Infotainment Kaleidoscope

  As the clock struck 7:30 PM on December 31, 2024, the excitement in the air was palpable. Four families, bound by friendship and shared memories, gathered to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new one with open arms. The evening promised laughter, joy, and a sense of togetherness that only such close-knit gatherings can bring. The Evening Festivities The party kicked off with a series of group games that had everyone in splits. From musical spoon to prop games, the competitive spirit was high, but so was the camaraderie. The children ran around, their laughter echoing through the house, while the adults engaged in friendly banter. The aroma of delicious food (Chakna, Starters, Biryani) wafted through the air, tantalizing our taste buds and adding to the festive atmosphere. As the evening progressed, we indulged in a sumptuous spread of food and drinks. The table was laden with a variety of dishes, each more delectable than the last. Conversations flowed freely, and the ...

June 6, 2005! The first day of our school. Most of us wouldn't remember it, but unaware of the long journey we started our school life. What all things have we not done in our school life! It was the first and last phase of life we got without stress and tension. Though this year was an exception because now we are under a lot of pressure due to board exams. In this time span we were most playful and free. All our mistakes were pardoned just because we were small. We all knew that someday we will all have to leave our dear school, but I cannot digest the fact that it is happening today. All of us have some good memories and some bad memories. I have decided to forget the bad ones and treasure the good ones. But I think it would surely be difficult for me and all of us to settle and adjust in the new environment of college. Sometimes when I got punished when I was small, I felt very bad. I literally cried as most children usually do, but when the same thing happened in 8th stan...

I am sure every one of us has at least one experience in life where we have resented something, someone, someplace in the beginning, but eventually our views have changed. Until about 20 years ago, I used to be a proud resident of Mulund, Mumbai. Even today, I love visiting my family there, and having spent the first 23 years of my life, including my childhood, school, college and the early days of my career in Mulund, the suburb will always carry a special place in my heart. In those days, Mulund being the last central suburb of Mumbai, any suburbs further north were considered as a bit under developed. I had a lot of friends from places like Thane, Dombivli, Kalyan and even beyond, and we Mumbaikars used to often tease them as "gaon waale" or villagers. Of course it was just for fun because we never really let any geographical boundaries interfere with our friendship. But more than that, whenever we used to visit any friends staying beyond Thane, we dreaded the crowd...

My journey in the world of computers started back in the early 80's when I was about 7 years old. That was the time when an occupation related to computers was considered extremely rare and specialized. Among those few early birds of the time is my father. He used to work in a company called "XLO Machine Tools" and had been selected as a young and bright candidate to learn and adopt the new technology that would one day take the world by storm. I vaguely recall seeing him draw diagrams of boxes and lines on paper, which made me curious because they did not make any sense to me. When I asked him what he was working on, he responded saying that he was learning "programming". It was only several years later that I learnt those diagrams were flowcharts. The first computer I saw was nothing like the PC, latptop, tablet or mobile we see today. The concept of a monitor or display as we see now did not exist. It was a huge machinery instrument that my father was work...

Based on what I have seen, heard and learnt in life, I have always believed in existence of god, though I was not a very temple going person. God had proven his presence to me many times – especially difficult times are the ones when even a slight ray of hope is a god given gift. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because with hope comes faith and courage to face the most difficult times.  But sometimes, we don’t realize when this faith evolves into superstition. About 18 years ago, I was in the struggling phase of my career. Having recently started a family at the age of 24 with almost nil savings, finance was a challenge all the time. The world seemed to be against us and misery looked like the only future. My wife Dimple had always been more religious than me, and she sometimes used to visit a well known Balaji temple in Dombivli. Once she asked me to accompany her to the temple. It wasn’t very keen to go, since I was wary of how these places of worship are often a well orga...