The Dawn

The year 2010 brought in goal setting and achieving them methodically into my life. All goals till now in life have been vague and generic, such as, get placed in a good company, score good marks, blah blah. Never anything specific. However, 2010 started with 4 specific goals in mind. With 3 done and pursuit of 4th going on, I should say, 2010 has been a good year.

I was going through Anand's posts and got inspired to write the following from this post

Listing a few things that I have learnt in life recently..

-> Ur core-values do not change even though you may deviate from it for sometime.

-> There are different groups of friends - Hi-How are you-I m fine-Take Care-Bye kind, ppl whom u care for and give importance to, and ppl who care for you and consider you important. It's the last group that is very important.

-> I am emotional :)

-> Work is, but and just, work.

-> The world will not crash if you aren't around. So never attach too much of importance to yourself.

-> Time does not heal things, it just makes you forget things and move on.

-> There are plenty of ways to be happy if you desire to :)

[Will update more when I remember what more I have learnt :) ]

I follow plenty of blogs and at times feel that it would be great if mine was also full of posts. But then wishful thinking is one thing and actual writing is something other.. :)

The past two weeks have been very good and I wanted to share it here.. Hope this exercise also makes me write more in future.. So let's start..

It’s been more that one and half years since I came to hyderabad and finally my parents took some time out of their busy retirement life in Chennai to honour hyd with their presence :) They came over for four days – Friday to Monday, and we had an excellent time here. Let me describe it chronologically here..

Friday :

They reached around 10 am here, and thanks to the great Shamshabad Airport construction, immediately got a good, neat impression of hyd. Then after coming home and wondering at how people can live in such an untidy place (we had cleaned the house just a day back), I convinced them to get ready to explore hyd. So here we go..

a. Lunch Buffet at Chutneys, Panjagutta

This is by far the best vegetarian hotel I have been to and it was fun to see them enjoying everything.. Last time such a thing happened was a year back in Residency, Coimbatore on my convocation day. Like the kid comes out, they were devouring everything available and I was looking at them with some fondness :) They were like this is good, that is good, try this, try that and told me that hyd has excellent food and claimed I had bluffed all the time about bad food !!

b. Next up was a short walk to Hyderabad Central and some minor pearl shopping. This was just to show them one of our usual hangouts.

c. Birla Mandir

This was their second visit to Birla Mandir. The previous one was more than a decade back though. Was a very devotional thing with mom and dad kinda reminiscing their past trip and explaining me the significance of the idols, how things were then, etc.

d. Lumbini Park

Next up from Birla Madir was Lumbini park. The Buddha statue in the Hussain Saagar lake is a must watch for anyone who comes to hyd. And the boat ride to the spot from Lumbini park also. This statue is the largest monolithic statue in India. The timing was sorta perfect as it was twilight. The setting blue skies with Buddha standing tall, when seen from front was a very good sight. And of course, plenty of scope for photos :) The short boating was also good.

The auto to Lumbini park - 30 Rupees..

The entry ticket - 15 Rupees..

To see mom playing with water as a kid (the pic below) - Priceless :)

e. Dinner at Eat Street

I have not been a great fan of Eat Street as you have to hurry to get a seat or else eat standing. I was debating on whether to take them to Angeethi or Eat Street. But finally decided on this, as this is different and we have not been to one such before (not sure if there is such a place in chennai). It was not as crowded as it was a weekday and we could enjoy a delicious dinner with nice conversations describing the day, the different things in hyd, the people around (predominantly pairs) with a nice cool breeze around. But, we couldn sit and chat for long that night as we had to start for srisailam very early the next day. However, the experience was very good and left with a feeling of having a great day. :)

I wanted to take them to a 3D film in Imax and the treasure hunt, maze etc there. Wished to see them as kids and having fun :) But Harry Potter was released that week and no tickets were available. So, the imax thing was dropped. They have already been to Charminar and Golconda, so we left that. Apart from this, we went to almost all the most-visited places in hyd.

Next two days was in srisailam, which I will describe separately. We came back on Sunday evening and they were to leave on Monday.

Monday:

The only plan for Monday was to see my office. Both of them were very excited, as it was the first time they are coming to my office. I think it took them some time for the feeling to sink in that I am working here, as every time they see (when I go home), I am in a relaxing or holiday mood, and they have not seen me as an employee :)

We went to office around 10 and went to the cafeteria straight. I wanted them to eat something in office so as to get a feel about the place. It was a good breakfast with me telling stories about each and every place – the gym, the yoga / recreation hall, the TVs, every coffee vending machine and coke machine and on and on.. :)

Next was to my desk with me describing the teams, showing my first places (like the first conf room where we went to when I joined as intern, first desk, etc etc.) Straight to Abhi, my Associate Director’s room and he was generous enough to say that I am hard working, talented etc., Thanks Abhi :)

Next up was the intro to my team members (whoever was present so early) and mainly my manager Bande. But the best part was this pic taken at my desk. This is something that I have always wanted to see.. You would have seen in the movies wherein the father asks his son to sit on his seat and proudly looks at him. Something my dad used to do when I went to his office when I was a kid. Somewhat in a similar way, I also wanted them to sit on my seat, for they are one of those responsible for what I am today.. So, the pic below is one of my favourites..

Four days ran so quickly and now it was time to leave and go home. . But it was a wonderful four days with them :) Memories etched in mind and will be cherished for a long time :) Hope one more trip comes up soon :)

Finally this blog gets the opportunity of getting another post after my first one months back :) I am going to post a poem here on friendship which I read somewhere and liked much. I wrote this to one of my best friends, along with a drawing of hers on the last working day of our college (last day of 9th semseter - 15/9/2007).


Friendship :

Each of us has a hidden place,
Somewhere deep within ourselves,
A place where we go to get away,
To think things through,
To be alone, to be ourselves.


This unique place, where we confront our deepest feelings,
Becomes a storehouse of all our hopes,
All our needs; all our dreams;
And even our unspoken fears.
It encompasses the essence of who we are and what we want to be.


But now and then, whether by chance or by design,
Someone discovers a way into that place we thought was ours alone.
And we allow that person to see, to feel and to share
All the reason, all the uncertainty
And all the emotion we've stored up there.


That person adds new perspective to our hidden realm,
Then quietly settles down in his own corner of our special palace,
Where a bit of himself will stay forever.

And we call that person a FRIEND ...

Friendships are a desirable and essential part of life. Time vanishes when we are amidst our friends. Cherish them !! Hope you like this as well and share amongst your friends. Have a gr8 day !! :)

PS : If someone knows the author of this poem, pls let me know.

This is my first attempt at writing simply (I mean apart from in exams) and especially blogging.. So please bear with me, if it's tasteless and please do provide some suggestions as I intend to cultivate this habit somehow..

The date was 06 - 07 - 08. Three consecutive numbers.. Does that mean anything?? perhaps, or perhaps not.. There would have been a million things happening around the world. Elections, strikes, festivals etc etc.. But the entire sporting fraternity would have been glued onto their television sets, or the fortunate ones, directly to see things live in action. For there was not just one sporting event, but three things (which I followed, inspite of being sick at home) happening. The finals of the Asia Cup in cricket, The British Grand Prix and The Wimbledon Finals.

All the three happens once in a year (I am unsure of the Asia cup here) and have a great fan following all over the world. But I am sure the Wimbledon would be more remembered than the others for a very long time.

The setting was ideal. The World No.1 and No.2 battling it out. The Incumbent vs the Insurgent.. The Elegant Master vs The Aggressive Speedster. The man named Roger Federer who has been ruling World Tennis in general and Wimbledon in particular for the past 6 - 7 years. Against the man who is hailed to be the next ruler, Rafal Nadal..

Both have records to chase, points to prove and scores to settle.. Federer aiming for his sixth straight wimbledon victory to put him in the league of great men, and some points to prove for the rather dismal season so far (zero victories of three grandslams - now when was the last time that happened?? ) And of course, the much - written personal rivalry against Nadal, who treated him like a puppet in his arena - clay - in the French Open.

Nadal - The king of clay - had to mainly break that image and prove that he is a man of substance and can win everywhere. What better way than to try and beat the Lion in its own Den.. And for records as well, chasing an elite group of legends who had won the French Open and Wimbledon back - to - back and mainly for the Wimbledon crown which is perhaps the ultimate glory for the tennis players..

So with everything to play for, the match began. Nadal straight on to assume the lead and break Federer and forge ahead to a lead of 2 sets to zero. Perhaps the champion took some time to recover his mettle as he's put in these situations very rarely. But come back he did, and like a real champion. From what seemed like a clean sweep for Nadal at 6-4, 6-4 to breaking him in the third set, getting it to the tie-breaker and winning two sets with glorious shots that would have shown people why he is the King of Grass.. One can always argue that rain helped him regroup, but then it takes sheer greatness and genuis to claw back from such a drastic situation. I guess Nadal himself would not have wanted to defeat Federer in straight sets as it would have been a tame end to the great setting.

Final set - scores level at 7-7.. Anybody's game!! All the points scored till now, all the sweat till now do not matter at all, as the next few games would decide the winner.. And ultimately, after defending a few break points, Rafal Nadal, came through to conquer glory and the most cherished title. The joy in his face was boundless going straight to his parents in the stands and celebrating with tears of joy.. And perhaps, the sorrow on Federer was also boundless, which unfortunately, he had to bear alone.. He lost, but with admiration, character and like a hero..

The epic five-setter played by the best men in business today (or perhaps of all-time), would be held in the league of great games like the Bjorg-Mcnroe, Becker-Edberg, Ivanesivic-Hennman, etc for sure.. So then, is this the dawn of the new era - The Era of Nadal, is this the End of Federer, or is it just another game?? Or is this the truimph of Tennis itself to see another wonderful rivalry, perhaps after Sampras-Agassi?? Only time would say. But for the people who were fortunate enough to watch it, it would definitely be etched in their memory for a long time.

And of course, all eyes on the US Open now.. Hope it's another extravaganza.. :)