Who is more approachable and friendly ??

People with less money are more approachable and friendly.

I know this is quite a bold and generalized statement I am making. But probably that seems that way only because it has been made out of context. So, let me try to put it in context. And may be than I will make that statement again.

Have you ever traveled in normal city bus, or by Volvo city bus ? Or say, by general class of train or by fight ? Did you notice difference in people's behavior in those different way of transportation ? Okay, one obvious difference could be in their look. But lets keep their exterior look keep aside for a time-being. Other than that what difference did you notice ? Well, at least I have noticed this difference in them: as you move from local city bus to flight mode of travel, friendliness and approachability becomes less and less. Have you ever talked with a guy/girl seating next to you in a flight ?? And how many times you have talked with him/her in a train ???

Let me be a bit specific. And give you my example. At least I have never talked with my neighbor in a flight. But for a bus and train mode of travel I have met few very interesting people. Once in a train I had met a guy who was so much talkative and interesting that distance from Ahmedabad to Bangalore had passed as smooth as knife passes through softened butter. That guy talked with me and with other people of my compartment about himself, from childhood till his recent collage time, touching few subjects about vada paav, idly-dosa, mumbai, gujarat, bangalore etc. etc. And as you know I am good listener and I feel like listnening many time, I heard him fully and time passed for me just like that. Not only that, even after our journey had ended he was used to send me an SMS and even he had called me once !! Very nice guy, he was. Only problem was that he was a guy, not a girl :). I wish in my next journey I meet such kind of talkative girl :).

Keeping jokes apart and coming back on the track again. Same is my experience while travelling by bus. Forget about travelling only. Very recently, a UP bhaiya have simply started speaking with me out of nothing. And I really liked it. Because he did not struggle at all to find so called 'topic' to talk about. Usually while talking with few people we need to find third-party-topics to start conversation. What I mean by third-party-topics are topics about indian politics, about Sachin tenduler's century, IPL, rail accident, terrorist, dhirubhai ambani etc etc. Because, few people don't like to talk about themselves or about some thing related to them. Where as that UP bhaiya and my train friend was above that all, they did not need to find topics to keep conversation going. Conversation was simply flowing on its own.

So I say, poor people are more approachable and friendly natured than that of rich people. What do you say? What your experience says ??

*** This post is inspired from my blogging friend Soham's this post.

Feeling like listening

Ever felt like listening to others ?? Just to make sure you understood the question correctly, let me re-iterate. Have you ever felt like listening to others, not feeling to be listened by others ??

I am sure this is very rare kind of feeling. Usually I see people having totally opposite kind of feeling. Where-in they want to be listened ! But what I want to talk today about is, feeling of listening to others. Sometimes I just feel that people around me should just talk, talk and talk. I don’t want them to stop. In fact, when they stop speaking I feel uneasy. I want people to talk may be at my room or at office or may be while travelling in bus or at any other place. I just want them to speak. Speak, about anything and everything. And I just want to be passive.

So, do you also feel sometimes to be listened? Or you are on the other side of it ??

Well begun is half done

This is what a great saying tells, "Well begun is half done". Not sure, how true is this saying. But what I can tell is, I have started progressing to achieve my bucket list's first item. Ok ok, I know that not all of you are aware of what this bucket list is all about and what is my first bucket list item, so here is a short description on the same. Basically bucket list is a collection of items which you want to do before-you-die. And my first bucket list item is to, perform in a rock band !!! Fine? Ok, so now let me come to the point. Actually we had our company's annual event on last Saturday. The most important thing for me in that event was my performance :). Obviously. Everyone will have their own performance "the most" important. Is it not? Yes, but for me it was important in different sense. No no no, not because this was my first performance. It was probably my, I donno but probably eighth or ninth or more numbered, performance. But this was different in a sense that it was decided by me solely for the first time that what I (rather WE) would perform and how will I (we) perform it. Till now either my friend or audience or my band-member would be deciding what I would be performing. But this time it was different case. And I see this as a beginning, to achieve my ultimate goal of performing in a rock band. So, it was special in sense that it has put me a bit nearer to achieve my goals. Going by above saying, I have begun and my work is half way through. How about you? Where is your bucket list??

Without loosing this opportunity I would also like to add one more item in my bucket list item and that is a bit on fun part. "Be left handed". Yes, I want to start doing things like left handed people do, including playing of Guitar :-0. I am sure that this would be the first item I will strike-out from my bucket list. One of the reason behind addition of this item is, I feel left handed persons are always near to best or best. What do you say?

I have seen him somewhere

How often this question strikes in a your mind in a day, "I have seen him somewhere"? or "I have seen her somewhere"? Probably an alternative question that may be strking your mind could be, "I am seeing him for the first time, but looks like I have seen him. I have met him. I have talked with him somewhere"??

Since last few days its hapening to me many times a day. Now I had to find reason for that, right? Also I will have to know weather this happens with all of you or not, right? And that is for what this post is.

Okay. So one of the reason I found behind this i-have-seen-him-before syndrome is, information overload. I mean, really. Just observe, in a week how many new faces you are seeing? How many in a months and in years. I am sure you will not remembering all of them. Well, I know there will always be exception to this and one of that exceptional case is my friend. He says me, he never forgets faces of girls. He never gets infected by i-have-seen-her disease, as long as girls are concerned. So they are definetely exception to this.

Okay, so now getting onto the track again, I was explaining that the number of people you meet in a week or month or year are getting increasing ever. Lets talk about old days where people were used to devote their whole professional life serving to single organization and getting born, broght-up & died in same town. And just compare it with current lifestyle. Till this time, just count how many rooms you have changed? How many roommates have been changed even thouigh you have never changed your room? How many towns you have lived? How many schools/colleges/companies you have changed? I am sure its gonna be long, really loooong, list. And so it is quite quite natural to get infected by i-have-seen-him-somewhere disease. Same is the case with me.

Recently I have seen someone in my organization, and than came a flash like thought, "I have seen him somewhere". Also with this thought an instant unconscious answer came, "in a hollywood movie I had seen yesterday" !!! Than my conscious mind woke-up roaring, "what the hell?? This man? And in hollywood movie?? Get lost dude. He is not an actor for sure". This battle continues and gets quietened automatically after somtime. But than again suddenly while talking with a friend or while talking on a phone or while peeing (yes while peeing) an answer strikes, "Aha !!! I had seen him in a train and he was my lone companion during my never ending 36 hours of journey of that train".

So this is what happens to me. How often do you get attacked by this syndrome?? And what do you feel is the reason for that??

Ye meri kahani ...

As stated in my previous post, I have started getting suggestions from my friends and colleagues on "what to blog". And obviously I too have list of friends who tell me "what not to blog upon" and who tells me not to blog itself and do some useful things :-). So this post is also an outcome of those kind of suggestions from my friends cum colleagues.

Few days back I simply paused doing all work in whatever status it was and started thinking about some very deep and serious questions. Like, what am I doing, How WAS my life earlier, Where am I right now, Where will I be after some years and how these days will look like at that time, What has made me to be in this situation and place today etc. Well, I know all above things are too heavy to digest for few of you and as per law of nature you might feel sleepy after reading them. But hang-on for some more time. Things of your interest is also going to be there in this post. Okay, so where was I? Ya, I paused my never ending activies, and literaly pushed myself out of it and started thinking about those questions. I did not really got an answer for all of them but it had really made me aware of fact that whatever I was doing is not going take me to place where I want to be. And while continuous stram of thoughts were flowing a thought stuck to me. Why not to re-read my personnel diary and read about what I had written exactly on this same day a year or two before!! I really got excited to read that. Because it would be give me an insight into what I was a year or 2 before and what was my thinking at that point of time and what were my priorites and what things were conceived as a problem at that time and so one. So I opened my diary and here it goes what is been written there :

------

An excellent day. Feeling very very good. Morning wake-up at regular time and went for Guitar class. Reached a bit late to the class because my suryavanshi friend had no sense about at what time we go for Guitar class regularly. If I had not waked him up, he might have got surprised when he wakesup and sees a calender. Need not to say, he had drunk yesterday night upto his full capacity. So when I wake him up he said I am bunking todays' Guitar class. I said, fine. And before I turn back and close his room's door, he shouted wait, wait, wait. I am geting prepared. You wait. Obviously he had not given me any option. It was not a request. It was an order for me to wait untill he gets prepared. I waited patietly and also cursed him for making me late to the class without realizing that because he has made us to go for class late, I am gonna get an oppurtunity to see my "Guitar girl" in today's Guitar class :-0.

[I think this is right time in story to explain you in a bit detail about what those words "Guitar girl" means. So actually in our Guitar class there was a very cute girl whom I have never missed to observe. Unfortunetely her calss timings were as uncertain as any weather forcast. She was changing her class timing almost evey weekend and so I was never able to follow her continuously for 2-3 weekends. I think this much is enough for you picturize her whenever I use word "Guitar girl" in coming story, right??]

We reached late to the class so the central hall was already full of students. So we went into small room next to the hall. I went inside and before opening my guitar cover my eyes had already started searching for her. Had she came early today? Is she seating in main hall today? Had she came in very previous session than us and thus I missed a glimse of her? Questions popped-up obviously and parally I started unzipping my guitar cover. Still Iwas trying to find the face in faces seating in a main hall. No matching results found. So I made-up my mind. I convinced myslef saying, "JD, no problem. This weekend may go in waste. You may not be able to see her face this weekend. "

[Just to give you more idea about situation, typically even if she does not come during our session time, she would definetely come in session before or after us because we had wisely choose to have our session in middle. So, even if she comes in first or last session I would be able to take her glimse atleast during some overalaopping time between sessions. But this weekend we had to come to last session. Because of my friend.]

I started practising song which tutor had taught me in last class without fully concentrating. And than after 5-10 minutes door opened. Was it she? I raised my eyebrows and tried to figure out. But first came some other girl and but than atlast came she. I was like, "Oh....My.... God...." . I didnt know how to respond. And as there was no space in hall she had to come in the our room. I pretended to be concentrating on playing guitar meanwhile I observed that she had seat next to next to me. Because next to me was my obstructing friend. But he was not indeed onstructing today but infact, I was about to thank my frind rather than cursing him for drinking too much last night, about waking up late and about commanding me to wait til he gets prepared.

Than came that tutor. First thing he did after entering our room is to ask me to play song he had taught last time. And he got very happy with the way I have played. Than came her turn. Unfortunetaly she was been taught some different song. And as tutor had already tested how good a student (like me :->) can play, he did not like her strumming. Tutor expressed his feeling openly. At that time I was like, "No worries, I will teach her. Everybody learns after coming onto earth only sir. Nobody is born with it". But I had maintain my silence as control was in hand of tutor at that time. Tutor played himself that song and asked her to play again. But no improvement. She played it the same bad way. (Well, as such playing any musical instrument is not an easy. Its genius like me only who can play it flawlessly :-) . Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.). So left with no option tutor had asked me to play it. Ye hui na baat. I did not know that song, but do you think I am fool to tell tutor that I don't know? No way. I did not want to miss a single chance to impress her. So I started strumming. Now as tutor had already played the song I had remembered first chord of it. I played it very rhythmic so tutor started singing with it and we completed the song and everyone had a smile on their face except her :-(. Which has made me also a bit sad. Sensing her sadness tutor asked her, can you at least sing? She nodded her head instantly and happily as if she is Lata Mangeshkar. And believe me than after when tutor asked her to sing and me to strum the guitar, I was feeling like there is nobody on earth except me and her. Here I am and she seating there. My goodness. And than I started first chord by strumming the guitar. And than she started singing a song. While playing this song, I was feeling like if there is a heaven on earth, its here its here its here. With these kind of khayali pulaav I completed the song. And now as tutor was also happy about her singing, she also had a smile on her face. She had thanked me with her eyes. And I accepted her gratitude. Somehow her eyes were saying, thanks for saving me.

[Now don't you have curiosity to know what was the song that she sung?? It was a very romantic song, "Kuchchh na kaho. Kuchchh bhi na kaho" from movie 1942 a love story :-)]

------------

Well, now don't ask what has happened than after in that class or what happened in next classes. Because unfortunately that class was last class when I had seen her. She had never appeared in any class than after. She might have left classes thinking that Guitar learning is difficult or she might be coming on weekdays to learn giotar more thoroughly or may be some thing else. I donno. But after that I have also left the classes because I was saturated. I had confidence that from here onwards I can learn the thing by myself. And about that Guitar girl I have also not tried to find out what had happened exactly. Because in life, 3 chijo ke pichchhe kabhi nahi bhagneka. Bus Train aur Ladki. What do you say? And I also have found a video related to this fact. See below:

“All Characters and story in itself in this blog post are fictitious. Resemblance to any living or dead is purely coincidental"

Product thats hangs the most

Ever faced an issue when you are in hurry-burry but the product you are using stops working exactly at that time ? Well, you can say this happens because of so called murphy's law. But do not forget there are products existing which proves this law wrong. Okay, so talking to the point, I wanted to know which products do you feel hangs the most? Which products betrays your trust the most? Which are those products which just makes you frustrated?

I will start with my list of products:
- Internet explorer (almost once a day).
- Microsoft word.
- Microsoft windows (most irritating thing in this is, you tell some hanging window to end NOW using task manager. But that "now" never comes and application hangs forever untill you kill corrresponding "process").
- Adobe acrobat reader.
- Yahoo mail.
- Google docs.

Products which never betrays my trust are:
- Google chorome (never ever seen it hanging, no matter how many tabs you open with it or what you are opening in those tabs).
- Google mail (if it hangs while opening because of slower net connection, i simply switches back to HTML version).

So, whats in your list?

Inspiration guru

- Who is your inspiration guru?
- What makes you work harder (excluding your boss)?
- What makes you going ? What keeps you moving?

Tough questions. Isn't it? Ya, tough because probably we never spends time finding answers for it. Ok, so before expecting you to answer them, let me answer them first. So my sources of inspiration are chaiwalas, security guards, autowalas, bus conductors, peons, cook !!!! Surprised? Do you think, I am insane? Well, I am not. Probably you wer expecting Stephan Covey, Robin Sharma, Shiv Khera, Paulo Coelho & all those names, right? Well, those people are definetely an inspirational. But in day to day life they are not the one who makes me going and moving. They are those chaiwalas & autowalas. Just to give you better understanding about what I am saying. below are few experiences which is very inspirational for me. They had changed my mood from :-( to :-). And I hope you will also feel the same while reading it. So here is goes:

(1) Number of years later I called to my previous institute. Everyone & everything, literally, was changed over there during those years and I was not expecting anyone identifying me by my name. So before calling I was like, "how will i intoduce myself", "will receptionist be able to recognize me" kind of questions popped-up in mind. But I thought, jo hoga dekha jayega. So I called and to my surprise peon had received the call. I just said my name and he started talking with me as if two old friends are metting after years. He started asking me, "How are you?", "where were you till this time?", "When are you coming back here?", "Are you still staying late night in office?". I was surprised but I was feeling very happy. I felt very very relaxed after talking with him and felt inspired by the way he talked. He was such a caring person. My goodness. And that is why I am telling, keep doing this buddy, you are my GURU.

(2) I was feeling a bit down after regular stressfull day at office and reached my room. Was not at all in a mood to do ANY work. So I just fell down on my bed and tried to sleep. Meanwhile, I heared our cook talking with my roommate. His words were vibrating my eardrums and that created a miracle. He was talking about his ambition in life. His wife. And the way he said, "tension nahi leneka. Kaam karo aur maje karo bas", has made me stand-up from my bed. It was utterly inspirational. So my dear cook, keep telling that line everyday. You are also my GURU.

(3) Project dead line. Traffic jam. 43 degree centigrade temperature. Some personnel work. And no bike.
That is the situation (described briefly) I was into. In that situation I seen city bus coming. I felt relaxed but tensed. Because as bus approached me I saw more people standing (on their legs and hands) than seating. Few unfortunates were hanging out from door. Few was just fortunate enough to put their one leg on the bus and a shoulder to hold on. Bhed bakriyo ki tarah bus me log bhare pade the. And than I seen a pessenger having mobile in hand and water drops dropping from his body. He was huge in size and thats why he was feeling more hot than others. But in this situation also, he was coolly enjoying ringtones from his cellphone. Look at his hapiness quotient man, even in this worst situaion he was able to manage to listen to ringtones from his old nokia 3310 mobile and enjoy it. Hats-off man. really. And that is why I am saying, keep metting me and inspiring me to be happy in all conditions. You are also my GURU.

Well, there are more of such incidents which I want to share with you. But to keep this blog post length in readble limit, I am cutting it short and inviting you to share such stories if you also feel that they are your inspirational guru.

Its not a bug, its featue

Support me by posting your comment here on Google groups.

Want that Larry Page gets an email whenever you updated your blog !!! ???
No? Ok, not larry page? Fine. Obama?? No? How about Manmohan singh? Still no??? Ok no problem. I let you decide 'whom' to send an email. What can I do is, show you 'how' to do that.

Here we go:
1) Login to blogger.
2) Goto settings->email.
3) In blogsend address (first option itself) field write down mail ID of whosoever you want !!
4) Done.

What? You are doubting weather blogger will ask to approve this ?? Nope. Its a bug (if I am not wrong). Blogger will not ask for approval of receiving party !! Me too was not believing this untill I tried myself putting my other personnel mail ID there and I started receiving an email whenever I update my blog !! Strange, isn't it?

Have fun.. But wait wait wait .. Before going tell me whose mail ID you would like to put?

Nothing is bad. Nothing is good.

Ever went to kind of state, when nothing seems bad and nothing seems good? Things are just there. Its neither good nor bad. Results are just there. But you are not judging thsese results as good or bad. You are just seeing the result and taking one or the other action. Seems ideal behaviour, right? Ya, it may look like that if you have never experience it. So my question to you, have you ever gone into this state of mind where absoultely nothing seems bad as well as nothing seems good?

Ok let me myself be first one to answer this question:
Many times I have been in that state of mind. And believe me, that is the most productive and non-exhausting hours of the day for me. I am sure this post would be a 'bouncer' for few of you (probably many of you?) . Infact, I don't know wether its bouncer or googly for you. So do let me know about the same via comments.

Fluctuating flight rates

Anybody has any clue on why flight rates fluctuates randomly? Like share prices, fight rates are also always uncertain and becomes up/down at its own. Why is that so?

So how did you started blogging?

Answering a question by myself first, I had started blogging after I was briefed about blogging by Himanshu Sheth. When going back to home from office in a cab, he was used to (almost everyday) talk with me about blog and bloggers. And from that I got inspired and I started blogging too. Thanks for gifting me this nice thing, Himanshu.

So whats your story? How did you started blogging?

“ધ એલ્કેમિસ્ટ” in ગુજરાતી

I just read this: Paulo Coeho's "The Alchemist" is now also available in Gujarati. Great thing, right? Anyways for more information please visit, this page.

"When you want something with your heart and soul, the entire Universe conspires to help you achieve it"

- Paulo Coelho in "The Alchemist"

With this post also, let me ask a question. How would you translate above statement in Gujarati? I have already given it an unsuccessful try :-).

What do you call it?

- Thinking about some friend and immediately you get a call from him.
- You do not like something somewhere and on next day when you go to that place that very thing is no more there.
- Someone asks a question to a group and out of 10 person some 2 or 3 person gives a same answer simultaneously.

What do you call it?

Ok. I think I was not very clear in communicating whatever I wanted to. So let me give you few examples,
- When passing on the road, you do not like something. Say for example, some hoarding. And very next day when you pass through that road, that very hoarding is been removed.
- 10 friends are standing in a group. One person asks, "So where will we take dinner?". 3 person instantly and in the same manner answers, "XYZ Dhaba".
- You want to wear red shirt but because of something, at last moment you change your mind and wear blue shirt. And when you reach to office/college you realize that almost everyone has wore blue shirts because it is "blue day" in office/college today.

What do you call it?

Whatever I have described above is all about experience. I am sure there will be people out there who have never experienced this and so they will provide enough evidences to prove me wrong. Accepted. I am wrong for them. But let me ask to those who have experienced it. What do you call it?

Recently only I have experienced this phenomenon. Before going to watch "Rock on!!", I had listened to its "Pichle saat dino mein" song. I liked it very much. And so I thought, "SEL has made this song truly rocking. But they should also make an acoustic version of it. The way there is two version of song 'Cuts like a knife', there should also be two versions of this song. One rock version and another acoustic guitar version". This thought just came and went. Than after some days I went to watch "Rock on!!', and as you must have guessed that Accoustic version of song is indeed there in Movie!! I was very happy and joyous to hear that song. I had thought of something and that was really there. It was very nice experiencing it.

So what was your last experience about this?

Does this happen to you also?

Sometimes out of no apparent reason, do you start singing song? This is quite common to me. If not singing, than humming. But song do come to me. Does this happen to you also?

Would you ever?

Would you ever quit blogging or delete your blog at some point of time in the future?

Source : outofequilibrium's this blog

Do you also do this?

While reading someone's blog, I picturise that buddy in my mind's eyes. Do you also do this? When you read someone else blog, do you create picture of that person mentally?