A few days back, I started the second innings of my drinking career. The motto this time is "Responsible Drinking". It started with my B'day treat on the 2nd of March. No, it wasn't my b'day really. I wanted to go on a treat, and nobody else was game to sponsor it. So I preponed my own b'day treat. I drank less than what I am capable of drinking without getting high. A few days after that, I had one small peg of Smirnoff Vodka during lunch. That was like 'OOnth ke mOO mein jeera'. And today I had beer for a change - 2 pints of Haywards 5000. For the first time, beer chadh gayee. My hostel-mate Ankit Bhargav used to stay awake all night and do a lot of nautanki after drinking a can of beer, shouting 'piyela hai apun' and knocking on every door of the wing. Beer is never so strong. Neither is it tasty. Wonder why people drink the bitter liquid. "Bumps" was all Ankit used to get in return for his nautanki.
I have mentioned in one of my earlier posts - drunk and blogging - about how I started drinking. I also talked about how I gave millions of innovative gaalis to my first-year room-mate after having a mixture of a lot of neat whisky, vodka and whatever Jeetu mixed and gave me to drink. It was great. I would love to do that again. Kaash somebody could record all those gaalis. I do remember feebly what happened that night. My x-roomie had said "Sudhar ja saale, kya buddhon ki tarah rehta hai"...not sure why he said that...possibly coz I didn't have a girl-friend or because he was too jealous of my maturity...haha... I also got irritated by something Somnath said, but I don't remember what it was. That was the most heavily-drunk I ever got. The only occasion when I didn't know what I was doing and when I eventually even spewed the daaroo. I remember in bits and pieces, how I was taken back to the hostel, how I pretended not to be drunk in front of the watchmen (who knew anyway), how I was stripped to chaddi (has this word already been added to english dictionaries?) and made to sit under the tap by Jeetu. I remember all this in flashes. I was totally gone. I got up next afternoon to find myself in my underpants and my spects safely placed on my table. Got up and checked my email to find one from Bablu, my BTech Project guide, that I had to do a few more compaction tests on 70:30 Kaolin-Sand mixture.
On one occasion, I drank 5 large pegs of Smirnoff Vodka and started speaking some alien language. I did realize that I was talking some crap, but I had no control over what I was talking at that time and I also wasn't conscious enough to make any sense out of it.
Another horrible experience at daarubaazi was in the recently held pan-IIT meet. The daaroo was served free, in the ICICI building at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai. The pan-IIT meet aimed to "Inspire, Involve, Transform" all IITians to work for India and thereby transform our country into a developed nation. Not sure how much of that purpose it attained, but there did happen a high level of Business Networking over there. Every delegate was charged Rs.2500/-. And in return for my 2500 bucks, I got to see the President - who talked about Carbon Nano Tubes, Lara Dutta - who gave fundaes on life to women, Nandan Nilekani, Shashi Tharoor - who spoke beautifully but ended up saying nothing useful, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - who lives life very artfully, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia - who was quite polite and smiled at a once-more from an ex-IITian and then said "Ok, we will play something", Shivamani - the drummer, Louis Banks, Shankar Mahadevan - breathless as always, Ehsan, Loy and many many entrepreneurs. I also got a Delegate's Kit which I lost. More on that later...
Most ex-IITians I met had started their own company. It was like either you had a company of your own, or you had to say you were willing to start one. Otherwise, you were a misfit in the event. One Sardar, who was a collector in Punjab asked me what I wanted to do. Without hesitating, I said "I want to Start up". On this, the Sardar gave me a wicked smile, as if after a long time he got someone to play Jhhingalala with. He asked me when I'd start. I said I was thinking and may be I'd start a company after doing MBA. He got my weak point. He almost shouted at me "Sochte rahoge to kuch nahi hoga, kood pado. Nandan ko dekho, usne itni badi company daal dee". He was probably referring to Nandan Nilekani. They must be langotiya yaars. He also criticized MBA's. "MBA's can only get you jobs in big companies. If you want to be an entrepreneur, MBA won't help you in any way". Then he gave me fundas about latest trends in business. He started talking about RFID tags which according to him was something I should think about. I pretended to be very interested in what he was talking. But, this may make you think I am stupid, I didn't know what RFID tags were. (Do many people know? It often happens with me - I don't know something and when I come to know of it, I find that everyone else knows it). I was scared that the sardar might ask me a question related to RFID tags. A guy, who was my junior during college days and who is now working in the US, was also sitting with me. He knew what RFID tags were, seemed to impress the Sardar by reacting with the right body movements, facial expressions and vocal sounds. He even added a few points to what the sardar was telling. The Sardar looked at me as if I was his prey. Lugai, a.k.a. Prashant Hiran was also sitting with me. I don't think he understood anything either. The Sardar gave me his card and went away.
I spoke to quite a few entrepreneurs during the 3-day event. One common suggestion that almost all of them gave was to get married. The logic was that if your wife earns, you can go around taking risks and starting companies. Well, that makes sense. Just make sure you put an RFID tag on your ass so that your wife can track you.
At the cocktail, I met a few very interesting guys - a sardar with a bunch of funny guys. I drank with them and we all shouted shit. Wonder who all of them were. That's the most interesting thing about drinking. You drink and then you do all kinds of bakwaas with guys whom you've never met before, and then you talk all personal things and crack stupid jokes like the closest pals, but in the end you go away in different directions not to meet ever again.
I don't remember how I came back from the ICICI building, where the cocktail was organized, to the MMRDA grounds, where the pan-IIT event was taking place. The next scene after the ICICI building that I can recall being in, is that in which I was sitting in front of a literature professor of IIT Bombay. I faintly remember that as I enetered the venue, I saw her sitting with her husband. I went close to their table, asked for permission, and sat with them. I am polite even when drunk. I told her that I was pretty drunk and to pardon all my gustaakhis that she was soon going to witness. She said she was ok with it. Then I talked to her all through the dinner. Don't know what we talked. I did give her my blog's URL and also told her that I wanted to write a book and needed her help. I came to know that I also took her email id, as I found it in my pocket the next day. I had done an introductory course in English Literature in which she taught "Doll's House", the play by Ibsen. I told her that I had always thought she was a very strict prof, but now she seemed very frendly.
The prof finished her dinner and left with her husband. Lugai joined me with Amrish Acharya and another alumnus from IIT Bombay, 1984 passout. The alumnus was also very drunk. Lugai (who has never tasted daaroo) asked the alumnus the most common question at the event - "Who do you work for?", and he got the most common reply of the event too - "I work for myself", followed by "Do you have any problem?". Lugai would have run away, if he didn't have to pretend that he was unperturbed. After that the alumnus gave many fundas about women and starting companies. Sorry, I don't remember any.
After this, we went into the hall in which Shankar, Ehsan and Loy were performing. I didn't hesistate the least bit and started dancing. Daaroo is great if you want to get rid of your shyness. Lugai was still standing far from the stage, he was still too shy to dance. I danced like a mad man for about 30 mins. In the end, when the stars had left, one Sardar took the mike and sang a song on friendship and good times. Everyone was clapping and applauding him. I also felt like singing, so I requested for the mike. I got it.
Kishore Kumar's "Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna" is normally the first song that comes to mind on any senti occasion. I felt a kind of competition with the Sardar. So I had to sing the best I could. But as I started singing, I realized that daaroo had badly choked my throat, and my voice was badly cracking. But I had never sung with more energy. I was singing and also dancing in front of 1000 people who were standing still. That for me is an unimaginable thing to do in a normal state.
One of my biggest worries as I was singing was whether I'd be able to recall the whole song in such state as I was in. Still, I started and went on singing. At the end of each line, I tried to recall the next line and there it was on my lips. I sang the whole song without a stop or confusion anywhere. I'd say, singing wise, it was my worst singing performance, and after half the song, quite a few in the hall started feeling disinterested, some got irritated, some turned to go out. But I totally enjoyed singing that night. It was the first time I could dance alone without worrying about anyone else, without any mental inhibitions and sing the loudest I could. After I finished the song, I started to say "Thank you dear friends, I know I am drunk, but It's fun to be with you all, and I will always remember this day". Something like that, but I had barely started, in fact said it till "I know", when the mike was plugged out. I felt a little embarrassed. Everyone stared at me for a while as if I was a mad man doing clumsy things in front of the elite. For a while, I couldn't figure out whether to be happy or upset. But it takes a lot of effort to concentrate well enough to stay confused while you are drunk.
As I was coming out of the hall some of my friends patted my back and said "Koi Nai, Accha Gaaya"...why were they confused? Soon after I came out, I found that I didn't have my "Delegate's Kit" with me. Don't know where I'd left it - ICICI building, dinner table, somewhere on the roads, or the hall in which Shankar, and later I performed. So after paying 2500 bucks I didn't have anything to carry back home. The Delegate's Kit consisted of a few useless books and one T-Shirt placed in a nice executive bag. I was sad at having lost the T-Shirt and the bag. I felt a sudden bout of kleptomania as I was walking out of the venue.
The huge loss made me want to quit drinking. I made resolutions as well. But then, drinking is fun, if done responsibly and within limits. So "responsible and not-too-frequent" drinking is the way to go from now on!
Had 2 pints of beer during the lunch hour today! It's been great working in the office after that! I did some great coding too! Also had my performance appraisals! Boss said "Great Job Done"!
I have mentioned in one of my earlier posts - drunk and blogging - about how I started drinking. I also talked about how I gave millions of innovative gaalis to my first-year room-mate after having a mixture of a lot of neat whisky, vodka and whatever Jeetu mixed and gave me to drink. It was great. I would love to do that again. Kaash somebody could record all those gaalis. I do remember feebly what happened that night. My x-roomie had said "Sudhar ja saale, kya buddhon ki tarah rehta hai"...not sure why he said that...possibly coz I didn't have a girl-friend or because he was too jealous of my maturity...haha... I also got irritated by something Somnath said, but I don't remember what it was. That was the most heavily-drunk I ever got. The only occasion when I didn't know what I was doing and when I eventually even spewed the daaroo. I remember in bits and pieces, how I was taken back to the hostel, how I pretended not to be drunk in front of the watchmen (who knew anyway), how I was stripped to chaddi (has this word already been added to english dictionaries?) and made to sit under the tap by Jeetu. I remember all this in flashes. I was totally gone. I got up next afternoon to find myself in my underpants and my spects safely placed on my table. Got up and checked my email to find one from Bablu, my BTech Project guide, that I had to do a few more compaction tests on 70:30 Kaolin-Sand mixture.
On one occasion, I drank 5 large pegs of Smirnoff Vodka and started speaking some alien language. I did realize that I was talking some crap, but I had no control over what I was talking at that time and I also wasn't conscious enough to make any sense out of it.
Another horrible experience at daarubaazi was in the recently held pan-IIT meet. The daaroo was served free, in the ICICI building at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai. The pan-IIT meet aimed to "Inspire, Involve, Transform" all IITians to work for India and thereby transform our country into a developed nation. Not sure how much of that purpose it attained, but there did happen a high level of Business Networking over there. Every delegate was charged Rs.2500/-. And in return for my 2500 bucks, I got to see the President - who talked about Carbon Nano Tubes, Lara Dutta - who gave fundaes on life to women, Nandan Nilekani, Shashi Tharoor - who spoke beautifully but ended up saying nothing useful, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - who lives life very artfully, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia - who was quite polite and smiled at a once-more from an ex-IITian and then said "Ok, we will play something", Shivamani - the drummer, Louis Banks, Shankar Mahadevan - breathless as always, Ehsan, Loy and many many entrepreneurs. I also got a Delegate's Kit which I lost. More on that later...
Most ex-IITians I met had started their own company. It was like either you had a company of your own, or you had to say you were willing to start one. Otherwise, you were a misfit in the event. One Sardar, who was a collector in Punjab asked me what I wanted to do. Without hesitating, I said "I want to Start up". On this, the Sardar gave me a wicked smile, as if after a long time he got someone to play Jhhingalala with. He asked me when I'd start. I said I was thinking and may be I'd start a company after doing MBA. He got my weak point. He almost shouted at me "Sochte rahoge to kuch nahi hoga, kood pado. Nandan ko dekho, usne itni badi company daal dee". He was probably referring to Nandan Nilekani. They must be langotiya yaars. He also criticized MBA's. "MBA's can only get you jobs in big companies. If you want to be an entrepreneur, MBA won't help you in any way". Then he gave me fundas about latest trends in business. He started talking about RFID tags which according to him was something I should think about. I pretended to be very interested in what he was talking. But, this may make you think I am stupid, I didn't know what RFID tags were. (Do many people know? It often happens with me - I don't know something and when I come to know of it, I find that everyone else knows it). I was scared that the sardar might ask me a question related to RFID tags. A guy, who was my junior during college days and who is now working in the US, was also sitting with me. He knew what RFID tags were, seemed to impress the Sardar by reacting with the right body movements, facial expressions and vocal sounds. He even added a few points to what the sardar was telling. The Sardar looked at me as if I was his prey. Lugai, a.k.a. Prashant Hiran was also sitting with me. I don't think he understood anything either. The Sardar gave me his card and went away.
I spoke to quite a few entrepreneurs during the 3-day event. One common suggestion that almost all of them gave was to get married. The logic was that if your wife earns, you can go around taking risks and starting companies. Well, that makes sense. Just make sure you put an RFID tag on your ass so that your wife can track you.
At the cocktail, I met a few very interesting guys - a sardar with a bunch of funny guys. I drank with them and we all shouted shit. Wonder who all of them were. That's the most interesting thing about drinking. You drink and then you do all kinds of bakwaas with guys whom you've never met before, and then you talk all personal things and crack stupid jokes like the closest pals, but in the end you go away in different directions not to meet ever again.
I don't remember how I came back from the ICICI building, where the cocktail was organized, to the MMRDA grounds, where the pan-IIT event was taking place. The next scene after the ICICI building that I can recall being in, is that in which I was sitting in front of a literature professor of IIT Bombay. I faintly remember that as I enetered the venue, I saw her sitting with her husband. I went close to their table, asked for permission, and sat with them. I am polite even when drunk. I told her that I was pretty drunk and to pardon all my gustaakhis that she was soon going to witness. She said she was ok with it. Then I talked to her all through the dinner. Don't know what we talked. I did give her my blog's URL and also told her that I wanted to write a book and needed her help. I came to know that I also took her email id, as I found it in my pocket the next day. I had done an introductory course in English Literature in which she taught "Doll's House", the play by Ibsen. I told her that I had always thought she was a very strict prof, but now she seemed very frendly.
The prof finished her dinner and left with her husband. Lugai joined me with Amrish Acharya and another alumnus from IIT Bombay, 1984 passout. The alumnus was also very drunk. Lugai (who has never tasted daaroo) asked the alumnus the most common question at the event - "Who do you work for?", and he got the most common reply of the event too - "I work for myself", followed by "Do you have any problem?". Lugai would have run away, if he didn't have to pretend that he was unperturbed. After that the alumnus gave many fundas about women and starting companies. Sorry, I don't remember any.
After this, we went into the hall in which Shankar, Ehsan and Loy were performing. I didn't hesistate the least bit and started dancing. Daaroo is great if you want to get rid of your shyness. Lugai was still standing far from the stage, he was still too shy to dance. I danced like a mad man for about 30 mins. In the end, when the stars had left, one Sardar took the mike and sang a song on friendship and good times. Everyone was clapping and applauding him. I also felt like singing, so I requested for the mike. I got it.
Kishore Kumar's "Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna" is normally the first song that comes to mind on any senti occasion. I felt a kind of competition with the Sardar. So I had to sing the best I could. But as I started singing, I realized that daaroo had badly choked my throat, and my voice was badly cracking. But I had never sung with more energy. I was singing and also dancing in front of 1000 people who were standing still. That for me is an unimaginable thing to do in a normal state.
One of my biggest worries as I was singing was whether I'd be able to recall the whole song in such state as I was in. Still, I started and went on singing. At the end of each line, I tried to recall the next line and there it was on my lips. I sang the whole song without a stop or confusion anywhere. I'd say, singing wise, it was my worst singing performance, and after half the song, quite a few in the hall started feeling disinterested, some got irritated, some turned to go out. But I totally enjoyed singing that night. It was the first time I could dance alone without worrying about anyone else, without any mental inhibitions and sing the loudest I could. After I finished the song, I started to say "Thank you dear friends, I know I am drunk, but It's fun to be with you all, and I will always remember this day". Something like that, but I had barely started, in fact said it till "I know", when the mike was plugged out. I felt a little embarrassed. Everyone stared at me for a while as if I was a mad man doing clumsy things in front of the elite. For a while, I couldn't figure out whether to be happy or upset. But it takes a lot of effort to concentrate well enough to stay confused while you are drunk.
As I was coming out of the hall some of my friends patted my back and said "Koi Nai, Accha Gaaya"...why were they confused? Soon after I came out, I found that I didn't have my "Delegate's Kit" with me. Don't know where I'd left it - ICICI building, dinner table, somewhere on the roads, or the hall in which Shankar, and later I performed. So after paying 2500 bucks I didn't have anything to carry back home. The Delegate's Kit consisted of a few useless books and one T-Shirt placed in a nice executive bag. I was sad at having lost the T-Shirt and the bag. I felt a sudden bout of kleptomania as I was walking out of the venue.
The huge loss made me want to quit drinking. I made resolutions as well. But then, drinking is fun, if done responsibly and within limits. So "responsible and not-too-frequent" drinking is the way to go from now on!
Had 2 pints of beer during the lunch hour today! It's been great working in the office after that! I did some great coding too! Also had my performance appraisals! Boss said "Great Job Done"!
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