Brave New World.....

Lets talk my friend
Of life's two ends
of the innocent beginning
and how it descends

We all start the same
n we have no fear no shame
Calling for the same thing
by different weird names

Slowly and steadily we learn to speak
crawl on four and then run on two feet
But even in all this
our heart knows no cheats

Gone is the childhood, its time for romance
a flake of rebellion and a bit of sense
grown up or a kid you are confused
for that is what is called adolescence

From school to college is life's next stage
Here's the time to learn some sage
You're all by yourself and now u begin
Crafting a new story on life's new page

Welcome to adulthood, you're no more a teen
Learn to swindle, you learn to be mean
Just for once and never again
its only with yourself that your mind feigns

As unforeseen reigns fate beings to cast
And the straight spiral unfolds so fast
Not your rules now, and you can't decide
The treachery burns out here while honesty lasts

It came from behind, while you were talking
The steam has run out, its old age knocking
Nowhere to go and nowhere to run
The future is bleak, the past is mocking

Whispers of end and scrambles of demise
Waiting for a new day, the sun fails to rise
Its just the beginning, of a Brave New World
There is no pain now, no more disguise!!

Trekking/Camping Gears in bangalore

This is just an info for people who want to go for trekking etc., and are on lookout for trekking/camping gears in banglore. Here are some of the places which you can try:

[1] Bangalore Mountaneering Club, Indiranagar
Phone -- 9740091262, 08025271045

[2] Le Wild Adventures, Lavelle Road (near City Market)
Phone -- 9845333950, 08041148539
Guy's name is Chetan, and the tents cost arnd Rs300 per day, while sleeping bags have per day rent of around Rs 50. They do ask for a security in advance, and are closed on Mondays. You can also contact them for buying the stuff.

[3] WildCraft India, Jayanagar 3rd block
Phone -- 09844166986, 08022455608

[4] Ozone Outdoor Zone, Kumara Park West
Phone -- 9886034911, 08023561871

[5] Draco Adventure, Residency Road
Phone -- 9844075611, 08025583324

[6] Get Off Ur Ass Outdoor Adventure Store, Indiranagar
Phone -- 9845442224, 08026722750
Guy's name is Gautam, and the tents/sleeping bags cost same as above (for Le Wild). But this guy takes security only in cash !!

I got all the above information from JustDial. So, for any updates, I would suggest calling up JustDial (080-23333333).

Paparazzi -- Restaurant Review

After reading some excellent review for this restaurant, I decided to pick this place for my friend's treat. The restaurant is on the 10th floor of "The Central Park"(near MG road)
http://bangalore.burrp.com/listing/view/137195722_paparazzi

We had already made and advanced booking, and we reached the restaurant at around 8:30 pm. From our tables, we had a splendid view of the city. The sophisticated ambiance adds to the effect, and the first impression was pretty good. The place seemed perfect for couples, and infact there were few seated in the dim lit corner areas... :)

We ordered paneer and mushroom starters for veg, and some chicken starters for the non-veg. We also ordered a couple of beers along with the food. The starters were really good with just right mix of spices. The staff was very courteous and presentation was elegant. So far so good !!

For the main course we decided to try out food options other than indian. For the vegetarians we ordered a couple of italian dishes, and for the non-vegetarian sizzlers. But here we were quite disappointed. As lot of people had come in by now, so the service also became a little sloppy, and we had to wait for good amount of time for the food to come. When it came, it was quite disappointing in the quantity and taste. For myself I have never had a pasta with Walnuts, and my non-veg friends were unable to finish off their sizzlers. Having tasted the starters, we all felt that we should have stuck to Indian menu for the main course as well !!

Anyways, we went over to deserts, and to compensate for food, the deserts turned out to be good, particularly the gajar ka halwa and gulabjamun sundae.

It was time for the bill. I had read the reviews, and most of them mentioned it to be around 700 per head, but since we had quite a lavish dinner......so I did expect some offshoot. But even then, when the bill came, it was shockingly high. With drinks (around 7-8 bottles of beer) it cost us around 7500 for 6 people.

Overall, I would prefer Ebony (thirteenth floor MG road) over Paparazzi any day. The food is too expensive to be worth the spend. And if you plan to go, definitely avoid drinks unless u are sponsered ;)

Merry Xmas

For past couple of months, some of us from Magma CSR (corporate social responsibility) team have been making a weekly trip (every Friday) to the HAL Aanganwadi. For those who don't know, it is an Akshara (a non-profit organization) supported attempt to provide education to small kids. The kids are mostly in the age group of 2-6 years. Almost all of them belong to poor families, and who but for this commendable effort of Akshara may have been toddling around their homes painting their futures in some dull colorless way.

Dec 20, 2007

It is a small room close to HAL in a clumsy housing community, which you would never notice otherwise. But open the door and you are greeted with a loud cheer and applause from the bunch of kids. Though less in number today (because we reached a little late), the excitement in them is the same as ever. This was not our first visit, but it was different, because it was going to be Christmas celebrations today. On the way to the Aanganwadi, we had managed to blow some balloons for the kids, and it had been more than worth the effort. Within minutes, we were playing with the kids and the whole room was full of balloons.

The celebrations went on for sometime (and they would have gone on forever had we not made them sit down), after which we distributed the cake and juice we had brought for the kids. Just to mention, the way Magma has been trying to contribute for this Aanganwadi is by adhering to a nutrition program, in which we try to make sure that the kids get good food at least once a week. On our weekly visits we usually take some fruits for the kids, but for Christmas we had changed the menu.

After having done with the lunch, we distributed some jackets we had brought for the kids. With the winters in bangalore, we had decided that this would perhaps be the best gift for the kids. Special thanks to Aashika, Kartikay and Gowda Sir (the guard) for going all the way till Majestic to get the stuff. The kids merrily wore the jackets, and hopped around in the colorful blues, greens and reds, showing them off to us time and again.

It was more than two hours since we had come, but the time had flied past just like that. It was time now for us to return back, and it was again the same chorus of "byes" and "Merry Christmas" from the kids waving their hands that greeted us on our way out. Perhaps none of us or the kids were a Christian, but for those two hours, I am sure we all felt close to Jesus or God or whoever we have faith in.

kapil k ....

Its been almost a year now since I switched my job and joined Magma. As a part of the joining procedure, I had to be assigned a unique identity.

This is what I got:
Cube no: 169
Employee id: #$@ (dont remember)
email id: kapilk@magma....

Cube no, employee id etc do not pose any problems and one can be assigned the first from the "FOR NEW EMPLOYEES" list, but it seems figuring out the right email id is an uphill task. The person needs to be uniquely distinguishable from any other kapil or kaushik (in past/present/future) in the organization. So although I would have preferred to have a simpler email id like kapil@magma (as far as i know I am the only one), or kkaushik@magma (this is the way gentlemen -- i hope i qualify for that -- are usually referred to), this is the identity I became. Okay...no probs !!!

Now, it so happened that the housekeeping staff while putting my identity on the cube put the email id rather than my name. And now my cube reads:

169 KAPIL K

One fine day a friend of mine comes and says........"oye kapil k kya??" I could not figure it out the first time, and only when he pointed to the name plate that I got what he intended to say. It was interesting thing to notice, and I was a bit surprised that I hadn't noticed it till then. I did not mind, but just cautioned him to pronounce it correctly (i.e. Kapil ke and not Kapil ka :p). Since then this name has caught up decently with few of my colleagues who wish to avoid calling me KK for a possible name conflict with another KK already in the office. Most still call me Kapil :)

This is not the first time I have tried to write a blog, but in quest of writing a fundoo blog, I have never managed to bring it to the publishing stage. But I guess the only way to get to being fundoo is to start from wherever you are and then strive for the goal. This blog is just a mirror of some subtle thoughts which cross our minds too often that they get lost in worldly wide web of thoughts and we fail to notice them. "kapil k ......" just got noticed :).