Settling down

A few days back, Arni said that he'd decided he was gonna settle down in Calcutta. Yesterday, Prateek said something on the same lines. That got me thinking .... where do I want to "settle down"? My shortlist comprises of ....

Port Louis, Mauritius


Canberra, Australia &


Miami, Florida


Of course, if push comes to shove, I'd settle for Gurgaon; Panchkula or Pune anyday.

Series levelled

India managed to win the Mumbai ODI yesterday, drawing the 5 match series with SA 2-2 (after being down 2-1). Given their dismal record at winning under pressure, this must have come as welcome relief, even though the performance looked scratchy.

Nevertheless, holding the 2nd ranked Proteas to a 2-2 draw seems quite respectable.

Zinda hoon .......

Yeh hai meri kahaani,
Khamosh zindagani,
Sannata keh raha hai,
Kyun zulm seh raha hai,
Ek dastaan purani,
Tanhayee ki zubani,
Har zakhm khil rahaa hai,
Kuch mujhse keh rahaa hai,

Chubhte kaante yaadon ke daman se chunta hoon,
Girti deewaron ke aanchal mein zinda hoon….

From 'Ye Hai Meri Kahani' by Strings (Zinda OST)

Socha Na Tha

When it was released in March/April this year, we were in the midst of the Internship. I remember Rakesh recommending this movie. Finally got a chance to see it on Max yesterday. The first thing you notice is that it's totally devoid of cliches. And the performance of the lead pair .... Ayesha Takia & Abhay Deol .... they're a revelation .... as is the direction by Imtiaz Ali, a JSR guy. Thoroughly enjoyable. Loved it.

The Glock 18C Automatic

The best Glock 9mm ever! Not the least because it's got a fully automatic firing mode, that can shoot bursts of 3/4 bullets with every squeeze of the trigger. Plus it's got a std 19 bullet magazine (with an optional 33 bullet magazine!).

After this, who needs an MP5? What I wouldn't give to lay my hands on one!

FPS

Finished Chetan Bhagat's 1st book in 2 days of commuting to the office & back & I must say it was great. WAY better than his 2nd book, 'One Night ....', this one was a revelation into what goes on behind the walls of the IITs.

I'd always thought that IITians were some superhuman, infallible species (as does Scott Adams, so I'm not alone there), but after reading this you realize that they are the same as most of us, just a wee bit brainier, that's all. Reading the adventures of Ryan, Alok & Hari bought back all those memories of school life & my misadventures with academics in stds. 11 & 12 (when I should've been cramming to get into IIT!).

I hear they're gonna make a movie out of it. Can't wait for it. Hope it's made by somebody competent enough though.

Lamhays & Aadats

Ever since the OST for Zeher came out with Wo Lamhay & it's hugely successful remix version, there have been several other versions of the same song. At last count I had ....

Wo Lamhay by Atif Aslam (Zeher OST);
Lamhay DJ Mix by Atif Aslam (Zeher OST);
Lamhay by Jal (Aadat) &
Bheegi Raatein by Atif Aslam (Jal Pari)

Now, the same thing seems to be happening with the song Aadat. I currently have .....

Aadat by Atif Aslam (Jal Pari);
Aadat by Jal (Aadat);
Zahreeli Raatein by KK (Chocolate OST) &
Aadat Remix by Atif Aslam (Kalyug OST)

But, the most interesting part is that all of them are equally good to listen to. Strange, but true.

Last chance for Dada?

Ganguly is back into the test team. I think it's his last chance to perform. Else it's bye bye for him. Sad. The guy who took Team India to such heights doesn't deserve such ignominy. But then, I think he bought it upon himself & India need to move on to the next level (which they're managing pretty well) too. Whatever the outcome, the series vs SL will be interesting.

Meanwhile, Dhoni's got into the test team too. Cool!

End of Laaloo Raj. Phew!

Yup, its unbelievable, but the bane of Bihar is history. As of now, JDU+ has 144 & RJD+ 61 in a house of 243. These elctions had been hailed as the fairest & the strictest ever & the results prove as much. In the end, it's a victory for democracy & people power. And that is something to be proud of.

G

Ganesh Hegde (the guy who choreographed numbers like 'Kambakht Ishq' & 'Dum') has come out with his debut pop album titled (simply) G.

The dance/pop track from the album, 'Main Deewana' is currently ruling the waves on TV & FM. After months of stale Indian pop acts, his choreography (what else?) & the video especially, come across as a refreshing change. Incidentally, he's done all 4- video direction; choreography; music & vocals himself. Pretty talented.

Kangna Unplugged

Given my love for high BPM, bass n drum tracks, I sometimes come upon a track that has none of these & yet appeals a great deal.

Am listening to Kangna's acoustic version (with vocals by Dr. Zeus) as I write this & it's fantastic. The original song was great to begin with, but with the vocals devoid of all electronic instrumentation & combined with the strumming of the acoustic guitar & the soft, lilting flute sounds, it gets a distinct appeal all it's own. It's actually soothing on the senses! Thanks for sending it over, Sittu.

ON@TCC

Contemporary Indian fiction, despite the waves it's been making globally, is something I'm not very familiar with. I haven't read much of what Rushdie, Vikram Seth or Arundhati Roy produce (except for extracts in India Today/Outlook). So, when Sittu recommended this book to me, I was a bit sceptical, one of the reasons being the hype it was generating ever since it was launched (with ads on MTV to boot!). Anyway, there was no harm in giving it a try & I don't regret the decision.

Started the read on the Friday morning commute to the office, continued on the way back home & had finished it by 1 a.m. on Saturday. It's a compelling read, no doubt, not the least because it deals with issues that confront the average North Indian guy like me today. As a result, one tends to identify a lot with what the protagonist is going through. I especially liked his views on girls & relatives.

Besides, the character 'Vroom' was almost created to represent me, what with his love for autos, news & his views on money (although the way he changes girlfriends every 3 months, is something totally alien to me, I can't seem to make even one!).

All in all, Chetan Bhagat seems to have done a good job of bringing out the issues confronting the youth of this country today (& it's about time somebody did that). I think I'll go ahead & read his first book, 'Five Point Someone' too, now that I'm hooked. Thanks once again for the book Sittu & hope you won't mind lending me FPS too ;-)

Juggernaut halted

The Proteas came to India riding on a wave of ODI success (having won (or rather, not lost) 19 ODIs on the trot. They beat India in the 1st of the 5 match Pepsi Cup series at Hyderabad, & came within 1 victory of equalling the Aussies world record run of 21.

But, in the 2nd ODI at Bangalore, India bought their run to a halt. The Indians beat them in a command performance which bought back memories of the way Saurav's team had halted the Aussie juggernaut in the 2001 test at Eden Gardens. What a match & what a series that turned out to be! I love it when the Indians perform the way did on Saturday.

Rimi

Rimi Sen is looking better with every new movie of hers.

What's it about these Bong babes? They're something special.

Piyu, my first girlfriend (as in friends at age 9-10 thereabout) & the one who taught me whatever little Bengali I know, got married yesterday. Mummy & Daddy were invited to the reception. Memories of those days are hazy, but I remember we were pretty good friends.

Strange are the ways of God

When Jolly got through the CDS exam for the 1st time, he was dropped after the GD. When he got through this time again, we could see that he'd made up his mind to make it through till the end. Almost all of us discouraged him from appearing for the SSB (face it, who wants family getting blown up in some remote corner of the country?), but he was steadfast.

Appear for it he did & qualified too, but the proverbial twist in the tale came when he didn't make it to the merit list. We got what we wanted & he got what he wanted. So, it means that my bro's been weaned away from appearing for Army exams again & we are happy since he goes back to joining the corporate life he was so keen to chuck. Strange are His ways, indeed.

Un-smooth operator

First my computer gets deallocated while I'm on leave (took all of 7 days & a talk with the domain head to get it back), & then I manage to screw up my AD ID. That means, no Webmail 0r Gateway for 2 days. Finally, a talk with the IMG guys on the 3rd floor & they managed to get the job done in 5 minutes flat.

Moral of the story: If u wanna get something done, do it yourself.

R.I.P. Eddie

Vipin informed this morning that Eddie Guerrero died of a heart attack on Sunday (although WWE.com says that the cause of his death is still to be ascertained).

He was one of the most evocative characters in wrestling & held a special appeal for Jolly & me since he used to make an appearance for his fights in all kinds of souped up cars, SUVs & low riders.

He joins a long list of wrestlers who have been falling dead like flies in the last 5-6 years or so. Mr. Perfect, the Big Boss Man & several others whose names I can't recollect right now. All in their late 30s - early 40s. All suffering heart attacks. I guess the hormones they take to build up their bodies make their hearts so weak. It's sad ..... & tragic. Thanks Eddie for the entertainment .... I'll miss this guy.

Bird-day-word-day & all that

The inevitable happened & I had to add one more year to my age. The mood has been darkening with each successive year & this year it felt more like a burden to accept everybody's wishes & return the "Thank You"s. But the number of people calling in to wish has been growing every year & guess that means the social circle has been widening ..... which is a hugely positive development. Thank you everybody for your wishes .... it's nice to know that so many people care.

There had been some confusion prevailing over the TV issue & things seemed to have reached a stalemate on the night of the 12th. I'd given up hopes of watching TV for the next few months, but then the guys decided to surprise me on the 13th morning. A Samsung Plano now occupies pride of place in the hall. Thanks guys, I may not say it too often, but you people are the best ..... God knows why He bought us together, but I think He intends to keep it that way, ..... & I'm happy for that.

Made the first significant purchase from my own salary, & bought the Transcend T-Sonic. Blew a big hole in my pocket but what the heck ....... Chanakya says, "money if not utilised goes to waste" & I'm the last person who wants to be known as a money waster!

Rockin' Dhoni

India completed the rout of Sri Lanka & the series has ended 6-1. Each match (even the one they lost), threw up new heroes & thankfully they were from amongst the newer lot. Dhoni can probably think of it as his coming of age series (he got Man of the Series) & it's great to see the addition to the team of a player of his caliber & promise. He never seems to be under pressure & enjoys his game. I've never had a 'favourite player' in cricket (although Steve Waugh, Sunil Gavaskar & Wasim Akram came pretty close), but this guy will probably be it. Let's see .... if he blasts around the Proteas (the 5 match series against them starts on the 16th this month) too, I'll have a new favourite & a Jharkhandi to boot. How great is that!

Living under threats

Sometime in the middle of last week, the Government of India issued a countrywide bomb threat alert. Some crazed jehadis were at it again & Bangalore being what it is, security at the campus has seen an upgrade. Each & every car is being checked underneath, in the boot, inside the cabin ........ it all seems pretty thorough, though I can't help but feel that all those measures can at best act as deterrents & not as guarantees for safety. Crazed fanatics that they are, the terrorists can simply use a bike or a suicide bomber. Whatever happens, living under the threat of terrorism seems to have become a way of life .... all over the world. There's no other option.

Wikipedia says, "At the peak of the dot-com boom in the late 1990s, Koramangala - a suburb of Bangalore, was believed to have had the highest density of telecom software companies per square mile in the world". Wow!

Currently on top of the wish list.....

Transcend T Sonic MP3 Player



Nokia 3250



Sony Ericsson W800i




And, last but not the least, the cash to go for them ...............

Happy B'day Nayak babu

Yesterday was Soumya's b'day. Forgot all about it as usual. Pritish called up in the afternoon & said we'd be going to his place in the evening.

Reached Mookambika for the party at about 9:30. Bacardis were going around for everyone & all had a pretty good time. Come to think of it .... it was the first time Prits & me were drinking together after all the years we've been together ..... & that brings to mind another thought .... Soumya, Prits & me have somehow been together since the time we were in Nursery! Same pre-school; same high-school ..... different colleges but resolutely in touch & now here in Bangalore. Cool!

Prits seems to be having a hard time after his break up with Mads. Don't know why people get so involved in relationships they know they can't follow through with. Is it simply for the s word or the company? Whatever it is, it's not worth the heart break & the cribbing.

Hectic stuff

Return train got cancelled at the last moment. The last 2 days of the leave were spent worrying about how to get back to BLR before Monday. Thankfully, Sid managed reservations. We reached on time, but after having taken a circuitous route - JSR-KGP-CHN-BLR.

Met up with Gunakar at KGP & he gave us a guided tour of the place. KGP apparently has a petrol station that doubles up as a wine shop! The owner says it's the only one of its kind in the world! Got to eat some authentic east Indian Puchka too .... wonder when I'll get a chance to do that again.

Thank God for the small mercies though, we had 3rd AC tickets for the longest part of the journey. TN & Karnataka still seemed to be struggling with the floods. Am strongly thinking of taking a flight next time.

Arrived in BLR on Sunday afternoon. Shifted out of #398 straight away. Prav & Arni had managed to hit pay dirt in BTM. The area seems ideal; the house itself is nice & airy; the company bus stop is a hop-skip & jump away as are the ATMs & eateries. It all seems too good to be true.

Yaaahoooooooooo

The 4th ODI of the 7 match series between India & SL just got over. After facing a few anxious moments, India managed to chase SL's 262 successfully. The newcomers Venugopal Rao, Dhoni & Raina played absolutely crucial parts. The composure & maturity shown by them was a treat to watch, as was the running between wickets. It's great to see the team do so well (they captured the series today), especially in the light of the recent happenings. So,.... India finally nets a series against credible opposition & in style. Yeah, man!

Diwali?

The 1st of Nov & it was Diwali. Or was it? The bombs & crackers that went off last night sounded definitely muted when compared to those of previous Diwalis. Still, the smell of gunpowder & the Diwali lights adorning every other house & shop have a charm of their own.

Team India is back

And how! Before the current series between SL & India got underway, SL were ranked 2nd in the ODI ratings & India were 8th. 3 matches are over now, & the Indians have walloped the Lankans in each of them.

They scored 350 in the first & beat the Lankans by 152 runs. SL were shot out for 122 in the second & India won by 8 wickets. The 3rd match (& each ball of which I watched) was a run feast .... SL scored 298 & India still got home, scoring 303 with over 4 overs left! Apna Jharkhandi Dhoni was in awesome, awesome (yeah, twice!) form .... he scored the highest ever by a wicketkeeper in ODIs, 183 not out, & this included 10 sixes & 16 fours. Dravid says it was 'a privilege' to have watched it & Gavaskar compared him to Viv Richards!

What was remarkable about MSD's essay was that never once did he panic & one could see that he had resolved to stay put on the pitch till the winning runs were scored. Two distinctly un-Indian traits! I hope India have finally found the wicketkeeper-run-blaster they were looking for. Amen to that. It seems the 2 Bangaloreans, Greg & Dravid are finally getting the results they wanted. If this is what is possible in the absence of Ganguly, .... I hope he stays at home.

The longest train journey ever

Turns out the NE Monsoon had decided to turn it really on over TN & Karnataka at about the exact time I was scheduled to take the train home (28th Oct). As if that was not enough, there was a cyclone warning for AP & Orissa on the 29th. No prizes for guessing the route my train was taking .... Karnataka, TN, AP, Orissa & Jhakhand. The 'ol home state must surely have felt left out.

Anyway, with a prayer in the heart, Sid n me reached YPR. Accompanying us home on the same train would be Sweta, Prateek & Ajay & almost half the techies from Orissa & Jharkhand working in Bangalore. On day 1 itself the train was late by about 14-16 hours. It takes about 2 hours to reach Jolarpettai from Bangalore. It took us 12.5! To make things worse, I was booked on 2nd class sleeper ... a fact I rued for most of the journey. Proliferation of cell phones notwithstanding, the general public in India will still take some time to reach the levels of common & civic sense identified with civility.

One thing I discovered during this journey was that sitting on the footboard all by yourself can be great time pass. The chaos & chatter prevalent inside the cubicles gets magically cut off & it's only you & the countryside rushing by. Undulating fields of green stretching out till the hills, with the occasional stream scything through & disappearing under a small bridge as the train passes over it. Stations called 'Ringali' or 'Lapanga' through which your 'Express' rushes by .... destined only to serve as siding-providers to the Railways & the only visible signs of infrastructure to the settlements they cater to.
India is a vast, huge expanse of land & even though it has the 2nd highest population globally, the countryside can be totally bereft of all signs of humanity (except the train you are on), for long stretches of time. It's a humbling experience.

Rourkela, & it was time for a break journey. Sid & me had the pleasure of visiting the Apsara Bar, right next to the railway station. After 2 straight days of continuous train travel, the secluded location (the 2 of us were the only customers in a place meant for at least 50); the cool comfort of the fan & the TV (running MTV) provided welcome relief. We had all of 2.5 hours to kill before our connector to JSR came in.

Finally stepped into home at 10 p.m. on Sunday, the 30th .... a delay of about 24 hours. A full day of my leave gone to the dogs.

I'm .net-ted

Training Duration - 19th Oct to 28th Oct '05. Missed the last day 'cause I had a reservation on the YPR-HTA that day. I was headed home.

Location - Almaz Software Solutions (off Ring Road). While the location on Ring Road meant that it was really close to #398 (all I had to do was wait near the Mahindra showroom on 80 Foot Road & soon enough a company cab/bus/car/van would show up offering a ride to Domlur @ 5 bucks only! Managed to ride on HP/Spheris/Philips/iFlex & other company vehicles this way. Now, how many people can boast of having done that?), the 'off' made things a bit ...er, off kilter. That's cause it meant taking a short cut .... every morning & evening .... that passed thru the de-facto ...er, dumping grounds of the nearby slum dwellers .... dumping as in ...er, human waste. You get the picture!

Instructor - Niraj Bhat. Mr. niraj_rules@rediffmail.com was the fastest instructor I've ever faced. He would type out programmes on his Presario at lightning speed & expected us (1st time .net-ters) to keep pace perfectly. Having said that, his knowledge of .net was pretty good & he took the trouble to see that all of reached at least a minimum level of understanding.

Brains - Chayan Biswas's. Working during the training, that is. This guy is a genius. He could grab concepts out of thin air while the rest were trying to figure out the last one/get a high score in Pinball or Minesweeper or Solitaire/checking out the babes/trying to stay awake. And guess who got to sit next to him .... me! What this meant was, that I could goof all day while being sure of the fact that I could turn to him to clear all my doubts before the day was through. Thanks dude, you were a great help.

Most significant moment - The rains on 25th October. It rained like there was no tomorrow. Bangalore went down on it's knees as traffic jams snaked back for miles. Whole localities were underwater & people reached EC at 11 after having set out at 7:30! That of course, was before Hosur Road was shut down completely.

Best part - It's a toss up between the food; being able to build a text editor & mini explorer using .net in a mere 20 minutes & giving the rain related chaos on 25th Oct a go by (since Ring Road had no traffic jams .... at all!). The food of course wins it hands down .... proper North Indian buffet lunches served free of cost .... heck there's no competition!

Significant aside - Returning home one day during the training & I spot this fantastically souped up black Baleno parked near the Sify Gamedrome. Blue lightning graphics on the sides, a double deck spoiler, black-out film on the tail lights, skirts all round & blinged out chrome alloys .... a proper, tasteful & high cost mod job. Just as I'm approaching it, a fat-silk saree clad classic auntie type with a handbag comes out of the nearby showroom ........ & points the remote locker at the car, gets in & drives off! It took me about 5 minutes to stop mouthing the F word after managing to pick up my jaws from the floor. The Baleno even had a rorty exhaust!