Life

Blue ...

2011-11-20T15:38:00.000+05:30

You are walking through the street in the wee hours of the morning. It has rained somewhere in the middle of the night. A gentle breeze shakes the raindrops from the leaves of the trees lining the street. Sunlight glistens and sparkles off the wild grass. The flowers are blooming, and the birds are hopping from one branch to another. As if spoofing last night's weather, the sky is clear and cloudless. There's an energy that reverberates through the air. The milkman is all smiles, the paper arrives a wee bit earlier than usual. Your favourite song is playing on the radio, and your dog is wagging his tail at you for no reason. Its one of those mornings when you just know what to do with the rest of your day. This is how 'Blue' would smell. Like a bright morning after a late night shower....

You have taken a bite of that apple, and your teeth are crunching away, as your taste buds absorb in the juice and flavour of the apple. The cucumber vendor couldnt have ever made you any happier. Youre shopping in a busy street, and you've run out of drinking water. You buy a slice of cucumber, dressed with pepper and salt, and it quenches your thirst. You are delighted when the chef has decorated your plate of pasta with colorful slices of bell peppers. It just adds that zing of flavour to your meal. Or the juicy and succulent beans palya that mum made for dinner that just completes your meal of rice and rasam. Thats how 'Blue' would taste. Like a raw fruit or semi cooked vegetable. Crunchy, succulent, juicy and fresh !

The soundtrack with only instruments playing in them. The air in your office is stuffy and you feel claustrophobic in your cubicle. You want to get out for a stroll. But the deadlines are stalking you, and you cannot afford to take a break. You reach out for your headphones, and drown yourself in that track with just plain music. Music with no lyrics. So you can make the music say whatever you want to hear. The piano might encourage you, or the Veena will put a rhythm in your fingers as you type commands in that black screen. A soundtrack that says, I love you. Or one that say, its okay, i'm here allright. The track that makes you run up and hug a loved one. Or one that makes you jump up in joy. The one that makes you smile at the next person you meet. A soundtrack that takes you away and gets you where you imagined yourself to be right now. Thats how 'Blue' would sound like. A piece of music with no lyrics, yet, with more meaning than words could hold......

You're bidding goodbye, and you want to thank your aunt. There are few emotions that words can convey, and yet some gestures speak out louder than words. Overwhelmed with gratitude, you give her a hug ! You've met your childhood pal, and you're bidding her goodbye. She's sceptical about where she's going to, and you dont know when you'll see her next. And you give her a tight squeeze in the parking lot. You woken up in the middle of the night, terrified by a nightmare. Your mum reassures you that there are no boogies under the bed. And she hugs you, saying everything's okay. You're waving goodbye at the station, and you wont be seeing him for sometime. You cant do much to display your love and affection here, and you can only garner as much of "I'm gonna miss you. Take care " in a hug. Thats how 'Blue' would feel. Like a warm reassuring hug ....

Cat fight.

2011-10-08T21:16:00.000+05:30

The two of them are sitting peacefully. To a passerby, they seem to be at peace with the world. The fat one is engrossed in self-grooming, while the other one, who has a slender body, is trying to catch a nap.

And then, an unexpected fold of events unfolds before your eyes.

Fat one starts off a threatening conversation :

" What are you looking at ? "

The slimmer one looks right and left, and realises that there was no one else to answer that question.

" You talking to me ? "

"Yes, you. No one for miles here, who'd stare at me like that "

" Why ? Whats worth looking at? Just a fat scarred face ! "

" How dare you call me ugly ? !! Take that, you scounderel "

" Oh, you got claws eh ? Guess what, i have talons instead ! "

By now, the fight's gotten pretty intense. They are clawing and gnawing at each other. Someone raises their voice to knock some sense into them , but they pay no heed to it. One of the uncles is sweating, and is fanning himself with a newspaper. Another uncle pulls out a camera and starts taking pictures. A kid asks his dad curious questions about the sounds that are coming from the roof. The dad forbids the kid from going out. People shut their windows, and some curse them. Yet they keep tearing at each other with passion. After some heated exchanges, they settle down for sometime. The neighbourhood has already started complaining. They take a break, with some heated arguements.

" Ah, scared are you ? "

" In your dreams "

A few hours later, they resume their fight in the garden. At night, they pick the backyard of a house. The owners hardly catch a wink that night. No one knows how the fight started, and no one knows how this will end. Since last evening, we have unintentionally been playing hosts to 2 of the most notorious cats in the lane.We have tried throwing water at them, and yet they dont want to halt. This post was loosely based on the assumption that i understand cat-language. Sorry if you thought this was about something else ;)

Ayudha Pooja

2011-10-06T12:58:00.000+05:30

Every year, on Ayudha pooja, we wash our vehicles and decorate them with flowers. We smear it with vermilion and turmeric ( which leave annoying stains behind ) and tie lemons to the handles. Some decorate it with balloons while some use plantain leaves too. Buses and trucks get smeared with sacred ash in a 3 line format. Within the privacy of our homes, the mums wash up the knives and sacred swords, if any. My mum even cleans up the TV, taperecorder (which is only used for the radio ), washing machine, fridge and the computer ( She exclaims how filthy the cords are, and plugs out something accidentally ).
So, it got me thinking. Its Ayudha pooja, and we render a pooja service to our vehicle, i.e , vahana. Our vahanas are not ayudha's. We dont defend ourselves against enemies, or use it for protection. Its merely our means for transportation. So why do a Ayudha pooja on the vahana? I wonder when did this tradition of worshipping your vehicles on Ayudha pooja start.
There are , a section of society, who do own ayudha's. The gundas who have their macchu, laangu etc .... So do these people do Ayudha pooja for their weapons too ? Does that mean that victims can rest in peace on the day of Ayudha pooja? Or are we at more risk of being burgled on Ayudha pooja, just because all the thugs need to use their ayudha's after the pooja ?
Evolution of our traditions and rituals has brought us to this day when i worship my taperecorder, only because on this day, centuries ago, Arjuna is fabled to have worshipped his weapons before fighting the Kauravas. Ummm... so who do i wage a war against, with the humble assistance of my taperecorder(which is mainly used as a radio) ?

Announcement !

2011-09-10T20:36:00.001+05:30

Please note that my blog-pal Iceman's blog,
http://justguru.blogspot.com/ ( INSANITY UNLIMITED ) is now
http://www.insanityunlimited.org/ ( Still called INSANITY UNLIMITED !!! )

I hope you have fun reading Iceman's blog jabber, and spread the Insanity too. !

Cheers, Iceman !

My worst week with Betaal !

2011-07-22T16:46:00.000+05:30

I (un)lovingly call my office laptop as Betaal. Its stuck on my back always, its heavy, and its a pain in the ass. Its worse than the real Betaal, because the only moral story I've learnt so far is ALWAYS TAKE A BACKUP !!!

While i was busy carrying the corpse of my laptop across different blocks of building, across different locations in Bangalore, there were other itsby bitsy things that cheered me up. Making a random list ....

* Finding a woolen cap that you wore when you were a kid, and even better, knowing it still looks cute on your head !
* Asking someone if the empty chairs are taken, only to discover that these bunch of scared looking people in neatly ironed formals are your juniors.
* Getting a direct bus home, and being home within an hour, in peak traffic time. In B'lore, that is a BIG deal !
* Pineapple passion icecream sundae ! :P
* Finding an old unused table lamp and finding it perfect for your use.
* Pasta !
* Not missing facebook. Not one bit.

I have also discovered, that the Blue Screen ( of Death ) is my worst nightmare .

Bike ride to Bannerghatta

2011-07-13T16:35:00.001+05:30

When i say bike ride, i mean bicycle ride. Montmorency had company this weekend, as we headed towards Bannerghatta National Park. A sizeable 35 kms away from my home, we headed out at 7.30 in the morning. The weather was pleasant - no showers, and the daily commuters were yet to wake up from their weekend slumber. That left the roads empty for us, and after the breakfast at India Coffee House, we started off at around 8.20 a.m with about 25kms ahead of us. Kavs had some trouble with her MTB when the road curved uphill, but despite all the hiccups , she pulled it off well. Vikas' recently punctured tyre posed some hurdles during the first half of the ride, but thanks to a patch up on the way back, things went smooth in the 2nd half. A few pictures from the bike ride.

An idle mind, is the devil's workshop.

2011-06-11T12:59:00.000+05:30

There's something about lethargy. It creeps in and infects like a disease. The epidemic starts off at your feet and hands. You refuse to use them. You're putting off getting that glass of water that your throat is craving for. It gropes about and takes control of the rest of your body.
Sometimes, as I sit idly on the sofa, I wonder if my guts have stopped digesting that dosa i gulped down an hour ago. You've seen that movie thrice, exclaims your dad, as he heads out to office. Yet, you lie there, inert, immobile, watching it all over again. A stray cat slips past the hall, using it like a bypass between the house to your left and the house to your right. The two of you carry on with your lives, pretending that the only live thing in the hall is the TV. You cant blame us, its the only one making any noises! The movie is interrupted by a commercial break. You feign interest in shampoos and aerated drinks, but the promotional campaign for the anti-aging cream that looks like an insurance ad in disguise ticks you off. You muster all your strength, pick up that remote, and switch channels. You have 'moved on', like the other ad was encouraging you to.
The music channel interests you for a while, but then you realise that these are actors, pretending to jump,sing and dance. They probably have mundane schedules, and are nothing like their on-screen selves. By this time, you've tuned back into that flick. This process repeats until the movie ends. You havent moved a muscle, and idleness seems like a personal masseur. It feels like therapy-your mind is calm and peaceful. Devoid of mental activity, you feel like your mind has been embalmed. This is when your mind is itching for some exercise. You chide yourself for indulging in a stupid activity and you head out to reform yourself. You look around, and you settle for a book, or you dig deep into the depths of the hard disk of your PC for some productive activity. An hour later, you move on to do something else.

Being engrossed, is just a cousin of lethargy.

Traditional v/s Modern

2011-06-03T22:24:00.000+05:30

A few days ago, me along with another female colleague were discussing about the idea of picking a life partner. The debate was started because of my other team mate's skepticism about the marriage process. Further into the debate, the guy passed a veiled compliment to the other lady, coupled with a beaming smile, how he liked it that she was traditional. ( No flirting involved - the lady in question was happily married and the mother of a rather nasty 3 yr old. ). I dont recollect the exact words, but the words traditional struck me. I wondered if this was because i was in jeans, and she was in salwaar kameez. We tottered back to our stuffy cubicles, while this thought triggered a question in my head. What was the difference between traditional and modern ? The first thing that hit me, was how wrongly these words are associated with attire, rather than thought.

Lets look at what the words traditional and modern mean.

Traditional, means something that is conventional, orthodox, routine. An ancient idea which is still used as a mould. If i do something that has been unquestionably followed for ages, then i'm being stereotypical.
Modern, means something that is ahead of its times. Innovative, unsual. Anything 'modern' has its seeds of origin with the 'traditional'. You cannot be modern, if you havent encountered or experienced the traditional. When you are fed up of the dull and mundane things, you look for a new course. The very basis of human civilization is the need to evolve beyond the barriers. That has always been the cornerstone of every revolution through history.

The thinking process of an individual oscillates between traditional and modern, striving to arrive at an equation that would be convenient. When you have a well set opinion about a thing/person, you tend to base all your judgements on the previous assumptions. You generalize. And in doing so, you narrow down your options. Your brain is trying to simplify the thinking process for you. Lesser options just makes it easier. So when youre sticking to a traditional thinking, its more because its easy. Less effort, and sure results.
Of course, its impossible to not draw conclusions about the nature of a thing/person. But how willing are you to change it ? It just struck me that most conflicts arise because we refuse to accept the changes around us. How open are you, to the other facets ? Once you have the answers figured, you will realise the difference between traditional and modern.

P. S - Credits to Megha, Sanjeeva, Vikas and Maitreya for all the discussions.

My new bike :)

2011-05-30T14:42:00.000+05:30

Say hello, to Montmorency :D

When i grow up, i wanna be a little girl....

2011-05-03T21:34:00.002+05:30

Just read an article in today's Hindu, which talked about how adults are intrigued by animated sitcoms. I know these are a class apart from your normal Tom and Jerry shows, but juvenile comedy, or slapstick drollery - i love watching them ! On most days, i leave late to office because of the Simpsons which is on at 10. Munching an apple watching The Simpsons, is one of the most gratifying activities i can ever think of. Takeshi's Castle is possibly one of the very few non-animated shows on TV which are a hit with audiences of all age-groups. As much as dad detests watching Mr.Bean's antics, the look of bewilderment on his face speaks out loud about the doubts he has of my fav shows. There have been times when my folks had to drag me away from homes we visited while i was glued to the TV watching some animated show along with the other munchkins. Was reminded today of this silly show called 'Brum', about a little car-hero, which saves the day. I know its sounds zany, but its feels good to go cuckoo once in a while.
A senior manager at office once confessed over lunch, how he snatched the remote from his kids, shoved them away and locked himself up to watch Tom and Jerry. I find it funny, to imagine this guy, who sends shivers down many a spine, indulging in an hour of Tom and Jerry. Makes me wanna ask him, " You too ???? " :P

P. S : Post-title credits to the poster in my pal's place :)

P.P.S : My "100th" post. Cheers !!! :D

Good conductor, bad conductor...

2011-04-24T10:49:00.000+05:30

The rain gods have decided to curb the soaring temperatures this summer. From up there, seated in their gilded thrones, this seems like a simple job. I mean, they dont have to ferry about town clutching umbrellas, or donning raincoats. They dont have to roll up their pants, wade through water coming up to their knees. Or even sit through nasty meetings in dimlit halls worrying about potholes, while the authorities are secretly doing the math about the share of money that should be gliding into their pockets. Yes of course, the Gods are watering our forests all right. Jairam Ramesh may be the minister of environment down here, but up there-no one takes orders from him. We can go on about global warming and shrinking sunspots, but the Rain-Gods do their chores, whenever it pleases them.

They have an attractive array of special effects - there's the visually appealing lightning, and the sonorous thunder that follows it. Hailstones that sometimes look like pearls, to catch the attention of the earthlings. Occasionally, they strike the stray earthlings with their bolts of lightning, very much like we zap those pesky mosquitoes with that tennis bat like thingy. These unfortunate earthlings, find themselves squeezed into a newspaper article the following day, living their 15 mins of fame (ironically) in death. There is an interesting Hungarian proverb to support this - " He who is struck by lightning, doesnt hear the thunder " .
Mum says she's been hearing more instances of death due to lightning this year, than any of the previous years. So, does that mean that people have evolved to become better conductors ? Sounds more like a TV9 scoop really - " Heegu unte ???!!! "

Adopt a word !

2011-04-12T12:22:00.003+05:30

Save the words !!

The name's Hazare,... Anna Hazare !

2011-04-07T19:41:00.000+05:30

If you havent taken notice of the hullaballoo stirred up by Anna Hazare, then allow me to poke you, you thick skinned Dimwit ! This septuagenerian, who can be dubbed as 'Aaj ka Gandhi ' has taken up the brooms to sweep out corruption away from our country. There are grandfathers steering grandchildren to Jantar Mantar, the epicenter of this revolution, so they can witness 'history' in the making. There are 17 yr olds, with permission from school authorities and parents, to support Anna Hazare. The public has clearly demarcated the support they want to receive. Politicos Uma Bharti and Om Prakash Chautala were booed away vehemently, when they tried to join Anna Hazare in his quest.
The web-world is being flooded by online campaigns, tweets, pictures, links being shared and slogans like ' Mera Neta Chor Hai '.
The turn of events in the past week, has generated a lot of opinions. Some propose that bribe be legalised.
This man, has done a lot of things for our country - served in the army, worked for the villages, campaigned for RTI and now against corruption. You can read more about it here.
His philosophies are simple, and focus on development at grass-root level.
Of course, there are various facets to this revolution. We've been fed the updates through our media, who love to play Chinese whispers with us. The true picture, could be telling us a different story. Something like what i read at this site.
I've walked in rallies in Mysore, demanding the abolition of the reservation system. The students all over the country held candle-light vigils to fuel their protests. But the Quota system is too deep rooted in our system, to be eradicated at such short notice. Will the Jan Lokpal bill face the same fate ? Or will it just lose steam, sandwiched between the Cricket world cup and IPL?

Kleeeshay !!

2011-04-06T14:44:00.001+05:30

When you have spent a large portion of your life in Mysore, youre bound to know a lot of people. You keep bumping into them at every nook and corner, like they had been waiting there eternally, like lamp-posts. And more often than not, you wouldn't have met your acquaintances in a long time. Living in the age of computers, these people dont just lurk around the alleys of your city. Theyre very much there, on all the social networking sites, armed with conversations that tend to cover a wide range of topics.
And the rather cliched choice of greetings, is what vexes me most of the time. Do they really mean it, when they say it ??

Hi / Hello
Most of the time, the general reaction to this salutation would be - " Uh, ohh... ", " He/She remembers me !!!! " , " Did i do something wrong ? " , " Now WHAT !? "

Whatsup !!??
Only Annoying Orange can get away with looking cool after delivering this missile. It usually leaves me puzzled and scratching my head, wondering what would be the most intelligent reply. And this phrase, has a limitation to the people you can hurl it on. You cant be asking your aunt " Whatsuppp ". Same applies to the manager too. Well, it applies to my manager, dunno about the rest of mankind. Usually, the cliched reply to the cliched greeting is "Nothing much... "

" Hows work going ?? "
We are all good liars ....

" When are you getting married ?? "
Yes. I am in 'that' phase of my life ( Sigh ). Thanks for reminding me.

" You've lost so much weight "
Kindly note-If i am actually telling you this, read between the lines, ladies - I want to know the secret !!!
And if youre telling me this, you gotta be kidding !

" Hows life? "
Brand-ambassadors of LG, arent we?

I know i'm as much of a culprit of resorting to these cliches as any of you. But i'd like to dedicate this post to all the wonderful conversations i've had with people. People who have moved beyond the cliches :)

Chain reaction...

2011-03-02T18:15:00.000+05:30

A few days ago, my room mate was scurrying about the house, covered up in jacket ( the hood on her head ) , slippers on, all decked up for winter, and yet complaining how she wasnt warm enough.
Bangalore was having its coldest Dec 6th in 5 years.

The Panama canal has been closed up for ships, the traffic being temporarily suspended due to heavy rains. The last instance of the canal being shut was 20 years ago during the US invasion of Panama.

Every time a butterfly flaps its wings in China, there is a hurricane in the Carribean. I think its about time we took our climate changes seriously.

P. S : Sorry for the delay in publishing this post. It was buried amongst my drafts, for lack of a suitable title.

Show-box??

2011-03-02T17:18:00.002+05:30

I have lately decided to pick up writing letters as a hobby. Also, i have found enough people who are willing to be at the receiving end of my letters. India post will be glad that a bunch of youngsters are ready to indulge in this activity-more at the cost of their time and thoughts than money.
As i was glowing with enthusiasm on receiving letters(yes, more than one) this Monday, i decided to halt all productive office activity and started jotting down a reply. Sandyman stared at me, while i was writing down my letter. I told him that i didnt have a table back home and wanted to finish it at office wonly. Sandyman continued staring, fearing that i was writing down a suicide note, and this was my excuse for self-destruction once everyone has vacated the office-space. Luckily for him, i was done with my reply before 7 and he was the proud witness to my departure from office, although i'm pretty sure he was disappointed that i did not have any suicidal intentions. I mean, that would've created some excitement at office huh!
So, anyway-i was done replying, and i neatly sealed and stamped the envelope.
My tech-park happens to have a lone post box at the entrance. Dangling from a pole, i've never seen anyone use it though. I approached it apprehensively, and did not see a 'Clearing time' mentioned on it. It did have the logo and 'India Post' painted on it. I muttered a silent prayer, and pushed the envelope down the throat of the box. I made a mental note to check with the security guard office about whether the Postal authorities even remember to collect the post from this rather dusty box.
Come evening, and i walk home and i stop by at the entrance to enquire about the fate of my letter. I first approached a lady.
I decided to try English first.

" You see the Post box there. Have you seen the postal authorities come for the letters in it? "

" That post box. Madam, it is only for show... "

" Whatttt??? So, who has the keys to the box then? I posted a letter in the morning and i want it back "
( I spent almost 2 hours on that reply, and i was not going to let a show-postbox swallow up my thoughts! I was going to make it throw up my letter at any cost. My desperate attempt"

"Madam, i dont know. "

" Is there anybody else i can talk to?? "

She timidly points me two other security guards in uniforms with a different color combination. I'm hoping the change is color means, that they might have the key to the show-postbox..

I repeat my lines to them, and they are dumbstruck that there is a postbox idling on a pole, right under their nose.

" Which post box madam ?? "

Oh honestly! These are security guards?? Even an intern-terrorist can sneak a bomb inside !!

After they are introduced to the existence of a post box neighbour, this lady starts discussing the matter in Kannada. Its always nice to know that you can talk to a fellow Blorean in Kannada. I repeat my tale of woe in Kannada, and the lady is all smiles for a minute and then she gives me the same shit about the postbox being a showpiece.

By now, i'm even willing to break the lock and retrieve my letter!!

And then, this dark faced gentleman enters , with a uniform in a third set of color-combination ( at this rate, there will be a Manyata Security Premier League!!! ), enters and asks me what the matter is. I unfold my tale again, in Kannada, and he says just 3 words.

" Tagond hodru madam" .

I have no clue if the postal authorities truly visit this post box. Or maybe they do it secretly like Santa and his reindeer. Only one way to find out. And they say, Patience, is a virtue...

How to play Day and Night ??

2011-02-23T13:42:00.000+05:30

Me and mum have picked up a fetish for playing badminton. What started off as a timepass between mum and neighbour aunty, has spread fervidly along the street. There are the two 5 yr olds who have talent, and might turn out to be tomorrow's Saina Nehwals. Then there's neighbour aunty, who used to skip basic household chores like Rangoli to play badminton during her childhood. Mum claims that she rarely builds a play-rapport with others, and neighbour aunty is one of the few people she's enjoyed playing with.
Then there's front house kid and his mum who cant resist while watching us play.
So, on any given evening over the weekend, you'll find around 7 people covering the length of my road,playing badminton. Of course, we arent great athletes, and we know we aint going anywhere with this-but if nothing, this is good exercise. It was delightful to watch my mum and one of the little girls play. A contest between a 5yr old and a 50+ lady, is not something that you come across often.
Everything's good, but we have just one problem. We stop play, because there's not enough light for continuing the game. No dearth of energy or enthusiasm, but just the lack of daylight. Me and mum experimented with playing under the street light too. You simply cant focus on the shuttlecock. We've even discussed about glow-in-the-dark shuttlecocks too !! :P
So, if you have any better ideas of how to play after dark, i'd be glad to hear your suggestions :)

Twinkle twinkle, little star...

2011-02-15T13:20:00.000+05:30

A couple of days ago, i was staring at the night sky from a crowded street, and i was having a tough time helping my friend spot the stars. With the street lights and the bright malls, and what not-the sky was not its usual jet black color. The night sky scene is much better from my rooftop, where there arent many street lights. Not that i can spot the stars, but i do get to see bright moving spots which are nothing but planes.
Thankfully the moon is big enough to outshine all the streetlights.

As i sulk about being unsuccessful in helping my friend spot the stars, it brings back fond memories from my Himalayan trek, where we could easily lie on the ground, and spot not just stars but a couple of geodesic satellites too.

I wonder... amongst all this light, have we lost the pleasure of idle star-gazing ??

Happy Birthday 'Geet'

2010-12-13T20:24:00.000+05:30

Hello Geet,

I dunno who you are. Thanks to Vodafone, who im guessing are running out of numbers for new connections, i was given your old mobile number. How stingy, i know !!!
But since we both have to deal with this, i can assure you that i am doing everything from my end of your old number. I have sincerely received calls meant for you, patiently explaining to the caller that i am not Geet , and yes they have the right number but the wrong person. I must say Geet, you did not do your part of the job well enough. Its your duty to let your near and dear know about the change in your contact details. I understand that this does not include Just Dial, Employment agencies ( Might i mention here that they were very keen on finding me a new job. I was tempted, but refrained... )
I have been dealing with a couple of old buddies and relatives of yours as well. I remember the SMS sent to let you know the birth of a baby ( Your friend mustve had a kid, or you became an Aunt !! )
But today, i'm sorry that i cannot convey the Birthday wishes that i received on your old number. So this is the only way i could let you know,

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEET" :)

P. S : Ab toh mera peecha chod do !!!!!

Obama's Diwali excursion.

2010-11-07T12:57:00.001+05:30

There are a lot of burning issues this Diwali in the country - Ashok Chavan and the Adarsh housing society, India-NZ test series ( I know a lot of people are unaware about this one. For a few mins, even i believed when informed that it was a India-Zimbabwe series :D ), Jairam Ramesh and the owls, Rains in Blore and Mysore ( the croc from the zoo was found lurking in one of the roads :P ).

But to top them all was Obama's maiden visit to India as the President of the United States.

" Atithi Devo Bhava ". Treat your guests like the Gods. So if the Gods were visiting the Gandhi Mueseum, what would you do to assure maximum security? Chop off all the ripe coconuts in the surrounding coconut trees lest they cause any permanent damage to his head. Guess the Muesem folks dont want to take any chances. But keeping in mind the moolah spent on his security, the city hawkers at the Gateway of India are crying out loudly - " Atithi tum kab jaoge ?!! "

The news channels are having a field day squeezing in Obama news amidst the Adarsh housing society and the rest of the cricketing news ( which they squeezed into a special 10 min section called 'Other news' ).
Btw, did you know that a debutant, Rajashtan's Deepak Chahar scooped up 8 wickets demolishing Hyd for a record low score of 21 in Ranji trophy's history. Naah, you probably know what Obama is doing right now, than dwell upon an 18 yr old's accomplishments.

So Obama landed in Mumbai , to soothe our 26/11 wounds. It just hit me this morn, while i was listening to the Amreeki president's consoling words, that he messed up the dates... See it for yourself.

By striking the places where our countries and people come together, those who perpetrated these horrific attacks hoped to drive us apart. But just as Indian citizens lost their lives on 9/11, American citizens lost their lives here on 26/11 -- along with the citizens of many nations. And just as our people prayed together at candlelight vigils, our governments have worked closer than ever, sharing intelligence, preventing more attacks, and demanding that the perpetrators be brought to justice.

I know we write our dates differently, but didn't it occur to the guy who wrote down his speech to do something about it. < Sigh >

So while Obama is busy giving speeches and Michelle goes about hopscotching, our friendly neighbours have taken out their binoc's and are busy keeping an eye on every promise that Obama is making. The Indian media is worrying sick about protocols regarding who should greet Obama first and who shouldnt. And the other section of media who earn their livelihoods by using their 'Funny bone' s, are also using this entire event as fodder for their shows.
Well, Obama comes, Obama goes, life moves on..... :D

Survival of the fittest

2010-09-06T16:25:00.000+05:30

A post dedicated to my beloved phone.

This phone arrived into my world on the occasion of my 21st B'day. I was in a phase of life when almost everyone, even my maid , had a cellphone. So finally, the day i turned 21- a black shiny phone enters my world, and there has never been any looking back after that. Life, had changed.

It was my dad's gift to me, and i'd been ever careful with it always. Until, 2 weeks ago.

Mr.Phone wanted the rights to taking a dip in my bathing water. And dint think it was civil enough to wait for my permission-he just jumped in at the sight of steaming hot water. The next thing that happened was, i'm dismantling my phone-parts i never knew existed, and running around my PG asking if anybody had a blow dryer. No, i dint have one. And Yes, i am a girl. So i kept blow drying my phone, while the screen kept getting blurrier with water vapor every 10 mins. Even in the worst crisis of your life, you simply HAVE to go to work. There are no excuses to stay away from The Bald Eagle. Thanks to Bhuvana, who lent me her spare phone for the day. Yes, i mentioned '....for the day'. Which implies, my phone was up and running the next morning , like it had never been near a bucket of water ever.

It doesnt end here. 10 days later, i'm riding pillion, and aunt calls. My fingers switched to butterfingers mode, and the phone slipped through my fingers on the wide open road. As i frantically scurried to get my phone back to safety, there came an auto, like its sole purpose in life was to run right over my phone. And yes, i was the witness to this, while the auto just went right over my phone. My heart nearly stopped beating, as i approached the phone. I picked it up, it looked fine. I turned it over, it was badly bruised. But it dint look bad at all. Seconds later, aunt calls back again complaining that the sound system of her computer is creating problems ( I wonder why people think that just because you do a B.E in Computer Science, qualifies you to fix anything that's even remotely associated with a Computer ). I didn't know whether to thank her, since her phone call confirmed that my phone was alive and kicking. Or to just curse her, for if it weren't for her phone call, my phone would never have to see how being run over feels like. All i can say is, i'm glad tyres are made of rubber, and that autos are not as big as elephants.

Somethings in life, are there for a purpose. Which is why even a hot bucket of water, or even being run over by an auto cant destroy them :)

If James Bond were to be in my office....

2010-07-13T18:10:00.000+05:30

It was one of those afternoons, where i'm fighting off the urge to fall asleep on my keyboard. All of a sudden, i begin to wonder, what would happen-if James Bond were to be here?

* He'd have to always have a silencer on his gun, because of the " Maintain silence " sign

* If he barges into any meeting room ( with his gun, tux etc ) which has already been occupied-he will only be greeted by a question- " Have you booked this room ?? "

* Say he does barge into an empty meeting room, then he will only have a engineer knock on his door in a couple of minutes, flashing his laptop screen at James Bond ( like it were some kinda bullet reflecting shield ), and annoyingly tell him- " I've booked this room !! "

* James Bond would get frustrated every time a process is killed. Why? 'Cause only Bond has the License to kill :P

* Miffed at being asked to swipe the ID at every door you pass, he'd just blow up all the doors on the way. Once Bond has been through my floor, it would possibly look like the surface of Mars.

* He would still get calls coaxing him to buy Credit cards. Even Bond does not get exempted from this!

* You wont be allowed to smoke in the office Mr. Bond, you'd set off the smoke detectors. You'd have to walk by till you're out of the premises to light that cigarette. There's a fair chance that you'll have the fairer sex accompanying you as well.

* If there is some B'day cake left ( fat chance, but a possibility nevertheless ), even James Bond gets a share. But remember Mr.Bond, the cake is a lie !!!

Interpretations of 'adventure'

2010-06-22T11:07:00.001+05:30

This morning while i tuned in to a radio channel-this was what caught my ears by surprise.

A common question thrown out by the RJ "What is missing in your life?"

A girl calls up, and engages in a conversation-

RJ : So tell me, what do you think is missing in your life?

Girl : < Sigh> < Pause > I think there is no adventure in my life.

RJ : You sure do sound like there's no adventure in your life. Why dont you try dating men ? I never knew dating men was classified adventurous.

Girl : Hmmmm...

RJ : Oh wait. Are you married or something??

Girl : No, i'm just a student. A dental student.

RJ : Student. Eh, then how can you not have adventure in your life. Bunking classes.... Dont tell me you dont bunk classes? At this point, i'm wondering if this RJ found nothing better to suggest?

Girl : No. Dont do that. Cant do that.

RJ : Why? What is the worse that can happen?

Girl : I could lose 6 months.

RJ : Oh. No, we wouldn't want a bad adventure. Just good adventures. Maybe you should travel. Ah,now she's beginning to make some sense. Like go bungee jumping. Bungee jumping and travelling are two different things right?

Girl : Hmmm.. Yeaaa... I bet the girl's still doubtful of the RJ's advice. I would never take any advice from this RJ.

RJ : Tell you what, we'll give away Spa vouchers just to make your life more exciting.

Girl : Yipppeeee. That sounds cool. Going to the spa,is an adventure. Waah-Kya zamana aa gaya.

The Hangover.

2010-06-18T15:29:00.001+05:30

I'm back from the best vacation of my life ( so far ). The Himalayas,are larger than life. Its an entirely different experience to see a mountain in real, than admiring them in pictures. Seeing a mountain in real, is like having a tiger in front of you. Its huge, majestic and you'd be awed. This was my first time in a plane as well-the whole thing is a big bore except for the take off and landing. There's always the excitement of seeing clouds float away like cotton candies. I have lived on tea, tomato soup, rotis, dal and last but not the least-aloos, through the trek. We have all learnt to detest aloos for the next month. Until then, its one of my swear words.
I have learnt to appreciate the basic things in life-a bed-no matter how small, a colorfully cooked meal, clean drinking water, electricity, a clean toilet. But there are a few things which i'm ready to swap any day-an open sky instead of a 10x10 cubicle, clean fresh mountain air instead of pollution, walking instead of riding. And yet there were other things which have become invaluable after the trip-maggi, tea, tomato soup and Jumpin!!!
So totalling it up-6 days, 65 kms, 15000+ ft, 22 people, waking up = anywhere bn 3.30 a.m and 6.30 a.m, singing, playing cards, other silly nameless games, snowman, mules, sleeping bags, layers of clothing, washing dishes in the freezing water, de-freezing your hands, misplaced gloves, walking sticks!, torch, arrows, hailstones, snow, mountains, a boring 10km walk to wrap up things, and a bumpy ride on top of the Sumo to follow that, an unfinished story-and the evening imagining the rest of it, the rest of the story, debut flight, The Godfather :) :) , " I Concurr!!! ", Delh-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Did i leave anything out???

P. S : Too labourious to upload pics here. Lemme know if u wanna see em.

My May!!!

2010-06-02T13:11:00.001+05:30

Since the last month was so eventful,i just decided to put in a few things in retrospect.

When i think of the 1st of May, i feel like its been ages. I find myself examining the last month like one of those old wrinkled ladies in movies recollecting their youth. I feel like I've grown older than a month.

In the past, I have always been excited by the arrival of May. It heralded a couple of important birthdays/anniversaries in the family. Mine included. And then there's always the rain hurling down from the skies,bringing the temperatures down. The showers were even more welcome this year since this summer was worse than the previous ( guess thats gonna be the trend to follow ). The temperatures across the country were reported in papers with as much fervour as the gold prices.

Then there were the numerous birthdays landing all through May. Friends from school, friends from college. Friends whom i hadnt spoken to in ages. Friends, whose numbers i wasnt sure about. A lot of wishes exchanged through the month.

Then there was the epic drama Malegalalli madumagalu, wont elaborate on that one. It earned its place in my blog long ago.And i happened to see a lot of movies too- How to train your dragon, Badmaash company, Catch me if you can, Housefull, Youve got mail ( lost count of the number of times i saw it before). The last in the list was a good watch, 'cause i paid more attention to the soundtrack this time around. Seriously recommend 'The Puppy Song' by Harry Nilsson. Not rock, not jazz-more like a nursery rhyme-but cute.

Then there was the weekend Birthday which passed away in silence, but was celebrated on Maunday. And the quick holiday plans that followed. Holiday plans which have made my May seem longer than it really was. And not to forget, there's always something on the office front to keep you on your toes ( toenails would've been more aptly suited ).

In the midst of all this there was my cousin's engagement. I still wonder why they say maduve fix aytu. The only things 'fixed' in the world are broken things or cricket matches. Nevertheless, it was a pleasure watching cousin bro and the smiling lady together late Sunday evening posing for photos, oblivious to the agarbathi burning my saree. Yes, they did really look good together. Havent given the saree a thought yet. Maybe once i get back from my 'vacation' ( as they refer to it in office).

This whole idea of taking a vacation, is sinking in now. Earlier, vacations didn't have to be worked hard for. They just landed into your calenders in the months of April, May , October and December by default when you were in school. And need i say anything about vacations in college? They just happened to crawl in and snuggle up in any free time of the year provided they didn't clash with your exams. But now, it has all changed. Now i need approvals from my manager before i get the nod from my own folks. And even then, you have to wrap up work like a typhoon is gonna land into your team in your absence. Have to gear up like people pad their walls and floor in anticipation of an earthquake. And the sad part, is they wont even know you're gone!

As stubborn as professional life maybe, I'm off to get my share of peace,rest and quality time. Sad i wont get to see the start of the soccer world cup, or get to see who'll lift up the French open. But my trip is worth it. :)
Au revoir!

Malegalalli madumagalu

2010-05-11T22:05:00.002+05:30

A book contains a story whose course has been decided by its author. And for a book like Malegalalli madumagalu, the course had been scripted decades ago by one of India's best authors. You have to be daring enough to think of the plot in an evolved manner,to be able to add your own value additions and insights. And for a true fan of any book, while attempting to reproduce the book in any other format, you would ask yourself first- Is this how it was visualized by the author? If you can convince yourself that you are doing complete justice, dismissing any other doubts dwelling within-then the first hurdle is crossed. To get a section of the community to accept your perspective,is the next mammoth step. Because,if the author was present,then he'd be your best judge. But in the absence of the author,your best bet would be his fans,followers and admirers. If your stunt has been approved,accepted and appreciated by the audience-then you have won your battle. One such battle has been won by Mr.Basavalingaiah when he brought Kuvempu's epic novel Malegalalli madumagalu on stage.

When the announcement of Rangayana's theatrical experiment was splashed across newspapers and billboards ( In Blore too!! ), my mum caught the bug,like the dog catches the scent of food. She explained the terms of the play- 9 hr thingy, starts at night ends early in the morn and will go on all night. To give you an introduction, my mum is a sleeping champ. She can sleep anywhere doing anything. Reading paper,watching her fav soap, chopping veggies, standing in the bus..... you name the situation-she's done it there. And when she mentioned her plans of staying awake through the play, me and dad laughed it off. Kudos to mum,'cause she did not give up on us-and kept pestering dad to get hold of the tickets. A couple of days passed by,and i caught the bug too. I was curious to know what the big deal was about!

So finally, mum successfully roped in her college pals, one of from coming from Blore just for it. 15 days before the show,she starts craving for the book herself. Inspite of having read it way back in college,she mentioned it every time i spoke to her. So finally, i arrived with the book in hand-only to find my mum dissolving into childish enthusiasm at the very sight of the book. I had never ever seen my mum so delighted and happy on being given anything. And d-day arrived. I had worked the whole day,and i'd hardly caught a wink.

We were welcomed by the director of the play. He was there all right, at the entrance to the play,urging the audiences to go ahead and catch a good seat for the play. He did not have any airs about his venture,and easily mingled with one and all through the play. The seating arrangements were very casual-wooden steps acting as seats,and a few chairs thrown in here and there. A majority of the crowd were composed of 40 plusses,so when i looked around-i felt out of place. But before i could sink into the odd man out feeling,the play kicked off. Before coming, i'd read a few lines of the book. I was pleased to find the same few lines delivered by the actors punched with a lot of emotions. As the play advanced, i was completely magnetised by the play. The mosquitoes didn't matter any more. The colorful costumes and veritable accents replaced everything else. I was immediately drawn by the charisma of the actress portraying peenchlu. I still havent figured out which one was better-the actress or the charecter. My most fav scenes would be - the beesekallu scene, the huliya and handi's fight, and timmi's mum faking the gods entering her body. Well orchestrated,all 3 of them. A couple of teas,popcorn and buns later,the play concluded to the early morning sunrays,chirping of birds and a warm applause. When i asked one of the actors regarding their efforts put into the preparation-she just told me it was reading,re-reading and re-re-reading of the book. Basavalingaiah wanted us to understand before enacting. As my mum willing put me to bed after we returned,i felt immensely satisfied on being a spectator. It was as if the play was being enacted for me,and the rest of the audience virtually vanished into thin air. This 9 hour experience has left a lasting impression...

P.S : I agree this was a long post,but what did u expect out of a 9 hour play??!!!

Celebrating today....

2010-04-14T22:45:00.000+05:30

Today,was a satisfying day. Splendid weather! And i was out there enjoying the spectacle. There was sharp lightning snaking across the sky,and ear splitting thunder to follow it. While i was walking back in the rain,a lady pointed to the umbrella tucked in the pocket of my bag,and said-" In case you forgot,you have an umbrella with you ". I told her- " I know,but i want to get wet " :)
A chota B'day celebration and a wonderful happy movie to follow the rains. Not to mention the cool breeze wafting through the window.
Glorious day!!!! :)

Feeling hot,hot,hot!!!

2010-04-07T14:35:00.001+05:30

When you walk out in the noon lately,do you feel like somebody is slapping your face? Not having problems drying clothes right? Does the sight of watermelons quenches your thirst? Ice-candy melting too soon before you can lick it up? Dont like having bath in hot water under any circumstances? Wondering how you managed to run around your neighbourhood during you School's summer vacations,while now you love coming to office just because of the A.C ? How did we manage to spend all day outdoors then-Is it more hot now,or have we become more sensitive towards the sun? Plants withering up too soon? No water in the over-head tank? Paying exorbitantly for drinking water? Cant sleep at night because of incessant power cuts? Heard about Shimla's 2nd hottest March in 100 years? Bright sunlight turns you off? Re-arranging your schedule such that you are not required roaming around the city at noon?

The word "GLOBAL WARMING " ringing bells now ?????
Do something for the planet,before its too late.....

How about an easy-auto???

2010-03-12T23:31:00.002+05:30

A couple of days ago,I was the recipient of a forwarded e-mail,sent out by a pal about an auto service. I generally prefer the buses to commute between places,and I didn't really take any special interest in exploring about the auto service. One of those sultry afternoons when you're wrestling off sleep,i happened to scan my mails again,and i did look into the link regarding those autos. And it immediately caught my attention. The service is pretty simple. You call up 9844112233(an easy number to remember),and you're connected to a call centre guy. You state your boarding location and your destination. Through an attached GPS device,they trace the nearest auto,and connect you to the driver. In case the driver is quite a distance away,then they consent you on whether its allright if you are charged for the entire distance(i.e-from the auto guy's current location,to your boarding location and to your destination). Once you have agreed on it,you're given the Auto guy's contact info and details,and they arrive at your boarding location. There onwards,you're piloted to your destination,at a charge of Rs.7/km. Irrespective of the time of the day,you are going to be charged at the same tariff. No overheads!

Check out their website- Easy-auto

I tried this out today when i had to commute to the railway station from my office along with 2 other friends. The auto guy took 15-20 mins to arrive since he was 2 kms away from our office. And we got to the station in 30 mins. We were charged 110/- whereas the auto driver himself confided that normally,he would've asked 200 bucks from us. They are not allowed to raise the rates,and are only allowed to accept tips if the commuter volunteers to do so. And well,the entire initiative was taken up by a lady,Padmashree Harish. Our driver,Kishore, was all praise for the lady saying how she invested in equipment close to 20k worth for each auto.

This service has its own pro's and cons. Its safe,and you dont really have to worry about getting ripped off. The next best thing to buses during late nights,or early mornings. The downside being,you might not always get an auto immediately.

Try it out sometime!!!

It happens only in India

2010-02-22T15:08:00.003+05:30

This incident was narrated to me by a train passenger,after which,the amount of respect i had for politicians plummeted down from ground level to dead sea level.

Picture this.
A man about 1.5 times....no,probably 2....Hmmmm....No,i think 2.5 times is more precise.
Ok,a man 2.5 times as large as me,seated on one seat. One of those railway seats. Those railway seats where 3 can sit under normal circumstances,and worst case scenarios result in 5 normal human beings are crammed into it. Yes,those railway seats. And this man was occupying one of those seats. Ok,you can say-a little more than one seat. You get the picture right?
A lady of 22,or rather,a girl of 22 arrives on the scene. Go back a few days in time,and it so happens that our 'Lady-in-distress' (you'll know why i call her that soon) had booked that very seat that our 'Two point five' was resting on. Our tired 'Lady-in-distress',after being through hell commuting through traffic,arrives to lay claim on her seat. But sprawled on it is our 'Two point five'. So,our 'Lady in distress' says-

LID : "This is my seat".
TPF : "Alle kootko"
LID : "But I've reserved this seat"
TPF : "Alli kootko andnalla"
LID : "But.... "
TPF : "Buttu illa,enu illa...kootko sumne"
LID : "Get up. I have reserved this seat"

By now,its clear that our 'Lady in distress' cannot converse in Kannada. Blame it on the English language,which does not accommodate any words which differentiate between Elders and Youngsters,to demonstrate respect. Our 'Two point five' is clearly offended by the respect conveyed by 'Lady in distress'.

Into the picture come 3 other men. Hearing the commotion that our TPF has raised,and his repeated claims that LID has no respect for elders-they take TPF's side instantly. It appears,that our TPF is some Big shot guy in the administration,and TPF's sidekicks begin to sing songs of TPF's fame-about his family,about his position,about his closeness to the bureaucrats,about how he can sit wherever he wants,about how stopping the train is just a phone call away for TPF,about how he can get the entire compartment emptied by the snap of his fingers,about how he is old,about how LID is like his daughter,about how he is being abused.....

LID begins to call her near and dear ones,and continues to sob as TPF and his sidekicks continue to take other people into his side. Its amazing how public can get mesmerized by a few words,an art which TPF is a master of. Many more people joined TPF's party. One guy even went on to say,that he had decided not to get married,since only girls like LID exist these days. How interesting,Mr.Brahmachari!

Concluding from LID's conversation on the phone,she is of our neighbouring state. Then one of TPF's sidekicks mutter to one of their newly acquired supporters-"She thinks she has a lot of influence. Let she call whoever she wants. Even i know who to call. Ondu phone hodadre saaku,gotta!!!!"

At this juncture,I wonder-Do these guys look at everything from a political angle?

To LID's temporary relief,the TC arrives. Finally! Just like the Police arrives after all the dishum-dishum in Hindi flicks,the TC too arrives. But this TC,is more like our Police in real life than reel life. His hand raises in the air of its own will,and rests near the temple,into a neat salute. LID's relief vanishes. Between sobs she explains how TPF has created a scene. TC just listens,and then he collects the reservation fee from TPF.( Our TPF had not even reserved a seat,and was seated majestically in the Reservation compartment!)

By now,the people in the compartment are clearly divided into 2 groups-those on TPF's side,and those not on TPF's side. Those on TPF's side continue to indulge in glorious stories about TPF's party,and in concluding how inefficient the opposing party is. Those who are not on TPF's side,are charecterized by their silence. They clearly do not want to get into the path of TPF and his sidekicks. And LID continues to sob for more than half of the journey.

This happens only in India!!!!!

Administratium

2010-02-17T13:13:00.002+05:30

Something that i found on the Internet.

Investigators at a major research institution have recently
discovered the heaviest element known to science. This startling
new discovery has been tentatively named Administratium (Ad).
This new element has no protons or electrons, thus having an
atomic number of 0. It does, however, have 1 neutron, 125
assistant neutrons, 75 vice neutrons, and 111 assistant vice
neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles
are held together by a force called morons, which are surrounded
by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since
it has no electrons, Administratium is inert. However, it an be
detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into
contact. According to the discoverers, a minute amount of
Administratium causes one reaction to take over four days to
complete when it would normally take less than a second.
Administratium has a normal half-life of approximately three
years; it does not decay but instead undergoes a reorganization
in which a portion of the assistant neutrons, vice neutrons, and
assistant vice neutrons exchange places. In fact, an
Administratium sample's mass will actually increase over time,
since with each reorganization some of the morons inevitably
become neutrons, forming new isodopes. This characteristic of
moron promotion leads some scientists to speculate that
Administratium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity
in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as
the "Critical Morass." You will know it when you see it.

Apna Valentine day wala gift :P

2010-02-16T18:57:00.006+05:30

The day before V-day,Madhu calls me late at night. I've had a long and tiring day,and I wonder why she's called? 2 mins later i have 4 of my PG mates taking turns in describing the way they spent the day together. Raj insists on gabbling in the background and refuses to descend her throne(bed!!!) to get to the phone. And they all unanimously explain how Madhu got them all Valentine's day gifts. Hmmm. Interesting. To add to the mirth, Madhu explains between giggles that she's got something funny for me. I guarantee her that comedy,ought to be an integral part of life. As we doze off after a long chat,i ponder over what might be my mystery gift.

The day after V-day,I'm woken up in the early morning bus dazzled by the sunlight at this time of the day. While I'm still dragging myself over to the PG,Madhu calls up to tell that my gift has been placed on my Pillow. Ah,i head straight for the pillow,and this time-with more vigour than when i approach it sleepy eyed. I extract the contents out of the brown paper and i have a pair of earrings in my hands. I call Madhu immediately and thank her wholeheartedly for her thoughtfulness. I remind myself to give her a hug once she lands home(PeeeGeee) in the evening. And then,i wonder-whats so funny about a pair of earrings?????????

Evening arrives and electricity departs. Madhu arrives,and so does the electricity :)
I rush to her to give her a bear hug,and she dashes into her room and bolts her door. As i try to comprehend her unusual behaviour,i worriedly enquire about what happened? After a minuet,she emerges tittering,and holding a pair of socks in her hand. I couldn't control my joy,and hug her and hopped at the same time. Well aware that i am fond of socks,she got me striped ones for V-day. And now,i figured out the joke about my gift being funny :P

Thanks Madhu!!!! :)

Good luck Aishu!!!!

2010-02-15T15:38:00.002+05:30

Best of luck,Aishu! Will miss you a lot. Get back asap. :)

Beyonce and Buzz ... !!!

2010-02-04T19:25:00.006+05:30

Congratulations to Beyonce on winning 6 grammies.
I'd heard the song- Single ladies, earlier on Radio,and once she caught my attention with 6 grammies in hand,i downloaded the song.
I think she has done an amazing job with the song,but one of the paragraphs amused me. Here it is-

Don’t treat me to the things of this world
I’m not that kind of girl
Your love is what I prefer, what I deserve
Is a man that makes me, then takes me
And delivers me to a destiny, to infinity and beyond
Pull me into your arms
Say I’m the one you WANT
If you don’t, you’ll be alone
And like a ghost I’ll be gone

Only then i realised,who is her "MAN"
Its....

.
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.
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.
.
.
.
.
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.
.
.
.

BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!!!!!!!! :P

Miffed???

2010-02-02T23:00:00.004+05:30

What do you do when you are completely feeling low,and nothing seems to be going your way?
What to do when everything is dull and slow,and nothing can brighten up your day??
When you indolently kill time,and nobody's around to cheer you???
When you have an idle mind,and interesting tasks are few????

Tune in to Rahul dulhaniyan le jayenge,and ROFL !!!!

I have........

2010-01-11T16:16:00.009+05:30

I have...

1 job. Thank you, God! :)

2 room mates. One mutters that she wants the street lights to be switched off at the night. No,we still havent found an appropriate remote which will do that. The other room mate loves to play with remote controlled cars! PG owner is under the illusion that there's room to squeeze in one more person. That,is a remote possibility.

3 watches. No.1 has a mind of its own and insists on resting for an hour occasionally. No.2 is crying out loudly for a new strap. No.3 got terribly bruised.

4 sweaters. One of them belonged to my brother 15 yrs ago.

5 best buddies. Known 3 of them since I was 4.

6 keys in my key bunch. I like the sound of them keys when they jingle.

7 books that are waiting to be read. Mowgli is holding them up.

8 pairs of socks. I love them all unconditionally( But the green ones are my favourite )

9 team mates. One of them snoring lightly while I'm engrossed in writing this.(I hope he doesn see this one)

10 years of crystal clear memories from the past decade. It seems like just yesterday a bunch of school girls were partying (in a very primitive context) the onset of 2000,ignoring the exams coming up on the 3rd.

Happy New Year 2010!

P.S : I know its a bit late for HNY wishes.

License to Heaven

2009-12-28T13:46:00.005+05:30

Today happens to be "Vaikuntha Ekadashi".It only means that if you die today,you get a direct pass into heaven,irrespective of your sins.Well,what if you orchestrated your own death and made sure it occurred today? Like suicide- Does that still put you in heaven?
And i remember how the Municipality authorities had poisoned Simba,our street dog,on one of those "Vaikuntha Ekadashi" days.Lanky and off-white,he used to guard Sonu all the time.No other dogs could trouble Sonu during his walks.Simba would stalk Sonu and made sure other mongrels did not pick on him.He would even accompany us to the bus stand nearby when he had to catch a bus.He would leave only after we'd alighted the bus.For all his good deeds,he sure did land in Heaven.But another person i remember dying on "Vaikuntha Ekadashi" was Saddam Hussein.After months of trials-they decide to execute him.And what a day they picked-"Vaikuntha Ekadashi"!!!!The bugger landed straight into heaven from a spider hole! How ironic...

Please dont use the staircase for eating purpose.... :D

2009-12-08T15:37:00.003+05:30

Please dont ask me to explain the humour embedded in the picture.
Figure it out yourself ;)

The week that was...

2009-12-05T19:55:00.006+05:30

It was officially my first vacation.

Train travel, Benne dosas :P, Mehendi, Cousins, Nieces, One pesky nephew, Thirthalli food :P, One lethal accident, An entire night of dancing, Innumerable women in gorgeous silk sarees, Orchids all over the place, CT scans, Loads of mischief, Alarm clocks ;), The title of 'shaitaans', Adnan Sami lookalike, Negotiations, Plotting, Planning, Bargaining, Anecdotes shared, Lemons and luggages....

One of the best weeks of my life :)

Impeccable timing.....

2009-11-25T17:01:00.001+05:30

Our lives are dappled with different phases.One such phase,is what I call the "Talk-and-youre-twisted" phase.What generally happens is,no matter what words you utter,the person at the other end will invariably be offended.Your words are contorted beyond the purpose that they were delivered for and transformed into something so toxic,it will leave you doubting your own speaking abilities.And to top it,this calamity seems to follow you around at home,work,with friends etc etc.If you are not entirely unfortunate,as you might expect yourself to be,there will usually be one or more individuals who luckily refuse to be influenced by the jinx.The usual condoling advices offered are-"Go,junk youre brain","Its your bad time yaar".
Luckily,its only a phase of life.One fine morning,you wake up to a perfect blue sky and then,at that very moment realize that nothing can go wrong from now on.And the circle of life moves on.......

P.S : Yeah,it was written on one of my bad days.....

DVV!

2009-11-19T11:22:00.001+05:30

Almost 6 yrs after i passed out,i visited the school premises to change the address of the first bank account i ever had.The address still read 8th std,MMHS,Mysore. :D

When i was near the doorstep,i noticed the diminutive lady,clad in a cream and purple saree.I still remember that saree,the same she'd worn when she first tried to teach us Chemistry.I was doubtful whether she would even remember me.Well,the school had 6 sections each consisting of 100+ students passing out every year.Nevertheless,i approached her.

"Good morning ma'am".

"Good morning!"

She stared at me for a few moments and she told me,

"I remember you.Your face especially.But i dont remember your name".

You had to grant her the privilege of forgetting my name.Then she continued on,asking me what i was doing etc.She even told me I was looking cute. :P
Then i enquired about her health and she told me she just had a operation the previous month and they had found a tumor.Yet,there she was-standing in front of me,as enthusiastic as the first memory i have of hers.

"You're a strong woman ma'am."

"Of course! Ive had 6 operations so far.I have a lot of will power"

I guess this is what Mari's does to you.Irrespective of whether you're a teacher or a student.

Then she pointed towards a middle aged bespectacled man passing who wished her a good day.She later told me that he was also her student.
Teaching,must be one of the most satisfying jobs that one can do.

Love :)

2009-11-06T22:55:00.004+05:30

Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.
-Aristotle

How often have we come across love stories? Its all over the movies,music,media....

How often have we all seen couples cuddling up in public?They prefer a secluded place where they can enjoy each other's presence oblivious to the world around them.On one of my visits to a swanky cafe,i noticed an extraordinary couple.They were not the usual ones-the fashionably dressed,reeking of perfume,who think that hanging out at such places is vital.

Yes,this couple was different.Firstly,they were middle aged. Not very old,not young either.And they were all smiles. :)
There was nothing odd that i noticed at first.Dressed in formals,the man placed the order always.The lady was clad in a simple blue sari.After sometime,i could barely hear the lady speak.I mean,common,thats very unusual.Only when i observed more closely,I could make out that the lady was communicating to the gentleman using sign language.Then it struck me-the lady could not speak.Yet,the guy did not seem to be bothered by this.The lady continued smiling animatedly and explaining things to him which plainly only he could interpret.There was something heartwarming about this couple.I hope they enjoy their life together! :)

Once upon a match

2009-11-06T14:39:00.004+05:30

The day finally arrived when i weaned orthodox soap opera fans(Tamil,Telugu,Hindi...!!!) into watching a cricket match.
Here we are,not budging from our places,cheering like maniacs everytime the ball was in the vicinity of the boundary,cursing Shahrukh Khan who popped up often endorsing Airtel.
Tragically, it was also the day India chose to lose a match by the skin of their teeth.

DAMN!!!

Mr.DataBase and Inder ;)

2009-11-05T17:10:00.003+05:30

Firstly,thank you very much for your response on the 'Inder' post.
On popular demand,i decided to write a sequel to it. No,I'm not posting Mr.Inder's pic.

As expected,everybody who spotted my status on gtalk read my post. Including my teammate Mr.DataBase. :P
Mr.DataBase was vexed at how much was happening right under his nose. He was more curious than any cat and went on Inder's trail. Mr.DataBase, was the Man on a mission.
Just to add salt to his bruises,me and my roommate made it a point to drop scanty clues on him.
But i always thought Mr.DataBase was a bright fella. There was one vital clue in my post which he couldve used up to end his search in seconds. But he chose to take the long and harder path.
And unfortunately for Mr.DataBase, me and my roomie were his only torchbearers.
So off we started, mainly by doing our best to piss off Mr.DataBase. And we were doing a good job. That evening while the three of us navigated our way out of office, Inder just passed us all. After 20 seconds,we dropped the bomb on Mr.DataBase and announced,

“ Hey. You know what- Inder just passed us”

Mr.DataBase froze instantly in his tracks, and declared after a moment's hesitation-

“ I'm going back and looking at every guy ! ”

Me and roomie could hardly control ourselves. If we weren't walking on the road, we might have been rolling on the floor laughing our guts out. The night concluded with Mr.DataBase extracting a vital clue about Inder.
This led him to eliminating few of the men sitting in and around me. When me and roomie carried on with our giggling conversations , he decided that he'd had enough.
Mr.DataBase decided to stroll around my cabin to spot the elusive Inder. Coincidently,as he went in search of him, Inder just passed him in the opposite direction.

When i finally disclosed this to a very annoyed Mr.DataBase 20 mins later,he was almost tearing his hair in frustration. He even accused me of creating a fictional Inder.

A close friend of Mr.DataBase's read the post and announced to him-

“ Hey,why are you worrying so much ? You're only Inder!”

“ See,you're also short. You have brains-nobody is contesting that fact,but you're anything but brawny. Everything fits.”

Mr.DataBase had reached his boiling point.

“ You can tease me directly only.....!!! ”

So we began pestering Mr.DataBase as he requested. We encouraged him to give up.
“Hey.....you're only Inder man! What else are you searching for??”

But Mr.DataBase did not give up on his quest so easily. He almost had figured out who Mr.Inder was when he took a wrong turn. He ended up on Mr.Wrong Inder's doorstep. So for the next few hrs he went about trying to convince me that Mr.Wrong Inder was only the right Mr.Inder. Only after we provided him sufficient proof did he realise that he had caught the wrong fish. Reluctantly,he had to Ctrl-Alt-Del his treasure hunt. And this time he banned us from conversing in Kannada, a language which was as familiar as Japanese to him.

P.S : This post is dedicated to Mr.Database,who complained that life was getting monotonous.

Dream "boy"!

2009-10-29T19:24:00.002+05:30

So did you dream of a man last night?
If its a 'Yes' to that above question,then beware.
You might actually have been visited by the psychopath who's been haunting people all over the world.

~~~~S~~~~P~~~~O~~~~O~~~~K~~~~Y~~~~

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^WEIRD^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Funny! :P

Check it out for yourself! ;)

This man!

Mystery man ante... !

Books are like food.....

2009-10-25T22:10:00.003+05:30

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.

– Francis Bacon

Personally i can relate books that I've read to Francis Bacon's quote.
Some of the books that come to my mind when he says "...some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention" are To kill a mocking bird,Catcher in the Rye,The Kite Runner,The Great Gatsby.
And books like Catch 22,Life of Pi,The Hungry Tide come under "some books are to be read only in parts".
These,surely need to be chewed and digested(especially Catch 22-You have to read it to believe what i'm saying).
Some books,just have to be pushed down your throat.Sometimes I just finish a book only because Ive started it.I cant leave a book half-read.Books like Oh shit,not again come under the "to be swallowed " category.
And books like The Alchemist,well-You have to try it atleast once.Something like Dan Brown's thrillers.Although they may not be your cup of tea,they sure are worth tasting.

A wonderful quote,which brings together food and books-both my favourites ! :)

The Inder fan club... :)

2009-10-22T15:22:00.005+05:30

This one's been long overdue.Much to the annoyance and amusement of people i know.. :P

So I joined the company and live in a PG.Here's one interesting story that involves both of them.My PG mate came across this dashing young man,Mr.Inder,and she couldnt stop talking about him.Mr.Inder was simply all brains and no brawn.The other PG girls spotted him in the food court and they all went gaga over him.My PG girls were practically smitten by this guy.I hadnt been affected by the epidemic,just because i had simply never seen him.
I was told that he wasnt exactly good looking-a short guy infact,but there was something mysterious about him that attracted all the girls.Days passed by and Inder-fever was still prevalent.So much that one girl made the other girl vow that she wouldnt utter his name for a week.And no,I'm not exaggerating :P

It so happened one fine day,the bad news arrived that Mr.Inder would permanently be shifting into my floor.Shattered and dissapointed,my PG girls assigned me the task of spying on him.I told em-"Wait,I dont even know how he looks like".
So I was made to look at his pics,and I was expected to recognise him.They told me he didnt exactly look like how he loooked in the pics.Hmmmmmm.....This,apparently was the best they could do to educate me about his appearence. :D

Days passed by and I was a terrible spy.Neither had i spotted him once,and nor did I have a clear picture of how the guy looked like.For all I know,he might have passed me several times and I would still may not have recognised him.And one fine afternoon,I get a call on my desk phone which displays Mr.Inder's name.I cant believe my eyes.I mean,why on earth would he call me eh?And the extension number is that of the cubicle next to mine.I pick up,and said "Hello" but by then Mr.Inder had realised that he'd dialed the wrong number.Mr.Inder,sitting right next to my cubicle,and all these days I hadnt even realised it.This was hot news and for the next 30 mins I pinged all the Inder-fever infected girls with the latest update.They couldnt believe it that I was so dumb I couldnt notice him for so many days.

Later during the day,one of my PG girls came by and started speaking out loudly so that he would notice and come and say Hi to his old floor-mate.Plainly,he was not all that intelligent as I had heard about him.All her efforts went in vain.

Over the days,I was assigned tasks each day like-

Hey,today you have to see him properly atleast once.

But the ultimate goal that they set for me was-
"Become his friend,so that you can introduce him to me,and then I can be his friend too" (read girl-friend)

;)

The days passed on,while i got more familiar with the face of my subject.I was to update the Inder fan club with his shirt and trouser colors,tell them how many times I met him,was he with any other girl... etc

Over the days,the Inder spy club expanded and more members joined it over many other locations of my company.One such spy member's recent achievement was a married woman's confession about her crush on Mr.Inder.How he got that piece of information out of that lady,I have no idea.And why she decided to divulge this very personal information,I have no idea either.I was also told that one of my PG girl's team mate also has a crush on him.It seems all the girls (married,unmarried) seem to be having a crush on him.

The nice part is,the same girl who tried desperately to catch Mr.Inder's attention the last time,managed to do so this time with no effort at all.We had a curious little (well,the guy is short after all) Mr.Inder,standing on his toes,peeping over the cubicle partitions,while we chattered on barely noticing that we were being watched.In the end,Mr.Inder finally gave her a much deserving smile.And the next thing I know is that she's blushing red,her face matching her red shirt.
Well,thats the story so far.

I simply had to write this one.I dedicate this post to the Inder fan club! I think they will love this,inspite of getting angry with me in a very sweet and loving manner.Just dont kill me,girls!!! :)

P.S : The girl in red,well,she claims she is bored of him now.

Men...!!!

2009-10-21T15:58:00.002+05:30

Why is it that a man cannot stand a woman overtaking him??
I remember one guy in a white Indica tailing me for almost 50 kms.It was more of a silly game.I'd overtake him,then after a km or so,he'd get back in the front.
Sometimes,when i'd get late for college,even then-men cant stand it that a lady overtook him on the road.
Seriously,men and their inflated egos!!!

To write or not to write.....

2009-10-09T15:16:00.001+05:30

Write what you like.There is no other rule.

O Henry

Tagged.

2009-10-03T20:06:00.003+05:30

A month ago or so i wrote a post about music,courtesy Iceman.
Here's the link to it-Muzik tag.

I'd forgot to tag people to continue the chain,so here I go.

Gecko.
Rubs
Shruthi Sriharsha.
Vikas M K

Enjoy!!!

Smile,Share,Love,Live life....

2009-09-30T13:00:00.003+05:30

Kisi ki muskurahaton pe ho nisar
Kisi ka dard mil sake to le udhaar
Kisi ke waaste ho tere dil mein pyaar
Jeena isi ka naam hai.... :)

How to watch cricket in my PG

2009-09-15T19:54:00.003+05:30

My PG is full of girls who are addicted to daily soaps.
Be it in Tamil,Telugu or Hindi.
It doesnt matter even if the entire episode has no dialogues and it only has different set of couples staring at each other.
So,how to get hold of the remote and make umpteen girls to stick to their rooms if you want to watch a cricket match?

It wasnt easy,but nothing is impossible ;)

First,you go and stand right in the middle of the hall. There might be empty chairs,but still-stand. No sitting. That reaffirms that it is an important match. Wait for the commercial break. You dont have to wait long really.

India have set a target of 320 and SL are 64-0 and theyre just into their 8th over.
Not in a good position right.If India arent doing very well,then Im not in a good position either. The chot mensinkayi who is in possession of the remote might anytime flick the channel to the telugu soap. I pray hard for a wicket,and voila! Bhajji gets one,and i jump and whoop and my PG mates stare at me in astonishment.

Im still standing.

Couple of minutes into the match and Bhajji strikes again. I cheer again,and am stared at yet again. Now the telugu serial is turned back on.

Thank God i dont know telugu. But you dont have to know telugu to understand whats happening in the soap. Husband and wife are fighting. Both point fingers at each other and shout-

"Manju!"

"Gopi!"

After some equally heated telugu arguments the guy swears at the lady in English and i point out to chot mensinkayi about the match and its luckily turned back.

Im still standing.

Ishant Sharma gets No.3. I celebrate in my own weird fashion.
By now they've stopped staring at me.

Ive sat down by now,but Ive not relaxed,just to show em that it is still an important match.

Now i have the guy who runs the PG joining me to watch the match.So its 2(owner included,so additional weightage) against 4.

After some more channel switching,the girls finally begin to depart into their cocoons. I get hold of the remote. A great achievement in itself. :P

A couple of minutes into the match,the channels suddenly switch to some telugu thing. I stare down at the remote in my hand. Only then i realise that the TV has 2 remotes!!!!!!!

I had to spend the next 10 mins watching a bad guy in a white dhoti (with a green border :D) worn like a lungi trying to torture the innocent girl( so innocent that she voluntarily went to the bad guy).

My roommate calls me enquiring about the scores and i can hear her friends exclaiming in the background while i update them. Roommate promises to come asap to support me in case there's a fight for the remote. She arrives 10 mins later and directly gets into the hall. She did not even take off her ID until the match was over.

Later another soap watcher arrives,but she finds that almost everybody is engrossed in cricket and decides to be a part of it as well. She discloses that she knows nothing about sports. So until the match concluded,we give her a crash course on cricket. She says she'll forget everything,but i assure her that we'll review it soon since the Champions trophy is round the corner. But you dont need to be a genius at cricket to be able to laugh at the way Sangakara got out. :D

So we saw the rest of the match with no much interference from anybody. We even helped the PG owner's kids with their homework during the match.

All said,we managed to watch the match and India managed to win. There was no war as such for the remote,and we all watched the match in peace under the same roof.

Did i mention that the roof leaks?

Stupid question!!!!

2009-09-13T12:36:00.002+05:30

If you were starving,and if somebody offered you your favourite food and diamonds-which would you choose?

I thought,hey,thats a bloody stupid question...!!!!

According to me,the very basis of the options provided are irrelevant and dont weigh equally against each other.
I'd pick food,and i think any hungry person in the world would do the same as well.
Right?

Write more

2009-09-05T19:06:00.002+05:30

I was trying to write something for Rubs on a book i bought for her,and I dont seemed to recognize my own handwriting once i was done.

It is irritating,to write something and wonder who wrote it.

This is what happens when you spend major part of your time on a computer.

I need to start writing more often-anything,something at all.

Why didn't anybody warn me about this one?????

Leave him alone,for God's sake

2009-09-04T11:06:00.002+05:30

Its hardly been 24 hrs since they found YSR's body.I tuned into some radio channel this morning and they're having a contest:
Where did YSR do his MBA?
Your options are.....

He's hardly been dead for 24 hrs and our media are already making a tamasha of his death.Leave him alone man!

Muzik tag

2009-09-03T18:36:00.003+05:30

Thank you Iceman for tagging me on this.
That is all i could think of.

Opening credits: Circle of Life-Elton John

Waking up : Sunshine song- Bamboo

Average day: Chand taare-Yes Boss

First date: The way you look tonight-Elton John

Falling in love: The day i fall in love-Dolly Parton and James Ingram

Love scene: Rukmani Rukamani(:P)

Fight scene: Sailaro Sailare-Josh

Breaking up: Bolo na-Sona Mohapatra

Getting back together: Way back into Love - Hugh Grant & Haley Bennet

Secret love: Had to say i love you in a song-Jim Croce

Life's okay: Laree Chooti-Xulfi

Mental breakdown: Cant think of anything appropriate

Driving: Anjani rahon mein-Lucky Ali

Learning a lesson: I dare you to move-Switchfoot

Deep thought: Tanha tanha yahan pe jeena.....

Flashback: Cant think of anything appropriate

Partying: Lets get it started-Black Eyed Peas

Happy dance: Song of the heart-Prince.

Regretting: The Reason-Hoobastank

Long night alone: Chandini Raatein...

Death scene: Yeh hai meri kahani-Strings.

Closing credits: I like to move it(Just like the way they play it in Madagascar)

New Life........

2009-08-24T13:02:00.000+05:30

I have nothing else to blog about besides the change in lifestyle that i am undergoing as of now.Of course i could blog about my work but I still have a partial picture about it.

*I live in mini Tamil Nadu.I share the 1st floor with 9 other tamilians.Dont ask about the ground floor.

*The only other Kannadiga is my roommate.Being classmates for 4 yrs(no wait,3),we are used to conversing in English.Now we are struggling to keep Kannada alive in the PG.We have different Kannada accents so thats a small problem as well.

*I heard a Tamilian feel sorry that we dunno Tamil.I was like,hey,wait-Youre in Karnataka and you should be feeling sorry about not knowing Kannada!

*I get to here more Tamil around me than English.

*My team leader thinks he should be more careful because we have same mother tongues.So here I was,overjoyed at finding some Marathi people around and they wanna be careful? HUH!!!!!

*I seem to fall sick almost once every fortnight.I'm sick of falling sick! *&^&%&@#^%&

*Ive become more moody.Mum says it allright and normal.Thank God!

*I tasted coffee and although Im not a fan of the way it tastes,it keeps me awake during presentations.

*Msg,Call! It helps me feel better.( I sound so desperate!!!!)

Ganpati Bappa Moriya!!!!

2009-08-14T14:18:00.003+05:30

Things I miss.....

2009-08-02T19:44:00.008+05:30

I miss,

Breakfast at home.

Spending time with my friends.

Milk,like never before.

Living in a room where i will not run into others clothes if i stretched my hand.

Back massages by mum.

Watching the news on tv.

Sonu and his honest expressions.

Live cricket.I feel like i'm in a different planet altogether.

All the stupid sms forwards.

Otherwise,I'm just doing fine... :)

Super(stitious)

2009-07-25T23:10:00.002+05:30

We were all duly instructed by our mums to have a head bath after the solar eclipse.So on the morning of 22nd,there was a long line of buckets in front of the bathroom.When finally i did make it out after having a bath,there was nobody left to share the remote with.After many days,I would have my quota of the TV time,uninterrupted by crappy saas-bahu serials.The news channels were filled with eclipse reports,and of the stampede in Varanasi.While I was absorbing as much news I could,the landlady walked in and kept staring at the eclipse shots.Then she muttered something about it in telugu,and I could only catch the word sarpa. I just could not help but react to that-She actually was one of those few people who believed that the Sun was swallowed up by a giant snake,and that was her explanation for the scientific phenomenon.I just burst out laughing,and her son tried his best to correct her.He started off with a full fledged 'moon comes between the Sun and the Earth' thingy.She was even more amused to learn that she had got it all wrong,and kept telling us that we were the ones with the wrong notions.

And thats why they say,Ignorance is bliss!

P.S: I have nothing against the landlady.She is infact,a very sweet lady.

Charmed!

2009-07-07T23:40:00.004+05:30

People have their own visions of heaven.My sorta heaven has books in it.And i had a glimpse of it while rummaging through old books at a book exhibition.Wanting to be 10 again while going through the kid's section,while other adults smiled secretly as i ran my fingers through the books in that section.At the end of 2 hrs,my fingers were dirty,after flipping through umpteen books.Furious at those books that did not have a condensed and brief version of the plot.Giving myself a crash course on how to spot suitably titled books among zillion others.Had a tough mind making up my mind on which ones to buy and which not.Ended up having just about enough cash to buy em,and still have all the chillar safe in my wallet.And contentment!

For more info on the book exhibition:BOOK FAIR

The power of a smile

2009-07-07T23:04:00.002+05:30

She was sitting,involved in her world of music.I thought she looked completely different.Partly scary.I'd never seen her with such a serious expression on her face.Many times she's reprimanded naughtier students.I've constantly been in fear of her knotted brows and wide angry eyes.But once she was done playing the composition,she smiled.Its only then that i realized that she was only concentrating on her music,and not trying to put up a frown.Her smile simplified so many things.I had a new found respect for her,as she congratulated me on finishing up my degree.Looking forward to more violin learning sessions with my teacher.

Simple doubt......

2009-06-18T11:55:00.002+05:30

I was skipping through the channels this morn,watching our desi movie stars dance away,sashaying in clothes worth thousands........ And I was wondering-Hey,what happens to all these dresses once they're done with the movie??

The Spanish Bull slips on clay

2009-05-31T23:59:00.004+05:30

:( :( :(
Soderling has finally executed what no mortal could do on clay in the last 5 yrs-break the jinx of the Spanish matador.
It was a match that turned out the way no Nadal-fan,or for that matter a Fed-fan(as far as Ive heard...) would've imagined it to be.
So long Rafa! Until next year......

P.S: I just hope somebody takes up the responsibility of knocking out(not literally :P)Federer this year at the French Open!

Health is Wealth

2009-05-28T19:24:00.003+05:30

I remember when I'd first read this quote. They had pasted these on the walls of my school on either sides of the stairs,along with other regular ones like-Early to bed,early to rise.... and Honesty is the best policy etc etc.

Realizing the prominence of "Health is Wealth" now,after having 3 rounds of antibiotics in the last 40 days,each tab of the latest course resembling mentos in size!

And my mum complains how cold and fever were the only things that kept them in bed when she was of my age.

More proof of it was provided by my 70 yr old neighbour and her 7 yr old grand daughter.She tells me that the kid complains to her that she's got back ache.

And there's always somebody you know who has cancer-Be it Feroze Khan or even the milkman!From what I know,the treatment pushes a patient to the brink of patience and endurance.If I cant seem to manage the side effects of a mentos sized antibiotic,then I wonder how tough it must be for them to go through chemotherapy,well aware of the fact that it might not cure you altogether.

At this rate,I wonder if humans will truly start living like parasites,dependent on machines and everything,just like the way they portrayed it in Wall-E.

10 things I'll be laughing about 10 years from now....

2009-05-12T21:14:00.008+05:30

If I could take a peek into my future,then these are probably the things that would instantly put a smile across my face.

1.Recession.
2.The very idea of true love......
3.You sent more SMS's in a day than you did in the past year.
4.How mum was the only person who you couldn't lie to.
5.It was okay to think that April 1st was far more significant than March 31st.
6.An AC in the house was a luxury.
7.Had never had a joint account before.
8.How you stayed up till midnight to wish your friend-"Happy Birthday!!!"
9.Insurance was something that only your vehicle had.
10.Doing nothing was what you did all day.

Do not disturb

2009-05-07T21:03:00.006+05:30

Lately,Ive realized how useful my head phones are.Regular visits to Blore leave you exhausted,while you have to commute from one end to the other.By the 3rd time around,I noticed-Hey,everybody has their earphones plugged in!Intrigued,I decided to give it a try.And I think I've finally figured out why it is so popular.It makes the long bus drive bearable,creating a microcosm of an audio-world to keep you occupied.Now who wouldn't want to be deceived into imagining that the greatest music legends in the world are keeping them company through a seemingly endless and chaotic bus ride?You're granted the peace and concentration to read a book,without being poked for details.And it helps,sometimes,when the lazy melodies put you to sleep-a temporary relief for tired souls.I used to get annoyed to see people with earphones plugged in,but for now-my apprehensions have mildly reduced.

Iceman's Tag

2009-04-18T20:37:00.008+05:30

I'm writing this post cause i was tagged by Iceman.I sorta figured out what "tagged" meant from his post "Tag".
Deciding on the pic was slightly tough-and finally i picked one that none had seen.This pic was passed on to me by my friend Aishu,who'd attended a national conference held in Hyd.There were many cultural activities held,and a Kuchipudi performance by a trained dancer was one among them.Since i wasnt present there,I doubt if I can do complete justice while describing the pic-but Ill give it my best shot.
At the beginning of the dance recital,the dancer smears her legs with paint and a huge piece of cloth is spread out on the floor of the stage.As she dances to the music,she dapples across the cloth spread out-serving as her canvas.So at the end of it,what you have is an enormous painting of a lion.Not sure if the pic is clear enough.But at the end,when the painting was held up,she did get a standing ovation.I suppose,both her dance and her painting complement each other.Neither would be appreciated in full worth without the other.

If i tried my hands,or precisely speaking,legs on something on the same line,I'd only end up producing a piece of art-which would eventually be praised as an abstract piece of art(then I could give Picasso some competition.....)or dismissed as junk!

A "(move slowly and twitch)" post...........?????

2009-04-15T16:32:00.003+05:30

Lately,Ive discovered how to unravel the mysteries engulfed in a cryptic crossword clue.Unlike the easy crossword,this requires you to spend some time reading the clue.Then you gotta rack your brains,turn the clue inside-out,read it again until it makes sense and finally when you get it-you keep aside a tiny moment to marvel at the intelligence of the given hint.The dictionary or thesaurus wouldn't be of much assistance unless you're in the midst of some foreign word.To help you see the big picture,here are a few examples-

Time to eat?(3)-TEA(eat~tea)
Under a cloud,I sprinted out(4)-RAIN(Need I explain?)
Bringing rain,it envelopes half of us in shivering cold(5)-CLOUD('u' in cold=cloud)
Start as you finish,in debt!(5)-DEBUT('u' in debt=debut)
Possibly tame lamb?(4)-MEAT
Standard reached by dad at the end of the year(3)-PAR('pa'r)

If this intrigued you,then you must've figured out what the title of the post is........

Apologies........

2009-04-10T14:54:00.002+05:30

The Disqus commenting system has been scraped.I was beginning to get annoyed,but once it omitted a couple of comments from my previous post-It just had to go.....

Like Iceman said(in the comment swallowed by Disqus)-I feel like I came to some government office.

To Sir,not with love...........

2009-04-01T21:13:00.004+05:30

I am one of those thousands of students who spent 3 yrs of their life in Marimallappa's High School.Most of the time,our only worry was to squeeze in along with 5 other people(bags included) on one single bench-a mammoth task in itself,considering the constantly fluctuating weight of our fellow bench-mates.As a result,students who passed out of this prestigious institution were masters in space-management.Besides that,the one other characteristic feature that,according to me,sets most Maris apart is the lack of the student-teacher relationship.Personal attention in this school is like expecting your local MP to know about every person who voted for him.And hence,as every batch passes through,memories of teachers are erased out to accommodate for the novice new comers.
Just the other day,i happened to pass one of our high school teacher at the bakery.Obviously,he had no clue i'd been subjected to his tortures once upon a time.So while he was tending to his son's taste buds,i kept smiling to myself-fighting the urge to laugh out loudly about this whole situation.This fella,had huge eyes (more egg like.......) and we'd aptly nicknamed him "Buduk" in reference to the sound,if his eyes ever popped out.While i was walking away,he happened to turn around and giving me a questioning glance.I wonder if their nicknames were the greatest achievements of their lives......

Train journey+2 friends in different cities+SMS=Gandhian discussions

2009-03-04T23:53:00.004+05:30

Here i was,cramped stiff along with 5 other people in a train seat meant for 4.I was still catching 22.
(For those of you nitwits with a temporary lapse of memory click here.)I checked if Rubs was getting all msgs.Sensing that she was equally jobless,i asked her to feed me any news that i missed on today.Finally the conversation veered into Gandhiji's items auctioning.

Read it to believe it:

CLICK!!!!!.

The True Story Of Network Layering And The Origin Of The OSI Model

2009-03-02T20:40:00.009+05:30

DISCLAIMER:
I did not write this post.Just came across it while googling for info on the OSI Reference model.And found this to be amusingly interesting.For those of you who're unaware of what OSI Reference model is,google it.Nevertheless,I can assure you that you'll enjoy this.
Found it here.Full credit to the original author-whoever that is.

Despite the success of the Internet in replacing all the previous attempts to build a global computer communication system, some engineers haven't updated their thinking from old descriptions of networks. Instead they still cling to the outdated 7-layer reference model that was invented by ISO instead of the 5-layer reference model that was invented for the Internet. Interestingly, engineers who insist on using the older model cannot identify single protocol at layers 5 and 6. But... because they learned the model somewhere in school, they desperately hope that the extra layers must be useful. As a result, they incorrectly classify applications as layer 7 instead of layer 5.

Researchers have begun looking into the origins and uses of the OSI 7-layer reference model to determine why a cumbersome and inaccurate model has had such staying power. They have recently uncovered some surprising facts. We have known for a long time that the model was the work of a group. We did not know, however, that the group met late one night in a bar and began making fun of American pop culture. As it turns out, they started scribbling names of the seven dwarfs from the Disney movie on a paper cocktail napkin, and somebody joked that seven was a really good number for network layers. The next morning at the standards committee meeting, the group passed around the cocktail napkin and generally agreed that that they had discovered something fundamental the previous night while they were drunk. By the end of the day, they had renamed the seven layers (with names that sounded more scientific), and produced the basic model. Here's the lineup and a bit of explanation:

Layer
Name of dwarf
Layer name
Explanation

1
Sleepy
Physical
The group knew that physical connections are boring, and figured they might as well assign the physical layer to dwarf "Sleepy". As it happens, a Layer 1 protocol specification does indeed put everyone to sleep (just try reading one late at night).

2
Sneezy
Link
If you monitor a network and watch the pattern of packets emitted by a computer, you'll immediately understand the relationship between link-layer protocols and "Sneezy".

3
Happy
Network
Everyone's happy with the network layer. Well... to be honest, the only network layer protocol that makes everyone's happy is the Internet Protocol. Unfortunately, the Internet protocol isn't part of OSI, and wasn't really built to follow the OSI model (the model didn't include inter networking). But, the designers had good intentions.

4
Doc
Transport
This one's obvious -- it definitely takes a Ph.D. to understand the subtleties of a transport layer protocol.

5
Dopey
Session
Yep, even the designers realized that having a separate session layer is a dopey idea. They decided to follow Disney's approach of adding comic relief, so they stuck in a completely unnecessary layer and laughed about it.

6
Bashful
Presentation
Another little joke. The designers realized that sooner or later someone would create a presentation layer protocol. However, the group decided to classify such protocols as too "bashful" to appear in public. So, even if a presentation protocol is produced, no one gets to see it.

7
Grumpy
Application
Programmers who design network applications are incredibly grumpy -- they complain about the efficiency of other layers, the fundamental abstractions of the network, the long hours, the difficulty of debugging, and the API they are forced to use. And users add to the grumpiness because users never complain about protocols at other layers; they only complain about applications.

Moral of the story: If you're an engineer working on a standards committee, avoid drinking with colleagues -- a bad joke you hatch late one night in the bar could turn out to haunt the industry for decades.

Bratty Boss

2009-03-01T23:03:00.004+05:30

How does an annoying person get to be the 'Boss'?

How do they earn the reputation of being loathed by one and all?

One such real-life incident that i came across.

Boss and Employee are taking the same bus home.A time to discus all the stuff that do not relate to office worries.Usually its dedicated to bragging about their kid's performances,awards,etc.

A year ago,the Boss was overjoyed when his daughter made it into a well known IT company,while still in her final year.Boss brags about it and the staff is even treated to a lunch at the best hotel in town.To the peon,it just means a nice afternoon meal.

Then,recession happened.

Boss's daughter never got to see the offer letter.Takes up a job in a local IT firm.Boss evades inquiries about her meager salary by pointing out how close to home the workplace is.

Back to the office bus,Boss discloses to Employee how his daughter quit the job.Reason being her boss asking her to photocopy some documents.Boss keeps ranting on about how insensitive his daughter's boss was.Employee offers condolences and changes the topic to the drop in fuel prices.

Next day,Boss summons Employee to submit a few important files.While the Employee is about to leave,Boss orders-

'My phone battery is down.Keep it for charging.....'

Catching 22

2009-02-21T20:32:00.006+05:30

Last July i bought Catch 22 by Joseph Heller.I'd heard quite a lot about this one,and was eager to lay my hands on it.Starting immediately,i encountered a few hiccups as i crawled upto page 249.Then i got engrossed with other books,and by the time I picked up Catch 22 again,I'd lost track of the storyline.
A couple of days back I started off again,and this time around-the book makes more sense.Firstly,i realised why i stopped at 249.While i was reading it for the first time,I'd skipped a few pages on my way to 249.So,I started off the 2nd time,while friends were impressed with my patience.And Im doing quite well,although I cant digest more than 30 pages at once.Any eccentric conversations that I come across,I share it with my friends who cant help convulsing into fits of laughter.
Just to give you a dose of it,here's a paragraph.Its about Yossarian,one of the book's main character,and his obsession that the entire world is plotting to murder him.

There were too many dangers for Yossarian to keep track of. There was Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo, for example, and they were all out to kill him. There was Lieutenant Scheisskopf with his fanaticism for parades and there was the bloated colonel with his big fat mustache and his fanaticism for retribution, and they wanted to kill him, too. There was Appleby, Havermeyer, Black and Korn. There was Nurse Cramer and Nurse Duckett, who he was almost certain wanted him dead, and there was the Texan and the C.I.D. man, about whom he had no doubt. There were bartenders, bricklayers and bus conductors all over the world who wanted him dead, landlords and tenants, traitors and patriots, lynchers, leeches and lackeys, and they were all out to bump him off. That was the secret Snowden had spilled to him on the mission to Avignon - they were out to get him; and Snowden had spilled it all over the back of the plane.
There were lymph glands that might do him in. There were kidneys, nerve sheaths and corpuscles. There were tumors of the brain. There was Hodgkin's disease, leukemia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. There were fertile red meadows of epithelial tissue to catch and coddle a cancer cell. There were diseases of the skin, diseases of the bone, diseases of the lung, diseases of the stomach, diseases of the heart, blood and arteries. There were diseases of the head, diseases of the neck, diseases of the chest, diseases of the intestines, diseases of the crotch. There even were diseases of the feet. There were billions of conscientious body cells oxidating away day and night like dumb animals at their complicated job of keeping him alive and healthy, and every one was a potential traitor and foe.

The last sentence happened to be Rubs favourite....

Rich boss,Poor boss.

2009-02-13T12:59:00.006+05:30

The hot topic for discussion seems to be Economic Recession.Even the celebrities are quipping in now.Not knowing the answer to that one particular questions might plummet them down the popularity charts.I'm sure the dumber ones have started consulting to know exactly what do you mean by Recession?.

Serena Williams,inspite of earning $22 million in winnings last year has seemingly cut back on her expenses.She offers her $12 handbag as evidence.

Shahrukh Khan worries that the Kolkata Knight Riders will face the same problems as other teams because of the economic downtrend.Meanwhile,Vijaya Mallya pretends to ignore Recession,throwing away $1.55million to get Kevin Pietersen on board his bandwagon.

While celebrities brush up on Recession,CEO's are taking up some stringent measures to cope with it.Citigroup Inc. CEO Vikram Pandit said he will take a salary of $1 and no bonus until the bank, which has accepted $45 billion in government bailout money, returns to profitability.CEO's at companies outside the finance industry, including Rick Wagoner of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co.’s Alan Mulally, have also agreed to work for $1 a year.

Well,I sure hope the Citigroup gets back on the profit tracks soon.Else we would have to enlist him as a case study of Bad managerial skills in our B-school syllabus.Of course,he would have company,but not one that he might like.

Limelight

2009-01-25T21:59:00.004+05:30

We're quite familiar with the usage of he word 'Limelight'.Splitting the word does not aid you in getting more information about its etymology.Obviously,there is no lime involved when a person is in the limelight.On googling 'Limelight' my random doubt(also ignoring the string of nightclubs and a Charlie Chaplin movie by the same name)-

Limelight is a type of stage lighting once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illumination is created when an oxyhydrogen flame is directed at a cylinder of lime (calcium oxide),which can be raised to 2572°C before melting. The light is produced by a combination of incandescence and candoluminescence. The effect was discovered in the 1820s by Goldsworthy Gurney and the application of the process to create a bright light was developed by Thomas Drummond around 1825. It was widely used in 19th century theatres to illuminate the stage and was first used in a public theatre at Covent Garden in London in 1837.Clearly, actors who were the centre of attention on stage being said to be in the limelight. The figurative use, to people or things that were the centre of attention outside the world of theatre, came into use around the turn of the 20th century.Although it has long since been replaced by electric lighting, the term has nonetheless survived, as someone in the public eye is still said to be "in the limelight".

Some enlightment......

London Bridge is falling down

2009-01-23T23:46:00.011+05:30

10 yrs ago,when my mum'd gotten transferred to an almost non-existent place called Gangavathi,summer vacations were dreaded.Mum created interest among us,taking us around Hampi-while we watched our History text books come alive.Among the other places that i visited,was the Anegundi bridge.Built across river Tungabhadra,it was planned to link Hampi and Anegundi.Local folk referred to it as their London bridge!I was visibly disappointed at the sight of a half completed bridge,which failed to match the actual London bridge in size and magnificence.We lend our ears to angry fishermen,who complained of how the bridge would destroy their chances of earning a livelihood.
This evening,I was shocked to hear that the bridge had collapsed.It was reportedly,still under construction.I'm not an expert in Civil Engineering,but surely,you dont need 10 yrs to build a bridge.6 labourers are supposed to have drowned,and more missing.When i tried to find more information regarding the bridge online,i came across these lines in The Hindu.

The Veerappa Moily government had decided to construct the bridge to link the two historically important places — Hampi and Anegundi —of the Vijayanagar period. People were crossing the river using coracles. About 80 per cent of the work on the bridge was completed in 1999. Only a span of about 24 m of concrete had to be laid when the work was suspended following objections from United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The organisation said the modern bridge did not complement the World Heritage site. By then the State Government had spent around Rs. 4.75 crore.After much persuasion and corrective measures undertaken by the authorities, UNESCO permitted the completion of the bridge. The State Government released an additional Rs. 6.33 crore for replacing the cables and laying concrete for the remaining work.

Initially,i thought our corrupt politicians are to be blamed.Now i wonder if UNESCO played a greater role in delaying the completion of the bridge.I agree with them trying to protect World Heritage Sites and all that.But,to have a half completed bridge hanging around just to shield the heritage status of a place-doesn't that sound absurd to any of the blokes working at UNESCO? Trapped between UNESCO's World Heritage Site tag and our authorities,the people of Anegundi are left with only dreams of their little London Bridge......

The Oscars 09

2009-01-22T23:18:00.007+05:30

With the nominations out today,and with a very Indian movie being one of the front runners this time,there will be more Indian eyes glued to TV sets on the 22nd of February.'Slumdog Millionaire',based on a book by Vikas Swarup-Q&A,has created all the necessary pre-Oscar hype.I heard someone say that Big B said that the movie wouldn't have gone this far,if it ever were to be directed by an Indian director.I read a column by Jon Stock in The Week a few days ago,in which he mentioned about how a lady had reacted to his review to the book Q&A,saying he was a better columnist than reviewer.When Mr Stock happened to watch the movie,he felt smug about his review.
For more on the article,read here.
Leading the nominations is the movie,The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.This again,based on a short story by F.Scott Fitzgerald.A similar Indian adaption that i remember distinctly was a tele-series aired on Doordarshan about 15-16yrs ago.Here Mr.Button had the Desi alias-Potli Baba.The other category that generated an equal interest in me was the nominations for Music(Song).Rehman got 2 out of 3 nominations-one for 'Jai Ho' and the other for 'O saya'.That gives him a 0.667 probability of winning and Oscar.If he happened to win it,i hope he gets it for the latter song-the music is scintillating along with a fervid verse rendered by Maya Arulpragasam.Meryl Streep gets yet another nomination for 'Doubt',alongside Kate Winslet and Angelina Jolie.Heath Ledger gets his much anticipated nomination for playing The Joker.One can only wait to find out.Feb 22nd is eagerly awaited!!

When in Rome.......be like a Roman?

2009-01-06T23:43:00.002+05:30

An Aunt of mine was sharing an anecdote that involved one of her many overseas excursions.The incident in question is supposed to have occurred in Rome.She was merely enjoying her time in one of the ancient cities of the world.One of the local ladies approached her,clad in a T-shirt and a skirt.This was considered as minimal,by the standards of my saree clad Aunt.
Roman Lady : What is it that you are wearing?
Aunt : Its called a Saree.Its the traditional attire of India.
Roman Lady : How much cloth has been used in it?
Aunt : The saree is 5 mts.
Blouse would be 1 mt.
(Raising her saree slightly) The petticoat requires about 2.5 mts.
So it approximately requires about 8-9 mts of cloth.

The Roman Lady stared for a few seconds.Then she said-

Such a huge waste of cloth!!!!

Of dog ears.....

2009-01-02T20:15:00.010+05:30

With the semi-conclusion of exams,Sonu seemed quite relieved that i will be available to take him out for walks in the morning.If I'm not taking him out,then i have to escort him to the street,else he refuses to go along with my dad.So,the evening i finished my exams,i was down on my knees,assuring him that ill be taking him out for a walk from the next morn.

I told him,"Ill take you out for walk from tomorrow morning.You come and wake me up whenever you feel like it.Dont let mum and dad wake me up."

Next day morn,dad thought it would be nice for me to catch a few minutes of extra snooze.So he decided to take Sonu out for walk.When my dad reached out with the leash,Sonu just bolted towards my bed and started scratching me,trying to wake me up.He hadn't done this before.Mum and Dad were surprised as to how he dashed to wake me up.Only when I told them about the conversation i had with Sonu the previous evening did his behavior make sense to them.I was quite startled at how seriously he had etched my words onto his mind.

This morning,i fell in love with this hound,all over again!!!!

The Happy New Years

2008-12-29T11:39:00.005+05:30

Neighbour asks what plans for New Year while i take Sonu out for his walk.

I say-"Aunty,I got an exam on 1st Jan...."

"Oh,God! Best of Luck beta.Do well"

Sigh......this has been the story for the past 4 years.Bludgeoned by exams.

1st year-Freshers,so college started late,hence we had internals.Not on 1st Jan but internals concluded on 31st Dec.All i did at 12 p.m was watch 'I,Robot' on tv,for the 2nd time.1st was at 9 p.m.You easily get saturated with it during the 1st time.

2nd year-This time we are in the eye of a storm.Exam on 3rd Jan.So atleast I have plenty of time to call and wish people.Spend the night watching 'The Road to El Dorado' for maybe the 5th time.

3rd year-The gap is closing up.This time we have an exam on 2nd Jan.No movie this time-just calling up people near and far,wishing them with the usual stuff.

4th year-VTU hits bulls eye.Exam on 1st Jan.I generally prefer catching a good nap on the previous night of exams.But guess I'll be kept awake by phone calls.

A couple of days ago,I'd called up a school friend whose b'day happens to fall on the 23rd of Dec.She kept droning about how she had to sacrifice her b'day and New Year celebrations for 4 yrs because of our very own VTU.

So,did i sacrifice my New Years for VTU?

Before B.E-my 31st Dec's were pretty much the same as the past 4 yrs-staying awake till 12,watching tv,calling up people.....Since i have been doing almost the same through B.E,it really makes no difference.

But an exam on 1st Jan???
Sure isn't my idea of a good start....but eagerly anticipating the year that follows.

Happy New Year to all bloggers!!!

December Discoveries

2008-12-23T20:12:00.004+05:30

A series of simple findings....

1.You never truly appreciate what your pair of jeans go through until you wash them.

2.The review by Scott McNeally-Chairman,CEO and President of Sun Microsystems Inc found on the cover of "The Java Handbook" by Patrick Naughton starts off saying-"This book kicks butt.....".
Since it also happens to be prescribed as a textbook by VTU,be rest assured Mr.McNeally-it sure will do what you said.(Iceman's explanation regarding this matter is that since both Mr.Naughton and Mr.McNeally were former colleagues-this maybe termed as diplomacy...)

3.I cant fold my little finger without half-bending my ring finger.

4.BSNL has the worst possible service.They have made sensible progress though-earlier my messages used to reach 5 days late(Witness-Rubs).Now they have raised the standards by making sure my messages never reach the recipient.
Joke:Happy New Year 2009 messages may be delivered on the eve of New Year celebration of 2010,so it might be wise to send Happy New Year 2010 messages

5.Love thy neighbour...If they supply you with food while your parents are away,love them even more

Happy Married Life

2008-12-13T23:17:00.002+05:30

When I was a kid,mum taught me to wish-"Happy Married Life",every time we went on the dias to wish the newly married couple.As I grew older,I remember asking her if there was any better way to wish newly married couples.She suggested that I should try rephrasing the same thing-Old wine in a new bottle trick.Somehow,over the years I've noticed that some brides/grooms find it amusing/annoying every time i thrust my hands into theirs and mutter a cheerful-"Happy Married Life".
They must be secretly wondering-

a."I wish i could punch her teeth out....What is she smiling at????""
b."Wasn't she 8 when i last saw her??"
c."Bloody Hell!One more happily un-married person........(almost in tears)!!!"
d."Wait till its your turn....!!!!!!(accompanied by an evil grin)"

Somehow,marriages always seem to be about the food.99% of the invited guests come to weddings only to have food.The other 1% come in search of prospective brides/grooms.They could save having those people with Oh-My-Mum-pulled-me-here and Where-is-the-food kinda looks on their face by just serving food in the parking lot....
And until I become the bali ka bakra or rather bakri,I will continue saying those magical words...."Happy Married Life!!!!!"

The Fastest Kiwi

2008-12-12T10:57:00.005+05:30

Burt Munro-a man with an incredible spirit, way past his prime years. He finds it rather insulting that anybody would address him as Sir or Mister-he fancies being called Burt. A bike enthusiast-he simply adores his Indian (his bike). In his neighbours opinion, he is a maniac-experimenting away noisily in the wee hours of the day. Burt’s entire life revolves around his insatiable thirst for speed-evident by the self made pistons which he terms as offerings to the God of speed. He always passes a word of advice to anybody he catches smoking-telling them it aint good. You’re born with one pair of lungs, so why destroy them? And he doesn’t fancy beer either-now how many biker crazy dudes have you come across who would turn down beer eh? He never hesitates to race with younger blokes...he believes youth is within oneself. And boy does everybody respect him in his village in New Zealand. His lone dream is to fly to Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah to show the world that his Indian is the fastest one. The rough American attitude barely dampens his enthusiasm or humor. He wriggles out of every situation using his cheerful manners. I won’t be telling anymore about this guy-go watch the movie- Worlds fastest Indian....and no, it’s not about Narain Kartikeyan. The tagline goes something like this-Based on one hell of a true story! Starring Anthony Hopkins the movie is simply mind blowing! See it to believe it!

Paisa Vasool.......

2008-12-05T19:01:00.004+05:30

How many times have you gone shopping and spent every single paisa?How many times did you have to explain to the saleswoman that you are short of a rupee?How many times have you paid half the cash only in chillar?
If you'd ask me this question,i'd say-"Yeah....ONCE!!!"
And all of them at the same time!!!
So,here's the story.On a bright afternoon,when it was sunny enough,i pulled Rubs along to buy a book for my neighbour's kid.So before we entered the store,we had to find something to fill our guts.So here's where Rubs started imagining,that if the Almighty had made me a guy,then Rubs would surely want me as her husband.See-i drive her around when we are going anywhere together,and she simply has to shriek if a vehicle comes even within a meter's radius of us and overtaking even a cycle will generate a prompt slap on my shoulder from her.I finish up the leftovers on her plate every 9 out of 10 times.And i help her pull out the vehicle from the parking lot.So you see,according to her-I would be the perfect Pati Parameshwar.But alas,I'm a girl and we're both straight.So the first part of our noon was spent in discussing the various possibilities if I were a male or if we were not straight.Then we finally find a book for my neighbour's kid and then our eyes fall upon these diaries,with a complete handmade art design on its cover.Fond of writing,as we both are,we decided that we just gotta buy one for ourselves.And I was to give a close friend her B'day present,which was already a month overdue.
So,we were to buy 1 book and 3 diaries.
Total Amt:Rs 393.
Total Amt we had minus chillar:Rs.374
So we made up our minds to keep aside the diary which was meant for my friend,deciding that it could wait a little longer.So for now paid Rs.294 and left behind the diary.But since i had 70 bucks on me,i asked Rubs to empty all the chillar in her purse.So our chillar put together,we had Rs.98.I approached the saleswoman apprehensively,and explained to her that we were short of Re.1.She was sweet enough to understand our situation and obliged to bill it to us.So as we walked out we had all that we wanted to buy and only 50p left in my purse.Thats called Paisa Vasool.That sweet lady smiled at us when we went there today too....
I'm pretty sure half the guys reading this will exclaim-"Girls......!!!!!"
But cant help it,thats the way we are wired!!!!

Interpretations Please

2008-11-30T10:51:00.002+05:30

A few days ago,i came across a quote by Oscar Wilde.
Didn't quite understand what it meant,so please give me your interpretations.

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world-OSCAR WILDE

Bucketing the wave

2008-11-20T22:43:00.008+05:30

One of my teachers is as usual watching me and Kavs like a hawk.Waiting to pounce on us as soon as she spots a smile on our faces.By now Kavs has mastered the art of displaying zero emotions on her face.I'm still an amateur in that field though.OK-here's the picture-boring class(dead boring man!!!),lecturer with a dare-you-turn/talk/smile-and-ill-kill-you look and this month's Reader's Digest in hand.I came across this photo of The Grand Canyon,Arizona and i simply went-"WOWWWW".
.The caption read that this particular place,called as The Wave,was the Shangri-La for extreme hikers.Situated at an elevation of 1585 meters,the area has prints of Jurassic-age dinosaurs which can be spotted.To top it all,only 20 passes are given daily to preserve this place.When i showed it to Kavs,she was jumping with infectious enthusiasm!Fast-forward a few days-Me and Kavs are watching Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson's 'Bucket List' on Vicks's insistence that we see it together.Its a movie about the list of things you would do before Kicking the bucket.Naturally i thought of my Bucket List,and i'm sure "232" will agree with this-The Grand Canyon's gotta be on the list man!And I'd specifically like to be there with Kavs.Chances are remote-we might be living in cities with different STD codes 5 years from now.But if i wanna ever visit this place...its gotta be with Kavs.This post's for you,"232" :) .

Beyond Essays

2008-11-12T11:36:00.003+05:30

All through high school,we had 10 marks separately allocated for an essay-which had traditional topics like Doordarshan,Pollution(and the kith and kins of pollution-air pollution,water pollution etc),Dowry system,Computers,Television.My mum always joked about how she too had the exact same topics during her school days.Have we really progressed?Are we even trying to find solutions to these problems?Are these still the very same topics that students are compelled to write essays bargaining them with a couple of marks?For all I know,the teachers who corrected papers awarded marks based on the number of lines/pages that were filled or how neat the nerd's handwriting was....seriously,when i think of it,i feel-How pathetic!!!

Heart of Gold

2008-11-09T23:20:00.013+05:30

This is a pic by French photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand.Its from a series of photographs called 'Earth from above'.Regards to my mum-for pointing out this superb pic in the newspaper.Its actually a heart shaped clearing in the tropical forests of the Amazon river basin.Frankly speaking i was dumbfounded when i first saw this pic.Its so perfectly carved out that you would find it hard to believe that it was not custom made,just to be photographed.Every time you beam with pride over a newly acquired vehicle,or boast of our nation's industrial progress-think of all such beautiful forests which are chopped away,heart shaped or not,to make way for man's desires.It isn't justified that we build our dream houses,destroying some fellow being's habitat.So every time you have a chance to make a difference,take the initiative.Remember,the Earth does have a heart-like you and me,somewhere deep down in the forests of S.America.

somebody call 101 please........

2008-11-06T09:23:00.006+05:30

it was one of those lovely sunday mornings when i was looking forward for mum to conjure up something fabulous to fill up the void space in my gut.taking my desperation as an advantage,mum set me up the task of cutting up vegetables-a few onions,chillies and some coriander leaves.for those of you who've never entered a kitchen,this is supposed to be one of those level 0 tasks any bharatiya nari is assumed to have mastered.the idea of how they do it ignoring all the tears and inspite of the blurry vision has never dawned upon me.

so here i am,all teary eyed,like a hindi movie heroine,putting all my math skills to test-trying to cut up the onions into equally small pieces.next come the chillies.mustve been some really evil ones since my hands can feel the heat and spice while simply ripping them apart as systematically as possible.and thus i managed to cross the last hurdle in the quest of a wonderful breakfast.

ya wondering why i mentioned the emergency number for the fire dept?no-i did not put the kitchen on fire.i did something very obvious once i was done-i went to wash up my hands.let me mention that i used a soap and also washed up my hands thrice.then i went ahead to splash water on face,as the chilly tears had made it all sticky.i touched my face with my hands and thats it-my face started burning like hell.and then i made the mistake of rubbing my eyes too with my hands.that was the final straw.after that,i was simply screaming,splashing as much water that i could gather in my palms on my face.it wasnt helping.all my facial muscles were in pseudo-combustion mode.i started running to and fro between the bathroom and my room,jumping and howling in pain,while my parents wondered why i was acting so loony.as i tried explaining in between sobs the trauma i was going through,my dad n mum exploded into laughter.they found it hilarious and my mum couldnt believe that the chillies could have actually been that spicy.i spent the next half hour with a wet piece of cloth dipped in a mug of cold water.and for those of you wondering why i did not use some ice-cubes-i had run out of all luck and there wasnt any ice in the house.so here i was,half hour later,staring at my pink faced reflection in the mirror.

and oh yes-there is a happy ending.......i devoured breakfast with utmost satisfaction!!

'Gray'T clouds

2008-10-29T22:39:00.003+05:30

How does gray look like?A mixture of black and white....But what kind of gray did God create? Many shades of course....but one of the most richest hues is the gray of the rain clouds....deep,like its hiding some secrets within.The sight of such clouds must indeed be an indication of Gods blessing for farmers.But for travelers like me,its a delight in its own way.Some may think its the manifestation of Gods wrath-taking the form of lightning and thunder.But when you see these gigantic masses,made up of plain vapor,welcoming you on your sojourn,slyly and sarcastically.....you cant help but surrender yourself to be engulfed by the sorcery of the Rain Gods.As long as good roads exist,you wouldn't blink to indulge in a shower of pure bliss.Never mind the mode of transport you are using-even if you are walking with an umbrella in hand,the pleasure experienced to be surrounded by countless raindrops is beyond description.

Conversation of X and Y

2008-10-24T20:58:00.003+05:30

The following post is partly fictional.Which part-that is for you to figure out.....

X and Y are traveling in a bus from a small village to a big town.There are many smaller blink-and-you miss-it villages in between,the kind that most people traveling between the small village and big town tend to overlook.X is on summer vacation and Y is a person much older to X.X initially hesitates to strike a conversation but this is how it goes.......
Y:You're on summer vacation?
X:Yes,visiting my native(big town).And you?
Y:Same-only thing is very few people are aware of its existence.
X:Oh,Ok-So you visiting your parents there?
Y:No,actually I'm visiting my childhood friend.I used to play with her a lot,figured out that i fell in love with her.So going to ask her to marry me.
X:Sounds like some movie story!!!
Y:Oh,you like movies?Whose your favorite actor?
X:Shahrukh Khan....
Y:Oh him-he hardly has any body to show off....I like Salman Khan better....
X:But he aint as good an actor as Shahrukh Khan.When you're an actor,acting should be the top priority.A well maintained body is how you gauge models not actors.
Y:Hmmm....you seem to be very good at things.You good at studies too?
X:Yeah...quite good only.
Y:Which is the subject that you hate most?
X:Kannada...(gets a weird look from Y) Thats cause you gotta write lengthy answers in it....It doesnt make sense actually.
Y:Oh,thats a weird reason...then I hope you dont have to study Kannada for any longer than you should be doing it.
X:Whats your name?
Y:Sandeep.
X:Oh,thats a nice name.Whats your mother tongue?
Y:I speak Urdu.
X:Thats funny.Sandeep sounds more like a Hindu name.
Y:Yeah I know,but my friends used to call me that when i was a kid.I liked it,and introduce myself with that name only.
X:Oh,thats an interesting story.
Y:Yeah....I should be getting off now,my village is almost here.
X:Ok,good luck with the girl.
Y:Thank You-and you with Kannada.

There you go-I know its different,and weird...in an unexplainable way.
All characters in this post are partially fictional, and any relation to those dead or living are purely by coincidence.

after life

2008-10-06T19:30:00.002+05:30

when people retire,what is the normal routine that everybody follows to give them a deserving send-off?
party,a function is organized,garlands etc etc
i havent really heard of how people in the MNC's retire-i guess bigger parties with lavish food and many bouquets of flowers....
the Indian railways treats its engine drivers in an unique style.the day the driver retires,the engine which he will be riding on is adorned with flowers and decorated in a befitting manner....not an inch is left uncovered.and on that day,even the fastest trains will have to stop to let our old guy pass...he is given the honor of not waiting at any signals.seems like they wanna say to him-your last day-you're the king!!!
i wish that when i retire-i wanna retire like an engine driver......

WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE????

2008-08-30T13:23:00.004+05:30

a video that i came across on youtube.....
i hope it stirs something in each person reading my blog....

the balancing act

2008-08-25T20:56:00.004+05:30

Picture a married man driving a scooter with his darling sari-clad wife seated behind.She holding on to his shoulder,while the man navigates through our desi roads.How decently romantic!
The Kerala govt disagrees.........
Taking note of the rise in the number of 2-wheeler accidents,the kerala high court has suggested an amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act(whoever knew it even existed?)
for prohibiting women in sarees from riding pillion on two wheelers.
According to the court,women wearing sarees sitting facing one side,with their legs sticking out,makes it difficult for the driver to negotiate roads with curves and potholes...hence leading to accidents.Never mind that the govt does not want to take up responsibility for the potholes.Instead,it comes up with an intelligent solution of prohibition of women wearing sarees riding pillion.
Is this going to change things in Kerala....are women going to switch to salwaar kameezes?Or is the auto rickshaw business going to encounter a sharp economical growth?
I wonder if this will be implemented in real....and if it is,will it change anything?

lessons!

2008-08-14T19:47:00.003+05:30

the past few days have seemed like ages....and ive learnt quite a few lessons!

selected and rejected are 2 heavy words...co-incidently,you use the same keys to type them out on a cellphone.

slippery bathrooms are bad for your head-and if you are unfortunate enough to have a fall,the entire process takes milliseconds!before you can even blink,you're on the floor and your head hurts like hell

Some exceptional people thought Abhinav Bindra was non-existent until he won the Gold at the Olympics

Money is funny!People can be unsatisfied with 30k per month whereas some families in India have to manage with Rs.900 per month

When bad things happen to you,you realise how good the good things are!

P.O.W.E.R............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-07-16T12:11:00.005+05:30

what is going on for the past few days...???????The life of all mysoreans has been constantly punctuated by power cuts.The newspapers said that the state was experiencing a shortfall of about 610MW power,420MW of it was owing to the stoppage of power generation by two RTPS units for maintainence....honestly-does any of this explaination make sense to the common man,whose life is completely dependent on electricity(mostly reflecting the plight of students like me who are supposed to be enjoying holidays,end up inventing new ways to do it minus electricity instead!!!!!)some said that this was because the central govt do not want to provide enough electricity to karnataka because a BJP govt has come to power in the state...but seriously,why pull the common man into all this?Isnt there a better solution?Some friends of mine are visibly shattered that the power crisis has been affecting their download time!!!! :P

i try to find alternative ways to kill time...

1.listen to fm-we mysoreans are blessed with only 2 radio channels to speak of....both of them competing furiously against each other for 'the worst radio station to ever exist' trophy...sigh!!!!whatever happened to soulful music eh?me and my dad have taken up to celebrating every time they finally decide to air a hindi song.ive realised the importance of the saying 'silence is golden' after listening to these radio channels.

2.try to beat your dog in a sleep-marathon......tough job!he sleeps,unmindful of the absence of electricity.For God's sake-cant he pretend to be an insomniac even for a
day?????????????

3.(applicable only after 7 on a cloudless night).....stare at the stars!!!! count them if you plan to do no.2 and no.3 simultaneosly.

4.grab a good book!!ive learnt to read between the lines........ :)

5.in case of a messy room(applicable 99/100 times-btw,tell me if you're the odd person out,my mum will dedicate a monument to you maybe)........CLEAN!!!!!! i can guarentee you that it will keep you occupied for anywhere between 2-4 hrs.and after the effort,you can definitely get back to competing with your dog on the sleep marathon that i mentioned earlier.

6.explore the city!go for a walk man!everytime i look out and see betta from my terrace i feel nostalgic about missing this city,maybe a year from now .... :(

7.read the newspapers!amazing how much information can be crammed into such a small space-an art,mastered by journalists and students :D

8.gardening......its a nice feeling to stare out of the window into the garden when it rains!!!!

i guess that should definitely keep you occupied until the govt works out on a solution.any more ideas-do let us all know-surely it would be of immense help.ahhh-lemme just post this before the power goes off again....!!!!!!!!

HAIL NEWTON!!!!

2008-07-07T20:23:00.004+05:30

newton's third law states....."For every action,there is an equal and opposite reaction"...The application of this law can be extended to fields beyond physics....over here,the 1st pic shows me wid another pup,and sonu sniffing and investigating my activities of the evening.....anyways,i had to wash the shirt myself to stop him from glueing his nose to it.....

Here's to Newton-who could predict sonu's behaviour!!!!!!!!!

PROJECT LEAKY "BALTI"

2008-06-09T01:16:00.000+05:30

Disclaimer:This blog entry contains quite a few technical terms…..so feel free to refer to google…..

6th sem….Mini project: A graphics package to implement skills learnt in theory and lab…….

Skills learnt-in theory and prac-woah!Hardly attended theory.And prac-just a simple manipulations in our id’s-copy,paste from somebody else’s account……..

Nevertheless ,me and chooti-my project partner decided to do something original-i.e-we decided that its about time we stopped flicking our senior’s codes,which themselves mustve been flicked from God-knows-where…..Finally zeroed onto “Graphical Simulation of Leaky Bucket Algorithm” after asking our lab incharges for their “valuable opinion” (read worthless)…..

Mock interview-As I was being bombarded by 2 seniors,one workin in National Instruments and the other freshly recruited in Microsoft ( I wasn’t doing very well ),they throw a glance at me when I tell them on what I plan to do my project …….
“You think you can finish it ?” . I said “Yes”, almost confidently……And I wondered-“Is that supposed to be tough?”…………I would find my answer soon…..

After innumerable queries from Rubs regarding the progress of my project,I finally make a statement one Monday evening that I will start drawing my balti…..And next day morn,I do start….After an hour’s work of fiddling with the co-cordinates,I finally have a balti…hurray…!!!!!!!! My euphoria dies down after a few minutes when I realize the magnitude of the implementation of the rest of the project code…..

For the next few days,the ‘balti’ took over most of our times….I say ‘our’ times-which include Me,Aditi(Chooti),Bhatta and Guru…..and last but of course not the least chooti’s granny who had been supplying food to keep our brains going……Even in my dreams,I spent most of the time adjusting virtual life size viewports which would pop out of nowhere as if it were a monster……

In the course of our project, we learnt from our mistakes…and made the same mistakes again,coz I guess somewhere along the way,we fell in love with them.In the beginning,we were on the wrong track….spending our time trying to implement what we visualized.Srinath Sir’s advice put us on the right track.Better late than never………And within 3-4 days…voila…..our project was ready…!!!!!!!!HURRAY!!!!!!!!!!

Our project might not be spectacular,most other projects are games…or we might not be experts at writing codes…..But in the course of this project,we’ve learnt more from making mistakes than from any textbook.

Acknowledgements :
Chooti….for being the project partner….!!!!!
Guru........for helping figure out the logic behind making multiple packets appear…..
Bhatta…..for sticking around and filling our ‘balti’…….. :D
Chooti’s granny……for the food,without which this entire project would’ve been impossible
Arjun…..for the snapshots…..ahh,ive never been so delighted by the sight of anything else!!!!!
Srinath Sir…..for showing us the way

Last but not the least……
Pratibha and Madan,our project guides …… for their “valuable opinions”