Somethings never change !!

I woke up at 10 AM ( OK, dont be surprised, thats the time i wake up these days. ) to log into gmail to check mails ( dont be surprised again, all of us start our day with mails). Tring.. Hey.. This was my old pal from Bangalore and it had been long since we had talked. So, we were a gang and we just knew that we were going out without knowing where. This pal was always in lookout for a girl ( when i say always, i mean "always") and finally he did manage to get a gal and she is now a better friend of mine that my pal. So, ok, i was talking to her.
"Yaar, tu kaha rehti hai? Long time? Kitni companies barbaad kar di? "
( Alright, people never think that i can do something constructive. ) I was like these people know me, after all we have been together for so long. And that left me with thoughts, how did we become friends. :) Its interesting, no logics. So, common friends, we all go out and then we go out for garba in which i dont know what to do, while the hero dances like he is the only one who has to keep the event alive. And i knew this is funny and just ok to be with. :) So, ok we are friends. Then some people come in and then some more, we are a large gang by now. Every friday evening mails start pouring in to plan for the weekend. After so much planning, there was never really a plan. :D We just knew that we all were going to be together. And then some of us were in same office. We met during lunch to crib about our bosses{ "Remember, bosses are always Khoosat and ullu and i will be one soon." } We used to walk down for 1 km to meet each other during office hours. We all used to be together. So, we were a part of shopping trips. Issues discussed were, Visa, work, home, and boy frends and girl frends and not to miss opinions on some hot males and females who passed by MG road while we discussed these serious things. It was just so casual, nothing really mattered, still ething was discussed.
We were friends. I dont know how it grows, but even now the way i can talk to them i cant talk to anyone. Its like a month back satyam came down and my first thought, whatever happened to Ritz and Trip, they just went to US and they were equally concerned that economy is down, whatever happened to Gary. It does not matter how long its been, whereever we are, we are just a part of each others life. Things have changed a lot now. Its not one of those arbit sundays when we used to meet on MG road not knowing what to do, still we all can so predict what are we upto. Like my frend called and said without even hearing my voice, "Good Morning sleeping beauty, subah ke 10 baj gae, its time to look at all the meetings that you have missed because your alarm never had a bettery and it never rings." :D.. he is so right. My alarm does not have a battery because it keeps ringing and no one snoozes it. And yes it was 10 and i was still sleeping. Somethings never change. :)

Fine Dining , Part-3, Chutneys

Chutneys is the place to go in Hyderabad. The city is known for its spicy compliments and Chutneys does justice to its image by providing with a large variety of the same with any south indian order. If some one wants to try south indian food or for that matter wants to stick to something light, this is the place to go. It was lazy saturday afternoon with nothing much to do, so me, T, E and G decided to head for chutneys. And as usual wherever you go, whatever you do, there will be 10 ISBians eating. (Yes, i met my classmates and i so totally love the feeling of seeing known faces when i go out.)

Anyway, about the place. It is not known for its ambience nor can you spend time on a nice, long romatic food date. The guys have a long queue waiting for their food, so they will kick you and your date out even before you realize. (Perfect place to take people you just dont want to impress.) If you want to quickly have good food, this is the place. Some of the things worth trying are - Steamed dosa( 0 oil ), normal onion rava dosa and uttampam. Dont go for any other out of the world things on menu as its a traditional place and what you need to enjoy is chutney.

So here we go:

Location: Banjara Hills

What to try: Steamed Dosa, Rava Dosa or anything traditional south Indian

On your pocket : 250 per person

Ambience: No, its not the feel good factor

Customer Service: They are fast :)

Gals and Shopping go hand in hand.. :P

Saturday means out for lunch. But life took us to Shopper Stop and then i was reminded of my broken sun glasses and extremely hot weather in Hyd. I need a pair of sunglasses. And that was the beginning of emotional atyachar. I am back with lighter bank account and my so cool sun glasses that i want to wear them at night too. :D
All in all it was a great day. I realized that i am a greedy human. After leaving a top for 3 times thinking that it was not worth it, i got it finally today. To wash away all the guilts of feeling greedy i have given myself one logic, there are some qualities which are yours because you are a gal and shopping is just one of those.
It was a bank account looto day, i dont want to add more to it. :)
And yes, i know which car i like to drive. Its not Octavia Laura anymore, i have seen something real hot.

Fine Dining Part 2 , Novotel Midnight Buffet

Novotel is the star hotel of hyderabad. Like any 5 start hotel it is just too huge, everything about it is luxurioud and large. Ambience is worth admiration. I have visited this place many a times. Memorable ones are a) With S & T. We guys had a good time. Again gossips and laugh. And ofcourse good food at 12 at night is one of the memorable moments in life. b) with A,R,P,R and I. This was while coming back from poisson. So, we had danced like crazy in a pub and two of us in the gang were hungry at 12. Obvious, we needed food and novotel was the place to go. All of us in a car, off we go for food. And then what followed food was, we were asked to move out at 2 and then we all settled down around the swimming pool to gossip till it was 4 AM in morning. Trust me, sometimes you just dont want to stop talking. I was wondering about an exhange student who was so much enjoying the stories. :)
So, we will talk about Novotel now. Its a buffet. Breads are the differentiating factor here. You get allo parantha, plain parantha and 3-4 kinds of dosas. The spread of salad is sexy. They keep chaging desserts, so longer you sit the better it is. :D The ambience is great and staff is very very cheerful and friendly. The pool side is one of the best thing to happen to anyone. Its calm and uncrowded, so one can sit peacefully for hours and there is a huge gym by pool side which kind of grabs my attention everytime i go. Food was good and different. There is a small bar come pub next to buffet, they have a live band in there. This is like one of those cool places, you might just want to spend an hour in to watch people perform. So, when we went there was a huge group of some foreigners dancing away to glory and enjoying the time. The music is so damn cool that if you love dancing, you would just not manage to sit.
So, all in all, just go!! Its an experience anyone will love.
Cuisine: North- South Indian, Lots of salads, Nice Indian and continental desserts. Huge Spread. Tastes good.
Type: Buffet served after 11 PM till 2 AM.
Experience: Luxury
Ambience: Like any 5 star hotel
On your pocket: Rs. 500/- per person
Location: Near hi tech city

Delhi 6, Nihaal Dhaba and Road Side Chai!!

This was another interesting day. So, N,E,A,R and me decided to go for a movie. It was a random plan to watch Delhi 6 at Cinemax. I wasnt so excited about the movie as i had heard very mixed feedback of the same. So, we started from ISB, one of the batchmate gave us lift in his car till Cinemax. As usual after too many plans, we finally reached the place 5 mins after movie started. (I so live this thing about getting late for movies. )
AB, NO, i dont like him but then its ok. Movie was a good entertainer. I liked the simple concept and message in it. Most of the characters in movie acted very well, i particularly liked the work of Inspector, i think he was very very original. I liked the coverage of old delhi and i just cant let go of Jalebi's advertisement in movie. Good, somethings well projected and lots left behind.
Real fun started when me and N declared that we needed to eat something. It was 9 PM and we thought we will eat something in the food court, when A talked about this Dhaba near Hitech city. The place is Nihaal Dhaba and speciality is "PARANTHA". Ok, no one was interested in the exotic Bleu or Jalpenos food. Eone wanted the parantha and lassi. Chalo, lets go.
9:30 PM A starts negotiating with an auto wala and since he walks away, the auto wala sends him a flying kiss much to our surprise, we all laugh out loud and we manage to pataofy an autowala. Chalo Bhaiya, 5 log hi hai. :D So, 3 of us in back seat and 2 people infront with autowala and not to miss the old hindi song in auto,"Tu mujhe kabool, mein to tujhe kabool." Ok, so our sawari moves to Hi tech city, we had a great laugh at auto ride and we discussed operations and economics to justify this. Auto wala turned out to be a friendly guy and A took this opportunity to know his business model. So, if you thought 5 was a large number, the auto wala can manage to carry 12 people in his auto. Talk about capacity utilization, books know nothing, all your formulae and analysis can not come up with this. This is called real business.
So, we get down at crossing and walk by a unconstructed road to reach Nihaal dhaba. This was as busy as any big hotel, long queue and then i see this young 13-14 year old guy with pride of having a job and confidence of knowing his work coming to us. He showed us a table. Time for parantha, lassi, slice, Maaza and anything that you can think of. The food was cheap and good and bill was what we pay for one visit to our stupid cafeteria in ISB. We all felt good that there are places which are affordable and logical even today.
We were so full that we decided to walk. Our long walk started from the Gachibowli intersection. Mid way we decided to walk to a tapri to have tea shots (Yes, the size of the cup is just like that of Vodka shots). Now, this turned out to be a long walk for tea. All of us were almost half dead till we discovered the tapri infront of microsoft office. This was quite some distance. Had the shots and headed back to ISB.
One of the wildest and most original outings till date. Nothing luxurious about it. It just brought me back to some facts in life i used to think about. 12-13 years old guys employed in these hotels, out of school, serving us food. Small hotels which have a unique market segment to cater too. They are unbeatable and they actually have no competition. Aunty on counter who sits since ages and years. Maaza and Slice may not be cool, but people still love to have a sip of it. This is my India and this is what i missed so much during my stay in UK. Even if there are no luxuries, you can relate to people around and you know there is always a Nihaal dhaaba which will exist even if the whole world comes down. Its business model is very simple, its woven around what simple Indian loves, irrespective of whereever he goes and whatever he does. (I know i am getting emotional about paranthas and the dhabe wala had put 500 gms of butter in it, so all the more. ). :)

Fine Dining Part 1 :)

So, tonight was an outing with bunch of friends to Tamaara. I remember having come to this place called "Secret Lake" in 2004 when i was in Hyd for some official work for a month. There was nothing secret about this place called "durgam cheruvu" or secret lake even then and now its anyway public. But i was awestruck by the ambience of this place. Its located on stairs of a rock climb. We decided to sit outside and this was indeed a candle lit dinner as we could not even read Menu till someone took out a torch. :) I like the location and total feel of the restuarant. There is a pub Athena right next to this restaurant. I could not go there, damn the assignments, but i have been told that it is good. Among all the pubs that i have visited till date, i think i will put Poison at the top. Its airy, large and music is something you will fall in love with. Then comes firangi paani and i am ok with firefly too.
It was indeed one of the good outings, where 5 of us sat down to gossip for hours. Its fun to be in college once again. Its just fun to be student and to talk about everything under the stars(we were sitting under the stars for or dinner, remember :)). Good day!!
Place: Jubilee hills
Restaurant: Tamaara
Ambience: Too good, have dinner under the stars.
Food: About Average, A la carte
Cuisine: Thai, Chinese, Indian (Limited Vegetarian option)
Pub: Yes, right next door
Crowd: OK
Service: OK
On your pocket: Avg 500 per person
Recommend: Yes, one visit is must.

My Dear Blog!!

My Dear Blog!!
I need to tell you that i totally adore you. I missed you during last 8 months of too much books. I have so many things to tell you that its 3 AM in morning and i still dont want to sleep. Thank you for being there. :D
I am not drunk, i am just thankful to you.
( After one year in B school, i still could not develop taste for any liquor, though i have learned to hold a glass and empty it in flower pot :D. I told you i am very particular about things i like. Things have to really taste good to enter into my food pipe. And all kind of drinks taste like you have just gulped in fire ball and it burns everything inside you. There must be a bravery award for drunkards. )
Yours Faithfully :D,
Arbitraj

The Slumdog Millionaire

Many oscars in bag. World loved it. A hollywood director did it again for India. Thank You!! Rehman!! You deserved the award, you were always the best. Poor slum dwellers!! world just got to know 5% of what you face everyday in your life in 2 hours and they totally enjoyed it. You have always been great, from Shantaram to Slumdog, people love to know more and more about you. You guys live a life which seems impossible to most of the people.
No, dont worry. I am a proud Indian, who bagged an offer with MNC, i am not any different. I am just happy, that we did it again. Whole India watched Oscars, thanks to you guys and dabbawalas with no new technology to improve their system. Had it not been for you guys and your fight for survival, we would have been left unnoticed. Hats off to you and your struggle, i am amazed that it is so entertaining, but then just curious how does it feel to live it?

My fav poem 3 "Be Thankful"

BE THANKFUL
Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something,for it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times.During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,because it will build your strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,because it means you've made a difference.
It's easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,and they can become your blessings.

My Fav Poem -2 "Dont Quit"

DON'T QUITby Edgar A. Guest
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
when the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
when the funds are low and the debts are high,
and you want to smile but you have to sigh,when care is pressing you down a bit - rest if you must,but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns.As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow - you may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man;
often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup;
and he learned too late when the night came down,how close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out - the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,and when you never can tell how close you are,it may be near when it seems afar;
so stick to the fight when you're hardest hit - it's when things seem worst,you must not quit.

Complicated Story!!

Its kind of a sad day. I get a call from one of my friends to say i am getting divorced. I was surprised, these are people who were totally in love, they fought with the whole world to get married and it did not even take an year for them to change the opinion. But then this wasnt the first time i was hearing it. This is common for people and many of my friends give me this great news. However, i wanted to analyze. Why do people start hating the people they love? Is it all that easy? Or there was no love to start with. I am kind of wierd. I need reason for somethings in life and love for sure is not on sale in my life, i need rock solid reason for commitment. I get surprised when people get married just like that. I mean if you are tying yourself to a contract like "marriage", you must know why. Its not one of those college time affairs you can do away with, its too much of publicity to deny in life. :D
Alright, what did X tell me about her boy friend when they started dating. He is damn cool and he is just too good (He has money, we watch some boring movies together coz we have nothing better to do, his family hates me, he is willing to leave them (basically when i qualify to be his family, he will leave me too), last but not the least he told me i love you 100 times(Good, nothing else in the story tells me that he does, so good that he tells that.. )). Hmmm, this is subjective, so the girl X never really knew what was so attractive about the dude, but then nevertheless they just went ahead and got married. And then its the first fight, "Why the hell did i marry you?" Wow, thats the question you needed to ask before converting your designer boy friend into husband buddy. Exactly this.
Its surprising, many people enter into commitments because of weakness to be with someone. But in the end what tears them apart is the "space issue". And what surprises me the most is that this is a lot of sensible and educated people. If small things mattered so much in life, if individual space was so important, then they did not have to give it up by getting into a privacy infringement contract called marriage. It is not a rule in life. If you dont want someone, you just dont want him or her, but not after making a decision of spending rest of your life together. This is something you needed to know before, now its not an option, you have closed the deal, till other party breaks the basic laws.
This looks strange to me. All i learned through out my education was to hang on in odd times. I also learned that in life everyone makes decisions, some good and some bad, but then decisions are decisions, we all need to live with them. I so remember what Papa always told me, "Know what you want before taking any decision, its ok to let go of things which you dont find convincing while you are analyzing them, but once you have made a decision, know that you will own it and there is no one else to blame."
Lots of things went on in my mind after i listened to my friend. I did not know who was right and who was wrong and i also did not know if i would have been any better than my friend. I just thought of one thing, do we really have options in relations? There are people whose parents shout at them, do they leave them and find a new set? Almost all of us fight like mosters with our siblings, sometimes hitting with bats, do we leave each other because of that? No, because our mind just knows, this is it, good or bad, by the end of the day, these are the people i first saw when i opened my eyes and there is no one in this world who can replace them. Then why do people leave the people they love? I am not the emotional kinds. I am someone who leaves things at the drop of a hat if i dont like them, but then there are a set of people i love. I dont think i have ego when it comes to them and i dont think there is anything i hide or boast about infront of them. I know that people who love you will hurt you the most because you let them do so. But then they are there to stay. I dont think they are an option in my life. They just exist. I will shout, fight, yell, complain, but then thats it. There isnt any way out.

So, in the end i just know this:
A) If you love someone you cant leave him or her. B) If you have managed to leave him or her, there was nothing called love, so just stop crying and enjoy life, dont call it a divorce, its just a reality bite.

Somethings Gotta Give!! :)

It has happened all over again. Its so wierd. There are people in life you love and you just know that whole world at one end and these people on the other end. :) It happened in school with my friends, i just knew that whatever comes and goes, i will not leave them. There were moments in life when i was asked them or world? I had nothing to think, i just said them and nothing else.
It happened with me in college. I met N, M and A. There were million others who came and went, but i always knew that i will love them for the rest of my life because i have grown with them. And i cant leave them.
It happened with me all over again today. Lucky that i am, i always have the best of the best people with me. All have hearts of gold and eone is simple and grounded. I was adamant on something, and something told me that if i dont do it now, it will be foolish. But then, after talking for 2 minutes, i just looked at my peaceful frend who wasnt convinced, suddenly ething went away, i said whatever you say is perfect. There is nothing to lose if you dont want it, i dont want it, things will come and go.
You meet millions of people, and then suddenly some people become more important than ething else in life. Its wierd, the concept of trust is so wierd. You just hang out with millions and you might have known someone for minutes but something tells you, that you want to listen to this person, and then you are friends for rest of your lives.
I am smiling at it today. I did it years back in college, cried my eyes out because me and Nams had a small fight only to find that she was sailing in the same boat and we can discount our boy friends when it comes to our frendship :). Some people make your decisions so simple. Its just about saying, "I am with you, whatever good or bad, because anything without you wont be good anyways."
Thank You Pals!! I just know that you are not an option in my life i can risk for anything. Everything else is fine, as long as we are there to stay.

Hyderabad Blues!!

Its a given that special moments in life are not the crowded parties and definitely not too many people. Its some special people who make every moment special and its travelling that leaves me so damn happy that at times i feel i am crazy. Snoozing the alarm was not an option for me, i was going to explore Hyd and i had to start at 6:30 AM in morning.
I have lot to write about the city of Nawabs and i have a lot to travel before life takes me to a 9-9 job. OK, i have no clue why i did MBA, i could have been happy being a travel guide or cook or writer or i am good at do nothing. But then i think MBA was on my mind since i was 12 and i never give too much thought to whats on my mind. I am strong follower of Nike's "Just do it" philosophy.

Anyway, i am just listing the places i visited to feel good about my holidays :D
Here is my Hyd coverage:
Ramoji film City
Birla Mandir
Chowmahal Palace ( I love this )
Salarjung Museum ( Know royal tastes)
Golconda Palace
Qatab Shahi Tomb
Hussain Sagar Lake
Charminar
Choori Bazaar (Laad Bazaar)
Zoo Park
AND I WANT TO SEE FALAKNUMA PALACE BUT I CANT!!
Places i want to cover before i leave Hyd to join my job:
Nagarjuna Sagar
Sirisalem
And ok, let me not underestimate the assignments at ISB. Term 8 is starting tom.

I will detail out my experience and opinions on each location for the travellers to be. BUT, as of now, i am almost dropping dead, i need to sleep.

Game Called Life!!

Ok, just before i sleep all i can see is this crowded road, loads of two wheelers, a small kid sandwiched between his parents on a bike, woman clad in black burka, and people amazed to see this is India. Yes, this is all so common for me. I have seen poverty in my country, i have seen fight for survival, i have just become OK with everything. The traffic here doesn't stop, there is talk of rising middle class and then i see a 12 year old guy running without shoes to deliver a 20 kg bag; he surely does not know what economy is , what money is. The women clad in black burqa does not know what freedom is and will probably never know what being on your own means. Did they all choose this life for themselves or is it that the destiny has trapped them in a never ending mystery? I can see the social segments God created while marketing the planet earth to the dwellers. Life is not a fair game for all and will probably never be. Some people will be bigger fighters than us, some of them stronger than us, some bigger strategists than us, but some will shine, some will get lost in the dark. The best ones are the ones on street, not the ones who give talks in big seminars. If you want to learn game of survival, change and adaptation, just walk out on those streets, you will be amazed to see the amount of knowledge dealing with life gives them every moment.