Wikipedia

The traditional encylopedia is fighting hard to retain its status with this newly born. Wikipedia is an online encylopedia and its content is huge and varied.
The best part of wikipedia is anybody can contribute to this encylopedia. It maintains versions to prevent harassing and malpractice. So information is secure and there are lot of topics for which u can find detailed information. Although,they dont guarantee 100% correct information its an excellent starting point for your information gathering trip. You can go from there on to most relevant websites.
It easy to correct errors and since anybody can contribute to this, u can imagine the amount of information available.
This is the Information era and wikipedia is taking us one step closer to this progress. Besides i like the name too !!! :o)

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My possessions :o)

There's a saying that never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.
When you plant something u plant hope.When you water them everyday and see it grow, something grows along with it.It shows that you care enough to make another life possible.

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Mera Bharath Mahan !!!

Gone are the days when England ruled India. The recent british airways advertisement tells us how much can change in the world.
"BA says 'Namaste' to India" - For India the world is waiting.
Then there was an advertisement about Deutsche Bank starting operations in India.
Slowly the world is sitting up and taking notice of the country which is not only geographically enthralling but diverse in every sense of the world.
When i was studying in college my dad used to worry about how the talented youngsters went abroad to study and later settle in India. About three-fourths of my family are permanenet residents of the US of A. But nobody is to blame. When there are oppurtunities galore nobody wants to ignore that.
But slowly things are taking a new turn. People are coming back to India with a new vision. You have German auto majors like BMW and Volkswagon opening manufacturing units in INDIA. MBA Aspirants from US bschools made their way to this asian sub-continent where the action was. They claimed that nobody could afford to ignore the growth in India and the potential to grow further.Businessweek states so.
Movies like Swades and Yuva are an inspiration to Indians who would not fall prey to the Dollar dreams. We are talented and we are destined to achieve. We have started shining and we are here to stay. To leave a mark and make the world stop and take notice of this growing strength. We are climbing the ladder slowly and diligently, there are some setbacks but we are still climbing.. just a matter of time while till we reach the pinnacle of glory. India is definitely shining bright!! A moment in history where i sit back and take pride in what my country has achieved ,admire my countrymen for making this possible and in some tiny way being a part of this spectacle.

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Transcending life

I finished reading a book and for once i wouldn't say that i enjoyed reading it. That's because you can't ENJOY reading THE FOUNTAINHEAD. I have heard a lot about this book. The elusive Mr. Howard Roark. People claimed that this was one book that had influenced their life and their thinking and i never had the time to finish this book. So when i had finally picked up the book with the intention of finishing it, little did i know that it would leave me with a feeling which is non-descriptive.
You can't pen the words of what its like to read FOUNTAINHEAD. Without u realising it, you start doing an introspection from a viewpoint that you dint know existed. You approach life with a different perspective, you work with a new commitment and purpose. You realise the significance of other people's opinion or the lack of it. Your life is your own and you define its principles. You would understand that failures can reach you only to a certain point and then it doesn't matter.Such is FOUNTAINHEAD, you can't enjoy reading it. It simply opens that door in your mind, a door which never existed. It lifts you to a new level of reasoning. Its a book that needs to be read to be understood or you would be reducing its significance.
FOUNTAINHEAD preaches the one important philosophy of objectivism -
My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.
— Ayn Rand

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These are a few of my favorite things.. :))

One of my all-time favourite poems...

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;
Brown paper packages tied up with strings;
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels;
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles;
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings;
These are a few of my favorite things.

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes;
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes;
Silver-white winters that melt into springs;
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the dog bites,
When the bee stings,
When I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

By Julie Andrews.
Also from Sound of Music ;))

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Nothing Lasts forever....

When i first read this book i was so capitvated by the narration. I cudn't keep it down. Paige taylor, Honey Taft and Kat were real not figments of imagination. I adored Jason curtis, i wud fervently hope that Paige forget that creep Alan and marry Jason.. and when she did i almost cried. Then came If tommorrow comes, Master of the game, Stranger in the mirror, Other side of midnight, Memories of midnight, Sky is falling..I've read every book and i never once got disappointed. I have never felt so satisfied about a book as i did with Sheldon's writing. He had the touch to captivate the reader's interest.There was romance, suspense, plot,intrigue.. ask for it and u wud find it.. Yesterday to my delight i had found that he had released another one.. The other side of Me.. u can chk it out here..
The Other Side of Me
Although this his abt his own life.. am sure it would be another one of his masterpieces. He would always do justice to his readers, value for money. I have been reading other authors like dan brown, daniel steele, erich seghal, jeffrey archer, john grisham et al..there's something abt sheldon's books that i love. He has a plot and doesn't write to sell.
I have so wanted to witness the thefts done by tracey whitney, so wanted to see Kate McGregor, wanted to save Joshua from dying...sheldon's characters are so real.

This post is really a tribute to his works and i do hope there would be more books from him. Somethings last forever.
P.S: This post was written from a Net Cafe ;-)

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PARISing...

LOVE-STRUCK in the city of Love!! :-)

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One Friday Night...

Friday Evening: Apt-mate calling in to say she is held up with meetings and wont be able to make it till late night, please keep something to eat she adds :((
Stuck on a friday night alone..wondering what to do??!##$@#$%%!!!
Should i watch all those movies in Star and HBO back to Back? Naah.. will do that on Sat&sun :D
Try something new for dinner? No energy.. toast something on the pan and gobble it!!
Go for a nice plesant walk? who wants a walk now?

The lingering question: What to do? what do i do?

"EUREKA" where was that.. it should be here.. search in the book rack, cupboard in the showcase.. man did i dump it somewhere.. search beneath the bed and behind the cot.. where the hell did this disappear when i need it most?
think think.. where did i keep it?
look behing the TV..Bingo.. there it is..hiding quietly.. 'The bridges of Madison County'.. had borrowed it from a friend and compeltely forgot..

So heat something in the stove.. start reading the first few pages..and sniff snif.. something is burning.. whoops..all the rotis have become slightly colored.. ok they are burnt.. Its not my fault..robert kincaid had me hooked!!

Then as i go on reading that book.. i can picturise IOWA.. i can visualise the Roseman Bridge.. i can see francesca blushing scarlet everytime she looks at handsome robert...

This is one book that had me hooked from start to end!! Love eternal.. such love exists only with a few people!!
In this universe full of ambiguity, this kind of certainity comes only once!!! what a powerful statement!!!

Sometimes all of us think abt those special moments which we have heard so much about in movies, seen it happen to our friends.. the smitten love.. and we have wondered..would it happen? does it exist? we also have friends who claim that love is for convinience ..its all bull-shitting and total time pass..
Stuck between them, we wait till we come off marriagable age.. get married.. but love.. love like what francesca felt for robert.. filled with sweat, dreams, passion, care, compassion.. love that transcends distance and time... love that exists in their hearts forever..love that can never be forgotten.. that is LOVE in the pure sense of the word.. LOVE that is worth waiting for..LOVE that lasts a lifetime.. LOVE that make u smile when ur alone.. which brings back sweet memories..LOVE that makes you long for it.. make you want to relive those memories..
LOVE that is shared even when all your teeth have fallen..love that blossoms in war-fronts...LOVE that can never be rationalised, reasoned or discussed.. Just be felt..
LOVE that is worth waiting for.. LOVE that is all-consuming.. LOVE is eternal!!!

I jus wish there were pictures of Robert Kincaid!!!i really wish.....

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Pensioner's Paradise?

Have you ever got stuck in Marathahalli bridge for 45 minutes wondering why the hell the vehicle in front of you doesn't move at all?Have you inched thro' traffic in hosur road? Have you slightly brushed against the car next to you in airport road? Have you waded thro' potholes in Bannerghatta Road? Have you heard all those unparlimentary exchanges between drivers in BTM? Have you noticed the half-finished fly-over near domlur with the iron-rods staring ominously at you? If you've had any of these 'blissfull' experiences ,you'll know what am talking about!!Care to venture a ride in my office bus one evening and you'll think EVIL DEAD was a soft comedy movie.You'll be more than thankfull when the bus drops you off and you land on your own two feet!! Does he know he should'nt overtake from the left? we have a deaf ear 'cos he cant take his hand off the horn. Seriously, the sound resonates long after i get off the bus!!He's playing god for those minutes who can make or break, who can let me live a few more days!!
Here's more.. If you've ever seen the layout of BRIGADE METROPOLIS or PRESTIGE SHANTINIKETAN and heaved a loud sigh..WELCOME ABOARD! Real estate rates in bangalore are skyrocketing! You can see every square feet of land turning into a skyscraper overnight.You've dreamt of a nice house with a beautiful garden and a picketed fence? well, i hate to burst your bubble but thats all what you can do. DREAM. If you ever get further, you'll be paying back till the end of your life. You just have to claw into one of those matchboxes with the rest before that is take too..We aren't MILLION DOLLAR BABIES are we? With the income i have in a few days, all i can buy is a place to lay a tent!!!
From where i come, a movie on a weekend costs an economical 50 bucks.But here in SILICON VALLEY a movie in a hall with velvet curtains on the sides and seats, air-conditioners that don't hum when the movie plays and a jumbo bag that costs more than my day's wages.Its PVR and you better pay for it.Like it makes the movie or your experience any better?! Now we have INOX too buring a hole in our pockets! Why would i pay half a thousand to watch a one and a half hour movie or salman show his biceps?Care to think, my friend?Is there no end to this madness!!
Gone are the days when bangalore was a pensioner's Paradise!Now its a concrete jungle, a city which drives you mad with its jams and a way too expensive standard of living. You might still have vasanthi and darius from RADIO CITY to brighten your mornings and evenings , bryan adams and elton john do drop in once in a while,garden city still clings on to a few of its parks, water does come from the tap in our homes and it is blessed with rains. But the infrastructure stinks so much am beginning to think am better off in the heat and the sun! SILICON VALLEY is fast becoming a mad city, what are you doing to save it? Or are you just adding to the stink in your own sweet way?
PENSIONER's PARADISE? wake up..the show's over honey!!!

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Are u from chennai? Me too!!!!

For the past few days these are best words i've ever heard!!!
I'm actually longing for people who speak the same language as me.. who are from chennai and it feels so much at home to speak to somebody like that!!!

Today a girl called me about a house she wanted to rent.. when she asked me "Are u from south india?" i felt the familiar tug.. and then came .."Which part?" "Chennai".."Oh really Me too"!!! and the conversation swtiched to tamil.."Chennaila enga??"

I din't know i was attached to a place or a language.. i've lived in pilani for four years..even civilisation existed in the barest.. but we had a familiar crowd.. i've been in bangalore for 6 months for internship but again with familiar crowd..

This time am here for i dont know how long.. but it does feel like years since i spoke to people without wondering if am making grammatical errors.. if am making sense.. sometimes it irritates me how people start talking in hindi jus assuming the rest of us are as fluent as they are.. din't they say english is the universal language.. and it doesn't hurt to know if the other person knows as much hindi as u..

Although i dont have a problem with understanding hindi,i have a problem speaking it! I speak quite fluently for a person who hasn't studied it, but jus learnt it on the fly, still the attitude irks me and beleive me there are some people who wouldn't stop talking in hindi even if they know the other person din't understand much...Talk about manners!! SIGH!!!

Anyways this is not about my anger against hindi-speaking wallahs, this is about how much u long for familiar things when ur in unfamiliar territory. How much i long for my mom's potato curry, her sambhar, rasam,even curd..although it tastes the same here!!!

Its about coming home and watching sun TV for a while.. talking in tamil..watching tamil movies.. having colleagues who know what its like to watch a rajni movie in udhayam with people throwing confetti and whistling so hard u cant hear any of the dialogues.. Darn!!!!

I do most of these things even now.. watching tamil movies, watching sun TV after goin home..making rasam.. but i miss something.. its the feeling of belonging to a place.. and bangalore still feels foreign even if i've been here for a while.. chennai might not have enough water..its prob sweaty and f***ing hot in may... u prob dont have so many pubs and eat-outs.. but still its heaven for me.. i guess thats what its for everybody ..the connection you have to some places are not expressable.. cannot be penned.. but only felt and long for!!!

mebbe someday i would go back.. jus to feel like being at home amidst the noise and the madness!!!!

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Like Family!!!!

It was quite a journey.. my first trip from delhi to Loharu in the train.. from the Sarai Rohilla Station!! I was sandwiched between by mom and dad..my dad making conversations with other dads..the topic being bits pilani and what an esteemed institution!!!
my mom is anxiously checking out the scenary and she would burst into tears any moment now..the scenary has nothing to offer except sand-scapes!!
and am wondering abt the new life ...new journey am goin to embark upon!!!

We landed,did the registration and sat through the orientation..i was all smiles. This is exactly the kind of place i had imagined it to be.. not to mentioned the 'Jaundiced' look the buildings had.. but over the years we were actually proud of it!!!

then my parents left.. i still remember when they took the rick to the bus station with all the suitcases ..my eyes were clouded with tears!!i couldn't bear to see them go.. i jus wanted to protest that we have parents with us too.. i cudn't look straight into my mom's eyes..she was like a part of her had been torn away from her and made to stay!! my heart was so heavy and i couldn't see them go.
my dad was the only brave person..asking me to take care and read well and mingle and make friends!!
finally my mom spoke ..she asked me to eat well and sleep well.. and write letters regularly!!when she completed the sentence we both broke down and cried for a long time.the rick-wallah was extremely patient and dint utter a single word..well we are not the first of the lot!!
then i came back to my room and cried and cried till my eyes were bloodshot and there were no more tears left!! we all went for dinner together and all of us were gloomy.we had something in common - we were lonely and vulnerable!!!

we slowly befriended each other, some of us became the best of pals,we had fights,played holi,danced away to glory, dressed for music night and did everything under the sun..having tee-shirts with each of our zodiac signs!!

we were family!! and then everytime we went home and came back we dint feel the pain, the weekly telephone calls from home continued..and we would fight for the phone but we dint feel lonely again. we terribly missed home but we were not vulnerable!!we had each other..whenever i felt down and sad i would jus run into one of their rooms and there would be a bunch of hands consoling me!!!

after years am back again, from home , have been there for jus two days..but i feel the pain of loneliness!!! i cant bear it.. sometimes i wish i had the same bunch of friends and we all lived together and am sure would have had a blast!!!

sometimes i miss them..when there's a good movie to watch..when there's a movie like shabd where u can do nothing but comment.. when i want to go bowling, when i listen to pani vizhum malarvanam..sunday mornin breakfast,plays ,simply sitting in the lawns, when i have hot tea, when i read a good book or a 'taboo' one,when i jus want to enjoy the silence even if we are seven in a room, when i need to tell somebody how rotten office was.. when i jus have to sit and chat.. i miss them!!!

now i realise what is missing in my life!! that essence of friendship we shared.. i dont think i can be friends again with people the way we are.. but i also dont want to!!! i know we wont meet very often..once a year would be a wonder.. but i would still hold them close to my heart!!!

we were different in all senses of the word but we dint care, we lived life to the full and realised we shared something special and which we would hold close to our hearts!!!

i miss u guys... i really do!!!

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Seduction Style

Your Seduction Style: Ideal Lover

You seduce people by tapping into their dreams and desires. And because of this sensitivity, you can be the ideal lover for anyone you seek. You are a shapeshifter - bringing romance, adventure, spirituality to relationships. It all depends on who your with, and what their vision of a perfect relationship is.

Want to check out your style...go on!!!

What Is Your Seduction Style?

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in the name of religion

I recently visited the meenakshi amman temple in madurai.. the temple that is supposed to become one of the wonders of the world. I found something that was shocking and something that i was ashamed off.
It had a board that said only hindus are allowed.
Now, does taj mahal say that only muslims are welcome?
Does the leaning tower of pisa say that only christians are welcome?
Does the colloseum say only romans are welcome?

I understand that these are not places of worship!! They are wonders of the world that illustrates the architectural brilliance, the magic that some people had in their hands to construct awe-inspiring structures like these!!

But i also understand that a temple is a holy-place where the presence of god can not only be felt but also seen. Does the meenakshi amman bless only hindus? would she shun away from christians and muslims? I recently went to a church .. and i noticed that whenever the priest spoke about god he spoke abt the almighty without any reference to jesus, but when he spoke abt service to god then he gave jesus as an example. Simple though it may be, it made me realise that God is the same and can be felt and seen by anybody it is only that we categorise it in ways we want!!!
Religion is only the means of reaching god..and the means alone cannot become the purpose

I strongly object that board in the temple which said that only hindus are allowed inside the shrine.. for once i was ashamed of being there and not being able to correct it.
Later that day, when my parents had left and i visited the temple again, i found the authorities and asked them the purpose of the board.. they seemed to be baffled that such a notion should arise in my mind!! they assumed it was a perfectly natural thing to do.. and i was probably being very uncouth abt having mentioned it!!

Should i mention the attorcities in this world that are commited in the name of religion.. there are bombings in ayodhya for which our very dear lal krishna advani wants to organise nation-wide protest.. let me tell u if these people have any shame left in them then they would retire when they still have some pride left in them!!

Only hindus allowed.. may god save them!!!

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The tag bit me too!!

Total Books I own:
should be around 30 and growing fast...

Last book I bought:
A beautiful mind by sylvia nasir from higginbothams on my journey from bangalore to trichy

Last book I read:
The red Carpet by lavanya sankaran.. its a collection of bangalore stories.. kinda cool book!!

Currently reading:
A beautiful mind and chicken soup for the women's soul

Books that have had an impact on me:
The Godfather-Mario Puzo
If tommorrow comes - sidney sheldon
Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

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Write-ups

In my college(the great BITS,Pilani) we have a tradition of having farewells in our hostels.. called bhawans farewell and we have a write-up for every person written by their friends.. here's mine:

5 foot 2, 1 KHZ slow and steady walk,2MB RAM filled with the latest gossip and 6.2 GB of the websters dictionary of pure local tamil words. Thats Me for you. She walks... slowly, she eats...slowly! She talks..my god..faster than what you can hear!! Me at the height of her story telling can make the silliest of gossip seem like an extension of tom cruise-nicole kidman break-up. As far as her 'catch me all of u can' walk is concerned the only time she increased her pace was when a hoard of bees mistook her for honey and chased her right across RAM, much to the disappointment of many who wished to do the same themselves. Her sporting capablities are not restricted to this . We think she did once play volleyball for BITS during BOSM. and then meera finally decided that senti sem was the right time to learn to be a lady.Starting out with making her presence felt and voice loudly heard at the thiyagaraja aradhana, she's ending it up with shaking her legs to music.. which some do call dancing.Talk to her for 5 mins and you find her humourous vivacious and intelligent. Its only after she walks away do u realise that many of the jokes were infact about you. Well things arent as bad as it seems... she can move mountains to help her friends and make you feel that you are the best person in her life. She waltzed through her CDC's and plans to barge into IT Solutions. But ofcourse Me with friends like us ur bound to go places!!!!

Man what a write-up!!! :)))

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Do " I Do" ?

So many wedding snaps of seniors and juniors and people u know, dont know(it doesnt matter..they send u the link to yahoo/photos.com or shutterfly.com) and am looking at them... and a door opens in the back of my mind.. am i ready to say 'I do' yet?

I like my life now.. no strings attached.. u can step in and out of your house without the need to make dinner by 7 without the need to think of saving for the future.. u can sleep till ur roomie calls u a sleepy bum and throws u outta the bed to share "the household work".. hit a pub and get sloshed..nobody cares.. no worries.. jus life between you and you... no ugly arguments.. no compromises!!!

But i also think.. how nice it would be to clad myself in a kancheevaram silk saree.. gold chains, glass bangles that jingle with every movement you make, flowers that proves u do have a sense of smell, mehndi decorating your hand.. standing next to u is the man whom you will spend the rest of ur life with...
eyes dreamily looking at the flash of the camera.. fingers that twingle and the comfortable silence... no more solitude walks.. a sense of sharing creeps into ur world and for once it might not just hurt...belonging to another family as well..
it doesn't sound all that bad...now does it???!!!!mebbe am ready to say i do.... or mebbe not!!!

should wait and watch it.....!!!!signs of the girl turned into a woman??

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A beautiful mind

What is worse? the emotions,people,relationships and the best things you had seen in life were not dead were not gone but they never existed!!! they existed only in your mind not in reality.. where u stood in the brink of reality...

What is worse? u have an assignment which is closest to ur heart.. u think of the great recognition,fame and the work which will win u rewards.. but the assignment never existed in reality.. !!

What is worse? U are a great mathematician.. made a discovery which would win international acclaim and u realise ur mind is playing games on you...

John Nash suffers from Schizophrenia.. where reality and imagination coexist in your mind.. slowly imagination takes over completely and reality does not exist.

Russelle crowe who plays John Nash is an excellent actor.. he squirms when asked for a date.. the glow he has after his first kiss... when he's a helpless princeton graduate... he's a born actor!!!

I always thought academy award winning movies are a little boring and not worth watching but i was proved wrong.. this movie had me glued to the idiot box till the final list of cast and crew scrolled along!!!

A beautiful mind!!!!!

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FrontPAGE

well this post is truly dedicated to the nonsense which keeps filling newspaper front pages as headlines..

Can u imagine a man who pioneered the demolition of a mosque today repents it..
a fanatic hindu leader landing in a muslim country and calling the founder secular??
he could be a truly secular leader that is not what am talking right now.. am talkin abt how constantly politicians forget abt what they said.. mebbe they suffer from a serious case of amnesia!!!

name one place in the world where these atrocities happen?
a girl is raped by her father-in-law(lemme remind u that has a father in it) and the people are contemplating whether she needs to marry her father-in-law or live a life of a seperated women.. while she wants to live with her husband!!!the police say the house was near the station and they dint hear any screams... all this happens when the guilty is sitting at home and gleefully smoking his cigar!!!!

a man shoots an endangered species.. they have all the evidence that needs to be there and yet he's given bail and sent home in his air-conditioned car!!!

wife abusing husband arrested yet he calls her from his cell phone from jail threatening to cancel charges else she might never see her children!!

well if u said india then ur damning right.. we live in this great country where justice is unheard off.. where women get raped like an everyday event.. people walk in and out of courthouses with no fear only favour of law...

what is wrong with this nation.. we have the highest number of graduates, most esteemed engineering institutes.. we have born leaders.. eminent economists.. great finance ministers.. yet we let all this happen to us...

let me tell u something.. in chennai where i was born and brought up the auto wallah has the meter for showing off, even if u vaguely ask him to turn it on he would give u a stare which makes u wish u could shrink down and earth swallows u... alas that never happens and u end up paying half ur fortune!!!

We live in a land where we are condemned for most of the things... we brace all atrocities in the name of fate and we never live a life of honesty...
religion and caste are more important than water and lives.. we would burn people alive all in the name of religion!!! While we are fighting amongst ourselves other nations are racing ahead making new developments and emerging as stronger powers.. we would still listen to the headlines and SIGH .. only because it happened to somebody so far away so lost in space...

these are some things and there are a lot more.. but when all this frustration piles up i really wonder where we are headed?

a better place, clean greener landscapes, corruption unheard off, no traffic jams, pleasant headlines of naren winning F1 and sania crowning wimbeldon... are these better days or am i jus dreaming? all this while am jus here typing away furiously in a computer with no mind nor matter... does it matter?

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bandwagon...yikes!!!

am just back from my cousins wedding.. beleive me it was a comedy!!!
A comedy of errors but not as well written like shakespeare himself!!!

Thankfully i was not born a few years earlier or i can imagine the ordeal of a three day wedding. In contrast to my mallu friends wedding which she says lasts hardly for 5 minutes our Tam-Bram(tamil brahmins as she fondly calls us)lasts for three whole days.

You get even crazier if this happens in summer.. u can imagine y, if u see a girl wearing a silk saree with three or four garlands and a whole cartload of flowers on her ever-shedding hair!!! to beat that you have the cinematographer basking you in golden light.. whatever happened to technological advancements??

Leave alone these ordeals, what strikes me most is that the satisfaction of people who come for the wedding is unheard of. You can hear comments abt the food, the saris, how they look, what they said, why you came, who are the guests, the last wedding which was more pompous... beleive me there is not a single soul with a noble intention of blessing the couple barring me ofcourse!!!!

So i took a solemn vow, no wasting money, no fools rushin in, just a calm wedding where two people decide to spend the rest of their lives together in wedlock, the families mingling and getting to know each other better. No wasted invitations, only heartfelt blessings and a quiet ceremony is what is to be!!!

Wishing well to the love that is to blossom in the hearts of the groom and the bride(is it hasn't blossomed yet ;-)) AMEN!!!!

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The shawshunk redemption

This is easily one of the best movies i have seen in a long time!!!

Morgan freeman and robbins(Can't remember his first name) are unsung heros of the HOLLYWOOD!!!

The movie starts with a court trial where a man(andy) is convicted with the murder of his wife and her illicit lover(a golf pro).. although he claims that he din't do it, he looks as cold as ice and the judge gives him a life sentence(2 actually to be served back to back)!! he is then sent to the shawshunk prison..

The whole movie is morgan freeman's narration.. and it has a subtle humor which cannot go unappreciated!!! morgan bets on andy ..let me explain the bet..
when a prison has new-commers..synonymous to freshmen in college.. they are termed new fish.. and morgan and his associates each pick a "new fish" and bet who would break down.. and morgan picks on andy!!!
Although, one of them win the bet, morgan is a sore loser as andy doesn't utter a sound!!!also, morgan is known to be the man who can get you things in the prison like cigarettes,gum.. anything you want!!!

A few years later, battered and bruised many a time, some witty incidents with the prison guards, andy becomes a local hero.. he's in charge of a library and does tax-returns for almost all the officials in the prison including the warden(chuckle!!)
these scenes are crafted so well.. kudos to the director!!!

There are some notable incidents along the way.. and then somehow the fact tht andy is clearly innocent becomes evident although he cannot escape.
For a crime he did not commit he spends twenty years of his life in a hell-hole.. and in all this there is one thing he does not lose and that is HOPE!!!
The conversations between morgan and andy are all well-penned .. there is one instance where morgan says.. they send u hear for a life-sentence and that is exactly what they take away... and the way he explains the term 'institutionalised'.. 'rehabilitated'.. brings smug smiles!!!!

The movie has an amazing climax that leaves u gaping.. and finally makes u laugh so hard u have tears streaming down ur cheeks!!!!

Its one movie where there is not one boring moment and it keeps u glued to the plot!!!
In some ways it is what reminds you that life is beautiful and there are some things in life we have taken for granted.. like FREEDOM!!!
The shawshunk redemption...
"Fear is what gets you there..
Hope is what will get you out!!!"

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one lone call.....

waiting for that lone call to reach me..
his soothing voice to flow thro' my ears.. miles apart still close at heart... waiting for his words to caress me and leave me with that quievring sense of love.. i wish he would call and drive away this desperation..
i wish he would pick up the cellular invention and drive this hopeless sense of loneliness...
i wish he would realise that far apart someone still waits for that special ring... to see , to touch , to hug , to feel , to smile into his eyes and get lost in his loving warmth and enveloped with his tenderness and care...

how many times have we waited for someone to call us and felt the satisfaction of speaking for some time.. to shrink the distances and feel the proximity...
how many times have i waited for the presence of someone who's voice would bring loving moments and a rush in the heart... how many times..???

Trring Trring.....

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Travel to mysore

Start Time: 8:00 A.M
Breakfast: Temptations (Vth block koramangala - jyothi nivas college)
Cuisine: South-Indian

The taxi zipped past koramangala, jaynagar and slowed down in mysore road..
One cannot imagine the number of speedbreakers u have on mysore road...amzzzing@@@!!!
it was a wonder that our driver din't get zapped and throw up!!!

Stop 1: Srirangapatna(Ranganathaswamy temple)
it has one of the most amazing architectures in south india.
It was scorching hot when we entered the temple and once u enter its cool and breezy!!!
The temple closes at 1:00 pm so we were just in time for the darshan.

Stop 2: Tipu Sultan Summer Palace.
This is also a wonderful cnstruction, where the sun is shielded using bamboo mats..
the paintings are one of a kind and the arts and artefacts kept on display are worth the visit.

Lunch: Hotel Siddartha
Cuisine: South indian meals

Stop 3: Mysore Maharaja Palace
This is one the must-see spots in mysore.
The stained glass work, the tombs and the paintings are mind-boggling.
They have some very good works of ravi verma and also the exquisite carvings and statues are
awe-inspiring!!

Stop 4: Chamundi Hills
This is a 5-7km drive up the hill to the chamundeshwari temple, not a very steep climb but a pleasant one. on the way to the top is the nandi temple and the cave shiva temple which is good.

Stop 5: Brindavan GArdens
This was a disappointment in one-way. whoever told me brindavan gardens was a treat to the eyes must have forgotten abt the nasty smells which surround the gardens.
The musical fountain was quite something, but the whole place stinks!! next time u lpan to go to the gardens think twice!! Timings are till 7:55pm on wkdays and 8:55pm on weekends!!

It was a great trip with my folks, a long awaited vacation...we played antakshri and dumbC on the taxi and it was quite something!!!!

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[IF]

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!


--Rudyard Kipling

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from cucumber sandwiches to paruppu rasam...

This weekend actually started in a good note.. and the good note is that i got up at 8:00 on saturday morning.. c'mon.. i snore away to glory untill the maid gets so irritated she goes...'trrrr..trrrr' on the door bell..(thts how my doorbell sounds anyway)!!!
i got up and started to wonder what i was to do.. but amidst my musings there i was making tea for me and my apt-mate. Then i read the paper and decided that today i would cook a traditional south indian meal!!!
but there were some things i had to get done first.. like cleansing myself!!had a bubble bath( i would like to think so)..and started my experiments with cooking!!!
i should say i have a nack for it.. for it din't bomb totally as i thought i would.
i started with a modest menu... potato fry, vathal kuzhambu and parupu rasam... the rasam came out exceptionally well.. the last time i tortured my friends in havin something tht tasted like tamarind juice. Thankfully, for me they din't object too much!! when i served the dished to my apt-mate..she was stunned.. she asked me where my culinary skills were hidden so long... i was well embarrased!!! Not every day does somebody praise me for my culinary skills.. not even once!!! :DDD so u see i had my reasons...!!!
then i had a small nap.. and then went foruming.. and saw mayavi.. the movie was good!! i can't beleive how jyothika could have agreed to that role since she was nothing but a dumb heroine!! well that she is!! but the movie was hilarious!!!
then came home and chit chatted with my friend for about 3 hrs and snored away to glory!! sunday was a lil' uneventfull except for the dinner i went with my collegemate!!!
we went to a place called 'Lemon Grass'.. it was really a nice place!!
we discussed everything from politics to religion and family to whether fate was what it was.. so to say, we had similar beleifs but only the nomenclature was different!! it was one of those meals when u think the food took a second stage and the banter took center stage!!!
came home and plop .. hit the pillows only to wake up to realise the fateful monday had already arrived!!!
well the grind has already started but things aren't that bad!!
my parents are coming over the weekend so i have something to look forward to now..
so its 5 more days to go.. for the weekend...!! :DDDD

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it happened again???

i was furiously typing away.. it was the first note i created.. for all those ignorant ones.. notes in the terminology mentioned is the kind of assistance u give a customer only its not over the phone but as a mail or smth.. its gettin too techy!!
it was nearing 7:10p.m..i usually be out by this time.. 'cos the rocket speed in which my bus leaves ..but today i missed looking at the clock... and then when i realised it was abt time.. i hurried fast... put all my stuff together and then scurried away to that side of my campus to where the buses are parked...
like every other day, when i start late the bus is jus abt to leave.. and like a bollywood heroine rush waving my hand.. hopin to lure my driver to stop.. and he does stop :))
so as always he stops and lets me get in.. and nobody can miss i-knew-u-were-hardly-working-but-chatting look and tht y-can't-u-girls-come-on-time stare... well as long as am inside rather than outside i don't mind his stares or the muttering under his breath!!! i pick a seat which is either in the front right beside the driver or the one farther behind where u can be assured some high-fies ..obviously i choose to sit at the farther end!!!
now he zips thro' the traffic and heads in jet-set-speed... and lands me home in somthing close to 30mins.. and is happy to let me go.. he still has a long way home..so i can't glare at him, if he starts the bus even when my foot is in the last step!!!
and then comes my wait in the pedestrian cross for abt 10 mins(someone told me if u get hit when ur at the pedestrian cross..then ur insured :D..funny!!) and then head home in break neck speed...
finally home-sweet-home.. i stretch my legs... and wonder how am still in one piece...???
and BHAM..enters my roommate.. i wonder..i din't see her in my bus.. was she invisble or did she float over right frm office??? so i ask her.. "How did u make it??"
she says.."Oh.. i missed all the shuttles.. and my mgr offered me a lift!!!"
ARGGHHHH... even if i did sport a sorry face..am sure with all the luck i have not a single soul would have offered a lift.. why me.. why me all the time????

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time files.... :(

the weekend came and went... on friday i saw myself rushing out of office to comfort seat myself in the bus and during the journey my frnd calls to tell me that they have booked tickets for the movie 'SHABD'..for all those who don't knw what shabd is all abt...its this movie where the husband forces his wife into an extramarital affair and at the end of it goes insane.. and the wife is stupid enuf to play along..
there were some things in the movie that was good.. one was the heroines sense of dressing and the way in which the house was furnished.. tht does deserve a mention!!! Kudos to the team!!!
also the movie costed me Rs.130/- while i shd have paid only 65/- since every dialogue between the wife and lover gets repeated by the husband..so u see its not really a 3 hr movie ...SIGH!!!
we came home and chitchatted abt nothing till 1:00 in the mornign..what else do u expect a bunch of girls to do..device a mechanism to reach the sun???
the next day started with a surprise note..instead of racing against the mad traffic we decided to settle at home.. sweet home and cook for ourselves..don't u dare think we are gettin old!!!
and it turned out to be pretty good.. the menu was decided and each person gets a dish to make.. and it was a yummy meal!!!
after which came the brains at work.. masterminding ourselves.. :D
the rest of the weekend was uneventfull... jus a bit of sleepin,eating..following the elections and then chattnig with folks at home!!!
back again in office ... working hard.. hardly workin??? :D
oh before i 4get... highlights of the day...my ex-mgr(is it right to say tht) sent me a long long mail..saying i am a wonderfull person..(OW c'mon) and i got a 3% hike and some bonus.. now isn't today my day... oh yes it is my day!!!!

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me and u??

my roommate told me yesterday tht if i din't have other things in my mind she wud have told me to get married asap.. 'cos acc to her..'everthing else falls in place'!!
i was so bugged with the fact that she was sure of what she wanted from life and i wasn't.. well there are some things am sure off at the moment ..like makin my hair to stop 'shedding' :P !!!

But yes..am at the cross roads of my priorities..there are a lot of things crowding my mind.. well definetly yes..and there are some things i want to make peace with..i will eventually trust me!!!

she was tellin me that she had a lot of mishaps and then she made a lot of corrections to it too..
but yes time is the best teacher..well its the best healer too... but all along i used to settle in my comfrt zone too lazy to think of change.. but now its not so much of a wonder or a pain..change is a very inviting prospect in my life... u meet new people and some of them make a mark on you.. and some dont!!!

there are some things i learn from each person.. like with her she's a no-nonsense of a person.. u can't expect her to be mindlessly freaky abt certain things.. well am not like that but yes in some cases i would like to be like that!!

well as long as what i learn makes me a better person who is to complain????

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Home Sweet Home!!!!

Wow.. isn't it great being at home.. even though it was fr only a cpl of days it felt like heaven.. so much of love and affection!!!! my dad got me loadsa eatables to last for my next visit!!! then mom made some tomato paste and this and that.. so i cud eat w/o experimenting!!! i helped with some cooking this time around and miraculously it came out well.. thx to me!!!
i also met up with some of my ex-colleagues and got updated with the latest gossip... man this trip has been wholly satisfying and the most pleasurable trip ever!!!! till the next trip home...

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argh

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GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHH
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
OGHEUIWGBFFFASDKFAGDFJQWGHRUIWQEGYFJKSBF,ASDBNZXC ASJGFRWEUIRYHFGBSNFCBNFGYWUQFSDBVHAE

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Toast to a healthy me!!!

off late my life seems to have gotten disciplined.. well so to speak.. it really has!!
i have nothing but healthy foods, milk,dry fruits and druits.. well it def has been a great time ..so far so good!!! and i even tried my hand in cooking.. i can make bindi masala and aloo matar w/o worrying if am trying my experiments with my roommate as a guinea pig.. !!
and i have this penchant for cleanliness.. can u beleive i ran out of a house jus cos it was not :clean: :-).. but its becomes more pronounced these days .. well to a healthy life!!!

have been reading the woman of substance for a while now and cant wait to finish it.. and i can't beleive the week is almost over.. as in monday jus came and day after is friday.. and am goin home..yipee.. home sweet home!!!

there's nothing like travelling home.. waiting to see ur mom and dad.. and eat and sleep heartily.. there's nothing quite like that i know off.. and i don't want to know it either!!! home is my heaven!!!

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so i turned a new leaf..???

well well ..if u knew me as a girl who abhors mornings and exercise in any form.. u would be surprised to see me go for a brisk walk early in the morning after a glass of lemon and honey..
after the walk comes the newspaper browsing and then the milk... and then bath... and rushing to catch the shuttle...
so i have turned into a new leaf.. but this does seem good!!! after a while i wud get used to getting up early and it def is not so bad u knw.. to watch the birds chirp and see the sun shyly making its way thro the crowds... its jus u and nature and love these early mornings!!!
it had rained yesterday i guess.. not a heavy downpour but intermitent rainning.. and i cud see the trees have had their bath.. they were smiling down with their new dresses on...isn't this a great feelin early in the morning!!! oh well it is!!!!
change is always good.. and if its for the better..what else can u ask for???

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who are u??

yesterday was republic day...i was listening to radio city and there was this question abt whats the difference between independance and republic day..c'mon people can't be that ignorant or can they? interestingly, i read the hindy editorial only to find that the grandson of the queen of england dressed as a Nazi officer on the 'holocaust' day.. man are we gettin anywhere at all....???
we are supposed to be in the technology era and we cudn't predict the tsunami.. and the indian meteorological dept says they dint have the technology..well u gotta blame it on something right?? if u ask me i have a feeling we are stepping backwards than moving forward!!!
the talk of the day is linux, Q3 results.. padmashri awardees.. man din't anyone think of the common man at all?
When i saw swades i was amazed with the directors line of thinkin'.. and the movie cudn't have released at a more approppriate time!! with so many indians flying back and forth like its nobody's business.. here is a man who's making an honest attempt to make u think for a moment.. y are u rattling back and forth? y are u living oceans apare? y make more money when u can't be beside ur loved ones? is this freedom? quick money? isn't there a subtle message in this movie that is worth a thought?
well yes... i guess most people now claim an onsite assignment as a status symbol or a money spinner or an edge in the matrimonial column... well isn't there a life beyond all this?
when u look back over the years that rolled past u..don't u think u shd have done something more than jus typing furiously on the keyboard.. its TRUE.. everybody has to make a living.. and everybody needs a money.. gone are the days when u don't get a job that suits ur profile.. honestly i consider that gibberish.. ur just not lookin at things the right way.. after all..
"Winners don't do different things... they do things differently"
thats precisely the reason i liked 'ayutha ezuthu' also.. and there was this talk abt having all MBA graduates go thro' two year of politics.. personally i think that's the brightest idea i've ever heard.. imagine an all educated governance.. can u ask for anything more????
was it yet another day yesterday?? it was REPUBLIC day... and am not saying don't leave india and start flying elsewhere..am sure u can be an Indian living in australia... but are u really that??
or u a mixed breed?
Religion and culture should discipline u..after all, if religion wasn't there, there wouldn't be a way of living.. but one is not superior to another!!! and if there isn't culture then there is no discipline..but there isn't a best culture .. u can take the best of both and still live life..
but deep down.. who are u??
I beleive in Waters running deep.. rather than shallow ... so to speak.. everybody out there.. think abt it.. are u really what u thing u are? or are u fooling urself???

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The Perfect Evening!!!

Every time i rush to my bus from office i yearn for this perfect evening......

Prepare a nice dinner.. not very elaborate but just enough to suffice the appetite...
have a long refreshing shower.. bubble bath if the luxury permits.. with all the aroma effects.. Wear something light and comfortable...
settle in the couch with a nice book and some hot beverage... read the book till night falls.. with some soft music in the background... have a nice dinner..
go for a stroll... where u can feel the breeze in ur hair... ur whole body getting bathed with the moonlight... lie down on ur back.. gazing at the stars and trying to make patterns..
get back and settle in the bed with soft music and the windows open letting the moonlight and the breeze filter in... fluffy pillows and let sleep take over u... no silly thoughts, no strict deadlines, no relationships to worry abt.. jus the connection between u and urself.... dats my night.. GOODNIGHT!!! SWEET DREAMS!!!

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Breaking Point!!!!

There are times when u reach the limits...all u want to do is to shut down this stupid monitor and rest for a while.. get some good sleep, read a good book.. have a casual stroll, feel the breeze in ur face and run ur fingers thro' ur not-so long strands!!!! well i did some of these but there was still this unsettling feeling in me.. something was troubling me.. for a few days now.. there's this restlessness abt mt.. call it mid-life crisis or mixed emotions.. whatever the reasons be ..i can't seem to make peace with myself...!!!
As far as my memory goes i have always made decisions i have been proud off... never had a second thought abt them.. its only now i realise there are some shortcomings.. i actually don't care abt the decision itself.. i care more abt the people who get affected by the decision..something like if i decide this way wud that person be happy and if i decide this way would this person be happy.. i've actually not thought abt myself.. and i guess that's the greatest shortcomings of it all.. u have to think abt urself before u even give others a thought!!! otherwise u'll end up like me wondering why u made this decision and why ur not happy abt it anymore...
atleast with great resolve if can remove the bearings of the decisions that din't go quite right.. then i'll have a happy and delightful life!!!!

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whenever i blog

should a blog be a refleciton of a thought process? or should it be those strange thoughts u think u have? should it be the wildest dreams? should it be those erratic nonsense? should it be what u saw some day somewhere and it keeps lingering in ur mind? those fond memories, lazy times, happy moments? what the hell is a blog?
whenever i blog its goin to be some of this and something else too.....

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