Yaad arahi hai!

Yaad aa rahi hai
Yaad aa rahi hai

Teri yaad aa rahi hai,
teri yaad aa rahi hai
Yaad aane se,
tere jaane se
Jaan jaa rahi hai

Yaad aa rahi hai,
teri yaad aa rahi hai

Pehle yeh naa jaanaTere baad yeh jaana pyaar mein
Jeena mushkil kardegaYeh dil deewana pyaar mein
Jaane kaise saans yeh aise Aa jaa rahi hai

Yaad aa rahi hai,
teri yaad aa rahi hai

Bante bante dulhanPreet hamaari uljhan ban gayi
Mere dil ki dhadkanMeri jaan ki dushman ban gayi
Kuch keh kehke, mujhe reh rehke
Tadpaa rahi hai

Yaad aa rahi hai,
teri yaad aa rahi hai

Yeh rut ki rangaraliyaanYeh phoolon ki galiyaan ro padi
Mera haal suna to Mere saath yeh kaliyaan ro padi
Ek nahin tu, duniya aansu
Barasaa rahi hai

Yaad aa rahi hai
Teri yaad aa rahi hai

Yaad aane se, tere jaane se Jaan jaa rahi hai
Yaad aa rahi hai, teri yaad aa rahi hai

USTA Tours!

United States Tennis Association - First tour in 2000 when Kathik was 9 years old. We flew in Jetblue and were picked up at the New Jersey airport by Shobana and Dilip. In the flight, Kar was carrying this tennis bag that was bigger than his size. One passenger commented, "Young man, can I take your autograph now itself?" It was a pleasant journey. Then after going to Shobana's apartment, we all ate good food. Kar went to bed early. Me, Shobs and Dilip had a round table talk about life in general. Then next day, Kar's first competitive tournament. How would I describe his demeanor in the court? Very matured, composed, determined. No such excitements as to first match or whatever. It was like watching a Junior Agassi with a overall court charm. Shobana was amazed. I was crying inside with suffocation of happiness. Kar won one round and lost the other one. I was happy because I did'nt see my kid crying for losing. That is his first lesson to lose with grace. But reaching that point itself is an achievement. Then many many USTA tours follow that. He was ranked #8 in the eastern USTA for boys 12 and under. Till today, I have never seen Karthik crying whenever he lost nor jumping up and down, whenever he won. He maintains a level of moderation. That shows his strength. Well, the first tour remains a very memorable one and thanks to Shobs, Dilip for such a great hospitality!

Karthik and Sports!

Sports - NBA, NFL, NHL, PGA, US Open, Australian Open, Wimbledon, and list keeps going. Football, baseball, basketball, swimming, tennis, golf, chess, ping pong, soccer, tae kwon do - Karthik played them all. Officially for school, he played for Modified team Basketball. He is a #1 varsity player for tennis. He represents the school in chess. But Karthik's best sport is tennis. Amazing tennis player. I am his #1 fan and what attracts me to Kar is his natural but smart play. I remember when he was four years old, I used to feed him balls at our driveway and he will be hitting. I thought he was just a kid and how can he hit hard, right? One of his balls hit our garage door glass and it broke. That moment I decided I want to join him in Tennis. I took him to Tom Fleming. Till today, I think that is one of the best decisions that I ever made in my life and wow, it helps Karthik immensely. Tom is old school coach. He never gave any trophy or pizza or t-shirt, but he gave him the right way of learning tennis. He gave him the longstanding skills. Tom made a big impact in Kar's life I should say. Then comes golf. How many times in the past two summers me and Kar would have hit the golf courses! In all those times, I just remain a caddy girl. I clean the balls, I pat him good job, I encourage when things do not go good. Wow he is good at golf. I am proud because it comes on its own. But I wanted him to have a chance to learn it from a professional, so took him to Jim Guzack. Few classes, Kar got the grip of it. He wants to play for school. But I told him as Tennis season and Golf season clashes, maybe after going for States in Tennis, he can aim at Golf one season. Wow he plays excellent Chess. I cant compete with him. But I can play ping pong with him. (Who cares about the points!) I can play poker with him. I can play basketball with him. When I was young, I played tennicoit, volleyball, kho-kho for the school team. I was in scouts. As with Kar, I dont want him to grow old and think, "ah, I should have tried that sports. Maybe I would have liked it". I want to give him every chance for anything that he dreams he needs to try. I have no doubt, Kar is a super star and a great athlete with his charming personality, talent, smartness, and teamspirit. I also make sure to remind Kar not to hesitate to share his knowledge with the world! He needs to learn knowledge sharing right from this age. I am glad he is assisting Tom with tennis lessons (though at times I am jealous he is earning more than me).

Driving!

Driving is a day to day event. Nothing great about it, right? But I love it. I enjoy it. I started driving around 90 and so far, it is going good. Got two tickets, one on the day Shankar died and the other, 2004 birthday. First one, on 104 East Webster enroute and the second one, on East Avenue. Have driven to Ohio, Washington, Newyork, New Jersey, Toronto, Montreal, Pennsylvania and every trip brings back memories. First long distance trip was to Middletown, Ohio. Driving and real life go hand in hand lot of times. To me, being able to drive, and to drive with control, to drive relentlessly, and to drive by not losing or by not being responsible for loss of lives, -- these are all achievements. I tend to take time and feel grateful for all such blessings.

Professional Life!

So proud of it. Still walking with pride because of that. I know I shine in this field because of my "Can Do" attitude. First job, "South Indian Sugarcane Mills Association - SISMA" at the tender age of 17. Excelled in that. Manager, friend of my uncle, was speechless. Co-worker Rao applauded me. Just a clerical position. What could I have done exceptionally well? It is the organization, execution, communication, with pleasing personality. So first experience gave me this "Queen" treatment and from that day till this moment, I know I can stun the professional world with my excellence in whatever I do. Then comes Texonic Instruments in Mount Road. I was 19. Accompanied by my dad for an interview, Dad said, "it is ok Nalini. let us go home. there is a big line of people who seems more experienced and educated. why should we waste our time?". Immediately I turned around and said, "Dad, no. I want to try this Dad. Please!". Met with the manager named Mahavir Bhandari who told me that I got the top score in both typing (with no errors - now here, I should admit that after 11 years when I went to State University of Newyork Personnel office for a typing test, I got the same result to my surprise, in typing NO ERRORS) and in shorthand transcribing. Got my appointment order on hand and left the place. Position was for a stenographer. Dad still talks about that. Then came Denson Engineers; DAV; Siemens India. In United States, first job was in 1995 in CVC Products (Semi Conductor industry) in MIS. Then went to accounting; manufacturing engineering. Lot of customer interaction from both internal and international. Various positions; variety in expertise; Memorable awards (such as People's Choice, Xerox Appreciation Award, Captain's award for Citrix, Hard Worker, Diligent Worker for Accounting) and memorable customer interactions. Once an engineer was on his way to Japan. He needed help with his Mac laptop. Somehow it lost network connectivity. Well our group did not support Mac. When the customer came to me around 4.50 pm on a Friday evening, I took the laptop, called Mac Tech Support, researched the issue, finally fixed it, gave him back the laptop around 7.00 pm and left my office. Next day morning I received a surprising email from my manager: "Nalini, excellent perseverance. I dont know if I would have gone to this extent to help a customer. Now I understand how you create your raving fans". In 2004 September, there was a marriage reception in a local Indian community center. As the couple had to fly back in the evening to California, they had this party arranged in the morning. It started around 11.00 am on a Sunday. I was all dressed up, arrived at the reception hall, found my seating, looking around lot of familiar faces, approached the couple and congratulated them. Came back to my seat. When I sat and took a piece of candy from the centerpiece arrangement on the table, I got a beep from my cell. Left the room to see who called, it was from a customer. Listened to her message, she was unable to get her Lotus Notes mail. Called her back, tried to help her over phone. Did not succeed. So told her that I will call her back in about an hour. Left the marriage hall. Got into my car. Went to a nearby friend's house, logged in remotely, and thus another successful story goes. I know why I go that extra mile. It is the "passion for the profession". So what do I really like to do in future? Become a CCO; Chief Customer Officer!

Jeena Teri Gali Mein!

What a song! Unfortgettable one!

sajanaa o sajanaa
sajani o sajani
teri baahoN mein hai jannat meri, pyaari nainoN ki do galiyaaN teri
(jeenaa teri gali mein)
sajani o sajani
sajanaa o sajanaa
teri baahoN mein hai jannat meri, pyaari nainoN ki do galiyaaN teri
(jeenaa teri gali mein)

ye rangin nazaare hain, masti ke ishaare hain
o kahin door chalen baahoN ke sahaare hain, baahoN ke sahaare hain
ye rangin nazaare hain, masti ke ishaare hain
o kahin door chalen baahoN ke sahaare hain
armaan dil ke mil ke pukaare hain, o o o..
(jeenaa teri gali mein)

hamko kyaa zamaane se iske rooTh jaane se
baaz nahin aayegaa ye deevaaren uThaane se, o.., deevaaren uThaane se
hamko kyaa zamaane se iske rooTh jaane se
baaz nahin aayegaa ye deevaaren uThaane se
ham to milenge kisi bhi bahaane se, o o o..
(jeenaa teri gali mein)
sajani o sajani
sajanaa o sajanaa
teri baahoN mein hai jannat meri, pyaari nainoN ki do galiyaaN teri
(jeenaa teri gali mein)
sajanaa o sajanaa
sajani o sajani
teri baahoN mein hai jannat meri, pyaari nainoN ki do galiyaaN teri
(jeenaa teri gali mein)
(sajanaa o sajanaa
sajani o sajani)