Arbitrary Musings

WHERE'S THE POPCORN? - PART 3

2009-04-06T11:31:00.007+05:30

Just the other day, as I was listening to music on my way to work, I noticed I have lotta random songs on my playlist. It dawned on me that I have a liking for the weirdest of songs and movies. After giving some more thought I realized there is no apparent reason why I like them. I just do.

For eg: The song Tumse Kitna Pyar from the movie Company. Sung by Altaf Raja. Remember him? The voice behind Tum Toh Tehre Pardesi? The song was so "famous" it found its way into Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. When I played this song on my system at home, dad commented, "It sounds like a beggar singing". Then I realized, this must have been the most sung song by beggars in Mumbai local trains. For that matter even Tum toh Tehre Pardesi must have been a hot favourite.

Why do I like it? I dunno. The lyrics are corny, the playback isn't that gr8, plus the promotional video has been filmed on Rajpal Yadav. Still, I'm drawn to it and do not mind listening to it completely whenever it comes up on my player. And oddly, I doubt if it can be sung by anyone else. It's as if, the song was made just for Altaf Raja to sing.

I love watching Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Hum Saath Saath Hain anytime, as mentioned here. Although those movies are not particularly weird, the fact that I can watch em at any given time kinda is.

Josh is another movie that I can add to that list. I even have a dvd of that movie! It's a bad remake of West Side Story (I just read that bit somewhere, haven't seen West Side Story. But given the way bollywood remakes hollywood movies, i'm guessing that statement is valid). SRK cruising in hot and humid Goa with leather jacket on, Aishwarya romancing Chandrachur Singh, weird max. Given all that, I still like the movie.

I once saw this song Naino Mein Bhadra Chaye from the old movie Mera Saaya on some music channel. I loved it instantly. At that point of time, Sunil Dutt, the hero of that movie, to me resembled Ajay Devgan. Till my mom corrected me, I thought he was Devgan's father and not Sanjay Dutt's. I liked the song so much it made me wanna watch the movie even more. Have seen it atleast twice or thrice, I think. Movie has a nice story line, but pace is very slow. May put ppl to sleep. But I still like it. Especially the court scenes. The title song is quite haunting too.

Coming to other ppl I know liking some slighlty weird movies a little too much, I remember once during lunch break at my workplace, my colleague said he thought Delhi 6 was one of the best movies ever. Me and some others begged to differ. I could not sit through the movie. And my dad who managed to watch it fully (he saw first half and second half on 2 different days) said it had the weirdest theme ever. Even then, my colleague stood by his statement.

In the same "discussion", the movie Love Story 2050 came up. Everyone was like - its such a long movie, feels like it's 4 hrs long etc. At the same time, the following convo took place between my colleague (Mr. I, who was sitting next to me) and me.

Mr. I: Love Story 2050 is good to watch at a nice multiplex.
Me: ??
Mr. I: I mean, its a very long movie n all, but u can just sit in the cool theatre, relax and generally have a good time.
Me: Oh, well, whether or not u have a good time depends...
Mr. I: Depends on what?
Me: If u r alone or.... ;) ;)
Mr. I: (laughs) no comments :P

:D

NAMESAKE

2009-04-02T11:21:00.001+05:30

One day, quite sometime ago, the LAN connections at my workplace were not working for some people. My colleague (Debendra) needed to send a file urgently over our internal messenger to someone(Mr XYZ) in another country (won't mention which). So my colleague requested to use my pc to send the file as I had no network problems. Below is the chat that ensued.

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Pai Akshaya: Hi Mr XYZ, Debendra here.
Mister XYZ: yes
Pai Akshaya:I am having some problem in my system.
Mister XYZ: which system?
Pai Akshaya:Can I send the file now itself ?
I am using my colleague's system as it's an urgent issue.
Mister XYZ: Which file?
Pai Akshaya: Do you remember me ?
I sent you a mail to come online, right ?
Don't get confused with the id.
Mister XYZ: ok, yes, please send me the file , thanks
Pai Akshaya: Just let us know the test result, so that we can continue.
Mister XYZ: yes,
you name change to Pai Akshaya...... ?
Pai Akshaya: Nope, my system is having some issue.
Mister XYZ: ok, understand :)
Pai Akshaya: :)
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he he :P

25 "INTERESTING" FACTS ABT ME

2009-03-23T13:51:00.003+05:30

This is the tag thing that is going on, on facebook. Enjoy!!!

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Disclaimer: The word interesting in the title is totally relative.

Here goes nothing....

1. I am 5 feet 9 and a half inches tall. Taller than my dad. I have been this tall since class 9. I grew class-wise. 5 feet 5 inches in class 5, 5 feet 6 inches in class 6 and so on... never quite made it to the 5 feet 10 inches mark in class 10, but hey, I ain't complaining.

2. I LOVE FOOD. Love trying out new restaurants. Ready to eat any cuisine. I love the typical konkani food, might I say konkani delicacies, and also the "indianized" chinese food. Pizza, pasta, lasagne or gongura chutney with plain rice and palak thove, anna sambhar or mutton biryani & chicken kabab - Am game for it all!

3. I have the ability of remembering what I ordered at a hotel I went to yrs ago. Any place I have been to, I'll remember what I ate. This is true even for anyone's house I have been to for lunch/dinner.

4. My parents admitted me to a non convent school when I was 3 yrs old. After completing half yr of UKG, dad got transferred to Belgaum where he admitted me to a convent school. Looking at how tall I was then, they offered admission to class 1. When dad told them I was 4 yrs old, they put me back to LKG. Although I lost one academic yr, that is one the best things that have happened to me. :)

5. In class 4 and 5, I wld stand as umpire when boys of my class played cricket.

6. Although my teacher in high school wanted me to be in the basketball team, I ended up as a badminton player.

7. I love looking at photo albums (not digital ones) and reminiscing abt the time any photo was taken. :)

8. I have a shirt with blue stripes which looks quite similar to the shirt the workers at Westside wear. The day I wore that shirt to Westside, I was asked for help by 3 women who assumed I worked there. Honestly, they were more embarrassed than I was when I told them I dint work there. :P

9. I have seen Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Hum Saath Saath Hain trillion times! Any time Zee airs any one of those movies, I watch.

10. At any given time of the day I am ready to do any one of the following: eat chicken, read calvin & hobbes, watch tom & jerry, talk/spend time with my best friend. :)

11. I saw the first 4 Harry Potter movies. Read half of the 5th (first book of HP that I read), watched the movie, then completed the 5th book. After which I read the 6th and 7th book. All borrowed :P
(Also read half of the first book later)

12. Whenever I am terribly sleepy, I either talk gibberish or I laugh like a madman for no reason.

13. If I have to wake up early morning and get ready to go someplace, like I used to when I went to college or now cos I go to work, I brush after bathing :P

14. I love rain and anything associated with rain. The dark cloudy weather, the cool breeze, the drizzle, downpour and most importantly, petrichor. Love playing in the rain. :)

15. I have seen all episodes of friends so many times that I have lost count. Remember every episode like the back of my hand and can answer any trivia abt em correctly.

16. I borrowed dvds of Charmed (the entire series, season 1-8) from my cousin and have been watching it on a daily basis. Currently am at the 6th season. Very addictive series.

17. I love cats. Love playing with them. They are oh so cute and cuddly. :)

18. I was born on the day of "Akshaya Tritiya" (No prizes for guessing why my name's Akshaya). So I get to celebrate 2 b'days every year. :) Except every 10th year of my life, cos "Akshaya Tritiya" and my birth date come on the same day every 10th year.

19. I have had ppl giving me very interesting nicknames since my childhood. Like boys in a school wld call me Akshay Kumar. My family and some neighbours wld call me "Aks" (with my dad and uncle pronouncing it as "axe"). And now my colleagues call me payeee (which means ghost in tamil) or mostly paaaeeee (stretching on the a and e).

20. For how tall I am, I have very small hands (palms, fingers) and very thin arms too. The shortest girl in my class in school/college wld have bigger hands and the thinnest girl wld have broader arms than I did.

21. Point #20 holds good for my feet and legs too.

22. Before every final exam in school I wld watch a movie in theatre.

23. The only sport I love watching on tv is tennis.

24. As a kid I got lost twice in Manipal. Once cos I wandered off on my own and second time cos I went with my friend in the school bus. At the end, the driver dint know what to do, so he left me at the school gate. Both times my dad found me while cruising on his bike looking for me.

25. To date, I have lived in 5 cities, studied in 4 schools and lived in 8 different houses. 3 of em in mangalore and 2 in bangalore.

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Hope that made a good read.

NEWS

2009-03-16T14:56:00.006+05:30

Sitting in front of a mobile computer(a.k.a Laptop :P ). Ppl around me are speaking. I'm supposed to be involved. And I am. But not completely.

Yday I read newspaper after a long time. Paper on sunday after a very very long time. Recently convinced my dad to get The Hindu instead of Deccan Herald. Actually wanted to replace TOI, but dad won that battle. Well something is better than nothing.

Read stuff abt how ppl in Udupi are protesting against Charlie Chaplin statue from being put up. All cos of his religion. And like mentioned in the paper, the first thing that popped to mind too, was that I never thought of his religion. Always thought of him as a comedian, an artiste.

Next article I read was the closing of Premier Book Shop in Bangalore. Located at the junction of Church Street and Museum Road. Have been there with a friend of mine. He used to frequent that place cos of all the coupons he had won at quizzes. And one thing that I read in the article, I could relate to. The fact that Mr. T S Shanbhag, who ran the store, was very knowledgeable. And a very pleasant man too :)

Well, I guess I better get involved completely now. Before ppl around me start wondering what I am upto. ;)

P. S: Ironically, I dint read any "news" per se. He He. :P

PUGHO!

2009-03-03T17:16:00.007+05:30

Was my nephew's birthday last week. He turned one. His parents, my cousin and brother-in-law, held a party on Sunday. In a big hall, decorated with balloons, crape paper, the whole enchilada. They had also arranged for a magic show.

I arrived with my family abt one and half hour after the party started. I mean what are we to do at a one year old's birthday party except wish the kid(who prolly doesn't know what's happening anyway) and have dinner. Also exchange pleasantries with other relatives who have come. The magic show was just abt ending when v arrived. Next on schedule was the cake cutting ceremony.

A lot of balloon sellers are generally found outside such halls when some function is going on. My eyes were wandering and I noticed a small boy outside the hall. He had a lot of balloons on a big stick. He was craning his neck up a window to see what's going on inside. The big, oh sorry, HUGE cake arriving, all kids crowding up on the stage and the proud parents holding the b'day boy and cutting the cake as all the kids crooned "Happy birthday to you..."

At this point, I put myself in that kid's shoes(this statement is just a figure of speech, considering the poor kid was barefoot). No idea how much he understood of what was going on, but he surely knew he'd never get a celebration like that. He may not even know when his birthday is. Or what a birthday is. These thoughts made me all :(

But there's nothing much v can do anyway. That is what saddens me the most. A good soul might give him a piece of cake or something else to eat but that will all be momentary happiness. It'll soon fade away and he'll go back to his life filled with penury, with the stick of balloons on his right shoulder hoping to sell some someday. Even then, there is no assurance of him getting anything worthwhile for his sale.

In keeping with the hoopla surrounding the Oscars, not every such kid is a slumdog millionaire.

THE SPOT

2009-02-18T13:32:00.007+05:30

the spot, deep red, small spot
stood out on my pillow
was not a stitch of the embroidery
just blood of a dead mosquito

prolly killed it in my sleep
before it could wake me
only now, i wish it had
for that spot I don't want to see.

not every night is as blissful
not every slumber is as deep
and when sometimes I'm in sorrow,
on my pillow it spreads and seeps.

the spot, the damn red spot,
I see it every night,
I see it every morning,
not a pleasant sight.

no more lying down
when in melancholy,
if not the spot
will grow, oh so unholy!

want every night to be blissful
want every slumber to be deep,
want to just be happy
and smile in my sleep.

BLAH!

2009-01-27T14:34:00.008+05:30

I saw Slumdog Millionaire last week. Pretty late cos the movie has been "available" for quite sometime now. People at work seem to like it. Well, I liked it too, but I do not understand the hype that surrounds it. And all the bad mouthing that has been going on, which I am sure is happening only cos the movie has got an Oscar nomination.

For starters, such movies, depicting the "real" India in "bad light" have been made before. The only difference I see, is that it has been made by someone who is not an Indian. Big deal. Its being appreciated internationally only because it has not been released as an Indian movie. If people outside India (and I mean non-Indians and not just NRIs) had seen other movies in the same line long before this was released I doubt it would have been this over-rated.

There are some controversies surrounding it, like Big B's comments or the title carrying the word "dog" in it. Oh Puh-lease! Whatever Big B has to say, let him say it. That is his view and he has his freedom of speech like anybody else. And why are people objecting about the word "dog" in the title? No one minds cursing a person in slums with the term "kutta" or other variations of the word, but the same, translated and used internationally for an Oscar nominated movie is a big no-no. Huh...

People are also objecting about the fact that the movie shows India in a "bad-light". I doubt if anything shown in the movie is not true. But it seems ok for the same people to watch some non-existent "reality" (mind my language blooper) about India and Indians in other glossy movies.

I am a complete hindi movie buff. I like the glossy non-real stuff plus the arty type movies which claim to show "reality". And the nice story oriented movies too. As long as a movie entertains, doesn't bore me throughout and is well made, I like it. Don't see any reason, what-so-ever, for a movie to be over-hyped or to be thrashed. You either like a movie or you don't.

Just keep it simple.

PAANCH RUPPAIYYA, BARAH ANAA.

2009-01-16T17:00:00.009+05:30

About a week before I stepped into the corporate world, my dad asked me, how much of my salary would I spend? I just retorted (might I added, without thinking much) , "half of it".

That answer of mine seemed to shock him. I wondered, when some people I know, spend more than what they earn in a month, why was he so shocked.

Then I started thinking about how I might spend the money I get. Few thoughts that crossed my mind were –

I stay with my folks, which meant no paying rent.

They take care of the electricity bills and all, so no expense there.

My company provides transport to and fro.

And although I used to eat at the company cafeteria once upon a time, now that my mom packs me lunch, my expenditure in that regard has reduced too.

All this made me realize later that I would hardly spend even quarter of my salary every month. Which gave me more opportunity to think what I want to do, or have etc but never did before I earned...

So the first thing I did was join a guitar class (totally different story that I don’t go there anymore). And that led to me buying a guitar :)

Later, whenever I shopped, I purchased what I wanted and paid for it. Like a denim jacket, which I didn’t think of buying before. And whenever I went out with mom for some shopping, I took her to some nice place for lunch, where we would not go often cos we thought it was a bit pricey.

Also with my first salary I wanted to buy my parents stuff they would like to have. So bought mom a coupla sarees and dad a dvd player.

Treated my extended family to lunch at an even more pricey place and went on trips to the coast where I didn’t think much before spending.

And then, came my most extravagant purchase – “The Calvin and Hobbes : Complete Collection”. Never in my life have I spent that kind of money at once.

I guess that’s what having a job with all possible conveniences make u do. You end up owning stuff you never thought you would. You end up going places you never did go before and mostly, you don’t think more than twice before spending.

Right now I don’t have many(or any) responsiblities. But in a few years, when I do, I think I’ll be earning enough to still indulge in the stuff I am currently.

Even otherwise, its better to live life to the fullest today. Why wait for tomorrow? :)

NEW YEAR WISHES

2009-01-06T14:10:00.002+05:30

HAPPY NEW YEAR '09 :)

Have not blogged for 2 months now. But won't make up any excuses. I guess I just didn't.

Hopefully this year I will blog more often. I guess I should make a resolution of blogging once in 2 weeks. And another one of sticking to the first one :P

I'm just a little too lazy.

Anyway, I sure hope I do, so until the next post, ADIOS!

"TALL" TALES

2008-11-07T16:49:00.001+05:30

I am 5 feet 9 and half inches tall. I always mention the half inch, ‘cos whenever I have checked my height, its more than 5 feet 9 inches but lesser than 5 feet 10 inches. Roughly it comes to around 176 cm.

I grew, as I like to say, class-wise. 5 feet 4 inches in 4^th standard. 5 feet 5 inches in 5^th standard etc etc. Of course, I couldn’t reach 5 feet 10 inches in 10^th standard. But I ain’t complaining.

So the fact that my height didn’t exactly show my age, has led to quite a few funny incidents to date. Not to mention it being a conversation starter. A sort of breaking-the-ice question that came my way, more often than not has been, “What is your height?”

When I was 4, and I needed admission for LKG, the headmistress saw me, and asked, “So, you want admission for 1^st standard?”

When I was in 7^th standard (going class-wise, I was 5 feet 7 inches tall), I met some of my relatives, and one uncle of my mom asked me, “So, what do you do? Working? Or studying MBA?”

The incident I found quite flattering and funny was when I was 5 feet 8 inches tall. I was travelling with my parents to Kolkata by flight. We had to change flights at Mumbai. At the Mumbai airport, when we were having lunch I saw a foreigner having beer at the nearby table. He looked quite buzzed. Later in the flight, as I was heading towards the loo, I saw him there. He looked like he was trying hard to balance himself and he said, “How tall are you?” After my reply, he blinked for long and said, “You are one of the tallest Indian women I have ever seen.” :) :P

Another thing I find quite amusing would be people around me thinking I am taller than I actually am. Three years back, when my extended family was at the family home, one cousin of mine whom I hadn’t met for many years asked me my height. After my reply, he says, “That’s all? I thought you were 6 feet tall at least.” Oh, really? Same thing happened few days back, when I told my colleague, she was like, “No way, you have to be six feet tall at least.”

There are few others who don’t find me all that tall. Like one lady asked me my height and said, “Oh, that’s all? My son has got an allaiance, and the girl is 5 feet 6 inches tall. So I was wondering how tall she might look. But after looking at you, it doesn’t seem like she’ll be very tall.” Ah, I see.

And now for my favourite story. I go to guitar classes every Sunday. People of all ages come there. There is this kid who is in 7^th standard. He asked me how tall I am. I told him to take a guess. He said, “You must be like, seven feet tall???”^* :) :D

Oh, I am pretty sure my parents (and me too) are happy that I am not that tall ;)

^*(After this he also said, he found me to be shorter last month and that I have suddenly zoomed up a few feet. Weird)

I have a pretty fascinating life no?

FAIRY TALE-ISH LOVE STORY OF THE 21ST CENTURY

2008-10-23T16:42:00.004+05:30

Fairy tales. Integral part of one’s childhood. More so for girls than boys. Cinderella, Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast, Snowhite and Seven Dwarfs are some I can recall. More on the romantic side, aren’t they? Most of the typical bollywood masala movies too are jus rip offs of some fairy tale. The tried and tested (and in recent times, miserably failed) formula generally is –

Boys meets girl.
One of them has to be poor.
They like each other at first sight. (Usually shown in slow motion, the scene being windy, heroine’s dupatta and hair flying over her face, hero breaks into a smile looking at her and some song is playing in background).
After being acquainted, they start running around trees, a mandatory activity in such movies, with another song playing that they are lip syncing to.
The rich family has a problem with the other one’s penury.
Throw in a villain (usually a mean uncle from the affluent side) to misbehave with the heroine.
In the end, hero defeats villain, love conquers all and they get married and live happily ever after.

Such movies of course don’t work nowadays. Nor have any new fairy tales been written. Some Hollywood movies are still sli fairy tale like. I guess they come under the genre of rom-com or chic flicks. But you can hardly imagine such stories happening for real. After all it’s just a movie, and anything can happen in movies.

So let’s try and think how an actual modern day-21^st century-fairy tale-ish-love story will be like. My thoughts are as below -

Boy meets girl is obviously the first thing. Actually come to think of it, in the bolly-masala-flicks, its boy sees girl and slow motion scene starts. In real life boy actually meets the girl. Let’s assume they go to the same college. Happen to meet via common friends and exchange pleasantries. After some 2 days they run into each other again. Talk a little and then maybe exchange phone numbers. They would have exchanged e-mail ids too. But then e-mails are just too slow :P

Now, boy messages girl. Hold on. This is the 21^st century. So I say, girl messages boy (howzzzaatt??!!). And then starts a series of SMSes with both of em getting to know each other better than they already do. Blame technology for killing romance via secret notes and love letters. Nowadays all info is exchanged in bits and bytes over some network.

But then again, it’s the 21^st century…..

So next time they meet they’ll either talk to each other more or just smile and exchange pleasantries and later SMS, saying, “hey that colour suits u” or “you looked good today” or “I was in a hurry so didn’t stop to speak” etc etc…

Time goes on. They’ll get to know each other really well. Talk to each more than they used to. And realize that they actually have a lot in common. But then both will be the high strung type. No running around trees. They’ll know something’s there but just won’t admit it. After a while it gets ironic, really. Claim to be independent wanting their personal space etc, but can’t do without sending alteast few msgs across.

One day, college-life will be done and over with. Work-life will beckon them. They’ll prolly start calling each other. What with them earning, phone bills will be the least of their worries. Long conversations late into the night will ensue and still they’ll act oblivious to their feelings for each other.

Finally it'll dawn on them that they are infact in love. Up until now everything was modern day-21^st century-ishstyle, but from here on it will get filmy. Boy proposing and most prolly girl not disposing. After which will be the usual, happily ever after.

Phew!

Modern day love stories too are kinda boring no?

No fairy tale this. No villains, no twists in the tale. Ttcchhaa!!!

Blame it on technology again. ‘Cos it makes life just that easy. And at the same time a little boring. That's why certain Hollywood flicks have the impossible in them. 'Cos the possible is just not exciting enough.

P.S: If you want a really exciting, very interesting, fulltoo 21st century love story, I strongly recommend, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". A very beautiful movie even though its not plausible. And the best part is, its neither a rom-com nor a chic flick :)

BOMBS, ANYONE?

2008-10-21T12:38:00.001+05:30

Whenever I think of taking the late shuttle to office once in a while, I am overcome by extreme lassitude when I think of how inconvenient it is to catch that one compared to the earlier shuttle. Cos the latter one comes to my doorstep and to catch the former, I have to travel abt 2 and half kilometers and there’s no guarantee I will catch it on time. The traffic is really unpredictable in Bangalore (I guess that is a well known fact) or should I now say Bengalooru…?

So, I come to office early and naturally I have some (sometimes a lot more) time to kill. And my frequent haunts is how I kill time. As I was going through this, I realized sometime back, I had my thoughts on the same issue.

I did my project of last semester of engineering in Central Power Research Institute (CPRI). As you can see from their home page, it is a prestigious institute where lot of expensive (very expensive) equipment is used. Labs bigger than some malls in the city. Equipments whether small or huge, very very expensive (sorry for being repetitive, but we were warned so many times to be careful with what we were using, I just can’t mention that fact enough).

On July 25^th, the day when Bangalore, oops sorry, Bengalooru was victim to bomb blasts at various places, I recollected something I had thought of before, regarding the security at such places. Of all the days I had been to CPRI, never was my bag checked. Not even the first time I entered. No detectors either. Lotta cops there though. But no checking whatsoever is carried out. Just tell the receptionist whom you wanna meet and why and go ahead.

What if someday, someone just places a bag in one of the labs with a bomb in it and walks out? Nobody’s gonna know. Shouldn’t an institution as large as this one have stringent security? Think of the moolah invested in the place. I just hope after the incidents of July 25^th, something has been done about the security there.

Funny I thought of this the same day when there is an evacuation drill at my workplace. Atleast something is being done here. Hope it’s the same elsewhere. I know this is all we can do, and what has to happen, happens. But to a certain extent, I think it’s better to be safe than sorry.

ONE QUIET EVENING...

2008-10-14T13:45:00.002+05:30

… I was home alone. Doing my own thing, humming some song, when suddenly my phone rings.

With the rhythmic backlight an unknown number flashed on my phone screen. Thought it was one of those “free” airtel calls, you know, the recorded ones with what they have to offer. But I didn’t dismiss the call with that thought. Never do. I always receive. ‘Cause you never know, it might be someone you know calling to inform you about their new number. Damn I’m digressing, so where was I….

Ya, I got a call from an unknown number, I received it and the following convo ensued.

Me: Hello?

He: Hello, Priya?

Me: Who?

He: May I speak to Priya please?

Me: Wrong number. *cut*

Back to humming… hmmmm… *phone rings again*

Me: Hello?

He: Hey don’t do this ok? I know it’s you.

Me: (of course it’s me, duh!) What?

He: Look I’m really sorry ok, please Priya don’t do this.

Me: I am not Priya. Wrong number.

He: Ok, I know Priya is around there. Please give her the phone. Tell her I am really sorry.

Me: What the… *cut*

Ok, there are some guys who just get some numbers and try their luck to see if it is a girl’s number. After which a series of SMSes follow, starting from forwards and moving onto “Hi, I am so-n-so, can we be friends?” *jees* (Has happened before. Twice.)

So, I was naturally expecting messages from him after the calls. He did message, but only once. Paraphrasing it, it goes something like –

“I am sorry Priya. Please forgive me. Promise I won’t repeat it again. But please don’t do this to me”

(Well, almost something like that. My memory favours me only to this extent in recalling the message.)

I, of course, didn’t reply. Just let it be. He didn’t message anymore either. Just remember asking a friend if he knew anyone with that number and that was that.

If the guy was trying his luck to see if I would reply and blah, blah, poor chap, it didn’t work out. If whatever he said was for real, well, it’s his life and I think I’d rather not delve into it.

P.S: This actually happened. Not made up. Have two friends who can vouch for it. To one I asked if he knew the number. And to the second I showed the message. So there. :)

HAPPINESS IS.

2008-10-13T15:29:00.003+05:30

Ever been to a place where you were totally happy? Just psyched out by the fact that you were there? Nothing or no one around to bum you out?

In my head the following would define that place -

Only people you wanna interact with are around you.
They speak the ‘language’ you speak.
They think very much like you do, if not a lot.
A place where you just can’t stop smiling. :) :) (face starts hurting after a while though)

Such is a place where you wish you could have stayed on for longer than you did. Where you could have spoken a lot more than you had. Where time just stopped but you still kept moving on.

I was at such a place. Even though I thought it was too good to be real, I am pretty sure it wasn’t a dream. It was for real. :)

Just wondering what took me so long to get there… But I guess the adage better late than never suits me best now.

And right now I just wanna go back in time and relive it.

Anyone out there inventing a time machine???

CHANGE IS A LAW OF NATURE

2008-10-13T14:31:00.005+05:30

But that is not why the look of my blog has changed.

I was just bored out of my wits and hence the change of template, colours, font etc etc...

ALL "DOLLED" UP

2008-10-06T09:38:00.005+05:30

It's navarathri. A time when two of my friends keep "Dussera dolls" at their homes. One excuse for us friends to meet up. Well, its become an excuse now cos we have started working and hardly meet up otherwise. During college it was a fun way of spending time with each other than in college.

I remember last two years. Meeting up at one friend's place first, taking photos, having lunch and rushing to the other friend's place cos she would be fuming if we arrived late. Then snacking there and generally getting our tummies full.

We were ten girls all together. All of us would make it a point to go to both places. Although once or twice few of them missed it. But still there would be atleast 8 of us and I guess u can imagine wat a racket we would create at their homes. Luckily their moms never felt like throwing us out ;)

Yday had been to one girl's place. The other one was out of station on a trip. Things have changed so much in the last 3 months. After we were done with college and started working we hardly met. Like I said at the start of this post, the "Dussera Dolls" were an excuse to meet up yday. But only 2 of us managed to make it. Nonetheless v had so much catching up to do. Just the 3 of us yakked for 2 whole hrs! I dint even think I'd be there that long. If it weren't for the fact that v lived far off and had to get back before it was too late, v wld have spent some more time.

Thursday, the other friend has called us to her home. Hopefully more of us will be there. That will mean more catching up to do. All these days, I never felt anything was amiss although we were not meeting up often. But when v did meet up yday, even though it was just the 3 of us, it felt good :)

Looking forward to more such "excuses", but then I hope they don't remain excuses anymore. Ideally we should not need a reason to meet up. We just should. And I hope we will :)

WHERE'S THE POPCORN??? - PART 2

2008-09-22T09:01:00.004+05:30

For quite sometime now I have lost the patience to watch movies. To my luck, nowadays, Hindi movies ain't 3 hrs long. Even then, a 2 and a half hr or even a 2 hr long movie doesn't seem to make me sit put and watch. But this weekend I watched 2 movies, both 1 and half hour each and both on similar lines.

First one was Aamir. Watched it after 3 months or so of its release. After watching the movie, I was inclined to agree with a critic of a newspaper wherein he mentioned that the makers of this movie, all being debutants (the actor, director, cinematographer etc.. ) put veterans to shame. I wouldn't exactly put it that way, but yes, it was very well made. Shot in real locations, the movie didn't put up any glamour show. Clear cut, no time waste and gets to the point from the start. It is basically about how a common man gets dragged into an ugly situation and how he sticks to his guns till the end refusing to get influenced into becoming a pawn in a terrorist attack. It does show what Muslims in our country go through, which is what the villain tries to make the protagonist, a UK-returned doctor realize. That was quite melancholic. Like in the scene in airport at start on his return. They check his bag like a million times which provokes the protagonist to ask, "agar mera naam amar hota, toh tab bhi kya aap aisa karte?" Good performances by the lead and the supporting actors.

Second movie I saw was A Wednesday. This one will keep the viewer engrossed. If Aamir keeps you wondering why, this movie will make u go, what's gonna happen next? Although, half way into the movie I realized how it was going to end and I was right. So from there on it became predictable. That was mainly because of one dialogue said by one of the lead actors. My dad, with whom I was watching the movie, didn't realize it and I think it didn't even strike many others who have seen it and told me how great the movie is. Shah is at his best and so is Kher. Other supporting actors have done well too. But the movie totally belongs to the 2 main actors.

One comment I heard about A Wednesday was, "Movie is excellent, but I doubt if the Indian police force is so efficient." Hmmm, bang on, don't you think?

JUST FOR LAUGHS

2008-09-15T09:14:00.002+05:30

AHEM!!! :P

HURRAY!!!

2008-09-15T09:12:00.002+05:30

Was lost in transition (for sometime now), but I was found.....

:)

LOST IN TRANSITION

2008-05-22T19:21:00.003+05:30

The college days are coming to an end. One more month and everyone will be scattered, going about their own business, making a life for themselves. Feels odd, but it wasn't unknown I guess.

Found out that juniors are organizing a farewell party for us next Saturday. Sort of a tradition in our department. The 2nd year students organize a farewell party for the 4th year students. And that's when in hit most of us that the college days are coming to an end.

My purpose of this post is not to reminiscence about the past, the loves and hates etc... Believe me, I am the last person to get all senti over such stuff. Memories are there to stay and I get that, but wat really got to me was that so many of us are so busy wrapping up stuff this last semester that it doesn't feel like college is ending.

The project work is the main culprit. Everyone is busy completing their project, worrying about outputs, working models and getting the report started etc. And then running around to write the last tests to score a decent average in every subject. No one, absolutely no one has the time to stop and think, "Whoa, only one month more...."

I have been pretty free compared to others. My project was done quite long back. Just report work was eating up most of my group's time. And I currently like the fact that no one is thinking of how all these days will run by, exams will come and we'll all be done. But it's the farewell party that will bring it all up. All classmates are going to be talking about bitter sweet memories of the past four years and how they will miss these days. There are a few of us though, who just can't wait to get out.

I am somewhere in between. I will miss the fact that these were days free of responsibility. Nothing to worry about. Everything was taken care of. Just enjoy with friends, attend classes and write exams once in a while. Nice. But the allure of the world outside of college seems hard for me to resist. I am actually looking forward to it. Wanna see how I'll handle my life. My responsibilities. How I'll handle me.

I guess that is why, currently, I am just, lost in transition...

WAT HAPPENED TO THE XY THING??

2008-05-19T11:48:00.007+05:30

Below is an excerpt from an article which came in the health edition of "THE WEEK" magazine...

"Women who regularly skip breakfast and are on a low-calorie diet are more inclined to conceive girls, say researchers from Oxford and Exeter Universities. But women who consume a high-calorie diet and potassium-rich foods like banana are more likely to have boys."

Ok, first of all not fair. Kinda sexist if I may say so. Ur diet is week, oops sorry, weak, u get a girl. Ur diet is healthy u get a boy. When will researchers stop coming to such idiotic conclusions from a half done experiment?? The entire article will make a good question for argument essay in GRE. For sure!!!

And I am no doctor, and the less said abt my "love" for biology the better, but isn't the sex of the unborn child decided by the XY chromosome thing??

All such articles just make me say BAH! HUMBUG!

NEW ADDRESS...

2008-05-16T19:53:00.003+05:30

Firstly, thank u for visiting my blog. If u have visited it before, thank u again.

If u r visiting for the first time, then everything here will be new to u. But if u have already visited before u must have noticed a change. Change in my blogspot address.

It was twentytwobyseven before, for a weird reason. And people found it hard to guess why it was so. Plus I thought it was too long and kinda plain and no fun.

So I started thinking of better names. Came up with some lame ones. Was discussing with a friend and told him I want a name that is something hatke....

And VOILA!!! :)

TRIP PHOTOS

2008-05-15T19:29:00.010+05:30

Our first destination - Ernakulam Junction

Cochin Harbour

Hydel Park in Munnar

View from Eravikulam Park

Read the sign

View at Mattupetty Dam

Echo Point

:)

En route to Thekaddy

Periyar Forest Reserve

:D

IN THE LAB

2008-04-25T20:20:00.004+05:30

The following conversation took place between me and one of my classmates (whom I am gonna refer to as NS) in the lab as he was connecting some circuit and I was, well, eating. Was eating chicken to be specific. I had to mention that because it was the meat that started the conversation between us. The end is funny, but then I realized there was another underlying meaning to what my friend said and I hope it comes across via this blog.

So here it goes...

ME: (chomp chomp) Do u eat chicken?
NS: No. I am a vegetarian.
ME: Oh, is it ok then if I sit next to you and eat?
NS: Ya, sure, why do u ask?
ME: Some ppl aren't comfortable....
NS: I have no problem, I travel in bus everyday...
ME: (??) ah... ppl eat non-veg in bus??
NS: No. There is vomit around sometimes. And I still travel. How do you know what the person had eaten before he/she puked? So I am cool with you eating meat next to me.
ME: Oh, good. You should tell that to some of our classmates. 'Cause if you sit in front of 'em eating meat, they just wanna run miles away.
NS: Is it?? That ain't good. They'll find it hard to adjust later on.
ME: Ya I know... Wonder why they can't adjust now...
NS: They don't travel in bus as often as we do na... So...

:)

THE TRIP-PART TWO

2008-04-24T19:50:00.003+05:30

April 6th, Munnar-Thekkady

Ok, frankly, we wasted this entire day in travelling. We started off late (around 10:30 am) and that I think was the major fault. Then we had 2 "puke" halts. So more than an hour gone by there. Then a halt to admire a tea plantation, have fun and as usual click pics. Another halt for lunch. So, by the time we reached it was 5:30 pm. Didn't do anything that day except settle in our rooms, walk around the town and again, click click!!

Before we all re-"tired", we were told to be ready at 6 am next morning as we were gonna go for a trek. Little did I know that we wouldn't leave until 7...

April 7th, Trek n Boating

We went to "Periyar Forest Reserve" for the trek. It was a guided tour. Went deep into the forest which was such that without the guide we would be totally lost. Saw a lotta animal dung lying around which was the guide's proof for the existence of elephants etc etc. Mind you, we didn't see a single animal on our trek although the guide seemed to assure us of their presence.

Oh, but then there were zillions of leeches there. Climbing up our footwear sucking our blood away. I was one of the few ones who didn't get bit by any although a coupla them climbed onto my feet. The number of leeches there made us rename the place as "Periyar Leech Reserve".

To take a break we climbed a sort of a rock or mini mountain/hill kinda thing. The view from the top was just amazing. We saw a lake from there and later the guys went in for a dip.

We walked around 8-10km that day, and did I mention we did so on empty stomach??

We reached our rooms at around 12 pm and all bathed and packed cos we were actually gonna leave by the 7 pm bus from Ernakulam which was 5-6 hours away from where we were. So we ran for lunch, hogged to our heart's or should I say stomach's content, but unfortunately we were late by the time we were done. So we changed our plans and decided to return by train the next day.

As we had good time in our hands and the all day entry pass to Periyar we decided to go boating. It lasted for one and half hours and this time we saw few animals. Sambar deers, Wild Boars and few elephants far away.

We then left for Ernakulam at 6:30 pm and after a halt for dinner we reached at 12:30 am. Few boys arranged rooms for us in a hotel and we just crashed.

Day didn't go as expected but everything was fine at the end of it.

April 8th, Ernakulam-Bangalore

The train was scheduled to leave at 9:15 am. We hadn't reserved seats so had to go in for the "unreserved/general" compartment for which after some convincing all the girls agreed.

Luckily by the time few guys arrived at the station the bogeys were all empty so they could happily save seats for all of us to be together. We were just 6 guys and 5 girls returning. Rest of the guys extended the trip by one more day by going to Allepey.

The return journey too was a nice one. Spent hours and hours together playing bluff, dumb charades and also bit of "palm" reading by one of the guys which proved to be a great timepass. Didn't realize how time just flew by...

And so that was the end of our "class" trip. Good fun. Great time. And wonderful memories to live by. :)

THE TRIP-PART ONE

2008-04-21T19:04:00.006+05:30

Yeah, I know its been a real long time since I have blogged and also a real long time since I returned from the trip. But I ain't gonna make any excuses. I was generally either lazy or just caught up with a sense of ennui.

April 3rd, the journey begins:

20 of us (15 boys+5 girls) went in train (Ernakulam Express I think). Left Bangalore City at 5:15 pm and reached Ernakulam at 4.20 am. Not a minute late. The journey was fun. Although we were scattered in different compartments (in the same bogey) walking up and down to chat up with pals was the fun part. I hardly slept that night. Exactly 2 hours I think. 2 am to 4 am. Was happily playing cards (bluff was the game that dominated the journey) with god knows how many decks. All in all a gr8 start.

April 4th, Ernakulam-Munnar:

One of the guys had missed the train we came in. So he took the next train and arrived late. The bus we had hired was waiting for us since midnight apparently. Good 32 seater thing for just 20 of us. Happy-Happy. So we had breakfast and started off, our destination being Munnar. But then the driver tells us that there is some strike in Munnar and we can't enter the city until 1 pm. So we have one hour on our hands to waste. And we did so, wisely.

The driver took us to Cochin harbour wherein we went on a "cruise". 30 bucks per head and it was totally worth it. The sea was beautiful with water having different shades of blue. The music system on the ship was blaring but sadly I couldn't get my classmates to dance :( (And i did some sailing myself :))

After the hour long cruise, we resumed our journey to Munnar. Reached at around 2:30 pm. Felt good to be in a hill station after cruising in a coastal city. All of us dirty and hungry, bathed and scrammed for lunch. Or should I say "high-tea" as we ate at around 4:30 pm.

We then went to a park there, "Hydel Park". Just hung around, had fun, clicked loads of pics. And returned when it was dark.

Smooth sailing on first day.

April 5th, Undoubtedly the best day of the trip:

Our schedule for the day was visiting Eravikulam Park, Mattupetty Dam & Echo Point. All 3 places were amazingly beautiful and echo point was where we had max fun!

It was also one of the guy's birthday. Ajith, whom we all fondly call meter :)

The view from Eravikulam Park was just amazing. The shadow of the clouds on the tea plantations below was a breathtaking sight. All of us were at peace... Felt calm... Lotta mountain goats there. Infact that was the only animal there. And although the place was good for trekking or rather "rock climbing" it was prohibited. But I guess that didn't dampen our spirits much.

Next stop Mattupetty Dam. Wanted to go boating there, but it started to rain. So after clicking few pics and admiring nature and also after eating quite a bit of passion fruit we went to echo point.

Now echo point as I mentioned before was where we had max fun. Everyone behaved like kids. Screamed till our throats went sore to judge which echo was the best. Boys playing with sticks and clicking pics with funny poses was really amusing. And what can I saw about the landscape??? I am totally outta adjectives to describe its beauty.

The return journey was fun with all of us dancing in the bus. Me flopping down with terrible dizziness was another issue all together, but was fun nonetheless.

All of us pitched in cash and got a cake for Ajith once we retuned to the hotel. Sang "happy birthday" as he cut it and again we shutterbugs went click click. His happiness was palpable :)

And that was the end of day two.

More about the trip coming up in PART TWO.

P.S: Will add pics later too.

BEFORE THE TRIP

2008-04-02T20:25:00.004+05:30

Just finished some subject seminar today in college which I am pretty sure was done by my dept., for the heck of it. Just for formality sake. And now starts the trip preparation.

20 or so students of my class are going on a "class trip". Why the quotes?? 'cos I doubt if you can call it a class trip when out of 75 students only 20 are going. The reason for the small number is, well, a long story and I am not gonna bore you with it.

So I looked into my wardrobe, trying to decide what clothes to take. Then called a friend who told me bring this, bring that and don't forget this or that.

Then mom started being aahh "mom". You know, the do's and dont's, the last minute tensions. And all you feel like saying is chill mom, just chill... Dad not home yet, so may have a second round later.

Thing is, we are going on a "class trip", without lecturers to a place we have never been to, and booked everything from here. So I guess parents are allowed to be a little paranoid (especially parents of us girls). But then I am pleasantly surprised and happy that this time they have been cooler than I expected, especially my dad. :)

Leaving tomorrow and returning on 8th morning. Then "the trip" will follow this one. Yet to pack.

Till next time, ciao!

STOP THE EARTH...

2008-03-21T22:28:00.003+05:30

... and I'll get off!!!

I look around myself and feel sick. This world is not a happy place. Don't get me wrong. My life is good but the world around me isn't. And I mean that literally, not figuratively.

The other day I was walking down a street, and I saw an old man begging using a half dead boy lying down next to him to invoke sympathy in people passing by. Yes, half dead! I am sure the kid was drugged. And that thought irked me...

Then there are other girls who go around dancing and whipping themselves hard at the same time as the lady who accompanies them is playing the drum. Heavily pregnant lady at that. And if you don't give money some curses come your way from the girl's mouth. I'm sure the girl doesn't even know what she is talking about.

Then there are kids who are made to balance themselves with a long stick as they walk on thin ropes about ten feet above the ground while an adult catches attention of the people around. These poor kids are just robbed of their childhood in such inhuman ways.

Yes, people do give money but what's to say it is all put to good use? The guy with the rope walking kids may spend it all on booze. The money may get stolen from the pregnant lady who is ever so vulnerable. These things keep coming into my mind and I just wanna run away to a far of land with these innocent little urchins before they are completely robbed of their innocence or whatever is left of it.

What can I do in such cases? I used to give money, 2 rupee coins and all. But now I realized it won't to much good. So if kids are around I hunt for toffees in my bag to give em.

The kids who used to come begging at traffic signals nowadays carry stuff you can buy from them and use. Like, key-chains, ear cleaning buds, toy cars etc. I felt kinda happy that they aren't just begging any more. I even bought stuff one day from em. But then I happen to go that traffic signal everyday and so I feel helpless the next time :(

Dad used to call me "little buddha" when I was young and now I know why. There are so many more instances I come across and I hope I have the strength to just clear my mind and not think of em at the present. Hopefully once I'm outta college I can do something. Don't ask me what now, I'll probably blog about it later. But till then, I can't help thinking that the world ain't such a great place after all. And so I said,

STOP THE EARTH.. AND I'LL GET OFF!!!

MOBILE BLUNDER

2008-03-14T19:40:00.001+05:30

Ever read articles on paper wherein they keep complaining about motorcycle riders or car drivers who are busy conversing on their cell phones whilst on road?? The articles go on in length describing how this leads to accidents, comparing past and present statistics blah blah….

Also the traffic police fine ‘em. Heck, a mobile company even went to the extent of advertising the loud speaker feature of its phone by showing how your neck gets that kinda permanent tilt if you speak while riding very often.

Now, its not that I am against all this. I am totally for it. Yes it is kinda unsafe to be riding or driving and at the same time speaking on the cell phone. It’s always better to use the headphones so that your hands aren’t occupied. But my point of writing this blog will be clear to you as you read further.

Being a student of an engineering college which is 12 km from home I have to travel by our local transport, the great BMTC, everyday. And many a times I have noticed the bus drivers speaking on their mobile phone as they drive!!! I was so very shocked at that sight. It has happened quite a few times. One person even went to the length of taking a pretty steep turn while talking on the phone. Another slowed the bus and delayed his passengers as he was going yak yak on his phone. I mean don’t you think he has the responsibility of the safety of all the people in his bus on his shoulders??? And why can’t the traffic police notice this and fine them severely too??? I mean a bus accident would be really very disastrous.

I am planning to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper hoping to put an end to this. It’s really preposterous!!! And I hope you, dear reader, feel the same.

2008-02-25T20:31:00.001+05:30

Circumstances landed them both within the same four corners. They saw each other for the first time. Exchanged names ‘cause that’s what she always did with new people. And then they continued. After they parted she wondered if he was still watching her. At least some glimpses. And yes, he was. She wondered if she should feel weird or happy. The guy was cute with a nice smile, so she felt the latter. But then apart from their names they didn’t exchange any words. Guess they preferred it that way.

They met again. Circumstances weren’t same as before. They didn’t speak. Were never alone together. But they didn’t complain to themselves about it in their minds. They liked the games their eyes were playing.

They crossed each other’s path elsewhere. Eyes met but they didn’t acknowledge each other. “Does he/she remember me?” both wondered. “Or maybe it was nothing. Maybe it’s my imagination. How can I get so filmy??” were the other thoughts that crossed their minds. But no matter how much they denied, the connection existed.

Fate made them meet more often. “Hi” was the only word exchanged with a smile. They looked forward to just that the entire day. And if they were around with their respective set of friends they still stole moments to look the other’s way. She would feel conscious if others would notice. He would keep himself occupied so as to not arise suspicion. Like this, the days passed.

At the end of the day they knew their journey together had no destination. Hers was a different station and his was another. So why bother embarking on the trip when there is no togetherness ahead? And so, they settled for the games their eyes and smiles played. After all, something is better than nothing.

I NEVER REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT IT

2008-02-20T19:10:00.003+05:30

That phrase I usually like to use when asked a question I wouldn't like to answer. The question could be asked even by me to myself. I just don't think about finding an answer and conveniently say, "I never really thought about it".

Is it escapism?? Maybe... But then again, I don't want to think about it... *ahem*

I was waiting at a bus stop one morning when this lady comes up to me and speaks politely saying, my name is so-n-so, I am doing some volunteer work (not the first time this has happened) and would like to know your view blah blah... She said to me that I must be aware of the violence against women happening everywhere and asked me what were my thoughts on it? Whether it could be completely stopped or can we women do anything to ensure nothing happens? I first said, its safe if women avoid being in isolated streets late at night. Then, contradicting myself I said, but that would be curbing our freedom just 'cause some pervert maybe in the corner which ain't fair. Then I said maybe we could have police patrolling areas late at night, and she asked, can they be trusted nowadays?? Good question...*ho-hum*

Then she asked me something which according to me was quite unnecessary and which made me say the phrase that this blog is all about. She asked, "Do you think the CREATOR has a hand in this? Do you think HE meant for it to be this way?"

!!!??!!!

"Uh.... I never really thought about it."

Now, frankly, this time I wasn't avoiding answering her question. I just never really thought about it. I mean who thinks of the Creator or Almighty when such things happen?? All we think is, did the woman invite this upon herself or was the culprit her crazed lover or something else...

Turns out that the lady was from some Christian Organization (I forgot the name) and she handed me a magazine in which they were articles about the "Bible View" and all.

I mean no disrespect, but where on earth are you going to find in any religious book or for that matter any book that justifies violence against women?? Or do you think by just making predators out there know that this is not how the Lord meant for it to be, they would stop?? Thinking about whether Someone up there had something to do with world turning out this way is kinda, well, doo-dah-doo...

Digressing a bit, I would like to mention, once my friend told me, according to the stories of "Dasavataras of Vishnu", whenever there was lot of "BAD" stuff happening on earth which needed to be ceased, an Avatar would appear and set things right. In the present day nothing in this world is right, lot of "BAD" stuff happening everywhere. Where is the 10th Avatar??

Just a few days back, my classmate asked me, do you believe in God? I was gonna reply saying I never really thought about it, but the fact is I have. I am in kinda confused state so I prefer not to make a choice. I have some faith in me, but it may not be complete. I go to temples whenever there is a big pooja along with the family even if its just once or twice a year (this was frowned upon by my classmate who goes to temple every week). And there my heart and soul is completely into it. But otherwise,

I NEVER REALLY THINK ABOUT IT.

MISS-SPELT(pun intended) Part I

2008-02-16T19:18:00.004+05:30

Living in a place like the Bangalore, the capital city of the state, I have had the opportunity(I think its more of a necessity) to travel by the local transport. As I sit by the window in the BMTC bus, I get a lot of time for sightseeing. And lot of sights I see are the hoardings everywhere in small shops which often have a lot of words spelt incorrectly.

Below are a few examples:

In a shoe shop: "Rs. 249 on words..."

In a beedi shop or at the phone booths near bus-stops: "hande capped" or "handy cap"

At a automobile repair shop: "Tyre Punchaar"

At a roadside restaurant: "Indian, Chaineese..."

As of now I can't remember the rest. Hence this post is titled part I. Will come with some more next time.

P.S: If you any such wrongly spelt funny words, comment on them.

MAKE YOUR OWN MUSIC

2008-02-08T20:38:00.000+05:30

I had got this site through a mail. Its fun. Just click on instrument you want played.

And guys, enjoy the "chicas".

ACTION!!!

2008-02-04T20:10:00.000+05:30

Yeah that's what a director says when he is ready to film the shot.

But mine didn't say it.

*ahem*

DING!!

I'll explain. There is this place "Taaza Masala Soda", a.k.a TMS, behind my college. You get paratha's, cold drinks and recently frankies, cakes and other bakery items. Everything available there is quite good. And reasonable too.

A kannada channel, "Udaya TV", was doing a coverage on that place. Now, the owners and I have the same mother tongue. I am guessing that's one of the reasons they caught hold of me and told me to speak about the place on camera.

You might think, what a great opportunity! A chance to be on TV. Man, that's totally awesome!!!

Those aren't the thoughts that went through my mind.

For starters, I thought uncle was joking. Later when Aunty told me seriously that I have to speak I was, well, kinda numb. Reason?? I didn't know what to say. Once I did, I didn't know how to say it. Well, am not exactly fluent with the language.

Before I know it, the mic's on me. I am supposed to continuously look at the lens and speak. And so I wait. Wait for the director to yell "ACTION!". But that didn't happen. Anyway, I asked him "shall I start?", and I rambled on. For about 15-20 seconds.

For a second my face turned away from the lens, felt more foolish about it later.

Well, they say its gonna air sometime next week. Dunno when and what time. Dunno if my part will be aired or not. But I gotta say, I should have been much happier about my tryst with TV-dom.

Alas, I wasn't.

P.S: People reading this may feel, I was stupid and dumb for not using this opportunity to the fullest, but well, I guess, it was a "momentary lapse" kinda thing.

AUNTY MATH KAHO NAA!!!

2008-01-25T21:16:00.000+05:30

This phrase was used in a Hindi TV sitcom, “Hum Paanch”. This is one of the sitcom’s that even came out with a 2^nd season after a good ten years or so of the end of 1st season (!!!). The next door “aunty” would use the phrase whenever any one of the 5 protagonists called her aunty.

I never thought I would be using it at this age!!

*sob sob*

*sniff*

The other day we were traveling by train in A.C compartment. The neighboring compartment was occupied by a joint family. A very cute kid was among them. I couldn’t resist and ended up carrying her, playing with her and speaking some baby language gibberish. As I bid good-bye the parents and grandparents tell the kid,

“Say ta-ta to aunty….”

!!!

I was flabbergasted to say the least!

Me??

Aunty??!!

No way man!!! I end up telling ‘em, kinda sheepishly, “Uh…*cough cough* please say ta-ta to akka not aunty *cough*”

That was just incident number 1. In the colony where I live, currently, there’s a badminton tournament going on. So you can imagine all ladies sitting and gossiping, kids running here and there. I happen to have some chocolates with me so I announce,

“Who wants chocolates??”

Some kid says, “Aunty, I want!”

!!!NOT AGAIN!!!

So I say, “No chocolate if you call me aunty!!”

Then this clever kid comes and says sweetly, “Akka, I want chocolate.”

Now that’s more like it! :)

Hope no one calls me aunty for another 2 decades. I feel really old. I know old is gold and stuff but, you see, I ain’t that big a fan of gold. So I’d like to stay young as long as I can.

WHERE'S THE POPCORN?

2008-01-21T20:24:00.001+05:30

My vacations usually consist of watching TV, movies, reading, spending time on the net, basically just lazing around at home. As usual these holidays too I watched quite a few movies, and I have mentioned three of 'em below. Just these three for the time being 'cause I didn't really expect much from 'em, but they turned out to be really good. Have a look...

CRY WOLF-BeLIEve

This movie was worth the wait. What wait you wonder? Well, one day I chanced upon this movie on HBO, saw the first 15 min or so. But then for reasons I have forgotten, I didn't see the rest of it. Every time it came on HBO, I missed it for one reason or the other. Finally about 2 weeks ago, I got a very convenient time to watch it. And I did. Was very good. Amazing twists and jolts till the very end.

The movie begins with a murder in a campus. Then it cuts to entry of a brit boy to a preparatory school for which his father had to pull a couple of strings. Along with his roommate's friends he plays the game they call "cry wolf", which have the rules(if you look closely into the poster you can see 'em)
Avoid suspicion
Manipulate your friends
Eliminate your enemies.

And they discover that the new boy is actually good at it.

They then get the idea of playing this game with the entire campus by sending a fake e-mail and creating a character "wolf" who is responsible for campus murders which have taken place. They design the death of each of 'em in a particular fashion. Well, now you think the story is predictable. Yes, it kinda is. I mean, u already must be thinking, the "real wolf" reads the e-mail and friends die 1 by 1 and that its the usual slasher movie. But take it from me, its much more. The movie is very different from the other ones of the slasher genre. The end was a big surprise and i like surprises!

Good thriller, hence worth the wait.

SHATTERED GLASS-He'd do anything to get a great story

This is another movie I happened to come across while surfing channels one lazy afternoon. This time it was star movies. I missed the first 15 min, but I was so bored that day, I thought, why not watch it and see what its all about. I mean, I didn't think I would get bored any further.

And I was right.

This movie is a true story of a journalist, Stephen Glass, who worked for "The New Republic". How this funny, entertaining guy comes up with such entertaining "true" articles which get published and make for an interesting read. All is well until a rival publisher discovers something Stephen tries to cover up. Meanwhile, the favourite editor gets fired for standing up for his writers and the one who has replaced him has to take the right actions even though others fail to empathize with him.

I found many dimensions to this movie. One wherein people have big misinterpretations about others. And unless you are in that person's position you will definitely fail to understand him/her and their actions. Another wherein your life can come crumbling down even though deep down you are a good person and mean no harm to others. And finally, about doing what is right even though you absolutely hate having to do it.

Good movie, great performances. Drove away my boredom.

GREEN STREET HOOLIGANS

I didn't know there was such a movie till one of my friend's mentioned it(yeah Shaw, it was you). To my luck, my cousin had this DVD. The print wasn't good albeit watchable.

It begins with a journalism student at Harvard getting kicked out 'cause of his roommate's drugs being found in his closet. A set-up of course by the roommate, whose dad happens to be a big shot, hence this guy doesn't stand a chance raising any hue and cry. He then goes to England to his sister's place wherein he meets his bro-in-law's brother who happens to be part of a football hooligan 'firm', Green Street Elite(GSE). Although he is taken aback by the violence he encounters among the different 'firms' at first, he discovers that it actually gives him a sense of power he never experienced before and hence he enters the world of football fanaticism and the secrecy and intrigue of the football firm.

This movie too is packed with good performances by the lead actors. Even though its a violent film, at the end of it, its all about friendship, honour, loyalty, and finally about protecting the ones you love the most-your family.

IN THE BEGINNING

2008-01-20T19:20:00.001+05:30

Well, frankly, this is my 2nd beginning(if there is anything like that). This is my 2nd attempt at blogging and hopefully unlike last time, I won't let laziness overcome me and stop. I hope and pray that this time I continue.

I have aptly named my blog "Puke of Thoughts" because it's just that. Its the stuff I need to get out of my system but there's no one around to help me do so. Hence I begin my blogging journey and plan to enjoy the trip while I am at it(And I hope u, dear reader, enjoy it too).

Until next time, Ciao.