Tuesday, October 30, 2012

A short break – I loved it!!!


Yesterday after nine days, I came back to Pune.  In the morning when I opened my desktop I felt awkward. During these nine days, I didn’t even touch my laptop and said bye-bye to social networking sites/ blogging.

Feeling invigorated now ;) ;) I have celebrated Dusherra and Durgapooja at home after a period of three years and it was an amazing experience for me. October and November are the best months to visit Lucknow city because of good climate and festivity spread all around. The people of Lucknow are very soft spoken, courteous and treat guests like Gods.

The culture of Lucknow is still very much alive and trip to this city will remain incomplete if you don’t head out to Hazaratganj for an evening stroll. It is the heart of the city and is famous for street food, shopping complexes, coffee house. The best thing I liked about my city was the empty roads.  The traffic jam problem  is very common in Delhi, Pune and Hyderabad.

I have spent my entire time in shopping, exploring Durga Pooja pandals, eating and also tried to give a new look to the living area of our home. My aim of starting a career in the interior decoration is reaffirmed during these vacations. But I don’t know when I will get courage to leave my well paid job ;) ;)

Celebrating festivals at home really matters a lot. I simply love family get together which occur during festivals. The excitement of festivals gets doubled if the family is large :) :)

Looking forward for other planned holidays in December….

New look of living area...

Durga Puja Pandal

Durga Puja Pandal

Navratri Celebrations...

Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati

Lord Ganesha....

Friday, October 19, 2012

Hyderabad vs. Pune Life....


Today I again packed my bag as tomorrow morning; I am going home after seven months. I am very much excited about this trip.  There is a halt of six hours at Delhi airport. So I am planning to meet my college friends too. But not sure as nothing has been fixed yet!!!

Friends are really indispensable part of life. You always feel comfortable in the company of your close friends as with them, you don’t have to pretend that you are a perfect being. They accept you the way you are….

Life in Pune is completely different from Hyderabad. It became more time driven.  During weekdays, my day started at 6 a.m. and daily at 7.30 a.m. I find myself standing at the bus stop waiting for the office bus. Due to the traffic problem, I prefer to commute through office transportation. While in Hyderabad, I followed self-defined office timings 

In Pune, I am not finding my professional life as well as in Hyderabad because I am working as a remote resource and all communication with my team members are through mails and phone only. Sometimes I really miss the team outing and parties. 

Life in Pune is fast compared to Hyderabad. It is same as in Delhi. Everyone seems to be in a hurry. Hurry of reaching destination fast!!!

At 7.30 pm when I again come back to home, then I realize the real difference between my Hyderabad vs. Pune life. All my tiredness went on air by seeing the smiling face of little champ. In the evening, I enjoy playing with him.   
   
Living with family really matters a lot. At the end of the day, I love to discuss my experiences with my sister. I know sometimes I irritate her lot...

After almost one month of my stay in Pune I can say that I have taken a right decision...

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Trip to Kaas valley-Ganpatipule-Guhagar

Before coming to Pune, I always believe that in India, Himalayas is the only region which is blessed with natural beauty. But after exploring a few places in Maharashtra, I can say that this state is a natural tranquil for all nature lovers.
Last weekend I visited three places, namely Kaas valley, Ganpatipule and Guhagar and it was an amazing experience for me!!!
Kaas valley is famous for flowers. The valley is huge and covered entirely with different varieties of flowers while Ganapatipule and Guhagar are famous for mountains, beaches, temples and lush green scenery during monsoon season.

Some of the pictures of this trip are: 









                                                                                  


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Arrange Marriage: Isn't it???


Yesterday my mood was terribly off because of the pressure created by my family regarding my marriage. From the past few months I am avoiding such discussions but now it’s become impossible to avoid it. To divert my mind in some other stuff, I opened my sis laptop and there I saw one document named bio data. When I opened it, it was my bio data for marriage proposal. In that bio data all my good points like academic record, job, etc. were highlighted. It reminded me of a marketing collateral which I prepared last week for our newly developed software so that customers can buy it!!!

Arrange marriage is like that only. Isn’t it???? In fact the entire process is strange where people are going to judge you on the basis of your bio data, photograph, and your outer beauty. 

ARRANGE MARRIAGE:  PROCESS FLOW

A SHEET OF PAPER - Ops sorry Bio data that is designed based on your date and time of birth, your family details and it would be passed to those people whom your family wants to take the chance with. This sheet also contains information about your work, complexion, height, hobbies, etc. etc….
It is more or less similar to your resume which you upload on different job portals and on the basis of which recruiters evaluates you whether you are suitable for the applied job or not!!!

Let’s come back to our marriage bio data as we are not searching a job. We are searching a person here. Based on this sheet of paper, (comparing the horoscope of both boy and girl) astrologer will tell how compatible the boy and girl will be with each other. Strange that people trust this sheet more than themselves!!!

Once the astrologer tells you that horoscope are matching, then you go ahead towards the next step which is say cheese or scrutiny of all your previous photographs.

SAY CHEESE –Since your horoscope is matching oops sorry perfectly matching and you both are made for each other types couple so the next step is exchange of photographs. Of course one should know whether his/her partner is smart/ beautiful or not before they say a “yes” or “no”. Trust me it is more or less a kind of Sales activity. In my team I am fully involved in developing sales strategy for new solutions. So from my experience I am saying that…

The best you look in the photograph the more you are in demand!! May it be photo editing or May it is natural. Your photo may be a pass to him/her or fail. If it is passed, then there you go further…..

BACKGROUND VERIFICATION - Before meeting, you may talk with your prospective partner over the phone and want to make sure that you are getting into the right family. Your parents may conduct a family background check. It is similar to the background verification check which your new company performs when you are about to join it. In fact in my current organization, BG verification is very tough When I was in Hyderabad, one of my colleagues got fired because of fake experience letter.

But if you belong to a big family with rich dad and big status or at a very good professional position then don’t bother about this small step. You already are in very HIGH DEMAND!!!

LIVE MEETING: After clearing all the above steps if you are still interested in him/her then here you go to the live meeting. In this step, you will meet with the person of your choice. (Sorry! I use the word YOUR choice. Please ignore it. Read it as the WORLD’S CHOICE for you!!!). The guy and gal get the chance to look at and talk to each other. Early days location would have been a temple, own house etc. But now we have improved to meet at CCD, malls, food courts

There’s lots of discussion regarding your personal and professional likes and dislikes will happen. Don’t get irritated or shocked if your prospective groom discuss silly questions like you have to leave your job after marriage or you cannot leave your job because he wants a working wife only or bring red roses for you or if your prospective bride asks for a separate house after marriage as she cannot adjust with your family members. So be mentally prepared. After all it is an arranged marriage!!!

Sometimes in this step you have to pretend in front of your partner that you are enjoying his/her company but in reality you are totally irritated by his/her pretensions, fake English ascent, etc. etc…

FINAL DEAL –After one or two-three meetings (if you are lucky), the final decision of being REJECTED (Sometimes the reason can be silly too like your height, weight, job, education, age, etc.) or of being SELECTED is declared to other family and date of the wedding is fixed. 

Wait a minute final deal also includes the dowry matters too. How much would you pay (car, property, gold, etc.) to get yourself selected?

In short, you are hired! May be in between many a times you have decided that you don’t want to get married or why you have opted for an arrange marriage. Basically you are now here to start a new life filled with responsibilities and risks with an “unknown person”.

I hope you have chosen the right person. But don’t worry as in our society we believe that Marriages are made in heaven so whether it’s right or wrong, it’s GOD’s CHOICE only

For me, I am praying for a long on-site opportunity so that I can go out from India. Today my manager told me about one project in Australia but for that I have to wait till 6-7 months.

Let’s see what will happen…..