Miss South Carolina, ladies & gentlemen ....

She's asked, "Recent polls have shown that a fifth of Americans can't locate the U.S. on a world map. Why do you think this is?".

She answers, "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because uh some people out there in our nation don't have maps and uh I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and the Iraq everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for."

I always thought most Americans were ignoramuses, and this proves it.

Chak De! India

Acted on impulse after a long time & decided to catch a show in the middle of the week. Frankly, since it released over 2 weeks ago, everybody & their colleague has seen it & can't stop raving about it. So, it was time I checked it out for myself.

It's a movie very different from the norm. And compared to the drivel that Yash Raj has dished out so far this year, there's a difference akin to that between chalk & cheese.

The story is about OK. I've seen quite a few Hollywood sport themed flicks where a bunch of impossibly mismatched egos come together to magically pull off a miracle, learning a lot of lessons along the way. Nothing new there.

What IS new is the novelty of this concept in Hindi films, the number of issues the film tackles, successfully, and the treatment it has received at the hands of the director. When was the last time you saw a film dealing with issues like the regional, ethnic & linguistic divide, gender sensitivity, the patriotism test minorities in this country are subject to, communalism & the neglect of sports .... all at once? I think Lagaan comes closest, but that's the only one that comes to mind.

The pace is fast with nary a dull moment & the characterizations are unique & well etched. Everyone in the cast delivers a convincing performance & the whole setup is quite authentic. Shahrukh's role is what holds the film together. He delivers a knockout performance, but I still think that Swades was his best ever.

All in all, a total paisa-vasool film. Hats off to Yash Raj, Shimit Amin, Jaideep Sahni & everyone who was part of the cast.

P.S. 1 - this is the 1st film I've watched alone, ever.
P.S. 2 - this is one film with the maximum number of mentions of Jharkhand!
P.S. 3 - they showed promos of Aaja Nachle before the start. Madhuri's still got it.

Orkut has a new look .....


It's the 1st large scale revamp, I think. I like.

Vettaiyadu Vilayadu

Happened to catch this on the local cable channel today. Good thing was it had English subtitles & we could get a hang of the proceedings. Very impressive movie, taut direction & fast paced.

They should release more of these regional films with subtitles so that Northies like me could understand them. It would open up a bigger market than they think possible. At least with the multiplex going crowd.

Digit declares the Nokia N73 ME as the 'Best Buy Gold' for August 2007 for phones between 20k to 30k. It receives kudos for it's sound; camera & screen & is called 'an audiophile's delight'.

Vindication is so sweet :-)

Nobi gets in touch with me through Orkut!

The last time I talked to him was on a mini bus on the Sakchi-Golmuri route back in JSR while I was running around for my +2 admissions. How time flies!

Thanks Mr. Büyükkökten.

FnF 4

A 4th installment of The Fast And The Furious franchise is on it's way. Yes!

Turkish GP

Another 1-2 for Ferrari.

Hamilton was looking good for a 3rd, but suffered a puncture & finished 5th. Not a bad day for McLaren though, since they still lead the Constructors'.

bheega aasmaan

Bheega aasmaan, shehdaai dil mera
Sooni raahon pe, kya dhunde bhala
Dhuaan hi dhuaan, baahon ke darmiyan
Sooni raahon pe, kya dhunde bhala

One of the tracks from Dhol, which I can't stop listening to. Pritam provides the composition, Shaan is on song & Vijay Yesudas (son of the legendary Yesudas) comes in as a pleasant surprise towards the end of the song.

Leaves you wondering why Pritam doesn't compose songs like this more often. Nice lyrics too. By the way, anybody out there knows the meaning of shehdaai? Nope, Google doesn't help.

Orkut has emerged as MTV India's 'youth icon' for this year.

I've seen it start gaining critical mass in 2005, soar in popularity in 2006 & now this. So much so that you're asked about your Orkut profile as a matter of routine these days. And it's really rare to come across someone not having one today.

Mahindra Axe

Mahindra is in the running for the Indian Army's light 4x4 contract & this is the product it will be pitching ....




.... the Axe. The pics are from TeamBHP.com, posted there by dhirajs, taken while the vehicles were being tested in Gurgaon, sans any camouflaging!

Looks quite similar to the U.S. Army's Hummer, but can't call it a clone either. However, the thing's got superb presence & street cred.

Good going, Mahindra!

India Tower

Seems like the skyscraper craze has caught hold of this country as well.

India's first supertall, India Tower, a 74 storey, 301 meter tall mixed-use residential and hotel tower has officially begun construction at Mumbai!

About time, I say!

2008 Honda Accord

Hmm, pretty good. Let's see when Honda brings this down to India.

bigadda

One of the better ads on Indian TV. What got me was the music, better than Telepopmusic's Breathe, the original.

Independence Day Week trip home

15th August this year was a Wednesday, something which was a big factor in helping me get the entire week from 13th to the 17th off from work.

Was flying for the first time ever. SpiceJet flight SG528, 9:50 a.m. BLR-CCU via HYD.

Reached the airport way before time (as usual), but don't regret it (never do), 'cause it helped me get the window seats near the emergency exits (as advised by Arnab). Boarding Pass obtained soon enough, spent time waiting for Security Check by alternating between the info display screen & the Kingfisher girls ....


The pic above was cadged from some aviation portal, by the way. Make no mistake, Mallya has gone in for some of the best girls in the business for his airline. I hear they are hired as 'models' in their contracts so that the company can keep an eye on their weight & figure & stuff. So much of effort for people like me, heh heh.

Anyway, back to the topic. Security Check was smooth & quick, CISF is doing a very good job at the airports. Talking of airports, HAL airport, Bangalore is a bit too small for the city it caters to. BLR deserves better, & will be getting a new airport next year.

SpiceJet flies the new Boeing 737-800 with winglets.


It's a smart looking bird.

Took some pics once inside. Guess what was common in the pics I took at BLR & HYD on the way home & at HYD on the way back?




All of 'em show fuel tankers topping up planes, that's what!

Did a lot of plane spotting .... the ubiquitous Airbus & Boeing passenger jets, Paramount's Embraers, some freighters, many ATRs, IAF fighters (probably the Tejas at BLR, although I'm not too sure), IAF Mi-17s & to top it all, this big bird at HYD, an AN-124 belonging to Volga-Dnepr.


Reached CCU a bit late, the pilots having recovered time well after the 40 minute delay at HYD. The landing could have been better though. CCU airport immediately casts a better first impression than the one at BLR.

Got on a pre-paid taxi for Howrah. It was okay as long as we were on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, but then we got into Manicktala & Posta & they left me depressed. These areas definitely need urgent makeovers, what with their decaying buildings, crowded streets, potholed roads & atrocious traffic.

One question though, how come one can still see so many Ambassadors on Kolkata roads?


Reached Howrah well in time (again) for the Steel. They've now got CCTV cameras in the waiting areas near platforms 13 & 14. Thought of taking some videos of those things in action, but then thought otherwise.

The Steel departed bang on time. It's always been one of my favourite trains & it was good to see the railways keeping standards up. Reached JSR on time. Homecoming is always the best journey.

It was not a good time of the year to visit home though. The monsoon was at it's strongest, barely letting up for an hour or two before coming down in full force again.


It's a tribute to JUSCO that there were no traffic jams or water logging anywhere. The roads were suffering though.

Some major changes are happening in my sleepy home town. A huge Reliance Fresh outlet is coming up near the house & the locals seemed eager for it to open. Huge (by small town standards, that is) 6-10 story buildings with glass facades are replacing the old brick & chajja structures along the main roads. I hear there's a new resort on the NH-33 which is also home to Adidas' second largest factory seconds store in the country! Besides, construction of the city's first 4 screen multiplex has reportedly started near Rivers' Meet. Spotted Tata-Sky & Dish TV dishes on a lot of roof tops. And what's more, Air Deccan is starting connecting flights between the city & Kolkata from the 27th of this month. Super.

Chhotu was looking good which was great since he came so close to the end a few months ago.


The days passed as fast as holidays are wont to & it was time to return to BLR soon. One good thing about taking a flight is that it cuts down on the heaviness one feels inside while going away from home. Oh, & I managed to get the window seat near the emergency exit this time as well, with both seats beside me empty during the journey. Super ample legroom & elbowroom on a low cost airline, anyone?

Some good things happened during this trip, namely India's test series victory over England & the 60th anniversary of the country's Independence ....


.... check out this year's display at the Red Fort for the PM's address. Sweet!

"humein jo chahiye, use hum nahi chahiye ......

aur hum jise chahiye ................. wo kisko chahiye?"

- Akshay Kumar in Garam Masala

Captain MSD

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the pride of Jharkhand, is now an Indian captain.

The first ever from a small town.

Sign of things to come, me says.

Bud's here

Beer drinkers of the country rejoice, Budweiser is here!

Bombay-NY direct

Jet Airways' new livery. It's Bombay - Newark direct flight launched yesterday.

This comes a week after Air India launched the same flight. That too was on it's new liveried Boeing 777-237/LR.


Looking good.

Them Poms

Looks like Sree Santh's beamer is stirring up a lot among emotions in the Englishmen.

Pietersen says that he's "shaken".

Atherton says that Dravid should bench him for the next test, so what if the match ref didn't do so after the previous test!

Guess what, Sunny Gavaskar was so right when he spoke of the Poms thus, "they're champion whingers".

It would be laughable if it wasn't so pathetic.

How come these guys never come up with suggestions like these when Andre Nel mouths off his big mouthfuls as he is wont to do ever so often? Or when Flintoff takes his shirt off after winning an ODI at Bombay? Or when an Aussie bowler bowls a beamer at the opposition?

Maybe 'cause they're all white men. Or maybe 'cause the English are really shit scared this time round. Who would've thought the dimunitive & wiry Sree Santh would leave the likes of Pietersen in such a condition?

I suggest Dravid ask the Keralite to not change things one bit & make him open the bowling in the 3rd test. That would show 'em what he thinks of their opinions.

Pritish @ Prague

Had an hour long talk with Pritish yesterday night at 11. Says he's grown homesick. Worst thing is, his teammates don't understand Hindi & the local populace doesn't get a word of English, something he says they're proud of!

Seems talking to me in our good old Jharkhandi style Hindi did him a world of good, the way he went on saying how glad he was we talked.

Also said that Czech babes are the hottest among the Europeans.

2008 Dodge Viper SRT-10

Hmmm, Americans can come out with good stuff if they want to.

I hate those wheels though.

Met Dipali after a long time, maybe 5 years or so. Strange, considering we're neighbours back at JSR.

Anyway, it turns I know more about Anju & Binny than she does. And there I was, thinking these 3 were the best of friends.

By the way, Cafe Coffee Day are a royal rip-off.

Hungarian GP

Alonso is moved down 5 spots after 'impeding' a leading Hamilton during qualifying. He starts 6th & finishes 4th.

Hamilton starts & finishes 1st.

Points are withheld from McLaren for the Constructors'. But this is subject to appeal.

After all the hoopla over the espionage controversy with Ferrari, incidents like these are the last thing McLaren need.

Not a good outing at the Hungaroring.

India on Time

In it's 60th year of independence, India makes it to the cover of Time.

Sarfu & SaReGaMa

Sarfaraz leaves our pad tomorrow after calling it home for 2 weeks. His presence hooked us on to Zee's SaReGaMa & I must say it was a good thing. The singers are just too good, notably Mussarat Hussain (Lahore), Raja Hassan (Bikaner) & Amaanat Ali (Dubai).

You can't help but compare & contrast them with the Indian Idol contenders. This is more so since the singers on the two competing programs seem to be overlapping in their choice of songs over the last two weeks. Emon sang 'Iss Pyaar Ko Main' (from Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai)the week before last on Idol & Aneek did the same on SRGM. Emon was better though.

And this week, Emon sings Kailash's 'Teri Deewani' while Raja follows on SRGM. This time, Raja's rendition was way better ....



As Vishal says, there's something divine about this guy's voice.

Soumya's X Box

Soumya's managed to lay his hands on an X Box for 13k.

Roamed National Market & S.P. Road for over an hour to get a mod-chip put in. No go.

Soumya being the devoted FPS fan, finally ended up buying one title, Gears of War, costing 1600/-! The dealer asked us not to go in for the mod-chip since he'd seen some modded consoles ruined within days.

Anyway, came back to his place & set the thing up. The sound effects & graphics are very impressive, more so 'cause of Soumya's Dolby 2.1 Surround system that really blows out the bass. Gameplay seemed confusing, though that should improve with time.

Now playing

- Chak De India from Chak De India O.S.T.
.... one rocking patriotic number (no wonder it releases just before Independence Day)

- Ke Bin Tere
- Aggar
- Paas Aaye Kyon
- Nachle Remix from Aggar O.S.T.
.... Mithoon on song, once again. This is one talented music director.

- Tadap
- Akele Tanha from Darling O.S.T.
.... Himesh & Pritam collaborating on an album for the 1st time. Good timepass.

I pay 5 times the Income Tax that my female team mates pay, having invested almost the same amount on tax saving schemes.

All because I'm male.

If this isn't sexual discrimination, then what is? The fcuking retards governing this country need to get their priorities right. Hen pecked bastards, the whole lot of them.