Just incase,  you wonder about who has written all these wonderful, sensitive, funny, insightful, thought-provoking stuff (heh)...here's a little insight me.  Little bit of self introspection. Happy Reading!

1. What’s your sunsign and when were you born?
Pisces, a child of the (late) 70s

2. So you're the dreamy, sensitive types, huh?
Don’t know about the sensitive bit, but dreams, I have many! I often used to live in my own dream world when I was younger. Now I don't. But I'm still working on most of them.

3. So which mangal you are...Daku Mangal Singh(Chambal ki Ghaati wala), Mangal Pandey, or Mangu. In short, isn't 'Mangal' name a a bit awkard and notorious?

Whatever way you like me. Yes, and I certainly do enjoy it. There is a funny story behind how I got my name as per my parents told me. It goes like this.

My grandpa went to municipal committee office to make my birth registration and I was without name that time. The officer refused to register me without a name and grandpa gave him a choice to write whatever he feels like. Then he asked the very natural question, on which day I was born? And the answer attached me to the world with this name.

Anyway till my 10th standard I was more than determined to get my name changed, but then I started enjoying the uniqueness of it. The big advantage is that I can propose someone without creating an offense (guess how!). The sad part is that so many tries and no one takes me seriously :( Poor me. Also there is a risk associated with my name as I came to know when I first made my US trip and met with my boss. "Bhandu, Tum Mangal ho kya...mai to bulane se bhi darr raha tha..ki koi daku mangal singh type se rahenga with big moustache and robdaar voice". I am afraid others who haven't seen me also might have the same opinion about me, when they hear my name for the first time.

OHhh..Gosh. That was a long answer. Anyway there are so many interesting stories attached to my name..I could write a full blog on it.

4. What do you want to be in life?
Ah, now that is something I'm still trying to work out.

5. Any talents...?
I discovered at my 6th standard(much to my disappointment) that I cannot sing, though after seeing HDDCS, I bet that I can sing better than Ajay Devgan. In my childhood whenever I used to go for playing football or cricket, I used to be the last one to get selected. So sports also not my cup of tea, though oflate I have picked up on badi and TT well, and chess ofcourse. Yes, I can make excellent tea, that what I am known for during the bawarchi talks. I like to pen down if in a good mood and generally people are generous or scared enough to pass me the compliments.

My context switching is very bad (from one task to other). The brighter side is that I get absorbed in the work I do. I also cannot juggle, speak on stage, or argue with people. But once a while I get compliments for being a good thinker, analyst and a problem solver.

6. So that leaves you...?
Somewhere in the middle of little and no talent :-)

7. Do you like what you do?
Mostly. But sometimes I do keep wishing I was elsewhere. For example:
-- cycling on a steep road downhill hearing only birds and nothing more
-- watching Himalayas at maansarovar lake
-- drinking tea at a tapri in the middle of rain .

Everywhere, except where I am. But I'm sure you've felt that often too ;)

8. Where do you live?
I am an roamer. Sometimes in CA, other times at Pune if not then perhaps at my home place in delhi enjoying a break.

9. Where do you want to settle down?
I like the concept of being a explorer. I don’t yet subscribe to the theory of growing roots and getting old in one place, living there for the rest of my life. Maybe, I’ll change my views once I get older. Maybe, I won’t! Or may be place doesn't matter to me, 'The someone' matters more.In short, I still haven't decided.

10. What would you rather be doing right now?             

• - Reading 'My best friend' at home.
• - Cycling to downtown sanjose
• - Trekking across the Himalayas
• - Visiting friends in Pune
• - Spending time with family at 'Valley of Flowers'
• - Taking a lecture
• - Attending a landmark session

Hey, I'm allowed to dream :)

11. What did you want to be when you were 10/15/20/25?
At 10, what I remember the most I wanted was to top the Haryana board exam; at 15, I wanted to be a psychiatrist; at 20 a career and a good friend. When now when I am hanging above 25 threshhold, I realised I don't much care for that either. Though occassionally I feel the quest for someone in my life. I'm taking things as they come right now. I have some sketchy plans being hatched but let me keep some secrets, will ya?

12. So how do you pay your bills?
You mean like a job? I am a software professional(so called j2ee architect) working with s e l e c t i c a, and mostly get paid for doing things that are not meant to be done.

13. So, why this site?
I always wanted some space to express myself, to share some of  my good memories and lot of my random thoughts. I was never very inclined towards chatting, but this made much more sense to me. Also, being someone who tried maintaining diaries unsuccessfully for a period of my growing up years, this appealed to me greatly. Admit it's nowhere there as of now, but hope atleast a good start worth appreciating.

14. Is that the only reason?
Wait! Wait! There’s actually more.

- I l enjoy penning down thoughts, raves, rants, feelings, opinions et al. It’s an old habit
- I like being part of a global community of people who share thoughts, ideas and links
- I love the idea of doing something, which I have solely created
- I love the fact that I have a platform where I can air my voice (so what if no one’s listening!!). I have noticed that in large groups, I tend to become speechless and melt into the woodwork. My thoughts get frozen in space and my mind blanks over. And I always think of what I could have said at that point of time, to that person, about 3 days after the event has taken place. Suddenly, I have a space to do it my way!

15. So will you be spilling out your innermost secrets?
I tend not to talk about very personal things. I am not comfortable with spilling everything out. But I am quite expressive, so I might let out a secret now an then! I do keep some things private, but more due to the fact that it might hurt/ upset the person involved.

16. Dreams of...
Being strong and approachable, someone my friends and family can always rely on, self sufficient and resource full. I'd like to travel (a lot) and have enough time and money to be able to do it in relative comfort. I'd like to be involved in some form of activity that will give me a chance to interact with people from different wallks of life and cultures - like teaching, volunteering work for supporting life. Maybe study a little bit more, maybe write a book in the long run. 

17. What keeps you ticking?
Life and my heart, of course.

18. Defining statement:
Courage is not the absence of fear. It is rather the judgement that there is something more important than fear.

19. Love and hate...
Love: Innocence, Compassion, Liveliness, Freedom, Strolling, Treking, Cycling, Travelling, Tea, Parathas, Photography, Reading
Hate: Being controlled by others to serve their means, People not considerate for others(actually their attitude not them), Pessimism, Pollution, Materialistic approach

20. What inspires you:
People who love life, who are compassionate, humble, sharing, funfilled, witty, down-to-earth. People who love to go out of way to make life more beautiful for others without expecting anything in return. People who show courage inspite of odds. People who dare to dream and work towards achieving their goals with 'NO MATTER WHAT' attitude. And in my solitude a lovely song, birds chirping, eagle flight...almost anything from nature.

21. In quest of something?
Hmm...Somone who is tuned @ the same frequency my heart is listening to.

:) If you can get through all these questions, and want to know more (there are some strange people out there),  bequeath me your fortunes, mail me here: sainmangal at yahoo dot com. If you have some thing for me, I'll reply real quick!