In pursuit of the horizon

Men are from Mars, Women are from Milan

2010-04-22T00:11:00.003+05:30

*A casual conversation while strolling around in the mall*

Friend: You know I end up buying a lot of shoes.

Me: Thats cool. If you like something, just buy it. That's what I believe in.

Friend: But I have a lot of shoes and footwear.

Me: Hmm. How many?

Friend: ##

Me: 17!

Friend: 70

Me: 70! Oh. You mean in your entire lifetime

Friend: No. Currently.

Me: (Of course I could not respond immediately. That is too much data even for a guy.)

Friend: But I don't think 70 can be called the correct number. There are a few that I no longer wear - about 5 of them. (pause) So how many pairs do you have?

Me: 5

5 Point Someone

2010-01-03T19:04:00.004+05:30

Dear Blog Buddies,

No! Neither have I been kidnapped by Himesh to sing playback for him nor am I on a honeymoon trip with Katrina. [I wish I the latter was true]

Of course! I haven’t forgotten you guys. The big bad world out there is trying its best to make that happen. I was even offered zillions of Zimbabwean dollars to elope onto a honeymoon trip with cute Kati[obsession is a virtue I excel at] but maine bhi RGV ki Aag pe haath rakh kar pratigya li ki I will not be tempted by such lucrative offers. Bottom-line, I haven’t forgotten you guys. There are innumerable occasions when my mind wanders into the blog word while listening to a professor who is trying his best to infuse the concepts of macro economics into my small and innocent brain. Bachhe ki jaan lene ki yahan puri koshish hoti hai :(

I often wonder what you guys would be upto. I often wonder how Tinns would be managing all by herself in Chennai. Or whether HP too would be enjoying the C&H strip that I am having a laugh about. What pagalpanti the sarcasm king Abhinav might be upto. What would Shatab be doing in her new city. What would the Bhai be offering at her Bar. What new place or food item would Pizzadude be at. How would Shub’s training for the 42 be going on. How old might Santa’s Ruffie be. What new weekend trip would Nids be planning. What new laws would Madsie be learning. When would Farah be writing another spell-binding story. What innovative ways might Chrizzy be inventing for making the world laugh and smile. Who would be Keshi’s new crush. What awesomely clever PJ would Stupid be upto. What architectural masterpiece would Ceedy be handling. What beautiful poetry would our Dr. Pri be weaving. What new pagalpanti would Ms. Kido be upto. When would Kanan be planning her next trip to India. What lovely quatrains would Joie be penning down. Wondering what next movie review would Rakesh do. What PJs would Mr. Sarath be cooking up in his hostel. What would Vands's new photography series be. When would the Bhai be serving us another cup of Chai. Or simple go crazy thinking as to what spam comment would Anonymous be posting on my blog ;)

[There are a lot of people I have met on the blog journey. Above, I have just mentioned a few of my pehle pehle blog buddies. Agar kisika naam chuk jaane ki gustakhi hui ho, toh bande ko maaf kar dena. Also, I am sorry for not having replied to comments on the blog. And here's a big giant frantic waving Hi! to people who have taken the trouble of following this blog. I hope this post explains things to you guys and you don't remain mad with me. Iss post ke baad bhi gussa rahe toh sab ke liye do-do khoke Alphonso mangoes ke ready rakhe hai :P]

Yes! I have been ~~a bit busy~~ caught up with things these days. Not that I do not get time at all but the problem is that blogging does take up a fair amount of time. Because it is addictive. Because it is never about your own blog. But rather about your blog, and your friends’ blogs, and friends’ of friends' blogs, and the comments on your blog, and the comments on your friends’ blogs, and the comments on friends’ of friends' blogs. And sadly I have not been able to enjoy this luxury during my stint at MBA :(

However! The past 6 months here have been an awesome experience. This place has been amazing. This is a place where students live by the mantra ‘Work hard, party harder’. There are innumerable days when the mind and body are stretched beyond limits. Each day is a day when you challenge yourself, stretch yourself, to explore new dimensions, to discover yourself. A place where you can sleep all night, not study for the examination, and still do better than the dude who was up all night preparing for the examination :D A place where skill, aptitude and, most importantly, common sense matter. A place which knows how to party - may it be the Diwali celebrations, its annual fest, or the JLTs that go well beyond the first rays of dawn... I always wanted to pursue a 2 year full time MBA. I am glad I did not compromise on that. Anyways, mere baare mein bahot baatein ho gayi. Baaki baatein nichhu diye hue IDs pe kar sakte hain:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=595354923

Orkut: http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile?uid=7935928802469522201

LinkedIn: http://in.linkedin.com/in/urvbhatt

Well, I have put up the LinkedIn ID just to sound professional enough and not come across as a kool duud who is vhary vhary frandlie and wants to do frands with hot guys and smart girls [Did I misplace the adjectives ;)] Just to let you know that I have not been and may not be very active [After all, the ‘Photos of Me’ have outnumbered ‘Photos by Me’] on these forums but I would certainly love to know what is going on in your lives when I login into any of them :) And I would most definitely jump at the opportunity of being able to meet anyone of you. [Proof here]

Chalo toh bhidu log, abhi ke liye apun tata bye-bye karta hai. And as 2010 begins, here’s me wishing you all a very Happy Yappy New Year. And here’s my lil message:

Do not be always stressed out working for the trivial things in life: For a hefty increment, for clinching that all-important deal, for a six-figure salary, for a corner office.

Do take out time for the more important things in life: Laugh. Smile. Act crazy [It helps maintain the balance in life]. Tell people that you love them. And that you care. Show them you will always be by their side. Keep your surroundings clean. Be responsible citizens. Do not take things for granted. Appreciate. Thank. Enjoy your cup of tea. Have a cup of coffee with your friends. Look at the sky once in a while. Catch a cold in the rain. Go on a long drive. Sleep like a baby. Sing. Dance. Express. Enjoy the present. Dream. Live.

PS: 3 Idiots dekha kya mamu? Nahi dekha toh Go! Watch it with your idiots :)

Truly yours [always],

Urv

Jhabierville

2009-11-09T18:45:00.000+05:30

I miss sleeping :(

I miss blogging :( :(

I miss you guys :( :( :(

yeM Bee yAy

2009-06-04T19:18:00.002+05:30

Her: So you are leaving me eh?!

Him: *silence*

Her: Oh come on! Be a man! Blurt it out!

Him: It's not what you think.

Her: Oh! don't give me that crap. You are all the same. You come, you have fun and then you leave.

Him: But I always loved you with all my heart. I never cheated on you. I never even thought about anyone else when I was with you.

Her: And now what! You got bored of me!

Him: Don't say that. It's not like that. How do I explain myself. Its just that this is something I always saw myself doing. This was kinda my first love. But I will always remember the days we spent together. I will always have a special place for you in my heart.

*Veer-Zara music plays in the background*

Those table-tennis games, that mail fiasco, the annual parties, those SCJP sessions, system no **29, employee id **35, that 2 o'clock phone call, all those memorable luncheons, the gyaan sharing, all the pagalpanti, fultoo mastigiri and so much more. I will definitely miss this place *sigh*

People say 'Love your job.' I say love your company too. Aakhir pyaar baant ne se badhta hai :)

~~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~~

What's in a name

~ Urv Bhatt
(after all, what's in a name :P)

Over the 2 years that I have stayed in Bangalore, I have come across many a lovable people.

Package
Junk Leader
Terminator
iRobot
Vodafone
Niel Armstrong
Bhelpuri
Bobby
Merry go round
Cold water
Sheru
Screw driver
Question bank
Call Center
Server
The 3 Musketeers
Iron Man
Bachcha
Jagat
Patli kamar
Bewdi
Guru
Kkkrish

~~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~~

Thank you Bangalore for the awesomest weather.

Thank you Koramanagala for all the restaurants/coffee hang-outs.

Thank you Shantisagar (restaurant hai bhidu log. I am neither talking about any Shanti(although I would like to ;)) nor any Sagar.) for that morning cup of tea.

Thank you Mast Kalandar for all those yummy Fridays.

Thank you Tandoor Hut for Tandoor Hut.

~~~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~~

Somebody told me "Urv, don't change as a person." Hence I shall continue to be my evil self. Muahahahaha :D

*devilish laughter echoes in an infinite loop in the background thread*

PS: In case you did not understand what the post is all about, Sherlock Holmes aur Dan Brown ko bolo ki tumhe adopt kar le ;)

6 x 6 = 36

2009-04-24T19:18:00.000+05:30

There are two kinds of men:

1. Those who openly admit that they adore Tendulkar and
2. Those who do not openly admit that they adore Tendulkar.

Period.

The Little Master turns 36 today. In a career that spans across two decades, he has been the best 'coz no other icon has even come close to knowing the expectations of a billion people. He has been the best 'coz he has been a benchmark for batsmen around the world. He has been the best 'coz he is revered by people the world over. He has been the best 'coz this list is endless.

There are a very few occasions when a sportsperson becomes bigger than the game itself. Tendulkar, unknowingly, through sheer genius, has gone eons ahead of that.

He is the best 'coz, well, he simply is.

Dhiskiaon dhiskiaon

2009-04-22T19:48:00.001+05:30

Oyye Shatab Shatab oyye. Here's the tag :)

1. What does your user name mean?
It means 'baadal'.

2. Elaborate on your user photo.
It is a JPEG image by yours truly which says 'you are we'. Its a play of words on my first name 'U R V'. I used to do a lot of drawings in MS Paint when I was young. I mean main abhi bhi jawaan hi hun, par ab fursat nai milti.

3. How many comments do you have?
I am not gonna count mate. However if you want any web analytics stats, I can pull 'em out of my statcounter.

4. What's your current relationship status?
Single.

5. What exactly are you wearing right now?
Blackberry trousers and a John Miller shirt. Shirt ka size hai 42. Trousers ka size main nahi bataane waala :P

6. What is your current problem?
Analysis and estimates for a color editing tool

7. What do you love the most?
Being with my family and friends

8. What makes you most happy?
Lil kiddos :) aren't they adorable

9. Are you musically inclined?
Err.. I listen to music.

10. What would you do if you woke up one morning and found out you were on coccaine?
Eject the Dev D dvd playing in the dvd player.

11. If you could go back in time and change something, what would it be?
World war - III

12. If you MUST be an animal for ONE day, what would you be?
Owl. And sleep all day long :P

13. Ever had a near-death experience?
No bubba. I have not yet met Paulomi ;)

14. Name an obvious quality you have.
I can be obsessive.

15. What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now?
Aye dil hai mushkil jeena yahaan, zara hatke, zara bachke, yeh hai bambai meri jaan.. I miss home..

16. Are you happy today?
If it does not rain in South Africa, I will be.

17. Who will cut and paste this first?
We shall come to know. Patience naam ki bhi cheez hoti hai yaaron :D

18. Name someone with the same birthday as you.
Plato, woh philosopher tha na.

19. Do you have a secret crush on anyone
Yo.

20. Do you have a garbage disposal in your kitchen sink?
As a matter of fact, I do not have a kitchen!! I am staying as a paying guest :D

21. Have you ever been in a fight?
Nahi. But I might soon get involved in one with a certain h.o.d somewhere!!!

22. Have you ever sung in front of a large audience?
Yes. During my company's annual party. I pity the ones who stayed through the "performance" ;)

23. What's the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?
Eyes

24. What's your biggest mistake?
You mean till now?

25. Say something totally random about you.
I am in a very cranky mood right now.

26. Has anyone ever said that you look like a celebrity?
Yep. Friends and relatives are of the opinion that Abhishek Bachhan looks like me :P

27. Are you comfortable with your height?
Yeah.

28. What is the most romantic thing someone has ever done for you?
Fallen in love (?)

29. What are your favorite smells?
Bheegi mitti, food..

30. What's something that really annoys you?
Long tags. I don't think a tag should have more than 20 questions/points.

31. What's something you really like?
Blogging.

32. Do you give random hugs and kisses?
Only to hot girls ;)

33. What's the latest you have ever stayed up?
5:00 am. I neither had exams nor was I partying.

34. Have you ever been rushed to the emergency room?
Nope.

35. Whom would you tag?
Nobody. Very few people actually take up the tags. Not everybody is vella like me :P Still feel free to be a sport :)

IPL

2009-04-16T22:04:00.004+05:30

Just as I relish watching a masterpiece like The Shawshank Redemption, so do I get captivated by a Matrix Revolutions.

Just as I find bliss in classics like O. Henry, so do I enjoy a frivolous Five Point Someone.

Just as I cherish the nuances of Test cricket, so do I immerse myself in the pleasures of Twenty20.

Evenings, for the days to come, shall no longer be dull and boring. The IPL 2.0 shall finally get rolling this Saturday.

You are the Bhai

2009-04-13T12:00:00.002+05:30

Happy yappy budday Bhai :)

In the blogger, all over blogworld,
you are the Bhai,
you are the Bhai,
you are the Bhai ;)

By the way, you want shoes for your birthday. How do you want them delivered Bhai? George Bush style mein ya Chidambaram style mein :P And you want them at the bus stop or something :P

I started blogging after I became a regular at her bar. Thanks Sanch for introducing me to her blog :) I still love hanging out over there. Maybe we can meet up sometime at a real bar. Whassay Sash ;)

You rock Sash! Hail Sayesha. Or rather HEY Sayesha ;) :P

What would you pick?

2009-04-06T22:08:00.003+05:30

Monica: (really excited) Mmh... this cake is amazing!

Rachel: My God, get a room!

Monica: I would get a room with this cake. I think I could show this cake a good time!

Phoebe: If you had to, what would you give up, food or sex?

Monica: (with no hesitation) Sex!

Chandler: (looking at her) Seriously, answer faster!

Monica: Oh, I'm sorry honey, you know, but when she said "sex" I wasn't thinking about "sex with you"!

Chandler: (to Phoebe) It's like a giant hug.

Phoebe: Ross, how about you. What would you give up, sex or food?

Ross: Food.

Phoebe: Ok, how about... uhm... sex or dinosaurs?

Ross: Oh my God. It's like Sophie's Choice.

Rachel: Oh God. What about you, Joe? What would you give up, sex or food?

Joey: Uhm... oh... I don't know, it's too hard.

Rachel: No, you gotta pick one!

Joey: Oh... food. No, sex. Food! Sex! Food! Se-I don't know! Good God, I don't know, I want girls on bread!

Whats with the at-tags

2009-03-31T11:15:00.005+05:30

1. Last drink: water

2. Last phone call: Urv (i demand a balance recharge mister! :P)

3. Last text message: anurag

4. Last song you listened to: soniyo (raaz 2)

5. Last time you cried: a few days ago..

HAVE YOU EVER...

6. Dated someone twice: not dated yet.

7. Been cheated upon? Not really..

8. Kissed someone & regretted it? if I do end up kissing someone I’m not likely to regret it.

9. Lost someone special? yes

10. Been depressed? Used to be…I can take care of myself now:)

11. Been drunk and threw up? nope

LIST THREE FAVOURITE COLOURS:

12. green

13. white

14. blue

FIRSTS :

15. Made new friends: of course… :)

16. Fallen out of love: yes…when Abhishek Bachchan ditched me for that wrinkled hag. :-x

17. Laughed until you cried: loads of times...my eyes are very watery.

18. Met someone who changed you: YES!

19. Found out who your true friends were: yes… I’ve been lucky in this area :)

20. Found out someone was talking about you: yes I did Mr. Holmes… so what?

HAVE/YOU:

21. Kissed anyone on your friend's list: I’ve kissed only babies...n none of them have opened orkut/fb accounts yet! ;)

22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: many of them

23. How many kids do you want to have: 1 of my own n 1 adopted one :)

24. Do you have any pets: not anymore..

25. Do you want to change your name: yes! I hate my name :(

26. What did you do for your last birthday: I wanted to hibernate but ended up having a loooooooooot of fun... :)

27. What time did you wake up today: 8.00am

28. What were you doing at midnight last night: sleeping... what the hell were you

doing?

29. Name something you CANNOT wait for: a job! Any..!

30. Last time you saw your father: a few minutes ago

31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: nothing…I love how imperfectly perfect it is! :D

32. Most visited web page: blogspot

Whats your:

33. Name: trinaa

34. Nicknames: tinni/tinnu/trinni/tintin/tubelight/iyer/paglu/inni minni tinni chor. :P

35. Zodiac sign: libra-scorpio (cusp)

36. Male or female or transgender : female

37. Elementary: Holy Cross Montessori school

38. School: Loreto Convent :*

39. Colleges: St.Xavier’s

40. Hair color: reddish brown

41. Long or short: what?? The hair or me?

42. Height: if you keep looking down, you just might spot me... ;D

43. Do you have a crush on someone? Yes…on the tattooed guy I met recently. :P

44. Ever been in love? yes

45. Piercings? Yes… ears n nose.

46. Tattoos? Am getting one soon :P

47. Righty or lefty: righty

48. First surgery: n.a

49. First piercing: when I was 1 n ½ years old :D

50. First best friend: Mumma :)

51. First sport you loved: ludo.

Whaaaat? It’s a sport for me!

52. First pet : a Pomeranian

53. First vacation: Puri..when I was one year old I think.

54. First concert: eeeeeerrrr

55. Firstcrush: eeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr :P

RIGHT NOW:

56. Eating: fruits..yes I eat healthy.

57. Drinking: nothing

58. I'm about to: call HP

59. Listening to: mum asking me to clean my room for the 10000000^th time this year.

60. Waiting for: a lot... n nothing! Go figure!

YOUR/FUTURE

61. Want kids? yes

62. Want to get married? No, I’m just going to contribute to the national population.

63. Careers in mind? Journalism n advertising.

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?

64. Lips or eyes: eyes

65. Hugs or kisses: depends on who is giving what. :P

66. Shorter or taller: TALLER! :D

67. Older or Younger: Older ;)

68. Romantic or spontaneous: spontaneously romantic :D

69. Nice stomach or nice arms: both but strong arms are always more attractive.

70. Sensitive or loud: sensitive

71. Hook-up or relationship: relationship.Hook-ups are for commitment phobic losers who have no idea what they want from life.

72. Trouble maker or hesitant: trouble maker like meeeeeeeeee.. :D

HAVE YOU EVER :

73. Kissed a stranger: Yes, it’s my favourite pastime you moron.

74. Lost glasses contacts: lost broken trampled powdered to dust...I’ve done just about everything in the 5 years that I’ve worn specs.

76. Broken someone's heart: yes :(

77. Had your own heart broken: yes.

78. Been arrested: kanoon ke haath itne bhi lambe nai hain.. ;P

79. Turned someone down: yes...n I’m sorry :(

80. Cried when someone died: that is the normal reaction I’d say.

81. Liked a friend that is a girl? Haain?? Well...I like my friends who are mostly gals but not Dostana types!

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

81. Yourself: YES!

82. Miracles: yes again!

83. God: haan baba..

84. Love at first sight: ummm…if that tattooed guy calls me then yes! ;D

85. Heaven: yes…n it’s right where we are :)

86. Santa Claus: no

87. Kiss on the first date? Depends...if it's Ranbir then I’m not wasting any time :P

88. Angels: yes

89. Devils: YEEEEEEEES! My H.O.D is one...grrrrrrr

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:

90. Is there one person you want to be with right now? Yes...

91. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? I think this tag has been made by a very frustrated soul.

92. Wanted to kill someone ever? Sure...

93. Among your blog mates, whom would you like to kiss? :o

94. Committed a blunder and regretted later? Yes.

95. Wanted to steal your friend's boyfriend / girlfriend? Cheeeee..never!

Associate with something you wear:

96. White: tee

97. Black: chappals

98. Red: I don’t wear red much.

99. Pink: shorts

100. Posting this as 100 Truths? No...I was just checking my typing speed.

WOKAY PPL! Quieten your turbulent minds. No I haven't had a sex change. This is Trinaa's tag.. I've just posted mine on her blog n vice-versa. Why? Because a. its my blog n I can do whatever i want n b.I just luuuuuuuuuuurve bugging all you wonderful souls.

First act, then crib

2009-03-22T13:03:00.004+05:30

http://jaagore.com/

I hope the font size is legible and the message clear.

अतिथि डाक

2009-03-19T21:14:00.003+05:30

Here is a guest post in the form of a poem by our super talented Tinni. Iss blog ki shobha ab aur bhi badh gayi. Thenkoo so much babes ;)

wings of poesy
soar into the sky
colours of the rainbow
enlighten even the night

blessed indeed are poets;
artists, lovers and friends
they may die, shrivel and wither
n still live through the gems they penned

oh how i wish to immortalize this life and times in rhyme
the verse is weak; the poet unknown
and yet i hope to raise the rhythm divine.

~ Tinni

After reading her poem, I got inspired and penned down one myself. Ekdum spontaneous on-the-spot types. So you guys have to now pick a winner out of the 2 poems. Here goes mine:

Twinkle twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.

So go ahead and pick a winner. You can use parameters like originality, literary depth, blah blah, bleh bleh ;) And remember while choosing the poem, mine is the latter one. The 2nd poem. Nichu waala. The one 3 lines above ;)

Dostana

2009-01-24T12:57:00.002+05:30

I'll be all right
I'll be all right
I'll be all right

Tu hai to tedhi medhi raahe
Ulti pulti baatein
Seedhi lagti hain

Tu hai to jhoote moote waade
Dushman ke iraade
Sachhe lagte hain

Jo dil mein taare waare de jaga
Woh tu hi hai tu hi hai
Jo rote rote de hansa
Tu hi hai wohi

Jaane kyun dil jaanta hai
Tu hai to I'll be all right
I'll be all right
I'll be all right

Happy birthday dear :)

PS #1: I shall be off the internet for sometime :( Its sort of non-voluntary. If you guys understand, thanks. If you don't, I understand.

PS #2: If all men are dogs, all girls aren't angels too. Remember.

PS #3: The day after tomorrow India will enter its 60th year of being a Republic. If possible, only if possible, please don't write "Are we really independent" posts on that day. There are other 363 days of the year to contemplate on that.

PS #4: Miss me. I will. Not myself. You all. I do. Bigtime.

A new year resolution

2009-01-10T21:27:00.001+05:30

Do not take credit/debit cards when going for Window shopping!

I had earlier mentioned my love for shopping. Its gotten a lil out of hand now. Owing to my heroics, species of the fairer sex are finding it difficult to keep pace. Malls and shopping complexes are running out of new stocks. And John Abraham is going to stop acting :P

I nevva make resolutions. None this year as well. Shall try to keep things simple. Do less of planning. (Most things don't go according to plan) Be wild n crazy. Act zany n wacky. coz after all, its better to surprise Life rather than letting Life surprise you. Whassay :)

Happy new year! aur Happy ko bhi Happy new year :D

Phir dekhiye...

2008-12-30T18:20:00.003+05:30

Flowers I see, the fragrance lost,

The rains feel I, the monsoon without,

Familiar roads I tread, direction less,

Songs listen I, the music devoid,

Babble I thus, without rhyme or reason,

Dreaming, eyes wide open, through sleepless nights,

Tired, exhausted, void,

Breathing I am, breathing alright,

I wish, wish to start living again..

One more year has gone by. A year wherein Life gave me a lot of free coaching lessons. Things changed, people changed, the world changed. Hopefully, I remained the same. Arre, agar waqt ke saath saath hum bhi badal gaye, toh humein pata kaise chalega ki waqt badal gaya :)

As I say goodbye to 2008, I leave you with some beautiful lyrics of a lovely song...

Aankhon mein jiske
Koi to khwaab hai

Khush hai wohi jo
Thoda betaab hai

Zindagi mein koi aarzoo ke jiyein
Phir dekhiye…

Hothon pe jiske
Koi to geet hai

Wo haare bhi to
Uski hi jeet hai

Dil mein jo geet hai
Gun guna lee jiye

Phir dekhiye…

Singer: Caralisa Monteiro
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Movie: Rock On

PS: I have not been around as I was away for a trip on the weekend and since coming back have been down on the health side. (What else will happen if one goes to a hill station and gets wet in the icy cold waters!! ;) )

The chosen one

2008-12-22T14:18:00.001+05:30

In response to Stupidosaur's comment on the previous post:

Yes, the header pic was taken after I joined the IT industry :)

And lately I have been inspired by the Bolly guys getting various sized packs. Aamir survived on some 16-18 odd egg whites per day. I too am following suit when it comes to the diet. Me n my roomie hogged 18 eggs - whites, yolks, everything - in the form of omlets and egg bhurji for lunch!!

However when it comes to Aamir n me, there is one small difference. Aamir went for the eight packs. I am concentrating on just one pack ;)

PS: I think I will have to start doing some serious workout (read light jogging in the beautiful Bangalore weather) before people start rolling me over for games of football :(

Why do I write

2008-12-19T20:38:00.002+05:30

I write to pen down my thoughts.. I write to capture the trivial moments associated with my life. Moments that may otherwise have easily get lost in the rush of life.. I write coz I love to write.. I write to be at peace with myself..

This blog journey began a year ago. And in doing all the above, I was lucky to have made some damn super wonderful friends :) and I hope to continue doing so.

One such friend, Hp, passed on this award to me. Thanks da!

I know. I know. Whats written on the award is similar to the native language of the Wallis and Futuna Islands.

So here goes the description

"Blogs that receive this award are 'exceeding charming'. This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated."

I now pass on this and this award to all my damn super wonderful friends:

Trinaa, Bhai with chai, Chriz, Express, Joiedevivre, Kanan, Pizzadude, Think tank, Santa, Shub, Pri, Hp, Ceedy,Sarath, Sayesha, Nidhi, Stupidosaur, Keshi, Abhinav, Solitaire

(The names are in a random order. Actually I have a program that takes input of an array of names and outputs a random order. Surprise surprise! I am a software engineer :D ) (I hope I did not miss out anyone. If I did, feel free to meri vaat lagaving)

The past one year in the blogging world was indeed a rocking one. Thanks to all you gals. And guys. (Ladies first na baba) Mwahhhh. Thanks for making me laugh, cry, dance, sing..

PS: In case anyone of you, at present, or in the future, does not consider me their damn super wonderful friend, thats fine by me. I shall continue to consider you as my damn super wonderful friend. coz waise bhi, there are many relationships in life that are one-sided.

Silver

2008-12-10T19:25:00.002+05:30

All weddings are similar, but every marriage is different.

- John Berger

Today, I raise a toast. To the journey that was started 25 years ago. To 25 years of ups and downs, of blending and bonding, of agreeing and arguing. To 25 years of togetherness. Cheers.

In the years to come, if I can raise a child half as well as you Pa, and if I can love my child half as much as you Ma, I would be very very proud of myself.

No matter how much I grow up, I shall always be your lil boy. Wishing you both a glittering happy anniversary. Love you both.

SOS

2008-12-03T20:05:00.001+05:30

Build a Titanic.

Make sure there are no lifeboats on board.

Lock Mr. X* in one of the rooms. Preferably in a room that is farthest from the deck.

Send the key of that room in an unmanned spacecraft to the moon. Mars would be even better.

Set the ship on sail.

Have an automated steering system which can maneuver the ship towards the biggest iceberg in the ocean.

This ultra modern hi-fi steering system should also avoid the ship from being in the vicinity of any other ships which can come to the rescue.

If everything goes according to plan, mission accomplished. The world shall live in peace.

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* X = John Abraham.

You will be able to empathize with me if you happen to watch a movie called No smoking.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and no implications are to be taken seriously.

eltit

2008-12-03T19:22:00.003+05:30

"He who thought money was everything certainly never had any friends..."

Two wonderful bloggers Sarath and HP were brave enough to publicly admit that I am a friend of theirs. Thank u guys. Muaahhhh :)

The tag rules include nominating 5 other blogs with the award. But that's just not possible. I mean just 5! Come on!! Instead I want to share this award with all my dear readers. May we indeed remain friends forever. And may the madness never stop :)

This tag also has a Quotations Tag where one has to write one's favorite quotes. Before writing that, let me tell you something about HP:

She is a F.R.I.E.N.D.S fanatic. She loves Calvin and Hobbes. She is very good at multitasking. She is a very good photographer. She is a Cancerian.

Bottom line: She is a she. :)

Now as for the quotes, I could not recollect many. Below are some of the few that came to my mind:

"John, on your death bed, you will not wish you had spent more time in office."

- The Monk who sold his Ferrari.

"It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

- Albus Dumbledore

"A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."

- The Godfather

"I'm going for second," he said. "Today we went to the moon and saw the astronaut"

- The cyclist Beloki on Lance Armstrong in Every Second Counts

"When we talk about the poor, so often it is talk about getting them off the streets or getting them a job, so they don't starve. But we never talk about getting excellence for the poor."

- The World is Flat

I tag the following people with the Quotations Tag:

Sayesha - who better than to tag an editor ;)
Abhinav - dude, get the comp working fast. Or I'll send Arnie to get you back :D
Bhai with chai - please do not include any parser/lex related quotes :P
Homer - you need to post something on the blog alright Ms India ;)
Think tank - this tag might help with the writer's block

2008-12-03T19:10:00.002+05:30

Since the last few days, a certain 49-O mail has been doing the rounds. The content of such a mail is somewhat like this:

Para 1:

Did you know that there is a system in our constitution, as per the 1969 act, in section "49-O" that a person can go to the polling booth, confirm his identity, get his finger marked and convey the presiding election officer that he doesn't want to vote anyone!

Para 2:
...in a ward, if a candidate wins, say by 123 votes, and that particular ward has received "49-O" votes more than 123, then that polling will be canceled and will have to be re-polled. Not only that, but the candidature of the contestants will be removed and they cannot contest the re-polling, since people had already expressed their decision on them.

Now curiosity got the better of me. And I wanted to confirm whether it was true. The following is what I found in the official Handbook for the Presiding Officers:

1.1 If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the Register of Voters (Form 17A) and he has put his signature/thumb impression on that register, decides not to record his vote, he shall not be forced or compelled to record his vote.
1.2 A remark to the effect that he has decided not to record his vote shall be made by you in the remarks column against the entry relating to him in the Register of Voters. You shall put your full signature below that remark.
1.3 The signature or thumb impression of the elector shall also be obtained against such remark under rule 49Q.

However, I could not find any information as mentioned in the Para 2. And to be honest I am a little grateful that it is not so easy to make a mockery of the election system of a democratic nation of over a billion. I cannot even imagine the kind of dirty politics that parties could indulge in to cancel out opposition candidates if it were true.

In case anyone reading this finds credible information/source that can verify what is mentioned in Para 2, I shall be highly grateful.

People say politics is dirty. I wonder how many even take the pain to understand it.

Mere yaar ki budday hai

2008-11-18T21:06:00.002+05:30

Today is a special day. Kyonki kal it was one of my best friend's budday. And kal bhi it is one of my best friend's budday. Hugh Grant sends his beleated wishes from far across the oceans.

By the way, I dozed off while watching Quantum of Solace. I think Brosnan was the last of the Bonds. Daniel Craig is just another Agent xxx.

Now, apna Shah Rukh to kisi bhi cheez mein picche rehta hai nahi.. To he also sends some birthday wishes in advance..

In case you live in a sane world and do not know who KRK is, here is his raapchik photu.

STOP LAUGHING !! He is KRK. Khan. Kamaal R Khan. The actor-producer of the movie Deshdrohi. I soooo want to see this movie. But none of the premier multiplexes are showing it. Damn!! I guess I will have to see the dvd only :( I know I will be doing injustice to poeple like KRK. coz after all, such people are meant only for the big screen ;)

I also watched the animation flick Wall-E sometime back. Simply ossum. Super cute. Tops my list of animation movies inching ahead of Monster's Inc. Go watch em if you haven't.

I got the dvd of Heroes yesterday. Started playing it. Kya mast nind aayi. Slept off in just 5 mins ;) Chalo abhi main jaa ke vaapis try karta hun dekhne ka.. Tada..

WTF

2008-11-08T12:36:00.004+05:30

All right! So my hide and seek in Blogville has hurt the sentiments of Blogger. All of a sudden, it has stopped sending comments made on my blog and other follow up comments from other's blogs to my email id. Pretty cool eh..

So lemme ask. Have any of you guys faced this before or is it just lucky me who is The Chosen One?

PS: Most of you must be aware that Ganguly will retire at the end of the on going test match. I do have my farewell post ready for him. But don't worry. All you non-cricket-crazy people will be spared the doze of another cricket post. Only momentarily though :P :P :P

The high flyer

2008-11-04T00:03:00.003+05:30

I think I have primarily two split personalities. One, the average human being who behaves normally and follows blog etiquettes. And the other, the sports freak who at times gets too nostalgic and romantic about his favorite game. Today, the latter has taken over.

"..although I am still trying to find out how I can bowl legspin"

- Anil Kumble

They criticized him coz he could not turn the ball. He ended up taking 619 test wickets!

Yes, for the record, Kumble did not spin the ball. But with his high arm action, he extracted bounce which made batsmen dance to his tune on dusty Indian tracks. Also, Kumble had pace. (I mean his quicker delivery was faster than Prasad's slower delivery; or at times even faster than Prasad's normal delivery ;) ) Pace, which batsmen were not accusotmed to from a spinner. And most importantly, Kumble thrived on the age old philosophy of line n length. Mc'grath mastered it in pace. Kumble perfected it in spin.

When it came to Kumble, perseverance was the word. He was always probing on and around that off stump. And every now and then he used to slip in that fast straighter one. Invariably the batsman was trapped in front. The trademark Kumble dismissal. No wonder he holds the record for the most lbw dismissals. 156 to be precise!

Facts and figures apart, Kumble always gave his cent percent. He was alwasys the fighter. One relates to the word fighter and the mind immediately rushes back to Antigua 2002. A dead track. A broken jaw. A bandaged face. He walked onto the field like a gladiator marching onto a battlefield. Bowling with unbearable pain, he dismissed the Prince of Barbados.. Lara became part of a legend that will be passed on to generation after generation. If my grandchildren ever ask me to pick one cricketing instance that made me proud, it will easily be that moment.

Kumble has given so many such memories to cricket lovers like me. He has easily been India's biggest matchwinner at home. True, tracks were suited for spin bowling. But one still needed someone to go out there and do the job. Kumble did that with ease, more so of as a daily duty affair.

It has been an honour watching him play all these years. A champion cricketer. A champion person.

Adios Jumbo. A salute is all a mere mortal like me can offer.

1.. 2.. 3.. Cha-cha-cha

2008-10-17T18:55:00.003+05:30

One living legend

surpasses another.

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..and then goes on to score 50 fifties.

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..and then goes on to become the first batsman ever to score 12,000 runs in Tests.

Dear Sachin,

Thank you for all the years of blissful batsmanship. Thank you for all the sublime square cuts and the cover drives. Thank you for all the blazing back-foot cover drives. Thank you for all the upper cuts and the late cuts. Thank you for all the audacious pulls and hooks. Thank you for all the sweeps and slog sweeps. Thank you for all the innovative reverse sweeps and paddle sweeps. Thank you for all the deft flicks and nudges. And ofcourse, thank you for all the signature straight drives.

It has always been a pleasure watching you bat. And it always will be.

Yours truly,

The Cricket Lover

Kabhi aisa lagta hai

2008-10-13T07:33:00.001+05:30

I was tagged by Express and may I say that I have moved at a very slow pace to do the tag. I wonder why she asked in her post if I do tags. Yepp I do. The proof is here, here and here. In fact I love to do tag posts :)

The rules:

1. Put your music player on Shuffle mode
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer
3. Write the song name no matter what (even if the world comes to know that I keep Himesh Reshamiya songs on my PC ? :D)
4. After you've answered all of the questions, tag 5 other people and let them know they've been tagged.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Tu mere saamne, main tere saamne, tujhko dekhu ke pyaar karu.. (Yeah right!! Like I have no other job. Haan agar yeh niche waali kudi saamne ho to bindaas bolega. Baar baar bolega)

Yes. She is damn cute. Period.

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Sacrifice - Elton John

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Summer of 69 - Bryan Adams (..those really were the days)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Ik din ayega - Jal (pata nahi kab aayega woh din)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Kabhi aana tu meri gali - Euphoria (hoodi baba. Don't get me wrong. I have no malicious intentions)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Lamhay - Jal (I wonder what I would do without Jal, Strings, Junoon, Parikrama..)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Yaaron - K.K (..dosti badi hi haseen hai, yeh na ho to kya phir bolo yeh zindagi hai.. Its almost like the hindi parallel of Remembrants I'll be there for you..)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Boulevard of broken dreams - Greenday (The guitar. Ossum)

WHAT IS 2+2?
Talli ho gayi (kisi ne talli ho ke hi yeh question daala hoga)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Woh chali woh chali mere pyaar ki kali (Haha. Don't run away dude. I love you, but only as a friend, in appropriate amounts, as permitted by the law)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Rock on (..dil kya kehta hai mera kya main bataun, tum yeh samjhoge shayad main pagal hun)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Bhool bhoolaiya :)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
XL ki kudiyan - bodhiTree (What the heck!! Reminds me of Chandler's "If I were a guy..")

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Pappu can't dance saala (Yes I can beat Chandler when it comes to the dance floor)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Tokyo Drift (?!!?)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Maa tujhe salaam - A R Rahman (aur Rahman ko mera salaam)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Jame raho - Taare Zameen par (Hahahaha)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Zara zara behekta hain - RHTDM (Another one of my favorites. Such simple yet beautiful lyrics.
..yun hi baras baras kaali ghata barse,
hum yaar bheeng jaaye is chahat ki baarish mein,
meri khuli khuli lato ko suljhaye tu apni ungliyon se,
main to hun issi khwaish mein..)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Pehli nazar mein - Race

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Roobaroo - Rang de Basanti (Rahman magic again)

WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?
Kabhi aisa lagta hai - Lucky Ali (..dil mein ek raaz hai jisse kehna chahun par main keh paun na.. I love Lucky's voice.. )

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS TAG?
Jaane tu meri kya hain - Jaane tu ya jaane na

Wohkay. Now the rules ask me to tag other fellas. But I am in a fix coz this tag has been around Blogville for quite some time. So in all probability I might end up tagging someone who has already done the tag. (A thought did strike me to visit all my feed reader blogs and go through the older posts but then why enlighten the world about my joblessness ;) So if you have not done this tag, please lemme know* in the comments section.)

* If you read this post, and if you have not done the tag, and if you run away without commenting, I will come to know. I have my contacts. Muhahahah :D

Update: I have found my bakras :P :P I tag the following people:

Of likes and dislikes

2008-10-07T20:38:00.006+05:30

I do not like the taste of toothpaste.

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Especially when its green in color and says Palmolive on the cover.

..Hangovers indeed can do weird things to people

I 'm lovin it

2008-09-19T21:28:00.006+05:30

I know I have not replied to comments nor been around your blogs. I am still not back. But I simply had to had to post this.

FINALLY, I got a new one. Nokia E71. Its sleek. Its sexy. I 'm lovin it :)

Mere dost, I know you are a great fan of Sony but this has to be one of Nokia's best ever.

Mr India

2008-09-07T20:02:00.005+05:30

There is going to be a sequel to Mr. India and I am going to be playing the lead.

Bole to I am going to be playing hide n seek in Blogville. Need some time to clear my thoughts. Hope you guys understand.

Love and apologies.

PS: Rate the pic on a scale of 1 to 10. ("10 being the highest" - Does any F.R.I.E.N.D.S fan recall that one?)

Ulta pulta

2008-09-03T12:35:00.004+05:30

Is there something wrong with me or is Ranbeer actually prettier looking than Deepika? :)

PS: Blogroll updated. Hence the title.

Day 38 (i)

2008-08-24T11:48:00.005+05:30

Bengaluru, India. August 24, 2008
11:51 am

Woke up at 8. Brushed teeth. With Colgate. Went for tea. Went walking. Walked with the help of legs. Reached restaurant. Was very exhausting. Ordered tea. 7 rs. Drank tea. Nice. Came back to room. Got ready. Wore clothes. Reached office. At 11:00 am. Working. And blogging. Can't stay away from you all for long.

What!! You don't seem to be enjoying this post. Well, I just thought to try out the Big B style of blogging. With all due respect sir, please give people like me some breathing space between your posts. It takes him less time to put up a post than it takes China to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Aah.. If only there was a medal for blogging. And India would have bagged one more :D

Oh! In case you were wondering about the post title, it is also inspired from Mr. B's blog. You see the posts are numbered as Day 1,2,3,... And in case there is more than one post in a day which happens very very often, it is posted as Day x (i),(ii),(iii),...

This post has been named Day 38 since 38 is the number of days I have managed to live all alone. Roomie had gone phoreignwa and has returned today. And today happens to be his Happy Budday. So here's wishing you a very happy Happy Budday buddy.

Got to go now. For lunch. Will eat Punjabi. Roti sabji. Paneer sabji n tandoor roti.

More later,

Love

Ek jaam, dosti ke naam

2008-08-03T17:08:00.003+05:30

When it comes to my friends, who have always been there for me and with whom I have had some super memorable moments, I simply fall short of words. Sort of dumb. So let me present images of some of the best Dumb charades players of my college.

main to raste se ja raha tha
main to bhelapoori kha raha tha
main to ladaka ghuma raha tha

raste se ja raha thaa,
bhelapoori kha raha thaa,
ladaka ghuma raha thaa,
tujhako mirchi lagi to main kya karoon,
tujhako mirchi lagi to main kya karoon

ek do teen, char paanch chhe saant aath nau, dus

Aage ke song ke lyrics mujhe bhi nahi aate. Madhuri ko jaa ke punch. Mujhe nahi.

Shaan ho ja vatsa. Mujhe pata hai tera bheja fry ho raha hai. Jaa, ek Sprite pi le vatsa..

HAIN (Khichdi style). Kya kar raha hai. Thik se action kar..

Haaww! Chintu ladaka ghuma raha tha. Shiv shiv shiv..

Jab mein chhota bachha tha, badi shararat karta tha..

Hunh? What? Kya? Hmm?

Mujhe kuch samaje mein nahi aa raha. Please don't beat me..

Ab bas karo yaar. Enough of it..

All right guys. Lets wrap it up..
My life pretty much revolves around you guys. Love ya all :)

This post is dedicated to my:

school buddies, the elite members of the Shock gang.
college friends, professional dumb charade players.
blog buddies, who make my day with their blogs n comments.

Thank you all for being a part of my life. Happy friendship day :) May the fun n laughter never end. Cheers..

Dedicated music track: I'll be there for you, The Remembrants.

The Reality is beep beep beep

2008-07-28T17:47:00.001+05:30

Q. Who is the most hard working person at MTV?
a)Rannvijay
b)Raghu
c)The person with his hand on the beeper

Here's one more:

Q. Name a 4 letter word that starts with 'F', ends with 'K', and if you can't get one you can use your hands.
A. Fork

What!! You thought I was referring to 'The F word'. Of course not. I refrain from the use of such foul words on this blog. One has to maintain decency. After all, Abhishek-Aishwarya ke hone waale bachhe bhi yeh blog padhte hai :P

But seriously, I cannot digest the appetite of these Reality contestants for The F word. Do none of them have a vocabulary better than a Panchvi pass so that they don't have to resort to use The F word in every sentence. Didn't the contestants learn in their schooling grammar that there are only 3 articles in the English language. And that the usage of The F word should not be synonymous with those of articles.

And whats with all the judges in these reality shows. While some of them are trying to imitate the likes of Simon Cowell, the rest are busy fighting with each other probably trying to convince Ekkkta to cast them in her latest venture, Mahabharata. The judges of Comedy circus are the only ones that seem to be behaving on the saner side. And the show is also pretty good. Good light hearted comedy with lots of variety.

Mere favorite judge is Javed Akhtar saab. Being such an accomplished writer himself, he uses such high level language while giving feedback ke contestants ko samajh mein hi nahi aata ki taarif kar rahe hai ya vaat laga rahe hai. The bewildered look on their faces is truly priceless :D

So while on the discussion of reality shows, let me ask what has been your all time favorite reality show? Mine remains The Apprentice. Whats yours?

And before ending the post, I suggest the following title track for MTV Roadies 6.0 - the game goes alien!! I think its pretty apt :)

Doston mein baitha main sutta pi raha
Abba ne mujhe sutta peete dekh liya
Ghar jab pahuncha to danda ho gaya
B*beep* sutta, sutta na mila.
B*beep* sutta, mujhe sutta na mila.
B*beep* sutta, sutta na mila.
B*beep* sutta, mujhe sutta na mila.
B*beep* sutta, sutta na mila.

College mein gaya mujhe pyaar ho gaya,
Usne bhi mujhse mera sutta chheen liya
Sadkon pe ghooma main tanha reh gaya
B*beep* sutta, sutta na mila.
B*beep* sutta, mujhe sutta na mila.
B*beep* sutta, sutta na mila.
B*beep* sutta, mujhe sutta na mila.
B*beep* sutta, sutta na mila.

Shaadi hui main husband ban gaya
Raat bhar *beep* main *beep* *beep* *beep* gaya
Khushiyon ki khatir mera sutta chheen gaya
B*beep* sutta.

B*beep* sutta, mujhe sutta na mila.
B*beep* sutta, sutta na mila.
B*beep* sutta, mujhe sutta na mila.
B*beep* sutta, sutta na mila.

*beeeep* *beeeep*, *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep*.
*beeeep* *beeeep*, *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep*.
*beeeep* *beeeep*, *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep*.
*beeeep* *beeeep*, *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep*.

Main aisa kyon hoon

2008-07-25T20:05:00.001+05:30

Here is the Unspectacular Quirk tag:

Link the person who tagged you.
Mention the rules on your blog.
Tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs, letting them know that they have been tagged.

While I was having my cup of tea, Bhai with chai left a comment on my blog informing me that I was tagged and Trinaa who keeps things simple decided to complicate the already cluttered blogger database. Thank you both for tagging yours truly :)

I tag those:

who have not tagged me before
whom I have not tagged before
who have not already done the tag

Nidhi
Keshi
Kanan
Solitaire
Pizzadude
Think tank
(names are in ascending order of the blogger name lengths)

I cannot concentrate much in the evenings. So in school/college during exam times, I used to sleep real early, say 8 or 9 and wake up at 1 or 2 in the night. And I could not start studying before having tea, followed by taking a bath. Yes, a bath at that time in the night.

Its not an easy job being my roomie. I need to sleep with the fan on. No matter how cold it is.

I have 2 modes of shopping: On-the-spot-spontaneous-shopping and the other overly-planned-time-consuming-shopping where I will go and check out every shop in and around. The wife's not going to do much complaining I guess.

You will not find any tangled wires around me. I like to have things straight n simple.

JOEY DOESN'T SHARE FOOD!!!* I am Joey.

Thank heavens to those people who put the T9 dictionary in mobile phones. I jus dn gt d kewl sms lingo. K den. Chao til d nxt pst :)

*except with really really close ones

Yeh to gaya!

2008-07-21T20:46:00.005+05:30

Oh no!! It is very sad. But then some things happen. Not everything is in our hands. Destiny plays its role too. Fate and time took their toll on him. He has lost his senses. Nobody can help him now.

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Ram Gopal Varma wants to remake Aag!

THE adoption letter: Classic Joey

2008-07-18T21:22:00.005+05:30

Season 10. Episode 5: The One Where Rachel's Sister Babysits.
Script courtesy http://www.livesinabox.com/friends/

Monica: Hey Rach, the adoption agency needs letters of recommendation and we were wondering if you would write one for us.

Rachel: Of course, I'd be honored!

Chandler: Thanks!

Monica: Thank you!

(Joey looks at them, disappointed about their decision)

Joey: U-U-Um, I think there's been an oversight.

Chandler: Joey, we would've asked you, we just thought you wouldn't be interested.

Monica: Yeah, it's just we don't think of you as really being so much "with the words".

Joey: Whoo-weh hey weh-hey whoo hey!!

Monica: Clearly we were wrong.

Joey: I gotta a lot of nice stuff to say about you guys, ok? And I know how much you wanna have a baby, you know, and I would love to help you get one.

Monica: You know what? Then, Joey, we want you to do it.

Joey: Thank you! Alright, let me see how I'm gonna start... "Dear baby adoption decider people..."

Chandler: So excited about your letter!

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Ross: What... what you working on?

Joey: (using a laptop) Oh, Monica and Chandler's recommendation. I want it to sound smart but.. I don't know any big words or anything, so...

Ross: Why don't you use your Thesaurus?

Joey: What did I just say?

Ross: Watch. (he takes the laptop) Here, you ehm... You highlight the word you want to change.
Go under Tools and the Thesaurus generates... 'gives'... 'gives' a whole list of choices. You can pick the word that sounds smartest.

Joey: Oh my God, that's great! I'm smart!! No, no, I'm... (he uses the Thesaurus) "brainy, bright, clever", I love this thing! Look out ladies, Joey Tribbiani's got the whole package!!

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Joey: Hey, finished my recommendation. (he hands it over to Chandler) Here. And I think you’ll be very, very happy. It’s the longest I ever spent on a computer without looking at porn.

Chandler: (reading) I don’t... uh... understand.

Joey: (sounding very proud of himself) Some of the words are a little too sophisticated for ya?

Monica: (also reading it) It doesn’t make any sense.

Joey: Of course it does! It’s smart! I used the the-saurus!

Chandler: On every word?

Joey: Yep!

Monica: Alright, what was this sentence originally? (shows the sentence to Joey)

Joey: Oh, ‘They are warm, nice, people with big hearts’.

Chandler: And that became ‘they are humid prepossessing Homo Sapiens with full sized aortic pumps...?

Joey: Yeah, yeah and hey, I really mean it, dude.

Monica: Hey Joey, I don’t think we can use this.

Joey: Why not?

Monica: Well, because you signed it baby kangaroo Tribbiani (Joey makes a 'and-what’s-wrong-with-that' look). Hey, why don’t you stop worrying about sounding smart and just be yourself!

Chandler: You know what? You don’t need a thesaurus, just write from here, (points at his own heart) your full sized aortic pump.

What to do?

2008-07-16T10:09:00.005+05:30

What do you do when you feel all choked up? What do you do when there is enough air but you cannot breathe. What do you do when there are people around but you don't feel anybody's presence? What do you do when jokes fail to make you laugh? What do you do when tears abandon you? What do you do when you feel caught in vacuum? What do you do?

Symonds the cutest

2008-07-14T14:15:00.001+05:30

Some days back, I saw the movie 10,000 BC. It was an ok-types timepass movie. All the actors had scary makeup though, trying to generate a feel of the pre-historic era. There was this young boy who seemed like a look alike of Andrew Symonds. And apparently, he looked the cutest.

That is Andrew Symonds. So you can imagine how scary the others would have looked :D

Stay safe

2008-07-11T17:41:00.004+05:30

I live in Bangalore. We all employees received the following mail few minutes back:

Dear all,

We have just received information that there are communal disturbances in the city. As a precautionary measure, you are requested to leave the office immediately.

In case there is any emergency work, the same can be rescheduled.

So all you out there who happen to be reading this and are in Bangalore, please stay safe. Also pass on the message to friends/family.

New life mantra

2008-07-11T16:23:00.002+05:30

For quite some time, my life mantra was: LIVE life, don't analyze it.

But I observed and analyzed(thats where the mantra is nullified) that I was not able to follow it. So I have come up with a newer, easier life mantra:

"Learn to laugh at yourself; and the world cannot make fun of you."

And the best side effect of following this mantra is that one can never run short of laughter. And, laughter is the best medicine :D

Title ko maar goli

2008-07-06T19:27:00.018+05:30

I picked up this tag from Solitaire. The rules of the tag are:

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Use only the first page of results, and pick one image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

Now while using Flickr, some funny pics came up. So I will first put up the funnier ones. The actual mosaic image is towards the end of the post.

1. What is your first name?

Apparently lots of weird images came up when I searched for my name. Some censorable ones too popped up :D

2. What is your favorite food? right now?

THATS my favorite food?!! No wonder I am number 1 on the Hit list of the PETA campaigners !

3. What high school did you go to?

Oh yes, that was my high school. I was in Griffyndoor. And also the Seeker, captain of the Quidditch team

4. What is your favorite color?

Note: There's nothing funny about this pic.

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

Maybe, the ship's full of hot chicks :D

6. What is your favorite drink?

Some beautifool fools for a fool like me...

7. What is your dream vacation?

Most men would pay anything for this kind of a vacation ;)

8. What is your favorite dessert?

Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahin, na munkin hai. Those are police vans in the pic.

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?

How did the Flickr people know that Playboy is my favorite magazine!! :D

10. What do you love most in life?

No ways. I am neither a workaholic nor so tech savvy...

11. What is one word that describes you?

Maybe, its got something to do with the saying 'Men are dogs'

12. What is your user name?

I would love to know what those gals are upto :D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's the actual mosaic with more appropriate pics. Feel free to clarify any answers. And also feel free to take up the tag.

2008-06-25T20:51:00.004+05:30

The post was supposed to come up at 12:00 am IST but close proximity to the PM has been the cause of the delay.

A picture is worth a thousand words..

Happy birthday bestie :) ..cheers ..3 of 'em

Elephanta island, Elephanta caves

2008-06-21T19:28:00.004+05:30

During my last trip home/Mumbai, I visited Elephanta caves. The trip started from the Gateway of India, from where we took a ferry.

Parde mein rehne do, parda na uthao...

One can see curtain like things hanging down on the right side of the Gateway of India. Thats coz renovation work was going on.

The 3rd from right was our ferry

Parking lot! There were other lots of ferries awaiting their turns

There were other cool n fancy James Bond-type boats too

October 12, 1492 was when Columbus discovered Amrica. This is the photo of the ship he sailed on. Yes, I am serious. See, it even has the name Columbus written on it(enlarge the pic). What more proof do you want :D

We came across this really huge ship. It had a No Smoking sign on the deck. Dunno why..

The side view of the huge ship

It took us about 30-40 minutes to reach the Elephanta island. A drop-point has been made for the ferry. Its a 10 min walk from the drop-point to the main island area. Or if someone is too lazy or acting too sissy like me coz of the sun, one can take the toy-train.

This toy train was also used in the Bollywood flick 'One Two Three' (Advisable not to watch the movie if you have not heard of it. Somethings are better left unseen :) )

This is where the main island area starts. Quite a few stalls for snacks, cold drinks were there.

This is the photo with appropriate explanations. Enlarge the pic for better understanding.

We had to climb a lot of steep steps to reach the caves. On the way, we saw some of these creatures:

I don't know what these birds are

A chweet lil baby monkey wrapped by her not-so-chweet mother monkey

A few more monkeys

Another monkey doing some monkeygiri

Inside the Elephanta caves

Phoreigner taking photus

Carvings inside the caves. Quite a few were broken

More carvings

A grand sculpture

A pic with mom-dad in front of the sculpture. Pretty huge.

There are about 5 caves on the island. Following are pics of other caves

The mouth of the cave

Inside the cave.

Me, posing in front of one of the caves

Find me if you can!

We were really exhausted after all the cave-seeing in the scorching heat. We decided to eat at the MTDC restaurant on the island. The food was very ok-types. Dosas seemed the safest bet. Mom was a little disappointed that I had to eat dosa-idlis there too. coz I eat it almost everyday in namma Bengaluru.

The view from the hotel was lovely.

On our way back, we saw boats lined in a row.

Notice the different flags on the boats.

That was one huge ship!

The Gateway and the Taj hotel

Me, the Gateway and the Taj hotel

Back to safer lands. Thats the Tendulkar's on the right side in the pic. Gotta dine there the next time I go to Mumbai.

PS: Formatting this post was real irritating.

Kutte!

2008-06-16T16:14:00.003+05:30

Dharmendar paaji used to say to the Bollywood goons 'Kutte! kamine! main tera khoon pi jaaunga'

Well, some of the poplulace of the fairer sex seems to have taken that reference to men quite literally. coz every now and then, one reads/hears statements like 'All men are dogs!'

Maybe, maybe they are dogs.. Err, I mean we are dogs. But then the thing to remember is that even dogs are of different breeds.

Dogs are not all the same. The same goes with men.

Period.

And, after all, dogs are probably one of the most loyal, faithful creatures ;)

2008-06-15T18:13:00.003+05:30

Got an email having the following pic of the Gateway of India:

Truly a sight to be in awe of!! I am assuming the pic would have been taken from the Taj hotel that is opposite to the Gateway.

Kaali waali Black dal

2008-06-14T20:18:00.005+05:30

Yesterday night, I want to take dinner at Min Mini Punjabi Dhaba. Now it is no fancy 5 star restaurant where Kareena n Saif might be spotted cuddling in a corner. Haan, Kareena ke ghar pe kaam karte Ramu kaka ke banaras ki mausi ka beta shayad dikh jaye.

To as we entered the dhaba, I could see printouts stuck all over the walls saying 'Deviced rates'. Now if it would have said 'Reviced rates' I might have understood that the library collection of the dhaba owner was lacking the 'Wren and Martin'. But yeh deviced rate kya hua. Did he mean that since the printouts were an output of the printer, which is a device, an electronic device, the rates are deviced rates?

As we occupied a table, a duplicate of Keshto Mukherjee came and handed us the menu. And before allowing us to have a look at the menu he started saying 'Aloo gobi, rajma, baingan bharta, yellow dal, black dal'. He kept on saying it again and again until we had to frantically gesture to him to stop his nonstop rajdhani. Now I am no Sanjeev Kapoor so I wanted to know the ingredients of this black dal.

Me: Boss, yeh black dal mein dal kaunsi aayegi
*pause*
He: kaali waali.

It was one of those you-had-to-be-there moments. People on all tables were in splits. The kind of loud, uncontrolled, non-stop laughter.

After placing the order, we scanned the menu which had a lot more items than the 5 which the Keshto Mukherjee duplicate was parotting. We had even more laughs. Menu mein English ka bhai-baap ek kar diya tha.

Shayad aisi chotti chotti baaton mein hi zindagi ka asli mazza hai. These are moments that one will not get in a 5 istar restaurant. 5 istar mein to one finds highly fancy names in the menu card jo shayad Queen Elizabeth ke bhi palle na pade. aur saala bill dekhke to vaat lagti hai. wallet hava ke maafik halka ho jaata hai.

apun ko halka hoke udna nahi hai. coz I am a very down to earth person. to Mr Keshto Mukherjee duplicate, yeh main aaya.. aaj black dal mein kaunsi dal daalne waale hai tu?

Mera pehla pehla tag

2008-06-13T18:03:00.001+05:30

The rules of the tag:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge the person who tagged you.

The books that could not be:
My eyes fell upon 'The one minute manager' that was lying on my office desk. But alas. The authors of the book did not have enough thoughts to show-off with more than a 123 pages. Looks like the tag isn't as simple as it seems.

So then I decided to try out my luck with the stack of Playboys lying in my drawer. Considering the fact that I was supposed to pick up the nearest book, I popped the issue that was lying on the top of the stack. Basically, that is how the concept of stack works. You push things on the top and you pop things from the top. It is called LIFO - Last In First Out. All right, enough of digression. Lets get back on track. I opened the issue and realized the irony. I was supposed to pick sentences form the book. How would I get sentences in Playboy. It certainly would not be so popular if they started putting sentences in it. The only writing one can find is in the form of tattoos on the bodies of all the you-know-who*.

(The tip:
This world is all about acting smart. You see I strategically keep books like 'The one minute manager' and others on my office desk to impress people. The real stuff lies safely locked in my drawer.)

So then what to do. Hmm. Aha! Dimaag ki batti jal gayi! Apun ki company mein library hain jahan pe kitaabein hoti hai. I found this the nearest in the library:

I had read this one a year or so back and remains one of the most worthwhile reads. I opened page 123.

The 5th sentence:
Then along came the triple convergence.

The 3 sentences that follow:
The Berlin Wall came down, the Berlin mall opened up, and suddenly some 3 billion people who had been behind walls walked onto the flattened global piazza.
Here's what happened in round numbers: According to a November 2004 study by Harvard University economist Richard B. Freeman, in 1985 "the global economic world" comprised North America, Western Europe, Japan, as well as chunks of Latin America, Africa, and the countries of East Asia.
The total population of this global economic world, taking part in international trade and commerce, said Freeman, was about 2.5 billion people.

The tagger acknowledged:
stupiodaur, I acknowledge you.

The tagees tagged:
sanchit
adee
Thomas L Friedman - the author of The World Is Flat
Ken Blanchard - author of The One Minute Manager
Spencer Johnson - author of The One Minute Manager
Pamela Anderson - owing to her association with Playboy
Anybody who has a book nearby

(Other people/reptiles whom I might have tagged have already been tagged.)

* I assume all HP** fans would have thought of Lord Voldemort. Innocent gentlemen like me would have happily imagined the correct things :D And the same innocent gentleman would have been a bit disappointed when after uploading the image of 'The one minute manager', I did not follow it up with those of the mentioned magazine.
** I assume all techies would have thought of Hewlett Packard.

public IPL getIplThoughts(Cheer cheerleasers)-II

2008-06-12T11:48:00.001+05:30

The title has been named so to maintain uniformity with this one. The IPL has ended. So here go some more random thoughts about it:

First of all, lets get some cello tape to stick on to Krisnamachari Srikkanth's mouth. The guy speaks way toooo much. He could have easily played Kareena in Jab We Mate.

Aamir Sohail, STILL, as a commentator, sucks bigtime.

It literally hurts to see anyone other than Harsha present the pre/post-match analysis. Charu Sharma standards (of course without Mandira) would be acceptable, but definitely not these Sprite, Close-up type dudes and dudesses. As the Sprite punch line goes, 'seedhi baat, no bakwaas, clear hai!'; this bande bandiyan have a total clear dimaag and all they do is 'no baat, seedhi bakwaas'.

A captain is as good as his team. But there are some exceptions. After being highly unsuccessful during his career as a bowler on the pitches of India, Warne brilliantly led the underdogs to a championship win.

Pee Pee*, as they call him, is the most annoying batsman to watch. The 4 footer toddler can hardly life the bat before the ball arrives.

The catching in the tournament was appalling. Even Geoffrey's mom could have fared better.

So goes with the umpiring.

I was glad that neither Shah rukh's nor Priety's team won. I could not tolerate the sight of those two on a cricket field.

Mr. Vijay Mallya, if you happen to be reading this, I would like to let you know that my grandfather would like to play for your team the next season. If you can pick Sunil Joshi, then I think my grandpa too should be no problem.

*Pee Pee stands for Parthiv Patel.

buon compleanno

2008-06-10T00:00:00.004+05:30

Happy budday dudey.

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May you get lots of hugs from

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and lots of kisses from

Demolition at Roland Garros

2008-06-09T08:39:00.004+05:30

6-1 6-3 6-0. Four successive French open titles. At an age of 22. Rafa truly is the champion of clay. And at 6'1", he really does stand tall between Federer and the French open title. Federer will now await his turn to show his dominance later this month. At the greener pastures.

Dedicated to this blog-I

2008-06-05T11:14:00.004+05:30

I believe my relation with this blog has grown deep enough to the level that I dedicate a something to it. So today I dedicate a joke to this blog, which is in sync with the blog title and header. The joke goes like this:

Me (to everyone who happens to read this): Zindagi ka safar bada lamba hai. Aao, saath mil kar chalte hai. Kuch tum chalo, kuch hum chale. Phir,................ rickshaw kar lenge :D

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Haan, duniya ki saari gaaliya de di ho, to ab ek smile bhi de do mamu. Hans do mamu. Hanse ne ke paihe nahi lagte. Koi Qute si kudi yeh same PJ forward karti to hanste na. Reply bhi karte na. To comment kar ke do chaar gaali hi de do.

Carrom ramvanu, juice pivanu, majja ni life.
(Solitaire ramvanu, coffee pivani, majja ni life.)

PeeA$$: To all Qute si kudis, feminists and Qute si feminist kudis, do not label me as an MCP due to my usage of 'mamu'. Its just that I am not used to writing in a nonsexist language. So you also feel free to leave Qute si comments.

PeePeeA$$: To those who land here through Google search for the word 'sex', sorry to disappoint you.

The 3 mistakes of my weekend

2008-06-04T10:05:00.003+05:30

Mistake #1: Spent 95 bucks and bought the book.

Mistake #2: Continued reading the book even after the first 100 pages.

Mistake #3: Finished the entire book.

5 point someone was good fun to read, One night @ a call centre failed to impress, and this one has disappointed.

Survival of the fittest

2008-05-29T12:21:00.001+05:30

On the 21st, I completed walking one more mile..

Darwin said that its all about survival. Well, I have survived. So I take out some time to thank all those people who helped me survive one more year.

Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher: In good times, in bad times, in winters, in monsoon, din ho ya raat, it would not have been possible without it. Aakhir, Hach2Yo to sabhi ko chaiye na - Kingfisher packaged premium drinking water.

Nestle, for Maggi noodles: Our Bollywood says 'roti, kapda aur makaan'. I, as a bachelor say, maggi, laptop aur cyber cafe. (Please don't imagine any relation between 'kapda' and laptop. I do not belong to the Adam-Eve era wherein they covered only the essential body parts.) Its said that God could not be everywhere so he made mother. Nestle people went a step further. Mother also cannot be everywhere. So they made Maggi. Jahan 'ma' nahin hoti, wahan 'ma'ggi hoti hai.

The 5'4" Pizza hut delivery boy: The delivery boy who delivers yummilicious pizzas for me. Na toofan se darta hai, na kadakti baarish se, hamesha time pe delivery karta hai. Pizza delivery re. Aur koi type ki delivery nahi.

Parle-G biscuits: When Bangalore experiences power cuts at the slightest hint of rains(forcing me to cancel the option of Maggi; consequences of a bachelor cooking in the dark can be hazardous), when a poor software engineer like me does not have enough money in his wallet to order a pizza, it is the old n trusted Parle-G that comes to rescue.

..also I would like to mentin a quick thanks to the Iron man who gave me clean, neat, pressed clothes during the year.. and also to the maid-servant who served up the duoble purpose of morning wake up bells and keeping my house dirt free.. these 2 people have also helped me learn the sign language. Both are Rajni boss' fans and insist on using only Tamil.

Just the day before the happy birthday day, my friend asked me:

Friend: kitne saal ka hoga?

Me: 22

Friend: achha, tu 86 mein born hua tha..

Me: nahi re, 85..

Friend: to 22 ka kaise hua, 23 hua na..

I started wondering. I really did not realize I was turning 23. It seemed as if I had missed out on a year of life. Probably zindagi ki gaadi 2 pahiyon pe chal rahi thi. Maybe I was driving with the handbrakes on. Maybe I should switch on to a two-wheeler for some time, to lessen the load..

Balle balle:

2 pahiyon aur two-wheeler se ek mast song yaad aaya:

Chandi ki cycle, sone(gold) ki seat, aao chale darling, chale double seat..

chandi ki cycle, sone(gold) ki seat, aao chale darling, chale double seat..

Any guesses for the actor... Yo, it is Govinda. Kya kya lyrics likhte hai yaar.

2008-05-28T12:36:00.001+05:30

Fingers crossed.. I hope I get THE call..

Height of compliment

2008-05-17T21:02:00.003+05:30

..aapki taarif ke liye mere paas lafz nahi hai

From the writer, the lyricist, Javed Akhtar himself on the show Ustaadon Ke Ustaad.

The one with Rachel's inadvertent kiss

2008-05-15T09:34:00.005+05:30

Its really amazing how many thoughts can spawn from the human mind. At times, I wish there was a simple switch to turn them off. But I can't. And I better not put my thoughts into words coz they are not good thoughts. So, like this one, I will just write one of my favorite conversations from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Season 5.

Rachel: Well, I have a job interview at Ralph Lauren tomorrow!

Rachel: Anyway, I'm going to be the coordinator of the woman's collection, I'll work right under the director, it's the perfect, perfect job for me!

Phoebe: Wow! Well, if you nail the interview, you'll get it!

Rachel: Yeah.

Phoebe: You wanna work on your interview skills?

Rachel: O-okay!

Phoebe: Okay! All right, let's start with the handshake. Hi.

Rachel: Hi.

(They shake hands.)

Phoebe: Very good handshake, good wrist action.

Monica: Let me try.

Phoebe: Okay. (They shake hands. Expression of pain on Phoebe's face) Oh my God! What did I ever do to you?!

Monica: Did I squeeze it too hard?

Phoebe: Let's just say, I'm glad I'm not Chandler.

180 degrees

2008-05-14T09:39:00.006+05:30

I vividly remember that day, that moment. It was a jam packed Eden Gardens, the mecca of cricket. Rahul Dravid was well set, batting with ease. The man they call the Rawalpindi Express was handed the ball. Its said that the yorker is one of the most lethal weapons. Especially when you can reverse swing it. And especially when its at 150ks an hour. Dravid's defenses were shattered, and one heard that sweet sound of leather hitting wood. So, out walked The Wall. And in walked the little master, to a roaring welcome. This was going to be Sachin's first encounter with Shoaib. Charging came he. The ball came out of his hands, swung back in from outside off, and knocked Sachin's middle stump out of the ground. The crowd was stunned to silence. Eden Gardens, the nosiest of cricket grounds, went into mourning.

Yesterday, it was the same Shoaib. Once again at the same Eden Gardens. But yesterday, when he knocked Sehwag and Gambhir, the crowd went berserk. They were cheering him on. Getting behind him. Somehow, I felt strange.. Very strange.. Life makes one witness many strange things.. Maybe life has come a half circle in this case.. 180 degrees.

Balle balle: At a restaurant - If you have any valuable suggestions tell us, it will help us, to serve your better.
*No thanks. And any attempt whatsoever be strictly/legally dealt with.*

Main kabhi batlata nahin

2008-05-07T10:33:00.006+05:30

Main aur meri tanhayee.. Its funny that when you are all alone (and I don't mean this in the senti way, just the literally Oxford type usage of the word), time moves at a snail's pace. Even Twenty20 matches seem to take longer than Test matches. No amount of F.R.I.E.N.D.S watching comes of any help. So with nothing interesting enough to pursue, every night I take my ipod and go for long solitary walks. I did the same yesterday. After leaving home at sharp 10 pm, I went out and walked 3 circles of radius approx 1.7 kms round my house. As fatigue started to creep in, I decided to sit for a while before heading home.

So, as I was sitting there trying to visually comfort the worried street dogs that I had no intentions of kidnapping their puppies, 'Luka chupi' from RDB started playing on the ipod. Lately I have been paying close attention to the lyrics of songs. As the song ended, I tried to get up but could not. There was a sense of heaviness captivating me. I sat there, frozen. The song kept on playing in a loop till the battery of the ipod gave away. As I was sitting there motionless, still playing the song in my head, I felt someone placing a hand on my shoulder. I quickly turned around hoping to see her. But alas, it had to be the night watchman requesting me to leave the premises since it was over 1 in the night.

So, below are the lyrics of the song. The mood of the song will be even more appreciated by people who live thousands of kms away from their mom and who meet her on a quarterly basis. Lataji's voice, combined with Rahman's music, touches the heart. (I have bracketed the parts of the song which are sung by Rahman)

Luka Chuppi bahut huyi saamne aa ja naa
Kahan kahan dhoondha tujhe
thak gayi hai ab teri maa

Aaja saanjh hui mujhe teri fikar
Dhundhla gayi dekh meri nazar aa ja na (2)

(Kya bataoon maa kahan hoon main
Yahan udney ko mere khula aasmaan hai
Tere kisson jaisa bhola salona
jahan hain yahan sapno vala
Meri patang ho befikar udd rahi hai maa
Dor koi loote nahin beech se kaate na)

Aaja saanjh hui mujhe teri fikar
Dhundhla gayi dekh meri nazar aa ja na

Teri raah takey aankhiyaan
jaane kaisa kaisa hoye jiyaa (2)

Dhire dhire aangan utre andhera, mera deep kahan
Dhalke suraj kare ishara chanda tu hai kahan
Mere chanda tu hai kahan
Luka Chuppi bahut huyi saamne aa ja naa
Kahan kahan dhoondha tujhe thak gayi hai ab teri maa

Aaja saanjh hui mujhe teri fikar
Dhundhla gayi dekh meri nazar aa ja na (2)

(kaise tujhko dikhaun yahaan hai kya
Maine jharne se paani maa tod ke piya hai
Guchcha guchcha kai khwabon ka uchal ke chuwa hai
Chaaya liye bhali dhoop yahaan hai
Naya naya sa hai roop yahan
Yahaan sab kuch hai maa phir bhi
lage bin tere mujhko akela)

As I was about to leave, my eyes fell upon a board placed outside a store. It was of a clothing company and the shop had not opened yet. It managed to bring a momentary smile onto my face. This is what the board said in big bold letters:

fcuk
in progress

Miss Under Standing

2008-05-02T18:51:00.003+05:30

At some point of time, all of us would have been told that written communication is the best form of communication. All other forms of communication, especially verbal, can lead to a lot of misunderstanding. So yesterday(why should Labour day be a holiday. Shouldn't people be working even harder on a "Labour" day.) as I was lazing around, I decided to go for a hair cut. So as I entered the saloon and sat on a vacant chair, the barber looked at me, waiting for instructions if any. I looked into his eyes and commanded in broken english - Medium, NOT SHORT.

But alas, the person who was operating on me interpreted it as 'MEDIUM NOT, short.' The rest is history. Some of the reactions I got when I came to office today morning:

XYZ : Oyye, tu Tirupati kab gaya tha!
Me : *beep beep*

Another XYZ : *looks at my hair. Oops, I mean looks at my skull; hair kaise dekhega. Kuch bacha ho to na* Ha ha ha. Ha ha ha. *He just kept on laughing.*

A group of XYZ girls as I was passing by : *giggle giggle. some discussion. more giggles*

A group of XYZ guys as I was passing by : *hands pointing in my direction. some discussion. roaring laughter.*

I guess this will go on for some days. When I went out for lunch, as I was walking on the road, two bikers who had just bought all the available dvds of Dhoom and Dhoom2 decided to have some fun with my life and test my reflexes. All I can say is baal baal bacha.

public IPL getIplThoughts(Cheer cheerleaders)

2008-04-30T16:52:00.005+05:30

Don't bother yourself with the title. We engineers have a habit of acting all geeky n nerdy at times. I just wanted to pen down some random thoughts about the IPL so far. A little following of the IPL matches might prove in handy for a further read.

I guess that Bangalore and Hyderabad must be the hottest places in India. Atleast thats what the costume of their cheerleaders suggests. I am planning to go see it. Don't want to miss such an opportunity. HEY, I meant the match! This is the only match left in Bangalore that falls on a Saturday.

Call me a purist, but for me, Dravid's straight drive of Kulkarni was the shot of the tourament. Only one man could have matched it. And, Yuvi pulled off the catch of the tournament.

Somehow the idea of guy cheerleaders freaks me out; just like Ross is freaked out by the thought of a male Nanny n Chandler by the thought of a male nurse.

Aamir Sohail, as a commentator, sucks bigtime.

I could not stop laughing when Rahul Dravid n Wasim Jaffer decided to open the innings of a Twenty20 match when their side had to chase 222. Poor Mallya.

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth would have made sure that the Kings XI Punjab came last in the Fair Play Award if Bhajji had not come to his rescue.

I just realized the irony: the ever so agreesive Sreesanth's name begins with the word 'Shant'

I was rolling on the floor laughing when, after Chennai's 4th consecutive victory, Zrikkanth started singing 'Chennai chennai Zuper king, chennai chennai Zuper king'. It was abZZZolutely hillarious.

In terms of whats-right-and-whats-wrong, I don't think cheerleaders should be allowed onto a cricket field. Its supposed to be a family game after all.

Its sad that Wizard of Oz never got to be captain of Australia. I believe he has one of the smartest cricketing brains.

I am eagerly waiting to see the 2 greats - Jayasuriya and Sachin walk side by side and open the batting.

Eureka !

2008-04-30T09:06:00.006+05:30

Eureka! I rediscovered gravity.

Newton saw the apple fall. Well, I saw the entire tree fall. It rained last night in Bangalore. And it rained lions n tigers. The thunder, the lightning, the sheer volume of the rains. It was scary. So damn scary that if Gabbar would have been around, he would have hidden in his mommy ka pallu and started singing 'Main kabhi batlata nahin'.

So as most of India is sweating to the heat of the summer, Bengalurueans are being hailstoned. I remember the scene in Hum Tum where Saif says 'January mein baarish'. Yaar, idhar to saala har mahine mein baarish hoti hai. Kaash Newton zinda hota. He would have been able to see so many falling rain drops.

Eureka eureka,
Of football and Kaka,
Of F1 and Mika,
Eureka eureka,
I want to have a pizza paprika,
I want to fire a bazooka,
Eureka eureka.

Plz don't start aiming any bazookas at me. coz, when did Shakespeare say that poetry should make sense :)

Dracula

2008-04-26T13:21:00.004+05:30

I unlocked the door of my house and was taken aback by the number of mosquitoes swarming inside. And by 'number', I dont mean a few here n there which would prompt a girl to say 'Ouch, kitne machhar kaat rahe hai' and the boyfriend to reply 'thats coz u r so sweet jaan'. They were in a 'number' enough to freak out even Andrew Symonds. (Thats the first name that came to my mind.) So, scared as hell, I took off and rushed to the nearest shop.

Me : Boss, mosquitoes ke liye sab se effective kya hai?
Shopkeeper : Sir, Hit.
Me: : Ok, give me one Hit then.

*I take out my wallet to give the money.*

Shopkeeper : Brush chaiye?
Me : ?? Kya
Shopkeeper : Brush
Me : Kaisa brush!!?
Shopkeeper : Toothbrush
Me : !!! :( :(

Good to see total strangers so worried about my teeth condition. Good to see that there is still some goodness left in the world. Par sambhal ke uncle, zyaada bola to battissi tod dunga :D

Cometh the man, cometh the hour

2008-04-24T08:42:00.005+05:30

The saying is supposed to be the other way around. But then there are some men who dictate the way history books are written. Men who scale heights which the ordianry mind cannot even fathom. Men who leave a mark of their own. Men, without whose acknowledgement, even time cannot tick.

Today, India's favorite son turns 35. Cricket in India is what it is today because of this one man. It may loose its religion status in the decades to come; people may stop following it; people may stop talking about cricket; but this man will reside in the head n heart of every cricket lover as long as there is air n water on earth.

It has always been a pleasure watching him bat.. Cheers.. to the living legend..

Lesson learnt

2008-04-21T17:49:00.003+05:30

Its true how life teaches you a lot of lessons. Some pleasant, some harsh. Some small, some big. But all, worth remembering.

So yesterday eve, just as the sun was about to set, I head for home. Grab a glass of masala chai on the way. Aah, how lovely it tasted. Reach home, slump in front of the tv. The match between Mumbai Bangalore is about to start. Order a couple of pizzas - American Heat n Tandoori Paneer to be precise.

The pizza delivery boy rings the bell in less than half an hour's time. The pizzas look yummy and colorful with all the olives, babycorn, paneer, jalapenos, green chillies. For seasonings, sprinkle some pepper, oregano, red chilli powder. Open the bottle of Thums Up. Look up at the tv screen.
Zaheer bowls to Jayasuriya. The ball nips back into him and hits him on the pad. The batsmen decide to sneak a single. Zaheer charges in towards the ball, picks it up, turns, aims towards the non-striker's end, and lets go off the ball. Brilliant. Bang on target! Jayasuriya is caught short off the line. One of the saddest ways of getting out. Tears start rolling down my eyes. And also, Jayasuriya is a great player. More tears. He starts his walk back to the pavilion. But I can't watch it. Eyes all blood red, tears still rolling down as if gates to some dam reservoir have been opened.. Jayasuriya reaches his teammates and takes a seat, obviously dejected. The tears continue. Why god why! why did this happen. I guess its all my fault. I should not get so much involved. The tears are unstoppable.

Lesson learnt: Never take your fingers anywhere near your eyes after you have used red chilli powder.

Morning musings

2008-04-18T07:37:00.002+05:30

I am going to leave office early today. At 6:30. Don't you worry, I am not going to bother the reader about my entire day schedule, and when I plan to have lunch, and what I had in breakfast. (I had Idli-sambhar n rice pongal by the way :) ) The reason I will be leaving early is that my roomie is leaving Bengaluru. So gotta see him off. (I doubt whether that is correct usage) Come to think of it, I cannot recall the last time I left office before - jab ghadi ki chhoti sui west mein point karti hai aur ghadi ki lambi sui north mein point karti hai. Goegraphy happened to be one of my favorite subjects in school. To uska asar to rahega hi na.

And recently I have been bitten by the work bug. To main subah subah kuch zyaada hi jaldi tapak padta hun office mein - jab ghadi ki chhoti sui south-west mein point karti hai aur ghadi ki lambi sui south mein point karti hai. Arre, ek baar bola na geography was my favorite. I have been getting the feeling that I don't live in Bangalore. coz this Bangalore is supposed to have very bad traffic and thats why the Unlock Bangalore campaign has been started. But due to my wierd office-going-comingBack-timings, I don't see any vehicles on road. The roads all seem like expressways to me.

Now this schedule has had a big impact on one of my addictions - television. So much that I am using the word television and not TV! There was a time when I used to eat, drink, sleep tv. bole to mere ghar mein it used to be switched on while I was watching it, while I was eating, while I was studying, while I was sleeping.. I used to watch it even when there was nothing worthwhile coming on it. Thats how I started watching golf. If you think Test Matches are boring, you need to watch guys walking miles n miles, halting every now n then, doing some samba dance as they position themselves, frantically trying to figure out the wind directions and the slope of the ground, and when they get bored with these things, thankfully hitting the ball.
And, I had even started following Oprah! Now thats HUGE for a guy. As huge as a gal knowing who is Mpumelelo Mbangwa. Not what. Who.

Its true that getting rid of an addiction like this is good, but things have shifted to the other extreme now. So much that recently I found it very strange when I grabbed the 6 inch long 2 inch wide remote. I had to actually surf through all the channels to find Espn Star. I had forgotten that something wonderful called Star World also exists. Its been months since I watched a Friends episode, or watched a movie on Star movies, or simply ogled at Ftv. Entire cricket serieses (my plural for series) have started and gotten over under my umbrella of ignorance. Itna ignorance that a couple of days back, I asked in public 'Yeh ICL kab shuru hone wala hai?' Luckily, everybody thought I was asking about IPL. Which, due to that same stupid question ki meherbani, I know is starting today.

And according to inside information, I have come to know that SRK is going to be the 12th man. He has decided not to let go of any opportunity to display himself. He originally wanted to be the umpire, but in the practice sessions, he was raising a lot of unnecessary fingers instead of just one (due to his 'Kya aap panchvi claas se tez hai' and Krazzy 4 shoots).

Sweeney (razor) Todd

2008-04-16T07:25:00.002+05:30

I haven't written a post for quite some days. Not that I am not in a mood to pen down my thoughts; I have started on some posts but they have only ended up as drafts. But then last night, things changed. Something happened. Something terrible... I watched Sweeney Todd.

Now this is a movie which stars our charismatic Johnny Depp. The plot goes on something like this: After years in exile for a crime he didn't commit, Sweeney Todd, returns to London to find his wife dead and his daughter in the hands of an evil Judge. In his anger, Sweeney goes on a murderous rampage on all London; opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims in with a charming smile before casually ending their life with a flick of his razor across their neck.

Pay close attention to the last sentence. Coz thats all that happens in the movie. Now what I have not told you till now is that there are no dialogues in the movie. Almost literally. No exaggeration. Coz whenever any character has to speak any damn thing, they start flexing their vocal cords and start singing. Opera type singing. Now it is fine when you do the opera thing once in a while, like in DCH, but not everytime someone has to say something. Everybody starts singing when the hero makes entry, they sing when the heroine makes entry, sing when they go into flashback, sing when they are in the present, sing when they go in the future, sing when the villian makes entry, and sing even when a street dog makes entry.. So you pretty much get the idea what I mean.

Now I know that the movie is supposed to be like a musical, and the costumes, make up, art direction are all worth applauding, but sitting through the movie seemed like a test of human tolerance levels. I could not see the poor villian showcasing his evilness by singing melodiously. Just imagine Gabbar Singh asking 'Kitne aadmi the' and 'Ab tera kya hoga kalia' by singing in the tune of 'Piyu bole piya bole'.

And as per me, this is how actually the plot of the movie is:
Sing. Sweeney enters London. Sing. Opens barber shop. Sing. Lure customers. Sing. Sharpen razor. Sing. Apply shaving cream. Sing. Start shaving. Sing. Use razor to kill them. Sing.

Dead Man's Chest

2008-04-01T10:19:00.001+05:30

In the Pirates of the Caribbean, the Dead Man's Chest contains the beating heart of Davy Jones, with which one can rule the earth. The chest contains the most valuable object.
This post here will contain my most treasured pics.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With some friends, you dont need to "catch up" on things. Even when you meet after a long time, it does not seem that long. You just seem to carry on from where you left.

From R to L: Kaks, Shrads, Sam, Me, Vids

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was the first pic in the post.

Kashid beach.. a lovely silhouette.. the setting sun.. the reflections in the water..

2008-03-27T12:34:00.003+05:30

हालात के क़दमों पे कलंदर नहीं िगरता,
टूटे भी जो तारा तो ज़मीन पर नहीं िगरता,
िगरते है समंदर में बड़े शौक से दिरया,
लेिकन िकसी दिरया में समंदर नही िगरता..

~ िशफाई

Goa in rains

2008-03-26T18:17:00.004+05:30

A few pics from my trip to Goa in the monsoon of 2006. Pics taken through cell phone. So excuse the resolution.

Me, myself

2008-03-25T10:17:00.002+05:30

As I came to office and sat in front of the pc, my eyes fell upon the wallpaper. I kept observing for sometime. And the more I observed, the more I could connect myself with it.

What you see in the pic is a small house, quietly standing on the shores, away from the hustle-bustle of the city, away from all the glam.. and that, to most extent, symbolizes the person in me.

I have always liked to do things at my own pace; most times not worried with the rat races going around me. Its not that I don't want to achieve anything big. I do have my goals. But I know that the happiness obtained from such achievements is momentary. Just like the other supposedly trivial moments of life. And so, I don't want to give up on the other 'n' number of moments trying to pursue that one single moment. I don't want to miss out on enjoying the journey as I travel in pursuit of the destination.

One might get great marks in boards and entrances, might get into the IITs but then might get tired of education.. One might get a great CAT score, get into the IIMs but then might get tired of it too.. One might get a great job, get a grand salary but then might get tired of the job too.. But I know that I will never get tired of the happiness that I get from going on a road trip with my friends.. or the delight on hearing to Lucky or Atif's voice.. or from simply having a cup of tea in the morning.. or the bliss when Tendulkar plays a straight drive.. or from the sheer joy of discovering a Gujju restaurant in namma Bengaluru.. or when little 7 year olds wait for me on weekends to learn ABCD..

So, in the future too, I want a house like the one in the pic.. where I can live at my own pace.. where I can wake up with her to the morning sunrise.. where I can admire the setting sun, sitting on the beach , holding her hand.. where my children can play on swing sets and splash in the waters.. where ma-baapu have a house adjacent to mine.. and a few other houses where friends, who want to, can come and stay..

All I want to add to that pic is a bridge that connects me to where all the action is. A bridge that connects me to my workplace.. my own company.. yes, I want to be an entrepreneur some day.. but then again, things like that are not for certain.. nothing can be guaranteed.. so I cant be sure about the other side of the bridge.. but luckily what matters more to me is this side of the bridge.. and that is something which I can afford easily..

Holi

2008-03-21T10:10:00.005+05:30

'm sitting in office sipping coffee. 'm missing home. missing ma baapu.. Its raining outside. 'm listening to Saathiya. one of my favorites.. 'm waiting for the rainbow to appear after the rains.

Its over between us

2008-03-20T11:35:00.002+05:30

A very personal post.

When I woke up this morning with you besides me, I felt nothing. I felt no sense of attachment towards you. I did not even feel like looking at you. I guess time takes its toll.

We have been together for the past 4 years. You have always been there with me. In good times, as well as the forgettable ones. At times, I have been harsh with you; vented my frustration on you. But you never said a word. You bore silently. There was a time when I was very attached to you. But recently, and I hate to say this, I have been feeling empty towards you. I have even started considering leaving you. And I hate myself for thinking like this. After all that you have done for me. But what do I do. After all, I am just a normal 22 year old guy who gets attracted to prettier, fancier models. So before things go totally out of hand, I thought to dedicate a first and last post to you, my Nokia 6600.

I got this black beauty when I was in my 2nd year of college. It was quite a hot selling piece, just like the DPS mms, when daddy brought it home.

Now if you come from some other galaxy, and have never had your hands on this meteor of a phone, let me tell you about the most distinguishing features of this phone.

It is the best self defense weapon ever created. Musibat mein hamesha kaam aayega. If you ever happen to be cornered by some anti social creatures, never panic as long as you have the 6600. Just pick it up and throw it at your enemy. If it happens to catch any part of his body on the way, the goon will not be getting up for a long time. As I mentioned before, it is one meteor of a phone. Huge, heavy, bulky.. A solid piece of mass. Maybe in the years to come, the technologically advanced Japan might plan to load their missiles with 6600s.

It also comes inbuilt with a sensory-loss mechanism. Let me explain. Many a times it happens that phones happen to fall/slip out of your pocket and one does not realize till its too late. Well, with the 6600, be rest assured that it wont let you down. The moment it abandons you, you will sense it. coz as Sunny bhai would put it, "jab yeh dhai kilo ka phone kisi ke jeb se alag hota hai, to aadmi uthta nahi, uth jaata hai". (chee.. that was a bad one..) You would experience weightlessness and literally start floating in the air after having bore the weighty burden for so many years. And effectively, you would never be able to loose the phone. Dekhi nokia waalo ki advanced thinking. Am proud of those guys.

It is also the most handy paperweight that can be found in a proximity of a few cms.

Inspite of these wonderful add-ons, I have had thoughts of moving on from my 6600. There have been certain reasons for this. Sabse pehle to I have not been able to take instant pics; in the world of digicams, ab vga camera se kya tamboora pics lega. And videos ki to baat hi kahan karu. Some time back, I took a video of the Symonds-Sreesanth on-filed antiques. Such was the clarity of the video that it looked more like a scene from the Planet of the Apes; please note, no racism intended.

To add to the list, mere phone ki joystick ne barso pehle hi The Legend of Bhagat Singh dekh li thi aur bagawaat kar di thi. It has not been functioning properly since a long time. I have found life difficult due to it but somehow I managed through. But ab paani sar ke upar chad gaya hai. Joystick ke south mein situated keypad par located key 2 bhi ruth gayi hai mujhse. Recently when Kareena gave her number(9322x22x22) to me, I could not call her coz of my non-working key 2. Thats why you see her nowadays with Saif.

The other keys of the keypad have also become very hard. As hard as.. umm.. idly-vadas made by a Gurgaon ki kudi, the type of kudi who is under the impression that Chennai and Madras are two different states. (please excuse the pause in between. I wanted to compare the hardness to other things but then under 18s are not supposed to read such stuff)

The phone's surface is as smooth as the sultry and sexy coming-out-of-the-sea topless body of Navjot Singh Siddhu.

So due to all the above mentioned reasons, I am planning to get a new model. When I do get a new phone and call up Kareena, I wonder what Saif will do with the tattoo he has got.. Aah, maybe he will edit it to Karan. Future ka soch ke rakha hai bachhe ne. Smart boy.

Sorry to all the Kareena fans. I cannot reveal her entire number. For all those who were born with an Abacus in their hands and 'Permutation' was the first word they uttered, 9322x22x22 shouldn't be much of a problem.

2008-03-18T11:24:00.003+05:30

Sapnay mat dekho, sapnay kabhi sach nahi hote.. mera baapu kehta tha..
lekin maine sapna dekha..

Gurukant Desai, played by Abhishek, sums up life in the Guru - directed by the guru himself, the guru of film making.

Bechara me

2008-03-16T19:40:00.004+05:30

I woke up in the morning at 8.. let me describe the state of my thobda (face) .. Now when I wake up, my hair gets all weird.. very weird.. the kind that can be used to scare any living creature, dead or alive, that ever walked this earth.. and when I woke up this morning, my eyes were all red.. however, I do not drink.. well, like an eggiterian, I am a beeriterian.. and I drink beer as often as Courtney Walsh used to make contact with the ball.. so one can call me a teetotaler.. but still, my eyes were blood red.. the kind that would have earned me billions playing apne ke bollywood ke Pran uncle's eye double..

Just yesterday I had got a mail from dad that one should drink water after getting up in the morning.. So I came out of my room with my Pearlpet water bottle, which resembles a whisky bottle to some extent when seen from a distance.. Went out in the porch to collect the newspaper.. As I stepped out, drinking water from my baatli, a girl wearing a quote t-shirt was passing by.. Now I can't help it if the quotation is placed at inappropriate places.. and me being a quote-premi, (see I even have a quote widget on the blog) got interested in the quote.. So involved that water started spilling out on me.. Just then the girl stopped for a fraction of a second and gave me the you-bloody-drunk-pervert look.. I don't blame her either.. With all the wierdo hair, bloody eyes that kept staring trying to read out the quote, and with the bottle in the hand, I did not resemble the perfect gentleman.. I had a momentary instinct to take out my digicam, run after her, and take a snap of the quote to prove my innocent literary intentions to one and all.. but then luckily, sanity prevailed.. I could not change her opinion about me.. Poor me..

So all you out there, please clear my confusion.. Why do girls wear quote t shirts.. Do they want others to read, at places which will give the all-men-are-pigs look.. Or shall it be simply ignored.. What shall I do the next time I see a girl wearing a quote t shirt ?? Please enlighten me..

Well, for all those who still doubt my intentions, here is the quote:

You're a naughty boy,
Go to my room

Love ke liye saala kya kya karega

2008-03-14T14:32:00.008+05:30

My lunch time.. A nice restaurant setting.. A typical bf-gf enter.. the guy scans out the restaurant to find a proper sitting place. This is a very critical process. One, coz the guy wants to make sure that his gal does not become the center of attraction. also, one has to be swift n smooth. This is coz of the fact that you cant let the girl realize about your alarming levels of insecurity.

So this guy does all the scanning but it does not help much.. coz the restaurant is pretty full.. The waiters escort the couple to a table which is right in the center of all the action. They looked as out of place as Malaika Arora Khan in skimpily clad clothes would in Jodhaa Akbar. All the attention is focussed on them. All the office uncles have been having like Wilie Coyote when it notices the Road Runner ever since the moment the gal walked in.

Amongst all this, the girl decides that its time.. Time for the all famous hand holding ceremony.. For those of you who are unaware of this ceremony, here the girl places her hand on the table. Now when you were small and your mom asked to bring forward your hands to show what you were hiding in your hands, you could have refused.. But not here.. Denial is not an option. Unless ofcourse you want to leave the restaurant all alone. So the guy gathers all the courage and holds the lady's hand, all the while pretending that he is totally cool with it.. But on the inside, he is as uncomfortable as Bappi Lahiri without a piece of jewelery on himself.

Then its time to place the order.. the guy has already decided what he wants to eat even before he entered the restaurant.. all coz of the fact that the poor dude was forced to skip breakfast as he had to save up for this lovely lunch date.. the lady takes all the time in the world reading out all the names in the most stylish of accents, giggling over some, making confused looks over some, and etc etc.. after reading out the entire menu form cover to back page 3 times, the poor lady cant decide what she wants to eat.. so she announces that she will eat off her coochie-coo's plate..

Finally the food arrives.. And then comes another Ekta Kapoor moment.. ladki apna pyaar dikhate hue khane ka nivala apne priya boyfriend ki taraf uthati hai.. everyone around is having the garfield expressions.. and the guy wishes that dinosaurs were not extinct and one of then would come and gobble him up to save the embarrassment..

Happy birhtday

2008-03-14T10:37:00.006+05:30

Today is a friend's birthday.. A friend I have known since some 5 years.. 5 years seems like a long time.. Long enough for World Wars to start and finish, long enough for Geoffrey Boycott to make a hundred and even long enough for an Ashutosh film to finish one single show in a multiplex.. So I decided to dive into the ocean of older memories.. Mostly college memories.. The times spent together.. The fun, the mass bunks, college fests, the teasing, copying down notes, or rather photocopying and so much more.. Oh oh, I am getting all senti.. Maybe I should go back to the surface.. Or maybe some time more amongst all this colorful marine life.. hmm.. I am just realizing that she has been the kind of person who has always been there as a friend.. Good times as well as the bad ones.. She has helped me pass a few exams, passed on words of wisdom regarding relationship issues, been there when I screwed up in my job interviews, and she was the one sitting besides me when I got my first job.. Oh no, have to cut it short.. My oxygen tank just ran out of supply.. Swim dudey swim..

Phew! close call.. Just managed to get back to the surface.. But I am all drenched and almost out of breath.. and there are no Baywatch babes either for some life saving mouth to mouth stuff.. :( Thats what happens when you dive into the ocean.. Maybe you should leave the dips in the ocean to the dolphins and Ursula Andress..

Here are some lines from Every Second Counts by Lance Armstrong:
To me it was a classic photograph of Bart, coz that's the kind of friend he is, the kind who is there on your worst day. Your very worst, not the glory day. That day, my worst, one of my best friends was right behind me, on foot, screaming at me to keep going. Maybe it was the real victory to have the same people around me, whether it was a day spent in a hospital bed, or a day when I almost lost a race.

2008-03-13T17:22:00.005+05:30

From a trip to Infy, Mysore..

An Employee Care Center with almost every game that one plays: Awesome
Globe shaped multiplex with a screen capacity of 1100: Sparkling
A grand Global Education Center built at the cost of 285 crores: el magnifico
Bunch of buildings known as girls' hostels: Speechless

Benched

2008-03-12T16:08:00.006+05:30

Like Bangalored, like Benched.. I have come up with my top 7 office games.

Slot machine - Enter the same search query again and again in the Google search bar. If you get the same response time, you win. Yipee. Your prize - you can now enter a new query. You cannot enter a new query unless you win.

What's in a name - Well generally, we don't even know the names of the people sitting nearby. So come early to the office and greet everyone as they come and ask their names. When the same people leave office, greet them again by addressing them by their names. If you get all right, you win. Yipee. You no longer have to come early to office. You don't win unless you get all the names right. (No cheating. You cannot show off your brains and write down the names. Preserve your brains for those times when you are assigned work)

Popularity game - Open Wikimapia or download Google Earth. Start memorizing the names of all places around your city. Also as an add-on, try remembering the places-to-visit in the corresponding city. Next time when you meet anyone, ask them their native. If it happens to be one that you have already memorized, jackpot. Start parroting whatever you know. You will immediately become a favorite of the person. coz not only did you not give the person now-where-on-earth-is-that-place look but to top that, you just told the person more than he knew about his never-before-heard city.

Scary game - This one's my personal favorite. Scan and select a base location where people don't know you. Take a pen and notepad with you. Stand at a little distance and pretend as if you are observing the people around. After a few minutes of observation, act as if making notes in your pad. Do this everyday at random hours of the day. All the ho-halla about lay-offs and pink slips will scare the hell out of them. This is a win-win for everyone. You can hone your acting skills, the employees will start working harder, and the employer's productivity will only end up getting a boost.

Table tennis - Most companies will have a ping-pong table. If you are a novice, be dedicated and become a pro. If you are already a pro, you can only get better.

Blog.

If you happened to realize that there is one less bullet or if you had already started counting the bullets before reading, your condition is pretty much similar to mine. And you just won game no. 7. Your prize:

Come, have a seat.. :)

2008-03-12T09:56:00.002+05:30

Volvo bus ticket to Mysore: 190 Rs
Auto to the Infy campus: 250 Rs
Sumptuous buffet lunch: 125 Rs
Catching up with an old schoolmate after 5 years: Priceless

'I do'

2008-03-11T16:59:00.016+05:30

Monica: You wanted it to be a surprise.

Chandler: Oh my God. (she gets down on one knee)

Monica: Chandler, In all my life I never thought I would be so lucky.. As to fall in love with my best, my best.. (starts crying..) There's a reason why girls don't do this!

Chandler: Okay! (he too gets down on one knee) Okay! Okay! I'll do it! Oh God, I thought (he too starts crying) Wait a minute, I-I can do this.. I thought that it mattered what I said or where I said it. Then I realized the only thing that matters is that you, you make me happier than I ever thought I could be. And if you'll let me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you feel the same way.. (takes out the ring) Monica, will you marry me?

Monica: Yes (he puts the ring on her finger.. they hug and kiss)

(St)ripped apart

2008-03-04T18:05:00.005+05:30

Shame shame.. Twice in 2 matches.. Consecutive matches.. Twice in a span of 3 days.. and the knockout punch..

Oh, of course I am talking about the streaker running on to the ground in both the finals.. ;) *winking so hard that its hurting the eye*

In our office, everyone who loved cricket, or played, or knew what it meant had come together in the cafeteria to see the match.. It was truly a sight to watch.. there was hardly any space to stand.. and people forgetting all the sophistication and climbing on tables and chairs and whistling and clapping and cheering.. watching together in unison as India made history..

Last time when India toured Australia, they did well in the Test series but then faltered in the ODIs.. they had been burned out due to the very long series.. they peaked their performance well before the summit and then went down the valley.. but not this time.. they peaked at the right time.. n they rose to the top..
And as so often, India rose again with Tendulkar..

Gone with the wind...

2008-03-04T14:26:00.005+05:30

Whenever he walked out on a cricket pitch and took guard, bowlers all round the world trembled and shivered in their run ups.. coz no matter how hard you tried, invariably the ball would race to the boundary at the speed of lightning.. before you could realize, the ball was gone.. gone with the wind..

For almost a decade, he has been an entertainer.. and probably the best at the job.. It did not matter whether he was opening the batting in ODIs or coming in at no. 7 in Tests, Adam Gilchrist knew only one thing.. to Hit the ball.. and he did it with class.. with a deadly combination of power and timing.. he has played many a memorable innings.. and they were all the same.. scintillating, with a stamp of authority.. the ball flying to all parts of the ground..

As a cricket lover, it is sad that he got out cheaply in what could be his last ODI.. but then, Don Bradman got out for a duck in his last international innings.. I know the comparisons may not seem appropriate.. but then the Don remains the most respected of cricketers.. the legend of Gilly calls for similar respect.. the man who walked in a World cup semi-final.. the most respected Australian cricketer.. or rather the only respected Aussie cricketer.. today, his walk back to the pavilion was not a typical Gilly walk back - brisk after a dominating innings.. it was slow.. it seemed heavy.. you wanted him to raise the bat but he could not.. the innings did not call for it.. but maybe the career did.. a supreme career.. by one of the greats of the game.. one who could walk in to any hall of fame.. today, I have goosebumps watching him leave the field..

Hold on, my vision's getting all blurry.. I feel my eyes getting a wee bit moist.. maybe its due to the wind.. and it will go away with the wind..

Goodbye Gilly.. Thanks a ton for all the entertainment.. will miss ya mate..

3 in 1

2008-03-03T10:00:00.018+05:30

Well, just 3 small posts in 1. Hence the title.

Ducking down under

Oh! What a sight. Waking up on a Sunday morning, getting out of your room, switching on Star sports, and watching the biggest bullies in world cricket(read Matthew Hayden) ducking down to an Indian fast bowler(read Ishant Sharma). Since childhood, I have heard people talk in awe about India's famous spin quartet, and I have grown up watching the likes of Kumble make batsmen jump up and down on Indian square turners. It simply feels wonderful to have an Indian pacer charging in and touching 150 ks. And this seems to be just the beginning.

Raising the bar

Just when I thought it could not get worse than OSO, Saif and Shahrukh just raised the bar; setting new heights of cheapness and insensibility. Oh my god! I can't digest the fact that they were supposedly presenting the Indian film industry's most prestigious awards. Someone ought to restore some class and credibility to it.

Maybe their Na-real award for Bravery should have been bagged by the duo themselves, coz it takes great courage to portray such crassy crap.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man

Well, there is nothing new about the saying. But then there is nothing new as well about the genius of the man. When asked, "So, will we see you at the Adelaide Oval in the third final?", with his trademark grin, Tendulkar replied, "Oh! We might finish off the series in the first two matches itself." And he made sure that he started things in the perfect manner. And in the process, getting India closer to the top, down under.

Come on Sachin, give us an encore of Sharjah. Yes, it was not that kind of a blazing, swashbuckling innings.. but then, there are various shades of greatness..

Nothing can come in between...

2008-02-28T18:44:00.009+05:30

Destination - Cafe Coffee Day, Koramangala 6th block.. less than a 1000 meters.. a road of concrete 100 feet wide.. a Karizma in hand.. 225 cc of pure machine power.. Nothing can come in between..

Ah, nothing but the Bangalore rush hour traffic.. moving at a snail's pace..

Destination reached.. get hold of a nice corner comfy couch.. sit, relax to the aroma of coffee beans.. thats what you came for.. to take your mind off the turmoil that was building up in your head.. order a nice hot chocolate coffee, stretch your legs, rest your head on the couch, close your eyes, relax.. just pure relax.. yes.. Nothing can come in between..

Ah, nothing but the pretty girl in pink who has been eyeing you the moment you walked in..

And now you have to start eyeing her.. otherwise it wont be considered guy behavior.. (Dude, it was already un-guy behavior in the first place with you not doing the bird watching) .. all right.. all right.. here we go.. ok.. hmm.. she seems pretty.. lovely smile.. sharp features.. with a good dressing sense.. and she keeps looking at you every now and then.. maybe you should walk up to her table.. How u doin' would be appropriate.. a nice convo would surely lighten up things.. ok.. here I go.. Nothing can come in between..

Ah, nothing but the 6 foot, 150 odd pounds dude who just walked out of the washroom to put his arms around my girl.. all right, all right.. his girl..

Fearless...

2008-02-27T09:42:00.005+05:30

"Never believe what the lines of your hands predict about your future, because people who don't have hands also have a future.."

There is nothing called 'getting lucky'.. You make your own luck.. You don't let a situation suit you.. You suit yourself to the situation.. Maybe it wont be possible all the times in all scenarios.. And of course, its not easy.. But then don't we always talk about taking the path less trodden..

Ever since I was small, I never believed in idol worship.. Neither did I question the faith of the people who did believe in.. So I never refused when mom took me to a temple.. I never prayed for anything material - toys, marks, jobs.. I never believed in fasting, coz I live to eat :) .. Recently I was reading Every Second Counts - Lance Armstrong.. And I quite agreed with what he said about his belief in god.. Or rather his non belief.. (I don't exactly remember what he said..) I am not saying that I am an atheist.. Neither am I saying that I don't respect people's faith in god.. coz it gives a peace of mind to many, while for many it is a source of energy.. I do agree that there are a lot of things that cant be explained.. Things that one could attribute to the supernatural.. All I believe is that I don't want to leave things to god.. When things go wrong as well as when things go right.. When I get something, when I achieve something, I would like to go and thank the people that helped me on the way directly or indirectly.. And when things seem to be falling apart, I would not want to leave things to god again.. Its often said that when things go wrong, its always for the good and that god wants to give you something better.. Does that mean you can sit n relax coz of that.. No way, my boy.. You got to act and change things yourself.. Its in your hands to make things better..

Everyone has been given lumps of clay. Clay with 3 colors - RGB, red green blue(surprise surprise! at the end of the day, I am still a software engineer with a degree in Computer Science.) We have to give shape to the clay.. The choice is ours.. One can either make something useful - three utensils of each color and cook a nice meal.. Or one can mix n match and make something artistically beautiful.. Something that others will appreciate.. N the ideal thing would be to make something useful as well as beautiful.. Thats how I want to live ma life.. I want to live a meaningful life in a way that people appreciate the way I take on life.. I want to be remembered not for what I do or what I achieve, but rather for the way I live my life.. When all is over and I have met my end, I want my best friends pointing to my epitaph and telling their grandchildren 'Thats how you live'..

Today I stand at the edge of the cliff, right on the edge.. I stand fearless.. Afraid neither of success nor failure.. Not afraid of opening my wings of imagination and flying high into the sky.. Not afraid of falling down.. coz even if I do, I would still know my way up to the point of the debacle.. coz I would have been there before.. coz I dared..

Zzz...

2008-02-26T14:46:00.005+05:30

I don't want to work.. I cant even look at the computer screen.. I am feeling too damn sleepy.. Coz I just came from lunch having as big a bowl of Biryani as one can imagine.. The amount of rice was as much as I have had in my entire lifetime.. Umm.. Obviously not that much.. But surely more than what I used to eat in one week at home.. I am not able to keep my eyes open any longer.. I dnot kown waht i ma tyipng.. Teh kebyoard is appaerni liek one falt peiec of mabrle to me.. I catn seme top be abel to fnid teh rihgt kesy.. God help em..

I walked alone...

2008-02-25T21:44:00.004+05:30

I walked a lonely road
The only one that I ever knew
Didn't know were it went
But it was home to me and I walked alone
I walked the empty street
On the Boulevard of broken dreams
Were the city slept
And I was the only one and I walked alone
I walked alone I walked alone
I walked alone and I walked a-

My shadow was the only one that walked beside me
My shallow heart was the only thing beating
Sometimes I wished someone out there would find me
'Till then I walked alone

Ah.. ah.. ah..

I walked down the line
That divided me somewhere in my mind
On the border line of the edge
And where I walked alone
Read between the lines
What's fcuked up and everything's alright
Checked my vital signs to know I was still alive
And I walked alone
I walked alone I walked alone
I walked alone and I walked a-

My shadow was the only one that walked beside me
My shallow heart was the only thing beating
Sometimes I wished someone out there would find me
'Till then I walked alone

Ah.. ah..
I walked alone and I walked a-

I walked the empty street
On the Boulevard of broken dreams
Were the city slept
And I was the only one and I walked a-

My shadow was the only one that walked beside me
My shallow heart was the only thing beating
Sometimes I wished someone out there would find me
'Till then I walked alone

The sun is about to set..
The road seems endless..
I have drained my energy..
I don't feel closer to d end..
Nowhere near to the horizon..
The ocean is calling out to me..
I don't think I can go on this path..
Anymore, any longer.. the ocean, here I come..

Cupid time...

2008-02-14T09:50:00.005+05:30

The ad says it all.. the purest form of love.. Love you mom.. Love you dad..

Happy valentine's day to one and all.. let each day be a valentine's day.. let each day be a day to celebrate love..

Changing times...

2008-02-09T18:04:00.004+05:30

At times it seems like ages and at times it seems as if it was just yesterday.. at times it becomes too painful when one stumbles onto the memories locked in the recess of the mind.. and at times the same memories bring a smile to the heart..
'Change', they say, is necessary.. 'Change', they say, is the only constant.. so then can one change things to like they were before.. to probably more simpler times.. The moon 'changes' its form too.. it becomes crescents and halves and quarters.. and eventually it 'returns' to being a full moon.. it completes itself..

Thats where I would like to leave it.. don't want that to 'change' too..

S(h)ame s(h)ame and diffelent

2008-02-07T10:22:00.002+05:30

Beguiled. Cozened. Deceived. Completely mislead by a new kid on the block. Yesterday, I brought a dvd of the movie Bombay to Bangkok. It said that it was written and directed by our beloved Nagesh Kukunoor. But its not. It seems someone has adopted his name and come up with this movie. There is a song in the movie - same same but different. Maybe that was an indication suggesting that they have the same names but its not the same person. Even Shreyas Talpade got fooled to act in the movie and, unfortunately, even complete it.

*Calm voices inside the head addressing the world*
Voices 1 - .. : There is nothing like that. Its the same Nagesh Kukunoor. Its just that this dude is in a state of stupor after last night.

Okay I heard that.. But I don't understand. Here is a guy who made Hyderabad Blues, Rockford, 3 Deewarein, Iqbal, Dor. It is hard to believe it is the same Nagesh. Maybe he did not want to make this movie. Yeah, someone must have forced him to make it at gunpoint. No, at tank-point or missile-point. Coz just a gun would not have taken Nagesh to such an extreme. Its a totally forgettable experience. I have to say Nagesh, you have your word cut out with your next ventures Aashayein(it might not be easy making John act; go watch Goal if you feel otherwise) and Tasveer. Your 3 Deewarein was loosely inspired from The Shawsank Redemption(a true classic). Lets see how you redeem yourself. Shame on you this time though. I pray the next ones are nowhere near same same to this one.

P.S: One could argue that attempting to see the movie was a big mistake in the first place. But I read reviews only after watching a movie. I like to form my own opinion when it comes to movies.

Ding dong...

2008-01-31T15:53:00.003+05:30

I am not able to open blogger. So I am currently typing this post in Billu's Notepad. There are better softwares but I just wanted to check if Old is Gold. Apparently not. I mean, common! Notepad! No ways yaar.

Yes, so I am not able to open blogger. For a matter of fact, I am not able to open anything else that is availabe the World Wide Web. There seems to be some problem with the optical lines that are the lifeline of all programmer's in the company. All I am able to do is open Google(thanks to the neat-and-clean-no-fussy look it has) and search for things that I don't even want to in the first place. In the process, I discovered that Google does not return anything for the following standalone searches - $,@,+,-,%,!,~,#,^,*,(,),=,{,},|, [,],\,;,:,',",<,>,?,/ (even though these are used by programmers almost every second).

I am not able to access my mails. The company's goddamn security policy does not allow access to external mail services like Yahoo, Gmail or others. Hey you, Larry and Sergey, are you hearing this? Your Google may have become a necessity to the world but you are still something "external" in my company. And on top of all this, the company's server has been behaving erratically(I can hear Joey laughing on that one too). So either I don't get most of the mails or they are delayed and arrive in one helluva fished(Oh no, I hated SRK saying it in OSO; but I still think it's a good substitute for the F word) up order.

Today has been that kind of a day. I got up really late for office...

*Voices in my head*
Voice #1: Ya right! What else did you expect ass. You start watching a Hindi movie past 12 at night..
Voice #2: But,..
Voice #1: I know it was Taare Zameen Par, but were you not watching it for the 2nd time..
Voice #2: Umm,..
Voice #1: And then you could not stop following it up with another one..
Voice #2: HEY! I followed it up with AMERICAN PIE - 6. You can't argue with that.
Voice #1:
*It could not argue with that*

So I had to skip my morning tea. And I am one of those fellows who can't do without it. So today my head-neck were going to be something like a spinning toy top. Just as I readhed office, I got a call from mom telling me that there was a theft attempt at our house. Maybe I should have seen that as a sign for the kind of day I was about to have.

So I settled down in my cubicle and figured out that I would be better off reading some ebook and listening to songs. So I made a playlist of some of my fav songs - Jal, Strings, Junoon, Parikrama, Bryan's and a few others.. I started with Zeest ka Sutta and just as they were swearing at the top of their voices, some wierd sound started coming from inside the pc. Some real squeaky sound like a sparrow that was struggling inside. I just did not have the will to find out what was wrong. (Of course I took out the headphones and inserted them again. That does not count as 'doing something'.) So I took them off and tried to concentrate on what I was reading. And then I remembered why I had developed the habit of listening to music in office. Basically three reasons:
1) To make an attempt (but-almost-all-the-time-futile) to avoid the chitter-chatter giggly stuff going on around me.
2) To stay away form the 'Jalebi' languages. (No offence intended. I have heard people who speak the langauge themselves use this word.)
3) To avoid the really loud guy who is in vicinity of my cubicle. Thank god, he does not overlap with category #1.

So with all the messing up going around, it is almost lunch time. And I am still typing in Notepad! I go up to the guys with whom I have lunch..

Me: *standing at one of the guy's cubicle*
Guy #1: *empty thought bubble*
Guy #2: *empty thought bubble*
Me: *empty thought bubble*
Me: Umm,..
Guy #1: Hmm..
Guy #2: Mast Kalandar
(Guys are generally not too much into communication. But it works out fine.)

So we are about to cross the road. We are walking on the right side of the road. I look to my right and see no vehicles coming and so take the plunge onto the road from the walkway.

*Frantic voices inside the head*
Voice #1- .. : IDIOT! Its a goddamn one-way.. Look to your *BANG*

Oh no, I am all right. But the voices in there thought all was lost. I don't blame them either. An SUV doing something like what seemed the speed of light zoomed past my body parts. Let me tell you one thing; if there had been the slightest of contacts, I sure would not be able to do the thing that Joey follows up with ' How u doin' ' :) . We reach the restaurant and guess what's the first item on the menu which my eyes fall upon - 'Ghantaghar ke kadhi chaval'..

A beautiful day... a new beginning

2008-01-27T19:24:00.004+05:30

Worli sea face apartment: 87 lacs
Mercedes Benz E-class: 39 lacs
Durian recliner massage chair: 3 lacs
Sony plasma tv: 1 lac
Someone telling you 'I am there for you': Priceless

You know how there are days in everyone's life when one realizes that its the beginning of something new, something wonderful. It just happened to me yesterday. A friend from office asked me if I wanted to volunteer for a noble cause. I had always thought of doing something like this but somehow had never taken the initiative. At the end of the day, I realized that I owe bigtime to her.

We visited an orphanage named 'Asha Nilaya' where around 30 children stay. Various activities had been planned for the day. We had a flag hoisting ceremony where we all stood in lines similar to good old school days and sang the national anthem. It had been quite some time since I had saluted the national flag. It felt so great to do that as the morning rays fell on the fluttering Indian tricolor flag.

The children had prepared a couple of dances and a skit. There was a group of six little girls who had come dressed up in little baby pink dresses and danced to 'I am a barbie girl'. Gosh, they looked so very adorable. Then we had various games for the kids. We had a quiz, lemon-spoon race, running races, one legged race and a few others. At the end of the competition for the children, all the volunteers too lined up to outrun each other. I was standing in a corner as I watched adults become children once again. Its so very true that there is a child in everyone of us. As we were about to leave, the lady who stays with the children at the orphanage came up to us and told us 3 simple words which I will always remember - Don't forget us. You will sometimes hear those words from people who are close to you, but when a complete stranger tells you something like that, you will definitely feel just more than a lump in the throat.

And thats when it struck me. Life takes you through a lot of things. It is one hell of a roller coaster ride. And there will be times when things seem to be falling apart. And in times like these, you will need people to be by your side. Just to tell you that they are there for you. And realize it or not, but your parents will always be there for you. And that too in the most unique of ways. Because, your problem is their problem. It has always been like that. Ever since the first time you held your mother's finger in your tini-tiny hands, ever since you took your first step, ever since you uttered your first word, ever since your first day at school when you could not stop crying, and so many moments like that. Its because your mom loves you more than anything in the world. No matter how much you grow up, you will always be your mommy's little baby. You will always be her world.

You can always fall back on your parents. And that I have realized is the greatest luxury of life. A luxury that was missing from the lives of those little angels. And I cannot alter that reality but what I can try is to add to whatever happiness they have in their lives. Yesterday was probably the most meaningful day of my life. And I am glad that there will be many more to come...

I know it may sound cliche, but this world would be a better, happier place to live in if we all did little bits here and there. And remember, don't get too lost in the race for success. Take out time for people that are close to you - your parents, your true friends. Because, believe it, these are your most precious jewels. Here's one of my favorite lines from the novel 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari':
John, on your death bed, you will not wish that you had spent more time in office...

' Hum Hindustan ko galat haatho mein nahi jaane denge... '

2008-01-25T18:30:00.002+05:30

Today was the original schedule date of Jodhaa Akbar. And I am very disappointed that it has gone terribly off schedule. Because this is a movie I have been eagerly awaiting. Firstly because it has been written-directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar. It is so refreshing to see someone actually make movies in such a simple, non-fussy yet so successful a way. And then it has Hrithik Roshan, an actor whose talent I highly respect. (Mainly because of stuff like Koi Mil Gaya, Lakshya, Mission Kashmir.) And there are very few like him. The other prominent male actors that I highly regard would be Big B and Aamir. I even thought highly of SRK until he went and did something called Om Shanti Om. I even had the misfortune of sitting through this 3 hour long skit directed by the just-completed-the-transformation -as-the-ultimate-spoof-specialist (Phew!) Farah Khan. (And thats all the movie is all about. A spoof here, a spoof there, spoofs all the way.) And what was all the hoopla about the 70's era. Just making guys wear bell-bottoms and girls put on hair bands is not enough. If you want to talk about how to actually capture the essence of the olden era, watch stuff like Parineeta.

What I have been looking forward with Ashutosh's Jodhaa Akbar is that how the film is going to deal with a bigger, grandeur plot - Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar, the greatest of the Mughal emperors. His last 2 movies both revolved around plots that were not that huge. Lagaan was about a small province and Swades was more about an individual's choice. Sure, the way the movies were made make everything look big. But here we are talking about Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar (I love saying the name in my head. If only one could hear it in Amitabh's voice) himself. I hope Hrithik has been able to capture the intensity that is demanded from these kind of roles. And I so very much pray that at no point of time I draw even the remotest of comparisons between this and the likes of Gladiators and Troys.

Aaila !

2008-01-24T11:44:00.002+05:30

When Sachin plays, big-city roads are easy and trains and buses ply empty at rush hour and the markets take a beating...
When Sachin plays , busy, ambitious executives ignore their calls and cancel their appointments and avoid their clients and miss their deadlines...
When Sachin plays, college Common Rooms are dense and tense and hushed as an entire generation sits on pins and needles...
When Sachin plays, school-yards are silent and playgrounds are deserted because those who normally make such a racket imitating their hero are all too busy watching him make batting look so ridiculously easy...
When Sachin plays, fathers who want the news and daughters and mothers who always want soft stuff and brothers who fight for action, for once all agree on what to watch...
When Sachin plays, India forgets its differences and divisions and teeters between tensions and exhilaration and breaths and laughs and cries as one, as its heart fills with pride and joy...
When Sachin plays, all else is irrelevant...

Written above is what I had read in a sports magazine a long time back. But it is something that holds true for eternity. Just today morning when I saw him come to bat at the Adelaide Oval, getting up at 5:30 seemed all worth it. He was once again greeted to a standing ovation. The respect the man draws all over the world is truly astounding. No other recent player(maybe Lara to some extent) comes close to that. Watching him come out to bat made me a bit nostalgic. It reminded me of India's '92 tour to Australia. I was hardly 7 when this little boy who was not even 20 came out to bat at the WACA. I did not know much about cricket back then, but I found something very crickety romantic about him. It was indeed a treat to watch a guy 5'4" stand tall to the fast bowlers. The world could not help but take notice of him. The little boy had become a man. It was just the beginning of what was to come in the years thereafter.

He has come a long way since that innings. He has broken like a zillion records but what has been more satisfying is the way he has achieved them. Australia too have broken records but we all know how much they have lost on the way;they have lost the respect of the people. They might be a cricketing powerhouse that keeps on producing mechanical champions but they no longer have role models. Sachin on the other hand has been an ideal ambassador for the gentleman's game and the perfect role model for millions of budding youngsters the world over. There have been many legendary cricketers who have done wonders on the pitch; Shane Warne for instance. The man who revived the art of leg spin bowling in an era when youngsters wanted to steam in hard and tear apart batsmen with pace. He made leg spin look catchy and sexy. And that was his greatest contribution to the game of cricket. But if a boy walked up to his dear daddy and told him that he wanted to be like Warny, the father would have to impart some wisdom on what-to-dos and what-SO-not-to-dos of Warny's life. And there would be quite a few things on the not-to-dos list. Not being too friendly with bookies, always making sure that mommy does not make you take pills that might ban you, making sure that your SMS text messages have the correct recipients, and who knows what not. Sachin has not only been a great cricketer, but more importantly, the greater person. A champion on the field, and also off the field.

Speaking on cricketing terms, he is always a delight to watch. No matter if he is on song like against Pakistan in the world cup or crafting his way against Australia at Sydney(his highest Test score). Even when is he is playing a defensive shot, there is something very authoritative about it. The way he brings down his bat, the perfect manner in which his elbow is lined up, the way his front foot moves to come in line with the ball; its a picture-perfect image for any textbook on cricket. And then there are his signature shots. The backfoot-on-the-up cover drives and the straight drive past the bowler. Aah.. life seems so beautiful at times like these. Just if you could have Harsha Bhogle in the commentary box. That would be like the icing on the cake.

I just have 2 wishes when it comes to him. I want to see him take India to a World Cup ODI victory (even more than I want to see India win the world cup). Its not that I am not patriotic or anything but its just that India has been blessed to have the most complete batsman of all time and it would be the most fitting tribute to India's favorite son.
And whenever he decides to call it a day from Tests and ODIs, I want him to play Twenty 20 cricket. I want to see the no-holds-barred vintage Tendulkar once again. To see the helplessness in the bowlers as he tries to innocently ridicule them. To see him come charging down to the fastest of bowlers and mercilessly pull them through mid-wicket, to stand tall and effortlessly play the upper cuts over the keeper, to have the audacity to slog sweep spinners against the turn, to have the class to hit them inside out over the covers, and all the while innovating with his blade the way one cant imagine.

When I try to recollect moments from the past, a couple of 'em vividly come to mind. The 2003 World Cup clash against arch rivals Pakistan. The stage was set. And he decided to make it his own. Not only did he play an electrifying innings, but he gave us one of the most memorable moments in history - sending the ball sailing into the crowd over backward point. It was one of those 'I was there' moments. Everyone who was present at the ground and the millions who saw on their TV sets will tell their children and grandchildren - I was there.. I was there when the little master smacked the man they call the 'Rawalpindi Express'.
The other one that flashes across the mind is the Sharjah blitzkrieg. The back-to-back hundreds against Australia. Oh, and the look on Warne's face. The utter shock out of sheer helplessness. There was a sandstorm in Sharjah but far greater was the impact of Tendulkar who stormed the Aussies. I still remember the instance when Tony Greig was on commentary and Sachin had just hit another six. And all he said was 'What a player'(in his typical style with all the excitement in the voice). They are 3 very simple words but they sum up everything. And they are words that you don't hear about other players that often.

If I had to pick a batsman to pay my money to watch, there would be no second thoughts. Yes, I know that Lara-on-song is a class apart, but he does go through in-form out-of-form patches. (And when in-form he more than makes up for the lean patches.) But Tendulkar is always a treat to watch.

When Sachin plays, the world watches in awe.. India comes to a standstill...
Go commit whatever crime you want.. It will go unnoticed.. Because, even the Lord is watching...

Please note: this post has not been inspired because of news that Gordon Brown wants to honor him with knighthood. It has only been written out of my love for cricket and my most admired sportsperson.
Today is one of my best friend's birthday. Happy birthday dear. And Sachin just made a hundred. Hows that for a birthday present :)

Sweet 16... all over again

2008-01-20T18:11:00.002+05:30

In all the years that I have watched cricket, I have never felt prouder. Sure, winning the Twenty 20 World Cup was a huge thing. Just today I again saw the highlights of the India-Pak finals. Even after so many months having gone by, I can not stop having goosebumps when Ravi Shastri announces - India are the Twenty 20 champions. That entire tournament was exhilarating stuff. But what happened at Perth was something on a totally different level. I am a purist when it comes to certain aspects of cricket. The pitch and the weather report for instance. I have always preferred it the Geoffrey Boycott way rather than with all the facts and figures about the humidity and the temperature. Technology will tell you that its 30 degrees with 40% humidity. Go hell with that. Check out if Geoffrey is wearing his hat.
*checking*
Yes he is. Oh, then it must be hot out there. And then there is the pitch report - Geoffrey with his famous key. All you need to know is how deep the key goes into the pitch. And you can pretty much figure out on which side to put your money.

So, as a purist would say, Test cricket is the ultimate form of cricket. It is the true test of one's character. That is why it has been so difficult to beat the Australian side in Tests. Because you need to play good cricket throughout. Not just a session or two. And that is why I believe that the win at Perth was a very commanding one. When you think of India's recent historic wins, Kolkatta immediately comes to mind. That was a miracle that happened thanks to the greatest innings I have seen. And then there is Adelaide the last time India went down under. However, that was an even contest between the 2 sides. But Perth was different. India had dominated Australia in the Twenty 20 semis and they dominated them again in the longer version of the game. Australia were thoroughly beaten in their own bastion. It probably was not a typical Perth wicket but just imagine the scenario if it had been. The Aussie batsmen would have fallen like ninepins! India's trio of seamers was surely more impressive than the Kangaroos' all-pace attack. The Indians outplayed the Aussies and stopped them once again. Its sweet 16 all over again. 16 for the Aussies and sweet as nectar for the Indians.

Here are some words of wisdom for the Australian think tank:

When an India team is ready to pack their bags and go home, let them do so. Don't order nails and wood for your own coffin.
The Aussie management should make sure that they don't play India when they are nearing their record breaking streak. (If necessary, bribe the ICC for altering the schedule. If you want, ask the BCCI to lend you some money. They have plenty of it.)
I pray that the Australians will not babble about any kind of charges against Ishant Sharma. (He gave a hell of a time to Mr. Ponting. And thats what Bhajji had done. So I hope they don't try that angle once again.)

Chakk de phatte

2008-01-18T14:57:00.002+05:30

Just back from lunch. It was one of those perfect lunches that you can think of. The weather was just perfect. A cool breeze was blowing while the sun was trying its best to pierce the Bangalore clouds. Walked down to a place called 'Mast Kalandar' with a couple of friends. This place I think offers Punjabi food with the the most wholesome taste. See its not that easy finding many restaurants where you have the food to your liking if you come from "North India" (actually I come from Gujarat but anything above the 4 states over here is referred to as North). Well so I had the Chakk de phatte - Sarson ka saag n makke di roti (ah, the land of spices has so much to offer) while watching on a 14 inch tv the Indian tail wagging against the Aussie quicks. It was so thrilling to watch R.P.Singh stand up to them and annoy the hell out of Ponting. India are now in a very strong position. Australia are 16 unbeaten. Last time they wanted to make it 17, India had other ideas. Can India do the same again. Can India hit them where it would hurt most. At the WACA. One can hear Bhajji shout from the dressing room to his teammates - Chakk de phatte.

Hop Hop

2008-01-15T16:12:00.002+05:30

So the 3rd test begins tomorrow at the pace paradise of cricket. Mr. Bucknor has been "rested" while Ponting's nemesis has been allowed to stay on. The man India does not know how to get out will miss the test. The out-of-form Yuvraj is going to be replaced by the ex-out-of-form Sehwag. Australia are going in with an all seam attack. Maybe Kumble too should think of bowling his seamers. We will have to wait n watch how the test unfolds. One thing though most likely to happen - its the Aussies that are called the Kangaroos.. but during the next few days, it will be the Indians doing most of the hopping around at the mercy of Mr. Lee and company..

Rain rain, come again

2008-01-15T10:40:00.003+05:30

It is the middle of January. I have been shivering all night because my stupid roomie forgot to put off the fan. Hold on, but I don't have a roomie. So it would be stupid me again! Grr.. Well, so I wake up early morning (7:30 is very early for anyone who sits all day in front of a 17 inch TFT monitor) hoping to catch some nice warm sun rays. I walk out of the house only to find out that its drizzling outside. Rain in January! Damn you Bangalore weather. Its not that I don't like the rains. But how I am supposed to muster the courage to go to office if it rains on a Monday morning. And this is also not the first rain of the season so that I might look forward to the sweet smell of the earth. Thinking about the first rain, there is something that I have always wondered. Why is that one is always reminded of his/her beloved when it rains. Why does one not think of one's mother whose love for him is so pure and selfless. Why does everyone think of eating hot spicy pakodas(fritters) when it rains. Why don't pizzas come to our mind - hot n sizzling double cheese with extra toppings of spicy olives and jalapenos, soft n sweet slices of baby corn, crispy onions and capsicum. Hmmm.. My mouth is already watery. I think I need to calm down my taste buds. I better grab a glass of tea to go with some garam garam pakodas :)

Thanks a ton!

2007-12-19T15:40:00.005+05:30

Thank you Kevin Bright, David Crane and Marta Kauffman for giving me Rachel Green, Ross Geller, Phoebe Buffay, Joey Tribbiani, Monica Geller and Chandler Bing. And hats off to Jennifer, David, Lisa, Matt, Courtney and Mathhew for bringing them to life.

In pursuit of the horizon

Men are from Mars, Women are from Milan

5 Point Someone

Jhabierville

yeM Bee yAy

6 x 6 = 36

Dhiskiaon dhiskiaon

IPL

You are the Bhai

What would you pick?

Whats with the at-tags

First act, then crib

अतिथि डाक

Dostana

A new year resolution

Phir dekhiye...

The chosen one

Why do I write

Silver

SOS

eltit

Mere yaar ki budday hai

WTF

The high flyer

1.. 2.. 3.. Cha-cha-cha

Kabhi aisa lagta hai

Of likes and dislikes

I 'm lovin it

Mr India

Ulta pulta

Day 38 (i)

Ek jaam, dosti ke naam

The Reality is *beep beep beep*

Main aisa kyon hoon

Yeh to gaya!

THE adoption letter: Classic Joey

What to do?

Symonds the cutest

Stay safe

New life mantra

Title ko maar goli

Elephanta island, Elephanta caves

Kutte!

Kaali waali Black dal

Mera pehla pehla tag

public IPL getIplThoughts(Cheer cheerleasers)-II

buon compleanno

Demolition at Roland Garros

Dedicated to this blog-I

The 3 mistakes of my weekend

Survival of the fittest

Height of compliment

The one with Rachel's inadvertent kiss

180 degrees

Main kabhi batlata nahin

Miss Under Standing

public IPL getIplThoughts(Cheer cheerleaders)

Eureka !

Dracula

Cometh the man, cometh the hour

Lesson learnt

Morning musings

Sweeney (razor) Todd

Dead Man's Chest

Goa in rains

Me, myself

Holi

Its over between us

Bechara me

Love ke liye saala kya kya karega

Happy birhtday

Benched

'I do'

(St)ripped apart

Gone with the wind...

3 in 1

Nothing can come in between...

Fearless...

Zzz...

I walked alone...

The Reality is beep beep beep