Ramblings of a Rambunctious Raconteur !!

New Guy in the City..!

2011-12-26T14:51:00.000+05:30

I’m out..Finally amout..I am out of Chennai..Wait wait wait..Dont get the slightest feeling that Iam unhappy about my 4 and a half year stay in the city but I am happy that I amout of Chennai for a better and bigger city..The Maximum City—Mumbai..

As the train entered theChennai central station on the 2^nd of June 2007 I saw the clock andit was sharp ticking 3:45 am..I hated the fact that the train made me wake upfor the better part of the night so that I won’t miss my stop of the southernmetro..The feeling was good to be able to stay in Chennai but this time whenthe similar incident happened it bettered the one from 2007..It was the 6^thof December and I was getting down at Thane station (a Mumbai local station)and the as I checked the clock it was ticking 3:45 am..I seem to have a weirdfascination about this dot of time in the devil’s hour..

I took a local train andwent to Nerul station (another Mumbai local station) where an acquaintance(from college) of mine resided..I was about to stay at his house for a coupleof days and then search for a place for my own self to live..It was on thisvery day that I was going to meet him for the first time and even stay at hisplace..Rahul Yadav..To better my expectation he had an ostentatious flat whichwas very very very luxurious and as his flat-mate had gone for a month or so toDelhi so I was heartily welcome there..Rahul’s contact was given to me by amutual friend of ours, Anuj Vishwakarma..Thanks to him as well for introducingsuch a good friend as Rahul to my life..He is undoubtedly my first friend inthis maximum city..His flat had a very beautiful view of the sea all around andthe Palm Beach road was just a stone’s throw away from his place..The view fromhis balcony was splendid..

On 13^th Ishifted over to my new abode..A PG (Paying Guest) facility at Mahim..I lovestaying here as the place is exactly in the heart of the city..My room has aview of the sea face..I am on the 7^th floor of the building whichmakes it even more exciting..The lift is a bit cramped into but I am happy touse the stairs..The rest is bearable and the place is better than what I hadexpected with facilities more than I had imagined..The number of people stayingin the flat is more but, considering them all being really good and helpful,it’s worth it..

My long drawn wish hasfinally come true and now I am staying in the city of my dreams—Mumbai..I hadheard a lot about the bad things in this city but I have not faced anything badas of yet and I hope I never do face anything bad..The city is very beautifuland people are also good..I want to make friends asap here and want to get ajob or an internship here..Am trying hard and I hope I’ll crack it through..Iam doing a photography course here at the National Institute of Photography andwould want to continue over with a filmmaking course from some reputedcollege..

My long overdue wish iscoming true and I hope all pans out exactly the way I have envisioned in mymind..People can say whatever they want but this city is really beautiful..Thedreaded local trains are also not that very difficult to get in and getout..You just need to be smart and careful..After all they are the best meansof transport available in Mumbai..You may take the cabs or the auto or thecall-taxi’s but trains are the fastest ones to make you reach your destinationand for all reasons they are far better than being stuck in the traffic forhours..

So now from NammaChennai its Aamchi Mumbai!!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Chennai Rains.......

2011-12-22T20:18:00.001+05:30

If you are in Chennai then there is one thing thatyou should stay away from and there is another thing that you should not misseven for your life..Summers being the first and Monsoons being the second..

Monsoons have just arrived in Chennai a week and ahalf back..To all of you who are weak in geography and used to doze off whengeography teacher used to teach then here is some little information foryou..Chennai has winter rainfall..It rains here in Chennai in the months ofOct-Jan..In Aug you might have the odd shower once or twice for a respite fromthe trashing heat but real monsoons start now only..

People do complaint that the streets gets clogged andwater-logged but I love it when it rains..I have witnessed 5 continuousmonsoons here in Chennai and am completely, truly, madly and irrevocably inlove with the rains here..Yeah at times it does ruin your perfect outfit thatyou had worn for going to office/college or maybe a wedding or a birthday partybut it provides the much needed respite from the heat of the summers..Thesummers extending from Feb to Sept is a really long time..The monsoons providerespite from the heat and makes the weather cool and pleasant..The weather inthese monsoon months are simply awesome..You don’t feel the heat of summers andneither do you have to wear any sweaters or heavy jackets to keep you warm likein the winters of North/East/West India..So you can easily sport out in a plainpullover and that would be perfect..

The city looks greener..The soil smells awesome..Thetwo small rivers (read: canals) are full of water..And above all the sea looksflooded and amazing..If any of you have never seen the sea during rains, thenlet me tell you that you are missing a visual treat in life..Go out and enjoythe sea when it’s raining..The sea seems like a raging bull always..But when itis experiencing rains it is calm and serene showing respect to be the powergreater than itself i.e. rains..Meanwhile still having the raring to goattitude always underneath the skin and soon as the rains stop its up and away,back to its original bullishness..All in all you would love it..I love it..Thesea looks magical when it rains and I can spend hours staring at the sea whenit pours cats and dogs..

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!Chennai rains!!!They are so gorgeous,you just can’t get enough of it.!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Indiblogger— we blog, therefore we are!!

2011-10-11T01:25:00.004+05:30

Indiblogger on my t shirt

Day before yesterday was one of the best days of my stay here inChennai..Had a Blogger’s meet here in namma Chennai..It was the first time Iwas attending a bloggers meet..That too when it was in Chennai itself so Ididn’t want to miss it..Met so many friends whom previously I knew onlyvirtually i.e. via blogs only..But I know them personally..Made some reallygreat friends..

HYATT entrance

The day began with me searching out the HYATT inChennai..I knew the approximate area where it was but had never visited itbefore..It was grand from the outside but from the inside it was an out of theworld experience..I loved the HYATT..It was so beautifully decorated plus theinteriors were superb..Now entering the mini auditorium where the meet washeld, I could see a plethora of bloggers waiting there for the program tostart..I registered myself via my mail id and got myself stamped on the handand there I was, a part and parcel of the function to be held..

The agenda was simple and clear cut..We started withthe basic introductions and that’s how we came to know more and morepeople..People ranging from guys, gals to elderly people to working people tostudents like me..It was so good to see people who had similar thoughtprocesses like mine..Everyone loved to talk, talk, talk and only talk..It wasso like me..

Indiblogger Stamp

We were given the detailing of the TATA GRANDE DICOR,the chief sponsors of the gala event..We were given a discount for people(read: bloggers) who wanted to buy the SUV..The SUV was really an animal as wasaptly said by them..It looked wonderful both from the outside and the insideand after reading the specifications of the SUV I was completely and totallyfida on it..

Friends

By the time we were asked to head out for high tea Ihad already made loads of friends and even won a laptop skin..The giftsdistributed were so random and did not demand much of you..On one thing I wascompletely wrong before going to the event..I had totally underestimated theterm HIGH TEA..I never knew high tea provided by the HYATT would prove to beone of the best lunches that I ever had..Although there were no regular lunchitems and all were snacks and starters only but these were so tasty and mouthwatering that I had to fill mu tummy up with them..I had loads of free food, asI term it..

Then heading back to the mini auditorium many peoplewere given gifts whoever posted some really good pics of the events ontwitter..Many people won Headphones and many won Swiss-knives..After this wewere given a presentation by a theater group, Strayfactory, who had convertedsome 15 blog posts into a play and which is soon to be turned into a featurefilm..They were talking about the play which was called Bloglogues..

HYATT

Then came the best part of the evening when we allwere handed over a big white sheet and sketch pens to move around and talk topeople and meet then and ask them to write their blog id’s and names so that wecould visit them asap..They could even write anything they felt like writing onthose sheets..Many gifts were there for the wackiest line written on anysheet..Many won prizes in that..After this we were divided into large groupswhere we could sit and discuss..I group was discussing about how to designtheir blog better, one group was talking about ‘I Love Chennai’, one group wastalking about travel and cars and finally my group which was playing Truth andDare..It was real fun..

The t shirt on my back

After this we headed over for group photographs andthen we moved towards collecting our free t shirts and then we said good bye tofriends and promised to meet new ones on blogs and promised to keep in touchwith the old ones..

All in all the day was very well spent and all thanksto Indiblogger and TATA Grande Dicor..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Array Poochne mein kya jaata hai……………..??

2011-10-05T23:49:00.002+05:30

I guess each one of u must have already seen the TataSky ad in which the two guys debate over the topic , “Poochne mein kya jaathai??”

I have personally always followed this in real lifeand have had the benefit of it always..There is no harm in asking..The person uare asking may or may not know the answer or he/she may at all not be of anyhelp but that is the later part of the game..What if he/she knows and what ifhe/she is able to help u out!!Its better to ask and then get an answer as NOrather than not asking and bearing the brunt oneself..

A recent incident happened to me..I went out shoppingbefore the Durga Pooja last Sunday..I had to buy a new pair of shoes as myprevious Westsport shoes had torn off from the from..I was really sad aboutthem as I really loved that pair and didn’t want to throw them away..But theyhad become a social disaster so finally I had to buy..I went out to Big Bazaar,one of the premier most shopping malls of our country who proclaim to be givinggoods at really cheap rates..So there I was at big bazaar and I bought a reallynice pair of Lotto shoes..Black in color..A shoe that I had always envied in myfriend Aditya Sharma..Now I had finally bought them..So I was really happy..

Next I felt like getting some t shirts so enteredWestside..While going through the t shirts I came by their customer careservice..I thought of going in and asking them whether there was any way theycould repair my shoe but I was hesitant and was thinking that I might make acomplete fool out of myself in front of the people there..But right then this Tatasky ad started reeling in my mind and without thinking for even a sec I enteredthe cabin..A beautiful young lady greeted me and wished my good morning andoffered her assistance..I told her my full problem and asked whether they couldget it repaired..She asked me whether I was a member of Westside to which Ianswered in the affirmative..Then without a pause she said the most soothingwords to my ear, “Sir, U don’t have to get it repaired, we’ll exchange them fora pair of new ones!! ”..I was ecstatic but still to reassure myself and make itvery clear to her I said that the guarantee period was over long back as theguarantee period was of one month and the shoes were almost 6-7 months old..Shesaid that it was not a problem and she would get them replaced..She called aperson from the shoes department and gave him my torn off shoes and asked himto get a new pair of the same which he got in a jiffy..I asked them to get asize bigger as I was expecting that may be my feet size had increased and thatcaused the show to tear off..They complied and in a matter of seconds I cameout of their shop with a brand new shoe without having to pay and single buck..

Sitting outside and going reminiscent I pondered overthe fact that had I not gone in the shop, had I not told them my problem then Istill would be wearing those torn shoes and carrying the new black Lotto showsbut instead now I am carrying two brand new shoes..

Thanks to the Tata sky ad which reminded me of thissmall principle which my dad had taught me in the very childhood, “there is noharm in asking” to which my mom had added, “you don’t get belittled when youask”..Thank you Tata sky and thank you Westside, which is also a Tata brand,for doing something that I had not expected you to do..This incident justproved my strong belief in Tata, its sister concerns and all its products..

Thank you Westside..!!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Life in the city..!

2011-09-21T18:01:00.002+05:30

Chennai Central Station

Since the time Ireturned back to Chennai after my college got over I have been staying out inthe city giving a break to my college hostels where I used to stay for the pastfour years and believe me staying out in the city is proving to be a dream cometrue..I always wished to stay in a big city and now finally my dream is comingtrue..Although the people that I am staying with would beg to differ that thePG (Paying Guest) I am staying in is pathetic but I still enjoy living here..Amstaying with people who are all working in some or the other company..Only acouple of guys are there who are students and just passed out this year like meand are waiting for their joining dates and doing some part time jobs orinternships..I am provided with a room which accommodates 3 other people, has a1 tonne air conditioner, has a 21” color television which airs only and onlyTamil channels and food is provided 3 times a day..The food is bearable..I usedto think that the SRM hostel mess used to provide the worst food but I know nowthat o the PG food is far worse..But I am still happy with it..To top it allfrom my roof I can see all outgoing and incoming flights to the Chennaiairport..I just keep sitting for hours together on the roof just looking at theflights vanishing in and out of the clouds..The experience becomes moreecstatic once the sky is filled with black rain clouds rather than the regularwhite ones..When there are no flights plying I just keep looking for faces inthe clouds..Its proved to be a really good time pass..

Life inthe city is full of activity..Early in the morning hundreds of peoplerush out of their homes in themanner ants do when their nest is broken..Soon thestreets are full of traffic..Shops and offices open, students flock totheir schools and the day's work begins..The city now throbs with activity,and it is full of noise..Hundreds of sightseeing tourists and others visit manyplace of interest in the city while businessmen from various parts of the world arrive totransact business..

Thentowards evening, the offices and day schools begin to close..Many of the shopstoo close..There is now a rush for buses and other means of transport..Everyoneseems to be in a hurry to reach home..As a result of this rush, many accidents occur..One who has not been to the citybefore finds it hard to move about at this time..Soon, however, there is almostno activity in several parts of the city..These parts are usually the businesscenters..

The Guindy Flyover

With thecoming of night, another kind of activitybegins..The streets are now full of colorful lights..The air is cooler and lifebecomes more leisurely..People now seek entertainment..Many visit the cinemas,parks, and clubs, while others remain indoors to watch television or listento the radio..Some visit friends and relatives and some spendtheir time reading books andmagazines..Those who are interested in politics discuss the latest political developments..Atthe same time, hundreds of crimes are committed..Thieves and robbers who wait for thecoming of night become active, and misfortune descends upon many..For the greedof a few, many are killed, and some live in constant fear..To bring criminalsto justice, the officers of the law are always on the move..

The city from the top

Workersand others who seek advancement intheir careers attend educational institutions which areopen till late in the night..Hundreds of them sit for various examinationsevery year..The facilities and opportunities that the people in the city haveto further their studies and increase their knowledge of human affairs areindeed many..As a result, the people of the city are usually better informedthan those of the village, where even a newspaper is sometimesdifficult to get..

The citycould, therefore, be described as a place of ceaseless activity..Here, thedrama of life is enacted every day..

JaishreeRam,

Prats..

Love Conquers All...!

2011-09-19T19:32:00.000+05:30

This is not me speaking..This is theSacred Heart Convent motto..It is inscribed in all their shirts and itsmandatory for everyone to have this badge on their shirts..This post is notabout how beautiful this logo is designed or how meaningful this motto is, butit’s about the reel and real factor..

The fact is that this motto is supposedto be followed in life by all the girls studying in SHC, but how many do followthis???Ok..Ok..I agree they do follow this with all their heart but how far dothe nuns and spinsters follow this???They are pretty aptly called sisters..Ifthe world goes according to their wishes then they would make all the girls inthe world sisters of all the guys..

The rules are supposed to be that allgirls studying in SHC are supposed not to have boyfriends but thumbs up to theconventine girls that they are written off to be the ones having the maximumboyfriends..The sisters want them not to be interacting with guys and thus theydon’t even allow any guys to come in front of SHC gate where they have the bikestand..

I really love the guts shown by thegirls of SHC and the confidence they exude is awe inspiring..By this post Ijust want to thank all the SHC gals who’ve entered my life in these past 22years of my existence..Thank you for being there for me, with me and thankyou for having the judgement of differentiating the good from the bad and thankyou for having the guts to tell the wrong ones openly on face..

All in all this motto of convent willalways be a mystery as it asks the girls to love everyone as love is the mostpowerful weapon and it conquers everyone but on the other hand the nuns and thesisters ask them not to be conversing with guys..Ironic..Paradoxical..Moreover anoxymoron of a motto..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

The phone..

2011-09-12T20:26:00.001+05:30

The phone rings:

“Oh God, cant Ieven have a moment of peace!!!!”

The phone does not ring:

“Oh God, does noone even remember me!!!!”

I don’t know how many of you have facedthis in real life but keep facing it numerous times..I really am not able to understandwhat people used to do when there was no phones..Forget about telephones whatwould today’s generation do without cell phones!!Its gives me a scare to eventhink of a moment without my cell..From the very inception of it in my life ithas been more than just a cell phone..It has always been a body part..I can’tleave its sight for even a second..I take it along with me when I am taking ashower, I keep it below my pillow when I go off to sleep and I keep it in mypocket the rest of the time..Over the years I have stopped referring to it as‘it’ and more appropriately have started referring to it as ‘her’..She hasproved to be my most loyal and most long standing girl friend..

She is a Nokia N70m (Music edition) cellphone which just turned 4 years in age on the 27^th of July this year..Ihave been using her from the time when my friends used to envy me for having herto the time when my friends started begging me to buy a new cell phone..When Igot her my friends used to envy me because at that time they did not have acell phone that had a screen that was even closer to as big as my cell had..Butas time passed by my friends upgraded themselves keeping in accordance with thepassing time but I stuck to her..More appropriately she stuck on to me..She isso good that she scarcely gets malfunctioning..She has suffered a lot totorture from me..She has fallen from great heights, she has fallen into waterholes, she has fallen on the street and has been dragged for a considerabledistance like a rolling stone and lastly she has also come under the weight ofan ongoing auto rickshaw..But she has still remained as strong as ever..Myfriends have moved on to cell phones that have screen thrice the size of mycell but I still can’t leave the charm of my beloved black beauty..

The initial mentioned situation happens tome very frequently..There are many days that I feel like getting one more cellphone as I am unable to talk and message at the same time as I have lost mycell ear phones..So it is very necessary that I get another cell..On some otheroccasions I feel that what do I need this cell phone for as no one even bothersto call me up and talk..Some days there will be 5-6 people calling up at thesame time and I won’t be able to manage my calls..I will just keep swapping andtalking and put one by one on hold..It turns out to be more of a conferencecall..On some other days I won’t have anyone calling me up for the full day..Ofall the calls that I get there r two people who call me constantly..One is my Momand the other my Dad..

On some days, when I get calls from lots ofpeople, I completely forget that they are the two who call me always and then Istart quarrelling with them as to why they keep calling so frequently.. Thoseare the days I completely forget that they are the permanent ones and theothers are all volatile..One similar incident happened a few days back when Icame home completely drenched and they had already called my flatmate as I wasnot picking up my cell..I was in the middle of the rains so I couldn’t pick upthe call but when I reached home and they called up I got a bit angry..I shouldnot have had gone angry..I am really Sorry mom and dad..Just couldn’t muster upthe courage enough to tell you’ll over the phone that I am sorry so I thoughtthis was a better platform to say it..I am SORRY!!You both can call me up asmany times as you want in the day and I won’t ever feel bad about it..After allits because of you both that I am whatever I am today..You both OWNme..Mentally, physically, emotionally and ethically..I am sorry.!!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Kiss of Mind ---TT6

2011-05-05T01:35:00.002+05:30

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Kiss of Touch--TT5

2011-04-21T23:50:00.000+05:30

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

LIFE IN THE 1500'S

2011-03-06T00:50:00.001+05:30

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be..Here are some facts about the 1500s..These are interesting:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June..However, they were starting to smell by June, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour..Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married..

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water..The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, and then the women and finally the children, last of all the babies..By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it..Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.."

Houses had thatched roofs, thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath..It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof..When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof..Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs.."

The floor was considered dirt..Only the wealthy had something other than dirt..Hence the saying "dirt poor.."

The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing..As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside..A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway..Hence the term "thresh hold.."

Getting quite an education, aren't you??

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire..Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot..They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat..They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day..Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while..Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot, nine days old.."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special..When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off..It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon.." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat.."Those with money had plates made of pewter..Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death..This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous..

Bread was divided according to status..Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top or "upper crust.."

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky..The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days..Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial..They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up..Hence the custom of "holding a wake.."

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people..So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and re-use the grave..When re-opening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive..So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell..Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer.."

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

50 most Romantic things to do with your Girl Friend..!

2011-02-28T18:13:00.001+05:30

1. Watch the sunset together..

2. Whispers to each other..

3. Cook for each other..

4. Walk in the rain..

5. Hold hands..

6. Buy small gifts for each other..

7. Gift Roses..

8. Find out their favorite cologne/perfume and wear every time you're together..

9. Go for a long walk down the beach at midnight..

10. Write poetry for each other..

11. Hugs are the universal medicine..

12. Say I love you, only when you mean it and make sure they know you mean it..

13. Give random gifts of flowers/candy/poetry etc..

14. Tell her that she's the only girl you ever want..Don't lie!

15. Spend every second possible together..

16. Look into each other's eyes..

17. Very lightly push up her chin, look into her eyes, tell her you love her, and kiss her lightly..

18. When in public, only flirt w/ each other..

19. Put love notes in their pockets when they aren't looking..

20. Buy her a ring..

21. Sing to each other..

22. Always hold her around her hips/sides..

23. Take her to dinner and do the dinner for two-deal..

24. Spaghetti? (Ever seen Lady and the Tramp?)

25. Hold her hand, stare into her eyes, kiss her hand and then put it over your heart..

26. Dance together..

27. I love the way a girl looks right after she's fallen asleep with her head in my lap..

28. Do cute things like write I love you in a note so that they have to look in a mirror to read it..

29. Make excuses to call them every 5 minutes 30..Even if you are really busy doing something, go out of your way to call and say I love you..

31. Call from your vacation spot to tell them you were thinking about them..

32. Remember your dreams and tell her about them..

34. Tell each other your most sacred secrets/fears..

35. Be Prince Charming to her parents..

36. Brush her hair out of her face for her..

37. Hang out with his/her friends..

38. Go to church/pray/worship together..

39. Take her to see a romantic movie and remember the parts she liked..

40. Learn from each other and don't make the same mistake twice..

41. Describe the joy you feel just to be with him/her..

42. Make sacrifices for each other..

43. Really love each other, or don't stay together..

44. Let there never be a second during any given day that you aren't thinking about them, and make sure they know it..

45. Love yourself before you love anyone else..

46. Learn to say sweet things in foreign languages..

47. Dedicate songs to them on the radio..

48. Fall asleep on the phone with each other..

49. Stand up for them when someone talks trash..

50. Never forget the kiss goodnight and always remember to say, "Sweet dreams.."

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Children's innocent intelligence..!

2011-02-20T15:07:00.002+05:30

A first grade teacher had twenty-five students in her class and she presented each child the first half of a well known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb..

It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders..Their insight may surprise you..While reading these, keep in mind that these are first graders, 6-year-olds..The last one is classic!

1. Don't change horses..................until they stop running..

2. Strike while the.........................bug is close..

3. It is always darkest before.........Daylight Saving Time..

4. Never underestimate the power of.......termites..

5. You can lead a horse to water but.........how??

6. Don't bite the hand that...........looks dirty..

7. No news is............impossible..

8. A miss is as good as a .............Mr..

9. You can't teach an old dog new...........math..

10. If you lie down with dogs, you'll..........stink in the morning..

11. Love all, trust...........me..

12. The pen is mightier than the............. pigs..

13. An idle mind is.......................the best way to relax..

14. Where there's smoke there's..............pollution..

15. Happy the bride who.....................gets all the presents..

16. A penny saved is..................not much..

17. Two's company, three's.................the Musketeers..

18. Don't put off till tomorrow what.................you put on to go to bed..

19. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry..........and you have to blow your nose..

20. There is none as blind as.......Stevie Wonder..

21. Children should be seen and not......spanked or grounded..

22. If at first you don't succeed...............get new batteries..

23. You get out of something only what you..............see in the picture on the box..

24. When the blind lead the blind...................get out of the way..

And the last one...THE WINNER..!

25. Better late than.....................................pregnant..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Sholay...!

2011-02-06T01:25:00.000+05:30

This time while returning back to Chennai via train from Jamshedpur I saw a few guys in my train compartment seeing the age old super hit movie, Sholay..!!Although I had seen the movie say a zillion times before but still I could not resist myself from asking my fellow passenger to give me the movie print..I got the movie print to the hostel and it soon became a rage among the people in the hostel to keep the print with them in their laptops..Everyone, before taking the movie used to say that the movie is 3 hours and 18 minutes long, but no one could resist themselves from taking the movie..

This epic movie released in the year 1975, the year my dad passed his 10^th std.!!The movie an occult in itself, starred the mighty Dharmendra as Veeru, the tall Amitabh Bachchan as Jaidev aka Jai, Sanjeev Kumar as Thakur Baldev Singh aka Thakur saab, the Dream girl Hema Malini as Basanti and above all Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh..I am pretty sure that all of you have seen and known these characters but I am one of those many people who have eaten, slept and dreamt these characters..

The legendary dialogues of, “Kitne aadmi the?”, “Yeh haath mujhe de de Thakur”, “Yeh haath nahin, faasi ka phanda hai”, “Ek ek ko chun chun ke maaroonga”, “Basanti, in kutto ke saamne mat naachna”, “Hum angrezon ke zamane ke Jailor hai”, “Holi kab hai?” and “Tum ek maaroge toh hum chaar maarenge”, force you to stay glued to your seats and don’t allow you to know when the popcorn, you were having, got over ..

The music of the movie, by R.D.Burman, keeps ringing all day long in my ears..Songs such as “Yeh dosti hum nahin todenge” and “Koi haseena jab rooth jaati hai toh” can be safely assumed to be one of the best friendship and romantic songs ever made in Bollywood..The song, “Mehbooba mehobooba” is still the best item number ever made..

To top them all the beautiful scenery of the village of Ramgarh is awesome..The Suicide scene enacted by Dharmendra on top of the water tank is the best drunkard scene ever filmed up..The dialogues of “Chakki pissing and pissing and pissing” still make many a Mausi’s shiver..

The movie is so gripping that every time you feel like leaving the movie midway you’ll again push yourself back to the couch and would not leave unless the movie is over..I do accept that there were a lot of glitches in the movie but still that time the audience was not that into finding faults in the movie..They would rather enjoy the movie rather than proving themselves to be the best critic ever..

Whenever, whoever sees this movie a chill is sure to run past their spine..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Why Beg…??

2011-02-04T20:28:00.001+05:30

Begging as defined by the dictionary is the solicitation for money or food..This is the stance by which people who are incapable ask for alms from fellow human beings and thus fill their tummies..I firmly believe that we eat to live rather than live to eat..Thus food is the basic requirement for any human being to survive on the planet..

But don’t you think the job via which you earn your bread and butter should be a dignified one???

I know it that not everyone has a well classified job which pays them a 5 figure salary..But people work hard to go small jobs even and earn their living..

But there is a certain category of people who want to beg and earn their living only..I am ok with people who beg because they are leprosy patients or they are castrated eunuchs..When they beg its moral to pay them up as people don’t want to give them jobs..But when a perfectly able person with all his limbs and every body part intact comes up and asks for alms, I feel it’s very immoral to pay them up..

It so happens that these category of people don’t feel like doing hard work and earning their living..They beg once and they get an addiction for earning their living free of cost without any hard work..I have many a times seen my mom-dad ask these people to come and work for us at our home but they openly refuse to work..Once or twice we even feel that may be because of their family entanglements they don’t want to come up and work at our home but that is not the case always..Many of them have no family attachments and still then they don’t want to work and earn their living..

As my dad has taught me from my childhood that “No job is bad, just that the hard work should be seen”..These people seem to have never put a thought to work hard and earn their living..They are addicted to the free fund meal that they get by begging and enjoy the life without doing any work..These kind of people are the worst kind of human beings possible..When you are capable of earning a livelihood then why beg????

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

My Central Bengal Trip..

2011-01-27T04:00:00.001+05:30

Like every year this year December came and I along with my family, which consists of my dad and mom, decided to head towards some new destination for a vacation..But we had an unforeseen problem staring at our faces..The problem was of getting the train tickets..Far off distances were difficult to get tickets for..So dad came out with a brilliant idea as to go to West Bengal, the state next to ours but very rarely explored..We would travel mostly by bus and at times when required we would board the trains that too short distances..People all over the country don’t know much about this state other than the capital city Kolkata..Thus we decided to give a skip to the capital city and move ahead to the less explored townships..

Dad chalked out a plan to go to KHARAGPUR first and then from there, travel to the other towns..The towns that we decided to go were very less but the towns that we finally went to were:

Bishnupur

Joyrambatti

Kamarpukhur

Nabodwip

Mayapur

Krishnanagar

Bahrampur

Murshidabad

Tarapit

This was the whole journey..My God, this was one of the best journeys that I have ever been on..

The town of Bishnupur is a historical place..We stayed in front of a lake called Poka Baandh in a lodge called the Mukherjee lodge..We saw some of the most beautiful artifacts made during the era before the Britishers attacked our nation..These were previously in a very dilapidated condition..They were all in ruins when finally the government undertook them and now they have been restored well and taken care of..Rasmancha, Chinna-mastan mandir (Kaali temple), Dalmadal canon, Temple of Shyam Rai, Jor Bangla temple, Radha-Shyam temple,Temple of Madan Mohan and some beautiful dams..

The town of Joyrambatti is the birth place of Maa Sharada Devi..It’s an hour’s bus journey from Bishnupur..This place is so very well maintained by the trust that runs it..They offer lunch to everyone who comes along there at the stipulated time of the Bhog..The food is awesome and the best part is that you don’t have tp pay anything for it..They will ask you how many people are there with you and then they will ask you to pay any amount of donation that you want to pay..They won’t force you to pay anything..

Rakesh Mall

From there we went to Kamparpukhur on a very unique vehicle..The vehicle was driven like a motorbike but it had a rickshaw feeling on the back..People would hop onto it and sit with their legs hanging down..These could accommodate as many as 12 passengers..Coming back to the main journey, Kamarpukhur is the birth place of Ramkrishna Paramhansa..This place is as well run by the same trust and they ever accept any amount of donation and offer you free food..This place we took a guide to show us through..The Guide’s name was Rakesh Mall..He did not have a father and he had to help his mom to run the family..His mom used to work at other people’s house as maid servant and he used to give tours to the people there..There were innumerous kids like him who have to (mark my words, “have to”) work day in and day out to earn out their living..They have to set aside their childhood dreams and work at such an early age..They have to face the hardships of life at such an early age..But one thing that I liked in our guide was his enthusiasm to study and his eagerness toward the whole process of studies..He kept asking me all the while where and what I used to study and then he asked me as to how he himself could also reach at that level..I told him all that I could to help him..He studies in the fourth grade and his only dreams is to become a great man and earn a lot so that his future generations and his mom don’t have to live life in such dire conditions..I wish my best to him..!!

From there bidding him good bye, we moved on..We came back to Bishnupur..Spent the night again at the same Mukherjee lodge and then the next morning carried on with our journey..We had to reach Mayapur..But there was no direct bus available from Bishnupur..So we took a bus to Bardhaman..Bardhaman is the district head town..From there we boarded another bus to Nabodwip which was on this side of the Ganges..We reached Nabodwip at around 9 in the nit an searched for a lodge..We asked the rickshaw pullers to take us to a lodge which would be situated right in from of the huge Ganges..They took us exactly to the kind of hotel that we had asked for..The hotel was on the bank of the Ganges and the look was the best..The hotel had Ganges on three sides and the fourth side was the road via which we reached the hotel..This was the same road which people used to take in order to hop onto the launches, ferries and jetties in order to cross the river..The river itself was a massive one..There were two opposite banks, the first took us to Krishnanagar and the other bank took us to Mayapur.. The lodge was called Nabodwip lodge..

Coming to the city of Nabodwip, it is the birth place of Gouranga..More commonly known as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu..We travelled all the places in Nabodwip and mostly all of them were related to Mahaprabhu only..There was a beautiful temple called ‘Sonar Gourango’..This consists of a Mahaprabhu statue that is fully made of Gold..After that our rickshaw pullers took us back to the bank of the Ganges and dropped us there itself..We took a ferry from there to Mayapur..Crossing the Ganges was a onetime experience..The river was massive and the travelling on the ferry was awesome..I love it to the core..

Reaching Mayapur we headed directly toward the main spot..Mayapur is the international head quarters for the ISKCON..ISKCON is International Sri Krishna CONsiousness..This place has a temple of lord Krishna dancing with the gopiyas which is made fully of gold and atemple fully dedicated to the founder of the ISKCON, Srilaprabhpada..His temple was the biggest and they are erecting a new one which would be bigger and grander than the previous one..This place was swarming with foreigners..It was a delight to see the foreigners dance to the tune of ‘Hare Krishna Hare Rama’..There was a set up made there where they were singing the ‘Hare Krishna Hare Rama’ tune non-stop from 1978(I may be a bit wrong with the date)..We even stayed in a ‘Kutir’..It was called the ‘Gouranga kutir’..It’s a formation made which helps you stay in actual hut formation and even allows you to feel that you are staying in the village..There was also an ox driven carrier (ox-cart) which was giving rides to the people who were unable to walk around on their own..The place was huge and the atmosphere awesome..!!

From there we decided to go Krishnanager..In Krishnanagar my mom’s mama and mausi stay..Even does my dad’s mausi stay there..Coming so close to their town we decided not to leave them unseen and move ahead..So giving them a visit was compulsory..So we went ahead to their town..It’s an hour’s journey from Mayapur..We stayed at mom’s mama-mausi’s place..In the after dad and I decided to go and see the river that was nearby to mom’s mama-mausi’s place..The name of the river was Jalangi..The river was a short one but there was something unique in that river..There was a big tight rope that was tightened across the two banks..This was used by the boatman to cling onto and ferry the boat across the river..The boats had all three facilities; motor driven, oars driven, rope pulled..From there we went in the evening to give a visit to dad’s mausi’s place..They told us that there was a new church that had been built there at Krishnanagar and it was referred to as the second biggest church in West Bengal, just after the Bandel church..We even saw Kaali pooja being performed all over the town..This Kaali pooja is not very common to the other parts and this is a specific festival of this town and is known as ‘Poush Kaali’..

We had to leave for Bahrampur the next morning..So dad planned once again..He asked the rickshaw pullers to take us to the church first along with our luggage and then drop us to the bus stand..We reached the church on the bright Sunday morning and saw the church..There was the church which was the old one which was huge..But a new church had been erected just next to it and it was christened, “CHRISTO MANDIR”..The Christo Mandir was not just huge, it was massive and too well built to be believed on just saying..You personally need to go visit it to see how magnificent it is..My mom had just one word to say seeing it, “WOW!!”...Not just she, we all were spellbound, dumbstruck and dumb founded at the supremely aesthetic structure..It was the best thing I had ever seen and clearly I would rate it in one of the wonders of recent India!!

Finally we went to the bus stand and boarded a bus to Bahrampur and reached the place after a couple of hours..This place was a big town..We took a lodge called the Bahrampur lodge..It was situated next to the Lal Dighi..This was a tourist destination..This was a lake which had a park situated around the lake..There was a toy train to take you around the lake and there were big fishes in that lake..In the evening people used to come and sit and feed those fishes..They were huge in numbers and some of them were even of the size of one and a half feet..We asked the people taking care of the lake and they informed us that every two days these fishes were fished out and then they were sold to the local market..All the money would go the municipal corporation there and most of the amount would be spent to the betterment of the park and the lake and the quality of fishes..

We spent that day in the Bahrampur going around the place..We went to a Kaali mandir on the banks of the Padma river..This too was huge..Considering my passion for huge rivers we even saw boats ferrying across the river and seeing sunset over this river was awesome..There was even a huge Shiva statue in front of this temple..Then we went to the ‘Raj Baadi’(King’s palace) there..The king of Bahrampur used to stay there long back and now the place, which was a dilapidated one before the government took over it, is still under renovation work..We were asked not to enter in but we still took a glimpse of the structure from inside and clicked a couple of pictures..Then we went to see the ‘Pataleshwari Mandir’(Kaali Mandir) and saw that the Banyan tree there was full of Hanuman’s(Langur)..

Next morning we left for Murshidabad..Murshidabad used to be capital city of the kingdom defeating which Robert Clive entered India..Yeah, you are right it used to be the city of Siraj-ud-Daulah..The town was very beautiful..The best attraction was the ‘Hazar Duari’(Thousand doors)..This building was massive and it had a thousand doors..A hundred doors were correct and the rest 900 doors were fake and were meant to deceive soldiers attacking the palace..It also had a massive ‘Imam-bada’ in its campus which opens up for public only on the day of Muharram every year..There were other places for tourist attraction in this town..Some of which are Jahan Kosha Gun, Katra Mosque, Phuto Mosque, Avery big and ancient rose garden which also had a very ancient Jain Temple, Jagat Seth’s house, an ancient Radha-Krishna Temple, a place where people found guilty by the king were put to death and finally the Tomb of Azimunnisa Begum..We travelled all these places in Murshidabad on a tonga(horse cart)..The horse was called ‘Raju’..We even saw farming fields full of Turmeric powder being planted all over them.. At day end we again returned back to Bahrampur.. In the evening while taking a post-dinner stroll I stumbled upon a college friend who has got placed in the same company as mine..He is from a different department but we have been friends since the time we joined college..

Next morning we left for the holy city of Tarapit..Tarapit is one of the three most famous cities for Kaali Maa..The other two being Dakshineshwar and Kalighat..This place was swarming with pilgrims..We went to the temple in the evening and did our pooja and said our prayers and all..We were done and in the evening we kept to just buying small items for giving gifts..

Next morning we left very early for Asansol..We left by bus..A very tragic incident occurred to me in this bus travel..I just got down the bus for a minute for peeing and the bus left behind me..I ran behind the bus for about 5 minutes when the bus finally stopped, thanks to my mom-dad inside the bus who asked them to stop..This was the most horrifying incident that had ever happened to me..I did not have even a single penny in my pocket, my luggage was in the bus itself, my cell phone did not have a single rupee balance..If the bus had not stopped I would have been in the most difficult situation ever in my life..Thankfully this, although being a nightmare for several days, did teach me a lesson that I should always keep some amount of money in my pocket and should never allow my cell phone balance to die out to zero..

This journey had some unique aspects to it..Firstly, wherever we went there was undoubtedly a water body next to our place of residence..We were traumatized by the chilliness of the hotels next to water bodies due to the severe cold, but unfortunately we always got those hotels only and fortunately enough these hotels proved to be the ones with the best sightseeing..Secondly, don’t travel on a state owned long route bus unless you have a major urgency and need to reach any appointed place at a stipulated time..These state buses don’t bother about the number of passengers plying..They just bother about their timing and for that they travel at a very fast speed which at times scares the shit out of you..Thirdly, whichever route we travelled on, the thing that was mostly growing in the roadside farming fields were either Mustard or Potato..Believe me the mustard fields looked awesome and at places the full length till the horizon seemed to be painted in yellow color of the mustard..Fourthly, the rickshaws in all different places were so very different from each other..Some places had bells on the rickshaw handle for ringing whereas some places had horns which made the pom-pom sound..Bishnupur rickshaws had a uniqueness..They were made of two small iron umbrella kind of structures fixed on the front handle and they were hit by an iron rod and made the sound so that the people walking in the streets get to know that a rickshaw is coming behind..Even the seats in the rickshaws used to be different in every place..Some would be slanting towards the front whereas some would be straight..Some would be big enough to accommodate 3 people whereas some would be not sufficient for even two..

Finally, from Asansol, we caught a train in the afternoon and reached back home safely and soundly..This journey was over, but its memories have etched deep into my mind and thus I will always remember this as my best vacation till date..!!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

One good thing and one not so good thing about Sexy Six..!!

2011-01-16T11:29:00.005+05:30

What better way to start the new year on my blog with a post that talks about my five close friends..They are just not my roomies and next door mates; they are the ones who breathe life into my soul..Namely:

Vinayak Seth, Apoorv Agarwal, Aditya Sharma, Pranay Sharma and Pawan Sharma

Our group of six, which includes the above mentioned and me, calls itself The Sexy Six..Apoorv, Vinayak and I have been roomies for 4 years now..Pranay, Aditya and Pawan are our next door neighbors but have been our best friends since the last 2 years..Today I would want to jot down one point that I think is good in each one of them and one which is not so good..

Good things first:

Vinayak---Has the ability to get a laugh on my face whenever am very upset..He and I are like tom and jerry, fighting always..But I like him the most..

Apoorv---He is the most hard working homo sapien I have ever seen..If he is given any task and he accepts it then rest assured that he will work his ass off and never allow any shortcomings..And one more thing is that when am with him I don’t have to worry about the expenses..I know that he is there to settle the bills and later on I can repay him back..

Aditya---He and I both have this one thing in common..He, like me, is not able to see anyone sad ever..He tries his level best not to hurt anyone, especially with his words..He chooses his words very carefully before uttering them out so that no one, not even the ones eavesdropping, get hurt by what he says..

Pranay---He is someone who I can rest assured that will always be behind my back..Whether I do anything good or bad he will always stand by me..He is that good..

Pawan---He is someone who never lets me realize that I am the weakest student among all of them..

Now the hard part:

Apoorv---He has the talent of asking for your laptop for two minutes and then spending 3.5 hours with it and all the while he will just keep saying that his work is almost done..And one more thing Beware of him when he is free and does not have any work to do..He will do all sorts of things and irritate you..He will start fisting with you, he’ll got up on your back if you are lying on your bed..(But know what even that is adorable..!!)

Aditya---Follows Vinayak a bit too much..(Follows as in the sense listens to whatever Vinayak says..)

Pranay---Exaggerates a bit too much..

Pawan---At times becomes very adamant and does not listen to anyone even when others are telling for his own good..

Vinayak---I love people who are selfish and I rate myself on the top of the list but He is Self-Centered..That’s bad..(At times..)

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Celebrating the 3 most special years of my lyf!!!!

2010-12-30T12:48:00.000+05:30

Can you imagine our love is going to turn 3?????I feel it was just yesterday that we met, don’t know how these 3 years passed by..When I met you I did not even dream that am meeting my life..You know what you just found me when I was looking for you!!!Before you came into my life, I was a lifeless person; I had no identity of my own but you gave me a distinct identity..I had just given up my battle but you gave me a reason to continue my fight!!!You gave me strength, you taught me how to love and showed the meaning of life..You taught me many of those things my parents were supposed to teach me..You loved me unconditionally..As each and every day passed by, you gave me new reasons to love you more and more and more and even more..You are a gem of a person, just not good; you are the best, better than the rest!!!!You know what people say oxygen is very important for the pumping of the heart and it is important for our existence..But I feel I can still live without these but cant imagine living without you!!!!Today we complete 3 eternal years together and as destined we aren’t together again, but I can still feel your arms around me and that is giving me d strength to live on!!!

I LUV U…………<3<3<3….……….And will always do.............................!!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Marriage: The 20 commandments..............................!!

2010-12-29T19:13:00.001+05:30

Never married, but am happy to get hitched..

Marriage, for me, is a drive along the highway with some surprise hairpin bends and many wrong turns..It is a drive in which I pay for the petrol and she drives the car..Both are necessary..Woman’s lib and feminism make it increasingly difficult to reduce ‘happily married’ to a successful formula..What works for me may not work for you..But here is my list of all that I expect from my woman:

Only straight women please..I agree that tastes vary but I am not interested in experimental stuff..
I am also not interested in a 2100 sq feet house! I would be perfectly happy even if we have a small home full of fond memories..
Properly dressed is always ‘in’, but I would prefer her to at times even wear pink tops with purple buttons..
I will call her mother ‘mom’ only when I am comfortable with it because there is no point saying it and not meaning it..
I would prefer to live separately from both our parents but will prefer proximity to both of their houses..Living with them might be difficult, but it’s even more difficult living without them..
We would require to eat at least one meal with the full family because ‘the family that eats together stays together’..
If her brother or cousin likes something I have, I’ll buy it for him/her; but he/she won’t be getting my books, food, clothes, watches, shoes.............
She mustn’t get fussy if I get a little crazy from time to time..
If she is married to the television she shouldn’t expect me to take care of her..Instead ask the TV..
Don’t expect me to follow every ritual..It’s not certain that she’ll live a 100 years, even if I do all the poojas..
She mustn’t get angry if I drag her to cinema halls to see new releases..Instead she herself must too be a movie buff..
She mustn’t compare me to her family..They are unique and so am I..
Just as her parents are important to her, so are mine to me..
I don’t mind helping her at the household chores, provided she is willing to chip in too..
I would occasionally like to have fun with friends, no questions asked..Similarly she can have her girls nit out with no questions asked by me..
We can argue and even swear, but it’s important that to sit and talk afterwards..
I’m not the DINK (Double Income No Kids) type..I don’t mind kids at all..But there should be no pressure to have children..I should be allowed to have a say as to when we should have kids..
I am happy to go on one vacation every year and I won’t mind if she asks her parents or mine to accompany..Or we could go alone..That possibility is always there..
We must share all the expenses..Except on her/my birthday..On our anniversary, both of us go Dutch..
If there is respect, loyalty, honesty, trust and the most important word ‘adjust’, rather than ‘compromise’ love will never die........!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Wipro it is..........!!

2010-12-06T22:09:00.000+05:30

AM PLACED......Finally am placed..All of you who must have had read my previous post would be knowing exactly how I was feeling that night when I didn’t get selected in TCS when most of my friends had been selected..But I have a happy smile on my face now because I am placed..

Placed with a salary package that ranges from 2.75-3.25 lakhs per annum.. I hope that I get the higher end of the package..Moreover I did come to know one thing that whatever happens, happens for a reason..

I did not clear the written round in TCS as God knew that I was good in giving interviews and would make it through but God also knew that my girlfriend would not be clearing the interviews in TCS..She although did clear the written round..But now again we both cleared the written rounds in Wipro and again did clear both the technical and HR interviews..

I just hope that we both get placed in the same city..I have opted for Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai..Although I wish I had the option of getting my job in Mumbai but my employers did not give us the option of Mumbai-my dream city..

All in all I just would want to quote the words that a friend of mine once put up as his facebook status, “Of the countless hours spent..Of the thousand tears of anger and frustration..Of all the daydreams seen..Of all the sacrifices made..Of all the effort given..Of all the thoughts put in..Of the audacity to dare to dream..Of all the mental trauma..Of all the trouble and tension..You know what..???......................WAS WORTH IT !!! \m/ ”

So, I am not CEO but but but, “I am placed, bitch...!”

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

TCS is not getting me..!!Let’s see who needs me..!!

2010-11-28T21:48:00.001+05:30

The feeling is awful..My dream company went by giving me a breeze and I could not even unbutton my shirt..The problem was with me that I did not study hard enough in my college life..Had I studied as hard as I studied in my school life I might have got a direct interview with the HR..

The criterion was that all pupils who have above 75% in their school as well as college life can sit directly for the interview..I dint qualify for that as my college cgpa is just four points away from the stipulated mark..But still I had a chance to write the written aptitude test and try to get my place in the esteemed organization..But, similar to my college life, I screwed up here as well..I couldn’t get past the aptitude round..Although I had the attitude but your attitude gets checked only after your aptitude..

The night I did not clear the written round was one of the worst for me as an individual..The best thing was that all my friends got the interview call and were more or less sure that they are in..The worst feeling used to struck me when all my college mates used to congratulate me and I had to dole out, “I did not get through”..On top when I wished my friends congrats they all replied back unknowingly with a bolt from the blue, “Same to you”..Hah..Sorry dude there is no same to you in this story..I did not get cleared..

Any ways loads of companies still to come in campus..Tomorrow have Wipro coming our way..Then have Hcl, Mindtree, L&T and Dolcera..Although I never had any intensions of going into any company other than my dream company TCS under the safe and sound security of the Tata group but as the saying goes, “Beggars can’t be choosers..”

So people wish me luck......................!!And ya..Congrats to all my friends and foes who got placed in TCS at 868 rupees per day..And all those who did not get placed just remember, “Picture abhi baki hai mere dost..We all will have Happys Endings”..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

A one in a billion shot...............................!!

2010-11-26T22:49:00.000+05:30

Can you imagine being in position to get one of these photos.....................................??

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Facebook generation is the loneliest group..!!

2010-11-19T19:49:00.002+05:30

This is my 50^th post on my blog and I couldn’t find a better topic than talk about the most talked about topic in our daily lives.. ”Facebook..........................................................................................!!”

Believe it or not a survey report which came out in the Times of India revealed that the Facebook generation, i.e. 16 to 24 year olds, are lonelier than any other age group..This survey was done by the famous BBC radio 3..

This report revealed that in this age group among every three persons, one said that they are bored with their lives and 28% complained loneliness and thus turned to drinking and even were happy to flaunt it when asked..The report revealed that more than a quarter of them turned alcoholics just for mere comfort and half admitted to using junk food as an emotional crutch..

Now when we go into the reason behind this unhappiness some would be pretty common as we might have ourselves faced such a situation..Finances tops the list of the causes followed by the inability to hold onto a job..Some even said that they were unhappy because of family reasons..Some had some long term tiffs with their parents and some completely abhorred their parents..All in all Money was the root cause of all the loneliness and unhappiness..

Another cause which showed its presence was the absence of a relationship..Some are tormented by their inability to snug up to the opposite sex and initiate a relationship while some turn to loneliness because of a recent relationship break up..

Mark Zuckerberg

All I want to say is that the colloquial term, “Facebook me!!” is just an alternative for this generation group’s unhappiness..People who feel that they are left off by their parents and are not loved on by anyone..People who care more for a Levis T shirt rather than a spending that money on calling up their parents or loved ones in the opposite sex and sorting out the differences and misunderstanding that might have cropped up..

I know I too fall in the same age group and cannot prevent myself from being addicted to the facebook but I have started feeling that Mark Zuckerberg, the youngest billionaire ever and the founder of the facebook, himself telling us the very exact words that he was once told by a girl, “You are not an ass hole, but you are trying so hard to be one......................................!!”

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Kiss of Soul!!-—TT4

2010-11-18T22:05:00.000+05:30

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Moments when you are allowed to say Oh Shit, WTF…!!

2010-11-14T21:50:00.003+05:30

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

An unexpected help!!!!

2010-11-05T00:12:00.001+05:30

Have you ever been in the midst of any difficult problem??Has it ever happened to you that you are in the midst of complete deep shit??Has it ever happened to you that you are sitting alone and thinking about how to come out of it??Has it ever happened to you that you feel that if you don’t do any specific work you will have a heavy loss, maybe monetary or personal??Has it ever happened to you that you can see the problem right in front of you but you can’t help yourself to come out of the problem??Has it??If it has then this post is for you as you will be the one who can co-relate himself to the situation and put yourself in my shoes and think what was going on in my mind and how I must have been feeling..!

It so happened that this semester am having less attendance in most of the subjects..So I was pretty scared that what would happen..I had already had a talk with my teachers and they all told me to submit an OD (On Duty) letter to the class in charge..This OD letter is meant to mark my attendance for the time period of CHAKRAVYUHA ’10, a national level tech fest which is held under the banner of the School Of Mechanical Engineering, an integral part of the SRM University..I worked as the PRO for the above said event..So I did submit the OD letter and went off..

A few days back my class in charge called up and he informed me, rather intimidated me that my attendance was still falling short of the 75% bench mark by just 3.5%..I again was terribly scared as to what would happen and getting detained in the penultimate semester would be a death blow to my chances of getting placed in the campus interviews which are going on in college..So getting very frustrated I finally came out of my college campus gate..I was walking towards the food joint when someone passed by me saying something which I could not decipher properly..But one thing I could make out of the conversation was the old adage, “By hook or by crook”..

Now the crook in me started playing itself and a small devil popped out on my left shoulder..He advised me to call up dad and ask for a medical certificate on the dates of the beginning of the semester as I had reached a week late..I called up dad then and there and he agreed to fax it up to me then..Now began the real tough task of finding a fax machine on campus..I tried all shops and no one had a fax machine..Our hostel fax machine had also been transferred inside the girls block where I was not allowed..I was really flustered..Suddenly I saw my floor warden walking toward me from the other direction..I never treated him that well and always used to make fun of him in front of him as well as behind his back..But he remembered my name and always kept calling me out by my name..This meeting was no exception..He shrieked out my name in the middle of the streets and I had no option other than walk towards him and talk to him for a sec..On getting in front of him I dint find any other topic to talk to him other than my present distress of not getting a fax machine..

Just as I popped out the words fax machine, he took it on himself to help me out..He called up the senior hostel warden and asked him to let me allow his personal fax machine..The senior warden readily agreed and now my work was half done..To finish the rest of the job my floor warden asked the person accompanying him to take me to the hostel on his bike and get all the work done and then finally drop me to the college campus..He even gave me the senior wardens cell number and asked me to contact him and tell him if there was any further requirement..The whole process took just 15 minutes and I was back again on track with a very good attendance percentage..The same process which could have taken a full day out of my calendar..

In our world we have always heard people comparing two terms Friendship and Love..People keep comparing these two terms and some say that Love is short-termed and keep saying that Friendship stays on forever whereas the others say that Love is the greatest feeling on the planet..I don’t know which one is better out of the two but I just know one term Smile..Whether the person standing next to me is my friend or not, doesn’t matter..Whether she is my lady love or not, doesn’t matter..I will for sure pass on a smile..It doesn’t cost a thing..But it can help you out in situations where you are completely stuck and start calling out to God and begging and pleading for help..It is just because I was good to my floor warden on face that he helped me out in that situation..

So for me it’s neither Friendship nor Love that counts more..It’s the feel good Smile that you pass on to anyone you talk to which counts and even helps you out on difficult situations where you feel that you are stuck and finally you come out and say thank you Jesus.!!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Kiss of Heart!!-—TT3

2010-11-04T23:53:00.000+05:30

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Procrastination.!!

2010-10-18T23:52:00.002+05:30

What does procrastination mean??Is it the stereotypical meaning of laziness??And this word, “procrastinate” has been derogatory and insulting from my early childhood..It has always been applied to me, a proud member of the newest generation of the world, by my mom..I have been hearing many comment’s from older folks that, “the youth now-a-days are so lazy; you wait till the last minute to do anything.”..But as Dennis Sell comments in the youth’s defence, “It isn’t procrastination if you intend to do it.”..I hope that this doesn’t become a question on the future resume..“Do you procrastinate, please check yes or no.”..A wonderful lot of people would be out of the job; very talented people that just have a time trying to become “perfect.”..Procrastination is a way of life and a person has to be good at it to play the “lazy” game..

What does procrastination really mean??I’ve adopted a quote that now guides my everyday life; “My work is best when I am under pressure.”..Most of my better posts are written in the fifteen minutes I have before my next class period when it’s due..Sorry Mr. Oliver and Mr. Raghuraman, and any other teacher that have been subjected to my messy rushed handwriting (not that Mr. Raghuraman minds, I’m still failing his class. And his e-mail address is....just kidding)..Procrastination is character building..The rare few who can handle the pressure often have rushed lives, or many deadlines, whichever applies, but the point is that they can handle the pressure that procrastination gives and they come on top..My dad-mom are bankers and their superiors are often changing what they want them to do, but my parents can handle those people and their strict deadlines that are ludicrous because of the little time given..But because they procrastinated in high school, they knows what to do and how to control themselves in those situations..They haven’t thrown themselves off a cliff yet after about twenty five years of the strenuous work..Obviously that has to count for something..

Procrastination is like many other things..It has its good and bad points, just like eating..A person must eat to live, but it makes people gain weight and there is a surplus of obese people in our nation, yet it also saves many lives a day in countries like Ethiopia..Procrastination can make or break a person..One can either handle the pressure or the person breaks completely..I have put this post to the side for what seems like weeks, but it isn’t that bad at least I hope not..It’s just the people who break under the pressure that give procrastinators the bad façade..Take plumber for example..I’m not saying all plumbers have this problem, but mine sure does..My family calls and calls this man until he’s getting a phone call every hour and even then he waits weeks to fix our pump..He finally comes and “fixes” it and two weeks later it is broken yet again..Maybe this has become a business ploy, but that isn’t the point..This man procrastinates to the minute we are about to leave his business and then he comes and does poor work..This man gives all procrastinators a horrid reputation when in all reality procrastination, when handled by the right person is quality achieving and character building..When handled right, what is so wrong with this personality trait??What did procrastination ever do that did not occur without some assistance??I can’t procrastinate unless I want to..What happened to putting the blame where it belonged to??

Procrastination is good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Peepli-----------------------Is it actually and really Live..!?!

2010-09-29T01:10:00.000+05:30

This post is not dedicated to the artistic genius of a movie, our Oscar entry this year, a completely insipid, tasteless and un-entertaining movie, Peepli Live!! But my real question is, Is Peepli actually LIVE???

Around 7-8 months back there were reports of some Indian students being beaten up to pulp in a nation way far off from India, Australia..The media hyped the incident to such an extent that we actually are still scared as to whether or not to fly off to the island nation for higher studies..We still are in a shock as to whether even visit Australia..When this incident happened in a foreign nation our country was full in rage as to why we Indians are always the victims of racial discrimination and similar stuff..Why does the feeling of Apartheid resurface itself time and again and show that it had not extinguished but rather was just dormant??Why??That was the question then..But mind you this post is again not about that question..This post is about an incident that occurred in my college premises and I, although not being an eye witness to it, got a vivid description from an eye witness and thus it earned its place to be talked about here..

The incident happened during one of the numerous departmental fests that our college (SRM University) feels proud to host..ICON, a national level MBA symposium..It so happened that for this event there were two prime organizers..One was a Tamil Localite guy and the other a North Indian gal, who we later on came to know was from Bengal..Both final year students..The event got successfully over and the gal was happy to socialize with her friends (both guys and gals) and joined them in posing for photos and enjoying the finishing off of the event in full gala..This pissed off the other Tamil guy and he text messaged the gal and used some abuse language to let her know that she was required for some work, lest enjoy with her friends..The gal ignored the text messages..Then the guy called her up and started abusing her in full flow..The gal heard him speak for some time and then cut the call..This even pissed the guy off to another level..Now the gal went to her friends and told that the other event organizer was bad mouthing her over the phone..So two of her friends, guys, went to report the incident to the staff assigned as the convenor of the event..The convenor gave a limpid glance to the incident and asked the guys to forget it..But the two guys were adamant in making that Tamil guy beg sorry in front of the hapless gal..So they both went ahead to talk to the Tamil guy and told him politely that what he did was wrong and he should not talk to gals using abuses..This infuriated the Tamil guy to such an extent that he said, “You want me to say sorry to her??Let me show you my power..”Saying this he called around 25-30 of his local Tamil friends and started slapping and clubbing the two North Indian guys..The matter had been still ok had this stopped till here..The guys went to the gal and tore off her sari and started slapping and clubbing her too..She was pushed down to the floor and the those Tamil guys continuously kicked her until she went out of her senses..God only knows where all their dirty hands must have fallen over the gal..There were scratch marks all over her body..She had to be immediately rushed to the hospital (Apollo) and the doctors said that she her spinal cord had been injured..

This whole incident happened in front of the faculty and staff..No one, mark my words NO ONE came forward to stop this heinous crime from being committed..When the next day the students of the class revolted and said that they won’t attend classes unless those 25-30 students were rusticated, the college management very calmly shelved the matter..The college management used their political minds to change the whole scenario..They kept two letters in front of the gal..Firstly, if she filed an FIR in the police station then she along with her 2 friends who came ahead to fight, plus those 25-30 students would be rusticated..Secondly, if she didn’t file an FIR then all will remain in the college and no one would be rusticated and the college would give guarantee that those guys would not harass the gal again..HAH..There is a famous saying in Hindi, “Chit bhi mera aur pat bhi mera”..Meaning heads is also mine and tails even..College played its nasty politics and thus all remained silent and the cat didn’t come out of the bag..The media personals that were called up by the students were also sent off with some bribing and the deadly skeleton didn’t come out of the cupboard..The college even went on to the extent of telling that the gal herself was a loose character and the those Tamil guys were drunk so none of her friends should have gone in front of those Tamil guys for asking them to say sorry..College took away the full blame from the heads of those 25-30 guilty..

My question rises here..Why did this incident happen to a North Indian only??I am pretty sure had the guy and gal been swapped the case would not have had occurred only..I mean had the guy been a North Indian and the gal a South Indian, am pretty sure the South Indian people would have created a huge ruckus for the same..There lies my next question..Why is there discrimination between North Indian students and South Indian students??I had heard of similar situations when students from Bihar were beaten up badly on the Victoria Terminus in Mumbai for coming to give some tests that was being conducted by the Maharashtra government..They were beaten up just because they were filling up seats that people from Maharashtra could have filled..There lies my third question..Why is there discrimination among us??There is a dialogue in the movie Khatta-Meetha of Akshay Kumar that says, “Madam if you go to America you’ll get Americans, if you go to England you’ll get Britisher’s, but if you come to India you’ll get only Punjabi’s, Marathi’s, Guajarati’s, Tamil’s, Bengali’s and so on..Where is Indians??”

Why do the media only hype racial discrimination incidents which happen in foreign nations??Why only do we get to hear about racial discrimination of Indian students in Australia or Shilpa Shetty in Bigg Boss??Why can’t we forget about this state wise discrimination and start thinking ourselves as INDIANS???

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Kiss of Life!!—TT2

2010-09-23T23:21:00.001+05:30

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Kiss of love!!---TT1

2010-09-16T21:30:00.000+05:30

I gift you my life..Own it well!!

This is my first post for Thoughtful Thursday..There are loads and loads of following Thursday's to come..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Picasssssssssssa 2!!

2010-09-14T20:38:00.000+05:30

Time for a sequel..Time for another round of unusual pics which, if you see from my perception will make you laugh aloud..So sit back and enjoy this sequel just as much as you enjoyed Dhoom2..!!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

9/11..9 years on..A Glimpse!!

2010-09-11T21:15:00.001+05:30

CONGRATS OSAMA..It’s been 9 years post 9/11 and still you are more WANTED than Salman Khan and Angelina Jolie..You have shown the United States of America that may be they have the best intelligence force in the world, but they still couldn't catch an engineer like you..Hats off to all engineers and my good luck and well wishes to you..May you live free long enough to make the US realize their impotency!!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Celestial Happenings..!

2010-09-10T21:06:00.000+05:30

The Dumb are not Deaf..!!

2010-09-09T22:15:00.000+05:30

All those thinking that this post is about the mentally dumb people are actually dumb enough to keep thinking that there is only a single meaning to the term dumb i.e. “slow to learn and adapt” and in common Hindi “MAND-BUDDHI”..When I was a little child and I first learnt this word, it had a totally different meaning than what we generally use it for now-a-days..Dumb is referred to a person who actually is unable to speak and its counterpart in the hearing zone is known as deaf..

So this summer when I went back home for my summer vacations I had some problems with the water pump used in my house and thus it had to be replaced by a new one, Submersible CRI pumps, which is supposedly the best in the market now..So for getting this job done my dad hired a good plumber..He had many workers under him..Among them there was a guy may be in his early thirties who was dumb..Dumb as in the real sense of the word..He could not speak..

(I may be dumb but am sure not deaf!!)

All his co workers were addressing him and calling out to him by actions and not by words..The used to talk to him in gestures..They used to talk to him in sign language..That is when it struck my mind that he only is dumb and not deaf..So why the heck do people talk to him in sign language..WHY??I was the one who started talking to him normally and he even responded normally by his actions..Although he could not reply by an answer but he used to do whatever work I asked him to do on one go..

That was the time when all his co-workers realized this fact too..From hence forth they also stopped talking to him in sign language and started giving him instructions verbally..This even reduced the ruckus that was going on during the work to a great extent as now there was no communication gap between the workers..

So it is my humble request to who-so-ever is reading this post that please do not categorize all dumb people as deaf too..They can hear very well and they do actually feel deprived and left off if they are not paid their due attention..

So the DUMB are not DEAF!!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Do Not Judge a Book by Its Cover

2010-08-28T04:23:00.000+05:30

We as teenagers are often defined as shallow, naive, and sometimes uncompassionate youngsters..Most of this recognition comes from our common failure to take social risks and possess an open mind..We are all one student body, yet we are so separated in many aspects..Much of the segregation exists because we are unable to look past appearances..What gives designer clothes, thick lensed glasses, or different hairstyles the authority to determine if we are people who are worth knowing??Would you feel hurt if people rejected you because you had a few pimples on your face??Would it be fair??These days, there is too much emphasis on looks..If everyone would take a brief moment to see the shining wit or loving personality in a person instead of his or her body, then the world would unmistakably be a better place..

There are many truly great and natural differences among people..“Nerds” are not “football players..”Their talents, skills, and capacities are not the same..An unalterable condition in human society is that the lowest cannot be made equal with the highest..Nature is vain..However, these conditions are adapted to benefit both individuals as well as the community..Life requires varied aptitudes, diverse services, and miscellaneous types of people to carry on its affairs as life as a whole..Drawn by our natural tendencies to fall into peer pressure, in our feelings of inadequacy, we constantly seek to form exclusive associations or “cliques..” Within these groups, we should discourage any exclusion based on the wrong reasons such as appearances, which many people cannot drastically change..It is important to remember that our harmony depends on our effort and ability to accept others in whatever form they come, even if they are different in ethnicity, religion, or appearance..

All forms of conformity are self sacrilege..We are in a state of many changes, a chance to try new things, and to discover who we really are..One’s struggle to be their self inside as well as outside is an admirable task that calls for courage..Do not ridicule those who walk down the hall with mismatched socks pulled up to their knees, or those who wear bright, patterned clothing..They are only expressing themselves and sharing their uniqueness..Our inability to individualize people is a weakness that we must not dismiss..The recognition of our rights, individual and collective, includes our most basic obligation: respect for our peers..Next time, think about what is in a hairstyle, or what is in make-up..Sadly, they both have too much significance in our superficial expectations..

Man is a person endowed by our Creator with gifts of body and mind..We are all created in His image and likeness..We, as imperfect sinners, do not have the right to judge or question His wisdom..Rather we are obliged to regard our bodies as good and honourable..Mankind is not wrong when he regards himself superior to bodily concerns..For by interior qualities, he can overcome the whole sum of mere things..The intellectual nature of the human person needs to be perfected by wisdom, for wisdom gently attracts the minds of mankind in a quest for love of what is true and good..It is important to remember when wisdom and understanding is present; man can pass through visible realities to discover the real person within..

Never judge a book by its cover..Appearances can be deceiving..Within the most unattractive people can lay the most caring hearts..They are able to give to uncaring people, like ourselves, the gifts of forgiveness and friendship..Just imagine that each gift is wrapped with unconditional love and delivered with the most genuine smile..Let there be no more victims of discrimination..Ignore the false perceptions of beauty that society has imposed on us..Remember, true beauty lies within..As soon as one realizes that in their heart, everyone may be better known, better loved, and better served..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Angel-in-a Jolie.............................!!

2010-08-23T21:21:00.000+05:30

When Angelina Jolie was offered the role of a Bond girl she refused it saying, “Why should I be a Bond gal when I can myself be Bond??”..The whole world was shocked on this comment of her; but but but when you come out with movie’s such as Tomb Raider, Mr and Mrs Smith, Taking Lives, Wanted and Salt, you become pretty sure that she was very true in her comment..

The latest in the series to come was the movie Salt..In this movie Angie, as she is lovingly called by the whole world, is an officer in the US intelligence..She is like the best in her job and she is supposedly convicted to be a Russian spy who had been trained from childhood for a specific purpose..The purpose is to sacrifice herself for her motherland Russia and show the whole world that US is not the country ruling the world..The process for attaining this goal is to kill the Russian president when he is on tour of the US for the death ceremony of the US vice-president and a few days after kill the US president himself..Thus creating a war between the super powers..A war which would finally culminate into a 3^rd world war as the other countries will be surely and supposedly taking sides!!

The poise and elegance with which she portrays her character is awesome..Although her body double is more visible and has a meatier role than her in the movie, still this doe eyed beauty steals the frame and captures your mind even when she does some impossible deeds like making of a bomb out of some chemicals and a fire extinguisher!!

It’s actually when you see her fall from the helicopter to the river, swim to safety and then run away through the forest that you actually feel that the movie is over and you are left panting for a sequel and a prequel..

So hats off to this chiselled face beauty and I hope so some day like in the phantom series finally a lady becomes the cherished character of Bond and that is no one but our very own Angel-in-a Jolie!!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

The difficulty of being honest..!

2010-07-26T21:41:00.000+05:30

“Honesty is the best policy”..Can anyone not remember this quote!?!It’s something that has been embedded to our minds and brains..But as we know there’s another side to the same coin..There are certain difficulties of being honest too..I know all of you must be wondering as to what could be the difficulties in being honest!?!There are and I’m going to make you aware of them..

Being honest can sometimes prove to be dangerous for our own well being..Let’s take the case of ‘Police at your door steps” banner..Am sure everyone among you must have had seen or heard this slogan outside every other police station..Let’s be truthful and answer ourselves as to how many of us would really come forward and try to castigate the baleful??Sometimes when we see any wrong being done in front of our eyes, we either by stand and give a limpid look at the nefarious activities or better still we aver our minds to think that it was just an incubus..There is not a speck of imbroglio in our minds so as to come forward and report the incident to the police..

Let’s face it..We all are basically crepuscular and have cupidity stuffed into us..We gainsay with mouth agape that we dint see any of the fracas..On the other hand the police too are afraid of being escheated..Thus being honest can be difficult at that point of time..

Thus we can safely assume that honesty, although being the best policy, can sometimes prove to be a hindrance or obstruction in the path of our florid, indefatigable and functionary life..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Y do critics write off Akshay Kumar??

2010-07-22T20:40:00.005+05:30

“Saari duniya hili, Bangkok se Delhi,

Macha jo shor, Baat galli galli phaili,

Log machaye shor, Lutaye krore,

Akshay Kumar mere dil ka chor.”

I don’t know as to how many of you like Akshay Kumar but I kind of like worship the Khiladi Kumar..He is one of the top 5 forty plus heroes who still make, not just the ladies go down on their knees..Girls still fall for his handsome macho man type looks and cute smile and guys still worship him for his action skills, comedy cracks and his awesome facial expressions..He was awarded the most popular hero award a couple of times and thus there is no doubt in the common man’s mind about his stardom..He is the highest grossing Indian star oversees..

“Acting karne chale waise hazaro,

Baadshah ek, baaki saare fail.”

But wait a minute..I’m not here to tell you about how good he is..I’m here to ask why do the critics not reciprocate the common man’s thoughts??Why do the people who are considered to give every movie a face, right on the very first Friday it is released (sometimes even pre-release), so that the whole world listens to them and decides whether to go or not for the movie, the critics, write him off??Why can’t the critics see any good in this man??Why????????

“Log bole mujhe bollywood star,

Naam mera Akshay Kumar.”

In a recent survey, by most of the critics, of most of the newspapers, together, the following result was found out:

2010: HouseFull

2009: Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani (Kambakht Ishq finished a close 2^nd)

2008: Singh Is Kinng

2007: Heyy Babyy

2006: Krrish(Phir Hera Pheri finished a close 3^rd)

2005: Waqt

2004: Mujhse Shadi Karogi

2003: Andaaz

2002: Raaz

2001: Gadar

Can anyone just give a wild guess as to what this survey may be related to??I know it’s hard to correlate all these movies together but there is one thing that combines all these movies together..This survey..The survey is of the movies of the last 10 years which were super hit but had been written off by the critics as worthless and having no story content in it..All these movies proved to be the dark horses and emerged out in flying colours although having no story content in them, as said by the critics..They themselves were wondering as to how these movies did make to the top without having anything to talk about them..

But what I saw in this survey was not what many had seen..It had been overlooked by most of you’ll..The fact that out of the TEN movies jotted down by the critics SIX are an Akshay Kumar movie and TWO movies finished close 2^nd and 3^rd..

I don’t know what is wrong with the critics and why do they always pin point out an Akshay Kumar movie?? This attitude is leading the common man to postpone his movies to the 2^nd weekend rather than being eager to see it on the very 1^st..People have started speculating his movies to be flops..Before even seeing the movie, much before it being released, people come up and say “array yaar, yeh movie flop hone wali hai”..

“Hum hai seedhe saadhe

Akshay Akshay.”

I really hope that his forth coming ventures, Khatta Meetha, Action Replayy, Patiala House and Tees mar Khan, turn out to be super hit and their success leads the producers of the movies to the bank with a big smile on their face and as well shut the mouths of the people whom we trust to give an honest and COMMON MAN opinion of the movie before we see it, the critics..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Picasssssssssssa!!

2010-07-21T00:52:00.000+05:30

For a very long time I had been thinking of doing a photo post..So today here it is..These are a few of the rarest moments that had been captured on camera and posted over the net and downloaded by me..

If you have seen the pics from the view and mindset that I’ve seen them, then these pics will surely pump up your heart..If it doesn’t then keep yourself in the place of the central character of the pic then surely you’ll feel the pump..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

FIFA WC / BIG W..............??

2010-07-16T23:30:00.000+05:30

Yeappppppppppppaah uun tos trey Espaniol Espaniol Espaniol..The Spaniards are finally the undefeated champions of the 2010 Fifa world cup..Sorry lemme rephrase the last sentence..They were not undefeatable..They were the only team in the history of the world cup to have won the cup after having lost their very first match..They lost their first match to Switzerland..

But wait-o-wait..This post is not about the soccer world cup and how non defeat-able the stylish Spaniards were but this is more about the other international game that was going on simultaneously at the same time on the courts of London..I guess you’ve got it right..I am talking about the Wimbledon, the Big W..When the whole world was rooting for the Messi’s, the Ronaldo’s, the Forlan’s, the Klose’s and the Kaka’s, I was ardently cheering for the Nadal’s, the Federer’s, the Williams sisters, the Henin Hardenne’s and the Clijsters’..

Another Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, yet once again won the Tennis grand slam which took him to his personal best of 8 Grand slam titles which include 5 French open titles, 1 Australian open title and 2 Wimbledon open titles..I personally don’t like the game of soccer to that extent that I’ll just go everywhere and talk of nothing but football in that whole month of the World Cup..But I luv the game of Tennis to that extent that when there’s a match between Brazil and Netherlands going on, on ESPN, I would gladly sit through the whole time watching Nadal beat Andy Murray and race into the final of the Wimbledon, on Star Sports..

I don’t know about the rest of the world but I, at least had one person who was as crazy as me..The person is none other than soccer star David Beckham..He, although being a leading man for the game of football, sat all through the match between Nadal and Murray just to cheer his country..Andy Murray was the only British player in the top 4 of the Wimbledon, and Becks had to cheer his own country rather than his own favourite sport..
The last time winner and the person with the maximum Grand Slam titles, Roger Federer, lost the chance to defend his Big W title when he lost to Tomas Berdych at the quarter finals..Roger Federer was my personal favourite for the title (and will always be)..He hails from Switzerland..The country which defeated the champions of the 2010 soccer extravaganza in their very first league match..It’s too vague of a co-incidence but still is one in its own right!!

All in all 2010 is the year of the Spaniards who won the game in both the forms and have full rights to rejoice and show off for the rest of the year to the whole world that they are the Champions..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Wearing Flats..

2010-07-14T01:47:00.001+05:30

A few days back I had gone out to the city centre mall for shopping some stuff before I left from Chennai for home sweet home, Jamshedpur on my summer holidays..I finished off my shopping by 3:30..I was fully exhausted and tired and was having the exact feeling for a power nap, the kind which ViruS used to have in 3 Idiots..So finding one lone corner and a bench just below the air conditioner vent I dozed off..

I woke up around 4 and was fully rejuvenated..Suddenly a beautiful young lady caught my attention..She was good looking, smart, sexy and above all Tall..So being the average heighted guy, my vision slowly shifted over to the height of her heels..Alas!!I was shocked..This bomb shell was not wearing any stilettos..On the contrary she was wearing Flats..This raised my suspicion and made me sit down for a while and ponder..

I clearly remembered telling my mom in the late 90’s and early 2000’s to wear high heels..She always wore flats and I kept on pestering her to wear heels because all girls among my friends used to wear stilettos on any occasion they could get other than school..Be it the girls from my school or the girls from sacred heart convent who I knew pretty well..All of them used to keep lurking for opportunities to wear stilettos..And my mom, being her sexy self, never ever looked towards high heels..This pissed me off pretty badly..She used to have just one dialogue on her lips always, “One day you’ll see that comfort is more important than style..”

Was this day THAT day??Sitting on a lonely bench of city centre, being around 5000 miles away from me, my mom made me wonder at her foresightedness..I kept sitting on that corner bench and checking out the ladies passing by towards the exit..You won’t believe it, 95% of the girls and ladies I noticed for that period of half an hour dint bother to wear high heels..One or two in intermittent spurts came wearing a little heel but that too not something of the stiletto standard..

Amidst this turmoil and remembrance of the past I completely forgot about the girl I was looking at (oh please, come on, I was not ogling) who inaugurated this thought in the deepest corners of my grey matter..I just stepped up and walked out of the air cooled mall and walking in the sweltering sun’s heat just thanked that girl for making me think and increase my trust in my belief that my mom could really see the future..

Surely my mom was right then..Comfort does come before style and it took me so many years to believe her prognostication..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Rajneeti----The game of politics..

2010-07-11T17:05:00.001+05:30

Come the morning of the 11^th of June I finished off with my classes early and headed off for the movie which I had been eluded off for a long time..Rajneeti..The movie released around a week back and all my friends had already seen it and I was the only unlucky one in the group who was unable to have the pleasure of this movie..I had been down with malaria the week this movie got released and thus I was unable to go.. But I was not one to give up on a movie with such a huge star cast to boast of..Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Katrina Kaif, Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpayee, Ajay Devgn and Naseerudin Shah..This was just a glimpse of the whole star studded cast..Anyone can imagine what the movie offered with this full long awesome cast..The star cast in itself shouted their lungs out for what was at stake in this movie..All my friends had raised laurels of praise for this movie and now I had to (read HAD TO) see this movie..

So I saw the movie..

3.5/5..

Don’t go on the rating of this movie..This is a movie that I had seen after a long time which portrayed the stark reality of the dirty side of the Indian politics..This movie, pre-release, had created speculations of it being colligated to the most sovereign Indian political family..The Nehru-Gandhi family..The family which had been the blood stream of the most primeval Indian political party..The Congress..But after I saw the movie I could relate very less with the Congress..This movie was less of Congress and more of politics on the lines of Mahabharata..

This movie portrayed Nana Patekar as Lord Krishna, Ranbir Kapoor as the ace archer Arjun, Arjun Rampal as the eldest and most politically correct Yudhisthir with traits of the very strong Bheem, Ajay Devgn as the most loyal and wronged Karna, Manoj Bajpayee as the evil brother Duryodhan, Darshan Zariwala as the grand old man Bheeshma Pitamah and the two brothers, the fathers of Ranbir-Arjun and Manoj Bajpayee, as Pandu and Dhritarashtra respectively and last but not the least Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor and Ajay Devgn’s mother as Kunti..

This was the only thing that I personally dint like in the movie..The characterisations on the lines of Mahabharata, the epic which is considered so sacred by the Indians all over the world..The things that are shown in the movie are exactly as they were in the epic and thus full points for the screenplay on those lines but but but, we should not forget that we Indians do take our myths and Gods pretty seriously and thus any joke or any kind of disrepute or any sort of defiling or any form of defaming on their part is not taken in that well by us, Indians..But when you have a story as strong as this then do you care about the small mistakes done??

Another thing that I dint like in the movie was the dialogues part..The movie dialogue writer forgot one thing that the dialogues which were applicable in the Mahabharata are really not applicable in the real life of present day..Dialogues such as “Tum mere Jeshtha putra ho” are really not acceptable..These dialogues more than creating the impact caused the audience to burst out in guffaws of laughter spells..All the dialogues especially of the mother of the house, the Kunti of the family, were like the sole comedy provider of the movie..

Before seeing this movie I was of the opinion that the political scenario of our country had become very fair..I was proved so so wrong by this movie that I had to rethink the idea of a fair election..The elections in our country are indeed heading towards being more or less perfect and devoid of horse trading and we are almost on the verge of having perfect fair elections but inside the party???There lies the big question..Inside the political party there is every bit of back biting, back bitching and horse trading..Just to get a party seat from a certain electoral ground these politicians leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of their happiness..

The characters have been very well characterised and played by the actors..The story goes on a specific storyline and the best part is in the direction..The direction is miraculously done by Prakash Jha..Prakash Jha always tells the world by his movies that he is a perfect genius of the political situation in our country..He does his home work terrifically and then gets on with the business of movie making..He earlier showed this by his movies Gangajal and Apaharan and yet again he has showed his prowess in Rajneeti..

Thus once again I would want to state that Rajneeti did what not many of our previous movies had done, put light on the horse trading inside the political party and the back biting and back bitching inside the four walls of the legislative secretariat house or the parliament but it could have done it without tarnishing the image of our sacred epic, The Mahabharata..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Y Bollywood still can’t and Hollywood still does it once again..!!

2010-06-09T14:02:00.006+05:30

This article is not about the age old battle that we Indians keep playing in our minds as to which is better and finally conclude that Bollywood is in its place just as Hollywood is in its place..This article is abt Hollywood proving it once again that it knows the world market much better than Bollywood..This article is abt the last two movies that I saw..KITES and PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME..Both of which promised to be of international flavour..

On the 21^st of may along with my friends, I woke up in the morning in full enthusiasm..The zeal was of going out to see Kites..A movie which we were expecting for the past one and a half years to get released..Finally a Hrithik Roshan movie..Finally a movie after the terrific portray by him of the gorgeous, handsome and very dashing Mughal king, Akhbar..A movie which had a Mexican beauty, Barbara Mori, flaunting a bikini on all the promos in front of a perfectly chiselled torso of Hrithik..A movie which created so much buzz even before it had started the shooting schedule..A movie which got delayed firstly due to 3 Idiots and later due to My Name Is Khan..Finally the movie was hitting the screens..So we all left in full eagerness to see this super hyped movie..

We saw the movie..

2.5/5..

Can you believe it!!That would be the maximum I would give to this movie and that too only for the director and the actors..This is a movie which according to me had everything in it..And everything was at its supreme peak..The only thing lacking in the movie was a STORY..The movie had very good acting from both the lead actors and as well the supporting cast and the villains too..The movie had some very good action sequences which were looking of international standards..The movie had a very good director in Anurag Kashyap who did a terrific job and kept up to his expectations..Just had Rakesh Roshan hired a good story writer the movie would have been far better..Coupled with all of this the music of the movie was bland and insipid..Excepting one song none of the others left a mark..Hrithik on his tweet once said that the movie is well accepted by the foreign audience..That may not be a hoax..The movie was actually not made up to the Indian mind set..We Indians however much we become westernized we still want our hero in the movie to get the gal..We Indians can’t see sad endings..We strive to see happy endings..That’s y the phrase “Happys Endings”.. Thus I would finally like to conclude by saying that the movie which the producers claimed to have been an international standard Bollywood movie was a dud and did let every Indian down and did not prove even one bit of its worth of being an international magnum opus..

Next lets jump to the first of June..Morning 10:30 I finished off with my classes and planned to go for seeing the movie Prince of Persia: Sands of time..This is another movie whose trailer I saw around 6 months back and instantly fell in luv with..This was the movie which was life based of one of my favourite childhood computer games of the same name, Prince of Persia: sands of time..This game had two more parts and I loved them all equally..I especially always loved Prince Dastan..And the way he always saved the princess..The graphics of the game are so superb that I just keep on playing it for hours whenever I start the game..My other friends were not able to go with me because they had their classes still on so I, being an ardent fan of the game and even more enthusiastic after seeing the promos, set out alone for seeing the movie..

I saw the movie..

5/5..

Can u believe it..A Hollywood movie set nowhere near about the western modern world nor in any stylishly gorgeous European country but in the deserts of the present Persia..The country which is considered as the father of all civilizations, Mesopotamia..The lead character played by Jake Gyllenhaal as prince Dastan reminded me of the game which I used to play and in all manners Jake was a better prince Dastan than what I had been all these years..And the actress, Gemma Arterton, was looking an actual Arab beauty..She was the perfect Damsel in Distress..The best part was the story..Adapting a movie from a game is not very easy..Previously many movies had done good business like Lara Croft but many dint do well even..So it’s hell of a risk..But still the makers Walt Disney took it onto them to make this movie a grand one..The action sequences were spell bounding, the cameraman-ship was outstanding and above all the direction was impeccable..The shooting locales, although half of it was built in the studios itself, were awesomely portrayed and depicted to a life size image..Finally but not lastly in any way, the animation work..It was something that I had never ever seen so beautifully done..The transformation of a life sized person into tiny miniscule particles of sand grains was a tough job but none the less was shown in a breathtaking way..Coupled with all of this the movie had a very good background score and the stunt sequences were as real as the game..The stunts were depicted by Jake Gyllenhaal just as they are in the game itself..

Thus I would end my argument by saying that Hollywood yet again showed the world that it does not require to make a movie set up in the western world or the flashy Europe but they can make a miraculously stylish film for an international audience anytime..Whereas Bollywood which claimed this Hrithik-Barbara starrer as the first movie to be made in Hindi and English simultaneously could not muster up the masala quotient that it was supposed to garner..

So once again a thumbs down to Kites and a holla ho to the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Live independent: Bane or Boon

2010-05-26T22:29:00.000+05:30

In today’s world, young adults prefer to live independently..They are more interested in learning to live and lead an independent life..They feel that when they live with their parents, their parents restrict them from doing things which they want to do and from behaving the way the young want to behave..So they start living independently as they want their own privacy..Some live independently as not to be a burden to their parents and to explore and to know the world on their own..To earn their living and to handle money from their own hands not depending on their parents..

There are also a few instances when the young have to live independently i.e. when they get their admission in another college which is in another place or far away from their house so they take an apt nearby to their college to save time from travelling to great distances..But living independently has a few disadvantages as it may lead to irresponsible behaviour like coming to their room late after having a party or something even though they did not complete their homework for college next day..There is no one to restrict to tell them who is allowed to come and go into their apartment..They will have a sense of freedom to do things that they should not do like drinking, smoking, drugs, etc as there are no parents to restrict them..

But in the past even a few young adults in the present generation, young adults lived with their parents from a longer time..Even after marriage they live with their parents as a combined family and share their earnings with their whole family..A few young adults who live with their parents become irresponsible as they feel that their parents are supporting them and fulfil all their needs so they no need to work..They are a few who feel that their dreams are suppressed when they live with their parents as their parents have some expectations from their children, so the adult suppress his/her dream in order to fulfil their parents dream..But suppressing their dreams will lead to conflicts which in turn will lead to disintegration of their family thereby the young adults start to live independently..

In the present generation young adults prefer to live independently..They are more interested in learning to live and lead an independent life..They feel that when they live with their parents, their parents restrict them from doing things which they want to do and from behaving the way the young want to behave..So they start to live independently as they want their own privacy some live independently as not to be a burden to their parents and to explore and to know the world on their own to earn their living and to handle money from their own hands not depending on their parents..

There are also a few instances when the young have to live independently i.e. when they get their admission in another college which is in another place or farther from their house so they take an apartment nearby to their college to save time from travelling to great distances..But living independently has a few disadvantages as it may lead to irresponsible behaviour like coming to their room late after having a party or something even though they did not complete their homework or college next day..There is no one to restrict or to tell them who is allowed to come and go into their apt..They will have a sense of freedom to do things that they shouldn’t do like drinking, smoking, drugs, etc as they are no parents to restrict them..

But in the past even a few young adults in the present generation, young adults lived with their parents for a longer time..Even after marriage they lived with their parents as a combined family and shared their earnings with their whole family..A few young adults who live with their parents become irresponsible as they feel that their parents are supporting them and fulfil all their needs so they have no need to work..There are a few who feel that their dreams are suppressed when they live with their parents as their parents have some expectations from their children, so the adult suppresses his/her dream in order to fulfil their parents dream..But suppressing their dreams will lead to conflicts which in turn will lead to disintegration of their family thereby the young adults start to live independently..

I have always aspired to live independent and lead a personal life..Dint get much of a chance in my early life but in college I finally got my space..Staying away from home managing on the limited resources and managing my time, it’s a great feeling that I’m having..Moreover I am doing things that I never could do when I was at home..I learnt swimming, something that is a strict NO-NO at my house..I’ve joined a dance troop which I was never able to do at home as my dancing was always made fun of and given that ‘Boys can’t dance’ look by everyone in my family..I dint tell my family members about these college out spurts and hope to keep them a secret unless and until they read my blog someday..

Therefore, I opine that there are both advantages as well as disadvantages of living independently as well as living with their parents. In my opinion I think that the young adult can live independently when he/she reaches a certain age and is mature enough to understand and to be on his/her own and wants privacy, then only can he/she can start to live independently..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Know the Human Body..

2010-05-25T18:13:00.000+05:30

Following are some facts about the human body..Found them interesting enough to be posted up here..!!

-Approximately 75% of human poop is made of water.

-Your eyes are always the same size from birth but your nose and ears never stop growing.

-It takes the food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.

-The average human dream lasts 2-3 seconds.

-Your brain is more active during the night than the day.

-One human hair can support 3kg.

-Human thighbones are stronger than concrete.

-The tooth is the only part of the human body that can't repair itself.

-An average human loses about 200 head hairs per day.

-It is impossible to lick your elbow.

-Your body requires 1000-1500 calories per day just to simply survive (breathing, sleeping, eating).

-Every day an adult body produces 300 billion new cells.

-Scientists say the higher your I.Q. the more you dream.

-You use 200 muscles to take one step.

-Muscle cells live as long as you do while skin cells live less than 24 hours.

-A full bladder is roughly the size of a soft ball.

-Your brain operates on the same amount of power that would light a 10-watt light bulb.

-There are 5 million hair follicles on an average adult.

-The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razorblades.

-The human brain cell can hold 5 times the information of an Encyclopaedia Britannica.

-The white part of your fingernail is called the Lunula.

-There is enough iron in a human being to make one small nail.

-A shank is the part of the sole between the heel and the ball of the foot.

-The talus is the second largest bone in the foot.

-The attachment of human muscles to skin is what causes dimples.

-A 13 year old child found a tooth growing out of his foot in 1977.

-Your thumb is the same length of your nose.

-A woman's heart beats faster than a man's.

-Dogs and Humans are the only animals with prostates.

-It only takes 7lbs of pressure to rip off your ears.

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

A Newlywed Bride!!

2010-05-18T02:49:00.000+05:30

The following are the excerpts from the diary of a newlywed bride. A young wife..!!

Monday:
Now home from honeymoon and settled in our new home.
It's fun to cook for Tim. Today I made an angel food cake and the recipe said, "Beat 12 eggs separately." Well, I didn't have enough bowls to do that, so I had to borrow 12 bowls to beat the eggs in; the cake turned out fine though.

Tuesday:
We wanted a fruit salad for supper. The recipe said, "Serve without dressing." So I didn't dress. But Tim happened to bring a friend home for supper that night. They both looked so startled when I served them; I think it was the salad.

Wednesday:
I decided to serve rice and found a recipe which said, "wash thoroughly before steaming the rice." So I heated some water and took a bath before steaming the rice. It sounded kinda silly in the middle of the day; I can't say it improved the rice anyhow.

Thursday:
Today Tim asked for salad again. I tried a new recipe.
It said, “Prepare ingredients, and then toss on a bed of lettuce one hour before serving." I hunted all over the place for a garden and when I got one, I tossed my salad into the bed of lettuce and stood over there for over one hour so the dog would not take it. Tim came over and asked if I felt all right. I wonder why? He must be stressed at work; I'll try to be supportive.

Friday:
Today I found an easy recipe for cookies. It said, "Put all ingredients in a bowl and beat it." I did beat it, to my mum's place. There must have been something wrong with the recipe, because when I came back home again; it looked the same as when I left it.

Saturday:
Tim went shopping today and brought home a chicken. He asked me to dress it for Sunday. I'm sure I don't know how hens dress for Sunday. I never noticed back on the farm, but I found an old doll dress and its little cute shoes. I thought the hen looked really cute. When Tim saw it, he started counting to ten. Either he was really stressed because of his work, or he wanted the chicken to dance. When I asked him what was wrong he started crying and shouting out "Why me? Why me?"; Hmmm...It must be his job.

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

3 Decades Ahead........

2010-05-08T15:00:00.000+05:30

My School!!

I stepped out from the yellow Ferrari GXcT second edition, recalling, when was the last time I landed my feet on my beloved hometown!!Everything had changed..After three decades being isolated on an island for a government top secret project, I am finally at liberty..It is 2040..The first place that I wish to visit after being secluded is my high school..So, off I go trying to locate the school based on the information on my car’s databank screen..Before my eye is a 30-storey building..As my car neared the main steel-like-made gate, a security guard, dressed in black coat with black spectacles approached and stopped my car..On his left hand hung an electron rifle, which from my observation, is the latest..He asked for my identification card..My renewed silver tiny mini ID is now slid through his Tagucci watch..Green light blinked..Carefully, I made my steps to the lift..It was terrific!!

The lift was gigantic, just about the size of my classroom 30 years ago..Within seconds, I was already at the principal’s room..I went in..Not a soul! ‘Maybe he has to attend a meeting’, I thought..I sat on a bluish chair..There was a red button, on it was stamped the principal’s name, Mr. Ranjit Chowdhury.. He was the principal from the time I was in the 3^rd grade..I laid my finger on the button, applying just a little bit pressure expecting the bell to ring or alarm to rise, but to my amazement, the wall in front of me suddenly moved!!‘Oh my God, what did I do??’As I was about to leave, an old man, appeared from the opening..I introduced myself as he might have probably forgotten me, you know, it has been 30 years since I left.. Even Albert Einstein cannot remember much what happened 30 years ago what else Mr. Chowdhury, an ordinary principal from R.K.M High School..He checked my profile using his hand phone-like notebook and confirmed himself of my being his ex-student..Well, I couldn’t spend my life there, could I??

The shopping mall

After some history talks, I bid him goodbye!!What a technology!!Nobody to send me out, just a device installed to guide visitors safely out..As I was heading my way to the gate, I passed by a few classes..I can see no teachers at all!!That’s something I never thought could happen 30 years back..Life in school without teachers is so much fun I guess..Every student is equipped with the Microsoft Vs 8.9*KTXC, a palm-sized hi-tech invention to replace the old textbooks and revision books..Incredible!!

The next destination was to a shopping mall..I thought it wouldn’t have changed much but I guessed I was wrong..Definitely wrong!!C’mon, 30 years had passed; we cannot expect everything to be the same again..Neither do the things wanted to be the same..I entered the mall with curiosity..The first thing I notice is, there aren’t any goods displayed..All I could see was computer screens everywhere with the touch-pads..I moved onto the site..Unbelievable!!I just needed to place my order and confirm my purchase on the screen..Then, the robots will do all the remaining; they will collect the items I selected and send it to my house!!Wow!!

The theme park

After all the shocking advancements, I decided to go to the theme park, which I think will undergo less development..It was just a mile away..I stopped to collect my parking ticket at the main entrance, keyed in the ticket into my parking screen detector, and automatically, the steering will itself turn and move according to the direction given in the parking ticket..Something caught my attention..I was like, “WTF!!I need to wear the provided shoes just for the walking purposes?”..I was dumbfounded..There’s also a notice board stating those who step onto a prohibited area will be fined 350 Indian rupees..Therefore the authority has provided the shoes..The provided shoes will alarm the visitors if they are a meter away from the prohibited area..This is really something!!

Villain Territory #5

After hours of strolling at the park, I went straight back home..My house, addressed Villain Territory #5 needs a bullet-train lift’s help to get me there..After verifying all the data needed, my entry is authorized..I felt so exhausted..I headed towards the balcony; all that viewable is just a cluster of clouds, nothing else!!Before I forget, I’m staying on the 99th floor of the Villain Territory #5..Not bad actually..I just regret why I never choose the highest floor in the block which is on the 150th..The cool winds brushing through my hair felt just nice!!Looking back, my room is empty..Tell you what, everything is hidden!!Nothing is seen on the forefront..

The view from the 99^th floor

Time to go to bed..I reached for a remote control and pressed the ‘sleep time’ button..Abrupt mechanically, a couch with its accessories appeared arranged accordingly all set for its owner to enjoy..I rest my head on a massager-installed pillow..The stereo earphone is plugged in and the song ‘As Long As You Love Me’ by Back Street Boys is now on air..Slowly, I let my mind waft freely in the fantasy..

As soon as I started enjoying the massage and was about to fall into the arms of Morpheus, a tight slap woke me up from my dream and said, “Uth jaa saale, exam dene nahin jaana hai?? (Wake up dude; don’t you wanna go write the exams??)”

Crazy dreams you know, but what the heck I wish life will be like this dream in the next 30 years..!!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Why only Sur??Why not Bagchi as well??

2010-05-04T17:29:00.000+05:30

Before you start making any guesses I would want to clear it out that Bagchi was my mom’s surname prior to marriage..But after she got married to my dad, her surname got changed to Sur!!Thus my name came out to be Prateek Sur..This happened way back in 1988, but we’ve grown into the 21^st century, don’t you think it’s time enough for us to start acknowledging the surname of the maternal side of the family too..I think so..When I see Indians like Konkona Sen Sharma who wantonly keep their surnames from both sides of the family, it seems that we are coming forward..But is it enough??How far have we come??I still think hers may be one exception..Don’t you think it’s time now to start coming forward and giving the maternal side of the family their due respect??

Blame it on the British..When India names its children, the mother’s side of the family is all but forgotten..The children are given the father’s surname..It seems like an antiquated practise today, when inter-caste, inter-regional or inter-religious marriages are on the rise and women sometimes find themselves cast as single mothers, raising children all by themselves..

But why blame the British??Till their advent, most people dint find their surnames in their caste..When the British colonial administration began documenting land ownership and birth records, it followed the British custom of giving children their father’s surname..This remains common practise in most of the English speaking world..

In the US, notably, only a few traditional families use their mother’s maiden name as the child’s middle name..That’s how Franklin Delano Roosevelt, America’s 32^nd president, got his middle name..

In Europe and America, few women change their names after they marry, so it makes profound legal sense for children to have two surnames..In India motherhood may be celebrated but appears to have little value when it comes to legal and government records..Isn’t it time we changed??Yes, Mr M.Varaprasad, Andhra Pradesh’s education minister indicated this week when he denounced “our old system (of insisting the) father’s name be included in the certificates..Why not mother??This is very unfortunate..This is very discriminatory..”His comments are significant in the very week that the southern state started to offer the option of mentioning either parent’s name on the child’s school admission form..

As campaigners for women’s rights pick a fight with India’s naming system, it might be useful to look at Europe and America..In Spain and Spanish speaking countries in the Americas, children have two surnames—the first from the father and the second from the mother..Painter Pablo Ruiz Picasso used his maternal surname, Picasso, as his signature..

Isn’t it time we stopped the practise of using the surname of just one parent??How about hyphenated surnames, consisting of the last names of both mother and father, in whatever order..It would legalize Indian motherhood..

So what’s in a name??A lot, if it’s your mother’s..Isn’t it??

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Colour me Pink..!!

2010-04-27T21:01:00.002+05:30

Pink may be one of the most beautiful colours on earth, but we are guilty of having giving it the short shrift..This fascinating colour has been studiously ignored for several years by diverse groups including intellectuals, sports persons and politicians..Apart from strawberry ice cream, a couple of esoteric financial newspapers, and Rohit Bal’s ramp designs, we see very little pink in the adult world around us..The Congress, BJP and the Left may have differing views on many subjects, but if we request them to introduce a dash of pink into their party’s colours, they will all uniformly see red..I have rarely seen a pink car on our streets, and not a single bottled drink or toothpaste I know of is even remotely pink..Even the sole telecom brand that sported pink colours quickly changed it to red..Why has humanity ignored pink??

The reason is a set of deeply held irresponsible prejudices against pink, shrouded in obscure screams of ignorance..Men believe pink is utterly feminine, sophisticated women say pink is ‘Jhatak’ and boorish, men and women whisper and chuckle together that pink is gay, and gays feel that pink is so childish and so overdone..Therefore, only newborn girls are given pink frocks in maternity wards, and even these are quickly replaced by white or pale yellow ones when the babies reach home..

But pause a moment and you’ll see so much around us that is beautiful, cherished and naturally pink..New born babies are generally pinkish, and their bottoms are certainly bright pink..Young elephant calves sport a beautiful shade of pink, and the choicest ham is deliciously pink..Pink roses are highly treasured, and pink jacarandas make many a cities come to life every summer..Pink Norwegian salmon is the ultimate sea food indulgence, and pink champagne is much sought after in elite parties..Pink sandstone and marble are highly coveted and look wonderful in opulent palaces they adorn..

Indeed nature is partial to pink because it is such a refreshing colour..That is why the farthest and the most exotic stars in the night sky appear pink, whereas the nearby dog stars are plain white..That is also why pink diamonds are so rare, expensive and cherished that I’m yet to see or receive one in real life..

Nature is not the only entity to pay respect to the colour pink..My roomie’s all time favourite music group chose to call themselves Pink Floyd..Imagine if they had chosen an alternate name, say Green Floyd or Red Floyd..They would simply not have been the same, because like the haunting music there is something distinctly psychedelic about pink..Pink is never deadly serious in its intent, it always nicely mingles sober stuff with innocent fun..Which is why one of the most entertaining detective movie of all time go by the name Pink Panther..And which is also why pink chaddis were sent to the misguided but energetic Mr. Muthalic for his anti-valentine’s campaign last year..

It is therefore quite gratifying to see that IPL and cricket are now leading the cause of pink..Lalit Modi sports bright pink neckties, perhaps because he himself hails from the pink city of Jaipur..The colourful Navjot Sidhu has begun wearing pink turbans during his delightful commentaries on the game.. IPL cheerleaders, bless their bounce, have been wearing pink tails and shaking pink fluffy stuff in both their hands as they celebrate the lusty sixers, and the lusty crowd in turn cheers them on..Unconfirmed reports indicate that one of the two new IPL teams, Pune and Kochi, may choose to sport the colour pink for their dress..And in a milestone announcement recently, it has been revealed that IPL will actually be using pink cricket balls starting next year..Now, that is a path breaking new pink initiative worth raising a toast to-with pink champagne, of course..!!

Its nature's own child; so why are we prejudiced against this shade??

P.S.--check out this post: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/artblog/2007/nov/05/whyhastheworldgonepinkma

I HAD to voice out my opinion about this after reading this article..

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..

Useless Facts..!!

2010-04-24T21:39:00.001+05:30

While browsing over the net I came across this title..And as u know my knack for such headings I had to read the full..Facts, as I know, are those set of information that are true and assertive of verifiable realities..They are the truth so they can be used in court..So they, as I thought, are always useful..But this title ‘Useless Facts’ made my head turn and ears stand uptight and compelled me to check out what facts are useless..Thought so u all would like to check it out..

1. Shakespeare used some 17,677 words in his plays, sonnets, and narrative poems, and he was the first to coin 1700 of these words.
2. The dot over the letter "i" is called a tittle.
3. 315 entries in Webster's 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.
4. Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time.
5. There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with orange, purple and silver.
6. You are likely to test positive for Opium Usage in a drug test if tested right after eating a Poppy-seed Bagel.
7. The number of possible ways of playing the first four moves per side in a game of chess is 318,979,564,000.
8. Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as medicine.
9. A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top.
10. Every person has a unique tongue print.
11. The name Wendy was invented for the book Peter Pan, there was never a recorded Wendy before that.
12. Donald Duck comics were banned in Finland because he doesn't wear pants.
13. The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.
14. The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin in World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
15. A duck's quack doesn't echo. No one knows why.
16. American Airlines saved $40,000 in '87 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class.
17. There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.
18. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.
19. The Pacific Ocean contains about 25,000 islands.
20. During World War II, wooden Oscars were given as metal was scarce.
21. A rat can last longer without water than a camel.
22. Scissors are said to have been invented by Leonardo da Vinci.
23. Camels have three sets of eyelids. These protect their eyes from blowing sand.
24. The human stomach produces a new layer of mucus every two weeks. Without this mucus production, the stomach would digest itself.
25. The world's first electronic computer was called ENIAC and was produced in 1946. It was 8 feet tall, 78 feet long, and had over 18000 vacuum tubes.
26. In early Olympic Games - women were not allowed to watch the games, but were allowed to participate in the games.
27. The average McDonald's Big Mac bun has 198 sesame seeds on it.
28. Beer is made by fermentation which is caused by bacteria feeding on yeast cells and then defecating. Which means it is a nice tall glass of bacteria poop.
29. Native Americans never actually ate turkey; killing such a timid bird was thought to indicate laziness.
30. Spinach is native to the area of Iran, but didn't spread to other parts of the world until the beginning of the Christian era.
31. Goat milk is used to produce Roquefort cheese.
32. Astronaut Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon with his left foot.
33. The world's longest name officially used by a person is "Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Shermasn Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorft Senior" which is composed of 28 words or 192 letters.
34. Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village".
35. The town of Calma, Chile in the Atacama Desert has never had rain.
36. There's a place called "Y" in France.
37. In ancient Greece "idiot" meant a private citizen or layman.
38. The official name for the city of Bangkok, Thailand is "Krung thep mahanakhon bovorn ratanakosin mahintharayutthaya mahadilok pop noparatratchathani burirom udomratchanivetma hasathan amornpiman avatarnsa thit sakkathattiyavisnukarmprasit" or just "Krung thep" for short meaning "City of Angels."
39. The Nullarbor Plain of Australia covers 100,000 square miles (160,900 km) without a tree.
40. The longest place name still in use, which is 85 letters long, is "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipuka- kapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu" which is a name of a hill in New Zealand.
41. Mosquito repellents don't repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you're there.
42. The average garden-variety caterpillar has 248 muscles in its head.
43. The name "Kangaroo" came about when some of the first white settlers saw this strange animal hopping along and they asked the Aborigines what it was called. They replied with "Kanguru", which in their language means "I don't know".

All these facts are really and utterly useless but the truth that they are facts are reason enough to post them here..Many of you may be knowing some of these facts, many of you may not be knowing even a single one, but am darn sure that none of you would have been knowing all these facts..Although useless they surely make a good read and are good for the general knowledge as well..!

Jaishree Ram,

Prats..