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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Merry Christmas

Let us ask Santa Clause to give us the gift of love and peace. The whole year has been filled with hatred and ill incidents- the Economic crisis, terrorists activities and so on.

Let us hope that this Christmas would bring an end to these. Let us join our hands to make this world more beautiful to live in. Let us worry about the Global warming and the Poverty. Why are we quarreling about land when one day there will be no clean air to breath in.

Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money......

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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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For my friend who is different

He told me he is going to quit his job. He cited the reason that he would prepare for the IAS exam. It needs lot of character to make such decisions in life. He was earning good with his present job working for an MNC. But then, he was not happy. He says he will not be satisfied with this job in the long run. The very next day, he put his papers (resignation letter). All the very best my dear friend for you have taken a road which many only dreams to do.

Btw,unexpectedly stumbled on the poem I have written long time back.
The Story teller

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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
===============
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.
================
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 ......

===================================================================

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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Zindagi ke safar mein Rock on

These days I 'm into the songs of "Rock On".. Listening to the songs numerous times. I don't remember when was the last time I had listened to a song so religiously. I knew these are not the songs of my type, but somehow I loved the songs. With time people and their taste changes.The kind of dedication I had in my school days following Kishore Kumar's song. Thank god, I can now sing the "Pichle saat dinon mein.." confidently at least while having bath :). I still remember those days when trying to learn Kishore Kumar's song... with limited resources. Then, we don't have the internet,no ipods and of course no computer... With impromptu lyrics, we would then continue humming...filling the gaps with "as you wish " words.





PS: On a different note,I was wondering:-
- How do people manage earlier when there were no mobile phones and no internet?When there was no ipods and no DVD players?...

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GB to TB

"Hi ! Aka Howz life?"
"Well, good old life. Busy with the job.Morning 10am to 9pm in night."
"Thats gr8! So, how do you spend time during weekends?"
"Watching movies "
"Hey how do you store them? I mean do you still write them into a DVD like you use to do during college days? btw how much memory* do you have now??"
"Yaar jyada nahin .........bas 2 TB.**"
"oh... sudhara nahin tu.."

This killed me... this guy hasn't changed. His once hobby of collecting data has turned to an obsession. I have never heard someone talking in terms of TB for a personal storage.
I bet he would beat anyone in terms of CDs and DVDs he had written till now. You ask him anything- he has it. Ask him for any software- be it small or large, any movie - hindi, eng, old, new, any documentary, picture, TVseries- Friends,Joey even Mahabharata. He hasn't changed. He is still hungry for data. I felt he should be in some data collection company wherein he can satisfy his hunger.I ever doubt if he would ever get satisfied.


*memory- Computer memory in terms of bytes.
**TB - terabyte.
1 TB= 1000 GB(gigabyte)
1 GB= 1000 MG(megabyte)

PS: There are people who do strange things. But these things keep them going.

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Rock On!!

Few things I felt after watching it:-
1. The movie is not boring.
2. The songs were not of my type but I enjoyed it. Thnks to Javed Akhtar for writing differently from what he usually writes.Shankar-Ehshaan-Loy rocks as usual. Farhan Akhtar with his raw voice makes it look real.
3. The storyline is strongly a reminiscent of DCH(Dil chahta hai) and Jhankaar Beats.
4. It carries a message to follow your dreams. It is never late to do something you like most. Most of us land up doing what we dont actually enjoy doing. As an e.g I m writing lines of codes:) sitting in a cubicle.

Below is an excerpt from a song in the movie:-
Meri Laundry Ka Ek Bill,
Ek Aadhi Padi Novel…
Ta Ra Ta Ta Ta ….Ta Ra Ta Ta Ta…
Ek Ladki Ka Phone Number,
Mere Kaam Ka Ek Paper…
Ta Ra Ta Ta Ta ….Ta Ra Ta Ta Ta…
Mere Taash Se Heart Ka King,
Mera Ek Chandi Ka Ring
Pichhle Saat Dino Mein Maine Khoya
Kabhi Khud Pe Hansa Main
Aur Kabhi Khud Pe Roya
...............

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'The Square Root of Three'

"I’m sure that I will always be
A lonely number like root three
The three is all that’s good and right,
Why must my three keep out of sight

Beneath the vicious square root sign,
I wish instead I were a nine
For nine could thwart this evil trick,
with just some quick arithmetic

I know I’ll never see the sun, as 1.7321
Such is my reality, a sad irrationality
When hark! What is this I see,
Another square root of a three
As quietly co-waltzing by,

Together now we multiply
To form a number we prefer,
Rejoicing as an integer
We break free from our mortal bonds
With the wave of magic wands

Our square root signs become unglued
Your love for me has been renewed"
-David Feinberg

~Its a poem from the movie Harold and Kumar -Escape from Guantanamo Bay.

P.S.- irrational ideas can do wonders. You cannot have a logic or a reason behind everything you do. Sometimes its necessary to be irrational.It helps.

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Where is my Cheese??

Many a times, things does not turned out as you would have expected. You suddenly felt deserted and tired. You start asking questions that you don't deserve to be in the situation you are in. As I was wondering why things are not happening the way it should have been, I found the book "Who moved my Cheese " written by Dr. Spencer Johnson. There are lot of fundas which we can apply in our lives. Things do change and with change comes some sweet and bitter things. Sometimes we hate the change b'coz we fear to come out of the comfort zones we are living in. We should seek for the new Cheese and it is always good to come out of something bad as soon as possible. We should learn to move on with the old Cheese .Yup!! I m ready to look for the new Cheese yet again coz I knew how it would taste.
I have again started reading "LOTR"- it has always inspired me. Whenever I thought of the journey that Frodo took up, I always felt like I' m with him like the ever ready fatty Sam, Pippin and Merry. This particular lines always gives me hope and light-

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet,
And whither then? I cannot say.
-JRR Tolkien

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Joker has the edge but Batman prevails

The Dark Knight
Ever since I was a kid ,I love and hate Batman for different reasons. Unlike other super-heroes, he is like you and me,a normal guy. He is rich and has lots of gadgets.He always tries to improve his weapons.I hate him only because he is vulnerable and weak at times.He has numerous limitations.
I am not going to reveal the plot of the movie(for those who are yet to see) but it deserves to be praised and discussed on the various points. Christian Bale played the character of Batman and Bruce Wayne with perfection. The character who had stolen the limelight is Heath Ledger playing the role of the psycho Joker.I'm sure whenever we talk about Batman,Heath Ledger would be remembered for his performance in the movie.I haven't seen Jack Nicholson as Joker, but I bet Ledger had won this time.When he says "Why so serious?" with a knife in his hand, he looks so real.The way he explains how he got the scar and all,its simply awesome(no other words).
His style of convincing is again unique.He simply enjoys the role and the dialogue delivery.He simply made the audience glued to the screen everytime he delivers them. Although he is no more, he has made the Joker's character immortal.The other characters too played their part well but it was the Joker's movie all in all.
The visual effects and stunts are one of the strengths in the movie. You expect from a Batman movie.The scene in which Batman crashes his car and then finally turning it to a bike was awesome. The chase scene in whichhe manage to capture Joker is worth watching multiple times.
The movie also depics the love interest and the various limitations of Batman.Some viewers would complain about the complexity in the plot but you need to be a keen listener.
Quotes with proper timing can do wonders to a movie. You can hear claps everytime a good quote is delivered.The movie ends with Gordon explaining his son why the Batman is running although he has not done anything wrong
"Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now...and so we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not a hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector...a dark knight. "

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We were boys then.....

Yesterday, one of my old school friend called me and asked "Bhai! can you tell me the tune of opening line of the song Deewana leke aaya hai.. dil ka tarana". I sang the song for him over the phone. He said he was trying to get the sur for quite long time and finally decided to ring me up. He said thanks and kept the phone. This thing killed me.

Years back when we were in school, we decided we would become music composers. We would write songs, compose and sing by our own. I remember we even wrote few songs and made the tunes. We even decided to name the Company - taking the starting and ending letters of our names. Those were dreams that remain untouched and unchased. There were no boundaries or height to our ambitions. Our minds and thoughts were uncorrupted. We thought, we could run miles without being tired. We were boys then.

One day we would be doing the things we have dreamt of. We would gather again and sing over Kishore Kumar's song(We religiously followed). We would re-discover the Kishore Kumar in ourselves. And we would be boys again :)

From "Raat kali ek khwaab mein aayi" to "Ek ajnabi haseena se..", we would traverse to "Hum bewafa Hargiz na the.." then "Kora kagaz.." then "Ye dil na hota bechaara........."

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my turn

Many things to ponder
Decisions to be taken
Some in my hands
Others for the Almighty Lord
The beacon still shines
Only the distance is what matters
Two hands to grab and
two limbs to chase
eyes wide open but sleepy
tired from the pursuit for happiness
I ll come up
may be I m waiting for my turn
I m there, I guess
just for another turn

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Hiding in the hills of Kodai

A much deserved break from the daily routine of coding and sipping coffee cups - off to Kodaikanal. We (seven in together) were to attend a wedding ceremony of one of my colleagues in a place called Theni in southern part of Tamil Nadu. We took this opportunity to visit Kodaikanal which is just a 2 hrs journey from Theni. We started from Chennai on Friday night in Nagercoil express at 11 pm. Reached Kodai-Road Junction at 9:30 am the next morning. Then we set off to Kodai on a Toyota Qualis- thanks Ela for the timely arrangement. Then in the next hour, we were already in the hilly curvy roads. It was very much alike to the very familiar Dimapur - Imphal road. The road went on and on. Dense forest on the other side and deep gorges on the other. It reminded me of those numerous journey from Guwahati - Imphal during college days. We pass through the water falls on the way. We had hot masala tea with Mirchi bajji and dekhte hi dekhte we were in Kodai. Chilling winds and foggy weather is a typical evening in Kodai. Here weather can change in a jiffy as in most of the Hill stations. We managed to get our self in a hotel on the Seven Road Junction. We took some rest, had a nice bath with hot water (a luxury you never had in Chennai, even in winter :( ). Then we went for a walk around the lake - the Bryant park. Then we visited Coaker's walk - a view point wherein you can enjoy the scenic beauty around Kodai. Then came night and I enjoy sleeping under the warm , thick blankets(its been long time since I faced a winter).
The next morning started with a crystal clear weather. Sun came out brightly as if welcoming the visitors. I decided to go for a walk - It took me around 45 minutes to complete a round of the lake.It would have been around 6-7 kms in distance. But I enjoyed it, although my feet started responding after the long walk. Then I was back to my room. After a heavy breakfast, we all started again for sight seeing around Kodai. We manage to get a Guide. We visited a very old church. Then we had the upper Lake view. The lake looked like a diamond necklace from this point. Then we were in the pine forest. And one thing- if you happen to come here in Kodai, never miss to taste the fresh carrots and home made chocolates.Then we move to Guna caves(we just passed through). Then we cross through the Golf Course. Then we had numerous view points. The Green valley view(aka suicide point), then the Pillar rocks. The Guide showed me the Lyril soap ad point- although it was just a rock in this time of the year. Finally we ended with a Jamun tree (some 500 yrs old they say). There we had the taste of a local fruit(very similar to Litchi) and thus the sight seeing ended. Then after a sumptuous lunch, we had a nice little nap in the hotel. Then all of a sudden it stared raining heavily as if it was saying don't go away.But then every good thing has an ending and we all headed for Theni ...

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/tiken.h/KodaikanalTrip

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The Epic final: Nadal tames Federer

The match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the Wimbledon's final was special in its own genre. Many believe that it was the greatest match ever played in the history of Tennis Grand slams. Nothing could stop Nadal from becoming a Champion. Even the Rain God was on the other side.
It was a competition between Federer's genius and Nadal's muscle power. Beating your opponent in his own hunting ground is never easy. But Nadal has done that and he deserves it. In no way Federer look out of his form. Every now and then he consistently displays his midas touch. Federer is a born genius. Its amazing to see how he carries himself. He is one of the most loved sportsperson in the world. He hardly shows his emotions. It would be interesting to see how Federer goes from here. He still looks strong. I believe he would come up strongly from here. But then Nadal has raised his standard. It is not Federer who is degrading but Nadal who has raised himself to his opponent's level. It was the confidence in himself that Nadal relies on. Last year Nadal was on the other side. He was the one who was defeated.But this time he is the King and Federer is on the other side. Flushing Meadows is waiting for them for another epic clash.It would be interesting to see how Federer tries to regain his supremacy and Nadal will be there flexing his muscle.

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A Dangerous Experience - Riding with sleepy eyes

Well, you would laugh out aloud if you hear about someone who slept while riding a bike. You dont actually sleep, just had a nap for few seconds while riding your bike. I was feeling sleepy due to the hot sun and I thought of halting. Then I thought I would be able to control myself since my destination was only 2 kms away. Then suddenly I found my left hand holding the clutch tightly and the right one accelerating making a strange sound on the middle of the road. I was dozed off for few seconds. Luckily there was no other vehicles coming the other way. Anything could have happened. I could have fallen or hit by some vehicle. But I was lucky.So next time whenever you feel sleepy, just stop riding the bike for few seconds. Those few seconds can save your life. Drop in to a coffee shop or for a cold-drink then carry on with the ride. Life is precious. Isn't it?

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The Lives of Others - Sarkar Raj

This weekend I watched two movies - one a very good German movie"The Lives of others" and the other a not so good Hindi movie "Sarkar Raj". It won't be fair to compare the two movies since they fall into two different categories.

"The Lives of Others" is an academy Award winning movie for the best foreign movie 2007. It depics the era around 1984 in East Germany wherein a person can be spied based on political powers for personal gains by higher officials. It display the era when the freedom of expression were suppressed. But then there are good people like Georg Dreyman who have always fought against injustice, who had expressed their ideas through writings and press. The movie also depics the human quality to help others when they knew they can. Gerd Wiesler risks his job and life to save Dreyman and his wife. Although he could not save Dreyman's wife ,he decided to remain anonymous for the deeds. I love the ending of the movie when Wiesler saw the advertisement of a book written by Dreyman. He read the acknowledgement "To HGW XX/7, with gratitude ". He decided to buy the book and, when asked if he wants it gift wrapped, he responds quietly "No, it's for me..."

"Sarkar Raj" - A movie by RGV(Ram Gopal Verma). Being a gr8 fan of The Godfather series I decided to watch the movie. I wanted to see how well they have copied. But then the movie is not a real copy of the Godfather although we can see some chunks here and there being taken from the original. The movie is watchable only because we dont get to see good hindi movies in the recent past (Aamir's Taare zameen per was the last movie I enjoyed). The Bachchans have put their efforts to make this movie. The old Bachchan and his son have delivered with intriguing dialogues deliveries but the new member (Aishwarya Bachchan) look pale and helpless as if she was seaching for a role in the role. The movie would have been much better if RGV would have mad the storyline much simpler. The ending could have been made a layer above the final twist...but then it was a far better ending than that of the Race...

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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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A rendezvous with Euphoria

Euphoria came to Chennai for a public performance after 3 yrs and I was there.It all started when I happen to get 4 free passes (thanks to my company) the day before. Honestly saying, I m not a great fan of Euphoria. Since, I was not occupied with any other work, I decided to go for the show.I was accompanied by few of my office colleagues. The show was scheduled to start at 7 pm but we reached there much earlier since we were not familiar with the venue.
The show started at around 7:45 pm . Palash Sen aka Polly is a man with immense ability to charm the audience. He made the audience to sing with him.He sang the numbers ranging from his new album "Mehfuz" to his first album "Dhoom". Almost all the time he kept the audience on their feet...He also sang few English numbers and few Hindi songs (Dil se, Salaame ishk meri jaan etc). All through the show, Polly was never down... hats off to his endless energy.
When he sang the song "Dhoom pichak Dhoom", I went back to my schooldays when I was in 8th standard. I could see myself singing with few frens beating the desks and singing aloud "Dhoom pichak dhoom". Then he sang "tum" ...he mesmerised the audience with the song. Well, all in all it was a nice experience.
My voice is not clear due to those screamings yesterday..I hope it would take few days to become normal to be able to sing "Maeri..........."

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Petrol price up by Rs. 5, diesel Rs. 3, LPG Rs. 50

Today's morning newspaper headlines read "Petrol price up by Rs. 5, diesel Rs. 3, LPG Rs. 50". What about me?? Will I get a salary hike of more than 10% this year?? Its obvious that the rise in the petroleum product would have adverse affect on all the other commodities. I was wondering how a common man would cope with this rise in the prices. He has to sacrifice many things in order to satisfy the basic requirements. He has to compromise with the little happiness he use to have. He will have to say "no" to his child's request for a weekend treat in a restaurant.At the same time he has to save some money for future. Well these are the things we cannot control and I m happy that atleast I don't have to deal wih these things for the time being.
Then I saw a 100 rupee note in my purse. And I said "you are not worth for 2 Litres of petrol".....and I went ahead towards the ATM.

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need a break

Something big struct in mind. Yes , I was in a midst of a traffic jam. 9:30 in the morning and it was Tuesday. It was nothing gr8 but only a way to accommodate a nibble (half a byte) into the register. Well these being computer language but then its my bread and butter. All these days dealing with packets, frames has made me certainly byte oriented. Everything comes in packets. Now I see things in packets. I need a break...

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Counterfeiters had a nice time with Prince Caspian while Harold and Kumar go to White Castle,The Mongols had already conquered The Forbidden Kingdom

Another week has gone and I m ready with a pile of movies again. The best part of being a Software Engineer is the fact that you always have time to watch a movie everyday no matter at what time you are back from office :-).

The Counterfeiters(German: Die Fälscher) :It takes a clever man to make money, it takes a genius to stay alive.When I read this tagline in http://www.imdb.com/ ,it killed me. Truely deserve the Oscar for the best foreign movie 2008.It is based on the true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history.If you have not watched it.. jst go and watch..

Prince Caspian:- Being a gr8 fan of its previous sequel the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I would not complain anything.But, I loved the first one. Although lots of efforts has been put in to make this movie, the outcome has been disapointing. Anyway Prince Caspian can be a nice name for someone looking a name for his newly born baby ;)

Mongol:Greatness comes to those who take it. It depics the early life of Temudgin and the hardship to become a gr8 conqueror whom the world knew as Genghis Khan.The movie is filled with good action scenes. Mongol portrait Genghis khan not as a ruth and brutal conqueror but as an inspiring and fearless leader.

Harold and Kumar go to WhiteCastle:-This movie was recommended by a fren. Its a 2004 movie but its never late to watch a movie. The movie rekindled my love for a good meal. Its about the misadventures of these two frens in their pursuit for a fast food restaurant "White Castle". I loved the final scene before the credit wherein Harold and Kumar were portrait as a Squinting Asian and a Sikh man with a turban.

The forbidden Kingdom:- Finally the forbidden kingdom. Lots of fight and fly. Jackie Chan and Jet Li flies, kicks in the air and move as fast as a lighning. Why the Monkey King leaves only a single hair... how that stick(magic staff) find its way to America. ... still its worth watching.. but only once.

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Gandhiji's Talisman - Applying Thoughts

"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away."
Source: Mahatma Gandhi [Last Phase, Vol. II (1958), P. 65].
Going through this quote again and again made me feel uneasy. The reason being the very deep meaning of this Talisman. Honestly speaking, it does make no relevance of my deeds to those hungry and starving millions. It keeps asking question to me if I m not contributing anything for the gain of these people.But then, we do have our own responsibilies and problems to be addressed. I feel things should begin from the environment you are in. First see the people who are close around you. Take one thing at a time.Help those who are near to you.Help can be in many form. Grab the opportunity to do something for others.And then the boundary of your helping hand would surely spread. The only problem being that Good things are not that infectious as its counterpart is.

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Draining off.......passwords!!

Our mind can be made to store many things. We use it to remember infinite things. I have to remember numerous passwords(how I hate it). Work-station password,office confidential passwords,e-mail passwords(personal,official),net-banking passwords... Have you ever imagined what would happen if all the passwords are suddenly erased from ur memory! !..chaos........
One of the things that I hate most is to create a new password when it got expired. Sometimes few applications would say "Password too short" "Password not complex enough " "should be combination of numerals and special character"..... "!@#$%^&*()" -phew! and my new password is created. But how do I remember it??
Well, there are many ways one can create a perfect password and at the same time easy to remember too.1.Think of a sentence that you can remember .e.g "my girlfriend's name is alizee and she is beautiful". Make sure the computer or application supports such passwords (with spaces in between).
2.If it doesn't support, don't worry , take the first letter of each word of the sentence that you've created to create a new, nonsensical word. Using the example above, you'd get:"mgniaasib" - wow!
3.Add complexity by by mixing uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers. It is valuable to use some letter swapping or misspellings as well.Your phrase might become "My g1rlfr1end's Name 1s Al1zee and She 1s beaut1ful".This might yield a password "MgN1AaS1b".
4.Substitute some special characters.You can use symbols that look like letters, combine words (remove spaces) and other ways to make the password more complex. Ur phrase becomes "My g1rlfr1end'$ N@me 1$ @l1zee @nd $he 1$ be@ut1ful" and the password "MgN1@@$1b"
5.And finally don't reveal it to anyone.
PS:  www.bestvpn.com/password-strength-checker/

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"There is a way to be good again."

"There is a way to be good again." This is a quote from the book "The Kite Runner"- Khaled Hosseini. I found the quote very interesting and meaningful. Well, it carries a wonderful message . In our life(I m not here to preach :-) ), we come across many situations wherein we could have done things differently which could have led to a different consequence. There are times when you have to choose among many things...and you end up choosing the one in your own interest. But, in a long run, we always get a chance to be good again. What we need is to grab the chance... there is always a way to be good again.

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Holidays ....oh! those summer vacations

Summer has a reason to be remembered. There was a time when this particular season of the year used to be an awaited one. It is the time of the year when the schools are closed and you have lots of time to share with friends and family. This privilege continued during my college days too. We used to book the train tickets for home months before. With eager feet we use to follow the easterly winds. But then those are memories and memories are meant to be cherish...
Things are different now.

Its summer time but no vacation :( I m here in a crowded city far from home and the near ones. No more leisure summer afternoons in the cherry tree shades. But then, I have become tougher. Now I can tolerate more than 40 degrees Celsius temperature even in the midst of a traffic jam. Rookies complain.I have stopped complaining, believe me. .

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"Ema (mother)" - the word which means everthing

Ever imagined yourself when your moral is not so high, things around you are tumbling, then you turn up to someone for warmth and comfort.I always knew "Ema" is always there to provide that solace. "Ema" - is a common word meaning "mother" in my mother tongue "Manipuri". As a child, whenever I m not happy, I would cry out aloud calling "Ema".When someone tries to bully me, "Ema" is the word you would utter. Ema is always there to protect you. Whenever I m hurt, it may be just my toe kicking a stone accidentally, as a reflex action I would cry out "Ema"..... So, its a kind of bond most of us have with our mothers. So deep and tender , yet so beautiful.

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A tribute to those primary teachers...

Its very hard to teach someone learn Alphabets. Yes A,B,C,D,E......................X,Y,Z. Teaching something is not as easy as it seems to be. I was struggling to teach an illiterate guy learn the basic building blocks of English language. I found that its a very hard job to teach someone understand the english alphabets.
How my teachers would have taught me to read, to write?? They would have answered to my stupid endless questions..Their patience would have been tested. Hats off to their quality of being able to remain patient when a child fails to recognize the alphabet "A" after being taught numerous times. I still remember a Nursery rhyme..
"Hush-a-bye, baby,
in the tree top.
When the wind blows,
the cradle will rock.
When the bough breaks,
the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby,
cradle and all. "
I remember I struggled like anything to learn by-heart this particular Rhyme. So my teacher didn't allow me to go home until I learned the rhyme.Even today, I haven't forgotten the Rhyme. Thanks a lot for those efforts and guidance. Primary teachers do have a major role in making our careers...

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DLF IPL Twenty20 - An image of present India

The summer season is on with the mercury rising above 40 degree Celsius but the energy levels are also high. One could only visualize it with the way the DLF IPL Twenty20 tournament is on its course. Cricket is more than a sport in India. Everyone in India seems to be involved with this sport in one way or another. This avatar of cricket is enormous in the sense the amount of money that has been put into it. People who are associated with each team are no ordinary individuals. They include successful film stars and industrialists who have excelled in their respective fields. The way the tournament has been conducted has to be appreciated. The auction of the players was one of its kind in India.
But one question pops up "Will this format of the game going to dilute the original essence of Cricket?". Well, the gurus of cricket always felt that Test Cricket would retain its place what so ever happens.Only time will tell us the answer to this question. It would be hard for someone to watch a One day match or even worse a Test match after this IPL revolution. One cannot simply forget the amount of enjoyment in a Twenty20 match. In almost 4 hrs of the match, you could experience everything from good cricket being displayed to the dancing tunes being played. The Cheerleaders add glamour and encouragement to the viewers. There is hardly any dull moment in the whole match.
Truly speaking, there has also been a good amount of Cricket being played. The players have taken it seriously which has made the tournament successful.The DLF IPL Twenty20 is truly an image of present India. A country with immense resources of youth and energy.The World is taking keen interests in the developments happening in India... IPL Twenty20 is just the beginning...................

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For a greener tomorrow

Let us contribute in a simple way that we all can do in controlling the Global Warming. An individual can be a part of this war against global warming in their own possible ways. These are a few things we can do:-
1. Change your light bulb with a CFL (compact Fluorescent lamp). CFLs last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat.
2. Drive less, drive smart.
One cannot avoid driving but you can always be a smart driver.When you do drive, make sure your car is running efficiently. For example, keeping your tyres properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gas you save not only helps your budget, it also keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Less driving means fewer emissions. Besides saving gasoline, walking and biking are great forms of exercise. Explore your community’s mass transit system, and check out options for carpooling to work or school.
3.Dont forget to switch off your electronic equipment when not in use.
4.Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Buying products with minimal packaging will help to reduce waste.
5. Plant a tree.
A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime.
6.Encourage Others to Conserve
Share information about recycling and energy conservation with your friends, neighbors and co-workers, and take opportunities to encourage public officials to establish programs and policies that are good for the environment.
These are not the only things you can do. We can always play our part in saving this beautiful earth.

PS: http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/solutions/what-you-can-do-about-global-warming.html
http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/tp/globalwarmtips.htm

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Through the eyes of a Tiger

"A Tiger for Malgudi " -RK Narayan is a very well written simple story about a Tiger named Raja. The strenght of this novel lies in the writer's ability to narate the story through the eyes of the Tiger in a very simple way and is filled with interesting and good clean humour.
It all started with Raja being captured by Captain(A guy who runs a circus). Raja is made to change his lifestyle. He recall his days when he was once the king of the Jungle. He is made to do aweful things for the Circus. He is asked to changed his food habits. He is asked to drink milk and moreover to share it with a goat. Finally Raja could not tolerate Captain and managed to escape from the circus.
Then, he met his Master (a hermit) whose influence changed Raja. He is taught to understand emotions and truth. The Master explained him about the existence of God, the creation of this world. Then, Raja is asked to portray his understanding of God. Raja responded saying "God would be a huge Tiger as huge as all the worlds put together. Even his tail would be big enough to encompass all the forests on earth." Well, its fair enough to buid an image of God in a form you are. When we say God, we have our own notion how it would be. the same way a tiger has the right to build his own God. The story ends with Raja's enlightenment and then he is moved to a zoo since he was getting old. His Master believed that Raja would be safe in a Zoo and they will soon meet ..

I loved the way the writer had expressed his thoughts and above all the message to the mankind. The novel shows how man can go to any extent to satisfy his greed for money and essentials. We must not forget that every creature has a right to live in this world. They can also achieve enlightenment which man has lost in his quest for greed and worldly things.

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Let us explore the Frodo in ourselves....

I will take the Ring," he said,"though I do not know the way."

Frodo Baggins became an unforgettable character in the masterpiece "The Lord of the Rings" by JRR Tolkien. A hobbit from Shire weighing hardly few tens of pound with a height little more than 3 feets, he stands against the mighty dark lord Sauron relying simply on the sheer quality of courage, determination and sacrifice. He took the quest to destroy the one ring to bring Sauron's downfall. He is a perfect example of how we can acheive great heights irrespective of physical appearences.
Another great quality he posses is his love for the Shire- his birth place. He leaves shire in order to protect it from the Dark lord. He knew that the place would turn to a killing field if he stays there. He faced many hardships in his quest to destroy the ring. He even lost one of is finger in the process. These qualities make us believe that it doesn't matter how humble your background is, everything can be achieved though hardship,determination and above all the courage to say "yes" when mattered.

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No Country for Old men

If you want to feel like a mouse when you are being followed by a Cat, then watch this movie. Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, a truly crime thriller. Its about hunting and being hunted. Sometimes the hunter becomes the prey and sometimes the prey becomes the predator. When I say I loved the movie, it doesn't mean that others should also like it. The very first notion you would have about the title of the movie would make you believe that it would be about some old people finding a place to live in. The movie engulfs you within its characters and then you started feeling like it is never very easy to hide yourself from someone following you particularly when you are involved with a large sum of money.
If you want me to define the word "psycho"- then the synonym would be Anton Chigurgh(Javier Bardem). He would make you believe that death can come to you in any form. When it comes nothing can stop. He plays the character of a hit man who would kill anyone who comes in his pursuit for Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), who had ran away with a large sum of money from a drug deal gone bad. Chigurgh, with his unique weapon, a cattle gun.The bolt is actuated by a trigger pull and is propelled forward by compressed air. He uses it to kill people and to open cylinder locks with perfection. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), tries to protect Moss but could not save him. Moss is killed in a shootout with the Mexicans.It is also shown that Chigurgh survives from an accident and he moves on.
The movie ends with Bell telling his dream to his wife. The first dream tells about losing some money his father had given him. In the second dream he tells that his father is carrying fire in a horn and is going ahead of him in a dark and cold snowy mountain pass. He feels that his father would be still waiting for him trying to make fire. The movie ends with Bell saying "And then I woke up".
This very end frustrates people who didn't get what Bell wanted to convey. The meaning can be inferred in many ways. The ending truly apt with the title of the movie which conveys that there would be no end to the crimes and people like Chigurgh would always get escaped. And that it would make no difference of any kind with a single person like Bell,an old man who gave up trying to stop crime from the society. He feels that there is no role for an old man like him in the pursuit of a killer like Chigurgh. He says he would be replaced by a young blood. Though his dream he conveys that, he would follow his father who would be waiting for him in a dark and snowy pass. It shows his inability to make any difference .............

PS :The above post is truly a product of my own words after watching the movie with reference from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Country_for_Old_Men_(film).

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When you started discriminating

Well, I always dream that one day Manipur would be a better place to live in. I would be proud to say that I am born in a place where there is equality irrespective of any caste, creed or cultural difference. A place where people are welcome with warmth and affection. But then when I heard the recent news of killing innocents, I felt like asking questions to myself if it is the beginning of the end to my dreams.When we say a civilised society, we are keen to know how the outsiders are being treated there. It reflects the ability to accept the diversity. It reflects your generosity.I have always felt that the Manipuri people are different, one or the other Manipuri has something which is unique. We are a bunch of talented people. If we see our culture and heritage, you ll find that we are unique and we have the ability to to do things differently. If we give a little thought and try to figure out where we stand in this growing world, we would realise that we are in a deep pit from where we can only hope for a downfall.
Sometimes I felt like we have a long way to go before we start bothering about the problems of human race, about this world. We are still at a very low level. We have many problems to address within ourselves before we actually start bothering on a global stage. How can a person living in the present situation of Manipur ever think of the Global warming. How can a person think for the safety of the human race when his own house is not safe. How can he appreciate the beauty of nature when the valley turns into a killing field. The very thought of our future frightens me. When the whole country is blooming in the IT revolution, where is our stand. When the country is boasting to become the next Super-power, where do our Manipur stands. Doesn't our brothers and sisters deserve to be among the mass. Don't they have the right to compete with the mainland?Dont they deserve to celebrate our growing economy? These questions provides the solution itself.
Its the right time for a revolution. I can feel the fear. We are all afraid of the change. I dont know the future. I m also not saying that the revolution would not cost anything. I m just suggesting that its the right time to reflect, its the way to begin. How long should we tolerate? There is no bigger sin than to tolerate injustice. .and there is nothing better than to fight for peace.

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