Lest we forget

oneNonly
Originally uploaded by fd97103.

Surprizing, no article, no news. what's wrong with this country.

page3

page3 is all about 'samarath ka nahi dosh gousaain'. that the powerful ones can do anything they like. even commit as heinous a crime as child abuse and get away with it though caught red handed. I mean are you kidding me? I see the head of the largest religion in the country under police remand, I see Bharat Shah in Jail. I see case against LK Advani reopening. Situation is not as bad as portrayed in this movie. and even if it is what's the point in just showing the problem without giving any solution. no attempt at that what so ever. All the movie tells you is move on, that's the way life is. Then why should I waste my 100 bucks watching it. So lil advice, don't waste your money on this movie.

the Federer Express

We all knew it'd happen but I was just hoping Agassi'd pull some miracle. but dreams are just dreams. In the end Federer crushed him 6-3,6-4,6-4. Another champion fading away. Sports is such a cruel thing. Dunno if at that moment Federer realised that may be 5 or 10 years down the line he'll face the same situation. No one wins them all. may be he did. This is his time and he should make the most out of it. coz in sports you burn out so quickly. I still can't figure out what went wrong with Martina Hingis? One fine day she just lost her touch. I fear at times if that'll happen to me someday. When I no longer want to sit in front of the computer and debug. May be. May be that'd be good. May be then I'll get serious with music and start composing :) meanwhile I enjoy watching agassi v/s pete. Their matches were no less musical. I haven't yet seen a single federer match curse my cablewala and my laziness.

oh by the way, a very happy Republic Day to you all. So uneventful it has become these days. no more than a mere holiday. During school days I use to actively participate in the cultural festivals thanks to my good voice (that time!). Only time when we used to wear dhoti-kurta. occasionally used to sport moustache as well specially when performing some folk dance. and I used to make speech in English written in Hindi :) madhur yaad bachpan teri!!!

OUT OF BLUE : Yes. never thought out of blue could mean this but my blog is out of blue! I don't think I'd like this yahoo template for too long but a good change for now.

my world

my world
Originally uploaded by fd97103.


Got this mail from Nitesh, thought better put it on my blog.. comes handi ;)

Cool insults for immediate use:::
1. Any similarity between you and a human is purely coincidental!
2. Are you always so stupid or is today a special occasion?
3. As an outsider, what do you think of the human race?
4. I'd like to kick you in the teeth, but why should I improve your
looks?
5. At least there's one thing good about your body. It isn't as ugly as
your face!
6. Brains aren't everything. In fact, in your case they're nothing
7. Careful now, don't let your brains go to your head!
8. I like you. People say I've no taste, but I like you.
9. Did your parents ever ask you to run away from home?
10. If I had a face like yours. I'd sue my parents!
11. Don't feel bad. A lot of people have no talent!
12. Don't get insulted, but is your job devoted to spreading ignorance?
13. Keep talking; someday you'll say something intelligent!
14. Don't you love nature, despite what it did to you?
15. Don't think, it may sprain your brain!
16. Fellows like you don't grow from trees; they swing from them.
17. He has a mechanical mind. Too bad he forgot to wind it up this
morning.
18. He has a mind like a steel trap-always closed!
19. You are a man of the world-and you know what sad shape the world is
in.
20. He is always lost in thought-it's unfamiliar territory.
21. He is dark and handsome. When it's dark, he's handsome.
22. He is known as a miracle comic. if he's funny, it's a miracle!
23. He is listed in Who's Who as What's That?
24. He is living proof that man can live without a brain!
25. He is so short, when it rains he is always the last one to know.
26. He is the kind of a man that you would use as a blueprint to build
an idiot.
27. How come you're here? I thought the zoo is closed at night!

kisna

kisna kisna bol pyare
mad masti men dol pyare
maan le mera kehna
dum pe dum maare ja.

ok, that was a song and I think I am missing one line of it's mukhda, khairrr...
happened to see 'kisna' on friday nite. I said happened because we didn't plan it in advance but when we were driving to dinner on friday nite we noticed unusually low traffic on the b'lore roads which reminded me of the bundh called by various organisations to protest against the healer. ha b'lorians darpok hain. anyway we got
tickets easily as well and since we still had a dinner and one and half hours to take care of we headed for 'golkunda chimeny'. my first time there. what a delicious place. same old menu but what a great taste. wah wah wah. but apparently this was where our good luck ended. because the movie was such a drag. what has happened to Subhash Ghai? The only good thing about the movie is the song I don't have to name and the acting by everyone. but the script and the direction is junk. The rope dance was good but then, but then but then showing it again and again as if lakshmi had nothing else to do? Modern revolvers in 1947? The mob deciding to set fire to Kisna rather than stab him. Ismail Darbaar's music is painful. Om Puri was superb in a
small role and brings some relief. but in the end I have decided never to watch a Hindi movie without proper feedback from friends....

bread n butter

bread n butter
Originally uploaded by fd97103.

I complete three years in my present job which is also my first job. three years.. what a number. one or two sound too less while five or six too much. but three is right there. not too bad not too good. anyway we'll talk about three sometimes later for now it's certainly a time to lookback. Three years ago when I had set foot in Bangalore it was a do or die situation for me. I had already failed in a couple of very good companies though not entirely because of my fault but a failure indeed and after being unemployed for six months after a dream acedamic career, frustrating would be an understatement for my state of mind. anyway I landed a job here afterall. For that I'll etrnally be thankful to Pala, a hobbit by nature living the statement by Gandalf that you can learn everything about him in less than two months yet after six years he can still surprize you. So here I was in my first job more by luck than talent. I mean I am good I know but six months of grounding can ground your confidence and then you are nothing and working in a company which is best in it's field at that time was really an experience. anyhow I survived and man three years was a long time. I saw so many leave in between and so many more join. just the way things work here. dear friends left, mostly to the states. I don't know why people follow this out of site-out of life funda... anyway... There were ups and downs in the job. I falterd at times. did wonderfully some othertimes... Must say that learning curve bends once you join a job but comfort and 'ash-o-aaram' increases. Though after engineering I was fed up with exams and acedamics I think now I've started to miss them. Specially the excitement of cracking a tough test or exam. I wish work here was graded the same way. well may be they do grade it but all I get to hear is 'we appreciate. good job. excellent work. thanks for all the hard work.' it's so boring. guess I should make this suggestion of saying it differently...

weekend is here. I have to finish the agony and the ecstasy. clean the house, it's a dustbin right now. plan to go carting tomorrow :) yes yes yes. watch LOTR once again. probably wakeup an old friend. might be risky. get a treat from Ashu for cracking three out of three job interviews. Nahi Bachega Bachchooo.

headstrong

DD broadcasted an animated series long back whose title track went something like this.

hawa meethee tu aaja poorab se
toofan tu aaja re pashchim se
jor se door tak tum seetee bajao
chali aao jhananana bhananana dhartee pe
aankhon ke saamane meri jhanjhananan
hun chhota men ladka dragon ka...

even today whenever there is a good wind blowing this song comes back to my mind

cheers!!!

SANIA IS THROUGH TO THE THIRD ROUND!! Will play Serena.All the best Mirza!!!

delhi notes

I had gone to Delhi for some official work and to Jaipur from there last week.
while waiting for the flight to Delhi I realized that 'comb over' has really become popular and it does make a difference to the looks.

since the trip was sponsored by my company I had a chauffeur driven car to take me to the hotel. I generally asked the driver about car's model which I could not clearly see while getting in due to the lack of light outside the Airport, he replied 'Sir, apni hi company ki car hai, TATA ki.' I was like 'wow, TATAs make even a driver feel like part of the company.'

Once inside my room in the Hotel, the Butler asks me 'How will you be paying?'. I was like 'mere chehre pe phakkad likha hai kya?' Later he told me that the question was more of a information to make sure that I knew I was suppose to pay.

India Today published a cover story on Sonia Gandhi recently. One interesting comment by Prabhu Chawla '...retains the essential innocence of a foreigner, one reason why she continues to be moved by the sight of poverty and deprivation...' Last year I spent just three months in the US. But when I returned, for the first time I noticed how dirty the streets were in Jaipur. First time I seemed to feel the pity of the roadside vendors.. I think the effect stayed for a week or so and now of course I know that's how things are here but still interesting phrase 'innocence of a foreigner'.

Delhi was unusually warm for January, thankfully no doubt. Once my official work was done I straight away headed for Bikaner House to board the next available bus to Jaipur. Around India Gate it seems preparations for the Republic Day parade has already started...

vo kaata

If mysore is for Dashahara, Cal for Durga Pooza, Mumbai for Ganapathi then Jaipur sure is the place to be in during Makar Sankranti. And though I have known this always, this was however my first Sankranti in Jaipur. It was so good to finally see the sky littered with kites of all shapes and colors, every one on their roof tops busy in flying or looting kites, music systems playing heart thumping songs as if the whole city was one big discotheque, the sound of 'vo kaata' and of course the welcome break of til-ke-laddoo and garmagaram chai. The weather was also lovely this time though the wind was not that good lekin chalta hai. Being a beginner in this world I was taught how to 'lapet' two kites using your own by my JijaJi. quite a science I'll say. Only skilled ones can figure out and be prepared to loot the 'kati patang'. To me all of them appeared to be the same 'sky is no limit' kind of entities flying ever higher and higher. By sheer dumb luck I 'kato' 4 and 'lapeto' one when I was 'samet'ing my kite. Guess I have some talent after all.

HSH

Hi folks! I am off to Jaipur this week to attend my cousin's marriage returning only next monday. Sweet Jaipuri Winter, Here I come.

dance on

Have you seen the song 'Bardasht nahi kar sakta' from humraaz?
I had watched it a lot of times being one of my favorite dance numbers and I always thought that the steps in the song were really easy. So when I decided to stop jumping around in the name of dance and start really dancing I picked this one to learn my first steps. by the way this was when I gave up after two dance schools insisting to teach only silly things like salsa and tango and whatever. I mean guys I just want plain simple party dance but no they will teach only these. so I decided to learn it on my own. YES. I am a tagore fan :)
So I started. Decided to follow Akshay's steps. And that's when I realized what lie lies in our eyes. There is such a world's difference in what you see as simple and what it really is. This guy just seemed to go from left to right, legs up and down, hands up and down. that's it. 1-2-3-4. I watched the four steps for more than half an hour and still couldn't figure out how to do it.
well after hard work I succeeded of course but now I have a whole new view of things. dance to someone else's steps!!!
besides I am reading the agony and the ecstasy by irving stone and that's lending another view as well. I mean I never gave marble so much thought. it's everywhere back home but no more than a decoration. and here michelangelo thinks it has a life of it's own. interesting.

love you father

according to gregorian calendar it's already one year while in Vikram Samvat there are still two days and half a month for one year.one year since my father left the material world. I was so devastated at that time that I didn't know if I'll last another day. but friends and family helped me get through this tough time. and so did my colleagues and managers who gave me as many leaves as I asked and even when I returned gave me ample time to recover. thanks folks.
though they say time is a great healer but this loss is still as fresh in my mind as it ever was. I miss my father so much and I know so does so many others. most his students and followers. he used to teach Hindi,Sanskrit, Political Sc, Philosophy, Sociology, music and what not to class XIIth to BA,MA,PhD and whatever and he was an encyclopedia of information about our scriptures, culture, traditions, rituals, myths. Main reason I could get through this period was due to his teachings and love. When I was kid and used to cry to get things done in my favor he'd often tell me that every drop of tears is a pearl, don't waste it, singing 'bade bade moti se aansoon jai maala pahnate the' from a poem by Subhadra Kumari Chauhaan. The words used to come ringing in my ears whenever I missed him. My strong belief in my religion is because he could clarify every doubt I had and mind you I used to have a lot of questions.Then he was also a social activist holding many positions in various organizations. and by the way only 16% of his body was functional due to a polio attack when he was just four.
He didn't make too much money. This was something he could never explain to me. I always used to think that he was an underachiever here. He used to say that he love his job of teaching because it's 'Hari ka bhajan aur pet ka dhandha.' I never got the funda. He was so intelligent he could have been IAS or something. I never got it. Not until that day when I saw people flocking for the last rituals and later. People who I'd never met before who'll come sit next to me tears in eyes and tell me how my father shaped their life. I understood that day how right his priorities were.

The past is gone.

New year is here. Do we celebrate? After all the destruction and devastation the tsunamis did in this part of the world? After so many thousands or lakhs died and many more left with nothing? Do we celebrate?

I don't know but I'll quote something from the matrix :

'believe me when I say we have a difficult time ahead of us. but if we are to be prepared for it we must first shed our fear of it.I stand here before you now truthfully unafraid.why? because I believe in something you do not? no. I stand here without fear because I remember. I remember that I am here not because of the path that lies before me but because of the path thet lies behind me.I remember that for one hundred years we have fought these machines. I remember that for 100 years they have sent their armies to destroy us. and after a century of war I remember that which matters most, we are still here. tonight let us send a message to that army. tonight let us shake this cave. tonight let us tremble these halls of earth, steel and rock. tonight let us be heard from the red core to the black sky. tonight let us make them remember that this is zion and we are not afraid.'

The show must go on. Happy New Year friends.