11 > 1000 !!!
Srirangam is the foremost of the eight self-manifested shrines of Lord Vishnu. It is also considered the first, foremost and the most important of the 108 main Vishnu temples. The temple complex is 156 acres in extent. It has seven prakaras or enclosures. There are 21 magnificent towers in all prakaras providing a unique sight to any visitor. But there is one other feature of the temple that is of my interest. The hall of 1000 pillars!
Though known as the hall of 1000 pillars, the hall has only 953 pillars. Here is the reason for the reduced number: The king who started to build the temple (somewhere in the 13th century, I forgot his name) wanted a hall of 1000 pillars and had put a deadline for completion (Like our dear IT Managers ;)) .But in the whole universe, only Lord Indra is believed to have a hall of 1000 pillars. Understandably, Indra was not very happy about a rival hall being constructed. So he devised a smart plan. On the deadline day, he disguised himself as a rooster and announced the arrival of dawn before it really was (unfortunately there was no Timex/Titan that time). So the construction of the 1000 pillars was stopped by the king (the workers were like developers caught during appraisal for low productivity ;)) and the hall had 953 pillars.
Now snap back to reality!!! Around 2000 years later... at ANZ, eleven people came together. They were people from different places with different ideologies. There is one similarity though, that I should admit, we all knew Tamil :) But that was not the uniting factor. Honestly, till this point I don’t know what bonds us so strongly. It just happened (Like it happens in some love stories!). We were distributed over groups... we met during lunch... we were distributed to various teams... We met at cafes... we became close... That was it! And when one of our pillars decided to support the statue of liberty, we met to bid her bon voyage and that was when we really christened ourselves as THE 11 PILLARS.
Legend in the future will say that Indra was very upset, more than he was with the construction of 1000 pillared hall. But little could he do for such was the strength of the bond between them. Even the gods envy us! And here are the 11 pillars for you...
Aarthi alias Gaaj:
I was unfortunate; as I learnt later, not to have interacted much with her. Still, I remember the way she cut me in during induction and bounced one into the ribs (cricket lingo). And I can never forget the way she says... "A (p) diyaa....” For some crap you say and make you feel that you have said something gr8! She is one gal whom I have always seen as ruling the corporate roost. Another example that gals are study maniacs!!! Now rocking in US! (I pray to god that she doesn't bring Hershey’s or Kisses when she returns home! Something better Gaaj, pls)
Aparna alias Mahabali alias Phone Booth:
You can never miss her. Partly because of the huge space she occupies and partly because of the noise she creates. If you don’t find her at her seat, don’t panic, go to the nearest phone booth and you shall find her. But do knock the door before entering or enter at your own risk ;) She is like the small niece of Jerry the mouse (in Tom & Jerry) that is always hungry. Poor thing forgot where her stomach ends :P. In the future I would recommend her to start a portal for all the restaurants in the town, where people can get to know what to eat and where to eat. Walking encyclopaedia for all the restaurants in Bangalore (dunno if she has separate DB for other cities).
Aravindan alias vind:
He is such a great philanthropist that he adopted Calvin and Harry (Potter) to be his own sons: P. My buddy from college, TP @ NITT and I will never forget him (reason: he wrote my first testi in orkut ;)). Jokes apart... no nonsense guy with a lot of aptitude, an ambition to scale great altitudes and a guy whom I thought to be having lots of attitude when I first met him. I don’t know why, sometimes when I see him I remember a dialogue by Hermione "Just because you have an emotional quotient of a teaspoon!” Buddy, do talk something other than stock markets, percentages, IPO s, you, more than anyone else know that there are more beautiful things :)
Bharath alias Lover boy alias Bar:
Bharath was my college mate. A nice friend with whom you can discuss any issue under the sun and this guy will know it. A councillor was killed in Neykarampatti; Bobby Jindal winning elections, Indian markets being thrown to dogs, this guy will know all. So informed yet so withdrawn and calm. Like Bhageera of “The Jungle Book”. He is exactly that... Mystery and style; Keen and agile. To me he is an enigma!
Karthik alias aachu vaa:
Hail the Mysore maharajah! This maharajah of Mysore has two lethal weapons:
1. Mokkais (PJs)
2. Tamil: P
The only king who has conquered Chera dynasty (U know who ;)). A very good guy and if you are searching for some one to talk to, have fun with... Then here he is. He is a nice companion to have. Though I know him only recently, I can assure you that he is one guy you can enjoy being with. Every thing is "seri aachu vaa polam" for him. Machan una intha 11 pillars kulla itanthathuku aravindanuku thanks sollanum da :)
Lakshmi alias kuty laks alias milk:
I take this opportunity to thank the founders of the words like patience, hard work, conviction etc... For without these words I will not be able to describe this gal. She works so much that you will feel guilty of under working in the company. You might have heard about/seen talking alarm clocks. But Lakshmi is a special clock; every ten minutes into the cafe/lunch hall she will sound an alarm - "POLAM" ;). She is a great friend of mine who has been with me through thick and thin.
Nivasini alias Akka alias Lappy alias Kappy alias...:
Akka as called by us all, she is a very easy go lucky character. She can make your mind glow with a 1000 watts with her 1000 whats? I am yet to come across a kid to beat our akka in asking so many whats? For our akka, everything is rosy in life and if it is not she will not accept it as part of life. She likes to walk in a bed of roses and expects to see a rainbow at the end of the path :) (Such optimism only she can show).She accomplices with many other fellows to make a fool of us all. She has done everything to make GURU look at her except slapping him right across and asking him to look at her. I am also eager to see our GURU MACHAN or DHEIVA MACHAN.
Naveen alias Pondoos alias dude:
The sweet heart of our gang and my personal sweet heart in my room as well :) Known him since the first day of my college (He used my bucket for taking bath on the first day and never thanked me! ;)). I doubt if I can see another guy who can make a dead man laugh. No! Not with his jokes but with his own actions ;) An excellent dancer who can give Mallika Sherawat a run for her money. Grand master in CHESS (sport as well as job). The entire custody support is on his shoulders whilst he snores with his bum to the ceiling ;)!
Santosh alias Red Bull alias RB alias Gundan:
Big man with big dreams. His pet name of Red Bull has more meanings than his stock market ventures ;) You better be very sharp otherwise you will miss all his gimmicks: 1. Acting like he is serious
2. Acting like he is an innocent guy.
A good companion to pass time with and know about the stock market. Has been an entrepreneur right from high school. Some how this bull likes only married cows :P
Shanthosh alias govinda:
Looks can be deceptive! Shanthosh is a living example for the phrase. Looks and "acts" innocent, but believe me he has a lot inside. Both in his heart and also in his head. THE WALL, I can say... very dependable friend with whom I have shared a lot! Aiming to move higher up and conquer the management world with his brain.
Shankar alias Shanky alias sithapps:
Big guy (read as: like Hagrid ;)) with even bigger dreams. The author of this blog who doesn't believe in blowing his own trumpet! ;)
Though known as the hall of 1000 pillars, the hall has only 953 pillars. Here is the reason for the reduced number: The king who started to build the temple (somewhere in the 13th century, I forgot his name) wanted a hall of 1000 pillars and had put a deadline for completion (Like our dear IT Managers ;)) .But in the whole universe, only Lord Indra is believed to have a hall of 1000 pillars. Understandably, Indra was not very happy about a rival hall being constructed. So he devised a smart plan. On the deadline day, he disguised himself as a rooster and announced the arrival of dawn before it really was (unfortunately there was no Timex/Titan that time). So the construction of the 1000 pillars was stopped by the king (the workers were like developers caught during appraisal for low productivity ;)) and the hall had 953 pillars.
Now snap back to reality!!! Around 2000 years later... at ANZ, eleven people came together. They were people from different places with different ideologies. There is one similarity though, that I should admit, we all knew Tamil :) But that was not the uniting factor. Honestly, till this point I don’t know what bonds us so strongly. It just happened (Like it happens in some love stories!). We were distributed over groups... we met during lunch... we were distributed to various teams... We met at cafes... we became close... That was it! And when one of our pillars decided to support the statue of liberty, we met to bid her bon voyage and that was when we really christened ourselves as THE 11 PILLARS.
Legend in the future will say that Indra was very upset, more than he was with the construction of 1000 pillared hall. But little could he do for such was the strength of the bond between them. Even the gods envy us! And here are the 11 pillars for you...
Aarthi alias Gaaj:
I was unfortunate; as I learnt later, not to have interacted much with her. Still, I remember the way she cut me in during induction and bounced one into the ribs (cricket lingo). And I can never forget the way she says... "A (p) diyaa....” For some crap you say and make you feel that you have said something gr8! She is one gal whom I have always seen as ruling the corporate roost. Another example that gals are study maniacs!!! Now rocking in US! (I pray to god that she doesn't bring Hershey’s or Kisses when she returns home! Something better Gaaj, pls)
Aparna alias Mahabali alias Phone Booth:
You can never miss her. Partly because of the huge space she occupies and partly because of the noise she creates. If you don’t find her at her seat, don’t panic, go to the nearest phone booth and you shall find her. But do knock the door before entering or enter at your own risk ;) She is like the small niece of Jerry the mouse (in Tom & Jerry) that is always hungry. Poor thing forgot where her stomach ends :P. In the future I would recommend her to start a portal for all the restaurants in the town, where people can get to know what to eat and where to eat. Walking encyclopaedia for all the restaurants in Bangalore (dunno if she has separate DB for other cities).
Aravindan alias vind:
He is such a great philanthropist that he adopted Calvin and Harry (Potter) to be his own sons: P. My buddy from college, TP @ NITT and I will never forget him (reason: he wrote my first testi in orkut ;)). Jokes apart... no nonsense guy with a lot of aptitude, an ambition to scale great altitudes and a guy whom I thought to be having lots of attitude when I first met him. I don’t know why, sometimes when I see him I remember a dialogue by Hermione "Just because you have an emotional quotient of a teaspoon!” Buddy, do talk something other than stock markets, percentages, IPO s, you, more than anyone else know that there are more beautiful things :)
Bharath alias Lover boy alias Bar:
Bharath was my college mate. A nice friend with whom you can discuss any issue under the sun and this guy will know it. A councillor was killed in Neykarampatti; Bobby Jindal winning elections, Indian markets being thrown to dogs, this guy will know all. So informed yet so withdrawn and calm. Like Bhageera of “The Jungle Book”. He is exactly that... Mystery and style; Keen and agile. To me he is an enigma!
Karthik alias aachu vaa:
Hail the Mysore maharajah! This maharajah of Mysore has two lethal weapons:
1. Mokkais (PJs)
2. Tamil: P
The only king who has conquered Chera dynasty (U know who ;)). A very good guy and if you are searching for some one to talk to, have fun with... Then here he is. He is a nice companion to have. Though I know him only recently, I can assure you that he is one guy you can enjoy being with. Every thing is "seri aachu vaa polam" for him. Machan una intha 11 pillars kulla itanthathuku aravindanuku thanks sollanum da :)
Lakshmi alias kuty laks alias milk:
I take this opportunity to thank the founders of the words like patience, hard work, conviction etc... For without these words I will not be able to describe this gal. She works so much that you will feel guilty of under working in the company. You might have heard about/seen talking alarm clocks. But Lakshmi is a special clock; every ten minutes into the cafe/lunch hall she will sound an alarm - "POLAM" ;). She is a great friend of mine who has been with me through thick and thin.
Nivasini alias Akka alias Lappy alias Kappy alias...:
Akka as called by us all, she is a very easy go lucky character. She can make your mind glow with a 1000 watts with her 1000 whats? I am yet to come across a kid to beat our akka in asking so many whats? For our akka, everything is rosy in life and if it is not she will not accept it as part of life. She likes to walk in a bed of roses and expects to see a rainbow at the end of the path :) (Such optimism only she can show).She accomplices with many other fellows to make a fool of us all. She has done everything to make GURU look at her except slapping him right across and asking him to look at her. I am also eager to see our GURU MACHAN or DHEIVA MACHAN.
Naveen alias Pondoos alias dude:
The sweet heart of our gang and my personal sweet heart in my room as well :) Known him since the first day of my college (He used my bucket for taking bath on the first day and never thanked me! ;)). I doubt if I can see another guy who can make a dead man laugh. No! Not with his jokes but with his own actions ;) An excellent dancer who can give Mallika Sherawat a run for her money. Grand master in CHESS (sport as well as job). The entire custody support is on his shoulders whilst he snores with his bum to the ceiling ;)!
Santosh alias Red Bull alias RB alias Gundan:
Big man with big dreams. His pet name of Red Bull has more meanings than his stock market ventures ;) You better be very sharp otherwise you will miss all his gimmicks: 1. Acting like he is serious
2. Acting like he is an innocent guy.
A good companion to pass time with and know about the stock market. Has been an entrepreneur right from high school. Some how this bull likes only married cows :P
Shanthosh alias govinda:
Looks can be deceptive! Shanthosh is a living example for the phrase. Looks and "acts" innocent, but believe me he has a lot inside. Both in his heart and also in his head. THE WALL, I can say... very dependable friend with whom I have shared a lot! Aiming to move higher up and conquer the management world with his brain.
Shankar alias Shanky alias sithapps:
Big guy (read as: like Hagrid ;)) with even bigger dreams. The author of this blog who doesn't believe in blowing his own trumpet! ;)
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