Life at CG!!!!!!!

PandeyJi is back in the writing business... and yes.... Pandey's can write a bit as well... not just sell PAANs and are not that corrupt Thanedar Chulbul Pandey for sure!!!
Well a very emotional start to the post, but I am really sick of being called chulbul, not because it suits me, it kinda does, but Salman is NOT suited in the name!!!! Role yes, def., he is the biggest ass u can find in Bollywood, but please, spare me the horror of Robinhood Pandey!!!!

Anyways starting with what i am here for
"LIFE AT CYBER GREENS".
Its been more than 4 years now in Sapient, with atleast 2 years in the CG office.... Coming back from Noida to CG has actually inspired me to write this.
The true depth in the post can only be felt by ppl who have worked full-time in both the location, occasional visits DO NOT COUNT!!!!




CG or should i say, Gurgaon has its fair share of problems... I mean everything is a challenge here.

• Getting from the Toll to office. 
• Getting to the Toll from Office. 
• Boarding the bus/cab. I swear in the time i leave my seat and the 7:30 cab moves from the CG office, i can get home from the Noida office.
• Shuttling b/w 9th and ground floor. The sheer challenge of using the lift has forced me to have my lunch on my seat.
• The AC. Its NEVER, EVER at the right temperature, its always either too cold or too hot. :| :|
• The Roads.. OMG.. I stayed in ggn for 2 days recently. and my car suffered damages more than it has in its whole running life!!!!! Had to search for the least objectionable Pothole on the road and a cherry on top was the copious amounts of rain!!!!

Inspite of all this.. Life is a bit different here. Its not the regular office life i have seen in Noida. Here, long working hours are more fun and less challenge. And the visual treat while on the more than occasional breaks are always welcome!! How so ever a person keeps cribbing about the long working hours, the inconsiderate transport arrangements, ppl deep within them, do realize that its the life they have chosen and they want to live it. Many a ppl are literally crying after leaving Sapient. Well some are pretty happy as well, so it all evens out on that front.

Coming back to CG, Commuting to ggn on a daily basis has def. taken a toll on me. But still there is a zeal to get up in the morning and catch that 6:40 Bus. There is a sense of professionalism in the air. Although the 'gaon' is in Gurgaon but its the Noida office which feels more like a gaon!!!!
I have always been careless and shabby when it comes to clothes. Never really cared. But in Ggn, I feel like wearing good formals and smart casuals. Maybe the morning tea on 7th floor has inspired to take more care of my looks or maybe its just the airconditioning in CG.
The food options are Numerous, Noida was more like a school canteen when it came to food. In Ggn you can have anything you can imagine. Host of speciality restaurants, lunch beer options, food court, tiffin boxes and what not!!!!

Spl. credit should be given to the N number of malls in Gurgaon. Have nothing to do; need some bird watching; going for a team event; gone shopping; on a date?? Gurgaon and Ambiance mall offers u everything...
If you keep the transport, the roads and the civic arragements aside, Gurgaon has truly transformed into a International city, with complete Skyscrapers, host of malls, luxury homes, the best brands in the industry, and the haut haut lifestyle!!! ;) ;) ;)

Last but not the least... MACHAAN!!!! Lots and lots of fond memories associated with machaan and similar places in ggn. The so called ahaata's in UP are piece of crap when compared with the ones in ggn. Amazingly cheap liquor, good food, great place to sit. and Good crowd. What more do you need???

Recent addition to my list of drinking places has been Route04. It has opened up inplace of the Merc Benz showroom, awesome place. Very nominal pricing in Happy hours. Good cocktails. Great but a little overpriced food.!!!! Good ambiance!!!! Worth a few visits!!!!

So cheers to GGN!!!!!
A few office pics that I have taken over the years - Office Album!!!

A Vacation called SPOC

Its almost a year and a half since my trip to Germany and i am finally writing a blog entry about it. Yes i am a douchebag!!! Showering no more disrespect to the avid bloggers community, here is it -

SPOC - Sapient Point Of Contact. We at T-Com go to Munich for 3 months on a rotational basis for this role. Well it is a different kind of a challenge, being there all alone, facing all the client queries. But ITS FUN!!!! So is this blog entry... nothing official about it!!!! :) :)

The Arrival:
The story starts much before i actually arrived in Munich, before the departure from IGI, also before the packing and weighing of the bags. Its about the day when things got finalized. I was finally traveling overseas. It had been delayed for various reasons, cant complain now. But yeah, missing the BeerFest was a really dumb choice!!! I cant write how much I wanted/want to be in Munich at the time of the OktoberFest.
With an excess baggage of arnd 11 Kg, my mom still wanted a few more things to add in the already 18 Kgs of food!!! She loves me way too much!!! ;)

First Day:
I reach MUC at 2:30 CET to find a BMW series 5 waiting for me outside. That car had a SOFA for a seat man. I kept admiring the car all my way to the apartment, maybe that's why i tipped the driver 5 euros on a bill of 60!!!! :|
There were Divraj and Vikas, the German Playboy Printing House employees!!!! ;) Well let me not complicate, they wer working for Burda, which prints Playboy in Germany. ;)
We almost immediately left for Mariene Platz the main shopping area in Munich, spent 500 Euros on the frst day of landing, watched the crappy ChandniChowk2China and had a totally diff/ taste of Pizza Hut, European style!!!! ;)

First Week:
The first week was eventful as well, money was flowing like water, 35-40 Euros a day was the avg. as of now!!! Spl mention for the skippable Munich Masala parties with Sehgal and co., Fab dinners with the big daddy of Team black 'Abhishek Dada' (spl. the Afghani restro and GAST)!!!
P.S: Associate Level ppl, avoid dining with AB if you have a decent appetite. He WILL make you eat the last piece of food bite on the table. Talk about work pressure!! ;) ;) ;)

The next couple of months:
The next couple of months were little eventful, but i did visit a lot of great places, mostly with these apartment guys and Jagdeep, the Scout Scout ;) had been my travel companion for most of the trips i took in Germany!!!!
Traveled places:
1. Augsberg - A truly awesome place, with majestic Castles and divine cathedrals. Had got the Swarovski in Rhodium ring for mom and my next girlfriend (Yeah its kinda cute isn't it, Shopping for a future girlfriend??).
2. Ulm - This was the client side, which is home to the ULM MINSTER 'Tallest Church in the World'!!!!!

3. Berlin - All courtesy of the Oracle guys who we met in the Olympia park in Munich. Berlin was fun, my first international nightclub visit, and the Pegasus Hostel. What can be a better than opening your eyes to the back of a European girl in her bare essentials?? :D :D Well this is the hostel i crashed into for the night in Berlin, co-ed dorms and even washrooms!!!

 4. Some more places like Chimsee Lake, Neuschwanstein Castle, then the Netherlands trip to Den Hagg, Rotterdam and Amsterdam!!! Wont make my blog boring with these entries, but yeah AMSTERDAM has to have a special para!!!!

Final Days:
In my last weeks before the return, clubbed an extended weekend with a couple of vacations and me, Jagdeep took off to Netherlands.. we went to Amsterdam, Den Hagg and Rotterdam!!!! It was an "AMAZING" trip.... Right from the word go... it was awesome all the way!!!! We reached the main Amsterdam city from the Schiphol Airport after traveling TICKET-LESS in high speed inter-city trains. Well we did not really have an option there. ;) ;)
Upon reaching the city, it was already late night, searching for our hotel was a huge task, should have roamed arnd the ARLD roads instead of going to the hotel ;) ;)
Cant thank Jagdeep more for accompanying me on the 'Easter weekend in Netherlands', for eating copious amounts of KFC, Burger King and Pizza Hut junk food, for helping me to the Hotel after i got stoned!!!! Yeah that was in Rotterdam, I was 100% stoned, cant remember much from that day!!!!

Spl. reference to the small guesthouse we went to in Rotterdam 'Tourist Travel Inn', very cost effective; the rooms, beds were awesome and the Uncle was really nice and sub-continent friendly (lived in Goa for 20 yrs)!!!

The blog till now seems to be a little disoriented,  which is actually no surprise as I have written it!!!!
The point that i wanted to make or convey is that going onsite is not just about making money, searching for the per-diem receipts, going to clubs or working with the clients like an ass. The experience is exhilarating. It brings out the best in you.... Good or bad, but it does give you that kick... I have to say, the 3 month vacation was the time that i learned most in my professional life. It gave me a perspective towards things, towards work, towards life and towards BEER!!!! :D :D :D

I hope to get this blog included in the SPOC Rampup guide. ;) ;)
Signing off with 3 Cheers for all the former, current and future SPOCs... Hip Hip Hurray!!!!! :) :) :)

P.S: Some memories from the trip at My Picasa Albums!!!!

Silence

Many of you would be surprised seeing an entry by me on Silence….
Ha ha, believe me I am not less surprised either!!! But to be honest, have realized that silence is my core nature. At the end of the day, I am meant to listen. I am a better listener than a speaker!!!!
Now as I begin to write this entry, my mind is in frenzy, in a total state of disorientation and craziness.
Keeping silence on the outside, i.e. keeping mum is NOT difficult, spl. when 2000 ppl around you are on Mute as well. It’s the SILENCE OF THE MIND that seems unachievable. My mind was racing like a derby horse. Its not like that it did not used to do that before, now I was aware of it. I was on mute and I had all the time for myself and my thoughts.

My first encounter with silence has not been so pleasant. They say that silence generates and kindles the power generator & the creativity glands in you. Well it just did not happen with me.
1. I got lazy.. I mean reallyyy lazy!!!
2. Could not even concentrate during the processes, leave alone the meditation!!!
3. Kept hearing crappy, irrelevant thoughts ALL the time!!!
But none the less, the experience was really worth it. Silence really lets you connect to yourself. And being in the Ashram brings a whole new meaning to the complete exercise!!! Now I finally understand what Neha meant by ‘I want some silence and time off alone’.
My take on Silence -> WORTH IT. 2-3 Days, once in a while, its an absolute pleasure.

P.S: This blog comes after a loooong time… Its nice to be back penning down the thoughts!!!

The Trip to Nandi Hills!!!!!!

Where should i start? Mr. Pandey is again at a crossroad, having to choose between eying a haut airhostess and writing this entry. Currently sitting in a 2 Hr delayed flight back to Delhi writing the post with THE PEN borrowed from the same haut Airhostess!!! ;) ;)

As Bau would put it, Typical Boys. Kuch nahi ho sakta inka!!! :D :D

Anyways coming to the topic, planning the trip to Nandi Hills started a few months ago, Molie was always into going there for the sunrise; planning, cancelling with many a people, always pestering me to get more details and wishing that i was in BLR to accompany her on the trip. Much did i know that the trip was infact on the cards!!!

It all started with a Yes-No, Yes-No Syndrome, I was supposed to go into Silence on the previous night and do the Yoga+Meditation in the Morning. But true to say, bunking sessions of an advanced course and delaying the onset of Silence by a few hours was DEFINITELY worth it....

Nandi Hills is an amazing place and going there with your near and dear ones adds another cake on top of the cake!!! :) The serenity and sheer scenic beauty of the place takes your breath away. Somehow at Nandi Hills, i did not feel out of the ashram, both have an amazing aura and calmness in the wind, i wish i could do the 20-40-40 there itself!!!!

< Break > The airhostess is back.....
Traveling at a height of 38,000 Feet at 400 km/h with temperature outside at -47 Celcius. It gives me goosebumps while admiring the pretty bosom of the same hot airhostess as she serves dinner to my friends and countrymen!!!
Yeah yeah, i am sick; but what i have also learnt from Bawa at one of his Awesome sessions is that being crude at the core & being able to speak the awesome/awful things in your mind is a rare trait, and being able to do so also helps you bring out the +ve traits of your character as well.
Or maybe this Rs. 20 Spicejet Caffeine is giving me the kicks or maybe i am just trying to make my blog interesting!!! :D :D

Now getting back to the Hills, there are some things that i cannot write here, else my dearest sister Ms. Molshree Gupta with start shouting aloud of my feminine traits!!
But i have to write something right???
After sleeping at almost 1AM we had to get up at 3 to get ready for the trip. We had hired an Indica whose driver was i guess, no no i am sure was pretty drunk. :D :D Earlier i thought it was the sweet and sensual aroma of Tequila and Bacardi of Target's team event but to my misfortune, i guess it was the Desi Kannad Tharraa!!!! :| :| :|

The Trip was arranged by Mrinal, a fellow Sapient employee, an avid and exemplary photographer!! This guy saw the beauty in everything as soon as he got his hands on his SLR. Its really nice to see people follow their passion and hobbies in the midst of their busy work life, i guess this is what keeps you going!!!
Though Molie disagrees but even taking out my 5000 Kodak Super Crappy Digicam would have been an insult to Mrinal's SLR whose spare lens was twice as costly as my camera.
Then there was BBB - "Bhargava the Buddy Boy"... He seemed strikingly similar to one of Sapient Munich's director and started almost all of his sentences with "Buddy Boy". A wonderful guy none the less, totally enjoying every moment.
And on the bike there was Raju, for whom Mrinal was doing a matrimonial portfolio service (FOR FREE).
Wont disagree that i was also tempted to get some Matrimonial pics clicked myself!!!



Enough of useless reading, now for some good information, some quick tips and features of Nandi Hills.

1. Nandi Hills is located 40-50 km from the New Airport on the outskirts of Blr, the drive is good but a little bumpy. And you need to be a decent Hilly Billy to take the car all the way to the hilltop.
2. We had got a good decent crowd, but cant be sure with these bloody drunk Kannads. They can be drunk 24X7 man. So the fairer sex should not be going in small or all female groups.
3. The entry gates and ticket sales open only after 6:00 AM. So no use reaching to early.
   Tickets costs are normal. Car-80, Bike-15, and ppl-5 per head.
4. TAKE a Jacket & Umbrella along, it can rain anytime and its really cold up there at this hour.
5. Ruby smells really NICE, Ohhh sorry, let me introduce you to Ruby. She is the HAUT Airhostess I had been referring to all along. So Fly Spicejet!!! HA HA!!!
6. Do drink the Yella Neeru... The fresh and chilled coconut water just made our day over the hill top.
7. Take your own food, if you want it to be like a picnic, though you get food options up there as well, but not too sure of the taste/quality.
8. You might find a few desperate couples here and there, looking for a sneaky session. But please, get a room for Gods sake!!!
9. You can also Stay there, cottages are at just Rs. 300 a night. So it is a good weekend getaway as well!!!
10. We went for Sunrise, sunset can be even better, so that's an option too.

So cheers... Cheers to Nandi Hills and Ruby the Air Hostess!!!!!