Me and Me's Story.

Moving on!

2010-12-23T22:46:00.004+05:30

Yup. Moving on to http://www.sradhakrishna.com.

In case you've been following updates on my blog ( which am sure you were ;-) ), please update your blogrolls/ bookmarks with the following:

http://www.sradhakrishna.com/blog/thisandthat/feed/

See you there!

Me.

Yet another break from work in the other world

2010-09-30T22:21:00.005+05:30

The same office. The same typical day. The same two people. Yet another break from work.

"They build places of worship. For us. And The Boss. So they can pray to us. So we hear their prayers and solve their problems."

"How do we make them understand that when they are created, we put a little bit of ourselves and Him into them? And thus they all have that ability in them to solve all their so-called problems?"

"But wasn't this a part of the specification that the Boss came up with, to ensure that they are all self-sufficient beautiful creatures who, together can create wonders on Earth that even he couldn't create?"

"True, it was. But there was a bug that created a few batches with a whole lot of manufacturing defects. And thus the hatred against each other. Thus the ego. Thus the fear. Thus the chivalry. Thus the slavery. Towards all non-important, detrimental stuff - stuff like race, religion, region, language etc."

"But we could upgrade them with the latest software, isn't it?"

"Well, thats where a basic fundamental design flaw emerged, you see. In all the melee of agile development with the release-early-release-often motto, the need for an easy upgrade path was overlooked."

"So no way we could make 'em realize?"

"Well, its kinda tough. We need them to realize on their own that there are better things they could do, than just bother so much about these inconsequential stuff. That's why Boss's so busy these days. He is trying to create circumstances that'll help the older generations realize. But its tough on him too. You know, its not always easy to provide a workaround for a bug that's a result of a design flaw."

"Now I understand why we couldn't create the impact we were supposed to when we were there. And why things have gone so worse after we returned. By the way, has the bug ever been fixed?"

"Yup. As soon as it was found. But the later generations have to deal with the older ones and the so called customs and traditions that the older ones have created. That's going to take quite some time in their world."

"But that means there's hope, isn't it?"

"Yup. There is. In His world, that is the only one that's constantly available. At all times."

"Thank God".

A regular break from work in the other world

2010-09-30T21:04:00.005+05:30

A typical office in the other world. A typical lounge. A typical work day. A typical break from their routine work and a typical wailing session between two elderly employees. They were found holding each other and comforting each other.

"Why, just why don't our children let us live in peace?", One said.

"I never thought they wud worry me so much, from as far as the other world", said the other.

"Seriously, how can they hurt each other in our pretext, and expect us to approve it?"

"Just when I thot they were learning to live with one another in peace and harmony, someone or the other rakes up the issue, as a case or a judgement, the media flares it up and the others make all the disturbance. Why does it have to go on for ages like this?"

"A few think they are better than the rest. Some keep looking for opportunities to create disturbances among the rest. Some keep craving for so called positions of power"

"No one seems to know the purpose of their existance. Some gave us names. Some others think the sole purpose of their existence is to keep praying and chanting our names."

"Isn't it simple to understand, if all that we wanted was to give us names and keep spending their lives chanting and praying to us, why would we create them on earth?"

"I mean, if half the time spent on searching for their creators or chanting and praying was spent on living with each other and making life better for themselves, wouldn't that be a life well lived? Why is it so tough to see this point?"

"We had created them on earth for a purpose, haven't we? That, together, these ppl can create miracles that even our boss can't create, right? How do we make them realize this?"

"They pray to us to solve their problems. Who do we pray to, to get this solved? Even the boss doesn't seem to know a solution."

"Don't u think this break has stretched a tad too long?", The boss's voice thundered in the lounge, "Get back to work. There are too many prayers for help, a good backlog of creations and we are too short on staff."

And thus resumed the rest of their work day.

p.s.:- Lying idle inside their closets were found a bow and an arrow, and a book wrapped in a clean green satin cloth.

IRCTC sucks. Bigtime.

2010-09-10T08:50:00.002+05:30

IRCTC sucks. Bigtime.

The workflow built into the UI is so pathetic, that the page that is most seen on web clients all over the world is the one that says "Service Unavailable". And the backend - did they even hear about the concepts of designing to handle load efficiently?

Recently, Yatra and MakeMyTrip started to handle ticket booking on their website and Me thought the UI part was sort of plugged. IRCTC then conveniently passed a rule that tatkal bookings on yatra and such will not be available between 8 and 9 AM. Ever seen a tatkal booking available after 9?

UI framework, workflow, load scenarios, policies. They are pathetic in every part of the application.

And worst, we have to put up with it.

Gather from a friend that Infosys developed this website. If there's any truth in that, may God help customers of Infy!

Srimayee

2010-05-25T14:04:00.003+05:30

Me thinks Me's become kinda regular. Regular in updating my blog after quite long pauses. ;-|

Recent happenings in life - sis had delivered a wonderful kid - Srimayee - about a couple of months back. March 11th to be precise. Life at home, as expected, has been exhilerating and revolving around the kid.

After a lot of shortlisting and screening names against astrology, numerology and what-not-o-logy, her parents zeroed in on 'Srimayee' as her name.

Her maama, i.e., yours truly, has setup a website for her - http://www.srimayee.com.

Do check it out. Any suggestions to improve the website will be heartfully appreciated. :-)

Me.

Gimme another chance, wanna grow up once again...

2010-01-23T00:44:00.005+05:30

Its 12:45 AM. That's right, past midnight. Am tucked away in my bed and am just beginning to feel sleepy. Its pretty cold outside and Me can feel the warmth returning under the blanket around me.

And then there is this urge to write about this movie that Me returned from just a few minutes back. The feeling lingers over me like a nice hot coffee on a chill morning. Or like the way you feel when you get drenched by yourself in a downpour.

The movie that Me just watched is 3Idiots. If Me had to use one word to describe how Me felt, 'Fabulous' would be it. Hirani proves his mettle and Me thinks Me's turning to be his hard core fan.

When the movie was released, most of the initial reviews mentioned that it was based on Chetan Bhagat's 'Five point someone'. Hadn't quite liked that book or for that matter any of Chetan's books. And hence reluctance to watch a movie based on his book. Then a few friends from Hyderabad said the movie is wonderful. Now, these guys were movie buffs who would like any movie, so waited to hear from ppl. Quite a few blog posts showed up reviewing the movie to be among the best. There were a few that said that the movie was total crap, like this one. And there were a few interesting points of view too, like Kartik's. The reviews were one thing. But today, Me just felt like watching a movie. So called a couple of friends, bought tickets and headed to Forum Value mall.

Aamir was good. Kareena looked great, and Sharman and Maddy were at their best. Chatur suited the role very well. Music and songs are good. Gimme some sunshine is my fav. Helluva song that one is. Plot - a few aspects looked too far fetched - like the delivery on a TT table. Or for that matter Phansuk Wangdu's 400 patents. Me thinks a true passionate seeker of knowledge would never, never ever care about patents and stuff. Me believes that one of the first things a true seeker of knowledge learns is that Knowledge grows when its spread out. Not when its withheld or tied to materialistic stuff like finances.

The movie resonates quite a few of my opinions about our current education system and the rat race we tend to find ourselves in. Me thinks what our education system lacks are methodologies to help students discover themselves. Also what is missing, atleast in most of our curriculums is the focus on application of what is being taught/ learnt. The movie brings out these aspects in a subtle, but clear manner.

Can't help but remember what my dad had told me when Me was preparing for my engineering entrance - "...there are two ways to look at the examination - one - as if you are in a race with 2 lakh other candidates. Two - is as a challenge to answer 200 questions in 3 hours. When you focus on excelling at what you study, the first doesn't matter. And the second would turn out to be an activity thar reinforces your learning...". Somehow, that struck a chord with me.

All in all - one helluva movie. Loved it outright. If you ask me, go watch it. Its worth every penny you spend on it.

Me.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T00:52:00.002+05:30

Wish you all a very happy new year!

May 2010 bring in lots of happiness and prosperity into all our lives!

Me,

Dreams.

2009-11-19T18:34:00.001+05:30

Saw this video on of my friends’ facebook updates. Needless to say, Me loved it.

Definitely, the content was great. Simple, neat and crisp. What Me liked the most was that most of them were those that Me could relate to. And Me thinks most of us yearn for the same dreams as his.

As Me types in this post, Me asks myself this very qn: “What are my dreams?”

A pretty interesting qn, Me thinks. And am liking the answers that Me gets.

So much so that Me has decided that there will be a series of posts. No descriptions, just one liners.

Me.

My School!

2009-10-18T14:04:00.001+05:30

St. Pauls English Medium School, Hanamkonda, Warangal. 1982-1999. That’s where and when Me studied.

Me did visit my school a bunch of times after ‘99, but never could get some pics of the school the way this video shows. Should try that next time when Me’s in Warangal.

Thanks to fellow alumni, Vamshi and Sharath Pavan for a wonderful compilation of pics!

Me.

A happy Diwali!

2009-10-18T01:27:00.001+05:30

This Diwali has been truly special for a few reasons. First, this happens to be the first Diwali that Me and Shailu celebrated together. True. Its been more than two and a half years since our marriage, but we’ve not had a chance to celebrate it together. You know, life and its wondrous ways. Second, it turned out to be pleasantly different from what Me thought it might be.

The highlight of the day – savories that Shailu made. Poornalu and Sorakayi Garelu – thats what we call them in Telugu. She was trying ‘em for the first time, and they came out real well.

Decorating our home – that was the second best part – Shailu had some good rangoli at our front door, we put up some good lighting on our balcony and we had lit up lamps lining up our balcony. What a sight it was to watch our balcony from the front of our apartment complex!

The company – it wouldn’t have been possible without them! We are lucky to have some wonderful neighbors. Its always fun with them around. And the community – it was so nice to see so many in the apartment complex to come out and lit up the sky.What a sight it was!

Was never a big fan of crackers – always preferred to watch ‘em than burning ‘em. Was always troubled with the noise that surrounds the evenings of Diwali. But this time, Me found myself not bothering about those at all. Was not troubled a bit. Was actually relishing the evening. There was a thought that may be Me should plan to do it a big way next year. Surprisingly, can’t say why Me changed – may be its the community. May be its the friends Me celebrated the festival with. May be it was those savories that Shailu made. May be the festival has its effect sometimes. May be.

Whatever it is, Me’s had a very happy day. And Me hopes everyone had a good day too.

Me.

p.s.:- One thing Me promised Shailu – we’re either going to get our cam set right. Or buy ourselves a digicam. Damn. How could we’ve missed capturing all that bliss out there today?

In conversation with Mr. V - Part 1

2009-08-10T13:27:00.015+05:30

(Last week, 6th and 7th of Aug 2009 to be precise, Me and my lady paid a visit to Tirumala, V's abode. 'V', for Venkateshwara. And before you ask which one, lemme clarify, am referring to Him, the ultimate Lord.

After a not-so-long wait in the queue, we reached the main shrine. Once you get a glimpse of the Lord, time tends to stop, and the few seconds you get to see Him seem like hours. Time enough for a good conversation, that is - if He wills and if you are extremely lucky. Am not that lucky, but if Me does get that lucky someday, Me imagines this is how its going to be.)

Me: Hi.

Mr. V: Hey, watsup?

Me: (habitually, looked up).

Mr. V: Now, please spare me that. Don't you ever get bored of repeating it so many times?

Me: (all smiles and grins) Donno - Me thinks its pretty much got into Me now. Like a reflex, you know.

Mr. V: So, long time. How've you been?

Me: Am okay. C'mon, why do you ask? You know how Me's been. You tell me. How've you been?

Mr. V: As usual, pretty busy. A tad too much offlate. You know, its the beginning of the month and I've to pay my EMI, am busy pooling in money for that.

Me: Whattttt? EMI? You? You're mocking me, aren't you?

Mr. V: No, am not. Seriously, I've a loan too.

Me: Gods and loans? You're kidding.

Mr. V: Nooo.. am not. You know, we Gods marry too. And we take loans for our marriages as well.

Me: Wait. Me thinks Me knows. From Mr. Kubera, right?. C'mon. Me thot that was just a story. Mythology and all.

Mr. V: Ofcourse not. What, you thought loans and EMIs were flashes of intelligence from some human? We've had it for eons before you folks copied it from us.

Me: Eon? What's that?

Mr. V: Something like the year you folks follow. In your terminology, its about a billion years. What, you never read Wikipedia?

Me: And how many eons did you say, you'll pay back the loan in?

Mr. V: In your terminology, say a billion billion.

Me: And you guys have interest rates too?

Mr. V: Is that a trick question?

Me: (smiles) Ok, got it. You Gods must have invented it.

Mr. V: Exactly.

(contd...)

(Now, that, Me thinks was about a nanosecond of conversation. And if Me is lucky, Me'd have about a minute of darshan. So, watch out for more. :-) )

Me.

An abandoned Mouse

2009-08-08T09:30:00.007+05:30

(A few months back, saw a mouse lying around in one of our conference rooms. Guess Me was in a little mischievous mood, so shot out this mail. There are a few references to I and Me's not too happy about it, but ppl at work donno me as Me too well).

From: Radha, Krishna S
Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 9:30 AM
Subject: An abandoned mouse

Once upon yesterday, as I was getting ready for a meeting in Level 2 VC, spotted a mouse lying on the table - unperturbed by the crowd around and happily nibbling away at the Polycom's neat curves. And then started the conversation:

Me: Hey, what are you doing here?
Mouse: Partying. Huh. What do you think?
Me: Are you lost?
Mouse: Ofcourse. Can't you see?
Me: Ok, so who's your master?
Mouse: Micer. That's what we call him.
Me: Or a mousee if its a her I guess?
Mouse: Gawd. You are right.
Me: So, who's it?
Mouse: If I knew, why would I be here?
Me: And how can I help? Should I blast out an e-mail to the whole world saying I've found a mouse?
Mouse: Not the whole world. Just to the micers and mousees of TEDI.
Me: Who shall I say is lost?
Mouse: You really can't see, can you? Tell 'em I don't have a tail (wireless), and am powerful (albeit through a battery), am all clickable and come from the renowned Logitech family.
Me: Ok. Will do. Btw, you'll owe me a thanks.
Mouse: Only if you take good care of me till then.
Me: Yup. For a talkative mouse like you, the drawer of my desk at Level 4 RW is the right place. I will not have to put up with your banter anymore. Now, just shut up.
Mouse: Talkative? Me? Dude, the way ppl crave for me, you'd have more people thronging your desk claiming I belong to 'em.
Me: C'mon. They'll have to somehow prove that they've been putting up with you for so long.
…

Thus, a mouse reached the confines of the drawer in my desk.

If this little creature is yours, please come by and take it before it messes up my desk.

Regards,
Radha.

p.s.:- Micers and mousees are terminologies in the mice world, so claims the mouse. Any one offended with those names will have to plead in the courts of the mice world.
p.p.s.:- Had to put you all in Bcc - didn't want to create a chain of replies to the whole world - err… micers and mousees of TEDI.
p.p.p.s.:- More about mouses here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_(computing)

(TEDI is what we call our organization. And a Google search for TEDI will not point to our organization. :-))

Japaaan... Me in Tokyo

2007-07-31T08:45:00.000+05:30

Don't read that title. Sing it. Sing it the way Mohd. Rafi sang it in his immortal song for Jai Mukherjee in Love in Tokyo.

A friend asked me - "So, how's Tokyo??" And Me said - "With Me around, it couldn't be any better ever". "Stop blabbering", he said.

OK. Stop blabbering, let me.

Came here last thursday. Will leave this thursday. As you must've understood already, on a business trip. Don't ask me what's it that Me's supposed to do. Can't tell ya. Confidential. A save-mother-earth-from-imminent-danger type confidential. Pch. Pch. Sorry. Don't try to force me.

So, how's Tokyo?? Pretty good yaar. Most of the things are near about the same though.

-- Like the sun still rises in the east. A little early though. Like 5:00 AM early. Never knew He woke up so early. And that's more evident to me, 'cause my room at the hotel is on the 27th floor. ;-)

-- Like its a little sultry. Not the Chennai type sultry, but a little sultry.

-- Like ppl are pretty normal. Except that its very rare to find someone too tall. And they all look like - you know - put your finger on the end of your eyes and drag it outwards and look at yourself in the mirror.

-- Like kids are still bubbly. The hit-one-on-someone's-butt-and-then-go-hide-behind-their-mom types. The insist-on-piggybacking-their-dad types.

--Like parents still show their little ones a fire-engine and tell 'em that that's a fire-engine. And the kids awe their wonder in their looks.

--Like there are quite a few tourist attractions.

--Like quite a few residents who haven't visited those tourist attractions in their own city yet.

--Like there's an area like the SP Road of B'lore or Gujarati Galli of Hyd. Where they sell lot of electronics. The only difference is the scale. They sell 'lotssss' of electronics here. Right from resistors to readily built boards to second hand laptops to branded stuff. Everything. Every single thing that can be classified Electronics. Me saw a lappy being sold at an equivalent price of 2500 indian bucks.

--Like ppl working hard. But the scale is again different. The work hardly. And verry verry hardly. Like 8AM to 9PM type hardly.

--Like ppl catchup on some sleep at work. And a few who sleep on pavements and shop-fronts at night. Again, the scale is differents. Its not as common as we see it.

The biggest differences here are food and language.

Food - you hardly get vegetarian food. Me means you get vegetarian food. But that'll atleast have fish. Or anything that goes as vegetarian here. Me's surviving with the help of the American b'fast at hotel and dinner at a Indian restaurant, which is so Indian that the menu doesn't have anything in rice other than steamed rice and 'saffron rice'.

And language - trust me. By the time Me's back in India, Me'd have become too good at dumb charades. What fun it is. And must mention - Japanese language is definitely fun to learn. Me thinks the gentleness that you typically see in people around is generated from within the language.

In all, Me feels good to have been here. And Me feels good to be getting back home too.

:-)

Me.

p.s:- Where's Me been all this while?? Tradition you know. Can't change it. You got to go into that hibernating mode for atleast 6 months after marriage.
p.p.s:- My lady is doing good too. Thanks for asking. O... btw, she says a hi to you all too.
p.p.p.s:- Yes, she's treating me well. Very well actually. She loves the little paunch that Me's put on since she's started cooking for me. Actually, she says that's one thing she likes a lot in me. :-D

Us!

2007-02-18T11:33:00.000+05:30

That's Us, just after our wedding.

Wish us the very best!

Blissfully,
Me.

p.s: More details to follow in another post.

Wedding Invitation(s)

2007-01-20T13:43:00.000+05:30

My wedding invitations were ready about a month back. The past month has been about going around distributing them. The last couple of days has been to scan 'em up, upload 'em and sharing it with friends.

Can still remember the hour and a half that we spent at the Gampa Wedding Cards store in Hyderabad. Me drove my parents there and that they were baffled at the wide variety would be an understatement. The browsed thru the collection till they got tired, selected 6 of 'em and asked the shopkeeper if he could have 100 each of them printed. The shopkeeper said it would cost us a lot. Parents mumbled and jumbled, and came out with three of 'em. Not that there were going to be any priorities, its just that there was so many options and so much variety.

Those three, other than what Me picked for my personal invitation and the one that my sis picked up for her friends!

Me.

8 days to go!!

2007-01-20T13:36:00.000+05:30

Friends: "Are you developing cold feet?? "
Me: "No, the AC's out today".

Friends: "Its not too late. Run!"
Me: (Laughs out loud and says)"Me? Its her who's got to run."

8 days to go before Me gets married to Shailasri.

Me's excited, and Me's calm.
Me's on cloud nine, and my feet are on the ground.
In short, Me's as normal as Me could've ever been, and Me's enjoying every minute of it. :-)

Me.

iPhone - Victim to Apple's Blunders??

2007-01-20T12:42:00.000+05:30

When Steve Jobs announced iPhone at MacWorld Conference this year, Me spent the best of my free time available in reading up about this phone and allowing myself to be flattered by all that it offers.

Me means, who wouldn't be?? Sample these specs: 11.6mm thin, 2.4 inches wide, 4.5 inches in height, with a dazzling display and an user interface that comes from the pioneers, and loaded with features - no stylus, multi touch sensitive screen, OS X loaded, completely wireless with enhanced bluetooth and 802.11b/g integrated, a proximity sensor that turns the screen off once the device gets near the ear, an ambient light sensor that adjusts the brightness of the screen according to the ambience, an accelerometer that switches the display between landscape/ portrait modes based on the device's orientation, the all famous iTunes, visual voicemail, integrated audio/ video that supports the latest greatest standards - that would give the best of cell phone manufacturers a nightmare of sorts - am sure its going to be a geek's delight.

But then, Me sort of feels Apple's kinda done the same mistake that had prevented them from gaining a major market share.

First - the device in itself is a little far from being perfect. Me means - Me would think twice before investing my money, about more than $700 on a device that doesn't gimme expandable memory, that doesn't let me view/ edit my MS-Office files (can't help it right - they are the most prevelant ones around!), that has a irreplaceable battery (never mind it having a very good life) - and how hassle free is software development for this one?? Can Me develop my own software on this device?? Me donno.

Second - couldn't it have been announced when its ready to be released to the market?? The fact that it would be available only 6 months from now - doesn't it give enough time for competition to catch up?? More so when Apple's not the only one who has expertise in touch sensitive screens and video/ audio playouts??. The competition has already started - LG's Prada - already seems offer almost everything that iPhone has to offer!!

Third - Why on earth did Apple choose to tie up with a single operator - Cingular?? Me thinks it doesn't take the best of brains to conclude that Cingular has just about a fraction of cell phone customers, right??

But Me's gonna wait and watch. One, for iPhone to be released in India, Two, if there would be future revisions which can address some aspects that Me mentioned, Three, to wait and watch the war that's going to ensue between cell phone manufacturers in the near future - am sure there would be a better models, better features and better prices too!!

Me.

Monday Morning Blues!

2007-01-08T10:16:00.000+05:30

The train from Hyderabad reached Bangalore about an hour early today. Good.
Nice chilly weather. One that you want to go home and tuck yourself under a warm blanket. Good.
Autos line up in the pre-paid auto stand. Too Good!
Hire an auto to my office which is nearby. The auto-wallah doesn't fuss. Great!
Me tunes into Radiocity on my way home. A couple of hymns and then Basanthi comes online, with her bubbly wubbly, pleasant as the morning voice. Ammazing!

Reach Agara, and see the orange ball, called Sun, coming out of the horizon and rising up into the sky. Me stops and stares. The mist in the sky starts to clear. And the radio streams out Pal, among my most fav. songs. Awesome!!!

Me hopes to have a great week ahead. And no better way to start it. :-)

Me.

New Year - First Observations!

2007-01-02T15:39:00.000+05:30

2006 flew past. 2007 set in. Came back to Bangalore after a good weekend back home, and came to work all enthu. Few things Me noticed first in 2007.

First - an e-mail from my HR - wish me many happy returns of my wedding anniversary! Seconds after reading that mail, Me was rolling on the floor laughing. Shared the mail with my colleagues and they ended up in a similar state too. One of them even got the impish thought of psyching up my fiancee with this e-mail. And knowing her, am sure she'd be in splits too. Trust the HR department for such fiascos. Me bets no one can be better than 'em.

Second - Friends who have been using BSNL Dataone broadband reported that their network connections have started functioning at 1.4Mbps and above. Am yet to test mine, but already have a dampener that this is not available for plans with unlimited downloads. Am not sure how mine would work. In any case, hats off to BSNL for having pulled off this one. As Mr. Maran noted while announcing this - lets see how competition would beat this one. Am sure major players are going to respond big time. 'cause if they don't, am sure they would have very less options than to pack their bags.

Third - A bunch of mails from, donno-who (please blame those grey cells in my brain), wishing me new year. Now, wishes are good things, Me agrees, but Me resolves to remember every guy whom Me meets this year. Or atleast all those who have my e-mail ids. (Me's really serious!)

Me.

Season's Greetings!

2007-01-02T15:26:00.000+05:30

Wish you all a very happy new year! Hope life has the very best in store for us this year and every year hereafter!!

Me.

Shaan-e-Warne!

2006-12-27T20:03:00.000+05:30

700 wickets. 37 5+ hauls. Two figures enough to say a lot about this exemplary cricketer, Shane Warne.

Australia, and the world would definitely be proud of him. And miss him as he walks out of the ground.

He remarked that he is quitting when his career is at an all time high. And also remarked that his record would soon be broken by Muralitharan. Am sure he must be very pleased and satisfied with what he achieved.

The pic above (got that from The Hindu) is one Me liked the most - the team walking behind, and the whole ground giving an applause to this great cricketer.

And this video gives us a glimpse as to why he is such a great cricketer! Check how bewildered Strauss was when he realized what had happened... Ain't it awesome??

Searching the next level of Search!

2006-12-27T19:03:00.000+05:30

Its ammazing how search has become one prominent technology in itself over the past few years. Though a few companies have had their presence in this field, it was not until Google arrived on scene with its innovative PageRank(R) algorithm and its application to arrive at the most relevant results for the users. According to a latest report, Google spearheads search with about 49+% share. Yahoo comes next with about 24+% share, and MSN has just about 8+% share.

Google has since been working on its search technology to provide better and better results. Check out "Accessible Search: Answers to common questions". Had read "The Google Story" recently, and must say my respect for that company has increased multi-folded. The practices they used within their company, the kinda people they hire, and more - their ad-less website, all speak about why the company is valued at such a high price, and why it is revered to be the technologically advanced company around.

However, this interesting article in BusinessWeek interests me even more. What better than to rank search results based on what people think are the most relevant, rather than some algorithmic formula?? And who better to make it than Jimmy Wales, the creator of Wikipedia??

Times of future of search are sure going to be interesting.

Me.

My Fav Songs - 10. Appudo Ippudo Eppudo

2006-12-26T18:20:00.000+05:30

(A Telugu song that recently caught onto me real tight. Its from a movie called "Bommarillu". Sung wonderfully by Siddharth, the hero of the movie and RDB fame. Got to appreciate this non-telugu guy sing with so much ease! Music by Devi Sriprasad, as usual is pretty peppy. What Me likes the most is the subtle lyrics - sample this:

...Theepi kanna inka theeyanaina thene edi ante ventane nee perani antaane
(If someone asks me what's more sweeter than sweet, I'd say that its your name)

Haayi kanna entho haayidaina chote emitante nuvvu velle daarani antaane
(If they'd ask what's that place which is more relaxing than relaxing itself, I'd say its the way you walk in)

Neelala aakasham naa neelam edante nee vaalu kallallo vundani antaane...
(If the blue sky asks me where its blue has gone, Me'd point it to your eyes)

Devisriprasad's interludes, again, is something to watch... err... hear out for. )

Appudo ippudo eppudo kala kannane cheli
Akkado ikkado ekkado manasichhane mari
Kalavo alavo valavo naa oohala haasini
Madilo kadhala medile naa kalala suhaasini
Evaremanukunna naa manasande nuvve nenani

Theepi kanna inka theeyanaina thene edi ante ventane nee perani antaane
Haayi kanna entho haayidaina chote emitante nuvvu velle daarani antaane
Neelala aakasham naa neelam edante nee vaalu kallallo vundani antaane

Appudo ippudo eppudo kala kannane cheli
Akkado ikkado ekkado manasichhane mari
Kalavo alavo valavo naa oohala haasini
Madilo kadhala medile naa kalala suhaasini
Evaremanukunna naa manasande nuvve nenani

Nannu nene chaala thittukunta neetho sootiga ee maatalevi cheppakapothunte
Nannu nene baaga mechhukunta edo chinna maate nuvvu naatho maatadavante
Naathone nenunta nee thode naakunte ededo ayipotha nee jatha lekunte

Appudo ippudo eppudo kala kannane cheli
Akkado ikkado ekkado manasichhane mari
Kalavo alavo valavo naa oohala haasini
Madilo kadhala medile naa kalala suhaasini
Evaremanukunna naa manasande nuvve nenani

Merry Christmas!!!

2006-12-22T17:12:00.000+05:30


Wish all of us a Verry Verry Merry Merry Christmas!! A friend of mine forwarded this video. Now, stuff like this is what Me tends to term Heights of Creativity. Ironically, the show is termed Bizarre Christmas Musicians!! Phew! Donno who the performer is. Nevertheless, Me's hats off to him. Me.

A tit for a tat!

2006-12-22T16:24:00.000+05:30

Ok, now Me knows this has been blogged umpteen times, and has been talked about day in and day out. So much so, that thou readers might even ask me - why the hell does Me have to blog about it too...

But lemme admit. This incident is one such incident that needs a special mention. Afterall, there have been very few instances where Me was on the floor laughing my guts out with tears in my eyes. What better entertainment on an otherwise dull sunday??

Lemme put it in words. May be Me wouldn't do any better than the video, but what the heck. So, here it goes:

Sreesanth, the hero comes into bat. Ofcourse, as per the storyline, he is the underdog (not in the exact literal terms). And the villain in the story, Mr. Nel is bowling, i.e., one of those instances when he is not digging at the batsmen. Nel comes rushing down err... running down and bowls a bouncer. And then tops it up with a dig at our hero. Now, no one takes a dig at the hero, isn't it? So, our hero is enraged. But since this is not an actual movie, the hero doesn't fume and is composed for now.

Nel, having no idea as to how much he enraged the hero, comes rushing down and then bowls a good, (in retrospect, not so good a ball.) Our hero comes down the line, hits it up straight into the stands above the bowlers head. As the ball clears the rope, (if you are movie buff, then you must've guessed it already, here's an opportunity for a song). But as Me said, this is not an actual movie. So there's no one singing a song. But we do have a hero who can dance right?? And thats what he does. Break into a dance and then give the villain, glances that he wouldn't probably forget for the rest of his life.

See - its always like this. Heroes always rebutt villains ugly advances.

Ok, now for the video. Watch this. Credits to mayank2hero for uploading it to YouTube, and for his efforts with the background score.

My Fav Songs - 9. The Girl From Yesterday

2006-12-04T11:55:00.000+05:30

(A smooth, melodious song of Eagles. Wasn't much into Eagles, but offlate, since a friend of mine has introduced 'em to me, have grown a big fan of theirs.)

It wasn't really sad the way they said good-bye
Or maybe it just hurt so bad she couldn't cry
He packed his things, walked out the door and drove away
And she became the girl from yesterday

He took a plane across the sea
To some foreign land
She stayed at home and tried so hard to understand
How someone who had been so close could be so far away
And she became the girl from yesterday

She doesn't know what's right
She doesn't know what's wrong
She only knows the pain that comes from waiting for so long
And she doesn't count the teardrops
That she's cried while he's away
Because she knows deep in her heart
That he'll be back someday

The light's on in the window; she's waiting by the phone
Talking to a memory that's never coming home
She dreams of his returning and the things that he might say
But she'll always be the girl from yesterday
Yeh, she'll always be the girl from yesterday

A Perfect Treasure!

2006-12-02T13:47:00.000+05:30

On the way to Adugodi from the junction of Richmond Road and Brigade Road Extension, there's a hoarding near the bus stop near the Bharat Petroleum outlet (uff!), which hosts ads of Amul. That's one hoarding that Me never misses to watch on my way home. The ads of Amut that are put up there are what Me terms "Heights of Creativity".

The ads are periodical, in that they are always based on the latest happenings in and around the world. They are witty, subtle, creative and never miss the point of butter-ifying the main cause.

Googled out (these days, no one goes straight to the official websites right?? vahaan pe mile na mile, google mein tho zaroor milega! ;-)) and stumbled upon this stuff that Me terms a Perfect Treasure. And the story behind the treasure.

Gather that one moppet had a crucial role to play in Amul's success. The 'Amul Butter Girl', as they fondly call it, has stolen hearts of people since 1967. She hasn't grown in age and the mark cute childishness and bubblyness is still intact.

Check the story of Amul here. And the treasure here.

Couldn't get information about who was the person behind this creativity or who are among the team that kept/ keeps it going since decades. Will be googling out more on that!

For a sample of the ads (How Me wishes Me could just post the site in its entirety out on my blog!)

Me bets. Nothing butter than this.

Me.

Just a stone throw away...

2006-12-02T01:42:00.000+05:30

"BTM Layout has a speciality. You throw a stone and you could be sure it'd hit either a dog or an infoscion"... said a friend of mine.

Was rolling with laughter when Me heard this.

(No offence meant to any party involved.)

Me.

Wonderful Doodh!

2006-12-02T01:38:00.001+05:30


The doodh ad that used to be aired on DD. One of the most peppy and catchy numbers that Me's known. Can recite the complete song even today.. Me.

Ooh... Aah... Ouch!

2006-12-01T14:47:00.000+05:30

There's this ad of Monster that is aired on TV these days. It features a guy in a cricket's attire who has a passion for cricket landing up at a dhobi ghat and beating clothes to sixers on a ghat. "Caught at the wrong job??" - that's the question a monster poses before asking him and taking the guy and placing him in the midst of a cricket stadium.

This ad was the starting point of our discussion at the coffee table the other day. Someone observed, to the others' amusement, that a parody of the ad would be more fun.

The parody would start off with showing the Indian cricket team playing against some country and ofcourse, losing the match. The monster would come on, pose the same question, and take our cricketers and land 'em at the dhobi ghat. And then the actual commercial - "Monster.com - helping you land at the right job"...

Someone then asked what the score was. A friend replied - "which match are you referring to?? India's??". Pat came the reply - "paagal hogaya kya?? Indian cricket team ki matches ke baare mein enquire karna maine chod diya hai. Unmein enquire karne laayak sirf ads hai abhi... cricket tho voh log timepass karne keliye khelthe hai. Jaise hum log bachpan mein galiyon mein khelthe the."

The other day, a newspaper reported that there was a furore in the parliament about Indian cricket team's recent state of affairs. A politician was even quoted as demanding reservations in the team based on caste. Now, inki tasveer ko deewar pe latka ke pooja karni chahiye. And that too, in a museum.

Another news is that Ganguly is back in the team. And why not? The team had a dearth of strippers, since the match at Lords.

Chappell's been experimenting great. So much so, that its become a disease that cannot be cured. Abhi agar woh ek match mein experiment nahi karenge, tho he'll die.

Apne top order fell sick recently. The doctor advised them to walk a lot, without staying at a place for a long time. So, the go to the crease and walk back very fast.

In between all this prosperity (afterall, mayhem is a type of prosperity), Mandira, Charu, Harsha, Boycott, Sidhu are all doing well. May God bless 'em.

And there's an ad that coaxes ppl into cheering the Indian team by shouting "Ooh... Aah.. India!". Somehow, whenever Me tries that, Me ends up with "Ooh... Aah... Ouch!"

Things can't be this good all the time. They ought to change.

And Me thinks its high time this team gets into action. Along with their coach. C'mon, they are a lot better and don't they deserve a chance??

Me.

Two months to go!

2006-11-28T20:48:00.000+05:30

Two months from now, Me will cease to be Me and will become a part of We.

:-)

Me's looking forward to it. Am excited and positive. And wishing that life has the very best in store for us!

Me.

A Schizophrenic PC!

2006-11-28T00:15:00.000+05:30

Had a wierd problem with my PC today. It kept popping up a message saying there was an IP conflict with another PC with a particular hardware address.

The hardware address or MAC, is specific to every network card, and is typically encoded into the hardware. On the other hand, an IP address is assigned by the DNS server to every machine. An IP conflict would occur when there would be two machines (or network adapters) with the same IP.

Our diagnosis tools, unfortunately point both the MAC addresses to the same PC - mine - which is a cause of worry.

So, as of now, my machine is suffering with Schizophrenia. It shows up as two different entities to the world. One at a time.

Pchh...

Kumaraparvatha and the 14 trekkers - Me's Thoughts!

2006-11-23T13:29:00.002+05:30

This trek has taught Me a lot. Read that aloud. A REAL LOT.

Whenever a question popped up - why trek?? Why take up these challenges at all?? - Me got some wierd answers. That it builds character. That it builds in physical endurance. That it teaches patience.

Let me be frank. Me thought all that was utter crap. Me thought "Because there's so much to mother nature than what meets the eye" a better answer than any of the above. Me always viewed it as a waste of physical energy. And in all, a waste of time. The so called trek that Me went on back in school and college - these were exactly the thoughts that Me ended up with.

But that was until this trip happened. Me wouldn't still use dialogues like "Builds character" etc... Me thinks they are too heavy. And global enough. But what this trip did to me was for Me to look back upon certain qualities that Me had at a point in time, and which Me lost over a period of time.

While Me climbed up and down, Me was silent to the most part. Silent in conversation with thyself. Reflecting upon my own thoughts then, and my thoughts in the past.

There were bunch of instances when Me felt like giving up. Many instances when Me cursed myself for having agreed to this trek. For being so ill prepared. For being so fragile. Me thought that we were insane to have even attempted this trek. Even when Me reached the forest office or Bhattaramane, my first impulse was to enquire if there were any other modes of transport. And to take 'em if they were there.

Often in hindsight, Me thinks if this is the right way to think. If these feelings are very specific to me or happen to people in general. Me came to a conclusion that irrespective of whether others get these feelings or not, they are my own, and they are a part of Me being human.

As Me started on my last stretch of walk, Me realized its all about gathering yourself, your senses and just focusing on completing the task. Folks told me that its all in the mindset. Me thinks its all in yourself. Mind, body and soul. You got to be strong in mind to go past the hurdles that the nature poses. You got to have it in your mind that come what may, you'd complete the course. The body is the means by which you'd achieve it, so you better listen to it, and not let it listen to the brain. You got to keep looking out for those subtle signals of break down and give it the right amount of rest at the right time. And you got to let your soul wander. Wander around the beauty of nature, the very feeling of which will fill you with more energy.

Me thinks that Life's more or less like a trek. With all those challenges. One can just take 'em on, get done with 'em and keep moving forward. Or stay put at the same place for as long as it can be. Me thinks that maintaining the right balance within Mind, Body and Soul is the key to sustain in this journey.

Over the past, a few experiences have changed the way Me looked at life - a few for the better, and a few for not-so-better. This trek, at the end of the day, has given Me a chance to reflect upon each of those experiences from a fresh perspective. Am sure am going to look at life in a complete new perspective again.

And Me doesn't know if this is what people call 'building character'.

Whatever it is, this was what Me exactly needed at this juncture in life. Will Me ever go again on a trek?? Me will. And this time, well prepared. After all, as Steve Jobs once mentioned - the journey is the reward.

A few thoughts that crossed my mind on the whole trek:

Blood(y) Suckers - this was what Me thought when Me noticed a leech trying to climb up my shoe.
While trekking, you got to have the right foot in the right place. And the left foot in the right place too.
Respect the Sun. Never rise before it rises. Except when you are at places like this.
On a trek like this, never take the path less trodden. Unless you want to get lost. And if you still manage to get back home after getting lost, am sure you'd be better than Robert Frost.

Me.

Kumaraparvatha and the 14 trekkers - Epilogue

2006-11-23T13:29:00.001+05:30

Well, well. So Me successfully on a trek. Went up to the peak and returned in one piece. With pains, but what's important is the fact that Me was still in one piece. And it definitely matters to be in one piece.

And everyone who has been successful (even if its so-called) should share their experiences with the rest of the world. Thats a rule of life. So here Me is, with my share of tips and tippanies.

If this is your first trek, think. And think hard. You may be better off to choose a less strenuous trek.
Once you've decided, then prepare yourself for a gruelling time. Both mentally and physically.
Mentally that there would be instances where you'd wish you could just return back, instances where you think the whole trekking thing is an insane vocation that some jobless creature on the planet has invented, instances where you'd curse yourself for having agreed to trek up. These thoughts have to come. If you don't get those thots, you're not human. You're either a bison or God.
Physically, 'cause this is not an easy trek. Close to 30 kilometers on an uneven terrain, with lots of boulders and varying steepness all through is not a joke, even in the wildest of dreams. Prepare physically. Warm up. Work out, from atleast 15 days in advance to make yourself fit.
Figure out how much weight you should carry, so that you wouldn't feel the pain in the shoulders and back when you go on a long walk. Important point to remember is that walking on a flat normal road is different from walking on a terrain. You could walk about 10 kms without getting tired on a normal road. But Me bets, you couldn't walk a 3 km stretch on a steep uneven terrain on a sunny day. They are two different ball games all together.
Once you figure out the weight you can carry, stick to it. Do not take more weight under any circumstances. The team has to work out these details together so that no one is loaded more than what he can bear.
Prepare yourself with low weight high energy food - pick lots of oranges and apples. There's nothing like an orange for instant energy. Pick chocolates. Pick ground nuts. Pick dates. Pick energy drinks.
Take a good sleeping bag. One which is light in weight, but can give you warmth in the chill climate on the top.
Pick a good torch. The place is far from any signs of so-called-must-haves of civilization. When it gets dark, it gets REAL DARK. So much so that you wouldn't see what's right in front of your eyes - just two inches away.
Plan the trek towards a full moon day. Moon's the only source of light in such areas.
Pick a good shoe. Again, lightness is important, but more important is the grip. Something like what our military folks wear are the right kind, Me thinks.
The place is plush green all through the year Me believes. So any time is good time to trek. But Me thinks its better to go in a non-rainy season.
Pick a good camera. The place is a clicker's paradise. It might so happen that in the exhaustion, one might not be able to enjoy the beauty of nature around. And Me thinks its this beauty of nature that one has to enjoy. And hence every point above that talks about carrying the right weight and the right paraphernalia gets so much importance.
Pick tents which are light in weight. But not so light that a blow of wind can carry it away.
Pick up a good 50 metre rope. You'll find it very useful.
When climbing up or down, always be in groups of 4 atleast. Probability has it that wild animals do not stray around a crowd. Me knows that two's company and three's crowd, but Me still prefers groups of 4. Even if there's a slow moving entity in the group, its important that the group still moves together.
Never ever leave a member alone. Never.
Pick a good mp3 player. One whose battery lasts more than 2 days. Definitely not an iPod. Damn thing requires a laptop to charge it up whenever one has to. And if possible, pick one with a voice recorder too. To record your observations and emotions all thru such a trek.
Take a BSNL mobile connection along. That is the only cell that has coverage high up above.
Take good sprays for sprains/ pains. It helps a lot.
Complete the trek. Come what may. Do not give up. Never. At the end, you'll definitely appreciate how well you did.

Well, these are things Me could think about as of now, but will keep adding as it strikes Me...

Me.

Kumaraparvatha and the 14 trekkers - Day 2

2006-11-23T13:28:00.001+05:30

We woke up around 5:00 AM on the morning - the downpour that we had last night had stopped long time back, and twilight had just begun to light up the sky. Ofcourse, took enough caution to check our shoe and socks for any leeches. Was happy to find none. The first thing Me did once Me got out of my tent was to smear up my shoe with a lot of 'sunna' - didn't want to take any chances with the leeches. And somehow, felt it would be worthwhile to donate blood at a bloodbank than to let a leech drain it away. ;-)

The morning was chill, but not cold. Had my jacket on for sometime, but took it off soon. Kinda liked the chill climate up there. The sky was clearing up and there wasn't any mist that we had seen ourselves engulfed in the previous evening. As the sky cleared, our joy knew no bounds. There was a carpet of clouds beneath our feet all around. It looked as if we were in the midst of a ocean full of waves, and the peaks were as if there were pockets of island in a sea.

The best part of the trip was the sun rise. Something that started off as just a small speck of light and the clouds forming up the famous Mark of Zorro, ended up as the sun came out in the open, full blown, with all its radiance and warmth. What a sight it was to watch that! Me could go up the full trek again, just to watch such a sight again. The very feeling of being right in the upper atmosphere - in between the sun and the carpet of clouds was so exhilerating!

The place is a clicker's paradise. If one has a good camera, one could shoot out a bunch of wall paper material, not just at the peak, but all thru the trek. It was so good getting all those snaps from different view points. At a point in time, Me wished that Me could stay back there for the rest of my life, provided all my basic amenities could be there. Wonder why nature has to store all the best places so unreachable to humanity - or probably its the other way round - the places are so good because its untouched by humanity.

One thing that will be etched in my mind forever - when Me stood with my back to the sun and was clicking away to glory, there was an instant when my shadow was cast upon the clouds below, and there was a rainbow surrounding it, due to the diffraction of sunlight on the clouds/ mist around. What a sight to watch, it was!!

We had a light breakfast, packed up all our tents and other stuff and started back on the trek. One of our folks went ahead with the other troup which left early to inform Bhatta that there would be 14 hungry souls who would come down for lunch. Our bags were lighter than the previous day, thanks to emptying some food stuff. We started our journey to Kukke on a very high note, full of enthu and energy.

We still had to get past a steep decline - one we did exercising utmost caution. Once that was past, things were fairly better - it was a good pathway all around with boulders here and there and it was a good walk back for sometime, till the sun was shining at its brightest and zapping us off all the salts and energy. Oranges, chocolates, glucose, came to our rescue most of the times. Oranges, Me realized, were a source of instant energy. Somehow, my allergy to citrus fruits seems to have gone - Me didn't sneeze the whole day even after having a couple of oranges. Typically, one piece of an orange, and Me'd start sneezing in about 15-20 minutes. Lucky me, Me thought.

Me's always observed that climbing down hill is more tougher than climbing up hill. Thighs, knees, calves, ankles, fingers - every part of one's legs are put to test. Combine that with bright sun and you drain off exponentially. The only way, Me figured, one passed the test of endurance is to listen to your body. Stress it only to the limits but not any more. Me also realized that it was important to keep the right foot at a right place. And the left foot at the right place too. By the time we were half of the distance to Bhatta's place, Me was lagging behind the rest of the folks by quite some distance. But Me kept walking, dragging my legs, my body and my luggage along.

By the time we reached Bhattaramane, it was noon. Me was completely zapped off. Me wished there was some alternative mode of transport from Bhattaramane/ forest office to Kukke, and Me could take that up, instead of walking it off. My legs were trembling and my knees were buckling up. It was too tough to get any further.

Bhattaramane is the only household in Girigadde, where Bhattavru and his family live. Bhattavru has a certain radiance in his face - probably it comes with living with nature. Kukke is about 5 plus kilometers from his place. Me took close to 4 plus hours to complete that distance. Bhattavru is said to carry 35 litres of milk everyday to Kukke in the same route early in the morning and he completes it within 45 minutes. He sells the milk and climbs back with about 25-30 kilos of vegetables and other grocery in the same amount of time. What a man, Me thought. He had a pleasing demeanor, jovially mixing up with all those who stayed at his place for a break. He served us rice with sambar, pickle and buttermilk. And Me felt that was the best food Me's had in ages. All those multi cuisine restaurents in the cities came no closer to the taste of the food we were served then. The buttermilk was an important rejuvenating factor, atleast for me to get going on the rest of the trek.

We started back at 3:00 in the evening. The trek was supposed to be a kilometer before we reached the forest and about three to three and a half kms in the forest and then a kilometer to reach Kukke. We had to get out of the forest before sunset - otherwise - visibility in the forest would come down to a bare minimum and chances of getting lost would grow up. Shashi, Deena were walking along with me for some time, after which Me lagged horribly behind. My legs gave in completely, and Me was dragging 'em with all the effort within myself, stopping whenever possible. After sometime, Deena too sprained his ankles and we were walking back together, slowly. We met quite a few folks who were returning back to Kukke from a tedious trek, so we were sure that we were on the right path.

My trek wouldn't be complete, if Me didn't mention about the way Shashi, Sudeep, Vishwa and Deena bore me all the way back and kept prodding me to come along. Me couldn't help but to take my hats off for their patience and forbearance. These guys rocked! And Me had met Shashi and Vishwa just a day ago!

We reached Kukke about and hour after the first of the group reached Kukke. By that time, folks had gone in search of our cab and returned with the cab to pick us up. We set out to a lodge we had hired to freshen up. The first thing everyone did was to get into the bath with a mirror and check every inch of oneself for leech bites. Fortunately, Me had none. Had a good shower and got ready. But was late for the darshan, so decided to come back sometime later.

We started back to B'lore late night and reached around 6:00 the next morning after a long bumpy ride. My legs were still not listening to me and Me knew Me'd sleep for a whole day and screw up my night sleep if Me'd gone to bed as soon as Me reached home. So Me freshened up and started to office. And thus another journey to get back to normal life started. Took me about 5 days to recover fully from the pains of the trek.

But what Me can't still recover from is the view from the peak and the "Me's on the top of the world" kinda feeling. And the sense of achievement after completing such a strenuous trek.

What an awesome trek it has been!!

Me.

Kumaraparvatha and the 14 trekkers - Day 1

2006-11-22T21:27:00.000+05:30

Western Ghats, still plush with their rain forests and waterfalls (fortunately), will remain as a trekker's delight for a good future to come. Among the many challenging peaks that they have to offer, Pushpagiri and Kumaraparvatha, at the junction of Dakshin Kannada, Hassan and Coorg districts, are supposed to be the toughest treks. About 1800 meters in height and with extreme climate along with dense forests and the steepness, pose an interesting challenge to enthusiasts. News has it that the peak got its name - Pushpagiri - owing to the wide range of flora that inhabit the valleys during Feb/ March of every year. Also, a few sources have it that this is the second highest peak in Karnataka and the toughest trek of all.

There are, apparently, two approaches to the peak - one from Somwarpet/ Bidehalli and the other from Kukke, a famous piligrim destination in South India. While the approach from Somwarpet/ Bidehalli is steep and about 13 kms long, the one from Kukke is about 14 kms and less steep.

We picked the toughest route. To trek up KP from Somwarpet/ Bidehalli, pitch up tents on the peak and stay overnight, and trek back to Kukke from the other side.

We reached Somwarpet early in the morning, even before sunrise. Somwarpet - the name reminded me of the names of the streets that Pune has, after the names of the weekdays - is a peaceful, serene place by itself. Very picturesque and close to nature, Me had a feeling Me could spend time roaming around this place itself...

Neways, we'd heard that there were a few lodges, but unfortunately, there was some shooting going on in the hills, and all the lodges were booked - some even had ppl sleeping in the reception lobbies. After a little bit of struggling, we decided to wait before a hotel-cum-lodge, which was then yet to open, to try our luck with the rooms. Got the owner to agree and used a couple of rooms to freshen up. Had our b'fast and started off to Bidehalli - the place where we would start off on our trek...

We got our first glimpses of the ghats on the way to Bidehalli from Somwarpet. It was good to watch a few kids walking down those kachha pathways with their school bags on their back. We reached Bidehalli around 9:00, packed our stuff into backpacks and we started our trek by about 9:30. We were supposed to reach a forest office on the way, take their permission and then go ahead.

The stretch till the forest office was fairly flat and raising slowly in steepness, with not many boulders. Me'd started getting hints of how tough it was going to be. Me had started to realize how important a good pair of shoe were on such a trek. We had started to wane out and our dose of high energy intake had already begun. The view all along was wonderful, and every step provided us with a new dimension of the beauty that the western ghats were known for. Houses in the laps of the hills with plush green farms, were absolute wallpaper material. By the time we reached the forest office, we were not that drained off - thanks to these wonderful landscapes, the very sight of which, would fill in life into you.

The forest office guards were pretty co-operative, compared to what we had thought they'd be. We were given information about how the route was going to be and that the forest office folks on the other side would check for cameras and stuff like that. We had a good chat, took some pics and started off. Right by the forest office, was a trail which led us to a non-functional Burma Bridge, which probably would have been the way we would have taken, had the stream beneath been in full force. We crossed the stream on the rocks and out there, we sighted the first of leeches. We were entering a forest with trees huge enough to block the sunlight, and the ground beneath was damp - just the right atomsphere for leeches to inhabit.

We stuffed the legs of our trousers into our socks, smeared our shoe with 'sunna' and started our trek. Inspite of the layer of 'sunna' on our shoe, we did notice leeches trying to get on and in the shoe. The trek continued with folks almost running with their luggage and trying to get out of the place as fast as we could, stopping in between only to get rid of the leeches that seemed to have got onto our shoes. "Blood(y) suckers!" Me thot, at one instance.

After about an hour of travel through the leech infested forests, we reached a place that had sign boards showing two ways - one that went up further to Pushpagiri, and the other that went to Kukke. We had to go up. We started the climb up and reached a place from where the only way to go up was to scale up a rock, which was slippery and dead steep. "Climb this one up?? Please don't tell me". "Well, we are..", said a friend of mine. "We must be completely insane..." Me thot.

A few of our folks got up somehow, threw down a rope and helped the rest of us and the luggage to be pulled up. It was an adventure of sorts. Wasn't actually that tough to be termed insane. But, once we reached up, Me turned back to see a valley beneath the rock, and realized what we just did. One slip on the rock and Me could've experienced abyss - probably in different pieces. That very thought had my legs trembling. A variety of thoughts - ranging from "what the hell is Me doing here on a good Saturday?" to "This is the last time Me would ever go on a trek again" etc... were popping out of my mind.

We walked further and reached a flat rocky surface. It didn't look like what our folks had read about the peak, so there ensued a discussion as to if we should stop there are proceed further. This peak, was probably Pushpagiri. While a few of us were still at the discussion, there were a few folks who went ahead and figured the peak of Kumaraparvatha went up and started shouting for the rest. With a lot of hope and little energy in our legs, we dragged ourselves onto the peak of Kumaraparvatha.

The scenery up on the peak was awesome! It was as if we were on the top of the world. We were looking down on the rest of the peaks and the valleys below, and ofcourse the carpet of clouds. The feeling when the clouds pass over and the visibility is less than a feet, is totally undescribable. We shouted and shreiked with joy. It was a fitting climax for all the pain we had endured all thru our trek to the top. Saying that we were elated, will not describe the feeling we had once we were on the top. The place had lots of structures built out of rocks and apparently, there was a temple there too. Unfortunately, Me missed visiting it, but the pics did capture it very well.

It was about 4:30 in the evening, and it was beginning to get dark, thanks to the clouds and mist all around. A few of our folks set out to get some wood for fire, and a few others started pitching up tents. Just a while later, another troupe joined us and pitched up their tents pretty close to ours. We lit fire, and boiled water in a vessel we'd brought along for about 20 minutes, before cooking up the ready to cook stuff and have a light dinner. By then, it was pitch dark, visibility absolute zero, and it was getting colder. Folks had persisted that they were going to light a bonfire, but Me was too tired to be awake till then.

Me just got into my sleeping bag and logged off. It poured heavily that night and someone did notice a bison going round that area, but we were too exhausted and fast asleep to notice that.

And ofcourse, we had no clue what a wonderful day, Day 2 was going to be.

Me.

Kumaraparvatha and the 14 trekkers : Preparations

2006-11-22T18:27:00.000+05:30

Don't exactly remember how it all started. Sudeep, a colleague of mine, mentioned just as a casual matter of fact, that he and his friends were planning up a trek and asked if Me'd be interested. After a few q & a about the date and time etc..., Me nodded a Yes.

Soon, Me was on a mailing list which kept growing till about when we were 15 - 16 of us. One of the first mails that Sudeep had forwarded had a compilation of photographs of the place taken by donno who. Now that pumped Me up. Me has been on so-called-treks before, but they were more of jaywalks. None of them came anywhere close to what this 'trek' turned out to be.

The mails (someone pointed out later that we had close to 70 mail exchanges) soon divided various responsibilities between different groups - Sudeep and Me got the food department. After a bit of discussion, we listed stuff that we had to buy - ranging from fruits to ready-to-cook to chocolates to cup noodles to chapatthis to paper plates and spoons to tissue paper. (The actual list, if listed, here would have a lot of 'to's, but the thou-reader-considerate-Me thought the better of it and ommitted it. Thank Me.)

That Me didn't take this trek seriously would be gross understatement. Me actually didn't prepare at all. Forget exercises and getting my body into shape, Me didn't give the list of articles we might need that someone had jotted down, even a good glance. Was that a mistake?? Probably. But now that Me thinks of it, it was good of sorts. 'Cause otherwise, Me wouldn't have an experience that Me had. Probably Me'd have had a better one. But then, probably Me wouldn't have too.

Neways, so Me didn't have a good pair of shoes, Me didn't have a torch, Me didn't have any medicines and Me didn't even look the net up for Kumaraparvatha travelogues. Me didn't have a clue about where exactly in Karnataka were we headed to, what's the height and distance we were going to trek, or what weight should Me be carrying so that Me'd not drain myself out.

Am not sure of the rest, but it looked like they were better prepared. Atleast better than Me.

There were three pickup points in the city. And Me, Deena - who joined very willingly as soon as Me asked him to, Sudeep, and the food we bought were to board up on St. Marks Road. The vehicle hired was a Swaraj Mazda, which had some place left after we all seated, good enough to be used for our luggages, tents, sleeping bags etc...

Got introduced to the folks who were going to be my trek mates for the next two days - lemme try and recollect the names of the team:

Radha (Me), Sudeep, Deena, Shashidhar, Shashikanth, Vinod, Vishwa, Ashok, Ashoka, Naveen, Eshwar, Mahesh, Anand and Malli. (Patting thy own back, "Not bad Kittu, your memory is goooood!"). And realised that folks were from different companies - a couple of 'em from my previous company.

We had gathered all the required paraphernalia - about 4 tents each of around 5 Kg each, 14 sleeping bags, backpacks to pack stuff into, boxes of food that would be separated into packets to be carried individually, Water bottles, charcoal and camphor to help put up fire, etc... Ppl also noted that there was only BSNL mobile reception available up there, so took my cousin's cell, which had a battery standby that could last for two days.

And thus, we were off on our expedition. As we started, you could bet, Me had no clue of what we were getting into.

Me.

Kumaraparvatha and the 14 trekkers : Prologue

2006-11-20T15:00:00.000+05:30

(This had to be in parts 'cause Me didn't want to leave thou readers with just one post. ;-))

Ok, so once upon a weekend, there were 14 young men, who set out on an expedition to conquer Kumaraparvatha. They started off calling it a trek, but at the end, it turned out to be an expedition. An expedition that they'd remember for the rest of their life, for the right reasons. And for the wrong reasons of course.

For all the wonderful time they spent there. And for all the exhaustion that they went through.

For all the wonderful glimpses of nature they got. And for all the shivering sleeps they got on a chilly rainy night.

For all the elation they felt when they saw the sunrise above them and a carpet of clouds beneath their feet. And for all the distress they went thru when the peak was no where in the sight.

For the sense of achievement the expedition gave 'em when they dragged themselves to Kukke. And for the fear and tension they went through when they scaled the steep, slippery rocks on which, if they slipped, they'd hit the abyss.

The list of reasons why they'd remember this trek can fit in two full and probably another half of the screen thou readers are reading it on now.

But, Me'd remember it for a few additional reasons:

For the kind of emotions that Me went through right through the journey. And for all the kindness and friendliness that Me found in folks who, except for a couple of 'em, were complete strangers just a day ago.

For all the way they bore my slow pace without giving up on Me. And for all the lessons that this trek taught Me, that Me'd advise thou readers by the end of these posts, free of cost, as if Me's a very seasoned trekker. ;-)

And ofcourse, there would be pics, slideshows and probably videos to supplement this series of posts.

Proud,
The trekker Me.

:-)

Am going on a trek!!!

2006-11-17T21:37:00.000+05:30

Am going on a trek this weekend. To Kumaraparvatha. With a colleague, his friends and their friends. About 15 of us. Am acquainted with only a couple of them, but am all excited to go on such a trip. New acquaintances and more, the pics below that, that excite me more.

Its been drizzling all day today here in B'lore, but hopefully, climate's good out there. Folks have been telling me that its the most difficult trek in the vicinity, but that pumps me up even more.

Look at the pics below - wonder if anyone would not be excited about such a trip...

Chalo Kittu. Have a nice weekend and a great trek.

More updates once am back!

Me.

p.s.:- Donno where Me got those pics. Whoever's clicked 'em, hats off!

Vandemataram - the original version

2006-11-16T11:50:00.001+05:30


Ok, now Me is on a video blogging spree. :-) But then, why not?? ;-) This one's among the other features that used to be aired on Doordarshan. Apparently, this is the original rendering of Vandemataram, that pumped up adrenalin among our freedom fighters. Vandemataram was later toned down to a soother version which is what we know today... Me.

Best Parking Lot?

2006-11-16T11:29:00.000+05:30

"Hosur Road is the best parking lot of Bengalooru".

So said some caller who dialled into a radio station a few days back.

How Me rolled with laughter!

:-)) :-))

Me.

Ek Anek Aur Ektha

2006-11-15T21:01:00.001+05:30

One of the Doordarshan/ Films Division ads that was and will remain among my all time favorites. Subtle, simple and sweet. That's how Me describes it.

Sometimes, Me tends to compare those days of DD and these days of 200 plus channels. Weren't they days of disciplined, informative and quality entertainment?? Compare that with what we have today - sensationalized news that atleast Me can't stand for a moment, horrible soap operas which have started becoming as big as movies, gameshows and competitions that are seldom informative. No wonder the viewer has less choice but to just keep browsing through the channels...

Nostalgic,
Me.

Godavari

2006-11-15T09:43:00.000+05:30

While coming back from Hyderabad last weekend, began watching this movie on a friend's laptop. Wasn't feeling well, so shut it off and went to sleep. But did complete it the next evening.

Must admit, Me loved it. The characters, the direction of the scenes between the hero and the heroine, the picturization of Godavari, the boat and its ambience - none of them were artificial. You begin to identify with the characters the moment you start watching the film. And at the end of the movie, you are left with a good taste that will linger over for some time.

Sumanth, for a change, did a good job in portraying the character of Ram - guess that comes from how simple the character was, without any histrionics. Kamilini rocks! She looks gorgeous in a saree. Her expressions in various moods lives up the character of Sita. The actress (donno her name) who played the character of Ram's maradalu also did a good job. The character of the kid and the animated dog - well, kinda redundant, but still fit in well.

What entices the audience to the movie is the narration of how things grow up between the two lead characters. There are some extras - as expected with every telugu movie - the fight scenes, never understood why they had to be there. And then the idealogies of the hero to join politics to serve people (that's when Me laughed the most) - there's no trace of 'em at the end of the movie. Inspite of all these, the director managed to entice ppl into the flow of the movie and the crux of the story. A very commendable effort, must say.

Shekhar Kummula, the director - his first movie - Anand - was a good one too. This movie falls in the same category - one that you go, watch, come out and feel light and that it was worth the time you spent.

Subbu, a friend of mine, keeps saying that Me's a sucker for romance. Probably Me is. Probably that's the reason why Me liked this movie. Whatever, this gets into my list of favs.

And into my collection of DVDs.

Me.

Hit a ton!

2006-11-14T20:24:00.000+05:30

A ton and still going. (Literally.) That's what the counter on my blog says! Well, for the kinda blabber that Me does, a ton means a lot.

Gleefully,

Me.

Radha don't preach!

2006-11-10T12:08:00.000+05:30

The stretch from Adugodi to Richmond Road is a little weird. A smaller section of the road has separators which divide the road for the two way traffic, and the rest of the road doesn't have any separators. And added to that, the traffic signals, usually, are in a manner that one half of the road is always empty, while the other half is full and in dead-slow-motion.

And there is this impatient species in humanity that starts filling up the empty half of the road as soon as the traffic stops moving in the other half. When the signal goes green on the other side of the road, all hell breaks loose, and the commotion results in a traffic jam. Me's always tried to stick to my lane, and have numerous times, cursed the members of this species that are the root cause to most of the traffic problems in the city.

Today, had to come to work in an auto, as Me was travelling home this evening. The auto driver, to my disappointment, turned out to be a member of the species that Me mentioned above. As soon as the traffic stopped moving in our lane, he started moving towards the empty opposite lane. Me patted him on his back and told him that there is no hurry, and he need not take such an action. Mr. Species turned back and gave me such a scornful glance, that Me's sure, will remain etched in my memory for years to come.

Well, couldn't help but recollect what a friend of mine once said, during a squabble. "If you believe in a principle, keep it to urself. You've no right to preach it to others". Me defended my stance vigorously at that point in time. But think of it now, Me should probably change my stance.

Donno about others, but Me decided not to preach it. Atleast, not to auto drivers.

Pchh...

Me.

One helluva ad!!

2006-11-08T15:01:00.000+05:30

Helmets are a must!

Ain't that awesome??

Gather from Googling, that the author of this work is Bellur Ramki. Hats off!. The link to this is on his blog.

Me.

p.s:- Am hoping he wouldn't mind p(a)osting his post here.

Wish Me could Am-Bush!

2006-11-08T12:25:00.000+05:30

"To the victor belongs the Judge's gravel" - so read the headline of the editorial on The Hindu dated 07th November 2006.

Donno what the reality is. Probably Saddam is the most cruel person on earth (sans the 9/11 plotter). Probably he deserved a death sentence. But not the way it came to him. Not when the country is still in the clutches of the "Self-Declared-Moral-Police-Of-The-World". Not when the mid-term elections in US were just a couple of days away. Not definitely when Mr. President needed it for his own greed.

The cartoon in The Hindu dated 07th November 2006 kinda summarizes the whole scenario. Wha-tt-a depiction! The summary of the article went thus:

The show trial of Saddam Hussein was not just a violation of international legal
norms by a court operating under the reality of foreign occupation but also an
insult of the victims in whose name this political farce was enacted.

Feels so bad to be sort-of-ruled by the so called SuperPower, who jumps from country to country deciding who should behave in which manner.

Pchh...

Me.

(Not) Just Another Love Story!

2006-10-25T19:29:00.000+05:30

(Well, this one is one of my all time favorites. Actually, its probably the best. Now wait, one probably shouldn't even try to judge it. Its one of those masterpieces. Have read this donno-how-many-times, and it still gives me the same twitch-in-the-heart every single time Me reads it. Just didn't want it to lay around as a link to some other site. What if that site went down?? What if Rajesh Advani, the author decides to switch this to some new url? Me didn't want to risk it. That's the reason, Me's p(a)osting it here, in its complete entirety. All credits of this story go to Rajesh Advani. The story is his copyright. Haven't yet asked his permission to publish it here, will do right away, but hopefully, he wouldn't mind.

And btw, the only place Me edited it is at the last line - The (End) Beginning. Had to paranthesize it, didn't know how to strike it off, as he had it in its original version.

And its actually surprising Me missed his blog and his blog and his blog on my "Blogs-Me-Reads" section. Here it comes in.)

Just Another Love Story!

-Rajesh J. Advani

It was a lovely December morning in the hottest city in the world. All right, so that was a little unfair. Chennai is not the hottest city in the world. But it certainly is the city with the most uncomfortable weather among the cities that I have lived in. And I've been around. But I digress.

I was in the company bus on my way to work, as usual trying to catch up with my sleep. On this particular day, a girl got on the bus, came to my seat and sat down. “Good Morning,” she said. I looked back at her through half closed eyes, replied “Good Night,” and then proceeded to return to my half hour nap before the bus reached the office. Unfortunately, I was woken up by a punch in the arm.

“Wake up, bozo!” She was looking at me with a big smile on her face. “I'm not sitting next to you to listen to you snore.”

Half-heartedly, I opened my eyes and turned to her. “What's up?” I asked.

Preeti Mehra was tall, good-looking and slightly tomboyish. She was also my best buddy. “Come on,” she said. “Don't look so disappointed. You'd rather sleep than talk to me?”

“I talk to you everyday, Preeti.”

“You also sleep everyday.”

“It's not enough.”

“So you've had enough of talking to me, eh?”

You can't argue with a statement like that, so I had to give up. I grinned and said, “OK, sweetheart. What's on your mind?”

“I wanted to tell you what happened yesterday. Can you guess?”

“Anurag called you last night.”

“How did you know?” She was stunned.

“Oh, he asked me for your number yesterday.”

“And you gave it to him?”

“What else could I do? And stop complaining. You've been drooling over him for weeks now. He must have thought he had a chance.”

Preeti was the kind of girl who would openly ogle at every other guy she saw. And yet, she would not respond to any advances of a romantic nature. She'd happily join a group of boys to go to a cricket match, but if asked out to a movie, dinner, or even coffee, she'd never say yes. She defined 'Hard-To-Get'.

“You like putting me in these situations, don't you?” she said.

“No. That's not true. I love putting you in these situations!”

That invited another punch in the arm.

I had known Preeti for a year. We'd tell each other about our joys and our sorrows, our victories and our defeats. I'd tell her about all my crushes and she'd scold me for being silly. She'd drag me to classical music concerts and I'd add them to the list of things she 'owed me' for.

And though I never let it show, I must say that she punched pretty hard.

~*~

It was 12:00 am and my phone was ringing. “Hello,” I said, as I picked it up.

“Happy Birthday!” It was she.

“You're supposed to throw me a surprise party, sweetheart. Not just call to say Happy Birthday.”

“Well then open your door, dumbo!”

So I did and found her, cell-phone in hand, at my doorstep -- with what seemed like half the population of my company. My roommates were supposed to be working late that night. Now I knew why.

I blew a lot of candles (seemed like much more than 25), cut my cake, got kicked in the behind, and got painted with the cake's icing. If Preeti had had her way, she'd probably have preferred to use a paintbrush and a can of paint. But I bribed her with a copy of the book ”Lord of the Rings”. She'd borrowed it from me three times already. I thought it was about time I gave her a copy for herself.

We chatted for an hour after everyone had gone. “I think it's time I left,” she said finally, trying to stifle a yawn. I nodded. I dropped her home in my roommate's car. As she was getting out of the car, I stopped her.

“Hey, Preeti.”

“What?”

“Thanks.”

“Hey, don't get senti on me now!” she smiled. “Are you trying to worm out of that gift you promised me?”

“You know, it's interesting how I'm getting you a gift on my birthday.”

“That's just because you're stupid,” she grinned. “And you better get me that book, or I won't return your copy.”

“Hey, that copy was a gift to me from my dear friend Preeti Mehra. I can't let you keep that.”

She wasn't falling for that. “Your dear friend? And what about me? Am I not dear to you?”

“Very smart. That won't work with me. I'm not one of your Love Crazy suitors. Why do you need the book anyway? You've read it umpteen times already.”

“That is besides the point. You are getting me the book. We both know that.” She smiled that wide confident smile of hers. “Good night.” And she got out of the car.

I sat there for some time, just thinking. Our conversations were always like this – a little joking, a little teasing and a lot of demanding. But somehow, I felt that something had changed since the moment she had turned up at my door that night. I was still in my reverie when a paper ball landed on the windshield. I craned my neck out of the window and looked up. She was standing in her balcony.

“What are you still doing there?” she whispered loudly.

“Waiting for you to start a paper-ball fight,” I whispered back.

“We can do that tomorrow. Go home now. It's way past your bedtime!”

“Ok, mommy,” I grinned back. “I'm going home now!”

~*~

I'm an extravagant gift-giver, and it is definitely going to be my downfall some day. I made her wait for it, but finally bought her the book. That, and half-a-dozen other omnibus collections of various authors, including a copy each of `The Complete Works of Shakespeare' and `The Complete Short Stories of Charles Dickens'. All I got for it was an “I told you so.”

I started spending a lot of time at her place after that. Mostly because I wanted to read all those books, and she wouldn't lend them to me.

“I'm not as stupid as you, ape-man. I'm not falling into the same trap I laid for you. Plus, you dog-ear your books. You're not doing that to these masterpieces. So if you want to read them, you read them here. And if you want to mark your place, use a bookmark.”

So that's what I did. She'd even make me wash my hands before I touched the books. It was as if they were sacred.

“Need I remind you that it was me that bought you the books in the first place? For my birthday!”

“So? They're mine now.”

“Well, then. I've been meaning to ask you this for a long time. Where exactly is my birthday gift?”

“It was in your tummy at one point of time. It's probably been washed into the sea by now.”

“Huh?”

“Remember the cake I baked you on your birthday?”

“You what? You can't bake cakes!” That was a mistake. She looked hurt. “You baked me a cake?” She didn't say a word. She just shrugged.

I was stunned. “But you never told me.”

“You didn't ask.” That was typical of her.

“It was fantastic! And you wasted most of the icing on me!”

“The cake was for you, dumbo.”

“How long did it take you to make the whole thing?” It had been a two-layered vanilla-chocolate cake with three flavors of very creamy icing. She had done all that!

“Well, the chocolate cake took an hour and fifteen minutes, and so did the vanilla. Then cutting them up and putting them together took another 15 minutes. Each flavor of icing took 20 minutes for preparation, and then putting it on the cake took another half hour. Cleaning up the mess took an hour.”

She seldom claimed the credit for anything, but once she started bragging, there was no stopping her. However, I wasn't thinking about that right then.

“You spent over five hours on that cake?”

“A little over four hours preparing it, and an hour cleaning up. Yes.”

I was speechless. I didn't know how to react. She hated cooking.

“I forgot to mention,” she continued, “the hours I spent the week before that, practicing. Even the birds wouldn't touch the first three cakes!”

I couldn't help but ask. “Why?”

“Because the first one got burnt, the second one was only half cooked, and in the third one, I forgot to add sugar.”

It was just like her, to try to divert the conversation. “I mean why did you spend so much time on baking me a cake?”

She looked at me like I'd asked her why the sun rises in the east. “For your birthday, stupid. Of course, I also wanted to beat every gift you've ever got me. Try beating this one.” She was grinning like she'd won the world championship.

As far as I was concerned, she had. I'd never spent a week making her anything. I'd never even spent an hour making her anything. Getting her a gift normally involved me taking her to the store, letting her choose and use my credit card. Suddenly, I felt cheap. “Thanks,” was the only thing I could say. ”Thanks a lot.”

“Hey. Are you getting senti on me again?”

I was.

~*~

I was still mulling over my feelings for Preeti the next day at work when my boss asked to speak to me.

I went over to his cabin and he started with the usual greetings, asking how work was going and whether I was comfortable. He then told me that the company wanted to send me to New York for a couple of years. Normally, this wouldn't have made much of a difference to me. I could work anywhere and didn't have too much love for visiting places foreign. But right then, the first thought that came to me was that I'd be away from Preeti for two whole years. Twenty-four hours before, I'd have been disappointed to lose her company. But right then, I was devastated. That was when I knew I was in love with her. I'd had crushes before. Lots of them. But this was different.

“Do you have any problem in going?” my boss asked, since I hadn't responded.

“Not really,” I replied. What else could I say? That I was in love, and couldn't bear the separation?

“When do I have to leave?”

I had a month.

~*~

“Wow! New York! Great! I've heard it's a fantastic city! Did you know it snows there in winter?” Preeti was obviously very excited about my going. She didn't seem to share my disappointment on what I now saw as 'separation'.

I had not decided then if I was going to tell her how I felt. We'd known each other for a little over a year, and we were very close, but beyond some mild flirting, the relationship had never got even close to romantic. That was, of course, until I found out she had spent a week baking me a cake. It's funny how small things seem to make such a big difference.

“What happened?” she asked. “You don't seem very happy.”

“Oh,” I replied, “it's just that it's so sudden, that's all. And you know I was never all that interested in going to America.”

“What an idiot. Go see the place. I've heard the women there are amazingly beautiful.” She had a sly smile on her face. I wanted to tell her I didn't care if I laid my eyes on another woman again, if she wasn't with me. But I didn't.

I realized that I only had another month with her. She'd rejected every guy who'd asked her out ever since I'd known her. I didn't want the same to happen to me, and I didn't want to make it awkward between us. I didn't want to risk that month. I wanted it to be the best time I had ever spent with her. After I came back from the US, I might not even get to meet her again. Two years was a long time.

We ate out almost every night. We visited some of the best restaurants in the city. She also helped me shop for warm clothes, formalwear, shoes, toothpaste and a million things I'd never have thought of on my own.

“You need to buy a nail-cutter.” My roommates and I shared one.

“I've prepared a list of must-have medicines that you should carry.”

“Your iron won't work in the US. No point buying one here as you need one that works at a hundred and ten volts and has flat pins. You can buy one at a K-Mart or Wal-Mart as soon as you get there.”

“You need at least two pairs of formal shoes and at least ten pairs of dark socks. The East Coast has a formal dress code. And you won't do your laundry more than once a week or two.”

“How many ties do you have? And which trousers do your blazers go with?”

“Better get a haircut before you leave from here. Knowing you, you'll postpone the first haircut for too long.”

She'd call me up at one in the morning to tell me to add 'one more item' to my list.

And with every passing day, I was falling more deeply in love with her.

The month swept by quickly. The day I was supposed to leave, I asked her to come with me to the airport. “Of course, dumbo. You think I'd let you go just like that, or what?”

After packing my bags for me and checking the lists for the hundredth time, she finally pronounced me “Good to go.”

We reached the airport four hours early to beat the rush, because it was an international flight. She got a visitor's pass to sit in the waiting area while I went ahead and checked-in my bags. Preeti had got a spring balance from somewhere and so we knew my bags were well within the weight limit. I finished the formalities and came to sit with her. We had only a few hours before I had to go for my security-check. We decided to get something to eat at the food court. And all the time, the one thing that was going through my head was that, after this, I wouldn't see her for at least another two years.

“Hey, Champ. Why so glum?” She saved 'Champ' for special days. Normally, it was just 'dumbo', 'bozo', 'ape-man', 'matchstick man', 'weirdo', or if she was very irritated with me, 'nutcase'.

“I don't want to go,” I said.

“I don't want you to go either.”

“No, you don't understand.” I couldn't hold it in any longer. “I can't stand the thought of living without you by my side.”

She stared at me. There was a strange look in her eyes. I couldn't read it.

“I am madly in love with you, Preeti.”

At this, a sound escaped her lips that sounded like a cross between a sob and a laugh. “Well, dumbo, you've picked an absolutely fabulous time to tell me about it!”

A tear escaped her eyes. It was all I could do to stop myself from wiping it off her cheeks.

“How long have you felt this way?” She seemed amused, though she was definitely crying. I didn't know what to make of it.

“From the day I found out you had baked me a cake.”

She laughed. “That's all it took? Well, bozo, I guess a way to a man's heart is certainly through his stomach! Hold it. A month? You waited a month? You were the one who kept saying that if you really liked a girl you wouldn't waste a day in telling her!” She was smiling widely now. It looked funny, with her eyes all wet.

“Well, I was confused. How did I know how you'd react? In fact, I still don't understand your reaction. I thought it would change things between us. You've rejected every guy who ever proposed to you!”

“That's because I'm in love with you, you overgrown idiot!”

“What?” Somehow, I'd never expected her to say that. She was in love with me? “How long have you been in love with me?”

“Ever since the day you offered to carry my suitcase for me.”

“But that was the first day I met you!”

“I guess I was always a sucker for chivalry.”

“All this time you've been in love with me and you never said anything! Then you go and complain that I waited a month!”

“You guys are so bad at reading a girl's mind.”

“You women are so good at keeping your thoughts a secret! Even Einstein couldn't figure you out.”

“Einstein was a nerd. Casanova, on the other hand, understood us very well.”

“I love you.”

“I know.”

That moment, my dear friends, was magic. I looked into her eyes and took her hands in mine. Physical contact for us had been limited, until then, to a punch in the arm, a slap on the back of the head, or giving each other a 'high five'.

“You realize, don't you,” she said, “that this is our first date?” Leave it to her to notice the little things.

“I really don't want to go.” I'd always maintained that love is a bucketful of emotions. I wasn't exactly delighted to be proved right.

“Don't worry. I'm coming there in a couple of months.”

“How? On a dependent visa?”

She laughed. “For that, I'll have to wait, won't I? I've got a project in New Jersey.”

I couldn't believe my ears. “What? When did that happen? You never even told me!”

“Well, I wasn't sure you'd propose before you left. And I couldn't exactly sacrifice you to those New York women, could I? I had to watch out for myself. So I went on a project-hunting spree. There is an opportunity coming up for a project in about two months. Someone is coming back to India, so I'll be taking his place. They want me there for a little less than two years.” She was beaming. “I realized I had struck gold!”

“And if I'd not told you how I felt? When were you planning on telling me about it?”

“Around a month before I reached there. I had to make it look natural. Or you'd think I was desperate.”

“Well, you are desperate!” This was incredible. All I'd done in the past month had been to mope around, listen to sad songs and write her letters that I never intended her to read. “You've been scheming all this while! How come you didn't lay a trap for me a year ago?”

“I tried giving you hints, dumbo, but you just wouldn't pay attention!” She was laughing. “You're the only guy I ever spent any time with. Wasn't that a big enough hint?”

That was true. She would happily join a group of boys to go to a cricket match, but I now realized, only if I was one of them.

“What if I had rejected you?” I was extremely flattered that she'd been crazy about me for a year. My ego was swelling.

“You must be kidding!” she was clearly amused. “I get proposed to every few days. You are the one who's been rejected more times in the last year than I can count on two pairs of hands!”

She really knew how to burst my bubble.

“Hey,” she said softly, “don't look so dejected. I said 'Yes', didn't I?”

I grinned. “Yes, you did. And you've made me a very happy man. But you know what would make me even happier?”

“What?”

“If you learn to cook as good as you bake cakes.”

So she punched me in the arm again.

The (End) Beginning

Note:

Senti = Indian slang for 'Sentimental'

Happy Diwali!!

2006-10-19T15:50:00.000+05:30

Wish everyone a very happy Diwali. Lets hope that the festival of lights brings in lots of happiness and prosperity into our lives, and peace and harmony to the world!

Me.

A day of sad events!

2006-10-18T13:13:00.000+05:30

Y'day evening, a BMTC Volvo bus ran into a bus shelter near the HAL helicopter division on Airport Road, killing 2 persons and leaving about 20 injured. The TV channels reported that the official news sources are quoting a smaller count of the dead to lessen the overall effect and the resultant outcry, while the actual count is upto 28!

Soon after the incident, the driver fled the scene and an irate mob burnt the bus down, along with a two wheeler. The commotion lasted for hours, with traffic and people stranded on the road all the while. Even the police had to walk 3 Kms to reach the site of the incident.

The incident brings to fore, a multitude of issues that seem to plague this city:

Poor infrastructure - The airport road is The Example of the shoddiness of the infrastructure in the city. The width of the road varies anywhere from about 20 feet to 80 feet through out. There are no parallel roads for people to take, if ppl wish to avoid a jam. Another annoying fact is the presence of bus stops, which is actually an issue of a larger magnitude altogether.
Poor planning of bus stops - One thing that makes Bangalore strikingly different from that of the other cities that I've seen - and Me includes the town that Me hails from, Warangal too, in that list - is the way bus stops have been planned in the city. Or probably, planned is a term that shouldn't be used in this context. If one finds a traffic junction, then he/ she can be almost sure that there would be bus stop(s) right at the corners. And when Me says right at the corner, Me means it literally. The buses and other vehicles which cross the junctions, stop right after the junction and leave the other vehicles turning into that lane to their fate. If you'd seen the bus stop at the junction where the silkboard flyover and the road towards Madivala meet, am sure you'd understand what Me says.
Auto rickshaws - Always wonder from which planet have these guys dropped in. Their driving can cause blood pressure of the most normal humans to reach abnormal levels. The cold stares and the callous attitude of the people makes driving on the roads the most miserable thing in life. If Me could have my say and way, Me would abolish all autos in the city - Me strongly believes that the vehicle adds a lot to the attitudes of the people.
Traffic Police - there isn't much to complain. Very rarely does one actually find 'em regulating traffic at the peak hours, when its needed the most.
Junta - ofcourse, everything else is as good as the people that use it right?? Build them bus bays, and they come stand in the middle of the road. Talk to them about crossing the road only when the cross signal comes on and you'd find 'em on the other side of the road by the time the signal comes on. Burn down everything that one can find, when its the fault of a bus driver or the death of a great leader/actor. Unless the attitude and mode of thinking of people change, Me doubts if anything, including the above, can ever change.

Neways, at the end of the day, the way things turned out y'day, its pretty sad. Just hope the city administration (and the people and the other parties involved) sits up straight and acts in a manner that can attempt at solving the problem.

'Cause, unless an attempt is made, no problem can be solved.

Me.

My Fav Songs - 8. Jai Jai Shiv Shankar

2006-10-13T10:32:00.000+05:30

(One of my all time fav peppy numbers. Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz rock! And Kishore and Lata were at their best. Its got all those jhatkas, matkas and nakhras to let you jhoom along. The way Me did on my way to work today, while the song played on radio. Believe Me - no better way to start a day at work!!)

Hai Jai Bolo Shiv Shankar Ki Jay
Hey Jai Jai Shiv Shankar Kaanta Lage Na Kankar
Hey Jai Jai Shiv Shankar Kaanta Lage Na Kankar
Ke Pyala Tere Naam Ka Piya

Ho O O Gir Jaoongi Main Mar Jaoongi
Jo Tune Mujhe Thaam Na LiyaO Sau Rabadi

Hey Jai Jai Shiv Shankar Kaanta Lage Na Kankar
Ke Pyala Tere Naam Ka Piya
Ho O O Gir Jaoongi Main Mar Jaoongi
Jo Tune Mujhe Thaam Na Liya
O Sau Rabadi

Ek Ke Do, Hmmm
Do Ke Chaar, Hmmm
Mujh Ko To, Hmmm
Dikhte Hain
Aisa Hi Hota Hai Jab Do Dil Milte Hai
Ek Ke Do
Do Ke Chaar
Mujh Ko To
Dikhte Hain
Aisa Hi Hota Hai Jab Do Dil Milte Hai
Sar Pe Zameen Paanv Ke Neeche Hai Aasmaan
Ho Sau Rabadi,
Sau Rabadi,
Sau Rabadi,
Sau Rabadi

Jai Jai Shiv Shankar Kaanta Lage Na Kankar
Ke Pyala Tere Naam Ka Piya
Ho O O Gir Jaoongi Main Mar Jaoongi
Jo Tune Mujhe Thaam Na Liya
O Sau Rabadi

O Bansi Bhaiyya..He He He..

O More Raja Bade Jatna Se ki Chune teri phulwaari ke ri..

Kandhe Pe, Hmmm
Sar Rakh Ke, Hmmm
Tum Mujh Ko, Hmmm
Sone Do
Masti Men Jo Chahe Ho Jaye Ho Ne Do
Kandhe Pe
Sar Rakh Ke
Tum Mujh Ko
Sone Do
Masti Men Jo Chahe Ho Jaye Ho Ne Do
Aise Men Tum Ho Gaye Ho Bade Beimaan
Ho Sau Rabadi,
Sau Rabadi
Sau Rabadi,
Sau Rabadi
Brrrr

Jai Jai Shiv Shankar Kaanta Lage Na Kankar
Ke Pyala Tere Naam Ka Piya
Ho O O Gir Jaoongi Main Mar Jaoongi
Jo Tune Mujhe Thaam Na Liya
O Sau Rabadi
He He He..Kya Kya

Raste Mein, Hmmm
Hum Dono, Hmmm
Ghar Kaise Jayenge
Ghar Wale (ahh)Ab Hum Ko (ahh)
Khud Lene Aayenge
Raste Mein
Hum Donon
Ghar Kaise Jayenge
Ghar Wale (ahh)Ab Hum Ko (ahh)
Khud Lene Aayenge
Kuchh Bhi Ho Lekin Maza Aa Gaya Meri Jaan
Ho Sau Rabadi,
Sau Rabadi
Sau Rabadi,
Sau Rabadi

Jai Jai Shiv Shankar Kaanta Lage Na Kankar
Ke Pyala Tere Naam Ka Piya
Ho O O Gir Jaoongi (Aye) Main Mar Jaoongi (Aye)
Jo Tune Mujhe Thaam Na Liya
O Sau Rabadi

Are Bajaao Re Bajaao Imaandaari Se Bajaao He He

Two Months of Bliss!

2006-10-12T17:33:00.000+05:30

Time flies fast. Real fast. And it does wonders.

A little more than two months earlier, we were complete strangers to each other. Today, we confide in each other as if we've been friends for years.

Two months back, we hadn't spoken to each other. Now, a day doesn't goes by when we don't speak atleast twice a day.

Two months back, Me had butterflies in my stomach when thoughts flooded my mind about how we'll find and adjust with each other. Now, am confident that we'll swim together, and swim well, we will.

Two months back, Me wished that our families mixed up very well. Today, Me notices the ease with which our families mingle with each other.

Two months back, Me was Single. Tomorrow would be two months, since Me's been happily engaged. :-) And two months of bliss, it has been.

Wonders, time does. And Me hopes that The Gods and our well wishers keep showering their blessings as we look forward to the future.

Me.

p.s.:- Two months back, my mobile bill used to be around 600 bucks. Now, it hovers around 5000. And Me doesn't regret it a bit. :-)

Ek thi Basanthi, aur Ek thi Sunaina

2006-10-12T16:59:00.000+05:30

The other day, a friend of mine asked me how life's going. Me replied, almost spontaneously - "Sahi hai... subah guzarti hai Basanti ke saath aur shaam, Sunaina ke saath..."

(F)Actually, Basanthi does help me begin my day on a gooood note and Sunaina gives it a good finale. These RJs of Radiocity 91FM gimme company on, what would otherwise be a very very tiring and a tedious journey in B'lore traffic.

The two are actually way different from each other.

Basanthi's RJing is usually informative and pleasant to suit a perfect morning. Been audience to her show the other day which happened to be Lata Mangeshkar's b'day. It was good to know a lot of trivia about the great singer. And so was the case with the Karnataka Tourism week, where an official from the KSTDC department was invited for a chat. They were pretty interesting conversations that this lady struck in those instances.

Sunaina's RJing carries a zing - suits well to pep up a evening which would otherwise be really dull in the traffic. Me loves the way she says "O.... that was sooo scsweeeettt...". Her voice's got some real good energy in it.

Quite a few FM channels now on air in B'lore these days. But Me kinda sticks on with Radiocity - and its just for these two RJs.

Me.

p.s.:- No wonder Me kinda missed Basanti in the morning the last two days. Wasn't it lovely to hear her back today morning??

Human "Resources"?? - contd...

2006-10-09T21:21:00.000+05:30

To continue on my previous post:

Our division head in my previous company had once said that the company had three areas of focus - customers, company and its employees, prioritized in that order. He justified over an hour and a half lecture that the order of priority is right. He also reluctantly agreed that all the energy in the company is lost in serving the top two priorities.

Wonder if there's any company which will deal with the last priority aptly... some place which gives as much emphasis on its employees as it does on the first two.

If anyone knows of such a company, please do drop a note. ;-)

On a rather ambitious thought - couldn't Me set up such a company??

Me.

Human "Resources"??

2006-10-09T20:57:00.000+05:30

Recently, a friend's father suffered from a heart-attack. He survived it and the doctors said that he'd have to undergo a by-pass surgery. Incidentally, my friend happened to be in US, on an official trip.

Coming to know of his father's heart attack, my friend became worried, but settled when he knew that his father survived the attack. Upon news of the by-pass surgery, he decided to come back to India and sought his manager's permission for the same. The manager coldly replied - "Well, its your decision and I hope you make a wise decision". Obviously, my friend was hurt. Being one of the top performers of the team, he felt really bad that his manager had such a cold reaction. Am sure I would feel the same too. Caring a damn about the manager, my friend returned home by the side of his ailing father.

When Me came to know of this, my mind wandered around the same old thoughts that have been troubling me since the day Me started working.

Agreed that he was on a company's assignment and probably the company's deliverables would be affected because of his absence. But isn't it a matter of common sense and moral responsibility on the part of the manager to have understood my friend's situation and act accordingly?? Why can't human aspects of an employee never come under consideration when managers deal with their subordinates?? Why are managers, so inhumane, the way they are??

A family friend of mine had given me this advice in the early days of my career - "An employee is a resource to a company - just like another chair or a table. That is why Human Resources departments exist - to manage these resources. Its completely upto the company to use/ abuse you. Its completely your responsibility to get your priorities and keep yourself intact.

"Indian establishments, ages ago weren't like this - employees were treated as a part of the family and were taken care of properly. Employees inturn put their hearts into what they did. The present culture in the companies mostly is due the western influence - and its sad that we are submitting ourselves to such a culture..."

Me had my share of experiences on this front till until last year. It was only on the eve of my last job shift that Me took a conscious decision - not emotionally attach myself to any company Me'd work for. Work would form 8 hours of my day and the rest 16 hours would be the most important part of my day. Must say that life's turned much better since.

A couple of my acquaintences remarked that Me's turning a loser. That Me's running away from problems.

Me's not convinced. Not till Me encounters an experience that tells me so.

Me.

Jab Yahi jeena hai, tho marna kya hai??

2006-09-26T20:45:00.000+05:30

The introduction to Jhanvi, the RJ in Lage Raho happens with Jhanvi waking up Mumbai with this monologue. Its an absolute masterpiece and one which touches the heart, like they say - nazaakath se.

The way Jhanvi says "Goood Morninnnnng Mumbai" - read somewhere that its derived from the way Robin Williams screams "Good Morning Vietnam" in a movie with a similar title. But what the heck, Vidya is gorgeous and the lines are fabulous. What else would something require for my blog to host a post on it?? :-)

Shaher ki es daud mein, daud ke karna kya hai?
Jab yehi jeena hai doston, tho phir marna kya hai?
Paheli barish mein train late hone ki fikr hai
Bhul gaye bhigte hue tahelna kya hai?
Serials ke kirdaaro ka saara haal hai malum
Par maa ka haal puchhne ki fursat kise hai?
Ab ret pe nange pao tahelte kyun nahi?
108 hai channel phir dil bahelte kyun nahi?
Internet ki duniya ke tho touch mein hai,
Lekin pados me kaun rehta hai jaante tak nahi.
Mobile, Landline sab ki bharmaar hai,
Lekin jigri dost tak pahunche aise taar kahaan hai?
Kab dubte hue suraj ko dekha tha yaad hai?
Kab jaana tha shaam ka woh banna kya hai?
Tho Dosthon, Shaher ki es daud me daud ke karna kya hai
Jab yahi jeena hai, to phir marna kya hai?

Wah wah Wah wah!! (Clap Clap Clap Clap)

Me loves it. Completely.

My Fav Songs - 7. Kyun Aaj Kal...

2006-09-21T21:26:00.000+05:30

( One helluva lovely song from "Woh Lamhe" - KK at his usual best and one ammazing score by Mohit Suri. One glitch - that its a rip off "Tak Bisakah" by an Indonesian band Peterpan - but what the heck - its one helluva peppy number and more - kinda sums up my mood these days ;-) )

Kyun aaj kal neend kam khwab jyada hai
Lagta khuda ka koi nek irada hai
Kal tha faqir aaj dil shehzada hai
Lagta khuda ka koi nek irada hai

Kya mujhe pyar hai ...
Kaisa khumar hai ...
Kya mujhe pyar hai ...
Kaisa khumar hai ...

Oo o oo.. oo o oo..

Paththar ke in raston pe
Phoolon ki ek chadar hai
Jabse mile ho humko
Badla har ek manzar hai

Dekho jahan main nile nile aasmaan tale
Rang naye naye hain jaise ghulte hue
Soye se khwaab mere, jaage tere waste
Tere khayalon se hain, bheege mere raaste

Kya mujhe pyar hai ...
Kaisa khumar hai ...
Kya mujhe pyar hai ...
Kaisa khumar hai ...

Oo o oo.. oo o oo..

Tum kyun chale aate ho
Har roj in khwabon main
Chupke se aa bhi jao
Ek din meri baahon main

Tere hi sapne andheron main ujalo main
Koi nasha hai, teri aankhon ke pyalon main
Tu mere khwabon main jawaabon main saawalon main
Har din chura tumhe main leta hoon khayalon main

Kya mujhe pyar hai ...
Kaisa khumar hai ...
Kya mujhe pyar hai ...
Kaisa khumar hai ...

Oo o oo.. oo o oo..

My Fav Songs - 6. Bande Mein Tha Dum...

2006-09-11T12:33:00.000+05:30

(Saw Lage Raho Munnabhai recently. This song by Sonu was ammazing. Sort of loved it. Sonu rendered it too well.)

O aa jaa re....
O... aa jaa re

Maati pukare tujhe desh pukare
Aa jaa re ab aa ja re
Bhoole hum raahein, humein raah dikha de
Aa jaa re ab raah dikha de

Ainak pehne, lathi pakde chalte the woh shaan se
Zaalim kaape thar thar, thar thar, sun kar unka naam re.
Kad tha unka chota sa aur sarpat unki chal re
Duble se patle se the woh, chalte seena taan ke

Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram
Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram
Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram
Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram

Bhai bhai ka dushman hain bana re
Nafrat ki aandhi behti re
Wehshi dilo ko bapu pyar seekha de
Aaja re bapu aa jaa re.

Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram
Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram

O jhooth ka badhta jaaye o raaj o bapu
Apne hi ho gaye dhokebaaz
Aaj hamein apno se bacha le
Aa jaa re bapu mere

Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram
Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram

Pai pai mein insaan bika re
Jaan yeh ho gayi sasti re
Soya zameer bapu phir se jaaga de
Aaja re bapu mere

Vande Mataram
Vande Mataram
Vande Mataram

Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram
Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram
Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram
Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram

Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram
Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram
Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram
Bande mein tha dum, Vande Mataram

News(???) Today

2006-09-11T10:59:00.000+05:30

There are three channels, Me swore that, Me'd delete from the list of channels on my TV. Aajtak, Headlines Today and Star News. Me thinks they don't deserve to be called news channels.

Saturday, Aajtak was crying hoarse about a car which was seen on Delhi roads being driven without no one in the driver's seat. The news was aired all day, and the channel chose to sensationalize it to the max. Streaming those idiotic photos all day and requesting people to respond and stretching the sensationalism to the limits.

Happened to go thru the channel during my daily dose of channel browsing, and actually heard a caller who calls and asks - "it doesn't take a half an hour for a channel to figure out the owner and the driver of the car and what's behind the scene. Why is it not being done" - and spat comes a reply - "our investigation team is on it". How ridiculous?? Late that night, somewhere close to 10:00 PM - the channel was still airing the same damn news with more information of how the driver could drive the car that way...

When one looks at the whole scenario in hind sight - what a waste of time and energy on a news that was so trivial?? Aren't there any better things happening in this world?? Why does it have to be either Dawood or a stupid car all day?? Isn't quality a part of news at all?? Why can't news be plain news?? Why does it have to be utter sensationalism??

Me hates these channels. For the sheer fact that they try to sensationalize each and every stupid thing. Relevant or unrelevant. And am gonna reprogram my TV not to receive those channels.

Sometimes, Me feels the days fo DD were a lot better - where news was just quality news. Even if it was for a half an hour in English and half an hour in Hindi.

Me.

p.s.:- Was a big big fan of India Today since long. But these channels have reduced all my admiration of India Today to an absolute zilch. Just can't expect how they could produce such horrible channels. Yuck!

Lage Raho!

2006-09-06T21:59:00.000+05:30

You would be just satisfied with a movie when it meets your expectations.

You would be happy with the movie when it exceeds your expectations.

You'd like a movie a lot when you don't expect anything out of it and it beats your expectations

You'd love a movie when your expectations of it are on the negative and it surpasses all your expectations.

Lage Raho Munnabhai happened to fall into the last category. It was just awesome.

Before the movie was released, somehow, had a strong feeling that the movie would be a flop. The trailers were good and so was the media-partner hype, but somehow, this wasn't a movie that Me was waiting for, to be released.

A week into the theatres, started hearing that the movie is good. Was sceptical, after a few instances where ppl forced their friends to watch KANK. Their logic - you even share the torture when you are friends. ;-)

After a few more reports from here-and-there, folks at work decided to go try for it. So off we went today. And we enjoyed for every penny that we spent there.

Sanjay Dutt as Munna and Arshad Warsi as Circuit were, as they were, awesome. They both were probably born for these roles. Vidya was gorgeous. She's my favorite. Her smile and demeanor just lights up the screen. The screenplay was ammazing and the dialogues were the best.

The dialogue between Munna and Mahatma was wonderful. Hats off to the script writers' effort to insert, as they call it, Gandhigiri, in just the right proportions to make sure that the lightheartedness of the movie is not lost and it doesn't get too serious. Bomman Irani was at his usual best. The rest of the crew was more or less the same as the first version of Munnabhai and they fit into their roles very well.

The music was refreshing and soulful. Pal Pal Pal is my favorite. And so is the rendition of Bande Mein Tha Dum Vande Mataram by Sonu. Pal Pal, especially, was a simple melodious one which leaves one light hearted. And the picturisation was terrific.

Me thinks Rajkumar Hirani has got this innate talent of mixing up humour, senti and a message as well in the right proportions - none of them get to a level that'd make it heavy. He has already made it to my favs list. :-)

Few things Me liked - the name of Vidya's Bungalow - 2nd Innings,

Overall boletho, movie ek dum jhakaas. Bindaas jaane ka, enjoy karneka. Circuit our Munna ke saath hasne ka, Majja lene ka.

Me's gonna watch it again. Once more for sure. And wouldn't probably mind another time too. :-). Am waiting for the DVD to come out. Original khareedne ka. Apne compilation mein rakhne ka.

Lage raho Munnabhai!

p.s.:- Must admit - the monologue of Gandhi at the end of the movie was touching. That he doesn't need to be in photos and statues and that he still lives in the hearts of people is undisputable. And Me strongly believes that his idealogy still has relevance in todays world. And it will continue to have relevance in future too. As this review in rediff puts it - the movie shows the Gandhi in all of us and shows things we've chosen to ignore. It makes you feel good about yourself and what you have.

Taj Mahal - aka Tejo Mahal???

2006-09-05T09:57:00.000+05:30

Read this interesting article, as forwarded by a friend of mine. Intriguing possibility, it is. Wonder what the truth is.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A5220

Me.

Fate of a movie

2006-09-04T16:48:00.000+05:30

The fate of a movie is always a hit - with or without a 'S' in the beginning.

Quote from a friend of mine.

Me.

Me's Engaged! :-)

2006-09-04T14:37:00.000+05:30

The biggest news from the last two months and probably this year...

:-) Me's Engaged :-)

After quite long a struggle, my parents found a good match for me. And Me got engaged on Aug 13th to Shailasri. Shaila hails from the same place that Me belongs to - Warangal. She's graduated in Mechanical Engineering in 2004, worked for BHEL as an Apprentice Trainee and currently taking a break after a course in Software Testing.

The engagement ceremony was held at the party hall in Hotel Ratna at Warangal with relatives and close friends. The marriage is scheduled for Jan 28th, 2007. :-) More updates on the marriage front on a later date.

A few snaps from the engagement ceremony:

Flash Slideshow

Blocking Blogs

2006-09-04T13:13:00.000+05:30

About a month plus ago, there was this directive purportedly issued by the Ministry of Communications to block a bunch of websites, which included a few blogs. Most of the blogs listed were listed on blogspot and one on typepad.

Now, our ISPs, as soon as they saw such a directive did more than complying to the order - they blocked blogspot.com and typepad.com altogether!

Now, Me guesses this wasn't intentional. Me thinks folks at the ISPs were just too lazy to figure out how to block a website, and found it too easy to block a whole domain instead. ;-)

All that apart, a good question to be asked is - Should there be a control over blogs at all?? 'Freedom of Expression' - the philosophy which seems to be the backbone of the blog world, should it ever be compromised??

Or is it ok, in the sense of keeping a tab on the people who seem to take use this "Freedom of Expression" for granted and use it to generate hatred/ ill- feeling, racism and fanaticism??

Whatever be the case, blogspot.com was blocked for quite sometime in between. And that was a cause of inconvenience for Me atleast. Me could post blogs thru Blogger, which didn't happen for a different reason, but Me couldn't get my daily doses of blogs as well. A few of my friends migrated to Wordpress, but Me didn't - Me thot it wouldn't be too long before Wordpress too would be blocked...

Blogspot came back online a few days back. And my post lunch drowsy period at work is now better utilised. :-)

Me.

Bombay Rocked!

2006-09-04T11:20:00.000+05:30

A series of blasts rocked Bombay on the evening of 11th July. The number of blasts were reported by various news organizations as about seven to eight, all in a span of 20 - 40 minutes.

The blasts were aimed at the lifeline of Mumbai - the local train circuit. And that too, at a time when the trains were crowded to the max. The death toll, last Me heard, was put at more than 200.

The city's administration swung into action pretty quick. The communication lines - telephones and cellular services that were jammed to the max - came back to normalcy over the night. BEST pressed in more services to drive people back home and the local train services were restored to a good extent by the next morning.
The news channels aired gory images of the whole

incident and kept reporting the news as it flowed in. The only point which Me found a little useful in the news was the way some channels aired SMSes sent by people stuck in the melee to their near and dear ones. I guess lots of people benefited from that act. The Spirit of Mumbai - as it is well known as - prevailed again. People rushed to help each other and these sort of actions were more fruitful than the local city administration. The news channels, papers and websites kept airing different programs/ news around this theme. Quite a few blogs like this propped up to put out news and sought help.

However, there are quite a few areas of concern that came to the fore again.

The Mumbai blasts of 1993 are still under investigation. It has been 13 damn years and no news of the judgement as yet.

Spirit of Mumbai - A great treasure to fight back adversity that the citizens of this city possess - how come its missing so badly in the administration? Its as if the terrorists come, blast and go. And our administration and media glorify the suffering as the Spirit of Mumbai and keep honking around this topic. The administration claims to know the source of these blasts - who initiated 'em. Then why does it stay so sober in going ahead and attacking the source directly?? Hasn't US - the policeman of the world's peace - set an example in bombing places and yet not find the culprit of 9/11??

Media - those who cried their hearts out when the blasts occured - don't seem to give the investigation process that much importance. Doesn't it become imperative on its part to keep up the pressure on the Govt for the outcome of the investigations??

Me's been in Mumbai for an year. And Me loved it. The precision with which the local train network works, the value of time - every second of it - how well people help each other - like many others, Me's got my own episodes to narrate.

And Me wishes that peace prevails in the city. Me hopes that the terrorists get caught and punished. And that the city lives to its image of 'City of Dreams'.

And that the ruling governments get tough enough to retaliate and stamp out terror, than just boasting about resilience and spirits.

Me.

p.s.:- Images copyright of who ever took 'em.

My Giant Small Car

2006-09-01T14:05:00.000+05:30

"The World's Best Giant Small Car" - that's what a slogan of Maruti Swift said. The wording might have been different, but the essence atleast is the same.

But, more importantly, that is how Me feels about my car. Its about a month and a half old, but Me still feels great driving it around.

Initially, Me hadn't liked the Swift/ Getz kinda cars. Me preferred bigger cars - the CR-V/ Camry/ City/ Fiesta types. But none of 'em where falling into my budget. Me had to choose between Swift/ Getz and both had positives of their own. After a long and a lot of deliberation, Me picked Swift. Dad wanted silver, but Me preferred Azure Grey.

Loaded it up a lot. A spoiler, reverse parking sensors, A Sony music system with JBL speakers and tweeters, a digital clock inside... Wished Me could have those sunroof fitted up, but that costs a lot, and Me can't squander so much after squandering this much. :-)

Here are a few snaps:

Flash Slideshow

Joga Bonito!

2006-08-29T22:16:00.000+05:30

(The ideal timing for this post would've been around the time the world cup just got over - probably just after the final. But, Me's writing for myself, so what the heck?? ;-))

World cup was fun. Undoubtedly.

Me hadn't followed football earlier. Me's knowledge was good enough to know the basic rules of the game and ofcourse the fact that it involved 23 persons running behind 1 ball. ;-)

A conspiracy was hatched by the conglomeration of Media and a bunch of overzealous friends and Me had to get dragged into it. ;-) Especially the world's longest soccer video and the wonderful videos posted on Joga TV - Me wonders if there would be anyone who wouldn't get dragged into the game.

The tournament lasted a month. A person who believed that a game could get interesting only when there's constant action on the score front, Me actually found it very interesting to watch the game. Though my favorites in the beginning were Brazil (mostly influenced by the videos me watched), Me liked Germany, England and France for their play.

My favorite players - Beckham and Zidane.

This was the first time Me watched Beckham play. And after a couple of games, Me had become a fan of him.

"Tell me that you need the ball at a certain point near the goal post at a particular time, and I'll have it there for you" - that seemed his quote.

Was disheartening to see him cry when England lost in quarter finals. And more disheartening was to hear about him quitting the leadership of England team and the news that followed.
A wonderful player in all, must say.

One of those earlier days when Me watched France play, got to read up Zizou's profile on the net. And would be surprised, if one didn't become his fan after reading about him. No wonder he was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

The episode of his confrontation with Marco Materazzi can best be described as pretty unfortunate. Just imagine if Zizou would have held up his emotions and stayed in the field. Apart from being a very good player, his presence in the field would have boosted team-de-france's morale to a very high level. And Me tends to believe that the result of the final would have been very different.

On a lighter note, saw a lot of hilarious articles/ mail forwards post his head butt incident. Especially this article on The Register - its hilarious. Left me wondering what would be an Indian perspective of the incident. More specifically, a lot of Indian perspectives can be imagined - the Indian politician perspective, the Indian Police perspective, the BCCI perspective, the Indian IT perspective, the Lalu perspective... the list is quite endless. :-)

And Me thinks the best part of the whole tournament was the slogan - "Joga Bonito" which translates to "Play Beautiful" in Portugese.

Me.

The past two months!

2006-08-27T23:03:00.000+05:30

Me's last post was dated 21st June 2006. For one reason or the other, Me hasn't been able to update my blog the way Me would've wanted it to.

A lot happened in these two months. Actually, 'lot' is an understatement. And Me doesn't know what's a better term. ;-)

Lemme first try to recollect and summarize what had happened. Then, depending on how Me feels, will see if Me should have separate posts for each of 'em. (Now, that sounds - err... - reads like a plan!)

(Now, this is not necessarily in the order of sequence of events)

Did get bitten by the world cup football fever. Had never followed football earlier in my life, so this definitely was a big - BIG change. Italy won the cup, but Me's fav's were Zidane and Beckham.
Me bought a car. A Maruti Swift Zxi. Azure Grey. Fully loaded. Me loves it. Am having fun driving it around.
Bombay (somehow, that name is sweeter than the current 'Mumbai') had been bombed. Seven blasts in a gap of about an hour on the heartline of Bombay - the local train circuit - left a lot killed and injured. Wonderful that the city and its people are, it sprang back to life pretty quick. But what's disturbing is the fact that our adminsitration is so docile. More on that in a separate post.
Blogspot was blocked for almost like a month plus. Ministry of Communications figured that a few blogs are very offensive and inflammative (donno if that word exists, but what the heck) so they pushed down instructions to all ISPs to block those blogs. And the pro-active folks that our ISPs are, they blocked the whole domains altogether. Phew. Had actually contemplated moving to Wordpress, but the way am used to Blogger and blogspot, decided against it. Actually, Blogspot came back online just on the brink of time. Am glad that blogger/ blogspot came back online.
Praveen quit our organization. Our acquaintance has been only for about 6 months, but this chap has turned pretty close. He is off on the path of realization, and Me wishes him, wholeheartedly, that he finds his goal. The group of friends at my workplace do miss him.
The biggest news of all - Me got engaged to Shailasri. :-). As my friends tell me - Me searched around the world, and found her right in my own neighbourhood. ;-) More news on that in a separate post.
On one of my trips back home, read a book - Its not about the bike - by Lance Armstrong. And he became my idol. An example of spirit of living and spirit of winning.
A few days later, gathered more information about how his personal life changed over a few years of stardom - and the eternal question came back to mind - why can't humans be perfect afterall??

Neways, more posts follow with updates on all those (and more) fronts.

Me.

Ganapathi bappa mourya!

2006-08-27T21:52:00.000+05:30

Last year, parents were here and they made it a point to make it as grand as it could be. We had made up a good dias for Him. He adorned the well decorated dais and it was such a pretty sight to watch. Dippu had also made it a point to keep the then-newly-presented Ganesh-sculpted-bronze article to be well lit and it was an equally pretty sight to watch. Mom made a sumptous and an elaborate lunch, as she had been doing year after year, every year since Me had started to know the world. And what better way, than to be an audience to the story of Ganapathi at the pooja?

This year however, parents were back home at Warangal. Me was in two minds about celebrating it the same way as my parents did last year. It was me and my cousin at home, and both weren't very well versed at the pooja. Me had almost decided to celebrating it in a simple manner - visit a temple, pray to Him and visit a friend's place. Only till the morning of the festival. Had called my mom to know her opinion about putting up a Ganesh idol at home. She said it would be good if we did. After a arduous hour of shopping thru the market of Madivala, Me and my cousin bought all that was necessary for the pooja. Arranged it in the best possible manner we could and did the pooja in the best possible manner, that was within our capabilities.

What Me did miss the most is the complete elaborate offerings that my Mom makes to The God, and the pooja that my dad performs. But one thing for sure. Am determined to do this pooja every year from now on. And learn to do it the way my parents do it. :-)

Folks in our apartment complex came together to put up a Ganesh moorthi at our complex and performed the pooja as well. It was such a pleasure to be a part of the pooja and sing aarthi along with all of them. Had always loved the hymn - "Jai Ganesha Jai Ganesha Jai Ganesha Deva, Maatha Devi Parvathi, Pitha Mahadevaa..." and it was ammazing to sing it along with a group!

Ganapathi Bappa Mourya!!

Flash Slideshow

I'll be there!

2006-06-21T20:06:00.000+05:30

Now, this one deserves a separate post.

A wonderful way to summarize what love is.

Just awwwesommmee!

Me.

Pravs world

2006-06-21T19:43:00.000+05:30

Just came across PravsWorld during my daily dose of browsing. For some reason, could connect to it the moment Me went thru it.

Here are a few wonderful pics that Me came thru.

Image copyright - PravsWorld and its photographers.

There adds up one more website to my favs list.

Me.

Change - The only constant thing in life.

2006-06-14T13:48:00.000+05:30

Once in a while, life changes. Changes in a big way.

And when it does, there would be a duration in between the phases where one ponders upon why certain things happened the way they happened. Feels happy about a few. Feels sorry for some. Wishes that he could erase certain moments in the past. Wishes that a few things could've been different. Recollects some good moments and smiles up for all the happiness they brought in. And gets gloomy about few not-so-good moments. Lets thoughts go haywire about how future might be. How things might change. If he'd miss his past. If the future would be any better. And what he has to do to make 'em better.

Guess am in such a duration between phases. A chapter seems to have come to an end. And yearn I will, for some aspects of my previous chapter, very badly. Life, as of now, seems a little low and lull. A lot of apprehension's in the air about how future might be. Am just hoping Me'll be my usual self soon. Very soon.

Me.

Chaos and Klueless!!

2006-06-12T18:19:00.000+05:30

Chaos, an IIMA hosted puzzle in the lines of n number of puzzles that came in recent past - Klueless from IIM-I, its fathers and forefathers...

http://iima-chaos.com/games/paheli/inception.php

Btw, the Klueless puzzle from IIM-I is hosted here:

http://www.iimi-iris.com/iris/irising/klueLESS/

Guess that'll be my pastime for a few days from now...

Me.

The story of the "Black" weekend!

2006-06-12T17:12:00.000+05:30

Heard of Black Day, Black Movie, Black what not?? Here's Me's version of Black weekend.

Parents called and informed me that Me's got to be home on Saturday and its kinda urgent. Reached the bus stand Friday evening, by 9:30 PM to try my luck with APSRTC. After a long struggle, washed away all the ethics about don't-buy-tickets-in-black and stuff like that, paid a whopping 900 bucks to a shady looking shoddy fellow, who had a beard but no moustache, to get myself a seat in a Volvo that started at 10:30 - the last seat in the bus. Me asked the guy - what's the guarantee that this ticket will be confirmed?? Can you come to the bus, have it confirmed and walk back?? The guy answered, in a typical urdu dialect - "saab, mein third class kaam nahin karta...". Me thot - "What the ...??"

After a little ordeal, the seat got confirmed. As Me walked towards the last seat, thot Me noticed a couple of guys in the last row laughing at me. As Me settled down, one of them asked,

DonnoWho: "Did you buy your ticket in black??"
Me: "Yes, How did you know?" (Now, frankly, Me guessed he might have been a 'Black victim', but put up a very curious face, just to see how much that guy could blush. And beam with pride he did.)
DonnoWho: "The same fellow with the beard and no mousche??"
Me: "Ya, the same fellow"
DonnoWho: "Ha ha ha... How much did he sell the ticket to you for?"
Me: (Slightly apprehensive) "900 bucks"
DonnoWho: "Saala... itne kam mein bhej daala?? Hamein to 1050 mein bheja tha... Uski ***"
Me: (Now it was Me's turn, wasn't it) "Ha ha ha... Last seat do minute mein bhejna tha na, shaayad uskeliye daam gira diya..."
DonnoWho-2: "Kameene saale, poore seat block karte hain, aur black mein bhejthe hai..."
DonnoWho-3: (Now, this guy was definitely working with Infy/ Wipro/ TCS - he was dressed in complete formals. And with a Its-elementary-Dr. Watson-looks) "Vaise tho woh hamse zyaada kamaatha hoga, woh bhi bina tax pay kiye... ha ha ha..."
(No one laughed...)

Thus started a long, very long, bumpy, no-sleep, grumpy, grudgy ride full of cribs and so called fun.

And am sure all everyone was attempting to do was to try and forget how bumpy B'lore roads could be and if possible, get a nap, before some bump wakes us back.

Me.

My Fav Songs - 5. Truly Madly Deeply

2006-06-02T08:36:00.000+05:30

(Truly Madly Deeply - One masterpiece by Savage Garden. Just can't remember how many times Me's heard this. And everytime Me hears, this, can feel that everlasting freshness in it...)

I'll be your dream
I'll be your wish
I'll be your fantasy
I'll be your hope
I'll be your love
Be everything that you need.
I love you more with every breath Truly madly deeply do..
I will be strong
I will be faithful
'Cos I'm counting on a new beginning
A reason for living
A deeper meaning

I wanna stand with you on a mountain
I wanna bathe with you in the sea
I wanna lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me...

And when the stars are shining brightly in the velvet skies
I'll make a wish send it to heaven
Then make you want to cry..
The tears of joy for all the pleasure and the certainty.
That we're surrounded by the comfort
And protection of the highest powers
In lonely hours
The tears devour you...

I wanna stand with you on a mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me...

Oh can't you see it baby?
You don't have to close your eyes
'Cos it's standing right before you
All that you need will surely come...

I'll be your dream
I'll be your wish
I'll be your fantasy
I'll be your hope
I'll be your love
Be everything that you need
I'll love you more with every breath Truly madly deeply do...

Ghoom!

2006-06-02T08:23:00.000+05:30

The ad goes thus:

GHOOM: An MTV Fully Faltoo Films Production. MTV's biggest mistake for ever. Now you pay for it!

Now, this is some ad. The movie is supposed to be a spoof of the superhit "Dhoom". The best part of the movie Me guesses is the crew:

MTV Fully Faltoo Films
Abhishek Bachao
Who-dare Chopra
Kaun Abraham
Action: Shoes
Director Of Photography: Kabhi Naram Kabhi Garam
Lyrics: Ghoom machale ghoom machale ghoom
Music: Jingle Behl
Producer: Runaway Productions Pvt. Ltd.,
Director: Like You Care
Sound: Dolly Figital, dst

Guess its one of the cool spoof ads Me's seen in the recent past.

Wouldn't mind paying for it, but guess Me'll wait and watch.

Me.

Vinci Da Code...

2006-05-31T08:17:00.000+05:30

Vinci Da Code (read vincee tha coduu, punjabi style) - that's what the movie probably would've been called had it been released in Punjab. ;-)

Saw the movie y'day. We had a team outing at work, and we went to the movie. Now don't ask me - team outing - a movie??

Ok, so we saw the movie y'day. Was pretty good. Kinda covered every major aspect of the book. Except the first film slide which was included by our own censor board - that the plot/ characters etc are all fictional.

The book, had read it a long time ago, had a rather interesting beginning - It begins with a page titled FACT where it describes the various groups/ cults that seem to be at the centre of the novel. The page ends thus:

All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.

A very bold statement must say. And it served its purpose - read thru the book in a single sitting in a day. The book was rather startling - which would make one sit up and start questioning that the faith of people was actually a masterwork of a few minds who took them for a ride. The plot on the other hand, fictitious, Me assumes, is rather intriguing. The way a symbologist gets dragged into a murder and how he solves the riddle of the holy grail - is narrated in the best possible manner. And all that about Priory of Scion, Opus Dei, the who's who of the world being part of these cults, Da Vinci's art hiding so much meaning within its form, and the very fact that there seems to be so much behind this religion called Christianity - that was a lot interesting.

The book was a best seller - some say the number of copies sold was only next to the bible. Dan Brown, the author was amidst a controversy all the while and is still basking in it. A bunch of other books followed, which seemed to contradict, parody this one. Remember going thru one of those - which was called "Va Dinci The Cod" or something like that - felt it was hilarious. All in all, everything that happened in the world of books including and after the release of this book was amusing enough for the readers to be entertained.

The movie, Me felt, did not do injustice to the book. It covered the book in a way that didn't miss any major scenes of the book, and yet fit the whole 490 page book into a dhaai ghante vaala movie. And it did keep the thriller aspect alive all thru. Tom Hanks and Andrey Tautou were marvellous as the central characters. Paul Bettany as Silas was ammazing. Managed to scare me almost in every scene he came thru. Horrifying was his act of cleansing himself. The rest of the characters seem to gel with what was described in the book. That way, Akiva Goldsman did a wonderful job of screenplay.

A few interesting quotes:

"Your God does not forgive murderers"
"If given a chance, would you destroy faith or renew it?"
"Why is it divine or human? Can human be divine?"

A good, intriguing movie, must say.

Me.

p.s.:- There is a scene where bishops are shown playing billiards in a church. Now that's interesting, isn't it - billiards in a church??

My Fav Songs - 4. Manic Monday

2006-05-29T11:59:00.000+05:30

( Heard this song recently - was suggested by a friend of mine. And it caught up with me too well, too soon. :-) Had to post this out. The song streamed off my music system today morning and is running thru right now in my brain... )

Six o'clock already
I was just in the middle of a dream
I was kissin' Valentino
By a crystal blue Italian stream
But I can't be late
'Cause then I guess I just won't get paid
These are the days
When you wish your bed was already made

It's just another manic Monday
I wish it was Sunday
'Cause that's my funday
I don't have to runday
It's just another manic Monday

Have to catch an early train
Got to be to work by nine
And if I had an air-o-plane
I still couldn't make it on time
'Cause it takes me so long
Just to figure out what I'm gonna wear
Blame it on the train
But the boss is already there

It's just another manic Monday
I wish it was Sunday
'Cause that's my funday
I don't have to runday
It's just another manic Monday

All of the nights
Why did my lover have to pick last night
To get down
Doesn't it matter
That I have to feed the both of us
Employment's down
He tells me in his bedroom voice
C'mon honey, let's go make some noise
Time it goes so fast
When you're having fun

It's just another manic Monday
I wish it was Sunday
'Cause that's my funday
I don't have to runday
It's just another manic Monday

Hail Gandhi!!

2006-05-28T14:38:00.000+05:30

One of the wonderful ads about Gandhi that Me saw recently on a friend's blog.

Is it that more foreigners seems to value him more than we Indians do. Worth a small research, Me feels...

http://www.epica-awards.org/assets/epica/2004/winners/film/flv/11071.htm

Check it out!!

Me.

Of Great Expectations...

2006-05-28T12:15:00.000+05:30

Why do people get hurt?? More importantly, what does 'getting hurt' mean??

Me believed that the answers to these questions lie in the way we set expectations on others.

My philosophy, is about these two 'postulates':

1. Your freedom ends where my nose begins. And vice versa.
2. Do not set *ANY* expectations from others - none what so ever. Everyone is entitled to their freedom and one cannot define rules as to how they should behave and why they behave in a certain manner.

Me believes that once a situation gets out of these boundaries, some 'hurt'ing will result. If not everytime, atleast, more often than not. Getting 'hurt' or getting 'offended' would typically refer to a thought or a series of thoughts that would tell you that you shouldn't have been meted out with that treatment, and you deserved better.

These two postulates, Me believes, have always helped me from getting 'hurt'. Lemme explain. It wouldn't matter to me as to what point of view others take of me or my actions until they start invading my space - in other words, they start 'hurt'ing me. Once my freedom/ my space is invaded, Me is entitled to behave in a way that suits myself. And more often than not, Me takes enough care to see that Me doesn't invade other's freedom as well. Me typically didn't set expectations on others too. Atleast that's what Me thought till today.

Had to revisit my theory today. And am no where close to forming a new one yet. Donno when Me'll be able to get there.

Just gathered today, that a friend of mine dropped in at another friend's place - one has to go past my house to reach his place - to invite him for an occasion, but didn't even care to knock at my place nor give me a call. On knowing about it, Me laughed it away giving myself the usual explanation.

Now fact remains that, that person is very close to me, and Me values that person hella lot for the kind our friendship has been. But then, that the person should value me the same way, that the person has to visit my place/ call on me, is something that Me can't force in on them. It depends on how much that person values Me as a friend, where does Me figure out in that person's priorities or if Me figures at all, and many more stuff like that. These are stuff that Me really can't have control over, and definitely, that person is entitled to make his call at any specific instance.

But, must admit, am not able to come to terms with it. Have tried enough philosophy that Me shouldn't set any expectations and all of that, but in vain. And Me feels hurt. The thought that someone can care a damn about me hurts. The thought that Me is not of much/ any value to a person who is valuable to me, hurts. And extrapolating it, that Me may not be of much/ any value to a lot of people that Me values a lot, hurts a lot.

And that my philosophies in life are going for a toss, hurts even more.

But then, how can Me not get myself into such situations?? Stop making 'close' friends, and keep everyone of 'em at an arm-and-a-half distance?? But wouldn't that make Me, a loner in this world??

Or is Me overreacting??

A little agitated,
Me.

Provision for choosing not to vote!!

2006-05-26T21:47:00.000+05:30

Now, this is news - that there's a provision in the electoral law which facilitates that an elector decide not to vote and also register his dissatisfaction about the kind of persons who stood for election!!

This is an excerpt from the "Handbook for the Presiding Officers" by the Election Commission of India:

49O. ELECTOR DECIDING NOT TO VOTE
If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule49L, decides not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form-17A by the Presiding Officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.

Now, that builds up a lot of respect of the law makers in this country. Next time Me votes, and Me finds that no politician is worth it, Me's definitely going to use 49O.

And Me shall urge all the my folks, friends and foes to do the same.

Me.

A Collector's Edition.

2006-05-26T20:27:00.000+05:30

There are a few things that HAVE to be in a collection. Period. This interview is one such thing. After all, a collection wouldn't be complete without some hilarious stuff.

Karan Thapar rocks! He just ROCKS! He fits the definition of a 'true journalist' perfectly. If only there were DVDs of seasons of Devil's Advocate, Me'd definitely buy them into my collection.

The person being interviewed - on the other hand - is, in my opinion, the most ridiculous person Me's ever seen/ read about. No one could've ever given answers which are any stupider than those that he has given. No sane person, Me opines, would have given such incoherent answers.

On a serious note, can't really understand how one could be so callous, so apathetic, so utterly senseless, so blinded to the most obvious solution to an issue of this proportion. Feel a sense of restlessness in myself when Me thinks of the fact that we have chosen to leave the country in the hands of such incapable and unscrupulous people. The way this person has answered some questions below shows how much little thought went into a decision on an issue of this magnitude and shows very clearly that the intention is to merely exploit a bank of votes.

Think of a solution - Proper facilities/ opportunities be provided to all the financially backward classes - note - not castes, but financially backward sections - to help them bring their kids upto the level of other privileged class people right at the primary school level, so that the competition between various sections of community is on a level field and the best shine. This would also ensure that even the rest of the sections of community are well educated to an extent that creativity/ ways to find livelyhood really thrives. And would this be tough for the government to implement?? I think, all it would take is a stable and an open mind and a good intentions at heart to serve the country.

Just another point - the IBNLive website saw 2520 (and growing) comments, out of which only a few supported the minister's point of view. Am sure the count will reach good amounts soon. And these form a miniscule portion of the population of the country who tend to read that website. The actual number of people who are actually against the decision might run into crores!!

Here's the interview:

Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to the Devil's Advocate. As the debate over the reservations for the OBCs divides the country, we ask: What are the government's real intentions? That is the critical questions that I shall put today in an exclusive interview to the Minister for Human Resource Development Arjun Singh.

Karan Thapar: Most of the people would accept that steps are necessary to help the OBCs gain greater access to higher education. The real question is: Why do you believe that reservations is the best way of doing this?

Arjun Singh: I wouldn't like to say much more on this because these are decisions that are taken not by individuals alone. And in this case, the entire Parliament of this country - almost with rare unanimity - has decided to take this decision.

Karan Thapar: Except that Parliament is not infallible. In the Emergency, when it amended the Constitution, it was clearly wrong, it had to reverse its own amendments. So, the question arises: Why does Parliament believe that the reservation is the right way of helping the OBCs?

Arjun Singh: Nobody is infallible. But Parliament is Supreme and at least I, as a Member of Parliament, cannot but accept the supremacy of Parliament.

Karan Thapar: No doubt Parliament is supreme, but the Constitutional amendment that gives you your authorities actually enabling amendment, it is not a compulsory requirement. Secondly, the language of the amendment does not talk about reservations, the language talks about any provision by law for advancement of socially and educationally backward classes. So, you could have chosen anything other than reservations, why reservations?

Arjun Singh: Because as I said, that was the 'will and desire of the Parliament'.

Karan Thapar: Do you personally also, as Minister of Human Resource Development, believe that reservations is the right and proper way to help the OBCs?

Arjun Singh: Certainly, that is one of the most important ways to do it.

Karan Thapar: The right way?

Arjun Singh: Also the right way.

Karan Thapar: In which case, lets ask a few basic questions. We are talking about the reservations for the OBCs in particular. Do you know what percentage of the Indian population is OBC? Mandal puts it at 52 per cent, the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) at 32 per cent, the National Family and Health Survey at 29.8 per cent, which is the correct figure?

Arjun Singh: I think that should be decided by people who are more knowledgeable. But the point is that the OBCs form a fairly sizeable percentage of our population.

Karan Thapar: No doubt, but the reason why it is important to know 'what percentage' they form is that if you are going to have reservations for them, then you must know what percentage of the population they are, otherwise you don't know whether they are already adequately catered to in higher educational institutions or not.

Arjun Singh: That is obvious - they are not.

Karan Thapar: Why is it obvious?

Arjun Singh: Obvious because it is something which we all see.

Karan Thapar: Except for the fact that the NSSO, which is a government appointed body, has actually in its research in 1999 - which is the most latest research shown - that 23.5 per cent of all university seats are already with the OBCs. And that is just 8.5 per cent less than what the NSSO believes is the OBC share of the population. So, for a difference of 8 per cent, would reservations be the right way of making up the difference?

Arjun Singh: I wouldn't like to go behind all this because, as I said, Parliament has taken a view and it has taken a decision, I am a servant of Parliament and I will only implement.

Karan Thapar: Absolutely, Parliament has taken a view, I grant it. But what people question is the simple fact - Is there a need for reservations? If you don't know what percentage of the country is OBC and if, furthermore, the NSSO is correct in pointing out that already 23.5 per cent of the college seats are with the OBC, then you don't have a case in terms of need.

Arjun Singh: College seats, I don't know.

Karan Thapar: According to the NSSO - which is a government appointed body - 23.5 per cent of the college seats are already with the OBCs.

Arjun Singh: What do you mean by college seats?

Karan Thapar: University seats, seats of higher education.

Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know I have not come across that so far.

Karan Thapar: So, when critics say to you that you don't have a case for reservation in terms of need, what do you say to them?

Arjun Singh: I have said what I had to say and the point is that that is not an issue for us to now debate.

Karan Thapar: You mean the chapter is now closed?

Arjun Singh: The decision has been taken.

Karan Thapar: Regardless of whether there is a need or not, the decision is taken and it is a closed chapter.

Arjun Singh: So far as I can see, it is a closed chapter and that is why I have to implement what all Parliament has said.

Karan Thapar: Minister, it is not just in terms of 'need' that your critics question the decision to have reservation for OBCs in higher education. More importantly, they question whether reservations themselves are efficacious and can work. For example, a study done by the IITs themselves shows that 50 per cent of the IIT seats for the SCs and STs remain vacant, and for the remaining 50 per cent, 25 per cent are the candidates who even after six years fail to get their degrees. So, clearly, in their case, reservations are not working.

Arjun Singh: I would only say that on this issue, it would not be correct to go by all these figures that have been paraded.

Karan Thapar: You mean the IIT figures themselves could be dubious?

Arjun Singh: Not dubious, but I think that is not the last word.

Karan Thapar: All right, maybe the IIT may not be the last word, let me then quote to you the report of the Parliamentary Committee on the welfare for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes - that is a Parliamentary body. It says, that looking at the Delhi University, between 1995 and 2000, just half the seats for under-graduates at the Scheduled Castes level and just one-third of the seats for under-graduates at the Scheduled Tribes level were filled. All the others went empty, unfilled. So, again, even in Delhi University, reservations are not working.

Arjun Singh: If they are not working, it does not mean that for that reason we don't need them. There must be some other reason why they are not working and that can be certainly probed and examined. But to say that for this reason, 'no reservations need to be done' is not correct.

Karan Thapar: Fifty years after the reservations were made, statistics show, according to The Hindustan Times, that overall in India, only 16 per cent of the places in higher education are occupied by SCs and STs. The quota is 22.5 per cent, which means that only two-thirds of the quota is occupied. One-third is going waste, it is being denied to other people.

Arjun Singh: As I said, the kind of figures that have been brought out, in my perception, do not reflect the realities. Realities are something much more and, of course, there is an element of prejudice also.

Karan Thapar: But these are figures that come from a Parliamentary Committee. It can't be prejudiced; they are your own colleagues.

Arjun Singh: Parliamentary Committee has given the figures, but as to why this has not happened, that is a different matter.

Karan Thapar: I put it to you that you don't have a case for reservations in terms of need, you don't have a case for reservations in terms of their efficacy, why then, are you insisting on extending them to the OBCs?

Arjun Singh: I don't want to use that word, but I think that your argument is basically fallacious.

Karan Thapar: But it is based on all the facts available in the public domain.

Arjun Singh: Those are facts that need to be gone into with more care. What lies behind those facts, why this has not happened, that is also a fact.

Karan Thapar: Let’s approach the issue of reservations differently in that case. Reservations mean that a lesser-qualified candidate gets preference over a more qualified candidate, solely because in this case, he or she happens to be an OBC. In other words, the upper castes are being penalised for being upper caste.

Arjun Singh: Nobody is being penalised and that is a factor that we are trying to address. I think that the Prime Minister will be talking to all the political parties and will be putting forward a formula, which will see that nobody is being penalised.

Karan Thapar: I want very much to talk about that formula, but before we come to talk about how you are going to address concerns, let me point one other corollary: Reservations also gives preference and favour to caste over merit. Is that acceptable in a modern society?

Arjun Singh: I don't think the perceptions of modern society fit India entirely.

Karan Thapar: You mean India is not a modern society and therefore can't claim to be treated as one?

Arjun Singh: It is emerging as a modern society, but the parameters of a modern society do not apply to large sections of the people in this country.

Karan Thapar: Let me quote to you Jawaharlal Nehru, a man whom you personally admire enormously. On the 27th of June 1961 wrote to the Chief Ministers of the day as follows: I dislike any kind of reservations. If we go in for any kind of reservations on communal and caste basis, we will swamp the bright and able people and remain second-rate or third-rate. The moment we encourage the second-rate, we are lost. And then he adds pointedly: This way lies not only folly, but also disaster. What do you say to Jawaharlal Nehru today?

Arjun Singh: Jawaharlal Nehru was a great man in his own right and not only me, but everyone in India accept his view.

Karan Thapar: But you are just about to ignore his advice.

Arjun Singh: No. Are you aware that it was Jawaharlal Nehru who introduced the first amendment regarding OBCs?

Karan Thapar: Yes, and I am talking about Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961, when clearly he had changed his position, he said, “I dislike any kind of reservations”.

Arjun Singh: I don't think one could take Panditji's position at any point of time and then overlook what he had himself initiated.

Karan Thapar: Am I then to understand that regardless of the case that is made against reservations in terms of need, regardless of the case that has been made against reservations in terms of efficacy, regardless of the case that has been made against reservations in terms of Jawaharlal Nehru, you remain committed to extending reservations to the OBCs.

Arjun Singh: I said because that is the will of Parliament. And I think that common decisions that are taken by Parliament have to be honoured.

Karan Thapar: Let me ask you a few basic questions. If reservations are going to happen for the OBCs in higher education, what percentage of reservations are we talking about?

Arjun Singh: No, that I can't say because that has yet to be decided.

Karan Thapar: Could it be less than 27 per cent?

Arjun Singh: I can't say anything on that, I have told you in the very beginning that at this point of time it is not possible for me to.

Karan Thapar: Quite right. If you can't say, then that also means that the figure has not been decided.

Arjun Singh: The figure will be decided, it has not been decided yet.

Karan Thapar: The figure has not been decided. So, therefore the figure could be 27, but it could be less than 27, too?

Arjun Singh: I don't want to speculate on that because as I said, that is a decision which will be taken by Parliament.

Karan Thapar: Whatever the figure, one thing is certain that when the reservations for OBCs happen, the total quantum of reservations will go up in percentage terms. Will you compensate by increasing the total number of seats in colleges, universities, IITs and IIMs so that the other students don't feel deprived.

Arjun Singh: That is one of the suggestions that has been made and is being seriously considered.

Karan Thapar: Does it find favour with you as a Minister for Human Resource Development?

Arjun Singh: Whatever suggestion comes, we are committed to examine it.

Karan Thapar: You may be committed to examine it, but do you as minister believe that that is the right way forward?

Arjun Singh: That could be one of the ways, but not the only way.

Karan Thapar: What are the other ways?

Arjun Singh: I don't know. That is for the Prime Minister and the other ministers to decide.

Karan Thapar: One way forward would be to increase the total number of seats.

Arjun Singh: Yes, definitely.

Karan Thapar: But the problem is that, as the Times of India points out, we are talking of an increase of perhaps as much as 53 per cent. Given the constraints you have in terms of faculty and infrastructure, won't that order of increase dilute the quality of education?

Arjun Singh: I would only make one humble request, don't go by The Times of India and The Hindustan Times about faculty and infrastructure, because they are trying to focus on an argument which they have made.

Karan Thapar: All right, I will not go by The Times of India, let me instead go by Sukhdev Thorat, the Chairman of the UGC. He points out that today, at higher education levels - that is all universities, IITs and IIMs - there is already a 1.2 lakh vacancy number. Forty per cent of these are in teaching staff, which the IIT faculty themselves point out that they have shortages of up to 30 per cent. Given those two constraint, can you increase the number of seats?

Arjun Singh: That can be addressed and that shortage can be taken care of.

Karan Thapar: But it can't be taken care of in one swoop, it will take several years to do it.

Arjun Singh: I don't know whether it can be taken care of straightway or in stages, that is a subject to be decided.

Karan Thapar: Let me ask you bluntly, if you were to agree to compensate for reservations for OBCs by increasing the number of seats, would that increase happen at one go, or would it be staggered over a period of two-three or four year old process.

Arjun Singh: As I told you, it is an issue that I cannot comment upon at this moment because that is under examination.

Karan Thapar: So, it may happen in one go and it may happen in a series of several years.

Arjun Singh: I can't speculate on that because that is not something on which I am free to speak on today.

Karan Thapar: Will the reservation for OBCs, whatever figure your Committee decides on, will it happen in one go, or will it slowly be introduced in stages?

Arjun Singh: That also I cannot say because, as I told you, all these issues are under consideration.

Karan Thapar: Which means that everything that is of germane interest to the people concerned is at the moment 'under consideration' and the government is not able to give any satisfaction to the students who are deeply concerned.

Arjun Singh: That is not the point. The government knows what to do and it will do what is needed.

Karan Thapar: But if the government knows what to do, why won't you tell me what the government wants to do?

Arjun Singh: Because unless the decision is taken, I cannot tell you.

Karan Thapar: But you can share with me as the minister what you are thinking.

Arjun Singh: No.

Karan Thapar: So, in other words, we are manitaining a veil of secrecy and the very people who are concerned...

Arjun Singh: I am not maintaining a veil of secrecy. I am only telling you what propriety allows me to tell you.

Karan Thapar: Propriety does not allow you to share with the people who are protesting on the streets what you are thinking of?

Arjun Singh: I don't think that that can happen all the time.

Karan Thapar: But there are people who feel that their lives and their futures are at stake and they are undertaking fasts until death.

Arjun Singh: It is being hyped up, I don't want to go into that.

Karan Thapar: Do you have no sympathy for them?

Arjun Singh: I have every sympathy.

Karan Thapar: But you say it is being hyped up.

Arjun Singh: Yes, it is hyped up.

Karan Thapar: So, then, what sympathy are you showing?

Arjun Singh: I am showing sympathy to them and not to those who are hyping it up.

Karan Thapar: The CPM says that if the reservations for the OBCs are to happen, then what is called the ‘creamy layer’ should be excluded. How do you react to that?

Arjun Singh: The ‘creamy layer’ issue has already been taken care of by the Supreme Court.

Karan Thapar: That was vis-a-vis jobs in employment, what about at the university level, should they be excluded there as well because you are suggesting that the answer is yes?

Arjun Singh: That could be possible.

Karan Thapar: It could be possible that the ‘creamy layer’ is excluded from reservations for OBCs in higher education?

Arjun Singh: It could be, but I don't know whether it would happen actually.

Karan Thapar: Many people say that if reservations for OBCs in higher education happen, then the children of beneficiaries should not be entitled to claim the same benefit.

Arjun Singh: Why?

Karan Thapar: So that there is always a shrinking base and the rate doesn't proliferate.

Arjun Singh: I don't think that that is a very logical way of looking at it.

Karan Thapar: Is that not acceptable to you?

Arjun Singh: No, it is not the logical way of looking at it.

Karan Thapar: So, with the possible exception of the creamy layer exclusion, reservation for OBCs in higher education will be almost identical to the existing reservations for SC/STs?

Arjun Singh: Except for the percentage.

Karan Thapar: Except for the percentage.

Arjun Singh: Yes.

Karan Thapar: So, in every other way, they will be identical.

Arjun Singh: Yes, in every other way.

Karan Thapar: Mr Arjun Singh, on the 5th of April when you first indicated that the Government was considering reservation for OBCs in higher education, was the Prime Minister in agreement that this was the right thing to do?

Arjun Singh: I think, there is a very motivated propaganda on this issue. Providing reservation to OBCs was in the public domain right from December 2005, when Parliament passed the enabling resolution.

Karan Thapar: Quite true. But had the Prime Minister specifically agreed on or before 5th of April to the idea?

Arjun Singh: Well, I am telling you it was already there. A whole Act was made, the Constitution was amended and the Prime Minister was fully aware of what this is going to mean. Actually, he had a meeting in which OBC leaders were called to convince them that this would give them the desired advantage. And they should, therefore, support this resolution. And at that meeting, he himself talked to them. Now, how do you say that he was unaware?

Karan Thapar: But were you at all aware that the Prime Minister might be in agreement with what was about to happen but might not wish it disclosed publicly at that point of time? Were you aware of that?

Arjun Singh: It was already there in public domain, that's what I am trying to tell you.

Karan Thapar: Then answer this to me. Why are members of the PMO telling journalists that Prime Minister was not consulted and that you jumped the gun?

Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know which member of the PMO you are talking about unless you name him.

Karan Thapar: Is there a conspiracy to make you the Fall Guy?

Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know whether there is one or there is not. But Fall Guys are not made in this way. And I am only doing what was manifestly clear to every one, was cleared by the party and the Prime Minister. There is no question of any personal agenda.

Karan Thapar: They say that, in fact, you brought up this issue to embarrass the Prime Minister.

Arjun Singh: Why should I embarrass the Prime Minister? I am with him. I am part of his team.

Karan Thapar: They say that you have a lingering, forgive the word, jealousy because Sonia Gandhi chose Manmohan Singh and not you as Prime Minister.

Arjun Singh: Well, that is canard which is below contempt. Only that person can say this who doesn't know what kind of respect and regard I hold for Sonia Gandhi. She is the leader. Whatever she decides is acceptable to me.

Karan Thapar: They also say that you brought this issue up because you felt that the Prime Minister had been eating into your portfolio. Part of it had gone to Renuka Chaudhury and, in fact, your new deputy minister Purandar Sridevi had taken over certain parts. This was your way of getting back.

Arjun Singh: No one was taking over any part. This is a decision which the Prime Minister makes as to who has to have what portfolio. And he asked Mrs Renuka Devi to take it and he cleared it with me first.

Karan Thapar: So there is no animus on your part?

Arjun Singh: Absolutely not.

Karan Thapar: They say that you did this because you resented the Prime Minister's popular image in the country, that this was your way of embroiling him in a dispute that will make him look not like a modern reformer but like an old-fashioned, family-hold politician instead.

Arjun Singh: Well, the Tammany Hall political stage is over. He is our Prime Minister and every decision he has taken is in the full consent with his Cabinet and I don't think there can be any blame on him.

Karan Thapar: One, then, last quick question. Do you think this is an issue, which is a sensitive issue, where everyone knew there would have been passions and emotions that would have been aroused has been handled as effectively as it should have been?

Arjun Singh: Well, I have not done anything on it. I have not, sort of what you call, jumped the gun. If this is an issue, which is sensitive, everyone has to treat it that way.

Karan Thapar: But your conscience as HRD Minister is clear?

Arjun Singh: Absolutely clear.

Karan Thapar: There is nothing that you could have done to make it easier for the young students?

Arjun Singh: Well, I am prepared to do anything that can be done. And it is being attempted.

Karan Thapar: For seven weeks, they have been protesting in the hot sun. No minister has gone there to appease them, to allay their concerns, to express sympathy for them. Have politicians let the young people of India down?

Arjun Singh: Well, I myself called them. They all came in this very room.

Karan Thapar: But you are the only one.

Arjun Singh: You are accusing me only. No one else is being accused.

Karan Thapar: What about the Government of India? Has the Government of India failed to respond adequately?

Arjun Singh: From the Government of India also, the Defence Minister met them.

Karan Thapar: Only recently.

Arjun Singh: That is something because everyone was busy with the elections.

Karan Thapar: For seven weeks no one met them.

Arjun Singh: No, but we are very concerned. Certainly, all of us resent the kind of force that was used. I condemned it the very first day it happened.

Karan Thapar: All right, Mr Arjun Singh. We have reached the end of this interview. Thank you very much for speaking on the subject.

Communication...

2006-05-26T19:42:00.000+05:30

"Communication is the art of being constantly corrected"

This was a comment from a speaker in my induction program (three months after Me joined this company).

Donno, for some reason, there is a thread of thoughts that has since been running real wild on my mind regarding this...

Did Me ever use communication to correct myself?? If Me had 'communicate'd better - say my communication was not necessarily sufficient or right - would Me not have lost a few people that Me misses so much in my life today?? Would my life have been a lot better than what I could have been now?? Has Me ever communicated this way with myself??

Phew!! The questions keep coming.

Me.

Dostet Darum

2006-05-22T08:47:00.000+05:30

'Dostet Darum' - I love you. In Afghani. Source: The Kite Runner - by Khaled Hosseini

Me.

Trip To Coimbatore

2006-05-19T07:45:00.000+05:30

Harsha's Marriage. No way Me could've missed it. One never misses the big events in their friends' lives - especially of those who've been pretty close to them at a certain point in one's life. That's an unwritten rule of life. :-)

Started off late night on Tuesday - 16th of May. We had to catch a train to Coimbatore at 11:00 PM. Lucky Me, the rain that was threatening to douse me up by the time Me reaches the station had stopped just for a good while - good enuf for me to reach the station. Met Subbu and Uday, two other ex-colleagues back at my previous organization. Subbu left that organization soon after Me left, but Uddi - as we call Uday - is still there. And obviously, the discussion had to start with "What the hell are you still doing at that place man?? When do you get out??". Well, a wonderful way to get into a jovial babble-wabble banter that stuck on to the most part of the journey.

Reached Coimbatore around 7:30 in the morning. Santa (now, thats what we address Santhanalakshmi Sankarakrishnan as - always wondered why her mom never reprimanded us for such a nickname) receieved us at the station. An elaborate arrangement was made for our stay and commute around the city and along with many other things, she supervised these as well. And must admit, that was a wonderful way of handling things. Our accommodation was at PSG Tech Guest House, and was fabulous at the least. Located amidst the lush green vast campus, this was supposed to be an international guest house - which means we had our rooms fitted with A/C, a 24 hour running hot water (not the kid-running-with-a-pail-of-hot-water kind that's shown up in the SBI credit card ads these days ;-) ) at our disposal. Btw, 17th was supposed to be the day of engagement and reception, and 18th the D-day ;-).

Went to the mantap and had the first glimpse of the bride - in a dazzling blue saree - one could spot the bride among a big crowd as well. A word about the mantap - Muthu had informed us that this mantap was the most famous one there - all the bigshot's and the wealthy's marriages happen there - No wonder Harsha's marriage had to be there. Met aunty and uncle, had a good breakfast, before we headed off to the city - to do some 'essential' shopping and to receive Gayathri, who was arriving around noon. Went around 'Gandhipuram' (wonder if there's any city/ town which did not have atleast one area/ road named after The Mahatma) and 'Crosscut road'. Did try to figure out which cut was this road crossing, but gave up soon.

Received Gayathri at the railway station, but not before the cop their asked us what the purpose of our existence was atleast twice. Was sure he had a rough morning with his wife back at home. But actually realized that this was a mandatory item in a cop's training when we encountered a similar experience the next day. Was meeting Gayathri after a long time - she was the same bubbly and energetic self - the one that Me'd admired since the day Me met her. Subbu received a call that we had to be at the mantap in time for the engagement, so we dashed off in an auto.

The engagement and the reception went on very well and were grand in every centimeter and inch of it. The couple were dressed very well for the occasion. Though Me had a feeling Harsha looked much better without the makeup on her. Had a wonderful time - got to know quite a few of Harsha's friends, few that I met straight, few that I heard from Subbu. Surprisingly, Subbu, actually turned out to be a very important person out there - very close to both the bride and groom, knowing their families and was the person that either parties looked out for help. Had met a bunch of Ranjit's (the groom) colleagues, almost all of who happen to be the part of the same organization that Me was earlier. Had met this classmate of theirs too, who was hell bent upon making me say that Chennai is a good place. Phew! Had a sumptuous dinner, before we headed back to the guest house. Gayathri left for Bangalore, she was not going to be there for the wedding.

The next day, we had to rise (and shine) by 8:00 in the morning, just in time for the wedding to begin. The wedding was a good long affair, with the priest meticulously performing every little bit that was needed. The couple were concentrating so much on the proceedings, that Me really had a tough time snapping them smile. The smiles actually flowed in when the final knots were tied and the couple were officially a couple now. Typically, a wedding is performed with three knots - this one had six. The couple afterall, was a very special one. :-) The celebrations were complete in every element - the way the couple's friends celebrated their wedding, their relatives blessed the couple and the way the couple enjoyed it too. Remarkable was the way the relatives blessed the couple - the couple would be squatting, the relatives standing a little away from the couple in a big arc, and then showering upon them, akshinthalu and their blessings. Was a good sight to watch.

The surprise element was the arrival of Meeta and Ram, just before the proceedings were being wrapped and the lunch was about to be served. Meeta almost landed straight from her trip back from US, and Ram had arrived after a tiring trip in train. Had a good time catching up with them. They left very soon, they had to catch their respective transports back.

We were invited to Harsha's house - for dinner - before we headed back to B'lore. Now, 'house' was what Harsha's mom called it - but my definition of house didn't suit it anywhere. Probably the word 'Mansion' would come close. A very huge, well planned and architected, wonderfully decorated, with ammazing interiors - their 'house' was just awesome. The terrace, the good cool breeze, the visit will be etched for long in my memory.

That way, Coimbatore, must admit - is a wonderful place. For the hospitality we got, the climate it had, the campus that PSG was, its been a very good experience.

After a good dinner and a good chat with the couple, Harsha's family, we started back to Bangalore. Ofcourse, with a lot of good memories in mind, and a heart full of good wishes for the couple's future.

Me.

Rain rain come again!

2006-05-11T21:15:00.000+05:30

Today. Actually tonite. Whatever. 8:30 PM. Was in an auto on my way back to office, after seeing a friend off at Majestic. The evening's rain subsided to a slight drizzle and there was some wierd pleasantness to the smell from the dampness around. Felt a sudden urge to get completely wet, jump around, tear my voice into a loud scream, kick and splash the water in small puddles around on the road. Its a wonderful feeling to get wet in the rain - done it a bunch of times - get onto the terrace of our flat and get completely wet for the heck of it, go on a long lonely and slow drive on the deserted roads with a slow humm of my fav songs - there's some earthly pleasure to this stuff.

Had to get off at St. Marks Road, but asked the autowala drop me at M. G. Road. The road looked beautiful - empty roads and the road lighting. Add to it, the slight drizzle. Couldn't have got any better. Started walking - right in the middle of the road - with a sense of all freedom. "I stop and stare at you..." - Petre Andre became a very good company. Could feel those drops of water from my head trickle down my nose and eyes and Me was in no mood to wipe 'em off. The feeling of a cool head and a wet head was ammazing. Have a bad cold from the past few days, but it really didn't matter. There were mulitple threads running in my mind in any and every domain, and Me didn't do a single effort to rein them up. There was no point. The sheer pleasure of letting your senses go free was just awesome!!

Am sure, this walk would count as one of the best walks of my life so far.

Now, the real dampener - reached the parking lot at my office and realized that Me had lost the key to my petrol lock on my bike. Called my friend up and said Me would need a lift on his way home. He said fine.

Now, the icing on the cake - he asked me to meet him up at Corner House on residency road. "Tu hi meri shab hai, subah hai..." - Me can feel thyself break out into yet another pleasure filled walk...

Quotes on Love - 14 and 15

2006-05-10T17:24:00.000+05:30

14. "Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away." - Dorothy Parker

15. "Love is like sand in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it darts away. Clutch it, and it still darts away." - Me.

My Fav Songs - 3. I Swear

2006-05-10T12:04:00.000+05:30

(One helluva song this one is. Lyrics - Me loves 'em)

I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky
and I swear like the shadow that's by your side

I see the questions in your eyes
I know what's weighing on your mind
You can be sure I know my part
Cause I stand beside you through the years
You'll only cry those happy tears
And though I make mistakesI'll never break your heart

I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky I'll be there
I swear like the shadow that's by your side I'll be there
For better or worse
Till death do us part
I'll love you with every beat of my heart
And I swear

I'll give you every thing I can
I'll build your dreams with these two hands
We'll hang some memories on the wall
And when (and when) just the two of us are there
You won't have to ask if I still care
Cause as the time turns the page
My love won't age at all

And I swear (I swear) by the moon and the stars in the sky I'll be there (I'll be there)
I swear (and I swear) like the shadow that's by your side
I'll be there (I'll be there)

For better or worse Till death do us part
I'll love you with every beat of my heart
And I swear

And I swear (I swear) by the moon
And the stars in the sky I'll be there (I'll be there)
I swear (and I swear) like the shadow that's by your side
I'll be there (I'll be there)

For better or worse (better or worse)
Till death do us part I'll love you
With every single beat of my heart
I swear I swear I swear

Chaand Sifarish...

2006-05-10T09:10:00.000+05:30

"...Chaand sifarish jo karta hamari deta woh tumko bata
Sharm-o-haya pe parde gira ke karni hain hamko khata
Zidd hain ab toh hain khud ko mitana hona hain tujhmein fanaa..."

So goes the title song of Fanaa. The songs starts off on a wonderful tone - the rendering of "Subhanallaah" is ammazing. The lyrics are too good. But then the dampener is the tune of "Yaara Yaara mein tho phisal gaya re, yaara yaara hadh se guzar gaya re...". Wonder how Jatin Lalit could even think of including that in the song. And more when the production is from a big banner like Yash Chopra.

There is one complete song which is a straight away rendition of the "Yaara Yaara.." song. Why was that required.

A little disappointed,
Me.

Bhanu Pelli

2006-05-10T08:38:00.000+05:30

The last weekend was quite eventful. Had been to Nellore for Bhanu's wedding. Bhanu has been among the best of my friends for the past 11 plus years. We've had wonderful times together during our college. One handsome, jovial and a friend so close that he was, there was no way Me was going to miss his marriage.

The bride, Sushma, hails from the same place as Bhanu - Nellore, the venue for the occasion. Three of our friends - Sudarshan, Sai and Me started for Nellore on Saturday noon by a bus. Long time since Me had actually met them, it was fun catching up with both Sudarshan and Sai.

Bhanu's wedding was in the early hours of Sunday and reception in the evening. The temperatures and the humidity soaring, we decided to spend the rest of the day in some theatre - watching a movie and more staying cool in A/C ;-). Plans were laid out for a marathon movie session - latenight on saturday, morning and noon shows on Sunday. However, the latenight movie on Saturday took a setback since we landed in Nellore only at 10:30 - 2 hourse behind schedule - due to some technical snag in the bus. Nevertheless, we had a good time - met the other folks who reached there - Subhakar, Vamshi and Vara. Chatted for a long time, catching up with each other's lives. we could've stayed longer, but had to hit the beds at an hour past midnight, since we had to wake up very early to be in time for the wedding.

Woke up at 3:15, got ready and started waking up the rest. Subhakar got ready soon and we reached the mantap at around 4:00 - about 15-20 minutes before either the groom/ bride arrived. Was actually good - we could snap away a lot of pics - and we could take some good ones when the couple arrived. Subhakar gave a sample of his directorial skills - how Me should shoot some snaps. Me obeyed, and lo! - those snaps are probably the best in the entire collection of photos Me has for the occasion.

The couple looked terrific. Both dazzled in their traditional wear. The best part - they seemed to have enjoyed every moment of the otherwise tedious rituals. Was fun to watch the couple steal glances at each other and even a few words. It was good to watch the happiness written all over them once the nuptial knot was tied. The gathering blessed the couple, us friends wished 'em and we headed for our breakfast - the most elaborate breakfast Me has seen in all the marriages Me's attended till date. Had a sumptous breakfast and headed to the hotel. On our way, gathered that Subhakar's interview and a review of his movie "Me, Meera" came in the recent telugu edition of India Today. He's going places, and we wish he does really good for himself!

Caught up with a movie - Sri Ramadasu - morning show before we headed back to hotel. A good movie that was. Bhanu dropped in at the hotel to spend some time with us. Had a nice time chatting up and teasing each other. We were having our lunch together before Bhanu headed for home - he had to be there before Mr. Rahu entered his :-). We went back after a good lunch and rested for a while before heading for the reception.

The reception was as elaborate as the wedding. The couple - after all it was their day - were at their dazzling best!. After the mandatory photo shoot sessions, had a wonderful dinner, we started off to Bangalore - with lots of good memories of the couple and their marriage.

Here's wishing the couple a very happy married life. May life have the best in store for them!

Me.

p.s.:- While Me was snapping away a few shots of the couple while they performed the Arundhati pooja - Bhanu was showing the bride where the star was and later he turns to me and says - "Chukkalu kanapaddayi mama!" - a typical witty dialogue that is very characteristic of Bhanu.

Minus Times Minus??

2006-05-10T06:30:00.000+05:30

During one of my trips back home, the neighbour's kid - about 12 years old - came asked me a few questions, while he was playing at our place.

Boy: What is 'b-u-t'?
Me: 'But'
Boy: What is 'c-u-t'?
Me: 'Cut'
Boy: What is 'p-u-t'?
Me: 'Put'
Boy: How?? When 'b-u-t' is 'but and 'c-u-t' is 'cut', why is 'p-u-t' not 'put' and only 'put'??

At this point, Me could see that impish happiness on his face - the ones that cries out "Gotcha!!". Me laughed out - so did my mom and dad - and began to answer. As Me told him that it all depended on the origin of alphabets and the grammer within the parent language, Me noticed that happiness fading off from his face - as if Me was taking all the fun off him.

So Me chided him with another question - a question that has been one of my favorites since Me came across it, one of the questions Me has loved asking ppl why it is so. So this is how Me asked:

Me: What is 2 X 3?
Boy: 6.
Me: Good. How??
Boy: What??
Me: How is 2 X 3 6??
Boy: What you don't know multiplication aa??
Me: I know. But you tell me. How is 2 X 3 6??
Boy: (After a small thot) 2 + 2 + 2.
Me: Great. What is (-2) X 3??
Boy: -6.
Me: How?
Boy: (-2) + (-2) + (-2).
Me: Ammazing. Now, what is (-2) X (-3)?
Boy: +6.
Me: How?
Boy: Because 2 X 3 is 6 and - X - is +.
Me: Exactly. So how is - X -, a +??
Boy: That's a rule...
...
...
...

Recollected this incident, when Me bumped into this question during a discussion with a friend. The question is a little intriguing that way. When you can't prove munus times minus a plus, you will not be able to establish the concept of squares and square roots. The Pythagoras Theorem will probably get halved. Differentiations might not be as powerful, and Integrations may disintegrate. Well, after all, the question is the very basis of the world of mathematics that we live in. And as dad once remarked - "there's got to be a proof for everything in the world of mathematics - even your sneeze or cough", this ought to have some proof. And a very good one at that.

Came across this question and the discussion above for the first time, when Me was watching UGC programs on the good old Doordarshan in one of my summer vacations, back when Me was in high school. Needless to say, have watched that series everyday of my summer vacation there after.

The answer to this, however, is far more simpler than one could imagine it to be. Interesting to note was the fact that there are this can be proved in multiple ways. The program spoke about atleast 5 different ways of proving that minus times minus is a plus. Using real life analogies, using transformations on a Cartesian co-ordinate system, using simple multiplications and arithmetic progressions etc... Two of those which stuck with me are here:

Proof 1: (One that Me liked the most!)

(+A) + (-A) = 0. ------------ (a)

One can always prove every element of this statement. Positive and Negative numbers, and how this law came into existence.

Now, multiply both sides by a number, say (-B). That would be:
(-B)(+A) + (-B)(-A) = (-B).0
(-B)(+A) + (-B)(-A) = 0. Therefore

(-B)(-A) = -(-B)(+A) = -(-BA). ------- (b).

Now, in similar lines of A, considering -BA as one entity we can also say:
(+BA) + (-BA) = 0.

From above, -(-BA) = (+BA) --------- (c).

Its easy to infer from (b) and (c) that (-B)(-A) = (BA). Now, B and A are fictitious numbers, and hence we can generalize that minus times minus is a plus.

Proof 2: (This one, as one can see, is a pretty simple and intuitive way of proving the same. But somehow, Me feels its not as strong as the first one!)

(-2) X (3) = (-6)
(-2) X (2) = (-4)
(-2) X (1) = (-2)
(-2) X (0) = 0

Each of the above statements can be proved by the very definition of multiplication - that a X b is a added b times to 0.

Now, if we observe closely, there is a pattern - three arithmetic progressions in the columns with common difference 0, -1 and +2 respectively. One can extra polate the same progressions and arrive at:

(-2) X (-1) = +2!!!

Now, ain't that simple??

The program ended up with a good note - that nothing - no statement/ postulate/ theorem should be taken for granted in Mathematics - that everything should and must have a proof. That every statement needs to be questioned if one's knowledge of the field has to be complete. Or anywhere close to being called so.

A few weeks later, the neigbour's kid came back to me and said that he had asked his teacher the same question - how is minus into minus a plus? And the teacher replied - "Why don't you go do your problems that I gave for an assignment?? Why do you keep asking such stupid questions?"

Who and What is stupid is, well, anyone's guess!

(With a halo behind my head),
Me.

p.s.:- UGC programs, Me gathers that are being broadcasted on a separate DD channel these days and they deal with a lot more complex and complicated matters as well. Though Me doesn't follow them (actually, haven't watched the channel myself yet!), am sure there would be a hell a lot of information that is being shared there. Now compare that, with any - ANY - other channel out there. Doesn't Me love DD??

Tu hi meri shab hai...

2006-05-02T16:54:00.000+05:30

"Tu hi Meri Shab hai, Subah hai, tu hi din hai mera...
tu hi mera rab hai jahaan hai tu hi meri duniya"

KK at his best once again. Pritam's music is fabulous. The movie's called Gangster starring Emran Hashmi. And Me has no plans of watching it. ;-)

But yes, Pritam's music is ammazing. Am going to buy the album soon.

Me.

Quotes on Love - 12 and 13

2006-05-02T16:26:00.000+05:30

12. "To give and not expect return, that is what lies at the heart of love." - Oscar Wilde
13. "The love we give away is the only love we keep." - Elbert Hubbard

Me.

Quotes on Love - 11

2006-05-02T16:18:00.000+05:30

11. "I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love." - Mother Theresa.

Now thaat is a very good one.

Me.

HOMGKGWAGAL

2006-05-02T11:12:00.000+05:30

Completed reading Opal y'day. Must say, a wonderful piece of work.

Loved the piece when Kali, Opal's cousin, quizzes her to see if Opal would be 'happy' being at Harvard. Isn't it how it is?? Me means, what good use is it to work on something that you don't enjoy??

And then the description of Harvard and the life in there - that is a damn fresh perspective. Me always imagined Harvardians to be a bunch of scholarly looking, shabbily dressed, spectacled, white haired geeks, who probably never knew that life existed outside books and research. That the institution emphasises on a 'complete person' rather than automatons - well, my respect for that institution only grew.

A wonderful experience of reading thru the book. Btw, did anyone talk about copying and stuff?? Me asks so what?? Isn't the end product good??

Me.

Some more...

2006-04-29T11:18:00.000+05:30

... To continue with my earlier post. Some aspects of my blog have been sheer influences of some instances that Me loved in a few other blogs. The introduction on my profile is definitely influenced by that of Sidin. Some series - Quotes on Love and My Fav Songs - are actually derived from similar ones on Praveen's blog.

And that's just 'cause those are ones that Me frequents a lot, obviously, 'cause Me likes 'em.

Btw, just in case my writing reminds you of someone else's, lemme tell you. It could be sheer coincidence.

Feeling an air of a great writer,
Me.

How Me bought HOMGKGWAGAL...

2006-04-29T10:17:00.000+05:30

Was driving back home y'day night from work, when Me suddenly felt the urge to get into Crossword Bookstores. Just donno why. And good sweetheart that my mind is, Me got in.

Result - a half an hour of shopping - some 1800 bucks (Dad always stressed that amount you spend on books is never termed expenditure... Me added music to the list later on. And yes, I love my dad for that. He never went back on buying me any book - however costly it was. That reminds me. I owe my blog a post on my dad.). Rang De Basanthi - DVD and CD, picked Jane Austen's all time classics - both Pride And Prejudice and Sense And Sensibility - To kill a mockingbird. An instrumental CD of Ilayaraja classics. (Me realised after getting back home that Sense And Sensibility is an 'edited' version. :-( Hope that's the last and the latest best one, but Me would have loved to have an absolute original version... Got to keep looking out.)

Was walking back to the counter, a friend called. She was probably in a cab, couldn't hear a damn thing. Later, she sms'ed me to pick up The Kite Runner. One more into that lovely classy crossword basket. Somehow, get a strange pleasure catching it up and shopping around in that place. Lying beside The Kite Runner was the novel 'How Opal Mehta got kissed, got wild and got a life' - by Kaavya Vishwanathan. It, too landed in my basket. Just don't ask me why. It was the same damn impulse that drove me, err... made me drive, into the bookstore.

Now haven't been following the happenings on the book and its author lately. But in the last couple of days, gathered that she is actually a Harvard sophomore, and is under huge criticism from the world for having "copied" from that of Megan McCafferty's work, apparently one of her fav authors. She admitted that its a mistake and it might have happened since she has a pictorial memory. Yet, there are news that the book might be pulled off the shelves, and she might be asked to leave Harvard.

Now this Me feels is unfair. Okay, Me accepts all the notion of copyright and right to ownership stuff. That the creator should actually be rewarded for every little use his creative work is put to is un-deniable.

But just for a thought, how many of us weren't actually impressed by certain creative characters, so much to an extent that we start displaying our liking towards those creative pieces of work?? How many of us really pay royalty to say Valmiki or Maharshi Vyaasa for having used their works in every possible walk of life, right from child hood to watching them turn into serials on TV?? How many of us have used the dialogues from various movies at different instances without paying them any royalty?? To woo girlfriends, to impress friends, to gain points with bosses?? To print them on T-shirts or to write them on their own blogs?? How many of us use the taglines of many ads in different contexts and pay them royalty??

Me feels there are two ways of copying creative work.

One, definitely is to draw some financial gain out of copying. Piracy is an example.

Two, out of sheer love and attachment to the creative work. Me's sure that Me can recite the best known dialogue of 'When Harry Mets Sally' even when Me hasn't watched that movie for ages now. "What is real? How do you define real? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain." So goes a dialogue in The Matrix. Me doesn't have to look up web for the script of the dialogue. The movie's got many of them like this one that just caught up with Me. Have seen a bunch of my friends put up Calvin And Hobbes in their cubes, on their T-Shirts. Have seen folks in my dad's generation belt out Sholay's dialogues even to date. Its just how much we love that creative work.

Now, should it be called copying just 'cause they've been using it out of sheer love towards that work?? Even when its done without an intent as the word "copying" portrays?

And ok, one could always copy, get some financial gain and then claim it to be sheer love. IMHO, don't think HOMGKGWAGAL is not one of those kind. Don't think Kaavya would have copied passages out of books just to make her book successful. If the plot of the book is good, then am sure it would be a hit even if those passages were written any differently.

Cut to the present. Me just started reading HOMGKGWAGAL. Just a chapter plus thru. So far so good. Hope it continues that way...

Me.

An evening of celebration

2006-04-27T22:26:00.000+05:30

Today, we had a celebration at work - my first one after joining this company. Must say a pretty well organized one, considering the fact that there were about a hundred people in all.

DumbCharades, Anthakshari, Collage, Solo Song events - that formed the broad agenda. Solo Song Events was probably the best of all. From my close associates, Prasad and Raghav performed. And wattta performance it was.

Prasad sang "Biti na Bitayi Raina" - originally rendered soulfully by Lata in Parichay - and he sang it so well, it just stuck on to me. Me has been mumbling/ singing that song ever since Me's heard it. Raghav sang "Mere Naina Saawan Bhadon" and he was at his best too. But must mention that the icing on the cake was "Phoolon Ke Rang Se" by another colleague - he sang it very well - with the orchestra in the background. Was listening to that song after donno how long. It used to be my fav back in college till recently when Me lost track of it. Was almost on a high on listening to the song.

In all, an evening very well spent. Especially the company - we had a lot of fun.

Me.

A good morning!

2006-04-27T10:40:00.000+05:30

A cold water shower. Dim lights, Robert Miles' Dreamland on a low tune. Comfort of the bean bag. Closed Eyes. A good chat with parents. Catch up with old friends. A good dinner and a good night's sleep.

My flatmate asks "Wassup?". Me looks up at the ceiling.

Me knows Me's back to normal. :-)

Me.

p.s:- Just a wonderful co-incidence. Celine Dion's "A new day has come" plays my music system.

Random rumblings

2006-04-26T19:12:00.000+05:30

Few are the days when Me rides an emotional wave as Me did today. Never understood as to what is it in me that makes me so vulnerable; more - makes it so tough for me to handle such situations. Had discussed with a few friends of mine to see if Me could get some help in figuring out a way out of these, but only in vain.

And offlate, things seem to be getting worse. Especially today. Me feels like digging myself into some borough and hiding there till things get any better. Dad often remarks that Me has grown up, but somewhere down the years, have probably bunked those classes of life that will teach one to become strong. Never understood what he meant when he said that. These days, Me began to realize what he might have meant.

Got to do something. Something, that too, real fast before Me loses myself. Me has been on a downhill for sometime now and have a gut feeling that it wouldn't be too long before Me heads for an abyss. Remember Dad mentioning about getting into a prayer - reading The Gita or some spiritual bhajans that would make me focus on The Almighty for sometime atleast. Should try that. Probably it'll help.

As of now, praying that He helps Me find a way out of the mess Me is in.