Farewell to a friend.... RIP Sankalp sir !!!!!

The rotors went on, the blades dying, using their own momentum in attempt to bury themselves in ground. They couldn't take the shame of taking a precious life of a son, a friend, a brother, moreover a decent human. Earth retaliated, blades broke. All the energy from unlimited sources of physics was converted into an impact and sound. That didn't move the earth, but it did change the world for few.

We need to build millions of little moments of caring on an individual level. Sankalp sir truly believed in this. The quivering voice, the always calm face, those kind eyes, the hilarious comments, you name a quality and you can feel the hint of it there. A good chopper pilot, a better human!

I met him long back, in NDA. A year senior to us, he belonged to our over-study course. Despite very little interaction due to his composed nature, he happened to be the safest senior. Always ready to listen, and always helpful. Time went by, they passed out from academy, i broke from the stream and went to civil world. Then I saw him on Face-book. Added him and gradually spoke to him. It is amazing to talk to anyone from Sqn, you can feel the warmth with each word exchanged. The memories come flying by, making you smile without reason. Without reason is reason enough.

He told that he is in Siliguri. I just knew it's somewhere in east. He told it was fun being there. He was also planning for a leave, and promised to meet me once he passes from Delhi. It never happened, he left, without passing from Delhi.

On 11-Sep-2010, a Chetak helicopter started it's engine. It seemed to be a nice day for a air lift. Flight was going to last 90 minutes.The chopper was on its way to Baghdogra air base from air force station Kalaikunda in West Bengal when it encountered bad weather and crashed near Sinharsi air base along the border of Pakur and Godda districts of Jharkhand.

And that ended a life full with life. As the spirit dissolved in thin air, Sankalp sir left us.

AND ALONG WITH HIM... A PART OF ALL OF US HAS DIED......

Happy Anniversary my Enfield !!!!

I got this beauty about 2 years back. And with each day, i loved it more.. and more... and more, can't say the same about the girls in my life, or chocolate muffins, my coin collection and anything else.... The Thump gets better day by day, and the machine grows in you....



You can’t get much more authentic than a Royal Enfield Bullet 350 (people with 500 variant, I envy you all...). Practically every bit of it is solid metal with a chromed, painted or brushed finish. Its fenders are worthy of the name and the golden pinstripes hand-painted. It’s not a restored classic, but a new machine – one of around one million that have rolled out of the factory in the Indian city of Madras since 1955. It has the charm of classical strength, and the marvels which modern technology can donate.

Yet that doesn’t make starting her any easier, as the Indian beauty with the English genes is being uncooperative. Starting the bike soon becomes a meditative ritual. Everything ready? Choke? Check. Fuel tap? Check. Kickstarter in the correct position? Check. Gear? A glance down to the pointer on the gearbox cover: Check. Wait – a quick look at the spark plug: wet, from my previous attempts. But now – a deep breath, focus, and kick! The 350cc single shudders, spits and rumbles to life. A smooth tickover? for the entire duration of a red light at the busiest intersection in town.

With its modest 22 horsepower, the Bullet won’t be blowing away any Porsches. And yet, it inspires a sense of enlightenment, leaving you time for continuous new discoveries along your regular routes. The constant urge to pass is soon replaced by a sense of inner focus – gentle, peaceful biking zen. Out on the open road, the Bullet gradually inches up to its Vmax of 120 km/h, the speedo needle bouncing in time to the good vibrations.

And that leaves you wishing.... that you can say your machine that.... Will you marry me ??

Tech Mahindra Limited – “A place with full of politics; It's full stop to your career growth”

Tech Mahindra Limited (India): (Current Employee)

Pros

Nice place to sit in cafeteria and spend your time
Flexible in timings of working hours
Cultural events
If you are a senior manager and above here, then you are settled. No need to work all.
All poor people from 3 yrs to 10 yrs experience will fight within themselves and work like hell in order to get a good appraisal. And finally you don't need to give them good appraisal; give some crap and promise that they will be recognized in the next appraisal. Keep doing the same until they leave the company. Continue the same logic for new employees. This is our Mantra!!!

Cons

you join as a fresher in this company with 2.6 lakhs per annum.
And after 10 years you resign from the company as a senior technical associate with the salary 5.8 lakhs per annum. Considerably good growth. But I don't see this as a negative point because these 10 yrs you simply did some crap work nobody cared. Now, you don't have any technical skills, but you can do some crap work on whatever project you are assigned to. so you cannot move out of the company; also the company do not leave you. it's a sentimental employer-employee association.

On the other hand, the important disadvantage or issue here is:
Now you are a 10 yrs experienced person with 5.8 lakhs salary and your title is sr.tech associate.
But at the same time another guy joins your team with 4 yrs experience with 8.2 lakhs salary and with the title same sr.tech associate. Now the ego starts. you both fight each other. spoil the environment. management also encourages this because only when there is a competition, employees work well. So totally every employee loses peace of mind.

Advice to Senior Management

completely revise all your crap policies.
change the organization hierarchy.
tg1, tg2, tg3, etc., it's crap.
a person needs to wait nearly 5 yrs for promotion and gets frustated.
think something like tg1.5, tg1.8, tg2, tg2.5, tg2.8, tg3.0
i'm not literally meaning that. but some gradual growth.
make sure your key technical resource and a fresher do not have similar salaries and similar titles.
i often saw freshers with title technical associate and very very important key resource with the same title. then how will you satisfy the poor ego of human beings?? obviously there is much politics. Senior management never cared about this. appraisal system is crap. promotion is completely based on your immediate manager. if your immediate manager is a fraud, then your life is ruined out. performance measurement mechanism should be changed. team work should be encouraged instead of individual performance which leads to ego issues and spoils environment.

Being a civilian after doing your bit in DEFENSE..... a career advise

I recall interviewing an ex-PARA-SF who was trying to land a civilian job after his VRS.
He realized that most people thought his skills consisted of landing on beaches and blowing things up. "Impressive skills, but not really needed in the business world," I thought "As a result, I reframed his experience to highlight his abilities to lead small teams as well as creative problem solving and planning in the face of uncertainty."
While civilian employers may respect military experience, they may struggle to see it as relevant to their workplace. The challenge for veterans is to present their background in ways that civilians can understand and appreciate.

Talk the talk

The first thing that must go is military jargon. Job titles and codes that are second nature to military personnel are like a foreign language to many hiring managers, so translation is essential.
A top HR executive, Pia suggests converting military skills to civilian equivalents using a similar position which their civilian counterparts are aware of.. The civilian job description will also list skills, knowledge and attributes commonly held by someone in that position. So, for example, a CQMH would be a logistician or, alternately, an integrated logistics support manager or a production planner."
Armed with this information, she then recommends job seekers "get busy on a site like naukri.com and search on the very general and the very specific job titles." Reading through ads will give the applicant a better idea of qualifications needed for various civilian jobs and will provide insight about key words to use on a résumé.

Putting your best self forward

"Military professionals are groomed to lead others and excel in a team-oriented environment," says Suresh Pathak, master résumé writer and personal brand strategist for a premier recruitment website. "Consequently, they find it hard to really market and promote themselves as effectively as they should in the job search process."
Experts offer these tips to help men in uniform sort through their experiences when creating application materials:

• Focus the cover letter on skills most pertinent to the given position; don't give a generic summary of everything you're qualified to do.
• Tailor the résumé to the specific job, and keep it to a maximum of two pages.
• Scour military performance reviews for relevant achievements (and to jog your memory).
• Use numbers, percentages, statistics and other concrete examples when possible to demonstrate competencies.

Education and training

Pia notes that military professionals often have completed hundreds of courses, training assignments and certifications. Instead of turning the education section of the résumé into a laundry list, however, she recommends "cherry picking" to make sure the training that is most relevant to the given position is apparent.
Suresh suggests listing any training that is applicable to the job whether or not you have a degree or a certificate. "For example, you may have had one class in wireless communications and another in management out of 355 hours of training on a wide range of topics. In the résumé under a training or education heading, write 'More than 350 hours of professional development training including wireless communications and management."

Remember you're a civilian now

While a veteran's military background will always be a part of his identification, it is important to keep in mind that hiring managers encountered for civilian jobs may not have the same thoughts or experiences.
"Everyone has an opinion about the war," says Varun Salaria, a V&A trainer for new joinees. "Keep emotion out of the equation, and stay neutral."
Experts generally recommend avoiding potentially charged words such as "war," "warfare" or "weapons" (unless applicable to the specific industry). Likewise, it is better to concentrate on your skills and why you are the best candidate for the position rather than focusing on the military conflict or combat.
Remember, though, that military experience has helped you become who you are today, so bring confidence to the civilian job hunt.

"Most, if not all, learned skills can be transferred to any company or industry, whether it is around the block or around the world," Pia says. "The armed forces also instill the highly regarded qualities of being all that you can be as well as being a team player. What company wouldn't want to hire a person who can communicate how their military skills and qualifications can save time, save money or make money for their business?"

My Girl Friend, Basanti !!!

I am young, a youth member of this rising economy but I am not social scientist, not a social activist who stand with megha patkar, I am not a intellectual liberated youth instance who sips coffee and holds an opinion on everything from Union Budget to indo-pak on Baluchistan issue and to double India’s GDP over night. Actually I am a simple guy with views as superficial as John Abraham's acting skills and my understanding of social trends runs as short as the skirt of the kareena kapoor in kambakt ishq. But lately, I am beginning to notice the subtle extermination of a rather happy social species - The Single male


Having a girlfriend says two things about a guy



1. On a look index, guy ranks somewhere between Hrithik and Shahrukh

2. On a financial index, guy ranks somewhere between two ambani brothers



Not having a girlfriend also says two things about a guy



1. He is gay.

2. He is definitely gay.



Array yaar kuch to sharam karo, Abu Salem ki bhi girl friend hai and Mika, uski to do-do girlfriend hai. I mean Guys who aren't even close to respecting a woman have girlfriends. Its seems that every one is going around now days.


And this social development confuses me and poses an intriguing question - When everyone around me is "going around", and I am single, and not gay, why do I feel a girlfriend is a pretty (or not-so-pretty) friend who eats up personal independence and hikes up phone bills? To make things more rational, let me imagine I have a girlfriend, whom I shall call Basanti as a mark of respect to dream girl (Dharam pa ki) Hema Ji.



Now let me see how 'going around' with Basanti can scratch my life.


1. "Kis se baat kar raha tha?”


Basanti calls me up and finds my number to be busy. Basanti again calls me up after 1 min and 37 seconds again finds my number to be busy. She can’t wait any more she again calls me up after exactly 43 sec And even though she heard the pre recorded Reliance voice says "The number you are trying to call is currently busy. Please try after some time", but Basanti hears "The guy you are trying to call up is highly cheap. He is talking to Shruti right now and is expressing is undying love to her. He may claim he was talking to his mother. Don’t trust him."


Soon after I disconnect the call to ma, Basanti calls me up and before I can say a hello, yells a "Go to *****! And take Shruti along with you!" shattering my eardrum. The insecurity of Basanti. Sigh.

2."Wo kurti bhi pack kar deejiye and wo salwar bhi"


So it is second anniversary of the day me and Basanti first had sms each other and she expects a gift. It's not just a gift, but a sweet 'nishani' which carries the perfumed memories of that lovely day, she says. So I go over to the Palm Beach gallery and searched everything in girls compartment, while in my single days, I would have spent the same time watching CNBC. After a couple of hours, I finally buy a pink kurti which costs me more than the price from which I can come back from goa. All the gifts a Basanti demands/requests/expects.Sigh.


3. Sniff. Sniff.


A fine lazy Sunday afternoon. I lie on the couch flipping between ESPN and HBO. The phone rings.


Me: "hello?"

Basanti: "Sniff. Sniff."

Me: "Abbe kaun hai? agle saal bolega kya ?".

Basanti: "Sniff. It's me, calling from my colleague’s mobile, Basanti. Sniff.".

Me: "Oh ok. You have a cold?"

Basanti: "I am....crying. sob sob..”

Me: "Oh. It sounded just like a running nose though. And I saw Kambakt Ishq yesterday. The movie was so much terrible that even the chairs wanted to leave the hall."

Basanti: "You will never understand...sniff...sniff..."


The emotional intelligence and "understanding" a Basanti needs from me. Sigh.


4. "Mouth close karke kha!”


Me and Basanti are digging into a Grill Sandwich at the corner. While trying to balance a sandwich slice on its journey from the tray to my mouth, a particularly big onion piece slides off its surface and lands on the table with a plop.


Basanti: "Chee. Theek se kha na. Table manners!”


I scoop up the onion piece from the table with my finger put it in my mouth and say cheerfully:


“Table manners gaye bihar, sandwich khane de yaar"


Basanti: "Sheesh. You are disgusting".


While in my single days I could have asked for extra sauce and chatani to make the overall cost of the sandwich little bit lower and chew as noisily as a tractor engine, now I need to take care I don't embarrass the great manners ki dukaan, Basanti. The silly changes a Basanti demands from me. Sigh.


5. “Five missed calls and seventeen mails”


Sorry for the abrupt speed breaker, but chal wapas real world mein aa jata hoon. Actually I am in office but so much scared with the thoughts of Basanti that I couldn’t recognize call and mails. Hiaaalllaaaa…….three miss calls are from my manager……F***



About Basanti, I have around 197 more points I can write against her. But still, saara zamaana, girlfriend’s ka deewana, so there must be something good about Basanti. Just that I don't see it.

C.R.A.P. - Command Reduction of Army Personnel

As a result of Defense budget cutbacks here in India, we are forced to reduce the size of the defense forces. Under CRAP, older soldiers will go on early retirement, thus permitting the retention of lower paid soldiers who represent the Army's future.

A program to phase out older soldiers via retirement by the end of the current fiscal year will be placed in effect. The program will be known as Retire Active Personnel Early (RAPE).

Soldiers who are RAPEd will be given the opportunity to seek civilian employment within the Ministry of Defense. To that end, RAPEd soldiers will be required to fill out numerous Defense Enlistment Association Forms (DEAF, currently in the development, test, and evaluation stage) detailing their education and experience. This phase does not guarantee retired soldiers a civil service position; it does, however, guarantee that the soldier's unique capabilities will be considered before being bypassed in the hiring process. This phase of CRAP is known as Survey of Capabilities of Retired Warriors (SCREW).

Soldiers who have been RAPEd and SCREWed may request review of their situation by higher authority. This is the Study by Higher Authority Following Termination (SHAFT) phase.

CRAP policy dictates that a soldier may be RAPEd once, SCREWed twice, but may be SHAFTed as many times as the Army leadership deems appropriate.

If a soldier follows the above procedures, he or she will be entitled to get Half Earnings for Retired Personnel Early Severance (HERPES). As HERPES is considered a benefit payment, any soldier who gets HERPES will no longer be RAPEd or SCREWed by the Army.

The Army leadership wishes to assure younger soldiers who remain on active duty that the Army will continue its policy of ensuring that soldiers are well trained through our Special High Intensity Training (SHIT) program. The Army takes pride in the amount of SH*T our soldiers receive and can boast that it gives its soldiers more SH*T than any other service.

If a soldier feels he or she does not get enough SHIT, see your commander. Your commander is especially trained to make sure you receive all the SHIT you can stand.



*** I do not intend to make mirth of Indian Armed Forces. This piece is not intended to portray any sort of disrespect to nation's defense forces valor and reputation. I hope you enjoy this article as a humorous piece.

You know you are from Delhi when...

When...

1. You have faced power-cuts up to 10hours a day!
And yet, its no big deal for you.

2. Even though the hottest party spot/pub in town says "Admit Over 18, Drinks over 25" You have been inside and have enjoyed a beer, being underage.

3. Living in the most posh colonies, you get to hear, "Aloo, Bhindi Pyaaz, Tamatar le loo"... And you hear women asking the vegetable vendor "Bhaiyaa aapne free dhaniya nehi diya!" [Even with Half a kilo Carrot]

4. You have Driven rash and Broken Signals more times than you can count. Doesnt matter whether you have a license or not. :P

5. Every teenager knows atleast one "ghunda" on whose name he can jump around all day.

6. You have seen your relative or family member bribing a policeman at-least once.

7. You have been to Big Chill at-least once.

8. When a car accident occurs, instead of solving the problem quietly, either one of the drivers would start with.. "B******, meri gadi maar di, ab tu ruk, mein teri marta hoon" or something kinda.

9. In the 90's you have been to India Gate and around 2000-2002 you have been to Ansal Plaza more times than you can count.!

10. Mocha,CCD,Barista,Hookah,24x7 are like your favorite hangouts.

11. You just love socializing.

12. You speak or hear the word "setting" or "jugad" at-least once a day.

13. When you stare at a school bus, you see students talking of the phone, care free OR Chilling out listening songs on the Ipod. :P

14. A meter working in a Auto - Miracle! And hear statements like..
# Gas nahi hai
# Gaadi waapis dene ka time ho gaya
# Wahan se waapis ki sawaari nahi milti
# Wahan jaam (traffic jam) mein kaun fasega

15. All guys have at-least been to Pallika bazar and they all know why. Well, even the girls are starting now.

16. This is the place when you actually feel like slapping the same traffic policeman who caught you yesterday... Because today he's on his bike without a helmet or talking on the phone...

17. Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Lotus Temple are just for tourist. You havnt been to more than two of these.

18. You are bored of looking at the LONG queues at the CNG stations! And yeah. It add's up to the traffic.

19. You have an example of Delhi being unsafe for women after Midnight. And now even for men.

20. You wont be surprised if you find some old lady bargaining at a SALE.

21. Young or Old, You have played street football in the rains and have ended up breaking some glass. :P

22. You first abused real bad when you were around 10 years old.

23. Your Dad's really good friends with at least one Public Figure.

24. Library is virtually non-existent unless you go to British council or American Library or Max Mueller Bhavan

25. Deepavali means every house is illuminated to such an extent that you wonder if its a competition of illlumination and cracker bursting is so continuous that it is diffiult to imagine one moment of silence on Diwali.

26. You have had the most RANDOM plans. Like reaching for a movie show which starts at 1pm, at 12:55pm and just hoping that gods left some tickets for you and your friends.

27. You have been warned by your parents at-least once that going at public places like Malls, isnt safe, Cuz there might just a BOMB in that place.

28. You've had a ride on the cycle rickshaw - have haggled over the price but pity the rickshaw wallas' condition.

29. You glare at people who call Gol-Guppa's- Pani Puri!
And you always ask the vendor "Bhaiya yeh Gol-Guppe Aate ki hai ya Sooji ke?"

30. If in school, Your conti got busted by cops, teachers or a combination of both.

31. You've had school cancelled due to cold, summer vacations preponed due to heat and have atleast thrice evacuated your school building after tremors.

32. You've hit 120 kmph at Nelson Mandela Marg.
And after crossing it, you might end up saying " FEEL AA GAYE". OR, You have raced up the DND and taken the U turn back.

33. You have been to a wedding in a Mehrauli farmhouse and have hit Nasha later on.

34. You have taken the 10 rupee Call Center cab/ Qualis from anywhere to Gurgaon/Noida.

35. You have seen a child with crutches begging on the Red Light RUN fast when the light turns green!

36. Almost every Delhi-ite understands Punjabi to an extent. May he belong to any region. PUNJABI unites everyone :P


37. You call the waiter in the restaurant "boss" & tack on "yaar"/ "bhai" to almost every sentence.

38. Rajender Da Dhaba's got better chicken than Taj. :P You've atleast tried it once! And you just might see a BMW, a Porsche OR a Peugeot parked outside it!

39. You have surely heard of "Chor Bazar" but never been there.

40. You use the word and have described practically every other person on the planet as "Vella".

41. 'KAROBAR' = 'Car-O-Bar' i.e. drinking in the car....Hell yeah! thats what we live for! :P

42. You often see Middle Aged Aunties wearing Gucci shades and holding LV bags having Gol-Gappas in GK (Near Prince Pan) or Bhelpuri in South Ex along with Diet Coke !

43. Miranda house and CJM are two places where u'll see people from different school/colleges hang out.

44. In the 90s, movie at Chankaya, momos at Yashwant Place and Hot Choc Fudge at Nirula's = ULTIMATE Fun.

45. School students here, have gone to school, soo early in the morning, it being Dark!..REAL Dark And you've attended those 3am GROUP tuition's during your boards!
Haha.. Spookky! Lol.

46. Almost every Delhite has witnessed a DTC bus brawl turning into street fight.. Yet fun! OR the DTC bus overspeeding/breaking traffic rules/ or disc breaking.

47. You have probably been to Gurudwara Bangla Sahib @ 4 in the morning. Or even at 6 'cuz you were out on a day-bunk!

48. When everyone from the Auto Driver, Vegetable Vendor, Grocery Store guy, Watch-man, Salesperson to just any 'guy' is referred to here as 'Bhaiya'

49. You refer to East Delhi as Jamuna ke Us Paar.

50. You refer to AIIMS as Medical.

51. You dont buy tickets for a music concert or cricket match, but try to take the help of your friend's Dad, who happens to be the PA to the under secretary of the deputy secretary of the chief secretary of the Minister of State for Khadi.

52. You overtake everyone from the wrong side and stare into his/her eyes while doing so.

53. You call Gurgaon & NOIDA as illegitimate cousins of Delhi!

54. Most of you have at least two cars; your drivers have scooters and mobiles.

55. As soon someone tells you abut an important political development, you whip out your mobile and whisper into it as if you have access to the Prime Minister's OFFICE!

56. You know that a famhouse has nothing to do with cattle or farming.

57. You used "contacts" for everything, from getting movie tickets to restaurant bookings to playschool admissions.

58. You didn't find 'Monsoon Wedding' funny. And Laughed your ass off when you watched 'Dilli 6'

59. You've probably used the word 'Tota' to describe ANY Random-Hot-Chick that just passed by! 'Phew!

60. You have had Anda parantha outside Vikram hotel and Bun Omelet at Dhaula Kuan at least once!

61. When Aunties go to drop their kids to the Bus-Stop in a Night Gown with a Duppatta.

62. When you think EVERY South Indian comes from 'Madras'. No Offense.

63. When you have an uncle in every SARKARI department!

64. When If your side of the road has a traffic jam, then you start driving on the wrong side of the road.

65. You think If there is a queue of many people, no one will notice me sneaking into the front as long as I am looking the other way.

66. You feel, If I indicate which way I am going to turn my vehicle, it is an information security leak.

67. When the only time you went to the Chidiya Ghar (Zoo) was on a school picnic.

68. One of your favorite yummiest ice-creams was "ORANGE - BAR"

69. You have been stuck in 'Nariana' due to the traffic for over 4 hours! 'Phew!

70. When you feel lucky enough to have around 10 LOCAL FM STATIONS! Woho.!

71. When you wonder... 'Ki Delhi Mein passes chapwane ki kya zarurat hai? Yahan Sab to VVIP hai!'

72. As a college student (DU or otherwise), u've been to one of those day parties (12-5pm) at a happening disc for Rs.200.

73. You see like a million kids playing cricket together on one field on any given sunday morning .. There are wickets every 10 feet .. and u've seen at least one guy get whacked by a ball from sum other match.

74. You long for rain but the moment you're on the road you wish it would go away.

75. When you have enjoyed stuff from -"Aangan" restaurant in Karol bagh.. wahan ke chhole bhature ultimate! & 'Atul Chat Bhandar' some where around India gate.

76. When you've been on a sneak with your buddies and ended up going to Pandara Road @ 2am when you were 'effin hungry!

77. Your pet line - "Kya scene hai aaj ka?"

78. You've had Ice Creams from India gate along with family/friends in the late evening & and have tried at least ONCE - "Lovely Chuski"

79. You've seen 'cool' people drive around in a Maruti 800 (borrowed from your Dad or a friend) with Western/Pop music blaring at its loudest from the the car stereo altough you hardly understand the lyrics yourself.

80. Almost anyone exept a Delhi-ite is a "Chutiya" (sorry for the word to all my posh freinds.....).

81. DESPITE of all the goods and bads.
You still Love Delhi. =]


And you want more.