Who Am I?

I took this personality test to pass time on a monday morning.
The first one with 9 questions had me as JFK

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

and the second..

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

It also tries to find your personality match with a movie.

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Read more »

Clutters in my mind!!!

I am thinking about...
why the world isn't flat..

I said...
Leave me alone!!

I want to...
be able to disappear when i want too and also get into people's mind to know what they are thinking.

I wish...
we could rewind or fast forward life..

I hear…
noise from inside my mind all the time, constantly..which doesnt make sense.

I wonder...
how and why?

I regret...
that i have something to regret!!

I am...
what i am.

I dance...
to the rain and the songs which can make me to tap a leg!!

I sing...
pretty well ;-))

I cry...
Consider anything, only dont cry.

I am not always...
this beautiful

I make with my hands...
BEEP!!BEEP!!

I write...
to empty the dust collecting in my mind and to throw the anger out. Mostly because i like to write.

I confuse...
hmm...am slightly confused now.

I need...
what you cant give me.PEACE as of now.

Read more »

Muted Dreams or Soaring Faith?

Sometimes when am all by myself with no sense of time and space(these moments i truly cherish), i wonder who am i? There is always this sense of identity we want to associate ourselves with. It has nothing to do with being successfull or not, it has something to be able to define yourself with.

Its very abstract, all of us want to be happy(in our own terms).We want to be able to make that connection with ourselves where we can sit in a comfortable silence and not feel lonely. We want ourselves to be able to feel the pride and a happiness that comes from within.

Some childhood memories, some mistakes ride past me when i sit and gaze at those solitude moments. I never knew there would come a day when i would look forward to reading Bharathiyar kavithaigal and be able to say it.

There is a sense of difference in the Generation i see today. We are not scared of what we are. We take full responsiblity of the actions and the repurcussions.We have a certain sense of self-worth. We are not confused but struggling to prove a point.

In one of the coffee conversations with my bestest friends, i reasoned that the cause of constant turmoil for the generation of today is the fact that we do not see eye to eye with our family. Yes, we dont.We have laid our own principles for our lives and it is (alarmingly)different from those of our elders.
We are able to decide between the good and the bad and the right and the wrong.
We are more tolerable and more reasonable. Infact, i have been living with my room mate for two years(harmoniously) which has made me more adapatable and accomodative.
It is very difficult for my parents to understand my goals and sacrifices and it is very strange for me to make them see it.

This is the sense of conflict and somewhere in this whole battle one of us lose.Not always but sometimes. Somehow for me it is difficult to live a life without passion. I have made many mistakes and sacrifices not because life became that much easier but because that was the right thing to do(for me).

I dont see my buddies everyday, infact we are all geographically very far apart, but i know that somewhere within me a piece of them lie and vice versa. We are willing to learn, from our mistakes and from others. I'm beginning to think that we would bring a new dimension to this world. A world where people can live by their own rules. Most of my idealogies about religion and caste shock my parents, but that doesnt change mine.

It always comes as a choice between making your dreams come true by holding faith in what you beleive or savrificing your dreams for a sense of temporary relief.

Read more »

Venice

When i told people that i visited Venice, the first question was 'Did u take the gondola ride'? The answer was a NO and an added wait for the prince charming to accompany me. With Venice on the list for the city of love, no point taking a gondola ride alone.

I landed in Venice without a good night's sleep and catching a good hour of it even if it meant stratching myself on the railway platform din't seem very disgusting.
I have to remind you that when ur in abroad, things are almost always spotlessly clean and i took that as an excuse.



The first sight of Venice took me by shock. I stepped outside the train station and bingo there is water. No roads but canals. Now this is truly a water city.
Being built on water, Venice is a romantic place.

But something told me Kerala was better.

I want to write more, but this post has been lying here for long so before it rust and melts i publish :)

Read more »

WORLD CUP 2006

ITALY - The proud winners of the FIFA World Cup 2006.
Zinnedin Zidane's fabulous career comes to an almost choking end.

For the good of the game, ITALY has a reason to celebrate.

Read more »

ITALY - Rome

Roman Colosseum


The Colosseum was designed to hold 50,000 spectators, and it had approximately eighty entrances so crowds could arrive and leave easily and quickly. It was inaugurated in 80 AD.

The Flavian Roman emperors built the Colosseum of Rome for entertaining their subjects with bloody games where Gladiators fought wild beasts.(Quite similar to Russell Crowe in Gladiator).

There is a cross inside the Colosseum which the Pope visits every friday owing to a popular misconception that hundreds of Christians were killed by lions. The visit of the Pope in itself could be a fabrication.

Rome is filled with places of historical importance and it is important one does the homework before visiting this place or you would'nt be able to appreciate the splendour and wonder of this place.

It is also said that Italians have a spritual breakdown when they leave Rome.
We all know, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Read more »

A Time To Remember

When you're in a country hosting the biggest sport of the year, its difficult to ignore the euphoria. Its quite contagious and before u know it, your part of it too.

Germany Vs Argentina was a match that would go down in history as a nerve cracking match. Germany struck thunder and got past to the semi with Argentina wondering what had hit them.

When i reached the Market Plaza where there was a big screen and a maddening crowd chanting deustschland, cries erupted. By the time, i could get a peek at the screen i had realised it was Germany 0: Argentina 1.
After that there was no looking back for Germany.

Ballack and Klose teamed up to make the score equal and they kept it that way all through the extra time.


The match ended in penalty shoot-outs. Not my kind of way of winning game but anyways. When Argentina missed one which was Germany's card to the semi-finals, a whole nation celebrated. Ballack, Klose and Lehman were heroes and there was a thunderous applause in Berlin, we could hear it all the way through Walldorf - an otherwise quiet town.



A moment of victory, a sense of euphoria and a glorious record. Germany beat Argentina. As happy as i was for Germany, they deserved to win, i couldn't beleive Argentina had lost. Many of them were sure that it would be a Brasil Argentina final.
Germans celebrated for the team and Klinsmann was the mastermind.



A few days later, they lost to Italy. But the team had much to be proud of. I would never forget my stay in Germany this time. They made me do a follow-up on soccer and i even knew a few rules of the game. Now its the run up to the finals and all i can say is may the best man win.

World cup, Germany and me were not such a bad combination after all.

Read more »

Ice Caves in Austria

Eisriesenwelt Werfen - The world's largest ice cave.
In 1879,Anton Posselt, a natural scientist from Salzburg, pushed 200 metres into the darkness of the caves and officially "discoverd" the Eisriesenwelt. The cross inside the cave almost at the beginning is the mark he made exactly where he discovered the cave.


From 1924, for about 25 years, the only way to reach the caves was on foot. It is a steep uphill climb.Our guide, Sandra, showed us the path which people used to climb on. Thank god for the developments, i definetly wouldn't have made it to the caves. From 1953 it was possible to drive up the Eisriesenweltstraße in a single lane.In 1955 the cable-car provided an alternative to the steepest part of the climb, reducing the time taken from one and a half hours to a matter of minutes.



From the parking area, everbody has to walk for about 20minutes to reach the cable car. After descending the cable car, another 20 minutes of walk brings you to the foot of the cave.



As soon as you step into the cave, a blast of cold air hits you. For a second i thought i would freeze right there. But its only for a second. We are handed with small lamps to light the way through the cave and while climbing the steps.
It is zero to minus one inside the cave and the warm clothes saved us from being frozen inside the cave.


The caves are formed naturally. The snow from the alps melts throuh the creeks and starts collecting inside the caves and the wind blowing shapes them. I also witnessed what i read in school - Stalactites and Stagmatites.
Walking through the caves, climbing the steps was a nerving experience.


Mother Nature is indeed spectacular. The ice caves are a must-see in everyone's list.Walking down the caves, it was difficult to quieten the rush of excitement.
The sights, the caves and the ice are still slide showing in my mind. :)

Read more »

  

Read more »

Destiantion Belgium PART II

Next in line was the GRAND PLACE.
It is necessary to view the grand place at night. It is breathtaking. The four sides are so massive and towering down on you, all you do is look up in awe and admire the work of the hundreds of sculptors. It is the most beautiful medival squares of Europe.

We visited the Grand place twice. Once around the evening and once close to midnight.
You need to sit down and admire the guildhalls and drink the spectacular sight. It is truly relishing.


DAY TWO
We had breakfast and strolled around to figure out where to buy passes for teh day's tour. While on our way we hit the St.Michaels Cathedral. It around 300 years to bild this incredible Gothic cathedral.
We had to hit our head in our stupidity for not brining our cameras along. Never ever do that.

We further strolled along to visit the Belgium Center for Comic Strip Art. This is dedicated to Herge the creator of Tintin. You will se miniatures of tintin, tom and jerry sold as souveneirs. The museum itself is decorated very innovatively and has information about how cartoons are made from start to finish. Teh sketches, motion pictures and the script. Very interesting place to visit.

We then went Lock, stock and barrel to visit the other sights in Brussels.
Atomium is a wonder to visit.

It was built in 1958 for the International Exhibition. It is a model of nine atoms of an iron molecule magnified 160 billion times. You can climb four of these items with high speed escalators and ofcourse the stairs. The highest atom offers a panoramic view of the city.

Right next to the Atomium is the Mini-Europe.
Here all the important monuments and structures throughout the europe are scaled down and if you cant visit the entire Europe this would a quick finish. While the Eiffel Tower model is a poor representation, the Big ben is scaled down to the minute detail. Definetly worth a stroll.

There ends our trip to Belgium. It was a good time spent with Good company amidst breathtaking sights.

Read more »

Destination Belgium

Last weekend i was in Belgium - land of chocolates and beers.
Belgium is situated between Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg and France.

I went directly to the capital city - Brussels - administrative capital of the EU.
Many had told us that there was nothing picturesque to visit in brussels but this trip proved them wrong.
Usually, when we go travelling we always have a list of places to visit and then the time-lines and we hop on and off the buses.
This trip was different. We dint have a plan. We knew the important places to visit but we dint know where they were located. In all, we stranded in the streets of Brussels. And to add more excitement, very few people in Belgium can talk English. Merci and Bon Jour the only french i knew wouldn't help either.

We were five in all. Alex a chinese, who was lost in his thoughts but never failed to notice his bretheren. Sumeet the when-in-doubt-ask guy, who always loses his way, we found the secret story though. Billu the man, who needs a top view to find his way or he needs a formula to compute the distance between tha place we are and where the car was parked. Bina with volatile memory and an ever evaporating sense of direction and me - i was the one with all the information which can be credited as useless :)

So we set sail.


From German to Brussels, it takes approximately 4 hr and 30mintes. Traffic is relatively slower on the Belgium bahn. But its a picturesque drive, if u dont doze off. We were drinking in the country side and adoring the cars that zipped past us. With indian music in Germany we were in love with EUROPE.
(If you dont have navigation in your car, map24 would be useful)


The first of the places we saw was the BELLEVUE Museum. There is an entrace fee of about 3 euros and when we went inside, we were wondering why we ever came here. When you dont read your history books properly this museum was a wrong place to be in. I found it totally boring until i saw the old style telephone and a radiophone.
Outside the museum, one can see the entire palace of the king. I wont say anything about the flags. (see previous post). It is a nice cobblestone pathway and the palace looks huge and mammothical. Make up your mind before you step in :)


We decided that we wanted to see the Mannekan Pis. This is a really small statue of a boy pissing. I was shocked to see so many tourists looking at this boy. We even joked that the next time people would come around seeing a dog peeing in the lamppost. Anyways, there is some story behind it all. Apparently the belgians beleive this boy has saved their country from being plundered or ravaged by fire. Its a good luck sign to them. The road signs are really tiny and by the time we got there we all were mighty tired.

If there is one thing that leaves me on a perpetual high, its CHOCOLATES. When i saw the chocolate fountain in one of the shops in Belgium, i even forgot to close my mouth.We tasted some of their handmade chocolates and ummmm.. they were yummy. So i grabbed a few for moi.
(To be Continued...)

Read more »

Belgium Vs Germany

While in Belgium do not get worried about why the German flag is flying so high.
It is easy to get confused.
GERMANY
BELGIUM
While we were wandering in Brussels, we stopped at the king's palace and were wondering why the German flag was placed there.
We stopped a lady and asked her if it was a german king. She must have thought that we had sub-zero levels of history knowledge, 'cos she laughed and said - 'Thats the Belgium flag'.
Whoever said, when in doubt ask :(

Read more »

Willkommen nach Deutschland

I landed in Germany amidst frenzied football crowd.
I still haven't got sight of Ronaldinho but havent given up yet :D

I stay in Walldorf, a quiet village so to say.
But with Worldcup in Germany, not a single place is sparred.
Yesterday at 12.00 in the night we heard a vroom of cars with flags and fans screaming. France and Korea - 1 -1.

The sun doesnt set here until past ten and its a little weird to retire for the day when its so bright outside. I hear the europeans like this. There are times in winter when the sun never comes out (like in Sweden). So they look forward to the summer. And once summer comes they rent caravans and set out for a vacation to the beaches and the like where there's plenty of sun. How much i take the sun for granted and curse it :D

I have also realized the Germans are pretty good at driving. On the Autobahn, you can drive the fastest in Germany. People change lanes depending on their speed and the speed of the car behind to leave way. Its amazing. Also when you cross the border to a neighbouring country you will know the difference.

Germans are also more organized and meticulous about their lifestyles. There is no commotion and everthing is almost always in order. Being in a foreign land open your eyes to a plethora of things. My first lesson here has been time is precious so dont take it for granted.

Read more »

For Business & Pleasure

Worl cup stadium in munich at night
Am off to Deutschland to watch the Worldcup(am an optimist) and do some business.

Read more »

SACRIFICE

A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.

In solitude moments, i think aloud of this one word that alludes me.
We all make sacrifices, some small and some strong.
Some are life altering and some make life easy to go by.

What is it that makes us sacrifice?
Is it easy when it is for people we care about?
And sometimes i wonder, why do we do it?

Some sacrifices are simple and silent that we hardly notice and some are painful and etched in our memory forever.

When a mom sacrifices a meal to feed her children its a silent sacrifice. Nobody awards her for that simple feat. Its the love she gets in return.

When a man dies in enemy lines, the whole nation rewards him. For a life lost and to me war can never be justified.

There will come a time when each one of us will make a sacrifice. Life is never easy.
Sacrifice is a word that symbolises pain, in one form or the other.

Sometimes we fail to notice the little details of life.
When i get to live life only once, sacrificing things near and dear to me would mean rubishing the very cause of it.

Why do we do it then?

Read more »

Whats in a number?

Maradona - Number 10



David Beckham - No 7



Ronaldinho - No 10



Rossi - No 20



Ronaldo - No 9

And then the King of Football



PELE - NUMBER 10

Read more »

Germany Vs Costa Rica

GER CRC 09 Jun Match 1 Group A :Kick Off Time: 18:00
Venue: FIFA World Cup Stadium Munich
Referee: ELIZONDO Horacio

The waiting finally comes to an end as hosts Germany get the 18th FIFA World Cup™ finals under way against Costa Rica at 18:00 CET on Friday before a capacity crowd in Munich.

Germany qualified automatically for the 2006 FIFA World Cup as the host nation. Costa Rica finished third behind the USA and Mexico in the CONCACAF Zone, sealing a berth at the finals with five victories, a draw and four defeats in ten qualifying fixtures.

The sides have never previously met at full international level, although they have twice crossed swords at FIFA U-20 World Championships. The Ticos won 2-1 on both occasions (Doha/Qatar 1995 and Lagos/Nigeria 1999).

Catch all the football mania starting tommorrow.
Am all geared up this year.. So let the game begin!

Read more »

Golden Ball Winners

The adidas Golden Ball award is presented to the outstanding player at each FIFA World Cup™ finals, with a shortlist drawn up by the FIFA technical committee and the winner voted for by representatives of the media.

Read more »

My First Podcast

powered by ODEO


Listen with maximum volume :)

Read more »

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!

Read more »

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

Read more »

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

Read more »

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 !!!

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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 !!!

Read more »

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 )

Read more »

The Da Vinci Code

The most awaited movie this year 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..

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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 :-)

Read more »

Count your blessings!!

Read more »

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.

Read more »

My element

find your elementat mutedfaith.com.

Read more »

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?

Read more »

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?

Leave India To God.

Read more »

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!!!

Read more »

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)

Read more »

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

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!!

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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!!

India - 1 billion reasons to care!!!

Read more »

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.

Read more »

Under Construction

Curently under construction. Hang on...:))

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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!!!

Read more »

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!! ;-))

Read more »

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!!

Read more »

'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!!

Read more »

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!

Read more »

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)

Read more »

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'!!!

Read more »

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!!!

Read more »

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!!!

Read more »

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)

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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

Read more »

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 ;))

Read more »

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 ;-)

Read more »

PARISing...

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

Read more »

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.....

Read more »