Days of my life!!

Wondering where I’ve been all this month??? Well, like all great writers……I decided to take a much needed break!! Ok……stop laughing. Let’s just say that I’ve been working hard on my new job. Hard to believe, but unfortunately…it’s true. A few other developments have happened over the last one month. Thanks to my new job, I've had to rent a new place to stay. Shifting your residence is no easy thing to do. Packing, unpacking, cleaning and setting up your home tends to drain out quite a bit of your energy. It’s a long arduous process, but I must say……things are looking good so far. Another new entry into my life is my very first vehicle. It’s a dream come true for every guy to get his own vehicle. I have always wanted to own a SUV, but for now, I’ll happily settle for my two-wheeler. Wait wait……I must brag a bit about it – 102cc, single cylinder, 7bhp@2000rpm.......vrooooom............ Nah……, those who understood those technicals must have guessed it correctly. It’s just a Honda Act...

After my second unsuccessful attempt at obtaining a US visa, I sat one night in the balcony of my home in Mumbai and wondered if the first country to provide me with a Visa was going to be an unconventional one. Two months later, my query was answered, the first Visa stamp on my passport came from none other than our little neighbour 'BANGLADESH'. It happened in April 2004, a query from a customer in Dhaka, regarding our product landed on my desk. The customer was very clear with the problem he was facing - "It's NOT WORKING!!!" So, like all good post sales partners, we had to send someone to visit his plant and fix the problem. I was the most viable candidate and even otherwise I would have readily volunteered because I simply wasn't going to miss a trip like this.... It took me about 45 minutes to convince my mom that I was not going to Afghanisthan, but to Bangladesh and that Dhaka was a relatively safe place to travel to. I told her that I was the sole pr...

The IT boom down south ensured a healthy influx of talented and non-talented proffesionals in the city of Bangalore. The city wasn't fully equipped to handle this and the locals had to do lots of adjustments. One of the most important provisions was to provide a place to stay, for the hoardes of people who came. Some folks used this oppurtunity to make some quick money. They renovated their bungalow style houses and added a few more floors on top of their own ground floor apartment, so that they could make rooms there and rent it out. It appears that there are very few Architects in Bangalore or the ones available are too expensive, but for some reason, the house owners here decided to put on their drawing hat and make the blue print for the renovation themselves. The consequences of their actions are visible for everyone to see when they go house hunting - 1. Ask for a house with atleast two toilets and the agent will show you a room with a single toilet having both an Indian and ...

It was the year 2004, I was on my first 'out-of-mumbai' marketing trip to Delhi. Among other customers I had to go visit the Jindal Steel Plant in Hissar, Haryana. Sometimes when I look back, I wonder what an Electronics Engineer, like me, was doing, selling water filter to a steel company....but let me not get there. This blog is about my experiences during my travel across India. I was to travel with my senior colleague, Munish, who was based out of Delhi. So, when he told me that we would be leaving at 8:30pm for a 4 -5 hour journey to Hissar, I wondered why he planned for us to reach an unknown place at 1am, but instead just asked him the following question: Me: "Kaunse bus se jaana hain?" Munish: "Jee...Haryana Roadways ki mil jayegi. Nahi toh UP roadways ki toh han hi" Me: (thinking) This was going to be fun. So we ended up at the ISBT bus stand in South Delhi and boarded the Haryana Roadways bus to Hissar. The bus was more than usually crowded for a ...

The latest hero to entertain this nation is none other than our Olympic Gold medallist Abhinav Bindra. Winning a gold in an individual event for the first time ever is an amazing task and will be remembered for a long long time. Bravo Mr. Bindra.....Thank You for making us proud!! Whilst on the topic of Beijing 2008, one can't forget the feat acheived my one Mr. Micheal Phelps. The young American swimmer has made his mark on the Games in a big way and changed the face of Swimming completely. I was reading an article featured on him - 'Life in the fast lane', where he said "Listening to the anthem with a medal around your neck is an amazing feeling". The very mention of this statement took me back a couple of years to 2007. I was one of the lucky ones to have been in Melbourne when the city played host to the Commonweath Games 2007. The Commonweath Games may not be as huge as the Olympics, but is a magnificent event in itself. The competing nations are fewer as co...

Following closely on the heels of my friend Nishat's blog....I too thought that I cud write about something I went through....I recently shifted into my new job. Even before joining, I was requested to make sure my name was spelt correctly, so that there was no problem going forward. So, after checking some three times, I was happy that all was fine. Than my first day on my new job....I am shown into my cubicle by the Admin Assitant. AA: "Here is your seat Prasan sir" Ok cool....A new CPU with a 17inch flat screen monitor. A little package containing a note book, a pen, a pencil and other stationery neatly arranged on my desk. But my eyes fall on the little name plate kinda thing that has been proudly displayed at the corner of every cubicle. Something that 'almost' says "This is Prasan's territory.....Enter at your own risk!!!" Thats when I checked the spelling "PRASAN SHANBAG" Me: "Excuse me, there is a H missing from my surname. It...

Weekend getaway from Bangalore No. knot knot 7.... Destination: Pondicherry (renamed now as Puducherry - around 100 kms from Chennai) Attendees: 4 guys Mode of Transport: Maruti Swift The advantage of four guys going on such a trip is that there is no need for any advance planning. Go and find some decent place to stay and eat. Roam around like wild animals without worrying too much.....or so we thought........ I was wondering all morning what to write about Pondicherry and finally decided that I will just list down our itinerary as it played out: Friday 10pm - Leave office. Saturday 1am - Take a wrong turn assuming that, in Tamil Nadu the KM unit is defined differently from the rest of the world!! Saturday 2am - Find our way back after travelling 80kms extra!! Saturday 3am - Have a near death experience, thanks to a slight lapse in concentration on behalf of the driver. Saturday 6am - Finally reach Pondicherry with a smile on our faces. Saturday 6:45am - Still searching for a decent...