yes i am still alive!
Monday, July 9, 2018
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Amazing movies that I watched recently
The last couple of weekends, were thankfully long enough for me to go on a mini movie vacation and the heat outside wasn't welcoming at all. So, I sat in front my laptop and tried to watch as many movies I could. Here are the list of wonderful movies that I watched:
Kaloori
A very beautiful movie indeed. When I started watching the movie, I couldn't believe that Tamanna was a part of this movie, because she had a de-glamorized role and she did it amazingly well. This is a movie about a bunch of college friends in a small village in Tamil Nadu. They let Tamanna, who is a newcomer to be a part of the group. The movie revolves around the group and blends in to a good story but the ending, I feel was uncalled for. Nevertheless, I have started to like Tamannaa more, after this movie. I really hope she gets another chance to do a similar character rather than the same old item number drills.
Brave
A very cute animation movie about a daughter and mom. Set in the medivial england, it has a fairy tale feel. Definitely worth watching.
Oranges
A nice comedy set between two families where the father in the first family falls for the daughter in the second family. Confusing? Yes it is. And here you go: it is narrated by the daughter of the father who falls in love. How things change between the two families amidst this affair is what the story is about.
Pitch Perfect
This is about a girl, who dreams of becoming a DJ, and joins her college's group to perform at the Nationals. A warm and entertaining chick flick, it follows the craze developed by shows like American Idol.
Snow white and the Huntsman
After I started to watch this movie, I kept wondering if I made the right decision. Kristen Stewart was as expressionless as I expected her to be. Charlize Theron did her best, but I am not sure why she did such a meaningless role of a typical Saas, you would find in Hindi serial. Hatred without a reason or logic. So you can compare this movie with serials like Saath Nibhana Saathiya, Diya aur Baati Hum, and Sasural Simar ka and many more.
Vicky Donor
Another great movie with an amazing concept, Ayushmann is an amazing actor. The jokes in the movie are hilarious. I loved the modern grandma and even Vicky's mom was very different compared to the moms you get to see in Hindi movies.
Waiting eagerly for another long weekend!!!
Kaloori
A very beautiful movie indeed. When I started watching the movie, I couldn't believe that Tamanna was a part of this movie, because she had a de-glamorized role and she did it amazingly well. This is a movie about a bunch of college friends in a small village in Tamil Nadu. They let Tamanna, who is a newcomer to be a part of the group. The movie revolves around the group and blends in to a good story but the ending, I feel was uncalled for. Nevertheless, I have started to like Tamannaa more, after this movie. I really hope she gets another chance to do a similar character rather than the same old item number drills.
Brave
A very cute animation movie about a daughter and mom. Set in the medivial england, it has a fairy tale feel. Definitely worth watching.
Oranges
A nice comedy set between two families where the father in the first family falls for the daughter in the second family. Confusing? Yes it is. And here you go: it is narrated by the daughter of the father who falls in love. How things change between the two families amidst this affair is what the story is about.
Pitch Perfect
This is about a girl, who dreams of becoming a DJ, and joins her college's group to perform at the Nationals. A warm and entertaining chick flick, it follows the craze developed by shows like American Idol.
Snow white and the Huntsman
After I started to watch this movie, I kept wondering if I made the right decision. Kristen Stewart was as expressionless as I expected her to be. Charlize Theron did her best, but I am not sure why she did such a meaningless role of a typical Saas, you would find in Hindi serial. Hatred without a reason or logic. So you can compare this movie with serials like Saath Nibhana Saathiya, Diya aur Baati Hum, and Sasural Simar ka and many more.
Vicky Donor
Another great movie with an amazing concept, Ayushmann is an amazing actor. The jokes in the movie are hilarious. I loved the modern grandma and even Vicky's mom was very different compared to the moms you get to see in Hindi movies.
Waiting eagerly for another long weekend!!!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Adopted Baby
Well this was long back, we had a pigeon couple in one of our bedroom windows. Every day they would come and hang out there and do their lovey-dovey stuff. The girl would sit on one of the flower pots, which had almost become pigeon pots by now because it grew pigeons! She would act as if she has laid eggs, but when she flew, it was evident that she hadn't so far. Surprisingly, her boyfriend was very positive that she will lay eggs one day.
I used to watch them and ponder on the fact that these people have very little stress in life. There were pigeons nests at almost all the windows of our two-bedroom apartment. So many that we had kept a tea party where all the kids from different windows met each other. Initially, my mom was worried that we have to put back the kids in the right nests. But that wasn't a problem all were in different shapes and sizes and easily recognizable. By this time I knew, how a baby looks when its 2 days old, 5 days old and so on :)
So coming back to our lady pigeon, whom we used to call Kalli, because she was so cute. I guess that's the reason her BF hung around her for so long. Then there was another couple in our living room-window, where the female was so afraid that she would fly away the instant she heard some noise in the hall. She had lain two eggs. We were not happy with her dedication to her eggs. The other moms would not move from their place even when we would sneak on them or even try to frighten them. I had become so attached to my pigeon cuties that I would talk with them on a daily basis. Of course, they did not talk back to me. But from their eyes and body moments, it was understood that they wanted me to buzz off.
Then one day, in our hall window, no one had returned to the eggs for a long time. That is when I had this innovative idea of lending one of the egg to Kalli. So I removed one egg and put it in Kalli's pot, when she was away. I waited to see her reaction when she saw the egg. She came around 20 minutes later and sat at her pot as usual.The moment she sat, she was startled to find something smooth and round under her. She jumped for an instant to look at the egg, and sat back on it as if nothing had happened. The next day when her BF came, we wanted to see his reaction too. In pigeons, it is difficult to read emotions, unless you are an expert. The BF sat on the egg without too many questions to Kalli. And over the new few days, I saw two dedicated parents blessed with a pigeon chick. They adored the chick without any doubt, after all pigeons they are!
The second egg in the living room window had also hatched by this time, but was left unattended most of the time. Suddenly, the mom in in hall window stopped coming and the dad sat by himself in the daytime for a couple of days. This time I had thought of adding the baby to Kalli, but had some reservations about it because pigeons are not friendly with other hatched babies! This is disheartening but is the truth. I kept the twin baby in Kalli's nest and as I guessed, she kept away from it. Same for her BF. So I kept it back to its old nest to discover that the dad also stopped frequenting there. So for the next few days I researched and tried feeding it myself, but by that time it had become very weak and stopped eating and died in a couple of days. That left my crying for some days. But adopted baby did well and flew away in a couple of weeks leaving Kalli and BF on their own. But they were proud parents by now.
I used to watch them and ponder on the fact that these people have very little stress in life. There were pigeons nests at almost all the windows of our two-bedroom apartment. So many that we had kept a tea party where all the kids from different windows met each other. Initially, my mom was worried that we have to put back the kids in the right nests. But that wasn't a problem all were in different shapes and sizes and easily recognizable. By this time I knew, how a baby looks when its 2 days old, 5 days old and so on :)
So coming back to our lady pigeon, whom we used to call Kalli, because she was so cute. I guess that's the reason her BF hung around her for so long. Then there was another couple in our living room-window, where the female was so afraid that she would fly away the instant she heard some noise in the hall. She had lain two eggs. We were not happy with her dedication to her eggs. The other moms would not move from their place even when we would sneak on them or even try to frighten them. I had become so attached to my pigeon cuties that I would talk with them on a daily basis. Of course, they did not talk back to me. But from their eyes and body moments, it was understood that they wanted me to buzz off.
Then one day, in our hall window, no one had returned to the eggs for a long time. That is when I had this innovative idea of lending one of the egg to Kalli. So I removed one egg and put it in Kalli's pot, when she was away. I waited to see her reaction when she saw the egg. She came around 20 minutes later and sat at her pot as usual.The moment she sat, she was startled to find something smooth and round under her. She jumped for an instant to look at the egg, and sat back on it as if nothing had happened. The next day when her BF came, we wanted to see his reaction too. In pigeons, it is difficult to read emotions, unless you are an expert. The BF sat on the egg without too many questions to Kalli. And over the new few days, I saw two dedicated parents blessed with a pigeon chick. They adored the chick without any doubt, after all pigeons they are!
The second egg in the living room window had also hatched by this time, but was left unattended most of the time. Suddenly, the mom in in hall window stopped coming and the dad sat by himself in the daytime for a couple of days. This time I had thought of adding the baby to Kalli, but had some reservations about it because pigeons are not friendly with other hatched babies! This is disheartening but is the truth. I kept the twin baby in Kalli's nest and as I guessed, she kept away from it. Same for her BF. So I kept it back to its old nest to discover that the dad also stopped frequenting there. So for the next few days I researched and tried feeding it myself, but by that time it had become very weak and stopped eating and died in a couple of days. That left my crying for some days. But adopted baby did well and flew away in a couple of weeks leaving Kalli and BF on their own. But they were proud parents by now.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Done Done London - So Over Done
Before I start venting out my frustration on this Done Done movie, I must say that I am really relieved about Yash Chopra's heavenly abode. I also pray that SRK stops acting in romantic movies.... Let me get to the great story line and wonder how this movie got 3.5 by Times of India and 4 by Filmfare.
Firstly, story is OK till the time and again plot of "rich gal falling in love with waiter". But I can't understand the following stuff:
1. Rich girl having an affair with waiter behind her fiance's back and no one getting a hint of this.
2. Rich girl forgiving her mother for abandoning her and her "loving and caring" dad just because she understood that her mom fell in love. The logic is unsettling.
3.Also I did not know this deal of lending 500 pounds to a Lahori roommate and in return he builds a 5 star restaurant from it AND also keeps your share safe until you return to London. Looks like a really good deal to me!
4. And of course the Retrograde Amnesia. I did not care to google this but I am appalled by the creativity of Bolly writers in making up diseases. They have come a long way from Cancer!
5. And the baap of all, when SRK is asked his age, in the movie, he tells 28!!!!! MFing 28!!!! Have some decency man! You are nearing 48!!
6. And the lets not forget the great Lahori friend abandoning his own bungalow so that SRK can romance Katrina in it. I mean who gets such friends!!
6. And the UK police allowing SRK to diffuse a bomb, without even telling out his name or showing his ID. Again very surprising...
7. And Anushka sacrificing SRK for Katrina. So unwomanly now yaar! Really no cat-fight???
I thought I should have watched Twilight-Breaking Dawn instead. But again that is also very much Bollywood, where a mother lets her old lover romance her 3 year old daughter. Yuck... I wonder if such plots are inspired by blue films.
After watching all this unbelievable stuff in one movie, I thought I can give some suitable titles to this movie:
Of course there is 1. Done Done London- So Poorly Done
2. 500 pounds se 5 star hotel tak
3. Ek side Meera aur doosre me Akira
4. The man whocannot die will not age
5. 10 saal baad mujhe aayi Meera yaad
6. Kab tak hai Rukna?
7. Line cross karnewali Meera
8. Lahori ka Jaadu
9. Meera ki kurbani aur Akira ki jawani
10. Samar hua Amar
.... and many many more....
I am done with third grade romantic movies.
Firstly, story is OK till the time and again plot of "rich gal falling in love with waiter". But I can't understand the following stuff:
1. Rich girl having an affair with waiter behind her fiance's back and no one getting a hint of this.
2. Rich girl forgiving her mother for abandoning her and her "loving and caring" dad just because she understood that her mom fell in love. The logic is unsettling.
3.Also I did not know this deal of lending 500 pounds to a Lahori roommate and in return he builds a 5 star restaurant from it AND also keeps your share safe until you return to London. Looks like a really good deal to me!
4. And of course the Retrograde Amnesia. I did not care to google this but I am appalled by the creativity of Bolly writers in making up diseases. They have come a long way from Cancer!
5. And the baap of all, when SRK is asked his age, in the movie, he tells 28!!!!! MFing 28!!!! Have some decency man! You are nearing 48!!
6. And the lets not forget the great Lahori friend abandoning his own bungalow so that SRK can romance Katrina in it. I mean who gets such friends!!
6. And the UK police allowing SRK to diffuse a bomb, without even telling out his name or showing his ID. Again very surprising...
7. And Anushka sacrificing SRK for Katrina. So unwomanly now yaar! Really no cat-fight???
I thought I should have watched Twilight-Breaking Dawn instead. But again that is also very much Bollywood, where a mother lets her old lover romance her 3 year old daughter. Yuck... I wonder if such plots are inspired by blue films.
After watching all this unbelievable stuff in one movie, I thought I can give some suitable titles to this movie:
Of course there is 1. Done Done London- So Poorly Done
2. 500 pounds se 5 star hotel tak
3. Ek side Meera aur doosre me Akira
4. The man who
5. 10 saal baad mujhe aayi Meera yaad
6. Kab tak hai Rukna?
7. Line cross karnewali Meera
8. Lahori ka Jaadu
9. Meera ki kurbani aur Akira ki jawani
10. Samar hua Amar
.... and many many more....
I am done with third grade romantic movies.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Single in Saudi - Book Review
Before I start the review, I want to take this space to talk about my new love! Yes, there is an app called Kindle, where you can buy books and read them in your cell phone. The collection is awesome and many of the books are also free too!!!
So I am this kind of person who believes that books are treasure and they need to be treasured! Hence, there is a big shelf back in Coimbatore where all my books are lying around. Whenever, I notice a book exhibition, a shop where the guy is selling damaged books at a cheaper rate, book carts, my mom/husband sighs that they have to spend at least half hour with me there, until I decide which book I wanna buy.
I wanted to read Single in Saudi since the time I read a free chapter in Scribd. I tried to search it in Landmark and Crossword but couldn’t get it. So when I started purchasing books in Kindle, I knew what I wanted to buy. And the good thing is that I have shared my account with my hubby, so he also can download the books available in my account. And we also found out that one can’t buy books in iPhone through Kindle. They have to log in to Amazon.com to buy books. Phew what a waste of time. Lucky to be with Android here!!! :D And ya iBooks is a stupid app with only the page-turning graphic as a face-saver :P
Finally, let me get on with the review. Single in Saudi is about the adventures and misadventures of an American nurse who comes to Saudi Arabia in the late 70s to make some quick buck. I like the way she narrated her stories and the humor sprinkled in. In fact, while reading the book, I almost regretted for not considering a medical career. But I immediately bounced back, when I read about the blood and muck that nurses have to see every day. But the truth is that nurses are in high demand all over the world. My husband decreed it as a cheap sleaze and that there was too much of mindless sex sprinkled in. Guys! They still prefer watching porn over reading porn…J
Anyways, the author Jane Smith justified that she was told to put some sleaze in it so that it will sell more. And on my part, it worked because I bought it!!!
So the reasons to read Single in Saudi:
So I am this kind of person who believes that books are treasure and they need to be treasured! Hence, there is a big shelf back in Coimbatore where all my books are lying around. Whenever, I notice a book exhibition, a shop where the guy is selling damaged books at a cheaper rate, book carts, my mom/husband sighs that they have to spend at least half hour with me there, until I decide which book I wanna buy.
I wanted to read Single in Saudi since the time I read a free chapter in Scribd. I tried to search it in Landmark and Crossword but couldn’t get it. So when I started purchasing books in Kindle, I knew what I wanted to buy. And the good thing is that I have shared my account with my hubby, so he also can download the books available in my account. And we also found out that one can’t buy books in iPhone through Kindle. They have to log in to Amazon.com to buy books. Phew what a waste of time. Lucky to be with Android here!!! :D And ya iBooks is a stupid app with only the page-turning graphic as a face-saver :P
Finally, let me get on with the review. Single in Saudi is about the adventures and misadventures of an American nurse who comes to Saudi Arabia in the late 70s to make some quick buck. I like the way she narrated her stories and the humor sprinkled in. In fact, while reading the book, I almost regretted for not considering a medical career. But I immediately bounced back, when I read about the blood and muck that nurses have to see every day. But the truth is that nurses are in high demand all over the world. My husband decreed it as a cheap sleaze and that there was too much of mindless sex sprinkled in. Guys! They still prefer watching porn over reading porn…J
Anyways, the author Jane Smith justified that she was told to put some sleaze in it so that it will sell more. And on my part, it worked because I bought it!!!
So the reasons to read Single in Saudi:
· Get an idea of the Middle East society in the 70s (BTW it is still the same today…)
· Get a glimpse of a nurse’s life (a naughty nurse though)
· Get to know on how much money the Saudis had to throw around from the 70s itself (I mean, Americans, who shudder at the thought of living in Mexico, coming to work in Saudi will give an idea of how rich the Saudi is)
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Indian managers and caste system
This analogy came to my mind three weeks ago when our manager from US came to visit us. We were having a knowledge sharing session with our manager, when suddenly he was posed with this question, "We see that Indian managers are more of 'people managers' whereas managers in US manage a team and still contribute to the team output and are also experts in their field. Any particular reason for this difference?" Hmm ... our US guy gave a politically correct answer that he was supposed to give :)
The fact that Indian managers are pretty much slackers can't be denied. But why are they like the way they are? Not all are slackers, well if you are really lucky, then you may work under an manager who epitomizes the "guru" that our Upanishads talk about. But our culture is influenced by the mirage that "Life without hard work is what one should aim for". Is it an artifact of our age caste system is the real question?
If we try to understand the caste system in the modern organization then, the CEO and the top management would be Kshatriyas, the HRs and the so called middle managers would be Brahmins, the Marketing/sales team would be Vaishyas and the oppressed operations team which is the only productive unit of the organization would be the Shudras. The Shudras have dreams about changing their caste, but in the long run very few of them are successful in doing that.
Nowadays there are MBA shops that promise to change one's caste to a better one so many people try that too. So in the end, everyone wants to be a HR Professional, a middle manager or even better, a CEO.
Well let us look at the western culture. According to Max Weber, the success of capitalism or English imperialism is related to a highly specific series of ethical norms grounded in the Calvinistic traditions of honesty, hard work, and integrity. I am not agreeing to this but if we look at what they did in India was just taking advantage of the greed and laziness of Indian rulers.
Hence, managers in the west are programmed to work even after they achieved what they set out for, whereas Indian managers are programmed to escape work even after reaching the highest form of achievement that they set out for.
The fact that Indian managers are pretty much slackers can't be denied. But why are they like the way they are? Not all are slackers, well if you are really lucky, then you may work under an manager who epitomizes the "guru" that our Upanishads talk about. But our culture is influenced by the mirage that "Life without hard work is what one should aim for". Is it an artifact of our age caste system is the real question?
If we try to understand the caste system in the modern organization then, the CEO and the top management would be Kshatriyas, the HRs and the so called middle managers would be Brahmins, the Marketing/sales team would be Vaishyas and the oppressed operations team which is the only productive unit of the organization would be the Shudras. The Shudras have dreams about changing their caste, but in the long run very few of them are successful in doing that.
Nowadays there are MBA shops that promise to change one's caste to a better one so many people try that too. So in the end, everyone wants to be a HR Professional, a middle manager or even better, a CEO.
Well let us look at the western culture. According to Max Weber, the success of capitalism or English imperialism is related to a highly specific series of ethical norms grounded in the Calvinistic traditions of honesty, hard work, and integrity. I am not agreeing to this but if we look at what they did in India was just taking advantage of the greed and laziness of Indian rulers.
Hence, managers in the west are programmed to work even after they achieved what they set out for, whereas Indian managers are programmed to escape work even after reaching the highest form of achievement that they set out for.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Go Kiss the World - Review
As an avid reader I am sometimes scared that I might get stuck to a particular genre, so recently I picked up this book, guessing that the author might have shared some business cases or just his professional experience. As I reached the second page I realized that this is an autobiography. And after the first few pages, I just couldnt wait to finish this amazing book. Its so great that I am picking the right books recently, because I am such a moody reader. Sometimes I am in a political novel mood, sometimes just world war 2 reading mood and sometimes just a chick lit mood!
Before picking this book, I didn't know that Subrato Bagchi is the founder of Mindtree. As I begun reading, I couldnt help but appreaciate his fluid narrative and the fact that he had such an open mind about things. And interestingly one of his wisdom nugget was "Open your mind before you open your mouth". The last book I read, which was as amazing as this was "India Unbound" by Gurucharan Das. The best part about both these authors is how they recount their stories modestly and Bagchi took another step of even sharing learnings out of his experiences.
I have read many philosophical books by western authors, who go back to recite their favorite verses from Bible. Finally, I got an Indian author who recited a couple of verses from Upanishads! I am not really a religious person as such, but felt proud about this!
Finally my favorite lines from the book "Most people covet good jobs, great postings, higher salaries than their friends and a rather elusive elixir called job satisfaction. Conceding that all these are legitimate desires for every professional, I would, however, trade all of that for the opportunity to work for a great boss"
Before picking this book, I didn't know that Subrato Bagchi is the founder of Mindtree. As I begun reading, I couldnt help but appreaciate his fluid narrative and the fact that he had such an open mind about things. And interestingly one of his wisdom nugget was "Open your mind before you open your mouth". The last book I read, which was as amazing as this was "India Unbound" by Gurucharan Das. The best part about both these authors is how they recount their stories modestly and Bagchi took another step of even sharing learnings out of his experiences.
I have read many philosophical books by western authors, who go back to recite their favorite verses from Bible. Finally, I got an Indian author who recited a couple of verses from Upanishads! I am not really a religious person as such, but felt proud about this!
Finally my favorite lines from the book "Most people covet good jobs, great postings, higher salaries than their friends and a rather elusive elixir called job satisfaction. Conceding that all these are legitimate desires for every professional, I would, however, trade all of that for the opportunity to work for a great boss"
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Hunger Games - Review
Its been a while since I read the first book "Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. My only dilemma was to watch the movie too and then write the review or critique the movie seperately. Between that time, I was so curious as to what would happen in the second book "Catching Fire". So I just completed the second part today and I must say that though there are some moments where the author let me down on her page turner trilogy, but on the whole, these are a set of amazing novels. I am yet to catch hold of the third one.
To begin with, this maybe the third or fouth young adult novel that I read but this definitely falls under the chick lit section that I am so fond of!!! :) . Well let me get on with the plot now. So the novel is set at a time, after the natural disasters, where only a part of North America is inhabitated (How obvious...). There are only thirteen districts remaining, where life is difficult for all except the one called "Capitol", which colonizes the rest of the districts. Every year Capitol conducts hunger games where participants from each districts are pitted against each other and the last man standing wins. The story is narrated by the protagonist -Katniss Everdeen. So its obvious that she participates in the games and wins it. How? is what the novel is about.
One of the things that amazes me is "How does a seventeen year old girl hunt and kill rabbits, squirrels, eat raw eggs?" To survive yes ... but still its hard to imagine. The lane where I live is an unfortunate one, having halal shops at both the ends. So I can hear an occasional cry of a hen, when I am eating pani puri and on the other side when I am buying fruits... And my heart does go out for their pain, each time. Ya, well I have a weak heart, but if I am put in the same condition where I need to hunt to survive, can I do it?
The author has characterized Katniss brilliantly, and far far better than what you see in those stupid teen vampire crap (Yes I am talking about Twilight. Thank God I did not read it because I saw the movie first :P.) And again she left the end of the first novel hanging with a climax, which makes you get hold of the second book immediately. But I must say that the second book is very slow in the beginning, and takes some time till Katniss get back to the arena. Yup she participtes again. This is where I think the author could have done better . Catching fire too ends without an ending where the author tries to tempt you towards the third book immediately. But I guess I will take a break here. Enough of eating oysters from their shells and roasting rodents for supper. I will watch the Hunger Games movie now and maybe even wait for "Catching Fire" to release in 2013.
To begin with, this maybe the third or fouth young adult novel that I read but this definitely falls under the chick lit section that I am so fond of!!! :) . Well let me get on with the plot now. So the novel is set at a time, after the natural disasters, where only a part of North America is inhabitated (How obvious...). There are only thirteen districts remaining, where life is difficult for all except the one called "Capitol", which colonizes the rest of the districts. Every year Capitol conducts hunger games where participants from each districts are pitted against each other and the last man standing wins. The story is narrated by the protagonist -Katniss Everdeen. So its obvious that she participates in the games and wins it. How? is what the novel is about.
One of the things that amazes me is "How does a seventeen year old girl hunt and kill rabbits, squirrels, eat raw eggs?" To survive yes ... but still its hard to imagine. The lane where I live is an unfortunate one, having halal shops at both the ends. So I can hear an occasional cry of a hen, when I am eating pani puri and on the other side when I am buying fruits... And my heart does go out for their pain, each time. Ya, well I have a weak heart, but if I am put in the same condition where I need to hunt to survive, can I do it?
The author has characterized Katniss brilliantly, and far far better than what you see in those stupid teen vampire crap (Yes I am talking about Twilight. Thank God I did not read it because I saw the movie first :P.) And again she left the end of the first novel hanging with a climax, which makes you get hold of the second book immediately. But I must say that the second book is very slow in the beginning, and takes some time till Katniss get back to the arena. Yup she participtes again. This is where I think the author could have done better . Catching fire too ends without an ending where the author tries to tempt you towards the third book immediately. But I guess I will take a break here. Enough of eating oysters from their shells and roasting rodents for supper. I will watch the Hunger Games movie now and maybe even wait for "Catching Fire" to release in 2013.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Theories around our Independence
Disclaimer: This post was written after celebrating a gloomy Independence day and living through an year full of scams and a not so great economy
Ok let me start about clearing the first myth that we got our Independence because of that man called Gandhi. Seriously I have lost respect for him. We have seen live anti-corruption movements recently going phut because our Government ignored the fast taken by Anna Hazare and jailed Baba Ramdev. When our own Government does not give a tuppence about our country men, why would a Brit care less about someone like Gandhi fasting for independence.
So given the fact that those Independence movements were a sham, I have always been intrigued about how was our country doing under the British. So I would ask about this to my grandparents and even all the grand parents around. The answer that I would get is most of them admired the British way of governance. And the infrastructure built by the Brits helped our country a lot. Ok next I would ask, if they took part in any of the movements that I read in our History books. They would say that these movements were clustered in different parts of the country and never a countrywide movement. So Aam aadmi was still busy making a livelihood. Ok great!!
So let us look at the different theories on why exactly did we get Independence??
1. World War 2. We know that UK was completely devastated during the bombings carried out by Hitler's army. After the world war 2, roughly 30000 British soldiers were killed. They needed more manpower for rebuilding the nation, hence many Brits were called back from India and gradually an Indian Independence was planned. So, instead of Gandhi, we need to thank Hitler for our "so called independence"... Right!
2. Labour Party gets elected in UK: After the war, the Labour Party was elected in UK and they carried out sweeping welfare reforms in UK. It also aimed at improving UK's public relations worldwide out of which granting the "so called independence to India" was also one of the events....
3. India's economy at its worst: India's economy was doing so bad that, Britain had to rethink its investment in India. Hence they thought that this was the best time to pull out. On the lighter side, we had become so sad and poor and pessimistic and grumpy and complacent and frustrated that the Brits were scared if we were rubbing off all these on them. Wait a minute, these adjectives apply to us even today! gr8....
Well, so why do we think that our forefathers fought for our Independence???
1. The Brits, well the gentlemen they are, did not want to abruptly pull out of India and hence got together with the congressmen and staged an independence granting drama that was enacted so well and publicised worldwide.
2. On the Indian side, Congress/Gandhi was so eager to take the credit that it worked out so well. And all our history books were written by some Congress chamchas in NCERT like Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib.
One another fact that intrigued me till now, is how so many Indians and Pakistanis got into UK so easily post-Independence. Here is the answer... Damn, if one of my grandpas had taken this opportunity....... Well wishful thinking :)))
Ok let me start about clearing the first myth that we got our Independence because of that man called Gandhi. Seriously I have lost respect for him. We have seen live anti-corruption movements recently going phut because our Government ignored the fast taken by Anna Hazare and jailed Baba Ramdev. When our own Government does not give a tuppence about our country men, why would a Brit care less about someone like Gandhi fasting for independence.
So given the fact that those Independence movements were a sham, I have always been intrigued about how was our country doing under the British. So I would ask about this to my grandparents and even all the grand parents around. The answer that I would get is most of them admired the British way of governance. And the infrastructure built by the Brits helped our country a lot. Ok next I would ask, if they took part in any of the movements that I read in our History books. They would say that these movements were clustered in different parts of the country and never a countrywide movement. So Aam aadmi was still busy making a livelihood. Ok great!!
So let us look at the different theories on why exactly did we get Independence??
1. World War 2. We know that UK was completely devastated during the bombings carried out by Hitler's army. After the world war 2, roughly 30000 British soldiers were killed. They needed more manpower for rebuilding the nation, hence many Brits were called back from India and gradually an Indian Independence was planned. So, instead of Gandhi, we need to thank Hitler for our "so called independence"... Right!
2. Labour Party gets elected in UK: After the war, the Labour Party was elected in UK and they carried out sweeping welfare reforms in UK. It also aimed at improving UK's public relations worldwide out of which granting the "so called independence to India" was also one of the events....
3. India's economy at its worst: India's economy was doing so bad that, Britain had to rethink its investment in India. Hence they thought that this was the best time to pull out. On the lighter side, we had become so sad and poor and pessimistic and grumpy and complacent and frustrated that the Brits were scared if we were rubbing off all these on them. Wait a minute, these adjectives apply to us even today! gr8....
Well, so why do we think that our forefathers fought for our Independence???
1. The Brits, well the gentlemen they are, did not want to abruptly pull out of India and hence got together with the congressmen and staged an independence granting drama that was enacted so well and publicised worldwide.
2. On the Indian side, Congress/Gandhi was so eager to take the credit that it worked out so well. And all our history books were written by some Congress chamchas in NCERT like Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib.
One another fact that intrigued me till now, is how so many Indians and Pakistanis got into UK so easily post-Independence. Here is the answer... Damn, if one of my grandpas had taken this opportunity....... Well wishful thinking :)))
Friday, July 27, 2012
Oh dear God please let me witness one.....
I have been really happy for the past few days. Major reasons are first, that my husband has finally started to notice my cooking skills albeit with a lot of (irritating) constructive feedback. But that's OK, because that is what you get, when your husband knows to cook..... better than you. tsk tsk But here's the advantage: one fine day, you can tell hubby that you are in no mood to cook and let him make a yummy Dal and rice!
Well the other good thing is that my new boss is a guy!!! Now don't get me wrong, he is sitting miles away somewhere in Iowa, but it still makes me happy! My husband explains that I haven't been promoted, its just that my boss has changed. My enthusiasm caught my colleague's eye and he finally asked me, "OK you say that having a male boss is so better than having a female one. Then will you be a good manager when you become one?"
Ummmm little tongue-tied there..... But I shoot back instantly and say that I won't be all that jealous and insecure and pushy and ultimately b**chy...He just gave a smirk, which made me think more on this.
I have worked under more than three women, and lets just say that they were not the best people to work with... So whats the problem here, I think. Are there no good "female' managers or I haven't met them yet?
OK let me think again on this: overall, there are mostly bad managers out there. But there are a few good managers. There are few good male managers that I have heard about and some I even worked with! There are few good women managers out there and I really believe this from the bottom of my heart! I have read about them, but I haven't witnessed any yet!
Well the other good thing is that my new boss is a guy!!! Now don't get me wrong, he is sitting miles away somewhere in Iowa, but it still makes me happy! My husband explains that I haven't been promoted, its just that my boss has changed. My enthusiasm caught my colleague's eye and he finally asked me, "OK you say that having a male boss is so better than having a female one. Then will you be a good manager when you become one?"
Ummmm little tongue-tied there..... But I shoot back instantly and say that I won't be all that jealous and insecure and pushy and ultimately b**chy...He just gave a smirk, which made me think more on this.
I have worked under more than three women, and lets just say that they were not the best people to work with... So whats the problem here, I think. Are there no good "female' managers or I haven't met them yet?
OK let me think again on this: overall, there are mostly bad managers out there. But there are a few good managers. There are few good male managers that I have heard about and some I even worked with! There are few good women managers out there and I really believe this from the bottom of my heart! I have read about them, but I haven't witnessed any yet!
Friday, June 22, 2012
Saga of the driving test...
Here I was, had not touched the steering wheel for almost a month, hence I was a bit nervous. There were around 10 to 15 people for the test, from which there were two ladies. So, I started some small talk with one of them. She told me she was pretty nevous. I told her "Me too, hope I don't make any silly mistakes". And then Shazia said its her third time, so she wants to somehow pass this attempt. I was shocked not really because its her third attempt but because she had the patience to come the third time!!! She said that in the first attempt, she didn't horn before taking a turn. The second time, she didn't change to second gear or something like that. Phew and here she was. There was another old man, nearby who joined the conversation. Old man was an NRI, who finally settled here. He came for a two wheeler license for his address proof. Then he started his travails about driving tests. He said that he had to undergo his driving test around 25 times... when in Dubai. Some kind of racism against Indians, he said. Hmmm ok. Then the conversation on Dubai was continued for a while. Then old man added that he had given his driving tests in Canada too, for around 12 times. What!! Why am I hearing things that I shouldn't, before giving a driving test. This was too much to digest and I was annoyed that that the inspector hadn't showed up yet. I signalled to Shazia for a break. We went to have coconut water nearby.
Another half hour passed, after which the inspector finally came. Inspector was rather young and ok looking. And thankfully driving school guy was also there. Seemed that this was the inspector's last day here. And there was some lunch party (final khilana pilana party). Our school guy gestured to us "Kaafi khilaya isliye sab pass ho jayega". Then the two wheeler tests began. Old man had taken Shazia's Activa and was trying to get it started but in vain. Then we whispered "Abhi pata chala Dubai me 25 times kyu and Canada me 12 times kyu". Shazia went over and helped him start. By this time even our driving school guy had lost his temper and shouted "Dai, enna velai panre nee". Old man somehow finished his test and the four wheeler test was about to begin. A couple of ladies moved towards the car, when the inspector said "ladies last". Hmm wily guy. So all the guys finished first. The test was to drive ahead for a distance and take reverse to the same spot. I thought, if this was it I can manage easily.
There were four girls and none of wanted to go first. Finally, one lady sat first and the other three behind. The lady started the car while the inspector started a light conversation. From the Q and A round it was deciphered that she was Hema Hemavati and worked in a government setup (CDAC or something similar). Hema finished pretty smoothly and it was Shazia's turn. Shazia turned the keys and tried to start, when we heard some vroom sounds and the car was not listening to her. Then the inspector looked at her file and asked her, "Shazia, tumko gaadi chalana aata hai kya?" By this time she was drenched in fear and anxiety. He repeated the question again. She said ya. He replied, "to fir hand brake nikala kyu nai?". Then he demonstrated her the usage of hand brake. Finally Shazia finished her turn and I found out that she was a hair dresser and Inspector wanted some info for his cousin with similar interest! Now I understood why Ladies last.....
Then it was me and I started the car and went till the road end and was about to take a reverse, when Inspector told that it was pretty sunny and we can take a round. I was flabbergasted and then after a couple of seconds, I put the right turn indicator and tried my best to take a decent turn. As I was about to turn the steering wheel, Inspector sensed my stress levels and gave me an option to take reverse and finish off. I said its fine I will manage. Inspector in his filmy mood said "Darne ka nai, kyuki jo darta hai wo marta hai". I finally took a right and kept going. Then he told me to stop and take a reverse. When I was taking the reverse, I didn't notice that the car was going a bit left instead of keeping straight. And a stupid bike guy just parked on the left and was talking to his GF. I put the brake that scared the guy, but thankfully nothing happened. And filmy Inspector said "Kya Ramya, lover logo ko dara diya". I was praying "Sirji test finish karo na". Finally he let me go and take the backseat. Then came the last girl, (some babe working in Yahoo and giving a second attempt). Inspector was delighted to see her, and asked " Mene hi tumko fail kiya kya?" She said yes. Then Inspector told her to go for a full round. She started the car and filmy inspector turned flirty. He asked her "Sudheera tum kaha se ho". Hyderabad replied Sudheera."Arey mujhe Hyderabadi Biryani bohot pasand hai, next time mujhe Hyderabad leke jaana" Then some more flirting came on the way, and I must say, all this while she was actually driving good and handled the inspector also pretty efficiently. The inspector also praised her driving skills. I wondered why she failed the last time.... Then Sudheera finished and we got down. Our school guy talked and Inspector talked for a minute. Then Inspector wanted some more of Sudheera and said " Kya Sudheera , side me parking kar do na" Poor girl went again. Finally, the eventful day came to an end. next day I called in to find out if I had passed and they said YESSSS.
Another half hour passed, after which the inspector finally came. Inspector was rather young and ok looking. And thankfully driving school guy was also there. Seemed that this was the inspector's last day here. And there was some lunch party (final khilana pilana party). Our school guy gestured to us "Kaafi khilaya isliye sab pass ho jayega". Then the two wheeler tests began. Old man had taken Shazia's Activa and was trying to get it started but in vain. Then we whispered "Abhi pata chala Dubai me 25 times kyu and Canada me 12 times kyu". Shazia went over and helped him start. By this time even our driving school guy had lost his temper and shouted "Dai, enna velai panre nee". Old man somehow finished his test and the four wheeler test was about to begin. A couple of ladies moved towards the car, when the inspector said "ladies last". Hmm wily guy. So all the guys finished first. The test was to drive ahead for a distance and take reverse to the same spot. I thought, if this was it I can manage easily.
There were four girls and none of wanted to go first. Finally, one lady sat first and the other three behind. The lady started the car while the inspector started a light conversation. From the Q and A round it was deciphered that she was Hema Hemavati and worked in a government setup (CDAC or something similar). Hema finished pretty smoothly and it was Shazia's turn. Shazia turned the keys and tried to start, when we heard some vroom sounds and the car was not listening to her. Then the inspector looked at her file and asked her, "Shazia, tumko gaadi chalana aata hai kya?" By this time she was drenched in fear and anxiety. He repeated the question again. She said ya. He replied, "to fir hand brake nikala kyu nai?". Then he demonstrated her the usage of hand brake. Finally Shazia finished her turn and I found out that she was a hair dresser and Inspector wanted some info for his cousin with similar interest! Now I understood why Ladies last.....
Then it was me and I started the car and went till the road end and was about to take a reverse, when Inspector told that it was pretty sunny and we can take a round. I was flabbergasted and then after a couple of seconds, I put the right turn indicator and tried my best to take a decent turn. As I was about to turn the steering wheel, Inspector sensed my stress levels and gave me an option to take reverse and finish off. I said its fine I will manage. Inspector in his filmy mood said "Darne ka nai, kyuki jo darta hai wo marta hai". I finally took a right and kept going. Then he told me to stop and take a reverse. When I was taking the reverse, I didn't notice that the car was going a bit left instead of keeping straight. And a stupid bike guy just parked on the left and was talking to his GF. I put the brake that scared the guy, but thankfully nothing happened. And filmy Inspector said "Kya Ramya, lover logo ko dara diya". I was praying "Sirji test finish karo na". Finally he let me go and take the backseat. Then came the last girl, (some babe working in Yahoo and giving a second attempt). Inspector was delighted to see her, and asked " Mene hi tumko fail kiya kya?" She said yes. Then Inspector told her to go for a full round. She started the car and filmy inspector turned flirty. He asked her "Sudheera tum kaha se ho". Hyderabad replied Sudheera."Arey mujhe Hyderabadi Biryani bohot pasand hai, next time mujhe Hyderabad leke jaana" Then some more flirting came on the way, and I must say, all this while she was actually driving good and handled the inspector also pretty efficiently. The inspector also praised her driving skills. I wondered why she failed the last time.... Then Sudheera finished and we got down. Our school guy talked and Inspector talked for a minute. Then Inspector wanted some more of Sudheera and said " Kya Sudheera , side me parking kar do na" Poor girl went again. Finally, the eventful day came to an end. next day I called in to find out if I had passed and they said YESSSS.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Extortion and Corruption, whats the difference!
I have been thinking on this for quite some time. Since long, I have heard people talk that Bangalore is a costly city to live in. I thought that its mere exaggeration because in a city where tender coconut is just 15 bucks (ya just 15 bucks!!!) how can it be costly. But I had the first hand experience when I moved in here.
One of first few days when I started to travel by bus, I found the conductor's hesitance in giving back the change for my ticket. But what startled me in the next few days was the conductor's hesitance in giving tickets! Here began my journey in understanding the corruption levels of Bangalore.
I became a bit clever in this aspect and started to give money only when I get the ticket. Then came the baap of all experiences, when I traveled from Marathahalli to Bellandur. The conductor as usual, gave me the ticket after which I paid him the money. All was going well and Bellandur was the next stop when suddenly conductor aiya remembered something and came up to me. He told me that the ticket was actually 11 bucks instead of 9, while simultaneously trying to snatch the ticket from me. Well, my mind was calculating instantly, if he takes the ticket away he definitely won't give me one in return, so what do I do? Then I thought its just 2 rupees, whats the big deal and I gave him the coin, while my stop arrived. And the next moment, I saw the conductor running away to the back of the bus. So I called him for the ticket. He glanced at me and gestured that, that wont be necessary. That's when my bheja got hot and I shouted for the whole bus to hear, "Arey bhaiya mene paisa diya uska ticket to de do". Then our conductor aiya, also became angry, as if I had gifted him a gold coin and now charging him for it. He took a ticket out of the box and threw at me. I was like ticket gaya bahad me par tere jeb me nai jana chahiye. So there ended my saga from which, ticketing in bus for me is like going on a war!
But I prefer to fight with the conductor rather than give away all my savings to the auto guys, who are almost same as their dear cousins in Chennai. But Chennai still has got better alternatives to autos, namely the metro, call taxis and the buses too where I did not encounter such incidents.
Though it is true that some or the other form of corruption is prevalent in all parts of India, but when people stoop down to such shocking levels, it makes you question. In some way, I think that the conductor is a poor guy and I may as well think that I have given alms to him, but at the same time it is also my hard earned money that he is taking away without my permission. And we think that instead of giving to the government we can at least give to the known devil in front of us.
In the concept of corruption, we have no one to blame but our greed. A typical example of bribing is a disciple promising god that he will break 100 coconuts if he gets so and so that he needs. Or someone putting money in the donation box and telling god to give him/her something. When we bribe our gods, what such a big deal about bribing each other.
So corruption is what makes the giver and taker both desperate enough to commit this act. Hence, if we switch off need/greed from our mind, there will be no corruption at all. So Simple :)
One of first few days when I started to travel by bus, I found the conductor's hesitance in giving back the change for my ticket. But what startled me in the next few days was the conductor's hesitance in giving tickets! Here began my journey in understanding the corruption levels of Bangalore.
I became a bit clever in this aspect and started to give money only when I get the ticket. Then came the baap of all experiences, when I traveled from Marathahalli to Bellandur. The conductor as usual, gave me the ticket after which I paid him the money. All was going well and Bellandur was the next stop when suddenly conductor aiya remembered something and came up to me. He told me that the ticket was actually 11 bucks instead of 9, while simultaneously trying to snatch the ticket from me. Well, my mind was calculating instantly, if he takes the ticket away he definitely won't give me one in return, so what do I do? Then I thought its just 2 rupees, whats the big deal and I gave him the coin, while my stop arrived. And the next moment, I saw the conductor running away to the back of the bus. So I called him for the ticket. He glanced at me and gestured that, that wont be necessary. That's when my bheja got hot and I shouted for the whole bus to hear, "Arey bhaiya mene paisa diya uska ticket to de do". Then our conductor aiya, also became angry, as if I had gifted him a gold coin and now charging him for it. He took a ticket out of the box and threw at me. I was like ticket gaya bahad me par tere jeb me nai jana chahiye. So there ended my saga from which, ticketing in bus for me is like going on a war!
But I prefer to fight with the conductor rather than give away all my savings to the auto guys, who are almost same as their dear cousins in Chennai. But Chennai still has got better alternatives to autos, namely the metro, call taxis and the buses too where I did not encounter such incidents.
Though it is true that some or the other form of corruption is prevalent in all parts of India, but when people stoop down to such shocking levels, it makes you question. In some way, I think that the conductor is a poor guy and I may as well think that I have given alms to him, but at the same time it is also my hard earned money that he is taking away without my permission. And we think that instead of giving to the government we can at least give to the known devil in front of us.
In the concept of corruption, we have no one to blame but our greed. A typical example of bribing is a disciple promising god that he will break 100 coconuts if he gets so and so that he needs. Or someone putting money in the donation box and telling god to give him/her something. When we bribe our gods, what such a big deal about bribing each other.
So corruption is what makes the giver and taker both desperate enough to commit this act. Hence, if we switch off need/greed from our mind, there will be no corruption at all. So Simple :)
Thursday, April 19, 2012
And this is life...after all
Wow, I can't belieive, my blog has been in limbo for four months. What have I been doing? Well apart from being married, I have been trying to impress my hubby with my culinery skills, and my boss has made me master excel skills, and in between I haven't had much time in my hands. And those driving classes...How can I forget them... Whenever I see a lady driving through the traffic, I get so jealous.....
Ok apart from all this clutter in my happy life, there is one experience that I can't seem to forget. Weeks ago, I volunteered for a event though my office to visit a disabled home for girls. It was a three hour event, so I registered my name. We were told that we would be organizing a tea party for the kids and it sounded fun!
Out bus from the office reached there in the afternoon and I was numb for the first half hour. There were around 20-25 girls there.The little ones were in the middle of the room. There was a 5 year old girl whose legs were twisted backwards, so she couldn't move much. One kid had a problem with her backbone because of which she couldn't stand. Then on the wheelchair there were kids who looked like there were around the age of 7-8 but they were not able to communicate properly, so they tried to gesture repeatedly. There was a girl, who could manage to say hi-hello and what's your name-drill. There was another girl, who justed wanted someone to hold her hand. Then she would gesture at her bangle and try to tell something.
Somehow, I couldn't mingle as easily with the kids as my colleagues did. I saw couple of my friends taking the kids in their lap and talking to them. I couldn't come out of my dumbstruck mode at all. I tried my best to communicate and play with some of the children but I couldn't help feeling sorry for them. There was a another girl kid, who was pretty active. She mingled with the others easily. It was just that her face was small and monkey like. We were told that her parents had abandoned her because they thought she was actually a monkey. Then there was another kid who seemed pretty normal but had a bent backbone. Again that is the reason her parents abandoned her. One of my colleagues, who had visited previously told me that last time the kid cried to him and pleaded with him to take her home with him. After hearing all this, I couldn't fight back tears. And one of my friend saw this and tried to cheer me up. I also noticed that I was the only one who couldn't battle with my emotions. The others were seeing the same things as me and were still able to digest this fact of life. My friend just told me, "Dont think too much. Its of no use" And it was true, a lot was going through my mind. Why had these parents abandoned this children? Is it just because they were poor or they could not love these special children? Why were these children born like this? Can I love my child if it gets afflicted with a similar problem?
There was some information that I did get though. That most of these kids don't cross the age of 15. If at all they do, then they are transferred to a special care centre. Finally, came the tea party. The nuns got muffins and milk for the kids. Some of my colleagues fed the children. some children did not want to eat. The attendants said its no use force-feeding them. So the kids were put in their beds and we bade them farewell and got into our buses back to office.
Ok apart from all this clutter in my happy life, there is one experience that I can't seem to forget. Weeks ago, I volunteered for a event though my office to visit a disabled home for girls. It was a three hour event, so I registered my name. We were told that we would be organizing a tea party for the kids and it sounded fun!
Out bus from the office reached there in the afternoon and I was numb for the first half hour. There were around 20-25 girls there.The little ones were in the middle of the room. There was a 5 year old girl whose legs were twisted backwards, so she couldn't move much. One kid had a problem with her backbone because of which she couldn't stand. Then on the wheelchair there were kids who looked like there were around the age of 7-8 but they were not able to communicate properly, so they tried to gesture repeatedly. There was a girl, who could manage to say hi-hello and what's your name-drill. There was another girl, who justed wanted someone to hold her hand. Then she would gesture at her bangle and try to tell something.
Somehow, I couldn't mingle as easily with the kids as my colleagues did. I saw couple of my friends taking the kids in their lap and talking to them. I couldn't come out of my dumbstruck mode at all. I tried my best to communicate and play with some of the children but I couldn't help feeling sorry for them. There was a another girl kid, who was pretty active. She mingled with the others easily. It was just that her face was small and monkey like. We were told that her parents had abandoned her because they thought she was actually a monkey. Then there was another kid who seemed pretty normal but had a bent backbone. Again that is the reason her parents abandoned her. One of my colleagues, who had visited previously told me that last time the kid cried to him and pleaded with him to take her home with him. After hearing all this, I couldn't fight back tears. And one of my friend saw this and tried to cheer me up. I also noticed that I was the only one who couldn't battle with my emotions. The others were seeing the same things as me and were still able to digest this fact of life. My friend just told me, "Dont think too much. Its of no use" And it was true, a lot was going through my mind. Why had these parents abandoned this children? Is it just because they were poor or they could not love these special children? Why were these children born like this? Can I love my child if it gets afflicted with a similar problem?
There was some information that I did get though. That most of these kids don't cross the age of 15. If at all they do, then they are transferred to a special care centre. Finally, came the tea party. The nuns got muffins and milk for the kids. Some of my colleagues fed the children. some children did not want to eat. The attendants said its no use force-feeding them. So the kids were put in their beds and we bade them farewell and got into our buses back to office.
Monday, January 2, 2012
A big bye to 2011
Hah, Let me tell you that this is the best new year that I had so far! Thats because I was not at home watching TV as I do every year end. This time I wen't to UB city in Bangalore for the DJ Party! The party was on the open area in 2nd floor. Started from 7.30 pm. I started dancing from 9 pm. No there were no earthquakes reported and the cyclone was in Chennai, so I am not responsible! Took a break at 11 for dinner. Came back to the dance floor at 11.45 and danced till 12.30. The only regret that I had was that I didn't wear a party gown. And my gosh, the gals over there were mind blowing. The only minus point was most of the gals were dressed in black as if there are no other colors at all! Cmon now. Guys, the only guys worth drooling was the the DJs ;) ;) Till 10.30 It was DJ Chetan, then it was Norman.
So coming to my new year resolutions:
1. Plan is to join a gym and hopefully keep gymming all year long. Hopefully.......
2. Learn to drive a four wheeler. Please pray for me because the last time I drove a car, I hit a lady zooming away in a two wheeler and had to pay Rs. 30000 for her medical expenses. And the worst thing was she lived in the other wing of our complex.... Ya I was learning to drive in the road outside my building. Very bad mistake.... So I am gathering my courage after 4 years! Please please pray for me.
3. Finish my education loan! I have 5 lakhs to go to close my education loan and I am hoping to close it this year. I am even thinking of getting into a side business to close it sooner! If you have any ideas please let me know!!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
The Great Indian Sport
One thing I forgot to mention that its exclusively played by women! So all you need to do is put all your aunts in the same room and get some popcorn or even better french fries :)
So the match opener is the aunt who has the loudest voice and can be heard across the mohalla. She starts her own saga of how her manni (bhabhi) is. Then the one other aunt tried to come in between with another gossip, which is supposed to be mushier. Then the loud aunt scans it in her mind and decides if she should continue on this topic or dash in another topic of discussion. Here somehow it was her interest so she adds her own masala. Then my sweet own granny (has to be the odd woman out :), as she praised her devrani of how sweet she is. This the loudspeaker could not digest and had to point all the devrani's bad qualities. And so continues the conversation.
I am so surprised on how female psyshe works. Some of these aunts cannot sleep peacefully without badmouthing other women in the family. For some women, its a weekend gossip compilation session. My mom got a call from one distant aunt (with her daughter in background) when we were going through a bad patch. This aunt wanted to know the details of what happened, and how it happened and what was the outcome, and what would be its future effects... phew! I was imagining the daughter compiling a research report and publishing it in the family SharePoint!!!
Now with relatives like these, who needs enemies................
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Chick lit experience!
After reading Emily Giffin, I couldn't get enough of chick lit. So browsed through http://chicklitreviews.com and chose to read:
Keep the Change is an awesome book written by a fellow Tam-bram from her life in SSV and Sons to an MNC in Mumbai, supposedly Citibank. What struck me was the amazing similarities that tam-bram girls deal with, no matter which part of the world they grow up in. I could relate to 32 Amman koil street even though I was raised in Mumbai. The only quality I din't share with her was her talent with number crunching. The narrative was very funny and filled with expressions like jumping into idli batter, termite peeping out of old furniture, and convincing her mom that Goa is as safe as Mount road in a Monday morning :). Definitely a must read!
October Breeze. This was a stupid book I picked because it starts with my favorite month. It was more like a hindi movie, because the protagonist ends up making all the wrong choices which proves that she din't have a brain, and that is the hypothesis Hindi film directors have been trying to prove over the last fifty years. Basically, its about teenage pregnancy. But I suggest to stay away from this book unless you are researching on the social effects of teenage pregnancy.
- Big Girl (which is actually a diet lit)
- Keep the change
- October breezes
Keep the Change is an awesome book written by a fellow Tam-bram from her life in SSV and Sons to an MNC in Mumbai, supposedly Citibank. What struck me was the amazing similarities that tam-bram girls deal with, no matter which part of the world they grow up in. I could relate to 32 Amman koil street even though I was raised in Mumbai. The only quality I din't share with her was her talent with number crunching. The narrative was very funny and filled with expressions like jumping into idli batter, termite peeping out of old furniture, and convincing her mom that Goa is as safe as Mount road in a Monday morning :). Definitely a must read!
October Breeze. This was a stupid book I picked because it starts with my favorite month. It was more like a hindi movie, because the protagonist ends up making all the wrong choices which proves that she din't have a brain, and that is the hypothesis Hindi film directors have been trying to prove over the last fifty years. Basically, its about teenage pregnancy. But I suggest to stay away from this book unless you are researching on the social effects of teenage pregnancy.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Spain milegi na dobara
Last week, I watched Zindagi milegi na dobara and yes it was as soggy as the Spanish economy. Though Farhaan tried to crack some jokes and Hrithik and Katrina did their best to keep gals and guys occupied, yet the story was missing somewhere. I did not find anything new because I have already watched the lonely planet episode of Spain in Discovery channel. After watching the movie, I really wanted to ask Farhan/Zoya; was Spain their first choice? Well truth is that there are a lot of Indians in Spain especially Sindhis and they have a very strong presence in the tourism industry. Maybe some Sindhi friend gave the idea to Farhaan to revive the tourism industry.
Speaking about Spain, its a bit heartbreaking to see such a beautiful country amidst huge public debt. As experts around the world are analyzing the cause of the debt, reasoning the housing bubble, trade deficit, and the curse of socialism coupled with the curse of Euro, Spain's tourism has definitely taking a hit. That is because before joining the Euro team, Spain was a cheap tourist destination for the western middle class but post Euro it lost to other destinations in Asia like Malaysia and Mauritius. Apart from investing heavily in infrastructure projects, it also tried to ape its neighbor France in socialist welfare policies. These policies made life difficult for employers, which caused the rise to 20 % unemployment. How France manages its welfare policies and still manages its economy is still a riddle.
Coming back to Spain, it is still a destination only for millionaires like Kabir (Abhay Deol). I have to wait for Spain to return to its national currency (pesetas) to be able to afford a peaceful holiday.( btw 1 rupee is equal to 3 pesetas!)
Speaking about Spain, its a bit heartbreaking to see such a beautiful country amidst huge public debt. As experts around the world are analyzing the cause of the debt, reasoning the housing bubble, trade deficit, and the curse of socialism coupled with the curse of Euro, Spain's tourism has definitely taking a hit. That is because before joining the Euro team, Spain was a cheap tourist destination for the western middle class but post Euro it lost to other destinations in Asia like Malaysia and Mauritius. Apart from investing heavily in infrastructure projects, it also tried to ape its neighbor France in socialist welfare policies. These policies made life difficult for employers, which caused the rise to 20 % unemployment. How France manages its welfare policies and still manages its economy is still a riddle.
Coming back to Spain, it is still a destination only for millionaires like Kabir (Abhay Deol). I have to wait for Spain to return to its national currency (pesetas) to be able to afford a peaceful holiday.( btw 1 rupee is equal to 3 pesetas!)
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Another Pigeon Post
I have been wanting to share this for a while :) When in Mumbai, as you may all know that I had pigeon abodes at almost all of our house windows. Watching the babies is so much fun because they make funny kind of moments like standing up and sitting down again when they see humans or maybe when they are scared. A pigeon baby takes around 25 to 30 days to grow up fully and fly away. Once the pigeon learns to fly, the dad doesn't allow it in the abode, I guess maybe he has started preparing for another round of children.
Another interesting thing about pigeons is that they are very individualistic. Like they keep switching their partners after every round of children. And as soon as the pigeon learns to fly, the parents stop feeding it by mouth, hinting that the pigeon should find its own food from now. Sounds very American, doesn't it? Even in the evening when they rest at the terrace area, they don't like a fellow pigeon intruding their area. I don't know how they demarcate their space, but they start dancing (some strange ritual ) as to establish their personal space. Almost all of the babies are very eager to fly. After the 15th day they start taking small jumps to test their wings every now and then. Once they make it out of the window, its pigeon day out!
Then when I shifted to Mylapore in Chennai, the house windows did not have any extensions, so no pigeon abode :(. But just opposite to my window, there was a window sill with some extensions done for a/c box, where to my relief a pigeon couple lived. In Chennai, you will always find pigeons below the a/c boxes. Its like even they need a/c ;).
This window sill was kind of 10 feet away from my window, so couple gave birth to a little one. Around the 20th day pigeon had fully grown and almost ready to fly. So I thought in a few days it would be gone. Then I checked back around the 24th or 25th day and saw that the baby had grown to the extent that it was difficult to differentiate between mom and baby. Then checked at the 30th day, fully grown baby pigeon still happily occupying half of the nest that it was difficult for mom to be there. Then checked again after a couple of days and still it was the same! At one point, I was like grrrr fly man don't you wanna explore!!! And to my disbelief the parents also did not kick it out and even fed it. Then at the 40th day finally it was missing from the nest, so I thought finally pigeon thinks it has grown up. But after a couple of days it was back resting at home, whereas the parents were not to be seen. I thought, great so you are so lazy that you don't wanna find a home for yourself? And by this time the parents had started to prepare for the next round of children because they had started with their dancing rituals. But baby was still happily taking its noon nap. Finally, I guess around the sixtieth day baby was finally not to seen.
I don't know if its one off incident but I couldn't help resist drawing parallels!!!
Mumbai People/Pigeons:
1. Very ambitious
2. Eager to explore
3. Love their space
4. Change partners frequently
Chennai People/Pigeons:
1. Grow up late
2. Love to laze around
3. Can't live without a/cs ;)
4. Love to live with their parents!
Another interesting thing about pigeons is that they are very individualistic. Like they keep switching their partners after every round of children. And as soon as the pigeon learns to fly, the parents stop feeding it by mouth, hinting that the pigeon should find its own food from now. Sounds very American, doesn't it? Even in the evening when they rest at the terrace area, they don't like a fellow pigeon intruding their area. I don't know how they demarcate their space, but they start dancing (some strange ritual ) as to establish their personal space. Almost all of the babies are very eager to fly. After the 15th day they start taking small jumps to test their wings every now and then. Once they make it out of the window, its pigeon day out!
Then when I shifted to Mylapore in Chennai, the house windows did not have any extensions, so no pigeon abode :(. But just opposite to my window, there was a window sill with some extensions done for a/c box, where to my relief a pigeon couple lived. In Chennai, you will always find pigeons below the a/c boxes. Its like even they need a/c ;).
This window sill was kind of 10 feet away from my window, so couple gave birth to a little one. Around the 20th day pigeon had fully grown and almost ready to fly. So I thought in a few days it would be gone. Then I checked back around the 24th or 25th day and saw that the baby had grown to the extent that it was difficult to differentiate between mom and baby. Then checked at the 30th day, fully grown baby pigeon still happily occupying half of the nest that it was difficult for mom to be there. Then checked again after a couple of days and still it was the same! At one point, I was like grrrr fly man don't you wanna explore!!! And to my disbelief the parents also did not kick it out and even fed it. Then at the 40th day finally it was missing from the nest, so I thought finally pigeon thinks it has grown up. But after a couple of days it was back resting at home, whereas the parents were not to be seen. I thought, great so you are so lazy that you don't wanna find a home for yourself? And by this time the parents had started to prepare for the next round of children because they had started with their dancing rituals. But baby was still happily taking its noon nap. Finally, I guess around the sixtieth day baby was finally not to seen.
I don't know if its one off incident but I couldn't help resist drawing parallels!!!
Mumbai People/Pigeons:
1. Very ambitious
2. Eager to explore
3. Love their space
4. Change partners frequently
Chennai People/Pigeons:
1. Grow up late
2. Love to laze around
3. Can't live without a/cs ;)
4. Love to live with their parents!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Battle of the Cities
Every time I go to Bangalore, I love it all the more. For a person coming from Chennai, its like being moved from a heater to a cooler! Its so cool and awesome. Dunno why Chennaites have a problem with this place, they keep saying: Everything is bad except the weather. Come on, this proves that they haven't been to a city before! And comparing Bangalore and Chennai is just not right, Chennai is a very old so-called metro and Blore has seen all this growth in just 15 years. But anyways this post is not about either of these cities.
This post is about Delhi and Mumbai. Delhi unlike the other metros was left untouched by the British. Hence, apart from being a political capital it had to rebuild itself from scratch. Till the 80s Mumbai was the best bet for both entrepreneurs and workers because Kolkata had destroyed itself with communism, and Chennai had language issues, due to which no one outside TN invested in the city. But Delhi has seen an amazing growth in the last 20 years, some changes owed to political will and the rest because the economy had opened up to the delight of entrepreneurs. Today, its been debated whether Delhi will take over Mumbai as the financial capital because both investors and financial institutions have a marked presence here.
This also connects to the other debate of whether NSE will take over BSE. An apt debate here puts across the comparison of both the exchanges. Till the 90s BSE was almighty and ruled over by the select few Mumbai based companies, which was also one reason of its rigidness. And then saying no to derivatives also hit it badly. Though recently Madhu Kannan is planning for a comeback, the message we get is that the battle is on!
As for infrastructure Delhi gone way ahead than most of the cities. With the Delhi metro and the mushrooming of the nearby satellite cities of Gurgaon and Noida, it has the most reigning factor that Mumbai does not have: SPACE. And Bangalore and Hyderabad have even come up with their second airports, Mumbai realized the need for second airport in 2007 which leaves many things to be said about the infrastructure status.
And the other aspects like food, culture, and shopping Delhi is at par with Mumbai if not better.
Another interesting aspect is about Bollywood tilting towards Delhi. Just count how many movies have you seen recently with a Delhi-centric plot. Delhii Heights, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Dev.D, Love Aaj Kal, Do Dooni Chaar, Aisha, Break ke baad, Band Baaja Baraat, Pyaar ka Punchnaama and of course, Delhi Belly! Well Bollywood has definitely studied its audience unlike BSE. And for MTV, Roadies and Splitsvilla are so loaded with contestants from Delhi and Chandigarh, I am starting to wonder if MTV still conducts its auditions in Mumbai. I won't be surprised if it shifts base to Delhi. Same for Channel V.
The problem is, since 80s Delhi has striked the right chords and Mumbai the wrong ones. The Shiv Sena backlash on the immigrants (Its worst mistake was to target immigrant entrepreneurs); the 92 riots (again the temple was 1000 kms away, no other city reacted and the ripples were felt in a big way here. Leaves a lot to be read between lines); the underworld nexus (somehow the worst criminals are created here! no idea why); the crouching CM and the hidden Deputy CM have not done anything good for the city yet (the slums still exist and keep growing). Just two days gone after the blast and we are still waiting for the government to act, but this too shall pass. Another one will come soon.
With the regional hatred breeding in and growing each day, Mumbai is going nowhere. Actually, its a strange thing about being a city. If you don't welcome people you stop growing.Take any city from ancient Florence to today's New York. These places have become cities only because they were melting pots of different cultures and thrived on settlers. It doesn't happen when you are ethnocentric and biased to people from different culture. This is the same reason why Chennai and Kolkata still have trouble claiming the status of a metro.
This post is about Delhi and Mumbai. Delhi unlike the other metros was left untouched by the British. Hence, apart from being a political capital it had to rebuild itself from scratch. Till the 80s Mumbai was the best bet for both entrepreneurs and workers because Kolkata had destroyed itself with communism, and Chennai had language issues, due to which no one outside TN invested in the city. But Delhi has seen an amazing growth in the last 20 years, some changes owed to political will and the rest because the economy had opened up to the delight of entrepreneurs. Today, its been debated whether Delhi will take over Mumbai as the financial capital because both investors and financial institutions have a marked presence here.
This also connects to the other debate of whether NSE will take over BSE. An apt debate here puts across the comparison of both the exchanges. Till the 90s BSE was almighty and ruled over by the select few Mumbai based companies, which was also one reason of its rigidness. And then saying no to derivatives also hit it badly. Though recently Madhu Kannan is planning for a comeback, the message we get is that the battle is on!
As for infrastructure Delhi gone way ahead than most of the cities. With the Delhi metro and the mushrooming of the nearby satellite cities of Gurgaon and Noida, it has the most reigning factor that Mumbai does not have: SPACE. And Bangalore and Hyderabad have even come up with their second airports, Mumbai realized the need for second airport in 2007 which leaves many things to be said about the infrastructure status.
And the other aspects like food, culture, and shopping Delhi is at par with Mumbai if not better.
Another interesting aspect is about Bollywood tilting towards Delhi. Just count how many movies have you seen recently with a Delhi-centric plot. Delhii Heights, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Dev.D, Love Aaj Kal, Do Dooni Chaar, Aisha, Break ke baad, Band Baaja Baraat, Pyaar ka Punchnaama and of course, Delhi Belly! Well Bollywood has definitely studied its audience unlike BSE. And for MTV, Roadies and Splitsvilla are so loaded with contestants from Delhi and Chandigarh, I am starting to wonder if MTV still conducts its auditions in Mumbai. I won't be surprised if it shifts base to Delhi. Same for Channel V.
The problem is, since 80s Delhi has striked the right chords and Mumbai the wrong ones. The Shiv Sena backlash on the immigrants (Its worst mistake was to target immigrant entrepreneurs); the 92 riots (again the temple was 1000 kms away, no other city reacted and the ripples were felt in a big way here. Leaves a lot to be read between lines); the underworld nexus (somehow the worst criminals are created here! no idea why); the crouching CM and the hidden Deputy CM have not done anything good for the city yet (the slums still exist and keep growing). Just two days gone after the blast and we are still waiting for the government to act, but this too shall pass. Another one will come soon.
With the regional hatred breeding in and growing each day, Mumbai is going nowhere. Actually, its a strange thing about being a city. If you don't welcome people you stop growing.Take any city from ancient Florence to today's New York. These places have become cities only because they were melting pots of different cultures and thrived on settlers. It doesn't happen when you are ethnocentric and biased to people from different culture. This is the same reason why Chennai and Kolkata still have trouble claiming the status of a metro.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
One emotionally distressing weekend that was
In short, this was a weekend where you are pushed in with a group of irritating people and in the end they ask you, why are you not enjoying yourself? And you can't tell them on their face its because of them. First of all, you have to meet your abominable wannabe cousin who will be irritating to the core just to gain attention. Then there are relatives who keep asking your age and asking indirectly as to what is your future plan? And I am tempted to say: to keep away from you.
Evening function almost passed easily, courtesy to cell phone games and 9 year old sweetie Janu, who kept me company. Night time was when I was given an option to move in to any of the 6 rooms booked for relatives. I tried to calculate the least risky room to enter. Oldies are a no no .. their lectures are the worst. I have been through the routine lectures with both my uncles and an aunt. So joining them would be just lecture part 2. So the least risky option was to move in with Janu's family because her dad only kept asking "What's wrong?" and "Why are you so quiet?". I almost moved in, when mom changed my plan telling me that we have booked a extra room and you can go there.
Damn I did not know the hidden agenda! Room was good, so switched on the TV and relaxed for a while. Until two aunts moved in the last moment (I thot mom wud join me :(.. ) and the minute I was dozing off, they started their 3rd degree torture. Started their lecture on the only goal of a woman's life is to get a guy and have children. And I ask why; guys are always a pain and they hurt you in the end and children are (like if you haven't had enuf of heartache then have a headache too) ya blessings in disguise... Thats why women who remain unmarried look younger than their age. And the Q and A session was very much PITA! Then at a point when it was out of limits, I had be harsh and tell them I am done. And then they continued among themselves and I felt a sigh of relief, and then out of nowhere this abominable cousin's mom compared me to her daughter!
Yuck I am still trying to forget it. I may be the worst daughter around but why compare me with her!! She is like those insensitive and detestable Buas or Jethanis you see in Hindi serials. They will always ask you painful questions, just to make you feel bad. Once during my elder cousin's engagement, she asked her, "If her ex-fiancee, with whom she had a painful breakup is attending the engagement?" That time this girl was 15, not some thumb-sucking 5 year old asking around stupid questions!!! My cousin kept her cool and advised her that you should not ask such questions. She did the same to me a couple of times and then I decided not to speak with her rather than losing my cool. And, if you advise her, then comes her mom and bullies us " Why do you keep scolding and advising her? She has lost her dad and she is coping with it. Please don't bother her."...!!!
Finally, the sun rose and came the remaining part of function and somehow survived that too. Then came lunch finally. As I was enjoying my sambar round, came the abominable cousin trying to make her best entry and hi-ing all the aunts and uncles around. Ya aunt and uncles and thathas and paatis. It sounded very irritating. Finally packed bags after lunch and congratulated myself for surviving the ordeal. Thankfully weekend got over and returned home. Net-net food was good but everything else badddddddddd.
Evening function almost passed easily, courtesy to cell phone games and 9 year old sweetie Janu, who kept me company. Night time was when I was given an option to move in to any of the 6 rooms booked for relatives. I tried to calculate the least risky room to enter. Oldies are a no no .. their lectures are the worst. I have been through the routine lectures with both my uncles and an aunt. So joining them would be just lecture part 2. So the least risky option was to move in with Janu's family because her dad only kept asking "What's wrong?" and "Why are you so quiet?". I almost moved in, when mom changed my plan telling me that we have booked a extra room and you can go there.
Damn I did not know the hidden agenda! Room was good, so switched on the TV and relaxed for a while. Until two aunts moved in the last moment (I thot mom wud join me :(.. ) and the minute I was dozing off, they started their 3rd degree torture. Started their lecture on the only goal of a woman's life is to get a guy and have children. And I ask why; guys are always a pain and they hurt you in the end and children are (like if you haven't had enuf of heartache then have a headache too) ya blessings in disguise... Thats why women who remain unmarried look younger than their age. And the Q and A session was very much PITA! Then at a point when it was out of limits, I had be harsh and tell them I am done. And then they continued among themselves and I felt a sigh of relief, and then out of nowhere this abominable cousin's mom compared me to her daughter!
Yuck I am still trying to forget it. I may be the worst daughter around but why compare me with her!! She is like those insensitive and detestable Buas or Jethanis you see in Hindi serials. They will always ask you painful questions, just to make you feel bad. Once during my elder cousin's engagement, she asked her, "If her ex-fiancee, with whom she had a painful breakup is attending the engagement?" That time this girl was 15, not some thumb-sucking 5 year old asking around stupid questions!!! My cousin kept her cool and advised her that you should not ask such questions. She did the same to me a couple of times and then I decided not to speak with her rather than losing my cool. And, if you advise her, then comes her mom and bullies us " Why do you keep scolding and advising her? She has lost her dad and she is coping with it. Please don't bother her."...!!!
Finally, the sun rose and came the remaining part of function and somehow survived that too. Then came lunch finally. As I was enjoying my sambar round, came the abominable cousin trying to make her best entry and hi-ing all the aunts and uncles around. Ya aunt and uncles and thathas and paatis. It sounded very irritating. Finally packed bags after lunch and congratulated myself for surviving the ordeal. Thankfully weekend got over and returned home. Net-net food was good but everything else badddddddddd.
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