Bihu Celebration in Bangalore

In case you are an Assamese living in Bangalore I would like to inform you about the Magh Bihu celebration that's being organized in Bangalore on 28th January 2006 by ABC Forum.

ABC Forum is a Association of Assamese people living in Bangalore and every year this forum organizes Bihu in Bangalore.

This year Bihu will be celebrated on 28th Jan. Noted Assamese singer Mr. Jitul Sonowal will be performing in this Bihu. Apart from that it will also have traditional Assamese games like Egg fight,Cock fight,tekeli bhanga,musical chair,spoon race etc along with bon fire.
A Souvenir magazine is also planned for the event. People interested in literature, layout planning who want to associated themselves with the magazine or want to> contribute their innovative write ups, please contact Dipu Bezbaruah--988041150 or Mousomi-9886123941 or Alom-9845383354.

There will be a cultural show performed by local talent before the guest artist performance.For taking part in cultural activities you can contact Ghononil-9342529466.
If you want to sponsor or know someone who may be interested in sponsoring and advertising then kindly contact Sopunjyoti Dutta-9886600648 or Khanindra Barman-9880077363.
For other related information you can contact> Bipul Deka-9845797161,Ankush Saikia-9342529437, Anamika-9845416504, Shadhin-9448111428

Also ABC Forum is looking for volunteers to help in the celebration. .If you are enthusiastic enough to actively join it and make the event a success then kindly sent a mail to maghbihu2006@abc-forum.org .For details you can visit visiting http://www.blogger.com/www.abc-forum.org .
So lets make this celebration a grand success.

If YOu want to ban night shifts for girls

Just a passing thought...............If you want to ban night shift for woman just because recent murder and rape of one BPO employee in Bangalore......... then tell me one thing what will you do if the man working in night shift are looted and murdered by som goons. What will you do then?Stop working in night shift? Then who will work in BPO industry.Instead of all these dont think it will be better if the bangalore police improve the security on the streets even on night?

I never understood

I never understood why I started writting Blogs knowing it very well that my skill with the words are very very limited.

I never understood why my colleague paly the same song everyday on his mobile and irritate me to death.

I never understood why I love only those girls who are not interested in me and not those who love me.

I never understood why I could talk to her for hours togather but still cant propose her.

I never understood why.................................................................

SHOCKING TELEGRAMS

TELEGRAM #1
A husband, while he is on a business trip to a hill station sends a
telegram to his wife: "I wish you were here."
The message received by wife:
"I wish you were her."
*********************************************************************

TELEGRAM #2
A wife with near maturing pregnancy goes to railway station to return
to her husband. At the reservation counter, while her turn came, it was
the last ticket. Taking pity on a very old lady next to her in the
queue,she offered her berth to the old lady and sent a telegram to her
husband which reached as:
"Shall be coming tomorrow, heavy rush in the train, gave birth to an
old lady."
********************************************************************


TELEGRAM #3
A man from Agra went to Ajmer. His wife was in her parent's house in
Delhi.

When the man went to Ajmer, he asked his servant to send a telegram to
his wife indicating about his trip to Ajmer.
He sent a telegram. When the wife received the telegram, she fainted.
It was written: 'Sethji aaj mar gaye! (Sethji Ajmer gaye)...

Life is like a cup of coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to
visit their old university lecturer. Conversation soon turned into
complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and
returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups:
porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain-looking and some expensive and
exquisite, telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said:
"If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up,
leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you
to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your
problems and stress.
What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you
consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups."
"Now, if Life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society
are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the
quality of Life doesn't change." "Sometimes, by concentrating only on
the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."
So folks, don't let the cups drive you...enjoy the coffee instead.

All those unspoken words

The dead don't speak to me

But I can feel

Their unspoken words

A thought of love.

A tragedy

Nothing that seems

Real to me
How soon we forget our denial

But I can feel

The pain of time

A thought of being

So fragile

Nothing that seems

Timeless to me

Who is Best, Infosys, Wipro or TCS?

One day, three consultants, each one from WIPRO, INFOSYS and TCS, went outfor a walk.They were old buddies from engg. college, and they were together for acollege reunion. For no apparent reason, they went into this zoo and passed a monkey. Beinginthe same business and from the same college, there was a little bit of apeercompetition going on between themselves - they couldn't resist testing themselves against each other - especially the Infosys guy said to theothers:"Why don't we prove who is the best among ourselves?".Why not, said the other two. The Infoscion said "Let's have a test. Whoever makes this monkey laugh, works for the best firm".By mutual agreement, the Infoscion took the first turn. Being a pure logicalstrategist, the Infoscion tried to make the monkey laugh by telling jokes. The monkey stayed still.As a more practical consultant, the Wipro guy tried to make funny gestures.No good, the monkey stayed still,Now, comes the TCSer... being the practical guy he was always trained to be, he whispered something into the monkey's ear, and it burst out laughing athim.The other two were astonished. How did this TCS guy manage to beat them?No way they were going to accept defeat so easily. So the Wipro guy said "OK, let's take another test.Let's make this monkey cry !!"So there they went again, applying the same methods as before.The Infosys guy narrated sad stories, the Wipro guy made sad gestures, and they failed again...Then, the TCSer again whispered something into the monkey's ear and lo! Itstarted crying, patting the TCS er's shoulder!The other two just could not believe their eyes! So the Infoscion said "OK, You've won twice. If you can win just this one, we will bow to you. Let'sMake this monkey run".And he barked at the monkey and ordered him to run. Of course, it stayedwhere it was.The Wipro guy, true to his type, pushed and prodded the monkey - still Nogo.So...here comes our TCS guy, again, and whispers into the monkey's ear.The monkey just takes off! It runs and runs as fast as it can, as if it was scared to death!The other two surrendered. Said they: "OK, we give up.You're the best among us, and you work for the Best firm of the three. Butplease, please tell us your secret," they begged him. "Well", said the TCSer, "The first time I made it laugh, I told it I workforTCS. The next time, I told the monkey how much I get paid... so it startedcrying. And finally I told him that I was here for RECRUITMENT !!!"

S1 - The journey of a lifetime

This is NOT by me. This short story is written by

Ramsubramaniam Suraj

from Wipro, but this has touched me a lot. Read it. Its worth your time.



She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I cannot describe her beauty in the limited time I have here. I was 23 and fresh out of college, when I saw her. I don't know if it was the hormones but I loved her at first sight. She was the girl of my dreams.
It is said that matches our made in heaven. It was sheer destiny that we were traveling to Chennai on the same train, The Niligiri Express. We were in the same compartment, S1 and were seated next to each other, 25 and 26. It was an amazing coincidence as my ticket had been confirmed only at the last minute.
"Hi, my name is Shalini," she introduced herself with a beaming smile. She stretched out her right hand. I was shivering when I shook it.
"I am Sunderesan," I said and added, "Pleased to meet you."
She had a serene, innocent face; the face of the kind of person who gets bullied in school. The image of a woman who couldn't hurt a fly if she wanted to.
"How old are you?" I blurted out. It was the worst question to ask a woman but I was a nervous wreck and I wanted to talk to this woman.
She smiled at me and said, "Never ask a man his salary and a woman her age."
"I'm so sorry. I don't..." My tongue adamantly stuck to the roof of my mouth
"No, it is okay. Let us say, I will be sixty seven in 2050."
I worked out the math. She was twenty two. I was twenty three. It was perfect! A match made in heaven.
"Do you have a crush on me?" she asked.
"What? How could you ask...?"
"Do you have a crush on me or not?" she asked emphasizing on 'crush'.
"To tell you the truth, yes," I said meekly.
"It's okay. You can be bold about it. I'll tell you a little secret."
She pulled my ear next to her mouth and whispered, "I think you are attractive. I might even love you"
I turned pink the next moment.
"Hey you believed me, didn't you? April fool, go to school. Tell your teacher, you are a fool," she shouted. She laughed at the top of her voice.
I checked my watch. It was April 1st, 2005 and I had been made a jackass. I didn't want to look at the woman's face again. I loved her but I hated her for what she had done. I turned to the opposite side and stared out of the window.
She noticed my sulking face.
"Hey, don't get mad at me. It was a joke. That's all. I'm sorry," she said.
I didn't look at her and didn't reply.
"Okay. What can I do to compensate?"
"You could sing a song for me," I said softly. I wanted to know how well my girl could sing.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you." She stood up and went to the centre of the compartment.
"Friends, we have a birthday boy in our midst. I want all of you to wish him happy birthday."
The entire compartment including the TTE (Train Ticket Examiner) was singing "Happy birthday to Sunderesan."
She took out a vegetable sandwich from her bag. She said that it was a substitute for a cake. I cut the sandwich and gave her the first piece. She removed the tomato and cucumber from the sandwich. She pasted the cucumber and tomato all over my face. I distributed the remaining bits of the sandwich to everyone in the compartment. It was the best birthday I had ever had.
When all the euphoria died I asked her, "How did you know that it was my birthday?"
She pointed to the card on top of my bag.
"Will you make a birthday resolution for me?" she asked.
"Sure. Tell me."
"Promise to always smile because life presents too many opportunities to cry. And you look ugly when you are sad."
"It is a promise." I rested my palm on top of hers.
The perfectly romantic scene was disturbed by a child's cry coming from the adjoining apartment. She took her hand off mine. I thought, "Damn, tough luck."
She went to the next compartment to see what the problem was. The boy was two years old and his mother was not to be found. Nobody seemed to care about the boy.
She carried the boy in her arms and brought him to our compartment. She cajoled the boy by singing a lullaby for him. She had a sweet voice; the voice of a nightingale.
"I love kids," she said.
"I love kids, too," I replied, eager to show we had similar tastes.
The boy did not stop crying. He appeared to be terrified of us. His mother was nowhere to be seen.
"You don't like songs. Okay, I will tell you a story. Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a king."
The boy listened intently for a second but started crying as soon as she paused."Hey, relax. Give me time to think of a story. You are an impatient baby. In this land..."
"I will look for the boy's mother," I said. She nodded her head.
I found the boy's mother, two compartments away. She had gone there to meet a friend. She had forgotten about her kid.
When we came back to S1, we found the boy sound asleep in Shalini's lap. She had used all her powers of persuasion to make him feel secure in her lap.
"I want to thank..."
"Shh...Your son is sleeping. Don't disturb him," she whispered to the boy's mother and gave the boy to her.
"Do you want the Nobel peace prize?" I asked her cynically.
"I love people. When I am around, the people around me should be happy. That is my philosophy in life," she said, sincerely.
It made me feel small and stupid in front of her. I began to rethink about my mission in life. Should I be a priest? No, can't marry her. Social worker, peace activist...maybe.
We heard a voice in the distance shouting "Is there a doctor on this train?"
"Dr. Shalini, here. How can I help you?" she shouted back.
We waited to see the face of the voice we had heard. It was a co-passenger, a bearded man who seemed anxious.
"Doctor, my father is serious. Please do something."
"Come with me. You could be of help," she told me. She caught hold of my arm and guided me along the compartment. I had absolutely no say in the matter. Oh! The power of women!
The old man was in a grave condition. His breathing was heavy and he was coughing profusely. He seemed ready to make peace with god. "Open the windows," she told me. I opened all the windows to allow fresh air to come in.
"Hold him up for me," she instructed.
I made the old man sit up. She took out her stethoscope and checked his heartbeat. She checked his pulse for variations.
I watched her lovingly as she worked her magic on the old man. She was so soft and tender with people. Whether it was a little boy or an old man, she had so much affection for them. Unbelievably, the old man was normal within half an hour. His son didn't have enough words to thank Shalini.
"He is okay now. Don't disturb him. Let him sleep well," she instructed him.
"I never expected you to be a doctor," I said.
"Men always think that beautiful women don't have brains."
I didn't know how to reply to that remark. Did she mean that she was beautiful, or brainy or both. One can never understand a woman's mind. So, I diverted the conversation.
"What made you become a doctor?" I asked.
"A lot of things. It was my father's dream. Above all else, it gives me the power to make people smile; the power to save lives."
"Will you marry me?" I asked, spontaneously. I had never been more sure of myself.
"Is this April fool?"
"No. I am serious. See, I know that I am unemployed. I am not even as educated as you. I don't even look good. I have no caliber. But I love you. Will you marry me?"
"You know nothing about me. I don't like commitments. I live every day like it is my last."
"If you marry me, I will live everyday like it is my first."
She closed her beautiful eyes. She took a deep breath and thought for a moment. The suspense was killing.
"God, why didn't I meet you earlier," she said.
I had no time to reply. The doors to my mouth were sealed by her lips. I thought that my head was immersed in the clouds. The people in my compartment pretended to close their eyes. But I could see the men looking at me with envy through the corner of their eyes. It was the most beautiful moment of my life. It still is the most beautiful.
The train came to a screeching halt. We had reached Tirupur station. It was hard to believe that so much had happened in two hours.
There are some moments in life which you can remember even in your sleep. For me, it was what happened at Tirupur railway station. It redefined my life forever.
"I am hungry. Get me something to eat," said Shalini. She dug into her leather handbag and brought out twenty rupees.
"It's okay. I have money. What do you want?"
"Get me Strawberry milk to drink. And honey, I love you," she said, earnestly.
We hugged again. For the last time.
The milk booth was about hundred feet from S1. It gave me time to think about the sudden changes in my life. My parents were conservative people. I had to convince them about Shalini. If they agreed, good. If not, who cares? I loved Shalini more than my parents.
My thoughts were disrupted by the sound of an explosion. It sounded like the aggregation of a thousand thunders. The impact of the explosion threw me off my feet. I turned to look at the train. S1, S2 and S3 had been reduced to pieces, like waste in a manufacturing process.
My only thought was about Shalini. I ran towards where S1 had previously been. I searched for her amidst the corpses. All I could find were severed hands, burnt flesh and a fresh stream of blood. Not a single body was identifiable in the three compartments.
Who on earth could do such a cruel thing, I wondered. I swore that I would get even with the people who had taken my beloved Shalini's life. I wept like a little boy who had lost his favorite toy. Amidst the tears, I thought about the two hours I had spent with Shalini. Something she had said had struck me as strange.
"You know nothing about me. I live everyday like it is my last. God, I wish I had met you earlier." "Could it be Shalini," I wondered. "No, not Shalini. She had too innocent a face to do such a dastardly act. Besides, she was a doctor. And they know the value of a human life," I reasoned to myself.
The next morning, my worst fears were confirmed. A newspaper report said, "A twenty two year old doctor named Shalini had committed suicide on the Niligiri express. She had taken the lives of hundred people with her. The reasons for the attack are unknown."
I never understood the reasons for the attack. It could have been personal or ideological. All I can still remember is her face, how innocent it looked. How she made everyone around her happy. How she showed love and care to kids and old men alike.
That face was a mask. Beneath the benevolent mask, was the true Shalini. A hard-nosed, sadistic, terrorist capable of sacrificing human life to satisfy her selfish needs.
She truly changed my life. From then on, I realized that every human wears a mask which he develops over a period of time. It is the mask which is exposed to the world. Beneath that mask, after layers of deceit there lies the true nature of each individual. This real person in each one of us is intricately more fascinating than any figment of wild imagination.
Shalini's mask was my first love. I will always love her.