The Beatles of Blah Blah

Gratefullness Part 1

2009-09-04T00:50:00.000-07:00

He had a fitful sleep but was happy that it was morning. At least he could go out and breathe the crisp morning air. Waiting to get away from the suffocating room. Something fresh to replace a stale existence temporarily. As he walked out of his room briskly thoughts came out his head like a hot geyser out of cold earth. A distinguished English teacher at his peak, he was very close to his ideals. He was proud of this. His ideals were the imaginary gods he prayed to and kept happy. It was the same reason due to which he was alone even post retirement.

He lost touch with relatives long time back and he practically lived alone since the age of fourty. He recollected events in his life as he walked down the dirt path down to the main road leading to the corporation playground. Teaching at the local government school had never been easy since the students were not very much interested in anything apart from breaking something or the other save for very few students who tried hard but never gave him intellectual satisfaction. It was not like this always, he taught in an elite school for around twenty years he was thrown out for bad attendance and temper. The truth was that the standard of the school had gone down. Being a disciplined teacher meant that he was old school therefore unfit for the current crop of students who were impertinent and they came to school since they just had to. A bad period followed which led to him joining a government school another move which backfired for him.
He satiated himself on literature -the Elliots, the Wordsworths, the Salingers kept his pallate hungry for more. From popular fiction to classics there was virtually no author he missed, no poet he did not relish. He enjoyed good literature like a gourmet, the cheap ones supported his survival. He wrote voraciously as well. His ill maintained single bedroom apartment was full of paper, books and silverfish. The journey from being a gregarious person to a loner was slow. A forced metamorphosis. May be it was meant to be this way he thought as he walked into the public garden. He perched himself on a bench.

I am in a meeting and I dont want you to disturb me

2009-08-26T03:39:00.000-07:00

Have been reading a lot of Dilbert so wanted to weave a yarn around some stolen concepts and some of my own experiences. I does not necessarily refer to me :-)

It was great to be there. Yes trust me the babes were really hot. Here I was working for this software company with a paltry salary. But for once I felt really happy as they sent me on site to a Carribean country dont remember which one. The beaches were great and the attitude of the people rocked. Felt like staying there forever. Then the hottest female in the whole beach called me by my name . I wondered how she knew my name??? That too in the most perfect Indian accent. When I took a closer look .. it was magical… it was truly my dream come true kinda gal . . The female who works in ABC services- dunno her name - called me. She asked me in the most morbid fashion if i was paying attention . Sounds started echoing in my brain. people giggling and laughing. I woke up to realize that I was in the freezing board room of the IT company for which i worked. I realised that I was in India and not in some exotic beach. Darn went all my dreams.

My hopelessly unsmart project manager kept yapping about how we must keep in touch with the latest technology and how one becomes outdated in the industry very soon etc etc… The female who called my name out was a good friend - who wanted to wake me up from my slumber . She was the only person who could discuss a wide variety of topics. The others were near robots. Never thought from their own brains. Always outsourced their thinking to some idle brain like me !!

I suddenly realised that did not pay even a seconds attention to what the psycho was saying. I surealy knew that no one else spoke because he was a tyrant, a person who belonged to the secret brotherhood of hecklers. His morphine was speech, in speech he did everything - took the company from a rag to a billion dollar company ( his latest fad nowadays), recruited some thousand people, converted us unsmart people to entrepreneurs and a lot more came from the hollow cave behind his tongue and head ? Yeah.

My case is very cliched. I am hopelessly single. Working for peanuts ( but paying a large amount for peanuts too in restaurants and other creative money burning avenues !!!). Get easily frustrated when I see the hordes of good looking females in It parks. Eveything else is more or less stable.Could have a good future if I dont screw things up intentionally.

The boardroom for me is the place of my dreams meaning the air conditioning is perfect and you can think and pamper yourself by dreaming about anything. Moreover you are not in front of your PC in your sappy cubicle.

Hits and Misses of the IPL

2009-05-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Frankly this years IPL is far better in terms of quality than the previous one. Bowlers are getting Man of the Match awards. The best players in the world are still the run scorers. Great shots can be played in a 2020 too. Closer games. More professionalism. But a lot of cricket buffs have dismissed it as being slam bang but when they come home from office they have a score to catch up with. And the Fake IPL Player ? We love masala isnt it ?
Although I enjoy the event thoroughly. I hate comparisions with One Dayers and Test Matches. There are certain points which I feel strongly about as far as the IPL is concerned. The chearleader thing is unecessary, the concept springs out of this irresistable itch to copy the west. The tactics used by the shows organizers to focus the cameras only on the crowded stands. Using sponsor names instead of saying that it is a '4' or a '6' is idiotic.
The beauty of 2020 is that it could be anybodys game. An over or two could change things dramatically. The wooden spoon winners of last year have performed brilliantly thus far. The finalists were lingering at the bottom of the table at least for some time.
For obvious reasons the Kolkata Knight Riders have not been performing well. Horrendous management decisions seems to be the root cause. The team owner's histrionics proves that he is the same even in real life. The coach proposing the multiple captian theory. A mercurial dada. Their failure is a lesson to all the managers of the franchisees. Cricket is a game of strategy and matches cannot be won by synthetic means. Real talent will talk. If we remove this officious characters and means of acheiving TRP's and in place try to be mature in non match content I beleive that the IPL could be a 'greater' show.
The make up is not required since the face is beautiful without it !!!

Civics is not a subject really . . .

2009-04-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

I never understood the civics which was taught to me in school. I used to secretly love history but never civics. My teachers would hum lines from the text and we would pretend that we are underlining the important passages which come in the board exams. All those rights. The preamble. When teachers notice closed eyes gaping mouths oozing saliva they would come up snippets of General Knowledge. I am talking about class 9,10 when we were begining to develop some political insight. We were extremely patriotic in a filmy way. Did not know what right wing meant or what what left wing meant.

At that time we were not aware of an election commision. We could owe our awareness now to the numerous news channels. Good old Doordarshan never mentioned about them. Had they mentioned it would have been discussed over dinner. Snapshots of Mr Deve Gowda taking ten winks together on television stir my mind when I think of it. Coming back to civics - my suggestion is that there should be practical work in civics as opposed to drowsy classes. Students will stop shaking in their knees if civics is before english literature in the afternoon.

The practical work should give case studies like this - considering the current political scenario.
The Congress party has 10 allies, BJP 10 also there are a bunch of other regional parties angry over something or the other. Which of these parties would stick to their original allegiances ?
If this subject is taught at a time when elections are not on. The title of the project should be this - before the elections in 2009 the following was the coalition structure, please buy another notebook specifically to keep track of the different fronts - no stupid not the left front. I am talking about the third, fourth, fifth ... fronts (remember arithmetic progression !!) . Please go to the kabadi wala if possible and get all the old newspapers scourge for information and list all the parties with the date and the front they belonged to. If possible also add ( for humorous purposes ) why they were in that front. The conclusion of the project should include the actual results of the elections - change of alliances and comments.

For repeaters the topic would be fairly easy. Mapping political promises to actual work done.

Marks would obviously be awarded for correctness in prediction, hadwriting and how many colours were used in the report.

In awe of Eastwood

2009-04-13T02:07:00.000-07:00

Recently I saw two acclaimed movies of last year - Gran Torino and Changeling. I watched Gran Torino sometime back and I loved them. Yesterday I happened to watch Changeling, but it completely slipped out of my mind that it was also directed and written by Clint Eastwood. Both the movies have such distinct styles and they had not been released after a huge gap. Gran Torino starred the man himself and literally carried the movie on his shoulders even at such an advanced age. Changeling was an inspiring movie without chest thumping dialoges but neat. When the titles suggested that it was Clint Eastwood who directed it I was amazed.
The other day I was watching an episode of Entourage - a 'dramedy' revolving around a movie star and his travails in Big Bad Hollywood along with his friends - slick in its approach and stylish to the hilt. The protagonist shoots a movie along with a German director and a particular scene required multiple retakes. The Hero( a very patient guy ) goes crazy, insists that the director explain what was wrong with the scene. The director replies that the hero is being himself which is not required for movie but he has to play the character written for him. Then the director says that any movie is a directors baby. For an actor it is just another performance, they go into the next project without any problems - whereas for a director a movie it is a matter of years of thinking crystallised. So no movie belongs actually to an actor but to the director. Of course this applies only to masters of the art.
Gran Torino and Changeling reflects this very argument. Clint Eastwood is such a master at story telling, not belonging to any league but his own

Two sides of a thick coin.

2009-03-07T04:08:00.001-08:00

The wise men said Athithi Devo Bhava, I have also read about it in text books in school. Experiencing it could be a little tough but if you pay loads of money people might do ADB duty reluctantly.
I was suffering from a terrible headache for around 3 three days. I wanted to consult a doctor for the same. I walked into a swanky hospital very apprehensively knowing that I can come out in tattered clothes. Since the headache was just unbearable the part of the brain which wanted to save itself from the raging virus forced me to enter the premises of a hospital which offers a discount on heart surgery (as suggested by a board outside ).
I had to wait for another half an hour to fourty five minutes during which I had to fill up a gazzilion forms asking questions to the uninterested receptionist. Finally my turn came and I entered the doctors cabin. She was late by another 15 minutes. The lady smiled, we shook hands , apologized for being late after which she started asking me about what I do where I work etc. After around 10 minutes she asked me what my problem was. I explained that I have a persistent headache which is driving me crazy. In between our conversation she had also mentioned that she was working in the US before coming back to India. My head had stopped thobbing a little, the lady made me feel really comfortable. Before every question with repect my personal habits she added words like "If you dont mind may I know if you are a smoker ?". Her instructions where crystal clear and she examined me almost for half an hour.
She wrote her instructions on a paper like an essay explaining my condition so that the next time I come with the same problem I dont have to "go through" a lot of formalities or at least there would be a history of all my health issues. I had an issue with my neck beacuse of spending long hours in front of the computer and not exercising it enough - and that was causing a throbbing headache. As opposed to the usual . What do you do ? I am a software engineer. Hmm You people are so reckless with your habits. Hehe. Ok take these medicines on time, and a . . you come back to me after a month or two. Ya ok fine . Nurse !!
Headache or no headache I felt like seeking an appointment with the Doctor every week so I can just talk with her feel happy and start my day. It was a first time experience for me.

The Flip Side.
I had to check if my Bank Account had been created with a leading PS Bank on the same day. I felt really happy because of the doctor experience. I sat in front of the lady who was supposed to anser my questions. She was talking over the phone sometimes and talking to the person sitting next to me. The dude left and I was alone in the cabin with this sleepy old lady. She kept checking some stuff, signing letters, cheque books , she was also talking over the phone. This continued for another 15 minutes. I initiated 'Madam I have come here to collect my cheque book, it has been a month since I applied and I have not received any post regarding this'. Then I had to answer a series of questions which I have answered at least 5 times - "When did you apply for the account ? " - Answer - 3 months back. "When did you apply for the cheque book ?" - Answer - 1 month back. "Hmmm Can you come next week, I am really busy this whole week " - Answer - But that is what you said last week. "Arrey !! You should have come in the morning then , I am really tied up in the afternoons " - Answer - I am sorry I am working and I can come only during lunch hours. "Sigh ! Ok fine ". Some name was called and it turned out to be a peon. He was instructed to give me the cheque book. He shook his head and went inside in a hurried manner. He came out with a flask of coffee or tea or poison or whatever it was. I asked him - "Boss where s my cheque book " - "Oh sorry sir I ll bring it rightaway ". After 15 mins I got my cheque book. The lady smiled feebly , I left the bank in a huff.
I guess since I did not have billions of notes in my account I was treated shabbily . Another instance is when I had to change my address. I was made to go through 5 minutes of hell before the half bald guy changed it.

Well, I experienced rare treatment on that day . The other 'normal' treatment was what I could relate better with. :D

The sad story of culture

2009-02-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

Right and Left are strange bedfellows. They care of their child Culture with a feeling of overwehlming responsibility. To the extent of becoming overbearing.
Right also hates Left and vice versa, they snide and chide each other but to the outside world they are one. Since our society has undergone rapid urbanization in the past decade, the rules of playing the game seem to have changed. Culture is a big person now, Left thinks that Culture should not be hanging out in pubs and strutting about in malls wearing loose clothes. Left does not like the attention Culture is getting. Left wants Culture to be demure and workaholic, Culture should not indulge in acts of pompousness or indulgence. Culture is not acting upon the standards set by the forefathers.
Right on the other hand has radically different thoughts. Culture can be indulgent. What is so wrong about it ? Even if Culture tries to be like some other person. Right gives two hoots about having a defined identity. Culture can be imitative and pretentious. Theres no problem with that. Left and his friends and idiotic and unreasonable. Why should they put shackles on Cultures feet. Right quotes Cool and says this is correct. Gives examples of evolving cultures, quotes lines from movies and snubs Right. Right secrelty asks Culture to stay away from Left as much possible. Left is bad influence.Left fears for some reason that if Rights ideas are followed, Culture would remain backward.
Right conversely thinks that if Lefts ideas are implemented then the Rights lofty ideas of respect would be lost.

Unfortunately, Culture could not thrive in a place where everybody is right and wrong !

Dial/Do Nothing for the Moral Police

2009-02-09T13:18:00.000-08:00

The Indian Police are famous for arriving at any crime scene after it has been committed, thus goes the cliche. But not the moral police, they are always present at the scene of the crime even before it gets committed. It is a part of their job description - finding couples comforting each other in the public because of parental issues at home and shooing them off because they wanted that shady part in the park to smoke their beedis and play cards.

I salute the Pink Chaddi campaign and their initiative to take this issue to the next level of its fate. Frankly there is no end to this debate. That is precisely the reason why these hoodlums get their employment and their employees the moollah to carry out valiant attacks on pub going people. That is exactly the reason why there are so many people affiliated to political parties - because there is so much to debate. And, the best part is you do not have to conclude anything. Did Ram live here ? Did Ram actually build a bridge to Sri Lanka ? The debate is endless.

What defines our culture ? Who is the caretaker ? Which communities should be allowed to do what ? Ok let me define it. Who the heck are you to define it ? It is my prerogative. No its mine.

Doesnt this explain all the excitement !!

Awaiting the biggest blockbuster of the year.

2009-01-18T07:28:00.000-08:00

Yes ! Barack Obama swearing in to become the president of the United States of America. Like a huge blockbuster in the making, publicized and marketed, Obamas presidency has huge expectations on it. The swearing in ceremony has whipped up huge interest and people are going to throng around Television sets all over the world to witness the new star.
He is going to deliver the world from its current economic woes by bailing out the economy. He would forge new partnerships with India. Raising spending on healthcare and other tax related reforms. Osama bin laden will be captured ! He is basically going to clear the rot which has been fermenting under the dirty carpet. These expectations are not less than sky high. Obama related goodies has suddenly become a profit making business in the United States.
This is just the build up to the actual thing and people have already started feeling happy about it. That is where the problem basically starts. Everyone wants to live in a recession and terror free world. But it is wrong of everybody again to pin their hopes on the president of the the United States.
Obama is no superman. I do not expect much of him. However I am happy that he is holding the position because he seems to have a rare case of sophistication !! Reviving the economy or doing magical things is not the doing of a single individual. If his team does a good job it can stem the rot to a certain extent.

Slumdog Millionare

2009-01-12T22:23:00.000-08:00

A Bollywood masala flick by a Hollywood director. The mozart of Madras winning the Golden Globe award for what is certainly not his best composition. A very 70's Bollywood rags to riches formula with the present day & Mumbai scum as its background. It was a truly gripping film with its share of twists and turns but from a very Indian point of view this is certainly not that movie which should have got the first Golden Globe. There have been many truly wonderful pieces off Indian Cinema which have been doled out for the past so many years but they were never recognised .
Whatever the movie has to offer has already been discussed. These are my opinions on the other stuff.
Anil Kapoor has long been one of the most underrated actors in the Hindi film industry - constantly sidelined and always out of the glare. The host of 'Who wants to be a millionare' in Slumdog, Anil Kapoors performance was top class. The negative shade was rendered beautifully in the movie, it was also a never seen before gig by him.
A.R.Rehman has always been away from the din of the media. The soft spoken genuis from Madras whose talent has been begging for attention for the last couple of decades. With an impeccable record Rehman should be revered as a contemporary musical genius. The 60s and 70s were considered to be the golden age for Hindi music. This is very much true but good music in the 90s and 00s has very much had the 'Rehman' stamp on it.
Mahesh Manjrekar for delivering all those profanities with so much ease - another under rated actor/director.
A bunch of talented but unkown/ under rated/ unknown actors have hit the nail on the center of the head with less effort. It is easy to make a movie on Mumbai - theres a tale in every street. But it is not possible to make another Slumdog Millionare or Satya or Vastav.
Kudos to team Danny Boyle who had the guts to do something like this.

Media Sensibility and other Jokes Part 1.

2009-01-10T22:05:00.000-08:00

India's fourth estate is as diverse as the country itself.
You have the national news channels - motley of Hindi and English news channels and entertainment channels. Or as Homer Simpson would suggest 'Infotainment Channels'. From a dog marrying an guy ( is it a bitch !? who cares ) to Magicians performing their mumbo jumbo on scantily clad girls. This is what our Hindi media has to show from a country of some millions more than a billion . Oh yes ! I forgot about the talk shows - the audience is fed with all this gobledeegook and then comes that part when phony people up to ask their weirdo questions.
Out of Cricketers comment on the performance of the Boys in Blue. Thank God the team has been winning more than often nowadays. At least for the good of the country the media has good things to say about them. Otherwise the current working/performing cricketers would see their own putlas burning in some by alley of Kanpur - as part of an 'exclusive' coverage by some news channel.
The english news channels are a bit more polished because they cater to the so called intelligensia ( I do not think any body in their right minds would listen to the Hindi media ). They seem to have better content obviously in a country like India you cannot run out of content. And then theres the world to cover and comment about ! Sometimes you get the feeling that the over the top news anchors know very less about the subject so they act emotionally and become a part of the debate instead of moderating the conversations. I am referring to the India - Pakistan debates hed on television in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks.
Even if the content is same there is a small difference between the Hindi and English media the way it is presented is pretty different. The Hindi news channels add adjectives and adverbs in a very politicianisque way so even a remotely positive news , rare species but not extinct yet.
The debates are better in the English news channels simply becasue of the contacts the higher ups in the news channels hav got and not because of the information provided or debated over. The hindi news channels are just not interested in quality - It is not a part of their manifesto !
The most intriguing part of the whole Infotainment business is the music. Well, the haunting music which becomes a part of any so called serious news item has such screwball bgms that you are reminded of a Ramsay ghost buster flick.

The Movie Buff

2009-01-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

What are your hobbies? Well, I love reading books, listening to music and watching movies - I am a movie buff if you like it.
Who is the true movie buff ?

I hear a sob as I watch Taare Zameen Par in the theatre ( First Day First Show ! ). A seemingly normal guy cries as he sees Ishaan Awasthi struggling with his Math, English and all the other subjects. I am sure like a Yash Chopra dream sequence he would have sung Maa in the screen but with a mid ninties sort of editing. Although the song was really heart warming meant to melt even the hardest of iron hearts. The same person would empathize with Ranbir Kapoor in Bachna E Haseeno and feel loved/ cheated in the same way as the protagonist himself. An elder version of this movie buff clan would have surely got influenced by Kamals Indian ( Hindustani ) and got an adrenaline shot after coming out of the theatre. The wannabe friendly 'Bhai' across the street wants to be the next Munnabhai. The next successful entrepreneur ( which is like 90% of the educated youth of today ) wants to be like Guru - mouthing dialogues from the movie very seriously when faced with uncomfortable questions. The worst variety - people who cry while watching a Karan Johar movie ( eeeewk )

All those happy new years.

2008-12-31T08:40:00.000-08:00

It is at moments like this when I truly feel nostalgic. I believe everybody who has had an enjoyable past would surely be. How were New Years in the simpler times ? ( I am not 80 years old !! )
We would huddle near the television till around eleven or twelve to watch the year end specials. My parents would sacrifice their sleep by 2 hours to live the moment of the New Year. Doordarshan would have really exciting countdowns of the best songs of the year. Although we would most surely know which song it would be, the excitement would carry us through the programme. Comedy shows bringing together the best actors from the television industry. The year end specials would have a movie which would have released like six to seven months back. The entire neighbourhood would reverberate with the sounds of these special programmes.
As far as celebrations go a cake from one of Calcuttas finest shops - Nahoums in New Market or Flurrys at Park Street would set the tone for the evening. Not to mention of course Plum Cakes, Candies and other goodies from our neighbours.
After cable television came we would tune ourselves to CNN or BBC to see visuals of fireworks from cities which have already experienced that moment.
People started becoming more private and stopped sharing their goodies unfortunately. May be that is something we start noticing after we become adults, but thats a different issue altogether.
Now the story is different. I had always wanted to cut that cake at the stroke of midnight for the sake of fashion. Although I can do that readily - in some corner of my heart I feel that I have already experienced the joy years before I have done it.
Anyway all said and done - I wish everybody (and myself secretly) a very happy year.

Ghajini

2008-12-27T09:33:00.000-08:00

I saw the movie Ghanjini in a near seedy movie theatre in Hyderabad. For a seedy theatre the security was great, well I presume. The pan chewing ticket checker had to don the role of a bomb checker as well (recession you see). He tried hard to not spil the pan which flooded and filled his mouth so his mouth was shaped liked the hull of a ship as he checked everything. He asked me to switch of my cell phone also.
Forget about the initial stunts. Coming to the movie. I had seen the Tamizh version of the movie twice in the theatres. I have never had the opinion that it was a great movie. To be honest I went to the movie to watch Aamir Khan. Unfortunately it was what I did not want to watch (Asin, Jiah Khan and their gang) got more screen presence than the great Khan. Asin kept screeching her dialogues, Jiah Khan always has this perplexed look on her face. The villain - Ghajini Dharmatma ( I felt like laughing like the Joker does for his introduction in The Dark Knight when I heard the name ) looks like the smiley which tells us that the guy at the other end is angry. He does a good job of maintaing that till the end - of course barring the times when he is with the ladies.
Well, the story is simple - the heroine is killed and the hero seeks revenge for it. But hey theres a catch - the hero keeps forgetting what happens after every 15 minutes.
That sounds like 'Memento' which is an undoubted classic. But the directors have done a good job by just using those parts which would suit the great Indian Movie goers taste. All said and done it is fast paced but a huge yawn nonetheless.

Lots of questions.

2008-12-11T11:17:00.000-08:00

Like any patriotic Indian I feel saddened by the mindless massacre at the gateway and other places in Bombay. Unfortunately we did not react this way when there were blasts in most major cities in India in the course of the last year. My uneasy feeling is that we tend to react only when the numbers are high.

Why did people suddenly not rise up in unison over the killings in Kashmir ?
When the Guwahati blasts happened no one expressed this much angst ? Why can't we be one in our voice and unprejudiced in our anger towards terror ?

Condemnation is not the solution. Jaipur, Bangalore, Malegaon where given the same treatment.
In a classroom if a group of students behave badly - one smack where it hurts sometimes is the solution for the class to go on.

What happens when the school itself is attacked ? The parliament our country had been attacked in 2003. How would the United States have reacted if the White House is reacted.
Scores of people were killed in 1993 Bombay Blasts. The perpetrator is sipping cold coffee in his comfy confines.

This is certainly not a battle of equals. It is a battle of the patience versus cock sure stupidity. It is like the arrogant street speedster who believes that he can breach the gates of Rahul Dravid in the first delivery.

They say that when the patient get angry the world is not the same anymore.

Stale Sounds / Fresh Sounds

2008-11-28T07:03:00.000-08:00

Just the way we get bored of stale or repetitive food. Same sounds irritate us. The same people shouting, screaming, scheming, singing, talking,speaking at/to us. It gets irritating beyond a certain point. That is why house wives get bored. That is why our 9 to 5 parents typically got irritated and bored when we mentioned that we got just pass marks in our exams.
Imagine a situation where our mentally battered father - typically murmuring some thing about his boss and how people keep buttering him to get their work done. At the end of the end he growls - you were supposed to get your Maths results today right ? How much did you get ? In class 6 or 7 every kid has this strange behaviour which makes every parent feel that their kids are lying or something.
The number comes out like balls of iron from the mouth. It is involuntary - fourty six and a half, 20 students out of 45 failed in this exam. I said that this is involuntary !! The last bit is never heard though.
The paper comes back on the face with the pace of Allan Donalds yorker. Cliches are hurled on after the other. Titles are served. It kind of ends with the start of the evening news. A sigh of relief is heaved.
A strange sort of determination fills us. The next time I am going to beat the topper surely. What does he actually do? nothing much he just reads he lessons daily . And wait a minute he cannot bat as well as I do (hehe). Oh yes that is the reason why he has the time. Alright I am also going to do the same thing from tommorow. It is gonna be me and him from the next test onwards.
I hear the fresh sound of stumps being thwacked into the ground.The cricket ground is visible from my room.Oh they are splitting their team too. Ah screw it let me refresh myself before I undertake the biggest battle of my life !!

A Quantumn Of Malice

2008-11-21T01:47:00.000-08:00

Normalcy fuels Anger.

You are very angry with yourself or with something or someone. Walking down the road with friends. Something which happened just before this has got you very irritated. A thousand thoughts are reverberating in your head. You are busy making a list of people you want to torture, taking references from good old villain Ajit's villanous days. One of your friends, usually joky, cracks a real bad one. It lands into the meat of you cerebellum where you are cooking your anger in fire of wrath. You feel like cracking the skull of the nitwit who spoilt you recipe.
What reactions can you evoke. You fumble a smile at Lord of Bad Timing.

Although it is pretty normal of the guy to crack one from time to time. This normalcy irks at that point of time. You want the world to react to your sorry mental state. Just then you also see a couple fondling each other. Your singleton state adds itself to the burning pot with a plop.

We are like this only !

2008-10-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah Wali is the builder of the Golconda Fort in Hyderabad. A true architectural marvel . It is also a heritage site. So I was pretty excited to visit the place. Although I visited the Golconda Fort a long time back I wanted to relive the magic.

It started raining heavily in Golconda from the moment we reached the palce. We had to take refuge in a shop nearby. It was pitiful because we had to wait for around 45 mins in a packed shop.

After the rain subsided, the drizzle continued but the atmosphere was absolutely set for a wonderful tour with the cool weather and a cloudy sky. Had Mani Ratnam been there he would have surely shot a song with the magnificent setting for the drop !!

Well we started exploring the fort reading all the boards displayed related to the historical significance of each and every aspect of the fort. The fort is like a complete town in itself, I believe a lot of people still live inside the fort area.
The fort was truly a great touring option with its minarets and beautiful views out to the city. On one side the traditional Muslim architecture could be noticed and a view from another side would give a view of the latest and swanky buildings.

But that is just the far view. If you notice the side alleys and wild outgrowth in the lonelier parts of the fort you can see packets of Lays and Bingo chips lying all around. The walls are scribbled with the love stories of various Romeos and Juliets. Rajesh loves Deepa, Aftab loves Noor , i guess they forgot to paste a photograph of their lovers there . The narrow passage ways stink and the side drains are clogged with Chai cups and Chips packets. Did the Sultan litter the place before the enemy attacked ? I could not beleive my eyes when i witnessed the dirt and filth inside the fort.

The mosque at the top most level of the Fort is very beautiful, the fact that no should go into the old Mosque with footwear is mentioned clearly but a lot of love stories are inscribed on the walls of the mosque and well, the footwear rule is flaunted ruthlessly.

That day was Vijaya Dashami so music was blaring from four speakers attached at the entrance of the fort (inside the fort). Colorful streamers hung from the ancient walls. Is this how heritage sites are maintained in our country ?? A heritage site should be left at its peace. I understand the religious needs of people. But to hold some religious function disturbing the peace of an ancient fort is unbelievable.

I was shaking my head at this entire spectacle of hypocrisy !!

We are like this only !!

Achievements Galore.

2008-10-19T04:11:00.000-07:00

Last week although very bad for the world economy and corporates, it was a really successful week for India in two aspects. One the fact that writer Arvind Adiga won the booker prize for his book "The White Tiger" and the other one Sachin Tendulkar becoming the highest scorer in test matches.

While Arvind Adiga is an achiever in his own respect, Sachin has remained an icon for time immemorial. While going through the post analysis in the newspapers and blogs there are certain observations I am forced to make, at the same time a few questions pop into my head as a very conscious Indian. Achievement in sport and Literature simultaneously for any country just shows how much impact the country is having on the world. It also shows what may come out in the future.

The media must have devoured these news bits like piranhas but the pertinent question here is - Is this the maximum our people can achieve ?
The achievements though par excellent do not really give the true picture of what a capable nation like ours can do.

It is surprising what could be achieved with a little support and encouragement. There are so many budding writers, sportsmen, classical dancers, people who specialize in traditional arts like Bidri works etc (which by the way are dying).
Parents think that if children take up things other than science, medicine are being adventurous and would land up nowhere.

This brings into my mind funny incidents which usually happen in trains to me.
In a train (specially in the second class and in the long distance ones) people would ask me a question "Where do you work ?" when I say the name of the company ( in this case an IT company ) they would start off by giving their own judgements on the IT industry in India and how people make money. My Brother in law's .... is working in (IT company) why dont you join that company ?? they take everyone they see . . . (evil laughter follows).

The funniest one being :
A car comes to pick my neighbors son !!! Why cant you work in a company that provides these facilities ???

A waft I identify well.

2008-10-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

I am in a subconscious state. My mind is fighting with my body. It is that state when I am aware of the inputs given to my brain by the all the senses, but I am just not awake. Then a very familiar waft hits my nose. In a trance I wake up and go the kitchen, my eyes can now perceive light. I perceive touch when a familiar warmth grips me. I perceive sound when my mother says it is 5:30 brush your teeth your coffee is ready.

Sometime in the mid 90's - An uncomplicated period, everything was routine and beautiful. Coffee would wake me up and I would take bath go to school, come back after school play cricket or football then sit down to studying. Throw in a little bit of extra curricular activities lots of fun with friends and we had a life which was a life which was rocking.

Shopping meant going to a market, bargaining with the shopkeeper, making false promises that we would come back to shop if the goods were sold at a particular price. The flashy stores though few would be avoided since the prices are automatically assumed to be high. Every brand though less in number would be fixed for example toothpaste had to be Colgate and washing powder had to be Nirma or Ariel and things like that.

Television meant waiting with baited breath for the one and only and favorite serial to come on air. Cable television is used only by the rich and snobbish people - They do not have the decency to allow us when there is an India Pakistan match in Sharjah, what good can they do. Doordarshan with its crappy graphics and VIBGYOR screen savers were a treat. Serials were quite mesmerizing and kept the viewer from guessing what would happen next. Traffic at that point would be a little less since the serials were on and by the way which city in India was awake after 7:30 or 8 ?

Prime time television was a mixed bag - a news show hosted and conducted by the best in the business. A comedy serial which should guarantee a few laughs here and there. A serious one to cater to the "family audiences". A count down show were film songs would be shown ( the top three songs would be shown for its entire duration ).

Intelligent discussions would follow as to what might happen next in the serial or what would be the next song in the countdown. People who would be proved right would have a momentary ego high. Predictions were tough but not impossible to make was the message every body got.

Sometime after the mid 2000's

It has just been a decade of the simple life. Checking the left pocket for the mobile phone has become a routine job. A sudden outburst of nervous energy happens when something in our head says "Check if you have the phone or did you leave it at the coffee table ?". We jump up to check if the phone is in our left pocket.

The coffee now forces me to stay awake rather than waking me up from sleep !!

The Madras Phenomenon

2008-09-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

No it is not what happens to you or what you do after you sweat a bucket even in December.

After having traveled in MTC buses for years I have made a ground shattering observation with possible economic and philosophical repercussions !!!

Even in a relatively free bus, by that I mean buses which have enough places on them for people to stand comfortably, most of the people would be standing near the entrance/ exit door. It is not only because conductors usually sit near them collecting fares for tickets but also when conductors are not around.

Eliminating crazy college goers who compulsively foot board you get a small crowd who keep gathering near the doors. I have never understood this thing because you might rather stand comfortably in the middle of the bus than smell obnoxious fumes - a motley of pollution, sweat and deodorant.

Forgot about the similes, the point I am trying to make is ( :P ) it appears as if people are disconnected with reality . . . They know when their stop would come but still they wait near the entrance hoping against all hope that the bus would develop wings and take them to their destination ( they certainly are not big fans of harry potter either if they think that this bus has nothing to do with the mugle buses).

I have noticed a similar trait in many people who get into something just for the heck of it and then realize that it was not worth getting into ( lack of internal clarity ). When the "stop" comes literally they just run out like school children after the days over !!!

A lot of people take housing loans or any loans for that matter because they think they can stretch their own financial limits. Once they are in they cant come out but they wait in anticipation of something which they do not know themselves. Bailing out becomes difficult in cases like these ( the US financial markets for eg ).

Please do not blame me for this post, it is Insomnia which brings out such ideas !!!

A Movie, The Movie

2008-09-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

Wall E is the name of the movie.
An invitation into the very headquarters of the creative head in Pixar studios.
Wall E is a story of a garbage collecting and assembling robot assisted by its man Friday - a cockroach. No one exists on the planet and New York city resembles a giant dump with holographic videos partly working on the sides of roads which is a usual futuristic concept . Amidst the costly plots in Manhattan, this robot is building his own garbage dump by packing all the waste that is left. The planet has become so polluted that it has become uninhabitable.

In comes EVE an evolved robot and certainly above WALL E in the robotic chain. WALL E over the years has accumulated a lot of things human and knows how to emote partly. EVEs mission is to retrieve any form of habitation. They meet and robotic romance happens before EVE finds a plant and goes back to the mother ship ( a la Noahs Ark ). What happens after that is a total roller coaster ride of adventures.

The creativity and graphics is not only spell bound but it also forces one to think of certain issues. The first being if humans keep wasting resources and may be end up in a nuclear confrontation, this is how the planet would up.

The second and the most important and immediate conclusion is one of frustration. The same sort of frustration is expressed when our country's medal tally in the Olympics is discussed. Why is it that our producers and directors spend hundreds of crores of ruppees in foreign locales shooting uneccessary song sequences and churning out duds .

The heroes of youtube !!

2008-09-20T00:09:00.001-07:00

I have developed a passion for cooking quite recently after watching my parents (father and mother), aunts, grand parents dishing out delicious stuff like a food factory. So i thought that instead of asking them every time i wanted to make something i might as well get the videos on youtube.

I would like to praise these individuals who without any marketing have become quite a rage on you tube at least as far as the cooking section is concerned. I am sure there might be many other people who display their culinary skills. Keeping that in mind i am going to list some videos which are watched fairly frequently and the feel is extremely homely.

By the way i guess it would help a lot of beginners !!!

I guess if you feel like adding more you could in comments section.

The first dish is Aloo Palak.
The id of this cook is carpediem43 - The entire video is narrated in English. (btw there are other videos from the same person which at least appear del.icio.us !!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw-csBdWwJM

I tried it and trust me it was yummy !!!

Because of my interest in South Indian (Tamil specifically) cuisine i decided to check out some videos regarding them.

I stumbled upon englishtamil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHTgfZzz__I&feature=related

This would take a little time but trust me it is good !!

And then for Rasam - oldernwiser0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXKc9EmXJ0c

I guess this is the easiest way of making it !!!!

I respect all the other cooks as well it is just that i stumbled upon these specific videos.

PS: It would be good if your actual names are revealed - not that your nom de plume's are not interesting !!

Ratatouille - Anybody can cook.

The IT Mill

2007-08-11T01:39:00.000-07:00

The Firm is seriously a great book. Although i have never considered it as one of the best books ever but I have started admiring it more than ever. Initially when the recruiters come to colleges they end up addressing a lot of expecting people. They give them the best possible picture of their enterprise. Wait a minute this is about mill a run of the mill Indian engineering college - this is no IIT, NIT or IIM , this is just a run of the mill Indian engineering college. Most of these blue eyed engineers are not even aware of the divine reason behind their engineering degree and of course the non IT guys yes those chemical engg guys, the mech guys even for that matter the ECE and the circuit branches as they call them. They are crammed into a large hall with a few smiling people addressing them - the recruiters.

Lofty promises are made about holiday packages, appraisals, a great work environment which always almost resembles a beach party in close confines. The engineers are impressed an they clap their hands with every photo being shown on the screen. Along with this they also give info about what technologies they use, some stuff about who the clients are again invoking a lot of oohs and aahs from the audience.

Once the interview process is completed and the names are announced there is jubiliation. Phone calls are made to parents who are extremely satisfied that their children are settled, they also know that in case their children will go abroad on day just to settle there with family. Those people who do not get selected obviously are discouraged.

Well some heaven for everybody who get selected. A lot of hell for everybody who does not. Lesser calls would have been made to your phone if you had been trapped in the aftermath of a bomb blast.

The honeymoon lasts until students actually join their dream jobs. Once the job starts the same old routine continues . . Swearing at the boss behind his back . You learn what bitching is . And ultimately you feel that the ones sitting at home are the lucky ones !!!!

Harry Potter delivers a blow

2007-07-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

Saw harry potter last night at inox in chennai. Before i proceed with my comments i want to say that i did not read the book. The movie begins ( came into the theatre 10 mins late after a dinner treat at rhapsody !! ) with allegations on harry potter that his encounter with the dark lord was a mere cook up. The ever protectful dumbledore is also apparently involved. The images which have been shown in the movie are truly amazing and brings to life the book in the best possible way . All the hary potter book fans have to agree that the book contains far too many characters and events. To cover all that in a two to two and a half hour time frame is a very tough job. But full marks to the cinematographer and and the camera man for making magic through their wares. Special mention has to be made about the new defense against the dark arts teacher - dolores umbridge planted by the ministry of magic headed by cornelius fudge. She has delivered a powerhouse performance again bringing life to the character. The scene were she tries to kick professor trelawney ( the build up to the scene included )out of hogwarts is particularly well done ( but of course professor dumbledore rescues the poor thing ).
The movie is obviously not complete without its faults. Again i have not read the book but i felt that ron and hermione were not given the screen space they deserved. The loose ends of certain scenes were dangling in mid air. These faults have to digested because it is not possible to bring every fact mentioned in the book.
All said and done it is a must watch. The movie was of course a great stress buster for me given the fact that i watched it after a hectic day of work and still managed to stay awake through the movie.

Selection of the finest urdu poetry

2007-05-12T03:02:00.000-07:00

Thought since i am just starting off with this blog i d rather voice my opinion about a book which i bought yesterday. It s a book which contains translated and original shayari and ghazals from the finest urdu exponents of ourcountry. Dont worry the shayari is not in urdu.
The structure of the book is extremely simple. The pages are not crowded with text which tend to divert you from the actual matter of the couplets. The actual translation is printed in hindi and a version in english ( for those who cannot read hindi very fast like me !! ) and a translated version in English.

The selection undoubtely is a distilled collection of all the finest poetry the urdu language has seen. It also has an insightful introduction on urdu as a language and poetry. It would surely be a delightful experience for those who appreciate poetry. One warning to those who have just brokem up avoid the stuff on lonliness, defeat in love and the apathy of chronic singletons !!!