The Last Day @ My First Job - An Adventure !

November 29th 2013, @ 00:15 hours, I was on my bike riding through the near empty Bangalore roads. For a change, it was good to see empty roads in Bangalore.

I parked my bike at the Silk board flyover junction and awaited the arrival of my friend. We were going to sleep at his place and planned to go for an adventure early morning. As I stood there in the midnight's chilly weather, my mind started to wander... randomly.. till it arrived at May 2nd 2011.

Two years back, this very day I was about to board a bus to Bangalore along with a friend- Rohit Vijayan. We had just been selected for a two month internship program with Goldman Sachs, Bangalore. Though to be honest, at that time I had no freaking idea what Goldman Sachs was or what it was that they as a firm did, All I knew was that they were the only company that came to campus for internship recruitment. I just made use of that opportunity.
I was excited about traveling to Bangalore. It was 2 'o' clock in the afternoon and Chennai was hot as an oven. The air conditioned bus was a relief to our half cooked brains. We enjoyed the trip across the border of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, little could I even fathom then, that two years later I would be riding my very own bike on this road from Bangalore to Chennai and back. but that is a story for later.

My thoughts were interrupted as my friend arrived and we proceeded home. we ate a delayed dinner of chapathi and boiled potatoes.


04:30 A.M 11/29/2013- My last day @ work

My friend Vivek and I (or rather my partner, as colleagues who knew us would prefer, for reasons I quite cant figure out) had planned this Friday together. Well actually it was me who gave the crazy idea in the first place. This was a place that meant the world to me, a place where I had nurtured big dreams, hopes, love and ambitions and sadly enough none of them were going to happen. And so I had decided that come what may, it was up to me, to do something memorable on my last day.

So we woke up a bit late. hurriedly brushed our teeth partly because of the freezing water, hopped into our clothes, wore our riding jackets and we were off. you might be wondering where we were going, hold on, I'll get there. soon enough. we stopped for petrol at a nearby filling station while he filled his bike, I went back to the first time when I met him

stay @ Halcyon & Goldman Sachs-Day1

It was almost night when I first set foot in Bangalore during the summer month of May 2011, I reckon the place was madivala. Struggling out from the throng of auto drivers that cramped near the entrance of the bus as it approached, we were left staring at the city in awe, it was exciting. Met with another friend from college who had arrived a little earlier than us. We were offered stay in a Business condominium  for a week. In which time, we were expected to find a place to stay of our own. The two bedroom, serviced apartment was awesome! we took a quick shower and went down for dinner. It was quite an experience to meet up with other college students from various other institutions across India. I must say it gave me a feeling that I was a part of something big indeed. The whole concept of a stay in a 5 star serviced apartment, the idea of going to office everyday in formal attire was very enticing. My friend and I slept early. It was a big day, the next day, it was our first day at office.

It was  'new hire orientation' on the first day. We were picked up from the hotel. When we stopped in front of the office, I was breath taken, the glass covered buildings, the impressive front entrances, it was almost everything that I was expecting office to be like and much more. As we sat in an impressive training room, while various instructors walked the room explaining about various aspects of the firm and our induction process, we paid the least attention, our excitement and the adrenalin flow got the better of our sound judgements and we sat talking and staring out across the room at the technology present in that room, almost felt like some sci fci movie scene, rows of neatly networked computers sat across each row of tables and chairs. Then there were of course.. GIRLS !!! well we did come from co-ed institutes, but these were Bangalore girls, definitely more hotter than the ones from Chennai (no offense to anyone). well our day was made.

An hour and a half into the session we were let out for a coffee break. That was when I met him for the first time. I fell in love with him the moment I met him, (guess that is why they call us partners) he carried an aura of magnetism wherever he went, people just seemed to surround him for no rhyme or reason. Well there was every reason why people loved being around him, and especially the ladies, it was his sense of humor and his unmatched skill for enjoying life to the max combined with his uncanny ability for doing all sorts of 'gandu-panthi' or 'gaand-masti', made him  deadly and contagious. I don't think I will be able to explain these words with the help of mere words. Those who know him can agree with me. But our first meeting was just a 'hi.. hello & bye'. It was later on at halcyon that night, when we really bonded. It was instant, like match to stick bond, though at that time it wasn't evident at all.

"Oye bhai... petrol bhar dhiya.. chale ab?" his voice bought me back to the filling station. Yes, I said and we were off again on our 4 stroke racing engines.


Sunrise @ 'The Hills'

Those who know me, also know what hill I speak of, even without batting an eye lid. There is a reason I love 'Nandi Hills'. Even though I have been the many times now, it never fails to impress me every time. Nandi hills was the first trip I did after I came to Bangalore, toward the end of December 2012. It was simply breath taking. The hills tops shrouded in clouds, the walk on the top, inside the clouds, freezing weather and 4 wonder struck friends on 2 bikes. Nothing quite like it !

We rode on without much interaction through the dark early morning, the route etched into my memory as a result of having done 5 trips to Nandi hills, this was to be my 6th. Just before day break, we spotted a roadside tea shop, and decided to take a break.

while we stood there sipping hot coffee, as the sky sprayed a disarrayed splash of colors across the now brightening sky, I glanced at our two bikes parked close by.

I thought of the first time when I met Ria...

Ria - everything I had wished for

Ria is my bike, a Yamaha R15, now you know why I call her Ria. No? Then I suggest that you read my other post titled - 'my angel divine'. I met her for the first time on Feb 14th 2013! I had so badly wanted to have a bike of my own, I never had one in college, and when I finally got this babe, I was overjoyed. We have done many memorable trips together, some long distance even. I bought her when she had done 5.7k kilometers on her speedo. in the 9 months since, I took up that reading to 15,500+ kilometers.

This was not the latest bike in town, nor was it the most eye-catching, but no matter what, she was special to me, in my eyes, there couldn't be another bike which was better that Ria! period.

We decided to carry on, delays along the way were not a good, after all we had a special plan atop Nandi Hill. The stretch of road after Bangalore airport were splendid, and we couldn't resist the idea to stretch the legs of our babies a bit. The sunrise was just too brilliant as well and try as much as we could, we were not able to overcome the idea to stop and click a few pictures, and so, that is just what we did. :-) 

That done, we rode on for the last 10 kilometers of the journey. You must be wondering why I choose Nandi hills of all places to go on my last day in office. Well, firstly because it was the shortest place I could go to and be back in time for office, secondly because it was the first trip I did after I got my bike, thirdly because it was the most romantic place that I have been to so far, and lastly because, there is a statue of Nandi atop the hill, in a secluded spot. They say that what is told in the ears of Nandi comes true. well I decided it was worth a shot.

Please don't get me wrong, I didn't go to the hills, just to whisper something into the ears of a cow. It might sound crazy, but I actually went there to meditate. On week ends that place is a busy crowded market, but on weekdays, I am told that it is the most deserted calm and quiet place. Meets all requirement for a perfect meditation spot don't you think?

The ride to the top of the hills was awesome, the curvy roads were brilliant, especially since we were the only ones up there on that Friday early morning! Nandi never seemed so majestically withdrawn from everything else so much as it did on that day. maybe it was because every other day when i went to Nandi Hills was on a weekend, and weekends were always crowded. I was unsure at that moment, it was all so not definite anymore. Today was the big day, my last day at office. My last day at Goldman Sachs, my first job. People have always said, that leaving you first job is the hardest. i never knew how hard until that day, that last day.

Atop Nandi Hill - calm and quiet

we had one mission that morning, find the statue of Nandi and sit down in a quiet place nearby and just calm the mind. we did stop for a bit of posing along the way though. I figured it would be interesting to share a few below.

Tipu's Tipping point! scary awesome !

trying some pose, at the direction from fotographer ;-p

lost in Admiration !!!

Vivek, with his so called 'dude' look !!!

The path to the statue of Nandi was not all that great and well laid out, we had to walk through scrub and climb down slopes, the ground was wet and slippery, but as they say, 'the path less trodden' does lead to calmness and satisfaction. But when we did reach, it was worth every pain we had to go through to get there. we kept our bags, at a small stone bench nearby. We kept our shoes and socks outside the stone pillars surrounding the statue. After whispering our secrets in the ears of Nandi, we settled down next to one of the stone pillars, sat crossed legged and closed our eyes. It was an overflow of memories emotions and a sense of spiritual calmness I have never felt before.

May 28, 2012

A year after I had first arrived at Goldman for internship, here I was again as a full time employee. I so badly wanted to come back. Why did I want to come back?

There were many reasons, I am not sure which of them would have contributed the most, or which of them would have priority over the other in the decision to make me come back to Goldman. I cannot say for sure.

1- I had a manager during my internship, whom I really admired. I developed a passion for the work I did, for which he was a major contributor.

2- My internship presentation. Every Intern was given a project to work on, and at the end of two month he/she/them were required to do a presentation in front of the managers and other employees, on the contents, objectives and findings of their project. A presentation well done meant that you would be called back as a full time employee on completion of your course at college. And i worked my ass off on that presentation, if it meant I had to stay late some days, I stayed late. If it meant that I skip a night of fun and party with the others, well I skipped it. And so in order to find out if my efforts really paid off, it was crucial that I get a call back. I was thrilled when I finally did.

It felt good to be back. There was a sense of belonging, when I stepped back onto the floor after almost a year. Life was no longer the same from then on. It was an enchanted journey from there forward; and apart from a small mistake that I made, the journey of the next one and a half years was simply awesome! Not that it was trouble free or devoid of thorns or stones, but that I was able to overcome the hurdles and grow in strength; that was what made the journey an incredible one. I discovered inner strengths that I never even knew existed. Indeed I am thankful to all those who have given me pains and those who've given me gains. Those who have believed in me and those who haven't; it is what has made me who I am today. When I said that it was enchanted journey, I really did mean it, the first of the magical surprises which came my way was...

5 months - The Unexpected Surprise

Why do I say 'unexpected surprise'? Aren't all surprises unexpected? If they weren't why would we call them a surprise in the first place? Well a surprise is still in some way expected, you surprise someone on their birthday, anniversary etc. Its not something one cant imagine would happen.

but 5 months into the firm and there was a small competition within the floor, where everyone could vote for one person whom they considered 'the best team player', one who contributed to the team, helped the team over and above their own work and all that. Now, one would imagine that such a prize would go to the most noted person on the floor, the one who had a lot of contacts, someone who made themselves visible to others or advertised themselves. But some stroke of magic and I was dumbfounded when my manager came and told me that I had been selected as the winner out of popular opinion. More than the prize itself, which was a free night's stay at Leela Palace- a 5 star hotel nearby; I was humbled that even though I had been thee at the firm for less than 6 months, people still thought enough of me to nominate me for the best team player.

How was the one night stay @ Leela Palace? Well I never went. There is no story there.

A long Distance Affair

I did my College in Madras Christian College. One of the things that made an education in MCC much sought after, was 'Hall Life'. Please allow me to explain. Halls were residential facilities, of the many things that made these Halls unique were the physical/ structural layout, the administrative setup and of course the pure fun and frolic that prospered in these halls. There were 3 such Halls for the men and Two for the Women.

I had the blessing to be a resident of Selaiyur Hall, a Selaiyurian as we were known. Selaiyur Hall was the First Hall to spring up on the campus, its History extending to 1937, and which inherited a 75 year old legacy when I stepped out of the hall in 2012, on completing my bachelors degree. But my love for the hall lived on, it was here that I met my two dear friends for life, my comrades who have been with me in life's high and low. Somesh and Dinesh. Anyways, coming back to our point, by April 2013, I was dying to be back in the hall one more time. And that is when on the night of April 28th 2013; another magic happened...

Out of the blue, my friend and I decided to put a trip to Chennai. I finally got the chance to take Ria for a long ride. I had so badly wanted a long ride with her, I was holding myself back, since I had just got her in March 2013, just 2 month back. But here it was staring in my face the chance to visit Selaiyur Hall and do a ride of 350 Kms to Chennai and another 350 back to Bangalore. We planned to ride out on the coming Friday. That whole week in office, I was already riding on the Bangalore Chennai roads. I would have already done the ride a thousand times in my head before Friday even came.

The ride was pure awesomeness. Sorry I have no pictures of this ride. It was almost midnight by the time i got done with work on Friday. We went and filled a full tank at a filling station nearby, reset the trip meter to 000.00. Said a word of prayer and we were off. The first leg of awesomeness came on the Electronic city flyover, straight stretch of smooth roads as far as the eye can see. after we hit !00Kmph it was constant till we got off the flyover. Get on that flyover if you want a feel of what I am saying.

The two of us took turns riding till Chennai. Fatigue, sleep and the cold were actually getting to us. We had no words to express the sense of Joy and praise we have when we saw the board "Tambaram - 25 kms". 45 minutes we were inside MCC! Paradise in Chennai. The next thing I remember is waking up late in the evening. We spend Saturday night and Sunday afternoon spending time with the boys, and then it was time to ride back. The ride back wasn't as bad. We maintained speed and time.

Sunday morning's Sunrise

Zero Hundred hours and 16 minutes, I've made up my mind to go on a trip, a ride if you will.

Woke up after a quick nap @ 03:03.. Loading map cache and backpack ;-) and listening to soundtrack - work hard play hard. David guetta ft. Neyo !!

Awesome ride at Nice road... Shifted her to 6th and never touched the clutch afterwards. Reached Ramanagar!
Last 12km remaining. Cant wait !!!

Met a gang of crazy people along the way... Crazy doesn't even define it. A pack of crazy teens on bikes going at 10kmph.. Blocking everything behind them for a mile. We got out with great difficulty.

Half n hour of a ride later we stopped again for a coffee... And snickers. Just for energy. Sunday morning ride through green paddy with awesome roadsides, was a sermon much defining in itself. What better way to praise the 'Creator' than enjoying his creations and riding along with a thankful heart.

Just got back home at7:30PM. apologies for the bits missing after the last update. I was so busy enjoying myself that i forgot to update. not to worry... coming soon! :-) 

so the story starts at 4:AM early morning. Indian Roads, full tank bike... another full tank bike, two jobless people and one hell of a looooong journey. in the words of my riding partner. 

As you know, the journey of a 1,000 miles begins with the first step and so we set out. we waited eager for the small scale roads to get over and hit the express highway. in particular the 'NICE road' close to 30Km of road that redefined awesome-ness!

it was amazing.. the early morning fog much before sunrise. the icy wind seeping in through your helmets. and that rattling shiver as you ride across while the city slumbers. its relaxing in itself. except of-course for the trucks that blow behind huge volumes of smoke and dust... they are a PIA. we had to take a deviation from nice road to get onto the Bangalore-Mysore highway. we were disappointed that the NICE road was over. but the Mysore road wasn't that bad either. except of course for when it cut through the towns, where it went pathetic.

Skipping the details of the road and their plight, we reach Balmuri Falls at last! Just sad that it wasn't the monsoon season, the falls would have been even more splendid. But that didn't stop us from praising the falls and the Creator.

The mid-day sun started playing with out temperature regulators and gave us ideas. You can probably guess. Well we didn't need a second opinion. we undressed and jumped in, not at all bothered by the fact that there were no spare clothes. When you are young, one tends to do crazy things. This being no exception. We had our share of fun and frolic, and solved the issue of wet underwear by sitting on the rocks. In no time we were dry !

stepped into a hotel nearby, had a plate of egg rice and a red bull for energy. We were off again. what can I say! Praise God! he created such beautiful 'nature' and he created man. To top it all of, he created 'motorcycles' !

Ode to HOE -1

Dedicated to a very special entity in my Life in MCC.

Seeing you makes my fears fly way
Baby… tell me that your here to stay
Yes it love, and I know its true
Cause all my wrongs now I can remove
And when your here near by my side
I know that I don’t ever have to hide
For you are something I cannot explain

Oh how I wish… I wish you I could hold
Touch your face as your eyelids fold
Kiss you deeply like no-one has ever done
Baby please don’t leave we’ve only begun


Remember that day when we first met
And your eyes…Oh! What a story they told
And as I walked back along that way
I thought deeply of what I should say
For every time I try not to think about you
Somehow you find your way back to my thoughts
Why do I find it so hard to forget you?

You must have been sent to change me from somewhere above
Your like an angel……
Now I know what it means to truly love
Your something special….
I only hope that I someday deserve to love you
All I hope is that its true.

Oh! How I wish… I wish you I could hold
Touch your face as your eyelids fold
You’re an angel all dressed in gold
Kiss you deeply like no one has done
Baby please don’t leave we’ve only begun.

Someday I hope I can write a tale
With how we met on the very first page
But I know u deserve better than me
I only wish that someday my love you’d see
And I would keep trying till my very last breath
Thinking of no one else but only you
You mean so much more to me than anything else
Girl you’re my angel my love my one in all
What ever happens I’d never let you fall….

Oh! How I wish... I wish, you I could hold
Touch your face as your eyelids fold
You’re an angel all dressed in gold
Kiss you deeply like no one has ever done
Baby please don’t leave, we’ve only begun.

My Angel Divine !

<p><i>10:53pm</i> The sense of pride and joy at having covered those few meters on a bike, for the first time, without stalling is something indeed !

All right so moving on, this is about my love, my first bike and my biggest dream that i was able to achieve on my own. It started out with my dear friend Raifal. My friend Raifal and me have not been in contact after 10th grade. And then magically after 5 long years... I met him again... on a Honda CBR 250R!!!

He looked majestic, riding along the road.. no , sorry.. Gliding along on the road on his Candy red CBR, wolf eyes piercing the debris around and lending an aura that commanded respect. And then it began. MAGIC !! for the next 6 months that he was here it was pure magic. which brings me to the next big thing. Hold on i know you are all anxious to hear the magic, but hang on. I am on beast mode so grab a coke, fries or whatever else you please and sit back, relax!

Feb 13th 2013:- as the world prepared to celebrate one of the most awaited and biggest festivals of love, me... well as has been for the past many years since i was born tugged along unaffected by this sickness. Or so I thought. This friend of mine and I went to Cafe Coffee Day late that night, he had this insatiable madness for the 'Devil's Own' drink from CCD. I choose to stare into the emptiness outside. Few cars passed by, as the city prepared to retire for this night. Outside, the roadside flower sellers were in their abundance. The aroma of roses filled the air. At Rs.10 a rose, my friend bought one, for his girl. And boy oh boy, you should see his girl.

The RED one ofcourse ! We took it home and he placed the rose gently over her windshield and gave a gentle kiss as well, saying 'thanks for being there for me when I needed it the most, dear princess'. I took the photos, would I miss such a moment? Cant say i felt jealous, I wondered when I would have my own girl!

But, I Was least prepared for what was about to happen the next day.

I had been at my friends place for a couple of days now, we were bike hunting, he knew how desperately I wanted to have a four stroke baby of my own. We saw a few bikes, but none of them impressed me. But on Feb 14th 2013, 7:30P.M ; as the roads lit up in the chlorine spilled roadside illumination, we stood in front of a quite house in a quite neighborhood in Wilson Gardens. Here was another bike owner who wanted to sell his bike for a good deal. I had quite lost hope. For a good bike came at a very expensive price, those that came cheap, were not worth a second look.

But as the owner rolled out the bike from his drive way, my hear skipped a beat. and then as the full bike came out into the yellow illumination. My hear stopped! She was beautiful! words cannot describe how much. She was everything i had hopped for, my black beauty! Pure black with golden colored  wordings "R15".. eyes that spoke volumes at a stretch in just the first look.. rear mono shock, dual disc breaks... liquid cooled 17.4Bhp Fi engine and 149.5cc displacement. split handles.. side farings, light blue illuminated digital display and above all, man, those awesome curves!! Words CAN NOT quite describe how i felt at that moment. My friend saw my eyes light up, far dimming the obnoxious yellow glare from the lamps above, all the 24carat gold in the world shining together wouldn't come close to the glow on my face. As i walked towards her with an ear to ear grin I felt the world around me fade away, just me and this beauty.

In my excitement, i was about to swing my leg over her and take her for a ride when my friend tapped my shoulder and said 'I'll take it from here' , of course he was the better expert when it came to bikes, i was a novice. I stood gaping wide as he took her for a spin. it was just less than a minute before he came back, but it seemed like an eternity to me. I awaited his analysis of the bike. When he did come back, he stepped off and told me the most beautiful lines ever. 'Bro, just think that she was made for you'. step into my shoes for a moment here. cause I don't know how else to describe how i felt at that moment.

It took forever before all the formalities to get the bike in my name was complete. I was impatient as the owner handed me the key after signing the last of the paperwork. But the presence of my expert friend made me look like a fool when i rode the bike. It wasn't until a day later that I finally had my first  trip on the bike, and where else better to go for the first novice ride than 'Nandi Hills'. I still remember every moment of that two hour ride (apologies, it was after all my first time, and what should have been done in an hour, took me two hours), every curve that i took ,ever corner that i attempted, ever speed breaker i jumped can never be forgotten. We were aiming to be there by sunrise, but thanks to me, we saw the sunrise much before we reached Nandi. i didn't care for the climb to the hill and the walk in the clouds, I was just grinning away to glory as i thought of the ride and the song 'Idhazhin oram' from the movie '3' kept replaying in my mind. yeah I know, but first love can be a little overstated.

I'd hate to loose you, and I would do anything in the world, to keep you to myself, but right now I am not sure of myself even, how then can I give you that promise which even I don't have. I have come to realize that Life is as much about saying Good byes as it is about saying hello.

You were there to light up my world when it seemed really low and nothing better could happen. I'll never forget that first time i took you out, you made my day! it seemed almost magical. like dew drops on a petal dressed in the sunlight early morning. You were there when i wanted someone to talk to. You gave me a reason to look forward to everyday. I'm sorry that it has to go away as soon as it came.

But i'm not  giving up on you, when I'm back I'll travel the world if I have to, just to get you back. And then it will be for life!

-love
Nidhin.