Grounded!

I am grounded. Parents not at all happy with my regularly being out of town(dunno what their problem is :( ). The point now is for two consecutive long weekends,I will be at home(almost). So I thought I'll come with a proper plan to efficiently utilize the 6 days without simply goofing around on my PC reading reddit posts, stumbling etc and ending up getting bored. That's why this post.  So without further ado, lets gets started. I will also be editing the post to update what I actually did that day (Big incentive)


Day 1(Dec 25) : Well,  its a little more than 4 hours left for the day and I have no regrets. I cooked breakfast , saw a super cool movie (Avatar) today, slept a bit, cleaned up the house (prep for new year party at my place ;)) and now writing this blog which is very important too since its been some 50 days since I last posted! I'll go on a walk now and get a pirated novel. Looking for Godfather 2.
EDIT: I went out and got this book "Inspite of the Gods", with the tagline 'The Strange rise of Modern India'. Seems like a good read

Day 2 : A long pending activity, taking my bike LL exam. Seems like I have to muster all my will-power and  fight off strong inertia to go to the RTO office (wondering why? Lets just say bad memories) but I WILL get it done this time. To the club at noon. In the evening, I'll just curl up with a book. I also have to sort out clothes for the next week (Believe me, I have never done this.EVER). Watch some movie
EDIT: Didn't I tell you me and the RTO office don't go well? :P I went there at 10:45 and the agent says after taking the cash from me "Long queue now. Not possible.Come on tuesday" I submitted the docs and came.Went to the club also and as usual, my sneeze fest started and my head was heavy for a long time after comnig out of water. Rottentomatoes has become one of my favourite sites. They have updates on movies releasing 2 years later,cool movie info,plus the latest trailers (See IronMan 2 & Clash of the Titans).So you know what I did instead of "curling up with a book". I tried watching 2012 & Lord of the rings (Animated, 1977)but both were real funny. I did wash my clothes though.

Day 3 : Its sunday already. Have to go to the club again, to the gym and swimming. No excuses. Study something worthwhile,and then more cleaning up the house. I am planning on another blog post too, guess it'll happen here.
EDIT: I made Palak rice for bf(it was good actually), then sat down to read the book I had got while waiting for John(He was supposed to come from mysore to stay over at my place and get his passport work done the next day). So..ahem..3rd day didnt go as planned :P. We went for a round of bike ride (majestic :D. Actually went for 3 idiots,but no tickets). Then came home and saw back-to-back disturbing movies(Paranormal activity & District 9).
And thanks for the response for this post. People have been reminding & inquiring me about the plan. Kinda amusing and heartening too :).Until next weekend...

Now I feel planning for the next week is to much for me . I'll try my best to stick to this plan. A new year you see, a new order :P

Day 4 ( Jan 1) : 31st is hectic with activity, so I guess I'll start the new year with a rest day. Ya and do Perl programming exercises (YES!YES!YES!) I'll meet up any friends who are free and ready to meet up
EDIT: It was a rest day (as planned :D) . Evening I was out with friends to the crowded chaat street, where we hogged junk food like there's no tomorrow. No Perl :(

Day 5 : Almost grounded, NEVER FULLY GROUNDED. Planning a bike trip to Yelagiri. I'm hoping it'll work out.
EDIT: Yay, went for a bike trip combined with a trek to Rangaswamy betta.There was nothing much to see there so half the time we just lazed on some rock and spoke nonsense . Evening again dinner out with friends. Point to self No more junk food and eating out for January

Day 6 : All Izz Well. Gotta catch 3 idots. I am allotting this to Sunday but it will happen sometime in these 3 days. I will be going to the club too (I have missed out on this for too many weekends off late. Trying to make up). Watch a couple of movies.

Hmm, lemme see scrolls up. This seems fine. Being at home doesn't seem that bad.I'll keep editing this post updating what I have actually done everyday. And no worries, the holiday season has just started for me wink wink

The legend of Masala-X

I am pining.I am pining my dinners away.The sambar masala which mom packed (lets call it masala-X for easy readability) me for Diwali is nowhere to be seen. No ordinary powder this one. One look at it and you would be reminded of gunpowder. Bend down a little and smell it and the spicy flavor of it intoxicates . Just don't get your nose too close,for all you'll get is fits of sneezing and coughing. You have been warned.You might not convinced yet.Let me compare this to the popular MTR Sambar masala. The most efficient way of putting it is this :

That sums it up (I knew my calculus would be put to good use someday). Few of us might argue there is no way one can integrate MTR masala from 0 to e powered x to get some mom's sambar masala. If that's the case,you are cordially invited to a Sunday afternoon sambar-rice lunch to my place over which I will prove to you beyond doubt the above equation. Fine, we shall take a more real-life example for the present, say traffic in Hyderabad. Another mathematical equation comes handy again :

                 Masala-X : MTR's   : :  Hyderabad city traffic : Galli traffic in Ejipura

An inquisitive mind (probably one of those who had a problem with the integral)or a Bangalore loyalist would raise a question as to why Hyderabad was quoted and not Bangalore, although I daresay this matter is none to be proud of. I am afraid I will have digress further assuming that my intelligent reader is capable enough  to keep track of the narrative.Lets take a simple case of a pedestrian crossing the road in Himayatnagar, a fairly upmarket locality in Hyderabad. Once you reach the middle of the road, 6 out of 10 times you find yourself dead straight in line with an adrenaline charged biker zooming at an inestimable speed, usually returning from a telugu movie at a theatre at RTC X-Roads where he would have seen the super hero (there are only superheroes in telugu movies)  beat the crap out of the 50 people surrounding him in an epic climax. At that instant as you look into his eyes, you know you are done for. And at that very instant,your entire life will unfold in front of your eyes in a series of snapshots, rewinding fast from frame to frame. Then blank.Peace.….A deafening noise. The bike has zoomed past and you are standing like a dead trunk in the middle of the road,heart in your mouth You have been warned. Again.

Now that we have effectively described the credentials of this masala powder, I have to clarify one more thing. Granny will be stirring in her grave hearing me address the legendary Masala-X as mom's, for it was her patented recipe. As a kid, when I visited grandma's place for summer holidays, I would get down the auto and run straight to he kitchen shouting "Ajjjjji, masale haaki huli madidiii?"(Grandma,have you prepared the sambar adding the masala?) Grandma would walk to me at a slow pace, chuckling, peck me on my mouth (Why do grannys do that!?) and then open the container to proudly display the brownish-red sambar, its aroma filling the entire kitchen.And then we cousins would have the rice and sambar for dinner,with dollops of ghee to add, sometimes in the verandah by moonlight. My summer holidays were made of such memories :). Ajjis and Ajjas have gone, but their legacy remains.

So what now? I have lost all hopes of finding masala-X. And so the X-factor wil be missing in my dinner till I go home next time. Until then, I will just have to make do with the e^x times differentiated version from the MTRs.

Things I want to do

I have been content off late.And happy. Given my enthusiasm for a variety of things, there are few chances of this contentment phase slipping into the indifference phase and then the rut phase (get it?), but I dont want to take chances. And I am serious about improvising myself. So I am penning this list here. Ah, I am being careful to mention these are things I 'want' to do, not things I 'will' do. Thats because some of these are realistic short term goals, long term goals and some mere wishes as of now. Positively, many of them should convert into my new year resolutions.

I want to:

• Go on a long trip. No planning, no time frame, no destination in mind. I have a serious urge to do this alone. Something major has to happen to trigger this
  
• Be less rude to close friends.
• Get out of my comfort zone as often as possible. I take time to get out of my comfort zone.I've done better off late, but I want to really push it now.
• Speak to more people, even strangers. I want to think there are wonderful people around us and life can be more colorful :)
  
• Make my CS degree speak. Brush up on my rusty programming skills.
• Achieve 20 burpees. The prison workout!
  
• Improve my stock market gyaan and prediction skills. Make it a major source of income ;)
  
• Blog more. I am not sure what kind of reactions this will evoke, but I want to use it like a diary more often,writing to myself
• Inculcate discipline.  I know this does not do justice to the title of the blog, but lets not worry too soon
• Learn whistling! How many more magic moments and great sequences will I let pass away while i just sit there while watching movies? I need to take a day and get this done with

This should be fine for now. Suggestions from friends and well-wishers are welcome :)

For those who are looking, the I-am-not-going-to list :

• I-am-not-going-to stop watching anime
• I-am-not-going-to stop visiting reddit.com
• I-am-not-going-to be polite with my friends
• I am not going to keep my room spotless clean.. you will figure out the rest

***
Its my blog's birthday on Oct 24th! Precious words from the kid himself : I have to say I am quite happy how Mr.Chaotic has shaped me. I think I am growing up to be a cool,cool person. I have to admit though, that I am still a struggling blog .We need to work on this,dad. Advanced Thanks for all your wishes. Gifts wil be appreciated even more. Keep visiting :)

There, you heard the guy. Happy Birthday Blog. And many happy returns :) :)

Small is BIG!

Who doesn't love Maggi? For most of us, Maggi is the favorite hungry-at-midnight snack, the rainy-evenings snack, too-hungry-to-cook snack, just-wanna-have-something-spicy snack and so on. I am yet to come across a person who says "I hate Maggi". And when I do, I would think twice before continuing the conversation :D. Anyways, the point I am trying to make is, few things around us seem like they are too simple and small to be bestowed with such popularity,yet definitely NOT overrated.

This is how I came to make this pointless list while trying to kill time during the 12-hour bus journey last week. (There was a return journey too. Expect more posts :P)

Andaz Apna Apna: This movie is now a cult classic. You just can't watch the movie enough times. And all your friends will agree. But I am sure no one associated with the movie would have thought the movie would garner such a huge fan following in years to come; more so when the movie was actually a flop when it was released(I know,such blasphemy!).

Horoscopes : Most(I cant get myself to say all) horoscopes are fake. Today's prediction for Leo maybe an exact copy-paste of yesterday's Taurus'. Everyone knows it.But it makes for great fun during coffee breaks or just comparing yours with your best friend's :). And on few hilarious days, you get lines like this : You will find the love of your life today. (And so)Your day will be filled with mental anxiety and tension

Cats: At a broad level, a Cat is just a domestic animal. Comes relatively low in the food cycle. Kids know it only because it helps them remember the letter 'C'. It does nothing, just whiles away most of its life sleeping,looks bored when awake and ignores you completely;let alone try to impress you, like your dog. But you can't deny cats are amazing creatures. The feline charm is indisputable.Its just the lineage you see.

Old DD presentations: Being born and brought up in a media-starved generation does this to you. You see the Ek-Anek Video and go into huge fits of nostalgia and tell all your friends about how wonderful it feels. You download/copy episodes of Byomkesh Bakshi or The Flop Show (remember Jaspal Bhatti?) and watch them religiously even though a 5-yr-old kid will tell you there are too many loopholes or way too many PJs. Nostalgia sure is a wonderful feeling :) (I was careful not to mention Mahabharat,Ramayan or Mile sur mera... here. They were meant to be huge)

Good morning : Things are getting a bit mushy,but I'll plough on. Such a simple phrase and from an age-old culture. Maybe as just a token expression to trigger a conversation or a well meant wish for someone close, the surprising fact is that even after centuries of usage, it does not sound cliched and hasn't got replaced with some modern form of expression. Hello got abridged to Hi,hey etc, wassup came into being but Good morning remains :)

The TV Remote :The TV was a path-breaking invention. Agreed. But the remote? May be when it was first introduced, most people would have frowned "at it as being useless and redundant. But now, the remote is as big, if not bigger than the TV itself. The remote controls you, not the other way round. Entire families go into fights over the remote control . The poor TV just sits in one corner waiting for its deserved attention while the little rectangular thing gets all the attention, thanks our larger-than-life egos. And to think that while the TV has taken vast strides in innovation since its invention, the remote remains the same. Ah, the wonders of modern technology!

Coffee: I am not a coffee person; and I know being a software professional , I'm an exception to the rule. I seriously don't understand why people go ga-ga over coffee. I mean, why the hell would anyone want to have a hot beverage on a hot summer day,that too at 11 AM? Beats me. I can't imagine a scene where the guy who invented coffee, had a first sip of it, and went "EUREKA! This thing is gonna be huge!" But easy to imagine for, say, an ice-cream or a pastry!

I hope this list did make some sense. Now try coming up with more such things and post here ;)

***
Turns out I have not been keeping check of my spending off late. To compensate, I have decided I will be a total kanjoos for some time. The agenda is no treats for myself or friends, absolutely no shopping, no birthday gifts, bargaining wherever possible and more. In short, I am going to be a total ass when it comes to money. Till November end that is. (3 days during Diwali are exempted though ;)) To make it formal, lets have a tag for this.

BJP: The Jas-not-want-ed situation

Last week I heard a couple of friends lamenting the pathetic state BJP is in now. It is true. The "party with a difference" has morphed into a "party with lot of differences". Lets analyze. Should we start with why Mr.Jaswant Singh, an ex- in the party, had a brainwave that he should write a book on Jinnah, or in the first place,write a book? Varied possibilities shoot out. Just to kill time, to whip up some juicy controversy to get himself publicity and popularity, or the more plausible wanting-to-project-himself-as-the-brand-new-liberal-and-secular-leader etc etc. Mr.Singh chuckles.Heh.Or gives an evil grin. Whatever his motive was, one can be almost sure it didn't involve him getting expelled from the party and finding himself saying this: "From the Hanuman of the party I have become the Raavan". Staying true to the party's ideology by picking characters from the Ramayana. Nicely done. But that is just the beginning...of the end.

Now, Mr.Singh takes the Ramayana ideology a tad too seriously and dons the role of Vibishana, letting out a few skeletons out of the BJP closet, one everyday. Few of you might object to comparing Singh to Raavan's noble sibling; point noted. Seizing the moment by its throat,another BJP biggie, Arun Shourie jumps to add non-iodized salt to BJP wounds. I was amused for one,that an elderly staunch Hindutva pro politician referencing Humpty Dumpty and Alice(in Blunderland). May be he is trying to strike a chord with Kindergarten & nursery going kids because Politics is a hot topic of discussion for the kids at that age when they are not crying their eyes out over a chocolate snatched by another bullying kid in class. Well, well, if we thought this was enough damage done for us to remember even till the next elections, few within the party did not want to take any chances. Spicy Avakkai pickle on the wounds. And the credit goes to RSS Chief Sudarshan (repeats what JS said earlier). Branching a bit, this Jinnah guy must have been some dude to be able to influence people so long after he's gone. TOI ran an article on last Sunday referring him as He-who-must-not-be-named or The Dark Lord (from HP series). Touche :P

Thus, skeletons kept rolling out of the closet. Actually, this might have been a sort of theme this month at Delhi. India no match for China,says Navy chief , Pokhran 2 was a fizzle make me say this. Hopefully good sense will prevail soon and wont get to hear things like,hmmm, Lalu was offered DDLJ before ShahRukh,says Rabri or T-Rex never existed (I don't know about others, but this would be a major trauma for me :D)

The big question is, with the biggest opposition party in the parliament left utterly toothless, how much will it hurt the nation. It will considerably. Sonia Gandhi and Mr.PM must be trying hard to stifle their giggles seeing the goings on with their opponents, BJP and the Left . BJP needs to come out of the ridiculous illusion that the party's standpoint on Jinnah is going to affect its image or the votes. It needs to come in sync with the current generation and understand that its a worthless endeavor to dig into the past and this passion is better reserved for addressing the issues faced by India,for our future; for keeping the ruling party on its toes and seeing to it that the promises made are delivered. The sooner it happens, the better for the party and more importantly, for the country.

Mish-Mash Post

The title says it all. Years later, I would like my blog to remind me nostalgically(???) of my life from time to time. So once in a while,such posts will happen (Not because I couldn't think of anything else to write,okay?). Those who already know what's gonna come can directly go to the comments section ;)

Lets start with rants. My most popular rant since last week: My bike has got delayed by atleast 6 weeks :(. I've told everyone I know that I am getting a bike. 2 weeks later there is no bike to show!!! Those idiots informed me of the delay after the payment X(. But how typical of me! This time I didn't wanna hear people say "Always hype and no action" (I knew it !!!) but this is going the same way.Sigh! Speaking of people reminds me of another rant of mine these days. Suddenly everyone has gotten busy. I have to mention The HP fiasco here so that its not forgotten :P. No groups to hang out with,to go to the movies regularly or most importantly,for the trips. What irritates me is that I feel I am the only one who is free,who is available all the time. I have given this a thought and have come with a plan of action. More of this in days to come. If Mom hears me cribbing though, she already has a different action plan ready. I don't need to elaborate.

Dieting : People(Friends at office,particularly) have got bugged hearing this from me day in day out. I checked my weight today. 81.1 kg (with clothes on,mind you). FYI,I've reduced. I have to get to 78, and pretty soon at that. As Naruto would say,"Yosha!" Oh, I've started watching another anime, Getbackers (I can hear the exasperated sighs). Its only 49 episodes; will be finished quickly ;)

Cooking at home is going on well. I had made Bisi Bele Bhath last last week,which turned out yummy and pongal last week, which was not so yummy. I'll try something exotic next. Any suggestions? :D

Coming to movies, the good ones recently: Socha Na Tha (Abhay Deol's debut and Imtiaz Ali's directorial debut), The Reader,12 monkeys. I thought The Hangover was overhyped. And saw Magadheera at this popular single screen theatre where one man stands at the ticket counter and shooes people away with a stick ("block alli sigatte hogappa") and the theatre manager stands authoritatively and directs people to black tickets. And yeah, Kaminey is here and the reviews are very very positive.

Reading The Three Musketeers and The Kite Runner. Totally contrasting reads when it comes to writing style and narration.

Was listening to 'Teredide mane O baa atithi' yesterday. The fact that I can appreciate how really beautiful this song is made me feel lucky,proud and happy to be born as an Indian. And this is just one example of the beautiful things around you. Happy Independence day :)

I can't think of much else. And, here : C&H greatest .This should make up for wasting your time on this useless post.

Finally,thanks to everyone who made my Birthday special last week. Arigato :)

Sleepless in Ejipura

Its been a week now. I have been having sleepless early mornings because of a Rooster. Er... don't get me wrong here. A Rooster-crowing,to be precise.Yessiree, I hear early morning cock-crowing,here,in Bangalore.Opposite house to mine. Nostalgic,u say? Well,it has been a real pain in the arse to me(And you can guess the magnitude of my plight if I am using expletives without **). The first time it happened, I was rudely awakened wondering who is the moron playing Himesh songs at 5 in the morning! I know you can't call a cock-crowing nasal by any stretch of imagination. Actually, I think its as throaty as it can get. Still, one thing very much common between the two (Mr.Rooster & Himesh, if we have meandered too much) is the stress on the last syllable (Ooooooooooooooo!). Oh, just realized there's more. The cap!!! Anyways, Himesh Bhai has been lying low for a while now & there might be a probability this piece might act as a catalyst to wake him up from his reverie(Yeah,right :P). I shall not digress further.

So,where were we? Ah,now Mr.Rooster is as persistent as,say,my mom when she bugs me to get the tiffin box in which she packed my dinner on the journey back from HYD to Bangalore("It'll be nice if you can find the spoon too"). I needed to take urgent measures for the problem. Started listening to 'Restful Sleep'(audiobook) by Deepak Chopra. Such a waste. The guy talks only about Ayurveda,the body forms vata,pitta,bata (:D) or something to that effect. Never does he mention a certain Rooster and what needs to be done .Not even a word.For now,I have resigned to my fate. Sleep seems as distant and as impossible as an Akki movie winning the Oscar. Since we all know ultimately what fate awaits the cock (:(), I cannot be held guilty for wishing my opposite door gentlemen sing "Tandoori 'chicken' nights" (hey! Himesh song!) sooner than later. If its of any solace to anyone, I'll say this: RIP,Mr.Rooster.

Here is a pic, taken from the balcony-like area beyond the front door(I should've taken another pic to show you the guys the relative location. This needed some zooming).



As you can see, there's a Ms.Hen too, in the background. I am 100% sure it is also involved in contributing to my misery. Only, the MCP that I am, Mr.Rooster grabbed 'meat'ier part ;)

P.S: Ejipura is where I reside
P.P.S: I like some of HR songs,actually
P.P.P.S : Gaara is back in Naruto manga!!! :))

Back to the movies!!!

Saw Angels & Demons last Sunday. A movie at the theaters after a long hiatus ( >3 months). The movie in itself, turned out to be pretty average. Langdon and Ms.Vetra keep running frantically all around Rome while discussing intelligently about Bernini's art and the other clues. That's it for most of the movie. Going on common sense, such movies are supposed to have more action sequences or something visually appealing than the books they are adapted from. Surprisingly, the makers of this movie thought otherwise. A suspense thriller sans the action. Two positive points : One,AnD is way better than DaViC, but that isnt saying much,right? Two, Beautiful Rome and its architecture :) Anyways, I hope Tom Hanks will now go back to playing those delightful characters like we've seen him doing all these years.

But the big news is....its a treat for the movie buffs in the coming months! Lots of biggies lined up for India Release. Terminator Salvation, X-MEN Origins: Wolverine (actually both movies aren't exactly setting the US box office on fire), Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs & Star Trek. I have almost zilch knowledge about the Star Trek series but the movie has got such great response (all time #88 in IMDB as of today & 95% on the tomatometer) I have to watch it after all. There's also Up (Looks like The dudes at Pixar have got an Oscar Winner yet again ) and Tranformers 2 . Then,there's the biggest of them all : Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince . The movie has taken long in the making and it better be darn good. Phew, still quite a few movies left; but I'll stop this here :P

Things don't seem quite rosy on the Bollywood front what with the strike n all. Serves them both right: Producers, for giving us crappy movies most of the time and the multiplex owners for their exhorbitant prices :P. One movie which seems interesting is Vishal Bharadwaj's Kaminey (the title sounds cool too :D)

Enjoy the pop-corn guys ;)

"Once Again I must ask too much of you,Harry..."











P.S: Morning show balcony ticket at Rex is just 60 bucks! Even on weekends!!!

The 'Amazing' Swayamwar

Move over Elections,move over IPL, the biggest event the year is here - Rakhi Ka Swayamwar. Rakhi Sawant(RS) has confirmed in a recent interview a strong speculation which was doing rounds - Lalit Modi & the EC had requested Rakhi to postpone the Swayamwar till after the elections and the IPL are over. Modi actually made a deal with Rakhi that he will send some cricketers to the show if she postpones it till the IPL is over. I wonder why EC hasn't issued as public thanks to Rakhi because if not for her , the vote percentage would've been much lower than the measly number now.

Anyways, now that everything is settled, the Swayamwar is all set to commence. And I, much like the Fake IPL Player have some inside information on the show (Fake Rakhi suitor? No I wouldn't go as far to call myself that :P)Lets get to the point now. I heard SRK has sent his entire team,expenses included, to the show as a 'reward' for their achieve-the-impossible performance in IPL2. Last heard, some Gang-wala-Dada was in a fit of rage saying he's married and elderly people should be respected etc etc. He was packed off nevertheless. Ishant Sharma was excited (like)a child and has conveniently forgotten the promise he made to mom that he would return home "Ganga jaisa pavitrr".

Rakhi has personally invited some eligible bachelors to improve the 'glamour quotient' of the show. Of course Salman would be there(No reason. You dare question Salman Khan? Not even on a blog!). I have heard even Aamir would be there as he is planning to cast Parthiv Patel (yeah,he's there too) for TZP-2. Sreesanth has been invited simply because when it comes to melodramatic performances in real life, he's only next to the woman herself. Bhajji has been specifically invited to inspire(read slap) Sree and make him bring forth his melodramatic side. Tushaar Kapoor and Harman Baweja invited themselves (C'mon guys, how many months can one spend on a playtation at home?)

About the format of the show,well, here's info on that too. Since Rakhi has stated she likes strong muscular men, there will be a do-or-die fight round. Of course, if its Ishant vs Salman, it will be "do" for one and "die" for the other. Bhajji vs Sree should be fun to watch what with all the slapping and the crying. And with all this drama going on around, can the original drama queen stay behind? Its her Swayamwar after all! I can imagine her saying "Chalo chalo, ab sab log laine mein khadhe ho jao aur ek ek karke mujhe woo karo.... Mujhse shaadi karna hai ki nai, chalo mera achcha bachcha, you come woo to me"

Well, looks like I have revealed a bit too much guys. Anything more, and the NDTV bosses have threatened that it'll be shut-shop for this blog. Ah! Like I'll let them wrench away my freedom of expression... Ah! like my readers will let them (I can sees the :Ps) . Also whats the fun if the entire storyline of a high-on-adrenaline suspense thriller is revealed beforehand?. Of course, I wont be watching it coz its a drama whose script I already know..... Muuhaaahhhaaa (Love the mytho-demon laugh) :D

Zangetsu - The Awakening

I have gone around trumpeting for long enough that I am gonna get a new PC now. Damn! One day I shall do something which will make people react as if struck by a lightning. Last few weeks were terrible. My old precious PC so doggedly brought itself down part-by-part that it was palpable the poor thing was finally fed up of my tantrums. So I made a sad face and decided to replace it(grinning wide inwardly). And for everyone who has expressed utter dismay about me getting a desktop instead of a 'lappie', for the millionth time "Desktops rock!Period".

Me and Krishna (it was kinda surprising to see he himself offering to accompany me. PC buying can be a real pain, esp if you are not the one buying it!) reached SP road around 11.SP road as usual was delightfully vibrant,colorful and....CHAOTIC :D.A computer lover's haven. We first headed to Ankit computers and next to hitherto unknown World Computech('Best prices' written below) where Krish said he regularly visits. This guy had zilch knowledge on processors and motherboards but by then I had already finalised what to buy based on the input from guy at Ankit computers ;) And 'World Computech' prices were best indeed! So decided to buy it here :)

Sure the prices were OK but there's no wholesome feel of buying something at SP road if you miss one aspect- haggling. First for each of the parts and then on the overall price :D (I believe I am better at bargaining than most people, a trait I acquired from dad ;)). Finally both parties reached mutual agreement .Krishna said he has to go somewhere else. His search for pirated DVDs nearby had gone in vain :). My PC was brought to life in a service center in some dingy,shady-looking alley filled with suspicious faces. By this time, Vini (my roomie) had arrived in SP road looking for his laptop fan (The fan which rotates :D . And who says lappies need no maintenance :P). Finally I couldn't help laughing at myself for haggling for tens with autowallahs after just blowing up thousands :D.

Once I got home and assembled my PC and tried to switch it on,it didn't. Of course it wouldn't. It was my system after all ; if things went so smoothly with me, that would be ironic in an eerie way. A quick check revealed the SMPS has gone bust.Only a teenie-weenie bit of frustration :). Poor Vini had to drive me all the way and back. Took the whole cabinet along,just in case, and got the thing replaced. The day finally ended with my PC gloriously switching on and we watched an episode of Naruto on the big screen! :D

It does not get over so soon, right? I had to copy the contents of old hard disk to the new one. After discussing various alternatives, we figured the easiest method would be to switch on the old CPU (with no monitor,no keyboard,no mouse...only the CPU :D) and connect it to the LAN and then access the old HDD from there. The copying went quite smoothly with only two power cuts in between :P. Zangetsu has fully awakened now in all its glory, except.....except the voice is echoing :P. Gottu replace the speakers too,I guess. For now, I am all happy :) :)

And just for the record, Zangetsu :

• Samsung 22" TFT LCD
• 320 GB SATA2 HDD
• 2GB RAM
• AMD Dual core 7750+2.7Ghz
• Asus M3A78-EM with 256MB nVidia Chipset
• Creative Inspire 2.1 Speakers
• A brand new UPS too!

My Bollywood Top 10!

I must say this post was due for a long time! I admit the products that are churned out from Bollywood can't be call intellectual stuff exactly and many would say there are better ways of killing time. All said and done, I'm still a Bollywood fan and hope that the song-dance sequences,the cheesiness and all other things that are so part of our movies remain so, for years and years to come. All we ask is an iota of logic....

Well then,to the topic, I would not so much say all my favourite movies are gems,but I guess we can safely say they are among the few very entertaining & watchable ones. Now lets start, DrumRoll Please.....
(this post may get a lil lengthy. Feel free to skip the boring parts.I'm afraid there are none)


10.Guide : This movie is the only one in this list earlier than the 90's. I have seen this movie only once years ago, and the images are still stuck in my mind. The inspirational theme of the movie, 'evergreen' Dev Anand's earnest performance and super melodious songs are the highlights. Gottu watch it again.

9.Andaaz Apna Apna : Arguably,the best comedy of our times. The humour was pedestrian. Utterly slapstick. The brilliance of it was that it was all intentional. So brilliant the audience then could not appreciate it and the movie actually flopped ;). Has anyone met any person who doesn't like this movie? :D

"Mein hoon Crime Master Gogo, aankhen nikaal ke gotiya kheloonga!"
"Suno, suno duniya ke logon! Sabse bada hai Mr. Gogo!" ......................... LOLz

8.Dil Chahta Hai : I guess lot of people would be irate DCH is so low on the list . If Farhan Akhtar would have made this movie even in 2050, he would

Image via Wikipedia

not have had to change even a single sequence. That's because of the ageless theme of the movie and the way its been handled. Kudos to Farhan Akhtar(his debut) for all those subtle emotional sequences sprinkled throughout the movie. Brilliant and path-breaking!

7.Lagaan : Any guesses on the biggest highlight of the movie??? Its the pre-release promotion, in which the 'Genius' Khan (debuting as producer) didn't let the masses have an iota of hint what this movie was all about. And when the movie released, people came to know the movie had a full length cricket match in it! And what helluva entertainment it was! Bhuvan all the way! :D

6.Pardes: I'll admit this movie is in this list because of my SRK bias. But I assure you,this movie has one of Shah Rukh Khan's finest performances (Seriously, no hamming, no making monkey faces :D). It has some great Bollywood-sque dramatic sequences and of course you'll remember the mind-blowing music score. Watch this movie and you'll know Mr.Ghai is(was?) called the Showman of Bollywood. Suggestion :Just ignore the America bashing (or enjoy it ;))

The Top 5 now!

5.Taare Zameen Par : Aamir Khan the director, debuts and how! Awesome,awesome movie. Sensitive and intelligent filmmaking as never seen in Bollywood before.This movie has more 'goosebumps' sequences (you know?) than any movie I've seen in a very long time. And to top that with commercial success! Now that's genius. I have seen this movie only once, so as of now its at number 5.
(Ponder: I guess Aamir knew this movie is gonna rock. Maybe thats why he didn't spend much on the pre-release promotion,unlike himself. People weren't very interested before it released)

4.Ghulam : Its kinda sad people only remember Ghulam for 'Aati Kya Khandala'. The most inspirational hindi movie ever, IMHO. The movie had a great story and screenplay and a mind-blowing performance from Aamir Khan. Never got bored watching this movie! Totally recommended!

3.Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa: SRK has been awarded Filmfare Critics' Choice Best Actor Award only twice until now. The first one was for this gem of a movie (and next Mohabbatein). Another very under-rated movie. Shah Rukh's realistic, adorable portrayal of the lead character Sunil with all his vulnerability,innocence and even grey shades instantly makes you identify with the character and vouch for him . King Khan through and through! If you watched this movie when you were a kid and have forgotten it, I recommend you watch this one again :)

2.Kal Ho Na Ho: Another path-breaking movie , for all the gay jokes and making KantaBen a household name :D . Sheer entertainment value, SRK-Saif-Preity Chemistry,the title song,the then-innovative camerawork, dollops of emotions etc etc. make this movie such a delightful watch!

Now to The Numero Uno, the Baap Of All Entertainers, my all-time fav :)
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1. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge(DDLJ):

'Raj agar yeh ladki tujhse pyaar karti hain to yeh tujhe palat ke dekhegi'
(Raj whispers... And so do the entire audience in the movie hall) 'Palat! Palat!'
And then Simran palats with a smile....

This sequnce is just one of the several magical moments that make this movie. Cinematic Magic at its amazing best! Enough can't be said about this movie. Or too much has already been said. SRK-Kajol's crackling chemistry, the great-Indian-wedding sequences which were a craze then, the snowy Swiss Alps in the first half to the lush green Punjab in the second half, the NRI factor, the songs etc etc.. Apparently nothing went wrong for this movie when it comes to entertainment value. I shall refrain from saying its a once-in-a-lifetime movie ;)


Enjoy!!!

A 'fly-catching' art

A far-off relative of mine is an expert at,you guessed it, fly-catching. Swatting mosquitoes is way too common, but as far as my knowledge goes, fly-catching is an unique art. Years and years ago, when the world was ignorant about animal rights (or more precisely insect rights in this case. Sure Maneka Gandhi wouldn't mind even now???) and people were too naive to care about the poor fly, this man's talent was a huge hit with us kids. He would be just sitting there as laid back and as relaxed as ...George Bush speaking to an audience of chimps (???) . We would be waiting with a heart-in-the-mouth tension for that blink-and-you-miss move(literally!). Zap!There it comes! ...Dead silence.... Of course, you missed it (Not to bother, he always showed us the slow motion later) We would all hear the buzzing and wriggling sound of the fly inside his lightly closed fist. Then with a momentary smile he would open his fist and then the fly is free to fly! Applause all around... Mind you, this is a zillion quadrillion times non-violent than mosquito swatting. As you already know by now, the fly is alive and its a happy ending, but of course...

Curious how he mastered the art ? Quoting the man himself, what we are seeing now is the fruit-bearing of years and years of drudgery. 'An art like 'tis don't come easy' he says with a solemn look on his face as the kid-me listened to him,awestruck. 'I ain't going to school,' he would yell simultaneously howling in pain when his father smacked his hind side with a smooth cane non-stop 'until I catch a 100 flies today '. It was his passion. Its no surprise today there's no better goddamn fly-catcher in the whole wide world (He's the only one as of now,but that a totally irrelevant point and out of context). I can as far as go and say I drew inspiration from him, I mean not in fly-catching (he advised me not to get into it as I never had the fire-in-the-belly passion to catch flies), but in everything else I did. I cannot with all my heart say I haven't tried my hand at the trick a couple of times or more, but as I found out, I was not meant to be.

Well,coming back to that far-relative of mine, the truth is that the guy never got any tangible gains from his unique talent. Nobody called him to their house to perform his feat, nobody at weddings cared for him (except we kids that is) when he caught multiple flies at a single flick of his arm, nobody even acknowledged the greatness of the art. Even Tusshar Kapoor will envy his no-success story. But then, what was so evident and palpable on his face was his contentment, his happiness. I met him after many years recently at a wedding, ( and while we were trying to make conversation, (zap!) he lazily flicks his arm. Then I remember, and ask him curiously,"Innu siktava (Do they still get caught) ???". In slow motion, he raises his fist to eye-level, opens it, and as I watch with open-mouthed wonder, a fly bursts out and flies off into the air, gradually bringing wrinkled face back into focus, smiling proudly at me. He wistfully adds, 'Ain't no enough flies to catch these days. Maybe they should file for extinction' . I couldn't bring myself to tell him he ought to stop this now....

Kudremukh Trip - Part 2

The next day morning,all of us got up early and started getting ready when around 7 am Praveen's Uncle suddenly comes in saying "Good morning! Get ready fast! I've got the jeep to drop you to the trekking point".We owe him many a favor.We got ready fast reached the forest office, got permission for the trek and were assigned a guide too. Next we went to the hotel/house/mess and had breakfast (idli). We packed lunch for our trek(jowar roti,chick peas curry, chatni, pulao, bananas - yeah, we were planning to feast on the peak :P).Now we had to go around 3 km in the jeep before the trek starts. Horrible path(there is no road), to say the least. We started around 9:40 AM with a guide to help us through the trek as it was a forest area

And as expected, 30 minutes into the trek I was seriously lagging behind. Blame it on my interest in photography or inability to trek fast or the fact that my friends were under the illusion that they were running a marathon. Whatever it is, I had no plans of hurrying through the trek and reaching the top huffing. Thankfully, there was another group passing by and I joined them for the rest of my trek, more specifically 3 of them. Funny part is, they were even slower than me, by choice and by situation. So we just went on at a calm pace, taking 10 min breaks for every 1o min walk , me taking pics and sometimes simply sitting and enjoying the unending view of the hills around, drinking water from the cold streams of water intercepting the path from time to time. The hills stretched as far as your eyes can see.Layers and layers and layers. And it was quite hot too. Finally, I reached the peak a good 45 minutes later than my friends ( they had come down from the top to some shade). Nothing special about the peak. It looked the same as, say, 2 hills below.There were 2 guys from the other group there. Got few snaps of mine clicked and joined my friends for lunch.

After the lunch it was time for way back. The other group which was nearby, said that they have lost their guide and they would be coming along with us. So at around 2:45 PM ,we started as one big group. And as expected, within 15 minutes of the trek, all my friends and our guide went far ahead and I was again with these guys :D . Somewhere in between, we found their guide waiting for them (they wanted me to translate all the swear words to Kannada and pass on to them). Even though we were walking at a brisk pace,the return trek seemed never-ending. I finally finished the trek at 6:30 PM and joined my friends waiting for me, who received me with me with an ovation. I bid farewell to my new friends there (it seems someone was saying I was their only ray of hope..Gee ;))and we started off in a jeep to the main road and from their to Kalsa in a bus to Praveen's uncle's place.

A sumptuous dinner was waiting for us there. We told about our day's experience and then we sat there talking about random topics till it was time for us to catch the bus to Bangalore. We thanked Uncle and Aunty for the awesome reception they gave us and went to the stop. We boarded the bus around 10:30 PM and reached Bangalore by 6 in the morning. Before I end the travelogue, some interesting points during the trip - Manju's constant comparison of KP and Kudremukh, Praveen pointing out everytime Karthik opened his mouth that its a PJ, my theory of how better phones have 3 pins in their charger while lesser phones have 2, Praveen's uncle suggesting Manju to become a actor and giving him Doddanna's contact number, Karthik never actually getting to see Ambateertha coz he got network coverage somewhere on the way etc. Rest has leaked out of memory as of now :). That's about it guys, till we meet the next time....

February the 14th :D

If you are single and its Valentine's day, you gottu admit somewhere in a teeny weeny corner of your mind (or heart???) you feel - I wish I didn't have to celebrate this day just wishing every idiot (of course gals :P) around. But not this time around; this year, all the singles in India have an 'excuse'. Feb 14th seems to bear more ill omen than any Friday the 13th you knew earlier.The caped of Indian culture, the utterly-unmasked vigilante, the 'Dark' Knight if I must say (On second thoughts, 'Joker' is a better name, I daresay) is patrolling the streets of Bangalore City. The Dark Lord is gathering his forces; the 'Eye' is watching over you in every coffee shop, every restaurant,not to mention any pub you will dare to enter. So my request to the concerned guys and gals - Celebrate Valentine's day safely.Do not be seen in the proximity of a coffee shop or a pub. It might be injurious to your bf/gf's health . Or by the end of day, you might end up a married couple ;)

But the whole drama has now taken a very spicy twist . A larger,more formidable force is rising - The 'Pink Chaddi' brigade. Battle Royale is on the cards. One can sense a palpable tension in the air as the day approaches.Meanwhile, a popular news channel reporter caught one 'monkey' from the 'Sene'. Here are some excerpts from the interview:

Q: What's your plan for the Valentine's day, err..Sir?
A: Quite simple,catch women in tight jeans and teach them Indian culture,in a peaceful manner,with one or two slaps

Q: Do you think doing this will protect Indian culture?
A: Think? I am not programmed to think. Next question

Q: What is your methodology of finding these 'Pub-going,loose and forward' women?
A: See, we have these 'noodle-strap,tight-jeans' detecting devices fitted on our tongues.We just have to go about wagging our tongues throughout the city. Once these 'futuristic' devices detect something, they start beeping and that's the time we go berserk

Q: And what plans do you have to counter the 'pink chaddi' campaign?
A: Don't you know of a guy who wears 'red chaddi' and protects the world? Red nahi to pink hi sahi

Q: The original 'SriRamaSene' had only one agenda : to save their queen from the clutches of Ravana and bring her back. Isn't it ironic that you are one of 'Sene' and have plans which are quite deviating from the original one?
A : There was no other 'ShriRamasene'. We are the only authentic 'monkeys' of our kind (much cheering in the background) and our only aim is to protect the Indian Culture

(Suddenly the device starts beeping and he realizes the reporter is wearing a tight jeans. End of interview. It was reported later that the reporter was safe, much to the chagrin of the 'Joker' and his followers)

Happy Valentine's Day :)

The 'Slumdog' Debate

I had to stop my Kudremukha Travelogue Part 2 midway to write this post. I finally watched Slumdog Millionaire today, on the big screen.Most people have already seen the movie. So this is not a full-fledged review. And thank god I didn't heed those numerous advices from people (Download it and watch it. Not worth watching in theatre. Its normal masala movie). But therein lies the movie's strength. This movie is entertaining cinematic experience at its best. Yes, it is a masala entertainer.

'Tu Mere Saath Daance Karegi Na...'

My idea of judging how great a movie is simple - images from the movies still come to your mind , you are humming the songs from the movie & you think about the characters from the movie long after you left the movie hall. There are such sequences galore in this movie. All the actors do their job very well - nice chemistry between the lead pair, the kid Jamal, a wicked Anil Kapoor's superlative performance etc.And Rahman's background score pitches in with perfect timing, everytime. All the little song sequences in the movie are highly entertaining.(Particularly O Saaya in the opening minutes, which sets the tone for the rest of the movie) And the movie as a whole is,to quote a cliche, a visual treat. Overall, loved it. All I can say is either be an intelligent movie goer and know what to expect from the movie and enjoy it or keep cribbing how you've know idea how this 'average masala' movie is garnering awards in bucketfuls all round the world.

'Shut up! The Man With The Colt 45 says shut up!'

Now to the big debate. The 'award worthiness' of the movie and protests from obscure organizations about Indians being called slumdogs in the movie.By this time, it should be amply evident what kind of Indian movies win recognition in the West - the other side of the world where the Oscars are distributed. A peek into the past to look for the Indian movies that won oscar nominations will make the picture clear- Lagaan,Salaam Bombay,Mother India. My thinking is they see it as artistic cinema - this depiction of the underbelly of rural & slum-ridden India in all its pathos. For instance,even the first glimpse of Taj Mahal in the movie is shown with some filthy water body in the foreground (Or is it the Yamuna???). And when the movie has entertainment value with colorful Bollywood song-and-dance thrown in, its icing on the cake.And to extend this observation to another medium, consider another recent award-winning piece - The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Every sentence in the Man-Booker prize winning literary work drips with not-so-subtle hints about the malodorousness prevalent in the Indian society,veering towards plain yuckiness regularly in its 300-page story. Many people have the same opinion as Slumdog about this book too. The message should be clear by now.

Slumdog Millionaire is now a frontrunnner for the Oscars. So lets root for it. I sure hope Rahman wins an Oscar (yeah yeah, I know he's given much better movies in the past.Now stop whining :P)

'It is written'

Kudremukh Trip - Part 1

The news is WE, Somarigalu(lazy bones :P) have completed another trip successfully. Here's a 'short' travelogue of the trip, narrated through pictures. Lets go through the planning and the preparation quickly. Our first choice was Brahmagiri (we didn't get permission);Second choice Sakleshpur(not sure about trains plying on the trek track). Couple of other choices and a 100+ mail chain later, we zeroed in on Kudremukha and Manju spared no time to make sure there is no further debate by swiftly booking the tickets :P. Praveen's uncle and aunt stay in Kalasa (20 kms from Kudremukh). So we even had vehicle arrangements ready once we reach there.

Jan 23rd: We got on the Sugama Travels bus.Manju almost manhandled and got slapped by some gals sitting in front (thinking it was one of us) but for Praveen's 'timely' last second intervention. I was meeting Sharath after a long time. So he narrated to me his Germany experiences (beer kudi-pizza tinnu -movies nodu-malgu-office hogu).

Jan 24th: We reached Karkala at 7:00 AM.Checked into a nearby hotel for 2 hours,freshened up. The vehicle was already waiting. Finished breakfast, and ready for the trip!!!Our first destination was Hanumanagundi falls.We reached the place pretty soon only stopping at a viewpoint on the way.Hanumanagundi falls is splendid! The falls were not gushing with water. This allowed me to get some real cool 'silky effect' pics and we could actually go very near to the falls.

The water was icy cold.After spending some time there and clicking some SO-LOW pics, we started for our next point:Lakya Dam.This dam was previously used to collect waste materials from mining operations when KIOCL(Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited) was still under operation.
We reached Kudremukha next. There was a park nearby. And while I was clicking the usual flowers and birds pics, Manju posed for the most infamous pic of the trip! I shall decide whether to post the pic here based on public demand :D

It was time for lunch.The driver suggested a place on the way where we can get home food. The food was actually good there and we had a sumptuous lunch. This was the place from where our breakfast and lunch for the next day also will be coming. (Pic on the right below. Yes yes, don't be too surprised ;))After the lunch, the plan was to go to the tea factory nearby via the tea estates en route. One generous employee in the factory explained us all the stages of tea preparation while showing us the equipment. Next we reached Kalasa and directly went to Praveen's uncle and aunt place.We can't say enough about the royal treatment we got from them for the next one and half days or so. Very warm and caring people. Praveen's uncle has some contacts so we always had a vehicle when needed (the two days) . Uncle himself came with us the next day to see us off at the trek starting point and wish us good luck :D. Back to the present,we spent sometime at their home conversing on various topics. It was around 4 pm when we left for Horanadu temple.

A visit to the temple and we were off for the last spot of the day.A viewpoint from the tea estate. Sadly by the time we reached there,the sun had raced down on the west already.(To the right is a pic here in fading light).Next we reached Kudremukh again,this time for our night stay at the guest house.After the dinner, we went around the Kudremukh township. The place conjures up an eerie and deserted look with houses,shops everywhere but no people to be seen (Most of them have moved out after KIOCL closed down its operations due to protests from environmentalists). Soon it was time to sleep. We had to wake up early for the big day tomorrow. I was slightly shocked when Praveen & Girisha insisted on setting their alarms to 5:30 in the morning!!! I blankly told them to wake me up only when both of them are ready and pulled the blankets on...

Seems like this post has gone pretty long already. I am wary of the attention span of my readers. So the remaining part will appear in the next post. I shall leave you guys with these amazing pics ;) (And before Karthik screams injustice, a special mention to my dear friend for suggesting this pic :D)


(To be Continued)
Part - 2 : The 'Trek' day, My new Trek group, Highlights of the Trip And More Pics!!!.....

Not-so-Random Happenings...

Last month of 2008 running upto the new year was very eventful ,queer and mundane things alike.Quite of few of these threatened to be blogworthy; I just thought I'll spare anyone reading this the trauma by cramming it all in a single post. And timeline it.

Dec 3 : Last day at Sasken. A classic case of bittersweet. Reached office very early, clicked pics of our favorite hangout places in the campus (usually frolicking with people but today cheerlessly empty ), went through the usual last day routine and by the end of the day was left feeling quite empty(Is this all?Shouldn't I feel different?). It was a Third Floor Tarles reunion in the evening (Ash substituting for Vim :D) .We had dinner and after the bye-byes, it seemed like routine. Tomorrow morning I will meet some of these people anyway for coffee. Tomorrow came. There was no office to go.No more coffee. (I seldom actually had coffee,BTW)

Dec 6 : Holiday mood has set in.Getting my hands dirty in the kitchen. Made Gulab Jamuns and carried them to office, a visitor of course. Soaked more oil than they should've but still tasted yummy,or that's what everyone said. The unfortunate lot,here, the jamuns, on the left.

Dec 8 : Left for Hyderabad. My ticket story happened. Please stop drooling now. The Jamuns are history.

Dec 9: Went to Shilparamam, a crafts village situated few kms from Hyderabad. A charming visit .Traditional souvenirs, handicrafts, exhibitions of art and dance forms are what you will find here. Pics here.

Dec 12 : First day First show of Rab Ne....A moderate achievement I will say(Justification for adding it here). Read the review.

Dec 14: Cousin's engagement in Gulbarga. Even my 12-year old nephew didn't deprive himself of the joy of pulling my leg (You next,you next). Very eagerly awaiting the wedding :P My cousin's wedding of course, you <swear word of your choice HERE>!

Dec 19: Back in Bangalore. 2 day trip to Chikmagalur .Aka The Chiks Trip .The hills were fascinating. Dangerous liaisons during the return journey. Check out the pics here, the trip pics...

Dec 25: Guess Santa Claus was short of cash this Christmas. I got pickpocketed while on the infamous No.201 Bus. Wallet with some cash and all cards. The cop said an FIR can't be raised because my jeans rear pocket was not torn.When asked what I study, I committed the unatonable sin of telling him I am Software-u. Gita Parayana followed,Kannada-cop-style. No pics,not here,not anywhere.

Dec 29: Long holiday gets over. Joined new Software-u .The environment is cool.People are nice. And evening snacks are free.

Dec 31/Jan 1st : Welcomed the new year with a party involving the only all-teetotaler new year party in town.Dancing was strictly prohibited. Instead as the new year dawned, we were trying to decipher why the evil Italian doctor cut the Italian zombie's hand and if the Italian cannibals are really evil or they just plain bored.Movie in question : Zombi Holocaust - The Cult Italian Movie. Watch it for the laughs. And some stomach-curdling gore action while munching popcorn.(Seriously,don't watch). Then we discussed forthcoming trips, watched youtube videos and Argh...Golmaal Returns. We are not demented.We choose stupid movies on purpose,for laughs. Amazing new year party! And then it was the first morning of the new year.... I slept.

Wow! Now that I have finished writing, even I am amazed. And you guys have too many links to follow up :D .Will keep you posted on any new developments ;)


Sheeshe ke khwab leke,
Raaton mein chal raha hu,
Takra naa jaun kahin...
Aasha ki lau hai roshan,
Phir bhi toofan ka darr hai,
Lau bujh naa jaaye kahin...
Bas Ek haan Kiiii Guzarish....

Kickstart 2009!

Sigh!!! Another year comes to an end...And what an year it has been!The most enlightening year of my life should be a compact and proper way to put it. So much happened in the world around me,and more inside my head. A most 'thought-provoking' year indeed :D Thought about myself, my career,family,friends, country... .And as life passed by, strangers turned acquaintances, acquaintances turned friends and friends to best friends :)...Thank you for all the wishes and for just being there :) (Too cheesy,cant help)

Coming to this year, a huge to-do list awaits! I have a lot planned on the 'myself' front this year.Naysayers who went about saying I have changed and all for the worse....Lemme tell you...U ain't seen anything yet ( I haven't changed!:P I just didn't wanna miss out on a chance to say that :D) . In 2009,I 'aspire' to be/do all these : a lil less lazy and a lil more disciplined.... a lil more diet conscious and a lil less gluttonous...a lil more time with books and a lil less time in front of my PC ....A lil more friends and a lil less enemies(No enemies please, this was added just to continue the flow).... a lil more practical (you are free to make your own interpretations of 'practical' ) and a lil less emotional.....A lil more Secret Resolution 1 & a lil less Secret Resolution 2 ;) ;).... I understand there will be slight trepidation amongst a few best wishers ( "Pavan, if you are not gluttonous,you will lose your identity" and things like that :P ) but I assure everyone I will be as recognizable as ever. An assurance to myself :). Last 23 years of my life, not a single new year passed by with me having resolutions and suddenly this year there are so many...Waves of change already....And I give this freedom to all my friends(I meant the minuscule proportion of them going thru this rant) to pick on me or mock me on these resolutions right until Dec 31st,2009 :D And if ppl have suggestions for any other resolutions I ought to have,please feel free to suggest :P... Here's wishing you all an absolutely delightful 2009! Keep smiling! :)

As a passing note, I wish & hope India has a great year too. 2008 has been a rough year. Lessons learnt; 2009 better be good!

( Hehe resolutions need to be quantified,eh? Well, this 'bit less' ,'bit more' suits me perfectly well. Infact, I will go ahead and say I have already achieved most of my resolutions today itself,Jan 1st :D :D. Genius, aint it???)

And one last thing... How can I end this post without a tribute to the most popular(read bugging) topic of 2008 in our circles??? A few quotes from the AMAZING show that is Naruto :

"I am not going to give up...I am not taking back my words... Ore wa ninjo da (This is my way of the ninja)".... Rasengan!!!

Here,another quote: (:D)
"There probably isn't any meaning in life. Perhaps you can find something interesting to do while you are alive" - Orochimaru

Okay,last one:
.....
I guess people will stop visiting the blog if I continue with this.... :D

See you all around :)