Got my new laptop :) .. I've become a gizmo guy. An awesome mobile phone and now an awesome laptop. Got a Dell Inspiron 700m .. It's really sleek and light.
Never imagined myself being such a gizmo freak!
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Friday, December 10, 2004
Wow quote
Just felt "wow!" about this quote .. Dont want to lose it ! So blogging it !
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
---- Mark Twain
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
---- Mark Twain
Checking the foto thing ..
Just trying a photo blog .. This is a snap from the Flower show i wanted to upload!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/prashm/2073967/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/prashm/2073967/
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Right thing to do
- Why do we all follow traffic rules ? Because rules are meant to be followed. In a way they are in place to avoid accidents and save lives. And setting up a system that saves lives is a 'right' thing ?
- Why do we have democracy? Because it is the most just way of governance? Even though the majority might be foolish, the wish of the fools should be granted ? Over time, from chosing the right person, we have come to define it as chosing the less wrong person!
- Why do we dress in a particular manner? Somebody's defined some way to be the right way and we all follow it. And in dressing there's a rule for eveything - on what trouser goes with what shirt, what tie , socks colour , shoes etc etc. There's an overall harmony in dressing .. And who defined the sense of harmony?
- Why do we have social institutions? Of marriage ? Of religion? They all in a way tell you what the right thing to do is!
- Even the laws are defined to protect the right!
But in cases where the right and the wrong do not have specific boundaries who does our system chose? It's always the richer and the more powerful :
- Between peoples who would be displaced by the construction of a mega dam and the rich who would be benifitted by the dam - the rich always win!
- Between countries who pollute the air the most and others who want to make a change by taking small steps in reducing these emissions, the richer country always prevails upon the rest of the world because they canot compromise on their lifestyle!
- When was the last time an erring politician in Inidia was punished?
Are there any direct solutions to these issues?
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
The Choke ..
After months of struggling with my bike's problems of very bad vibrations when stationary and on, I discovered the root cause of the whole problem - it was in the choke ! My God and I'd completely ignored that aspect.
I told the service guy also so many times that there was a problem with the tuning. And an alarming drop in the mileage ! Even I was trying to adjust the tuning to reduce the vibration .. SHIT ! How very dumb of me ! It was right there in my line of sight and I didn't see it.
Atleast, better late than never .. that's my relief. But I don't know how much the engine would've got damaged as a result of this stupidity.
That's the thing with so many problems .. the solution is simply to look at the problem. But we don't even where the problem is .. and end useless hours trying the wrong solution. I'm supposed to be an observant guy - but what happened here?
I told the service guy also so many times that there was a problem with the tuning. And an alarming drop in the mileage ! Even I was trying to adjust the tuning to reduce the vibration .. SHIT ! How very dumb of me ! It was right there in my line of sight and I didn't see it.
Atleast, better late than never .. that's my relief. But I don't know how much the engine would've got damaged as a result of this stupidity.
That's the thing with so many problems .. the solution is simply to look at the problem. But we don't even where the problem is .. and end useless hours trying the wrong solution. I'm supposed to be an observant guy - but what happened here?
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Bengalur speak
What are the most common topics of conversation between any two Bangaloreans? Well here's my list in the decreasing order of frequency :
1. Traffic situation on the way to office/home on xyz road ( it just doesn't matter - you substitute it with any road name it's the same story!)
2. How much delayed the flyover at xyz junction is !! (Every flyover is ..)
3. How Dharam Singh is screwing up the entire state and specifically Bangalore
4. How Deve Gowda has acquired more property in Bangalore or Mysore Road
5. The winter's quite severe this time. I've never seen such a rough winter
6. Dravid is the best batsman in the world ;) ..
7. How it rained dinosaurs the other day ( this frequency is reducing , Thank God! But you never know n Bangalore)
8. How even 2 years ago, this road was such a lovely place to walk ( all those green spaces are going going gone ..)
1. Traffic situation on the way to office/home on xyz road ( it just doesn't matter - you substitute it with any road name it's the same story!)
2. How much delayed the flyover at xyz junction is !! (Every flyover is ..)
3. How Dharam Singh is screwing up the entire state and specifically Bangalore
4. How Deve Gowda has acquired more property in Bangalore or Mysore Road
5. The winter's quite severe this time. I've never seen such a rough winter
6. Dravid is the best batsman in the world ;) ..
7. How it rained dinosaurs the other day ( this frequency is reducing , Thank God! But you never know n Bangalore)
8. How even 2 years ago, this road was such a lovely place to walk ( all those green spaces are going going gone ..)
Monday, December 06, 2004
Belated confession
I need to make this confession to my dad sometime. But I've never had the guts to do it so far!
This is related to something I did more than 20 years ago. I was 1st Standard studying in the KV JIPMER campus in Pondicherry. I used to get dropped by my dad to school on his Baja Chetak. My school fees was 15 rupees a term ( 3months)!
There was this Aaya kadai right outside the school premises. This old woman who would sell things like toffees, kamarkats ( i guess people outside Tamil Nadu may not know what it is!) etc. This place used to be hang out for the largely innocent crowd of our days. Ha, don't we all feel that way? No, but seing the kids of today, I'm sure we were pretty naive and innocent.
One such day, we were supposed to pay up the fees for the term. Appa'd given me 15 bucks for the same purpose. Instead, i took the entire class out on a treat of kamarkuts. And I told Appa that I lost the money while he was riding me to school. I told him that the money flew out of my pocket on the raod ;).
There were a lot of discussions at that time. I remember that it was the biggest ever controversy I was involved in for a long time :). Life has moved on since then, but I never had the guts to tell Appa the truth about those 15 rupees! Someday I shall gather the courage and do it. But, not quite yet !
This is related to something I did more than 20 years ago. I was 1st Standard studying in the KV JIPMER campus in Pondicherry. I used to get dropped by my dad to school on his Baja Chetak. My school fees was 15 rupees a term ( 3months)!
There was this Aaya kadai right outside the school premises. This old woman who would sell things like toffees, kamarkats ( i guess people outside Tamil Nadu may not know what it is!) etc. This place used to be hang out for the largely innocent crowd of our days. Ha, don't we all feel that way? No, but seing the kids of today, I'm sure we were pretty naive and innocent.
One such day, we were supposed to pay up the fees for the term. Appa'd given me 15 bucks for the same purpose. Instead, i took the entire class out on a treat of kamarkuts. And I told Appa that I lost the money while he was riding me to school. I told him that the money flew out of my pocket on the raod ;).
There were a lot of discussions at that time. I remember that it was the biggest ever controversy I was involved in for a long time :). Life has moved on since then, but I never had the guts to tell Appa the truth about those 15 rupees! Someday I shall gather the courage and do it. But, not quite yet !
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Black Knight
Watched this movie on Star movies last night. Martin Lawrence at his best !
Outright hilarious movie. Martin Lawrence is this guy called Jamaal. He finds some chain lying and when he jumps into the drain he gets transported back in time to 1398 England.
The scene when he first inreacts with Notty is quite amusing. All his conversations with the old Brits shows the contrast in the language spoken in America and the traditional old english.
There's this part where he tried to inspire the english public into rebellion against the king, and he says "Ask not what your fiefdom did fo you, ask what you can do for your fiefdom!". I literally sat there holding my tummy and laughing.
Might not be technical sound or historically correct. But a wholesome masala entertainer all the way ! I would definitely recommend this movie to be watched - can really brighten and lighten the mood.
Outright hilarious movie. Martin Lawrence is this guy called Jamaal. He finds some chain lying and when he jumps into the drain he gets transported back in time to 1398 England.
The scene when he first inreacts with Notty is quite amusing. All his conversations with the old Brits shows the contrast in the language spoken in America and the traditional old english.
There's this part where he tried to inspire the english public into rebellion against the king, and he says "Ask not what your fiefdom did fo you, ask what you can do for your fiefdom!". I literally sat there holding my tummy and laughing.
Might not be technical sound or historically correct. But a wholesome masala entertainer all the way ! I would definitely recommend this movie to be watched - can really brighten and lighten the mood.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Kerla - God's own Country! - Part 2
Food
-----
Although I've had very high regard for Mall food, I found that all the mallu food I'd eaten were local adaptations of actual mallu food ! My God, the original food was terrible.
Firstly, not having any vegetarian choice inside India itself was horrible. The Cherai beach was the worst! Cold appams and parothas with some vague looking green peas masala was the definition of veg food there. The waiter infact started off ranting "Beef curry, mutton curry ..". That was quite psyching.
But in the main cities of Kottayam and Cochin - there were good udupi/tam restaurants which saved us from starvation. The food at this Udupi place in Cochin was heaven! We ate and hogged like 'veg' pigs ;)
Beach
------
We visited one beach - the cherai beach. The beach itself was pretty neat and clean and gentle. But a bit soily in the waves. But it was nice fun nevertheless to walk on soft non-coarse sands. But, it was very crowded. And there were people wearing burqas and sarees trying to wet their feet. That was kind of funny to watch :). And as usual there were white skinned foreigners who attracted a lot of attention of the locals. Weird people, mallus!
Mallu Christian wedding
------------------------
Very simple and charming. I simply loved the simplicity of the cermeonies and the dressing. No big fuss. Lots of songs were being sung in mallu, apparently all devotional songs dedicated to Christ. It was like a hum-aapke-hain-kaun - lots of songs in a wedding.
Also, the wedding seemed to be a very serious affair. There weren't so many smiles as you see in a normal indian wedding. Very sombre indeed.
Hospitality
-----------
Fantabulous! We were a total of 4 vegetarians there - there was one person dedicated to cater to our needs and demands. Simply amazing hospitality at the wedding.
Other observations
-------------------
There seems to be break in the populated places in Kerala. It's a continuos and densely populated state. There's no concept of end of town, beginning of city etc.
The mallu bus drivers - I've always known them to be a bit rough - but experienced them again :) . They ought to make seat belts for all the passengers!
-----
Although I've had very high regard for Mall food, I found that all the mallu food I'd eaten were local adaptations of actual mallu food ! My God, the original food was terrible.
Firstly, not having any vegetarian choice inside India itself was horrible. The Cherai beach was the worst! Cold appams and parothas with some vague looking green peas masala was the definition of veg food there. The waiter infact started off ranting "Beef curry, mutton curry ..". That was quite psyching.
But in the main cities of Kottayam and Cochin - there were good udupi/tam restaurants which saved us from starvation. The food at this Udupi place in Cochin was heaven! We ate and hogged like 'veg' pigs ;)
Beach
------
We visited one beach - the cherai beach. The beach itself was pretty neat and clean and gentle. But a bit soily in the waves. But it was nice fun nevertheless to walk on soft non-coarse sands. But, it was very crowded. And there were people wearing burqas and sarees trying to wet their feet. That was kind of funny to watch :). And as usual there were white skinned foreigners who attracted a lot of attention of the locals. Weird people, mallus!
Mallu Christian wedding
------------------------
Very simple and charming. I simply loved the simplicity of the cermeonies and the dressing. No big fuss. Lots of songs were being sung in mallu, apparently all devotional songs dedicated to Christ. It was like a hum-aapke-hain-kaun - lots of songs in a wedding.
Also, the wedding seemed to be a very serious affair. There weren't so many smiles as you see in a normal indian wedding. Very sombre indeed.
Hospitality
-----------
Fantabulous! We were a total of 4 vegetarians there - there was one person dedicated to cater to our needs and demands. Simply amazing hospitality at the wedding.
Other observations
-------------------
There seems to be break in the populated places in Kerala. It's a continuos and densely populated state. There's no concept of end of town, beginning of city etc.
The mallu bus drivers - I've always known them to be a bit rough - but experienced them again :) . They ought to make seat belts for all the passengers!
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Bhopal - 20 years ...
It's 20 years gone .. the biggest ever tragedy of our country probably of the world occured in Bhopal ! We were all too young to realise or absorb the statistics and destruction .. there was no television to show us what happened like it happened in the earth quake in Gujrath or the riots there .. there were no reporters like Rajdeep and Burkha who could go right into
the sight of disaster and show us the full picture !
Union Carbide ! The word raises my heckles everytime I even hear the word ! I try not to buy Everready batteries for the same reason - if I have some other choice. Yet, the moral police of the world - America - hides its son of capitalism. What has the Indian govt done? Nothing ..
I haven't met any victim of this big tragedy. But I have read so much about their sufferings.
Dec 2, 1984 ! 20 years gone - there's no justice ! Where is Warren Anderson? Anyone knows ?
http://www.bhopal.net/oldsite/abscond.html - This is what I got from google. How much is he directly responsible for the tragedy ? I don't know. I only know the courts provide justice. They want him. But he's shielded. I'm not big enough to decide what is right, what is not .. But
this day I had some time to think.
Only hope that life of the poor are taken more seriously. This dastardly industrialization and corrupt politicians all over the world only makes it a more unsafe place to live in. If the same incident had occurred in a richer country, things would've been different .. that's when I begin to wonder if the Left is right !
the sight of disaster and show us the full picture !
Union Carbide ! The word raises my heckles everytime I even hear the word ! I try not to buy Everready batteries for the same reason - if I have some other choice. Yet, the moral police of the world - America - hides its son of capitalism. What has the Indian govt done? Nothing ..
I haven't met any victim of this big tragedy. But I have read so much about their sufferings.
Dec 2, 1984 ! 20 years gone - there's no justice ! Where is Warren Anderson? Anyone knows ?
http://www.bhopal.net/oldsite/abscond.html - This is what I got from google. How much is he directly responsible for the tragedy ? I don't know. I only know the courts provide justice. They want him. But he's shielded. I'm not big enough to decide what is right, what is not .. But
this day I had some time to think.
Only hope that life of the poor are taken more seriously. This dastardly industrialization and corrupt politicians all over the world only makes it a more unsafe place to live in. If the same incident had occurred in a richer country, things would've been different .. that's when I begin to wonder if the Left is right !
Monday, November 29, 2004
Kerala - God's Own Country ! - Part 1
I'd been to Kerala last weekend for Sajith's wedding. It was quite an experience! It was my first time into Kerala for non-trek purposes. So in a way this was the first time ( excluding that trip as a kid!) I saw for myself what this enchanting land had in it for me !
Nature
-------
The scenic beauty of the backwaters is simply awesome. Waterways are like how highways are in the rest of the country. We went on a boat from Kottayam to R-Block. And in this distance we saw the beauty of what we'd heard of all the time. There were these bridges which were folded up whenever a boat passed by. There were lovely people on the banks washing clothes/ bathing. There were kids trying to swim in the shallow waters. There were acres and hectares of paddy fields. The lush greenary of the paddy fields is always a treat to the eyes !
The next part will contain other aspects of my observations of what I saw in Kerala!
Nature
-------
The scenic beauty of the backwaters is simply awesome. Waterways are like how highways are in the rest of the country. We went on a boat from Kottayam to R-Block. And in this distance we saw the beauty of what we'd heard of all the time. There were these bridges which were folded up whenever a boat passed by. There were lovely people on the banks washing clothes/ bathing. There were kids trying to swim in the shallow waters. There were acres and hectares of paddy fields. The lush greenary of the paddy fields is always a treat to the eyes !
The next part will contain other aspects of my observations of what I saw in Kerala!
Friday, November 26, 2004
Captain Planet ??
This is the most hilarious stories I've heard in the recent times. Very good spoof :-). Very good fwd. Not to be missed for later reading.
This is Indian cinema ;-)
Indian movies will alwayz be an eye opener.Here is a story of
Vijaykant's next (Telugu) movie Its named as "Captain Planet"(WOW !!!
where do they get these names?? )
Vijaykant is a scientist in NASA.......( yes folks..........u read
that right.NASA...the American space lab-A very big set designed for
this by kalaipuli S.Dhaanu).
When our hero was busy launching a satellite to Pluto, his wife simran
is about to deliver a baby and she wanted to meet him. But the launch
process badly need a person like our hero, and there is no other
option.
Senior scientist Radha asks him to stay back till it gets launched.
Our well commited hero successfully launches the satellite, and comes back home in a horse ( where are all the planes gone.??....:)), but his wife is dead. Mean time, other scientists in NASA claim that they were responsible for the launch and they didnt recognise Vijaykanth.
He resigns from there and comes back to india with his family leading a peaceful life.... days go by till......
Oneday, the scientists, to their surprise found that SUN is reaching EARTH slowly and after sometime it may BURN the earth to ashes.. All the scientists are worried how to save the EARTH..
Then they realize that only "THE HERO" (Vijaykanth) can do it...
They visit India,telling him the facts, and Vijaykant joins back there to complete the mission of saving the EARTH...After a very big research, Vijaykant is inventing an instrument.
The instrument will deflect the SUN from its path to EARTH..
All the scientist are very happy and appreciating vijaykanth's invention.
So finally Vijaykant is all set to go into the SPACE and save the earth.
He and one other person (Chandra sekhar, Who is a prisoner in Vellore, Has been choosen by our hero because none other in US army can do that job) are travelling in an spacecraft towards the SUN.
They moved out of earth and in space & Vijaykant is coming out of the spacecraft and standing on the Wings of the spacecraft.
He is taking out the instrument and showing it to the SUN.....
oh!!!!!!!! The instrument is not working... The terrorists deactivated it !!!(ha ha ha .....u got to be kiddin me)
All the scientists are worried at the earth station.....tension mounts up..........
SUN is reaching the EARTH slowly.............
Climax - With the SUN floats towards the EARTH, VIJAYKANTH puts one leg on earth, turns back, kicks off the SUN with ultimate force.. and jumps back to the spacecraft....
now the SUN is deflecting away from its path to EARTH!!!!!!!!!!! EARTH SAVED...
He shows Indian flag in his hand and the spacecraft moves back to earth!
*******************************The End**************************
This is Indian cinema ;-)
Indian movies will alwayz be an eye opener.Here is a story of
Vijaykant's next (Telugu) movie Its named as "Captain Planet"(WOW !!!
where do they get these names?? )
Vijaykant is a scientist in NASA.......( yes folks..........u read
that right.NASA...the American space lab-A very big set designed for
this by kalaipuli S.Dhaanu).
When our hero was busy launching a satellite to Pluto, his wife simran
is about to deliver a baby and she wanted to meet him. But the launch
process badly need a person like our hero, and there is no other
option.
Senior scientist Radha asks him to stay back till it gets launched.
Our well commited hero successfully launches the satellite, and comes back home in a horse ( where are all the planes gone.??....:)), but his wife is dead. Mean time, other scientists in NASA claim that they were responsible for the launch and they didnt recognise Vijaykanth.
He resigns from there and comes back to india with his family leading a peaceful life.... days go by till......
Oneday, the scientists, to their surprise found that SUN is reaching EARTH slowly and after sometime it may BURN the earth to ashes.. All the scientists are worried how to save the EARTH..
Then they realize that only "THE HERO" (Vijaykanth) can do it...
They visit India,telling him the facts, and Vijaykant joins back there to complete the mission of saving the EARTH...After a very big research, Vijaykant is inventing an instrument.
The instrument will deflect the SUN from its path to EARTH..
All the scientist are very happy and appreciating vijaykanth's invention.
So finally Vijaykant is all set to go into the SPACE and save the earth.
He and one other person (Chandra sekhar, Who is a prisoner in Vellore, Has been choosen by our hero because none other in US army can do that job) are travelling in an spacecraft towards the SUN.
They moved out of earth and in space & Vijaykant is coming out of the spacecraft and standing on the Wings of the spacecraft.
He is taking out the instrument and showing it to the SUN.....
oh!!!!!!!! The instrument is not working... The terrorists deactivated it !!!(ha ha ha .....u got to be kiddin me)
All the scientists are worried at the earth station.....tension mounts up..........
SUN is reaching the EARTH slowly.............
Climax - With the SUN floats towards the EARTH, VIJAYKANTH puts one leg on earth, turns back, kicks off the SUN with ultimate force.. and jumps back to the spacecraft....
now the SUN is deflecting away from its path to EARTH!!!!!!!!!!! EARTH SAVED...
He shows Indian flag in his hand and the spacecraft moves back to earth!
*******************************The End**************************
The underpass is inaugurated!
After my 'n' unsuccessful attempts at going through the dairy circle underpass, I finally did it yesterday ! Our beloved CM found time to inaugurate the underpass finally.
It really helps in traffic congestion.But then this is after putting public through so much hassle so it would obviously look much better than the mess it was in for so many years. ( 2 years, I think). Anyway, camt that way today also - not bad in terms of time taken - almost the same as the double road route. The quality of the road is not upto the mark. It's not smoothly ironed out - quite bumpy already.
The road before and after needs some repair immediately. But then we are in India - nothing comes without a struggle. That's why morally and societally we are so high :-). Because our basic needs are struggle everyday. Okay, I shall not get into the usual debate. That's all for now!
It really helps in traffic congestion.But then this is after putting public through so much hassle so it would obviously look much better than the mess it was in for so many years. ( 2 years, I think). Anyway, camt that way today also - not bad in terms of time taken - almost the same as the double road route. The quality of the road is not upto the mark. It's not smoothly ironed out - quite bumpy already.
The road before and after needs some repair immediately. But then we are in India - nothing comes without a struggle. That's why morally and societally we are so high :-). Because our basic needs are struggle everyday. Okay, I shall not get into the usual debate. That's all for now!
Monday, November 22, 2004
Cycling
"I want to ride my bicycle .." - an old song from Queen ! This song really inspires me every once in a while to cycle around. I've had a cycle for the last 4 years ( the latest one!). It's a good BSA Mach I with really really thin tyres.
I've always cherished this dream of cycling to Mysore from Bangalore some day. But before that day comes I need to prepare myself mentally and physically with the concept of cycling. The latest to inspire me to take up serious cycling were :
(1) My latest knee injury that occurred during my last cricket venture
(2) That fundu mail from BUS on his cycling mission for the cause of cancer pateients
I have been cycling some local distances within JP Nagar and Jayanagar. But I really wanted to try out at least a distance of 20 Kms in a session.
So I set out cycling yesterday morning from home. I went through the ring road in Jayanagar and reached the Nanda road early in the morning. It was cold abd beautiful with sun pillars breaking through the canopy on the Nanda road. And it is a good long stretch of good straight road. Then took a right turn at Ashoka Pillar and went onto double road and then residency and MG Road and onto Ulsoor lake. The lake was again looking awesome without too much traffic around it. And then finally rode to the gym to have a small workout and a well deserved steam and shower bath !
Temporarily, atleast my knee pain seems to have vanished ! What a good thing cycling is. I'm getting to realise it now. Thanks to this knee injury. Otherwise I was obsessed with running - be it in the park or the gym - just anywhere - I would attempt running anywhere - a la Forrest Gump. But I'm rediscovering the joys of cycling.
However, a few things that must be taken care of when cycling in Bangalore :
(1) Crazy truck and bus drivers with scant regard for any vehicle/person smaller than their size.
(2) Horrible pollution on the main roads in later hours ( Yesterday was Sunday and so it wasn't bad at all - I don't think on a weekday attempting this beyond 7 AM is worth it !)
Overall, feels good for the body and knee :-). I would love to join others and may be we could organise some good cyclothons around Bangalore.
I've always cherished this dream of cycling to Mysore from Bangalore some day. But before that day comes I need to prepare myself mentally and physically with the concept of cycling. The latest to inspire me to take up serious cycling were :
(1) My latest knee injury that occurred during my last cricket venture
(2) That fundu mail from BUS on his cycling mission for the cause of cancer pateients
I have been cycling some local distances within JP Nagar and Jayanagar. But I really wanted to try out at least a distance of 20 Kms in a session.
So I set out cycling yesterday morning from home. I went through the ring road in Jayanagar and reached the Nanda road early in the morning. It was cold abd beautiful with sun pillars breaking through the canopy on the Nanda road. And it is a good long stretch of good straight road. Then took a right turn at Ashoka Pillar and went onto double road and then residency and MG Road and onto Ulsoor lake. The lake was again looking awesome without too much traffic around it. And then finally rode to the gym to have a small workout and a well deserved steam and shower bath !
Temporarily, atleast my knee pain seems to have vanished ! What a good thing cycling is. I'm getting to realise it now. Thanks to this knee injury. Otherwise I was obsessed with running - be it in the park or the gym - just anywhere - I would attempt running anywhere - a la Forrest Gump. But I'm rediscovering the joys of cycling.
However, a few things that must be taken care of when cycling in Bangalore :
(1) Crazy truck and bus drivers with scant regard for any vehicle/person smaller than their size.
(2) Horrible pollution on the main roads in later hours ( Yesterday was Sunday and so it wasn't bad at all - I don't think on a weekday attempting this beyond 7 AM is worth it !)
Overall, feels good for the body and knee :-). I would love to join others and may be we could organise some good cyclothons around Bangalore.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Baran
I watched this movie the other day. I'd been trying to watch the movie for a very long time and finally made some time for it. Majid Majidi's Baran shows love as an unconditional and divine sense!
The movie begins by showing the main male character, Lateef, buying provisions at a grocery store. It gives an insight into general look and feel of Iran - atleast of a small town on the eastern side of Iran bordering Afghanistan. The contarctor, Memar has a very interesting personality. He's the kind who's basically good at heart but can bend the rules to achieve his end. He's not supposed to employ Afghans without a permit from the Govt., but then he does for profit purposes. The Afghans are shown as a very hard working people prepared to work for much less. The desparation for life and to aviod death back home is also depicted in a very suttle and implicit manner.
The greatest achievement of watching a movie such as this is that we realise that there are people in Iran - they are as normal as any others, the feelings of love is common across the planet ! The manner in which the movie is paced, the landscape shown and the seasons, the rain and the snow portrayed is also very innovative.
The love that Lateef develops for Baran is unconditional and total. The way he shields her is textbook. The entire love story is about how he is ready to do anything for her; without even having spoken to her.
The romance is very suttle and at times not comprehendable. But in the context of the conservative society of Iran, the crossing over of a woman into man's world is quite extreme. And so such unconditional and infinite love for the woman !
Overall, it's a good watch. It's more about information, depiction and sinking in the concept of such love ! It's not about entertainment at all. Not for people who need to be told everything very explicitly.
The movie begins by showing the main male character, Lateef, buying provisions at a grocery store. It gives an insight into general look and feel of Iran - atleast of a small town on the eastern side of Iran bordering Afghanistan. The contarctor, Memar has a very interesting personality. He's the kind who's basically good at heart but can bend the rules to achieve his end. He's not supposed to employ Afghans without a permit from the Govt., but then he does for profit purposes. The Afghans are shown as a very hard working people prepared to work for much less. The desparation for life and to aviod death back home is also depicted in a very suttle and implicit manner.
The greatest achievement of watching a movie such as this is that we realise that there are people in Iran - they are as normal as any others, the feelings of love is common across the planet ! The manner in which the movie is paced, the landscape shown and the seasons, the rain and the snow portrayed is also very innovative.
The love that Lateef develops for Baran is unconditional and total. The way he shields her is textbook. The entire love story is about how he is ready to do anything for her; without even having spoken to her.
The romance is very suttle and at times not comprehendable. But in the context of the conservative society of Iran, the crossing over of a woman into man's world is quite extreme. And so such unconditional and infinite love for the woman !
Overall, it's a good watch. It's more about information, depiction and sinking in the concept of such love ! It's not about entertainment at all. Not for people who need to be told everything very explicitly.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Can something be done?
Went out for lunch today .. We thought we've been to Laitha's Paratha
point too many times .. so decided we'll go to Sealand ..
We reach Sealand and see the shutters are down .. the guy next door says
it's abandh day today.
We wonder what to do next ..so drive up the road and see this restaurant
called 'Tava' right to Ranka de Paradise ..
Ordered out lunch and suddenly the lady downs the shutter with all
customers inside .. says there's a mob of BJP supporters who on the
rampage asking everybody to down the shutters till 5 PM .. why ? Because
Uma Bharti has surrendered ! Where ? In Hubli ? But who's she ? CM of MP
.. we have a bundh in karnataka for that !
Walk out through the partially closed shutter .. walk out and through to
the other side of the road ... i 've never felt such a stench in bangalore
.. why ? Because the garbage is lying there in the corner . Why ? Because
the truckers are on strike and there are no trucks to clean the garbage ..
Why are the truckers on strike ? Everybody has some reason or the other
right ?
Come back on the road .. usual lousy traffic .. why ? because everybody's
in a hurry and have to go wherever they are going .. So traffic rules can
be violated .. there's not enought space for everybody to go .. Why ?
Beacuse there are so many people !!
While I sit and complain, somebody sends me a mail saying Dr. Abdul
Kalam's message .. he says u need to be the change u want to see. .. take
small steps - like : don't litter the road, obey the traffic rules, don't
spit on the road etc etc .. But I don't do any of that stuff ... So why am
I paying the price ?
Read the newspapers - the flyovers are behind schedule .. the roads are
out of shape because of the rains .. there are flash floods in uttaranchal
... there's drought and drinking water problem in chennai .. and still
Dharam Singh smiles on .. I say Dharam Singh because of his name. 'Dharam'
means 'adharma' today.
With these conditions, I only ask one question : What is the solution ?
Can somebody tell me what to do ? Should I stop thinking ? Or Can I do
something ?
point too many times .. so decided we'll go to Sealand ..
We reach Sealand and see the shutters are down .. the guy next door says
it's abandh day today.
We wonder what to do next ..so drive up the road and see this restaurant
called 'Tava' right to Ranka de Paradise ..
Ordered out lunch and suddenly the lady downs the shutter with all
customers inside .. says there's a mob of BJP supporters who on the
rampage asking everybody to down the shutters till 5 PM .. why ? Because
Uma Bharti has surrendered ! Where ? In Hubli ? But who's she ? CM of MP
.. we have a bundh in karnataka for that !
Walk out through the partially closed shutter .. walk out and through to
the other side of the road ... i 've never felt such a stench in bangalore
.. why ? Because the garbage is lying there in the corner . Why ? Because
the truckers are on strike and there are no trucks to clean the garbage ..
Why are the truckers on strike ? Everybody has some reason or the other
right ?
Come back on the road .. usual lousy traffic .. why ? because everybody's
in a hurry and have to go wherever they are going .. So traffic rules can
be violated .. there's not enought space for everybody to go .. Why ?
Beacuse there are so many people !!
While I sit and complain, somebody sends me a mail saying Dr. Abdul
Kalam's message .. he says u need to be the change u want to see. .. take
small steps - like : don't litter the road, obey the traffic rules, don't
spit on the road etc etc .. But I don't do any of that stuff ... So why am
I paying the price ?
Read the newspapers - the flyovers are behind schedule .. the roads are
out of shape because of the rains .. there are flash floods in uttaranchal
... there's drought and drinking water problem in chennai .. and still
Dharam Singh smiles on .. I say Dharam Singh because of his name. 'Dharam'
means 'adharma' today.
With these conditions, I only ask one question : What is the solution ?
Can somebody tell me what to do ? Should I stop thinking ? Or Can I do
something ?
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
The flower show
Last weekend was Independence day weekend. Every year for Aug 15 and Jan 26 there's a flower show held in Lalbagh in Bangalore. It's a very neat botanical garden. I know there are lots of useless people in bangaloe who haven't even seen Lalbagh. You know those kinds who don't go anywhere and yet complain that there's nothing in the city.
Anyway, coming to the flower sow itself, it was quite impressive. Good stuff ! I was happier coz she was happy going there .. it's amazing feeling .. this male thingie of doing things to please the woman. But I enjoyed this one thoroughly.
I'll post some snaps ..enjoy !
Anyway, coming to the flower sow itself, it was quite impressive. Good stuff ! I was happier coz she was happy going there .. it's amazing feeling .. this male thingie of doing things to please the woman. But I enjoyed this one thoroughly.
I'll post some snaps ..enjoy !
I want to blog ..
I just want to get into the habit of blogging .. I want to start .. I have so many ideas and so many thoughts ..but I feel so lazy to put them down .. hopefully this will be a good beginning to start writing about the storehouse of ideas and thoughts in my head !
Yesterday night I almost started fighting with her. She wanted to fight. She said she was bored that we hadn't fought for over 10 days now! Is that bad ? We keep fighting so often .. but I love her! But somehow we keep fighting. We don't agree on so many things. I'm going to marry her early next year.
Will type in more later ..
Yesterday night I almost started fighting with her. She wanted to fight. She said she was bored that we hadn't fought for over 10 days now! Is that bad ? We keep fighting so often .. but I love her! But somehow we keep fighting. We don't agree on so many things. I'm going to marry her early next year.
Will type in more later ..
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
To excercise or to not excercise !
I wake up every morning listening to the laughters in the neighbouring park. Yes, there's a laughter club where a lot of old people and quite a few middle aged people also come and laugh every morning. I found the concept very amusing initially. Then I stopped getting amused by it. Just accepted it as one of those innumerable inexplicable things in life !
Then begins the struggle of making choices. From the below list I need to chose a few and plan a chronological sequence of the activities ! What a pain !
1. Take a jog in the park
2. Do some yoga that'll improve my body and mind
3. Or is it too late for all these coz I've got to rush to office ?
I postpone the decision making moment because my body needs to release all its waste ! Okay I can make the decision while I crap.
Now where is the newspaper? How can I not make use of the time to catch up what's happening in the world ? Okay there it is ! :-) Now I can go in for a crap.
Okay I can now pull myself to wear the running shoes and go to the park. I start my run .. it's a little funny watching the same people go round and round and round in the same park endlessly. I sweat it out and feel good about the excercise. Prbably next year, I can complete the Bangalore marathon.
But the day I've described above is a good day! A bday day begins the previous night. A stupid party with a bunch of drunk blokes ..coversations leading nowhere and yet everyone's laughing their ass out :-( .. that's the beginning of a bad next day.
There are other days that begin - well begin much after it has begun for others. Then I sleep sleep and sleep on that I could make sleeping beauty feel ashamed !
A certain other types of days - the yoga days. Wake up and do a quick round of asanas and surya namaskar! And the hurdles in that - just when you are all set for surya namaskar the servant maid rings the bell. And she needs to clea the room. Cleanliness after all is next to Godliness :-). Another excuse not to excercise.
Other types of days when you decide that evening's the time for excercise. Then the evening you end up in the gym. But there's always a shortage of oxygen in all the gyms :-( .. Can't seem to run beyond 20 min on the tread mill. When will I run the marathon ? Booh ...
Then begins the struggle of making choices. From the below list I need to chose a few and plan a chronological sequence of the activities ! What a pain !
1. Take a jog in the park
2. Do some yoga that'll improve my body and mind
3. Or is it too late for all these coz I've got to rush to office ?
I postpone the decision making moment because my body needs to release all its waste ! Okay I can make the decision while I crap.
Now where is the newspaper? How can I not make use of the time to catch up what's happening in the world ? Okay there it is ! :-) Now I can go in for a crap.
Okay I can now pull myself to wear the running shoes and go to the park. I start my run .. it's a little funny watching the same people go round and round and round in the same park endlessly. I sweat it out and feel good about the excercise. Prbably next year, I can complete the Bangalore marathon.
But the day I've described above is a good day! A bday day begins the previous night. A stupid party with a bunch of drunk blokes ..coversations leading nowhere and yet everyone's laughing their ass out :-( .. that's the beginning of a bad next day.
There are other days that begin - well begin much after it has begun for others. Then I sleep sleep and sleep on that I could make sleeping beauty feel ashamed !
A certain other types of days - the yoga days. Wake up and do a quick round of asanas and surya namaskar! And the hurdles in that - just when you are all set for surya namaskar the servant maid rings the bell. And she needs to clea the room. Cleanliness after all is next to Godliness :-). Another excuse not to excercise.
Other types of days when you decide that evening's the time for excercise. Then the evening you end up in the gym. But there's always a shortage of oxygen in all the gyms :-( .. Can't seem to run beyond 20 min on the tread mill. When will I run the marathon ? Booh ...
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