Q3 2009 - Profit Margin going down!

Q3 2009 - Well I'm seeing the most number of marriages of my close ones and acquaintances happening in this quarter!
To start with - one of my BEST friends - Prabuddh's marriage is on 21st Nov.
Just attended Aiyappa's (my ex-teammate) marriage last week; then there is Gargi, Ashok Patil, Akhil bhaiyya, Deepika, who have their respective marriages, scheduled this month or the next!
And in the coming months another BEST friend of mine, Arihant is also walking down the aisle! :)(I have an extended family member wedding also this month... [;)])
As a tribute to their Bachelor life, I would like to write few sentences about some of them who I know closely[:D].

Prabuddh Dixit a.k.a PGD: He was destined to get married to Vijaya since the day I met him! So, now he has taken the plunge. Really, it's getting scarier for me, as such a close friend of mine is getting married (kidding! :D). We are friends from our training days in Mysore; actually, not great friends from Mysore (that time my group was diff ), but since the time we were put into the same account in Infosys B'lore! It's said you find the best of friends in the time of crisis; this statement couldn't have suited us better. Kraft (my client) sucks!! But thanks to it anyways! [:D] Earlier in training days we used to converse in English...hahahaha... Can't imagine the same situation now! So, Kraft was the mentor of our friendship, and also was responsible for giving rise to a conversation called - "Onsite"! Well, for the past 2.5 yrs we have been discussing various plans related to onsite travel...lol....and this guy got lucky among us. He'll be travelling to Canada in December, just after his marriage. This is the best honeymoon gift he could have got!! A bit disappointed to have missed his marriage :( Anyway...wish you guys a very very HaPpY Married Life!!

Arihant Khatol a.ka. Ari : One of my closest friends from my training days in Mysore! We shared a lot of good times since then. Thanks to Deepto (don't wanna elaborate much on this guy here...people knowing him might know the reason :D)! So, all these guys are from Heritage Institute in Calcutta...and I know a dozen of people through them. From training days, we went for numerous outings, and of course other parties also [:D]. To mention a few...Waynad, Coorg, Nandi Hills...etc..and we had one heck of a time there! Well, I'm not going into a detailed analysis of the things that we've done [:P]...but those would have been empty without Ari's presence. Now, he'll be on a 24X7 support [:D]...hehe. Really hoping to be there at your marriage dude!

Deepika Sharma: Again..Training days pal! And we had a common group...including Ari, Debashis, Deepto, Subhanita, Minu, Abhipsha, Aniruddh. And she was the cutest in our group [:P]. We had fond memories of many hangouts...but I did not ever imagine that all these fellows will get married so soon! [:D] I'm just wondering how many treats are pending from you guys.

Aiyappa a.k.s PP : Probably the first guy I met when I joined my first project in Infosys. Well the first day of my project was quite memorable...the whole team bunked office and went to a restaurant/pub to party. That was my first day experience in my first ever project!!! [:D]; and guess what, I got drunk in front of my team lead! I met him for the first time in drunken state! :D (Food and booze were free - Sponsored by the onsite team). And Aiyappa was the organizer of every little thing that used to happen in Kraft. We had an awesome time till the old team was there, as there was unlimited fun...but things began to change when people moved onsite. It's great to see him after almost 1.5 yrs! :)

It's really a crazy feeling watching soooooooo many people getting married! hahaha...but nevertheless, I'm really happy for each and everyone...wish them a very happy married life!

My First Love

Ahem....huh....at last got some time for this...blogging!

Well, what could be a better topic to write about in my first blog other than My First Love - Calcutta ?

Yes, I prefer to call it Calcutta over Kolkata!

Having been out of Calcutta for over 7 years now, I could feel its essence.

Needless to say, the city has got its own charm - the small things like a hand in difficult situations, since people here have hell lot of time to leave their work and interfere and resolve your problems; respect for elders and women (be careful when you tease a woman here, you could be in serious trouble); cheap but delicious food, public transportation, and above all the ability to survive for a day with even ten bucks in your pocket! Well, in today's scenario, it's difficult to imagine such things.

Being born-n-raised in the town of Barrackpore, I relished every bit of it. My schooldays were the best part, as we had a lot of exposure to Extra curricular activities like sports and music. And I used to be a part of almost everything there!

As every household in Cal would make their children play some instrument - I was handed the Tabla, which I learnt for close to ten years, but could never quite master it (I wish I had played the guitar since then).

Then of course there was Cricket, and I used to go to the camp for almost two years. I was quite good at it and I was considering it as a potential career option, till I realized that I wasn't good enough [:P]. But the best thing I was at was fielding; I just loved that, and used to take brilliant dive catches. Anyway, now it's lost skill I guess. But these things really enhanced the adventure quotient in me. I used to jump all over the filed, just insane dives, which if done wrongly could have proved fatal. My mind was framed in such a way that I was sure of taking any physical challenge without a second thought!

Once from school we got an invite to visit Vibes (fest organized by Voices - The Statesmen daily), and there I heard "Krosswindz " playing "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. That was my intro to Rock music; and I'm hooked up to it since then!

Times have passed now, but the initial induction which I got from being born-n-raised in Cal is still oozing in me and will be there forever! :)