Memory Vials

My first international roommate was a  South Korean  guy when I was in Wroclaw Poland for the studies. The second semester I had two roommates - One was an  Ethiopian , the other was a Pakistani. The funny thing was that Ethiopian Christian, the  Pakistani  Muslim and I a Hindu made an interesting combination. The third semester I stayed with two  Polish  guys. Apart from this, when I was traveling, I have stayed with an  Italian , An  American , An  Australian , A  British , A  Japanese  as a roommate for a day or two. Long Answer - South Korean Yeobi was a math nerd. He was staying there already when I arrived and he subtly told me that he preferred the room clean and tidy all the time. Later when I showed him my way of keeping the room clean and tidy, he said that I needed to tone it down a bit for him to which we had a good laugh. I asked him so many questions on South and North Korea relations. In one of...

Dr. Abhijeet Sonawane is no ordinary person. He started a movement in Pune a few years ago. A movement of compassion, respect, and self-reliance for the beggars and homeless people in my hometown. When It All Started.. Around 15 years ago, an Ayurveda (alternative medicine) doctor by education, Abhijeet was helped by some homeless men when he was struggling to establish his practice in a small village near Pune. A newly married man with no family backup, his life had taken him to the cleaners. These people whom he had befriended at a local temple, provided for his family selflessly when they themselves had nothing, thus helping him maintain his dignity. Dr. Abhijeet decided that he would repay his debt when he would have enough resources. As fate had it, Dr. Abhijeet moved on to become a successful executive in an NGO and got busy in his life but always had the feeling of guilt for not fulfilling the promise he made to himself. A few years ago, he lost his job and his life went down ...

Dear All, Most of us know about the horrifying bike accident that took place near Phase 2 yesterday. It claimed the life of a young person possibly from our professional fraternity. A potential bright life.. gone. The incident is unfortunate and my thoughts are with the family of the departed soul. It is disturbing that so many accidents happen around us and we have become so habitual to the deaths, injuries, lost lives, and productive times that it doesn't bother us as much. We ourselves have observed that an alarming number of people are involved in a bike accident even in our office. It's almost like a question of not "if" but "when" it could happen to any of us. Traffic situations are getting worse and there is hardly anything to be done about it. However, let's protect ourselves and our friends by observing some rules. Refrain from speeding up beyond the limit. Roughly don't drive beyond 60KMPH. Our roads and traffic are not design...

2011 In 2011, I got a chance to visit Hampi for the first time. I went there over a weekend along with some of the colleagues and two curious Japanese guys. I fell in love with Hampi. The serene temples, unique boulders, quietly flowing Tungabhadra river and the silence in the atmosphere.. it captured my mind. I felt like I belonged. 7 years later, last week, I decided to go to Hampi again. My cousin Anupam is quite a history buff and I knew I would enjoy more with him. As it happened, Anupam asked his father - my uncle, if he wanted to join, and my uncle, in turn, asked his brother - my other uncle, and they actually agreed to come. My father decided not to join because of his prior plans. So, these two senior citizens and we two younger ones prepared ourselves to travel to Hampi on Thursday, 13th December 2018. We left Pune around 5.30 in the morning in my Uncle's Toyota Innova. The Google map showed two distinct routes. We decided to go from Kolhapur-Belgaum instead o...

I like Three Idiots . I have met so many people across the globe who have seen this movie and know India from the movie. However, I don't think the logic in this movie is pretty solid to be taken as a serious life advice. Consider this example - Throughout the movie, this guy - Suhas ( played by Sanjay Lafont) has been mocked. The reason Amir Khan's character Rancho gives to ridicule this guy is that “He chose to become an investment banker after studying engineering and MBA. So he wasted his education” The same Rancho wholeheartedly supports Madhvan's character Farhan to pursue a career in photography when he is just shy of one year from becoming an engineer. His logic - He should follow his passion. Why? If someone couldn't find his passion till he graduates and switches to become an investment banker instead of a techie that cannot be accepted as if he has to stick to his early life decision? Why he needs to be ridiculed and someone who chooses rathe...