The days I ruled the world...

It has been 2 yrs...but the memory as fresh as yesterday... The day i walked out of that Qatar Airways flight and walked into the City of my Dreams, the City of Love...PARIS... The chilling cold...Sending shivers down your skin....

The night on the floor of the airport and the first bus in the early hours of the morning to the railway station... The first ride on the TGV, the worlds fastest train... Across the fields of France at 315km/hr...

The first sight of Dijon, the excitement of walking into that dream house, the arguments on the selection of the rooms. The first walk to the boulangerie...the first walk to school...the ice skating experience...the trip to the vineyards....

The first view of the Eiffel Tower, the Luxemborg garden, the free hugs, the Moulon Rouge...

The walks to school...the first snowfall...the parties at home... the swimming days.. the trips to Toisan D'or...the shopping at Carrefour...the new pair of rollerblades... the numerous falls...

The games of Mafia late into the night,... The sil vous plait shouting neighbour in the middle of the night...The coffee session with Bob and Elizabeth... The cooking sessions... the Rice and the Pulao... The fights over the number of onions to be used...

The headache to get Ashok to be ready on time..The colors nightclub...the atmosphere nightclub...

BNP Paribas, the Virgin store, JP Billu...My boulangerie friend...

The wonderful trip to Lyon..The double decker church....The ride in the boat down the river...

The night long ride to Cannes...Seeing the red carpet where the greats walked the path to glory...The boat ride to the end of the world... The walk in the middle of nowhere..Finally peeing out in the open (Indians manage that everywhere)...The shooting boat that we saw and ran off...The lit up road at Nice...the rain soaked Nice trip...The gurgling of the waves against the stone beach....

And before I realised the dream had reached its end... The TGV moved out of Dijon, the tears rolled....

The 4 month dream ended and i was thrown back into reality...But it gave me enough memories to last a lifetime..Memories enough to push me on....Memories....are only memories...

Someday...I wish......

From the diaries of a bachelor...

7.00am and the alarm is ringing away to glory...From under the blankets out comes a hand and SNOOZE....
10 min later the alarm goes off again and again the process repeats itself....

And in the sizzling winters of Delhi, Sampark opens his eyes and goes straight for the phone...Ohhhhh Shit its 9.45am...He is late and then the mad rush begins.. Where is the shirt, Shit again, its not ironed...Where is yesterdays shirt, No problem will manage it for today at least...

Where are my house keys...drawers, nope...office bag, nope...table, nope....Oh god now where r my keys...A treasure hunt amongst the overflowing laundry bag and out come the keys from yesterdays dirty jeans...

No time for breakfast, no time for tea its just RUN....

Wrapped completely in sweater, muffler and gloves out he walks into the foggy Delhi morning...

The day passes along, mostly at events since the last few months.. Its sales and customers and convincing all day long...Feels great when customers give you complements... Best go on to say, love your marketing style, you can befriend anyone...people can just love you..But what these guys dont realise that at the end of the day, that person returns to a lonely room across the River Yamuna with just 4 walls, a laptop and cold dabba of food...

7.00 pm.. Its time to go home...Pack up...its a lonely walk to the metro station...Hey look at that couple, they having pani puri together, look at the love in their eyes.. Sampark just smiles, thats all he can do..He can only think of her, far away in the City of Joy...His joy is there and he here in the mad mad rush of Delhi...The metro zooms into the station..Their standing amongst the 100s of other passengers, he is lost, just one of them...

His favourite pass time is to just observe people... Their is this man slowly cuddling his son as he sleeps peacefully...Sam cant help but just wish that he was that little kid..."Dad, I miss you" is all he can think off.. Their at the other side of the compartment, a middle aged couple seem to be discussing their daughters education.. Seems like her exams are near and they seem to be more worried than her..The guy opposite seems to be dozing off.. A hard days work comes to an end for him...2 friends seem to be coming back from college, they seem to be discussing the new girl one of them is trying to woo..

And then their in that crowd stands Sam.. everyone who stands there has a story of their own...Noida Sec 18, announces the sweet voice over the microphone...A 10min rickshaw ride later and back to the 4 walls from where the day began...

Out comes the lappi and back to his only connection with the world, Facebook... She asks him a lot of times, dont u get bored of the net...He does, but what else can he do... A day which begins and ends only with office, at 8.30pm do you even expect he has the time for anything else..

There use to be a time, when he did his MBA when friends surrounded him 24x7... MBA ended, most went off to Mumbai, Bangalore and beyond... and his life landed up in Delhi...Without friends, without family, without his love...

His only consoling factor is his mobile, his SMSs and his lappi...thats what life has become...

O god...His clothes are dirty...There in the chilling winter of Delhi and chilling water he struggles to do his laundry...

Dinner done... Just dump the dirty plate in the sink...will wash it whenever i need it next...

Sitting with his latest book, Richard Branson's Losing my Virginity, Sam gets lost into the world of the billionaire who created The Virgin Group from scratch...Eyes at the watch,11.30pm... He better go off to sleep or else tomorrow will be another mad dash...and slowly the light fades away and a motionless body disappears again into the blankets...

Dreams take him back to Mom...back to MBA days...back to France... and back to Her... But within a few hours dawn will break and the story will repeat itself....again the dash, again the loneliness, again the monotony....

Paa.... I miss you.....

Hi Dad,
Today its 3rd March... Its been 3 yrs since i last saw you.... I still remember that day moment by moment... That fun filled evening in Pune and that one phone call.....

I have very few memories of you but the ones that i have are very deeply engraved in my mind... I remember seeing "Main hoon na" with you in that theatre in Mathura... I remember you taking me cricket kit shopping in Meerut years before that.... I still remember you coming down to Jamshedpur to meet me when i was barely 10... I was playing outside and i came back only to find you standing behind my door as i opened it.... I still remember the meal we had at Franks in Jamshedpur.... I still remember meeting you at Bandra station on 12th July 2006, just a day after the Mumbai train blasts... Never knew that would be our last face to face conversation.... I still remember the last thing you handed over to me... A Rs4500 bill that i had accomplished talking to my then girlfriend... I still remember you had calculated the amount i had spent calling that one particular number... It was somewhere around Rs3200...

Few days back i was cleaning up my room when i came across a picture of yours. It was one of the very few pics i have of yours... Saw it and missed you a lot that day... Dad did i ever tell you that a day before my CAT i wasnt able to sleep all night... All i kept wishing that night that maybe you would come and wish me best of luck... Very improbable but that was just a wish....

Dad today i just wanna tell you that i am on the verge of completing my studies... Another day and i will be a Post Graduate.... Like every Dad you too would have had dreams to see my flying the sky... I am on the verge of fulfilling your dreams,....

On 20th I have my Convocation in Ghaziabad... Just wish that you were here to see this day... I know you would have been very happy... I just wish that i would have been lucky enough to see the expressions on your face.... And i very well know that on 20th when everyone else would have their Dad cheering them on, I would miss you... Mom would be there but you wouldnt.... Please Dad a request to you... You are cordially invited to witness the biggest day in my life as yet... Please come... I wont be able to see you, but your presence and your blessings would be enough for me....

Love you Dad.... Miss you Dad....

Tales from 200m in the air

There i stood at the edge of the cliff peeping in, desperately trying to see its bottom. I tried moving a little closer and seeing again but it was nowhere in sight. It was never ending. I looked up at my guide and waited for the worst." You are supposed to cross this". Cross this !!! At a height of 200m !!! Through the gushing force of the waterfall !!!



I put on the safety harness and was attached to the wire across the waterfall and slowly i started the descent along the slippery terrain. There was water gushing down behind me and taking every step slowly towards the edge. The closer i got to the water the colder the air became. And once at the edge I pushed hard against the edge with my shoes and Go.... I was in mid air, hanging on to a single rope for dear life and soon i was drenched with the gushing flow of the waterfall. The chilliness of the water disappeared somewhere in the excitement of being there. You felt free, no tension, no worries, just pure fun.. Living the moment, every moment. And before i could even register the whole experience, i was on the other end.


This end was a solitary rock in the middle of nowhere. Anyone stranded here can either go down 100m down to the bottom of the gorge or the only other way is to climb out another 100m. I had no option but to choose the latter. This was the difficult part of the adventure. With clothes all drenched and shoes also wet it was going to be a tough task to climb the flat surface of the hill. But that was my only way to live another day. I started my climb, attached onto the harness. One foothold at a time, one rock at a time. There came times when u were like where the hell do i hold onto, at times u felt ur foot not stable, at others you felt it was slipping. On one such step I pushed my leg too high and at that very moment i pulled my hamstring. Shrieking in pain i pulled my weight up and then took a rest of half a minute till the pain subsided. I could not turn back, neither could i give it up. The mission was still only half way through. At a few steps u noticed cracks in the stones you were about to put your weight on. So cautiously testing every rock the climb continued.

I looked up, i could see the two operaters standing at the top waiting for me to make it. With the finish line in sight, the last sprint to the top landed me on solid ground. With the first step up i threw of my harness and was down on the floor catching back on my breath, and thanking god to be safely out of this.

In those 15-20 min when you are in the middle of nowhere, one realises the importance of life. As i climbed up, i could sense that if something went wrong here, i would have too many dreams unfulfilled. My thoughts raced to the 2 most important people in my life and i knew i had to move out of it for them. They were out there, waiting for me, i had to..

Life indeed is unpredictable, so do whatever you wish today itself. So that even if tomorrow you meet death on the way, at least you wont have regrets.
On your deathbed, you dont regret what you did, you regret what you didnt do. So go on guys, do all those things you always wanted to. Go tell that one person how much u love him or her. Go tell your parents how much you love them. Go tell your friends how much they mean to you. Go do all those crazy things you always wished to do but put of for another day. Go live a lifetime....

She is my PRAYER

Its 11 am. I have just got up. And I seem to be in a real good mood today. Why? Because I started my day in the best possible way. I spoke to HER. Its a really strange thing that within such a short period of time life has become so beautiful. My day doesn’t start till I hear her voice. People need a cup of tea to kickstart their day, I just need a sweet, romantic GOOD MORNING from her.
I have been trying desperately not to put her on my blog but cant help it, she is the only topic I have to talk about. I swear tell you, you can talk to her and anyone, I mean anyone can fall in love with her.
It was that wonderful day a few months ago and it was on that day that life took a rebirth. She walked in. She had been there for ages but this was a re-entry, an entry much more special, much more loved.
God knows why for ages I had never noticed her, she was right there. Maybe He was waiting for the right time. Maybe He thought that before we meet, we still had to undergo further training. And just as I finished my learning, she came. You ask any of our common friends and they will be like... Both of them, u kidding me....they can’t even stand each other. You know what friends, now we cant stand without each other.
1000 of miles separate us. But for me she is always close by. Close to me, close to my heart. Soon there will be a day when this distance will disappear, these miles will no longer be a hindrance.
My phone just rang, it was her SMS, even something so small is enough to make my happy, make me smile.
Thank you God for sending her into my life, thank you for making my life so beautiful, so complete, so charming... You know what she is my Life, she is my PRAYER !!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM !!!!

Let me begin by wishing the bestest woman in the world, my mom a very Happy Birthday. 59 yrs ago God gave a gift to mankind in the form of her.

Thank you Mom for everything that you have done for me, everything that you have given me, all the sacrifices u have made for me.

Maa 22 yrs and i have seen every moment of your love and care. 1000 of memories of yours race through me every day. From those days when i was a 4 yr old kid and use to throw milk from the balcony to those years of adolescence when growing up was a challenge in itself. Maa today whatever i am, its because of you. Never in these 22 yrs did u ever raise a hand at me but yet i knew when you wanted me to correct my ways. Your words of encouragement have always pushed me on to achieve the best and aaj main jahaan bhi hu, its because of u...

It comes as a surprise to a lot of my friends that how on my earth have i always discussed my crushes, my loves and my girlfriends with you. Thats the best about my coolest mom. You have always understood my point of you and it never seemed to me that there was an age gap of 37 years between us. You have always been my best friend and no matter what, whenever i need someone i know you will be there...

Had never imagined that mothers love is so unconditional but then i see you and say, no one can love someone as much as love me...

Thank you Maa for everything you have given me. Wish u a very happy birthday and i promise i will try my best to give you every happiness that you have always deserved....

9/11.... 8 years on.... The Untold Story

11th Sept 2001.... Osama Bin Laden and his planes shook the world.... And altered the history of United States and the World......
You reading this expecting something on the similar lines, arent you? If you are, you would be highly disappointed....

Because 8 years ago....one more world got altered.....my world.... The day which changed me, which made me what i am....

Rewind.... 9/11/2001..... 2.45pm.... Tuesday
Venue.... Little Flower School, Jamshedpur.... corridor in front of Principals office
Protagonists.... V (Name changed to maintain anonymity) and Sampark....Two normal 9th graders

Situational Analysis.....
We were just back from our chemistry practical test... we were standing in line waiting for the dismissal prayer to happen and run home.... i was standing in line behind V.... And suddenly a buzzzz happened that the prinicipal was approaching from the back.....

(Principal: Sister Helena, Irish Nun, Aged 65-70, White robe, Dreaded by many and the principal for the last 25 years, does not understand hindi )

And me, dont know why, was in a different mood that day.... I leaned forward and kept whispering in V's ear "Budhiya aa rahi hai, budhiya aa rahi hai" (Old lady is coming, old lady is coming) and before i noticed the old lady was standing beside me. "What are you 2 upto. Come out of the line"

We stood outside the line till the prayer got over and were then directed to Sister's office. V was called in..

(V. Kumar... One of my best friends... fantastic student... went on to become the captain of the Yellow house)

Sister: "What were you two talking about"
V:" Nothing sister, we are sorry"
.
.
.
Sister:" Tell me or i would suspend u"
V:" Sister, he was cracking jokes"
Sister: "What jokes"
.
.
.
V:" Sister he was cracking jokes on you"
Sister: " Tell me what jokes or both of you get suspened"
.
.
.
V: " Sister he said, " Old lady is coming"

Boom, Baam, Dhishum and on and on and on

For the 1st time in my educational career, i messed with someone and that also with the prinicipal....

I was called in and given the dose of my life (22years). I was shouted at and screamed at and told not to come to the school next day.
I walked out crying and sobbing not knowing what to do.

At this point, would like to share another story which i came to know only later on
One of my male teachers was walking home when he saw me coming out of the office crying. he caught hold of one of my classmates and asked him what had happened... when this friend of mine narrated the whole OLD LADY episode my teacher gave him this odd look and replied, " What wrong did he say" He was one of the coolest teachers in school and this statement proves it. After all she indeed was an old lady

So off i went home that way... Those days i was staying at my uncles place... I ran up the stairs and out of sheer fear, went off to sleep... Mom came home from office at around 5.30-6 and came and woke me.... She was in a very good mood and as i got up...i just fell into her arms and started crying....explained all that had happened...Got a firing but wasnt beaten (Love my mom, she never raised a hand on me)...

She went off and i sat their crying for the next one hour... Mom did not tell any of this to my uncle....

7.30 pm... Uncle calls out aloud and i slowly go downstairs.... the Twin Towers were on fire.... Who cared...my world was on fire....
Sometime later...The towers crashed.... Who cared.... My Schooling career was crashing....

Next day the class teacher came to the class and asked who got into trouble last evening and when i raised my hand i got the most painful comment i could ever get " Sampark i didnt expect this from a student like you"
I was summoned to the principals office again and another dose.... i was outside class for over 2-3 lectures.... She almost suspended me....But i was let off, this being my 1st major goof up

AFTER EFFECTS
My class teacher never spoke to me straight faced after that. I would have surely been in the race for captaincy of red house next year which i sure shot lost that day....

But for me, since that day, life changed.... i realised that i was going wrong.... My friend circle was slowly going bad... I was ignoring my studies.... I was going in the wrong direction.... But as a kid, this incident freaked me out so much that i actually mended my ways....

If i had not pulled it back, i would not have never managed a 88% in my 12th boards, let alone reaching the best college of Mumbai and then to IMT and finally to France and back. People claim that there is one point in their lives when it changed forever and for me it was 9/11, the day the world changed.

When i passed out in March 2o05 wanted to go back to Sister and Thank her but somehow i lost that chance

Next i came to know that she had left for Ireland, never to return again... A few years back I tried looking for someway to contact her on the Internet but wasnt successful

So dear readers, LFS friends and ex-students, if anybody can somehow help me get in touch with the person who made me what i am, i would be really grateful...

All i will say 8 years down the line is " Thank you Old lady"

The Old n New of Sampark Sachdeva

In one of my earlier blogs my last line was something like the Sampark who flew out on 16th of January 09 would not be the one who would fly in on 11th of May. And 3 months after coming back i can feel that i have changed.... Its not the old Sampark any more...

I never believed in the funda of bookish knowledge and this feeling has got reinforced there. My life has become a blend of shuttling between MBA, friends, likings and learnings and at times it feels like i have bit on too much than i can chew.

Co-op is something i love being a part off but that requires time daily. But with all the things i have and am taking up it becomes very difficult to manage. With the great trouble Pepsi seems to be giving i dont have time to follow up on them.. If i had i actually would have got together with my services prof and done what he had suggested... tarnish the image of Pepsi in Nagpur. I still am in the mood of writing a case study on it.(New Sam)

One day I was walking alone near the mess when an idea struck me, juniors had been constantly pestering me to join their team when it finally struck. Why not make a team of my own, I know my friend circle was making a team, The Urja Team and i know i could have easily been a part of it. My team....why.... i wanted to test myself.... at the end of almost 3/4th of my MBA i wanted to give myself a test of what all i had gained at IMT.. Did i actually gain something paying those 6 lacs.... 2 days later it was done... my team was on (New Sam) .... The underdog team... with 11 juniors and 7 seniors... Seniors are like: r u mad u playing with such a team and i have only one answer for them... MS Dhoni led a similar team to T20 World Cup 2007 and the rest is history.... Milestone 34 is still a week away... I am still cracking my brains in the team composition and team details.... and all i can say is that running a team is no way an easy task... 18 brains, 18 thought processes and aligning all of them together is no joke... Over that my mom has given me a great challenge...Play through the whole without losing your cool....The fight is still on... At the moment we are going through the various stages of group formation and hopefully we will soon reach the stage where we perform and win (New Sam)

Coming down to MBA. Its the final year, work pressure has increased. I still dont believe in marks but i try making an effort in places where i feel i will learn something. For the first time i actually went to the journal sections in the library, though i dont get much time for it (New Sam) I realised 2 yrs late that the projects that we get, if done well, can be put in the CV as very important parts. So now, if time permits, i would like to do a lot of things in them which i wouldnt have earlier (New Sam). A few friends would raise objections here, saying i am a free rider. BAVFS i agree bcoz thats the only finance subject i have taken and i dont understand a shit of it. God knows what i was thinking when i took that subject. As far others are concerned, guys there would surely be a reason behind me not working. BAVFS is intentional, others situational free riding.

Marque- The Marketing Forum: I had left the forum when i came but on second thoughts i went back into it, planning to change what got me out. I wanted to do some serious stuff which actually added to my knowledge. Thats why i decided to get along with Viraj and help him with the journal. I am a little bad at writing articles so am helping him with the International Department. Mailing all my contacts from France and around the world for articles. As of now have got responses from 1 in Indonesia/France and 1 from Morocco/France. Hopefully may get more. And this year i am planning to use these contacts to circulate the journal in International B-Schools as well (New Sam)

Now coming to a very important point. My friends here at IMT. Time and again i have said no on various things to them, Be it the trip to Ramtek, Goa or making my own team at Milestone. Guys, I am really sorry, I know it gives a feeling that I am ignoring you or staying away. Just one thing, i will compensate this some day. Sorry guys... I just hope that in my progress on the Highway i dont lose out on important along the way....I hope u will forgive me...


Lets see where the new Sam reaches in his search of destiny...

THOSE WERE THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE

Here I sit at Paris Airport waiting for my flight back home. Another few hours the 4 month dream is gonna come to an end. The memories, the times , the people all gonna stay by me forever.

And as I am about to leave I would like to thank the beautiful country, France, for all that it has given me. Few hours back as we left Dijon we saw what all we had gained in these 4 months and also saw the great friendships that we were leaving behind. Kassy, Kwstas, Karolina, Gulcin, Yagmur, Alp, Astrid, all were there at the Gare (station) to see us off. There was no greater honour than that.

4.40 pm...Platform... the train is all set to leave. All of us stand at the door and emotions let loose. Kassy, Karolina and even Kwstas shed a tear or two. With the hugs and kisses and goodbyes the time ticks away.

4.52 pm...the door closes...and all these friends get left behind. I take my seat by the window and as the train starts moving. The name on the platform says, “Ville de Dijon” and it finally struck me. Maybe and most probably we will never walk these lanes again. The tears start rolling and the 4 months flash right in front of me. Every moment, every laugh, all those fights.....i will miss them all.

5.15am...Present day...Airport Charles de Gaulle terminal 2F...
Aishwarya asks me why I have that blank look on my face and I don’t have any reply for her. Its a feeling of getting left behind. Its a feeling of losing out on so many things. As we walked from ESC Dijon to Rue Gambetta there were so many things that I always came across. Waving HI to my friend at Le Bocadillo, I will miss doing that. Wishing “Bonsoir” to my sandwich friend at Rue la Liberte, Place de la Liberation, Chabot Charny, Wilson, the Avenue.
I still feel like going back to that house and fight with the others. “Who’s turn is it to cook today.” “it’s not my turn to go to Carrefour.” “Again you have cooked Rice, cant we have something else to eat.” “Why isn’t Ashok there to cook lunch.” Those were times yaar.

THE HOUSEMATES
Aishwarya, Miss Accent, and her favourite statement “ I choose not to”.... MISS HS..... when we came here we expected a girl would eat less as compared to us but surprisingly she eats more than me. Reason.... “She doesn’t eat more than she pays” but neither does she eat less than what she pays.

Ashok and his favourite line... “Why am I being outcasted” “ I am not opposed to any rule.” The greatest thing used to be that every time he needed to be ready at a particular time Ashok would say, “ Nobody needs to wake me up. You want me to be ready at 10. I will be here at 9.58” but alas leaving him everyone knew that Ashok will never appear before 11. Someone who can spend 50 euros on roller blades just to use it twice.

Sunil.... Kantaal aa raha hai.... “you guys should only buy brown bread bcoz its healthy. Every morning dot at 9.15am Sunil Bhaiya would be at the dining table having a kings breakfast. Yaar if you cant sleep doesn’t mean that making so much noise in the kitchen and spoiling our sleep. “Why is that plate not washed. Why are u making so much noise. The rule is made, no more discussions on this.”

Mayank Tandon... he hasn’t changed at all... that birthday party, those pre birthday surprises... somethings should be left unsaid... From all those double meanings statements, he went on to become the silent assassin. Just observing and taking it all.

Eshan, the angry young man. Can u even imagine someone with the personality of him would lose cool so easily. He was the rule maker and the rule follower. It was us, the others who broke the rules.

The great jokes that we shared... “Aaaaaaah” “The man, his ducati and his glacier” and “the small red fruits”. The great plans of Sunil and mine to kill Aishwarya everyday but sadly she survived all of them. Sunil does plan to throw her off the plane mid-air. Hope so finally he does succeed before entering India.

I was also a butt of so many jokes but guys, thanx for those times as well. “Grogi” “Loveguru” “Bimar premi” “Consultancy” “Tharki”.

Those linking up each other with all those firangees. Sunil and his love for..... Ashok and his Takiya.... Mayank and Aaaaah..... Aishwarya and her Ghosla Baal waala firangee and “da man”( aishwarya asked me to change “the” to “da” right accent and Miss HS).... we didn’t even leave Eshan out... My story...Guys I don’t think I need to even mention where you linked me...

All 5 of you, Mayank, Eshan, Aishwarya, Sunil and Ashok... Thanx a million... It was the greatest honour and greatest pleasure staying with you. May not be ever able to thank you for all that you have taught me in this period. I couldn’t have ever asked for a better set of people and thanx to IMT and Mazumdar Sir I have found friends for a lifetime

THE FRIENDS

Thanx a ton to all the people we met here who made every moment of this eternity worth dying for.

The Greeks....Kassy and Kwstas... you were just fabulous and incredible

The American....Kamilah... will always regret not saying a proper bye to you... you are The BEST....

The Czechs....Karolina....you are a SWEETHEART. Proud to have a friend like you...Jan n Barbora... It was a great time that I spent with you

The Turkish... Gulcin... Seriously the enthusiasm and excitement that I saw in you... will miss Miss Spontaneous Photographer... Yagmur... you were Great... Alp... Regret getting to know you so late....

The Slovenians...Tjasa n Lea.... Will miss the Beautiful Ladies a lot...

The Polish... Wiki... Miss Wierd Expression... but lovely to have around for a smile...

The Indians...Agraj, Ankur, Priya, Shivam, Dipin, Jennifer... Hope to meet you some day back in India...

Did I forget mentioning any French.... yes a loads of them to thank for.... Quentin, Sabrina and Barbora for the wonderful tourism team. Kamelia and Floriane for the great Management and Business Creativity work respectively. Yikka, will try meeting you some day in Hong Kong.

THE PEOPLE

Bob and Elisabeth.. You were wonderful neighbours. Someday if God permits we will have another wonderful discussion like the one we had. You have great kids in Pierre and Mira and just wish all of you the very best in life

Our landlords... Could have never asked for anything better from them... Anybody reading this always pray that you have landlords like them... someone who would go out of their way to make their tenants feel at home.. Being it calling back home or be it taking us to the market and even the phone and the weighing scale we demanded

One of the best persons I met and some of the best memories that I had were in the French class with Mrs Fredrique Terrand.. Someone who took all our jokes so sportingly and will never forget the moment where in the final exam she told me, “Sampark I cant take this paper of yours.” I was submitting a disastrous attempt and this statement just showed how much expectations she had from me. She would scold us when we spoke Hindi in class and just loved it when she said, “Sampark, no tension, its like sleeping on the beach” “In France, teacher is the Boss” “Work, work hard” Shut up” Undoubtedly the best classroom memories I have ever had. At this point of French class how can i miss the wonderful times when Haajesh was in class. From the point where he told maam, " chalti hai kya coffee peene" to " where he kept saying," i missed only 3 classes " where he would have attented not more than that no. And the best of all pronounce Bonjour Monsieur they way u pronounce in English and not how u do it in French

Just a mention to all the other teachers that I spent some great classroom hours with. Be it Sabine Mueller(just no words to describe her), JP Bernard (one of the very few practical classes that I have had ever), Claude Chappui( love his knowledge on everything), A. Djoehana( loved the way he used to say, “lets ask our Indian friends.” Siobhan Alderson (a very short but impactful interaction with her. Maam, will miss your classes a lot” Christian Khulmann and who is at the 3 corners of the Marketing Triangle.

Will miss the Patisserie and Boulangerie opposite the school.... Pain au Chocolat and the Jambon Sandwich ( Sunil, How many dukkars, Pigs, have I eaten in France??




THE PLACES

The beauty of France is just uncomparable.

Be it the lovely Eiffel ( visiting which was a dream come true) or Moulin Rouge. Finally in 4 months I did break my bad luck with Paris and did visit it twice. The 1st one on 14th Feb.. It was just the greatest thing that could have ever happened, “me in the world’s most romantic city on the year’s most romantic day.

Be it Besancon, it’s citadelle and, how can I forget, Pascal

Be it Beaune and its wine world with Mr Claude Chappui

Be it Lyon and its wonderful Roman Remains, the 2 rivers running side by side or be it the double decker Notre Dame Church. I couldn’t believe seeing 2 churches one above another.

Be it Nice and Cannes. Agreed the rain tried playing spoiltsport but the red carpet and the wonderful ride to the island, the secluded sea side on the island at Cannes and be it the rocky beaches of Nice

And finally be it the Marsanney Forest. The best hike that anyone can ever ask for. That climbing up the hillside and then losing our way to finally sliding down the hill. It was just fabulous

Or be it the wonderful city of Dijon....i can go on and on about it

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

In another few hours I will leave France but that doesn’t mean that I have fulfilled all my wishes. Amidst all these great memories a few things were left undone which would force to come back.
Missed a chance to have coffee at Place de la Liberation. Would have loved to have one under the wonderful summer sun with a slow breeze blowing across. As far as meals are concerned will come back to eat at JP Billoux, our very own JP Billu.

Would have loved to be here to watch the Tour de France or the French F1 grand prix but as of now am taking the Tour de France T-shirt back with me to remind me that I gotta come back for it. French Open also was missed.

Can even come during Christmas time for it has always been my dream to spend Christmas in another country. Alas not any grand Christmas celebrations in India

SIGNING OFF

So guys it is 7.10 am....10th May 2009 and my time in France is finally about to end. I would soon be leaving for Terminal 1 for my check in so I gotta end

Miss you all, miss you France, Miss you Dijon, Miss you ESC, Miss you 28 Rue Gambetta, Miss my friends...

Will love you forever and always...whichever is earlier

Will write to all of you soon for the first time from India (Blogging was also a gift that France gave me). This is Sampark Sachdeva signing off from Airport Charles de Gaulle for the very last time from French Soil.

Those high school days

As I just sit free nothing to do I feel like writing about a really memorable period in my life, my high school days. My school life had not been very dramatic or sorts but these 2 years the fun and enjoyment that I had covered all the past years. Let me take you for a ride through these fantastic years in my life from 2003-05.

On the onset let me first introduce you to the important characters you will read about in my post. Among the guys you will meet Sandeep aka Sandy aka Saand, the Jat of the gang. Then we have Mayur aka Nildih aka Ungli. Maan this guy had fingers, they were long. Jagjit aka Jagu aka Sardar, the thinnest of us all but the one with the most excitement. Then comes the body builder, Rahul aka Idli aka Nadu. These names because he was the only south Indian amongst us.

Let us complete the gang with the girls. Rochana (Riya, Moti) the sweetest girl you will meet ever and my sister of over 10 yrs now. Ritu (Tillu), the most ambitious of us all well on her way to become the next Barkha Dutt. Pallavita (Palli, Tinchi), all she did was ride that khataara Kinetic Zing of hers and get tensed, hence, Tension Tinchi. Shreya (Choti), the short one of the gang and the one most pampered by others. Nisha (billi, bakri) ya thats what i called her. She used to sit in the class and just kept laughing and laughing. and whichever corner u sat in you would know nisha is laughing.The gang gets completed with Aishwarya (Assarja) and Pooja. Both of them were toppers and I wasn’t fond of both so barely spoke to them in school. Co-incidentally Pooja is now my best friend and Assarja, no more hard feelings for her anymore.

The rides to Sampath’s tuition (mathematics) and Shaw’s tuition (accounts) with Sandy used to be really memorable. The way we used to hit upon girls and play games like asking stupid questions like why is the cow in the middle of the road. After tuition we used to zoom out of class on our bikes. Mayur vs Sandy vs Rahul vs me with one of the girls as the pillion. As we raced through the streets of Telco Colony the girls sitting behind us used to shout out of their lungs for us to slow down. And Ungli never learnt to drive properly, he used to drive too rash even for my comfort. Still remember those samosa parties thanx to Rahul at Plaza Market. After tuitions then we would stop by at the Hari Golgappa to enjoy ourselves and then head off to Riya’s building to sit and chat. Still remember solving Great Expectations questions at Riya’s house on New Year’s Eve. It was more of sitting and eating than studying.

Spend some of my great times with Sandy, Mayur and Jaggu on my terrace. Sandy would surely remember admiring that lady who was playing with her kid in the building close by. We sat there and discussed everything from fantasies to aspirations to life to world.

Jagu was my study partner. Everyday after dinner I used to zoom off to his place to prepare for our high school exams and they were really fun times. We would sit, discuss, learn and then enjoy ourselves too. The hot cup of tea that his mom provided was really refreshing and then sitting in the balcony and staring into the hostel across the road. Jagu do u remember “reflection uncle”. He was the one on whose window we used to reflect sunlight and disappear as soon as he opened it to see where it came from. Then there was this day where that couple disappeared into the loads of trees down the road at around midnight. And when we would be tired of studying we would go for a walks and then freak out people on the lonely road at night. It was real fun.

Towards the end had fun studying experiences with palli n ritu at palli’s place as well. Then those trips to Bistupur with Ritu to get stupid things done and still remember the Cherry Fanta that we got for Palli. It sucked big time....

no story about those days can be complete without mentioning our great teachers Mrs Nair and Mr Shaw. Those classes were fun as the teachers would get fed up of us time and again. Those pranks that we played in their class. Those moments when Sandy and me stared out of the window. Those talking in signs across the class. Those days of teasing and linking up each other. Those talking in class. Those moments are now just memories.

Today 4-5 years have passed. All of us have gone our different ways. I have gone in mine but friends let me assure you. You were the best, you are the best and will always remain so. Those days will always be close to my heart, very close to be precise. Love u all......

Miss u dad.....

As I walked home today, I again had the opportunity to sit at Place Wilson for around 10-15 min. There at the other end a father was teaching his son cycling. After sometime he himself got onto the cycle and had a ride, to the delight of his 7 yr old son. This morning I had gone swimming and a similar scene brewed there. A father was giving his son a ride on his back while the son waved as a victorious king riding his horse. This bond that I have witnessed in this lovely country is something that has touched my heart, the son n dad love.

This further touches me bcoz I missed all this. Having stayed away from dad since I was 4 was something that I always missed. Those arguments, those thrashings, those lovely moments, those encouraging statements, I missed them all. Never felt really bad about it since as far as my memory went I was always away from him. If I had been older maybe it would have surely affected me more. But yes there were times when I missed his presence, especially when I saw other kids enjoying with their family.

I still remember the first time I cried for this reason. The year was 1994. I was playing with 2 friends of mine, both brothers. Suddenly their mom called them as they had to go somewhere. The dad got the car out, all sat in and drove out of the gate, the sons waiving at me frantically from the back seat. The first time I shed a tear, I missed him.

Always would have loved to have those family outings, those family dinners, when a dad sits on the dinner table and asks, “So son how was your day”. Never mind since this experience of mine has made me what I am. I understand how important and how valuable parents are.

There have been times when I see my friends complain, “I don’t like my dad. All he does is interfere with my life and all he does is scold me.” And all I would say is “I would die for that 1 moment”. For all this while even though I stayed away from him, I never made that effort to strengthen our relationship, even on the phone.

I still took him for granted till that fateful 2 yrs back. The deadly phone call, “Dad had passed away”

And then it all dawned on me. Shit man, why didn’t I give him the importance that he deserved? Why didn’t I be a good son, even though I stayed away from him? WHY???

Dad it’s been 2 yrs since u have gone. I miss you and I wish I could get just one chance to prove that I am not a bad son after all. I still remember that dream a year ago. I was at my brother’s place. I saw Dad sitting at the other end of the room. All I did was fall into his lap and cry. I cried and cried all the while just asking for one chance and all that Dad said was, “Son it’s ok” and he was gone.

For quite some time I tried to decipher the meaning of this dream till I finally spoke to my best friend, Pooja. I narrated the whole incident to her and all she said was “Sampark, Dad has forgiven u. You have realised where u went wrong, thats enough for him. The only reason he came was to put u at peace.” I don’t know what she said was right or wrong but it was enough to put me out of my misery

I believe that Dad did come that day and I thank him wholeheartedly. Don’t know where you would be today but wherever u are I just wish you are happy. And I just hope that someday in your next life, you come across this blog of mine and read it. That’s highly improbable I know but that’s a son’s heart that speaks.

And Dad a promise to you today, “I will never let your down. Whatever expectations you had from me, I will fulfil all. I will make you proud.”

Miss you Dad.......

Those childhood days.....

i sitting in the lobby of ESC Dijon desperately trying to think of something to write on but nothin seems to strike. My mind races thru all the things which i feel can be written about. Nothing seems interesting enough but then i suddenly realise just to get a topic to write upon so many things, so many people have flashed thru my mind in these 5 minutes and i had got my topic

Have u ever thought how many people do u meet over ur lifetime. Those kids that u played with when u were 2-3 yrs old. dont even remember their names. Then it was school time and over those 12 yrs u met numerous number of people. Ur teachers, ur tutors, ur friends parents. God knows where they would be now.

Think about it there would surely be that shopkeeper who would smile at u when u passed his shop everyday, the bus driver who dropped u home from school daily, the newpaper guy who would wave out to u as u stood on ur window.

There were all those friends of ur parents who would come pull ur cheeks n say," u have grown up fast" And i am sure u felt like landing a tight slap across their face.

And then there would have surely been ur share of puppy love. I have had many. That attractive girl who would sit at the other end of class. And u would look at her and dream of life after both of u get married. You would think of instances where she would be in trouble and u like super hero would go save her. (i actually picturised such things in the classroom while the teacher was busy teachin)

And then when u would carry out those wonderful pranks on others or ur share of mischief. when u burst a cracker in ur neighbours backyard or when u drew a spoof of ur teacher on the blackboard. When u would reach school late, to jump over the wall and reach the class before others did.

Those times when i would sneak out of bed to watch the cricket match between India n West Indies. Mute the TV as soon as possible and stand with the remote, on the lookout for the slightest noise to switch the TV off and disappear.

Those cycle races, those imitating the teacher, those throwing the glass of milk in the wash basin, those days when used to copy from our partners during exams.

Man those were days, my childhood days.....

Will miss them always....those childhood days....