Memory collector, Thoughts catcher

An ode...

2011-06-24T08:09:00.006+05:30

I am not new to this game, consider me a novice by no means.

I have done my share, mind you. I have used the likes of you! some much better than you. Deserted them all and never looked back when I had to move on. I never felt any regret, nor did I sense any guilt or remorse. Not even once did I feel compelled to linger, to come back, to surrender, to feel addicted. But with you..

The smile I have when I think of you.. is not exactly new, I admit. but I am surprised that it has not changed even after the novelty has worn off. On the contrary, I feel your need more and more and I do not want to think of those days when I cannot kiss you anymore. In simple words, I need you.

You have changed my habits, my whole day.. in a way, my life.

Addiction is not a good thing, I know. but thats what I have for you - All beans, no chicory, freshly ground.. oh my cup of coffee now that I know you, have you, I dont ever wanna let you go.

Nay..not dead

2011-02-09T15:33:00.020+05:30

Alive kicking and married. Thats the current status, and will be, If i dont choke on OR get poisoned by my very own self-cooked curries. But you see, thats not likely to happen. I now have my very own personal lab mouse at home for such experiments. Yes, yes, he is insured. No, his mom does not read my blogs. Soo... 'alive' it is for now

Logistically speaking, yours truly has been moved from Chennai to singapoor. Hold the joy, let it not overwhelm you. I am only 4 hours away by tiger airways! If you are at all interested, what has actually happened to me is, they wiped away all the lively things and then put signboards in all 18 directions and lo its the same city! same weather. not enough dust though.

Anyway, as I was saying, now I eat with chopsticks and believe I had a chinese forefather somewhere in the family tree back in one of the early centuries. He must have had terrible sense of direction (which i inherited) to have landed up in Kerala which of course faces away from China!

And as long as I am in the orient part of the world, no strings of jasmine flowers in my hair (in the miraculous event of atleast 3 strands of my hair growing to a length of more than 5 centimeters), over to orchid strings.

Like the true deserter, I will soon be over-writing all the chennai blogs with wannabe firangi BS. And like the true new bride, i will soon have blogs on my version of pudina chutney and how it saved mankind from world war 3.

Other than that, its business as usual folks! And for dinner we have sambar noodles. and jal jeera. Anyone?

Nagala

2010-10-16T17:08:00.021+05:30

Yes, the sun rises in Chennai. But on that day, I did wonder how many of us would miss it if it did not turn up one morning... Granted, we will miss the light, but who will miss the beauty?

That was just the start of the day. Seen above is the sunrise among koyambedu traffic. But, it was a different sunset for me that day. It felt nice to be there to witness the beauty away from the blaring horns and the dust and smoke.

Good people, Nagalapuram waits, for those who care to explore, roughly 2 hours north of chennai.

Images en route.

First view
Fruits of labour

Fringe benefits ;) - the fishes give me a free pedicure in crystal clear waters

Closing ceremony

A day of pebble paths, unforgiving rocks, cuts and bruises, photography, nature, like minded company, pure air, pristine water and a shy sunset. I rate it first class! :)

The pleasure of nonsense. We are loving it

2010-10-13T11:32:00.006+05:30

Temporary brain coma made enjoyable by our Thalaivar.

Rajnikanth starrer Endhiran (the robot) released last friday to unprecedented ticket buy-outs and the usual craziness that is attached to any Rajni release. We all can send zillion jokes about Rajni, but the undeniable truth is that he gives real meaning to the phrase 'larger than life'.

This most expensive project of Indian movie industry had made more than what was spent in its making before it saw the first weekend out. Still going strong, it will probably be the best money maker that tamil/hindi cinema has ever seen.

Getting tickets to watch the spectacle.

Come on brains, lets play dead, it will be fun :D

It must be love...

2010-09-14T10:35:00.014+05:30

What other sensible explanation is there?

In all my years of living in this city, I have never experienced this kind of weather. the last time we had a real hot day was in the month of May. Ever since then we have not had two weeks in a row without rains or thunder or at least the drizzles and the clouds.

In fact, maximum days, there were just the light showers - the best kind of rain. Of course, there were also many days when it lashed out all the water that the sky could possibly have collected!

Here is the other thing, the confusing days. The day starts bright and then clouds up and then comes the rain, the night brings lightning. And the days that start all drippy and rainy sometimes brings up the sun soon after! Should we carry our raincoats or dab on the sunscreen? Turns out, the raincoat has had the maximum wins.

Whatever happened to hot-hotter-hottest (the most over-used weather phrase when it comes to describing Chennai). What about those good ol sweltering days with no respite from the sun?

What is really happening to my city? Is Chennai in love? Why else will it have so many drizzles and so many mood swings?

Whatever it is, it is a nice feeling :) I do hope this lasts. (notwithstanding the damage this love affair does to our roads)

The quest tales

2010-09-01T19:35:00.006+05:30

People of Chennai! My dear brethren!
As I stand here in front of you, I have only one thing to ask of you.

I have to make a choice, and I need your help. I cannot do this just by myself, armed with so little. In this dark hour of need, all I ask for is, your advice

Show your generosity to mankind and leave your comments.

Where in Chennai in your opinion, do you find the best biryani?

I have a small list. Buhari. Samco. Coronet. Where else? where else??
I hope you see the urgency of this matter. Please, leave a comment and let me know.

A small army is waiting for adventure. Kindly...do not deprive us of what we deserve. btw, u r welcome to join the quest too.

2010-08-09T17:33:00.004+05:30

"At one point in life you either have the thing you want or the reasons why you dont"

T shirt quote in Chennai Times today :)

A date tonight... with Paws

2010-07-09T15:10:00.013+05:30

I need to catch a train tonight, but then, that can wait. I have a date with Paws, its going to be a very important evening. I am really excited about it :) I am going to pop the question!

Well, someone has to do it. For obvious reasons, he is not going to. So.. I might as well do it. So here goes..

"Who is taking home the FIFA world cup?"

For that matter why stop with Paws? I am going to have serious conversations with all the dogs, cats, parakeets and possibly any octopuses that I can find on the way to Nandanam. By the way, Paws is the pet cat of the aunty who i am staying with. (What are the chances of having a boy friend named Paws anyway)

Well, if I wanted to know who would win the FIFA world cup, you would think I have to actually watch the match for that. How technologically backward are you!? Dont you know how these matches are decided? O dear ignorant soul, read this-

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/now-a-parakeet-tips-holland-to-win-wc-2010/126284-5-21.html?from=tn

and this-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/09/psychic-octopus-paul-picks-spain

Here is the best bit: After FIFA, Nepal wants Paul the octopus to predict its political future. If you were one of those who went to cast the vote on polling day in Nepal, you must be feeling absolutely wasted, now that Paul the octopus is around
;)

Should I forget this?

2010-06-23T21:21:00.007+05:30

I have not been able to get this image out of my head. I have been trying to forget this... but tell me, should I really forget it?

8 maoists had been killed in a police encounter on 16 June in West Bengal, Midnapore. Seen in the image - security personnel carrying the dead body of one rebel. a maoist. a woman. a human being. Did I give you enough key words? were you able to understand what the image is about?

Yes. you have to read the words to believe that its a human dead body that is being taken away by two other human beings.

I thought we are Indians. we treat animals better than that, dont we?

Though only 8 bodies were recovered, the officials suspect more were killed. The maoists are said to have carried away atleast 4 more bodies while fleeing. Yes, they are believed to have carried 4 dead human beings while they were fighting for their own lives.

Maoist rebels hardly ever leave behind their dead comrades, reports a website.

To me, they do not sound like the people who are capable of killing hundreds of civilians. A person carrying away a dead person risking his own life - in my dictionary, is 'sensitive'. What makes these people who have so much respect even for their dead to kill and slaughter other people?

Killing is bad. I have been taught. I am not capable of killing. But then, I have never been pushed off the brink of my existence. How can I even talk about understanding this sect of people. Would I ever turn to be capable of killing if I get oppressed the way this class of people are oppressed? Would you? Do I know the answer to this question? Do you?

lets start seeing other people

2010-06-20T17:24:00.010+05:30

I don’t know how to start. (pause)

In any relationship, when we get to a point when we feel that its not worth it, we should start to move on and that’s what happened with us.

Its really nothing personal, we just grew apart.

There is someone else in my life...

I am sorry.

Uff… thank god I do not have to do this, as newspaper readerships are not exclusive.

When Times of India came to Chennai, I was one of those skeptical maamis holding tight to my copy of the Hindu and whispering ‘No one will ever take your place’.

But 2 years down the line, I have to admit, Times of India won me over. It had me, heart and soul, with its ‘upper crest’, edition 1.

TOI just did what Deccan chronicle never could. Tamilians consider DC a mere tabloid, the other English news papers as non-existent and the Hindu as the bible. When TOI stepped in, it was clear that it does not belong to the ‘non-existent’ class, but more in the DC class. Slowly but surely, I noticed Tamil households switching over to TOI from TH, initially for budget reasons. ‘But its cheap’ and stayed on as TOI subscribers even though ‘but its not cheap anymore!’.

Mine was a total different case. I still look at TOI news as masala coated and stir fried. Started of by placing it in between the Indian express and the Hindu. I lost my heart more recently when I laid my hands on TOI’s Saturday additional paper ‘the upper crest’. Priced at Rs.6, its not the regular news paper, but a treasure trove of articles that touch on global current affairs, moods, issues etc. Its good enough that I am willing to ignore the masala coating and the unreasonable outbursts of the TOI journalists.

Coming back to The Hindu, I still like the news, love the metro plus, still shake my head knowing/lovingly when I see the editor's apology for missing an 'r' in the previous edition page number '..' under news item '...', Still love the language, the prose and I still read it whenever I see it lying around in the office. It really touched me when I saw the declaration that Hindu would plant one tree for every copy of newspaper it prints! Thats something I will respect the Hindu forever for. But.....but I wish, it would move faster with the times. oops, pun un-intended

Well.. if Shakira says so

2010-06-13T22:36:00.017+05:30

Waka waka.. sings Shakira
This time for Africa!

Well, I am not very convinced, but if she says so... I guess its gonna be so..

Its the song, not the game I am talking about.

Friend showed me the official video of waka waka. I have to say, though I liked the song, I am definitely definitely disappointed with the video.

I would think this is THE event, millions and millions of viewership. For the song thats so attached to it, someone could have put in a little more money, get a better location for shooting Shakira than just a grey walled studio throughout the song...In the same front angle. What were the directors thinking? Why wouldnt they get a little more imaginative? At least, a whirl around of the camera please?

I knew something was really missing in the video, only after watching it repeatedly could I put a finger on it. Okay, so you get Shakira to move in front of the camera, alright. But... You have the audacity to make her completely cover her hips!?! That is almost criminal for Pete's sake!
What was her costume designer thinking. Was he/she thinking at all?

Call me picky, but I am not crazy about the way the frames have been mixed either. ( It starts well though)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRpeEdMmmQ0&feature=fvst

:) thats enough complaining for the next 2 months! Anyway, its out of the system and me feeling better ;)

One for today, one for tomorrow

2010-05-31T23:13:00.016+05:30

Hot sun !
Month of may !!
Chennai !!!
Humidity that could melt u into a pool of boiling sweat !!!!

the only allowance - bright orange and yellow, plump, sweet, juicy..

MANGOS (5!) - the sole reason why summers were ever made!

So off I went to the spencers daily to buy some for the weekend. I didnt wait to look at the snack bar, didnt wait to gawk at the cosmetics shelf. for once, hopped happily to the fruits counter.

The place was not crowded, had just one other customer, about fiftyish person looking thoughtfully at the pomegranates. He also moved to the mango section as I neared it. I bent down examined some fruits and picked one up that looked neither shiny nor matt thinking 'this would do'. Fiftyish hunk straightened his back, looked at my fruit, took it out of my hand and put it back on the counter. did i see him shake his head as well??

'WHAT?!?'

I dont want violence. I am all for world peace. But then hey, do not grab the fruit that i picked out!

Anyway, with me being an ahimsak (!) i did not resort to any violence, I just moved a little away from the fruit grabber and threw my best nasty look at him (which went unnoticed). I continued to choose and picked out another one. 'hmm, perfect!'

but then, he grabbed that too from my hand shaking his head! The mere audacity!!

For reasons beyond reasoning, i felt like laughing! Not able to comprehend the actions of a seemingly normal person, i just stopped and stared, not knowing what to do next.

He put back my glossy mango, still looking at the counter in deep thought, picked out 2 ugly but healthy looking fruits and handed them to me, one by one, saying
'idhu innikku'
'idhu naalaiku'

this one for today
this one for tomorrow

I was speechless for a moment.
'wow! how do you know which ones to pick?'
'fruit grower' he said by way of explanation. Man of few words.

I thanked him and smiled at him, but then mr.fruit grower ignored me in totality after he knew that I did not want any more fruits picked out.

I heeded his advice and had one yesterday and one today and must say, they were really perfect. the best ones I have had this summer.

I dont know if the fruit grower was simply a friendly person, or was someone who could not leave his job behind. I would like to think of him as a nice friendly person, whose ways are different, but sincere :)

He made my day. twice actually. once yesterday, once today :)

I will change the world

2010-05-26T10:15:00.009+05:30

Sleeping unusually on time, getting up pretty early in the morning, going for a walk whose status has been promoted from 'routine' to 'special' (reserved for unusual days like the one in discussion), having a big power breakfast, singing along with the radio on the way to office, reaching on time without jumping a single red light, the spirits are so high, I would change the world today ;)

Take this serious or take it as a pun. Please yourself.

But this much is true - it mostly takes unbelivably simple things to lead a good life (on the condition that you are not responsible for anyone else or no one else is acutely responsible for your daily routine). In such cases, it would take a litle more complicated but still highly do-able things. Once you start well, the ball pretty much takes care of the rolling by itself.

Btw, its only 10 in the morning, i got plenty of time before sun down. You dont know...

Technically speaking

2010-05-03T14:31:00.001+05:30

Fortified with fiber

2010-05-01T16:27:00.005+05:30

Had been taking the bus for sometime since my partner went low on battery and is being serviced back to health in the TVS service station. And since the bus driver does not trust my road sense, he does not let me sit at the wheel. That leaves me pretty jobless sitting at the passenger seat, with nothing to do other than gawk at people and posters en route to office.

So, this one poster caught my attention. It had the picture of maggi noodles and a caption that went 'The power of fiber'.

Would have suited rubicon mattress more.. still, 'power of fiber'?..perhaps thats a better tagline for the Coir board of India...or..may be plywood??

But no, the copywriter says Maggi noodles (of all things!) has the power of fiber. Come now, fiber is not your average vitamin or mineral!

Pray, somebody enlighten me. What did he mean? did he really mean fiber can give me energy when consumed? what kind of 'power' does fiber have that noodles can use, eventually worth this advertisement?

Lets go fishing

2010-04-28T16:59:00.026+05:30

After living in Chennai city for 7 long years, its only now that I realized one of tthe culinary joys of living on the coast!

Freshly fried fish!! the kind thats sold on the beach from makeshift shops.

The oil used to fry the fish is questionable. you dont know when the fish last saw the sea. you dont know how well (if actually) they cleaned the fish... there are a dozen other reasons why it is risky to try eating it, which is why i had never tried it till now.

Weeks ago when Shonali Muthalaly of the hindu metroplus came out with an article of how the reporters tried the fish from these shops and lived to write about it, I figured, i have lived in this city this long, I might as well take advantage of it. and given my craziness for fish it wasnt a very difficult decision

Now, to gather the task force, I wasnt planning to go eat there all by myself. So I started hunting for 'the right person(s)'. Need not be tall, dark, handsome, but should be brave, adventurous, daring, any gender! The reactions that I got from prospects (my friends)

What the!?

Nahiiiiii.....

crazy??

but anyway...like all things that end well, my search was fruitful. I did find one soul who was willing to try it out! Thank you thank you dear Rosh..sniff.. (happy tears)
this post is dedicated to you! :P

On the appointed D day, we surveyed the whole stretch of shops which were roughly 2 dozen in number before finally settling on the multi-coloured plastic stools and chairs for that ideal fried fish reverie. They displayed masala covered fishes of different castes and creeds. We had chosen a shop that kept their wares covered in transparent plastic sheets. We were asked to choose the fish we wanted. once chosen, it was taken out and slipped into the oil kadai, then served hot with chopped onions and a lemon quarter.

First try: half a tiny fish :)
The next day, I smsed to see if my friend is also ok.

Second try: three pieces of fish. and we agreed it was yummy!

Will I try it again: You bet!

Calvin

2010-03-29T14:18:00.006+05:30

Vaanga engineering pannalaam

2010-03-17T13:59:00.015+05:30

There was a story that our language teacher in school used to relate, quite often. too often.
You can imagine..with the kind of memory power that I have, it has still hung on to my brain.

back in the times of yore, there was this learned guy, who used to speak a lot of languages. he was so skilled in all of them that no one really knew which language was his mother tongue. This guy used to go to several kings' courts and challenge the ministers there to find his mother tongue. The kings' men used to bring scholars and linguistic experts and make them analyse the wise guy's language to find out if his speech had an accent or inclination to certain state, area or country. but none of that worked and wise guy kept getting popular and making money out of his challenges.

One shrewd minister thought of a not-so-nice way to find out the truth. while wise guy was asleep, well into night, the minister slipped in through his bedroom window with a huge hammer. The minister then tip toed close to wise guy and banged hard with the hammer on wise guy's right toe and immeditely slipped behind the curtains.

Wise guy woke up into a fit and started cursing black and blue and not finding what had stung him, went back to bed still muttering and cursing and whining from the pain.

Next day in court, the minister related the previous nights accounts and announced with conviction the mother tongue of the wise guy. Finally the challenge was won.

Ya so, as it goes, This language- our mother tongue, the thing that we think in.. also the one by which we show our extreme emotions- We get angry in that, we love in that, we crack jokes in that. but facts can always be taught and understood in any language. E=mc^2. Mariana trench is 35,797 ft deep. The first world war was between 1914-1918. I learnt them in english, which is definitely not my mother tongue, but i still know them facts and in fact learning them in english has helped me not to confine myself within the state of tamilnadu.

So what I really dont understand is, why has the tamilnadu government decided to introduce new engineering courses in Tamil?! and how does the government expect the kids graduating from these colleges to find jobs???

Why cant they just leave us to do our cursing and joking in tamil.. who are they trying to please by making us learn engineering in tamil, what purpose do they think that education will serve? Enna koduma sir ithu..

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/TN-to-experiment-with-engineering-courses-in-Tamil/articleshow/5614006.cms

Sneha

Perfection

2010-02-18T10:58:00.015+05:30

SCENE 1

A client reviews a newly designed poster, made by the designer according to the client's instructions.

Client: Its not quite what it should be.. I feel.. no, I am almost sure there is something missing
Designer: I will try adding better pictures, ones with more colours
Client: Hmm
.
.
Client: Um hm, We are getting there, but not there yet. (After a long contemplating pause) Come on Reg, give me your all. We need the perfectly designed poster. Tell me, what are you going to do about this?
Designer: The tagline? I will work on that
Client: Yes, that too..but we need more. It needs to pack more punch. You know what I mean?
Designer: (nods)
.
.
Client: There is only one thing I can tell you Reg. Its not perfect yet. I need perfection. got that?
Designer: hm (uncertainly) which part of the poster you want changed?
Client: Am I to tell you that? Is that not your work? Give me the result, dont ask me for details. Why else am I paying you?
.
.
Client: This is your best? I cant believe this.. After four weeks of work, this is what I get??
No No! this cant go on.
----------------------- END OF SCENE 1 ----------------------
SCENE 2

He had been searching for a simple pair of jeans. You might think it is easy to get, but no, he just could not find the right one. He tried at all the major stores in the city. The one that came closest to his liking was a Levi's pair, but that still needed alterations which the store offered to do, but he refused. He just did not see any sense in paying Rs.3000 for a pair of jeans that needed alterations! An altered one is never the original one.

After months of searching, he chances upon one hanging in a dingy shop in spencers plaza. He tries it on, and in that instance, he knew, he just knew that it is perfect. He finds it hard to believe that he had to look for months, MONTHS, to find this!

He is furious! He demands an explanation! Why the hell doesnt the other stores just stock up the perfect jeans??

Why you ask? Well, let me explain. He knows, very well that it was THE perfect jeans. So, it should be available everywhere. He doesnt understand why these other stores keep all those other ill fitting jeans. Its quite simple, no rocket science. all they need to do is get rid of all the other stock and keep on the shelves only the prefect jeans! Now isnt that only logical?

------------- END OF SCENE 2. CURTAINS DOWN--------------

The most over rated entity in all walks of life and work. "Perfection"

My salute to all professionals whose work is based on other people's definition of perfection. Rarely will there be a perfect unison of the expected deliverable and the actual output.

Is it really necessary that I agree with you on the exact definition of perfection? You have your own definition, I respect that, but I have mine. and if that fits with yours perfectly, there is a good chance that you are looking back at me from a mirror.

12 angry men

2010-02-09T14:28:00.009+05:30

How much can you enjoy a black and white movie of 1.5 hours when all you see in it is the inside of a dingy room, and the faces of 12, not very attractive men taking turns talking, and only talking? My answer is - enormously, if the movie is '12 Angry men'

A classic like no other, the movie surprises you into total attention as it starts narrating the story. It can be viewed as a movie with a social message or one that analyses human behavior, whichever way it is looked at, you would be convinced that it is a masterpiece.

It starts in a courtroom where the judge, bored after hearing a long trial, sends the 12 jurors to a closed room to make their final votes and decide whether to send the 18 year old accused to the electric chair on the charge that he killed his father. There is only one condition, the vote has to unanimous. 'Guilty' or 'Not guilty', all the jurors have to take the same stand.

At the preliminary vote, all but one man is sure of the guilt of the young boy. One against eleven, this man is also not sure that the boy is innocent, but only that his conscience does not allow him to send a fellow to death without first talking about it and feeling sure of the guilt. So eleven jurors, set about convincing the only guy who does not agree with them so that they can all go home soon.

The central character (the one who does not say 'guilty' yet), an architect, a man of no imposing personality, but mild and even slightly shy in his body language, almost uncertainly runs a campaign just to reach the right decision. As the movie moves from scene to scene, the viewer gets a good look at the various kinds of men and their way of thinking. Every single one of them remind you of one or other person you have met, worked with, been associated with in some or the other way. A facts guy - give him the facts and he is by you. A thinker - hurts his head thinking and digging so that he does the right thing. An indifferent guy - whatever happens in the world, he stays unaffected to the last. A few more such as a self observed guy, a guy with prejudices against sections of people, another who is never assertive even when provoked etc

Closed in a room with facts, prejudices, indifferences, genuine concerns and other emotions, the same men who strongly believed at the start of the movie that the accused was indeed guilty, laboriously reach the final verdict of 'not guilty'. The how is the essence of the movie.

If I say more about it (havent I already?), I would be ruining the fun of watching the movie for you. do grab a DVD and watch it. Its a very old movie, you may find it difficult to get in the store, but try your best. Its worth every minute of its running time.

People make such masterpieces once in a while, and thats why we watch cinemas

Kerala - Green excess

2010-01-29T16:53:00.024+05:30

Glimpses of the village that I was lucky enough to 'come from'. All school vacations were spent here with the grandparents. Click on the image to see a larger view.

Bridges, the main way of transport to neighbour's houses:

There are multiple islands as seen below in the 2 photos, in the middle of paddy fields. These islands usually house a single hut and numerous coconut trees. Seen here is our neighbour's property. un occupied for nearly a decade. Now you know why the place is still pristine. Its void of people - the chief pollutants.

Another neighbour dries the firewood that got wet due to the morning showers

Spend a week here and the memories of colours other than green will fade away from your brain! whats seen below is the view from the front yard of the house

Seen below is the beloved backyard where we spent whole vacations hanging on trees and scouring up earthworms and other similarly highly intellectual activities.

The memory collector

2010-01-07T15:53:00.009+05:30

And one more year passed. And one more day passed.

Did anything special happen today?

Not really.. but thats okay. Every single passing moment need not be special. As long as I get special moments now and then, I will survive. But I do need the special moments and some special days and I do want to put them all locked and cherished in my memory. Because, thats what I live for. Those memories, they are my life.

I AM.... THE MEMORY COLLECTOR. well... one of them

Heres to a happy new year and an amazing one at that.

Give me one good reason why anybody should read The God Of Small Things

2009-12-09T12:16:00.034+05:30

On a reckless evening when I could have just about done the craziest thing, I went to a library and got myself a membership. The regular vanilla that some people think I am (not without reasons), this was the most reckless thing-to-do that I could think of.

As a result, I treated myself to this new rush and made a list of books that I would like to read before I die. Since there is no possibility of attaching an exact date to that event, I started thinking - technically speaking it could be anytime now. I started with 'The God of small things' by Arundhati Roy.

I knew roughly the outline of the story and the cause that the book stands for. Ten years ago, when I read a passage of the book and wondered what it meant, I had the good sense to put it away. I had however put it down in my mind's 'read when you are older' list of books. Not because I would not understand the story, but because I could not enjoy the prose. A book, in my mind, is a piece of dark chocolate, one with 72% cocoa..something that has to be relished.

As I said, a social cause is weaved into the story - untouchability. As I tested waters with the first pages, I enjoyed the rich prose and the layered style of writing, the setting is in Kerala, there is liberal usage of malayam words and phrases. As I kept reading, I realised that it is a very dark tale indeed. It is the story of twins Rahel and Esthappen, their misfortunate life and the misfortunate lives of others in their family. all of their lives are muddled in despair and darkness. It is very disturbing to read and having to know the characters.

I have not completed the book, but it has left me with only sad and depressing images..A lecherous police officer who taps on a woman's breast with his stick as her two children watch, a spinster aunt who had never had anything in life to cheer for and thus enjoys others' miseries, husbands who beat their wives, for the kick of it, another who does not hesitate to push his wife into prostitution, children taught by their mother never to trust or love anyone easily, the low caste man who gets killed for the sole reason that he loved a woman from the upper caste, and the ultimate act of incest where the twins end up having sex with each other at the age of 31, having met after a long gap

I understand that the issue of untouchability had been addressed and probably the author was against untouchability and perhaps thats why she weaved such a disturbing tale around it. Now, why should we tell such dark and complicated tales to address our issues?? So that people read it and the awareness is spread that untouchability is indeed bad?? The book's prose is so intricate and complex that the people who appreciate it already have a very clear idea that untouchability is bad.. Even if they didnt know about it, there is really no need to tell them dark and shady stories to explain to them how bad untouchability actually is. Arundhati Roy, respecting their intelligence, could have just painted a bright banner that said 'Untouchability is a sin, It affects lives' and leave it at that.

All people who ever lived on the face of the earth have gone through their share of disturbing incidents in their lives. What is the necessity of reaffirming their back-of-the-mind belief that life is a bitch?? Yes, the writing is excellent, maybe we can call it art. But why does art has to be profanity? So glaring and so disturbing?

As I turned page after depressing page of the book, I kept looking at the face of the author that was printed at the back cover. How disturbed and distraughted should one be to express such depressing filth in a story? What ghosts have haunted this pretty lady that she wants other people to experience it as well?? Because she can really make us experience her book, such is her writing. plush and intricate. I found just one reason to read the book, but that does not necessarily mean that I will finish reading it. This is going to be the second book in my life that I never wanted to finish. And believe me, I have read my share of absolute trash, but have always completed reading them, for reasons I do not know..

Ok, call me shallow, call me a blockhead, call me boring, downright normal, someone who does not appreciate the complexities. But what the heck! why should I appreciate it if its complex?? Agreed, I appreciate Chetan Bhagat, but that does not go to say I do not appreciate Ayn Rand or Abdul Kalam's books. We live in a world that is stranger than fiction, it is dark, it is complex, it is disgusting, but why should we document and celebrate pain and muck? Isn't it best not prosed, taught and handed over for generations to come?

Sneha

This weekend, Lets pray

2009-11-20T16:08:00.009+05:30

One of the best weekend messages I received in recent months!
This weekend, Lets pray

Conversations with mom

2009-11-16T22:48:00.013+05:30

It was difficult looking at her face like this..especially because my cheeks were hot, it felt different. and i felt shy, i had never spoken anything like this to her before, nor had i felt anything like this before.. quietly confused, but not very troubled, I turned away from her face, but curled up in her loving arms.

Its hard to see my mother like this, relaxed. I hardly ever saw her relaxing. This was an exceptional sunday afternoon and we were just lying down for an afternoon nap.

She nudged me on.."Go on, tell me..". I was smiling away from her, she couldn't see my face, but felt my smile anyway. "She hugged me warmly and said "its ok molu, tell me"

"Mom...mummy, there is this guy in school.."

"hmm...?"

"he is very nice. he talks to me sometimes.. he is very funny and he looks..you know"

"hmm.."

Now I felt my mother smile. "I just like looking at him. I mean.. when we stand at the main grounds during the assembly sessions, he is very tall. I keep looking at him"

"He is the leader of his class so he stands first in his class line, you know all classes form lines, separate girls' line and boys' line.."

My mother was stroking my hair gently, probably musing over the fact that her little girl had suddenly grown up and now she as a mother was facing the difficult task of guiding her through the years of distractions that lay ahead of her young life.

She cleared her throat, still hugging me and stroking my hair, she said "When you grow up, its natural that you feel like this.. It is a feeling that comes and goes. It need not mean anything, sometimes if you see something that you like in a person, you get attracted to it.. It can be anything, for example - you like tall people, so when you see tall guys, you will naturally have a liking to that person. And when you see more things that are good in that person, you develop more liking towards him"

Though I was listening to my mother, in my head, I was playing again and again the last conversation that he had with me. He had liked my drawings and he told me that I should enter in the drawing competition that was coming up.

"Its not wrong to feel this, but you have to remember, you have to study first, get good marks. Get a nice job."

"If you get distracted now, how will you do your homework and get good marks"

That hit home, I was suddenly all attention. tall boy's face popped away like a bubble. I wasn't sure about the job part, but I definitely wanted the marks. If I dont get really good marks, Madhu would get the general proficiency prize this year. I couldn't possibly let that happen.

"There is time for that also, you know, to get interested in boys. Its all a matter of.."

"Ok mummy, what time is it?? I will go study now, tomorrow we have the science test" Suddenly Madhu's face started floating around in my little head. I jumped out of the bed and started walking away. The moment had passed and all of a sudden, I got troubled.. What would my mom think of me now that my little dirty secret is out? Maybe I shouldnt have spoken about it.. She must be really disappointed in me..

Before I left the room, I turned and looked at my mother. there was a smile on her face - that was the one reason that holds this memory in my not so little head, even now..

Sneha

Stephen Covey* and John Grisham** revisit paatti vada sutta kadhai

2009-10-30T14:19:00.013+05:30

The way it was:
The paatti was making hot delectable vada under the tree. The crow stole the vada and just when he was about to eat it, there came the fox with his own plans of eating the vada. Since the crow was on top of the tree and out of reach, the fox decided to be mean. the crow had the vada in his beak. The fox told the crow that he had a wonderful voice and would he sing a song for him? Flattered, the crow opened his mouth to sing and lo, the vada slipped down. The fox caught it in mid air and off he went with his tasty lunch!

Bringing on the paradigm:
Irreversible and un-pardonable.. The 'paatty' should be given a total paradigm view of the events that followed her unthoughtful action of open-fire cooking of the vada.
Gravely important events that were caused/could have been caused:

By making the vada in the open space, she endangered the surrounding trees from a forest fire! She chaffed the whole grass area with her firewood anyway. She would be sued by the Friends of Green Trust
The crow stole the vada. This could have been tactically avoided if paatty had thought through her strategy before sending everybody concerned into a downward spiral. This case needs a new paradigm: The paatty had put the crow in the way of unsolicited temptation, the crow was the victim of the situation.
The fox not only humiliated the crow with his ill intentions, but put the crow in a situation where he had to face his insecurities
The crow went into depression, fell into bad company and started taking party drugs to dance through the night and to get over the emotional trauma. He had to be checked in to rehab by 'Mrs.Crow' - Who in the first place had not cared enough to make lunch for Mr.Crow and indirectly caused him to steal the vada. This is what happens when you do not love and care for your family. Always give care for your loved ones, Make this your nineth habit.

Last I heard, the crow was going to sue the paatti for punitive damages.

Reference:
*Stephen Covey - author of self help books like 7 habits of highly effective people
**John Grisham - author of several legal dramas (fiction)

Sneha

The guilty generation

2009-08-11T14:45:00.011+05:30

Punishing yourself for no apparent reason.
Living a loser's life by letting go what could be yours if you had focussed and worked towards it,
Wanting to have no interest in people, work and the things around you...

In other words,

Penance,
Sacrifice,
Denial of worldly pleasures..

Sometimes we are a confused lot. What should ideally be considered as a psychiatric condition that should be cured is considered as righteousness and spirituality. If a person loses interest in everything around him, inflicts pain on himself, runs away from happiness like its a plague, shouldnt we take him to a doctor and get his head examined? Much worse, what if he starts preaching these things to other people and calls it religion?

Should we acknowledge and agree that we should feel guilty for happiness or should we just tell him to shut up and get lost?

The sour grape sob

2009-07-30T13:54:00.011+05:30

Well, somebody stole my DSLR camera, the one which I got after years of yearning and saving :(
Ever since, I have been consoling myself with facts and stories. Here is the latest one, I call it the the sour grape sob-

You know...actually its ok that I do not have a DSLR. A camera is a camera, A point and shoot camera takes pictures too! And thats basically the purpose, to take pictures.

Have you checked the prices of DSLRs? I am appalled by the amount of money that one has to pay for each and every added feature in the DSLR. Live view on the screen adds atleast 10 K to 15 K. Capturing video easily costs about 30 K more. I would get all these features and more in a P&S, and I wont have to pay a fortune.

And the weight of that thing?? I could carry the P&S camera in the pocket, but the DSLR equipment actually needs a big bag! Who wants to carry an exclusive bag just for the camera?

The pictures come out nice, of course, but its expensive, it needs care, its heavy, besides... that grape is so sour! for folks who are wondering what the connection is, kindly refer to the story of the fox and the grape to understand the emotions involved..
Sneha

A gay day

2009-07-04T12:34:00.014+05:30

Inching to number one in various area, in population growth, in software production, in tea exports..would like to be first in so many other areas, but 118th position in accepting change. I read in a daily that 117 countries had legalised and acknowledged the freedom of a homosexual individual's sexual preference as a natural right before an Indian high court could take a change of stand about it, 2 days ago.

Still not without opposition, religious 'leaders', self proclaimed moral polices and all and sundry rising the cry of violating the order of nature, India finally, but not totally willingly opens an eye to what its majority considers a stigma. On a landmark day, a landmark judgement was made and now love is legal for a special minority. Indian judiciary does not consider homosexuality a criminal offense anymore. The judgement was passed in the high court, yes, media people are debating the fact that there still could be cranky straight people who cannot accept this judgement and might appeal in the supreme court. That possibility is not entirely closed.

Though things look nice and pink on paper, few more decades may have to pass before Indians stop looking at homosexuality as a stigma. What is very worrying is the level of ignorance among people about this. Many still think that homosexuality is a choice of the individual. We have spent so much of time designing and refining our 'orders of nature' that it is not going to be easy for us to realise that our design is not actually perfect.

A sunset a day

2009-06-30T12:10:00.011+05:30

Yes! I was there! on the cleanest beach that i had ever seen. Now you would say 'thats not saying much!'. Thats precisely why I uploaded the photo. check out the different shades of blue on the waters. While some blues are caused by cloud shadows, most shades are caused due to difference in the depth.

The purpose of boasting about the crystal clear waters, the pristine beach and the sunset is not just to get you jealous. Its to get you jealous over the fact that I was there, not on vacation, but on work!! Yes, I am evil again >:D

And well, i have photos of almost every sunset of the 2 weeks that I had (!) to be there. But then you see, it will use up my blog space. So I am gonna spare you for now. Bay of Nacala in Mozambique, south east coast of Africa. Jokes apart.. the place is really beautiful.

The voting face

2009-04-17T17:51:00.011+05:30

An image by Times of India, no mention of the photographer. The photo is reported to be taken in a village near Hyderabad called Pargi.

This is a photograph that shows the faces of the majority of the voting population of the nation. The 'aam' aadhmi.

Though educated, though drilled down with all the civics that the education system could afford to provide, its people like me who dont go to their home towns, leaving the jobs/family/etc., to cast their vote. I am not proud of not doing it..

Anyway..with TATA tea doing the public service advertisements and the movie stars endorsing and recommending voting to all the citizens, if the netizens do decide to take some pain and vote, I think the BJP will almost win these elections - considering just the fact that the prime ministerial candidate has been spending money like water on internet advertisements. People spending time on websites are sure to start thinking that L K Advani is 'a leader with a difference'. Thats not to say I like the party coming to power, thats like one of the country's nightmare coming true. Was just wondering how the BJP/Mr.Advani have so much of funds for spending for all this net presence..
Besides those ads are great stress busters. gives me a good laugh.

Well, my point is..that was some great photography.

Not so great scanning though..sorry folks

Move over pink chaddi, its Shoe time!

2009-04-08T15:08:00.009+05:30

The new icon of human emotions, the one piece of human belonging that effectively exhibits human wrath - shoes. The pink chaddi's days of glory are over, shoes are now enjoying the mantel of the ultimate insult. Starting with George Bush Junior, world over, politicians are getting the brunt in the form of the new ambassador for brunts, the shoe.

The home minister Mr.P Chidambaram looked more amused than shocked when an emotionally challanged journalist hurled (but missed) a shoe at him during a press conference. this sikh aint great at aiming i understand. The minister had refused to argue with the journalist on whether the CBI is right about the 1984 anti-sikh riot report submitted to the court, this caused the journalist to 'protest' and hence the hurling.

and since the journalist was let off without any charge, I have been thinking.. We all must probably visit the shoe stores around the time of discount sales. What with the elections round the corner, you never know when you run into politicians. Well, for that matter, why stop with politicians? Anger is anger, where is that stupid neighbour of mine who parked his bike in my parking slot? and that friend of mine who...well actually i forgot what he did, but he is also getting a shoe for sure!

You see, this is meant to happen. We are a civilization, we need to progress, and where is the use if the progress is only in the area of technology? There should be emotional progress, bring on the shoes!

Jokes apart, the truth of the matter is that, some people just dont take their feet seriously, how will they walk after flinging one of their shoes at someone? I am quite positive that the home minister did not return the journalist's shoe. Thats quite rude of him actually.

By the way, if you are planning a shoe attack, carry an extra pair. For better emotional satisfaction, plan a twin shoe attack, why throw just one shoe and be left with its pair? Actually, if you have enough attacks planned, you can get a good quote from a shoe seller, maybe you can think of buying them wholesale. Cutting costs will help, now being recession time and all..So, as I said, we can think of more options, we are a thinking lot, arent we? civilised lot to be more precise.

FUD!

2009-03-03T18:51:00.017+05:30

You might already know, FUD is not a relative of a colourful member of our vocabulory. Its something I have, its something all of us have. Its one thing that I am just not able to get rid of totally. But then, if I did get rid of it, I would become the head of the ISRO. well, that would complicate things a lot. A lot.

Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt. In short, FUD. A tactic used widely in sales by sales people of well established companies, to sell their products. When a customer has some doubt about a competitor product, sales people of the better known company capitalise on this uncertainty to sell more of their products.

FUD - also a reason why I am not a rocket scientist. There is always a silver lining you see. That lining is for you people (if you didnt grasp what is intended here). If i were a rocket scientist, then God sure will have to come down to save the universe.

Unknown territory offers all of us loads of FUD. The bolder brethren, better known as 'the successful people' are the ones who are ready to face the fear, uncertainty and doubt of things that they do not know clearly, but yet overcome the FUD factors. Mostly they are rewarded with success, sometimes they do not get immediate success, but it sure adds to their experience and perhaps makes them wiser; Conditions apply.

This happens everyday to us, perhaps every hour, with every action that we do that is not included in our routine. When we do not know the exact outcome or the possible outcome of some action, we hesitate. Ranging from taking an alternate road route instead of sticking to the regular route to trying out a new job instead of sticking to the same profile that you have handled in the past years, FUD rules and rocks! While we hesitate and choose not to take risks, one of two things have happened - we missed out on a good opportunity or we missed getting hurt.

The objective of this post is not to create a manual on breaking your FUD, if you are interested in it, theres google - for providing inputs for the manual. Here, I am just acknowledging this entity, identifying it as a threat but also as a sort of a balancing agent that keeps us from becoming over confident. Where there is uncertainty and doubt, there is also a lot of preparation, that is good, but where there is fear, we fail to take up the opportunities that come by our way. Try to get a hang on this. I sure am trying.

The White Tiger

2009-01-07T12:28:00.007+05:30

Courtesy to a kind friend, I got to read the book The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. This book has won the Man Booker prize for the year 2008. So I had absolutely no doubts about the literary quality of Adiga’s writing. After all, how many books have been so honoured? Another thing I knew without any doubt even before reading the reviews and comments was the fact that the book was strong on a social cause. For obvious reasons, you cannot blame me if I thought the social cause was wild life conservation. It does voice about life conservation. Conservation of millions of lives that are treated less amiably than wild animals – the poor, people whose lives are lived by the rich because of the fact that they do not have the money and power to live their own lives. The white tiger is all about the ocean wide divide of the rich and the poor in the biggest democratic nation in the world.

Balram Halwai, the protagonist of the novel is born into a financially deprived household in a village on the banks of the river Ganga. How his life progresses from innocence to psychopathic to prosperity in alterations of darkness and light is narrated by Balram himself. The book is an extensive letter to the Chinese emissary, Mr. Wen Jiabao. Jiabao comes visiting India and his agenda includes meeting the highly successful entrepreneurs of India, to learn the nuances of entrepreneurship. The emissary will also be enlightened on the ‘success’ story of the way of India's governance, that is the democracy in the nation. Owing to the irony here, I am forced to quote Balram’s ex employer - ‘What a fucking joke!’ indeed.

Dark, ironic, sarcastic, sad, wicked, humourous in parts, innocent in parts: these are the words and phrases that could possibly describe Aravind Adiga’s debut novel. One word that I have left out so that I can singly highlight it is ‘Angry’. It is an angry book, that anger will reflect even from you when you read it. When you see the author’s face that is printed on the back cover, you will surely find it difficult to believe that this work of calculated anger is a product of that smiling person’s brain.

The language used is very fundamental, only rarely does few big words creep into the work. The very first few pages set the mood of the narration. From there on the book oozes with ridicule for the whole governance system and its leaders. Adiga has brought so many topics to the surface, not really examining them, but thrusting them on the face of the readers. Some of them are topics which nobody dares to probe and question fearing the uproar of communities, majority and otherwise. Exploitation of the poor, child labour, the practise of dowry, half-baked politicians as leaders of the country, overrating of the polluted river Ganga, religious divisions, people worshipping multiple gods with no sense of spirituality whatsoever, employers framing servants for crimes, the corrupted-to-root police force - For all these and more, the author uses the mouth piece of the illiterate, oppressed and psychically challenged Balram to sound off his concerns about the ‘free’ India. Though subtly, he has also questioned extremely delicate topics like the supposed effectiveness of Gandhian principles.

The book essays how the ignorant Balram’s mind gets twisted due to oppression and how it leads him to being irrational and radically evil. Reading through the book, you will tend to stop and think that though shameful, what has been narrated could well be the true story of a good percentage of people living in the Independent India. The writer points out that India has always been two different countries, he describes them as the light and the darkness.

In one of the reviews on the internet, a book seller admits that the sales of this book has risen since the honorary recognition given to it, but he personally does not like selling the book since he thinks that the author has insulted our country. This has been the case for the three most recent Indian books that won the Man Booker prize. Arundhati Roy's "god of small things' and Kiran Desai's "Inheritance of Loss' suffered the same fate in the hands of the angry Indian reader/reviewer. In another review a popular daily has rightly noted that the Indian tourism board will not like Aravind Adiga for what he has written in his book. It is sure to raise eyebrows across borders too, though what I hope Adiga wanted was to raise some Indian eyebrows, forcing people to think, follow the thoughts by action.

Ente Keralam

2008-12-16T17:16:00.020+05:30

A place that never ceases to amaze visitors. Right from the unbelievable greenery to the extremist population, each and every aspect of every day life in Kerala is a novelty to the unaccustomed eye.

In most towns, the roads are so curvy and slopes are so steep that they have more blind curves than an average hill station! Besides, the average speed of vehicles on road, especially cars is 80 kmph. In the plains, the roads seem to be precariously placed on the water irrigated fields like floating threads and in the hilly area, there are houses on top of hillocks that have hand made roads that put the best of brakes are gears to test. Well, it takes some skill to drive here, hats off to those who possess these skills. I know quite a few who do- a good number of my cousins.

While driving on the roads of places like Kottayam, you see sign boards on the roads indicating curves ahead as 'Z' in various angles.
You would think thats an exaggeration. Although, after you go through the curves, you wonder if the 'Z' has done justice to the curves, because by the time you finish one, your body would have swung towards atleast four different directions.

One other thing that is simply amazing about this state is the food. God's own indeed. Its a foodie's paradise. Few dishes that I consider truly out of the world - tapioca and fish curry (kappa meen curry), paalappam and stew, buttermilk curry with cucumber/white pumpkin, duck curry with parota/chapathi. Actually, the best of kappa meen is available in the notorious toddy(alcohol) shops, the second best is home made. and dont even get me started on their home made wines!
It is with much self control and that I am wrapping up this topic. this list and detailed description can go on for miles.

Politics. Every single individual is a strong supporter of one or the other party. They have sharp views on leaders and policies and they consider politics very much a part of daily life, unlikeTamilnadu where politics of the state figures nowhere in day to day conversations.

Calvin and I

2008-09-24T13:22:00.006+05:30

Everyone hates me!

2008-09-22T10:10:00.008+05:30

Oh Monday.. its not your fault honey. If it were any other day in your place, i am sure everyone will hate that day. Come on cheer up, I hate to see you so sad. Listen, I just want you to know that we dont have anything personal against you. In fact, its not about you at all.

The problem is entirely on a different plane. I will try to explain. Well, I do not intend to scare you, but there is no other way to make you understand, I think i will have to say its name. Brace yourself, Monday, I will just whisper it in your ears. Its called..WORK. Oh sweetheart, please dont cry. No no baby, it wont hurt you, really it wont. It eats only people, sometimes it just stresses them out, it sucks up their personal life. It also puts in a lot of hate inside people, that makes people hate others, and thats how we hate you. You see the connection now? Does that make you feel better? Honey, believe me when I say, Its not at all about you, but I am sorry, we hate you.

You see its a completely different matter that I would not hate you so much if i just sat and finished that report my boss wanted instead of writing an ode of hate to you. But you know us, we are people, we are like that. We need someone to blame. As much as we hate you, we still need you. and besides 'blues' cannot sound better without you.

and hey, if it makes you feel any better, think of it this way, no other day enjoys so much of attention like you do. Who? Saturday and Sunday?? oh oh, they are just jealous of you. Dont you listen to what they say. You are the most popular. Do i like them? oh no i dont, not at all. Well, maybe just a little. but hey, remember - You are still the most popular. Everybody hates you! you are the best! Are you cute, you ask? Of course you are! you are the cutest of them all!

Monday is the best! who agrees with me? lets vote and cheer up poor monday!

Online application for voter id

2008-08-18T14:27:00.005+05:30

I got this info just today, if you do not have a voter id yet, you can apply online in this link: http://www.elections.tn.nic.in/

I think other states may have similar pages, this is specifically for the Tamilnadu state.

A colleague gave me the link, and being the responsible citizen that i am (ahem..), I am sharing it with you. but hurry, the site says the option is available only till 20 Aug (wednesday). You need to have a scanned passport size photo of yourself to upload in the application form.

whats a perfect day

2008-08-12T11:21:00.008+05:30

This blog is late by a day (not that someone was waiting for it anyway..

Yesterday, was THE day. just the thought of it fills my heart with joy.
no, im not talking about the olympic gold. Thats national joy, of course i am happy about it. Kudos to Abhinav Bindra, and good luck to Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. I hope he betters his Athens silver to a Beijing gold this time.

here, i am talking about a single soul's jubiliation. the 11th day of August, year 2008, i started from home, 9.15 AM in the morning, and , AND not a single red light stopped me en route office, even though the roads were crowded with vehicles. it was just green, green and more green. is this really my city? sometimes, we get so lucky that we are surprised, words fail us.. thinking abt yesterday, oh it chokes me.. sniff..

im not putting this up here for the heck of it, just needed to remember that days like yesterday do happen, they havent stopped making them yet.

thats not to say that i was on time. i was late to office, but thats a different story you see.

on second thoughts, this whole thing of one waying the city roads is not so bad eh.

Mashing it up by Elliots

2008-07-28T14:03:00.004+05:30

When we want to celebrate Chennai, what do we do? We go to the beach! Obviously.
So thats what a gang of us were doing on Saturday evening at the Elliots beach, among the incessant waters, countless people and the delicious roasting corn. The waves and the amazing stillness before another break-out of the waves.. Ah Chennai. Ya, this well frog knows no better :) frankly, i dont care to. I am happy with ma Chennai!

After walking aimless on the sidewalks we settled at MASH to snack. This is one place that I had always wanted to go to. because it has an open design, totally taking advantage of the sea breeze, was higher than ground level (first floor) and had a table that ovelooks the road, the crowd and then the sea itself. and as luck may have it, we got that table. I could not ask for more. But more happened, the heavens gates opened and it started pouring. It was amusing to watch the over-crowded beach emtying in under 20 seconds as people ran for cover from the rain. As for me, I sat at the table with stowaway drizzles patting me now and then. The place had a good roof, it never leaked for the water to get in.

Now about the food. Mash has one of those amusing menu cards with the likes of 'Jame's Bondas' and 'Aachi kari stroganoff'. We settled for fish n chips and a panneer sandwich (for the unfortunate veggie). With 3 of us and 2 dishes served on the table, of course a lot of fighting and haggling followed with the food disappearing in a matter of seconds leaving us with ‘Is that all??’

I dont remember if the food tasted good, so no comments on taste or quality. actually, the food was gone even before there was a chance for evaluation.

Friends, waves, food and a drizzle - a perfect weekend, stuff that totally guarantees future nostalgia!

As we were still lazing on the verandah, my friend got a call from home ordering him to get back home. His folks were worried. Bangalore had a series of 8 bomb blasts on Friday, and today (Saturday) Ahmedabad had 18. it was all over the TV news. All the blasts were aimed at civilians, all in highly public areas. There was an expert panel on TV and in their opinion, Chennai is probably the next targeted city.

Where would someone plant bombs if the target was Chennai? Spencer plaza, Pondy Bazar, Marina, Elliots....Silence prevailed as we looked out at the waters.

’Err..Hey its nearly 8’
‘Ya, getting late’
‘We better leave’
‘hmm yeah’

With the showers ending their performance and just a slight drizzle playing, we went our ways. That doesnt mean my future nostalgic moments are spoilt, just that we have one more item to add to the exotic list, bomb threat! well, not very exotic if u ask me

Three mistakes of my life by Chetan Bhagat

2008-06-20T15:24:00.008+05:30

Option 1. Heavy, hard to understand, complicated.
Option 2: Funny, simple, for kids.
That was desi English fiction for you. Then Chetan Bhagat happened. Well, he happened over two (or 3 ) decades ago, but he surfaced as a novelist with “five point someone” and then quite a number of Indians read Indian authored books. His writing was termed as witty and dark. His funny lines oozed with sarcasm, but that was what exactly made us laugh.

Yes, somewhere on the road to civilization in the recent century, comedy turned sarcastic. Ironic eh..

Then he wrote “One night @ the call center”, a book that represented/reflected the state-of-mind of almost half of the confused generation x in the country. similarly witty, dark writing. The end of the book is impossible, it had God calling up the gang to a mobile phone to settle things. but then, that’s why its called fiction! I didn’t mind the God character in the book. He’s equally funny as the others, he can stay, no problem.

So! 2 books and I was hooked. He announced his third book last year. I read it in some tabloid. I kept checking the stores/websites but nothing happened for sometime. I just wished he would just hurry up and release it. I want to read it I say!

“Three mistakes of my life” a book about Cricket, Politics and Religion hit the Mumbai stores first. May be because Rupa&Co (the publishers) are based there. Chennai and I waited for a week and I got hold of the book as soon as it was stacked up on the shelf.

Expectation is a funny thing. Its like eating a candy and then sipping on a sweet drink, the drink isn’t sweet anymore. After I finished reading this new book, I still was thinking about the first 2 books. Unlike the time when I read the second book and it took the first one’s space in the mind’s Chetan bhagat’s book section. It just felt like an extension of five point someone, as if Alok, Ryan and Hari had started a business and the three mistakes is actually their story. Or perhaps Vroom and Shyam went to Gujarat and took up a trade. Only this time, the wit was not as witty as before. Is this what people call run of the mill?

The same seemingly weak protagonist (Hari in Five point../Shyam in one night../Govind in three mistakes..), the same seemingly hopeless friend who hatches up seemingly smart plans in the ultimate crisis (Ryan/Vroom/Ish), the same lady love who initiates the moves all the time (Neha/Priyanka/Vidya)

The official third book didn’t leave me waiting for the fourth; instead, I am still waiting for the third one. I wonder if he has announced his next book yet.

Lord of war

2008-06-09T18:02:00.010+05:30

You can never force someone to fall in love, but you can definitely improve your odds

From movie 'lord of war'.

more:

the secret to survival, never go to war, especially with yourself

How many car salesman talk about their work?
How many cigarette saleman? Both their products kill more people every year than mine. At least, mine has a safety switch. If those guys can leave there work at the office. So can I (**the guys occupation is selling guns)

Google says Andrew Niccol wrote the script for this movie. If you happen to read this and if you know other movies (good ones) this person has directed/written, please let me know.

The Macaws

2008-05-16T16:53:00.013+05:30

About a month ago, a lady walked up to me and pointed on the word on my well worn-out t-shirt’s sleeve. “Great fonts. ‘Macaws’, Do you work for this company?”
“Oh no, this is not the name of a company. ‘Macaws’ are a kind of multi coloured birds.”
“I see, so you have birds for pets?”
“Not really. This is a group’s name”
“A rock band?”
:) “ No, just a group of students”

**********Flashback***********

“Maakkaas?” my sister made a show of suppressing her laughter.
“Uh no. its Macaws..say ‘Ma-khaus’. Isn’t it cool?” that was me trying to make her see how seriously out-of-the-world-ly cool the name that we had chosen for our group was.

We were a group of 11 odd MBA students and were doing a truly no-nonsense project for the Electronic Corporation of Tamilnadu. More than half way through the exercise, we realised that we didn’t have a group name! No identity, no brand, not to mention a lack of total focus of contemplative collective mission and…well, did I tell you that I was doing my degree in management?

After days and nights of bashing of a poor group mate's brains - courtesy 'follow-ups' by moi, up we came with an innovative and catchy name.

“Maakkaas!”
“Nooooooo! Macaws! beautiful, multi-coloured, vibrant, new world..
“Parrots!” said my sister with a made-up sneer on her face. She was clearly enjoying this.
“Er..Well, they are birds..ya, sort of.. parrots. But they are colourful and intelligent and..
“hee ha ha ha…Maakkaas”
“Aaaaaaah”

Teena came in later that evening and I hurried up to her to show our rad group name.
“Hmm, what does it mean?”
Super, so here was a person who was really interested in the details. I explained to her animatedly.
“Sounds good..makas”
“Oh nooooo. Its macaws! Say..
“Oh ok”

At the final event, all of us were sporting brand new t-shirts that had the Electronics Corporation’s logo on one sleeve and “The Macaws” on the other and spent a good part of all the days we were at it explaining what our group name meant to anyone who cared to ask. Somehow I never got tired of explaining to people what the word meant, but it sure freaked me out when they mispronounced it.

It was a refreshing feeling to hear this stranger pronounce it right :)

Sneha

DDD. Dreams that go Down the Drain

2008-05-13T18:51:00.007+05:30

“1500 rupees for just the application form! Can you believe this?” He said, more to himself. All kinds of expense calculations going on in the back of his mind. “Anna university’s BE applications cost less you know” He rested his chin and stared at nothing particular. “I cant imagine what the fee must be.”

More calculations, more thinking, then he got up and inhaled deeply. “He really likes it you know. I think I will be able to put him in the music school if they believe in EMI” He was smiling now, not a worried smile, but a happy one.

That was my friend, making a decision to enrol his son in KM Music academy – a music school by A R Rehman. (No comments on the holdings, I have no clue).

Now it was my turn to ponder.

I counted the number of things that I let slip by because I lacked the money, the courage, the initiative and lot of other abstract adjectives I prefer not to write here. I looked around and saw some mirror images of myself – people who do not realise what is important to them (most times) and live only half of their allotted lives. I also see some people running after things, which after they get, are left to gather dust.

Who is doing the right thing? What is the right thing? Do we recognize the things that are important to us from the lot of million others that are not? If we do, what are we doing about it?

My brain also dusted off and popped into my thinking stream a line that one of my friends had said a long long time ago – “If you really like something, you better put in some effort and money into it. Or else, you bet your *** you are gonna regret it someday”

I wonder... how did i respond to her? It was a long time ago and I dont remember, did i make it clear to her that im not into betting? Well, I hope i did...

Regional religion

2008-05-12T14:28:00.007+05:30

**Disclaimer: This is not a ridiculing note, but an observation of a passer-by, i.e. me**

This is the neo age and dont think that its just the cars, suits, furniture and a countless other things that are custom made. We also have for you, Custom made... Gods!

Santhome Basilica, a temple of Christian Catholic faith and a monument of great touristic interest houses a statue of Mother Mary, in a glass and wooden dome within the church campus. This Sunday, she was wrapped in a bright purple saree complete with bright golden coloured zari work.

This is the Tamilnaattu Mary maatha, custom made for the Tamil people. I wondered how they dressed her up north.

An year ago, when a European colleague came visiting India, he was taken around Chennai for the traditional go-around of the city and on Sunday, keeping his high Catholic values in mind, the manager made arrangements for him to attend the sunday mass in one of the churches nearby.

Monday morning saw a grumpy European Catholic in the office. He was disappointed and depressed to find Mother Mary "strangely clothed"!

Well well, I told you, just an observation, remember?

Getting over first love

2008-04-21T17:35:00.009+05:30

Pentax P 30, regular steel body, 80S make, Japanese, K mount SLR, as is lens 50 mm. no fuss, nothing grand. But i cannot put into words the feelings i have for this inanimate friend of mine. Countless are the memories i share with it.

My first memory of this camera was when I was a kid of maybe 5 years. We were at the zoo and my father was trying to take a photo of the hippopotamus. he was pointing the camera precariously into the wide well like structure where the hippos were kept. I was looking at him (not the hippos) worried that he might drop the camera. I did not take my eyes of him till he had finished taking multiple angle shots, put on the lens cover and had strung the camera safely onto his neck. I do not remember anything else we did/saw on that trip, my only memory is a Pentax P30. By the way, the hippo shots came out remarkably well. Dad is great at it. I am still working at it.

Dad was very posessive of the equipment, he never liked anyone other than himself handling them, so naturally, for a good part of my childhood, I could only long for it from a distance.

It was precious and I knew it. It is not unusual to consider anything that is not easily reachable to be a 'purpose of life' of sorts. When I was in the tenth standard, I took my first shot with the cam, that was one of the best moments of my life. that particular frame never got developed though :)

From then on, I captured in our backyard, a red ant carrying its food, bright red hibiscus in the morning sun, a silky green bug resting on lime green gooseberries and many more memorable shots - memorable only to me ;) My mom took one look at the ant's picture and asked me 'why cant u take normal pictures, of human beings?'

It was in the first year of my college that I had the camera all to myself for 2 consecutive days. I had to beg and plead with dad. It was a photo competition in an inter collegiate meet conducted by another college in town. My camera was the object of envy of atleast 50% of the students who took part. those two days were bliss. I clicked and clicked till the end of the day, I was happy and content, I didnt want anything more, my mind reached a point where it did not matter to me whether i win. But I won. Another best moment..

Once i moved away from home, it was a challenge to get dad to depart with his camera. But i did manage the undoable sometimes :)

With time and usage, the equipment has slowed down and now, even after getting multiple services done, I am unable to get clear pictures out of it. It is sad, it is heart-breaking. I still have strips of the LR44 maxell batteries that the cam uses. I cannot amount how much of money i have spent trying to get it into shape. I loaded a new film into it yesterday though i know it will be either over exposed or under exposed, the output will be grainy and distorted.
It feels like having a lover with Alzheimer's. You know you are losing him, but you cannot stop trying.

Vanakkam Chennai

2008-04-16T15:44:00.008+05:30

"The Times of India" comes to Chennai, and how! Jingles on radio, ads on TV, hoardings on the road - these are just the regular ways any product is publicised. The Times of India's publicity for entry in to Chennai has just proved that Times is indeed part of the intelligent media brigade.

Apart from the regular ways of marketing, Times is also promoting the newspaper, through events. Here are just two observations from a Chennaite who has got minimum media exposure.

Usually in TN, when we move into a new locality and occupy a house for the first time, we visit the neighbours/get the neighbours visit our house.
Times has got ARRehman performing live, for free! Those who need passes have to collect them from the newspaper's office. What a way to say "we have arrived!"

Today when I stepped out of the apartment building for the morning walk, a bright white and cheerful kolam with "Times of India" awaited me at the porch, where they usually have the kolam drawn. From thereon, I saw this happy kolam announcing the Times at every doorstep! This is some work of SOME brain! Really, what an idea! the last time i was so impressed with a marketing idea was when i saw small boards tucked onto gates saying "Do not park in front of the gate". The board and labour sponsoerd by a company that proudly displayed its name on the board. Fair enough. You take a social issue of warding of unwanted vehicles parking in front of building gates, bundle it with publicity to the sponsor and perch it free of cost on the front gates of buildings. all are happy (except few owners whose gates' paints were minorly damaged)

I wondered what would have gone thru the discussion when the creative team working on the campaign for Times had the brainstorming. 'OK so we are going to Tamilnadu. What do tamils like? what kind of ppl are they? what do they do?..they like music, they like Rehman. So pull in Rehman. They draw kolams everyday, they wont be offended if we draw a kolam announcing times in front of their houses!..' and so on.

The creative team has done its work, will the product itself be as good in understanding us? It remains to be seen if Times of India can gather up the kind of loyalty that The Hindu has among Tamils.

good-better-best. late-later-hopeless

2008-03-27T13:17:00.005+05:30

A colleague who loves reading heavy philosophical books had insisted that I read one of his favourite books, light from many lamps. And ‘read’ I did, just that I took about 8 months to finish the first half of the book. My usual reading time for fiction is 3 days to one week per book, but philosophy has to sink in deep, and that takes time, doesn’t it? You gotta make allowances ;)

Although I didn’t think I would like to finish the book, I am slowly realising that its OK to read it as I am in fact liking it. For one thing its not the average Donald Trump or Shiv Khera type of literature (if you can call it literature, that is). It’s a collection of interesting excerpts from a lot of writers (all American though) and its not all pep talk. It narrates lot of incidents as they happened in people’s lives.

One story that influenced me is about an inscription on a garden wall. One day, a very busy doctor receives a letter from one of the old patients. The patient, a young woman narrates how she had seen a writing on a wall in a garden and thought it might be relevant to the doctor. “Enjoy yourself. It is later than you think”

The doctor put the correspondence aside and tried to forget about it, but it refused to get away from his mind. He was getting old and he had always wanted to go for a holiday. Since he thought his patients needed him, he never gave too much thought about his dream. But, from the time he read those words, he was restless. He kept thinking, “Really? Is it late already?” then he decided that “maybe it is later than I think”

He decided to take the long pending holiday, he wanted to visit South America. He met his friend and asked him to join him in the vacation plan and later, showed him the letter. His friend initially said he cannot go, he wont be able to spare time, he is too busy. Later, they sat in silence, each in deep thought. Then he said “What is that thing again that woman said? ‘it is later than you think’? Well..”

And so they went to South America, and enjoyed their vacation by doing everything that the country had to offer them, as they enjoyed the peace, they felt their burdens slip off.

At his death bed, the doctor’s friend’s best memory was the days spent in South America. “I am so happy that we went to South America. I thank God we did not wait too long” – these were among the words he spoke in the last few hours of his life.

Lots of things I read affect me, some do not, and some I pretend that they didn’t affect me. But this short story went deep inside, made changes and made me do things I would not have done on a normal course. I am glad I read this, because I am glad with the results I have due to my actions. Not all that I did worked out the way I wanted, but not even one will make me regret later.

Thought this would be nice to share with few others. So here i am, spreading the message, Go ahead, enjoy your times ppl! I am afraid it is indeed later than you think!

Excerpts

2008-03-13T17:53:00.005+05:30

Eleven minutes by Paulo Coelho

I stood for a long time by the roller coster and I noticed that most people got on it in search of excitement, but that once it starts, they are terrified and want the cars to stop.

What do they expect? Having chosen adventure, shouldn’t they be prepared to go the whole way? Or do they think that the intelligent thing to do would be to avoid the ups and downs and spend all their time on carousal, going round and round on the spot?

Life is a fast, dizzying game; life is a parachute jump; its taking chances, falling over and getting up again; its mountaineering; its wanting to get to the very top of yourself and to feel angry and dissatisfied when you don’t manage it…

The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh

As we were drawing closer (to the mangroves which were notorious for tigers), Horen looked at me. ‘Sir’ he said ‘now the time to go ashore is at hand, tell me, do you feel the fear?’

‘The fear?’ I said ‘what do you mean Horen? Why should I be afraid? Arent you with me?’

‘Because it’s the fear that protects you sir; its what keeps you alive. Without it, the danger doubles’

‘So are you afraid Horen?’

‘Yes sir’, he said. ‘Look at me. Don’t you see the fear on my face?’

And now that I looked more closely, it was true that I could see something out of the ordinary on his face – an alertness, a gravity, a sharpening of the eyes. The tension was a kind that communicated itself readily. It didn’t take me long before I could say to Horen, truthfully, that I was just as afraid as he was.

‘Yes Horen, I feel it’
‘that’s good’

2008-03-13T17:46:00.004+05:30

It’s a lazy afternoon, I am sitting huddled with my fluffy pillows in the depths of the couch. Its drizzling outside. The breeze is cool. I get up lazily and walk to the windows, I release the curtains and they drift up lightly in the breeze. I feel the cool rain drops on my palm as I stretch my hands out of the windows. I step out on the balcony, the drops spray on my face, I cant help a smile..

I step back in and make some hot chocolate. Music plays and mingles with the rain’s rhythm. I am back at the couch with a hot cup of chocolate. The book I am reading is hilarious. By the time I finish half of my drink, and two pages of the book, I laugh out aloud at a well written joke.

I finish my drink and 3 more pages, I sink deeper in the pillows and doze off…things are good, things couldn’t be better. Or, can they be?? May be, I cant make up my mind. Well, it would be better if things were even better..i am losing my head…then BANG! I open my eyes and stare at my 15’’ monitor, turn and see the pile of papers at the desk. The time is 2 pm on a hot Tuesday. I am far from my tasks targets and farther from weekend.

The last time I looked at the clock, it was 1.59 pm! I have to make few difficult phone calls. I have been putting it off for later since morning. Should i do it now, or should i finish the mailing first. I need to do a report, should i do that instead..I cant make up my mind.. I close my eyes and try to wake up in a different world. It doesnt happen :(

This is not fair

Kite runner

2008-02-27T17:40:00.011+05:30

Finished reading the kite runner by Khaled Hosseini. The story is set in Afghanistan. The time spans before the war, during the invasion and during the Taliban. One of my friends who had read the book had described the book as 'interesting'.

Before I started reading, i had read the reviews that were printed at the back cover. One of the newspapers had called the book 'painfully honest'. I wondered what that meant, but found out soon.

Its one thing to tell a story as a third person, by naming the protagonists as A, B and C and say A hurt B, so A was such a kind of a person, whereas its an age apart to tell a story as "I did this, I could not stand up for what i loved, I was a coward". Since I had never read anything so honest, the book impressed me. More than the story, it was the narration that i liked. The language had been kept very simple. The book also gives you a quick account of Afghan life during the Russian invasion and the Taliban rule, of the kabab loving-community and their values, their short-comings and misgivings, their life and death.

The one line that lingered in my mind long after i read the book came when the first gun shots were heard in Afghanistan- that was the time when Afghanistan was like any other peaceful country (i swear it was difficult for me to imagine a peaceful Afghanistan). The children were terrified when they heard the gunshots and they huddled together and their care-taker tells them that the sound is because 'they are hunting ducks'. The author says 'they were foreign sounds to us. the generation of Afghan children whose ears would know nothing but the sounds of bombs and gunfire was not yet born'

Yes, an interesting book, but also deep, dark and disturbing. but i believe you wil grow a little wiser after you read it

Her pets, her life

2008-01-29T11:38:00.000+05:30

Few images linger in your mind long after you see them. Few moisten your eyes atleast for a moment.

This is one such photo, published in 'The Hindu' on 25 January 2008. The picture shows a woman hugging her pets for the last time, just before she hands them over to the health workers, who would eventually kill them. The killing or 'culling' as they call it is going on across the country wherever there has been signs of the bird flu.

the photo was taken by Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury. it brought tears to my eyes, just thought i would share it with you.

Foodie alert

2008-01-22T15:53:00.001+05:30

There probably isn’t anything I enjoy more than talking about food! Imagine my joy when I found this website that has the food joints, cafes, bars all listed down with address and phone numbers and a few reviews :)

burrp.com is a total foodie website, though very few Chennai joints have been reviewed, they do give you a fair idea of what to expect regarding cuisine and prices. And of course, spreading the love, I am gonna do what I think I can do for the site- talking abt food. In fact, I have already written reviews for few food places in Chennai :)

It is classified on the basis of cities. The cities listed are Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkota, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune. I noticed that cities like Mumbai and Bangalore had more active people on the site. I saw many reviews and also more joints listed there. In any case, the Chennai space is not bad at all!! I have not found any other website that’s exclusive for restaurants and cafes and burrp.com is gonna do just great for me :)

So next time you are looking for some place to have coffee/lunch/dinner have a peek at this site. And if you did visit any interesting restaurants, share your experience on the site by writing a review.

I just noticed the number of smileys i used in this post, my maximum so far in a single post i guess. Well, it happens. 'Food' is one of the only two topics that deserves so many smileys. the other one is, of course 'guys' ;)

Expert opinions. On resolutions and the city weather conditions

2008-01-22T11:50:00.000+05:30

This morning when I went for a walk, I started sweating within about few paces. I loved that fact! My heavy duty (walking!) exercise was making me sweat! But as I was listening to the news on my headset radio, I slowly I realized that the humidity today is 88% and that’s why I was sweating, not because of my "work out".

'Oh yeah', I thought, 'I live in Chennai'. And my beloved city is just turning to be its tropical worst; we are at the end of January and that’s just the end of the hot weather and the beginning of the hotter one. Come March and…no, I don’t want to talk about it, not yet atleast.

With a sudden rush of urgency, I realised that I had been planning a day trip to Pondy, then a trip to Thalavoi and more places that aren’t really at their best during the summer. Oh! I thought, I have to rush, those place will be unbearable by next month. I had started planning these trips ages ago. I remember postponing these trips last year because of the summer and now here I am, again doing the same thing.

I should have taken a resolution this new year. Something like ‘I will do what I plan to do and will never postpone it’. But now January has almost ended and which idiot takes resolutions well into the year anyway?? Just 11 more months for the next new year, I will take my resolutions then. Hey, I am not postponing, its just that, this is just the logical thing to do, don’t you think? Resolutions aren’t exactly effective if they aren’t taken at ‘new year’. this aint an excuse, this is.. "Logic"! you get my point, right?? ;)

Sneha

And the worst book I ever read is…

2008-01-09T11:44:00.002+05:30

If God was a banker. Author: Ravi Subramanian. Publishers: Rupa & Co. Shelf price: Rs.195 (Rupa style)
**Disclaimer: This is only my personal opinion. this is not meant to offend anyone**

First things first. Mr. Ravi Subramanian cant write a book. Its truly unfortunate that he decided to. Rupa & co surprises me! They are the same people who have brought out great books time and again and I definitely did not expect such a bad publishing from them.

I guess the author is a banker and an MBA grad. For the only saving grace of the whole work is the tid-bits of information that he has written on banking and the few strategies employed during the emergence of retail banking in the country.

The book is so bad that it has put ideas into my head. I have been thinking…why don’t I write a book? If Rupa can publish this book, they will sure consider my scribbling, wont they? and if the book does get published, it is definitely bad news for you all, because you HAVE to read it! Dont worry about paying, i will send you free copies. and then i will call you up to discuss what you think about charecter X or the situation Y. If you say you have not read it through, I will be deeply hurt, and will call you again after few hours to see how many pages you finished reading! (evil grin)

I remember the time I started blogging, I used to worry my close friends to read the trash I used to write. My blog entries never take more than a few minutes to read, but a book? Hee hee hee

On second thoughts, since this is just the start of the year, I have decided it is not good to have such evil thoughts. This is the happy new year and such malevolent actions right at the beginning of the year may bring me bad luck, so I am shelfing my book ideas. This is a temporary arrangement and I will let you know when i cease to be good. Till then, have a happy new year!

Sneha

Whose money is it anyway!?

2007-12-26T14:31:00.000+05:30

When it was found out that petroleum gas could be used as a motor fuel, the world was thrilled. When it was found that the cylindered liquified petroleum gas (LPG) -the domestic cooking gas can drive cars, the middle class was thrilled. Their petrol bills could be cut to as much as 40%-50%. with the upper class anyway using the fuel guzzler limos, they never had too much of worry of their fuel bills anyway.

Now, this was another technological revolution, soon enough, the bootspace in the cars were cleared to make room for bright red LPG cylinders that would save a bunch of money replacing petrol and diesel. A bunch of smart business minds sprang to action. Connecting the cars engines with the cylinder adaptor was a flourishing business for the next few weeks.

But the LPG that government sells in a subsidised price cannot be used for driving, it is meant for cooking food and is rationalised for every family. So the government was quick to proclaim the usage of the cylindered gas for driving as illegal. there were frequent raids on the roads and cars which had cylinders were fined heavily.

Commercial gas was introduced. It was definitely more expensive than the domestic cooking gas, but still a lot cheaper that liquid petrol. Smart entrprising entrepreneurs took up the business of converting petrol cars to LPG operating cars. It was done at a cost of 10,000 - 20,000 INR. Though thats a lot of money, people still got their cars converted with the long term benefit in mind.

So, now we had commercial gas pumps, cars with special internal tanks for the gas. So you think all is good and legal. But, in addition to all this, we also have few more enterprising and entrepreneurial people and we also have few more red cylinderful of subsidized LPG which costs cheaper than the commercial LPG. So what happens?

One good motor, fitted onto a pump. Two pipes - one for suction and one for release. all this in one garage. you have a well earning business. A gas-converted car pulls up into the garage and the driver unloads a cooking gas cylinder from the dickey, which he had probably picked up from his kitchen. The garage boy fits one pipe to the cylinder and the other to the gas tank in the car and starts the pump. the gas is transfered from the cylinder to the car tank in few minutes. It costs 20-30 INR. the garage fills over 50 cars a day, thats good money and less overhead for a business. The car owner saves about 40% on his car fuel. All sounds well.

Though win-win, though enterprising, it is definitely illegal, because all said and done, its the gas thats supposed to be used for cooking that is used for driving and that is definitely not fair. All parties involved know it, thats why these garages are never on the main road, but always in shady corners! and of course, the police who come raiding are bribed by the garage owners. The way it looks, you would think India must have the best Intelligence force, but the truth is, this is the story of the world. We like to make money, out of anything and everything. But it looks to me that we Indians are definitely better at it! and we will stay better at it as long as we know that getting away after getting caught is never too difficult!

Sneha

'I quit'

2007-12-18T14:33:00.000+05:30

Few posts ago, I was writing about the most difficult thing to do, this post is about the easiest thing to do. I did not get enough time to do my usual informal survey for this topic, so I will just put in my thoughts. As far as I am concerned, the easiest thing that I have ever felt I could do was, to quit. Just that, simply quitting. Thats one action that gives you immediate relief and that has so far been the easiest thing to do. I am not talking about just me, I have noticed this with lots of people around also.

Im sure you already got my point, but to reinforce it, I will give you an example. Jogging is a great way to exercise, when you start your run, you feel good (because you almost hear your fat cells going 'pop' :) !!). But after you have run a long time, at a point when you are gasping and panting, all you want to do - is to stop running. Nothing else matters. Its as simple as that, You JUST want to quit running! and catch your breath.

If you have ever jogged, Im sure you will agree with me. When you are gasping for air, you think you are going to die or choke, though you know very well that not too many people fall and die on jogging tracks. Still, the facts and the statistics cannot reason with your brain at that time, because you want to stop. that is definitely the easiest thing to do.

It takes people with extra-ordinary will to keep going and not succumb to the temptation of doing the easiest thing. This simple example is very similar to many things that we face everyday. Anything difficult always comes with a loophole - and that hole will be the 'easiest thing to do'. in most cases, its just plain old escape. and everytime we turn our back and flee, we are making a voluntary choice. We know what we are doing, we know the consequences. In short, we know that we are quitting, but we do it all the time, because sometimes in life, you are just exhausted and to quit is the easiest thing to do.

You just want to get over with it, quit it and get on with whatever is left. Easy temptation I would say, desparation - you would say, but you know we have all done that sometimes. Some other times, thats the last thing we do. But we do.

Not to mention, in few cases, quitting would be the best thing to do. Thats the situation I would love to be in. Picture this, its the easiest, its the best..now, how cool is that??

Sneha

Almost lost

2007-12-14T14:21:00.000+05:30

Nowadays my schedule involves a visit to Mylapore atleast once a week. Mylapore which is the cultural heart of the city also has to its credit another status. It has the most dense human traffic, second only to T nagar. or should i call it debit instead of credit? PS: recent researches show that laughing at poor jokes improves longevity ;)

Anyway, certain narrow streets of Mylapore are a driver's nightmare with pedastrians leaving no space for vehicles, small or tiny. The situation on the roads in the evenings is synonymous to pandemonium. So here i was with my weekly contribution to the confusion, wading through the sea of people, occupied with umpteen 'things to do' running in the head.

I stopped at Adyar Ananda bavan for a snack and asked for the standard dahi poori as a matter of habit. i had just settled at the table, putting the numerous bags that i was carrying on the table that I suddenly remembered that in fact, I didnt feel like dahi poori. I wanted something spicy. I took few quick steps to the counter, leaving all my things on the table, and corrected my order before the bavan chap started making the chaat.

I was back at the table in a matter of few seconds. I finished the pav bhaji, paid and started to collect my things to leave when i realised that my mobile phone was not with me. I was almost sure that someone had taken it during my short absence at the table or had someone picked my pocket? I looked everywhere near the table and gave a tough time for the waiters there. Most of them were quite sweet and finished searching the whole stretch of the floor. My phone was nowhere to be seen. The weather was infact very cool and it was drizzling, but i was sweating.

So many times in the past, I had come close to losing the mobile, but had never really lost it. I would search for some time and would ultimately find it. But this time, I thought, I had finally lost it. Who would want to steal a basic nokia? how much can the stealer sell it for? two grands may be. I was glad that I did not invest too much on the phone.

Losing it was not weighing too much on me, it was the fact that it got stolen that troubled me. After the thorough search, exhausted and disappointed, I sat down to ease my nerves. I knew that it was not a huge loss, that it was just a mobile phone for which i had spent hardly 4000 rupees, but most of us have this tendency of treating any loss that is slightly valuable to be life threatening, its pretty normal. I slowly calmed down, and I tried calling the number continuosly and it went on ringing. I was puzzled. If it was stolen, the first thing the person who stole it would do is to switch it off. Then to my great relief, my roommate answered the phone. I had dropped it at home before i started to go out. whew!!!

This taught me few lessons: one is that, i am never going to invest too much on something that i can so easily lose, and of course I will keep a back up of all contacts. two- no loss is actually life-threatening. we can lose anything that is valuable to us and still live through it. the only thing that we cannot live after losing is, of course our life!

By the way, today I almost lost my walet(just one day after the mylapre mayhem). yeah, i left it at home. But didnt someone say 'losing is part of a good life'? to put my original thoughts to that, 'almost losing' is more a part of life than actual losing. (applause, applause)

;)

Sneha

too many reviews, too bad

2007-12-09T15:38:00.001+05:30

Eventually, I read the book, 'The Alchemist'.
Few posts ago, since i got interested in the book, i was contemplating whether to buy the book or use the money for something else- that is, to buy a chicken biryani instead.

A kind soul who read that particular blog was exasperated to see me bring down one of his favourite books to chicken biryani levels and offered to lend me his copy. Thanks pal, people like you make the world go round ;)

Getting back to Alchemist, its a very sweet story of a shepherd boy who literally follows his dreams. He has a repetitive dream of a treasure and decides to follow it and ultimately gets his treasure. Full stop.

What got me interested in the book was the countless reviews that I had read on book sites like amazon and shelfari. If I had not read all those reviews, I would have really enjoyed the book. All the reviews, except a few handful, glorified the book so much and elated it in such a way that it increased my expectations sky high.

While reading the book, with every turning page, i was waiting for the contents to reach my expectations. But as I neared the end of the book, still waiting for the tryst, I realised how influenced i had been by what other people thought and told. That very fact prevented me from enjoying a book that is actually pretty cute by itself.

Certain things in life are best enjoyed when you just look at them with your own eye, critical or not. you should just do justice to your tastes and just forget what your friends and people around you think about it. Ultimately, each one of us are built differently and have different tastes. Some stuff i like, you may hate and vice versa. The same thing affects two people in two completely varied way. Well, we are just made liked that, different people, different opinions. ahem, im not advertising HSBC here.

A last word on the book. I felt its strength is simplicity. though it is a translated book, the language does not sit away from the context. it has got some passages that are thought provoking. On the whole, its a book thats put together beautifully, and the beauty lies in its simplicity. dont expect it to blow away your mind and pick the pieces up again to build a brand new you. Just enjoy it.

Sneha

honey, I shrunk the media!

2007-12-06T17:24:00.001+05:30

Media - a magical word. The plural of medium - the agent or instrument that communicates/conveys. While the television and newspapers and similar agents still act as the mass media, there arises a highly volatile, still powerful ‘personal media’.

Getting your writing published in any of the media was considered rare earlier. I still remember my first ever write up that was published in the daily newspaper, I had kept the cutting for a long time before I eventually lost it. The whole school was proud of it for the few days that the item appeared. And today, I write a blog and it is on the Internet!, for the whole world to see! (the whole world doesn’t want to read this rubbish, of course), but technically, it is there to be seen, whether anyone wants it or not. Something so unreachable is now available to anyone who has the interest and time. The very fact is amazing.

You cannot talk about personal media without mentioning the I-pods. These Apple’s kids are amazing and have brought lot of attention to personalising music. The other day, I saw a gadget that can play your ipod music on your car stereo, it can be used on static radios also. All you have to do is attach the transistor to the gadget which is already attached to the I pod and set it to a frequency that is empty(not used by other transmitting stations). Anyone in the radius of 50-100 feet can tune into his/her radio on the frequency that you are playing the music and listen to your music. and the people who use it, are not transmitting just music :)

Coming back to my blog, though I can call it ‘media’, it is definitely not mass media, it’s a highly personal media, I project only what I think is interesting and the things I think are important gets mentioned. Similarly I find millions of other people in this same media, they share the internet space and are part of the media.

Their views gets published, turns up at internet searches(google,msn) – this way, other people get to read it, some people who read it, think over it, sometimes act over it, and that is great. Sometimes, its not so great also. Anything that can be used, can be abused also. Internet probably is the most abused medium among all the media. The positive and the negative of this medium is the same, that it is ‘Available’. Available for use, available for abuse.

But for now, lets look at the bright side of it! Think what great things we can do with this gold mine. Viola! The media is personal

Sneha

Books to buy (Compulsory this semester)

2007-11-28T15:02:00.000+05:30

I was discussing with my friend, the best places in Chennai to buy pirated books and suddenly remembered the college days.

During my 2 years course, there was always a list of books that the college wanted us to buy compulsorily. Each one of us either had to place orders through the college, or buy a copy and that copy should be shown to the coordinator. He/She is said to note this and add it up to our internal marks!!! Anything that the students were supposed to do in the curriculam, was directly or indirectly and sometimes proportionately linked to the internal marks.

The college authorities took all this trouble to make sure that no single soul has been individually deprived of the knowledge and literature that the book provides. (its a pun... please!)

But in fact, these 'compulsory' books are the ones that are never, ever actually taught or used in the actual curriculam. To prove this to you, I will just give you the names of few compulsory books that we had to buy for the second semester; 'Power of positive thinking'. 'Case studies in Accounting'. Case studies! in accounting!! can you believe it?? Not even once during the classes were these books mentioned. Anyway, you get what i meant, right?

We being sensible hostelites (ahem), never really saw the reason to have more than one copy per 5 of us, or maybe 7 of us. Of course, there were few students who would buy each and every prescribed book and read it cover to cover. I dont mean them, I am talking about normal people, like me ;)

One of us would buy a pirated copy of the book and take it to the coordinator to show him/her and then hand it over to the next in waiting and that person would do the same and this will continue till all of us were convinced that our internal marks are safe. The bright part of this was, when I vacated the hostel, I did not have to carry away too many books. All my books fitted in to one compact cardboard box.

Sneha

To Believe

2007-11-02T16:41:00.000+05:30

Whats the most difficult thing you have ever done in life?? Few answers i got from my friends: To think, to forgive etc., 'To believe' tops my list. To believe and have faith in things that do not have statistical backing and reasonable explanations.

Imagine a situation where a majority of the populace believes and has faith in a particular something, but when you try to make sense out of it, you never find any.. The mind always looks for sense, atleast mine does. When I am told something, or read something and am required to believe in it, I try to explain things to my brain using science, using the evidence available. its simple- how difficult is it to believe something when it can be proved?

Unfortunately in some cases, the issues that are widely believed in, are never explained by science. For example, intuition. I never believed in it, in the sense that it has to be believed. I was happy to rename it as coincidence. The only reason i believed in coincidence was because I could explain it. its not complicated. but intuition? well..

Of late, i have been reading many books that has strong thoughts and as a result, it set the brain thinking. While I was at it, my unbendable brain, which never accepted anything that was not explained by science started thinking about few issues that science could not explain. Intuition and Faith.

I am not saying my thinking system is totally freaked out, I am just saying that now, instead of living just by the facts and by the rules, I have started taking the minute and minor risks that science or statistics cannot explain. yes, iam surprised by the results, yes i will continue to be surprised till i believe more.

yesterday, at 7 pm, i took the guindy kathipara route to the mount road instead of my regular 8 kilometer muddy and narrow short cut and reached home in just about half an hour and its only 6.5 kilometers. It was a regular weekday and usually the Kathipara route means 1.5 hours on the road in incredibly heavy traffic, not to mention that 7 pm is just the height of peak traffic. anyday my muddy road takes me home in forty minutes, so all these days i used that except yesterday. Yesterday, i just had this totally confident gut feeling that its better to take the kathipara route, i never doubted it. all the same, i was surprised to find the traffic considerably less.

See, I know i am not making too much sense here, and thats exactly the point. sometimes, you just believe and act. Yes, of course its difficult! now you know why i said believing is the most difficult thing?

Sneha

Giving it some time

2007-10-23T13:54:00.000+05:30

I was trying to use an application on my computer system. Though this was everyday stuff at work, the computer today was not very co-operative. it just kept on hanging every few seconds. And this was just the beginning of the day! just 10 AM in the morning. I had a helluva lot of work to be done and the phone was ringing incessantly- calls from all the ppl to whom i owed the work.

I was getting very impatient and had ended the program couple of times with Cntrl+Alt+Del. Now, I couldnt do that any longer because I had typed a long and complicated mail and I did not want to end program lest the mail gets lost without saving.

I had had an incredibly long day the day before, infact the past many weeks had been unusually hectic. Yesterday, I had worked for 14 soild hours and that too in a feverish pace, spending just ten minutes on lunch. I didnt wanna do that again today! I had got up in the morning looking for my jeans, thinking today is the casual friday but realised its just tuesday! and to top it all, my computer wont behave and its just the start of another long day!

I was at the end of my wits. What I really wanted to do was turn the table and break the **** computer and tear the papers that were waiting to be reviewd and rip the phone lines which hadnt stopped ringing. But, instead I closed my eyes. My eyes were burning due to lack of sleep. Tonight, I thought(as I used to think everyday), I will have a long, long, peaceful sleep. For a few minutes, my mind went blank and I stopped thinking - it was easy, tired that I was, I could easily switch off.

I opened my eyes few minutes later, to see that nothing has changed. The system was still hung and not working, the phone was still ringing, the papers were still there and one of the project managers had left a CD on my table to install an application(more work for me) I wanted to scream, but I realised that I was less angry than I was before.

I got up and got out of the crazy zone, I just decided to give it some time. after all, all those people saying 'time heals' cannot be total empty heads! My system manager used to tell us to give the system some time while in hang ups. I really hoped the time theory worked on my over worked brain and my stupid over worked electronic box.

I hadnt read the papers, I started with metro plus and soon I was completely engrossed in the news. I didnt bother to answer any more calls. After about twenty full minutes, I folded the papers and got up, completely distracted and feeling better, I returned to my desk and saw that my PC had got back its senses and was out of its trance and that my mail was not lost.

I hit the send button and started on the day's work, afresh, anew. I knew I would feel doubly frustrated and just worser than ever by the end of the day, but that did not matter. This was 'the now' and I was feeling better. Giving it some time helps, a lot! so far proved by experience on human nervous system and a few select electonic machines!

Sneha

The Alchemist fever

2007-10-17T17:37:00.001+05:30

Of late, i have been on a reading fever. I feel like reading all the time - this includes magazines, newspapers, fiction, non fiction, comics, etc., etc.,

When I had finished whatever printed matter I could lay my hands on, I started looking in the internet. Initially I read stuff related to work, then started looking for more interesting things to read. Though I had loads of work, I started copying pages of interest and read them in the seconds-long breaks I had!

Now, I wanted more interesting and substantial stuff to read, I started looking for e-books. Since I didnt know any great websites, i ended up reading some really throw away stuff. The free stuff online is really really trash-worth. Or maybe google doesnt list the good ones!

I never believed in buying books, because as far as I am concerned, books once read are completely exhausted. I never found a need to re-read any book, no matter how nice and interesting it was. While online and several websites wise, I grew an interest in the book 'The Alchemist'. I read a lot of nice reviews and I felt so eager that I actually decided to drive up to T-nagar and buy mysef a copy. I know a friend who has the book, but she is away on vacation, and I just couldnt wait!

So before I left, I thought I would read the amazon reviews. and i saw that more than 1 out 10 have given real bad reviews. No one has given a mediocre review, they either love it, or they hate it. No one says, its an OK read. Its either 'amazing' or 'trash'.

Spirits dampened, I am wondering now which category I will fall in - the love one or the hate one.. and have decided that I will buy myself a chicken biryani for the money that I kept aside for 'The Alchemist' and wait till my friend gets back to the city!

The Cautious Indians and the Armenian air

2007-10-15T20:22:00.000+05:30

Whenever someone tries to sell something to me, I am automatically on my guard. This response is not a result of thinking, its just a reaction which is almost a reflex. I do not start thinking about the product or realise it may be useful to me, but its like an automatic switch that flicks on and says “no” the moment I sense that something is being marketed to me.

I realise its not just me who acts like this. I observed that lot of people around have the same tendency. I even spoke to few of them about it. The answers that I got from them were mostly similar. Many feel that our population is the kind that finds a way to capitalise on anything and everything accessible to them. As a result there are people who are selling goods that absolutely useless. Also, our parents keep cautioning us against such people who are ‘out there to grab your money for nothing’. As a result most Indians are overtly cautious about things.

A well read and well travelled friend of mine still thinks that its an Indian attribute to try to make money out of anything at all. Wait till I tell her that, in the country of Armenia, the locals sell cans of ‘Air of Armenia’ to tourists! Technically speaking, thats nothing but empty cans! Ever heard of making money out of thin air? :)

Of course, you can never catch an Indian tourist buying the air. 'Buying air'!!! dont you think its a ridiculous idea? Well, maybe we Indians are too cautious, but that suits us, and our wallets!

Sneha

Simply Single

2007-10-15T20:01:00.000+05:30

All weekdays, I have to get up early in the morning for my morning walk and then to freshen up and proceed to work. Saturday is one day that I get up as late as possible. The later I get up, the better equipped I am to face the upcoming fresh week ;)

Ideal Saturday: Meeting my friends (who are nice to me), and spending the evening reading the newspaper and sipping tea. Sunday starts with church and ends with me finishing the laundry and cleaning my bike.

If I didn’t live with aunty, I would probably fry an egg and make some toast for breakfast. Then throw in some half cooked veggies into a dabba for lunch to take to office. Day is good when there is quality work to be done. Day gets better (sometimes worse, he he) after a call from home; far away home.

Some evenings after work, I just like to take a detour on the way back home and meet a friend over coffee. Get back home, freshen up, finish dinner and hit the sack with a book! Do some easy reading or some useful studying before drifting into sleep.

Can life be any better?
I simply don’t understand why people decide to stop being good to themselves and get married!!! Well, for my mom’s sake at least, I do hope to understand one of these days!

Sneha

Best birthday surprises -Part 5

2007-09-27T18:01:00.002+05:30

Lucky's birthday. He was(still is) the most matured and practical guy in our gang. well, some would argue that he has to vie with me for the title, but lets leave it at that ;)

It was his first birthday post marriage. We hadnt seen one another in ages. We decided to go straight to his office to celebrate! but yes, we wanted to surprise him. So, tripleR befriended the HR of the company where Lucky worked and arranged with her to keep him in office at a decided time, so we can barge in and surprise him.

8 of us met in a common place and started towards his office in Mylapore. We had also taken an eggless bday cake, drinks and snacks. We set up the cake with candles and other food and drinks on tables and Lucky's HR (I forget her name, but I am sure TripleR would remember ;) brought him in and we sang the birthday song. Lucky's eyes popped out!
He cut his eggless cake as we sang happy birthday.

Actually, we ended up surprising more than just Lucky that day, his colleagues and his boss. It was a super success.

Another memorable one was Suresh's birthday treat. There were about ten of us, and we made Lucky and Asha drink spitfire(a pungent, infact spicy orange drink) at the Greams road Fruit shop. Of course, I had helped them with the order assuring them it was an amazing drink :)
Lucky nearly spit it!

Continued...

Best birthday surprises -Part 4

2007-09-27T16:26:00.001+05:30

My Belgian birthday: The latest of my birhtdays was spent in a strange country, with people I had known only about a week. It was all very different, alright, but I missed the possibility of the usual surprises that we used to have in the good ol days :) But then, I thought to myself 'aint I getting a bit too old for that'.

So that was that, a regular day at work - or so I thought. It turned out to be a really joyful day! For starters, my colleagues in the Belgium office knew it was my birthday, I had not expected them to. When I came to office, my PC was already on and had 'Happy Birthday' on it, I thought that was so sweet of the colleague who did it.

Then, Linda gifted me a home baked cake with lots and lots of hazelnuts(from her parents' garden!) in it. It was so yummy. now i know why those squirrels in the cartoons are so crazy about hazelnuts! Later, I went around the city buying a lot of hazelnut chocolates! Anyway, I didnt miss my mom's cake :) Her son who was studying to be a chef had made it. I thought that was so terribly sweet of them!

Since I had been in Belgium for the past 10 days, I had been having totally bland food everyday and that killed the life out of the joy of eating. anyway, I had tried many of their dishes and actually liked them, so no regrets. Today, my kind colleagues decided to feed me spicy food and took me to a Thai restaurant! And the food was REALLY spicy and toooo good! It was another colleague's wedding anniversary so we celebrated jointly.

Lunch done, we got back to the office after a quick stroll. To our curiosity, there was a huge cardboard box standing at the door and it was carried upstairs to the office and stripped. Imagine my surprise when it contained colourful flowers addressed to me! My friend was nice enough not just to remember my birthday, but also to send some customised flowers abroad. now, thats a surprise!

Continued...

Best birthday surprises- Part 3

2007-09-27T15:53:00.001+05:30

Ashwin's birthday: He was my boss, a real good one in fact! We were a small office and each one's birthday was celebrated specially. Mostly we surprised the birthday person, atleast we tried to ;)

Ashwin was a model boss. He was always the first to get to office everyday, at 7.30 or 8 in the morning, worked real hard, treated all his employees importantly, AND encouraged us to plan everyone's birthday surprises. So, it was going to be difficult to surprise him, but we badly wanted to..

For days we toyed with different ideas and plans and finally came up with a fool proof one ;)
The night before his birhtday, Shobz and I went birthday shopping and bought his gifts, a cricket book by Steve Waugh and a smiley stress buster rubber ball - He was crazy about cricket and had wanted to get the book himself. We got chocolate cake, glitters, balloons and other decorative strings and papers. We came back to office and did up his room till i think 9 or 10 in the night.

The next morning, at 7, all of us huddled inside his small room in the office. The plan was to stay locked in his room silently and surprise him by singing happy birthday and bursting the balloons, just as he opened the door to come in. Everything was perfectly arranged. We heard his car and waited breathlessly. He was on the phone when he came up the stairs and opened his door. All of us screamed "Happy Birthday", balloon bursting, glitter flinging et all! He dropped his bag, almost dropped his O2 phone on the hard floor.

I saw more shock than surprise on his face! :D but then, we did manage to genuinely "surprise" him :) ha ha

Continued...

Best birthday surprises - Part 2

2007-09-27T15:08:00.000+05:30

One of my own bdays- It was my first year in college and I was not fitting too well -either into the course or into the crowd. But life was going on, in its own pace.

In the college facility, the staffs' room was among the PG (Post graduate) area and I had to go there to submit an assignment. As I was getting back, a senior girl who travels with me in the college bus took me by my hand and started talking animatedly. I was wondering what was wrong with her, she never even used to smile at us kids (UG first years). She deliberately pulled me into a class room where there were few more seniors, taking a break. Then I got the hint..

I started getting very nervous. I had thought ragging was practically non-existent in the college, as the previous year there had been a death related to college violence and punishment for ragging was very severe. I was already preparing in my mind what I would complaint to the college Principal when the girl suddenly presented me in front of a guy and left in a whiff. I was paranoid standing before him. This senior guy looked completely laid back and cool and he waved off the other guys who tried to join him in the fun. "So!"he bellowed, making himself comfortable on the bench "can the baby sing?". I shook my head furiously. "Liar! I heard you sing on the bus day!" Silence "Ok, then dance for me". What nerve! I thought to myself.

The break was over and the classroom started getting empty, much to my horror. In a few seconds, there were just the two of us in the room. I was close to tears. I told him I wanted to leave and started to, but he stopped me. "You are not going anywhere" he said firmly. I finally sang a song in a stupid voice and then he smiled and said I can go. I was so relieved! I almost ran out, he stopped me again. He brought out a huge chocolate bar, Cadbury's Fruit & Nut and extended it to me saying "Happy Birthday"! I was completely surprised and I broke into a wide smile and thanked him and off I went with my thrilling birthday wish!

We bumped into each other many times later that year and he turned out to be the one to show me the ropes in the college. We did keep in touch even after he left the college, but slowly lost contact. I hope to bump into him again in the future, but whenever I remember the first encounter, my heart pumps faster! :)

Continued...

Best birthday surprises - Part 1

2007-09-27T14:27:00.001+05:30

For the record, I am gonna put down the best birthday surprises (my friends' and mine), not because I am gonna forget them, but just for a fun read. am not ranking this or anything..

One of the best was Asha's. She was engaged to marry Naren a few weeks ago and it was her birthday that day. Our gang usually tries to meet up to give the bums (pun) on all of our birthdays. That particular day was a weekday and it was crazily hectic for me. I could not spare a minute and was certainly gonna work late. but i so wanted to surprise her. I knew she would expect me to meet her. and she was not even allowed to meet her fiance' before marriage-the usual story..

So, after a bit of positive conspiracy, we traced Naren's phone number through his colleagues - none from the gang knew him personally, all we knew was he was working in Infy. I phoned him up, introduced myself, and asked him if he wanted to meet her, but of course they were not permitted to see each other. I told him that I would call asha and tell her that I wanted to meet her and that he can go in my place and surprise her. Another gang member got Naren even a flower bouquet!

So, I called her and told her that I was going to pass by and wanted to see her to wish her. She fell for it and agreed to come out of office and we fixed timings and all that. Imagine her surprise when her fiance' hopped out of the car, complete with flowers to wish her Happy birthday ;) - that time I was in a high tension meeting and didnt even pick up when she called!

Sneha

Wanna be friends?

2007-08-21T13:02:00.000+05:30

Who says we learn from experience? Sometimes, we just end up doing the same things that hurt us over and over again. Then of course, we do it only because we like it. How ironic is that!

In the past few weeks, 6 of my best friends have moved away from town, for different reasons. Actually, no.6 and no.7 are just packing their bags and waiting. The other 5 have already left, each one has his/her own reason.

It was in these few weeks that I realised how dependant my life had been on my friends. I dont mean to say they are my basic needs, but they somehow complete my day. They are an integral part of social life, also giving emotional back up. Being in a different city definitely does not mean that they are not friends anymore, but geography matters. You see what i mean, right? If this girl is sitting in arizona, which is about half the globe away, can i ever catch up with her for coffee at the end of the day?

Just 6 people leaving at the same time has left me thinking in perspectives I had never thought before, such as this- Everytime we make a friend, when we get close to someone, are we just getting ready for another separation and pain. Yes, this sounds a bit far stretched, and yes, this thought will never make me stop making friends. Humans as they say are really social animals. We just cannot live without one another! :)

So people, here I come. I have 6 friends' worth time on my hands after all ;)
Sneha

Whats good when its fat? ; )

2007-08-16T15:37:00.000+05:30

Other than the pay check, of course...
The newspaper for one thing :)

This year, as always, we had lots of Independence day specials- special discounts at shops, special programs on TV, special promotional events by brands. The Hindu (newspaper), for its turn, brought out a real fat edition on 15th August, Wednesday. The newspaper was about 90 pages of printed matter. Of course there were lots of print ads, but still there was so much to read! Just the mere sight of a fat newspaper increases the joy level you know.

Not many of us read the whole of the paper, no matter how much time we have on our hands. But its a fact that we do like to see a fat newspaper everyday. Atleast, thats how i feel. I have always felt that information/knowledge is the most difficult thing to get. And the fact that so many journalists and editors put in their whole days' work in to it, only increases my respect for the mighty bundle of black and white! All this comes to you for just 4 or 5 bucks! I think its amazing..

Yeah..but that does not mean that i read the newspaper everyday just because i respect it so much. Appreciation is one thing, it is better than 4 bucks, it doesnt cost me anything ;) My sis knows better, she had had to try all tricks when i was younger to make me read the papers everyday. But fat newspapers are a totally different subject, no one has to motivate me to read them, the reason why they interest me, still intrigues me!

Sneha

I woz. Literally!

2007-08-01T18:17:00.000+05:30

I am reading the biography of this great guy who founded the the first ever practical personal computer, The CEO and founder of Apple computers, Stephen Wozniak. The book is titled ‘I Woz’. When I first saw it, I thought it must be some sci fi book like ’I robot’ ;)

It turned out to be a semi-auto biography, it is written by Gina Smith and Stephen Woz himself. It started on a good note and kept me on for the first few chapters. It is always nice to know about the lives of great people. But, I am just not able to bring myself to read beyond the first few chapters.

For one thing, the language is so American, which makes it very difficult to keep the interest. And whoever did the actual writing (Gina Smith, i guess) seems to have taped what Woz spoke and just typed it out to make the book without much helpful editing.

I feel that any language has to be projected carefully when it is written. When you are talking, you have the advantage of an additional medium. It is easy to make people understand things the way you want them to, but it is not always possible while its in script. That does not mean you have to use diplomatic words and phrases. It is still possible to capture all the action in writing. Good writers do it all the time.

Just out of curiosity, i googled this book's reviews and found I was not the only one complaining. Of course there were other ppl who liked the book also. But if you are the kind of person who appreciates a bit of good language along with the subject, I recommend staying away from this book, if you do want to read it, be my guest and get frustrated!

While the actual crux of the content is so exciting, the amateur language puts you off so much that you don’t want to read any further. What a waste of a good book!

Yellow Stars on the floor

2007-07-26T15:02:00.000+05:30

We were working late in the college computer lab again; the next day was the great show down of the computer projects. We had been working late for almost a week now and the application that we were supposed to present, the billing system was not working yet. When I stared at the monitor trying to figure what could be the possible code to make this **** thing work, I still had not understood why an MBA grad was expected to do a computer project and make the application work! Our profs had told us that the objective of this ‘exercise’ was not just the output that we have on the d day. It seems we pick up incentive skills while we are at this. Ya right! like these:

Learning new things: Yes, we are trying to crack .NET coding. No positive results so far.
Teamwork: The six of us had not reached the stage of exchanging blows yet, not bad.
Meeting deadlines: Of course, we haven’t finished our project, and the 2 assignments that are to be submitted tomorrow- we haven’t even started them. Great going!
Working under pressure: Why not, no lunch, the hostel mess closes at 9 pm. It was nine thirty already and we were still in college, no dinner.

My team-mates were exhausted, partly because of work, partly because of the high-pitched screaming-at sessions that we had had (for ease, I would call it ‘subject discussions’). There is always noise when great minds are at work, together! All of us were hungry, frustrated and angry at each other and also at the application we had chosen to develop.

After a brief intermission, we started arguing again. Five minutes later, Ramya cracked, she started sobbing. I couldn’t stand it anymore either. I took her out leaving the rest of my lunatic team and the systems behind. The lab attender threatened to lock us in if we didn’t leave sooner.

It was a cool night. Inside the building, there were workers welding something on the ceiling. As the sparks flew, they made an amazing sight. They were doing up something right in the middle of the ceiling and as the drops of fire travelled down, the height of about two floors and hit the ground below, it split into numerous smaller drops of light, bright yellow light. It looked almost like stars on the floor. We stared at this beauty for about 5 minutes, then we couldn’t look any longer, it sort of blinds the eyes.

I felt lighter and for some stupid reason, I even felt happy! Ramya also had recovered.

We got back to the lab, we had to wind up soon, we didn’t have too much of a choice. I knew our project is going to fail big time, I had trouble accepting the fact, especially because the expectations from us would be very high as we had won both the previous projects, the social research and the remodel one. Nevertheless, this is the result that we have today and we will be presenting it tomorrow with as much grace as possible!

We returned to the hostel and drank tea, finished half an assignment before we drifted off. Early morning was chaos, I wont go into details, otherwise, I wil end up writing a book!

So, we presented the project, of course we failed miserably. The judges, two experts, tore us into bits and pieces. And I felt the team that won just had beautiful html screenshots and not a single screen that actually worked, leaving all of us look like some stupid over worked blockheads!

To top it all, I was awarded grades for the two unfinished assignments also. I don’t even want to discuss it :(

It was a hard day, full of disappointment and bitterness. After all this, when I was getting back from college that day, I had a picture of beautiful tiny yellow stars on the floor. I was not trying to console myself by visualising them. I knew I had failed the project that I had so badly wanted to win. I have definitely learnt from the whole thing. But I was glad that something as insignificant as few sparks flying from a construction had made my day better.

Now, more than three years later: that day, is just another day of the past. Making silly billing systems work is no more on my list of important things. But, when I think of that day, more than the disappointment or the anger, I feel a sense of happiness, the sort of happiness i felt when i saw those sparks. How these small things of beauty give us such good memories!

Sneha

Its a matter of Space

2007-07-25T12:25:00.001+05:30

And I am not talking about the vastness in the universe or the earth's atmosphere!

'Give me space' – This is almost a normal statement in most relationships nowadays. Though I doubt if I can ever make my grand mom or even my mom understand what ‘giving space’ means. “In our times, ‘space’ was an unknown issue”, says my boss. “We knew our responsibilities and worked hard at making the relationships work”.

But now, we cannot imagine having any relationship that does not give the space that we need, because it is 'suffocating', and just few years ago, suffocation had only a physical/biological meaning!

Does this mean that we do not realise our responsibilities? Not really. Still, I have to agree that the effort that we put in to make a relationship work has definitely gone down. Blame the changing times, or anything else that you think is appropriate to be blamed, but we have changed. Our priorities have changed vastly.

Today, we seem to realise that we have a choice in life, most of us seem to concentrate on our own lives rather than living a life that is always dictated by other important people in our lives. I think it’s a good trend, I am sure my mom would disagree ;)

I am happy that I live in this period, when I am given my space, to think, to choose, to act, to live! Believe me, we are a lucky lot! It’s a nice time to be alive, so relish it :)

Sneha

Pain

2007-07-20T15:45:00.000+05:30

When we are not prepared to handle a let-down in a relationship, the hurt travels too deep into the mind. Philosophers say that you should never expect anything from anyone. I really don’t see that as a good way of life. Come on, whats life without expectations? its VOID! It just does not work that way. Expectations are part of life.

Moreover, its not that you are going to have expectations from just about anyone you see on the street. It happens with people whom you believe are responsible, are trustworthy. When these so-called 'responsible' people let you down in a relationship, thats when it hurts, you feel pain. Sometimes you are shocked. It takes time for reality to sink in. After all the pain and fuss, what makes you get on to your normalty path is the fact that you are independent. What happens if you are so dependent on your 'trustworthy' relationship that you cannot function without their support? You either wither away, or you learn to be independent.

So, that said, Do expect, all the nice things that can ever happen :)
but whatever you are dealing with- people, machines..just remember that it’s a highly dysfunctional lot that you are handling. So be ready for mal-functions!

After all, surprises are part of everyday, aren’t they? As if I am gonna accept your argument! Ha ha

This is sounding good, on second thoughts, maybe i should put this under the label gyaan..

The chances we take in life and my mood today

2007-07-03T19:42:00.001+05:30

Yes, This post has got nothing to do with any chances anybody takes on anything and is all about my mood today.
And yes, I am evil! I conspired and cooked this title up so you would stop by and read this, expecting it to be some mantra of life.. otherwise why would u want to know about my mood???

Hey come on, dont stop reading, atleast not yet!
I deserve atleast one soul listening to my sad notes :(

so, my mood- awry! awfully awry. its not often that this happens. and not that iam not trying to do anything about it, I am trying. but everytime i read something or listen to someone trying to cheer me up, i get wilderly sadder.

after trying for a long time, i am just resigning this as one of those off-days. We all have it on and off. So, tell me, do you have off-days too? What do you do about it? Does anything at all cheer you up? Drop in your comments

Cats and Dogs

2007-06-30T16:57:00.001+05:30

The aunty whom I live with, has a pet cat. Judging by the attitude he throws around the household, i feel that he(the cat) thinks we are all his pets, not the other way around.

Have you ever watched cats and noted how different they are from dogs? Dogs are pleasers. They make it obvious that they want you to like them. But cats, well.. I dont know what they think of themselves!

Aunty told me a cool story that clearly marks the difference between cats and dogs. It goes like this:
There lived a lady who had a cat and a dog as pets. Everyday, she feeds them and takes care of them, quite equally. So,
Dog thinks: Such a sweet woman, She gives me food, she takes care of me, she fulfills all my needs and she loves me. She must be God!
Cat thinks: Such a sweet woman, She gives me food, she takes care of me, she fulfills all my needs and she loves me. I must be God!

Have you ever wondered why you never find cats performing in the circuses or animal shows? I observed that people train practically any animal/bird on earth - including lions, tigers, fishes, birds...except a cat. It is because they are simply not trainable! Why is it so difficult to train this animal? I have not found a reasonable answer yet. You tell me if you know.

Sneha

Biology anyone?

2007-06-27T12:11:00.000+05:30

This is a doubt I have had, ever since I walked out of my biology class on that day when I was studying in 6th standard. Why do people associate love with heart??? I had grown up hearing people say things like 'love with all your heart' and 'from the depth of my heart' and similar stuff.

My teacher told me that all the heart does is circulate blood! She said it is the best pump in the world.

And all this while I had been thinking this heart is some super thing that does so much of complicated functions like loving, hating, feeling and all that jazz.. To know that it was just a pump, 'broke my heart' :(

The 'thinkers' among my friends told me that may be it was because people had difficulty associating emotions with brain and they needed something more romantic, so the heart was chosen. but lets face it, there is nothing romantic about the heart! Its not even a good looking organ. When its a question of looks, the lungs is anytime a better bet than the heart. and what about the liver, why not kidneys?

So please relieve me of my life-long doubt..tell me why you say 'heart-felt thanks' and not something like 'kidney-felt thanks' or 'SmallIntestine-felt thanks'??

;)
Sneha

Best time to be living in India?

2007-06-18T15:21:00.000+05:30

One of the news items in The Hindu yesterday was that IT major Tata Consultancy Services has made a record by giving out 1006 job offers to students in the Anna university campus job selection.

The total number of students who registered - 2330, and TCS has given out 1006 offers! nearly 50% of the students are employed and this is just ONE company! Just think about the other innumerable companies in Chennai and other cities and states waiting to grab the students (Anna university or not) and put them on the company rolls.

Can you think of one single industry thats not doing well? Retail, IT, Realty, Construction, Bullion, Aviation, Hospitality - theres money everywhere. The opportunities that these industries throw around are never completely filled. In fact, there isn't enough supply of skills (manpower) to meet the demands. Gone are the days when you had to wait for ages to get into a job after finishing studies.

I think this is the best time to be alive. We have everything - The economy is on a roll, share markets are booming, almost every literate and skilled illiterate has some job or the other, the currency is gaining importance...and thats just what I can think of!

Could things get any better?

Sneha

Love Deeply

2007-06-07T12:12:00.001+05:30

Love deeply, Love passionately. You may get hurt, but that’s the only way to live life completely. A beautiful quote from one of those innumerable forwards via email. True to the last word.

While I read it, I couldn’t help but think about how we usually treat love and relationships in general. People who have gone through a failed relationship usually grow an emotional barrier around themselves. This is just a reaction to the pain that they have gone through because of the heartbreak. Once(or twice) hurt, they ‘learn’ from the experience and slowly retract within themselves.
Never opening up, rarely expressing feelings and never getting affected by others’ feelings towards them. They are scared that they will have to go through the pain again. It is sad, because mostly these overtly cautious people are branded as insensitive.

It is not that you never want to love whole-heartedly, its just that it takes a particular someone who loves you deep enough to break down this wall around the heart and pull you out..

Another quote that i read the same day: The deepest love and the greatest achievements are the ones bearing the most risk.
Though, do we ever want to achieve anything less than the greatest? So why wouldn't we love deeply again...

Sneha

Why do we forget birthdays?

2007-05-30T14:17:00.000+05:30

I forgot my best friends birthday again! and of course, she is mad at me. She sent me a long e mail which said I dont care for her. But hey, thats not true! not true at all. You can never say that the person doesn't love you or care for you just because he/she forgets your birthday

I was just wondering.. Why is it that we rarely remember birthdays?
After deep thinking and rare insights, I have put together some possible explanations:

We forget birthdays because
reason 1) they come only once in a year - now, its only natural to forget things that happen only once a year. My mom has to do blood tests every year, and every year, she forgets! she thinks abt it only weeks later (dont ask me if she remembered my birthday, we will get to that after more thinking and more insights)

reason 2) its not a public holiday! - there are days that come only once in a year, but are still remembered - Independance day, Republic day, Gandhi Jayanthi. I never forget them, not because of the eternal love I have for my country, but because these days are public holidays! they are especially fondly remembered and looked forward to if they prefix or suffix a weekend ;)

but my sister is always mad at me for forgetting, she says that if you really care for a person, you have to take some effort to remember atleast their birthdays. So I did take effort and did remember quite a few birthdays including mine this year. My phone does my remembering. I fed them all in my phone reminder list, with 2 alarm reminders - a day ahead to buy a gift/card and then again on the day so that I dont forget why i bought the gift ;) aint i smart? :)

Sneha

Things that we take for granted

2007-05-28T15:45:00.000+05:30

I finished reading a book titled "Inside the kingdom" by a lady, Carmen Bin Ladin, who had been married to a Saudi Arabian (Osama Bin Laden's brother, none less!) and had lived a good part of life in Saudi.

The book was not exactly an eye opener. These are facts that we already know: oppresion of women and their low status in their country. how in the name of religion, they are not even allowed to think! every other thing is either a sin or a shame.. and women who dare are punished (killing seems to be the regular punishment for such 'offenders')
I wouldn't say this is the best book written on women's plight in the Middle east. Yet, after reading it, I felt a deep sense of relief of having born in a democratic country like India!

Things that we have always taken for granted, the women there have rarely experienced. For example the freedom of thought, speech, choice etc.,

Well, I am wordless..but I know that I have the freedom to write if I choose to and I am happy about it

Lets have the missing checkered flag here

2007-05-21T17:11:00.000+05:30

Have you been in formula one? or tried scuba diving? or bungee jumping? or chennai driving? gives you such a high! It excites you, pumps up the adrenaline, full throttle. you should try one of these, if you haven't, you are missing life!

No kidding..My boss (who was visiting Chennai, first time) took the team out for lunch and by chance happened to sit at the front of the car, near the driver. He is of the opinion that driving in Chennai takes you to the primitive laws of nature..survival of the fittest and the fastest and the most alert and the most alive! - all at a speed limit of 40 kilometres per hour, I must add.

Well, something to be proud of.
i know what its like without having to pay for a bunjee jump!

;)
Sneha

Parrot green and pink :) and courteous Indians

2007-05-08T15:25:00.000+05:30

It was a very important ceremony and I had to buy a new outfit. I went around the city and found what I wanted, the colours were maroon with zari.

I was discussing with a friend about the ceremony. He was also supposed to take part in it and we were discussing our outfits over the phone. He asked me what I was planning to wear. I told him that I got a real neat dress with a beautiful combination of parrot green and pink ;) For a few moments, no sound from the other end (well, obviously)

At length he said "mm, well..im sure you will look great in it". When I went on about how pretty the combination of the colour is, his comments were still on the lines of "oh yes, its good" or "it will be nice"

When finally I said "the combo is a bit bright, but it is very colorful..in any case, parrot green and pink is a horrible combination, why cant you just say that?". He blurted out- "but you have bought it, right?". Then I told him that I was just playing a prank on him. I sometimes wonder we Indians are a bit too courteous!, to the point of being misleading! next time my friend says something stupid, i think i will tell her/him slowly that it is what it really is.

Hey, but this is not to offend ppl who do like parrot green and pink combination.
After all, its not all that bad...
I mean, bollywood uses it a lot...
and yes, it sometimes suits some people ..
and..well :D
you know, i am Indian too..

Sneha

Life's little worries

2007-05-07T19:01:00.001+05:30

This is a cute photo and caption that I thought would be fun sharing with you.

Appeared in 'The Hindu' Chennai edition on the last page of the main sheet this sunday.

The little fellow is really upset that his hair is all gone. As the caption says, life has its own worries.. We call this little, but it matters the world to this chap!

Trust Hindu to come up with such interesting images!

Its movie time

2007-05-02T17:28:00.001+05:30

I am sure you guys would have watched the hollywood movie "Speed" (Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. have i spelt them right??). For those who have not, it is an action drama where there is this bomb planted in a bus carrying some clueless passengers. The bomb is programmed in such a way as to blow up the whole bus if the speedometer falls below certain count (50 miles i guess), once it crosses it. So Sandra Bullock keeps driving the bus on and on without stopping or slowing against all odds on the road.

Now, I am talking about one particular shot, where the bus reaches the end of a half-constructed road. the road re-starts after an interval, and in between there is a deep space gap. In the movie, Sandra just accelarates, the bus is shown to be flying across the space and lands on the other side of the road wherefrom the road is operational.

Question: Do you think such a stunt is really possible? Since I cant hear you now, let me jus say what I think. NO way! There was a time when I thought things in motion if accelarated enough can go in a straight line even if they are not in contact with the ground. Eg: Bullet fired from a pistol. That was only till i watched this program which showed how they made this movie (Speed). The director was explaining how they could never have pulled it off no matter how they tried, because once the bus takes off from the road, it is pulled by the gravitational force from the earth deep below. So by all the glory of explanation, what the bus will do once it loses contact with the ground is- nosedive to where it is pulled from! So how did they make it fly up in the air? Simple, they elevated it.

Now that it is the end of the post, i have to give you something really interesting. Did you know that even a bullet that is fired does not travel in exact straight line in space? before it reaches the target, its altitude drops a bit because gravity pulls it down. Serious, i am not bluffing!

Sneha

BRAIN and MIND

2007-04-26T16:15:00.000+05:30

A very interesting question on Yahoo! Answers, and few answers that ppl had posted. One of these answers was posted by me. You have to guess which it is, ok?

What is the difference between BRAIN and MIND exactly-?(Wanted by someone for school project)

Answer 1-Brain is part of a human body:
It works to retain memory:
Mind is a non-physical one:
mind is the cause for all the activities of the human

Answer 2-brains is in actual term
mind is in factual term
i mean, brain is a physical quantity and mind is figment of our imagination
brain is part of mind if we think, but reverse is not true

Answer 3-Depending on what your exactly what you are looking for, people distinguish brain and mind in a biological and philosophical sense.
When people speak of the brain, it is usually spoken about in the sense of neurons and chemical processes that can be described in a more scientifc manner. The mind, on the other hand, is seen more as a philosphical idea.
To put in better words, the mind is seen as something apart from the body that reflects on ideas, thoughts, and feelings. This is a pretty general difference that people make between brain and mind but the debate goes on whether one or the other actually exists.
Hope this helped.

Answer 4-The brain is anatomical, the mind is not

Answer 5-Mind is the brainchild of the brain!
Let me explain, Brain controls all the body functions, including thinking. In the primitive days, nobody knew biology very clearly, So much so that they invented ways to 'understand' things in a way it can be easy. Simple people like them had difficulty believing that an organ made of flesh and blood (the brain) can do such marvellous things as thinking, analysing, distinguishing, philosophising and so on.
So, to make things to be easily understood, they started distinguishing the mind (conscience) from the brain. The fact is that, it is their brains that thought up such an idea! Interesting na?
Let me know if this helped!

Answer 6- The mind is how we think and the Brain is the actual organ

Answer 7- The brain is the actual, physical organ; the mind is a more abstract concept used to collectively describe many of the functions of the brain. Mind would not include things like the control of body functions or reflexes, but does include things like thought, perception, and memory

Answer 8- Brain- is a term used to indicate the organ in the head. Mind- resembles the activities of the brain

Answer 9- Brain is used in bio or science and mind is usually used in literature.There is no diffrence between them

Now leave in your comment and tell me which you think is mine and of course, give me your ideas of the 'difference'!

Sneha

Aint it interestin!?

2007-04-26T14:56:00.001+05:30

Listen to this! Something I found in the internet:
Men have 4% more brain cells than women, and about 100 grams more of brain tissue.

Now dont think I put this up here to glorify the not-so-fair gender..
Here comes the punchline:

Many women have asked the scientist why men need more brain tissue in order to get the same things done.
(Touche!)

;)
Sneha

PS: Dont think I am bluffing about the facts. Here, go check it out for yourself:
http://www.doctorhugo.org/brain4.html

Plastic new-sense

2007-04-23T16:22:00.000+05:30

Just the other day, I had a heated argument with a fellow pal about a revolutionary product that has made our life incredibly easy at the same time is unbelievably evil..plastic. He was arguing for and i was arguing against.

My friend considers plastic to be the most important invention of all world history, only next to the invention of wheel. Understandably so, he is a product designer. If you are a designer, you will know what exactly i am talking about.
Just look around you and you will realise that plastics have become an integral part of your life. right from complicated machinery to the water bottles and pens that we use everyday, almost everything around is made with plastic. This is a wonderful chemical component that has made life so easy.

Agreed! also to be considered is another factor of concern- the waste that is generated beacause of plastic use (read misuse). We do not have an amazing plastics waste management system as yet. That means they are just dumped in the soil.
Plastics are notoriously synonymous to the term 'non-biodegradable'. Anything that is non biodegradable chokes the earth, takes away the fertility of the soil and pollutes the ground water.

I am not forming a league to ban all plastics on the planet, I am addressing only a small (but considerable if long term) portion of the pie - something that i practise and is immensely satisfied with. Minimal use of plastic bags.

Multi-coloured plastic bags are almost omnipresent. All stores- big and small, market places and commodity shops use them because they are very cheap. And we the consumers accept them because they are very convenient. Observing at one of the stores, I saw people asking for/accepting plastic bags even for carrying single,tiny pack of snacks

Next time you buy something, think if you really need that plastic bag. Cant you just carry it in your handbag/pocket? Cant you just throw it in the back of the car/the pouch of the bike? or even better, if you have a shoppers bag lying there in your vehicle, use that when you shop for veggies or other commodities. Now, thats not too much to ask for, is it?

Sneha

You are FREE..finally!!!!! yeah..but whats so exciting abt it?

2007-04-23T13:34:00.000+05:30

There are times when you are just baffled by the fact that you are so independant!

You have done studying, have finished slogging through those hard mathematical problems and chemical equations and never-ending homework..you dont have to prepare for one exam after the other..School and College are actually over!

You have gone through and come out of those jobless days when you attended a minimum of two interviews a day and lived on unbelievably less money so you dont have to ask mom and dad for money. Now you have a reasonably paying job. No more waiting for pocket money to buy an icecream.
You are no more a 'teenager'/adamant adolescent-so, no more taking permission from mom to watch the movie you wanted to go to with friends.. No more curfews on weekend nights..

Now you are grown-up (!?!) You have total freedom. You are independant- physically, mentally, financially. but, wait a second, what are you going to do with all the freedom and the glorified rights that you have in life?? All those textbooks and seminars had never taught what is to be done when one fine day, you are free from the several bondages that had held you back so long!
Enough food for thought for a few seconds? why dont you tell me what you have done/are doing/will do with your freedom.. Leave your comments..

Sneha

Favourite Churches in Chennai

2007-04-18T18:16:00.000+05:30

You can begin your Sunday with a visit to one of these beautiful churches. If not for praying, you can enjoy the peace and beauty. There is a very quiet, small church atop a hillock in St.Thomas mount. It’s only a short drive of about 30 minutes from the heart of the city. The hillock, on which the church stands, is inside the Officer’s academy premises between Pallavaram and Meenambakkam. This place is special to me, as students we have visited it many times. It is a place from where you can see most part of the city and also the landing and take-off of aeroplanes since the Airport is not far away.

Another church of beauty is the one in Santhome – Basilia. This is the place where the St.Thomas has been buried. Visitors are allowed to the tomb. It has got awesome stained glass painting works! This church is close to the Marina beach.

Inside the campus of the Loyola college/university is a beautiful church, which was built as a chapel for the students of Loyola. Visitors are allowed. Families in the nighbourhood flock to this place for the Sunday morning mass. Again special to me for personal reasons ;)

St.Mary’s Church in Besant Nagar. This church stands very close to the Elliots beach and is said to be the oldest church in Chennai, now renovated and extended. Believers and tourists flock to this place any day of the week.

St.George’s Cathedral church. Gives you the old world feeling; right in the middle of the busy city. I was a regular to this one till about few weeks ago. You would be surprised by its extensive cemetery. There is also a smaller chapel inside the same premise. It is a very peaceful place..

This can go on.. but these churches TOP my list :)
If you live in Chennai, try visiting few of them when time permits..

Sneha

Its money honey…

2007-04-12T16:02:00.000+05:30

It’s funny to think how much these simple green papers matter! Though I would like to have loads of it, I just hate it for all the importance people give it! But I have to admit that this “hate” is because I still can’t think of many ways to lay my hands on enough of them. Haven’t you heard of the fox and the sour grapes story? ;)

Was just wondering…how much of money is there in the whole world? All currencies put together? What if I had all of it?

(no words because I just passed out)

Frankly, how much is too much? When do you think you will finally get convinced that you have enough money and that you don’t need any more of it?
Two possible answers: 1)Never 2)When you attain immortality

I don’t know about you, but since I do not have much hopes of attaining immortality, I think I fall in the “Never” category. After all it’s only fair. Money is like the elixir of energy in the world. Imagine a world minus money. No money, no reason to work, no joy of buying something new, no goals in life, no success, no motivation, NO NOTHING!!! It is scary, really! I am all for glorifying money, who cares if it is such an attention seeking entity, after all its worth it. Whatssay?

How to become a successful entrepreneur

2007-04-09T17:44:00.000+05:30

Here is an article that I stumbled upon few days ago..
Disclaimer: This article was not written by me. Writer: unknown. Source: I dont remember!

Cheers!
Sneha

How to become a successful entrepreneur

Anyone who is employed has dwelled over this at some point or the other, some far more than others. That's the kind of allure 'being your own boss' holds for most people.

The sense of achievement in owning a set-up, and being chiefly responsible for it's future is the kind of kick one can never derive from a job. But, greater returns always involve greater risks. One needs to plan and execute with a high degree of detail to counter the many challenges a business throws at the entrepreneur.

Keep a lookout for these pointers if you finally get down to executing your dream of self-employment:
Being fed up with your current job isn't a good enough reason to start-up. It is more than a full time responsibility. Work does not end with office hours, and chances are that initially you will see more hardships than success. It takes intense commitment to stick it out through these tough times, especially when you know that your past job pegged you at a certain market value, which you are not matching with this new business.

More importantly, a half-baked decision to start a business not only leave you with little chance of doing well, it also jeopardises your options of getting back to as good a job as the one you left.

Understanding the nature of a business
The first step is to understand that businesses don't start with a great idea, or a breakthrough innovation, every business starts with the customer. If you are looking to get into a business as an inventor, try finding a client who'll pay you to develop something they need. Most of these clients will let you keep the rights over the invention, so that you can sell it to other clients later.
Entrepreneurship = 60 hours of work
This might be easier than it seems, and in business, success has got to do more with creating such opportunities and making the most of them.

Check for these skills:
Engineering -- the skill to invent and develop new products (or services)
Manufacturing -- the skill to deliver products, consistently and reliably, with quality, service, and price
Selling -- the skill to sell the products
Business -- the act of making a profit by doing the first three

While starting a business, the skills you will surely need are engineering and selling.
The longevity and profitability of the business are usually determined by the manufacturing and business skills. The level of competency you choose for the business decide how refined these individual skills need to get.

In case you choose the competition space as a local market or a niche industry, then the focus goes up drastically on one skill, while going down to a basic hygiene on the rest.

Breaking the 'notion' barrier
All your education and work-experience must have given you a perspective on how businesses work. These experiences, and the notions that they bring along with it have their own limitations. They don't quite give you the complete picture.
Also, most of this 'experience and knowledge' constitutes the answers to yesterday's problems. It might not necessarily apply to what goes on today. And there is an even stronger possibility of this know-how getting obscure in the future.

Finding the funding
In the ideal case scenario, find someone who will be willing to pay you for what you are currently doing. This is a critical stage for most businesses. Do not let go until you are convinced that you have exhausted all opportunities.

Got what it takes to be an entrepreneur?
The next best option is to find someone who has a similar business need. Then go about designing a solution for him. Try brainstorming further to keep customisation to a minimum so that the solution can be taken to other potential clients with minimum modification.

The benefit of having partners
There is only that much one person can do.
Like most businesses have separate business units or heads such as manufacturing, marketing etc., the skills needed to run most businesses too are quite varied.
What are the odds that you will be adept at the technical, marketing, selling, business and political aspects of the business? Besides, having partners makes sense on many other levels. Firstly, as the number or people owning the business goes up, the risk and intensity of a loss goes down. You can stay on in the market for longer in case of a lean period.
Also, since the business heads will most likely be split among the partners, one can focus on a couple of areas while doing complete justice to them and focusing on nothing else. This makes the entire business a lot more competent.

Don't quit your day job, just yet
You don't need to take the big jump straight away. Building a business takes a lot of time and groundwork. Spending up to an hour a day after work is a feasible option initially. It also helps you get a feel of what a business must be like.
Moreover, getting in a pay cheque every month is always the smarter option, especially when you might not have a steady income for some time to come. A few things you can do alongside work might be:
Examine the feasibility of the business model
Buy market research target market
Understand the selling patterns of related products
Get options on funding
Develop a marketing plan for various budget constraints
Talk to other entrepreneurs and get some tips off them
Try getting inputs from a venture incubation centre
Get a transition plan ready
Consider the worst-case scenario, and work on a feasible exit clause even for that. Chart out the future, the incoming revenue streams, how long do you plan to be in the business, exit options etc. Also, have a financial cushion in the form of some investments that you leave untouched while at the business.

Starting a business? Say goodbye to your ego
Try roping in venture capitalists at the earliest stage in the business to enable you to work under lesser financial pressure.
Tomorrow is just a second away from today
There is only that much preparation that one can put in. Stop finding excuses to delay getting into the business. You cannot learn swimming from a textbook. Take the plunge. Learn what works for YOU and what doesn't. There is no right or prescribed way to run a business. In fact, there are as many ways as there are people running successful businesses.
Also, this is as good a time as any to be an entrepreneur. The economy is growing; the government is supporting new ventures through various measures in the recent budget. And most importantly, the number of avenues for growth and the kind of opportunities available are unparalleled today.
So go on, what's stopping you from being your own boss?

City with a heart

2007-04-09T14:42:00.000+05:30

I am not even trying to count the number of NGOs (Non government organisations) in Chennai! They are just innumerous. Every noble cause has supporters here. Right from planting trees to saving street dogs; from rehabilitating rag pickers to feeding the homeless, Chennai is one city that is full of people with golden hearts.

These are just few of the sites worth sharing.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/04/stories/2007020415240300.htm
http://www.ivolunteer.org.in/news/VolOppsChennai.htm
http://www.chennaibest.com/discoverchennai/ngowatch/index.asp
http://puggy.symonds.net/pipermail/health-india/2003-March/000082.html

In no other city have I seen people so worried about their fellow humans and the environment that they live in.. So what makes them tick? Do you have an answer? a comment may be? jot it here, I would definitely like to know!

Cheers!
Sneha