Sunday, October 23, 2005

From Harsha, with Love

"Sandeep, you guys were really good"
As someone who gets his fair share of compliments (Modesty is not really my forte, if you haven't guessed), this would not have been the most earth - shattering statement if you don't consider who gave it.
If Shah Rukh Khan had given it - Ho-hum.If Aishwarya Rai had given it - Ho-hummer
I have never really been a fan of anyone famous. And having got to know more about the media, even less. The egotistical asshole I am, I think it’s rather juvenile to take autographs from anyone famous.
But there is one man whom I am an unabashed fan of. He has such an awesome presence.
He is one of the wittiest guys I have seen.(BTW, I consider wit to be the single biggest indicator of IQ and EQ).The combination of his brilliance and humility makes him even more endearing -
His name is Harsha Bhogle.And I haven't even mentioned cricket yet

So when we went for the debate in Acumen 2005, hosted by Harsha, I wanted to tell him so many things
"Harsha, you are the best thing to have happened to Indian Cricket after Sachin"
"Harsha, you are one of the biggest reasons I am here"
"Harsha, keep inspiring"
Instead I mumbled something about marketing and advertising! Like I don't do that enough in life anyway. For the first time in my life I didn't know what to say!!!

So when he took us aside and said that he thought we did extremely well in the debate, and I asked him to write that down in the autograph, I forgave myself.

I forgive the fact, that after a rather good performance we still came only second in the debate... I forgive the possible bias the judges might have had.I forgive the fact that we might have got the wrong end of the topic.I forgive the judge who asked me to come up with an entire marketing strategy to brand Nariyal Pani in 10 seconds..and that too in a rebuttal of a debate!!!!.I forgive my dhobi who made sure I wore a ridiculosly oversized,borrowed shirt on national television.I forgive the guy who decided the host (harsha) cannot judge
Because I now have a personal autograph that says
"Sandeep, you guys were really good" Signed.Harsha Bhogle
I feel like God

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Don't f$%^k with the power of the internet

Have always believed blogging is the next big thing in the way the world will function. Here's why. This is the first time that I know of that the blogging coimmunity has realised the awesome power of networking and information spread. Pass these links on to any MBA aspirant you know and we can at least bring to light the muck that some of these B-schools bring with them. Too bad Mr.Chaudhari.....wrong move.....wrong move indeed.

http://www.desipundit.com/2005/10/08/lies-damned-lies-and-fake-blogs/#comments
http://www.youthcurry.blogspot.com/
http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/

The million dollar question is : Can a blog be considered as Libel.By making public my online diary am I making myself open to defamation lawsuits. This is a very important question and if the answer is yes, which is highly unlikely, then of course, we shall have to start a movement to change this law.
Other questions that come up
How is the identity of the blogger verified?
Can an email be a legally valid notice?(I know a lot of lawyers will be laughing but ...)
very important question

WTF???????

Friday, October 07, 2005

Goa Diary

I don’t blog in time…that’s the constant feedback I get…I take zillions of years to update something….
Guilty…
But one of the most important offshoots of being as late as this in blogging is you write only what you remember. Which in itself becomes a darn good filter for significant events. Therefore, you can be rest assured that whatever you read has stood the test of time in my already fragile memory cells, and thereby probably good enough to go public. After all, the 2577 bakras who visited this blog (though I suspect that its just 3 or 4 who visit it every day..ok.ok..ONE) need some customer satisfaction, don’t they?
What do I remember from the trip that happened more than 2 months back…
Hmmm…EVERYTHING…. EVERY SECOND OF IT…
I remember the oh-so-awesome and pristine beaches…I remember the crazy parties at Tito’s…I remember the delightfully exotic Portuguese names and addresses all over the place….I remember enjoying the tragic love saga between the Western ghats and the Arabian Sea. They keep trying to kiss each other and are so near, yet so far throughout the length and breadth of Goa (o.k. no breadth, only length..Goa is not exactly Canada)
Now one of the irritating habits you pick up as a writer in B-school is the horrendous thing called structure…So, as soon as you open a word document, your hands automatically go to format ----.> Borders and Shading ---..> Alignment…
Then it just also moves on to the bulleting and underlining and margins and tables…. its just really really sad…Curse be upon thee, B-skool, for inflicting upon me structure, discipline., formatting …and all that jazz…
Anyway, here go my b-skool fingers

The Wind

Aaahh…absolute delirium…the wind is ubiquitous in Goa.Every where you go, every place you eat, every house you visit, …every road you take…the wind is right there, sometimes caressing you, sometimes pushing you, sometimes kissing you…You can never go out without ruffling your hair, you can never eat outside without some sand getting in your food. It’s a heady feeling, the wind in your face and a 200 cc engine between your legs…

The Sound of the waves

Another constant during the trip, and in fact across Goa is the sound of the waves. Wonderfully soothing, they become so omnipresent that you start missing it once you are out goa. Like somebody just snatched away your contact lens or something.

Off-Season Goa

What is the single biggest reaction you get from people when you are back from Goa?
A half-dirty, glance suggesting your moral depravity just increased a few notches from all-knowing relatives or just a simple “You Lucky SOB”…from the boys
As if you just dated the entire crew of Baywatch….or consumed more cocaine than the whole of Britian…..or had wild sex on the beach (ok the cocaine and the sex were just cheap publicity gimmicks for more of those searches to land up in my blog. Btw, if you want to find out the maximum key word searches for your blog, go ahead…I am betting on “mallu sex”….”dirty porn”……”girl-on-girl”…ha, there I go again…muhahaha..)
OFFSEASON GOA IS JUST LIKE AN UPMARKET KERALA.
Only more beautiful and lovely.

Nomenclature

I just fell in love with the exotic Portuguese addresses. I was staying in a place called
“Lobos Bunglow, Le Campala, Miramar, Panjim”…
WOW…I mean WOW!!!!….
For a guy growing up on a staple diet of Nagars and Purams of Madras and later the Hallis of Bangalore and now the Chowks of Delhi…..
WOW!!!!
I say we all go Latino and Portuguese in all our addresso!!!

Lonely Planet Guide

Miramar: The main beach in Panjim, one of the biggest in Goa and rocks in season.
Calingute: The “happening” part of town. All the clubs and the party places are on this side of town.
Baga Beach: Right next to Tito’s…extremely cool for those long meaningless doped out discussions (as a figure of speech)
Dona Paula: Very overrated and crowded place
Palolem: Most underrated beach in Goa. It’s quite a distance from Panjim, but the imposing western ghats provide a breathtaking backdrop to the beach. Imagine riding a bike atop long-winded beautiful roads of a lush green hill for more than an hour and then voila!!…a beach lands up in front of you from nowhere.
Bambolin: Beautiful little beach on the way down south, and very quiet and private. You feel like it’s your own private beach in off-season.

An ode in dedication of HER

Most of all I remember HER…she, of the great Mallu origin..…. She, whom I get to meet hardly once a year… She kept me constant company, wrapping me in her embrace, completely encircling me all the while. …on my bike(well, not mine exactly, but these rented bikes are as good as new)…on the beaches…in the forts….She was my soul mate in Goa…my constant companion…..my babe…
The monsoon. If you can read this, thank you, ma’am…Hope to see u in full glory next yr too.