Two passages from Atlas Shrugged:

Reading few lines: Sometimes few words express what we thought we are capable of only feeling and not expressing....

Few random lines from the current chapter of the book I am reading.

"But you do," he said calmly, smiling. " you still love me- even if there's one expression of it that you'll always feel and want, but will not give me any longer. I'm still what I was, and you will always see it, and you will always grant me the same response, even if there's another man. No matter what you feel for him, it will not change what you feel for me, and it won't be treason to either, because it comes from the same root, it's the same payment in answer to the same valuess. No matter what happens in the future we will always be what we were to each other, you and I, because you'll always love me."
----------------------------------------------------

That special pleasure she had felt in watching him eat the food she had prepared- she thought, lying still, her eyes closed, her mind moving, like time, through some realm of veiled sloness- it had been the pleasure of knowing that she provided him with a sensual enjoyment, that one form of his body's satisfaction had come from her... There is reason, she thought, why a woman would wish to cook for a man... ohh, not as a duty, not as a chronic career, only as a rare and special rite in symbol of... but what have they mad eof it, the preachers of woman's duty?

Just like that

I look at the empty expanse covering me up. The sky is lit with moon. It is not full moon. Linus would call it a whitelight bulb hanging out of no where.
Linus and I are so different some times. He cannot understand what joy I feel when I climb up on my terrace and stareat the clouds. He can't make out why I like to sing, Twinkle Twinkle Little stars, while moving back and forth on theterrace on an early evening.
He will crib lets go downstairs. It is at this point of time that I wonder what should I do? Go downstairs with himor stay on the terrace on my own and keep company with Mr. Moon and look out for an early star?
Linus goes downstairs. I am still sitting on the bench on my terrace. I plan to lie down on the bench and enjoythe cool evening breeze. Just then, my mother calls me from downstairs. Sullen, I walk down. She chides me for staying alone. I walk into the room, to be with Linus.
After an initial disapproval, I forgive him. And we spend an hour talking to one another.
The very next day, a friend of mine discusses about, Self. He asks me, if it is important that one should seekhis happiness before anything else. Is a person responsible for himself for his own happiness?
I wonder at his query. I wonder because, I would have liked to answer a YES, but I don't. I do not know why.Is it because I feel binded by people around me, that I seek my happiness in them. Am I trying to forget myownself and relish in the happiness around me. Sometimes, when I feel empty, where do I seek happiness.
It is very essential to be happy. To place your happiness first, but with tact. Because you want more than justbeing happy, you want someone there to share your happiness with.
Today I am sitting on my terrace alone. Linus has not yet come from work. I will relish this moon and breathe in the air and have my fill. And then, I can come back to Linus and share the smile that the stars sent me!
PS: Sorry for a late post. And sorry again for not writing on the temple... Some other time!

Shiva'a temple

My daily temple visits:

Let me confess at the outset that I am not a very religiously inclined person. Before I came to Kolkata I was this rush to college kid who barely managed breakfast and always cursed traffic jams in way to college. Praying was a distant affair. My mom would often crib, but to her dismay like any other collegiate I had developed the knack of ignoring her parental grudges.

I often would snigger at her advice of praying to Lord Shiva, so that I would get a nice groom. Arrey, who really cared for shaadi waadi anycase. The parking lot at my business school had a temple of Kali. I would do a quick salute to her and rush to my classes. That was what my religious encounters were about.

Yes, since I lived in Kathmandu, I would sometimes visit Lord Pashupatinath. I liked visiting the temple in the evening times, when it is much cooler and the campus of the temple is lit with small diyas. The bells chime and soon aarti begins. It always put me in a spiritual trance.

But again, as I said I was not very inclined to idol worship, it was to my friends' utmost surprise that I should keep a fast every Monday. The fasting started after my visit to my maternal grandmother. She cajoled me into keeping a fast. Having met her after almost 10 years, there was no way I could refuse her. And I thought keeping a fast once a week would do good to my body too.

With just that much of connection to God, and a little more : that when I wrote down things in my diary, I would often begin with, dear God....

And then one fine day I got married. There was no college to rush to, but I still got up early. After an 8 O clock breakfast, I thought it would be nice to accompany Linus downstairs, to see him off. This became a part of my morning. After seeing him off I would go to the nearby temple. This was the Shiva's temple.

I will try to describe this temple in the next post.

Till then,

:)

Vid

Out of Hibernation

It is a rainy afternoon. I walk up to my window to watch the rain. I look at the coconut tree bathing lavishly. What a wonderful shower, I smile to myself.
I am thirsty and Lakhan, our kitchen staff comes to me with a glass ful of coconut water. I relish each drop of it. The glass leaves a round stainon my glass top desk. I pick the glass up, and quickly wipe the surface with my palm, deposit the glass on the floor and continue to write.

Write about what?
This morning when I went downstairs with Linus, I thought of just writing about my morning. As a stay at home kid,it is like my friend leaves early for his school. After he has left there is little to do, no one to play with. And like a mother would humor her younger kid who still hasn't joined school my mother in law fusses over me.

Linus and I wake up around the same time. I sometimes take another 5 min nap, while he is reading Economic Times. After shower we both get ready for our breakfast.I hurry through my breakfast to keep my pace with Linus. Someone should advise him to start chewing his food. I wonder if he ever buys chewing gum. I wonder because I fear he will gobble it down too!
After breakfast, Linus will hang his bag over his right shoulder, carry his lunch box in his left hand and stand in front of the door, waiting for me. I step into my slippers and we both get inside the elevator. I press the G button and the lift goes down. Outside our gate we wait for his pick up. It is almsot like seeing your elder sibling off to school and hoping that next year you would be joining him to school.

We stand outside for about 5to 10 minutes. Linus remarks, if the Tata Sumo which carries the school children from our road has not yet come. We look around observing if the number of cars parked on the roadside is less than usual. We both smile in case we talk about the kiss in side the elevator.

His bus arrives with a zzzzzzz kind of sound that we can hear from a distance. Because the bus traverses a bend, we hear it first and then we see the yellowvehicle. We say our quick byes and off he is to work. While I walk a little distance and reach the neighborhood temple.
I will talk about the neighborhood temple in the next post. For now, my morning after my visit to temple continues into room cleaning spree and then to an extended afternoon. Will write more on what I really do in extended afternoons and small evenings!

Come Back

It has been long, and I have been away. I do not know if you have missed me. But here I am anyways.

Hmm, of all these days that I have disappeared I can perhaps only justify by writing to you about what I did .

One of the interesting things is about making maps. Let me confess at the outset that I am terrible with directions. My mom always says that I inherit my road sense from her. She, is as she says, has a highly developed road sense, it is just these darn roads that change directions, the monument which used to be in the left corner one day suddenly shifts to the right... and and everybody thinks it was always on the right! Now no body believes that roads change their course or that buildings move or that North always is at North. If you move from north to south you should be in south but in south also there is a north... how confusing....

So, in Kolkata, I have been trying to connect roads, Theatre road, Camac St, Russel St. , Park St. and so on and so forth. When I am in a cab with Linus, I look out of the window and try to make my map, often I have to erase land marks and reposition them. Linus wouldn't agree but I know roads have changed direction and repositioned themselves. Any case I make quick corrections and we move on.

In the process of map making I sometimes lose the track of conversation, of situation , of the fact that we are going to shop for him and not me. In such times I am very quiet, noting and jotting down landmarks and yes building my map.

Linus is lucky, he hasn't had to face the chatterbox upfront, as of yet.... But how long???

Cya all soon and around....
Vid

Words

Words!!!


Hmmm... I wonder what should I speak.

Speak about the humming of the airconditioner or the beep from my cell phone which announces that a new message has been received?

It's amazing that I am at loss of words. These days I often stare at my machine and wonder what next words to write. Words don't come easy any more. It's like they aren't friends with me any more. It's like we have had a fight, the words and me.

Hmmm... well if there were a way out, any chance that I could ask them to come back to me... Well well well thats when the wise men tell me, try try try..... and I remember one of my very early posts, which read... I will open the shop every day, whether or not the customer come... so I renew my pledge to sit down to write everyday, when spring isnt far away , why will the words be...

So, till tomorrow

Vid

KTM to Kolkata

Well well well, I know I am not even writing in full sentences. Hmm, not that half a sentence isn't trendy enough, however for a better understanding one would appreciate a well constructed sentence. So here I am, with few best sentences I heard today:

Oh Shit!
Damn!
Cut the crap!!!
Whats the full form of SOB...

(he he he.... does swearing qualify as sentence in the first place????)

My elder sister hates profanity of any kind. Well, I can't even say bloody infront of her, without her disapproving glance sweeping me up and down... Moreso, she is amazed that I would call my best friend names out of sheer love...

(hmmm... i must be talking utter nonsense... it is late night, am half asleep, just did my packing, am flying to kolkata tomorrow... so bidding a bye again... to this room, to this dimly lit room at this time of night... to everything that has been a part of me in growing up..... and there i go to embrace a life that awaits me....!! till then c ya, take care...and have fun growing up!!!!!!!!!!!)

More is less, when it comes to words and sentences or well, swear words... And well, in case there is anything interesting, will be back with a bang...Until then, the writer's block continues.

Nights never sleep!

Hmmm, I wonder if night also sleeps.

There are so many things one can wonder about. Wonder about day light , wonder about stars, wonder about poetry, wonder about poverty, wonder about what the maid who works for us 10 to 5 does after she reaches her home, wonder who will win world cup, wonder when will i get a job, wonder when will i come back to ktm again, wonder how far UK can be, wonder what people at the other part of the world eat at dinner while i eat daal bhat....

So many things to wonder....and still i wonder................how will it be to see ones sweetheart again after many many days....

hmmmm

hmmmmmmmmmmmm

What....

crazy thoughts at night
like working on Levis Strauss Case one night
like working on Sony wega versus Philips PT 29 3223 tonight
like so many things.... how things change
like saying i love you over and over again to the same guy
like closing your eyes and seeing him smile
like calling friends and groping for words
like not calling friends at all, now that you are home again
like belonging to a disintegrated gang
like having had an imaginary boy friend
like realising that I MISS YOU
like wanting to be together again
like living life KING size
like YOU and ME
like :)

Musings

Why?

I had it...
I had it deep
I had it wild
I had it fierce in me.

But naieve I was,
I let it out in open,
And there came a stranger
And he took it away.

I want it back,
Why did I let it go?
How come I dint realize
How come I let him squeeze every drop of it
Why did I let him take my passion away?


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

Dream

She wakes up from her dream in the middle of the night. She just saw her beloved. She turns on her bed, and stares at the empty side. There she had seen him, and now the mischivious lover hides away. She runs to her mother, and she gasps for breath while she squeals, I saw him Mother,I saw him. 'Ah!, poor thing, he is away, miles away in a foreign land. You haven't seen him dear.'

She lets her old mother retire back to her bed and off she runs to her sister, I saw him, dear, I saw him!, she gushes. 'Ah! you silly girl, you have just had another dream. Now be a good girl and let me sleep in peace..

Off she rushes to her room, and shuts the door tight. Then she talks to her dream, and tells it, eh you evil dream, why do you play games with me. Why do you show me his picture. Why did you tell me he's come? They tell me I am a fool, and they all laugh at me. It is all because you ... you silly dream. Now out you go from this room, from the room of my thoughts. I will see him when he comes in real... No more do I have patience to deal with you. So out you go oh silly dream!

Worth reading and re reading

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs saysThis is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO ofApple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12,2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of thefinest universities in the world. I never graduated from college.Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a collegegraduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life.That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.The first story is about connecting the dots. I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but thenstayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I reallyquit. So why did I drop out?It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwedcollege graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption.She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates,so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyerand his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the lastminute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on awaiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We havean unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course."

My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduatedfrom college and that my father had never graduated from high school.She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a fewmonths later when my parents promised that I would someday go tocollege.And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a collegethat was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-classparents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After sixmonths, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted todo with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure itout. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had savedtheir entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it wouldall work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back itwas one of the best decisions I ever made.

The minute I dropped out Icould stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, andbegin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on thefloor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ depositsto buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town everySunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. Iloved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosityand intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you oneexample:Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphyinstruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, everylabel on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because Ihad dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decidedto take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned aboutserif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of spacebetween different letter combinations, about what makes greattypography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle ina way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life.

But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintoshcomputer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac.It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had neverdropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have neverhad multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And sinceWindows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computerwould have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have neverdropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might nothave the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it wasimpossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college.But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can onlyconnect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dotswill somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never letme down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss. I was lucky – I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and Istarted Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, andin 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a$2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released ourfinest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had justturned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a companyyou started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought wasvery talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or sothings went well. But then our visions of the future began to divergeand eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board ofDirectors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out.What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it wasdevastating.I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I hadlet the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had droppedthe baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard andBob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was avery public failure, and I even thought about running away from thevalley. But something slowly began to dawn on me – I still loved whatI did.

The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I hadbeen rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to startover.I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Applewas the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heavinessof being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginneragain, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of themost creative periods of my life.During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, anothercompany named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who wouldbecome my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computeranimated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successfulanimation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Applebought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed atNeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and Ihave a wonderful family together.I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't beenfired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess thepatient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick.Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me goingwas that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. Andthat is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work isgoing to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be trulysatisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way todo great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet,keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'llknow when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just getsbetter and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you findit. Don't settle.My third story is about death. When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you liveeach day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly beright." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "Iftoday were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am aboutto do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many daysin a row, I know I need to change something.Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I'veever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Becausealmost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear ofembarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face ofdeath, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you aregoing to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking youhave something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason notto follow your heart.About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 inthe morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn'teven know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almostcertainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expectto live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to gohome and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepareto die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'dhave the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means tomake sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy aspossible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had abiopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through mystomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and gota few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there,told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctorsstarted crying because it turned out to be a very rare form ofpancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery andI'm fine now.This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its theclosest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I cannow say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was auseful but purely intellectual concept:No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't wantto die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. Noone has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death isvery likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's changeagent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now thenew is you, but someday not too long from now, you will graduallybecome the old and be cleared away.

Sorry to be so dramatic, but it isquite true.Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of otherpeople's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown outyour own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to followyour heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you trulywant to become. Everything else is secondary.When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The WholeEarth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It wascreated by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in MenloPark, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch.

This was in thelate 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so itwas all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It wassort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google camealong: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and greatnotions.Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole EarthCatalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a finalissue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age.

On the back cover oftheir final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road,the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were soadventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. StayFoolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as yougraduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. Thank you all very much.

Passing by

Well I excel in sarcasm they tell me some time... i would have been flattered had they also told me sarcasm of which genre... as in pleasant or unpleasant ....(and i didn't know sarcasm had genres... just invented this one!)

Now let me try my hand at sarcasm, wit and the little sense of humor i have.


* My pal sent me back the book he had borrowed. He is a very sensitive person. To everything that comes his way, he will keep it like it were his. So it is strange that in just two remindings he actually sent me the book back. Yes, the book doesn't look mine any longer. Like I told you, his love and ownership is all over the book. Only it looks yellow and smells of oil, when its on books!

*It was awesome, to a lesser degree. Like good is to better, it was some awe, and could have been better awe.. whatever, let me tell you what and where it was. At wild and wet - water park. We had loads of fun. We enjoyed the water rides, and floating on the simulated ocean. So could have the insects floating with abandon. Pity they just could not live up to it!

*Living away from your spouse must make you feel empty somewhere deep down. Because you now must be used to everything empty (read unoccupied), like the loo, the newspaper and your favorite seat infront of the tv.

* Thriller movies are great way of attracting attention. There are always smart asses who are eager to spill the beans. While you watch 36 China Town, just announce that you know who the murderer is. Well who said people don't pay attention to you!

*More later... much later!!!

Little things

How not to spend a weekend:

Wake up late and laze around whole day. Why? There are better things to do... Like get a haircut, get a pedicure, meet your Aunt ! He he he, actually I did all 3 of them today. I even signed up for fitness program. Will join my gym starting Monday.


How not to panic when you forget the way:

Road sense is bestowed on lucky few. So, it is okay if you are unlucky like me. My mom tells me, keep walking with a no nonsense gait, get into a shop and ask the shopkeeper for directions. If nothing is happening, get into a food joint, call home, she will come pick u up. So given this assurance, the damsel in distress gathers courage and traverses the path of the city of joy with much abandon.

How not to greet your old pal:

Say a nice hi.... oh oh oh .....don't miss the opportunity to slap him on his back...and say abbey, kaha kho gaye, shaadi kyaa hueee, tum toh bas biwi ke ho gaye.... whatever... it is an original line, and i am gonna save it for some good guy .... hmmm that reminds me... i havent seen a guy.. literally , -my hero is away...and i know of no elligible dates....- in Kolkata. and my sister plans to ruin all my opportunities tomorow, as she says... i dont care what you wear as long as you dont forget mangalsutra!!

By the way, I am going swimming and later for a movie.... So, well let me have fun...while the sun doesn't shine too brightly and it doesn't rain either....

Advertising Agencies in Kolkata

Jingle bell jingle bell... ad agencies in the Puchka City

JWT
e- mail:mike.khanna@jwt.com
247 8361

O&M
247 3406-7

McCann-Erickson India Ltd (0091 33) 2172001/2879
Kolkata:(0091 33) 2172001/2879Chennai:(0091 44) 435 9228, 432 3481Bangalore:(0091 80) 221 9058, 2229539Hyderabad:(0091 40) 3326261Television Billings: N.A.Capitalised Billings:Rs 3479.53 million(not available)Gross Income: 618.36 million Senior Executive:Sorab Mistry, Chairman & CEOMajor Clients:Coca Cola india(Coca-Cola/carbonated bevarages); TTK(LIG)(Kohinoor, Fiesta/condoms);Bacardi India(Breezer/ready to drink beverages);Johnson &Johnson India (Savlon,Band-Aid/woundcare);Gillette India(Duracell Plus/alkaline batteries,Fashion Razor 2001,Mach III Cool Blue /razors);Perfetti India(Happy Dent/chewing gum);TVS-Suzuki (corporate/TVS Max, TVS Scooty, TVS XL, TVS Sport, TVS Super, TVS Champ/motorcycles & mopeds); C.Krishniah Chetty (jewellery store);Thinkstream Technologies (software development); Virgin Atlantic (Virgin Atlantic/airline);Delphi Automotive Systems (Delphi/ automobile components);ACCEL ICIM (Accel-ICIM/ERP packages);UPS (UPS/ courier services);Times FM (Radio Mirchi/FM radio);Sundar Tajmahal Hotel (Taj Tristar/ hotels); Concept Foods (JLT/snack food);Eduquity(educational testing services);Reckitt& Colman(Cherry Blossom/shoe polish); Usha Martin Telecom(telecom);Nes tle(sunrise/ coffee); BPL (Gas tables);Khaitan (Fans); Nestle (Media buying); Stracon (Corporate); Goodyear India (Goodyear - tyre); Travel Corporation of India (tourism); MasterCard (credit cards)
Leo Burnett India Pvt Ltd (0091 33) 2801022

Mudra
Kolkata: (0091 33) 474 9084/85
Major Clients:Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (Corporate); Indian Express (News paper); Mid-Day (website); Global Trust bank (Banking);Indian Tourism Development Corporation (Hotels); Raj TV (TV Channel); Henkel Spic India (Detergents); Godrej Foods; Ahmedabad Electricity Co Ltd (corporate); LIC of India (Insurance - services); Honda Siel Power Products (gensets); Satyam Computer Services Ltd (Satyam - computer software); Satyam Infoway Ltd (Satyam - internet services); Cadila Healthcare Ltd (EverYuth - healthcare); Blow Plast Ltd (VIP Skybags - luggage carrier); Dabur Ayurvedic Specialities Ltd (Nature Cure - Ayurvedic products); Henkel Spic India Ltd (Fa - soap); Hindustan Motors Ltd (Mitsubishi Lancer - automobile);Samsung Electronics India (Samsung/televisions)

Saatchi & Saatchi
Kolkata:(0091 33)282 5295/557Chennai:(0091 44) 822 9213/52Bangalore:(0091 80) 506 5386-90/91-94Television Billings:Rs 392.4millionCapitalised Billings:Rs 711.5millionGross Income:Rs 159.98 millionSenior Executive: V.Shantakumar,managing director-chief executive officer india.Major Clients:Alembic Glass Industries( Yera Glass/crockery);Aptech (Aptech Computer Education/computer education);Ameya Trading Co (Superclass Coffee/coffee); Bayer India (Gaucho and other products/agro chemicals);Grasim Industries (Birla Plus Cement /cement );Indian Hotels Co (Taj Group of Hotels,Delhi /hotels);Shaw Wallace (Royal challenge/beer);TVS-Suzuki (Victor,Fiero/two-wheelers);Zee Telefilms (Playwin/lottery);Zandu Pharmaceutical Works (Zandu Chyavanprash,Zandu

Euro RSCG ( 0091 33) 464 7341/7798

Confluence Confluence Communications Ltd '
mail:conscree@satyam .net .in.
www.Confluencescree.com.Branch telephone numbers:(0091 33) 4630323
Major Clients:Ved Ram & Sons (Paras Milk /milk);VRS Foods (Paras Ghee/ghee);Paras Aqua Mineral/bottled water); Diamond Industries (Shop-n- Save/retail);United Riceland (Resham /basmati);GTC Industries (Style Mini Kings (filter)/cigerattes); P.A.Time Industries (Maxima/watches);Dixon Utilities and Industries (Weston TV/television

RMG Relationship Marketing Group India Pvt Ltd
phone :(0091 33) 5593471
Major Clients: Kewal Kiran Enterprises(Lawman Jeans/ready-made garments);Nine Broadcasting India (Channel Nine/TV Channel );DCM Benetton India(Benetton /readymade garments);Oyzterbay(Oyzterbay/jewellery);Marico Industries(Mediker/shampoos);Arvind Mills (Wrangler,Ruf &Tuf /readymade garments );World Tel india (Cricket Talk /magazine);Orbis Securities India (India Bulls/online tading);AM Marketing (Saj /consumer products );Dorcas Market Movers (Tejaswani /consumer products);Genesis Clothing (Genesis/readymade garments );Gangotri Textiles (Gangotri/ textiles)

Arms Communications Pvt Ltd,
Kolkata:(0091 33) 9831000051
Television Billings:1.7 million
Capitalised Billings:93.3 million
Gross Income:27.35 million
Owners:R.S. Ahluwalia ,G.S.Ahluwalia
Major Clients: Fortis Healthcare ( Fortis/healthcare);IT&T(Global/education);Relaxo Footwear (Relaxo/footwear); Net 4India (Internet service);Hero Mindmine (training)

....hmm.. lets call them up in the morning.... for now sleep....though it is the time to get up and get going..... lets catch a bit of sleep... missing my hero...!

A lonely night

Thoughts on a lonely night!

naukri.com
Why do none of the guys get back to me?

vidwata.blogspot.com
Why do I not write on contemporary issues, like Pramod Mahajan being shot by his brother, or the Budhiya kid who ran 64 Kms, or Naushad, or Varodara troubles, or Iran, or index getting high, or commodities marketing.... no wonder only I end up reading my silly banter... eh!

mail.yahoo.com
no new mails...argh....

roomie.heart.home
My roomie, is away... out of town, but here in my heart...he he he....

Rest later, time to sleep!

Today's Banter

Let me talk today... It has been long since I did that any case. So let me talk!

Discovery
Hmm, at present like a lady I met in the airport while coming back from Goa, I am a lady of leisure. I am doing things I hadn't known I would do. Things I hadn't known I would enjoy doing. Like, dressing up! It's amazing how a person discovers oneself slowly. Is it evolving or just discovering a hidden aspect of yourself... Discovering that you like to wear sexy dresses, like few girlz in college used to, that you like to swing your hips and dance wildly, or that you like to spike up your drink and loosen up a bit!

Favorite Phrase
I say hmms a lot of time. It's amazing some one can fall in love with these queer sounds.. They are interesting, if you go blank at a particular point of conversation, or when you want to skip few odd questions, or you just want the other person to keep guessing, you could easily smile and say..ummmm... Hmmm!!!

On food and paradox

Kolkata and food must have rhymed, but for some reason they just don't. I have eaten a year's supply of sweets already, and it's just been few months here. Now there is a paradox, I am thriving or gorging on food, while this desire to wear dresses which would flatter a flatter tummy becomes stronger :D.

Friends
One interesting facet of marriage is friendship... How I realise I have left many a friends, and befriended one. This one friend that I have for lifetime, and ... well, marriage doesn't mean you stop being friends with your friends!!! But relocating from KTM to Kolkata does mean, no more of scrabbles, no more of coffees at the Bakery Cafe, no more hopping in boutiques to get dresses made, no more eating daal bhaat and aaaloo at annie's, no more jumping at parties, no more cha cha with milan :P

But it does mean few other things, like celebrating Vikram's baby boy, who is just 2 days old. It does mean the next door Aunty stepping in to say a quick hi, it does mean dressing up for Priyanka's wedding, it also means becoming friends with mom in law :D

Love
Now this is a difficult word, a difficult topic, a difficult area in life.... Let me address few dilemmas that we often come across.

Can a person be in love for sometime in life with someone, and then with someone else later on... Is commitment love? If you could have loved once, and then loved again... is it true that you have loved at all...

Lesson
There is one lesson life teaches us all the way along. To be happy in what you have today. Because life showers the best to you each day. To hold ones head high and to feel the spirit within move with passion.

Sometimes, somewhere your passion might dwindle, but then, you are such that passion can never exhaust... It might seem so, but there is an infinite reservoire of passion from where one can draw the spirit, the vigor and strength to love, to love ones life... because it is precious!

Remembrance

There are few things in life that are difficult to forget. These things, these moments continue to live with you. And as they say, memories go on...

Tonight let me remember them and let me remember you...

• Coming home from college, with another hungry baggage called ANNIE. Both of us working in the kitchen and eating a big square meal.
• Watching movie together at Milanz.
• Baker's points donuts.
• The day I bought my first pair of contact lenses.

hmm, who do these instances remind me of ... ? obviously of a home , i have left at Kathmandu. It is an amazing feeling to realize that I am striving to start a home of my own now in Kolkata. And all of a sudden, there is remembrance.

Well, it isnt too bad to miss sometimes :)

Randomly

Some thoughts... some strange thoughts... some strange thoughts that have come after some time... :D

or rather...

a framework for writing an essay

or

mood swings...

Man - woman

He looked at her intently. Then suddenly a tear rolled out from his eye. He couldn’t believe what he had heard. The three words that she had whispered into his ear. The same old stereotyped words, I love you. And how much it seemed to mean to him. The words came out her mouth without much thinking, without much effort. They came out because she knew that was what he would like to hear. And just because she wanted him to feel good, she whispered the sweet nothing into his ear.

Love

What precisely is love? He tells her that he loves her, what exactly does he mean. Love between a man and a woman, is pretty selfish. A man looks at a woman with so many intents. Is a woman, an individual that he loves, or is she just a bust and butt material?

Is physical intimacy the reason a man loves a woman? Even if it may be true, is it right or is it wrong? Why do we tend to give a negative connotation to physical union of man and woman? Is physical intimacy the path or the end or the means to reach love?

Duty

Pativrata is described as a woman with following virtues:

She serves him like a servant when she must work for him.

She counsels him like a minister counsels his king.

She is a seductress in bed.

She is a mother when she feeds him.

Marriage

Why do people get married? Do they marry when they realize they want to.. or do they get married when other people or the society thinks it is the appropriate thing to do?

Marriage and Woman

I had never looked at marriage with much positive perspective. Marriage for me meant, binding to social norms. Somewhere, marriage seemed like something you could not run away from. I would often wonder if sane people would ever want to get married. Well, I for one would have been blissfully single had I had my way.... Thank GOD, I did not HAVE my way !

For a woman, getting married means relocating. It means more than that. In a Hindu Marriage, the girl is not just married to the groom, she is married into his Family. In my recent trip to Lankawi, an Australian couple gaped with astonishement as they noted that I would start living with my in laws after I get married. Perhaps it was just another cultural shock. But Indian and Nepalese marriages, are not just about individuals who are tying the knot. THey are more than just the two of them.

Well, I had been skeptical, that a woman, does not have a HOME, in true sense of it. She leaves her FATHER's home, as she gets married. I left my parental home... The bride goes into another family, she tries to make it her home. How easy or how difficult is it. Can you imagine, that you change your name, your family and your place (ktm to kolkata!!)??? Hmm, that used to be my attitude... However, there is a change in that attitude, I think a woman is priviledged, as she has the capacity to love, the capacity to belong to... And now I belong to two families! And I am priviledged to have double parental affection.

More on marriage later.. I could work on an essay I think... Send me your encouragements if you don't think this topic sucks ;-)

Interesting Quote

The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty suure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues.
Elizabeth Taylor