Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!
Santa came to town with Old Monk Bacardi and Smirnoff!
Monday, December 26, 2005
Santa came to Richmond town
Monday, December 19, 2005
Newest Testament
"Behold, when I send thee friends who will walk through the fire with thee, hold thy head high and march ahead, unafraid. My gifts shall guide thee to thy glory."
Yet unpublished words of the Lord. A sneak preview of the eagerly awaited sequel in the series.
Yet unpublished words of the Lord. A sneak preview of the eagerly awaited sequel in the series.
Friday, November 25, 2005
Back To Bangalore...
Made it from Pune to Bangalore in day and a half.
Rode from Bangalore-Bhadravati-Shimoga-Dharwad-Pune, Then second streach Pune-Mumbai-Tarapur and back to Pune. And then finally from Pune to Bangalore.
This picture is just after Khambatki Ghat near Satara. All pictures taken with my Mobile. Thats why the low resolution.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Just finished Motorcycle Diaries, the book
And this is what Devyani says about the movie
Animations......:
It’s a very touching story of how a person can be touched by what he sees. Also, the message reaching me is how the world and its inhabitants change our goals and ambitions. Each interaction with another makes you a different person.
Animations......:
It’s a very touching story of how a person can be touched by what he sees. Also, the message reaching me is how the world and its inhabitants change our goals and ambitions. Each interaction with another makes you a different person.
Fantastic!
http://www.hanuman-thefilm.com/
Watched this one Day-Before-First-Day-First-Show
(they somehow screen couple of shows on Thursday night here in Pune)
The movie is really well made.
No long boring dialogues and slow YAWN! Songs that Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan had.
This one's power packed, full of actions and is really funny when it has to.
Hanuman as baby is really cute. The Bears and the squirrel look a little bit like Disney's Balu and Chip and Dale, but it fits.
Animation is much like Tenali. Must be same art directors. I think we have something that can be called "Indian Style" of animation.
Music is really really good.
The music video that screens along with the credits is a must see.
Shaan and Palash Sen, Too good.
Only minus in my opinion is that its a really long story told in bits and pieces. So if you dont know the missing parts the storyline might appear patchy. On the other hand there are things that I did not know and I am sure most of us dont. (Like hanman had a son even tho hi was Brhamachari. There 's more, go watch it and find out)
Three odd year old sitting (actually standing on the arm rest) a row behind us was yelling "Jai Shri Ram" at the top of his voice, during he climax.
Successful Movie!
PS1: Please make everyone watch this movie. Movies like this (and Iqbal) need to be encouraged. PS2: Donot compare this one to "Ice Age", "Shrek", or "Monster's Inc", those are completely different genere all togeher. Different technology, Different budgets.
Watched this one Day-Before-First-Day-First-Show
(they somehow screen couple of shows on Thursday night here in Pune)
The movie is really well made.
No long boring dialogues and slow YAWN! Songs that Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan had.
This one's power packed, full of actions and is really funny when it has to.
Hanuman as baby is really cute. The Bears and the squirrel look a little bit like Disney's Balu and Chip and Dale, but it fits.
Animation is much like Tenali. Must be same art directors. I think we have something that can be called "Indian Style" of animation.
Music is really really good.
The music video that screens along with the credits is a must see.
Shaan and Palash Sen, Too good.
Only minus in my opinion is that its a really long story told in bits and pieces. So if you dont know the missing parts the storyline might appear patchy. On the other hand there are things that I did not know and I am sure most of us dont. (Like hanman had a son even tho hi was Brhamachari. There 's more, go watch it and find out)
Three odd year old sitting (actually standing on the arm rest) a row behind us was yelling "Jai Shri Ram" at the top of his voice, during he climax.
Successful Movie!
PS1: Please make everyone watch this movie. Movies like this (and Iqbal) need to be encouraged. PS2: Donot compare this one to "Ice Age", "Shrek", or "Monster's Inc", those are completely different genere all togeher. Different technology, Different budgets.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Golden Quadrilateral
Now that's what the Golden Quadrilateral Highway Project is called in my country. No idea why they added "Swapnil" to it. Dont rememer seeing this sign last time I traveled Bangalore-Pune. That was in a Bus.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Coming up soon: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Version 2.0
"School Chalen Hum" now going to be "Secondary School Chalen Hum"
Govt to universalise secondary education- The Times of India: "NEW DELHI: The way government programmes go, it could simply be the most gigantic one ever in the field of education, bigger than even the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). A firm beginning has been made, complete with a detailed proposal by the HRD ministry sent to the Planning Commission late last week, for universalising secondary education in the country.
Almost on the lines of the SSA (the Centre’s share will be 75%, but 90% for special category states; a state’s share 25%, only 10% for special category states), the new scheme to be implemented in a “mission mode—time-bound targets, clear definition of responsibility at various levels and close monitoring’’— would entail a total expenditure of Rs 81,327 crore during the 11th Plan (2007 to 2012). This includes Rs 65,063 crore as the Centre’s share and Rs 16,264 crore as the states’ share. In addition, the Centre would spend Rs 10,450 crore to augment Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas. Thus, the Centre’s overall contribution in the Plan period would be Rs 75,513 crore.
It is estimated that due to the success of SSA, nearly 1.1 crore additional children would be knocking on the doors of secondary schools by 2007 and hence the need to universalise secondary education. In its proposal, HRD has fixed specific targets of the mission which include raising gross enrolment ratio (GER) for the secondary-school going group (14-18 years) from 37.5% (2002-03) to at least 50% by 2011-12; eliminating gender and social disparities and minimising rural-urban disparity; bringing down the pupilteacher ratio at the secondary stage to 25 and having 100% trained teachers; improving pass percentage (X & XII) to around 75%; one lab each of physics, chemistry and biology; 100% enrolment for girls as well as separate toilets for them; I-T infrastructure in all schools; facilities for disabled; and expansion of scholarship schemes."
Govt to universalise secondary education- The Times of India: "NEW DELHI: The way government programmes go, it could simply be the most gigantic one ever in the field of education, bigger than even the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). A firm beginning has been made, complete with a detailed proposal by the HRD ministry sent to the Planning Commission late last week, for universalising secondary education in the country.
Almost on the lines of the SSA (the Centre’s share will be 75%, but 90% for special category states; a state’s share 25%, only 10% for special category states), the new scheme to be implemented in a “mission mode—time-bound targets, clear definition of responsibility at various levels and close monitoring’’— would entail a total expenditure of Rs 81,327 crore during the 11th Plan (2007 to 2012). This includes Rs 65,063 crore as the Centre’s share and Rs 16,264 crore as the states’ share. In addition, the Centre would spend Rs 10,450 crore to augment Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas. Thus, the Centre’s overall contribution in the Plan period would be Rs 75,513 crore.
It is estimated that due to the success of SSA, nearly 1.1 crore additional children would be knocking on the doors of secondary schools by 2007 and hence the need to universalise secondary education. In its proposal, HRD has fixed specific targets of the mission which include raising gross enrolment ratio (GER) for the secondary-school going group (14-18 years) from 37.5% (2002-03) to at least 50% by 2011-12; eliminating gender and social disparities and minimising rural-urban disparity; bringing down the pupilteacher ratio at the secondary stage to 25 and having 100% trained teachers; improving pass percentage (X & XII) to around 75%; one lab each of physics, chemistry and biology; 100% enrolment for girls as well as separate toilets for them; I-T infrastructure in all schools; facilities for disabled; and expansion of scholarship schemes."
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
No entry for Autos
A sign I saw first outside The Bowring Club in St. Marks Rd bangalore.
I find it totally rediculous.
Please!!!
Its the popular means of transport in this city.
(Bangalore doesnot have taxis, no black and yellow types at least)
No entry!: "If you are going to a five-star hotel in an auto, get ready to walk up the driveway. The guards will make you feel like scum and force you to get off in a corner. While the management at some hotels feigned ignorance, others said they were aware of such a rule and supported it.
Here’s what Lajwanti D’Souza had to face when she tried to enter hotels in a rickshaw"
I find it totally rediculous.
Please!!!
Its the popular means of transport in this city.
(Bangalore doesnot have taxis, no black and yellow types at least)
No entry!: "If you are going to a five-star hotel in an auto, get ready to walk up the driveway. The guards will make you feel like scum and force you to get off in a corner. While the management at some hotels feigned ignorance, others said they were aware of such a rule and supported it.
Here’s what Lajwanti D’Souza had to face when she tried to enter hotels in a rickshaw"
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Will you think out of that box of yours, Please..
Excerpts from one of the most impressive lectures I have ever heard.
This is December 2001, three months after 9/11, a month after the US had bombarded Afghanistan into submission.
A year after Clinton's term ended.
I saw the lecture live on BBC.
I had just receved a letter saying my joining at Infosys had been postponed indefinitely, partly due to 9/11
Read the whole thing if you have the time
William J. Clinton Foundation "BBC Richard Dimbleby Lecture, 2001":
"What this is all about is that simple question: which will be more important in the twenty first century - our differences or our common humanity? This encounter we have had with the Taliban and Mr. Bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda and all the debate that has filled the airwaves since, has given us a picture of this debate and of the very different ideas we have about the nature of truth, the value of life, the content of community. Like fanatics everywhere throughout history, these people think they've got the truth, and if you share their truth, your life has value. And if you don't, you're a legitimate target, even if you're just a six year-old girl who went to work with her mother at the World Trade Center on September 11th. That's what they think. And they really believe it, like fanatics everywhere. They think to be in their community, you have to look like them, think like them and act like them and they know people will stray every now and then, so they pick a few people to beat the living daylights out of those who stray.
Now most of us believe that no one has the absolute truth. Indeed, in our societies, the most religious among us sometimes feel that most strongly because we believe as children of God, we are by definition, limited in this life, in this body, with our minds. That life is a journey toward truth, that we have something to learn from each other, and that everybody ought to have a chance to make the journey. So for us, a community is just made up of anybody accepts the rules of the game, everybody counts, everybody has a role to play, everybody deserves a chance and we all do better when we work together. Now, that's what this is about.
This is not complicated. The people that want to kill us over our differences do so because they think their life doesn't matter except insofar as they are different from and better than others. Those of us who are trying to change ourselves and change them, we think our common humanity is more important and if we could just live up to its potential, the world would be a better place. And which side wins will shape the twenty first century. What do you think is more important? The answer is easy to give, but very, very hard to live. Think about this as you go home tonight.
Think about how important your differences are to you. Think about how we all organize our lives in little boxes - man, woman, British, American, Muslim, Christian, Jew, Tory, Labor, New Labor, Old Labor, up, down - you know, everything in the world. I like red ties, I got a blue shirt on, you laugh about it, think about everything you define yourself by. Our little boxes are important to us. And indeed it is necessary, how could you navigate life if you didn't know the difference between a child and an adult, an African and an Indian, a scientist and a lawyer? We have to organize that, but somewhere along the way, we finally come to understand that our life is more than all these boxes we're in. And that if we can't reach beyond that, we'll never have a fuller life. And the fanatics of the world, they love their boxes and they hate yours. You're laughing, that's what this is all about. And it's easy to give the right answer but it's hard to live.
When I was my daughter's age, just about to embark on my great adventure in England, just before that Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, two of the heroes of my youth, were murdered by their fellow Americans for trying to reconcile the American people to each other. Gandhi, the greatest spirit of the age, murdered, not by an angry Muslim but by a fellow Hindu because he wanted India for the Muslims and the Jains and the Sikhs. And the Jews and the Christians. Sadat - murdered not by an Israeli commando, but by a very angry Egyptian - a member of the organization now headed by Bin Laden's number two guy - an angry Egyptian. Because how could he be a good Egyptian or a good Muslim because he wanted secular government in Egypt and peace with Israel, though he got the desert back. And one of the people I have loved most in my increasingly long life, Yitzhak Rabin, was murdered not by a Palestinian terrorist, but by a very angry young Israeli Jew who thought he was not a good Jew or a good Israeli because he wanted lasting peace for Israel through the recognition of the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians for a homeland. And that guy who murdered him got exactly what he wanted - he derailed and delayed the peace process and let it be swarmed and mauled by all those people who were under the foolish illusions that their differences matter more than the fact that they are all the children of Abraham.
So that's what I want you to think about. It's great that your kids will live to be ninety years old but I don't want it to be behind barbed wire. It's great that we're going to have all these benefits of the modern world, but I don't want you to feel like you're emotional prisoners. And I don't want you to look at people who look different from you and see a potential enemy instead of a fellow traveler. We can make the world of our dreams for our children, but since it's a world without walls, it will have to be a home for all our children.
Thank you very much. "
This is December 2001, three months after 9/11, a month after the US had bombarded Afghanistan into submission.
A year after Clinton's term ended.
I saw the lecture live on BBC.
I had just receved a letter saying my joining at Infosys had been postponed indefinitely, partly due to 9/11
Read the whole thing if you have the time
William J. Clinton Foundation "BBC Richard Dimbleby Lecture, 2001":
"What this is all about is that simple question: which will be more important in the twenty first century - our differences or our common humanity? This encounter we have had with the Taliban and Mr. Bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda and all the debate that has filled the airwaves since, has given us a picture of this debate and of the very different ideas we have about the nature of truth, the value of life, the content of community. Like fanatics everywhere throughout history, these people think they've got the truth, and if you share their truth, your life has value. And if you don't, you're a legitimate target, even if you're just a six year-old girl who went to work with her mother at the World Trade Center on September 11th. That's what they think. And they really believe it, like fanatics everywhere. They think to be in their community, you have to look like them, think like them and act like them and they know people will stray every now and then, so they pick a few people to beat the living daylights out of those who stray.
Now most of us believe that no one has the absolute truth. Indeed, in our societies, the most religious among us sometimes feel that most strongly because we believe as children of God, we are by definition, limited in this life, in this body, with our minds. That life is a journey toward truth, that we have something to learn from each other, and that everybody ought to have a chance to make the journey. So for us, a community is just made up of anybody accepts the rules of the game, everybody counts, everybody has a role to play, everybody deserves a chance and we all do better when we work together. Now, that's what this is about.
This is not complicated. The people that want to kill us over our differences do so because they think their life doesn't matter except insofar as they are different from and better than others. Those of us who are trying to change ourselves and change them, we think our common humanity is more important and if we could just live up to its potential, the world would be a better place. And which side wins will shape the twenty first century. What do you think is more important? The answer is easy to give, but very, very hard to live. Think about this as you go home tonight.
Think about how important your differences are to you. Think about how we all organize our lives in little boxes - man, woman, British, American, Muslim, Christian, Jew, Tory, Labor, New Labor, Old Labor, up, down - you know, everything in the world. I like red ties, I got a blue shirt on, you laugh about it, think about everything you define yourself by. Our little boxes are important to us. And indeed it is necessary, how could you navigate life if you didn't know the difference between a child and an adult, an African and an Indian, a scientist and a lawyer? We have to organize that, but somewhere along the way, we finally come to understand that our life is more than all these boxes we're in. And that if we can't reach beyond that, we'll never have a fuller life. And the fanatics of the world, they love their boxes and they hate yours. You're laughing, that's what this is all about. And it's easy to give the right answer but it's hard to live.
When I was my daughter's age, just about to embark on my great adventure in England, just before that Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, two of the heroes of my youth, were murdered by their fellow Americans for trying to reconcile the American people to each other. Gandhi, the greatest spirit of the age, murdered, not by an angry Muslim but by a fellow Hindu because he wanted India for the Muslims and the Jains and the Sikhs. And the Jews and the Christians. Sadat - murdered not by an Israeli commando, but by a very angry Egyptian - a member of the organization now headed by Bin Laden's number two guy - an angry Egyptian. Because how could he be a good Egyptian or a good Muslim because he wanted secular government in Egypt and peace with Israel, though he got the desert back. And one of the people I have loved most in my increasingly long life, Yitzhak Rabin, was murdered not by a Palestinian terrorist, but by a very angry young Israeli Jew who thought he was not a good Jew or a good Israeli because he wanted lasting peace for Israel through the recognition of the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians for a homeland. And that guy who murdered him got exactly what he wanted - he derailed and delayed the peace process and let it be swarmed and mauled by all those people who were under the foolish illusions that their differences matter more than the fact that they are all the children of Abraham.
So that's what I want you to think about. It's great that your kids will live to be ninety years old but I don't want it to be behind barbed wire. It's great that we're going to have all these benefits of the modern world, but I don't want you to feel like you're emotional prisoners. And I don't want you to look at people who look different from you and see a potential enemy instead of a fellow traveler. We can make the world of our dreams for our children, but since it's a world without walls, it will have to be a home for all our children.
Thank you very much. "
Monday, September 05, 2005
The world's coming to an end...
Rupesh Mohanty from office is great source of wonderful stories from his boarding school childhood.
His was a Convent school
It seems, every time there was a flood, quake, riot famine anywhere the sisters would remind the kids
"The world is coming to an end
Get ready.
Jesus is coming.
When it is time, there will be great floods and you will find your friends and family missing."
As a 10 year old the though that was the reason they checked attendance four times a day.
His was a Convent school
It seems, every time there was a flood, quake, riot famine anywhere the sisters would remind the kids
"The world is coming to an end
Get ready.
Jesus is coming.
When it is time, there will be great floods and you will find your friends and family missing."
As a 10 year old the though that was the reason they checked attendance four times a day.
Do these things happen to you!!!
One day you go eat in a fancy Korean Restaurant.
The overly friendly and polite waiter suggests a chicken dish you cannot pronounce.
Its wonderful and you wonder how they got that texture to the meat
Next day you see a dog catching van.
The guy hanging from the back turns around and you get this feeling
"Have I seen this guy somewhere?"
The overly friendly and polite waiter suggests a chicken dish you cannot pronounce.
Its wonderful and you wonder how they got that texture to the meat
Next day you see a dog catching van.
The guy hanging from the back turns around and you get this feeling
"Have I seen this guy somewhere?"
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
School Closets
Was at Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya last weekend.
This is a music school that trains local children in Hundustani classical music along with normal school subjects. The school is managed by Mathieu, Agathe and Blaise along with a number of Indian and Foreign volunteers. Nicest people you will ever meet.
Its a resident school with 80 students and some 15 odd volunteers living on campus.The school is a cluster of beautiful bamboo and mud huts next to a nice little pond right in the middle of a jungle. The huts are hostel rooms in the night and classrooms during the day. Beautiful.
The kids get up in the morning and after an hour or so of Yoga and breakfast, starts music practice. They learn Sitar, Harmonium and Tabla. Most amazing sounds you will ever hear.
Friday, August 12, 2005
ITC's e-Choupal movement
ITC's e-Choupal movement: "' A quiet digital revolution is reshaping the lives of farmers in remote Indian villages.
In these villages, farmers grow soyabeans, wheat and coffee in small plots of land, as they have for thousands of years. A typical village has no reliable electricity and has antiquated telephone lines. The farmers are largely illiterate and have never seen a computer. But farmers in these villages are conducting e-business through an initiative called e-Choupal, created by ITC, one of India's largest consumer product and agribusiness companies.'
- Mohanbir Sawhney, McCormick Tribune Professor of
Technology, Kellogg School of Management, USA."
In these villages, farmers grow soyabeans, wheat and coffee in small plots of land, as they have for thousands of years. A typical village has no reliable electricity and has antiquated telephone lines. The farmers are largely illiterate and have never seen a computer. But farmers in these villages are conducting e-business through an initiative called e-Choupal, created by ITC, one of India's largest consumer product and agribusiness companies.'
- Mohanbir Sawhney, McCormick Tribune Professor of
Technology, Kellogg School of Management, USA."
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Ten Cent Wings
August Eight 2005,
My bird's just flown me Ten Thousand Kilometers
Actually saw all digits on my meter flip from 09999.9 to 10000.0
And the rewards...
10,000 Kms
Not a single breakdown, (Not even a puncture)
What does she get in return?
Cramster Stallion Saddle bags and the Latest Magnetic Tank Bag.
www.cramster.in/default.php
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
Ever wondered what's happening to the 2 percent surcharge you're paying on all taxes?
Well this is what is happening...
Potentially the greatest thing to happen in India after Green Revolution.
Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (Education For All)
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: "Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
Mission Statement
All Learn - All Grow
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is Government of India's flagship programme for achievement of Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time bound manner, as mandated by 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making fee and compulsory Education to the Children of 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental Right. SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire country and address the needs of 192 million children in 1.1 million habitations. The programme seeks to open new schools in those habitations which do not have schooling facilities and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants. Existing schools with inadequate teacher strength are provided with additional teachers, while the capacity of existing teachers is being strengthened by extensive training, grants for developing teaching-learning materials and strengthening of the academic support structure at a cluster, block and district level. SSA seeks to provide quality elementary education including life skills. SSA has a special focus on girl's education and children with special needs. SSA also seeks to provide computer education to bridge the digital divide."
More Links:
BASIC FEATURES OF SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN
EduSat
DOT-EDU
Joint Review of States
District Report Cards:
Well this is what is happening...
Potentially the greatest thing to happen in India after Green Revolution.
Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (Education For All)
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: "Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
Mission Statement
All Learn - All Grow
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is Government of India's flagship programme for achievement of Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time bound manner, as mandated by 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making fee and compulsory Education to the Children of 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental Right. SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire country and address the needs of 192 million children in 1.1 million habitations. The programme seeks to open new schools in those habitations which do not have schooling facilities and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants. Existing schools with inadequate teacher strength are provided with additional teachers, while the capacity of existing teachers is being strengthened by extensive training, grants for developing teaching-learning materials and strengthening of the academic support structure at a cluster, block and district level. SSA seeks to provide quality elementary education including life skills. SSA has a special focus on girl's education and children with special needs. SSA also seeks to provide computer education to bridge the digital divide."
More Links:
BASIC FEATURES OF SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN
EduSat
DOT-EDU
Joint Review of States
District Report Cards:
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Mysore se aayi
Phat Phish Records is coming up with their second album with Raghupathy.The first one was Rabbi (Bulla ki jana...)
Cocaine will be available in market soon
The site has "Mysore se aayi" streamed
Check it out NOW!!!
Soulitudes | Creative Exploration: "About the musician - Raghupathy Dixit
The Raghu Dixit Project, founded by Raghupathy Dixit, is an open house for musicians and artistes from different genres to come together, collaborate and create a dynamic sound and expression. Though a gold medalist in Masters in Microbiology and a proficient Indian Classical Dancer (Vidwat in Bharatnatyam), Raghupathy Dixit is now known more as a self-taught guitarist-singer-composer-song writer-musician, based in Bangalore. As the founder-front man of his band ‘Antaragni’ for more than eight years, and now of ‘The Raghu Dixit Project’, Raghu has performed more than 250 concerts all over India. His band ‘The Raghu Dixit Project’ is all set to launch its debut album through Phat Phish Records."
Cocaine will be available in market soon
The site has "Mysore se aayi" streamed
Check it out NOW!!!
Soulitudes | Creative Exploration: "About the musician - Raghupathy Dixit
The Raghu Dixit Project, founded by Raghupathy Dixit, is an open house for musicians and artistes from different genres to come together, collaborate and create a dynamic sound and expression. Though a gold medalist in Masters in Microbiology and a proficient Indian Classical Dancer (Vidwat in Bharatnatyam), Raghupathy Dixit is now known more as a self-taught guitarist-singer-composer-song writer-musician, based in Bangalore. As the founder-front man of his band ‘Antaragni’ for more than eight years, and now of ‘The Raghu Dixit Project’, Raghu has performed more than 250 concerts all over India. His band ‘The Raghu Dixit Project’ is all set to launch its debut album through Phat Phish Records."
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Hum Honge Kamiyaab......
Jane bhi do Yaron ends with two lead characters singing "Hum Honge Kamiyaab......"
The lead characters are named Vinod Chopra (Nassirudin Shah) and Sudhir Mishra (Ravi Basani)
Kundan Shah's wrote the script with Sudhir Mishra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra has a weird title of Production Controller in the credits.
Twenty Two years after the release of "Jane bhi.." , these two most individualistic film makers in Indian cinema ARE quite Kamiyaab.
The lead characters are named Vinod Chopra (Nassirudin Shah) and Sudhir Mishra (Ravi Basani)
Kundan Shah's wrote the script with Sudhir Mishra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra has a weird title of Production Controller in the credits.
Twenty Two years after the release of "Jane bhi.." , these two most individualistic film makers in Indian cinema ARE quite Kamiyaab.
Monday, July 04, 2005
Thirty seven....
How many did you say were 37 "Angel Years" in "Man Years"...
Twelve and one third I say...
Many many happy returns of the day!!!
Friday, July 01, 2005
Rudresha's work...
Dear God,
I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset You made on Tuesday. That was cool!
Eugene
(Its one of those cute letters writen by a kid to god)
I was flabbergasted by this picture on Rudresha's Flickr album.
Check out some of the panoramic pictures that he's taken. They are actually done by taking multiple snaps from different angales and then "Stitching" them together manually.
Amazing work!!!
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Bear attack
Surviving a bear attack I was shocked at how calm I was through the whole episode. Suddenly realized that I classify modes of death into graceful and disgraceful.
If a Truck gets too close to my bike on a highway, I my knees shake for quite some time. I have heard really bad bear attack stories, people disfigured beyond recognition and stuff. Still when everyone else was running instinctively, my feet just didn’t move, we were told not to panic and run and I didn’t. Don’t know if everyone else also has acceptable modes of death but i certainly do..
I realized a few more things.
Bear don’t tickle you to death. (My mom actually told me that they do)They just try to maul you to pulp.
Four feet bear weighs around 80 kgs and feels like 800 on your back.
Bear drool is extremely sticky.
Bear look cute and cuddly in zoos and circus. In the jungle they are terrifying.
It’s good to have life insurance. (I actually got life insurance for myself TODAY)
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
If I was given a gem...
Jewellery making is my family business
I am supposed to know it all about Gold and Diamonds.
Recently was helping a friend pick up a diamond ring and was totally flabbergasted by the range of types, qualities and prices.
They say if I was given a gem I would not know what to do with it.
But then I sure am learning how to identify one...
I am supposed to know it all about Gold and Diamonds.
Recently was helping a friend pick up a diamond ring and was totally flabbergasted by the range of types, qualities and prices.
They say if I was given a gem I would not know what to do with it.
But then I sure am learning how to identify one...
Monday, June 06, 2005
FRANGIPANI
Have a really lousy beginning to the day. Feels nice to reach office and
find flowers on your desk
FRANGIPANI (Plumeria rubra)
Botanical family: Apocynaceae
Common name: Frangipani
Part of plant used for distillation: Flowers
Extraction Process: Solvent/concrete
Country of Origin: India
This rich, heady, exotic oil has a deep expansive quality which
encourages a sensual, almost provocative response. It is thought to
restore inner peace and harmony which guides one to honor the sacred in
intimacy. Frangipani's nature is to remind us of the beauty of our
soul's infinite journey.
Properties: Calming, sedative, aphrodisiac
Scent: Deep, rich, floral
Note: Middle/base
Magic & Lore: Frangipani is known as the Tree of Life in India, a branch
cut from the tree will continue to blossom, as if representing our
soul's infinite connection to the Divine. Frangipani was a favorite
flower of Lord Krishna.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Cousins.....
Give the kids a mobile phone with camera and doze off in the afternoon and this is what happens.
Me back from Tarapur.
All the pictures in this collage are take by my cousins aged (3,6 and 12) and all of them are without any parental guidence.
Its amazing how they have captured all adults sleeping.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Keystone Foundation, Kotagiri
Mission Statement:
Our Mission is to enhance the Quality of Life and the Environment with Indigenous Communities using Eco-development Approaches
Rui And Merab
Rui's prayers evening are legendary
"God, thanks for the ceiling, Amen"
or
"God, thanks for the the place to keep my TV, Amen"
Merab
Met Merab over the weekend at Kotagiri.
Went on a long walk around the hills with this angel and Mr. Pluto, who's the friendliest Dalmation ever.
Swapnil: What's your favorite subject?
Merab: History.
S: What are they teaching you?
M: History's just started. First there was the early man. He roamed around all over the place, they called him Nomad.
S: Who's the first man that who stood upright.
M: (thinking) Huh!
S: Who started walking on two legs.
M: Hmmm .... Hmmm.... I dont know his name.
S: okay, what happened to early man.
M: He used to roam all around and then he discovered fire by accident.
S: Was it a TRAIN accident?
M: NOOOO... He took two flint stones and rubbed them together.
S: Flint stones the cartoons?
M: Hmm....May be.
S: Wilma and Freddie?
M: They took the both of them and rubbed their noses together and there was fire.
S: !!!
M: and thats how they became husband and wife....
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Storyteller...
Aditi's latest book is out...
Penguin Books India > Book Detail: "Timeless tales from all over India
From Bengal to Bastar and Kashmir to Coorg, there are stories that have been handed down generations: bedtime stories for children, fireside stories for travellers, who have heard these tales, wondered at them and repeated them to others. In A Twist in the Tale: More Indian Folktales, Aditi De collects forty such stories from various parts of India and retells them with dollops of humour.
A friendless crocodile, a timid mouse and a vain fox are among some of the eccentric characters that appear in this book. There is also a clever princess, a hapless priest with heron feathers flying out of his mouth, and galleries of rogues. Strange happenings are not uncommon, so a nail tree grows out of nail clippings and a beetle saves a man from the dungeons. Full of the details of everyday life, festivities and food, these ageless stories have seldom been so exciting and such fun. Accompanied by Uma Krishnaswamy’s brilliant illustrations, this book will introduce the magic of Indian folktales to a new generation of readers."
Book can be ordered online at
Indaitimes
Penguin Books
NBC India
Penguin Books India > Book Detail: "Timeless tales from all over India
From Bengal to Bastar and Kashmir to Coorg, there are stories that have been handed down generations: bedtime stories for children, fireside stories for travellers, who have heard these tales, wondered at them and repeated them to others. In A Twist in the Tale: More Indian Folktales, Aditi De collects forty such stories from various parts of India and retells them with dollops of humour.
A friendless crocodile, a timid mouse and a vain fox are among some of the eccentric characters that appear in this book. There is also a clever princess, a hapless priest with heron feathers flying out of his mouth, and galleries of rogues. Strange happenings are not uncommon, so a nail tree grows out of nail clippings and a beetle saves a man from the dungeons. Full of the details of everyday life, festivities and food, these ageless stories have seldom been so exciting and such fun. Accompanied by Uma Krishnaswamy’s brilliant illustrations, this book will introduce the magic of Indian folktales to a new generation of readers."
Book can be ordered online at
Indaitimes
Penguin Books
NBC India
Monday, May 09, 2005
Normal is...
"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it."
~Ellen DeGeneres
~Ellen DeGeneres
Friday, May 06, 2005
Agelessbonding
Today's Usha's Birthday and Rabindranath Tagore's too.....
Happy Birthday Usha...
Some e-Mail signatures from Usha...
One thing you're never going to see is a hearse with luggage racks."
--Eric Atchison
"Somebody ought to tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now."
Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know so it goes on flying anyway.
-Mary Kay Ash
"The soul is born old but grows young. That is the comedy of life. And the body is born young and grows old. That is life's tragedy." - Oscar Wilde
"Mistakes are painful when they happen, but years later a collection of mistakes is what is called experience."
--Denis Waitley
"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which those who dream only by night may miss."
---Edgar Allan Poe
No matter how you think it is,
it's different than that! (This was new year's greetings)
"You've heard that before you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes? This is true. It's called living."
In the beginning the Universe was created... This made a lot of people angry and was widely regarded as a bad move.
-- Douglas Adams
The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it. -- Franklin P. Jones
Happy Birthday Usha...
Some e-Mail signatures from Usha...
One thing you're never going to see is a hearse with luggage racks."
--Eric Atchison
"Somebody ought to tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now."
Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know so it goes on flying anyway.
-Mary Kay Ash
"The soul is born old but grows young. That is the comedy of life. And the body is born young and grows old. That is life's tragedy." - Oscar Wilde
"Mistakes are painful when they happen, but years later a collection of mistakes is what is called experience."
--Denis Waitley
"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which those who dream only by night may miss."
---Edgar Allan Poe
No matter how you think it is,
it's different than that! (This was new year's greetings)
"You've heard that before you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes? This is true. It's called living."
In the beginning the Universe was created... This made a lot of people angry and was widely regarded as a bad move.
-- Douglas Adams
The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it. -- Franklin P. Jones
Monday, May 02, 2005
Yahoo! Search Results for motto for life
Yahoo! Search Results for motto for life: "Results 1 - 10 of about 4,190,000 for motto for life - 0.12 sec. (About this page)
WEB RESULTS
Number one search query that lands people on my blog is "Motto For Life". For some starange reason Yahoo ranks my blog as the number one result.
Its amazing how many people are looking for motto for life and the start searching on the net. May be i should redirect them to Mathieu, Agathe and Blaise. Never seen people more content with what they are doing. Young Musicians of the World is looking for volunteers who can teach ,Music or otherwise.
WEB RESULTS
Number one search query that lands people on my blog is "Motto For Life". For some starange reason Yahoo ranks my blog as the number one result.
Its amazing how many people are looking for motto for life and the start searching on the net. May be i should redirect them to Mathieu, Agathe and Blaise. Never seen people more content with what they are doing. Young Musicians of the World is looking for volunteers who can teach ,Music or otherwise.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
My Team
Took a boat ride and reached an island with two goal posts of all things. And a bunch of kids playing football...
Parked our boat and joined for a game and we won....
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Motorcycle Diaries
Okay this is my longest post ever but for good reason(s)....
Saw "Motorcycle Diaries" A movie by Walter Salles on saturday.
Walked in knowing little about Che Guevera, except for the fact that I have seen his face on a millon T-Shirts.
Half way through the movie, did not even know that It was a true story.
The movie is Funny and Inspiring.
Kind of like Life is Beautiful, only beetter, cause A) its true story and B) The central characters are not larger than life to begin with (unlike Benigni's in LIB)
Its about, People, Motrocycle, Travel, Good-Will, Transformation, Humor and Journey (Thru a continet and through time to find ones own roots.)
Deserves this space I guess..
Hoping to write my own Motorcycle diaries one day....
(Listening to Music of the Andes right now)
"Motorcycle Diaries" Shows Che Guevara at Crossroads: "Travel Bug
Travel Bug
Guevera was born in 1928 and grew up in an upper-middle-class family in Buenos Aires, though his parents defied many of the social conventions of their class at the time.
"Although the household was not infused with radical political sentiment, a tone of defiant independence seemed to reign," said Marshall Beck, editor at the North American Congress on Latin America, a nonprofit organization based in New York.
Guevera did not distinguish himself in medical school. His grades were far from remarkable. He showed little interest in politics, staying away from the left-wing groups on campus.
He always wanted to travel. In 1949 he had embarked on a solo bicycle tour of Argentina. When Alberto Granada, a family friend who was working in a leprosy hospital in Argentina's Córdoba Province, asked Guevara if he wanted to travel with him by motorcycle to North America, the young Guevara immediately said yes, even if it meant postponing his medical exams.
On January 4, 1952, the pair left on La Poderosa II ("The Mighty One"), Granada's 1939 500cc Norton motorcycle. They almost crashed into a streetcar immediately after taking off from an endless farewell at the Granadas' home in Córdoba.
Encountering Poverty
The first stop: Miramar, a small resort where Guevara's girlfriend, Chichina, was spending the summer with her upper-class family. Two days stretched into eight. Chichina lent him U.S. $15 to buy her a swimsuit in the U.S., and Guevara swore he would starve rather than spend the money on anything else.
The two men crossed into Chile on February 14. At one point they introduced themselves as internationally renowned leprosy experts at a local newspaper, which wrote a glowing story about them. The travelers used the press clipping as a way to score meals and other favors with locals along the way.
The pair also got into trouble. While stopping in the town of Lautaro to repair the motorcycle after an accident, they were invited to a dance. The evening ended badly, however, after Guevara was caught trying to seduce a married woman. The two men were chased out of town by an angry mob.
In Santiago, the capital of Chile, the motorcycle broke down for good. The two men decided to carry on by hitchhiking.
Guevara's political consciousness began to stir as he and Granada moved into mining country. They visited Chuquicamata copper mine, the world's largest open-pit mine and the primary source of Chile's wealth. It was run by U.S. mining monopolies and viewed by many as a symbol of foreign domination.
A meeting with a homeless communist couple in search of mining work made a particularly strong impression on Guevara.
"By the light of the single candle … the contracted features of the worker gave off a mysterious and tragic air … the couple, frozen stiff in the desert night, hugging one another, were a live representation of the proletariat of any part of the world," Guevara wrote in his diary.
Man of the People
In Peru, Guevara was impressed by the old Inca civilization. Riding in trucks with Indians and animals, he felt a fraternity with the indigenous people.
In Lima, the capital, the two men went to see Hugo Pesce, a leading leprosy researcher and a Marxist. Guevara engaged Pesce in political discussions. A decade later Guevara acknowledged the doctor's formative influence on him when he sent him a copy of his first book, Guerilla Warfare.
From Lima, Guevara and Granada traveled into the Amazon rain forest. They stayed for three weeks at San Pablo, a leper colony deep in the jungle, where the pair gave consultations and treated patients.
Guevara swam once from the side of the Amazon where the doctors stayed to the other side of the river where the leper patients lived, a distance of two and a half miles (four kilometers).
On his 24th birthday, with the doctors and nurses as his audience, Guevara gave his first political speech, advocating a unified Latin America.
"We believe, and after this trip even more firmly than before, that Latin America's division into illusory and uncertain nationalities is completely fictitious," he said.
The two men traveled on to Colombia and Venezuela, where Granada found work at a leprosarium. Guevara flew back to Argentina—via Miami, where he had to spend 20 days after the plane's engine broke down—where his family welcomed him upon his arrival.
Guevara was a changed man.
"I will be on the side of the people … I will take to the barricades and the trenches, screaming as one possessed, will stain my weapons with blood, and, mad with rage, will cut the throat of any vanquished foe I encounter," he wrote in his diary.
Saw "Motorcycle Diaries" A movie by Walter Salles on saturday.
Walked in knowing little about Che Guevera, except for the fact that I have seen his face on a millon T-Shirts.
Half way through the movie, did not even know that It was a true story.
The movie is Funny and Inspiring.
Kind of like Life is Beautiful, only beetter, cause A) its true story and B) The central characters are not larger than life to begin with (unlike Benigni's in LIB)
Its about, People, Motrocycle, Travel, Good-Will, Transformation, Humor and Journey (Thru a continet and through time to find ones own roots.)
Deserves this space I guess..
Hoping to write my own Motorcycle diaries one day....
(Listening to Music of the Andes right now)
"Motorcycle Diaries" Shows Che Guevara at Crossroads: "Travel Bug
Travel Bug
Guevera was born in 1928 and grew up in an upper-middle-class family in Buenos Aires, though his parents defied many of the social conventions of their class at the time.
"Although the household was not infused with radical political sentiment, a tone of defiant independence seemed to reign," said Marshall Beck, editor at the North American Congress on Latin America, a nonprofit organization based in New York.
Guevera did not distinguish himself in medical school. His grades were far from remarkable. He showed little interest in politics, staying away from the left-wing groups on campus.
He always wanted to travel. In 1949 he had embarked on a solo bicycle tour of Argentina. When Alberto Granada, a family friend who was working in a leprosy hospital in Argentina's Córdoba Province, asked Guevara if he wanted to travel with him by motorcycle to North America, the young Guevara immediately said yes, even if it meant postponing his medical exams.
On January 4, 1952, the pair left on La Poderosa II ("The Mighty One"), Granada's 1939 500cc Norton motorcycle. They almost crashed into a streetcar immediately after taking off from an endless farewell at the Granadas' home in Córdoba.
Encountering Poverty
The first stop: Miramar, a small resort where Guevara's girlfriend, Chichina, was spending the summer with her upper-class family. Two days stretched into eight. Chichina lent him U.S. $15 to buy her a swimsuit in the U.S., and Guevara swore he would starve rather than spend the money on anything else.
The two men crossed into Chile on February 14. At one point they introduced themselves as internationally renowned leprosy experts at a local newspaper, which wrote a glowing story about them. The travelers used the press clipping as a way to score meals and other favors with locals along the way.
The pair also got into trouble. While stopping in the town of Lautaro to repair the motorcycle after an accident, they were invited to a dance. The evening ended badly, however, after Guevara was caught trying to seduce a married woman. The two men were chased out of town by an angry mob.
In Santiago, the capital of Chile, the motorcycle broke down for good. The two men decided to carry on by hitchhiking.
Guevara's political consciousness began to stir as he and Granada moved into mining country. They visited Chuquicamata copper mine, the world's largest open-pit mine and the primary source of Chile's wealth. It was run by U.S. mining monopolies and viewed by many as a symbol of foreign domination.
A meeting with a homeless communist couple in search of mining work made a particularly strong impression on Guevara.
"By the light of the single candle … the contracted features of the worker gave off a mysterious and tragic air … the couple, frozen stiff in the desert night, hugging one another, were a live representation of the proletariat of any part of the world," Guevara wrote in his diary.
Man of the People
In Peru, Guevara was impressed by the old Inca civilization. Riding in trucks with Indians and animals, he felt a fraternity with the indigenous people.
In Lima, the capital, the two men went to see Hugo Pesce, a leading leprosy researcher and a Marxist. Guevara engaged Pesce in political discussions. A decade later Guevara acknowledged the doctor's formative influence on him when he sent him a copy of his first book, Guerilla Warfare.
From Lima, Guevara and Granada traveled into the Amazon rain forest. They stayed for three weeks at San Pablo, a leper colony deep in the jungle, where the pair gave consultations and treated patients.
Guevara swam once from the side of the Amazon where the doctors stayed to the other side of the river where the leper patients lived, a distance of two and a half miles (four kilometers).
On his 24th birthday, with the doctors and nurses as his audience, Guevara gave his first political speech, advocating a unified Latin America.
"We believe, and after this trip even more firmly than before, that Latin America's division into illusory and uncertain nationalities is completely fictitious," he said.
The two men traveled on to Colombia and Venezuela, where Granada found work at a leprosarium. Guevara flew back to Argentina—via Miami, where he had to spend 20 days after the plane's engine broke down—where his family welcomed him upon his arrival.
Guevara was a changed man.
"I will be on the side of the people … I will take to the barricades and the trenches, screaming as one possessed, will stain my weapons with blood, and, mad with rage, will cut the throat of any vanquished foe I encounter," he wrote in his diary.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Make No Little Plans
Atanu Dey on India's Development - Deeshaa: March 29, 2005 Archives
Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big.
Daniel Burnham, Chicago architect. (1864-1912)
Links:
Atanu Dey's Bio
Deesha Ventures
Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big.
Daniel Burnham, Chicago architect. (1864-1912)
Links:
Atanu Dey's Bio
Deesha Ventures
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility
Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility: "A law of economics stating that as a person increases consumption of a product--while keeping consumption of other products constant--there is a decline in the marginal utility that person derives from consuming each additional unit of that product.
Investopedia Says...
This is the premise on which buffet-style restaurants operate. They entice you with 'all you can eat,' all the while knowing each additional plate of food provides less utility than the one before. And despite their enticement, most people will eat only until the utility they derive from additional food is slightly lower than the original.
For example, say you go to a buffet and the first plate of food you eat is very good. On a scale of ten you would give it a ten. Now your hunger has been somewhat tamed, but you get another full plate of food. Since you're not as hungry, your enjoyment rates at a seven at best. Most people would stop before their utility drops even more, but say you go back to eat a third full plate of food and your utility drops even more to a three. If you kept eating, you would eventually reach a point at which your eating makes you sick, providing dissatisfaction, or 'dis-utility'.
"
Investopedia Says...
This is the premise on which buffet-style restaurants operate. They entice you with 'all you can eat,' all the while knowing each additional plate of food provides less utility than the one before. And despite their enticement, most people will eat only until the utility they derive from additional food is slightly lower than the original.
For example, say you go to a buffet and the first plate of food you eat is very good. On a scale of ten you would give it a ten. Now your hunger has been somewhat tamed, but you get another full plate of food. Since you're not as hungry, your enjoyment rates at a seven at best. Most people would stop before their utility drops even more, but say you go back to eat a third full plate of food and your utility drops even more to a three. If you kept eating, you would eventually reach a point at which your eating makes you sick, providing dissatisfaction, or 'dis-utility'.
"
Pleasures, enjoyment, lose their value with every helping, while each pain, discomfort hurts so much more with every installment.
Basic problem with human thinking perhaps.
Forgetfulness, then is one of those virtues I must say.
If I could look at every drop of water that’s leaked through my roof as the only one that has ever dripped on my face, would the drip worry me so much less?
If you can eat a chocolate like its your first chocolate in life, would you enjoy it so much more?
..I constantly wonder afresh.
PS: Will I drown in my own house before my stomach bursts due to excessive intake of chocolate?
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Potato Art
Potato Art
Originally uploaded by swapnild.
Sunday afternoon, Mokashi Residence
Volunteered to chop vegetables
Was forced to eat my own words in the end
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Its April and I am eating loads of pineapples...
Andy's Movie Quote Page: Chungking Express:
COP 223: "We split up on April Fool's Day. So I decided to let the joke run for a month. Every day I buy a can of pineapple with a sell-by date of May 1. May (his ex) loves pineapple, and May 1 is my birthday. If May hasn't changed her mind by the time I've bought thirty cans, then our love will also expire."
COP 223: "If memories could be canned, would they also have expiry dates? If so, I hope they last for centuries."
COP 223 goes shopping. Any canned pineapple that expires on May 1?
Cashier You know what day it is today?
COP 223: April 30?
Cashier Right. You think we sell outdated stock?
COP 223: There's still two hours to go.
Cashier Nobody would buy it. Get a fresh one.
COP 223: People like you are hung up on freshness. You realize what goes into a can of pineapple? The fruit must be grown, harvested, sliced, and you just throw it away! How do you think the can feels about that?
Cashier Buddy, I only work here. Who cares about how the cans feel? What about how I feel? Loading, more loading, unloading... How I wish cans wouldn't expire! It'd save me loads of work. You like expired cans? Help yourself! As many as you like! On the house!
223 leaves the store.
COP 223: Somehow everything comes with an expiry date. Swordfish expires. Meat sauce expires. Even cling-film expires. Is there anything in the world which doesn't?
COP 223: gives a can of pineapple to a passing street person. The street person looks at the can and throws it on the ground.
Street person It's expired. Don't want it.
COP 223: You sure?
COP 223: "We split up on April Fool's Day. So I decided to let the joke run for a month. Every day I buy a can of pineapple with a sell-by date of May 1. May (his ex) loves pineapple, and May 1 is my birthday. If May hasn't changed her mind by the time I've bought thirty cans, then our love will also expire."
COP 223: "If memories could be canned, would they also have expiry dates? If so, I hope they last for centuries."
COP 223 goes shopping. Any canned pineapple that expires on May 1?
Cashier You know what day it is today?
COP 223: April 30?
Cashier Right. You think we sell outdated stock?
COP 223: There's still two hours to go.
Cashier Nobody would buy it. Get a fresh one.
COP 223: People like you are hung up on freshness. You realize what goes into a can of pineapple? The fruit must be grown, harvested, sliced, and you just throw it away! How do you think the can feels about that?
Cashier Buddy, I only work here. Who cares about how the cans feel? What about how I feel? Loading, more loading, unloading... How I wish cans wouldn't expire! It'd save me loads of work. You like expired cans? Help yourself! As many as you like! On the house!
223 leaves the store.
COP 223: Somehow everything comes with an expiry date. Swordfish expires. Meat sauce expires. Even cling-film expires. Is there anything in the world which doesn't?
COP 223: gives a can of pineapple to a passing street person. The street person looks at the can and throws it on the ground.
Street person It's expired. Don't want it.
COP 223: You sure?
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Time
The Cinema of Wong Kar-Wai@Everything2.com: "Time, to me, forever brings a loss of innocence. As you go through time, you are bound to look back with hindsight; you begin to reminisce about things that you dreamed about doing but didn't get to do, you begin to wonder what would have happened on that particular day if you had taken a different turn on the road. You have no answer for sure, but you are distressed by the possible outcome of things you didn't do. You cannot help but regret"
~Wong Kar-wai
Watched Days of Being Wild, Fallen Angels and Chungking Express back to back on sunday. Something I would never have to regret not doing.
~Wong Kar-wai
Watched Days of Being Wild, Fallen Angels and Chungking Express back to back on sunday. Something I would never have to regret not doing.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Story that will make you believe in God
Indian Coffee House, Jawaharlal Nehru Street, Pondicherry
"I arrived in the town of Pondicherry, a tiny self-governing Union Territory south of Madras, on the coast of Tamil Nadu. In population and size it is an inconsequent part of India-by comparison, Prince Edward Island is a giant within Canada-but history has set it apart. For Pondicherry was once the capital of that most modest of colonial empires, French India. The French would have liked to rival the British, very much so, but the only Raj they managed to get was a handful of small ports. They clung to these for nearly three hundred years. They left Pondicherry in 1954, leaving behind nice white buildings, broad streets at right angles to each other, street names such as rue de la Marine and rue Saint-Louis, and képis, caps, for the policemen.
I was at the Indian Coffee House, on Nehru Street. It's one big room with green walls and a high ceiling. Fans whirl above you to keep the warm, humid air moving. The place is furnished to capacity with identical square tables, each with its complement of four chairs. You sit where you can, with whoever is at a table. The coffee is good and they serve French toast. Conversation is easy to come by. And so, a spry, bright-eyed elderly man with great shocks of pure white hair was talking to me. I confirmed to him that Canada was cold and that French was indeed spoken in parts of it and that I liked India and so on and so forth-the usual light talk between friendly, curious Indians and foreign backpackers. He took in my line of work with a widening of the eyes and a nodding of the head. It was time to go. I had my hand up, trying to catch my waiter's eye to get the bill.
Then the elderly man said, "I have a story that will make you believe in God.""
Author's NoteLife Of Pi
Yann Martel
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Movie making at its best...
HERO-Ying xiong (2002):
"The imagery is unparallelled, simply draw-droppingly near perfect scenes, with bold and vibrant use of colour, symbolism and scenery. The fluent flow of the storyline, the delicate direction of the sword slicing action, the Chinese cultural concepts and the emotionally charged scenes between characters combine to produce a simply remarkable achievement."
Stunning cinematography. A must watch for anyone learning cinema.
Excellent use of colour.
Each scene is painted in a single colour.
It actually goes from gray to red to blue to white to green to black in that order.
Grander than anything I have ever seen on screen.
My favourite is where Nameless (Jet Lee) is fighting Sky.
Its raining and you can see each and every individual drop of water move. Old blind man is playing an string instrument as these to fight it out. Sky flicks the spear, droplets of water from a piece of cloth tied to it go spiraling into the air. Jet Lee Leaps. In slow motion you can see the water almost stationary in mid air as Jet Lee's face crashes through this wall of water. The tip of the sword piercing the rain.
Stunning...
"The imagery is unparallelled, simply draw-droppingly near perfect scenes, with bold and vibrant use of colour, symbolism and scenery. The fluent flow of the storyline, the delicate direction of the sword slicing action, the Chinese cultural concepts and the emotionally charged scenes between characters combine to produce a simply remarkable achievement."
Stunning cinematography. A must watch for anyone learning cinema.
Excellent use of colour.
Each scene is painted in a single colour.
It actually goes from gray to red to blue to white to green to black in that order.
Grander than anything I have ever seen on screen.
My favourite is where Nameless (Jet Lee) is fighting Sky.
Its raining and you can see each and every individual drop of water move. Old blind man is playing an string instrument as these to fight it out. Sky flicks the spear, droplets of water from a piece of cloth tied to it go spiraling into the air. Jet Lee Leaps. In slow motion you can see the water almost stationary in mid air as Jet Lee's face crashes through this wall of water. The tip of the sword piercing the rain.
Stunning...
Monday, March 14, 2005
Breakfast Worth Riding 140 Kms for
Sunday Morning,
Started for a bike ride to nowhere...
We were almost there (midle of nowhere) when we see a rock and decide to explore.
Turns out to be good old Shivganga :-)
That thing in my plate is Tatte Idli (YUP, its ONE idli)
One idli, one tea, three hours, 140 kms, Good Morning...
Started for a bike ride to nowhere...
We were almost there (midle of nowhere) when we see a rock and decide to explore.
Turns out to be good old Shivganga :-)
That thing in my plate is Tatte Idli (YUP, its ONE idli)
One idli, one tea, three hours, 140 kms, Good Morning...
Thursday, March 10, 2005
GOOF UP of the day
Did you read Page 19 Times Of India, Bangalore edition?
The news reads
Reminds me of another one.
This was Sanjay Manjrekar.
Bangladesh Vs Zimbabwe Test match in Dhaka. (I have had desperate times in life when I had nothing better to do in life than watch this one on TV)
Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar was being given some short pitch treatment.
First time he get hit on shoulder. Second time, heagain goes for the hook and ball pops up but he is safe. Nex time, the leg side is packed behind square. Square Leg, Deep Fine Leg on the fence.
Short ball and Bashar still goes for the hook shot.
Commenting on Bashar's shot selection Manjrekar says
"Bangladeshi skipper is a compulsive hooker"
.....Breif pause in commentary...Coca cola Ad.
The news reads
RAINBOW AS SEHWAG POURS
By Bobbilli Vijay Kumar/TNN
Mohali: Virender Sehwag probably does not like sitting in the pavilion, strapped to leg-guards and doodling away with an unwieldy willow.
He is India's new man in a hurry and he smartly turned his impatience into a virtue here on a rain seduced Wednesday. Riding on two lives, a sharp eye and quicksilver reflexes, he cut and drove towards his ninth Test century and Pakistan to virtual despair.
Reminds me of another one.
This was Sanjay Manjrekar.
Bangladesh Vs Zimbabwe Test match in Dhaka. (I have had desperate times in life when I had nothing better to do in life than watch this one on TV)
Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar was being given some short pitch treatment.
First time he get hit on shoulder. Second time, heagain goes for the hook and ball pops up but he is safe. Nex time, the leg side is packed behind square. Square Leg, Deep Fine Leg on the fence.
Short ball and Bashar still goes for the hook shot.
Commenting on Bashar's shot selection Manjrekar says
"Bangladeshi skipper is a compulsive hooker"
.....Breif pause in commentary...Coca cola Ad.
Monday, March 07, 2005
What Visuals!!!
"Stunning" is gross underststement.
(Check out the pictures on the site)
Baraka - A film / movie by Ron Fricke, Mark Magidson, music by Michael Stearns, shot on 70mm, contains World, Travel, Time lapse: "Visual images include...
Tibetan monks, Orthodox Jews, Whirling Dervishes, a solar eclipse, Buddhist monks, African tribal rituals, Jerusalem's Wailing Wall, rain forests, Ayers Rock, Big Sur country, Hawaiian volcanoes, Brazilian slums, time-lapse footage of car and pedestrian traffic, post-Persian Gulf War shots of Kuwait's burning oil fields, burning-of-the-dead ceremonies on the Ganges, refuse dumps of Calcutta, Auschwitz, Egyptian Pyramids, Angkor Wat, Mount Everest, Tuol Sleng in Cambodia, Indonesian factory workers."
On one hands there's maddening city crowds, sweat shops, multi level slums....and graves juxtaposed against chicken hatcheries and then there are peaceful faces of monks and tribals. Certainly makes you question the purpose of your own existance.
Makes me wanna go back to being a tribal for sure
(Check out the pictures on the site)
Baraka - A film / movie by Ron Fricke, Mark Magidson, music by Michael Stearns, shot on 70mm, contains World, Travel, Time lapse: "Visual images include...
Tibetan monks, Orthodox Jews, Whirling Dervishes, a solar eclipse, Buddhist monks, African tribal rituals, Jerusalem's Wailing Wall, rain forests, Ayers Rock, Big Sur country, Hawaiian volcanoes, Brazilian slums, time-lapse footage of car and pedestrian traffic, post-Persian Gulf War shots of Kuwait's burning oil fields, burning-of-the-dead ceremonies on the Ganges, refuse dumps of Calcutta, Auschwitz, Egyptian Pyramids, Angkor Wat, Mount Everest, Tuol Sleng in Cambodia, Indonesian factory workers."
On one hands there's maddening city crowds, sweat shops, multi level slums....and graves juxtaposed against chicken hatcheries and then there are peaceful faces of monks and tribals. Certainly makes you question the purpose of your own existance.
Makes me wanna go back to being a tribal for sure
Friday, March 04, 2005
Why I dont go back to being a tribal...
This is a question asked to me often.
So here is the reply
“ BACK!!!! What do you mean back? Where do you think I came from?”
(Here I am being totally defensive about the fat that my birth certificate reads my place of birth as Pasthal-Tarapur which happens to be the gram panchayat with largest tribal population in the most tribal tehsil, (Palghar) in Maharashtra)
The only problem I have is with the grass skirts.
I just cannot take the fact that my clothing is my goats food, which itself is my food in the first place.
I mean imagine, here you are nicely ironing your deep green grass skirt. You turn around to the closet to look for a matching tie and GRUB GRUB, your pet’s eaten half your attire.
Also, they don’t have any pockets. I mean, where would I keep my mobile phone and wallet and bike keys?
What good is a Zingalala Bantu without his MMS enabled GPRS phone and internationally accepted payable in Dollars credit card?” Me says….
Full Duplex
Heeding (succumbing) to world opinion that the place I am staying is not good enough decided to move to a better locality
Kind of place where neighbors would never come asking for a bowl of Sugar (Not that my current neighbors did but that’s because our kitchen is not too blessed and that’s a world known fact). So I am moving to a place where people don’t peep in see the holes in your sox. (Or tell you that the noose you are trying to tie to the ceiling’s got the knot all wrong)
Anyways, yesterday, paid the advance for new house that I am moving into. And while announcing it to a friend, told her that it’s a Full Duplex.
Then stopped to think “hey, that sounds familiar” but could not remember exactly.
Took me one full day to recall.
Full duplex is name for a communication protocol we were made to read about in 5th semester engg. (One of those damn electronics subjects)
And THAT was a Loooong time back.
PS: Rudresh, please give me the exact definition.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Memories....
Memories....
Originally uploaded by swapnild.
This painting frome Devyani reminds me of Karishma and Sadabahar. These are first two mares I met at Khatu farm house.
Devyani preparing porfolio for her NID interview. Her father is my childhood dentist. Please criticize, the molar extraction was really painful.
UPDATE: Devyani's, mde it through the first round. Congrats Minu.
Full Duplex
Heeding (succumbing) to world opinion that the place I am staying is not good enough decided to move to a better locality
Kind of place where neighbors would never come asking for a bowl of Sugar (Not that my current neighbors did but that’s because our kitchen is not too blessed and that’s a world known fact). So I am moving to a place where people don’t peep in see the holes in your sox. (Or tell you that the noose you are trying to tie to the ceiling’s got the knot all wrong)
Anyways, yesterday, paid the advance for new house that I am moving into. And while announcing it to a friend, told her that it’s a Full Duplex.
Then stopped to think “hey, tht sounds familiar” but could not remember exactly.
Took me one full day to recall.
Full duplex is name for a communication protocol we were made to read about in 5th semester engg. (One of those damn electronics subjects)
And THAT was a Loooong time back.
PS: Rudresh, please give me the exact definition.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
There are two types of ...
There are two types of people I have met in life.
One who tried to prove, in various ways, that god exists and good prevails...
and other who failed to convince me otherwise...
One who tried to prove, in various ways, that god exists and good prevails...
and other who failed to convince me otherwise...
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Life Spiked...
Life is a tale told by an idiot -- full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Said Shakespeare
And Spike Milligan documented his really well.
Reading "Adolf Hitler- My Part In His Downfall" and this one by Asha, I had to List all the wisdom from Spike.
So o here it is.
Said Shakespeare
And Spike Milligan documented his really well.
Reading "Adolf Hitler- My Part In His Downfall" and this one by Asha, I had to List all the wisdom from Spike.
So o here it is.
Money can't buy friends, but it can get you a better class of enemy.
All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy
Are you going to come quietly, or do I have to use earplugs?
A sure cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, get it out with Optrex.
Contraceptives should be used on every conceivable occasion.
How long was I in the army? Five foot eleven.
I have the body of an eighteen year old. I keep it in the fridge.
I shook hands with a friendly Arab. I still have my right arm to prove it.
Education isn't everything, for a start it isn't an elephant
I spent many years laughing at Harry Secombe's singing until somebody told me that it wasn't a joke.
I thought I'd begin by reading a poem by Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine.
I'm a hero with coward's legs.
Is there anything worn under the kilt? No, it's all in perfect working order.
It was a perfect marriage. She didn't want to and he couldn't.
My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic.
Chopsticks are one of the reasons the Chinese never invented custard.
(French Translation) - Apéritif: a set of dentures.
I can't see the sense in it [his honorary CBE] really. It makes me a Commander of the British Empire. They might as well make me a Commander of Milton Keynes - at least that exists.
I told you I was ill!
Spike Milligan
Monday, February 21, 2005
What exactly are they supposed to learn?
Nursery rhymes, those stupid things I was made to recite without understanding a single word.
Looking back I am really glad I did not understand them.
I mean, why would you want to learn some thing like Jack and Jill.
Two presumably hardworking kids climb up a hill to get a bucket full of water, lose balance and sustain possibly fatal cranial injuries.
Why!!!
Nice roly-poly character Mr. Humpty Dumpty is peacefully sitting on the wall, watching life go by. Falls, breaks and then no one can fix him again.
I am sure orthopaedic surgery did not form a part of military training those days.
No wonder all the king’s men and horses could not put him together again.
What were you hoping?
HORSES!!! For god’s sake. (I once tried to make one pee in a can, THAT was a strain on its brains)
Now this one’s about a innocent little piggy picking stones on the railway line (Now why would a pig do that?) who gets run over by an engine who’s engine driver say’s I don’t care.
The kid lives in Mumbai, crosses the railway line to go to school, father takes the local train to work, spend more than 3 hours in the train every day.
Am I glad that the school is actually no good and my cousin still does not really understand English!
Why!! Why!!
What kind of a person living in a largely monsoon dependent, agricultural society asks rain to go away, and to
Why!!
My dear pet ‘s in the well, drowning, now that’s the kind of thing I would want to sing. So I start Ding Dong
Nice good looking girl in beautiful long black skirt is eating her evening snack. Miss Muffet had to be terrorized by a spider. And I shall sing for that.
Three visually impaired rodents get their tails severed by the farmer’s wife. Now that’s something you got to celebrate.
!!!
I liked it till Asha happed to describe the origin of the thing.
It seems it was some kind of chanting to ward of the plague. Ring-a-Ring Roses is supposed to stand for the red rashes that are first symptom of plague. “Pocket Full of Posies” are supposed to keep the plague away. But then they all get the Pneumonic Plague and sneeze and sneeze, Hush Busha and eventually all fall down to their death.
Now did I really need to learn that?
If I ever have kids, they are never going to school.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Black Friday
Music: Indian Ocean
Lyrics: Piyush Mishra
Bharam Bhap Ke, Sharam Dhap Ke Karam Naap Ke Bhaga re..(3)
Jamhuri Ki Mala Ban Gayi (3)
Jee Janjaal Ka Jaala Re
Bharam Bhap Ke, Sharam Dhap Ke Karam, Naap Ke bhaga re..(3)
Jung Ka Rang Sunehera Samjha(3)
Lekin Baad me Gehera Samjha
Jung Ka Rang Tha Kaala Re..
Bharam Bhap Ke, , Sharam Dhap Ke, Karam Naap Ke Bhaga Re..(3)
Bharam=Illusion
Bhap= to realize
Sharam=Shame
Dhap=to cover
Naap=to measure
Jamhuri=People, Public
Janjaal=Trouble
Jung = War
Sunehra = Golden
Gehera = Deeper, Denser
Kaala = Black
Like the part in bold, Dont understand the "Jamhuri ki maala......" line.
Lyrics: Piyush Mishra
Bharam Bhap Ke, Sharam Dhap Ke Karam Naap Ke Bhaga re..(3)
Jamhuri Ki Mala Ban Gayi (3)
Jee Janjaal Ka Jaala Re
Bharam Bhap Ke, Sharam Dhap Ke Karam, Naap Ke bhaga re..(3)
Jung Ka Rang Sunehera Samjha(3)
Lekin Baad me Gehera Samjha
Jung Ka Rang Tha Kaala Re..
Bharam Bhap Ke, , Sharam Dhap Ke, Karam Naap Ke Bhaga Re..(3)
Bharam=Illusion
Bhap= to realize
Sharam=Shame
Dhap=to cover
Naap=to measure
Jamhuri=People, Public
Janjaal=Trouble
Jung = War
Sunehra = Golden
Gehera = Deeper, Denser
Kaala = Black
Like the part in bold, Dont understand the "Jamhuri ki maala......" line.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Happy Losar
www.tibetlink.com: "Happy Losar (Tibetan New Year). Tibetans all over the world celebrated Tibetan New Year Which falls on February 9th 2005, The Year of the Wood Hen. The word Losar is a Tibetan word for New Year. LO means year and SAR means new. "
Made it to Bylakuppe right in time to celebrate Losar. Stayed inside Sera Jey monastery.
Two days, 525 Kms on bike, 4 Tibetan monasteries, 10 Km of walk on starriest of nights I have seen.
Crash course in Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
All Pictures
Truck Load of Monks and Monkeys (Female monks are actually called just Nuns) headed for the big new year bash
Made it to Bylakuppe right in time to celebrate Losar. Stayed inside Sera Jey monastery.
Two days, 525 Kms on bike, 4 Tibetan monasteries, 10 Km of walk on starriest of nights I have seen.
Crash course in Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
All Pictures
Truck Load of Monks and Monkeys (Female monks are actually called just Nuns) headed for the big new year bash
BLACK
Was discussing the other day about three "Black" movies releasing back to back (Black Friday might never come to theatres) when I suddenly realise that every single thing that I bought through the past one year is black (or gray or dark blue that Mom refuses to recognize as anything but BLACK). Two black Sweatshirts, One black trouser, One Black Kurta, another almost black kurta, Two black T-Shirts (One saying "Life Sucks, Suck it back"), one black backpack saying "Shit happens"
Is there a pattern?
Is there a pattern?
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Intelligent Design
A theory I always believed but had trouble puting into words, without dragging "God" or "Super-Natural" into it.
An Introduction to Intelligent Design: "What is Intelligent Design?
Something has been intelligently designed when it is the end product of a thoughtful process that had that product in mind. In other words, intelligent design originates in a mind.
"
The Theory:
The theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, and are not the result of an undirected, chance-based process such as Darwinian evolution.
An Introduction to Intelligent Design: "What is Intelligent Design?
Something has been intelligently designed when it is the end product of a thoughtful process that had that product in mind. In other words, intelligent design originates in a mind.
"
The Theory:
The theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, and are not the result of an undirected, chance-based process such as Darwinian evolution.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Bhor
Bhor— a Sufi journey, is about the bird's flight in the perspective of its abode on the shady branch below, the sky above and lurking threat of the bird catcher around, again drawing a simile with life.
bhor:
"katal bhi aisa hua ke panchhi mar ke maala-maal
allah mere chidibaaz ne aisa phenka jaal
katra katra aasman hai
boojhi asal udaan.................."
Went for the Unity Concert on Friday.
(Thanks, Cristabel for the passes and Usha for "VIP" seats)
Indian Ocean were absolute "God level"
Sounds as Indian as they get and Lyric divine.
Bhor is a song from their second (I think) album Jhini after Kandisa.
(Just saw Kandisa on number 5 on Indi Pop top 10 rack at Music World. Over 10 years after the album was recorded. No video, No radio performance, Not a single TV appearance. How's that for Ageless Music)
Made Asha buy Black Friday (That's a movie based on Mumbai blasts).
Now, playing "Aray ruk jaa re banday" for 5th time in one hour.
PS: Strings were there too. That's all there's to say about their performance.
bhor:
"katal bhi aisa hua ke panchhi mar ke maala-maal
allah mere chidibaaz ne aisa phenka jaal
katra katra aasman hai
boojhi asal udaan.................."
Went for the Unity Concert on Friday.
(Thanks, Cristabel for the passes and Usha for "VIP" seats)
Indian Ocean were absolute "God level"
Sounds as Indian as they get and Lyric divine.
Bhor is a song from their second (I think) album Jhini after Kandisa.
(Just saw Kandisa on number 5 on Indi Pop top 10 rack at Music World. Over 10 years after the album was recorded. No video, No radio performance, Not a single TV appearance. How's that for Ageless Music)
Made Asha buy Black Friday (That's a movie based on Mumbai blasts).
Now, playing "Aray ruk jaa re banday" for 5th time in one hour.
PS: Strings were there too. That's all there's to say about their performance.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Life and Death
To Aditi, who messaged me this the night before her final semister MBA paper.
Penguin Books India > Free Chapter > Life of Pi: "When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling. My life is like a memento mori painting from European art: there is always a grinning skull at my side to remind me of the folly of human ambition. I mock this skull. I look at it and I say, You've got the wrong fellow. You may not believe in life, but I don't believe in death. Move on! The skull snickers and moves ever closer, but that doesn't surprise me. The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity. It's envy. Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can. But life leaps over oblivion lightly, losing only a thing or two of no importance, and gloom is but the passing shadow of a cloud."
~Life of Pi: by Yann Martel
Penguin Books India > Free Chapter > Life of Pi: "When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling. My life is like a memento mori painting from European art: there is always a grinning skull at my side to remind me of the folly of human ambition. I mock this skull. I look at it and I say, You've got the wrong fellow. You may not believe in life, but I don't believe in death. Move on! The skull snickers and moves ever closer, but that doesn't surprise me. The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity. It's envy. Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can. But life leaps over oblivion lightly, losing only a thing or two of no importance, and gloom is but the passing shadow of a cloud."
~Life of Pi: by Yann Martel
Monday, January 24, 2005
Feeling blue? It's January 24th!
Feeling blue? It's January 24th!- The Times of India: "experts have announced that January 24, Monday, would be the most depressing day of the year. "
I have decided to celebrate "The most depressing day"
Will leave "The most depressing card" on Asha's desk.
Thought of "Most depressing lunch" and then thought of cafeteria food.
Have a Happy Most Depressing Day :)
I have decided to celebrate "The most depressing day"
Will leave "The most depressing card" on Asha's desk.
Thought of "Most depressing lunch" and then thought of cafeteria food.
Have a Happy Most Depressing Day :)
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Unmaad
http://spidi.iimb.ernet.in/unmaad/events/schedule.htm
Jagjeet Singh, Strings, Indian Ocean, Parikrama, Moksha, all performing at IIM Bangalore.
Somebody please tell me where to get the passes.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Thiruvannamalai On Bike
Thirivanamalai from Top
Bird
On the Road
Pond
No helmet
Stop
Bike's on the side stand
NH-7
Trip meter says 575
Guitar, Asha, Sitar
I like this guy
Sid. Siddhartha is what he calls himself.
Siddhartha is Irish. Osteopath. Yoga teacher.
Was Yoga instructor for the Miss India Pageant.
Writes for an Irish “Health and spirituality Magazine”
Plays Sitar and Guitar.
Was swimming in Pondicherry Auroville beach when the Tsunami hit.
“One moment I was swimming, the next moment I was holding on to a coconut tree.”
Says,
“I know a lot of people lost their lives and it was so terrible.
And all those survivors, it will be so difficult for them to rebuild their lives.
But then sea water went into my bikes engine. THAT was bad.”
Met him in Thiruanamalai.
Went and found himself another place to stay so that we could stay in the house he was a guest.
Every time I said “Nice riding glasses” “Nice gloves”. Kept saying “Take it”
Siddhartha rides a Royal Enfield Machismo.
Friday, January 14, 2005
No Shoelaces
Planning for a long bike ride over the long weekend.
Unlike Vaish, I hate making lists.
Totally listless, I go back to my general purpose guide.
Below is THE list.
Add good bike and good company and that’s all you need to live….on the road.
“What I have here is my list of valuable things to take on your next motorcycle trip across the Dakotas…
Most of the items are commonplace and need no comment. Some of them are peculiar to motorcycling and need some comment. Some of them are just plain peculiar and need a lot of comment. The list is divided into four parts: Clothing, Personal Stuff, Cooking and Camping Gear, and Motorcycle Stuff.
The first part, Clothing, is simple:
1. Two changes of underwear.
2. Long underwear.
3. One change of shirt and pants for each of us. I use Army-surplus fatigues. They're cheap, tough and don't show dirt. I had an item called ``dress clothes'' at first but John penciled ``Tux'' after this item. I was just thinking of something you might want to wear outside a filling station.
4. One sweater and jacket each.
5. Gloves. Unlined leather gloves are best because they prevent sunburn, absorb sweat and keep your hands cool. When you're going for an hour or two little things like this aren't important, but when you're going all day long day after day they become plenty important.
6. Cycle boots.
7. Rain gear.
8. Helmet and sunshade.
9. Bubble. This gives me claustrophobia, so I use it only in the rain, which otherwise at high speed stings your face like needles.
10. Goggles. I don't like windshields because they also close you in. These are some British laminated plate-glass goggles that work fine. The wind gets behind sunglasses. Plastic goggles get scratched up and distort vision.
The next list is Personal Stuff:
Combs. Billfold. Pocketknife. Memoranda booklet. Pen. Cigarettes and matches. Flashlight. Soap and plastic soap container. Toothbrushes and toothpaste. Scissors. APCs for headaches. Insect repellent. Deodorant (after a hot day on a cycle, your best friends don't need to tell you). Sunburn lotion. (On a cycle you don't notice sunburn until you stop, and then it's too late. Put it on early.) Band-Aids. Toilet paper. Washcloth (this can go into a plastic box to keep other stuff from getting damp). Towel.
Books. I don't know of any other cyclist who takes books with him. They take a lot of space, but I have three of them here anyway, with some loose sheets of paper in them for writing. These are:
1. The shop manual for this cycle.
2. A general troubleshooting guide containing all the technical information I can never keep in my head. This is Chilton's Motorcycle Troubleshooting Guide written by Ocee Rich and sold by Sears, Roebuck.
3. A copy of Thoreau's Walden -- which Chris has never heard and which can be read a hundred times without exhaustion. I try always to pick a book far over his head and read it as a basis for questions and answers, rather than without interruption. I read a sentence or two, wait for him to come up with his usual barrage of questions, answer them, then read another sentence or two. Classics read well this way.
They must be written this way. Sometimes we have spent a whole evening reading and talking and discovered we have only covered two
or three pages. It's a form of reading done a century ago – when Chautauquas were popular. Unless you've tried it you can't imagine how pleasant it is to do it this way.
I see Chris is sleeping over there completely relaxed, none of his normal tension. I guess I won't wake him up yet.
Camping Equipment includes:
1. Two sleeping bags.
2. Two ponchos and one ground cloth. These convert into a tent and also protect the luggage from rain while you are traveling.
3. Rope.
4. U. S. Geodetic Survey maps of an area where we hope to do some hiking.
5. Machete.
6. Compass.
7. Canteen. I couldn't find this anywhere when we left. I think the kids must have lost it somewhere.
8. Two Army-surplus mess kits with knife, fork and spoon.
9. A collapsible Sterno stove with one medium-sized can of Sterno. This is an experimental purchase. I haven't used it yet. When it rains or when you're above the timberline firewood is a problem.
10. Some aluminum screw-top tins. For lard, salt, butter, flour, sugar. A mountaineering supply house sold us these years ago.
11. Brillo, for cleaning.
12. Two aluminum-frame backpacks.
Motorcycle Stuff.
A standard tool kit comes with the cycle and is stored under the seat.
This is supplemented with the following:
A large, adjustable open-end wrench. A machinist's hammer. A cold chisel. A taper punch. A pair of tire irons. A tire-patching kit. A bicycle pump. A can of molybdenum disulfide spray for the chain. (This has tremendous penetrating ability into the inside of each roller where it really counts, and the lubricating superiority of molybdenum disulfide is well known. Once it has dried off, however, it ought to be supplemented with good old SAE-30 engine oil.) Impact driver. A point file. Feeler gauge. Test lamp.
Spare parts include: Plugs. Throttle, clutch and brake cables. Points, fuses, headlight and taillight bulbs, chain-coupling link with keeper, cotter pins, baling wire. Spare chain (this is just an old one that was about shot when I replaced it, enough to get to a cycle shop if the present one goes).
And that's about it.
No shoelaces.”
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
An Inquiry into Values
Robert M. Pirsig
Makes sense even if you don’t care a dime about Motorcycles.
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