1:54 AM
Meera
Let's keep our kids safe!
9 years ago
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
The Great Indian Monsoon
If you have to understand India, you first have to understand the effects monsoon has on the indian soul.
There's some charm in watching the rains, the leaves are washed green and they are happy having a good bath. The water gushes down the road with a speed making you wonder who's chasing it. The water kisses my feet as i wade my way home.
From when i was a little girl i love standing in the rain near the gate. We used to have a neem tree, huge and big and though my mom used to scream, my sister and i would occasionally have our clandestine meetings with the rainman. Now i walk back from the stop to home getting drenched in the rain without a care in the world.
The gurgles of the cloud, the hand that clasps the thunder and the lighting strikes are one of the best to watch and relish.
I love to shake the braches of the tree after the rain ceases, to have my own shower.Who says you cant have your moments of joy?
I have come to love rain in a very soft way. I like kids jumping into the puddles splashing water, the flower vendor trying very hard to balance the umbrella and sell flowers, the vegetable cart hurrying to cover the vegetables.
There is an urgency to shelter everything from the rain, yet there is a pleasure to get drenched too...
Now is the time for The Great Indian Monsoon. A time for rains, water, joy and simple pleasures in life. Welcome again!
Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi
For those of you wondering what the title means, this is a tamil movie name.
Vadivelu, a famous comedian stars as the hero and is supposed to be a full-length laughing riot.
Non-Tamilians(am i being over-confident here??) you might not get a kick out of wathching this trailer but the rest, as we say in bangalore - Ensoy Maadi
Vadivelu, a famous comedian stars as the hero and is supposed to be a full-length laughing riot.
Non-Tamilians(am i being over-confident here??) you might not get a kick out of wathching this trailer but the rest, as we say in bangalore - Ensoy Maadi
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Managing your managers
Welcome to the world of IT.
A word of caution
Its common place to have managers who screw your happiness, make you forget that a day has 24 hours and damn it you have other things in life to do!!
There are managers who cant spell communication and god forbid some wouldn't have even heard of motivation.
Not all are bad, so there's hope in this planet.
Its only at times, you have these people who call themselves managers because they have spent more time with the keyboard than trying to make sense of what the role demands.
I recently met one such weirdo.
He's an amusing piece of work. Just minutes before, you would have explained why a certain thing is difficult to solve and the problems involved. You just have to wait to catch your breath and you would find a mail in your inbox asking the same things. You think its a mistake.. Nope. You see he suffers from short term memory loss. So what do you do next time. If your smart enough you would stick to mailing him.
Well there are other such incidents that make me wonder if the designation of a manager is one sans brains. According to me the ad for a manager in the IT world should read like,
Moderate communication skills.
Well-versed in sending, updating, deleting meeting requests.
Should suck at inter-personal skills.
Conduct meetings without any agendas and keep rambling for any period of time.
Be good in playing the ping-pong game with onsite.
Should be totally unaware of the project he/she is supposed to manage.
Ofcourse there can be more additions to this...
Some people even learn to sideline these weirdos and get brownie points.
Dont start pitying us, 'cos we are the breed of sheep who wont protest but we are good at cribbing and wiling away time cursing our fate.
May be i will write about the future of this IT world someday.
Its difficult to manage people who lack sense.. and its difficult to manage your manager.
Now now, is there a difference. SMILES
A word of caution
Its common place to have managers who screw your happiness, make you forget that a day has 24 hours and damn it you have other things in life to do!!
There are managers who cant spell communication and god forbid some wouldn't have even heard of motivation.
Not all are bad, so there's hope in this planet.
Its only at times, you have these people who call themselves managers because they have spent more time with the keyboard than trying to make sense of what the role demands.
I recently met one such weirdo.
He's an amusing piece of work. Just minutes before, you would have explained why a certain thing is difficult to solve and the problems involved. You just have to wait to catch your breath and you would find a mail in your inbox asking the same things. You think its a mistake.. Nope. You see he suffers from short term memory loss. So what do you do next time. If your smart enough you would stick to mailing him.
Well there are other such incidents that make me wonder if the designation of a manager is one sans brains. According to me the ad for a manager in the IT world should read like,
Moderate communication skills.
Well-versed in sending, updating, deleting meeting requests.
Should suck at inter-personal skills.
Conduct meetings without any agendas and keep rambling for any period of time.
Be good in playing the ping-pong game with onsite.
Should be totally unaware of the project he/she is supposed to manage.
Ofcourse there can be more additions to this...
Some people even learn to sideline these weirdos and get brownie points.
Dont start pitying us, 'cos we are the breed of sheep who wont protest but we are good at cribbing and wiling away time cursing our fate.
May be i will write about the future of this IT world someday.
Its difficult to manage people who lack sense.. and its difficult to manage your manager.
Now now, is there a difference. SMILES
Time rolls
Last year this time, i was one of the frequent flyers of KPN Travels. I think i would have donated close to 10 grand with my visits to Chennai. It was never tiring but full of enthusiasm and fun. My only sister was getting married to a lovely man.
Sometimes i think if it was anybody else i would have fought with him for stealing her away from me. But my brother-in-law is cool. He loves playing cards and has a witty sense of humor and he is family. We dint even have to take any efforts in making him a part of it. It all just fitted.
Her wedding day would be etched in my mind forever.. she looked lovely. Am not the appreciative kind, especially when it comes to my sister, then i would get a call from her asking if i was all right. But what the hell .. ;-))
Today when i tore another day off the calendar, it struck me like a bolt. Its been a year.
Has it been that long really? I guess so!! I hate calendars which have those everyday sheets you have to tear off. Then the day just ends. Not a nice feeling.
My family is not the kabhi kushi kabhi gham kinds. We tease, fight, laugh and cry together. We are not constantly updated but we are there for each other. But i realize that more than anything its family thats binds you to the world. Even when everything goes wrong, there is still one thing that lasts forever.
Weddings mean celebration. A coming together of two souls and binding of families. Its when you dont take just one person but an entire family as part of yours. My sisters was one such wedding. I still cant look at their pictures without the lump in my throat and a grin on my face.
Yes its been a year.
There are times when words fail you, when you cant pen or say the emotions that cloud your mind. This is one such moment for me. I wish them a lifetime of happiness and once again am so glad we are family.
Happy Aniversary dude and dudette !!!
Sometimes i think if it was anybody else i would have fought with him for stealing her away from me. But my brother-in-law is cool. He loves playing cards and has a witty sense of humor and he is family. We dint even have to take any efforts in making him a part of it. It all just fitted.
Her wedding day would be etched in my mind forever.. she looked lovely. Am not the appreciative kind, especially when it comes to my sister, then i would get a call from her asking if i was all right. But what the hell .. ;-))
Today when i tore another day off the calendar, it struck me like a bolt. Its been a year.
Has it been that long really? I guess so!! I hate calendars which have those everyday sheets you have to tear off. Then the day just ends. Not a nice feeling.
My family is not the kabhi kushi kabhi gham kinds. We tease, fight, laugh and cry together. We are not constantly updated but we are there for each other. But i realize that more than anything its family thats binds you to the world. Even when everything goes wrong, there is still one thing that lasts forever.
Weddings mean celebration. A coming together of two souls and binding of families. Its when you dont take just one person but an entire family as part of yours. My sisters was one such wedding. I still cant look at their pictures without the lump in my throat and a grin on my face.
Yes its been a year.
There are times when words fail you, when you cant pen or say the emotions that cloud your mind. This is one such moment for me. I wish them a lifetime of happiness and once again am so glad we are family.
Happy Aniversary dude and dudette !!!
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Revolution
Government to go ahead with 27% reservation
Amidst growing agitation and hunger strikes, the UPA government decided to go ahead with reservation. Clearly this would kindle the burning fire.
We spoke about brain drain, tell me what kind of patriotism would exist in the minds of youth if they are told that you did not get into a med school because your forward caste. Never mind the 99% he would have scored. These are some of the bright minds of the country.
Shouldnt the govt look towards funneling their education and help them reach the zenith. Instead it has reached a conclusion which would nip their dreams and aspirations.
Reservation is a lousy way of tackling the issue of equality for backward classes. It fails to address the root cause. Why are they backward? Is it because they did not get educated in Harvard and Stanford? Is it because they dont drive around in a merc? Primarily because they are financially backward. They cant make ends meet and have no money to feed their howling stomachs. Would reservation solve this problem?
When more a billion people can see this truth clearly, why do people in power fail to open their eyes to this truth? Vote bank i was told. Aren't we fools to vote for such leaders? Oh Yes we are, bigger fools than them.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
The Battle of life
From Steve McCurry's Journal:Brindavan, India 1995
I was walking down a street in Brindavan when I saw her. I was fascinated at how someone in her condition could move around the ancient city streets.
I followed her and after a few minutes she noticed me. My translator explained that I was interested in her and wondered where she was going. She invited us into her home for tea and told us her story.
She told me that she had married and was widowed by age 13. In some places in rural India, being a widow carried a stigma, because it was a sign of bad karma. This woman had survived her entire life by accepting a few coins from people for whom she would recite prayers in a temple.
She had a wonderful sense of humor and I was touched by her indomitable spirit.
One can look at her image and feel admiration or pity, but the magic of the picture is its ambiguity. She symbolizes everyone who faces difficult challenges and has the will to persevere and survive.
WHITE RAINBOW is a movie based on the life of widows in brindavan. It is conceived by the nephew of the legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan - Dharan Mandrayar.
Statistics say there are about 10,000 or 15,000 widows in Brindavan, a very small town.
Why is the woman to be blamed when her man dies?
We have come past the days of SATI when women are burnt alive. Now we see living images of women lying like beggars in the streets of brindavan just because their spouse' have reached the end of the road. Why is she the vanquished?
This is not about women's liberation. This is about beleifs.
Question yourself about the thousand beliefs that encircle you and keep you tangled in their web. Are you willing to break free or can you break free? Do you have the freedom to make your own set of values and live by them.
We are the generation who have the power of knowledge with an oppurtunity to view different cultures. If we cant question the past and dictate the future for ourselves. Nobody else can.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
End of an Era - Maradona
One of colleagues told me that if i give a link to the world cup then he cant comment on it.
So here goes, my feeble attempt to revist some of the pages of this great sport.
Disclaimer: Am a amateur when it comes to soccer, but this year am more than engrossed in this sport. So any errors in judgement or events, feel free to point them out.
When i think of soccer, the first personality that crosses my mind (and many more) is none other than Diego Armando Maradona. He is a legend in this sport. Google has many videos about Maradona Vs Ronaldinho - a separate post on that.
Born on 30 October 1960 in Villa Fiorito, Argentina, Maradona went on to become one of the most famous personalities in the football arena.
Maradona is nothing short of divine in the land of Argentina.
Maradona made the ball an early friend and it was his constant companion in the games of street football that taught him how to compete with older and bigger opponents.
Maradona's physique, or lack of it, almost cost him his career.
Balance was the key - which was ironic given his struggle to find equilibrium elsewhere in life.He shot at journalists with an air rifle, insulted the pope on TV and always roused the extreme of emotions. It was impossible to stop 'El Grande' as he slalomed towards goal; and just as unerring was his accuracy from set pieces.
The last chapter in Diego's FIFA World Cup history was also the darkest. It unfolded at USA 94 where he helped Argentina triumph over Greece and Nigeria. Then, however, he failed a drugs test - showing signs of the banned stimulant ephedrine - and was banished from the competition. The team followed soon after.
Maradona was banned in 1991 after testing positive for Cocaine whileplaying for Napoli. When he returned to play in Argentina the Championship wasplayed over two league stages. He was banned a second time after testing positivefor performance enhancing drugs during the 1994 World Cup.
Its amazing how one person who shot to fame comes tumbling down faster.
Neverthless, anybody who watches him play would accept that this man was a born footballer.
His agility in passing the ball and sledging goals is quite unmatched.
The crowd erupts into a frenzied applause everytime his foot touches the ball. Such is the thunder, we hear long after he has stopped playing.
Maradona - A legend !!!
Hand of God
After keeping the mighty Argentinians at bay for much of the first half, England had started to come into their own - but six minutes after the break Maradona took centre stage.The next 20 seconds would be imprinted on all our minds.
Steve Hodge slices the ball into his own area.
Out comes Peter Shilton, though, and he'll surely punch it clear.
But somehow Maradona - who must stand no more than 5ft 6in - has beaten him to the ball and it loops into the net.
The little Argentinian wheels away towards the corner flag to celebrate, but not without glancing over his shoulder to look at the referee.
Shilton races out of his area with his left arm in the air screaming "handball, handball, ref, he's handled it" (or words to that effect) but the official gives the goal.
The fact that four minutes later Maradona scored one of the greatest goals of all time mattered little then, it was only years later that we could appreciate the quality of that strike.
England had been cheated out of a semi-final appearance.
(Courtesy Reece Killworth )
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
The Da Vinci Code
I, for one wanna catch it as soon as it hits the theatre. Want to check out if the movie is as fast as the book!!! Couting the days..
Friday, May 12, 2006
Still Standing!!!
In 2006, nearing 82, a man who did not attend the Tamil Nadu assembly even once these past five years, citing ill-health, decides to plunge into the campaign once again. He travels the length and breadth of the state, promising voters freebies that must make the state's bureaucrats wince.
On Saturday, May 13, M Karunanidhi will be sworn in as Tamil Nadu's chief minister a fifth time.
Rediff has a full fledged article on this.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Hoganekkal
Start Time: 7.30AM
Distance: 170-200kms
Travel: Hosur Road to Dharmapuri
Reached Hoganekkal around 12.00 noon.
Pointers:
Was suspicious about two people following us till we parked the car. Later, we learnt that they were the coracle drivers :P
Its easier to pack some bread and jam or you have to wait for an hour for a not-so-delicious lunch.
Bargain with the coracle driver for Rs.200/hour for 8 people. If your bettern than me in bargaining, try your luck. Am a amateur in this.
And then enjoy the water flowing in all directions and the enchanting sights enveloping you.
Take the three hour ride - covering the falls and the island.
Island has about three-four feet deep water, where you can learn to swim, float and play and beat the heat.
Coax the driver to take you back through the falls and enjoy getting drenched in water.
A time to cherish and chill out!!
Drive back to Bangalore where the roads will tell you when you crossed the border into Karnataka :-)
Sunday, May 07, 2006
A Time to Rule
My roots are in the southern most part of India - TAMIL NADU, more precisely Chennai.
Nothing is more heart warming than stepping foot on this dusty, hot and active city. Its very difficult to understand the passion i have for my dear city - Singara Chennai.
Its Election time now in Tamil Nadu. No one knows how the ballot is goin to be sized. "Tamil Nadu's cliffhanger of an election"
We have been ruled by two major parites alternatively. The DMK led by Karunanidhi and the AIADMK led by Jayalalitha. Some say its like choosing between the devil and the deep sea and its really not democratic when you dont have good choices to make. The most popular channels Sun TV(DMK) and JAYA TV(AIADMK) has been airing campaigns and mostly i find it a releif that it has stopped. We have a new player in the field. Another film star turned politician - Captain Vijayakanth. It would help to have a new face and a fresh hand but will he be able to beat this race? We also have a Lok Paritran - Alums from IIT standing in selected constituencies. Would this new breed of young blood be able to shake it off?
In the next 24 hours, it would all be known. The fate of my world's best place.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Fierry eyes
Photo Courtesy : Steve Mccurry (National Geographic)What is about this picture that makes my mind run at 100kmph?
Those fierry eyes, tattered clothes or steel like determination that it vibrates with?
The fire within her, all-consuming rage .. Do we all identify with that?
Leave India to God!!
Watching CNN-IBN @ 8 gave me a weird line of thought. So i pen along..
"Mob burns man alive in Vadodara" - A 1500 strong mob burns a man alive in Vadodara by setting fire to his car.
The only mistake Mohammed Rafiq Abdulgani Vora did was pass through Ajwa Road's Mahavir hall crossing on his way home from work. Communal riots, fights in the name of religion is a common scene in India. Today its Vadodara, tommorrow it could be mumbai and day after in Delhi.
The clock keeps ticking and the numbers keep rolling, more senseless deaths.
"New find strengthens Darwin's theory" - Scientists recently have discovered well-preserved fossils of a fish that provide the vital transitional link between fish and land dwelling four-legged vertebrates — tetrapods
Evolution is a concept i studied when i was a little girl. I was taught that man evolved from monkeys. Is the evolution process complete? I would say not. We kill each other heartlessly, we dont care about the world, we would drive other species to extinction, we would think of new excuses to kill each other. Have we evolved?
Why has it become so difficult for us to co-exist with fellow humans? How are we able to compartmentalize and segregate our love and care based on our faith on god. Why are all our sixth senses sleeping when it comes to religion. Where did we lose it? Why can't we stop to think that this war would never end until the last man on this earth.. there can be no winners in any war.
The angry mob torched a man's car killing him.. did they stop to think that they were killing a son, a husband, a father, a brother and a friend. What does it take to stop this? An awakening?
"Mob burns man alive in Vadodara" - A 1500 strong mob burns a man alive in Vadodara by setting fire to his car.
The only mistake Mohammed Rafiq Abdulgani Vora did was pass through Ajwa Road's Mahavir hall crossing on his way home from work. Communal riots, fights in the name of religion is a common scene in India. Today its Vadodara, tommorrow it could be mumbai and day after in Delhi.
The clock keeps ticking and the numbers keep rolling, more senseless deaths.
"New find strengthens Darwin's theory" - Scientists recently have discovered well-preserved fossils of a fish that provide the vital transitional link between fish and land dwelling four-legged vertebrates — tetrapods
Evolution is a concept i studied when i was a little girl. I was taught that man evolved from monkeys. Is the evolution process complete? I would say not. We kill each other heartlessly, we dont care about the world, we would drive other species to extinction, we would think of new excuses to kill each other. Have we evolved?
Why has it become so difficult for us to co-exist with fellow humans? How are we able to compartmentalize and segregate our love and care based on our faith on god. Why are all our sixth senses sleeping when it comes to religion. Where did we lose it? Why can't we stop to think that this war would never end until the last man on this earth.. there can be no winners in any war.
The angry mob torched a man's car killing him.. did they stop to think that they were killing a son, a husband, a father, a brother and a friend. What does it take to stop this? An awakening?
Leave India To God.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Rising to Power
For long the United states of America has weilded power over its latin american nations. But in the past few months, it has been releived of this power and put to rest.
The trio - Cuba , Venezuela, Bolivia have strong leaders.
Cuba promised to send Bolivia doctors and teachers.
Venezuela will send gasoline to the Andean nation and set up a $100 million fund for development programs and a $30 million fund for other social projects.
Cuba and Venezuela also agreed to buy all of Bolivia's soybeans, recently left without a market after Colombia signed a free trade pact with the United States.
In every second newspaper or magazine you will find aticles about China and India and the ground breaking development, rapid growth and economic reforms. Little has been said about these Latin American nations who are making strong but steady progress in improving their worldy conditions.
Cuba's Presiden Fidel Castro, Bolivia's President Evo Morales and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez are rubbishing American policies and social reforms. Bolivia has taken a step to nationalize the oil and gas sector. Fuel prices are the highest in Europe 1.53euros/litre but in venezuela an entrire tank can be filled for less than half an euro.
The rise of the these three nations will sing high and would send a shudder to the world. USA has been the pivotal point in the world's history for decades together. Is the focus shifting? This would be a million-dollar question for the years to come!!!
The trio - Cuba , Venezuela, Bolivia have strong leaders.
Cuba promised to send Bolivia doctors and teachers.
Venezuela will send gasoline to the Andean nation and set up a $100 million fund for development programs and a $30 million fund for other social projects.
Cuba and Venezuela also agreed to buy all of Bolivia's soybeans, recently left without a market after Colombia signed a free trade pact with the United States.
In every second newspaper or magazine you will find aticles about China and India and the ground breaking development, rapid growth and economic reforms. Little has been said about these Latin American nations who are making strong but steady progress in improving their worldy conditions.
Cuba's Presiden Fidel Castro, Bolivia's President Evo Morales and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez are rubbishing American policies and social reforms. Bolivia has taken a step to nationalize the oil and gas sector. Fuel prices are the highest in Europe 1.53euros/litre but in venezuela an entrire tank can be filled for less than half an euro.
The rise of the these three nations will sing high and would send a shudder to the world. USA has been the pivotal point in the world's history for decades together. Is the focus shifting? This would be a million-dollar question for the years to come!!!
Monday, April 10, 2006
Role Models
I'm currently reading the book Freedom at midnight - it is an epic drama of india's struggle for independance. Then there was this article in hindu about the real role models of today. Where are the leaders, people we look up to and learn from. Icons we idealise?
Some excerpts from the article
"India is passing through a critical phase when the crisis of values is so serious that words like idealism and altruism sound like the wearied notes of an old song "
We seem to have a ailing memory - people who we admired a few days ago are already gathering dust and growing cobwebs in the back of our minds.
"Look around today. Who are the leading lights of any fields and what are they doing? Take a Sachin Tendulkar. I like it when he scores runs and returns back from his father's funeral the next day, and scores a century. But when my young daughter asks why does he endorse Coke or Pepsi, which we have been telling her is bad for health, what do I tell her? Who cares for a Pullela Gopichand who refused to endorse the drink saying he could not recommend something which he thought was harmful. Can we visualise a Dilip Kumar or Guru Dutt promoting products as Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan do?"
Sometimes we pass through a lot of things, a lot of images drift pass us, are we a generation lost in this, trying to carve a space for ourselves? Only time will tell.
You must be wondering why i chose the pictures of bhagat singh and rahul gandhi?
Well one was a martyr and the other .... i was trying to think of an icon i could place beside bhagat singh and frankly i cudn't find any.
These people are prob of the same age, one decided that he had to give up his life for the love of his country... do we have a youth icon who would match up to him in this day & age?
What good is the independance to us today, that which resulted from great sacrifices and innumerous deaths?
(This post wud be continued... as i turn the pages of freedom at midnight)
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Reservation!!
STAND UP and Make a Difference
Vote against the reservation bill
QUOTA CONTROVERSY: Students have reacted with shock and outrage of HRD Ministry's proposals.
"Human Resource Developmet Minister Arjun Singh may claim that it's just a proposal, but UPA Government's attempts to increase reservations from the present 22.5 per cent to 49.5 per cent in prestigious educational institutes like Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management and other institutes of higher education, is brewing up a storm. "
-CNN-IBN
"Human Resource Developmet Minister Arjun Singh may claim that it's just a proposal, but UPA Government's attempts to increase reservations from the present 22.5 per cent to 49.5 per cent in prestigious educational institutes like Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management and other institutes of higher education, is brewing up a storm. "
-CNN-IBN
Should there be reservations in colleges? Should education be streamed and made easy for people who are economically weak? Should people be deprived of graduation jus because they were from a specifc community and not because they were not good enough?
This is a very sensitive issue, but certainly worth debating. While i was ready to pursue my higher studies, reservation was a curse for the Forward caste people. Luckily i made it to a university that had an insignificant percentage of reservation and people were choosen only because they deserved to get in.
Now, if people are economically weak and financially broken should graduation be offered to them easily? what problem are we solving by this system? We have doctors, engineers, archietects et al who have no clue about what they are doing.
Shouldn't the focus be to uplift these people so that they are able to compete with the rest of the society? By offering them reservation aren't we ostracizing them further and insulting them?
Education should be given to students who deserve to get in, this would retain the fire to reach greater heights and would benefit the country. Ensure people get in to school with reservations but colleges and universities should be spared of this reservation.
Caste and creed should not make education easy to acquire.
Let the best man win!!
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
FRIENDS
I started watching friends when i was in college and they have become a part of my life. It seems to me that the characters of this TV show have grown on me. Chandler, Monica, Ross, Rachel, Joey and Phoebe are a part of my world. I've watched every episode on Z Cafe and Star World and bored my apt-mate to death. I say FRIENDS Rule. They make me laugh, smile and feel sad. I could sit tight in a place and watch friends for 2 hours straight.. no questions asked.
There are some funny things i've read abt friends. For instance, every man wants to be like joey, thinks he's like chandler but is actually a neurotic like Ross. I couldn't agree more ;-))
From cheesecakes to pumpkin pies, from frooseball to name-all-the-states games, from young girls to moms these people have gone thro a hell of a time!!
Somehow when i saw the last show of Friends i was as sad as they were .. 10 years of acting a part, its very difficult to let it go!!!
I've watched them in the Oprah Winfrey show.. i've watched the BLOOPERS and i love watching FRIENDS and sadly i make no secret of it. I wish this show is never taken off the air but i can just wish.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
INDIA - The MIRACLE.
“You want to know what India is like…right now…? Take a champagne bottle…shake it for an hour…and open the cork…! You don’t want to come in the way of the cork…!”
- Friedman, Author (The world is flat)
A method to madness, self-organized existense!!
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Ribbon cutting Ceremony
After a long wait, i gave my space a face lift.
From a colorful green, its back to black and white.
The absense of colors adds to the beauty
I cordially invite all of you to be present for the ribbon cutting ceremony @ 2.00-2.30PM .
Today is HOLI "Festival of colors"- bring them out and smear them on my face but spare my blog for it likes this serene silence.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Burning minds
I had chanced upon the Blank Noise project and decided to write this post.
Disclaimer: This has nothing to do with Women's liberation, women's day or equal rights!!
I learnt what you wear doesnt matter!!
If you wear western clothes, men will size you up, pass lewd comments and will prob stray their hands on you. If you clad yourself in traditional clothes, its easier for them. So what would you do? Never mind what you wear, they would do it anyways!!
I Learnt being alone in public places is a curse
What would you do to commute from home to office on evenings? Take the local bus. You have just given yourself away to men waiting to clutch this offer. I had done that once and sworn never to do it again. When men press your back with their crotch, when their hands are crawling on your body and your trying to keep your feet on the ground in a jam packed bus, When the man next to you has white hair and no teeth slides his hand down you front.. your love for 'man'kind jus diminished into a thin invisble line. What had you done wrong? You had boarded the local bus.
Justice is unheard off when it comes to exploitation and harassment.
Everyday when i listen to the evening news, there are stories about women raped in
trains, buses, toilets. Your father-in law, brother-in law, uncle, boss any of them could be the demons waiting to strip you off your pride.Did anybody tell you that its not your fault. You shouldn't be ashamed of what happened because some men are born without morality or humanity.
This is not about men in general, this is about men who cannot see a woman with straight clear eyes without wondering how she would be in the nude or fantasizing ur hands drawing patterns...you cannot claim what is not yours. Your one moment of raging lust would leave a scar so deep it would take a lifetime to heal the wounds. You CANNOT Undo it!!You lewd souls are to be slashed, whipped and hung till the tears stop.
We are the weaker sex - that was nature's order. And that is no excuse to exploit us!! If you have the power to commit a crime and do a wrong and still you let it pass and do nothing.. that my men is what is strength.
I cannot stop all the men in the world from such shameless acts but i will protest.
P.S:This was written after reading Ponc's and annie's post.
Disclaimer: This has nothing to do with Women's liberation, women's day or equal rights!!
I learnt what you wear doesnt matter!!
If you wear western clothes, men will size you up, pass lewd comments and will prob stray their hands on you. If you clad yourself in traditional clothes, its easier for them. So what would you do? Never mind what you wear, they would do it anyways!!
I Learnt being alone in public places is a curse
What would you do to commute from home to office on evenings? Take the local bus. You have just given yourself away to men waiting to clutch this offer. I had done that once and sworn never to do it again. When men press your back with their crotch, when their hands are crawling on your body and your trying to keep your feet on the ground in a jam packed bus, When the man next to you has white hair and no teeth slides his hand down you front.. your love for 'man'kind jus diminished into a thin invisble line. What had you done wrong? You had boarded the local bus.
Justice is unheard off when it comes to exploitation and harassment.
Everyday when i listen to the evening news, there are stories about women raped in
trains, buses, toilets. Your father-in law, brother-in law, uncle, boss any of them could be the demons waiting to strip you off your pride.Did anybody tell you that its not your fault. You shouldn't be ashamed of what happened because some men are born without morality or humanity.
This is not about men in general, this is about men who cannot see a woman with straight clear eyes without wondering how she would be in the nude or fantasizing ur hands drawing patterns...you cannot claim what is not yours. Your one moment of raging lust would leave a scar so deep it would take a lifetime to heal the wounds. You CANNOT Undo it!!You lewd souls are to be slashed, whipped and hung till the tears stop.
We are the weaker sex - that was nature's order. And that is no excuse to exploit us!! If you have the power to commit a crime and do a wrong and still you let it pass and do nothing.. that my men is what is strength.
I cannot stop all the men in the world from such shameless acts but i will protest.
P.S:This was written after reading Ponc's and annie's post.
Two Down!!!
Couple of weeks ago, one of my college friends got married. And that makes it Two Down!!
I have written a lot about matrimony so i wud save this space from that. This is not about matrimony, not as a whole that is.
I remember the times we were all together in BITS. A bunch of girls, born to have fun and we dint have a care in the world. There was always a smile, a bounce in our feet and a cheery attitude. We had whacky ideas, wild dreams - some came true others.. well,we still have time dont we?
I landed in the marriage hall the previous day for the reception and decided to camp for the night there. There was much catching up to do - I hadn't met some of them for over a year and so much would have happened.
It was nice to watch my friend getting dressed to stand in front of a hundred people alongside the man she loved and was to spend the rest of her life with. I was so happy for her. It was nice helping her around and fussing about. After all this was her day, she was the only star the would light the sky.
As gorgeous as ever, she walked center stage, beamed at her fiancee and a small tear rolled down my eyes. Sometimes when ur whole heart is choked with such emotion, a queer display happens.
We enjoyed looking at her from a distance, teasing her and letting her enjoy these precious moments.
I spent the night in another friend's house and we talked abt this and that and slept. When we arrived the next day, we had missed some parts of the wedding.
Finally when it was time to tie the knot, i went near them to take a picture.
I like doing that.
Freezing that moment into eternity.
When ur thoughts fade and become memories,
this one frame would help you bring those moments alive again!!
Now was the time, they had become man and wife. They were entering into another dimension in their lives. Till death do us part. And that makes it Two down!!
I slowly slipped back into my chair, remembering those together times!! Time races past us and instead of racing with it, i let loose my reins, laid my guards down and enjoyed this moment....!!
Viji, this is to you.. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness.
May the romance and the insanity never end!!!
I have written a lot about matrimony so i wud save this space from that. This is not about matrimony, not as a whole that is.
I remember the times we were all together in BITS. A bunch of girls, born to have fun and we dint have a care in the world. There was always a smile, a bounce in our feet and a cheery attitude. We had whacky ideas, wild dreams - some came true others.. well,we still have time dont we?
I landed in the marriage hall the previous day for the reception and decided to camp for the night there. There was much catching up to do - I hadn't met some of them for over a year and so much would have happened.
It was nice to watch my friend getting dressed to stand in front of a hundred people alongside the man she loved and was to spend the rest of her life with. I was so happy for her. It was nice helping her around and fussing about. After all this was her day, she was the only star the would light the sky.
As gorgeous as ever, she walked center stage, beamed at her fiancee and a small tear rolled down my eyes. Sometimes when ur whole heart is choked with such emotion, a queer display happens.
We enjoyed looking at her from a distance, teasing her and letting her enjoy these precious moments.
I spent the night in another friend's house and we talked abt this and that and slept. When we arrived the next day, we had missed some parts of the wedding.
Finally when it was time to tie the knot, i went near them to take a picture.
I like doing that.
Freezing that moment into eternity.
When ur thoughts fade and become memories,
this one frame would help you bring those moments alive again!!
Now was the time, they had become man and wife. They were entering into another dimension in their lives. Till death do us part. And that makes it Two down!!
I slowly slipped back into my chair, remembering those together times!! Time races past us and instead of racing with it, i let loose my reins, laid my guards down and enjoyed this moment....!!
Viji, this is to you.. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness.
May the romance and the insanity never end!!!
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
When your not welcome..
If u had read the hindu yesterday, u wud know what i'm talking abt!!
Yes it is abt the visit of the PRESIDENT of the United States and how clearly he is not welcome here in INDIA!!
This article by arundhati roy clearly states the anguish and humiliation people suffer from this man's action.
I, for one, can only mock at George Bush. For those numerous forwards i receive when this man is caught in the act to his 'WAR on TERRORISM' i can only MOCK!!
There is a committee of people who are protesting this man's visit. I'm just curious abt what he would say, when in India.
Like i said, you can fight them, shun them but you cant ignore them.
Well, this man's visit proves one thing...
India is part of the game and we always play to win!! ;-))
Yes it is abt the visit of the PRESIDENT of the United States and how clearly he is not welcome here in INDIA!!
This article by arundhati roy clearly states the anguish and humiliation people suffer from this man's action.
I, for one, can only mock at George Bush. For those numerous forwards i receive when this man is caught in the act to his 'WAR on TERRORISM' i can only MOCK!!
There is a committee of people who are protesting this man's visit. I'm just curious abt what he would say, when in India.
Like i said, you can fight them, shun them but you cant ignore them.
Well, this man's visit proves one thing...
India is part of the game and we always play to win!! ;-))
Monday, February 27, 2006
All the road is a dustbin!!
I was walking past the KARNATAKA Pollution Control board and cudn't help but smile at the irony. The board was fully blocked by a group of men (middle-aged mind you) and a cloud of smoke. Certainly, Pollution Control Board!!
While i was driving in chennai there was a guy in front of me, driving a moped and the number of times he spat right in the middle of the road oblivious to people around him, if he had done it at one spot there would have been a pool of salivia. I'm disgusted.
When people come out of theatres, get down from BMTC, walk out of shopping malls, they just get rid of the bills, tickets immediately. You see all the road is a dustbin.
So a quick question how would you feel if i came to your house every morning threw confetti and spat on ur walls and got a few animals to add to the stink. Not very good i presume, so what makes us, Indians, to do it in public places. Shouldn't we be more conscious of using public spaces?
Most of us have visited places abroad and am sure you would agree that u cud even sleep on the streets. But sadly in india, people do sleep on the streets, not because its clean but they have nowhere else to go. Its used as a huge garbage dump.
My colleague from Germany once told me a very interesting story. There were four of them in all, drunk and groggy-headed. They had just reached home, it was well past midnight and they had opened the gate. One of them had to pee and he cudn't wait till he reached the rest room inside his house. So he opted to use his own garden. Unfortunately, for him, the police was patroling and caught him in the act. And he was charged with 'Public Nuisance and indiscipline' in his own garden. BEAT THAT!!??!
So you see fellow conuntry men, we have a lot to learn from people across the globe and its only when we become aware of such issues will we be better people and responsible citizens . Till then, neither u nor i have the right to question what the government has done for us dutiful tax paying, law-abiding citizens!!
While i was driving in chennai there was a guy in front of me, driving a moped and the number of times he spat right in the middle of the road oblivious to people around him, if he had done it at one spot there would have been a pool of salivia. I'm disgusted.
When people come out of theatres, get down from BMTC, walk out of shopping malls, they just get rid of the bills, tickets immediately. You see all the road is a dustbin.
So a quick question how would you feel if i came to your house every morning threw confetti and spat on ur walls and got a few animals to add to the stink. Not very good i presume, so what makes us, Indians, to do it in public places. Shouldn't we be more conscious of using public spaces?
Most of us have visited places abroad and am sure you would agree that u cud even sleep on the streets. But sadly in india, people do sleep on the streets, not because its clean but they have nowhere else to go. Its used as a huge garbage dump.
My colleague from Germany once told me a very interesting story. There were four of them in all, drunk and groggy-headed. They had just reached home, it was well past midnight and they had opened the gate. One of them had to pee and he cudn't wait till he reached the rest room inside his house. So he opted to use his own garden. Unfortunately, for him, the police was patroling and caught him in the act. And he was charged with 'Public Nuisance and indiscipline' in his own garden. BEAT THAT!!??!
So you see fellow conuntry men, we have a lot to learn from people across the globe and its only when we become aware of such issues will we be better people and responsible citizens . Till then, neither u nor i have the right to question what the government has done for us dutiful tax paying, law-abiding citizens!!
Thursday, February 02, 2006
'Tis a SMALL world!!
After a long hiatus am back again.
I was watching the movie Bride and Prejudice sometime back and something in that movie made me blog. There are lots of things about the movie that dint impress me but its the attitude of the actress that made me think!!
Why do we get offended when americans or for that matter Non-Indians say something about our nation. From their point of view, the minute they land in india, its a cultural shock, its noisy and its DIFFERENT. They probably expected this but some are well-prepared and some are not!
I have known people who are surprised about certain things that we indians do but they dont mock at us. Infact in this film, nothing Mr.Darcy does or says is by far offending. We would prob react the same way, if we take a trip down to the deep African nation.
Why do we indians always associate patriotism with how far we defend our nation from critics? Why are we so unwilling to hear their opinion?
Why do we think that people who have gone to the US to pursue their studies or who are working there are betraying the nation? Coming to think of it, i(and you would all gladly agree)can name a few fatsos' who sit right at the heart of the nation, doing more harm than good!
India is emerging as a powerful nation and we would probably see more foreigners make their way here to this colorful nation. If we do not adopt an attitude where we make them feel welcome yet make them aware of this culture-rich nation we are not going the "global" way!
Sometimes the fact that we are good should come from within us instead of hearing people say it, there lies the problem!!
I was watching the movie Bride and Prejudice sometime back and something in that movie made me blog. There are lots of things about the movie that dint impress me but its the attitude of the actress that made me think!!
Why do we get offended when americans or for that matter Non-Indians say something about our nation. From their point of view, the minute they land in india, its a cultural shock, its noisy and its DIFFERENT. They probably expected this but some are well-prepared and some are not!
I have known people who are surprised about certain things that we indians do but they dont mock at us. Infact in this film, nothing Mr.Darcy does or says is by far offending. We would prob react the same way, if we take a trip down to the deep African nation.
Why do we indians always associate patriotism with how far we defend our nation from critics? Why are we so unwilling to hear their opinion?
Why do we think that people who have gone to the US to pursue their studies or who are working there are betraying the nation? Coming to think of it, i(and you would all gladly agree)can name a few fatsos' who sit right at the heart of the nation, doing more harm than good!
India is emerging as a powerful nation and we would probably see more foreigners make their way here to this colorful nation. If we do not adopt an attitude where we make them feel welcome yet make them aware of this culture-rich nation we are not going the "global" way!
Sometimes the fact that we are good should come from within us instead of hearing people say it, there lies the problem!!
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Horoscopes and Holy Matrimony
Recently when my college friends visited bangalore for the new year bash we were having a conversation about marriages and astrology.
Finally it bottled down to horoscopes and how the squares make sense in our life.
Sometimes if u have a certain star in a certain square and if the groom has another particular star in another square then your relationship would proceed in a particular manner.
Somehow in this world of science and reasoning i refuse to hand my future to the stars!!!Its a time tested method and it might work but lets say i dont want to risk it.
I dont know how many of u share the same philosophy and how many of have got married the other way round but am not ready yet!
A birth chart (also known as janma kundali, janam kundali, Vedic horoscope) captures the precise astronomical positions of stars and planets at the individual's birth moment. Using the vast amounts of information provided by your birth chart, Vedic Astrology could predict every important event and possible opportunity that can arise in your life.
I dont know if the stars can predict my compatiblity with another human being, i dont want to know the future yet, i want to go through it. I like the element of uncertainity in life. I'm ready to make mistakes and take the pain of failures but i want to be sure that i want this.
Some of us do it because it would make our parents happy some of us do it cos we haven't thought about it but its my life and i better be sure abt whom am goin to share the rest of my life with. If it doesnt work out atleast i wont blame the stars.. it wud be my mistake. And that is ok too.
We have spent a good 25yrs with our parents and now we have to think abt spending the rest of the 75yrs with another human being. I dont think i can let the planets decide what this person would be like and how many kids we would have.
I willing to ammend my opinion but i still haven't found a convincing reason to change my view. Is astrology really true or is it yet another money making gimmick. Is it wise to let the most important decision in ur life be taken based on the planetary positions?
Somtimes its scary.. have these beleifs gone so deep rooted in our society that we actually find it hard to beleive that its not true? This is the information era, the technology boom we are the generation X who beleive science is supreme. Are we also falling prey to this? Its not just astrology there are so many other such things that have become a part of our life, an imminent way of living that somehow stops our nation from progressing. Are these the ones that are truly challenging us?
I wish there was a fast forward button in my life!!Sadly there isn't any...so am stuck!
Finally it bottled down to horoscopes and how the squares make sense in our life.
Sometimes if u have a certain star in a certain square and if the groom has another particular star in another square then your relationship would proceed in a particular manner.
Somehow in this world of science and reasoning i refuse to hand my future to the stars!!!Its a time tested method and it might work but lets say i dont want to risk it.
I dont know how many of u share the same philosophy and how many of have got married the other way round but am not ready yet!
A birth chart (also known as janma kundali, janam kundali, Vedic horoscope) captures the precise astronomical positions of stars and planets at the individual's birth moment. Using the vast amounts of information provided by your birth chart, Vedic Astrology could predict every important event and possible opportunity that can arise in your life.
I dont know if the stars can predict my compatiblity with another human being, i dont want to know the future yet, i want to go through it. I like the element of uncertainity in life. I'm ready to make mistakes and take the pain of failures but i want to be sure that i want this.
Some of us do it because it would make our parents happy some of us do it cos we haven't thought about it but its my life and i better be sure abt whom am goin to share the rest of my life with. If it doesnt work out atleast i wont blame the stars.. it wud be my mistake. And that is ok too.
We have spent a good 25yrs with our parents and now we have to think abt spending the rest of the 75yrs with another human being. I dont think i can let the planets decide what this person would be like and how many kids we would have.
I willing to ammend my opinion but i still haven't found a convincing reason to change my view. Is astrology really true or is it yet another money making gimmick. Is it wise to let the most important decision in ur life be taken based on the planetary positions?
Somtimes its scary.. have these beleifs gone so deep rooted in our society that we actually find it hard to beleive that its not true? This is the information era, the technology boom we are the generation X who beleive science is supreme. Are we also falling prey to this? Its not just astrology there are so many other such things that have become a part of our life, an imminent way of living that somehow stops our nation from progressing. Are these the ones that are truly challenging us?
I wish there was a fast forward button in my life!!Sadly there isn't any...so am stuck!
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
My Resolution
How can u lead a life where u get up at the same time,do the same things, see the same people and continue to do it the next day and the next and so on..
Have any of you asked these questions to urself? will tommorrow be another day or would it be a better day?
I used to think of these things when i started working. Why am doin this? Why is there a droning noise in my life.Why doesn't something spectacular happen every day?But i dont think the same way now!
I guess its all in ur perception. You always see things the way u want to see them!!
Everyday is a different day, full of surprises.
Every second in your life is full of surprises.
All u have to do is Beleive!!! And i did!!
There was a movie in tamil called anbe sivam. It had an influence on me. I cudn't forget it for a long time.I dint cry or wail when i saw the movie but there was a silence in my mind, a calm thought, sometimes i think this movie opened something deep in my heart. The prodding was silent but the effect was deafening. I had begun to question a lot of things that i was doing, i had begun to appreciate a lot of things that i had otherwise taken for granted.
The movie is about a man who fights for what he beleives is right. He falls in love with a girl and they decide to elope since her father does not agree to the wedding. On the way to the wedding the bus meets with an accident and although he is alive he is badly injured.A quirk of fate.The movie takes off from here.
The girl's father comes to meet this half-dead man. He says i pray for two hours everyday and the god i have faith in will never betray me.This is the crux of the movie. We pray to god and then we commit all sins and still go on with life thinkin one will make up for the other.
There are times when the movie takes u thro such curves which strikes a raw chord.
Love is the universal god. A man who can love unconditionally, who can shed a few tears for someone he does not even know, a man who beleives god exists but does not rule us is a god in himself.
How many times in a day do we jus cross the road unmindful of whether they wud be a lorry racing down on us. We always play it safe but what if the man on the other side doesn't? There are a lot of people who dont have clean water to drink.. how many of us keep the tap open as long as we finish brushing our teeth? People in africa or even in india still die of hunger. How many of us dont finish our meal and throw the rest in the dustbin?How many times have u ordered a delicious meal in a restaurant, did not complete it but left the plate like that? What stops you from packing it and offering it to the needy on the way home? NOTHING!How many of us would rather drop a 1000Rs in the hundi of a temple rather than offer it to a orphanage.
There are a zillion things that come to my mind right now. But these are all small things. We all can change but we dont and most of us wont. We carry on like nothing would change.Most of us would shrug our shoulders and say that they are unfortunate and its not your fault.Its not your fault that your on this side of the balance. Its not your fault that you see this world in rose-brimmed glasses.Its not your fault that you were born in a more fortunate family. But its your fault if u dont care. You could have been there without water, food or land.All we have to do is stop and think about what we are doing!We are all so selfish and self-centered. We care only about us, our family and friends. We have such a narrow vision.
This is my resolution. This is not a new-year resolution 'cos that means i wud jus have to do this one year through. A resolution that in my small way i would try and make this world a beautiful place to live in. I would think of the things am grateful for and love everything god has given me! It might take a long time before i sit back and feel a sense of acheivement but i'm goin to try. And this my friends would make everyday of my life a better day to live. A day full of surprises, satisfaction of having lived a life and not merely existing in this world!
(P.S: This is the not philosophy)
Have any of you asked these questions to urself? will tommorrow be another day or would it be a better day?
I used to think of these things when i started working. Why am doin this? Why is there a droning noise in my life.Why doesn't something spectacular happen every day?But i dont think the same way now!
I guess its all in ur perception. You always see things the way u want to see them!!
Everyday is a different day, full of surprises.
Every second in your life is full of surprises.
All u have to do is Beleive!!! And i did!!
There was a movie in tamil called anbe sivam. It had an influence on me. I cudn't forget it for a long time.I dint cry or wail when i saw the movie but there was a silence in my mind, a calm thought, sometimes i think this movie opened something deep in my heart. The prodding was silent but the effect was deafening. I had begun to question a lot of things that i was doing, i had begun to appreciate a lot of things that i had otherwise taken for granted.
The movie is about a man who fights for what he beleives is right. He falls in love with a girl and they decide to elope since her father does not agree to the wedding. On the way to the wedding the bus meets with an accident and although he is alive he is badly injured.A quirk of fate.The movie takes off from here.
The girl's father comes to meet this half-dead man. He says i pray for two hours everyday and the god i have faith in will never betray me.This is the crux of the movie. We pray to god and then we commit all sins and still go on with life thinkin one will make up for the other.
There are times when the movie takes u thro such curves which strikes a raw chord.
Love is the universal god. A man who can love unconditionally, who can shed a few tears for someone he does not even know, a man who beleives god exists but does not rule us is a god in himself.
How many times in a day do we jus cross the road unmindful of whether they wud be a lorry racing down on us. We always play it safe but what if the man on the other side doesn't? There are a lot of people who dont have clean water to drink.. how many of us keep the tap open as long as we finish brushing our teeth? People in africa or even in india still die of hunger. How many of us dont finish our meal and throw the rest in the dustbin?How many times have u ordered a delicious meal in a restaurant, did not complete it but left the plate like that? What stops you from packing it and offering it to the needy on the way home? NOTHING!How many of us would rather drop a 1000Rs in the hundi of a temple rather than offer it to a orphanage.
There are a zillion things that come to my mind right now. But these are all small things. We all can change but we dont and most of us wont. We carry on like nothing would change.Most of us would shrug our shoulders and say that they are unfortunate and its not your fault.Its not your fault that your on this side of the balance. Its not your fault that you see this world in rose-brimmed glasses.Its not your fault that you were born in a more fortunate family. But its your fault if u dont care. You could have been there without water, food or land.All we have to do is stop and think about what we are doing!We are all so selfish and self-centered. We care only about us, our family and friends. We have such a narrow vision.
This is my resolution. This is not a new-year resolution 'cos that means i wud jus have to do this one year through. A resolution that in my small way i would try and make this world a beautiful place to live in. I would think of the things am grateful for and love everything god has given me! It might take a long time before i sit back and feel a sense of acheivement but i'm goin to try. And this my friends would make everyday of my life a better day to live. A day full of surprises, satisfaction of having lived a life and not merely existing in this world!
(P.S: This is the not philosophy)
Monday, January 09, 2006
Friday night Fury!!
Thank god it was friday!!
I was releived that the rather hectic week was coming to a close.
I boarded the shuttle with a rather satisfied look and felt the air of satisfaction with my colleagues. Little did we know how uneventful this friday was goin to be!!
Although i hadn't booked any tickets for the evening and dint have any 'happening' plans to spend friday night..i was counting on stretching my legs and lazing ard.
While we had almost reached the outer ring road i told my apt-mate who was sitting beside me that radio city has just reported a jam in the ring road. We both hoped it would clear off by the time we hit the spot.
But nope, bangalore has its own traffic bottlenecks and this was the worst of all. We slowly rolled in to an already long lane of cars, trucks, buses, vehicles et al and finally the engine spat out and stopped.
People got out to stretch their legs and we got out to check the line and i was shocked.. for it was a maddening line of vehicles and extended till my line of vision and mostly definetly beyond it too. Yeh hai Bangalore meri jaan!!
So i started listening to radio city's traffic news and apparently the jam had started from around 5.00PM.It was almost 7.00 and there were no signs of any clearing up. So we told the driver to take a turn and hit another route but he preferred not to listen. So we waited. Another odd hour passed. Now all of us were restless.We were all stuck in traffic with nothing to do. My apt-mate and i tried to lighten the moment with some mallu learnings and games. But we were all pissed, darned irritated.
Finally the driver decided to take our advice and took the next u-turn and we were finally moving. It felt damned good to be moving again beleive me!! We rode through another hour and finally i was close to home. We got down somewhere close to my house and took a rick home. The girl who lives downstairs was just walking home when we closed the gate, so i stood to hear her side of the story. She was pissed and irritated and totally furious abt the traffic. I asked if they had taken the U and hit the alternate route.
It turns out that she had started only at 7.45PM from office and since they were already alerted about the traffic scene they had taken the alternate route and reached home. So some of them got lucky.
Yanyways the point is when something happens accidents, road mishaps the whole city grinds to a loud halt. I can only imagine if there were some emergency vehicles were struck in this god-foresaken jam. God bless.
But i have learnt to count my blessings so i shall wait for a day when there would be a direct flyover from my home to office or when my company would start offering sky-bourne pickups and drops!! Untill then long hours of wait on the roads are a part of my life.. What do they say.. 'If you can fight them, Join them'!!!
I was releived that the rather hectic week was coming to a close.
I boarded the shuttle with a rather satisfied look and felt the air of satisfaction with my colleagues. Little did we know how uneventful this friday was goin to be!!
Although i hadn't booked any tickets for the evening and dint have any 'happening' plans to spend friday night..i was counting on stretching my legs and lazing ard.
While we had almost reached the outer ring road i told my apt-mate who was sitting beside me that radio city has just reported a jam in the ring road. We both hoped it would clear off by the time we hit the spot.
But nope, bangalore has its own traffic bottlenecks and this was the worst of all. We slowly rolled in to an already long lane of cars, trucks, buses, vehicles et al and finally the engine spat out and stopped.
People got out to stretch their legs and we got out to check the line and i was shocked.. for it was a maddening line of vehicles and extended till my line of vision and mostly definetly beyond it too. Yeh hai Bangalore meri jaan!!
So i started listening to radio city's traffic news and apparently the jam had started from around 5.00PM.It was almost 7.00 and there were no signs of any clearing up. So we told the driver to take a turn and hit another route but he preferred not to listen. So we waited. Another odd hour passed. Now all of us were restless.We were all stuck in traffic with nothing to do. My apt-mate and i tried to lighten the moment with some mallu learnings and games. But we were all pissed, darned irritated.
Finally the driver decided to take our advice and took the next u-turn and we were finally moving. It felt damned good to be moving again beleive me!! We rode through another hour and finally i was close to home. We got down somewhere close to my house and took a rick home. The girl who lives downstairs was just walking home when we closed the gate, so i stood to hear her side of the story. She was pissed and irritated and totally furious abt the traffic. I asked if they had taken the U and hit the alternate route.
It turns out that she had started only at 7.45PM from office and since they were already alerted about the traffic scene they had taken the alternate route and reached home. So some of them got lucky.
Yanyways the point is when something happens accidents, road mishaps the whole city grinds to a loud halt. I can only imagine if there were some emergency vehicles were struck in this god-foresaken jam. God bless.
But i have learnt to count my blessings so i shall wait for a day when there would be a direct flyover from my home to office or when my company would start offering sky-bourne pickups and drops!! Untill then long hours of wait on the roads are a part of my life.. What do they say.. 'If you can fight them, Join them'!!!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Flower POWER
"Take time to smell the roses."
And i went one step further, CLICK!!!
Although these are not roses nature is so beautiful.
When u sit with ur feet lacing the sand and the tide moving in...
When u hear the waterfall while your driving towards it..
When u can see the strong mountains towering down on u while u take those hair-pin bends..
What can i say.. give me more time to stand and stare!!!
Monday, January 02, 2006
Coimbatore meets California!!
I had been to a wedding recently where an indian boy married a american girl. This is no longer so rare, happens in every family. What was very satisfying was the groom's mom was totally at ease with her daughter-in-law. I was also taken by the bride's attitude. She wasn't out to impress people and she was just the way she was.
Infact we all use to eat together, she was not the "healthy" eating-only-fruits kinds. She would plunge into our briyani's and sambhars and lick her fingers in utter satisfaction. After havin a conversation with her for about an hour u would forget that she's from a different country. Infact if not for the complexion i would never remember that as well!!
From my family's experience with intercontinental marriages i used to think that its not so good since the parents get cheated out of this deal. They can't go forward with it neither can they step backward. But this marriage made me correct my decision. I guess no matter the culture, religion, language barriers its the personality that makes the difference. U can feel totally foreign with a person from your own caste and creed but totally at home with a person from a different culture.
This is not about arranged marriages or love marriages, this is about compatiblity.
Somehow i liked the attitude about this women they dont shun other cultures, they are open-minded. They want reason and they have respect for ur beleifs.
Once she had asked why do u always want to offer Rs.501/-, Rs.1001/- instead of jus 500 and 1000 and after all the not-so-satisfying replies she hushed if its just a beleif am not questioning it..i just wanted to know!!!
Am not saying that we are right and they are wrong or vice-versa, am just saying when you can compare and pick up what is best in both life is great!!
There are some things that are absolutely great about our culture, the way we respect elders, kids and animals but there's something bad about it too. Although americans fall in love and get married they seem to lack the conviction to stay committed. So we cant follow one thing or the other.
At this point of time, i would like to have an open-mind and willingly learn other cultures. Lets just say it could be total fun when you have an american sister-in-law or an english brother-in-law or a french husband!!!
Happy 2006!!!
Friday, December 23, 2005
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)
Monday, December 19, 2005
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.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
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.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
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
Thursday, November 24, 2005
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 ;))
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 ;))
Saturday, November 19, 2005
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 ;-)
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Monday, November 14, 2005
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.....
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.....
Thursday, August 04, 2005
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!!!
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!!!
Monday, August 01, 2005
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!!!!
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!!!!
Monday, July 18, 2005
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!!!
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!!!
Friday, July 08, 2005
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!!!
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
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!!!
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!!!
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
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
Thursday, June 30, 2005
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!!! :)))
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!!! :)))
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??
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??
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
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!!!!!
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!!!!!
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?
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?
Monday, May 09, 2005
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!!!!
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!!!!
Monday, April 04, 2005
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!!!"
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!!!"
Friday, April 01, 2005
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.....
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.....
Monday, March 28, 2005
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!!!!
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!!!!
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
[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
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
Monday, March 14, 2005
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
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
Thursday, March 10, 2005
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????
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????
