My summer in BANGalore !

I'm through...!

Kasam ganga maiya ki, me is through my Summers at Business Standard. Another jhanda on the top of my terrace, another topic to ramble about and another feather(?) in my cap(??!)...

When i had come here at BS, i was, as you know gutted ! Okay, i let you use a better adjective for the feeling... But i feel a lot different now.. As in, i don't think i can define the feeling exactly, but it is a +ve one for sure... Trust me... Don't? Read 'em on:

• Got an amazing project out for myself, Analysis of the Advertising pattern of financial dailies. (has a nice ring to it, na? The pundits like it, so do I)
• Met a lot of clients (met quite a few "samples" actually, but some tails notwithstanding, met quite a lot of heads as well, while hitting calls).
• Got some astounding piece(s) of gyaan about Sales, Marketing and Advertising (ummm, not necessarily in that order); from electic people, ranging from a consultant of an HR firm, a Chairman of a pharma co., Brand manager of a leading airline, and some more.
• Was trying to grab the attention of a wrong-side-of-20-something bohemian chick near my office, and to my utter dismay, came to know that she is an editorial team member at BS, who'd come down from Delhi that very morning. (frankly, she was okey-dokey... Ahem ahem... Yes, you've got it... I WANT TO SURVIVE... Get my point? She was passable...)
• Got a SEXY PG right at the centre of Bangalore, at a very reasonable rate. Have checked many thakela PG's out which charge a couple of grands more than this, but this was like a three star resort. Good value for money. (thank you ad-mag).
• Junta at Brigade road, MG road, and allied streets and lanes. (have seen better but...)
• Used the office printer and phone, where the maximum an intern can get is a glass of water. (it's very tough to do it.. And, the entire office gets to know if you are `caught` by the admin fellow :-P
• Spoke to the chief sub-editor of BS and absorbed a lot of practical suggns. for my mag work back at KIAMS, and also with the production guy at the press, taking down notes at ten in the night, a good two hours' drive away from my PG. (But tell you what, twas worth it...)
• Made great friends at the PG. ( So far,,, he he he he... But i'm not on any of the social networking sites guys,,, well,,, as yet ;-D)
• Played cricket on the streets after manyyyyy moons. (Oh Calcutta,, where art thou???)
• Had Parle-G one entire day. Parle-G for breakfast, Parle-G for lunch, Parle-G for supper, and Parle-G at two in the morning the next day (can't figure out the name of this meal, get back with what ever you call it..)
• Ate Domino's Cheese Burst pizza (try it out... Tis more tempting than a Jessica Alba striptease).
• And, not forgetting, had eight pizzas, yes eight, the very next day (four of us) for a hundered bucks. don't ask me how. ask that guy from Domino's machaoing dhoom ;->
• Got this free wi-fi connectivity for a couple of days, thanks to some pilot thing here at Intel, next to our place. (God bless Andy Grove!)
• Learned to cook maggi... Finally... Seriously did. (Necessity is the mother of invention)
• Didn't have a haircut... (count that as one of the bigger +ve's)
• Saw a movie from Kazakhastan for the first time (Panzy, with a capital P).
• Got a slazenger lawn tennis ball for free. (was lying next to a car, while coming back from work one fine evening, had no choice with no kids around. vintage blasphemous magnanimity for my own self! eh..)
• "Stole" what 25 guavas, from a tree in front of the building compound next to ours. (got 2.5 complaints from the residents the next day as well... bring 'em on!)
• Learned to delegate work. Don't ask me how. But i did for sure. (am very bad at it btw).
• Had mango juice with a beggar nearby some days back. Just connected, and felt so good about myself that i can't use words to describe my feeling after the look from the poor soul. God bless him).
• Got my tickets done for a couple of movies and to an amusement-cum-water park in Calcutta, thanks to my homesickness bouts. (On my way kids...)
• And the best thing about the project getting over, is that i am going back home for a full TWO WEEKS... lesser mortals like us, who stay away know the pain people. (All you fortunate one's out there, make the most, or at least try to. You'll realize the importance of family only when you move out. Live every moment. And as Darren says "" I believe that family is worth more than money or gold"""... Trust us both...)

Cheers !

Karan