Van Chitgough- The Art of Life

mom, dad- love u guys very much....here they are chillin atop the gurten with me in bern...

Posted by chitgo at 12/29/2005 06:29:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

:) ill never forget coining this name for the dude. Research and operations- business development- barely a year in AIESEC he came all starry eyed to mumbai to live and work with the me on the Indian MC for about a month.
Flash forward a year and 3 months later- a successful Vice President term and as of yesterday:- Local committee president(Elect) - AIESEC in Delhi IIT. Congratulations vijit:) Hope you have a fantastic year:)

Posted by chitgo at 12/25/2005 12:49:00 AM | Permalink | Comments   

saw this with neha and a couple of her close friends (who were with her in college in delhi and have visited her in zurich for the holidays).....
its got to be the cutest flash animation ive seen in a long time...and trust me ive seen a lot:)
enjoy it here:)

Posted by chitgo at 12/24/2005 07:17:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

i wonder if she knows how much i love her. I have decided to stand. decided to stand up. decided to plunge head forth. sneha writes well....I can hear her talk sometimes when I read her blog. on the contrary, my heart aches when i read pani's blog. it really is her personal diary and i wish now not to visit it, purely because those are deep thoughts....not worthy of my superficial mid-day sneak peaks.....
the coming 2 months will be a combination of probably the best and toughest moments of my life. i realize ive worked and received...sometimes worked more than ive received , sometimes deserved more than i worked...but i wonder who's judging. does god have a checklist? or a test-sheet? i wonder how i'll be marked.
i still ponder on where life will take me. so much to do...seemingly such little time. my brain and my heart together, still fight the 'norm', but the bastards switch sides every once in a while....it confuses me. confusion. i always thought i was pretty clear headed..this country gives you way too much space and privacy. i had none of those in india-ironic considering half the west goes there to attain nirvana and piece of mind:)...they obviously never visited bombay. i love bombay. everytime i think of bombay i feel like im away from my mistress....she's the goddess of sin and the queen of imperfection. my hair is long now. very long. i was told i was looking like a hippie by some1 a few days ago. i was asconsed and overjoyed all at the same time. the haircut will come soon...after all appearances matter right ? right.
skype rocks....but nothing beats the ability to just pick up the phone to hear a loved ones voice. for the first time in my life, i shall be an underdog. i dont know what thats like but i am going to enjoy it...thoroughly. i like it when jaws drop...ive caused a lot of jaw dropping in the past 2 years....i wonder if im going soft. I miss my guitar.
christmas is lovely. i cant wait for my mom and dad to get here. theres something about parenthood. they are going to travel a thousand miles to a beautfiful country and all my mom can think of is feeding me. All my dad can think of is sharing a drink and talking to me. amazing. i wonder if giving life makes you selfless. i spoke to vasu today. the gang still plays cricket in the samachar apartments garage on sundays. i dont know why that was the nicest thing to have heard out of the entire conversation. people change, people move on, the landscape- in all its solidarity keeps shifting and moulding, but generations of young and old come and play 4 hours of an insane indian game every sunday....i miss that. i used to bowl well, and my batting wasnt too bad either. gautam is too busy with his work ive heard. kapil is bitching about how i dont mail...such a liar. this is an addictive style of writing. its a saving grace for all the structure that surrounds us. its 6:30 in the evening as i write this. ive just finished cooking some pasta with meatballs. i think i put too much garlic. i love garlic. i just realized ...in 8 days itll be 2006. i was born in 1983. 22 years and 47 days since i arrived. i graduated school in 2001, graduated high school in 2004. man. pardon the cliche but, time flies.

Posted by chitgo at 12/23/2005 11:11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

awesome track:) - my happiness by powderfinger

I see your shadow on the street now
I hear you push through the rusty gate
Click of your heels on the concrete
Waiting for a knock coming way too late
It seems an age since I’ve seen you
Countdown as the weeks trickle into days

So you come in and put your bags down
I know there’s something in the air
How can I do this to you right now
If you’re over there when I need you here

My happiness is slowly creeping back
Now you’re at home
If it ever starts sinking in
It must be when you pack up and go

It seems an age since I’ve seen you
Countdown as the weeks trickle into days
I hope that time hasn’t changed you
All I really want is for you to stay

I know I know I know what is inside

Posted by chitgo at 12/23/2005 01:06:00 AM | Permalink | Comments   

yeah, these last few days have been very lovely and christmasy:)...apart from living vicariously in the excitement of close friends planning exciting future careers in AIESEC to waving goodbye to the peurto rico man:) , i was graciously hosted by the bears and the deers (Bern and Fribourg- AIESEC university chapters in Switzerland for the uninitiated) for a lovely dinner on monday and with the chickitas (aka the chicks, aka viva la geneva aka geneva - phew!) ...on wednesday:)
A really nice tradition here in switzerland, basically every uni organizes a christmas style dinner for all members of the local chapter- to generally catch up, exchange gifts and bid adieu prior to the holidays....delicious fondue dinners are accompanied by wine, which is always nice.
tuesday, i had a nice little 'do' at my UNFPA office....its always fun sitting around talking with the team there about future plans, other UN agencies and some interesting people who have come and gone from Geneva....
then ofcourse, last night was turned into one wild on drinking binge with gio who called me at 1 am for an 'after party'.... 4 hours later and 2 bottles of rum, half a bottle of whiskey and some random coconut drink down...i collapsed to the sounds of a fantastic band called powderfinger which i happen to be listening to right now:) a must listen if u like the grungish rock sound...
woke up late this morning and wished b goodbye as she left for a fun filled christmas back in dusseldorf, milan and then back to bern:)....
read sneha's blog and realized just how well this girl writes...am very glad she started, considering she was always very private with her thoughts - im sure it's still some of the surface stuff coming up on the blog but still:)...cheers to u babe....
hmmmm what else what else? ...im excited about being at this from the 20th-30th of January...I blogged about wanting to be at the world economic forum at davos:) and as righteous as life is - Im going to be there:)

prague draws nearer, as does my parents visit- 2 events i am really looking forward to...KS has settled in nicely to his new pad and we are both planning dastardly ways of disrupting the opera we shall visit on the 1st of jan in prague- some things never change i tell you..
anyways....im alone now here at home....zuzka has left for slovakia and rob is in the UK....planning to chill and put down some more thoughts for the 'battle of evermore' but more on that later:)

Posted by chitgo at 12/23/2005 12:25:00 AM | Permalink | Comments   

learnt of this today....quite insane....UNFPA geneva plans to create some serious awareness on the issue and mobilize some of the more talkative sports agencies into eradicating this form of ridiculous human trafficking..

attention should be given to the fact, that some 40,000 sex workers are likely to be trafficked from esp. Eastern Europe and Latin America, at the time of the World Cup in Germany. German members of parliament, passionate about the goals of the International Council for Population and Development feel that this should be known to the public, and even better, that this expected phenomena be used for strong advocacy against women/girls trafficking, and their deplorable situation. Media attention for the World Cup would help in getting attention for these and the UNFPA issues.

Posted by chitgo at 12/21/2005 08:45:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

a bit unlike their normal pin-point accuracy and organizational detail.....im amazingly not sure of when my parents are arriving in switzerland- 24th or 25th:)....they still dont know!..quite adventurous and 'yo' i say....
New years eve for them see-saws between vienna and milan....again quite yo:)
but never mind, what is more important is their occupancy next to me from the 24th/25th-30th of December in Bern, Switzerland. For I have missed them greatly...and great minds shall once again conjoin to prove just how beautifully different generations can love:)
aka- mom and dad, cant wait to c u!

Posted by chitgo at 12/20/2005 09:57:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

for it will take courage....
and fortidude....
and much much more....
self destruction at times,
is the greatest good.
for the mountain top
is best viewed
from the valley below...
the peak was reached...
the valley induces the vertigo...
it's time to put...
everything on the line again.
battleground 1 - ...taefed
i smile:)..it has begun....

Posted by chitgo at 12/17/2005 06:23:00 PM | Permalink   

for some wierd non-apparent reason ..I just miss this place a lot today.
It's got to be the most unnasuming 'restaurant' (if you can even call it that) in mumbai- if not india. Ironic it is that its placed bang in the centre of the most posh locality of the city....the cheapest pitchers of beer you can find and undoubtedly the most scrumptious chicken fried rice you can imagine....
i'll be back goks...i'll be back....with my mates...and we will drink in the memory of victorious battles, if not the battleground itself...

Posted by chitgo at 12/16/2005 01:52:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

yes, that they are , that they are...
take a wild guess ladies and gentleman on what the publication in the picture is...no ideas? didnt think so....
this is a neatly layed out, insanely well strucutured 23 page explanation on how to manage your garbage for the year 2006-2007!!!! Don't believe me? I dont care quite frankly cos its true....
from seperating every conceivable form of garbage to using the right garbage bags and disposal days to special items demarcation ....this is just another level man....holy crap.
Anyways....you guys mull over this, I'm wondering how to take this best case practise back to india:), I must go now, my bio-degradable organic cans have sinfully gotten mixed up with my other perishables- do i hear the cops? damn im in trouble...

Posted by chitgo at 12/13/2005 07:48:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

in fact...they're not numbered...they're pretty much already over....11th of december was the last day one could smoke in any form of public transport in Switzerland. the war on the cancer stick continues...and switzerland - the classy beauty that it is came out with this ad campaign that makes me smile everytime I see it :)
for the daft ones reading this- that's the 'camel' and the marlboro man cowboy standing alone on a railway platform no longer welcome in the swiss trains:)
now that takes balls....

Posted by chitgo at 12/13/2005 07:40:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

read this amazing quote today:

Nothing is more humbling than to look with a strong magnifying glass at an insect so tiny that the naked eye sees only the barest speck and to discover that nevertheless it is sculpted and articulated and striped with the same care and imagination as a zebra. Apparently it does not occur to nature whether or not a creature is within our range of vision, and the suspicion arises that even the zebra was not designed for our benefit.

-Rudolf Arnheim

Posted by chitgo at 12/13/2005 07:37:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

Just returned last night from the 3rd of my amazing weekends- chairing the AIESEC - Roman region conference in Bacharach, Germany (called Romax). All I can say is- what an experience....being an avid and intense member way back in the years 2002-2004 (AIESEC DI), i remember being quite curious about exactly how the germans manage to do as bloody well as they do....with the kind of university environment that is much more challenging and complete to students than in countries like India ..how did they create so many exchange opportunities and experiences? What was the driving factor?

well i got all my answers and more....
the conference tem was fantastic. Germany carries with it an impeccable and fool proof process of training it's trainers with a professional detail both worthy of respect and a thrill to watch (I myself am considering attending a TTT- train the trainers) . I have personally never seen a more comprehensive xchange preparation seminar- from well planned 'albatross' simulations to a structured learning process for the delegates embarking on an international internship - this place was like a smooth german factory with the fun thrown in.
It was interesting to note that german aiesec members go through an intense and rigorous local committee tenure with international experiences and leadership thrown in, but what really pushes people to preparation for leadership futures is that of the regional support role - wherein which you're heading off the coordination of approximately 9-15 LCs at a time- comparable as I realized to member committees of many countries in terms of the intensity and detailed responsibilities (from conferences to finance to arranged linkages to other parts of the country).....the german ambition is sky high with projects being spearheaded by the MC in collaborations with the LC on further extensions !(they already have 57 Local chapters!) and repeating the brilliance of the afghanistan project for Israel...watch this space for more details on this awesome initiative!

One of the coolest things about this conference was the venue :)...check out the view from right outside the plenary! killer!. The venue was actually a castle utop a decently high hill in Bacharach and had been converted to a youth hostel, winding dungeon style stairways would actually lead to well hidden loos and workshop rooms were a blast getting to:)..., but now I can officially say that I've lived in a castle- modernized as it was....



chairing is always fun, you get to speak to a lot of the delegates as theres a lot of free time and the perspective of 100 + people over 3 days is rewarding to say the least....I was amazed at myself because I realized for the first time that I was exhibiting a fine balance between both my indian and swiss exposure....and it pleased me immensely to hear that I was many a time more Swiss than Indian:) - 'swindian' is what I like to call it actually.....:)...structured 'energy and chaos' :),.....
The global village and boat race competition happened outside in the freezing cold- but as it turned out- nothing some good hot wine couldnt cure...

anyway, just a huge huge huge thanks to the brilliant german facis and hajo who have helped me raise the standard of what to expect in terms of delivery at a conference....met some very interesting people and wonderfully enough- reinstated to myself the exciting plunge i'm going to take....
and as a closing tribute to this last weekend ...John Mayer rightly put it:

Someday I'll fly
Someday I'll soar
Someday I'll be so damn much more
Cause I'm bigger than my body gives me credit for

roman region! hurrah!
..

Posted by chitgo at 12/12/2005 05:54:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

damnit!...,my bro aalehswar singh rauth aka aalekh the supermodel snake wrangler tagged me and I just found out about it...
ho hum...so here we go-


10 years ago..

1. I was about to hit puberty..
2. I was small with hugely rimmed glasses
3. i was crazy about asterix and obelix
4. I was a highly ranked and respected table tennis player:)
5. i loved cartoons and WWF (it was wwf then and not wwe mind you)

5 years ago..

1. I was in my last year of school and struggling to stay out of trouble
2. I was a bad ass rebel without a cause with wavey hair and a strong dislike for academic success.
3. I was in love way too many times for my liking and mental well being.
4. I had the best friends in the world...
5. I was heavily into korn and rage against the machine..
6. I loved to make entries :)
7. I was on the school basketball team.
8. I had a few issues.

The last one year

1. Has been the best year of my life so far
2. I met with tremendous personal and professional success
3. I strengthened my past friendships and made the most powerful new ones
4. I fell in love with a beautiful girl and continue to be in love with her
5. I respect my parents more than I have ever done before...
6. I lived in bombay, agra , geneva and bern...
7. I travelled to germany and romania
8. I took hard decisions and backed them up with couraage...
9. I developed a strong dislike for mediocrity, fake behavior and idiots....
10.I listened to a lot of new music...
11.I told my friends how much they mean to me.
12.I played the guitar a lot..

Yesterday

1. I reinstated to myself the biggest professional decision of my career so far.
2. I spoke to my mom for 2 hours on MSN
3. I got an sms from a friend in delhi saying she was missing me.
4. I saw an Indian guy on the train and didnt acknowledge his presence as he returned the favor.

Five songs I know by heart

1. Pretty much every song by fleetwood mac
2. devil without a cause- kidrock
3. sorry- tracy chapman
4. battle of evermore- led zeppelin
5. bring it on- seal

five things I'd do if I had the money

1. live for a month in barbados
2. buy myself a Honda Fireblade
3. Get the top of the line Bose system for my room
4. Invest everything I own in the next line of apple ipods.
5. go for back to back concerts of fleetwood mac, tracy chapman, korn, eric clapton, metallica, gorillaz and paul oakenfold.

Five places I escape to:

1. My beautiful home in Mayur vihar, Delhi
2. niharika's apartment in zurich.
3. pretty much any picturesque place in switzerland
4. my room in Eigerstrasse 55 ,Bern
5. any room with a guitar

Five TV shows

1. The simpsons
2. Friends
3. Johnny Bravo
4. frasier
5. jay leno

five things i enjoy doing

1. playing the guitar
2. dreaming of my ambitious future
3. listening to different types of music
4. speaking to my mom
5. following the lives of my neurotic and loveable gang of friends spread across the world..

my favorite toys

1. my ipod
2. my laptop
3. Max Payne 1 and 2
4. my digicam

I tag - carissa

Posted by chitgo at 12/07/2005 06:17:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

it's always a blast speaking to sam....had a lengthy discussion with him today about his fantastic job with this company and I was impressed and attracted all at the same time...
But...on visiting the website, the thing that gave me goosebumps was the intro ...a must read for anyone who loves sport....

It's 3am.
Somewhere.
And someone who's sold his soul to the game
has just got out of bed.
Propelled by a new way of inflicting pain.
On himself.
We are not talking about a particular game here.
Like hockey. Or soccer. Or tennis.
We're talking sport.
And why, like a restless worm.
it gnaws into a man's soul.
Pushing him to run 0.025 seconds faster.
Or jump 0.5 centimeters higher.
Or shave all his body hair to
gain 0.01 seconds in the pool.
Is this a form of madness?
Hardly.
It's worse.
It's more like a disease.
Undeterminable.
Incurable.
And contagious.

Welcome to Globosport

Posted by chitgo at 12/07/2005 06:05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

aka team days in dusseldorf:) and oh boy were they awesome. germany is a cool place. I wish I could get a little more eloquent, unfortunately my lack of sleep brought on by the requirement to catch a 6am flight to Zurich this morning inhibits me of the ability to do so.
OK...so why was the weekend as cool as it was? let me try and get structured: (have to have gotten something out of team days right ?)

1. B's place in dusseldorf is gorgeous. A wonderful 3 level abode very near to the city and yet retaining a homely charm- this was the first real european style 'house' i have seen...and it was so relaxing. neatly situated fireplaces interspersed with 2 spacious living rooms (one of the main dining tables actually being a pool table - which idiotically enough we didnt use) and a cute balcony looking out to the garden. Dusseldorf was windy and chilly....her house and her parents- very warm.


2. I have been treated to the most killer set of german dishes one can imagine. from fantastic mutton stew and red cabbage to boneless fish - so well cooked that it was melting in my mouth. Snacks were awesome cheese cakes that I could have hidden in my pocket and taken home if it wasnt for my good and decent upbringing :) Hats off to B's mom for feeding us 'wolves' with such alacrity and love.....




3. the great outdoors:)- we visited some lovely christmas markets and saw some adorable knick knacks...the atmosphere was soooo christmasy - it just made one want to smile...i felt good seeing a friend back in her home town-- makes me look forward to delhi and the streets of mayur vihar sometime in the future....



4. The Apollo adult circus!- hahaha yeah i know how that sounds...berut its not like that you pervs....a hilarious master of ceremonies- thomas took a 150+ crowd through a series of amazing circus acts - one better than the other. Ive certainly come to realize that the germans are funny people , very capable of making themselves the butt of all jokes:)....crazy jugglers, gravity defying acrobats and an extremely funny old guy who just did random stuff with 5 differently colored hats had me in splits...thanks to B i was given a rapid fire translation to all the german that was being spoken :) nice evening followed by deep discussions over cocktails looking over the rhine well past midnight...ahhhhhhhh bliss......

5. year plan review!:)- ok ok...call me boring but seriously, this was an awesome part of the 3 days we spent in dusseldorf cos its just made me realize how exciting the coming 5 months are going to be for AIESEC in Switzerland. from teammie-trainee conferences to elections to KICK OFF to transition etc etc etc etc...rob put it best ...his calender for the months of feb-march look like a 'car crash'...amen brother amen- its the only way i know how to live and boy do i love it ....

anyyhoooooooooowwwwww....im back now...and the next stop is the very exciting german conference - ROMAX that I shall be chairing from the 8th-11th of December....need to catch my breath.....:)

Posted by chitgo at 12/05/2005 02:52:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

you've never failed me.
many battles,
emotional, physical
we fought together
and won.
feasting on nicotine and fire...
you would reduce the flame
to mear dust and smoke...
many nights
we sat alone..
redifining mortality..
redifining flesh.
redifining blood.
have i hurt you?
have i neglected you??
were you not ashamed
to be caught in that moment
of helplessness?
faces staring down at you..
of pity and worry...
they said goodbye..
as you were carried off..
on a device known only
to the seriously wounded...
i laugh, you laugh..
we laugh...
a stretcher....my god...ha ha ha.
i cant quite laugh now.
this will not repeat.
tell me what you need.
let me feed your greed.
you are my body and i am your soul.
indomitable
undeniable.
i will never let you down.
never again.

Posted by chitgo at 12/01/2005 01:09:00 PM | Permalink | Comments