A bike.... finally

I am very happy to announce that my best buddy Shariq has booked a RE Electra for himself. Within the next 15 days he will be the proud owner of a new bike, inshallah :).

We both planned to buy a bike this year - but I have shelved mine because, frankly speaking, with office being only one and a half kilometers from where I stay there was no point in going for it. Also, because of the fact that I am looking for a change in location right now - it does not make sense to book a bike in Hyderabad and then pay for registration again in some other state. (Sounds stupid - well, this is India my friend).

Here is what his bike will look like (am sure the colour will be black n not red though) -

Please join me in congratulating him for his latest posession. Hope it lasts a lifetime :D, and we have a lot of rides together in future - Inshallah.

This is Hashir, signing off

Over and out

I like odds. They help me get even

Success has no address,

No landmark,

No calling card,

But the path is steep.

And some will take the elevator,

But I will take the stairs,

Some will get there faster,

But I will get there stronger.

And adversity will be my travelling companion

Because when I reach there I can turn to adversity and say, So long,

And heave the bag of taunts and insults I have gathered along the way, and scatter them to the birds.

I will miss them,

But feel lighter,

Yes

That will be the day,

When I stand by a large bay window and unclench my fist

For there will be no more odds to conquer,

Not even in the mind.

Disclaimer - The above poem was a part of the print campaign for Kawasaki Bajaj Caliber. I took permission from them to reproduce this on my blog, and all copyrights belong to them or the poet as the case may be.

This is Hashir, signing off

Over and out

A new collaboration - Manor of the Ardent

The last week has been an eventful week for Satyam and it's associates. First came the declaration of VPP and the knowledge that many of our friends were part of those who were going on sabbatical. By the end of the week Satyam got a new logo and management changes (with many more in the pipeline) and the news that around 400 associates have been called back from VPP within a week. Talk about a committed management.

In between all this, the Satyam blog site somehow went down. Now, as you all know, we have a group of dedicated bloggers in Satyam, and as happens - many of us have become great friends. The first day was spent discussing about why the blog site is down and how much we all are missing it.

By the end of day two, the discussions shifted to what we can do to find a work around - since blogger is blocked in Satyam network :(. Deepak did some quick RnD and found that wordpress is accessible from the Satyam intranet and we unanimously decided to start a collaborative blog. And so, the Manor of the Ardent was born.

Imagine a space with 14 different writers, each with his or her unique style of writing, with a different persepective of live and happenings around us, and different point of views - and you get the Manor - OUR Manor. It is the perfect melting pot of people who have only one thing in common - that they work for or worked for Satyam and know each other by their blogs. All we share is a mutual respect for each other as a person and as a blogger - and our different view points ensure that the space is never monotonous and always has a discussion going on. Welcome dear friends to the Manor.

The page has proven to be a hit - with 1280 page visits, 37 posts, and 396 comments - all in a weeks span :D.

I, being a proud Ardent, invite you all to visit the space, go through the different posts, and leave your comments. Hope to see you there.

This is Hashir, signing off

Over and out

Random Thoughts

As I sit here with sunlight pouring through my window, all I can think of is how I am going to survive today. You see, the problem is that I have not slept well for the past one week or so. And the crowning glory is that I was unable to sleep even a wink tonight, which means I have been awake for close to 24 hours now. My eyes feel as if they weigh a ton and all I can think of right now is to complete the component I have been developing and run away from office ASAP.

On another note, since my MS is almost complete, I have decided to look for a new job. The only catch is that I want to shift to NCR as am tired of staying so far from home. Lets see what comes up with this :). Pray for me, will ya.

This weekend is going to be special for me as I am going to meet a few blog friends of mine for the first time. We all blog actively on the Satyam blog space - but have somehow never met till now. And now one of my friends is coming from Chennai to meet us here :D. Sounds interesting doesn't it :). The only problem is - as happens with all the programs - we do not have any specific plan except that we are going to meet other bloggers. We planned to catch Angels and Demons at iMax, but could not get the tickets :(.

The thing with blogging is that you tend to forge friendship with people that you have never met or talked to. And since you tend to share a lot about yourself with others (sometimes without realizing this), they know a lot about the real you. So, that initial ackwardness is missing and the conversation really flows.

On the work front, there are plans to shift the location from where my project operates. The new location will be very far from where I stay right now, so am not sure on what I will do when this happens. (The new office will most probably be in a SEZ - far from the city). But am not worried about that as of now - what will happen will happen, there is no point in pondering over it now.

I know this seems like a jumbled post, but the thing is that am suffering from some sort of a writer's block (not that I write well ;)), just like Zeba here. So I decided to write what ever comes to mind - and this is the result.

For now, this is Hashir, signing off

Over and out