Hrishikesh Pallod

Wow. It's been a while. A few good people reminded me that I have a blog. I've been super busy for the last couple of months. Back to normal now. Around this time last year, I was preparing myself to move to Bangalore. During my finals I used to  spend more time on Quora/blogs just to find out more about the city. About the food, houses, stories of people there, and more. Then Veritas happened and I had the toughest decision to make. Decided to stay in Pune. When I got the offer, a part of me had already made the decision. But I had to justify it with some pros and cons. Justify to whom? I don't know. Things have been amazing here. For all I know, in a parallel universe, someone's updating this post from Bangalore. Haha. But I hope he's doing well there. Facebook keeps bringing back all these memories. Some facepalm moments, some massive facepalm moments, some moments of pride, some happy moments. Brings out a different emotion every time. How we've ...

Another deplorable performance by United last Saturday. A home defeat to Southampton. I still don't understand how the Tree gets to play every week. With him in the team, its more like a 10 vs 12 game. Without him, we look more creative, the ball keeps rolling in the right directions. With him in the team, we look far away from scoring, but better at defending set-pieces.                                 Rule 1: Don't let the opposition score.                                 Rule 2: Try and score a lucky winner, if possible.                                 Rule 3: Find Fellaini. So that is Lou...

Came back from my Goa trip with a swollen ear and now a few injections. But if I look back, I had an amazing time, a different experience. I remember last year, how reluctantly we all went to the project competition, down south. This time it was different. Spent a better part of the trip in southern Goa. One of the highlights would be the visit to Velsao beach. Absolutely loved the untroubled aura of this place. Beautiful, clean and peaceful. And the sand, it was so soft. Hundreds of birds, less than half a dozen humans and a dog. It was like the complete opposite of beaches in the north. A massive flock of birds were sitting on the shore, perfectly organized. It looked spectacular. From where i was, it looked like they were doing some thinking, "What to do about these human stalkers?". Sounds funny when I say it now, but I actually tried chasing them. As I walked nearer, they started drifting towards the farther end, still maintaining the shape. Obviously, I ...

There was a time when I used to switch on the TV, minutes before the toss, and count time, just to watch one man humiliate 11 others. He was all about entertainment, who never cared about personal achievements. And yet, he is the only Indian with multiple triple centuries. When Rohit Sharma came close to his ODI record, I was actually hoping he wouldn't cross it, but he did. I've watched quite a few explosive openers - Hayden, Jayasuriya, Brendan. But no one as charismatic as him. No thought bothered me, when this man was at the striker's end. People have questioned his technique, over the years. May be, he was a careless version of Sachin or a technically challenged version of Dravid. Who cares about all that. His 30s probably had more impact on the opposition's mind than a good steady 50. His role in the team - take a few catches in the slip area, break a partnership occasionally and sabotage a bowler's confidence with the bat.  Dhawan and Sharma have s...

We are always told to be nice to people, to strangers, to relatives. Even if that means saying things you don't actually believe in. We are generally not honest, unless provoked. Being nice is sometimes overrated.  Screen Junkies' Honest Trailers are always brilliant. AIB's Honest Wedding was hilarious. So I thought, what if we lived in a world where we all were brutally honest in everyday situations? Welcoming uninvited guests would be a lot more fun.  "Oh you've come again, you idiot, you didn't even bother to call and check" The guest, "Yes, I like to disturb other families. I like to gossip a lot, you know, and the free food? That's the best part" "Okay, come in, don't let the smile delude you into visiting more frequently" "So, how's your new job? What's your salary?" "That's not your concern. Why do you want to know?" "Just to compare you to other people, just to have...

The worst kind of conversation is the one that involves explaining sarcasm. More insulting than a rejected high-five. You're trying to have an interesting conversation, and you end up making a complete fool out of yourself. I know this person who takes almost everything literally. Not sure if this guy is too cynical to accept, or too dumb to understand sarcasm. Accidentally using a metaphor or saying something sarcastic around this guy can be awfully dangerous. One of those extreme face-palm moments when you feel like banging your head against the wall. I still can't think of a good title, so I'm going to go with this again ^. The other day, I was waiting for someone at this traffic signal near my house. I saw an old policeman attired in white, struggling to manage the flow. Surprising sight, as he tried running behind a guy on an Activa, who went past him, skipping the signal. He obviously had to give up. Probably in his late 60s, he took some time to regain his brea...

It's been a while. I'll try an update this blog at least once a month. Honestly I have no idea what I'm going to write about today. Everyday, while driving back home, the flyovers on Satara Road remind me of college. They have been under construction since my first year in PICT. Left college 4-5 months back, the flyovers are still not done. Got my second month's salary today. And the first person I texted again this time is my mother. I know like any other parent, she does not expect anything in return, for what she has done for me. Sharing the happiness is probably the only thing parents expect. Quite a few people have asked me, what did I do with my first salary? I donated a part of my salary to the kids who need it the most. And I'm not writing this to show off. In fact, the amount I could donate probably means nothing, considering the number of kids. But if this can inspire even 1 out of every 10 people who read this, that'll be something. S...