Your ego hurts when a tender looking damsel with a non-gear bike whizzes past your 5 geared 180 CC beast. And it further adds fire that it happened on the road that you have been riding for the past three and a half years. Changed to the top gear so that he could give that killer smile when he would pass her.It all ended with a fine of Rs 100 for speeding and jumping the traffic signal!

For all those who love the Indian Ocean. Here is their Radio Channel[link].

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Sometimes we suffer only to protect the invisible esteem. A software engineer spends the weekend over a silly bug as if he is solving the world's hunger problem. As if the world would come to an end if he didn't. And he writes the so called complex codes for those foreign clients for whom he is just another cheap labour.Such is one of life's many complications. Sometimes you can relate it to like watching "Pulp Fiction". We don't have to justify everything that we do.

PS:-
"No woman no cry" - Bob Marley. Hey buddy don't cry for you can't forget the past and the future is bright.

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the Oscar

"Avatar" and "Inglourious Basterds" were the only two movies that I had seen among the winners of this year's Oscar [link]. Avatar bagged 3 awards for the art direction, cinematography and visual effects. I would say the justice has been done. Until I watched the "Hurt Locker", I cannot comment on the 6 awards that it won. But the most deserving of the awards was that of Christoph Waltz for his "Jew Hunter" in "Inglourious Basterds". Only Quentine Tarantino can create such an unforgettable image out of a "milk drinking " character. Kathryn Bigelow's win for the best direction marks the entry and acceptance of women in yet another men dominated field. I am also looking forward to "Up" and the "Crazy heart".

PS:
Few crashes and bugs in the software can make the life of a Software Engineer miserable. Its a pity that happiness is dependent on bugs.

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Of the city that I knew so much

Picked the following books from the Landmark yesterday :-
2 States - Chetan Bhagat,Twilight - Stephenie Meyer and Pirates Latitudes - Michael Crichton.

Being a holiday, with nothing much to do, decided to finish the first one at a go. After reading "2 States", felt like the books sounds much nearer than I thought of. May be the reason being that a part of the book talks a lot about the life of an outsider trying to adjust himself to Chennai. Also it talks a lot about the language, the people, the auto-rickshaw drivers, what the Tamilians think of an outsider, their rich culture, their conservative nature, their thirst for knowledge. And I reckon, it has happened to me, isn't it? Moreover, it talks about the places I knew. The names of the restaurants, the Marina beach,Nungambakkam,Anna Salai, Mylapore etc.

All through these years I have been through all these. Now, I felt like I am part of this city.

PS:-
The mention of two things in the book made me nostalgic:-
1) about NITs catching up fast with the IITs (though sarcastically). Suddenly I recalled all those college friends.
2) The Sangeetha Residency, Mylapore. Yes, it was the very same place my company had arranged for my accommodation when I came to Chennai for the very first time. And that was 3 and a half years back.

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500 crores just went off in the fumes? Who is responsible for this btw? Human error or just plin negligence? Still it is burning and nothing could be done except to wait and watch until everything is over. The IOC would be at loss but then its just a company and the loss would be partly recovered from the Insurance company. But what about the enormous black smokes that has been emitting for the past few days. What about the aftermath health hazards ?

PS:
Aladin is terrible. Please refrain from watching the same, its is difficult to digest, instead plan for a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant.
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Of this and that

Would like to list few movies that I saw recently :-

1. Inglourious Basterds : The misspelling in the title is the Quentin Tarantino's way of saying things in his own way. Based on the World War II, its again another movie depicting plots to assassinate Hitler. And this time surprisingly the plan is executed with success. Brad Pitt is the only thing that I could remember after watching the movie.Still watchable.

2. Grave of the Fireflies: A really touching Japanese movie based on the story of two siblings - Setsuko and Seita during the World War II. The movie depicts the pain and ordeals faced by the people during that period. But the most touching being the relationship between the two siblings. One of the best anti-war movie ever made I would say.

3. Children of Heaven: Another touching movie on the two children- brother Ali and sister Zahra. Its an Iranian movie which depicts the tender relationship between the siblings when Ali accidentally lost Zahra's sneakers. Then follows the hardship and adventures to cope up the loss which includes sharing Ali's shoe together. Hiding from their parents about the loss and finally Ali participating in a race so that he can win a pair of shoes for Zahra. One of the best CHildren movie ever seen.

PS:
Down with flu(hope its the common flu), so took off from office for the first time in this calender year. I don't want any of my colleague grinning with suspicion whenever I sneeze. The thing is that too much information is sometimes dangerous. I googled "swine flu symptoms" and clicked the first page hit. It listed the all those symptoms that I am suffering from. So I just closed the page and start listening to my favourite play list.

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3 yrs completed in Chennai

Honestly, I never thought I would be staying this long in Chennai. When I moved in , I thought I would hardly stay for a year. But then things are unpredictable and they just happen and its been 3 years of stay here in Chennai.
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Watched the movie "Into the wild". Its altogether a different movie. Its based on a real life story of Christopher McCandless. Its about leaving everything behind and going to the nature's arm. Some quotes are really touching especially this one "I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong... but to feel strong. " Still thinking if it is really possible to leave everything behind and trying to live in the wild on your own. But then another quote "The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences" just leave me wondering.
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PS:-
Its not that it happened the first time, its just that it happened to Shah Rukh Khan. It just happen that the Immigrant Officer didn't knew Shah Rukh Khan. It just happen that his name is Khan.

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Getting Seriously Serious

3 yrs completed in the Software industry!! I don't know if its a moment to celebrate or to worry that I have spent 3 years on a Software Company that does not help much neither to the country's economy nor for the benefit of my people. Charity begins at home. Over these 3 years I have had a good life(at least financially). It has also gave me the opportunity to behave like a responsible son and a brother. But the real question is if I m doing enough?? Many a times have I pondered about helping others. That actually would mean start helping the people of Manipur, only then I should consider on a Global scale. But then the real question is how do I help? The truth is I don't have even the time to help my own younger brother, then how am I going to help the mass? These are the questions that keeps creeping into my mind. But only Rookies complain. And I knew I will find a way !! Thats what keeping me going......

PS:-
I am fearing if Dhoni actually lost his Midas touch!! Sometimes, arrogance is a bad thing. An unorthodox idea can be a boomerang! That's what happenned by promoting Ravindra Jadeja.

PPS:-
I was wondering if what made Shiney Ahuja so frustrated that he went for a maid!! :) I got some answer seeing his wife on the TV :(

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Of Swimming and the catching up with the time

This is my third attempt. My tryst with swimming is rather a very old story.When I was in college, I tried to learn swimming not only once but twice. I was pretty confident that I would learn it in a week but then it was not to be so. I failed miserably.I m the worst swimmer you will ever see and I honestly admit the fact. But with a hope that I would definitely learn this time, I joined the swimming class again. And its never too late to learn and we have to stand-up everytime we fell.:)

On a different note, my friend C.K.S got admitted to a reputed B-school. I must say, he is among those rare breeds of people with immense confidence and guts. I believe he wouldsucceed in the field he has chosen. All the very best buddy but I would surely miss a friend in Chennai. Thats how time flew. I have never thought that I would ever be surviving a 3rd consecutive summer here. But then this is how things happens.

PS:
IPL is in full swing.. I was wondering how did they manage to get the interest of the local people to watch the matches. Maybe the organizers promise free drinks for every fake cheers :)
BTW, what I liked most about watching IPL matches on the TV are the Vodafone adds. The characters called ZOOZOOS are getting popular day by day. Hats off to their creativity... Vodafone is planning to launch 30 different adds :) And they don't have to pay a hefty amount to some actors or cricketers for the promotion.

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Movies and the beetroot experience

With not many things to do during the weekends, I did what I do best- Watching movies. The last two weekends, I watched the following movies- Taken, Australia, Bolt,Valkyrie, The Reader. Some non-english movies- Revanche(Austrian),Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (German).
Watched Lord of the Rings -The Fellowship of the Ring again.
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Sometimes things can turn out unexpectly. Last night, I reckon that the only vegetable which we had was beetroot. Being very lazy to go out and buy something in the cold weather, I decided to stick with the beetroot. I thought of trying something new with it. Googled and found out - Beetroot sambhar. We still have some sambhar masala left. I have never cooked Beetroot before.
The recipe:-
After boiling the dal and beetroot separately, I heated oil in a frying pan and added mustard seed, sambhar masala, curry leaf powder. Then I peeled the beetroot and cut it into cubes and fried it with the dal in the pan for some time. Then I poured water and cooked with open lid until the beetroot was soft enough.
When it was ready, it looked like all beetroot :) I was wondering how it would taste. But luckily it turn out to be good. Thus, it was a nice experience with beetroot.
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PS:-
I was thinking what to buy from here . Everything seems costly. I was hoping atleast the Nokia phones would be cheap but it was not.

I have changed the look of the blog. Sometimes change is necessary!

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Its 11:16 am in the morning and that too a Monday morning and no Monday blues?No pending assignments in hand. Opened my office mail-box and no new mail!!Phew!...the reason being I'm on bench for the 1st time in my two and a half yrs of experience in the industry.
Checked my personal mails,scraps and all the blogs that I follow... Happened to go through the google news - entertainment section. Interesting headlines:-

Ash bitten by a beech leech
Deepika can easily digest the breakup
Kareena in confession mode!
Rakhi-Mandira without make-up
Lalu to feature in animation film
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PS:- Either you have lots of work or you don't have any. Loved this quote from Memento:
“I have to believe in a world outside my own mind. I have to believe that my actions still have meaning, even if I can’t remember them. I have to believe that when my eyes are closed, the world’s still there. Do I believe the world’s still there? Is it still out there?… Yeah. We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I’m no different.”

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New Year's Resolution:-

1. Exercise and keep my body in shape.
- Do exercise everyday 3 days a week.
Swimming session should be the best option.
- Eat Less and eat healthy. I will eat chicken only 3 times a month 4 times a month. (It does not include treats and parties :))
- Watch less movies.
2. Learn something new this year. It should be the Guitar.
3. Enjoy my work.
- good relationship with my seniors.
- convey my opinion clearly.
- Learn something new again (Linux Kernel looks interesting).
4. Curb expenses and save money. With the Global financial meltdown, its not wise
to spend money on useless things (it would include few random trips, unnecessary kindness/charity, curb clothing expenses).

PS:-
Watched Rab ne bana di jodi some time back. I couldn't digest how the heroine couldn't recognize Shah Rukh Khan without a mustache when everyone sitting in the Theater knew it was Shah Rukh Khan. May be she was a dumb Punjabi Kudi(no offense meant here). :)

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Shoe is mightier than the Sword

Next time Mr. Bush shows up for a press conference, he will make sure that no journalist wears a shoe (Courtesy: MUNTADER AL-ZAIDI). Doesn't it takes lot of guts to actually throw your shoe to a President and that too to a US President? He missed the target by a whisker.Mr Bush should be happy that he got only a pair of shoes in return to the war and deaths in Iraq.I m taking no-one's side but treating a President with such disrespect is not just a right way to show your protest.But the Guy is receiving lots of attention and his pair of shoes just worth millions. I m not sure if Shoe industry would benefit from this incident but cyberspace is surely flooded with shoe games.

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To Do's

If I m known that I have only 3 months to live, the following would be my
To Do's List :-

1. Holiday with my family. Its one of my dreams to take my parents for a World tour.
If this may not be possible due to many constraints, I would love to take them to few places
in India atleast.
2. Friends and Relatives. I would definitely meet my Langotia yaars from schools and College.
These people have a great role in making the person who I am today.
3. Music. I would create a long playlists of my fav. songs in my Ipod. It would consists of
old Hindi melodies mostly that of Kishore Kumar numbers.Ghazals and few English numbers would also find its place. I ll also fulfill my long cherished wish of learning to play Guitar.
Although 3 months is a short time to learn Guitar, I would definitely learn to play few of my fav
songs.
4. Thank those people who have influenced me over the years. Teachers, friends and Others.
5. Food. The list would not be complete without good food. I would like to taste every possible
cuisine available before I die.
6. Love.No description needed. :)) time to disclose those crushes.
7. Level score with few people.There are very few people in this world with whom I would like
to level score.
8. A stage performance in front of a big crowd.
9. Try smoking and Drinking. I never understand why people smoke or get drunk.

PS:- This post is truly inspired from the movie Dasvidaniyan.

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tid-bits

The past few weeks have been busy. Pretending to be preparing for my exams but hardly reading anything. But watched some good movies recently- that is what I do best. "Scent of a woman" - starring Al Pacino as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade - a blind, retired army man - is simply just awesome. He always rocks. A must watch movie. He truly deserves the Oscar for the performance.

Letters from Iwo Jima- A Japanese war movie - directed by Clint Eastwood. It depicts the war in Iwo Jima between the USA and the Imperial Japan during World War -II. Its a touching movie like all good war movies. I love the way it portrays the war scene in those time. What the Japanese soldiers thought of the American soldiers. How a simple baker end up becoming a soldier in the name of serving the country. Again a remarkable movie.

Seven Samurai- Again a Japanese movie. But a very old movie made in 1954. Its about a village who hires Seven Samurai warriors to protect themselves from the bandits. I really appreciate the way the movie has been made. With limited resource and technique, it has manage to produce a masterpiece in its own merits. Although the movie is long enough to bore anyone but still manages to hold you to watch it. This movie no doubt would have been an inspiration for many other movies. Even there is a slight resemblance with the plot of Sholay. Who knows Ramesh Sippy might have inspired from it. Our Bollywood directors are good at being inspired from foreign movies...

Fashion - The movie is about the Fashion world. How an ambitious small town girl reach the pinnacle of success and what she has to go though to achieve it.
These days there is a wave blowing in Hindi cinema - may be we should name it the Gay wave. Every second movie has a gay angle (read Dostana). Just an observation.


PS:- Its been long time I m reading - The Silmarillion.

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updates

20 Oct, 2008-10-20
It’s raining almost everyday for the past 1 week in Chennai. It has certainly made the climate bearable from the famous Chennai heat. Rains sometimes make our heart soft and made to remember past incidents and memories. A thing from the distant corner of heart comes out. One such incident I recalled today when I was wet in Pondy Bazaar. It was a rainy season in the late 90’s. It was a year of the Football World-cup. And expectedly the whole locality was engulfed in the football fever. And it was the only game which can be played during rain. To be honest I was never a good football player. I always feel I always lack the force which can make the ball carry a long distance. It just happened that a small tournament of under 13 years was being organised. And we decided to participate in it. Our team compose of boys from my locality. So hardly with any practice we had our first league match. I remember it was raining heavily. I was wearing in a new shorts just bought for the tournament. The ground was a small one. We called it the “Super Market” ground. I don’t know if it is still there or some man-made construction has taken its place. I have many memories attached to this play ground. It was here that I hit my first century in a cricket match. It was like a second home to me. If I was not at my home then I would be here even when I am not playing.

Coming to the football match, it was against some team from other locality. They were considered the favourites for they have many good players in their team. Ours was a team made for the name sake. Only three of us including me were the main players. Some of the members didn’t even know the rules of the game properly. We were up to a difficult task. So we had a simple strategy. Do not let them score against us. Rain has made the ground wet and slippery filled with mud and water. The playing conditions help in reducing the difference in the skills of the two teams to a certain extent. So we made our mind not to make them score against us. The match was to be played for 30 minutes. It all started with a bang. They were trying to penetrate our defence. We were hardly trying to score goals. They made many attempts but could not succeed. It was a game with 7 a side. As time passed on, they came with full attack. 5 players were put forward to score gaol. They were desperate to score a goal. We were saving the goal like the Dragon in one of the Harry Potter movies trying to defend the Golden egg. It was in the 27th minute that we turn the game upside down. When they were trying to score, I signalled our Goal Keeper to pass the ball to me the next instant. Most of their players were in our half. Taking the advantage, I dribbled the ball to their half. Only one player was defending the goal. I knew if I could pass through him, we have a good chance to score. Then suddenly I did something that the guy would have never thought. Dribbling the ball quickly using both the feet. Thus I manage to pass through him. The next moment something clicked and I made an attempt for the goal. It was not a good shot in any way but it came off my feet with just the adequate force to reach the Goal. It went straight to the Keeper. When he tried to collect the balled, he slipped and fell on the ground and I saw the ball rolling though the Goal post. The whistle blew and in the next few minutes, we had won the match. Even today I cherish the moment…….Thing like this happen very rarely in our lives.




15 Oct 2008
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The accident:
I had always feared that turn on the GST road.There was something wrong at that point. It was the point where vehicles from the other road joins the GST road.The day had started well and I had started for office a little early so that I can complete my pending assignments.I remember I was humming a song and when I was about to take the right of the road when a car at a high speed came by and I had to adjust myself to a little left.Thats where it went wrong.A bike with a pillion was behind me and his front tyre kissed my bike's rear.I felt a jerk at that moment but I controlled and took left.The next moment what I saw was heartening.I could see the bike losing balance and rolling with the rider and the pillion atlleast two 360 degrees on the middle of the road.At that moment what I said to myself "Tiken aaj to gaya tu!". I could have started my bike and at once run away from there.But my conscience stopped me and I went to help them.Many people on the road have gathered to lend their help. The rider seems to have an injury on his right forehand. The pillion rider seems uninjured except few scratches on his right hand.No blood spilt.

The aftermath:
There is a simple rule whenever an accident happens. The one who is injured is always considered innocent.Thats how the verdict was made. People who had gathered decided that I should take them for first aid. I agreed though I do not agree that I was wrong.

What I lost:-
1.Time. I had to take leave.
2.Tension. Unnecessary tension.
3.Money. A few hundreds, I had to pay for the hospital charge.

But I thank God for nothing was serious about the injury. It was a minor dislocation in the forearm.I took him to his house with his bike.I gave few bucks for the damage to his bike(I could have said no to this).But it was me who was uninjured...

Few things in our life is out of our control and it was one such thing that happened.


14th July 08.
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Life is strange and sweet at times.Sometimes simple things can bring the spark needed in our lives.When we were young, we dream of conquering the world. Everything seems to be achievable. When you see someone singing, you decided to become a singer. When someone dances, you wanted to become a dancer. When you watch a patriotic movie, you decide to become a soldier. Things seems to be clear and easily understandable.But you need a moment to ignite the spark. I called Satya after a long time(after a week I guess). He is a gem of a guy.Believe me. I have reasons for saying that. This guy has immense curiosity for knowing something. His curiosity keeps him going. His quality of showing interest in others make him easy to make friends wherever he goes. He started with how things went today. Then I asked him if he had listened to the songs of "Rock on". He started with "Tana na nana tana ......Meri Laundry ka ek bill". Then we sang Kiska Rasta dekhe. We sang numerous songs together.We cherished the time we spent in school. These moments have helped me today in many ways. I hope I will wake up tomorrow with a smile.

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Where will you smoke buddy??

The Central Govt. Notification of Banning Smoking in Public places w.e.f 2nd October in public places is a welcome step for those (passive smokers) who wants to get rid of deadly smokes. But I don't know if this would succeed. Ours is a country where no ban works.Child labour is banned,Dowry is banned,. Yet it persists.People always find their ways to break rules and law in particular. The best way to make someone do is to tell him not to do. Forbidden fruits are more tempting.
Smoking is a habit which cannot be undone overnight. Whenever my friend lights a cigarette, I used to warn him that it is not good for him, he would promptly reply saying that he knew that "Cigarette smoking is injurious to health..... lekin kya karen".

And coming to the notification, it says Smoking is banned in Public places. How do you define a public place. Everywhere is a public place. How will you keep track of it? Who will monitor??And what would be the consequence if caught smoking. A fine of Rs 200 ?? I think this law would give another opportunity to our highly corrupted officials(it includes small time policemen and guards).It would bring to the good old saying -"you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink". Every smoker knew the evils of smoking, yet they smoke. So, ban is not a solution to reduce the nos. of smokers.

But, on a brighter side,non-smokers can atleast breath clean air in many public places. But I fear it would last only for few months.Lets wait and see ......

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PS:-

Few Observations in the past 1 week of ban:-
-The office premises no longer allows smoking. But I could see few sneeking in the dark for a smoke.
-The space which used to be a smoking corner is now deserted.
-Chennai citizens seems to be abiding the law.
-The small time cigarette vendors near my office building seems to be worst affected by this law.

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2 yrs

Just realised that I had completed 2 yrs working in the software industry. With the blink of an eye time had passed. These two years has shown me many things -good and bad. I have met many people with different qualities. From workoholics to dreamers. Some born genious and some hard-workers. I have met people who dares and do. Who dreams and executes.I have made wonderful friends here.I have worked with helpful and generous colleagues.
At the same time I have seen the dark side of the industry.Here, only hardwork doesn't pay. Sometimes people smiles when they don't actually mean.There have been days when I had worked more than 15 hrs a day and there have been days when I dont have anything to do. I have seen people working day and night just to meet the project deadlines........ I m enjoying the ride...lets see how far I can go.

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Is my opinion being counted???

My opinion is being counted?.. it was one of the questions asked in an Employee survey. Well, the question of your opinion being counted comes only when you are allowed or given the oportunity to express your opinion. So the primary question should be if I am being involed in decision making. There is no doubt that if you are involved then there is no way your opinion would be ignored unless its not relevant or vague.........

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On the other side

Sometimes you suddenly find yourself on the other side.You suddenly feel helpless and worried. Started thinking many things...May be I have to accept that it is jst one of those days. May be I ll have the advantage soon. Waiting for something to click!!..soon I ll be on the other side.

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