and debris form into larger and larger clumps leading to the planets. Think of the oceans and lightning crashing down from the red sky and the first atoms coming together from the organic materials on the shoreline. They’re replicating, replicating, replicating. They start forming into groups, then larger groups, then larger groups. Life is evolving! Those organisms start to combine and form ecosystems. Trees, plants, and mushrooms. Watch them grow. Millions and millions and millions of years. How many generations of life have gone by, using the same materials on the Earth’s surface? Millions of generations. Our atoms have been every sort of tree, bug, and reptile. Now watch the first humans evolve in Africa. Watch them migrate out into Europe. Watch them build the pyramids and those fantastic temples. Watch them ponder the universe and their origins. Follow them and their search, all the way to today. Now look at yourself in the mirror. What are you? It’s taken a lot longer than hundred years to make you and you’ll be around long after you’re dead!

Love is a beautiful thing. We look into the dark pupil of one another’s eyes, unconsciously recognizing that vast depth of space where the outer world becomes the inner world. That circular aperture extends back into its own world, infinite in all directions. Such a small hole through which to look through, but a person’s eyes say so much. Consciousness is pretty mysterious. That man or woman you love. Who or what is he/she? I’m baffled by the idea that other people see me when I’m looking into their eyes.

I’ve never found love myself. Sometimes I don’t think I can quite wrap my head around it. It’s both wonderful and terrifying at the same time. Emotions are the most complicated aspect of human cognition. They include a deep interplay and flow between every aspect of the brain. The brain is the most sophisticated thing we know of in the universe, and emotions are its most complex form of thought. That makes love and our other emotions the most complicated processes known in the universe. My journey hasn’t gone very far past where I’ve taken you so far. Our timeline ends here. I wonder if love is really something that’s understood? Thought about?

The world has a strange way of leading you where you need to go, if you only follow the cues. You’ll find your way. It’s not over. It’s never over.

Life is Beautiful

 Yes, the title is what you think it is! The movie with same title was inspiration to this. I want to start of this article with a conversation taken from the book "We the Living" -Ayn Rand.

"Well, if I asked people whether they believed in life, they'd never understand what I meant. It's a bad question. It can mean so much that it really means nothing. So I ask them if they believe in God. And if they do-then, I know they don't believe in life."

"Why?"(Andrei)

"Because, you see, God - whatever anyone chooses to call God - is one's highest conception of the highest possibility. And whoever places his highest conception above his own possibility thinks very little of himself and his life. It's a rare gift, you know, to feel reverence for your own life and to want the best, the greatest, the highest possible, here, now, for your own. To imagine a heaven and then not to dream of it, but demand it."

I strongly agree with this argument and one should follow it to be a lively man in this world. But, there are certain instances, when things become difficult. For example, Silvester Stallone never believed in god. He believed in life and he got what he wanted out of life. But, when his daughter fell ill he tried everything in his hands to keep her alive. When he came to know that there is no use trying except praying, he had nothing to do but pray. Suddenly, he believed in god and prayed for his daughter's life. There are certain desperate situations which test a man  and his emotional break point(it doesn't mean that he has to cry). I see it in a different way. I may even go to a temple just to find  out what it is like visiting a temple. I don't believe in any particular form. I don't keep any pictures of god. I don't see any reason why all gods are anthropomorphized. But, if at all I face any desperate situation I turn towards a force, a form less force which gives me solace, a force which is full of life. A supernatural force, which resides in me. There are certain situations which make you more broader and discover certain weaknesses. Like when you didn't do well in a particular exam or if you were not able to get into a sports team you so dreamed of or if you got rejected by a girl etc In those situations people will say a lot around you. They don't know what exactly it is like being you, how hard you tried, how you were unable to concentrate on studies as you are interested in something else or if your health condition was bad. Nothing matters to them, they just come and tweet in front of you randomly sometimes even a single word might have a long term effect on you. So we should try to avoid all such negative people in this world and move towards positive people who are full of life and make sure not to do the same to others like if you get rejected by a girl, best thing is to put yourself in her shoes and see things her way though it is tough at times at least little bit of understanding is enough. You might say she is not worth it and she doesn't have proper reasoning skills, but  why would you have even liked her in the first place. Best thing is to look at fear in its face and wish her good and remain as friends if the girl is broad enough to be so. When it comes to this part, I can't resist writing more on it. I mean what is love? I see it as selfishness of two people. If I find some girl attractive not because she is beautiful but because of her cheerful nature or some other characteristic in her. It is because I have developed a prejudice that I will be happy being with her, but I am not sure whether it will be the same, once we start staying together. I might even sacrifice many things for her like getting ready to even go to a temple because I am expecting something from her unconsciously. If you make her feel happy and if you make her feel that she is secure when she is with you for those some days, when you are trying to impress her, she is all yours. In this relationship, she has her own selfishness for being with you. Will a girl be ready to go out with Stephen Hawking in his present position if he has no money? It is because she is not getting what she wanted in her life! To make us feel better like in any other instance we have a better name called love! But, don't get me wrong I am not against love, I am giving you the reason why people fall in love.  Yes, it is selfishness but still it is beautiful to fall in it. I really doubt  whether love , let us say if it is little bit different from selfishness, exists without selfishness. Does selfless love really exist? That is what Ayn Rand says when an interviewer asks her why she married a particular man!I like her frankness, which most of the girls and boys are even afraid of thinking. I like the intensity in her characters, I wonder whether such people really exist. I don't want to interact with them or be friends with them but just want to sit in a corner and watch them. I just loved reading about Hoard Roark, the ideal man full of life. I don't remember much about other characters. However hard we try to be like him it gets more harder. I believe inherently we have our own characters even if you were able to empathize with such ideal characters (because of certain similarities) and imitate him it will not last long! So I have decided to just enjoy reading and be the way I want to be and lead the life my way and in a beautiful way!

The theory

Loved this argument by a well known blogger:

 I have to say that this society is so male oppressive. It is so biased against the men of the species that somebody ought to do something about it. A woman can stay at home, not work and she is called 'adjusting' and sacrificing. If a man wants to stay at home, he is irresponsible, effeminate, 'dhanda soru', and in general - a madman. Why the discrimination, I ask? Since the beginning of time, men have been sent to gather food, build tribes, conquer tribes, fight wars, build machines, create philosophy, spread religion, kill animals, and now what - go to work. While women have been sitting at home cooking food and having sex. Food and sex - the dream combination that every man wants has been secretly cordoned off by the evil woman. and whats more, the suffragist movement make men feel guilty for letting them have it so easy. They claim that they actually want to do the work and earn food and sex. I'd like them to start all over from the beginning with the invention of fire and wheel and then work their way down to corporate offices. Now that 'work' is being done in A/C rooms - they suddenly want to be a part of it. If a wild boar had to be caught in the dark forest for dinner to be cooked, its time for Asterix and Obelix to do the work. You won't find Mrs Impedimenta or Mrs Geriatrix complaining about the glass ceilings to Chief Vitalstatistix. Can you imagine their ultimate triumph? They've made work look like something special and forced men to dominate it and later made men feel guilty for dominating it. Can there be more injustice? I demand freedom for the stay-at-home guy. Men should be able to stay at home and not be made to feel bad about it. Let this happen and then women can demand equality.

http://hawkeyeview.blogspot.in/2007/09/dear-office-going-people.html

A Hero of Our Times

I wasa reading a book " A Hero of Our Times". I couldn't help posting this particular para from that book. Felt wonderful reading this.
All was calm in heaven and on earth, calm as


within the heart of a man at the moment of

morning prayer; only at intervals a cool wind

rushed in from the east, lifting the horses' manes

which were covered with hoar-frost. We started

off. The five lean jades dragged our wagons

with difficulty along the tortuous road up Mount

Get. We ourselves walked behind, placing stones

under the wheels whenever the horses were spent.

The road seemed to lead into the sky, for, so far

as the eye could discern, it still mounted up and

up, until finally it was lost in the cloud which,

since early evening, had been resting on the summit

of Mount Get, like a kite awaiting its prey.

The snow crunched under our feet. The atmosphere

grew so rarefied that to breathe was painful;

ever and anon the blood rushed to my head,

but withal a certain rapturous sensation was

diffused throughout my veins and I felt a species

of delight at being so high up above the world.

A childish feeling, I admit, but, when we retire

from the conventions of society and draw close

to nature, we involuntarily become as children:

each attribute acquired by experience falls away

from the soul, which becomes anew such as it was

once and will surely be again. He whose lot it

has been, as mine has been, to wander over the

desolate mountains, long, long to observe their

fantastic shapes, greedily to gulp down the lifegiving

air diffused through their ravines -- he, of

course, will understand my desire to communicate,

to narrate, to sketch those magic pictures.

Castes in India

Read an article related to castes in India and why they prevail in politics,  most importantly, unlike other countries.  There were several surprising facts in that article. In India people of different castes have different cultures and this has significant effect on individuals. For example, if you list down the top ten rich people in India they mostly belong to Baniya caste(8 among 10!) . There is an honour element in every caste. Jats consider murdering their daughters, who have deviated as an honour so they do it ,but in case of Baniyas it is not considered as an honour so they don't see any point in doing it. In a similar way Brahmins take honour in studying hard and becoming a good employee instead of becoming an entrepreneur like a Baniya. Modern society has overshadowed certain aspects related to castes and made it difficult for some castes to follow certain rituals.  They no longer hesitate to dine together, which was considered as becoming polluted in earlier days. But the matrimonial aspect mostly remains intact as people of one culture(similar habits etc) tend to get attracted(families). If it is a love marriage, it is entirely a different issue(Love is Blind, remember!). In a similar way, in politics castes have played an important roles in India.  It is because of the fear that leaders create among people through media. They brain wash people saying they will be doomed if a guy belonging to another caste gets elected. Using this fear factor, leaders in India succeeded in rallying people belonging to a caste by showcasing themselves as their friend because of the many similarities between them and they end up winning if they belong to a majority caste group in a region. This practice cannot be eradicated abruptly. It will take some time for the modern society to overshadow the caste system completely in India. May be 50 years or more! I hope I will live long to see that!

Random Travels and Thoughts!

I was reading a book "Brothers at War", which describes the life experiences of Humayun and how he regained his throne after being reduced into a leader of band of soldiers by Sher Shah Suri. As I was reading this book suddenly  an idea flashed through my mind. I wanted to go and visit Humayun's Tomb alone so that I can take my own time in admiring the architecture and sit there for sometime peacefully. I didn't want to postpone it so immediately I got ready and took a metro to Pragathi Maidan(nearest metro station as far as I know) and then took an auto to Humayun's Tomb. On my way, I came across purana Quila, which is the inner citadel of the city of Dina-panah, founded by Humayun. After around 20 min drive,I reached Humyaun's Tomb. I didn't expect it be crowded as it is not very famous. But, to my surprise it was little bit crowded with people from all over the world. Ticket price is 10/- for an Indian and 250/- for a foreigner. As I entered, I came across a tomb of Isa Khan, an Afghan Noble, which is 2 decades older the Humayun's Tomb(built around 1547-1548 A.D, as I was reading stuff related to it some guys came and started reading along with me, one of them started interpreting things for others and he explained the meaning of A.D to them as AND DEATH, 1547-1548 AND DEATH!). As I went further,I came across a big arched entrance and from there one can see the majestic Humayun's Tomb at the other end of the boulevard with trees on either side. I just kept walking towards it ignoring the smaller tombs on the way. It is a splendid building and not at all a bad resting place for an emperor.It was commissioned by Hamida Begum,widow of Humyaun, and took over eight years to build.It was also placed in centre of a 30-acre (120,000 m2) Char Bagh Garden (Four Gardens), a Persian-style garden with quadrilateral layout and was the first of its kind in the South Asia region in such a scale(info: wikipedia).It was very spacious inside with lot of windows (mihrab) to allow sufficient sunlight. They are not exactly the windows which we know of, they perfectly hinder most of the sunlight and allows enough wind inside to keep the interiors cooler. As it was built using red sand stone and white marble I am sure it will be cool inside even during summers.It is a perfectly symmetrical building and it looks the same from all the four directions. This place also happens to be the place where Dara Shikoh was executed(elder brother of Aurangajeb). 

His execution goes like this: Dara lost a decisive battle against Aurangajeb and was imprisoned in Humyaun's Tomb. One night, gaurds enter Humayun's Tomb where they found Dara cooking lentils with his little boy, prince Salim. His son clung desperatly to his father's legs, but was dragged away. Dara was overpowered and they cut his head off and sent it to his brother. He sent Dara's head in a box to Shahjahan, their father, in prison in the palace in Agra. Jahan opened it at a table while he was eating,  collapsed fainting, broke his front teeth. Dara's little boy was given a draft of opium and then was strangled to death. The father and the son were buried here in the Tomb of Humyaun. Along with them overall 160 Mughal's graves are here. It is often called the graveyard of the Mughals! How different history would have been if Dara has ascended the throne. He was very liberal and he embraced all religions. He even wrote a book describing the ideas of Hinduism and Islam. He quoted in his book The meeting of Two Oceans "even though the ideas of two religions differed verbally they all meant the same!".
 I sat there in the garden surrounding the tomb. It was so peaceful sitting there without being disturbed.I came across an old muslim man with long beard collecting dry leaves, probably a gardener there. How many of his ancestors  would have been gardeners here, I thought. There were two wells, which were filled with plastic bottles and filth. I went around and came across smaller tombs and quarters of servants, if I guessed correctly. There were names and love symbols all over the walls. Oh! I hate these people! They and their pathetic love! Why can't they write these symbols in their houses rather than  on monuments! Everybody speaks philosophy and try to look educated, but when it comes to simple things like this and littering away stuff they act like mindless people. I calmed myself after that and went to one more tomb near by, the Afsarwala Tomb(meaning officer's Tomb) and went to a exhibition there describing the facts related to this place. It has been identified as world heritage site in 1993 and it is good to know that the Archeological Survey of India has taken an initiative to renovate the whole site.

Saket mall

This weekend was spent mostly hanging around with my old friends. It was fun remembering all those things we did when we were in college. We went to couple of malls in Delhi and Noida. The crowd in Banglore was multi cultural mostly belonging to India. It was multi cultural in Delhi too but belonging to all over the world. We went to Select City Walk mall near Saket and it was like running into a group of models all the time. Never experienced that in Bangalore. Even though it was very far it took half-an hour to reach my house because of the metro.Had nice dinner at my friend's place and it was good!Watched Batman Begins movie too and I liked this particular sentence said to Bruce Wayne by his trainer: It is not the training, it is the will. The will to act!

split personality

I booked a cab to a near by place 4 days before my journey.Hearing my conversation one of my friends freaked out and shouted how can you forget your atm card pin and at the same time book a cab before 4 days before to a near by place! Well, split personality may be!

Fastrack! move on!

I have moved to Noida from Banglore today. It is always difficult to adjust to new conditions once your are happily ensconced in a place. It takes some time to leave some good friends you have already made in the previous place and to make some new friends in the present place. Though I stayed in Noida for one year before I feel nostalgic leaving Bangalore. I felt the sameway when I left Noida one year back too. This is true with most of the people, I guess. Surprisingly, I started getting philosophical thoughts after landing here. I feel our life is just like a train where people get in and get out we just have to move on even if it is difficult sometimes. The best thing, according to me, that  can be done is to keep ourselves busy by concentrating on  the present and simultaneously keeping in touch with people you liked. I already made few friends here in a matter of hours!

Empire of The MOGHUL, Raiders from the North

   Have you ever imagined France without Eiffel Tower, Egypt without pyramids, India without Taj Mahal?  These are some of the few things, which people visualize when they think about a country. Taj Mahal , Red Fort and Humayun's Tomb are some of the few such monuments that stand as a token of the might and power of the Mughal dynasty even after it's fall in 1857. Dynasties rise and fall, only some manage to leave their mark on the face of the earth forever be it through bravery or virtue or monuments that stand tall depicting the absolute power they enjoyed.This book is the first part of the quintet series that tells the epic story of the rise and fall of the most powerful and opulent dynasties in history.

   It is about the journey of a prince, Babur, from ruler of a small kingdom called Ferghana, a principality in Uzbekistan, to being an emperor of the Indian sub-continent.It tells about Babur's vicissitudes of fortune and how Babur overcomes his difficulties and impending dangers  with the help of some  well  wishers like his grandmother, Esan Dawlat, his military guide and mentor, Wazir Khan, as a young ruler, after inheriting Ferghana  at the age of 12. He starts his campaign by conquering Samarkhand(his ancestor Timur's Capital) at the age of 13.  He looses it after a very short time(100 days) and unfortunately he also looses his own kingdom, Ferghana to his half-brother in a coup. He becomes a king without a kingdom for some years. With his band of soldiers he irritates his half-brother and shaibani khan(ruler of smarkhand) using hit and run policy. He leads his  soldiers by facing the enemy bravely like Alexander, the Great did. He succeeds upto certain extent but looses most of his soldiers in the process and at one point he lives on bread. The proverb fortune favours the brave comes true, when he becomes the king of kabul after his uncle's death, as he was the only blood relative alive who can claim the throne(his half-brother gets killed by shaibani khan, who has sworn to get rid of all the Timurid princes). He rules Kabul in peace for sometime. His kingdom florishes because of  trade. Using all this new found wealth and food, he raises an army against Shabani Khan(Who takes Babur's sister as his wife by force) mainly to free his sister. But, fortune favours him and  the Persian King defeats Shaibani Khan before his armies reach Samarkhand. Babur returns to Kabul, marries his Commander-in-chief's daughter(thus ensuring his loyalty) and he rules Kabul well with the help of some loyal servants like karim and Baburi.

   It is very hard to have companions with whom you can share most of your thoughts when you are an emperor(as most of the people will be sycophants trying to impress you). Babur befriends a street boy named Baburi at a very young age and he stays with him during hardships and motivates him when in need. The author makes use of this character very well to let the readers know about Babur's character in detail. As a street kid(Baburi), he learns lot more things than a ruler. He learns life the hard way looking at adversities straight in the face.This knowledge and knack of  Baburi's help Babur to know a lot about common people and in his war strategies, as well. He lives peacefully for some years looking at his kingdom thrive under his rule and his sons growing into young lads(Humayun). He sets off on a long campaign to fulfill his lifetime goal of conquering Hindustan. He strives hard to conquer Hindustan marching through a rough terrain, which his ancestor, Timur, had conquered and looted(slaugtered 1 lakh people in the process). He launches an attack on Ibrahim Lodhi, the Sultan of India in 1526 A.D.  in panipat.Taking the advantage of having the latest technology then (cannons etc) he wins the battle.  He wins few more battles against the native kings (Rajputs) spearheaded by Rana Sanga with the help of his son and the heir apparent , Humayun.  He proclaims himself  the emperor of India, unopposed. Sadly, soon after his coronation as the emperor of India  he falls sick and dies  leaving a vast empire to his heir, Humayun.

   It is the journey of a warrior going through highs and lows before fulfilling his goal of conquering Hindustan, modern India. One should read it for onself to find out the pleasure in reading this book.  Generally, historical books are boring with too many unnecessary details(for non-history lovers).But, this book is written targeting non history lovers, I guess. Some fictitious characters were included to make it a smooth read without loosing the originality, which I felt was fantastic. I already bought it's sequel: Brothers at war. I am saving it to read it during the most boring times. Babur means Tiger!