Reality TV 2!!!

Sometimes, I wanna get on TV and just let loose, but can't
but it's cool for Tom Green to hump a dead moose
My bum is on your lips, my bum is on your lips
And if I'm lucky, you might just give it a little kiss
And that's the message that we deliver to little kids
And expect them not to know what a woman's clitoris is
Of course they gonna know what intercourse is
By the time they hit fourth grade

They got the Discovery Channel don't they?

Might be some of us don’t like what Eminem says but it is true and instead of watching animals mating on Discovery it is definitely worth seeing people with excessive libido making out with each and everyone in sight on Desire – Table for Three. There one chef is making out with sexy girls while in some other show another chef is taking dancing lessons. Now you see why I hate engineering :D. But whatever it is that Desire show is worth the change in timings of Seinfeld. I am definitely not regretting staying up late to watch Seinfeld.

I was watching Discovery Travel & Living the other day and saw one show on it. It was on Wife Swapping. Don’t dilate your eyes coz it is not what you think. One wife swaps her two-week life with another except the part what we guys would have wished for. The first week she has to live according to the rules of that family and the next week she tries to implement her rules on that family. I guess the idea of the show is to make both the families realize how important they are to each other. One homemaker was from a very very rich family and the other was from a family which could afford to be in good living conditions but lived on leftovers collected from dumpsters so that the waste of the world is fully utilized. If you find this gross then what if I tell that the second family used to rarely flush their toilets to save water.. eewwww!! The wife from the first family literally vomited after entering the second house.. hard to digest she lived there for 2 weeks crying like a small child. The show name at first reminded me of another serial Cheaters on Reality TV channel (the cable guy has stopped beaming this channel these days) in which cheating spouses were caught on cam through sting operations. The expression of disbelief on their faces was real fun to watch.

Celebrities are featuring as participants in almost every reality show these days. The worse part is that these shows are re-telecast at night so there is no alternative other than watching them. Some 13 odd celebrities (odd is not for celebrities though it could be associated) have been isolated from the living world in a big house and watched over 24x7 for the next few months. The participant celebs and the audience have to vote out one member from the so-called family every week I assume. Last week Bobby Darling was thrown out of the house. I felt really sad watching that. No no.. not because I have sympathy for his ‘transformation’ to her or a soft corner for gays but I felt that if the producers had managed to isolate Bobby and Rakhi Sawant from the rest of the world then better they kept both of them locked up forever. Probably the producers didn’t know that God rarely gives a chance for doing such good deeds. Carol’s Hindi speaking skills made my jaw drop more than watching the clip of her top slipping on the ramp in the fashion show. Why do I watch this show.. well it has Anupama Verma in it *drool*.

We had gone somewhere to eat where my friend spotted this kid and she took this picture. I loved this snap among the whole lot so posting it. By the way, since yesterday was Children’s Day, belated wishes to the child within all of you.

Too many people grow up. That's the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up. They forget. They don't remember what it's like to be 12 years old. They patronize, they treat children as inferiors. Well I won't do that. - Walt Disney

Lost n found!

Pussycat, pussycat,
Where have you been?
I’ve been to London to see the Queen

Pussycat, pussycat,
What did you do there?

I frightened a little mouse under the chair

I know I have not been around for a while and many are asking ‘bout my whereabouts but I had not been to London nor did I frighten any mouse. The main reason this nursery rhyme is here coz I had to hear this one and many other from my nephew who has started going in kindergarten. I had gone to my uncle’s place for diwali (belated wishes for diwali and hope you all had a good time) and there I was visiting a cousin. There he and his wife made their kid stand in front of everyone and were begging him to recite a few (??) rhymes. Since, the kid had not seen me before he was either shy or scared and staring at me. His mom went on Say beta! Otherwise Sudeep uncle will say all the rhymes. I was like Huh? From where will Sudeep uncle remember the rhymes taught to him some 18 years back? I was seriously hoping that my nephew wasn’t smart like me *ahem* and ask me to start coz I was completely blank (though in the meantime I quickly remembered Twinkle Twinkle in case..). A little later after seeing a chocolate as bribe (corruption starts here.. damn :D) he started the rhymes and started as if he wasn’t going to stop. After pussycat he pinched his Chubby cheeks, then Humpty Dumpty went to sit on a wall; later Jack and Jill went to fetch water before the sky went Twinkle Twinkle with little stars, Johnny and his dad had some sugar when the mouse ran up the clock in Hickory Dickory Dock. After a session of how many fingers, where is nose and head my nephew got his chocolate and I was relieved. Poor chaps.. both of us. Anyways, I had visited my relatives after a really long time so it was a gruelling time to see every household in that city and moreover remember who was who. At the end of day I didn’t remember the names or relations except the faces. I am just hoping that the next time they meet they don’t ask the usual question “Remember me?” or “Ohh! You have grown up.” (as if I was born to stay a kid forever and rant off nursery rhymes for them :D)

It was a hectic month at work and to couple the misery, the management made a few of us take some interviews. Though we did not have the final say in rejecting or accepting the candidate we had to ask a few technical questions and observe how the seniors grilled the interviewee. It was real fun sitting first time on the opposite side of the table and then rub hands in glee watching the prey “MUAHAHAHA!!” But honestly I took care not to scare any fresher and asked only simple questions (coz I knew answers to only those :D). By the way, we booked a new house last month. The work has just started and probably we will be moving there in next July-August. I will surely read all what I have missed on your blogs and reply to the comments too of previous posts, so give me time for that and since I don’t want to make this post too long, will be writing a few backlog entries in upcoming posts. This forced break though made this clear that I can live without blogging or reading blogs.. so it was a relief that my blog revolves around my life and not vice-versa.

Desktop Goddess # 3

No New Year's Day to celebrate
No chocolate covered candy hearts to give away
No first of spring, No song to sing
In fact here's just another ordinary day

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care
I just called to say I love you

And I mean it from the bottom of my heart

I mean it from the bottom of my heart that I don’t love Angelina Jolie as much as my other desktop goddesses. I haven’t watched any of her movies so that might be also one of the reasons. But since she is the talk of city and with reference to the letter in the previous post I had to bring her before the other scheduled desktop goddess. So, here is the ‘most luscious’ lips winner for all of you guys. I never judge a book by cover so won’t comment on that until I get a first-hand report myself *ahem*.

Just one more week guys and I will be back reading and commenting on all blogs and posting regularly. Have a great weekend all of you and keep smiling!

I need some sleep.. it can’t go on like this - Eels

Does anybody know how to feel happy and sad over something at the same time? It is like pasting a beaming smile on your teary-eyed face.

Heart beats are the biggest hypocrites in this world. They beat in your body but always dance to the tune of someone else.

I can’t sleep, I m up all night.
Through these tears, I try to smile
I know, the touch of your hand, can save my life
But don’t let me down, come to me now,
I got to be with you somehow
And now that you are gone,

I just wanna be with you

Suffering from high fever!!

Dear Brad & Angelina,

Hoping that this letter will find you in the best of your health and good spirits despite the paparazzi hounding both of you everywhere you go. The national capital and some other cities are currently in the grip of dengue fever and chikungunya but thanks to both of you my city is being treated to a better thing, the ‘Brangelina fever’. You both are the talk of the whole town, the newspapers are going gaga over you and all other things have just taken a backseat. We all have forgotten what punishments or acquittals the accused in the Mumbai bomb blasts are being rewarded. One of the politicians I love to hate, Kanshiram’s slow murder (oops it is shown as natural death, right? How will you know.. anyways) went into oblivion like his deceased body did. Even the media grabber Laloo was thrown in the inner pages of the newspaper despite some good turn of events for the railways. Many people still don’t know the schedule of Champions Trophy. You would say what a big deal in not knowing which match is scheduled when, but just to imagine this in a cricket crazy place is something which surprises me. No one knows the name of even a single cricket player of the ‘new look’ Zimbabwe team but everyone knows the names of your kids and from where did they come. I mean the place from where they came of course.

As I sit here in my cubicle and look out of the window I can see the hotel in which you both are staying. You both must be wondering (esp. Angie I hope) that in spite of being so near why I haven’t yet come to meet you. Well I had decided that no matter how much workload I had, I would definitely find some time to drop in for a cuppa of coffee. But, after seeing the video of Angelina’s bodyguard gripping the neck of a British photographer I dropped my plans after closing my already dropped lower jaw. I think I will try my luck of catching a glimpse of both of you when you decide to take another ride in the auto-rickshaw. With one personal experience and in general observation I used to think foreigners are scared when they sit in the rickshaw and are driven through the traffic in Pune, but the rickshaw driver in your case was more scared seeing the photographers jostling for pictures. So I guess it would be highly impossible to see how Brad and Angelina look in person even though you would be here for around a month.

Anyways, might be we by chance meet up at some traffic signal. Just make sure you don’t hit my bike with your convoy like you hit the teenager this week after jumping a red signal. I hope you are not worried about that incident. I can assure you that people break signals everyday here, so you definitely are not the odd ones’ out. Some Indian superstars have not just hit but crushed many a lives on the roads and till date they are roaming scot-free. In your case the guy was not even injured, so rest assured you can continue with the shooting of the film in the city. It was my love for you (Brad that was for Angelina and not you) that I took out time to pen down this letter when I should be filling in software release sheets which my client is impatiently demanding. Please don’t tell my blogger friends that I wrote you a letter even in this heavy work schedule because I haven’t updated my blog since many days and not visited any blogs too.

P.S.: I seriously don’t mind the 15 extra minutes I have to spend in the traffic every morning while coming to office via your hotel.

P.P.S.: Any role in your movie? I will take less money even if it just a cameo role

Yours truly,
Sudeep :-)

(Con)fusion at Crossword!!!

A rather long post so if u don’t have time you can go to the last paragraph directly..

I had ample free time in the afternoon on one day last week and the computers on which net is accessible were busy as usual so a friend and myself decided to check out the Crossword store which is at a walking distance from the office. I had already made up my mind to buy one of the Calvin & Hobbes books and the friend also had 1-2 books in his mind. It was the first time I had gone to this Crossword branch so was quite unaware where the sections were located at this place. So ENQUIRY COUNTER 1 was the place the man at the cash counter pointed me to ask my doubts. There a gal (lets say gal no.1) was sitting tapping at the keyboard on her desk. I asked her where I would find a C&H book.

Gal No. 1: You want the whole collection or a single book?
Me: Single (I knew the whole collection costs somewhere around 7000 bucks)
Gal No. 1: Go to the Humour section located there (pointing)
Me: Thanks! The section for Shantaram?

Gal No. 1: In the Best Sellers’ section over here (pointing)

Thanking her I went off to the humour section and browsed through 3 C&H books. Finally settled for one of them and then checked out Shantaram (it is too fat). The guy whom I had come along with, A, had already taken Robin Sharma’s new arrival and was pacing here and there looking for me. I waved to him and called him over and told him that I wanted to buy Shantaram too but maybe next time or from the roadside vendor, so I was finished and we might move back to office. He said that we have to spend at least 30 more minutes there coz if we go in early then his lead would allot him extra work. Thinking how to spend time there, I remembered that the Crossword branch near my house only had plastic wrapped copies of Laetitia Casta’s book and this being a bigger branch might have one unwrapped copy. So back to the Enquiry Counter 1; another girl this time (gal no. 2); I go on:

Me: Err.. I don’t know the name of the book but it is on Laetitia Casta. Can you find it for me?
Gal no. 2: What did you say it is on?
Me: It is on Laetitia Casta.. supermodel Laetitia Casta. It probably contains her photographs and the size of the book is around this much (showing her by hands)
Gal no. 2: What is the author’s name?
Me: I am not aware of it.
Gal no. 2: So how will I find it?
Me: Well you could enter the name in that comp and probably it will give some result.
Gal No. 1 arrives there with half sandwich in hand n the other in her mouth
Gal No. 2: He is searching for some book on casting..
Me: No no.. not casting; Laetitia Casta.
Gal No. 1 nods and I am happy that she knows what I am looking for. She starts typing in the name.
Me: The spelling is wrong. It is l-a-e-t-i-t-i-a.

Gal No. 1: (munching) l-a-t-e or l-a-t-i?

Now generally if someone is munching n speaking I would tell him/her to first swallow that thing but I controlled myself and repeated the spelling slowly. The search threw up a book in the Fashion section so I followed Gal No. 2 who took me and A there. A was visibly bored by that search and was continuously asking me what I was searching for. I was explaining him who Laetitia was and how amazing she looks.

Gal No. 2: You speak marathi well.
Me: Yeah.
Gal No. 2: You don’t look like you can speak marathi.
Me: Err.. *thinking whether I have to say thanks or what*
A: Can you please leave his marathi skills and improve your skills in finding a book?
Me: *LOL* (I just couldn’t control my laughter)

Gal No. 2: *glaring at both of us*

She somehow fished out the book and gave it to us. To our luck it was an unwrapped copy so we pulled two dice shaped stools and drooled over the gorgeous photos.
A: Why don’t you buy this one instead of that cartoon thing you have taken?
Me: Look at the price of that book. It would be a delight if someone gifted me that on birthday
A: *looking at the price* Ohh.. that is expensive. Yeah someone should gift it to me too.
Me: Hey see there *pointing high up the rack* .. Pirelli photoshoot book? Wow! I wasn’t aware that they had a book besides the famous calendars.
A: What is that?
Me: Just take that book out. I used to watch the shoot on FTV.
A kept carefully the Laetitia book aside reached up there and we started seeing the pics of the models. We didn’t notice that 2 aunties had come in that section and as I saw up one of them was glaring at us seeing the assets of the models jumping out of the book.
Me: Chee chee! What type of dirty books you read A! *got up and went towards the payment counter*

A: *confused and trying to hide the book*

Now this thing didn’t end here but I got a cashier in front of me who had joined the earlier day and was not used to the software they had for billing. But since this post is becoming too long so won’t trouble you more with the conversation that went on there. That guy was literally on verge of tears and continuously said sorry for keeping me waiting. I thought in my mind ‘It is ok dude! I am working on a software for past 1 year and still find new things ‘bout it everyday. You just joined in yesterday’. Of course didn’t tell that to him.. aakhir mein Nana Patekar jaise sochna padta hain “Image Image!” By the way, I am still unaware of the Laetitia book name and author and some models definitely look better in clothes than naked (from Pirelli).

On Sunday I got to attend a kathak-salsa fusion concert and it was superb. I had seen kathak before live but had seen salsa only on screen and it was even better when they had the dancers of both the types perform together. The classical side of music had tabla, flute and a sitar while the western music was with guitar, drums and synthesizer. The flutist and the drummer were awesome. If my friend is reading this then it was really nice attending the program and yes I was not bored at all since you feared that. If my friend is not reading this even then it was nice lest anyone would point that out.

The pics blog has finally been updated with pics from the trip and a few earlier ones. I don’t understand why blogger should have word verification for writing posts. Also does anyone know how to connect Hello software and beta blogger? I am not able to use Hello for beta blogger. Happy Navratri to all and may Goddess Durga bless us all. Have a good time playing dandiya.

Return of the Dragon

How does it feel when one is enjoying getting drenched in a waterfall and all the cameras are kept back in the rooms coz of heavy rains (so sorry that the pics of the nice time are not clicked) and then how does one feel when all cams are pointing towards him coz he has been asked to do a stupid thing (ofcourse wont be showing those pics)? Have been in both positions in this trip still i can say that we had a nice time. Not very nice like the last one coz had many dropouts at the last moment for various reasons but still the strength was 29. We started off on Friday night with the bus coming late as usual and then after a couple of delays from our side under the pretext of clicking pics we finally started off towards Amboli. The next morning .. mmmm.. lets say dawn coz the sun was yet to peep above the horizon we stopped somewhere in the middle of the road. The silence of the nature was a bit frightening after the pandemonium in the bus for almost the entire night. After a long time I saw the sun rising and real cool breeze blowing gently in the face. Somewhere far off it might have rained coz the breeze was carrying a faint smell of moist soil. After a photo session there of our dishevelled hair we moved ahead and reached the hotel. After choosing rooms n groups to stay with, everybody freshened up and it was decided to go to the nearest waterfalls after having breakfast. The nearest one was just 3 kms away so we decided to walk instead of taking the bus so that the driver will also catch sleep after driving the whole night. It was bright and sunny outside so we all hit the road talking and playing forgetting that at a diversion we need to ask for directions. So after going on for about 2-3 kms it dawned upon us that we were walking in the wrong direction and as if to add to that the heavens opened and down came the rain. So after hurrying to the hotels the cameras and wallets were tucked away and we all now completely wet n shivering headed to the right direction. The waterfall was awesome and i also accidentally banged my head against a rock. After a tiring walk back (it was ghat section) we merrily had lunch and later some dozed off while some of us indulged in a game of cards. Late in the evening, the campfire organising group tried very hard to light up the fire from the woods which were by now wet and the rains had stopped for a while but it was all misty and it was very hard to see even a few yards ahead. So after a few unsuccessful attempts the flames leaped into the air and some of our wicked minds started spinning tales of ghosts. 2 girls started reciting hanuman chalisa.. lollzz. The rains came to their rescue so all moved into one of the rooms but the stories didnt stop and people who were laughing before had a horrible time going back to their rooms and sleeping.. he he. I was very sleepy and went to sleep otherwise i had some nice plans to take the ghost stories further into real life. Anyways, next time..

On Sunday morning, we had planned to go to the Radhanagari forest but due the heavy rains the sanctuary was closed. So we went to fort Panhala and another waterfall (it was not allowed to enter in it) instead and later finished it off with the Mahalakshmi temple at Kolhapur in the night. At 12:30 in the night we were at the milestone which read Pune 77 kms. We were not aware that the Katraj ghat was closed coz a tanker had got stuck in the tunnel and we were caught in a line of stranded vehicles on either side of the tunnel. At around 4:30 the bus was slowly trudging towards a milestone which read Pune 70 kms. The traffic was diverted and then we reached the office at 10 in the morning from where all went back to their homes to meet again in few hours for work and enjoying the pics n videos. There are 842 pics and around 500 Mb videos. Don’t worry wont be uploading all those but will surely upload a few by the next weekend. Meanwhile here is one of the pics..

I have switched to beta blogger. If you are still on the old blogger and want to migrate, it is easy.. just sign into blogger and under your edit profile section in dashboard there is a link which takes to Learn More about Beta Blogger. You just need a gmail account, so go ahead and switch to it coz I have heard that beta blogger users can’t comment on old blogs. Sorry for the late update, no replies to the comments on earlier posts n less visits on your blogs.. will be back in action soon. Have a gr8 time all of you..

Desktop Goddess # 2

Mere khayalon ki malika

mere khayalon ki malika

chaaron taraf teri chaiyyan re

thamble aake baiyyan

Aayi phulon ke ras mein nahake

layi bheenisi khushboo churake

teri aankhon mein hain halka sa nasha

tera roop meri nazaron mein basaa

I love Aishwarya Rai's mesmerising eyes. It is a fact that when she appealed to the people to register for donating their eyes after death the number of donors increased multi-fold. Anyone has seen the trailor of Dhoom 2? Saw it last week n Ash sizzles in it.

Going on a weekend outing to Amboli hill station. Will be starting off tomorrow night n back on Monday morn. So happy weekend in advance to all of you. Keep smiling :)

Sex, Lies and Videotapes!

The title is not misleading. :P

I was catching up with a school friend on msn over the weekend, after meeting him on orkut after school, and then the movie whose name is mentioned in the title brought back memories. It was way back in 8th grade when the internet had not spread its wings (or fangs) over us and we were totally unaware of the other meaning of the word web** other than the one the spider spins with its saliva. Frankly speaking the first time I was introduced to net was at a friend’s place much later where he had showed the whole group comparison between Pamela’s n Cindy’s bootlicious bodies. After that, had followed frantic calls to people who knew how to clear history of web pages visited.. lol. So before that the only sources of entertainment were cable television and a bunch of books some guys religiously got into school every month. The cablewallah used to show nice stuff late nights but that time we hadn’t subscribed to the cable so like many guys from my class I was left at the mercy of the guys with the books. One of them was the guy mentioned in the opening line. This dude A had a very nice dad (still might be having) and we all used to envy him that time. Now, where on earth you will find a dad who gives monthly pocket-money exclusively for buying porn books? I guess nowhere and naturally we had developed a sense of deep respect for his dad.. he he. So the books would get into the class and the big geography books were undressed from their covers and the cover page models would get draped into them for circulating in the class. During one such session we coincidentally had the geography lecture on and the teacher Mrs. K asked one guy to read a certain paragraph from the text book and till now you must have figured out that he had the other book in the covers and was stumped what to do. It was a hilarious scene but he somehow managed to get the original geography book from the nearby benches. But I still clearly remember the teacher’s face writ with surprise and the guy’s huh-what-happened look when she asked him why he had to exchange the books just to read out a paragraph. So coming back to the guy A; once he had mentioned in class that there was a movie Sex, Lies and Videotape on some channel. So the next day we were quite eager to hear his review of how the movie was and more for the hot scenes but as usual the censors had cut the hot scenes and the foul language was beeped out. A few years back again this movie was aired and this time we had cable but I don’t remember why I didn’t see it. Might be coz I already knew that it was going to be edited before screening.

The censorship is still in but I feel it has grown to a large extent than before. Late night stuff is definitely for adult viewing but the government agencies don’t think that the audience is mature enough to view it. Leave apart the things related to sex, one cannot celebrate Valentines Day fearing the moral police brigade to come and beat him/her. Pubs and discotheques can’t remain open till wee hours’ coz we don’t want any ‘western’ influence on our good culture. My company has now kept 2 separate computers for surfing the internet. Imagine an IT company where 100 people want to check mails or surf but have access to only 2 computers for that. I don’t know whether to frown or laugh at it. Today afternoon I wrote on my whiteboard ‘Restrictions and Attrition go hand-in-hand’. I really have no idea if this will be read by the management but now this is a form of protest thanks to ‘gandhigiri’.. ha ha.

** I really feel happy when I see kids as young as in 1st grade learning and knowing computers. We had been introduced to computers in say 5th or 6th grade and we used to play Packman and Dave on the school computers and used to learn DOS in curriculum. When I was active in a social group for teaching kids a few years back, we had to go to their houses to meet their parents so as to confirm that their school studies were not affected due to our extra-curricular activities. I was literally stumped when a kid aged around 7-8 years hurled some technical jargon at me and told how he was learning to build his own website. But then I feel somewhat uneasy with the access these little children have to sites after getting messages on hi5 or orkut saying that I liked your profile and when their profile is seen it reads age 14-15 and status is committed. I don’t know whether I am still being orthodox in some ways but I feel sad for the parents of a gal aged in her very early teens whose scrapbook is filled with messages such as “Hey sexy gal! Can we go on a date tomorrow?” I just click the ‘back’ button on the browser and say to myself “Which age you are in? Grow up! This is what you have to accept with the developments in technology”. Really I have to grow up or else have to accept that the scene in the lower cartoon is or can be a real thing.

Tryst with the Mahatma on Teachers’ Day!

Can there be a better way celebrating Teachers’ Day ** than wishing one’s fav teachers n then watching the movie Lage Raho Munnabhai? I would say this is perfect, just perfect. The part two of the movie Munnabhai MBBS is great.. no it is awesome! Let me first of all make it clear tht m not a fan of Mahatma Gandhi coz I haven’t read anything ‘bout him other than the few chapters of 3-4 pages we have in our history books. The movie simply conveys his preachings in such a manner tht u rarely can disagree with the characters n the director. The Father of the Nation has been reduced to either a statue around which politics is played by vandalizing it or a portrait hung in a frame in the govt offices under which corruption blossoms n comes to full bloom. The younger generation knows him as a face on the currency note n a figure lifting salt to break the shackles of English rule in colonial India. The movie without being preachy n without the ‘do-this-do-that’ dialogues cleanly conveys how we have lost the path which was shown to us by Gandhiji. I don’t remember watching a movie which has this perfect blend of reality n humour. The roles have been perfectly essayed by each n everybody. The soft-hearted don Munnabhai n his best man Circuit make sure u keep rolling with laughter. Vidya Balan looks nice as usual n does well as usual too but I hate her radio jockey character’s ‘Gooood Moooorning Mumbai’ drawl which sounds very shrill to wake up frm deep slumber. Dilip Prabhavalkar is gud playing Mahatma Gandhi while Boman Irani does his small part ok. Apart frm a few scenes which I felt went over the board the whole movie is awesome.. music is also gud. Is it an irony tht the audience is almost emotionless when the Mahatma says tht his statue is being vandalized everywhere but later u can see everyone choked with emotions n fingers reaching slowly to the eyes when the lead characters say sorry to each other? Or is it ok with the kind of world we are living in?

It is just impossible to meet all teachers who have taught till date on a single day to thank them but it is more impossible just to remember all the teachers who have taught. I just remember a handful coz they have been my fav teachers. So thnx to my parents, N.M.Kulkarni, Manjiri Shrikhande, K.M.Gokhale, Mrs. Jugade, Sanjeevani Bokil, Prof. Khake, Late B.G.Kulkarni, Anjali Patil n Girish Modak. Also, thnx to all of u out there (bloggers n non-bloggers) who have contributed in my learning at some or the other turn of my life. As a saint had said “Guru is a guru no matter what his/her age is”.

As we now remember our teachers n thank them for nurturing us how can we overlook the Ujjain incident in which students killed a professor by beating him black n blue. Wht a sorry state of education is this in which students are responsible for their own professor’s death for petty reasons such a college election.. n yes we will be happy to blame all this on the politics entering the education field but it is indeed a sad day for all of us to see a professor die at the hands of goons who run the college under the shadows of politicians. On the other hand we also have a student admitted in a critical state for being ragged by a senior under the garb of introduction. We surely need an idol for today n watching the movie surely makes me think tht Mahatma shld have been there today. Or would he have died a thousand deaths seeing wht the country is into now?

** Teachers’ day or Teacher’s Day?? Again the same question I had asked on Mother’s day .. but now I have decided tht since teachers are many, for me it will be Teachers’ Day while for mom it will be Mother’s Day. Have a gr8 weekend!

Desktop Goddess # 1

I've even seen miracles

I've felt the pain disappear

But still haven't seen anything

That amazes me quite like you do

You bring me up when I'm feeling down

you touch me deep you touch me right

You do the things I've never done

You make me wicked you make me wild

'Cause baby, you're my number one

One of my most fav pic of my most fav model Laetitia Casta.

Everything I do, I do it for you!

As I was typing this post I got one of the hilarious messages on one of my communities on orkut. It was an invitation for gals of tht community to oppose eve-teasing (now I support tht) but the message mentioned tht for this all gals shld start adam-teasing .. lollzz… now I find tht funny. I have not been a ‘privileged’ male member to undergo tht kind of teasing but imagine a guy complaining to his frnds tht he got adam-teased by a gal on way to office. The gal might have whistled at him n said in a sweet voice “Kya be chikne!! Movie ko aata ke mere saath? Chal naa..” .. lollzz.. tht would be a sight. Out of curiousity, as to who must have joined such a grp, I clicked on the link n whoa! 2000+ members were already members of tht community. Be careful guys.. :P


Okk.. now coming back to the post. Some pics for my blogger frnds.. they are related to their recent posts or their lives as far as I know them so others might not get wht the pic is for. But don’t feel sad.. as u all know blogger doesn’t allow posting many pics together so there will be sequels for this n ur name will surely figure in one of them at least.


First pic -has- to C&H .. n couldn’t find a better pic to suit u Navdeep .. MUAHAHAHA. Actually I had one pic of Eiffel Tower for u.. but as it is u gonna see it there live so be happy with this u KID!! :P

Parag u can try this trick in the very hot Tucson .. though I wonder how much u will get to rest now tht u got a new job along with the studies. :))

Ishita, Kalpz n Aditi had demanded the pic of the idol at my home. :)) It is actually a throne/seat n not a temple as I had thought of before assembling it. I don’t like decoration part n the colourful pins have been added by mom.

Vaibhav, saying ‘MTV rocks’ is more than enough I guess ;))

Yashita, we will take this Pluto along with us on our trip coz might be we need someone who can tackle aliens living on planet Pluto ;))

Random Rumble in the Bronx!

For the pretty lady sitting prettily in her oh-so-pretty office in S’pore:

4 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 2 = 32 hrs n not 16 hrs! How can you expect to finish the work in half the time n tht too when u urself prepared tht stupid document which had to be read over n over again to understand wht u were trying to say n then spending hours modifying it to rectify the wrong steps u had written. Due to u I had to work in the office almost till midnite for the past 3 days. If u don’t know basic addition go to the Start menu of ur comp n then from the Programs fly-out menu go to Accessories n voila there is a Calculator hidden there for dumbos like u. Now if u use any other operating system than Windows may Bill Gates haunt u in ur dreams .. tht too for total 32 hrs in installments! :P

Actually writing this all here can’t vent out the frustration coz this will be the story again for every small project.. ohh another one starts from 1st Sept. I guess. Someone had appropriately said
Every organization is like a tree full of monkeys. Ones at the top can only see monkeys below them and ones at bottom see only assholes above them

Time tht I close the eyes of my juniors :D

Dad got ‘officially’ transferred to Madhya Pradesh from Himachal Pradesh. We were expecting it to be Rajasthan n mom n myself were happy coz we haven’t been there. But anyways we also haven’t been to MP. So au revoir to Shimla n Delhi n -soon- here I come Bhedaghat n Dhuandhar waterfalls. I hope tht soon will be really soon otherwise a senior person retiring here in December this year vacates a position n dad might be transferred back to Pune to fill it up. I mean tht is gud but it is bad too. Damn why do things have two sides.

We all Japanese language students in the company got certificates for the recently concluded training session. Also we gave a small treat to our teacher.. have got pics will upload them someday. As u can see the marks have come down frm 80 to 79. Thts coz I was honest enough to tell the teacher tht she had given me an extra mark in a question by mistake. I swear I m not tht honest but actually I had gone to tease her for giving me an xtra mark n demanded one more mark for pointing out her mistake. Had I known they were gonna write marks on the certificate I would have not displayed my honest side. See again, everything has two sides. Btw, a better handwriting on tht would have been nice.

Now everybody close ur ears. AAARRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHH !!Sorry Navdy tht wasn’t ur blog heading but I really shouted. If I don’t update this space anytime in future for 15 days in a row consider tht I have left blogging n sorry for tht. But I just can’t get over the feeling no matter how hard I try. It is the second time I m losing my smile to it. It is neither professional problem nor academic. I m not getting married n neither I have fallen in luv. So stop thinking ‘bout it n I will try my best to be on the blogging scene coz I have to parade the desktop beauties. Okk thts a gud thought for survival. Ciao!

Gods, Goddesses n Miracles!!

Bola Ganpati Bappa Morya, Mangalmurti Morya

Since evening, the only audible thing apart from the dhols n tashas is this sentence. It is festival season in the land of festivals. One has just enough time to relish n digest all goodies prepared for the festive occasion till the next one knocks the door. When in school we were given the topic ‘My Favourite Festival’ for essay I, like most other students, used to write on Diwali coz it had a huge matter to write. But, even today I m more fond of Ganesh Utsav as compared to Holi n Diwali. The decoration n themes put up by various pandals n the long walks to see all of them throughout the night, the immersion process n the 7-8 hrs of non-stop dance (both, the fav ganpati ishtyle dance n the decent one with a local school) n the best part of course are the modaks. I luv the fried version n never liked the steamed ones. Mom has gone out of station for two days n will be returning in time tomorrow for the puja. Till then, I got the idol today evening after hunting a few places to get the idol of perfect height to fit into the thermocol temple I had already bought.

The so-called miracles in different parts of the country have been ruling the news for the past two weeks. Check Aditi’s blog where she has already written on the idols of gods drinking milk n salty water of a river (or better a glorified gutter?) turning sweet n more stuff. I was reading Farah Baria’s column n a few excerpts from it:
It’s easy to sneer at miracles from an Ivory Tower. Try it from a slum with a skinny, sick child in one arm and a bucket of brackish drinking water in another – you might just be singing a different hymn. The truth is, in a country where 1.2 million kids still starve to death every year and over 40 million citizens wage a daily battle with poverty and hunger, Faith is India’s coping mechanism – our only security blanket against hopelessness and despair. Purer than opium, safer than Valium.
The joke is that India is not just a country of miracles, it’s a miraculous country. Think about it. The way we submit to inept leaders, then vote them back to power, is a miracle. The way we accept corruption and deceit is a miracle. The way we somehow muddle through the chaos and make it work is most definitely a miracle. But these miracles we don’t see, the ones we take for granted.
When will we stop believing? Qutie simply, when every Indian can eat, drink, work and live with dignity. When we can cease to serve the government we have appointed to serve us. When India, like the Meethi River, can hold her head high and be proud of her name. But for the moment, these can only be miracles.

Well, all we can hope is that the God of Wisdom of whom we kick-start the 10 day festival from tomorrow instill knowledge in those superstitious minds.

The series I mentioned in the last post is going to be of wallpapers. Desktop Goddess of the Fortnight/Month will commence from next month. As the name suggests the wallpapers will be only of babes, so sorry gals :D. The name is inspired by a show on Channel V which goes probably by the name V Goddess of the month. I haven’t yet finalised whether to update tht section after a fortnight or a month. Going by my collection count till today if I update it daily the series would last for about 6 years from now. But daily wont be possible; so I had another thought to go by alphabetical order. Suggestions are welcome but let me tell u tht it won’t be a boob show here, definitely (though long live the SI photo shoots n VS ramp shows). I use all those wllpprs at home n in company so I got to be careful :). Most of the models/actresses are my fav but the main thing is the captured pic. So hats off to the photographers for capturing the stunning beauties in awesome frames. Btw, whts with these wllppr sites nowadays? Some are going almost porn n it is difficult to browse for a gud wllppr without a naked gal titillating on the sidebars n a foreign chick’s pic saying she is right here in Pune for me to make out tonight. WTF!! It is kinda difficult to pursue a hobby these days. Anyways, hope u r having a gud Sunday if reading this tomorrow otherwise have a nice week ahead.

Spoofed Nationalists

How many of you remember the national pledge we used to recite in school? I can only remember the part India is my country. All Indians are my brothers and sisters. Now, not remembering the next lines don’t make me an anti-Indian n neither does knowing the entire pledge by-heart make me a patriot. Why to make the national song Vande Mataram to be sung compulsorily everyday in schools? As it is, we already sing the national anthem along with the pledge. To be frank, I don’t know the meaning of each n every word of our anthem and neither can I tell how many regions are mentioned in it at the drop of a hat. But still I luv my country. Fine, I agree it is not wrong in singing the national song but making it compulsory is bad. Worse is making it a political issue n sparking off community hatred. But we can expect only this frm our politicians. Why do u go to a movie theatre? For pleasure.. right? Now why do we have to play national anthem in a place where ppl come to unwind themselves. The sadder part is many ppl keep on munching to the popcorn or slurping the coke while standing. Why the hell bring disrepute to the anthem like tht. Call me a traitor if u want but I hate this forced-nationalism. The sense of pride or feeling of gratitude towards ur own country shld come frm ur heart n not necessarily frm ur mouth thro songs of praise. If the politicians want everyone to be like tht then get someone to sit n transmogrify everyone.

Last night I was reading an article on the sudden influx of spoofs of best-selling novels. Spoofs/parodies are meant to be taken in a light way n the satire might be difficult to digest if one doesn’t has a taste of tht kind of humour or the original author is one of ur favs. I Moved Your Cheese is a spoof of Who Moved My Cheese. Till yest I was thinking tht Spencer Johnson had written the next part of the latter one. Lord of The Rings got Bored of The Rings while Star Trek turned into Star Wreck. But the best name of the spoof according to me is the on one of the famous books Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. The name of the satire is Women are from Bars, Men are from Penus. After reading the original version would luv to skim thro’ the spoof as well. Has anyone read any spoof novels? While we are on spoofs, yest one colleague shared a parody on Harry Potter. It is awesome n Lindsay Lohan with xtra assets makes it super awesome. A laughter riot of 5 mins 20 secs.. search for it on youtube or any other sites n post the link in comments if anyone finds it. Would have mailed u all if the size was small but it is 50 Mb.

Btw, if u have ur mail id in ur blogger profile n got ur comments bounced off my mail id then m sorry for tht. Let us blame the system guys for this; have changed the comments-delivery to gmail again. It was gud when the comments directly landed in mail box so it was a refreshing change to read tht frm the official mails n boring forwards. Now, I have to refresh the whole page in free time to check for comments. So pls don’t expect a reply on a comment in posts in archives. I am thinking of starting a series on blog.. details in one of the upcoming posts.

Wanted - Hot gal with cool sunglasses! :D

2 days back as I was waiting at the Sangam Bridge signal on way to office saw a few school children standing across holding placards in their hands. The boards were in marathi language n I take longer time to read marathi in devnagari script than in English script thnx to the innumerable sessions of chatting. I was trying to figure out wht was written frm a long distance but couldn’t do so apart frm noticing a few exclamation marks. The signal turned green n the curious cat in me glanced sideways to read the banner. I just finished reading half of it n THUD!! I almost fell down in a big pothole in the middle of the road.. not middle it had covered the whole road. Guess wht was written on the placard.. Pudhe khadda aahe!! Vahane hallu chalva! which translated means Pothole ahead!! Drive slowly!. I was not hurt but tht pothole sure shook some of the vertebrae down the spinal cord. Tht is just one of the innumerable potholes here n every rainy season Pune is compared to the moon drawing a comparison of the potholes and craters over there. I wont be saying again n again tht the corporation sucks but it indeed is a gr8 effort by the students of school to come forward n help citizens (not by making them bump of course). Also a few IT companies’ employees have started manning traffic signals in peak hours while the pot-bellied policemen take a siesta. It is tht time of the year when u sport ur sexy sunglasses to hang around n not to move. If at all u have to move prepare urself for a roller-coaster ride.. woooohhooooo!!!

In the previous post, many said tht it is a passing phase n also the ‘grass is greener on other side’ feeling. I agree to tht, but yet I would like to say tht blaming engineering does not mean I did not enjoy those four years. It was one of the best phases of my life. Apart frm the gud frnds I made in this time I value these four years as discovering myself. I was not shy but introvert by nature in school. But conscious efforts frm my side n a nice grp of frnds has definitely transformed me into an extrovert. Not tht I was not social earlier but there has been a distinct transformation in me in a positive way. So for some of u .. engineering is gud.. fine? Now u can sleep peacefully :P. Also, someone pointed tht I need to find a gal so tht I won’t be stressed.. lollzz. I would luv to take this advice n start searching for a gal. But being lazy I would prefer to print some ads’ n let the gal come over here instead :D Any creative lines.. not pickup lines.. for the ads’ are welcome.. he he. My tennis partner Kunal is leaving for US this weekend to pursue higher studies. So tht means ‘The Sunday Tennis’ comes to an end until I find a new partner. Also, a few frnd frm my grp already left abroad in the past two weeks or so. Now m seriously wondering wht I would be doing over the weekend n whom to hang out with. Whts the use of sexy sunglasses if u don’t have anyone to hang out with.. lol. I guess the ‘gal’ thing shld be seriously considered now. Don’t be surprised if u get to see hoardings for the gal-search all over Pune. I will keep in mind to make those in english n not in marathi otherwise I will be the first one to take a tumble again.. ha ha.

Watched ‘The Game’ movie over last 2-3 days. It features Michael Douglas, don’t know if it is new or old. But if tht thing (a prank) happens to someone in real life, I doubt he will survive till the end.. the movie’s end not his end. I got myself new headphones in office.. the earlier ones had started to function well again suddenly but again gave problems last week. For a few reasons I have fallen in luv with 2 songs right now. They have been playing in loop since a few days. One is Lucky Ali’s Tu Kaun Hai and other one Pyaar Ke Naam by Bombay Vikings. Interestingly, both songs when used in movies are more melodious. I guess m correct or it’s only me thinking tht way. A few lines of the first song are:

Kahaan se tu aati hain kahaan ko tu jaati hain
Sapnon ko sajaati hain apnon ko le jaati hain
Baagon mein jab behti hain kaanon mein kuch kehti hain
Aati hain nazar nahin saanson mein par rehti hain
Hawa hain pawan hain vayu hain purwai hain
Jeevan hain jaan hain ya parchai hain
Dene aayi hain ya kuch mere liye layi hain
Puchu na main kya tuzhse kahanse tu aayi, tu kaun hain

Tu kaun hain Tu kaun hain Tu kaun hain

The *tu kaun hain* line doesnt fail to make me think every time i hear it. The second song’s lyrics are put up in the scrolling line on header. Have a superb weekend all of u!

Who Wants to be a Millionaire Engineer?

I wanna be your t-shirt when it´s wet
wanna be the shower when you sweat
I wanna be - your hot tub - when you´re dippin´
I wanna be - your bathrobe - when you´re drippin´
I wanna be - your cocktail baby - when you´re sippin´
I just wanna be right there - more than anything I swear
I wanna be - your underwear
But babe, I never wanted to be an engineer

Bryan Adams was lucky.. he just became everything a normal guy would desire n even he didn’t get to waste 4 years of his life getting a B.E. If u luv engineering run away now otherwise I will haunt u in ur dreams n turn them into nightmares. I HATE engineering. Now tht I have said tht let me clarify tht it was solely my decision to get into tht rut so neither can I blame my parents for tht. So all I will do is rant ‘bout it. The memories came back due to two main reasons.
First is tht m getting bored frm this routine life of work. I m itching to break free n do something else fully aware tht after 1 year I will be saying the same thing again in any field. Second was a guy (frm mom’s tuitions a few yrs back) who met me at the gym the other day. He has completed his 12th grade n filled in the form for engineering. Now gym is a place I dislike to be in the first thing in morning. As if tht was not enough this guy comes n starts asking which college is gud n which discipline he shld prefer. Honestly I felt telling him to drop the idea of becoming an engineer n instead do something else but fearing his parents would come to my home with sticks n brooms I kept my wise ideas to myself. It has been almost 2 years now I got out of the college but tht dude wasn’t able to understand when I said u shld look how the campus offers went for the last year n then choose a college. Adding to the already confused condition of admissions the university has added a Common Entrance Test (CET) which is now used to prepare the merit list. When I had gone for it, the merit list was prepared only on the 12th grade marks but all efforts of explaining this to him went in vain as he insisted to know my opinion ‘bout his score in the CET. I know he is in a tough position n wants some answers but get them frm a relevant n reliable source.. pls not frm me. I had a ‘gud’ reputation in my class of just passing on the border .. in fact I joined the 40/100 marks community on orkut n was pleased to read tht there were ppl having more subjects with the magical figure of 40. I will count my tally n post it sometime. But as of now I will say engineering sucks n if there is someone in favour of engg. don’t sue me but pls guide tht kid as a favour.

With due respect to all engineers n the females in the world

Becoming an engineer is similar to getting pregnant. You just have to enjoy the success n not count the efforts and years tht went in, to become one

I would have luved to become a sports person.. not table tennis of course :D. Wht would u have luved to become instead of wht u r into today? If u r a student are u flowing in the stream u like or want to get to the shore n settle for something else?

Wishing all the Indians a very very Happy Independence Day for 15th August. I sincerely hope tht every kid grows on to become wht he wants n even if he/she doesn’t land up in the dream job, he/she helps India to outshine the rest of the world. On tht optimistic note, lets end this post by repeating after me “Engineering Sucks!!!” I luv u all.. thnx!

Ghost - 1990

Do u believe in ghosts? I don’t till date. There is a news tht two cities are currently affected by a ‘music-lover’ ghost. It may sound funny but wht is more funny tht if someone sings or hums Himesh Reshmiyya’s songs then tht ghost loves it (or hates it.. might be Himesh’s publicity stunt) but yeah the ghost chases the person who is singing. There was a nice discussion on tv (don’t tell me I said anything against watching tv) whether ghosts are for real or an illusion we have due to some fears, imagination or just some widely spread tales. There was a tarot card reader too n she said tht she never believed in ghosts until she witnessed one herself n pointed out tht until one doesn’t witnesses it himself or herself not to believe in them. Tarot cards, palmistry, astrology n horoscope are definitely sciences but since we are not taught these in school I have something somewhere back in my mind which tells me not to believe in them. But still, the first thing I do when I grab the newsppr in morning is read Calvin & Hobbes n then Peter Vidal’s daily horoscope column. I must admit tht I wonder that even though I don’t believe in it, most of the things in tht column come quite true. I first thought tht reading tht in morning, I must be trying to do wht was written but then I started reading tht while sleeping n still it tallied most of the times.

It is a debatable issue whether these things are for real or not but those who believe highly stress on the existence of ghosts. As for my believing in ghosts, I want to do two things for tht. First is go to a trek to Torna fort n stay there overnight. I luv trekking but apart frm tht fact I want to do this esp coz have heard many stories of ghosts on this fort who haunt the place in night. Second is some lane in Pune where a Chinese boy sits with folded legs in mid-air. If I see these two then I will surely update this space. Nah.. ghosts don’t kill simply coz if there are ghosts surely they also are facing the problem of population explosion. U tell me.. have u seen a ghost?

The weekend break was gud. My grandparents are well n gr’ma is also recovering. At this age wht they need more is love rather than medications n tht they sure are getting frm my lovely cousins. These kids amaze me every time I visit or they come here. I have this firm belief tht there is more to learn frm kids than elders. U just shld have tht patience to understand them. Being a single child, I really am bad at giving n sharing n I sure get an inferiority complex seeing them think so much for each other n tht too even in small small things. I yesterday vowed tht I would try to share my chocolate bar next time with someone.. yes it was hard to even think of it, but I did do it. Also, a small boy on the road made me realize yest why my bike’s headlight was on even when I had tried all things to turn it off for past 2 days n the mechanic also failed to understand why it was continuously on. Apart frm tht I was also at the receiving end of umpteen methods to get rid of my cough n cold. Gr’mother insisted on me drinking haldi-ka-doodh (turmeric flavoured milk) while one of the aunts had masala-doodh ready. Had to gulp down both at diff times of course. Then another aunt got me ugly-coloured-horrible-smelling syrup which I had to drink much to the amusement of two younger cousins. I was wondering whether I had gone to visit a patient or to turn myself into one. It is a fact tht if u take medicines u get well in a week while if u don’t then u take around 7 days, still the fuss over it.

Happy Raksha Bandhan to one n all. I just cant get over this joke.. sorry if it hurts someone’s sentiments, but since it is in marathi I don’t think many will be able to understand it. I m not taking any efforts to translate it coz it loses the punch after translation.

Ek sundar mulgi college madhye rakhi gheun aali aani vargatlya saglyat waatrat porala mhanali “Haath de, rakhi bandhte”. Porga tar aagav hotach, mhanala, “Wah ga wah! Udya mi mangalsutra gheun yein, bandhun gheshil ka mazhya kadun” :))

I am leaving!!

Wht did u think frm the title? Did u think I m leaving blogspot since it again got blocked in the company.. nah! Ur torture won’t come to an end so soon … but don’t worry it will surely end one day :)

Can’t put down wht I had intended to so wrapping it up. I m having a very bad cold… sneezing all the time since yest evening. My nose is hurting like hell. I don’t remember getting wet in the continuous downpour which is taking place here the whole week (though yest it was gr8 weather) but it seems the weather change had me in. I will be going to my mom’s native place tomorrow to meet my grandparents. Grandma is not well n she got a fractured leg too. U all too tk care n have a gr8 weekend. Catch u all on Moday now.. tada.. :))

EDIT: A Happy Frndship day to all of u (it is on Sunday if u were not aware like me).. so if u r my frnd be happy always n if u r not then WTH r u doing here :D

Hiiiiiissssssss...

It was Nagpanchami on Sunday. Nag means snake n panchami is 5th day.. don’t know wht 5th day is but ppl worship snakes on the Nagpanchami (snake being one of the creatures alongside one of the most powerful gods in Indian mythology). There were some pics in the newsppr of ladies celebrating it so I assume tht it is a more female-sided day so no wonder I don’t know anything about the festival. But snakes do evoke some memories frm the past. Dad being a zoologist, his office had (when he was in Pune) insects n animals of all size, sex, caste n creed.. okk at least the first 2 I guess. There were beautiful butterflies to ugly beetles, creepy snakes to grasshoppers, crickets, praying mantis n wht not. I have had my wonderful share of scaring gals in school during my science projects when mostly I used to take an empty box of sweets n arrange all those insects in it. Of course they were dead but not all knew tht fact n it was real fun. But, before tht as a kid I also wasn’t aware tht all those snakes were dead n kept in spirit for preservation. I always thought tht they were alive n were kept in special mineral water which kept them alive for many years. I never used to venture in tht area of the office n used to keep myself happy watching the butterflies n moths.

The first time I came across a live snake was when I was in 7th grade I guess. Tht time dad was a member of an organization WILD. Tht organization had caught some snake-charmers (don’t know wht is charming ‘bout these ppl) who sewed the mouth of snakes n then made money by either making them dance on tune of bin or skinning them. The whole lot of snakes recovered frm them was kept in an exhibition to spread awareness about snakes in the masses. I was roaming around keeping a safe distance frm the exhibits when one of dad’s frnd recognized me n said “Hey this is Dr. Sharma’s son.” Now god knows why but this statement prompted one guy frm the organization to come forward n place a huge python on my neck with the python’s neck region in my right hand. I can’t forget tht feeling till date. I was shivering n I could feel my palms going wet with sweat. Luckily tht lasted only for few seconds but in such situations the few seconds also seem like long hours. (Off record: I later boasted ‘bout handling a live python alone n tht ‘live’ word was said with due stress :D) The point is tht m in awe of ppl who can handle those poisonous n non-poisonous asps. I always take my lil cousins to the local snake park to show them how they take out venom. The snakes there are in deep pits so no problem of being scared, but yes snakes are scary n far far away from being cute. Take my word for tht.

Weekend was meant to be fun but the incessant rain did play a bit of spoilsport. Met a lot of buddies in this whole week. Two of them were in India on vacn frm France n US. Another was here frm Singapore while two frm within India frm Banglore n Hyderabad. Lotz to talk, lotz to eat n lotz to learn too. Watched Omkara movie which is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello. It was nice but Saif took away the whole movie n might sweep the awards too. Also watched (or say re-watched if permitted to use the word) Saving Private Ryan, Apaharan n half of Chronicles Of Narnia. Finished off the season one of 24 n still I have dreams of Elisha Cuthbert being kidnapped again n again n me being her sole saviour. I was wondering if I had too much on hands before Saturday evening came but now wonder how could I squeeze all this too along with getting up at 1 on Sunday. Amazes me!

Out of context.. today’s evening made me very very happy.. it is past midnight but m still smiling :)

Reality TV!!!

As it is, the bearded n yelling anchors in the late night news editions reminding u of every crime tht took place in every nook n corner of the country have taken over the space on telly at that time, media is going bonkers on anything they get to show live n gory under the banner of breaking news. Sunday being a peaceful day meant for leisure, we all had to witness how it took 50 hours to take out a 6 year old kid, Prince, out of the 60 feet deep n around 1 feet wide hole (had it not been for mom n the 2 ladies for lunch I would have watched something better). The kid was playing around when he slipped into the hole, which was meant there for lifting up water. Cameras were pushed in to enable the ppl working outside to bring him up safely, but more for the world to see how tht child seeing the camera for the first time in his life wept for his parents. They wanted to show the world how ppl across the country prayed for his safety by sending in mssgs for him to be brave and the whole country was waiting for his birthday to be celebrated (coincidentally it was his b’day). Every news channel wanted an exclusive comment frm the parents tht how they felt tht their child had fallen in tht damn hole n the whole country was waiting for the moment he comes out. Every news channel beamed ppl praying for his safety n then later the lead of the praying group used to thank the specific news channel for showing the fishing-out-the-boy scene live (as if others were still discussing whether Materazzi abused Zidane’s sister, mother or both). Some political organization has declared 2 lakhs for the boy’s family n one news channel has taken up the burden of the cost of his education. A media n political gimmick I would say! How many kids will be thrown in holes now by a poverty struck family? I sincerely hope none.

What was more infuriating was tht ppl frm neighbouring areas of Delhi poured at the scene to have a first-hand look n some went on a special air-time commenting spree how they were traumatized by the news n came here for help. In fact they possessed a problem to the army personnel who were trying not to let the soft soil fall in. Now tht Delhi has come into the picture, a panel of experts was discussing the sudden rise of some vegetable from Rs. 8 to Rs. 10. Ppl protested, took to streets n the price went back to the original. In Pune, we pay (mom told me) Rs. 20 for the same stuff. The media doesn’t come out of the capital n we ppl here don’t make any attempt to take our lazy asses off the couch n protest. We just pay n pray to God after a gud meal tht don’t let the price go to Rs. 21 tomorrow. Hey I was on media-bashing .. how come it is becoming self-bashing.

Okk.. lets talk of 'soft' violence inflicted on us .. the sports news section is not worth watching either with Ganguly coming back haunting Dalmiya this time with emails. An ex-captain of a local football team commits suicide; on another channel Sania Mirza loses again n they discuss why she isn’t winning these days; meanwhile Ajay Jadeja comes to rescue of Kumble saying he is the best bowler n will play in world cup even if he is not selected for the upcoming series. Entertainment news is devoid of any entertainment. Nowadays everywhere u see the evergreen gay guy Karan Johar promoting his new tear-jerker Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna with his star cast. On some channel some stupid critic is reviewing some more-stupid film completely unaware tht this task has been entrusted by God himself to Vaibhav n me. Almost every entertainment channel has 2-3 reality shows where either the participants are made to sing n cry or celebrities r made to show their strengths off n bring tears of appreciation in eyes of their faithful fans. One day I went home early n had to witness such a singing duel but instead found tht the judges were using their epee on each other to decide who the best was. Last month my company celebrated its Foundation Day n we all were harassed to the max when some of the colleagues were vying for the Company Singing Idol spot. Before the gal who won shrieked in surprise, the audience started crying tht the trauma had come to an end just within 2 hours.

Thts why, to unwind myself frm the daily work I just watch Bugs Bunny on POGO n Midnight Hot on FTV. Atleast it glorifies wht it shld n does not contain even an ounce of violence or boredom. The trick is to stick to the right channel at the right time :))

Testing waters!

It is so easy to copy if u are made to sit tht close in exams and tht too besides such a ‘helpful’ partner. The day before the exam I had casually glanced at how much each student had covered and then decided to sit besides a guy, who I felt had done his homework well enough. On the day of the exam I luckily managed to come a few minutes before the scheduled paper n luckily I see one chair besides him is vacant. I scurried my way to tht chair n as soon as I sat there, the teacher felt something fishy n ordered me to occupy the vacant chair next to the whiteboard in the conference room. Now the word teacher might give u an idea of an old, fat lady with specs n a cane/ruler in hand but this teacher is just around 2-3 yrs elder to me n I have worked with her on a previous project too, but it is impossible to argue when u r a student there n not a frnd. Anyways I had to move my ass over to tht chair n then began the ordeal when the papers were distributed. Luckily the questions were objective (some with alternatives too) but the topics which I had done well were asked for half mark.. yeah a mere half mark each question n the ones which I thought were not deserving enough to be studied were for two marks each. There I was left stranded with another guy sitting next to me who knew more than me but I was sure he was a dumbo.

So whatever he wrote or selected from the options I did just the opposite.. he he. Guess what, I scored 80 out of 100 n tht guy was the lowest with marks in some fifties. The first guy who I thought was the studious of the whole lot got a whooping 97. The top three scorers were made to give the whole class a party.. now tht shifting of chairs was a blessing in disguise ;)

Zidane n Materazzi have been banned n fined but this historical moment in the world cup has been the source n inspiration of many mails nowadays. On an average 2 out of 10 mails are on this topic. One mail says tht Materazzi asked Zidane “Bhaiyya hum Chloromint kyun khate hain” on a very famous ad on Indian television or then another shows a gif image how Zidane actually meant to save Materazzi from a bullet, aimed at him, in true heroic style. But the best was tht just within 2 days of the incident (even before I finished sulking ‘bout my prediction gone wrong) some person came out with this stuff. One can be in Zizou’s place in this small game n head butt not one but many Materazzis’. Even if u r fan of Italy, u can enjoy the game n hey in the end Zidane gets a red card not you :). Don’t play so much tht u go out on the street n start head butting everyone…have a gr8 weekend.

EDIT: The Prez has received a threatening letter. I am scared! :D

Who came up with tht law?

I guess it was Newton .. for every action, there is an equal n opposite reaction. After a memorable day sometime back it had to be this one which goes tumbling down the drain leaving a ripped heart n a battered soul back to think over. It was painful even to delete it from the computer but had to snap myself back to reality .. *wakes up frm a deep n peaceful slumber*

The sky isn't always blue
The sun doesn't always shine
It's alright to fall apart sometimes
I am not always you
And you are not always mine
It's alright to fall apart sometimes
After all is said and done

One and one still is one

Yeah it was Newton.. this time no guesses. I am sure.. dead SURE!

Google shld sue them!

I will bring both those Russian n American kids to India n tell them look how awfully we are being censored (as if they aren’t in their countries but still). I hate this censorship coz then I have to surf thro proxies which makes surfing very slow.

On a serious note, this censorship issue is just to divert attention frm wht measures are being taken to curb terrorism. A blanket ban on sites is no way to deal with terrorism. In fact wht u will get is a rebellion within ur own ranks. Thnx to Aditi, got the mail id of President of India. It is presidentofindia@rb.nic.in in case u want to drop a mail to protest against the block. First I had thought of sending an invite of orkut to him so tht we could have settled this matter over a couple of scraps but then as it is I had to reply to my back-frm-vacn-happy-happy client so wrote a mail to the Prez as well. Here goes wht I wrote..

Respected Sir,

Hello! I severely condemn the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and J&K. Though we all, as common people, can’t do much against terrorism directly, we are quite sure that the government agencies are working round the clock to ensure that such acts don’t recur. Probably one of the measures taken by some government agency is blocking some sites which are said to be anti-India or pro-terrorists. Sorry that I haven’t gone through the whole list but one of the sites which has been blocked is blogspot.com on which many Indians have their personal blogs (blog = web + log). This is one of the best contemporary mediums of expressing our thoughts to the whole world. The nature of blogs ranges from personal to political and entertaining to educative. Being a blogger for the past one and a half year I have gathered tremendous knowledge and a group of great friends all over the world which I wouldn’t have if I were not blogging. There are some blogs which are helping the people affected by the recent bomb blasts. There have been blogs which have helped Tsunami victims too earlier. If all this is curtailed then there is really no meaning to our lives by just paying homage to the victims by maintaining silence for 2 minutes.

I do not disagree to the fact that some blogs might be intentionally created to threaten our nation’s security, but does that mean all blogs will be termed as anti-India and a blanket ban be imposed on them? Certainly NOT! As a citizen of India, I feel that I have the rights to express my views on my personal space and also the right to freedom of speech too. If my personal space is labeled as pro-terrorist then it indirectly means that the government is labeling me as a terrorist. If such is the case will I ever trust our own government? This is an earnest appeal to you to step into this matter and not let some agencies sweep off the issues under carpet. As the President of India, we all look up to you with great respect and a man who respects peoples’ rights. I am not sure you personally will be reading this mail, but whoever reads this and brings it to your notice will be helping all sane bloggers get back their blogs.
Thank you!

I know he won’t be reading this but lets hope he gets bombarded by such mails n then the freedom of speech n all stuff is restored back. I know ways to log in to blogspot since we are playing with proxies after the company blocked sites, but it is shameful tht for expressing my own views on my space I have to use a server in some country abroad. I think Google must sue the govt for the decline in their revenue. Wht say google? How much ‘cut’ do I get for this wonderful suggestion?

Also have joined a Blue Ribbon campaign. U can also display the image on ur page n check the sidebar for the Bloggers against censorship icon.

Meanwhile if u r stressed reading on the same topic on each n every blog then visit this link. Viewers are free to use their discretion to watch a few scenes. I hope this video is not the real scenario coz then I was thinking of calling blogspot customer care. Also let me know if the link is working coz it is .swf link n not .html link.

If tomorrow never comes..

I thought Hobbes was kidding ‘bout tht being a superstition and so I did not study for the exam tomorrow (Saturday.. today). Now, even if the world does not end tomorrow I m doomed for sure coz I haven’t studied.

Like I had mentioned in an earlier post tht we were being taught basic Japanese in the company to interact with Japanese clients, we (atleast me) never expected tht there would be a test at the end of the course. Exams take away all the fun out of learning. Also they don’t tell in the beginning tht there will be an exam but when they see tht all are attending regularly (for the dearth of work) exam is declared and you just can’t escape frm it now. Moreover its not only a written test but also an oral exam. As for me I had started attending the lectures only coz I believe Japanese are smart ppl for making my name-combo.

The SENSEI (teacher) is frm Mumbai. So, when she had gone on a leave (after declaring the date for test) some of them had started preparing. But, rain gods were benevolent and she got stuck back at her home in Mumbai. So the exams were postponed by a few days. I was very optimistic tht the rains would be continuing the same way but it seems tht lady luck was not on my side this time. So she came back and the new date which was declared is tomorrow. Actually even if I flunk the company won’t be showing me the door out but Zoonie scared me saying tht she might be knowing Sumo wrestling. Now she looks dainty but looks can be deceptive too.. so thts the main reason I m worried about the test. Also, as a self-proclaimed latecomer in company the first question she used to ask me in Japanese when I entered the conference room (our classroom) was “What time is it now?” and the next would be “At what time does our class start?”. I m so used to answering these questions now tht if she asks something different in the viva I m damn sure I will rattle off the usual answers. Rest assured I will definitely get 5 marks for cleanliness in the written paper :D

After spending almost the whole day trying to read n mug up this stuff I have hand-selected a few words esp for all u wonderful readers... why shld I be the only one to be tortured? So read along..
KONNICHIWA – Hello (so all of u who used the name translator in the sidebar before shld now know it was not ur name but a greeting)
ARIGATOO GOZAIMASU – Thank you!
DOOZO IRASSHAI – Welcome!

GOMEN NASAI – Sorry

Instead of wasting half hour writing this post I shld have studied more… Shit! Have a gr8 weekend.. updates of how the test went in next week.

EDIT: Kathy, Anand n Ekta pls enlighten me with some Japanese swear words coz the teacher refused to divulge any.

Something else..

First of all are the ppl I know who are in Mumbai safe? From my blogroll I can see tht Divya, Vaibhav, Raj, Puneet, Prasanna, Nessa, Pinky, Aditi n Kalpz r frm Mumbai. Some of u have confirmed of being safe. Others I hope are safe. I don’t have their mail ids/phone nos. so can’t contact them but will pray for their safety alongwith their families. Yesterday not only Mumbai suffered blasts but there were also 5 explosions in J&K. Till a few years back militants never targeted civilians n tourists ppl but they attacked the army forces, but since last year common man has become their target. Can we do something to curb this? Terrorism is a menace to the whole world n let us pray tht God puts some sense in the heads of those bastards. Why cant they go home n lead a peaceful life.

Death is wht we all have to face someday but such deaths r really sad. We just cant imagine the trauma of a housewife who was expecting her husband home n gets the news of his death. We can’t feel the pain of a brother sitting near the dead body of his sister in a hospital after identifying her body frm the remains.

Gangadhar had said in one of his posts tht all bloggers have become a family. In my early blogging days I met a few wonderful human beings but one fine morning they deleted their blogs (see the striked names) n I was like now wht? Find a new family member? We meet many ppl online in chat rooms but we do not connect with everyone there. But here, atleast I feel a strong bond within bloggers with whom u almost live ur life day by day. This also reminds me tht though I share the same bond with all, I have contact with just 3-4 ppl frm blogger outside the blogsville. If at all something happens to me noone will know where I have vanished. My family doesn’t know ‘bout this blog so neither they will be able to update this space why I have gone away frm all such wonderful ppl here. I think this same fear can be related to the fear in the minds of ppl living under the threat of terrorism. They just don’t now which will be the last moment they spent with their loved ones. Wishing this fear goes away... tht too very soon.

This is the first time I just couldn’t write wht I had planned to write yesterday morning. That is why the title of the post reads like tht. Most of the day was spent in replacing the header u can see up there. Thnx a lot to Parag for making tht beautiful image for me. I had jokingly asked him to create one for me after seeing his blog header and one day he mailed me two headers. Now if you want a header created for ur blog u will have to take the appropriate channel, i.e., me coz now we have started a header business. For many hours I tried replacing it but it just didn’t show up on the blog and thts when Deepa helped to sort it out. Actually, since the pics are blocked here I wasn’t able to see the new header. But, sincere thnx to both of you. Sorry Parag coz I wanted to write a full post on this but most of the post space was taken up in venting against some fuckers who don’t deserve a place in this world.