A long due post

3 months of 2012 have already passed in a jiffy. This is how things have been for the past 5 years. Perhaps, the right time has come to try and change the proceedings. I've not even made this year's resolutions.Anyway, its not very late to make some resolutions now. So here it goes:
1. Read some good books.
      a)I should read some autobiography
      b) classics? - Alexander Dumas / Dickens
      c) reread some good ones- To kill a mockingbird/ JRR Tolkien
2. Try to regain my stamina.
      a) Gym?
      b) jogging
      c) cricket/tt
      d) reduce tea/coffee intake
       e) eat simple home food whenever possible
3. Music -
      a) try learning the guitar again?
      b) explore some good world music
      c) try to record some songs when no ones around;-)
4. Visit at least 3 new places
    - visited Yelagirifor a team outing.
     - visited a place called Anugul in Orissa for a friend's wedding reception. 
   
5. Reduce expenses
      a) Watch less (junk) movies
      b) be careful with my mobile (no dropping in the water)
      c) regular servicing of my bike (improve mileage and maintenance cost)
      d) avoid eating out whenever possible
6. Work-
       a) avoid late night working
       b) improve efficiency -  (less fb/gmail/ news in office hrs)
7. Write an android app by the end of this year.
      
Well, the list more or less resembles the one I had the previous year and the year before.
*ps: This is an incomplete and running post. There are few items that can't be published  :-P
     : strikes refer to accomplished resolutions.

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Of Monday Blues ...

A little bit of inspiration is definitely needed on a Monday morning to start off the week. Isn’t it? Perhaps the following excerpts from the poem "कोशिश करने वालों की"- हरिवंशराय बच्चन ( Harivansh Rai Bachchan) might cheer you up.

असफलता एक चुनौती है, इसे स्वीकार करो,
क्या कमी रह गई, देखो और सुधार करो।
जब तक न सफल हो, नींद चैन को त्यागो तुम,
संघर्ष का मैदान छोड़ कर मत भागो तुम।
कुछ किये बिना ही जय जय कार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

On a very different note, how do you account for the “Kolaveri Di” epidemic? Is it the catchy lyrics or the tune. Or is it just because of the singer Dhanush being Rajnikant's son-in-law? Perhaps it needs a closer look and study. Coincidentally, I had picked up this book “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” - Malcolm Gladwell the other day. The writer had tried to convince that "Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like viruses do" with examples. I have completed reading the first few pages of the book and hoping to find some more clue to the Kolaveri phenomenon when I finish it.

PS:

2011 is on the verge of completion. However, it has not stopped consuming legends after legends. Dev Anand being the latest to say good-bye. May his soul RIP.

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Of the end of two contrasting legacies

Dennis Ritchie's death did not make a big news as that of Steve Jobs's. This is a perfect example of how our thoughts and beliefs are strongly governed by what we see or what we are made to see. We cannot compare these two geniuses as they were like apple and orange. Unlike Jobs, who was a college dropout, Ritchie was Ph.D, a Harvard University grad with degrees in Physics and Applied Mathematics. And instead of the gleaming Silicon Valley, he worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories. And Dennis developed "C" programming language without which I doubt there would be any android, iPhone, iMac, smart phones and all these beautifully crafted devices. Ritchie never sought/had the public's eye but his contributions and legacy in the computer world played a key role - including that of Apple's success. Contrastingly, Jobs was never an engineer. He democratize technology, bringing it out from the realms of geeks and engineers and programmers to common people in the form of iPod, iPhone, iMac and iPad. While Ritchie would have liked a quiet exit like that of a "C" program that would execute quickly without much flair printing "Goodbye World!" on the console, on the other hand, Jobs would have preferred a crisp, clear goodbye message that would pop up with a soft touch. RIP.


PS:- So, whenever you see an iPhone or an iMac, please remember that Dennis Ritchie is the other man standing with Steve Jobs residing in these devices.

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(500) days of Summer

(500) days of Summer is for all those out there who have given their heart to the loved ones only to find out later that their soul is also gone along with. The narrator rightly said that it is not a love story but a story about love. So guys, next time when you give your heart make sure you keep your soul. And don't forget that there are plenty of other fish in the sea.


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On a helping note, never thought that removing some dust from the radiator inside the laptop could fix the problem of overheating leading to shutting down. Google has come to my rescue once again. Thanks a ton!!

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Of Chanakya's Chant

Ashwin Sanghi has this knack of getting the best out of Chanakya's much acclaimed qualities. Chanakya was a shrewd, cunning, calculating, wily and sharp brahmin who had architect the rise of the Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta. He spins these qualities in two parallel threads in the novel. One thread runs in the present day and the second thread runs 2300 years back.There are quite a number of quotes in apt quantities which make the novel a wonderful food for thoughts. Definitely, a powerful read.

PS:- I won't be surprise if someday "Chanakya's Chant" is made into a movie. I was wondering whether the present day writers write novels thinking of movies in mind. Perhaps. Chanakya definitely would.

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Why is it that many beautiful things lost its charm when we grew up? A very simple explanation can be that we tend to lose our innocence with time. We tend to miss those simple pleasures due to the influence of our experience and unnecessary thinking leading to missing the real ingredients in life.

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"Delhi Belly" definitely caught the audience unaware with the very first scene of the movie. The makers claim that the movie has something indian-ness about it. Maybe they were talking about the showing of butt and uttering $#### every alternate scenes. I loved and enjoyed "Pyar ka Punchnama" much more which is quite near to the reality.

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Stanley Ka Dabba

"Stanley Ka Dabba" takes you to your school days when life was all about homework, teachers, friends, pranks and of course, the lunch box. Amol Gupte (the director ), this time gets his due credit and shows that you can hit success without the casting of superstars ( like Aamir Khan ) and with a low budget. You will appreciate the way he has portrait the characters especially the teachers. You can relate them to your childhood teachers - the khadoos Hindi teacher (played by Amol himself), the science teacher always limiting herself to the curriculum, and then there is this beautiful English teacher (Divya Dutta) who encourage the students for every good work. Haven't we met all these teachers when we were in our schools ? Without complexity, the story revolves around the lunch boxes (dabba) bought to the school by the students. The climax can catch you unaware, so be ready.It is indeed a refreshing watch.And make sure you go with an empty stomach !!

"Life bahut simple hai. Gol- Gol mat Bol"

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