Always Account For Variable Change

I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time now. Its been close to 14 years since we bid farewell to our school. Being an ex-alumni and getting constant updates from your mom about school keeps you connected. So even though its been a long time since I have visited school, I can still visualize what goes around based on the conversations and experiences shared by mom.It was only earlier this week that mom mentioned that one of my teachers wanted me to pen down an article for the school magazine. I am not sure if this will make the cut, but I will pen it down anyway. Having passed out in 2001, and going through the two years of college trying to think of what to do with my career path, I somehow ended up pursuing my Bachelors in Information Technology from Mumbai University, following it up with a Masters in Information Technology. Currently working with India's number 1 ranked IT services company as Technical lead with around 6 years of experience under my belt. I...

Life in the last few years has been moving way too fast. Thanks to some great friends and family who share common interests in food, travel and the little nuances that keep each other happy. There is little time to ponder and you keep looking forward to the next adventure. All this pace is exciting and fun, however sometimes you need to just sit back and rewind. Browse through what has passed by and the wonderful memories that are etched forever. The numerous hours of planning involved to make the trip perfect, find the best picturesque locations and ensure all the dots are connected. At the end when you ponder back, you start to realize it is not only the destination but also the journey that is all the more exciting. There is a spirituality in travel that very few would relate to. Be it in a foreign land, a distant destination within your home country or just a quick get away around your city. Travel revitalizes you and hits the refresh button every time. Seeking constant insp...

The thread on my hand has been there for almost 2 years now, but it's now breaking apart... I have never been a strong believer of rituals. I am not against it, but never really understood it either. I always wondered why people would tie threads around their hand. The significance of the thread has multitudes of reasons - warding off evil , keeping you at peace , to name a few. My connect with this thread happened in 2011 when there was a 'havan' performed at home after Dad passed away. During the start of the 'havan' this thread was tied around my hand. Since I was not a strong believer in the rituals, I really did not bother around the reasons behind it. Yet, somehow, the emotions during that time made me draw my own reasoning and connect with this thread. I tried to think of it as an eternal connect with Dad, something which will still keep him close to me. Whenever I felt low I used to look at this thread on my hand and a sense of calm prevailed, a...

Just realized this page has not been updated for quite some time now. It was brought to my attention by a colleague at work suggesting that there were issues with my blog opening up. I guess this was to do with the recent migration of blogger to region specific domain redirection (ok, geek alert!). 2012 has surely been a better year compared to the turmoils of 2011. I have decided to make peace and carry on. Family and Friends seem to be the keyword this year. Days, weeks and months pass in the wink of an eye, looks like I'm keeping my self busy :) Seems just yesterday that we had welcomed 2012, but half of the year is already gone by! Its my favorite time of the year again; the monsoons ! People keep cursing the rains and the hardships of traveling in them. Guess the rain gods are not very pleased with the constant complaining and have decided to come down at their own will this year. I have tried to make the most of it on all monsoon showers that have happened till now, than...

I wish life was an expressway with no twists and turns where we can all cruise along without a worry in our mind. But then lets admit that we don't live in a perfect world and such a life though good at the beginning would soon become monotonous and boring. So when the blueprint of our lives was being designed, it was ensured that each one of us had a journey with twists and turns. We have days when we need to climb steep inclines and then there are some where we can just  cruise with the flow. What we all have in common is the ability to keep moving forward no matter how rocky the terrain of our lives might be. I have always been a fan of this quote and it fits perfectly here : While I Can Run, I will Run, While I Can Walk , I will Walk, While I Can Crawl, I will Crawl, But by the Grace of God, I will always keep moving forward. Some days we might move forward by miles and then there will be days when we move only inches. As long as we keep moving forward we can hope...

The dates have turned, its the same pattern of the year that changed my life at the start of the year. A change which I wish had never occurred in my life. As I turn the calenders today, life halts at the date when Dad sailed off to a voyage which had no return.   All my life I stay indebted to you....  Miss you ...

"xyz Wishes loved ones in heaven could be contacted by mobile phone, email and skype. "  - This is one of the post I read on wall of my friend on Facebook.  I shrugged it off in the usual non-sensical comic style that I apply to every situation or moment I think would not be possible to handle normally. Only that a moment later I got an email from Birthday Alarm reminding me that "Send a Greeting Card to Subhash Chandra Saxena for their Birthday on Sunday July 3rd". They even promised me that "if I chose their specially designed B'day cards they would deliver it to Subhash Chandra Saxena". Only that they do not know that it is an delivery that no logistics in the world can ever deliver ! The thought re-occured to me and has been in the corner of my mind since then. How I wish I could send a greeting to my dad one last time, or probably order the "Worlds Greatest Dad" t-shirt  online and surprise him. Today as my mom pointed out earlier ...

"You should be scared, be very very scared ".... How often in our lives do we get this feeling of accomplishment or a raging hunger for passion that makes you believe that the World should be scared of your plans. Remember that  smile on your face when you knew you were upto something ? ! In the competing times that we live in, we often become slaves to our companies, even to ourselves. Going through the same routine at work without realising what lies ahead in store for us. Days and months go by and the time you realise you need a extra spark to your credentials, you are already looking at a huge backlog! Ever wondered what went wrong ? At what point in time did you loose the appetite to learn something new, to innovate and to do something not just for getting that fat pay cheque at the end of the month, but having a sense of satisfaction within you.  I believe we should always take time off and try to build that raging hunger within ourselves. A hunger that will not...

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai Dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaatil mein hai Aye watan, Karta nahin kyun doosraa kuch baat-cheet Dekhta hun main jise woh chup teri mehfil mein hai Aye shaheed-e-mulk-o-millat main tere oopar nisaar Ab teri himmat ka charcha gair ki mehfil mein hai Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai Waqt aanay dey bata denge tujhe aye aasman Hum abhi se kya batayen kya hamare dil mein hai Kheench kar layee hai sab ko qatl hone ki ummeed Aashiqon ka aaj jumghat koocha-e-qaatil mein hai Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai Hai liye hathiyaar dushman taak mein baitha udhar Aur hum taiyyaar hain seena liye apna idhar Khoon se khelenge holi agar vatan muskhil mein hai Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai Haath jin mein ho junoon katt te nahi talvaar se Sar jo uth jaate hain voh jhukte nahi lalkaar se Aur bhadkega jo shola-sa humaare dil mein hai Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mei...

When I started blogging around 3-4 years ago, I was advised by one of my friends that don't make your blog posts personal. I could not help but putting out this post. This post is in memory of my dearest dad whom I lost on 11th January,2011. "It is not what you gather , but what you scatter, that tells of the life that you have lived". He touched our lives in many ways which words cannot do justice. A man who believed in simple living and high thinking. I have always known him for the helping nature he has extended to anyone in need. He truly believed in his karma something which I guess was inherited from my grand father. My dad had been sailing the seas for the last 38 years ! Since the year 1971 he braved the tough ocean storms and fought everyday on the high seas like a warrior. His profession often required him to compromise the bond and time spent with family but he kept on putting a rock solid front and supported us throughout his entire life. A man of principle...

Just two days back I had my recent escapade on 26th of March 2010. I had taken two days off from work and wanted to spend quality time with mom and dad. We had been yearning to visit the Shirdi shrine for quite sometime now. It has become a yearly ritual where we drive down to Shirdi, seek blessings and pray for peace and happiness. We started our journey early in the morning around 6:45 AM. It was going to be a long journey, almost 250 kms each side. Since it was off-peak hours we managed to leave behing Mumbai and Thane in close to an hour and a half. Some things that had changed from the last time we drove down the Nasikh- Shirdi route were better roads, less traffic and a lot of modernization in the villages en-route. We managed to reach Nasikh in around 5-6 hrs with 2-3 stoppages in between. The ride from Nasikh to Shirdi was close to 2 hours. We reached Shirdi around 1 PM in the afternoon and a huge crowd and rising mercury welcomed us to the holy town. After check-in to a ho...

I do not know if it is the "Rancho" effect but last couple of months have been a turmoil trying to make a mark and become more productive on the work front. Having exhausted and invested 100% in the current role, facing tough new challenges and rising to the top sounds like a great story :) There is, and there will always be the itch to accomplish more.  While acheiving this goal a majority of the folks somewhere leave behind the trait that once used to make them dazzle. I am not sure if this perspective can be generalized but surely we all have a quality that stands apart from the rest. Still peer competition/ pressure makes us succumb and leave behind the 'one' thing that we could have been masters at. You soon realize that what you have been doing all this while is meaningless and soon the itch to re-gain the dazzling quality of yours comes back. It was just yesterday at a friends party that I met people from different backgrounds and currently into quite differe...

5th February 2010, close to 18 months since my last blog post. It would be unfair if I just directly start blogging without providing any “re-wind” of the 18 months. 18 months ago something changed in my life. This change was not of smaller proportions and transformed me from the non-earning to the earning cadre. I was employed with Wipro Technologies in August 2008 and transferred to Bangalore. Lots of hope, expectations, challenges along with a heavy heart of leaving behind family and friends welcomed me to the IT Capital of India. I will not blabber much about what has happened within Wipro. The sheer excitement if financial independency and making it on your own is more that one could have asked for. My stay in Bangalore was close to 4 months and in these 4 months I was re-born, with added responsibilities and much more thoughtfulness. Later somewhere around November I was moved back to Pune (what seemed to me as impossible back then). Much closer to home and all that I ...

Okay, I have been criticized enough now to take up this initiative again and enlighten the world with my views/ opinions. Keep watching this space for more future blog posts, this time with a "changed" perspective...

I often believe that each one of us is an accumulation of multiple split personalities. Quite often one personality overshadows the others. I have a patriotic inclination from my very early childhood. Anything remotely targeted against India just enrages the Indian within me. At the other hand I am also totally supportive of world peace and harmony. The reason for this particular blog post is that the patriotic Indian within me has been enraged in the past few weeks, owing to what is happening around me. It was just a few days back that War was declared against us. I may not be correct, but these are my views which when collaborated together will enrage that Indian in each one of us. Lets rewind a little. Around 1-2 weeks back there was a serious political unrest in India. The state of the government was under scrutiny and the future leadership of India was in a dilemma. Again we all knew what happened, the utter nuisance in the parliament was broadcast around the world. India had be...

Good morning everyone. Its 3:15 AM now. Its one of those nights when sleep has eluded me again. Don't be surprised, for those who know me are very well aware of my untimely sleeping schedules. Funny thing, I was staring blank at the wall and was wondering what I could put in here at this time of the hour so that it becomes worth reading. All of a sudden I noticed how the Wall Clock in my room had stopped exactly at 3:15 AM ! Its so spooky just to even think about it , rather to blog about it. Its like time has stopped just for me. It just came to my mind what if each one of us were given a chance in our lives to stop time and be the master of all things. May be I have been watching too much of LOST, and the idea of time travel and the time-space consortium has just gone too much into my head. But lets just give it a try. What if at some instance you realized that a Bruce Almighty like scenario was presented in your lives ? We all have been living our lives at such a rapid rate tha...

Life sure is a roller coaster ride. Filled with all ups and downs. Everything good is balanced by something bad and vice-versa. Lets just say that the year 2008 has been one such roller coaster ride for me. Lets cut to the chase and not go into the details now. For the past few weeks it was a real dull atmosphere at home. Each one of us had got really bored of the monotonous and repetitive schedule we were following. It was only last Friday night that an idea of family outing stuck chords in my mind. Saturday morning was sure gonna be a much awaited change at home. The day began a little early for me on Saturday morning. Got up at 9 instead of 10 :) . Asked my parents to get ready and prepare themselves for a day of fun and excitement. I was just wondering how all throughout the year we make plans and enjoy till the Everest of our lives ! But there are seldom any plans made with family. So Saturday morning, unlike the other days the monsoon clouds were too afraid to ruin my plans today...

I read this quotation somewhere. I guess it was inculcated to us during our tenure as NCC Cadets. " Oh God! Please give me courage to do the harder right , than the easier wrong " This year has been full of surprises. It has actually brought out a revolutionary in me who always opted to make things correct. Some where hidden within each one of us is this revolutionary spirit. A person who tries to bring about a change in this world. But quite often this inner voice gets dampened by other worldly issues. But then , there is also a limit to everything. A time comes when you just cant take it anymore. The year 2008 started off with some of us realizing the deteriorating conditions at the MSc IT course. All through our course we were being taken for a ride. The utter mismanagement of the course and the lack of determination and professionalism on part of some of the professors is altogether another blog post. It was due to such pathetic conditions that some of us decided to voic...

Mumbai Vs Shanghai ... This dream sounds too good to be true. I understand we are making a progress in the right direction towards face lifting Mumbai to the likes of Shanghai. However the trauma that one has to go through presently is something that the NHRC would like to take up as a cause. Lets rewind a couple of days back . Its 10th July 2008. After having spent a wonderful day at my friends Birthday at Bandstand , I head back home. This is the first time I opt out of dropping my friends at Sion , this is just because of the thought of the torture I will be faced ahead. So I bid good bye to everyone and race my way home around 7 PM in the evening. Just hoping that I would still be able to by pass the rush hour traffic snarl. So now i zoom past MET , Lilavati , Reclamation , Kalanagar and boom ! Its Kherwadi junction for crying out loud . I quickly switch down gears ..5 . ..4...3..2.. 1 ... damn 1 !!!! The traffic could be seen till the horizon. All the destressing by the wonder...

I promised myself that instead of wasting precious time on PC i will start blogging soon and make the world aware on some of the issues close to my heart. I hope i get something meaningful in this space pretty soon . Until then adjust with this post :)