summy's biryani !

2nd post of 2010!

2010-11-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

yeah really , this is my 2nd post of 2010 ... busy twitting ... not updating blog ... :)

bday is over with bang ... diwali , parties-get togethers , gifts , home decoration , lights ...

finally , time has come for india trip... long awaited .. almost 1.5 yr back i left my country...

planning , shopping is on.. hopefully thanksgiving would give get some good deals ...

health checkup is planned next week , hope it gives some good news ... i know i am not doing regular exercise though ;) .... ok next update would come from India , bye ..

Happy New Year 2010!

2010-01-02T00:31:00.000-08:00

2010 has arrived ! 2009 went in the wink of an eye. Overall very very good yr for me , Specially , the 'change' in personal life has brought lot of enthusiasm in life :) , whole year was cool on work-side too. We had enjoyed last week of 2009 at PlanetHollywood @ LasVegas (though didn't wait till new yr's eve there)
Nothing special resolution as such , however would like to keep updating blogs more regularly. :)
Lets c what 2010 has in store for me! All the best!!

Diwali Celebration!

2009-10-31T12:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Diwali ....!
'MaujMasti' had celebrated Diwali - the festival of light, joy, prosperity, good-luck & of course wealth :) We had a potluck with variety of culinary skills ... from pani-puri , pakoda .. to paneer- tikka , gulabjamun ... Being the host , Niharika & I took the opportunity to decorate our home and tried to celebrate diwali as close as we do back in India. It was a great get-together with lots of fun, food & blessings!

back to business .. busyness...!

2009-01-20T07:28:00.000-08:00

Back to India has always been great feeling for me. And this time it was coming for 'good' , so with totally different mindset, an end (atleast a long break) to 3+ yrs stint.

Back in India , it was nice break of 3 weeks at home( thanks to relatively relaxed X'mas in terms of project work. ) And now , back to business ... catching up with a new team at offshore , KTs , followups , transitions , clearing backlog .. back to busyness. Fortunately , I got a place in guesthouse inside Infy campus which would ease out lot of B'lore traffic trouble. Food-courts are serving varied type of snacks,meals. However , I am missing self-prepared food , as it used to have different taste every time, unlike same standard taste always ;) Weather is pleasant , waiting for some opportunity to roam around .. somewhere other than big malls ;)

Let me see what 2009 has in store for me.

Pikes Peak memories...

2008-08-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

Couple of weeks back , We , group of 4 had visited Denver , Colorado. Mesmerizing Rocky mountain landscapes , invigorating trails along falls ,lakes , mysterious garden of gods , breathtaking Royal gorge bridge - highest suspension bridge in the world and the one of the most visited mountain in the world....Pikes Peak , the truly marvelous nature creation. We took a cog train to reach at summit (14K+ feet high ), whimsical climate did its magic again , snowfall started suddenly and we were on and above clouds.
2 weeks later , we had a meeting @ Pikes Peak .. yep , name of one of the conference room in office. Being new born baby in the group of other conf rooms, only few people have noticed it in the office. There was some noise coming from top of that . Reason : some air conditioning maintenance. We couldn't continue with meeting and left it. I didn't know that was my last visit to 'Pikes Peak'.
August 12th - 10 PM , I was in call with offshore at home and suddenly started receiving iChat pings from buddies regarding some helicopter hovering over Valley Green Dr. And news broke - fire in VG6... smoke was reaching till our apartment. I stepped out and saw big water hose was laid on the road and few cops cars with flashing light. After few moments, it was confirmed through online news that fire was in West side - 2nd floor of bldg.
In the aftermath of incident , west side has been completely cordoned off and residents are moved to other bldgs now - RC9,Vallaco. Fire was on a moderate scale , but smoke and water caused huge damage to property. With estimated loss of $2M , complete renovation would take 3 months. Thankfully , most of computers , personal belongings are working fine and salvageable. Rumors in the air like - R&D bldg on fire , it will impact new product launch . Few funny remarks - Xtreme heat resulted from Macbook battery caused the fire , testing of new iPhone app - iLighter was in progress :)

Hope to see Pikes Peak back in new style.

Sarkar se SarkarRaj tak...

2008-06-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

Is it something about review of SarkarRaj ? or comparison between 1 & 2 ?? nahhh!

Sarkar was the 1st movie I watched in US, what is so special?

I landed at SFO - 7th Aug @ 1:30 PM , reached Cupertino 2:30 PM, went to Saravanna Bhavan @ 3 PM , then to Naz8 - fremont @ 6 PM ... yes same evening! Everywhere desis n desis. mini India outside India!! I realized the very 1st day that how interesting life would be.. and today SarkarRaj - 12 AM show at Naz8 again. hhmm , the movie was above average , I liked the end specially.

It's been close to 3 yrs here, same apt - 414 , same project , same manager :) ... same sumit ?? nope ! Awaited weekends , changing roomies, new recipe experiments at home , India trips , accidents , new faces in life ... everyone and everything have had some purpose and helping me to realize who am I , what I desire!!

10K reasons to smile !!!

2008-03-23T22:42:00.000-07:00

" sumit , lets run last km more and finish with grace ... " - I was keeping my enthu by telling these few words to myself. Yes !! I finished my 1st marathon 10K race in 74 min ( organized by ASHA foundation ) and of course it brought a lot of confidence in me. I was practicing in gym for 5-6Km daily , but never ran for 10K at a stretch, so was bit worried at first . However , nice weather , prefect trail along the Shoreline lake , never-ending energy of runners , few breaks for water helped me to accomplish this. Sundaresh ( my roomie) too finished 10K race and Manju , Sidd did quick 5k with super speed. Check out few snaps in gallery, official results , video.

My next target would be more 10K races and if possible half-marathon. Way to go , Sumit !

Radha kaise na jale ...

2008-03-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

I just came across this pic on TOI site related to presidential elections in US.
God Krishna is shown as inspiring Obama ( Krishna is also supposedly dark in color as per mythology) and his love - Radha is an experienced Hillary here. Like Krishna-Radha's love , Obama-Hillary fight has also become popular and eagerly watched by everyone now. Whatever is the outcome , it will be remembered for long time.
Coming to the title of my blog - Radha kaise na jale? ( then why don't Radha feel jealous? ) this is a famous song of Oscar nominated bollywood film - Lagaan. Radha feels jealous about Krishna's talking-roaming with other girls , Hillary also has similar feeling about Obama's running success in campaign.!

Welcome 2008!

2008-01-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

Finally I took out some time to blog after more than 2 months , busy or lazy ?
This new yr celebration was in Vegas ! After 3-4 days of Xmas support , it was indeed a wonderful break to end 2007 and start 08 , isn't it? This was my 2nd trip to Vegas ( 1st was in Thanksgiving'05 ) and of course agenda was quite different this time.
A bit of Gambling ( Roulette mostly ) , mesmerizing Zumanity show , the new yr bash @ Stratosphere pool side , adventurous fremont street experience (entered new yr spl. event without pass ), monorail-Buses trips on the strip , my favorite Bellagio fountains and many more...
Let snaps speak more than words , enjoy!!

2007-10-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

One more weekend is gone ... making sure that I enjoy the last few days of Bangalore.
The huge marvelous ISKON temple was the last weekend's spot. Wonderfully decorated Lord Krishna and other deity idols , chanting bhajans in such tranquility would touch to everyone. I bought a waterpiece - a balkrishna sitting and enjoying makkhan with flowing water and lights nearby :)
An this Saturday, it was a long awaited grand safari at Banerghatta National Park . White tigers , lions , bears were spotted during an hr long journey though bus. After appeasing butterflies in stomach ,it was time to check out 1st ever Butterfly park of India. Nicely constructed park with full of informative slides , short movie about this beautiful insect. Not sure if we missed the time or something else , not many butterflies came outside of bushes , flowers to watch me there ;) Then the Zooo... ! Have you seen White Peacock ? atleast I never heard of that till I actually saw. Popular animal of India , Elephant was taking kids on park ride. I also witnessed some miscreants feeding some food to animals , teasing birds in the cage, I made them clear their itself and warned about the harm they are causing to poor animals. In the end , as anticipated rain started and runnnnn to catch a bus. Pankaj , my engg. friend accompanied me. * Missed my iPhone camera , as it is locked after firmware upgrade , asking for SIM which I left in US :(

And after watching great T20 cricket yday night , I was in office today working on a application downtime activities in the afternoon.

I will be traveling a bit more in coming few weeks for VISA stamping , Diwali @ home and back to Bangalore n work. hmm , ending the longest blog I ever wrote :)

Sitafal milk shake ...

2007-09-09T11:17:00.001-07:00

I had much missed Sitafal ( Custard Apple ) milk shake finally here , enjoying fruits of being in India , I never saw these fruits - Custard Apple , Chikoo in US in last 2 yrs. Last week was bit busy , meeting with new team , KTs , trainings on my project stuff.
Infy has also changed a lot since my last visit here before 3 yrs. Terminal food court & my workplace @ bldg 44 are truly amazing. Getting ready for a monday !

Today's fortune

2007-08-27T01:20:00.000-07:00

"You will travel far and wide, both for pleasure and business" - this is my today's fortune on Orkut. how true it is ? Yep , it is almost going to be true .. I am flying for India on coming Saturday , 9/1. And to complete an earth round trip, I am going via Atlantic this time, Frankfurt is the stopover during my hectic itinerary. Here people will enjoy long weekend ( I canceled my Chicago trip for this ) and I will resume working from B'lore office on Monday - back to those tie days ;) I am excited. !

2nd Anniversary!

2007-08-13T01:11:00.001-07:00

I guess you would have guessed it what is this 2nd anniversary about ? hmm , yes. I completed 2 wonderful , exciting years in US of A :) If I look 2 yrs back, I still remember that sunday 7th August 2005 when I landed in SF , my day had started with nice south indian lunch and bollywood movie @ Naz8 . Journey has been quite enriching on personal as well as professional front so far. There were lot of things to learn and unlearn & many more are yet to come. Few highlights include - A week long Thanksgiving trip , Crater lake , Lassen hikes , broken arm in car accident , changing roomies as well as colleagues , numerous rounds on our life line - El camina real and lot more..
Wish me good luck for year(s) to come :)

Jai Jawan , Jai Nissan!

2007-08-03T00:33:00.000-07:00

What you would do if the car repair cost is more than actual car price? yeah , it can happen in US only :( and it happened with me , with my Nissan 200sx. You must have got an idea from my car is damaged badly from driver side after sunday's mishap with a midsize truck & our more than 1.5 yr long company came to an end. I have to start looking a new companion for the journey ahead!

i've Phone , iPhone !

2007-07-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

it is simple phone , simple ipod , it comes with simple maps , you tube and lot more. yes it is simply superb! you will feel proud to be having one , it's iPhone!
finally, I emptied my pocket to get it , and actually pocket is more heavier now ;)
I'm still in learning phase , will post more pics and my first hands on experience!
lets go iPhonic....

Indian Ocean flooded everyone...

2007-07-16T00:22:00.001-07:00

yep , that is perfectly true ... Indian Ocean band performed their 1st concert of US tour on saturday evening at Hayward. This was a spl. performance for noble cause - AID NGO. Just few days back I came to know about this band from one of IO hardcore fan and thought of experiencing their magic. I was mesmerized by their fusion music , style of putting impromptu funny -witty remarks. Though I don't understand much about their non-hindi vocals, but it was so sublime that it kept everyone tapping their feet and clapping hands throughout the concert. I jumped from balcony to dance area and didn't miss the opportunity to enjoy the show from just few feet away. my favorite - Ma Rewa & Hille le.
Go IO Go !!!

"I am here to eat ..."

2007-07-14T00:38:00.001-07:00

" I am here to eat ..." whats the big thing if someone told u like this in any restaurant?
hmmm , but it depends on context too. I wanted some onion-pickle along with food @ Chaat Paradise ( fondly , we call it Narayanmurthy chaat house , as it has photo of our own NRN ).
So after loooooong wait for someone to turn up near table , I finally called one person and asked him , thinking that he is the actual helper/waiter there. And to my surprise , he replied with the first line of blog " I am .... " ( that same blue color T , he was wearing confused me) I felt embarrassed and to add masala to that some crazy person accompanying me was laughing endlessly ( loud enuf to get noticed by 3-4 surrounding tables ) btw , be careful next time :)

Don't miss the Rat act.

2007-07-04T23:58:00.001-07:00

Independence day had great treat - Ratatouille , one more great creation by Pixar-Disney. I am sure it is going to set new records on chart.
"Anyone can cook ..."

ice cream with Steve!

2007-06-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

yeeee! we had iPhone day celebration in office - Caffe Mac. And as you can see in snap , Steve Jobs was next to us (actually behind initially) in the queue , I had next scoop of ice cream just after him . :) Thomas & Teena were lucky to share the frame.

Infy Party ...

2007-06-12T23:29:00.001-07:00

Grand Infy summer bash on coming friday ..
we have plannned lot of activities , games , prizes , dance DJ and lot more...
As usual , need to finish pending tasks in coming 2-3 nights , also CR tomorrow night :(
then I will go to WWDC on thursday.
humm , busy week thoughout ! njoy.

Rahman Rocks!

2007-06-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

On Saturday , we enjoyed the magnificent performance by one and only AR Rahman and his troop. Oracle Arena , Oakland had the biggest conglomeration of bay area desis I have ever witnessed in US. Musical treat had great melodies from Dil Se, Lagaan , RDB , Roza along with hit Tamil songs esp. from Shivaji and Vande Materam in the end. Crazy crowd on the beats of Hama Hamma, Rang de Basanti & mobile light vigil during spl. dedicated song for needy people were one of the great moments of the night.

Post Yellowstone...

2007-05-29T23:27:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful - refreshing (not physically) Yellowstone trip , things are not on track.
It is really difficult to come back to routine after 3 days of schedule packed with natural marvels , trekks , nice drive ( after 3 months for me ) stopping at every vista point and filling up Gigs of memory chips. :)

Details n snaps will follow soon.

Don't leave any Yellowstone unturned.

2007-05-21T23:47:00.000-07:00

4 days to go for Yellowstone adventure.
All bookings like - Airline ,Car Rentals , Cabin , Car Parking at OAK , Whitewater Rafting are done. Grocery list is out , various ideas are flowing in . Big team of 15 guys are ready for adventure. Lets c . how it goes.

Stay tunes for more details!

chor , chor , pakdo

2007-05-20T01:34:00.000-07:00

Here is our chor (smart kid) Mr. Raghu trying to take out AAA maps stuck in the vending m/c.
he managed to get "USA maps" and also made sure to confess in front of surveillance camera the reason behind this act.

Good Job , buddy :)

Welcome!

2007-05-20T01:28:00.000-07:00

Hello ,
Thanks for visiting my blog site.
After endless deliberation finally I have decided to enter into blogging world!
Go though my albums & forthcoming posts, leave your comments and enjoy the wonderful biryani!

Cheers,
Sumit.