Saturday, April 29, 2006

Of Office Assignments and Carabao Buffaloes

It's been raining assignments the last month or so. While Rituparna flew down to freezing Ladakh to hobnob with the Army guys there, Annie was in Bangalore to report on a hospital for the mentally impaired.

Sumit barely got out of the plane for a dekko at the upcoming Hyderabad airport while Prashant chose to attend the ADB conference in Manila where - believe it or not - he milked a carabao buffalo.

In the new batch, David travelled to the dunes of Thar for a CSIF meet, Ritu Tripathi made it to the upper reaches of Uttaranchal for the Garhwal regiment's Raising Day celebrations and newbie trainee Krishna Kumar got the experience of his lifetime bidding farewell to MiG-25 spy planes in Bareilly.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Of Simple Diets and Foodie Pleasures

In contrast to her otherwise feisty self, Parul Sharma is a very boring person when it comes to food. 'Give me dal-roti and I am happy' is her constant refrain.

Not for her the sinful temptations of a Hot Chocolate Fudge or other epicurean delights.

Although we doubt her fussiness has anything to do with a strict diet (considering she's thin as a rake), we urge Parul to let her palate do the talking and experience the pleasures of being a foodie.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Of Goan Holidays and Non-Veg Dishes

Swaty Prakash is just back from her sizzling Goa trip which included among other delights the thrills of parasailing, jet-skiing and the usual rounds of getting suntanned on India's most famous beaches.

Swaty admits that the trip brought out the carnivore in her - as she dug into generous helpings of squid, prawn, fish, chicken and the works. And lobster? Well, it was overpriced so the Bihari lass gave it a miss.

We didn't dare ask her how many bottles of feni she downed with hubby Manas but the couple obviously lived life to its fullest.

And what's more! Delhi welcomed Swaty back with a new job. She's just been taken in by the Prentice Hall of India to take care of their editing department and liaise with authors.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Of Pune Dailies and New Paths

Guess who else is treading new paths? Maharashtrian damsel Ambika Pendharkar has joined Pune Herald, an English publication under the Sakal group.

And what made her leave the hallowed portals of the Times of India in Mumbai? Apparently TOI was not giving Ambika any mainstream reporting opportunities which made her try her luck elsewhere.

Friday, April 14, 2006

Of Dravidian Maidens and Icecream Bans

Icecream vendors in and around Connaught Place are up in arms after Aparna Nair announced her decision never to ever eat icecreams again.

And before you clutch your heart and spill your morning cuppa, let me tell you the sacrifice doesn't stem from an innate desire to torture herself.

The Dravidian maiden just feels she's been having one too many of the sugary delights. We appeal to Ms Nair to consider the plight of the poor vendors and reconsider her decision.

Monday, April 10, 2006

Of the Yo Man who got his Quick Fix

(This article on Vijay Thapa was submitted by a colleague and has been published on condition of anonymity)

With porcupine hair and a 'yo man' attitude that could give Fido Dido a run for his money, this senor's repertoire of stories never seems to end.

Even boring shifts can perk up in the company of our man from Meerut.

Perpetually "harrassed, harangued and hassled," each day is a racy thriller, a whodunit or a 'laugh until you cry' for this bachelor with the curiously 'propah' British accent.

And his love affair with the office telephone... Be it conducting deals for raising money to buy a house, vigorously hunting for a buyer for his rifle, carrying out mega arguments with his mother - everything under the sun is done with a little help from Alexander Graham Bell.

The debonair dude recently had a close encounter with - Glue!

On Holi, our man was in the midst of spring cleaning when he discovered that his index finger refused to part company with his middle finger.

Contrary to his belief, Vijay Thapa found that Feviquick or Superstick or some other adhesive he was working with was indeed capable of sticking his digits together.

When the Doubting Thomas in him was convinced of his stuck state, he endeavoured to undo the damage.

First he tried kerosene. He dips his hand in the fuel but to no avail. The metacarpals of his hand refuse to give up. He pours ether, the liguid used to clean tape-recorder heads, and tries to bring his hand near a flame. Nothing!

It's only after his panic level reached a new high, that Thapa hit upon the solution - Brasso, which finally does the trick and disentangles his fingers.

And what about the time he turned up two hours late for office. Thapa says he forgot to refill his bike's fuel tank and was stranded midway on the flyover leading to Noida. Our hero was resigned to pushing his machine over a long long way when suddenly a scooterist offers him a can of petrol.

Whoa! A true good samaritan there. Music for the senor's ears who couldn't believe his luck. Man and machine soon found themselves zooming off to office where Thapa waxed eloqent on the inherent goodness of human beings.