Whatever

This Blog has moved

2007-05-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

Folks, this blog has moved to Wordpress. No offense meant to Blogger, I just needed to start over. So those of you who still do visit this page, please redirect your browsers HERE.

The New Year

2007-01-03T22:11:00.000-08:00

I'm sure everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve bash and here's wishing you a very Happy New Year from my side.

My New Year celebration was good. I was in Pondicherry on the rocky beach with fireworks in the background and drunken dudes and racy Tamil music around me. The first minute into the New Year was pretty scary because everyone on the beach went crazy. While some hugged and kissed others find some peculiar ways of celebrating. A bunch of guys would jump on you out of nowhere screaming and running and only after they pass by do you realize that they were actually wishing you but in their own way (they were pretty scary). We actually planned to ride out to Pondy on our bikes but sadly that wasn't possible so we had the Indian warhorse - Tata Sumo to rely on. Travel tip: Auroville which is about 10kms from the main city is an interesting place to visit more because of what it signifies rather than the place itself. We ended up visiting twice because the first time around we weren't allowed inside. For beach people Pondy is a major disappointment. There are only two beaches of repute - Rocky beach and Auro beach. Rocky beach is exactly that, rocky. I mean it's more of a corniche rather than a beach and it's a place you can walk along not a place where you jump into the water. Auro beach is pretty decent but my only standards for comparison are the beaches in Goa and there Auro beach fails miserably. So if you are actually looking to do beach stuff, Goa is definitely the place to go. What I found nice in Pondy is the relaxed atmosphere and European feel. If the weather had been a little cooler, it would definitely seem like a quaint town in Europe to me.

Coming into the New Year I have realized some things.

I need to work out and soon. Otherwise I am going back to the times of my school days where I set record highs. So one of my resolutions would be to join a gym foremost and then workout at least 4 hours a week to start out with.

I need to realize where I am going in life. I need some more education under my belt but what I can't figure out is what kind. I mean do I want to do an MBA, if so from where? Do I want to pursue something else abroad? Yes, but what I have no clue. I better figure this one out quick.

I need to plan my money because it's the time to start doing the taxes. There are so much of technicalities involved that I will have to dig deep. Hopefully this will be an interesting and informative experience.

I need to get a place of my own. I love staying with friends and stuff but having something of your own is unbeatable.

I also need better office timings. I work from 10:30 am to 8:30 p.m. and this leaves me with no time to do other stuff like say meet friends who are in town or visit people etc. I don't see much happening on this front for the time being though.

Hmm.... it feels nice to list out things you need to accomplish. It's easy to write bulleted list but getting them done is a damn. Let's see what 2007 has in store.

Alert: Jan 7th 2007, is the day of the Macworld Expo in San Francisco and being an Apple Freak this is something I have my eyes glued on. For a taste of what's in store this is what Apple's teaser had to say "The first 30 years were just the beginning. Welcome to 2007."

Jan 7th is also the day of the Indian Bike Expo being held in Delhi. Hopefully there will be some new launches and announcements that I can look forward to.

Oh screw it!

2006-12-02T05:02:00.000-08:00

I have 10 drafts in the last 2 months and I can't think of posting one of them. I was never much of a writer anyways and things have got even more worse.

I might as well shut down this blog. Another two months to think on that huh!

What do I say?

2006-09-12T23:46:00.000-07:00

It's not that I have not had the time to blog, its just that I have been way too lazy to put up something. I think it's been almost two weeks since I put up a post. There have been various events and occurrences during this time which this post would surmise.

My bike has crossed 1000 kms. So now I can ride above 50 kmph and be a little reckless as well with it. But the maximum that I have been able to reach on B'lore's roads is 70kmph.
We had an office outing last week to celebrate the fact that we are now a 500 strong company. It was a nice event held in a resort on the outskirts. The so called 'team-building' games were a pain in the ass but the employee performances and the DJ which followed more than made up for it. Overall it was a better way of spending Saturday rather than loll around at home.
My bean bag got delivered last Saturday so my ass has been getting first class treatment for the last week or so. It's very comfortable to sit on and just watch TV the whole day. Basically get as lazy as you can. And it doesn't really cost a fortune. Definitely affordable.
Last Sunday also marked the coming of age of Kimi Raikonnen. He has just moved from McLaren to Ferrari and probably made the best decision in his life. This means that starting next season, I will have to support the red team and will officially become Tifosi. Something which I will have to get used to.
Last weekend also marked the first time that I was in the office over the weekend. There were some issues which needed to be handled. My manager was very polite and asked me if I could come for some time on Sunday. I just couldn't say no to him and there I was working at the office on a Sunday. Not all that bad since I didn't have anything planned for the day.
The previous weekend also marked the first xbhp meet that I had been to. And it was absolutely wonderful. I will dedicate a post to it soon with some pics also. Watch out!
Plans are being made for the month end. A 4-day weekend is in the offing and GOA seems to be the destination. And a lot of people from a lot of places seem to be coming together. This could be our first reunion after leaving college. I am just hoping and praying that things work out.

Movies watched:
Lage Raho Munnabhai - don't miss it for your life.
Tokyo Drift - happily skip it.

Movies in the offing:
Pyaar ke Side Effects

Songs on the jukebox:
Tere Bin - Bas Ek Pal
Bas Ek Pal - title song
Rabbi - Zindaggi Rocks
Om - Baba Nagarjuna - it's a wonderfully weird song!

ISM Blog Update

2006-08-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

New post at The ISM Blog.

MetBlog Update

2006-08-29T05:22:00.000-07:00

My latest post on Bangalore Metblogs.

The Lean, Mean, Speed Machine

2006-08-26T06:55:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my new bike, the TVS Apache. She's about 500 kms old right now and riding well, very well.

Here are a few pics:

A little touch up using Picasa!

The Backside

The Frontside!

Vroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!!!

P.S. It was really painful deciding on which bike to buy and I have done a lot of research and in the process discovered some really nice portals on the net which are really awesome. One of them is MouthShut. People write a lot of reviews out here and detail their experiences with various products. Since it's a public forum, you have to be careful about which reviews seem authentic and which are bogus. But its a place you must check out before buying anything.

Another site which totally impressed me was Xbhp.com, a site dedicated to bikers in India. Their forums are very active and any query or trouble that you have get replies within minutes. I trust these guys more than my mechanics. So if you own a bike in India, this is a must visit for you.

The guys from Xbhp are also out on a Great Indian Road Trip which seems like such a wonderful idea. Their blog is updated here and here and makes for good reading.

I am a MetBlogger now.

2006-08-21T02:15:00.000-07:00

I am officially a member of the Metblogs site in Bangalore and am expected to contribute at least three posts a week. Anyone who has been through my blog will know that it's not going to be a piece of cake. Anyways it seems like a wonderful reason to go around Bangalore and learn more about it.

See my first post on MetBlogs here.

On other fronts, the current weekend was absolutely rocking. I finally met up with some of my school buddies, people whom I had not seen in over 6 years. And one thing really surprised me. It was so easy to chat up with them all over again. There were no awkward silences and pauses where no one knows what to say and you endup staring at each other. I was actually dreading that such a situation might arise but somehow it never happened. Thanks to all you guys.

The odometer on my bike read 317 kms this morning. That's how long I have ridden my bike in a week and it has been absolutely amazing. There have been various close shaves and in fact even a small crash. But C'mon that was to be expected wasn't it. It's the first time I am actually rising one of these beauties. Anyways I had got myself a TVS Apache and I call her the Black Beauty. Till I am able to upload pics of her those who are curious can visit here.(pls ignore the sad music that plays in the b/g)

On a sad note, one of friends suffered a gash on his chin after falling into a open manhole in a public toilet. By God's grace the wound seems to be healing and the Friends doing good. Just that he can't speak all that much for a while. Guess that gives him an added incentive to blog.
So people please look down while walking or riding and make sure that you also do not befall the open manholes.

P.S.- Ms V has started a wonderful new blog for all those who have been in ISM and you can check it out here.(this may not be relevant to all you others but what the hell you can also check it out and get the traffic volumes up and going)

My First Tag

2006-08-09T04:10:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, this is the first tag that I am actually tagging along with(I didn't know any other way of saying it). I was tagged by Kishor who resides in Muscat and otherwise here.

I am thinking about:
How I would look like riding on my new 150cc Bike (dunno the exact model yet).

I said:
That I like my women plump.(refer previous post)

I want to:
Travel the world and get paid for it.

I wish:
That I had won the Bad English Contest. Could have used the crossword voucher.

I hear:
The sound of the flush as my roomie does his thing.

I wonder:
If I will be able to write a book and get it published.

I regret:
Not asking out the wonderful girl in high school who actually liked me. Damn!

I am:
Bored to death right now.

I dance:
when everyone else is drunk and I am not. That way no one remembers.

I sing:
like Himesh. Whenever and wherever possible.

I cry:
when someone offends my mom. Irealizedd this very lately.

I am not always:
in my undies!!!!
( just kidding)

I make with my hands:
soap sculptures

I write:
when I can't say the same things face to face.

I confuse:
Coke and Pepsi. It's sweetened colored water after all.

I need:
a girlfriend. Right now.

Okay as is the normal procedure with these things, I further impose a post consisting of the above tags on the following people:

Super
Joshi
Harish
Ms. V

I guess that's enough misery for now.

P.S.-The start to my day was absolutely fantastic. I tune into Radio City as I await the bus and the first song they play is Himesh. Thanks you Rohit and Vasanthi.

What a 'Flabby'

2006-08-06T23:18:00.000-07:00

In the past few years, I have noticed this trend towards more curvaceous, booty-luscious and in general more flabbier heroines in Bollywood movies. The very first time this trend started was with the short and stocky Rani Mukherjee in 'Hello Brother'. There was this one song where she was wearing a short skirt and showing off her thunder thighs. Yes she has improved considerably(read- lost a little bit of weight and started wearing sarees) but this bug seems to have bitten many others.

More recent in my memory is the most beautiful woman in the world, Aishwarya Rai.
'Kajra Re' was an absolutely wonderful song, primarily because of the Big B- Small B combine. But what role ash's love-handles and vivacious curves played in the popularity of the song, I do not know.

And finally I was convinced of this trend, after I watched 'Omkara' yesterday. Bipasha Basu as 'Billo Chamanbahar' was downright overweight and was still showing her midriff. Quite contrary to what she said in an episode of MTV Stylecheck quite recently.(don't ask me why I was watching that show)

Kareena Kapoor as 'Dolly' in the same film wasn't one to be left behind. Her jhatkas and matkas as she walked with the cummerbund towards Ajay brooding Devgan were thundering. And he was just salivating at the thought of grabbing them. Shucks! show some restraint on television dude!!!

Till date I had noticed this trend of flabby female leads in movies only in the South Indian Film Industry. This has been justified by saying that south indian men prefer their women to be flabby and maybe even fat. But some heroines might have taken this a little too far(eg. Khushboo, Rambha and Ramya Krishnan- I can't believe they are actually hired)

But is this trend slowly spreading from the South to the North as well. Seems so from the movies and the heroines. Does the average hindi film goer like his women fat or does he still like them with the hour-glass figures? I don't know the answer but obviously, the directors must have some sense of what the audience want before investing a couple of million rupees!

Another reason for this latest trend could be that cinema is today more about representing reality rather than creating a make-believe place where we could all get immersed for 3 hours. So in this move towards reality, the characters too end up reflecting real people like you and me. And this is only my personal opinion but Indians are Fat. I don't have access to any national database of weight records but by just looking around I can say, that a whole lot of us are definitely overweight if not fat. So to make the characters on the screen look like us, they too have to become a little plump.

Then why just the females and not the males? Because they are the ones who are most noticed in a movie. The guys are always oogling at them, the ladies are looking at what they wear, how they speak etc. so that they can just go ahead and replicate it. So as long as the guy delivers his lines well, flexes his muscles a little and smashes up a few goons, his work is done. What I mean to say is that he is not subjected to the intense scrutiny that the heroines attract. The moment the lady comes on screen, all the eyes follow her movement. She is under terrible pressure to appeal to everyone.

Okay I personally prefer women who are on the plumper side. Maybe it's the south-indian in me, maybe it's just the indian in me, but that's that. So yeah I did like all the aforementioned heroines though many of my friends and even the media thought them unsightly. So whether they put on weight purposely for the role or just got fat, I don't care. I liked them in the movie and I look forward to more. Of course this does not mean that they grow fat and then turn up in a bikini. NO. It should be done tastefully and in the right setting. Leave the bikini stuff to the likes of Celina Jaitley or Udita Goswami.

--------Looking forward to seeing both Ash and Bips in Dhoom2. Supposedly they are sporting the bronzed, super-sexy look.

The last one

2006-08-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

I had so much trouble coming up with this post that I have decided to keep it small and restricted to only what has been going on in my life. There have been so many events which I would like to write about but I just can't seem to pen down my thoughts in a cohesive manner.
Here's what I have been upto:

Passed the driving test for a 2-wheeler and will get my license in about a week's time. Don't ask me how I did it, but yes I know how to ride a bike now and I am legally allowed to ride one as well.
I have also been reading tons of reviews on the net about tons of bikes and precisely because of this I have not been able to decide on one.
I had been to Salem, a small town in Tamil Nadu over the last weekend. I was there to attend a religious function and meet up with a load of relatives who had converged from all over India. I wish my mom had been there, because she would have enjoyed herself to the hilt. She really enjoys being with people and chatting them up.
I have officially finished training at work and been assigned a project as well. Seems to be a "high-visibility", critical operation. So I am keeping my fingers crossed.
The last week or so I have met so many of my old friends and classmates online in various forums and it has been a wonderful experience. I am surprised myself at how many people I actually remember and how many remember me as well. It's been totally awesome and kinda like a reunion.
I have got a load of movies to catch up with at the moment. It's just that getting tickets in Bangalore on the weekend is impossible. There's Omkara which has received a wonderful review especially. by him. Then there is Golmaal, Yun Hota To Kya Hota which have been recommended by friends. I don't know when I am going to get over all this backlog.
During my ongoing research into bikes I have found many wonderful sites and biker communities which make for very interesting reading. Okay if you are a dude reading this, you will definitely want to check this. Mind-Blowing. The gals can check it out too and then get your guy to go buy it.
There is a lot to look forward to at the moment. Tons of movies, some friends coming into town, getting my new bike and of course riding it all over the place. I just hope I get there soon.

And yeah no more snippets for some time now. I want to get back to writing nice long posts but I am finding it really difficult.

Snippet#3

2006-07-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

What a week!!!!
It's getting crazy at work now that I have shifted to my new house and spend close to two hours commuting on Bangalore's crazy roads. The training has also got that much more tough with mini projects everyday because of which I have not been able to update this page. But here's what happened last week.

I slept in six different beds for six nights in a row. Well on one of those nights, I slept on the floor, so its actually 5 different beds. But yeah I was a vagabond and it was fun. Skipping from Service apartment to Friends house to Hotel room to something I am not going to disclose.(it's a little too embarrassing!).I even turned up for work in the same clothes for the last three days cos I wasn't carrying around a change.(I don't know how the others put up with me).
I have been writing way too much code. So much so that I have started putting a ";" after every sentence I write. I have had to go back and delete the semi-colons in this post.
I finally found a very nice apartment. 3 BHK(Bedroom,hall,Kitchen) which is fully furnished and at a very very affordable rent. The place is a little far-flung but once I get my own bike, it's going to be pretty easy to commute.
The house is very dirty. Me and my fellow roomies have not been able to find a maid to clean it. We are too lazy to do the same. We also have not been able to get a broadband connection. So this Snippet business continues.
I am looking at all the bikes zooming past me on the streets trying to judge which is best. I have started doing the rounds of bike dealers looking for the best deals and trying to understand all the jargon like pickup, torque, mileage and what-not. For those of you who are not aware, I am a complete rookie in this area. I have never driven a bike, and so don't know much about them. If any of you have any comments or suggestions about which is the best and why, they are most welcome.
I spent last weekend walking up and down M.G.Road after visiting a Gaming Expo which didn't live up to my expectations. There seems to be a dearth of things to do in B'lore over the weekend. I don't mean loafing around the malls, watching movies(which are very highly priced by the way!). I also don't drink or smoke so the huge number of pubs mean nothing to me. So anyone out there who's got some fun activity, I am all game.

Phew!!! got to run and catch that stupid BMTC bus. And will someone please tell them that there exist people in B'lore who can't read Kannada and it would really help if the destination of the bus could also be mentioned in English. Thanks!!!

Snippet#2

2006-07-03T06:29:00.000-07:00

I was going to write a small post this time too but something important in life has happened.

I received MY FIRST PAYCHECK!!!!

I was expecting to get a call from the payroll section asking me to collect my month's wages. I would enter the cabin and this elderly, father figure like person would beam down at me, congratulate me for working so hard and hand me my first paycheck. It would be a white envelope simply addressed to me.
Of course it would also be thick, bursting at it's seams with all the rokda befitting the sweat and blood that I have put into the job.
I would come out to my own workstation while my colleagues crowd around me, some admiring, some giving me those envious looks (which I will enjoy all the same). Once I reach my desk, I would slowly hold the letter-opener and in three elegant strokes open the envelope.
Lucre, that's what would be in front of me. Lucre for all the benefits in the world. Lucre to go that night's disco party. Lucre to buy your own bike. Lucre to give to your parents for all that they have done for you.

Well what dreams one has when one is young, innocent doesn't know how things work in the world today.

In this day and age of internet, e-commerce and what-not the simple joys of life are just completely forgotten. My money was transferred to my stupid bank account electronically and I was not even in the picture the whole time. I got a mail later saying that this was done on the last working day of the month and here I was expecting a grand event. It is so sad. I had to go to the Stupid bank ATM, stand in a long line and finally in the secluded loneliness of the ATM booth, view the amount that had been transferred and that's that. I wanted to shout with joy, celebrate with friends and party but this optic fiber invention has just ruined all that.

But I still did my bit, once I saw the balance, I screamed, jumped up with joy and did a little jiggle. Couldn't continue it though cos the security dude was getting suspicious and advancing towards me. So that too ended prematurely.

What a SAD, SAD thing technology can be sometimes.

P.S.- For all those wondering what I actually saw on the ATM screen, well some things are best kept secret in this technology freaked place.

Snippet # 1

2006-06-26T01:15:00.000-07:00

Till I am able to setup my PC with a decent net connection, I will have to rely on the Snippet way of updating my post. This is the first in the series.

Finding an appartment in B'lore for Rent is tough. Especially if you are not willing to shell out money for a broker. Over the weekend, I did a status check on the realty scence in B'lore and oriented myself with how things work here. If you want to find houses, then the ADMAGS and other free ad magazines is the best way. But if you want a decent appt. then you have to go to a realtor.
Watching a movie is one of the toughest things to do in B'lore. You have to book a ticket well in advance because of the scarcity of screens and the high number of techies who have nothing to do over the weekend.
Visting malls is a scary experience no less than travelling by local trains in Mumbai. It is so crowded, you have to actually keep track of your belongings every 5 mins. And the crowd is not as cosmopoilitan as I expected it to be. I like to go to a mall and listen to conversations in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Punjabi and maybe even French all at the same time. I don't know why this appeals to me so much but that's what I like about Mumbai. Here, in the malls almost everyone speaks in English or Hindi with a smatterring of Kannada here and there.
The Radio in B'lore is weird. Radio Mirchi plays Hindi Songs mostly while the entire conversation and stuff takes place in Kannada which I dont follow. So if I want to listen to a few songs to pass the time, I have to bear with the absolute mumbo-jumbo which happens in between the songs. And can someone please tell me what "Sakat Hot Maga" means?
I am waiting for my lazy friends to join me in B'lore so that we can finalise a place and get started with things. In the meantime if any of you have ant tips, hints to share they are most welcome.

I guess this snippet ends here as well as the weekend. It's almost impossible to get any work other than "official work" done over the week. I am looking forward to meeting some old friends over the next weekend, so something to keep me going. Wait for Snippet#2.

To all my loyal readers

2006-06-14T04:42:00.000-07:00

I know there are'nt too many of you there but this is for all those who visit this page and don't see a new post. I am at HOME on holiday and the internet connection or whatever they call it here is oh-so-slow that I have given up any hopes of putting in a decent post. There have been various happenings that I want to write about but sadly I just can't do it right now.

So this blog is not dead yet but it will be sometime before its up and running.
Inconvenience is deeply regretted.

P.S.- This is the fifth time I am trying to post this, hopefully it will be successful. Crossed Fingers.

The Kashmir Post

2006-05-05T22:47:00.000-07:00

The abscence of anything interesting to do except study has resulted in this long overdue post about my trip to the northernmost state of India, Jammu and Kashmir. You may choose to just go over the photos which are brought to you thanks to Akas h or if you are as bored as me you might as well go through the entire post.

One of the most impromptu trips that I have ever undertaken. A few days to go for the mid-semester holidays to end, the last big break we are going to have in college.

Wiseass 0:"What to do? Where do we go? Are we just going to sit and mop around in Roorkee? C'mon guys get off your asses and get going."
Wiseass 1:"Okay where do we go?"
All the wiseasses:"Hmmmmmm........................"
Wiseass 1:"How about J&K?"
Wiseass 0:"What are you crazy, there are like a million odd terrorists roaming around freely, bombs exploding everyday- I am jobless but not jobless enough to die. And besides I think you need permission and stuff to get there."

Things are stuck in a soup again.

Wiseass 1 comes up with a deep thought:" Guys, we are all going to die one day. Putting up at home is not gonna get you anywhere. And if you are going to die of a bomb you might as well die in Roorkee itself. Bombs don't look where they are bursting."
To remove any further scepticism among the travellers, Wiseass 2 says:" We will at least got to the Vaishno Devi temple. Seeking God's blessings is a good thing and no harm will enter our path."

Convinced about the strength of the Devi's power, the three of us wiseases set out to Jammu. Since we had not planned we didn't have train tickets & had to undertake a rattling 16 hour bus journey to Jammu and then to Katra from where the march towards the actual temple starts. Katra is a tourist haven. There are all kinds of fast-food outlets, ice-cream parlors, restaurants and hotels (there is a Baskin Robbins & 2 CafeCoffeeDay's, both of which have a 30% higher turnover than any of their other outlets). It can not even remotely be called a pilgrim place. Anyways since we were on a shoe-string budget, we could not afford to stay for two nights in this place and so we decided to spend one of the nights trekking up. The housing we heard is free on top of the mountain and we decided to be the freeloaders. So after a good dinner, we set off for the top at about 11.

The Katra Bus stand

The temple that signifies the start of the Yatra

The well lit pathway to the top

The Kachhars & their owners

And the climb was tough. You can choose between the winding path upwards or the steps. I sincerely advice anyone and everyone to please take the winding path though the steps may well lure you. You could take the steps as you come down. You could also take the "Kachhar" or the mule which will carry your fat ass upto the temple for a reasonable enough amount. If you have uncles and aunties travelling with you, this is the best option. But sadly I could not avail of this opportunity because of the earlier mentioned Shoe-string budget and some fierce resistance by my co-travellers. Anyways after the 25 odd kilometres of up and down, I was dead. Really. The free housing that we had thought was available at the top of the mountain had to be booked in advance and was house full by the time we got there around 4 in the morning. We had to sleep on the floor with a meagre 5 blankets for the three of us with people in every direction that you could see. It was like a hall full of dead bodies wrapped and left for. By the time we got a place and started dozing off, people started getting up and forming lines to give back their blankets. We managed about 2 hrs of sleep that day.

People miling around us(thats me on the top right hand corner)

As we try to sleep

The journey down was much better and easier(stuck to the steps now) barring a few encounters with angry monkeys who wanted my energy drink and biscuits. Sad dude though, didn't get anything from me.

We reached back in Katra around 6, checked into a hotel, showered and dozed off. But OH! we had a couple of days more till college started again and we didn't want to go back so soon. What do we do? Where do we go?

How about Srinagar and the Kashmir Valley? Isn't it like really far away and dangerous. So what? we have the Devi's blessings, nuthin is gonna happen to us. So there we were the next morning, headed to Srinagar and a house boat. On the way the Jawahar Tunnel which actually connects the valley to the rest of India. Once into the valley, we could see the sheer beauty of the place. I don't have words to do justice to this "Paradise on Earth" and will let the pictures do the talking.

Right after we crossed the Jawahar Tunnel into the valley

Seems like a scene out of Mission Kashmir - The Dal Lake

Cute Kid rowing away on the Dal Lake

Old Uncle selling local trinkets on the Dal Lake
The Whomping Willow - Chinar Trees in the Valley

Sadly we had landed up in Srinagar at the wrong time and it was damn cold. Also during these months there is no surety of the Jawahar tunnel remaining open all the time and that is a huge problem. Cos if you are stuck, then you have had it!!! In order to avoid this, we had to leave Srinagar the very next day after a Shikhara ride and some local sightseeing. But a promise was made. " We would be back!!!" Guess this is how unplanned trips turn out. Anyways we had had our share of the fun in the valley and the boat house, something that I'll rather not disclose here.

Well that about sums up how we conquered the valley and returned with a desire to be back soon and explore it further.

Things we missed out on : Leh-Ladakh, Gulmarg & skiing, Amarnath and another pilgrimage and travelling on the wonderful Srinagar-Leh road through Kargil.

My first time!

2006-05-04T23:54:00.000-07:00

When was the first time I really used the "net"? This is a questions that I asked myself after speaking to my brother who is currently in the 9th standard. He does not have a mail id, does not chat with his friends online and lets dad do all the searching for his projects.

If I can remember correctly, my first brush with the Internet was when I was in 8th standard. The internet was just starting off in Oman then and my dad had recently subscribed to the service. Around the same time a lot of guys in school were talking about ICQ and how they were chatting up the whole night etc. Curiosity got the better of me and I went about downloading the software(which took hours then) and then decided to try it out myself. My dad was always watching over me cos he knew the kind of bad influences the world wide web could have on his son. Anyways the fact that ICQ could actually mean "I Seek You" was the only interesting thing that it had. Chatting with friends whom you might as well call up and speak to on the phone and whom you were gonna meet in class the next day was not a big deal for me.

The next step for me in the virtual world was having my own e-mail id. The only free service that existed then was Hotmail and I had heard that it was run by an Indian and that got me really excited. But even filling in that simple registration form was a scare. My dad over my shoulder kept saying things like " God knows why you need a separate mail id" & " Why are these people asking for your birthdate, are they going to send you gifts?". The other important thing was choosing the nickname and id cos that signified how "kewl" you were. Just having a mail address was no longer enough. It had to be catchy, zingy, had to rhyme and satisfy a lot of other criteria. Anyways I managed to come up with something that I still continue to use today and is also the identity of this blog. Good or Bad, that had been my nickname on the net since forever.

So much for the origins of my net experience. I am determined to make it happen for my brother too. Let's just say it's "Project NET" for this summer. It's time to sit him down in front of the computer and give him a stern stare at first and then some friendly brotherly advice."Beta. This is Google. This is where all your future projects and reports are going to emerge from. This is Meebo. Here is where you keep in touch with all your friends and make new if that's what you want. This is Gmail. The sexiest mail service till date. And this is Blogger. Where you can give vent to your thoughts and hope that a book publisher reads it and gives you a $500 million advance. And if you want to become even more famous, then copy a few lines from your brother's blog and then TOI will keep putting your photos on the frontpage everyday for at least a week and in the inside pages for the next month. Guaranteed."

Some time later, read what my brother had to say.

In the Summer Time

2006-05-03T06:42:00.000-07:00

The summers are here. And I am hating every moment of it.

Contrary to what is generally portrayed in the movies, novels and umpteen sitcoms the summers are not the great season that it is claimed to be. At least not so in India.

I should not be one to complain having spent close to 17 years of my life in one of the hottest places in the world. But things were different there. Everywhere you go, it would be air conditioned. The house, the car, the class room, even the taxis(though some of the more miserable ones had their windows rolled down). So no matter how much you sweat, there is always the thought that you would end up in a cool room at the end of the day and can put your feet up and relax.

In Roorkee, things are very very different. You wake up in sweat, then take a shower to make sure you are clean, then you start working on your project and all the associated running around and sweat again. To remove this stickiness, you have a bath again before lunch but of all the things that can happen, the electricity conks out and the moment you are out of the shower, you are sweating again. You don't have the courage to take another shower, so the deo comes into action. It becomes a little pleasant after the sun sets but all hell breaks loose after that. You want to keep the doors and windows open so that there is a good air flow but the F!@#$%G mosquitos, flies, bees and every other assortment of insect alive in the world finds refuge in your room. The situation turns so bad that by the time you are in bed, it's like you are sleeping in the jungles of Africa with insects and worms jumping all around and sometimes even on you.(I would like to dedicate an entire post to the insects and bugs in Roorkee but that will have to wait for now)

So what do you do to escape all this? Rush to the Computer Centre(which is air conditioned obviously) where you update your blog with your frustrations. But NO! You are not given peace here either. The administrator warns you that time is running out and starts his own countdown. 60,59,58,......

Now what? YES! Let's head to the SBI ATM which is cooled by two split A/C's and is not frequented at night either by customers or by the watchman. If I take my mattress along, I can probably shack up for the night. The last time I checked there weren't any security cameras in place, so this may well turn out to be my new address. The only thing I have to do is figure out a way to put off track all the people who might want to withdraw money at that dastardly hour and probably take care of any couples who might want to get cozy. Well I will surely think of something and all suggestions are welcome but for now the ATM beckons. "DO NOT DISTURB"

TWENTY ONE

2006-04-19T04:23:00.000-07:00

Yes that's old I am. I don't know if it's really that big a deal but at least everyone made it out to be.

I got kicked six times on the trot and not only on my precious buttocks but wherever they could get their shoes, slippers & sandals too. It's painful to be 21.

I also got a pleasant suprise the next morning when a charming lady calls me up to wish me. She woke me up just in time for class and I am grateful to her for that. Not good to bunk a class on your Birthday right. It was nice talking to her after such a long time and I am glad she called me.

Got to talk to my Dad and Mom and Bro only late in the night cos of the stupid Airtel Lady who kept blabbering that I didn't have enough balance. Can't they make a concession at least on my Birthday.

A lot of people wished me and it felt nice. I am grateful to all these people because I am a lazy bum and forget people's birthdays and dont wish them at all. But I guess Orkut does have it's advantages.

Looking forward to my 22nd year on Earth.

After a long break

2006-04-07T07:05:00.000-07:00

It's been a million years since I last posted something here. There were one too many things happening in life and some of it still continues. There were times where I sat in front of the terminal checking mails and deciding that " Yes, today I will post something" but somehow it just did not happen. Well here is a little of what I have been upto.

Holi Break : The first time in four years that I stayed back in the hostel. It was not out of choice but because of my visa not arriving in time. Its been 8 months or so since I have been home and the next time I go there it's going to be only for a week or 10 days at most.(I am Sad)
But it was the first time I actually played Holi, got wet, got colored and went hungry for the whole day because everything in a 2 mile radius was closed. But yes it was nice to dance around like crazy and be completely insane and nobody would give a damn.

The Kashmir Valley: Yes I actually managed to visit one of the most militarised areas on Earth and come back in one piece. There were a couple of us who had decided to go to Jammu to visit the Vaishno Devi temple(as a trek and not a pilgrimage). Enroute we found out that Srinagar was only 300 more kilometers from there and we were like what the heck, let's go for it. We ended up bunking a few days of college but the Kashmir valley was definitely worth it. I would not want to disclose much cos I would like to follow this up with a travelogue with the photos as well. I do not know when that post will come but I assure you it will.

Entrepreneurship Development Cell: an initiative that four of us started with an aim to establish an E-cell of the likes of IIT Bombay and others. It's been a really hectic time with lot and lots of stuff to do especially because we have just started out and have got to do all the groundwork ourselves. Well we are currently in the process of organizing an Entrepreneurship Festival on April 22nd and 23rd for which our flagship event is Samadhan. I would request all of you to go through this and give me an insight into what you think. Since it's an online initiative, I also welcome all of you to submit entries as well.

In other news, I received my offer letter from Qwest Software Services whom I am going to work with in Bangalore this summer. It sounds really exciting and hopefully I will get to rock Bangalore.

I look at my blog and it looks so boring and outdated. I hope that it doesn't remain so for long. I would like to keep posting as often as possible but.........

Uni-Sex Saloons!!!

2006-03-13T05:06:00.000-08:00

I thought that these were restricted only to the fancy 5-star hotels and upmarket parlors in huge cities, something that was restricted to experimental movies like "Everybody says I am fine". But it is not so.

My neighborhood barber also it seems runs a uni-sex shop. I turn up this morning for my usual once a month trim and what do I find? There is this huge company of girls(actually there are only two), but here they are all giggling and stuff. One of them was getting something done to her hair with lots of bottles of lotion and stuff like that on the table and the other was viewing it from every direction possible and talking incessantly all the time.

Now I am a very reasonable man. I understand the need that women feel to talk continuously and always giggle but I also need my space. And my friendly Salim bhai Naaiwaale's shop is part of that space. I don't know about other men, but I like my haircuts. Cos I do not have much of a hair-style, all I do is turn up and Salim bhai does the rest. But that half-hour is very relaxing to me. Infact I just close my eyes(and sometimes dose off), enjoy the experience like a ritual for me.

Today that space was violated. I am no hater of women but there are some places where they just cannot be. I understand that both the sexes are equal but then they can be equal in their own spaces. I always thought that women used to get their hair done in the local beauty-parlor's, spending hours and hours. Now you can't do that in a barber shop. Come on the guy charges the bare minimum and so he's got to cut through as many people, Sorry!!! cut through the hair of as may people as possible in a day at the same time ensuring each one comes back the next time as well.

I have always been in awe of the skill of my barber friends and complimented them too. I have been so fascinated about them that they have served as the inspiration for my first poem which was good enough to get published. When I went for my first haircut(or mundan) as they call it, I was the only one who didn't cry but actually enjoyed myself, smiled and had a conversation with the barber(in baby tongue of course). So you see my association with barbers and their art is very long indeed. I have had only two barbers all my life, Ashok bhai and Salim bhai. And they were both chosen with a lot of care and precision. This was done to ensure my half-hour tryst with peace every month. So when that half-hour is ruined and I have to wait another month for it, then I am an angry man. Salim bhai got hell.

So here is an earnest request to all you ladies out there. Please stick to your beauty parlor's with the frosted windows where no one will see you and no one will be disturbed by you. Give me the half-hour of peace to which I look forward to for a whole month. Please.

Day out in Amritsar

2006-02-19T07:54:00.000-08:00

Amritsar- the land of the surds.

Also home to the Golden Temple as well as the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre scene. Located close to the Wagah border with Pakistan as well. So just thought we'll pay a visit and here's how it worked out.

First thing in the morning, Amritsar railway station and a hearty brunch at a roadside dhaba polished off with lassi in an inch-long tumbler. Ahhhhhhhh! Heaven. Now that the essentials were taken care of, we moved on to the Golden Temple.

There is a free bus service from the railway station to the temple and back. Once at the temple, there are counters where you can deposit your bags and belongings, your shoes and coats etc etc. The place is very well organized and quite clean too by Indian standards. You also got to cover your heads when you are within the temple, so you can either use the hankies if you carry one or you get head scarves of every possible color. The temple consists of a golden dome at the centre of a man-made lake where the holy book of the Sikhs is kept. You can go up two more floors there and there are priests everywhere reading the book. Some of the prints of the book can be observed at close quarters and I must admit, the book is definitely huge and very delicately written as well.

There is generally a whole line of turbans waiting to get in but if you land up early you might find it easier. There are people singing hymns as well the whole time which keeps echoing from the walls and gives a very nice feel to the place.

Moving on, we go to the fort that is situated nearby where the prasad is served. This is known as langar. Here I was a tad disappointed cos, cumin from South India where we get huge amounts of sweets (read payasams, laddus and the like) the fare here was pretty meager. We had rotis and one subji. It wasn't all that tasty too but I understand that they have to feed everyone and it's kinda of a symbolic thing. I guess none of the people in Amritsar might be going hungry, there's always the langar.

Next on our itineary was the Jallianwallah Bagh. It is quite close to the temple site and was must visit for me. There is a memorial built in the memory of all those killed.

There are a few places where the bullet holes are also marked.

I had expected a much grander version of the things than what I saw. I had it all pictured in my mind especially because of the wonderful images that Mr. Burns(my history teacher) had painted. The monument itself was in quite bad shape and what was more appalling was the absolute lack of information. There were no sign boards around describing the events and how they came about. You have to depend on a local guide to fill you in on the details and according to me they are not all that trustworthy either. I really had expected and lot more and was definitely disappointed.

Moving on, our next hit was the Wagah border before the Evening ceremony starts. Actually you have to be there quite early since a lot of people come to watch this and you may not necessarily get the front row view. To get there you either hire a rick (auto) or some other Sumo etc depending on the number of people you got. But like all things in India, please do bargain and there are many drivers around so don't worry about not getting one. In our case, the guy started off with Rs 550 for the five of us and we finally got him to go for 200 bucks both ways. The border is about 28 kms from the city.

There's Pakistan. Yes that's true, our bhai log are just across that gate and so are the nice looking behen log too. There are stands on both sides to watch the parade and stuff. On their side, they have separate ones for the gents and the ladies while on our side, there are separate ones for the V.I.P.'s and the dudes with the passes and the rest of the common people like myself.

Well the reason for going all the way to the border is to watch the flags of both countries being brought down for the day. There is a huge ceremony of marching, saluting etc that goes on with this entire exercise and that is supposed to mighty impressive. And it was.

It involved a lot of shouting commands and yelling on both sides. There is a series of complicated and extremely difficult marching moves that are followed. You should not miss out on the salutes of the BSF jawans. I would have preferred if they could give a commentary of some sort explaining why all the marching and stamping is going on and what it all means. Instead they were egging on the crowd with slogans of "Vande Mataram", "Bharat Mata Ki........Jai" and couple more from the same stable. The crowds on both the sides responded aggressively and for a moment you could actually feel a lot of the fervor etc. I could not exactly get what the Pakistanis were screaming but they seemed to be more vociferous than us. Of course, the jawans kept warning us not to say anything that would be offensive to the other side and that was very sensible. You don't want the crowd to get carried away.

The flags were brought down and folded in beautiful style a.k.a. Rang de Basanti and then the entire ceremony ends. Please take your binoculars along, you can check out how our brothers and sisters look on the other side and if you like someone you see you could always flash your number on your placard and stuff. After all this is the electronic age. You can definitely work sumthin out.

The International Border Line. This is the Indian side of the fence and it is electrified. The red light signifies that. I wanted to throw a stone and stuff to check it out but I didn't want to end up in jail either. Another thing I noticed, there is a huge amount of land in the No Man's Land region (to the right in the pic) and they look pretty green and fertile to me. I don't know if these actually belonged to India or not but it sure was a waste of prime Border Front Property.

Sadly that's all there was to Amritsar. The shouts and naras had definitely pumped up my adrenaline for the nation but it didn't last long. I am back to my normal state of discussing and criticizing the policy of the government and predicting if India-2020, a developed country is possible or not.

So that was my travelogue for the month of February. I hope to have one for each month of the year. And a here's a last pic to leave you with, one found just inside the Indian side of the border.

Who's your Valentine?

2006-02-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

This was a question that I have always dreaded over the years. Every time the 14th of Feb approached, people for no reason whatsoever would suddenly come up and ask me this question. And for some reason I just couldn't get a girl (or guy) to ever be my date on Valentine's day. But all that is history now. Yes people, let me introduce you to Meena, my date for this year's valentines day. How do I know her? Well she has been living with me for the past two years along with a couple of her friends and we got along pretty well. So this time around, I mustered enough courage to go ahead and ask her out. And what do you know, she actually said yes. She is nice and great company too and being Valentine's day and all I was expecting a ball. So here's what happened. OOPS! forgot to mention the details, her stats, she is a bit on the scaly side.....well quite scaly actually and she can hang upside down and all but yeah everyone's got their specialities right, so what if she's a lizard??

Anyways, so here I was all set with a borrowed candle, an old cap full of cobwebs(good luck charm), a nice bottle of wine for me and plain moisture from the air for her. Well getting her to agree to the date and location was the hard part, I mean she was all choosy and stuff and jumping all around my room but I finally managed to lure her with some effort on my part to my somewhat crowded study table. Well how I did it, it's all in the technique I say. No roses and lilies for her, a little over the top you see but a good collection of the best scents, some good luck with the cap beside me and some crooning love songs as well. So now the mood was set, we were there staring into each others eyes, well actually I was staring into one of her eyes since I find it difficult to stare at both at the same time. Anyways that's when I discovered that I was missing some Music.

The great DJ that I am I had managed a few love hits of Kishore Da and had already started swinging to them when all of a sudden she goes berserk. Starts wiggling her tail and running helter-skelter. I stop the music and she was fine again. I tried some rap the next time around and what do you know, she loved it. Okay so she was a fiesty little one, Meena but I kinda liked that. So with Eminem cursing in the background, we got down to dinner. I had my packet of lays for me and she had the spiders all to herself. We did chat a little in between, it was mostly me all the time and she used to just nod along you know. Very shy kind of person I think, but I was having fun. I told her about how lonely I feel on V-day and how this has been the greatest date of my life ever. She seemed to really like me. I told her of how I write some infrequent posts and the web in general and she got all excited. In fact she started wiggling her tail again and got all excited. Maybe she wanted a mention in here and that's why this blog is dedicated to her. Anyways, we then got on to dessert and now there were moments you know when you feel all alone with only the person in front of you and Baby B crooning in the background:

Ek Main aur Ek thu hain,

Aur hawa main Jadoo hain,(all the wonderful scents I had used!)

Arzoo bekaboo hain,

Samjho saare baath baki.

It was like the song was made just for us.

Well what more can I say, everything was perfect. We continued talking till late into the nite and as she left, she gave me one of the best gifts that a man could ever ask for. She actually left a part of her with me. How touching and what a nice gesture, sumthin to remember her by.

That was the end of my V-day date and for all you perverts out there who are wondering what happened next and if I caught some action or not, all I have to say is "respect the privacy of the woman people".

But there were some hints that another date might be in the offing. She left behind a part of her with me guys, thats got to mean sumthin. I will keep you informed about our relationship as it progresses, if it progresses but till then please pray that it does.

Arun Shankar

2006-02-06T11:55:00.001-08:00

He was the guy I saw my first porn movie with. He was the guy who could so effortlessly laugh at himself. He was the guy who would get into the weirdest of situations and still be able to laugh, grin whatever he did and display his huge array of white teeth.

I remember calling him "Unni" once in school. I didn't really know him then and didn't know that he was actually called Arun in school. He was embarrassed but took me in all the same and made me feel really great. He was one person who made me feel really proud of being Mallu. Till then I used to shirk at being called that but after I met Arun, I was proud.

I just wish I had better kept in touch with him, when he was in Dubai or when he was in Cbe. But I did speak to him once and I felt like nuthin had changed at all. I dunno where his parents are or how his sister is doing but I ask GOD to make them strong in these tough times. And the only question I want to ask GOD is WHY? Why when he had just turned 21? Why when he was going to just graduate? Why when he was just going to take his first job? WHY? WHY? WHY?

Update

2006-02-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

I dunno if anyone missed me but I definitely missed bloggin. It has been an amazing last week in which I did so much and discovered limits I didn't know previously existed. I still haven't got back to normal. I still feel the world swinging around me like I felt in the sleeper class of the IR train, my stomach does not accept the shitty mess food that I offer and forces me to the toilet every few minutes or so. And this is truly frustrating, I mean why don't you just finish it all in one go. So much trouble.

But here's a promise, I'll be back with the details. I am still contemplating the best way to describe it all. But till then please stay tuned. OOPS!!, stomach calling again. Have to leave before the situation gets worse. Catch u later.

Is hi5.com sexist?

2006-01-21T05:18:00.000-08:00

Well I first started thinking about this on New Year's eve when my good friend, bong told me he thought that hi5 was sexist. There is a section on the first page of hi5 which shows the 'members in your network'. They show a collection of about 6 photographs. But he found that always these were those of girls. And this happened not just once but every time.

I didn't give it much of a thought then but I have recently been noticing the same too. I don't remember ever putting in such a request when I signed up. I also don't know if this is true for girls as well. Are there photos of hot, handsome hunks who are part of your network when you open up your first page?

Now, I don't want to sound gay or anything but I would also like to look at the guys in my network too. Not that it is gonna make a huge difference but still maybe I find someone I know or maybe I don't want to look at hot, sexy females on that particular day. They should always present a mixed picture, how do they know what my preferences are????

Well I will think of suing hi5 later but there are more serious concerns to address now. I just found out that my other bong friend Mr. Ganguly got thrown out of the team for the 2nd test. Mr Dravid says that he was just plain unlucky. Now this has serious implications for Mr. Ganguly. He scores 40 and 48, a somewhat decent performance in the 2nd test against the South Africans. Then he is dropped from the 3rd test and that is discussed by everyone in the parliament to the local fruit chaat wala in my hostel. Then there is this huge surge of public opinion and with a little help from Pawar uncle he gets back into the team and also gets selected for the 1st test. Matters are all rosy with Chappel Don also and he gets to be a part of the 11 as well.

But Inzy shaitan had other ideas. He prepared a hell of a wicket and Mr. Dravid and Sehwag-gully ka gunda looted all the plunder leaving my man with nuthin. Now I hear he is dropped again and so arises the question, now what does he do? Is there goin to be another huge uproar?- I don't think so this time around because it's really not that easy to get people worked up twice on the same issue and besides my fruitwala didn't even mention this when I went to him today. So definitely ruled out.

Next option, call Dalmiya uncle. Doesn't seem to good cos he is nowhere in the picture anymore and also my man did the unforgivable thing of switching camps and talking to Pawar uncle. So Dalmiya becomes a strict no-no.

Next option, call Pawar uncle. He will be probably floating around in Baramati and since he has already done him a favor once, will just tell him to go to hell.

Next option, beg and plead and touch Chappel Don's feet and that too in front of a camera which will then automatically leak the coverage to the media. Viable and Don bhai will definitely get a kick out of it. Keep this as an option dude.

Next option, ummmmmm..................lets see ................................ get back to domestic or county cricket and score some huge double tons and a take a few more of those blinder catches and then make a grand re-entry as the captain of the Indian team. Throw Don bhai out, get Wright bhaiya back and make merry once again. Bah......!!!!! Who am I kidding, never gonna happen in a century.

So for now the goal is Chappel Don's legs and the media.

P.S.- Was Ganguly the twelth man by the way? I could not find this information and my fruitwala wouldn't tell me. I hope he didn't have to suffer that?

zzzzzzzzzzzz

2006-01-19T05:34:00.000-08:00

I wake up this morning and suddenly the thought of my blog comes to my mind. I start thinking of my 5Mb in this world. And I realize whatever it may be I am gonna post one today. But what do I write about-

1. A hopelessly boring movie I watched over the weekend which was so shitty I actually cried for my 100 bucks. Maybe these multiplexes should introduce a money-back guarantee. If you don't watch the movie, all your money is refunded. That would be so cool.
2.The fact that I finally had a bath after I don't even know how many days.(for all those who are imagining me covered all over in grime, let me enlighten you on the Law of Nature in Winter. The rate of all the activities in winter is directly propotional to the temperature except for sleeping which happens to be inversely propotional. So don't judge me, I am just following the law.)
3.A stupid exam which asks me what clerosisophobia, hypopicomicophobia, temerislcoriphobia and assophobia are and also asks me the spellings of words that I could later not even find in the dictionary.
4.That I can't hear very well right now because of just a few girls whom I was standing beside started screaming at a level of 240 dB and that too without warning. I managed to save my classes before they started cracking but sadly I cannot say the same about my ears. Oh! Why were they screaming? Because some dude called John Abraham had come to visit the mall and do some promotional shit for his latest movie. I really didn't understand what all the brouhaha was about. The dude was pretty normal, a little above average you could say, had not shaved, worn tattered jeans and had hair even messier than mine. Fine okay he might give an impression of being hot but do you have to scream for that. I mean why doesn't everyone behave and be cordial people. Why can't they just have a normal conversation with him instead of just screaming. How difficult is this:
Screaming Girls: Hi John
John: How you doin?
Screaming Girls: .............
Screaming Girls: ..............
all the screaming girls fainted and left us with some peace.
And what was even worse, there were these huge, muscle bound, tight T-shirt clad Punjab-da-puttars standing next to their respective chix and they were screaming too. Now this was the time I seriously started questioning my virility. Should I also start jumping up and down and scream "John, O John......" And did I do it, well that is another story.

I am sorry getting back to the update:

5.Well there isn't anything more to write bout I guess. My life isn't all that happening I see. Maybe I should hang out more often with the Punjab-da-puttars and get one of those Silver Bangles they wear. I think that's why they have all those chix drifting around them. Maybe it's like some magnetic field attractor which interacts and invites the magnetic vibes of the female sex and brings the two fields closer and hence all the fluttering. Maybe they custom make those depending on the kind of magnetic field(a.k.a. chick) you want to attract. If anyone know of people who make such things, please don't take all of it for yourself, pass some on to less fortunate people like yours truly.

AbsoFucking Hilarious

2006-01-09T11:36:00.000-08:00

This is a blog of note I just came across and it is absolutely amazing. Might offend all you purists but I for one loved it. And for the benefit of everyone here it is:

http://aashraya.blogspot.com/2005/11/vyasas-dissertation.html

It is the spoof version of the Mahabaratha and it ROCKS.

...........New Year..................

2006-01-09T09:55:00.000-08:00

Yeah so 2006 is here. But I am guessing what is so new about it? Why is it that everyone is so happy wishing everyone else? Why does everyone rush to their cellphones the moment they finished their countdowns and started calling, sms'ing or waiting for the same things? I mean what is the big deal.

We moved from one year to another. The date that appears on your mails, on the top of your notebook or wherever else changes, then what? Nuthin much I am thinking. You go back to work, I go back to studying, someone else goes back to begging and so on. But for that one minute countdown, quite a few people stop, make some stupid resolutions they are not gonna keep, look at things in the past that they cannot change or even they do want to: can't.

So then I am guessing it's just another excuse to waste money. I for one blew 500 bucks to spend the night at a camp by the river Ganga, I spent 500 bucks to shiver to my bones and be happy with my drunk friends, not have the services of a toilet the next day but usher in the new year under the stars. Some other people blew away millions of dollars to watch gunpowder bursting on top of Sydney Harbor, still other braved huge, sweaty, smelly crowds and lotsa money to see some crazy ball dropped in Times Square, like they had not seen balls falling. They fall all the time man. When Sachin hits a six, when Ronaldinho scores, when some baski dude dunks, they are everywhere. Okay then its probably got to do wit the height it falls from and the fact that its falling on New Years. Big deal, throw a meteroite from the heavens, crash it in the middle of a desert and that too right on time, that will give the people sumthin to be happy about. What say?

I mean the things it takes to amuse people. I guess as apes we were so awed by the freaking craziness around us that we did'nt much else. Then as we grew, we got better things to amuse ourselves: cars, women, mobiles, gadgets and god knows what else. Now we have reached such a place that we need innovation in amusion. I dont even know if it is grammatically correct. But that is what we are headed to. Anyone have any idea where this is headed?

My big fat packet of chips

2005-12-30T02:44:00.000-08:00

I have noticed lately how much I enjoy my big, 20rs packet of Lays. In fact it has become kind of an obsession. Whenever I am pulling an all-nighter, I invariably go through an entire packet and that too quite easily. It does not matter that the damn thing contains zillions of calories, or the fact that potatoes make you fart a lot. Be it an interesting movie or another series of episodes of FMA or just an interesting novel, I need my packet of Lays by my side. I can't say that I have not been forewarned. After all their ad campaign says 'No one can eat just one". But who takes those things seriously and any way I am way past the one stage. I can't stop at one chip, one packet or maybe even one crate.

I have had so many of them that I even know the Nutrient information and the places of manufacture written at the back of the pack byheart. And it no longer matters to me what flavour I am having. As long as I get my hand on those damn chips. Earliar I used to root only for the Green pack- Sour cream and onion and I also used to look at my wallet and then decide on the purchase. Now it's like I ask Masoom bhai(our canteen dude) for the packet and then look into my wallet. If the cash isn't there then its time for debt management and if Masoom Bhai is in a good mood which is generally the case then I open a tab. And he does not mind either. In fact he is pretty nice. I thik he understands how crazy I am or he is probaly scared I will attack him if he denies me my Lays.

I am now planning to carry out a chemical examination of every damn chip in the packet. I am quite sure they have some addictive stuff like caffeine etc. There can be no other explanation. So it's time now to turn to Google the God and find out some information. Maybe I will find some information to drag them to court and produce a hallmark judgement. But for now lets search for some verdicts in Individuals vs. Big Corporates cases and get inspired. Maybe as an out-of-court settlement they would give me an entire lifetime supply of Lays free. Make that Green Lays pls.

Flashback

2005-12-23T11:23:00.000-08:00

I have just started watching FMA.It stands for Full Metal Alchemist.Its a anime made by the Japs I guess.Its about these two brothers who practice the art of Alchemy and their adventures.You have to continuosly read the English translation written below but the story is pretty exciting. But watching these kind of cartoons really made me remember my old times.So here's a post dedicated to the good ol' times.

I remember the earlier days when I used to watch a huge load of cartoons at home and enjoyed a lot of them. It was like a sort of after-exam ritual for me. The exam used to get over at about 10,reach home by about 11, get a plate of freshly steamed idlis with some gunpowder, a carton of orange juice and put on Cartoon Network. There used to be a whole lineup of amazing shows starting with Speed Racer, Scooby Doo, Captain Planet and then slowly as you wind your way to lunch we have the incredible duo of Swat Cats. By that time my bro also used to come along and then we could watch Tom & Jerry together.

Those were some really good shows that I enjoyed. But now I miss them. Firstly I don't have a T.V. and whenever I switch on the Cartoon channel in India, its always dubbed in Hindi and then the entire thing becomes shitty. They call the Swat Cats as Chota Meow and Bada meow. Man that is so lame.

Going back a few more years, two of the greatest T.V. shows I ever remember were Wonder Years and Small Wonder on Star World.These were shows that used to come on thursday and friday afternoons when I could watch it without any parents around and not be embarrased about the smooches that they used to have. I did not wat my parents felt about all that at that time but somehow I felt they would'nt like me watching it. I mean we never used to do that kind of stuff in our normal lives. But anyway those were some of my earliast exposures to the 'American way of Life'.

I wish I was a kid once more.

Dilli sucks

2005-12-14T22:53:00.000-08:00

I am back from a 5 day jaunt to New Delhi - the capital of India. And I must say what an experience it was. This wasn't the first time that I had been there but it was my longest stay and one in which I was alone.

I have spent time in quite a few cities in India, never lived in any but I must say so far, Delhi is the worst for the reasons that I am going to enumerate below. But before that I would like to add that these are my views only and if I do offend anyone who is passionate about 'Saddi Dilli', then it is completely intentional.

1.Delhi does not have a standardized bus service in place. Any bus just paints two signs on it's sides - 'Under STA permit' or 'Stage Carrier' , hangs a number on the front of the bus and then it's called public transport. They also have a sign saying 'CNG' but I personally saw one of them go into a Indian Oil pump and fill up on diesel.

2.Delhi buses do not have a fixed rate card or chart. The conductor just demands what he feels should be the fare. You then have the following options:
i.Pay up (which is what I did)
ii.Argue a little and then pay up
iii.Get thrown out
iv.Get into an argument and eventually a fight and provide some entertainment for your fellow passengers

I traveled by bus for most of the time while I was there and based on my calculations, the first happened 50% of the time, the second happened 35% of the time, the third happened 5% of the time and the fourth 10% of the time. And when the fourth thing happens its definitely something you want to witness. The bus stops in the middle of the street, the passenger (who is usually with his friends in a group) on one side, the conductor and his cohorts (there are usually 4 crew members traveling on the bus) on the other and all around him, angry honking cars, people from the street who want to watch the fun and passive passengers who just want to get to their destinations. It's one huge tamasha.

3.Drunks, and there are plenty of them around. On every bus that I traveled, there was an average of 1.5 drunks and it doesn't matter if its the morning, evening or night they are always there. Maybe there had been some kind of free booze festival on the days that I was there but there were an awful number of drunks around. And what the conductors used to do was take the money for the ticket and push them out where they pleased. Nice way to earn money huh!

4.The Ladies seat. An entire half of the bus is reserved for the female sex. I understand that the female population in Delhi is an oppressed lot having to contend with the dangers of a rape every hour and sexual harassment which may or may not include ass grabbing, pinching and the likes but does that justify an entire half of the bus. I know that they have to suffer a lot but will all that go away by just offering them a seat and feeling happy about it? I rest my case.

5.And then there are the salesmen practicing the art of Direct Marketing. I thought this was a phenomenon restricted to long distance vehicles only but I was wrong. They come on in every local bus in Delhi and sell products ranging from books promising you help in your sexual problems to powders,pastes etc which are supposed to cure all the problems that you ever had. One guy went as far as saying "Main aapko ek poora pharmacy de raha hoon sirf dus rupiye main, dus rupiye, dus rupiye, dus rupiye"(I am giving you an entire pharmacy in just ten rupees, ten rupees, ten rupees, ten rupees)
And guess what!!! People actually buy them. I just could not imagine anyone trusting quacks for their problems and then I remembered the statement "India lives in it's villages". I don't know who said it but I would like to add "India has now moved to it's cities".

6.Don't even get me started on the rickshaws, both the CNG version as well as the manual ones.

7.The people, every city is identified with them, the suave bangaloreans(or should I say bengalurus), the work-hard, party-harder mumbaikers, the relaxed and joyous puneites and many more. For Delhi I would say the grumpy, frustrated delhiites. This may because I didn't meet the oh-so-rich Punjabis in South-ex traveling in their mercs and SUV's, hanging out at pubs and discs. But I feel they rich make up a lesser part of the city than the rest.

I know how unending this post may seem but you see I haven't written for 4 days and that's a long time. But before ending I would like to point out some things which I thought was nice. After all every rule has it's exceptions:

1.The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is doing a great job and by the time the entire thing comes up, people may not have to depend on those god forsaken buses and autorickshaws.

2.The capital area with the government offices, rashtrapathi bhawan and parliament is a very pleasing site. It feels like a capital city there and only there. There are no cluttered electric poles with wired dangling at every angle, wide and clean roads with no potholes and maybe it's because of the police around but the vehicles were keeping to the lanes.

Sadly I can't find more things to mention in the better half .

I know that I am basing my entire judgment on the five days that I spent there but that's how I judge. A city has the effect on you in a moment and that's what I have felt everywhere and so too in Dilli.

"GOD SAVE DELHI"

Yahaan

2005-12-06T01:53:00.000-08:00

It's the title of a really nice Bollywood movie that I just saw. I am not kidding it is a Bollywood movie and it is nice. Starring Jimmy Shergill and a new female I don't know but I do like and the Kashmir valley.

Its a sweet romatic movie set in the valley of thorns and guns and bombs. The first half of the movie is all mushy, mushy but with serious overtones. There's this scene in the local market where the female is kinda teasing the hero and its all fun until she runs away and he calls out her name loudly. Then there is this sinister silence and she tells him not to ever do that again or she will be raped. There is a fatwa against a local girl romancing a military officer. There are some nice scenes like this and the setting is amazing. The backdrop is really beautiful, serence, pristine and BHAM! all hell breaks loose. It was amazinf to know that we do have such places in India and sad to know how its been destroyed.

In the second half the director returns to the fold of Bollywood and there is some unwanted publicity stunts for NDTV but it's something you can live through. Overall a definitely good watch. The female lead looks really cute and innocent and I don't know if they actually shot it in Srinagar but it's very beautiful.

It's not that recent a movie so try to get it on DVD or VCD. But watch it.

......

2005-12-04T07:26:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in front of the computer terminal after having made the long trek from my room to the Computer Centre in the chilly winter of Roorkee and I am blank. I don't know why I came and I dont know what to write about. So I decide I will go through some other blogs and get inspired. There were some great ones which very interesting to read. There were some that I had read for the first time but made an instant connection and they were so beautifully written. I dont know when my blog is ever going to look like that.

But comin back to my misery, I did find some interesting topics on which I do have some views and as I am about to pen them I realise isn't it something like plagiarising? I could defend myself saying that I was inspired but what's the point.

Then I look around at life in general, hoping I could find something to write about but nope. There is nothing interesting thats going on. I am stuck in college during winter vacations where there is no one around, its too damn freezing cold to go out and there is no place to go out either. Again nothing to write about.

Well what else is there to do than snuggle into my comfy, cosy rajai and enjoy 10 hours of heavenly bliss. So catch you guys later.zzzzzzzzzz

Well Well

2005-11-30T09:38:00.000-08:00

Its been a long long time since I have been active but now I am back. For how long lets see.
There was a lot going on with Semester Exams, CAT Exam, Final Year Project presentations and what not. And there are some more to come in the next 10 days or so.

But for now lets enjoy the moment- I have put in 2 days of decent sleeping hours, have watched a couple of movies- A picture docu called Baraka- awfully boring but awfully good and some kind of youth gang-comic-movie based in New York called The Warriors. Its supposed to be a 1979 flick but it was quite nice- and by nice I mean it didnt make me fall asleep.

Will be going to Chandigarh tomorrow for a couple of days with my good old buddy whose Birthday it is tommorow. So lets hope we have a bash about that and hey man and very very happy 21st birthday. But sorry you still can't lgally drink in India.

I know I am just yapping here cos thats just what I feel like so ignore everything above and below this line while you read.

On the recent developments front, Pawar beat Dalmiya, he chucked out all the selectors who selected Ganguly, he put in place three people who havent played cricket ever and now Ganguly dosent know what he's gonna do. Imagine going from being Captain in one test, scoring a century albeit a poor one and then carrying the drinks trolley in the next. What a life huh?

Another development, they are opening Armani hotels in India too. In a country where more than a million people sleep on streets, another million or two probably have no food and another couple of million havent had baths for months together, they are opening a five star hotel with kick-ass designer bathtubs, fucking 1000$ towels and even gold plated door knobs. I am just thinking of what will they fit in the bathtub that will be so designerish- probably suction pumps, plungers and plastic dildos etc etc in all the right places for the right kinda pleasures. But of course all this will be discrete cos you know they are rich people and they are not into all that. But guess what we are perverted indians after all. We will find a way to fix cameras in their bathrooms and then make MMS clips of famous and not-so-famous celebrities and then distribute them all around showing them on our latest handsets and how technologically advances we are.

P.S.-If any of you guys get such videos don't forget you read about it here first.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

2005-11-12T08:54:00.000-08:00

I know that I may be really the last person around to read it but I dont care. Check out the speech which Steve Jobs gave at the Commencement at Stanford University.
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

I have always been a great admirer of Steve Jobs and this has only raised him to a higher level for me. I dont know if I will ever be able to do the things that he has done, and nor do I want to be like him but there is something about this man that I truly love.

So here's to Steve Jobs, one of th greatest men on earth.

The o.c.

2005-11-09T08:54:00.000-08:00

Lets put some posts online and make up for lost time.
Hooked on to this new sitcom called THE o.c. for Orange County. Its about this guy from Chino(somewhere in California) who gets busted for stealing a car and lands up in jail when he is 16(or 17 dunno) . But guess what helps just around the corner and he lands up in this fancy, rich, upper crust family in Newport, OC who have all the money in the world and adopt him as well. Imagine his luck when he finds a sexy girl living next door who is into him already and she is HOT.I love watching this sitcom even if its only to have a look at how the rich live their lifes and how california looks and how HOT the babes are. I just love THE o.c.
Watch it folks its great.

Got Screwed

2005-10-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

Got back from Home to a really Rude awakening. The TEST SERIES what else. Two days of random mugging, with two sleepless nights included, interspersed with 5 or 6 one hour bursts that seem like hell. Yes that happens to be my test series. I spent quite some time studying (really 6 hours straight is a lot) even though what is eventually going to happen is I go to the examination room and stare at the ceiling fans, the blackboard or my watch to see when this hour of torture is gonna end. In the middle if I have the oppurtunity, I do manage to look at the neighbours paper and in this way put some grace into my otherwise drab paper.

Talking of exams I have always wondered what it would be like to finish the paper early (completely) and then walk to the Teacher's table and fling the paper out to him/her confidently and walk out of the room with all the other's eyes following you. Must be a totally awesome feeling!!!

But sadly I have never ever got the oppurtunity. This is not because of the fact that I have a lot to write and can't finish but because I keep waiting on for the whole hour, hoping that I will get a peek into the neighbours paper at some point of time and I could make some additions to my own. And even though this dosen't happen often, I still continue the same routine in every exam with a lot of hope.

So here's hoping that I have only two more such miserable exams come my way....

Home Ahoy!

2005-10-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

I am going home. Though its only for like 10 days but still Sweet Home Muscat. So I have one additional excuse for the fact that my Blog is so quite.

On other fronts I finally got myself registered on Placement Online after about 2 days of intermittent trying. And going by the look of things my placement process is also going to be the same. I will probably be appearing for like a dozen interviews and then some software company will have pity on me and take me in.

Well bags packed, clothes to wear decided, music and book in hand and all set to go. Just that I have six more hours left and I have nuthin to do but sleep. And that is the one thing I dont want to do cos then I will miss moi train. So if I keep blogging tomorrow again then you know I didnt reach home.

So here's hoping there no more bloggin for another 10 days.

Adios.

Mahaaaa Bharat

2005-09-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

No, this dosent have anything to do with the Incredible India campaign or have any expert gushing about India's huge economic potential and its booming middle class, though I must admit that that is one of the most popular thing being talked about everywhere around me.

Anyways this is more to do with the epic, Mahabharat. I recently heard the entire version in a good, sequential and concise manner from one of my friends. Earliar it was always my grandmother or the serial on TV which was my source. But invariably I only got to hear a few stories or managed just a few episodes and never got the entire story.

Once I had a wholesome view, the first thought that came to my mind was probably the fact that the entire reason for our country's present outlook and all the ills etc is probably this epic.Now I dont know how much of the story is true and whether it was actually a reflection of society as it was then but surely it is one of the most degrading epics I must say.It talks about five men sharing a wife and later talks about each of them going on and having many more.It shows the levels to which a teacher can fall to help his pet discipile.Heights of Nepotism.It talks of weird class and social practices.It talks of WAR and special weapons years before the world wars.

And now when people in the west have series of divorces and endless number of wives we frown on them.We talk about our culture and the familial values inherent in it.And depite all that we still consider the Mahabharat as one of our sacred epics.Why are we such a hypocritical society?

This blog does not means to offend anyone but is just an expression of an individual's viewpoint.

Prakash Rocks!

2005-09-16T09:46:00.000-07:00

Thats the name of the new fast-food/restaurant thats opened up in our small town and man its good(apparently the owner decided to give his own name to the place a.k.a Tendulkar's,Ganguly's etc etc).Its the only restaurant in this godforsaken place that serves decent South-Indian food.There is another thela(street vendor) who supposedly sells good stuff but the sight of this dirty dude with drives me away though I must try him someday.

But less of him and more of the food.I tasted Masala Dosa after months and it was fried in sexy butter and the smell of that was just amazing.Then there was the lovely idly(Ohhhh......my mouth is watering again).And to top it all of Onion Tomato Uttapam with a thick crust.(Heaven!!!)I know most of you people will be amazed at the way I am wowing over the food but I get excited the most at the sight of good food(havent really had the sight of a sexy female so till then this tops my list).And if its south-indian then you know you have a maniac on your hands.We ended up a little a short of cash and had to mortgage our Identity cards to foot the bill.The cash counter dude was happy with the kind of collateral he got(apparently the flimsy I-cards we carry are quite a deal) and was more than happy to give us credit.It was then that a thought struck me.What if we could eat all we like and pay him when we like?Sounded really cool and he too was happy(obviously he didnt know that we would pay him when we like).Anyways much to the amazement of the waiters, all of us ran back to our table, ripped open the menu cards and and ordered a fresh new meal with all the stuff we couldnt have earliar cos it was too expensive.The waiter was totally amazed at our appetites and the kind of noise we made until the food arrived.He came back every two minutes alternately getting us something we ordered and asking us to keep quiet.

Dinner's done what bout dessert?We decided to go to this ice-cream place called 'Gay-Lords' simply bcos he is the only person who gave students credit.(Some because they like the sound of the place and feel like they are goin to some gay only club)But sadly the khusad Budda(stingy old b*****d) owner of the place was in and he was in no mood to relent.So we had to pay up but not without losing out dignity.We paid him the entire 50 bucks in coins and that too most of them in 2's and 1's.It was definitely a site.Showed him sumthin didnt we!!

But otherwise a great meal and a strong recommend to anyone.

On a different note, some of my friends tried dope.Stuff called 'Sulfa' in local parlance.They stuffed it in an empty cigarette and smoked it but didnt feel a thing.No high, no dizziness and no fun is how they put it.Later someone else told them that it could have been and in all probability was cow-shit.It seems its a big racket to powder cow,lizard,rat shit and sell it as Dope.Seriously guys shouldnt try all this stuff unless its branded.But do they sell branded grass?I guess not at least in India.Probably a good bussiness oppurtunity,anyone interested?50-50 joint venture.(the govt would probably allow unrestricted FDI also so all you people outside also can pool in)

For all you people who turned up!

2005-09-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

This is for all you people who managed to take the trouble of clicking on the URL I had advertised.Thanks a lot for visting and I love you all very much.Hope you like what you see here and sincerely hope you keep visting (though I doubt it myself)

Have a nice time

Mobile Menace

2005-09-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

Okay so you have a mobile/cell/GSM/my cutie or whatever you want to call it but should you let it take over you.I mean there are people on this planet besides the ones on the other side of the line.People have become so inconsiderate to the surroundings and others around them that they simply dont even bother to excuse themselves.

The other day a bunch of us were going for a walk around campus for whatever reason.You know we are generally talking and discussing our weird theories.It was just going fine till one of us recieved a phone call and stopped mid-way in his sentence to attend to it.No 'excuse-me','SORRY' or anything else.He just picks up the phone and starts walking more slowly,still with us and yet just far away so we dont hear what he's talking about.Now the rest of us dont know what to do.I mean we were in a discussion after all and it had ended abruptly.Also we are kinda interested in the other person's conversation.I mean c'mon you can't help being a little curious.So now there is complete silence except for his yapping of course and we just walk around aimlessly like zombies.

When the dudes call is finally over, he comes back and tries to join in our eerie silence again.Again,there's no 'sorry folks' or anything of the sort.What do we do?We are all feeling angry cos obviously our relaxing walk had become a zombie oneand we felt like idiots.But we couldnt yell at him cos we knew what he would say like this-this person had called yaar,long time since I spoke to her/him and all that crap.

So basically we end up being the frustated lot.He's happy cos he's spoken to some long distance dude and had fun while we just whiled away our time.I think that people should develop some sort of mobile manners like keeping calls short or attending to them when no-one's around or at least when no-one is bothered about you.

Almost everyone I see in India has a mobile even though the census says that the teledensity of the country is like 9% blah-blah.But with all these mad people going about screaming into their mobiles/cells/GSM's/cutie pies, life becomes very difficult for the person sitting next to you in the train or bus,standing in front of you at the queue or maybe even walking with you in campus.

I think there should be an instruction booklet with the mobile providing info on basic mobile manners and how you must adhere to them.Cos very soon people are going to sue saying that your talking too loudly on your mobile/cell/GSM/cutie pie made me lose my hearing or made me hear my conversation less and thus screwd my deal or some shit like that.SO i think its high time people learnt mobile manners.

Ill give them a few tips if they want.

Just A Comparison

2005-09-13T04:44:00.000-07:00

Just a Comparison….
Inches of rain in new orleans due to hurricane katrina... 18
Inches of rain in mumbai (July 27th).... 37.1
Population of New Orleans... 484,674
Population of Mumbai.... 12,622,500
Deaths in new orleans within 48 hours of Katrina...100
Deaths in Mumbai within 48hours of rain.. 37.
Number of people to be evacuated in new orleans... entire city..wohh
Number of people evacuated in mumbai...10,000
Cases of shooting and violence in new orleans...Countless
Cases of shooting and violence in mumbai.. NONE
Time taken for US army to reach new orleans... 48hours
Time taken for Indian army and navy to reach mumbai...12hours
Status 48hours later...new orleans is still waiting for relief, army andelectricty
Status 48hours later...Mumbai is back on its feet and is business is asusual
USA...world's most developed nation
India...JUST A DEVELOPING NATION..

oopss...did i get the last fact wrong??? Or am I just being proud ofbeing an INDIAN?

Hey

2005-09-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

Just thought of dropping by to say HI to all those out there.Well I hope this is going to be the place where I will be pouring out all my confusions and seeking answers to some really weird questions that I keep getting from time to time.Overall I hope to have fun here and also propose some really interesting stuff which everyone should try.

I want the start to be really royal and seeing that the computer admistrator is already glaring at me for crossing the 10:30 deadline I dont think that is gonna happen today.So folks just wait and well hope that I am not too lazy to leave this page totally blank for a month or so.

Catch you later.