The Gang – Kabila !

The Italian have the Mafia , Indians have the Politicians and the rest does not matter . So if your grey cells feel tantalized enough to discover more about “The Gang” - read on .

A word of caution : A few things might appear derogatory , uncivilized Or unwarranted .Since its all about perception the weak hearted are suggested to take medical advice if they still feel the urge to continue.

It all started in the Summer of 1997 . The norther plains especially the region close to Rajasthan (and the state itself) is baked by the Sun God. Each year hundreds if not thousands die – courtesy : Sun stroke .

An Engineering college on the outskirts of Agra . It was here when a few guys became friends (Nothing unusual ) . These were an unpolished lot in their early twenties .

A normal college day :

X : Did you hear our senior got beaten up .

Y : Yeah I know I was there too .

Z : So what did you do .

X: I ran away !! (pretty smart)

To give you a taste of the local dialect :

A : Ka hairo hai ( What'z up buddy ? )

B : Kachu na hairo ( Nothing)

Hindi in its crudest form .

The campus and the Agra city was connected by a broken road , the distance was no more than 15 kms but the journey took approximately one and a half hours ,if I do not exaggerate . The Bus broke down often and you might well imagine the nightmare since only two buses plied the route.

The better way to travel was to use the Train . The train tracks criss-crossed the college campus and the college was famous(did I hear ill famous ?) for making the Train stop where ever and when ever they desired . So it was more of a private train and the most recommended way to travel was on the train top – after all Kings cannot share seats with the Commoners.

The college had a huge campus , a giant foot ball field , a cricket ground , a hockey , basketball, volleyball ........., gardens , orchards , a mini jungle ... It was mind blowing .

The only thing it didn't have was discipline . It was something nobody had heard about in that region for quite sometime.

In a hostile territory these guys joined hands to do something which nobody attempted before. They formed a “Gang “. !! People named it “Kabila” . It was just the beginning .

Gang's are supposed to harass , to loot , to kill, to murder and may be a few more things which I better omit . Kabila was different – it did nothing of this sort and this is what made it a formidable force to reckon with and which people took pride in joining .

The only thing it did was : If you feel its wrong – stand up and say “This is Wrong” and we're not going to take it lying down. !! That was the underlying philosophy .

The Gang had no leaders . The members staunchly protected their freedom and did what they felt was right .

The bonds between the members grew with time and so did their enemies .

Gang wars !!

We had quite a few of them and one which rocked the campus . It split the batch but it was necessary . Corrupt practices had to be brought to an end . This needed determination and the heart to fight it out .

Kabila did it – and it made sure it stood by what it felt was the right : The Gang couldn't take things lying down after all !!

If you're wondering who these guys were – I'm not disclosing . Two of them are scientists , one in the US and the other in Mumbai . One is Managing the whole of Western India Sales for a company at an age which might surprise you .

The rest are Engineers , some are coding, some are testing and some are just enjoying . - in short they are keeping the Kabila spirit alive (you don't trouble me - I don't trouble you)!!

The Gang lives on and so I just cannot write it off now. One day your morning newspaper might read : Kabila strikes back !!

AND LIFE MOVES ON !!

Life moves on , it moves on even if New York is bombed(the Yankees can excuse me) , it moves on when Gandhi is assassinated and it will continue moving the way it has been .

This is best when experienced in person.

It's a bright , fresh , new day . All days are like that ? Quite debatable – I know . If you are the intellectual type you might say - “ Well Aseem , it depends .... “

I power-up the laptop and even before I can log into the ubiquitous Microsoft Windows XP system I hear from a colleague that one of our Team members has passed away.

A 26 year old – and suicide !!. This guy was doing “great” -this is what his Manager says . Rumors afloat and they spread like wild fire(I've not seen a wild fire but I'm imagining ) . Was it for love ? Stress ?or may be a murder ?

“You know I just met him the other day – he was so happy .”. “ Oh dear I was sipping coffee with him just a while ago “..... People have different ways to sympathize .

Certainly not a perfect start for the day and I'm finding hard how to react and what expressions should float on my face are not governed by me – they come – from where – I am not sure .

The Manager declares : We're not working . But then we Indians never care , we still work . I can find many smiling and cracking jokes and that too very next to the cubicle where this guy used to work .

Life moves on for Indians at a much faster pace for sure.

An email pops up - “We've done fabulous in this quarter and each employee deserves an award “ . And before I could finish reading the email I see the gifts arriving . This is fast , very fast indeed.

Engineers are not supposed to move . We get everything right where we sit ,after all we have to conserve energy for more useful chores.

Faces lit up , the whole work place is buzzing with excitement .

“ What's this ? “ , “Hey did you get the same stuff” , “ John why are you never happy with anything you are given ? “ , “ Can I have one more please “ .......

Somewhere in these gifts our colleague (we lost – hope you remember ) is lost for ever . And life moves on !!

I will do it tomorrow !!

Lets face this – we've all done it and any human who does not say/follow the above is God . (Words of Wisdom !)

I'll study tomorrow -( I wish this worked ) Or I'll play tomorrow (this fails miserably) are the two – I'll do it tomorrow types . The rest of these type are not suitable to be included in this scribbling adventure.

The first type is for kids/people who do not like books , who wanna run away and play around the whole day and come home only to watch TV or have food. Are you of this type ? I am – so sit back and listen.

Kids who fall in this category are lucky . They end up discovering more , lead a healthy lifestyle and excuse me if I say they rock !! .This might be debatable but time and again I find people who have excelled in life and fortunately are the ones who have been of this type.

The “ I'll Play tomorrow “types are people who are “scholar's” . They like books , they “have to” come first in class . “Have to” and “ want to” has a subtle difference. Are you able to figure out ? Did I hear - NO !! You are not this types anyway so why worry !

Kids of these type are the ones an average middle class Indian parent craves for ( not sure what happens around the globe ) My kid comes – first , he is into the I.I.T's and then an M.B.A from I.I.M's and then he settles in the USA . Perfect , flawless life .

If you are of a particular type then trying something from the other basket is quite a challenge.

Imagine I was the “ I'll play tomorrow “ type . I came first( you'r fine if you stand third in class as well , but after that .......) , I got into an Engineering college , I excelled , I got a job , I start working , I go to office at 9 , I come back at 9 , I work and work and the money in my account increase( do not worry even if it is not increasing , its only your neighbour who must feel it does increase – nothing else is important)

When do I do sketching , painting , singing , some cricket , may be football – the weekend is marked for all this . The weekends never come . Do they come for you ?

If you've started feeling – “sounds interesting but I am different ? How can I be like this “May be you are Or may be not !! Think about it ---- “ Tomorrow !'.

Blank

No title comes to my mind and my grey cells refuse to oblige . So I name it “Blank “ .

Each day I get up (of course how long would one sleep , how stupid ) , breakfast , iron my shirt (yeah I'm happy doing all this) , a brisk Yoga indulgence to make me feel I'm doing something good , cleaning my truck (would u like to join ?) , gazing at the morning sky and wanting to fly , and then I suddenly find myself in office .

Cubicles , stressful environment ( you might not agree since you are working in a 'good' company) , a 100 reviews , some useless meetings .

Lunch Break .

I eat at 12:30 you might want to eat at 2 pm , that's more human . So I end up eating alone . Who in India eats his/her lunch at 12 :30 ?

Time to work . There comes an email . Mr John got promoted and then the whole office bombards Mr John with their wishes . Please 'cc' these emails to the whole team inspite of the fact that the email is meant for only Mr John so that we all can share the joy.

Mr. John : I knew you would do it , you were so brilliant from day one . Mr John you are a hero , Mr John when/where is the party , treat , food ............

Mr John is happy and I have no reason to believe that the whole office is much more happy . What are you thinking ?

The in the evening Mr Tom quits . Somebody was murmuring Mr Tom wanted a promotion badly !!

Its almost 5 pm and time for some coffee . What if you don't drink but still you can join the team . Try talking on J2EE even if you don't know a damn . Or how about some emerging trends , software practices Or about the ipods your friend's company gifted to all their employees.

Don't get me wrong . In between this crowd lie a few(very few) who work and enjoy Or may be just work and do not enjoy that much !! So we have some real performers.

Its six . Time to leave but then leaving at six means you are not putting much effort . You might wan't to check some emails . And then at 7 the Manager says : Guys lets have a brisk meeting . Meeting goes on and on and in the end its 9 .

A day has come to an end and I am Blank !!! And I mean it .

The Monster

The story goes like this. Once upon a time there lived in the northern plains of India a small boy who dreamt about bikes and jeep's.( For the ill informed Jeep is a name of a company. )

The child was growing up . He asked his Dad “ can I get a Bike”. His Dad said - “Sure ! Why not , you been a darling and you deserve the best “. The next day I got a cycle !! . (Bike is a kind of cycle but is powered by fuel rather than the rider's muscle)

At 16 the child got back to his Dad and asked him “ All my friends drive a car , can I have one too! “ . I am surely not pasting his replies even if you are deeply interested.

All said and done I'm now planning to upgrade my Petrol Zen to a Diesel Monster. It is a 115 bhp giant always hungry for fuel but I've driven it and I feel its worth the tantrum it throws.

The company calls it Tata Safari Dicor .

I should be taming this beast in a month from now if things fall in place.

There is nothing much to scribble now unless the creature performs. But you all can surely wish me luck :)

If you have time ....

If you have time is about 'time ' and time as we all know is the way we look at 'time ' Some have it in plenty and some are struggling for a few hours of sleep.

A friends marriage and I am supposed to attend it and then 'time' strikes again. If I go my work will suffer , my Boss will be angry , I'll spend money and ....

At times I don't think about 'time' and I did not take much time before I found myself in front of an Airlines Booking office. Tickets done and I flew . Travel takes less time now since we have some “budget” airlines .

Its an experience to travel in one of the low cost airlines. The general look on the face of the Passengers is like : “ You ? How can you travel with me ? This is supposed to be plane and not a Lalu's Train !!”

Met some real interesting characters on board. A Lady with a kid next to my seat and I've been tormented each time I travel, by kids. The first thing which struck me was “ Not again !!”

The plane landed without any major crashes and the warm winds of Norther Plains greeted me . They always drive me nostalgic and I always prefer to keep the AC off and windows open each time I land in my home town for reasons I just explained .

Had to drive to Chandigarh to see my Grandmother who was critically ill . The joy of riding at 4am in the morning and that too at a top speed of 130kms/hr did not stand long when I discovered that Granny needed me more than my Company.

A typical situation . A friend's marriage the same day and a Granny who needed attention. With a sense of guilt and a lie that I had to attend an interview (I know this sucks , I could not think of anything better ) I drove to Saharanpur .It was difficult riding , the thought that what if Granny dies and the last thing I whispered in her ears was a 'lie' just made me quite uncomfortable .

Relatives and Dad assured me that they're taking good care and with the hope that 'good times' would return again I fired the car engines.

I was able to make it for the wedding. Vivek looked dashing as ever and with the wedding gear on his head all eyes were set on him . After all it was his day. For the less informed Vivek has been a friend , an old friend indeed .

The marriage was neat .No dancing in front of the horse and the groom had a tough time convincing his parents that he is better off the horse than on it. A commendable step and kudos to him.

As all Hindu marriages start late and end early morning this too was not an exception . I like chanting the Vedic hymns and I made it a point that I'll not miss the 'pheras' (Merry-go-round the holy flame)

Early morning and it was time to bid adieu but the hosts did not make us feel left out and who else but my friend was with the Guests trying to arrange for beds and tea.

It was 'time' again. Time to bid farewell and drive back home .

And I drove .

With 48 hours of no sleep I started believing that “I am human too” . I missed hitting a truck and a few others which I do not remember . Probably my 'time' had not come and I survived .

Granny is recovering well .

Good Times are surely to return !!

Competition

When I was a kid I dreamt of days when I would be able to buy a Nike shoe without running around my parents , without proving myself to be the best , without any competition.

After fifteen years I stand and look back and I feel times have not changed.

My parents are still there but their position has been occupied by some managers , a company , some peers . I have to continuously prove myself , outperform , be the best and then I can earn my bread.

Men compete in life for money , for cars , for girls(gays can excuse me) , for anything and everything.

Read an article as to why competition is good and after hearing some Delhi Public School kids fighting over the advantages of “healthy “ competition I am convinced that there is no bigger an evil than this.

I've seen good friends falling apart , couples drifting away for a small reason as “my spouse earns more “ , engineers loosing sleep , parents loosing control ,dogs running away and cats jumping in the well .....

Take this : there is nothing as : “healthy competition “. Competition can never be healthy , if its healthy then we would not compete in the first place , we would all share . For example if there is a football match then both teams would play , join hands in the end and say “ we had a good game and both of us emerge victorious “. What ? Who'z gonna come and watch such a match ?

People enjoy watching competition . WWF has been a major success . What is shown is all fake but what appears to the eye is men (and now women too) competing hard to prove their supremacy .

At times I wonder why was this planet created. Its fine if it got anyway but when humans and animals joined competition started . Food , sex ,land .... and you name it and we'll compete for it .

When humans got tired from the same monotonous competition , we started playing football and cricket and believe me every year many die fighting for their heroes .

Competition gives rise to perfection , with perfection we'll have a better planet , better this and better that and .....everything would be better !! You better believe it .

What would happen if you have more cars , better cars , beautiful cars ,isn't it all about perception . Somebody who like choppers (count me in ) would never appreciate a Ferrari anyway.

Many in my land dream to migrate to greener pastures , easy food , easy money and “less competition “ . Hmm this is interesting now – Competing hard for less competition in the end !!

I dream of days when kids would buy a Nike shoe without proving themselves , where girlfriends won't crib if you have a small car , where you won't have to out perform , where you can play and loose and still feel a winner , where ..

My Manager is here and guess what is he asking ?

“Mr Rawat , time for your performance review !! “

Cycle Till Death

Cycle till Death ( I've taken this title after inspiration from Abhinay)

The title says it all. Sound's like “ Death by Chocolate “ :) , no ?

Cycling is good ? Not sure ? Then keep reading . On one Sunday morning a “bunch” of guys and a girl went on a cycling trip with their Manager .

After an hour of bumpy ride we made it to Savandurga . Everybody grabbed a cycle and after some test runs it seemed that it should be easy . Curious Villagers and more importantly the Sun God came out to greet us.

So far so good .

As the Sun climbed it made cycling ......... But there is no short cut to enjoyment , one must cycle :) . I can hear some grumbling noises !! You all agree ?

“ Go back !! “ , “ Who'z idea was that ? “ and when one starts hearing all this its better to cycle fast and be ahead . Makes sense right ? .

Savandurga is famous not for cycling but for rock climbing and a water reservoir . A so called cycling trail exists around the reservoir but this road is shared by goats , cows , buses , tractors and humans .

The Karnataka Government has made sure that you feel that all roads in the state are same . Nobody should feel bad .

The cycling tour is organized by BSA cycles , they promise a lot of stuff but you'll surely get a guide and a cycle along with a 200 ml water bottle.

Cycle , stop , smile , look at the sun , look down , take some snaps , gulp some water , start again. This is the story in short.

Slowly and steadily we all made it . The stretch around the lake was the best and I'm sure many would agree :) At least once we all need to agree ?

A little rest and back into the Taxi . The Taxi hopped and jumped and roared and brought us back to Bangalore .

Food is life and that too after cycling its important and if your Manager invites you – never say “no “ !!

Guys how does “ River Rafting till Death “ sound ? :)

YOU

You are born , you are named , the world starts calling you with that name ( I must wish you Happy Birthday !), you start growing , parents pamper you , you'r expected to come first , may be second if your parents are kind enough , if you fail you'r doomed , you are a good boy , you stay at home you get good marks , you compete and clear an entrance exam you meet girls , but thats not what you'r supposed to do in College , study and come first , get a job and then life begins !!

You boast around for a six digit salary job (excuse me if its seven).Your parents are on cloud nine , your Dad is happy , you have bought fame and glory to your family (May God bless you !!).You feel your hard work is over and now life is fun.

The third day you are given an assignment . Manager says you need to perform for bonus , you slog even on weekends .(Ha ha I am laughing, I know its bad )

Sex is on your mind but just then your parents call up and your marriage is fixed , you get married . Now its time to get happy.

Happiness is short lived since your peer has got promoted and he owns a car now. You have to work and work and on a Sunday you discover you have many Grey hair and your wife informs you that you are getting bald as well.

Kids come and now you are expected to be a good father.

You get promoted and not at 35 you appear in 50's. You have a penthouse and you hear that all Managers are supposed to play Golf.

Golf is a good game , you search for holes .(Its difficult to find many) Somebody would carry your luggage , you just move your stick , lucky if you get it the first time otherwise keep trying !!

You feel you have added a lot of value to your family , your bank balance and more importantly to the society and you should be awarded . You dont receive an Award(How sad ).

You are 60 now and you have no hair(you did nothing when you had some ,so relax) .

You die one day and all your property ??

You lived your life dear !!