The old video games

There are some video games that are immortal. You can play them irrespective of the age but probably the first time you played them was in a video game parlor with a friend when your height was half of what it is now.

I don’t remember the first video game i ever played. Was it a car race or some fight game? Got no memories of it. But i have got memories of Contra, Mario and Mortal Kombat4. The animations were stupid, the tasks simple and the fun unlimited. All i now remember is after playing for the first time i was hooked to them and my unit test marks suffered a lot. Yes, weekly unit tests….they were perfect preparation for office life where the next deadline starts approaching before you have achieved the one in hand.

Compared to modern realistic games our old video games have little to offer. I sometimes wonder how i will explain my favorite video games to my kids. Will i say to them in Pacman we raced a yellow circle that ate dots while being chased by clowns? In Tetris various blocks used to fall from sky which we had to arrange in a row and once arranged in a row, the row would disappear. Mario was about a man who was on a mission to save a princess. In that game we used to eat mushrooms, collect coins and jump on turtles.

Anyone remembers the Google Pacman doodle. When a colleague told me about it, i said i will play it just once. Just for old times sake. Then played it again, after all it just gonna take two more minutes, then again and again. I don’t remember how many times i played pacman on that day but few days later i read a news article that said pacman google doodle costed more than 100 million bucks to companies in wasted productivity. Most expensive google doodle ever. However, i never heard a single word against pacman doodle because i am sure most of the big boys in their big offices were playing pacman on that day.

Here is the link to that doodle. It is now a permanent webpage. Bookmark it. http://www.google.com/pacman/ ENJOY.

Meeting Offline

Couple of days back on Twitter a friend DMed me “I am in Pune. Would you like to meet on Tuesday, around 5?” The person who had sent me the DM is someone who regularly gives me feedback on my blogs which can be summed up as ‘You write ok but drink too much.”

I felt this is an opportunity to tell her i am not an alcoholic so i DMed back, “Sure. Barista. Aurora Towers. Ok?” She replied ok and i went back to watching a movie on my laptop.

Half an hour later i realized i have no idea how she looks and the only way she will be able to find me in Barista will be by approaching the fattest guy sitting in the café and asking, “Are you Abhishek?” So i DMed her my cell number and told her to call me when she reaches Barista. She replied with her cell number and an ok.

I reached in front of Barista and called her. She told me she is on the way. I thought for a while about entering in Barista and decided it is cheaper to walk on MG Road than having a good overpriced coffee.

Few minutes later i got a call from her saying she is standing in front of Barista and i told her to wait there. I reached Barista, we both greeted each other and then she pointing towards the door of Barista said, “Shall we go in?” and i replied, “Actually the coffee in there costs too much.”

Yes. I said to a girl whom i had met for the first time that let’s not have a coffee in Barista because it costs too much. This is one of those moments which my friends will always use to point out why you are single. It is also one of the moments where my Marwadi dad would be extremely proud of himself. This moment is the proof that he has successfully passed on all the essential Marwadi traits to his only son.

I am quite sure when my twitter friend heard no Barista because it costs too much she would have gone ‘What the hell’ in her mind but instead of that she replied , ”Then where do we sit?” I wanted to say, “You know it’s Pune. There must be same place nearby where we can have a cup of tea and vadapav.” I didn’t. Instead i said, “Let’s walk. It is MG Road. It has some very famous eateries.”

We found an old restaurant where we ordered something that might have cost 0.75 times of coffee in Barista and started talking. She told me about her work and i told her i feel looking at the tables that we are sitting in a very old restaurant.

Finally, it was time to part and i said to her i have seen an autorickshaw stand nearby. As we walked towards the auto stand she told to me, “You know there is one thing that i really wanted to ask you. I have seen a lot of your tweets on marriage or rather i must say anti-marriage tweets.” I told her i am a Marwadi Maheshwari and it is customary in our caste to get married within one year after post-graduation. She started giggling, then laughing and then laughing out loud. She stopped for a second and said, “As a Marwadi Maheshwari with such a personality it will be impossible for you to find a lifemate” and started laughing again. I wanted to say, “Thanks. I am doing my best to keep things that way” but i didn’t. I never got a chance to say it. She just wouldn’t stop laughing.

Luckily she saw an auto, waved her hand and the auto stopped. We both said goodbye and she left. I started walking towards Aurora towers and stopped in front of Barista. It has been a long time since i had a good cappuccino. Before i entered into Barista i remembered i had seen one of my favorite delicacies at the old restaurant in which we were sitting. I rushed back their, reached the counter and said, “One chocolate softy please.”

Diary of a Beer-a-holic

I think it all started during the first month of my first year in college. I was sitting in my room, playing Mortal Kombat (or Counter Strike or NFS, i don’t really remember). A guy in my hostel came to me and said, “You know what we are doing tonight?”

“Probably working on some stupid project”, i replied.

“No dude, not tonight. Tonight we all are partying on the terrace. Drinks, non-veg, everything.” He said.

I said cool and went back to the virtual world where i was beating the shit out of half-clad women or killing terrorists or killing cops or driving a Lamborghini. Totally dependent on the game i was playing.

My hostelmate waited for few seconds expecting i would say something after cool and realized i was more interested in PC games than him. So he blurted out the reason of his visit. He said,” Would you like to join us?”

I thought for a moment. Few days back we had got an Airtel Broadband connection in our room and since i was sharing room with another guy i never got a chance to test its speed. By saying no i would finally get some privacy and an opportunity to test the broadband’s speed by browsing through some of the popular video websites.

Unfortunately before i could say no to him another thought came to my mind. Whenever i watched old movies on TV there was one thing which i always felt fake. So i said yes, gave the contri and waited for the night where i will finally find out whether drunk people really talk like Keshto Mukherjee or not.

As i now remember it was one the best nights of my life. I ate non-veg for the first time, Chicken Biryani of which i only ate rice; had my first beer, Kingfisher; had my first whiskey, Royal Stag; had my first cigarette, choti Goldflake. The only thing i don’t remember is seeing my roommate during the party. Lucky Bastard guy. 


That night was beginning of a love affair. A love affair between me and beer. Ever since that night whenever i get a chance i drop into a bar and pick up a beer or two.

Looking at my past relationships i won't say i have been a nice guy. I have always been flirtatious by nature. I started with Kingfisher, had few one-night stands with Castle and Tuborg, fell to the charms of Foster, had a good time with Budweiser until some drunken guy told me Chutiye stop flushing your money down the loo, enjoyed my evenings with Haywards until i was seduced by Carlsberg. 

Life is so unpredictable. I thought i had found my soul-mate in Carlsberg when suddenly Kingfisher Ultra appeared in my life. The thing that people call as infatuation happened.  

I am in complete awe of those guys who can date two girls at one time. One thing they make shows like Emotional Atyachar possible and in my case i was having a tough time deciding whether i must dump Carlsberg or say to KF Ultra that i like you but i am in a serious relationship with someone else. 

Every time i visited a restro-bar with my friends, they started with checking out the chicks while i was going Carlsberg…..KF Ultra…… Carlsberg….KF Ultra in my mind. Damn. Life is so complicated. The only solution i could come up was to toss a coin. Head Carlsberg, tails KF Ultra.

Here, i would like to thank the govt of Maharashtra for helping me out. It increased the duty on beer by 100% at one stroke. The duty hike converted me into a dedicated family man and returned me to my first and real love of my life. Kingfisher Strong. 

I still remember the first sip i had after the duty hike. Kingfisher Strong behaved like an ideal bahu in Ekta Kapoor’s serials who wears sindoor, saree and feels naked until she have not adorned herself with at least 10 kgs of gold jewelry. She told me, “I know for the last few years you have been a complete asshole and i forgive you.” Thank you KF Strong. I love you too. I promise i will always remain faithful to you or until i move out of the State of Maharashtra.

Here is a trivia for the people that like and can still afford Carlsberg in Maharashtra. After the Second World War Winston Churchill was considered as a hero by the Dutch people because he had freed them from the Nazi rule. When he visited Copenhagen the Dutch decided to brew a special beer as a tribute to him. Yes, the Dutch send two crates of a lager to a man who smoked cigars and drank his scotch neat as a mark of respect and thanks.

If you know any beer trivia please tell me. There is a comment box at the end of this blog.

Cut to the present: I am sitting in a sonography clinic. There are 20 women, 4 men and uncountable number of children in the room. The women are sitting patiently for their turn, the men are sitting patiently for their turn, i am playing Blackjack on my mobile and the children are wreaking havoc.

I just don’t understand kids. What is their problem? This is a hospital and not a park. Please don’t turn it into a playground. I know children are angles on earth but sometime they do things which make you wish to send them back to heaven.

There was one interesting observation i made while sitting in the clinic for more than two hours. You remember Scorpion in Mortal Kombat. The guy who throws spear and says ‘Get over here’ to his opponents. Indian mother’s have the same ability.

Indian mother’s wherever they sit draw an imaginary Lakshman Rekha which their kids are not allowed to cross. Every time a kid reaches near the Lakshman Rekha, his/her mom shouts ‘Get over here’ and the child immediately returns back to his/her mother. Who would have thought Scorpion, one of the super-cool assassins, a total badass in the Mortal Kombat universe was inspired from the relationship between Indian mothers’ and their children.

Cut to one night before: I am lying on a table in a doctor’s clinic. The doctor has taken my blood pressure and is now busy punching my stomach.

“Does it hurt here?”

“Yes”

She gently punches few centimeters away from the last time and asks, “Does it hurt here?”

I want to say, “Dear Madam, let’s change places. I punch you and you tell me where it doesn’t hurt. I am an average fat Indian guy. I am not Superman, John Cena or the Great Khali although we both might weigh the same.” I don’t say it. I don’t think it is a good idea to cross the doctor who is gonna prescribe you medicines. 

Luckily the doctor is satisfied after 4-5 punches and we are now sitting across a table. She pulls out her prescription pad and start asking me questions.

Her first question is – “Do you drink?”

I wait for her to finish the question. Drink what madam? Water/ Tea/ Coffee/ Coke/ Pepsi/ Thumps Up/ Beer/ Whiskey/ Scotch/ Wine/ Piss/ Baba Ramdev ka Divya churn/ All of the above.

There is silence in the room for few seconds.

The doctor realizes i have not understood her question and asks, “Do you take hard drinks?”

“Only if you consider Beer as a hard drink”, I reply.

She says, “Hmm…..That explains a lot. Do you also eat a lot of Junk food?”

What type of question is this? I am a single guy living in a metro. I don’t eat fast food (junk as per her). I survive on it. 

I say yes.

She continues her interrogation and after every few questions scribbles something on her pad. What is this? Are we playing KBC? Do i win a pill for every question correctly answered?

The doctor hands me the prescription and as i pay her the consultation fees she says, “You know its nothing serious. But i will suggest you get a sonography done. Just as a precaution.”

Cut back to the present: Finally after waiting for more than two and a half hours the nurse opens the door and calls my name. I enter into the next room only to find i am now in a smaller room. What is this? Why i have been transferred from a spacious waiting room to a small, cramped one.

Why do doctors do such a thing? Is there some sort of a law which says before seeing the patient a doctor must transfer the patient into a smaller room? Was there some sort of a lottery for which patient the doctor will see next and i have won? Or is it the place where the nurses provide the patient some sort of counseling. You know the doctor is a nice guy. He really wants to help you. Hence, please don’t start crying or run away when you see the doctor tearing a pack of disposable syringes.

I am not scared of injections. The only thing that scares me is unrealistic deadlines at work. Bring on the injections. Bring on the Doctor. Now. Immediately. Please.

The nurse says the doctor will see you now and ushers me into a room where i see the doctor and a big machine with monitors. I want to ask the doctor what is an outdated mainframe computer doing here but i don’t. The rule Don’t-cross-the-doctor-who…….applies.

The doctor asks me to lie on a table behind a curtain, asks my name, then age, orders me to pull up my tshirt, loosen my jeans and turns up with a barcode scanner in hand.

The doctor presses me on the left side of my stomach with the barcode scanner and asks,”Does it pains here?” WTF. What is wrong with the whole medical profession? Why do you guys have to give me pain to know where i am experiencing pain?

The doctor tells me to turn on the left side and while hurting me with the barcode scanner asks what you do. I tell him my official designation in the organization and he asks me to turn on to the right side.

As he continues hurting me, he asks me whether the job is stressful. I want to say nowadays which thing is not stressful. I saw few kids in the waiting room and after two hours i wanted to perform Mortal Kombat Fatalities on each one of them. Imagine the stress their mothers who spend 24x7x365 with them have. I reply, “Little bit”.

The doctor says we are done and please wait outside for your report. I say thanks, collect my report and as i am walking out of the clinic i remember something i had read few months before on the back of a beer bottle. MRP Rs 110. For sale in Maharashtra State only. Consumption of Liquor is injurious to health.

Now only if the guys at United Breweries and SamMiller could tell us how much.

To sum up

As far as i know everybody nowadays lives a stressful life. The only person i know who lives a stress free life is my boss because i think he has got a PhD in Office Politics.