Concoction

NYTimes: A Bully Finds a Pulpit on the Web

2010-11-28T22:41:00.001+05:30

From The New York Times:

A Bully Finds a Pulpit on the Web

Vitaly Borker welcomes customer complaints, saying they vault his business higher in Internet search results.

http://nyti.ms/hKLDUo

Get The New York Times on your iPhone for free by visiting http://itunes.com/apps/nytimes

Thanks,
Prakhar

whoa..programming at 9!

2010-11-28T15:52:00.001+05:30

http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/mik/2008/01/20/teaching-my-daughter-to-code/
I envy these kids :) (for all their exposure)

great post on deficiencies of social networks

2010-11-28T09:11:00.001+05:30

Why current generation of social networks are lame:
http://blog.koehntopp.de/archives/2978-Die-unertraegliche-Lameness-des-Web-2....

technology that have changed your life (using the term technology quite narrowly)

2010-05-28T10:19:00.001+05:30

List the technology/products that have caused a real change in your life. Here goes my list: -

(1) computer
(2) operating systems
(3) programming languages (after all I earn my living by coding)
(4) internet + www
(5) email
(6) IM
(7) mobile phone
(8) search engines
(9) online mapping services
(10) finding free stuff instantly online :) anything; news, books, movies, music, ...
(11) flash memory
(12) broadband internet

What's yours?

2009-11-06T04:14:00.002+05:30

The recent Madhu Koda scandal raises once again the question (as I believe that I am no novel thinker) :
"Should corrupt politicians be charged with deliberate murder ?? Why??
because they swindle astronomical quantities of public money that could have been used to prevent children from dying off hunger, from getting malnutrition ed, could have prevented suicides of farmers. Aren't these two issues deeply coupled?? Atleast one constitutional machinery (legislature, executive, & judiciary) has to start taking the lives of citizens very-very seriously. As these corruption scandals hold (relatively) less incentives for judiciary so it appears they are the natural choice for the above task. Its time, judiciary makes an example out of these moochers. A precedent has to be set which acts as a very effective deterrent. Nothing less than life sentence for Koda, death penalty even better"

Negi.............Shailendra Negi

2009-05-22T21:51:00.007+05:30

This is like the most imaginative, creative, impulsive pic I have ever encountered. I am pretty sure, quite a few members of the fairer sex will be feeling nervous seeing this pic. But, for Negi this sort of reaction is very normal, and what can he do? Cutting out the crap, presenting to you (if you play 007 music in the background it will totally go by this pic)

Negi

Shailendra Negi. (can anything other than a full stop come after Negi?)

If you don't know, he likes it (Martini you perverts) shaken, not stirred.

This is the legend who warded off a very serious heart-attack threat by drinking water and walking in feverish pace around the hostel corridors.

He could have been touring the world with the Indian Cricket team, he could have been playing for Manchester United, or even he could have been the Tarzan scaling the trees in Uttarakhand, but, he was grateful enough to grace lesser mortals like us with his presence amongst us.

Cheers to The man, the legend!

What is the meaning?

2009-05-20T23:18:00.004+05:30

of life? of all this chasing and running? when all that you are running for can be over in a split second. What is the use then? Isn't it better that we live each moment of whatever we have got? What we have to lose? May be it won't get over for us so quickly as for some of our unfortunate friends and then we might end up cursing ourselves -- why didn't we run more? why did we give up the chase? But, is the chase/run ever over? has anybody seen the full stop? you always run out of road. There is never an end. So, I have started to believe that live life as it is going to be your last day, don't take anything that you have, any people who care about you for granted, because you really don't know if it might be the last time you are seeing them and you might never get a chance a make up.

May their soul rest in peace

Backlash in Bihar - train torched

2008-10-22T20:35:00.003+05:30

I guess that Mr. Raj Thackeray would be breathing a sigh of relief and accomplishment as with all his activities it appears this is what he intended. People like Raj Thackeray are more dangerous than your Laskar-e-Toiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and what not, because, atleast those outfits are banned. But, people like Thackeray live among us, spread sedition and hatred everyday. So, what is the solution? the government cannot take a step as radical as banning MNS for ever, naming it as a terrorist organization, putting Mr Tackeray in jail (not to let him go out on bail the next day). Why? Why can't this be done? because, if they do this, what happens to uncle Bal? why is he free? why has he been free for so long? what happens to Narendra Modi? what happens to RSS? why are those f**kers free even after assassinating Mahatma Gandhi? what happens to Bajrang dal? what happens to many of the dravidian parties who use the linguistic card?

So, what are we left with? what is the solution? May be its what Lala Har Dyal (founder of Gadar party) pointed out many many years before: -
"our object is not to reform government, but to reform it away, leaving, if necessary only nominal traces of its existence."
You may term that an anarchist's point of view? but, what good, both you and me are for? other than talking!

"Raj arrested" - making of Mahatma

2008-10-21T17:34:00.002+05:30

yeah!, why? because, the next thing you know everytime a crooked politician is arrested (I never said that The Gandhi was crooked), he comes out way too quickly on bail, and then there is a huge crowd of paid-to-be-there/good-for-nothing people waiting outside the police station for him, shouting slogans, throwing garlands. Meanwhile, what is Mr. Crooked Politician doing? Both his hands are joined and has a very cliche'd smile on his lips - and why not? he has become Mahatma Gandhi. Every time a politician goes to jail in India, he/she thinks that he has got a bit of the noble man inside him. What the...... But, like many things this "What the...." is easier said then done, because, these kind of gimmicks seem to work good for the vote bank of our Mr. Crooked Politician.

and you thought that they do good journalism at Forbes

2008-08-27T11:28:00.003+05:30

Excerpt from a recent news item at Forbes website, dated 27thAug'2008 (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/08/27/ap5361476.html) : -

"JAMMU, India -

Police traded fire Wednesday with militants allegedly holding six people hostage, including four children, in a building in Indian-administered Kashmir."

I've emboldened the part that is objectionable to me. Last time I checked, Kashmir was still a part of India, and it is Pakistan and China who're administering some parts of Kashmir. Time for the Forbes guys to give their editors a class in history. Atleast till the time Kashmir issue is resolved Kashmir will stay a part of India, or, forbes is projecting itself as a mouthpiece of Kashmiri people ? (that's unlikely). This snippet from their report is infact a reflection of the American arrogance, their complete disregard to the political stands of other sovereign countries. I don't give a damn to what they think, but, they should atleast keep their facts politically and diplomatically correct.

What is it with....

2008-05-08T01:59:00.004+05:30

the movies, no not all the movies, but with the romantic comedies. They seem to make fun and mockery out of normal lives. Oh come on! I'm not getting frustrated once more, this is fact man. Let me ask you how many times have you travelled in a train? I bet many a times (most of you) and how many times have you met a nice-looking, sexy, and yet a gregarious girl? I bet the number will be tending to zero. In my case it is ZERO! I'm telling you it happens only in 'Jab we Met'. Now lately I've been revising some of the good movies in this genre, namely Notting Hill, Serendipity, When Harry met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail, and my belief is strengthened. These movies are made just to make a mockery out of your life if you're single, and in case you're seeing somebody then they're made so as to force you into questioning your relationship. Questions like "Is he/she the ONE"?. Give me a break, cut the crap man! what is that supposed to mean?. I'll tell you. It means - go ahead, be brave, break-up, get upset, come back home, watch that movie again, lament, may be even cry, and then after you've watched that movie many a times realize how that movie makes you feel like a complete arse and then BINGO! moment of enlightement! you've been foxed.

If you don't concur, look around yourselves analytically, I'm sure you'll find quite a number of people who live in a very filmy-filmy dunia and you either find them talking nonsense most of the times or depresses. Well, yes, either ways they are talking nonsense!

So moral of the story -- "It happens only in the Movies".
(sorry for the cliche but it summarizes quite effectively!, and sorry for another abruptly ending post, but again who reads this blog anyways? :-) )

Movie of the Month: CINEMA PARADISO

2008-05-02T00:26:00.004+05:30

Welcome to the new section on this blog: "Movie of the Month", our place to discuss the best of the best!

The Movie of April is: -
CINEMA PARADISO
you have to watch this 1988 Italian masterpiece to believe it! I'm pretty sure this movie is amongst all time favorites of all the people who have seen it. What it is about?. It's indescribable, the storyline, the dialogs, the performances, the direction, in short, it falls into that rare category where every thing seems to be just perfect! Somebody has correctly said - "Beauty lies in simplicity". Go and do yourself a favor - watch Cinema Paradiso and then leave a "thank you" comment!

Atlast an engineer!

2008-05-01T23:55:00.003+05:30

Latest Perigrinations-II: (Goa, March'2008)

2008-05-01T23:46:00.003+05:30

Well I was in B'lore courtesy my new job, and it was a weekend, and I'd never been to Goa. So, I teamed up with Pegu, who in turn roped in some of his pals from TechMahindra and off we were to Goa. We went ny road and took the following route and went via Belgaun. I was there just for 2 days and covered Baga, Calangute, Anjuna, Mandren beaches and chapora (aka DCH) fort!
Picasa link to pics from this trip: -
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/prakhar.sharma/Goa

Latest Perigrinations-I: (Udaipur, Mount Abu) Feb'2008

2008-05-01T19:50:00.004+05:30

Hi! long time no see...as if anybody reads it!
What have I been upto all this time?? hmm....travelled around a bit, watched movies (some real classics...well a new section on movies is on its way..stay tuned!), catching on my reading and guess what killed time!

Went to Udaipur-Mount Abu in Feb'2008 alongwith Kalia, Tushar and Satnam. Well that's another matter that we left delhi to attend Ajit's brothers' marriage in Chittorgarh and never showed up there. I won't apologize to Ajit for this..why? for starter..he never gave us the address and his phone was not reachable all the time..thanx to the seamless connectivity offered by Tata Indciom!! jaasthi talktime, jaasthi SMS..but where the hell is the network man [:-P]...secondly, Udaipur and Mount Abu are nearby and appeared way more interesting!

Took the Mewar Express from Hazrat Nizamuddin station to Udaipur. Let me tell you one think upfront: don't have the misconception that all of rajasthan is desert, Udaipur is on a height surrounded by Aravallis. We all freezed to near death in the sleeper class of MewarExp..(we didn't took blankets)

Udaipur is good in day and great by night..man you have to go to the city palace in dark and enjoy food and drinks at the lake side restaurant inside the premises of the palace.
Places to see: City Palace, Pichola lake, there is another one, Sajjangarh. Sajjangarh is a hill top palace, used to serve as monsoon retreat for the maharajas (but we all concurred that the place was made to serve very earthly desires and cravings of the privileged class!!) You can trek to Sajjangarh through the reserved forest. The terrain is not that difficult to negotiate but, the thorny bushes all around make it exciting. Just to tell you, trekking through the reserved forest is illegal!

Getting to Mount Abu from Udaipur is a major pain. Why? there is tribal area on the way and apparently these tribals are not that friendly and they express their dissent by looting any vehicles passing after sunset..so there is no road transport available after 4PM from either Udaipur or Mount Abu. We left for Mount Abu early next morning (around 4AM). The road is also not that great. Mount Abu is good, but, nothing much to do around, the place is infested with gujju tourists and gujju honeymoon couples. You can trek to Guru Shikhar, the highest point of the Arvalli range. FYI, Aravallis are arguably the oldest system of mountains in the world and it runs from delhi in east to somehwere in gujarat in the west. We rented bikes in Mount Abu, had a good gujarati meal, and were off to guru shikhar. The trek is not that great, but you get a good feeling once on top..well why not, I can atleast say that I've conquered one mountain range in world! Jokes apart, view from the top is great. Nearby there is a observatory, one might ask why an observatory in Mount Abu, because sky remains mostly clear in this part of the world. All in all it was a good trip (total 3 days). We'll made up our mids to return to Udaipur with our better halves, if and when we have them [:-(], no doubt the place is very, very romantic. Mount Abu is also good, more so if you meet a follow like Maangi laal, who is a proper frustoo and bakchod person! will tell you about this chap some other time guy. chlao c'ya, bfn.....

Picasa link to some pics from this trip: -
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/prakhar.sharma/UdaipurMountAbuTrip
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/satnam17/UdaipurTrip?authkey=R-7Vk4k4IZU
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/tagrawal/UdaipurMountAbuTrip

Bigots and Impotency

2008-02-13T16:25:00.007+05:30

fuck raj thackeray

fuck the impotent government who lacks the balls to put assholes like RT behind the bars

fuck the fundamentalists (hindus, muslims, sikhs, all of them) for fucking with other people's fundamental rights

fuck all the politicians for not condemning actions of people like RT, for all those fuckers have used this regional/religion card at some point or the other to fucking boost their votefuckingbank

fuck all the good for nothing people who don't have a fucking iota of brain, and do the dirty work for these motherfucking pigs

fuck all the good for nothing bigots who are so fucking jealous of other people's accomplishments that they start issuing fatwas, or whatever its hindu counterpart is called

fuck the judicial system to assist these sick politician fucks in their dirty games and let them get away with it

no...fuck yourself for sitting right there and let these fuckers rape and molest your country, to fuck with the basic principles on which our country is based

fuck yourself for being such a sucker, reaping benefits of this country's free atmosphere, getting a fat paycheck at the end of month, eating fucking popkorns while watching your TV or reading somebody else's blog and criticizing and making fucking suggestions like a pussy

FUCK THE POLITICIANS, FUCK THE SYSTEM, FUCK YOU, FUCK ME

Pluralism and Democracy

2007-12-01T11:18:00.000+05:30

The whole world seems to be having credentials enough on passing judgments on Taslima Nasreen, M.F. Hussain and the Indian government these days, so also I thought of joining the party!!!
I was seeing this debate on "we the people" on NDTV24x7 on "putting curbs on artistic freedom".....something like that.What I'd like to ask is what is artistic freedom? who defines it? for me its nothing but a politician's word, a word that has been coined for the sole purpose of getting your way out of embarrassing situations (something like what Ms Nasreen and Hussain sahab have encountered). Then in a most ridiculous way some bonehead lady (say this expletive can be artistic freedom!) on the show says that our Indian civilization is not ready for such openness and rationality, that our people are still under-educated. Are we Indians really fond of self-pity? of finding faults in our ways? and adulating about what our contemporaries in west are doing?Its not a question of being educated or not? A believer'd have been offended seeing those nude impersonations (on canvas) of Hindu goddesses, notwithstanding his educational qualification.
Its simply a point of crossing the line. The west exploded over those danish cartoons. In a plural society like ours there are a lot of lines, and being an influential person one should have a sense of responsibility to respect and defer all those lines.
The most pathetic party to all these fiasco s are politician's elected by us. See what BJP is doing, it is advocating Nasreen's case and it hounded Hussain like a mad dog, despite there being glaring similarities between the two cases. And who elects these politicians, its we....shouldn't we be ashamed of ourselves.
Why does CPI-M gets elected again and again in West Bengal, why do we elect proven criminals as our representatives? why hasn't a single politician been imprisoned?May be after all it is a question of people being educated....................

A Day in the Life of a Frustoo Techie

2007-11-05T12:00:00.000+05:30

The Frustoo techie wakes up........

Oh no its already 11..........What the hell
Somehow he gets dressed lousily for work

Driving to work he spots several good looking chiks........What the hell
They are all with their bfs...........What the hell

Reaches off, the pretty looking receptionist is chatting with well built guys...........What the hell
Same old look in manager's eyes, suggesting "how lazy are you"...........What the hell
Checks mail, there are dozen of Good Morning mails, all having pretty faces...........What the hell
There are some good mails too, but due to the close mindedness of the society he can't check them in office...........What the hell
Same old cliche'd work...........What the hell
Waits for evening, plays TT, foosball, or watever is avaiable...this time no What the hell

Goes home, switches on MTV, there is Katrina Kaif all over...........What the hell
Enough is enough
Our protagonist is losing patience here
He has the good number in his cell phone
But he is the good boy, he can't do that
he knows its the time to sleep
But seriously..................WHAT THE HELL

The Messiah

2007-10-31T22:08:00.000+05:30

last some days have been hard.
he feels suffocated
and just when he feels, that this is it
there is a teasing flow of air from somewhere
"why?? why??"
why is nobody noticing him shouting?
"why?? why??"
again no response
..................
.................
not yet
"i shouted, right...??"
"or didn't i??"
"have i gone nuts"
"NO"
"NO"
"then why do ppl don't notice me??"
for the past so many years, he had thought himself to be an anomaly
but an anomaly gets noticed
"that means i am like all others"
"NO, NO, NO"
"so are all others going through the same amount of pain??"
"same agony??"
first time in so many years he felt sympathetic for his fellow beings
"so, then why does nobody gives it a shit??"
"are all of them chickens?"
"just afraid of doing nething, thinking it might worsen their plight"
"or are all of them too dumb to notice?"
the first option felt relatively plausible
but he ain't one to sit back and bear all this
"something has to be done"
"somebody will have to do it"
he felt like the chosen one
this seemed to be the chance he had been waiting
he ain't gonna miss it
for the first time in so many years he felt his eyes
his ears
his hands
the air around him
not only the pain inside
but also that all outside
he could see it everywhere
the more he realized, the more determined he grew
.
.
.
he was standing in a pool of blood
with a rod in his hand
"why are you doing this"
"One more blow and it would end"
"You will feel relaxed"
"See how relaxed are all others"
he had already obliged 6 other co-workers
a heavy blow on the skull, did the trick for the 7th one
.
.
But the world never treated a messiah properly
Satan draped in khaki shot him
another shot
and the messiah dropped
.
.
.
only to rise again somewhere else

long time.........no see

2007-10-01T11:54:00.000+05:30

Yes I know it has been a long time since my last post.
Even I'm wondering what has happened to me, why am I doing this?? have I started MIS-using office internet [:-)]

The second part of the story "Black and White" is due, then EPL is in full flow and the season is unfolding very excitingly, lots of things to catch up, lots of gyaan to spread, lots of venom to spit out!!

Oh no, please don't so that, don't lose your heart out there [:-)], I'll be back soon, gotta MIS-use the office internet now [:-(]

Review- New Apache RTR 160

2007-08-18T13:02:00.000+05:30

The hottest new baby(the RTR 160) from the stable of TVS-Racing, looks like a winner much like its predecessor!. I test rode this baby today and was totally overwhelmed by it! What is this RTR??. It can be anything from Ready-to-Race, Ready-to-Rule, but for me it is Race-to-Rule. Lets talk about looks first:-

In a nutshell killer looks!, the roto-petal disc brake, the split grab-rails, racing stripes, all black body parts, the overall racing ergonomics takes this baby on a all together different level from its contemporaries. The body works people at TVS have given Baja and Hero Honda a lot to think about.
Ok the looks are deadly and all, but what about the real bike. RTR 160 scores high on pick-up. Apache already had the highest power-to-weight ratio in its category, with the more powerful 160cc engine Apache has become a biker's delight! The earlier version had 13.5bhp and the RTR has 15.2 bhp. A wider wheel base will quieten the critics of earlier version who claimed that a smaller wheel base made it relatively unstable(though it was minimally smaller than its contemporaries).
The bike seems very pro-racing in its looks and driving. The driver seat is more sports bike oriented, and the pillion seat has been made to bring the sexy-cute thing behind you a bit more closer!!
One thing where the older version scores is the single peg gear changer(though it is a cosmetic difference, you only take 1 day to get yourself accustomed to the new design).

So summing up much like its predecessor TVS has a winner on its hand(the Apache made history by grabbing the highest number of biking-awards in a single calendar year), the RTR seems very likely to leverage the position of TVS motor in the minds of masses. Only hindrance that the sales can face(or will face) is the mentalblock in people's mind who are hunged on to Bajaj Pulsar, but with successive good products TVS auto looks determined to break the mentalblock.
One good thing that the marketing guys at TVS have done since the inception of Apache is that they have their target audience very clear in mind, and with appealing advertisements the sales are sure to improve and take Bajaj Auto full on!!

For more info on the bike:- http://www.tvsapache.com

SARFAROSHI KE TAMANNA AB HAMARE DIL MEIN HAI....

2007-08-15T23:59:00.000+05:30

I just wanted to have a record of this beautiful peace of patiotic-art by RAM PRASAD 'BISMIL', one of the revolutionaries prosecuted by the British under the Kakori train Robbery case. 'Bismil' was a great poet, his most celebrated writing is being presented here:-

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.
Dekhna hai zor kitna baazuay qaatil mein hai

Karta nahin kyun doosra kuch baat cheet,
Dekhta hun main jise voh chup teri mehfil mein hai
Ay shaheed-e-mulk-o-millat main tere oopar nisaar,
Ab teri himmat ka charcha ghair ki mehfil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.

Waqt aanay dey bata denge tujhe ay aasman,
Hum abhi se kya batayen kya hamare dil mein hai
Khainch kar layee hai sab ko qatl hone ki ummeed,
Aashiqon ka aaj jamghat koocha-e-qaatil mein hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.

Hai liye hathiyaar dushman taak mein baitha udhar,
Aur hum taiyyaar hain seena liye apna idhar.
Khoon se khelenge holi gar vatan muskhil mein hai,
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.

Haath jin mein ho junoon katt te nahi talvaar se,
Sar jo uth jaate hain voh jhukte nahi lalkaar se.
Aur bhadkega jo shola-sa humaare dil mein hai,
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.

Hum to ghar se nikle hi the baandhkar sar pe qafan,
Chaahatein liin bhar liye lo bhar chale hain ye qadam.
Zindagi to apni mehmaan maut ki mehfil mein hai,
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.

Dil mein tuufaanon ki toli aur nason mein inquilaab,
Hosh dushman ke udaa denge humein roko na aaj.
Duur reh paaye jo humse dam kahaan manzil mein hai,
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai.
Dekhna hai zor kitna baazuay qaatil mein hai.

Yoon khara maqtal mein qatil keh raha hai baar-baar,
Kya tamanna-e-shahaadat bhi kisi ke dil mein hai.

The original(Urdu) and the English version can be found at:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarfaroshi_ki_Tamanna

Black and White - Part I

2007-06-24T14:55:00.000+05:30

"Saale chutie firangi, kya samjhte hain apne aap ko, saala bahinchudh", Tomar shouts into the microphone, but of-course it is on mute. He pulls his hair to release the frustration(it doesn't helps, he feels as if nothing helps), turns on the mic and
"Sorry sir, there was some disturbance in line, how may I help you??"
This is a common scene in the Gurgaon based Indeo call centre where Ajay Tomar (son of the Gen. Vijay Tomar, retired, Indian Army) works. These intermediate fits of rage, slamming of desks, pulling of hair (one guy actually got bald, serioulsy man, not joking, it happened right there in front of Tomar's eyes, day by day this chap was losing hair until…) are mudane. The not so ocassional rebuke from the floor manager doesn't upsets them (Tomar and his co-workers) anymore.
“I’m afraid, that’s not in our capacity to say sir”
Some one's frustration at the politics of becoming floor manager, then a bigger asshole(a.k.a manager), and then a much bigger one is met by strange looks of co-workers as if suggesting "kya nautanki kar raha hai saale, roj kee kahani hai yeh toh". The thing that excites them is the fight for the latest bomb-shell who joined a week back. In Tomar's words they all are comfortably numb. What gets his blood rushing(he longs for complete numbness) are the reports in the media applauding India's economic surge, reports selling the dream of India's bright future with more than 60% of its population still young.
“It’s nothing to do with race, nationality or getting personal sir, as I said earlier its not in our capacity to say sir”
He asks how can India be booming when so many guys like him are stuck in the peanut-sized paycheck jobs (like his) of the the so called Knowledge economy?? May be it was much tougher for mediocre (yes he knows he is damn toooo average) guys like him earlier, to hell with it. He's living now, and it has not been easy for him.
"Thank you for calling Indeo, we deeply regret the inconvenience caused, you're talking to Marc, have a nice day"
Tomar slams the receiver and heads for a break, smokes out his frustration along with his lungs, comes back to his seat in 5 mins, the phone is ringing, recalls his fake American accent and
"Thank you for calling Indeo, you are speaking with Marc, how may I assist you?"....................

Passenger(P): "are Ismael bhai abhi tak!! ek ticket dena Rajiv Chowk kee"
Ismael(I): "are miyaan majraa kya hai, har din last Metro??"
P: "are bhai aap bhi toh roj double shift maarte ho. baat yeh hai kee ghisani toh padtee hee hai roti ke lie"
I: "ha ha, sahi baat, lekin bahut hui ghisai, bibi bachchoon ko lekar ja raha hoon nainital"
P: "are wah, chalo phir, gud nite"
I: "shabakhair"
Soon after giving the last ticket he rushes home. It’s already 22:30 and tomorrow is going to be a big day for him. Kicks his Splendor to life and off he goes. It’s too damn cold, and commuting 30 kms in this freezing Januray cold is difficult. But life has never been easy for him and its not as if he has any regrets. He thanks his Allah everyday for bestowing him with the ‘fighter spirit’. Most of his colleagues have cars (of-course on EMI’s ), but he can’t afford that luxury. He has his farz to fulfill. He has high dreams for his 6 yr old angel – Aasha, and 3 yr old Rishi.
He dreams of Aasha and Rishi going to college, visualizes his 2BHK apartment in delhi, he even dares to dream a silver colored Getz. He smiles and recalls Mirza Ghalib :-

"Hazaaron khwaishein aisi ki har khwaish pe dum nikle,
Bahut nikle mere armaan lekin phir bhi kam nikle"

He is aware of the dangers associated with being over-ambitious. But, he knows that this not being over-ambitious, he knows that this is damn realistic. He knows that he can make it happen. What if he is only B.A.?? What if he had to shuttle from one office to another, hearing the babus cursing him for over a month before he got his job at DMRC’s Rithala Metro station?? What if he makes only 15K a month?? But he has made all this happen even after being a witness (as a 15 yr old kid) to the gory incidents of that Oct’89 nightmare in his village of Logain. He has made all this happen even after he saw all of his family charred to death at the hands of religious fanatics that night. He made all this happen even after he was treated like dirt in his uncle’s home at North Delhi for all his youth. What’s this in comparison to all that?? It’s a piece of cake. He knows that he will turn his "Hazaaron khwaishein” into reality.

He’s parking his bike when Aasha comes running out to him. He lifts her up, looks at her angel like smile, hugs her. With his spirits lightened, mind freshened, and his strength restored, he enters his rented hole like one room apartment............................

(To be continued)

Trek info: Tadiyandamool

2007-06-21T11:55:00.000+05:30

Name: TADIYANDAMOOL TREK

Trivia: Tadiyandamool is the tallest peak in the Coorg district, 2nd tallest in Karnataka, the tallest being Mulayangiri in Chikmaglur distt. Both Coorg and Chikmaglur are famous for their Coffee.
Location: Coorg district of Karnataka, nearest town is Madikeri
How to reach: Buses till Madikeri are available from Majestic. KSRTC has good service on this route, with a good number of deluxe(Rajahamsa-volvos) and semi-deluxe serving this route (atleast at night). If you are an economy trekker like me then you'll have to rely on private buses Madikeri onwards. From Madikeri catch a bus till Napoklu, from there catch another bus and get down at Kakkabbe (Kakabe'). There is another route , i.e. B'lore-Virajpet-Napoklu.

At the Kakabe' bus stop you will find some signs directing you towards Nalknaad palace. Follow these directions. One you are at the palace, you will find several boards of different home-stays (during tourist season people provide their houses as cottages to tourists). You can chose one of these as per your pocket, if you intend to stay at night. I and Santosh stayed in one of the economical place. Like all the hilly areas people are very cordial and helpful.

Ask the locals for the route up to the peak. They will be more than happy to help. Specifically helpful is one Mr. Prasad who owns a coffee plantation and the best and most expensive home-stay (by the name of Palace Estate) in this area. A cool, helpful chap with a very beautiful wife!! . He drew a very descriptive map (to the peak) for us and also served us upma for breakfast.

The climb is of medium difficulty. Terrain varies from easy-medium-tough. It took two of us nearly 3-4 hours to reach the top. But if your group is bigger then of course it would take you longer. On the way up you come across one huge stone, from there a bylane takes you to a stream (this is the last source of water on the way up) The water here is very sweet and refreshing. But it was a pity to see polybags, packets of Lays, Good Day and other snacks littered all over. It filled me with contempt for the human race for sometime.

Some say that if you visit Coorg at the time when coffee fruits are still ripening then the whole air is filled with fragrance. But quite unluckily we visited when the fruits were already ripe [:-(]

Surely you get a lot tired by the time you reach the top, but the juice is surely worth the squeeze!!. The view from the top is exhilarating, and you are filled with respect and love for nature seeing the beautiful scenery all around. Some people pitch in their tents near the top, and spend the night there, it must be cool.

On the whole a rewarding trek, and a B.E.A.utiful place. Surely worth going and trekking!

The next day we visited a nearby waterfall by the name of Madan-abbi (abbi means fall in Coorgi language). Aaaah, what should I say about it, absolute Shnagri-La. Amazing place. Totally untouched. You have to walk nearly 3-4 kms from the cottages/home-stays to reach this place. Neither did we find a single person on the way, nor at the water fall. Both of us enjoyed a lot in the water-fall, we braved the slippery rocks and climbed up. The water was chilling, but the experience was priceless.
I'm really scared about mentioning this place here, as may be it gets popular, hence commercialized, and hence dirty. If you ever visit this place, then Please don't do the thing we humans are best at, messing up with nature.

Here is a link to the trek album :-
http://picasaweb.google.com/prakhar.sharma/Tadiyandamool

I've still have the map drawn by Mr. Prasad of Palace Estate, may be I'll upload it sometime (if I don't, feel free to ask for it, if needed). Here are some numbers that might be helpful in planning your trip/trek:-

Mr Prasad (Palace Estate) :- 09880447702
Mr. Ashok (Twins Cottage, the place where we stayed) :- 08272-238361, 09880908091

As requested I've uploaded the maps at my public gallery on Picasa, here is the link:-
http://picasaweb.google.com/prakhar.sharma/TadiyandamoolMaps

happy trekking!!

Trek info : Savandurga

2007-06-19T13:12:00.000+05:30

It has been quite a long while since I last posted, so, I'm starting with small posts to get back into tempo of blogging. So, I thought about spreading gyaan and info about some treks that I've done. So, here comes the first one:-

Name: SAVANDURGA TREK
Trivia: Savandurga is the biggest monolith in Asia.
Location: somewhat 60-70 kms from B'lore, nearest town is Magadi
How to reach: Buses are available from the KR market bus stand. The condition of the buses is bad, so if you want a leisure trip then take a private vehicle, but you are going on a trek dude, who wants leisure ?? [:-)]. From Magadi catch a local auto till the starting of trek, just say savandurga to the auto-wallah, he will take you to your destination.

Many things make Savandurga a good place to start trekking. Firstly, its proximity to B'lore is a big point in its favor, then it is a short trek. But on the same hand the climb is not a cake-walk by any means. The climb to the top varies from easy to quite steep at some places. One differentiating factor from other treks is that being a monolith(stone structure), there is no soft grassy ground beneath your feet, so one gets exhausted easily. One thing I really wondered about is that what were those dogs on the top doing?? May be they were also nature enthusiasts, trekker dogs!!, sounds cool na?? [:-)]

Other than trekking Savandurga also serves as a destination for rock climbing and Mountain Biking enthusiasts.

On the whole a nice trek, you return home by the evening, have a nice sleep and wake up to the realization that you have been bitten by the 'wanderlust-bug'!!.

Kausani Base Trek (6th April'07 - 8th April'07)

2007-05-02T20:48:00.000+05:30

Name: Kausani - Jawaan Pinnath - Bura Pinnath

Base Camp Location: Kausani, Uttarakhand, India (about 500kms from Delhi)
District:half of kausani falls in Almora distt and the other half in Baageshwar distt.
Participants: Shailendra Negi(a.k.a. chotu), Gagan, Ankur Varshney, Mayank Pathak, Saurabh(a.k.a. mandir) and Me.
Dates: 6/04/07-8/04/07
Distance: around 30 kms to and fro from actual base camp--Kaatali(30mins drive from kausani).

It was 5th April'07. I, Gagan, and Ankur were sulking in office, sortta upset by aimless planning of team mates for the upcoming 3 day weekend. But, we 3 were firm on one thing--"come whatever, we're going outta delhi this weekend". Realised that others are not sufficiently motivated, we hit google. After searching for some treks I happened to come across this little bit of information on uttarakhand gov's tourism site regarding some 3 treks around kausani area. Cool, I thought. Searched for some contacts, rang up some gov departments and I had zeroed on one outta 3. I was excited, wanted to do it badly. Now time to convince others. Luckily and surprisingly it was not at all difficult. Gagan and Ankur're more than eager and they roped in Pathak in no time. Within the next 20 mins we'd booked a cab(Travera) and decided to leave by 8PM. We're only 4 of us till then, it'd be expensive, now was the time for real convincing skills. I pursued negi and the others some of their friends. By the time we left I'd roped in Negi and they mandir. Good job done!!!!!!!

Around 9:30 we're out of Noida, the cabbie was quite a livewire, riding as if straight outta NFS. We'd planned to reach Nainital by 5-6 in morning, sleep in some pocket friendly, nice place for 4-5 hrs, leave for para-gliding(where ??, ha ha, that's another story), leave for Kausani, reach there 10PM, have an overnight sleep, leave for trek Sat early morning, return to hotel by nightfall, and leave for delhi next day(sunday). I'd say that only one thing happened to the plan, i.e., we reached Nainital as planned.
Soon after reaching Nainital we wasted no time in searching for a place rest. After some frantic hotel search we got a decent place at a decent rate, had 1-2 cuppa tea and slept. All of us woke around 11. Now where in god's name is paragliding carried out in or around Nainital ??. Most of the people we asked were clueless, again tourism deptt came in handy. Finally we'd our next destination--Nawkoochiataal. Another hr or two drive, and we're there.

Though slightly expensive(850/- per head) but para-gliding was worth it, a cool, stylo activity. While flying I was really envious of the bird(it enjoys a real cool view of the world). We all had a great time flying, other than Mandir who was not allowed to take off under the pretext of being over-weight.

There was a tall rugged hill behind the take-off spot, you know a type that excites a trekker [:-)] I and negi decided to scale it. It was fun and painful at the same time. The sun was out in the full , and the hill was littered with cactus es and dry bushes. But, both of us braved all the adversies and scaled it!!!!!!!! huraaaah. By the time we got down, others were getting impatient(it was really hot), especially mandir :-), so wasting no time we left for Kausani (that was around 5PM).

It was a beautiful drive from Nawkoochiataal to Kausani via Almora, kudos to the gov for the nice condition of roads. Other than a halt of around 15-20 mins when we stopped to let the beautiful environment sink in, we drove till Kausani nearly non-stop. We're blessed to pass by Almora at night as city's view in dark was enchanting.

Finally, after a long drive we reached Kausani(around 150kms from Nainital) around 11PM. Apart from a couple of restaurants the rest were closed. We stopped by one, the owner(Ramesh Chaudhary) who turned out to be a bit outspoken, but much helpful person was still there. This guy himself runs a hotel, but still, when we asked him about Tourist Rest House(TRH), he himself contacted them to find about the accomodation status there. As the TRH was unavailable(it is a bit expensive too) we took 3 rooms in his hotel (they were OK rooms, if you're with your guy friends, not at all a place for you, if you've a female companion(s)...[:-)] ). The dinner he served was life-saving, we all were dead hungry. By the time the food was served, we'd devoured 6-7 packet of lays and twice that many chocolates. A nice thing happened at the dinner table that needs a mention here.

As already told this guy Ramesh was a bit outspoken. When we told him that we are here to do the so and so trek, he passed an inquiring glance over us and declared "seeing u guys, I say that u can't do it"....wtf!!!, we are coming all the way from delhi just to do this trek and this fellow is saying "u guys can't do it". What do we look like a bunch of couch potatoes ?? huh!!, i felt like giving him the finger. But soon he sortta mellowed down and told that this is a difficult trek to do in a single day. We asked him to arrange two guides for us and decided to leave early morning, by 8AM.

Our first fault--we didn't leave base on time. We left kausani around 9, reached the actual base(the place from where the trek starts) Kaatli by 9:25 and started the trek by 9:30. If you wanna do this in a single day, take my word, start trekking by sunrise, it is a big and arduous trek, takes a lot of time and energy.

The trek started with a comfortable terrain, I thought this is what we won't be able to do ??, huh bring me some real trek!!!!!!. With me and Negi leading the way alongwith one of the guides we reached our first stop--Rudra-dari in about 1:30-2 hrs. This is basically a Shiva temple, one of the two places on the way to Bura Pinnath(BP) where u can get water for ur journey up. There is no source of water at Bura Pinnath, it is available 12 kms down from there, sounds cool for a trek na???. After a round or two of Polo and Chocolates we resumed lap two of our quest.

This lap, from Rudradari to Jawaan Pinnath(JP) was a lot more difficult and energy sapping. The distance covered during the two laps is nearly same(silghtly more in the second), but the altitude keeps on rising and it rises quite steeply, so one nearly takes twice the time to reach Jawaan Pinnath and to tell you what, till Jawaan Pinnath we'd not even caught a glimpse of Bura Pinnath!!!!!!!!!! But somehow we reached JP. "ab samajh aa raha tha, kee log kyon bol rahe the kee ek din mein nahin karpaoge" we took a long halt at JP, recharged our batteries by having pooris, chaach, kurkure's and Lays and enjoying the cool breeze(surprisingly and thankfully it was not at all hot that day). The view from JP was exhilarating. From JP we caught a first glimpse of our final destination--BP, what the hell, it was easily at twice the altitude from where we're standing, and distance, who cares, when one knows how much incline one has to ascent. The guide advised Mandir to return with bahadur(the other guide) but Mandir was not in a mood to give up(already para-gliding nahin kar paya tha bechara). After about an hour or so we began the third and final lap of the way up, JP to BP.

If we had thought that way from Rudradari to JP was difficult and it couldn't get any tougher, then we're definitely wrong. What we'd covered was nothing in terms of difficulty. The climb up from JP to BP was a wicked one, rising at nearly 70-75 degrees at quite a few places, and dry leaves littered all over were making the terrain all the more difficult to negotiate. It was purely adrenalin and the desire to do, that was fuelling us. I, Negi and Pathak, accompanied by one of our guides were leading the proceedings in this lap(through I led, throughout the climb up :-) ). We're totally exhausted, taking stops after every 20 mins or so. But, eventually we did reach our destination--BURA PINNATH. Who was saying that I won't be able to do it???? Pinnath means Shiva's temple. There is a well kept temple at the top, no pujari though. Every year disciples come here to get God's blessings.

It was already 4:15PM by the time we reached BP. We started the trek down(we're taking a different way down) around 5PM, only 1:30 hrs of day light left. We knew it would not be a comfortable trek down. People say that trekking is the ultimate test of perseverance, resistance and patience. I didn't believe it till this trek. On the way down it was already dark, still a lot of distance left to be covered, in between even the guides sortta got confused(you see, these people are not used to travelling at night, it is clearly dangerous, there is no proper way, one has to make his own way through the woods, and the trail is not visible in dark!!!, yes we had very poor quality torches, afterall we never planned to trek in the dark). So my point here is, on the way down(under the circumstances just mentioned) some guys started losing their temper, quarelling with guide, cursing themselves as to why did they opt for this trek in first place??? It was then that I realised the truth of the statement(that people say about trekking).

Eventually somehow after trekking 30-35 kms and for about 13 hrs we reached our base(kaatali) where our cab was waiting for us. Ramesh(the hotel owner) had himself come to pick us up, even they were getting worried for us. Looking into Ramesh Cahudhary's eyes's then I felt satisfaction, for I found a respect for me in those eyes. He was the person who said that we won't be able to do it. A mouth watering chicken curry was waiting (at the hotel) to be devoured by us. I don't know how much I ate that day, what I know is that, I nearly ate 3 times my stomach!!!!!!!!!

Next day we all woke up lazily, pain in the muscles was only starting to manifest itself. But no pain in the world can take away the fun we(atleast I had loads of it) had while trekking, or diminish the sense of self accomplishment at the end of it. It'll always be with us. (sorry for being philosophical)

I'm exhausted writing a log of this trek :-) . So, to summarise we left for delhi around 12 in the afternoon(sunday), had some fun by the side of a rivulet on the way back, were gifted to see a breath-taking view of paady farming, and reached Delhi by 5 on Monday morning.

The album for the trek pics is :-
http://picasaweb.google.com/prakhar.sharma/KausaniBaseTrek

Note:-
If you wanna do this trek or visit kausani, then here are some numbers that might be helpful:-
http://gov.ua.nic.in/uttaranchaltourism/districts/almora/Almora_trek.html#kausani

Ramesh Chaudhary(the guy in whose hotel we stayed, very helpful chap)- 09411328704, 09997557752

Toursit Rest House(this is a government guest house, so better facilities) - 05962258006

For more info feel free to contact me.

Quote/Dialog of the Day

2007-04-17T11:22:00.000+05:30

The thing that holds together the civilized world is the regard for money.
A person who has no regard for money is uncivilized, is dangerous.

Quote/Dialog of the day

2007-03-30T12:48:00.000+05:30

The Only way to get Smarter is by playing a Smarter opponent
--Jason Statham as Mr. Green in Guy Ritchie's Revolver

The Real Power lies with people who don't have any regrets in their life
--Gregory David Roberts in his novel Shantaram

Quote/Dialog of the day

2007-03-29T11:34:00.000+05:30

HOLLYWOOD

These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so depended on them. That's institutionalized.
--Morgan Freeman as Red in Shawshank Redemption

I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.
--Morgan Freeman as Red in Shawshank Redemption

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
--Tim Robbins as Andy Dufrense in Shawshank Redemption

The greatest trick the devil pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist
--Usual Suspects

But Don't forget I'm also a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her
--Julia Roberts as Anna Scott in Notting Hill

Free your mind
--Matrix

BOLLYWOOD

Mera naam hai Ibu Hatela, meri maa chudail kee beti, mera baap shaitaan ka chela, khaega kelaa
--Gunda, *ing--Bhagwaan, a.k.a. Mithun Chakrobothy

Mera naam hai bullaaaah, mai rakhta hoon hamesha khullaaaaaah
--Bullaaah in Gunda

Mai nahin aaonga
--Shah Rukh Khaan in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaenge

haramzaaade, mai tera khoon peejaoonga
--Dharam paaji in countless movies

FOR MORE UPDATES ON FOOTBALL SEE...

2007-03-22T10:33:00.000+05:30

hi all (if there are any readers of this blog!!!!!)

from now on there'ld be no more football(please, please don't call this beautiful game soccer) updates on this blog, instead I and a friend(Kishore Pegu) have started a dedicated blog on football(happy now) available at:-

http://memoirsofafootballfan.blogspot.com/

spread the word around(we both'ld be working to make this an authentic blog on football), and this has a dedicated label on Indain Football(dude a thing like this exists!!!!!!)

Blood Diamond

2007-03-18T01:11:00.000+05:30

Scene 1:
Archer and Solomon are near the mining camp where the later had hidden the elusive pink diamond, the diamond which Archer thought was his ticket out of this God-forsaken continent(Africa), the continent which God left a long time ago(again this was Archer's thought). Solomon is desperate to get his son back from the crazy rebel bastards, who hallucinate young boys and make them plunder, murder, arson and all the bad things. But Archer, a man seasoned in the art of warfare asks him to wait till next morning. His plan--by morning Captain's helicopter'ld be there, and in the cover of its firing they make their move. Somehow he manages to stop Solomon from rushing down to the camp. But how long can you stop a father in his situation??

Scene 2:
Archer wakes from his nap, he doesn't knows how long he has been asleep, but where is the fisherman(Solomon), shit!!! he has gone down to get his son. Foolish man, what does he thinks, he can just go down there and pull his son from wicked grasp of those bastards, shit , shit, shit!!! what to do??? no signs of helicopter in the sky. But Solomon is pivotal, no Solomon, no diamond. He checks the number of rounds left and makes a move down to the camp.

Scene3 (Meanwhile in the camp):
Solomon is in a big mess...his son refuses to recognize him(what they did to his mind??, drugs, JESUS!!!), on the contrary he was on the verge of getting shot at the hands of his own son. Presently he is facing the wicked commander of the mining camp(only man other than Archer who knows that Solomon has hidden a rare pink diamond somewhere nearby). Wicked man is cursing Vandy, he demands the location of the diamond and Solomon the custody of his son, but his son is guarding the wicked man with his Kalashnikov!!!!!!, Archer hidden in a shack nearby is confused, looking eagerly towards the sky, but still no signs of the helicopter.
The wicked man is threatening Solomon, rushes towards him, hits him hard with his revolver, holding Solomon's hair by his left and lower jaw with his his right hand and pulling them apart he announces:-- "YOU MAY THINK I'M THE DEVIL, BUT ITS SO BECAUSE I'VE LIVED IN HELL"

Scene 4:
But what is this noise in the sky, a murmur, becoming louder every passing second, and next moment it turns deafening and along with it, it brings a rain of bullets. Berserk sets into the mining camp, innocent workers are running here and there, rebels are making futile attempts to bring down the helicopter with their AK-47's(bought from the price of Blood diamonds). Archer is relieved somewhat waiting for the accurate moment to make his move. Solomon, disgraced, tries to salvage some pride by killing the devil. Blood, mayhem, bullets all around, but it is a common scene in civil-war stricken Seirra-Leone. For civilians, dodging bullets is mundane, boy seems Archer is right, is God watching all this and if he is, he ought to be a Spartan!!!!!!
Dia(Solomon's son) is frightened, he starts running(even he doesn't knows where he is going), Archer sees him, shit, the helicopter is still in the area, firing, but he makes the move.

Scene 5:
The greedy Captain has not only sent his helicopter, but his troops too, who are now eliminating all present in the camp, God still sipping his martini.
What was Archer thinking??, that Capatin'ld send all the fire power to let him get the diamond and then disappear?? Captain'ld have killed for any diamond, and this was a RARE PINK DIAMOND, THE SIZE OF A BIRD'S EGG. No way he was letting Archer walk off with it.
Captain's man line up Solomon in front of the Master, who demands the knowledge of the stone. But the fisherman'ld only speak to Danny(Archer). On Archer's insistence Solomon starts walking towards THE PLACE. So much over a peice of stone, but for god's sake it was his country, for how long'ld these white people keep on fulfilling the whims and fancies of African dictators and exploiting its people and resources in turn?? first it was only Britishers, now its all of them British, Americans, and even Asians. For how long??.......how long?? But this was no time for debate he had to reunite his family, so he continued....
So, we are here, the place where Solomon had hidden the diamond. He starts digging, after sometime Captain asks: "Where is the diamond???, don't u dare fuck with me" Captain is reaching for his revolver, "no, no, I remember...." says Solomon. Archer is tense, how can he let these bastards walk away with HIS DIAMOND????, he lights a cigarette(he wishes it'ld be his last..he promised Solomon to quit once he gets the stone). Meanwhile Solomon is digging, at once he starts digging fastly as if has got it, now all the eyes are on him.
"Did u get it", captains demands, "yes" says Solomon, captains kneels down to get a glimpse. But that was it, the moment Archer and Solomon were looking for, a blow of axe and captain is down temporaraily, Archer shoots one, jumps into the bushes. BAMMM, BAMMM, captain had trained him well. Men down, but the rest'ld be here in no time, they must hurry. Archer doesn't tells Solomon but he is hurt. His desire of making his life better with that piece of stone was not letting himself believe he was hurt?? he wanted to hide this fact(shit this was a fact) from himself, telling Solomon was very far-fetched. He buckled up and started marching.
Soon reality started taking its toll and Archer was shrieking loudly in pain(what was more painful, the wound??, or the fact that all this effort for diamond was in vain??, surely it was the later). It was a wicked climb up the mountain, Archer was losing his foothold. Solomon carried him up the first level. But Archer was seeing all very clearly, in this moment he knew it very well, that it was never about the diamond, he was so pissed off with his life all through that he started searching for happiness in material possesions. But having helped Solomon get his son back he felt PEACE, a feeling so good he knew a piece of stone could never give him.
He asked Solomon to let him go and proceed, the parting was painful but it was inevitable.

In his last few minutes or may be a painful half an hour archer called the journalist(yes he loved her, and knew that she loved him back, he cannot believe now that he gave her up for his greed) gave her instructions to assist Solomon to get a good price for the diamond.

Archer was happy looking at a beautiful view of lush green mountains, and soon it was all black.

Spartan movie 300 compared to the comic book!

2007-03-16T16:06:00.000+05:30

here are some pics of 300 compared with a comic strip:-
http://www.zyped.com/media.php?file=300.jpg

Google Phone is in the Development, no more rumors, Google Going Mobile

2007-03-16T14:23:00.001+05:30

After Apple its google's turn. The oft-rumored handset from Google has taken that final leap into the "confirmed" column, though it may not be quite the be-all, end-all device we were expecting.

read more | digg story

Review--The Pursuit of HappYness

2007-03-10T18:05:00.000+05:30

Absolute masterpiece, Will Smith as Chris Gardner is at his best. Its one of those movies that u can easily watch alongwith ur family and more importantly it makes u think, and take control of your own life. The story and the performances are really moving(atleast i was moved) and u don't feel like talking to anyone when it gets over, u might just wanna sit and ponder over. This guy Chris Gardner is a character straight out of story books, but he is real. I'm still wondering how can a person struggle so much, that too without saying a word. These are real guts man, even more sterner than Superman. Who says there are no super-heroes in real world, this guy is one of them. This movie also highlights the fact that hard work never goes in vain, and it helps to see the things(no matter how bad they are) from a funny angle. I guess i'm talking nonsense out here, so go catch this one....

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE’07--STAGE OF LAST 16-SECOND LEG

2007-03-10T13:28:00.000+05:30

Liverpool 0-1 Barcelona Venue - Anfield

Eidur Gudjohnsen (75)
Venue - Anfield
oooooooooh, heartbreak for all the Barca fans, they don't go to the next stage b'coz of the away goal rulelost. But, they fought bravely, its never easy against gritty sides like Liverpool. As for me i'm i've mixed feelings, being both a Liverpool and Barca fan, it was never going for me, but i'ld manage..[:-)]
Preview | Report | Match Stats

Bayern Munich 2-1 Real Madrid
Roy Makaay (1), Ruud van Nistelrooy (83)(pen), Ferreira Lucio (66)
Venue - Allianz-Arena

Boy this is called a stadium, a peice of art, a modern day relic!!!!, and it was a great match befiittng the stadium. Both matches of this draw were mind-blowing a total of 8 goals scored. But Real missed the magic of Beckham surely, he made all the diff with his pin-point passes in the first leg.

Preview | Report | Match Stats

Manchester United 1-0 Lille
Henrik Larsson (72)
Venue - Old Trafford
Utd and all her fans(including me) 'ld have loved Larsson's stay at Old Trafford, alas....[:-(]

Preview | Report | Match Stats

Arsenal 1-1 PSV
Alex (58) (og) Alex (83)
Venue - Emirates Stadium

Arsenal deserve much better than this, the next stage'ld have been a lot more competitve if they had gone through, but it was not their day.

Preview | Report | Match Stats

AC Milan 1-0 Celtic
Kaka (90)
Venue - Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
Preview | Report | Match Stats

Chelsea 2-1 Porto
Arjen Robben (48) Ricardo Quaresma (15)
Michael Ballack (79)

Venue - Stamford Bridge
To jose's releif chelsea are on their way to the stage of last 8

Preview | Report | Match Stats

Lyon 0-2 A.S.Roma
Francesco Totti (22)
Alessandro Mancini (44)
Venue - Stade de Gerland
What a goal that was from Mancini, a touch of class, absolute masterpeice!!!!

Preview | Report | Match Stats

Valencia 0-0 Internazionale
Venue - Estadio Mestalla
Preview | Report | Match Stats

WEEKEND EPL

2007-03-05T16:32:00.001+05:30


West Ham	3-4	Tot'ham
Sun 4 Mar

SPURS SNATCH AMAZING LAST-GASP WIN

Tottenham Hotspur scored twice in a dramatic finish at Upton Park to leave West Ham United rooted to the foot of the table. more >

Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison >


Bolton	1-2	Blackb'n
Sun 4 Mar

McCARTHY IS DOUBLE SPOT-KICK HERO

Benni McCarthy's two penalties earned three points for Blackburn Rovers at the Reebok Stadium but only after a late disallowed goal broke Bolton Wanderers' hearts. more >

Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison >


Portsmth	0-2	Chelsea
Sat 3 Mar

DEADLY DROGBA CONTINUES STUNNING SEASON

Deadly Didier Drogba and substitute Salomon Kalou helped Chelsea cut Manchester United's lead to nine points at the top of the Barclays Premiership. more >

Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison >


Arsenal	2-1	Reading
Sat 3 Mar

GUNNERS BOUNCE BACK AGAINST READING

Arsenal went some way to putting a turbulent week behind them with a 2-1 victory over Reading at the Emirates Stadium. more >

Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison >


Fulham	1-1	A Villa
Sat 3 Mar

BOCANEGRA EARNS POINT FOR FULHAM

Carlos Bocanegra cancelled out John Carew's opener to earn Fulham a draw against Aston Villa in the Barclays Premiership clash at Craven Cottage. more >

Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison >


Man City	0-1	Wigan
Sat 3 Mar

FOLAN FIRES WIGAN WINNER

Bargain-buy Caleb Folan condemned struggling Manchester City to a fourth consecutive Barclays Premiership defeat and left Wigan Athletic tantalisingly close to survival. more >

Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison >


N'castle	0-0	M'brough
Sat 3 Mar

MAGPIES MISS DERBY CHANCES

Newcastle United's European hopes took a dent as they failed to make the most of their dominance over derby rivals Middlesbrough. more >

Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison >


Sheff Utd	1-1	Everton
Sat 3 Mar

EVERTON CAPITALISE ON KENNY BLUNDER

Paddy Kenny's mistake handed Everton a point as Sheffield United suffered further penalty heart-break against Merseyside opposition. more >

Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison >


Watford	2-2	Charlton
Sat 3 Mar

BATTLING ADDICKS RESCUE POINT

Watford moved off the bottom of the Barclays Premiership for the first time since early December but their 2-2 draw with Charlton Athletic leaves both sides in deep relegation trouble. more >

Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison >


Liv'pool	0-1	Man Utd
Sat 3 Mar

O'SHEA IS UNITED'S UNLIKELY HERO

Manchester United took a giant step towards the Barclays Premiership title with a smash-and-grab victory at Liverpool. more >

Match Report > Match Photos > Stats Comparison >

UNION BUDGET’07

2007-03-03T02:45:00.000+05:30

In a nutshell PC delivered a politically correct budget, with an emphasis on distributing the profits of a booming economy to aam aadmi.

UNION BUDGET’07

In a nutshell PC delivered a politically correct budget, with an emphasis on distributing the profits of a booming economy to aam aadmi.

This is how PC summarises his budget:- "The big message is that growth story is intact. The other message is that we are now distributing the gains of growth to a larger number of people."

UNION BUDGET’07

In a nutshell PC delivered a politically correct budget, with an emphasis on distributing the profits of a booming economy to aam aadmi.

This is how PC summarises his budget:- "The big message is that growth story is intact. The other message is that we are now distributing the gains of growth to a larger number of people."

The +ve things outlined for aam aadmi are:-

focus on health, education and agriculture
allocation for irrigation increased maize and pulses mission
one hundred thousand scholarships for children
jobs for the physically challenged
social security for one crore families through an insurance scheme
seven million structures for ground water recharge
restructuring of over a thousand ITI’s

Well the markets have not responded positively(though not negatively also) that’s because FM has left those sectors sortta untouched, not much change in big picture. In words of etbudget.com :- as far as corporates and markets are concerned, it was a mixed bag. Stock market operators, investors and investors are particularly unhappy with the increase in dividend distribution tax by 2.5 percent and bring all knowledge-based companies under the minimum alternative tax (MAT).

A big issue worrying economic experts was how will FM deal with the increasing inflation which is at an all-time high. Yes you Guessed it, our man PC has a solution:-

Deduction in ad valorem component of excise duty on petrol and diesel from 8% to 6%. Import duty cut for non-agricultural products from 12.5% to 10% and cut on most chemicals and plastics from 12.5% to 7.5%, may also help. Biscuits with MRP less than Rs 50 per kg, food mixes and instant mixes are now fully exempt from excise. Exemption limit for SSIs is raised from Rs.1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore, which may also help lower prices. All customs duty cuts and excise duty cuts are disinflationary addressing the supply side

For the middleclass (who happen to be the people who pay their taxes most religiously..ppl like me) the budget didin’t had any surprises. Contrary to pre-budget rumours on increase of invetsment limit for tax exemption upto 2lacs, it was only increased by 10K. instead, the education cess has been raised by 1%(industriey are crying over this point)

So, to summarise FM really came out with a politically budget. Some good points like emphasis on agriculture , education and health sector. A little more emphasis on indusrty would have been good, but how far can one ignore agriculture?? As for inflation, I’m that learned on this topic, but the points mentioned by FM look good….

RAIL BUDGET'07

2007-03-02T19:01:00.000+05:30

He is our celebrity, our camera and media friendly man, and once again he keeps is focus on “getting attention of masses”, boy o boy, this guy loves attention..but he has delivered too, atleast being a rail minister. Let's cut the crap and get to the point.

HIGHLIGHTS

Reduced passenger fares across the board
Lower fares and freight rates
New trains, including high-speed trains, and additional coaches on existing trains.
Large plan outlays to increase badly-needed capacity.
Anywhere ticketing through petrol pumps, post office, ATM’s
Tech-savvy ticket examiners armed with hand-held devices on high-end trains to reduce arbitrariness in filling up vacant berths.

RAIL BUDGET'07

He is our celebrity, our camera and media friendly man, and once again he keeps is focus on “getting attention of masses”, boy o boy, this guy loves attention..but he has delivered too, atleast being a rail minister. Let's cut the crap and get to the point

HIGHLIGHTS

Reduced passenger fares across the board
Lower fares and freight rates
New trains, including high-speed trains, and additional coaches on existing trains.
Large plan outlays to increase badly-needed capacity.
Anywhere ticketing through petrol pumps, post office, ATM’s
Tech-savvy ticket examiners armed with hand-held devices on high-end trains to reduce arbitrariness in filling up vacant berths.

The lowering of fares in AC-1 sleeper by 3% in peak periods and by 6% in lean periods, in AC-2 sleeper by 2% and 4%, and the newly-built AC-3 sleeper by 4% and 8% will no doubt help the Railways fight competition from low-cost airlines. However, the slashing of fares by 4% in the newly-designed sleeper class coach, the Re 1 decrease in prices for unreserved travel and a 20% reduction on superfast surcharge levied on second class tickets for superfast trains will add to the Railways’ cross-subsidy bill, which stands at a whopping Rs 4,000 crore as of now.(no, no don’t scared I’m not some economics geek, refer to http://www.etbudget.com and u’ll be one too)

LALU’S COOL FUNDAS

Anywhere ticketing from local post office, petrol pumps and even ATMs.
Dispersed dispensing of tickets and lower fees for electronic ticketing to reduce queues at booking counters.
Setting up of passenger reservation system (PRS) facilities at all non-suburban stations under group D and E.
About 6,000 automatic ticket vending machines to be installed in all major cities for unreserved tickets.
PRS-cum-UTS (unreserved ticketing system) counters to be provided at post offices as well as defence organisations.
Train enquiry call centres to start operation in the four major railway hubs between June and September this year, providing information on departures, arrivals and seat availability. They will also provide value-added services like SMS, railway ticketing and taxi booking in the near future.

And if our beehari babu has his way then travel from delhi-jaipur, mumbai-ahmedabad in just one hour, if this happens, then surely IR will give low-cost-airline guys a run for their money

The experts are lauding lalu again(may be this time he goes to harvard business school!!), the cut in prices will help in checking inflation, lalu’s cool fundas’ll surely make rail travel pleasurable. But rome was not built in day, similarly yadav can’t mend years of mismanagement in just one budget, he’s trying, but it’ll take lots of such budgets before IR can become competitive on a global scale.

Cliff jumping at rishikesh

2007-03-01T11:15:00.000+05:30

rishikesh snaps

2007-02-28T20:59:00.002+05:30

Rishikesh

THE PATCH UP

2007-02-28T20:59:00.001+05:30

And I did return, and we patched up and what a good one it was. As I expected she was not at all angry, instead she welcomed me with arms wide open!!! There were mountains(I’ld say hills), less greenery, but ample of water(the mighty Ganges) and 7 of us were braving the rapids---one moment the roller-coaster, next the

Golf-view, and so many others…Sitting in front of the raft during the rapids I’d the time of my life!!1 It was awesome. And talk of cliff-jumping!!!!!!aaaaaaaaahhh it was orgasmic!!! How can people let their fear rob themselves of such a joy!! As for me I took a plunge into the holy waters from a height of atleast 20fts for 3 times(max in our group…kudos to me..[J])

Surely, Rishikesh is a nice place to visit this time of the year , with water in ganga just optimum for rafting(in monsoons u don’t find any rapids due to too much of water)

So, my advice if u haven’t done this before, pack ur bags this weekend itself and head towards rishikesh

LONGING!!!

2007-02-28T20:57:00.001+05:30

I'm longing for the mountains, for green pastures stretching upto eternity..I'm too bored with this big-city life. Let some angel come and take me into dreamlands..but where r the angels?? seems they are frying in the lake of fire. Come summers and I'll be my own angel and rescue myself from this mad rush, from this honking of horns, from these keyboard strokes and try to make up with the greatest beauty--NATURE we broke up sometime back and it seems it has been ages...No plzz wait(I know u always wait, that's where ur beauty lies) I'll be coming soon to start our affair once more..

trek to tadaiyandamool

2007-02-28T20:56:00.000+05:30

tadiyandamool

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE’07--STAGE OF LAST 16-FIRST LEG

2007-02-28T20:51:00.000+05:30

Well for the spectators atleast this is as good as it gets, all power packed games now on,. and for clubs, triumphs for some and tears for the rest, each game is a battle, and the home and away games funda is like icin on cake again for spectators.

So, guys here we go:--

Chelsea v/s porto
(1-1)

Mourinho’s game, one club(porto) whom he helped to win the trophy 2 yrs back, and the other his present club, who he has helped win two successive EPL titles, but will he conquer Europe this time??? If he does then that surely’ll be a slap in Roman Abramovich’s face.

A draw everything is up for grabs in this competition!!!!!!!!

ManU V/S Lille
(1-0)

Lille upset ManU last time, but this time call it god’s grace, or gigs presence of mind(mingled with his brilliance) or refree’s foolishness, ManU won this controversial game. I’m still not sure what the hell happened on field that day, but being a red’s supporter as long as they win doen’t matters to me.

Fergy this one for u, control ur temper man, after u r “Sir Alex Fergusson”

Liverpool V/S Barcelona
(2-1)

Typical Liverpool win, fight till the end and u’ll succeed. Boy, this club makes u see the fruitfulness of hard-work. This game was a feast for spectators, fluidly flowing Barcelona game against air balls and set-pieces of Liverpool(they are really good at this)

What a ball it was from Zambrotta into the centre of Liverpool D, absolute beauty and it met its end(into the back of the net from Deco’s head(superb finsh—Reyna had no chance)

Full marks to Craig Bellamy(though he missed a chance in 1^st half) for being ever-watchful and super quick. Not surprisingly Kuyt was again un-impressive, he spills the ball very easily and then rushes like a kid to get the ball back and seldom he gets it. Anfiled has not been blessed with a good striker since Owen left..Rafa u got something to think abot here, u won’t get lucky everytime

Everything to watch for in the next match. Pressure’ld be on Barca, Liverpool is riding on the cushion of 2 away goals, but this’ll make the game all the more interesting, and good news to Baraca fans—Eto’o is back

Real Madrid V/S Bayer munich
(3-2)

Boy what a game, 5 goals absolute treat. And beckham once again proved his dominance in giving pin-point passes. When it come to giving air balls this guy is in a all together diff league. And Bayern doesn’t gives up easily, in the end they had scored 2 away goals, so this game is wide open, don’t miss this one

Other Matches and their results :-
ASRoma V/S Lyon
(0-0)

Inter V/S Valencia
(2-2)

Celtic V/S A.C. Milan
(0-0)

PSV V/S Arsenal
(0-0)

TARGET: HUMANS

2007-02-28T20:06:00.000+05:30

Yes I’m full of venom presently. Why are ppl so rude, so unthankful?? And why the hell do they behave like leaches and just seek opportunity to take advantage of others, or use them?? Well, if this is the way of world then who is foolish?? Of course the person who has manners, who is being used and it is this person only who ends up getting frustrated by other’s actions. Ppl don’t even observe as to how rude and how mean they can get, they keep on acting as if everything is normal, yes for them its is but not for me, I observe the rudeness, and it drives me crazy. I feel like hitting them in their faces, but I am too good a guy to do that, and I hate myself for being so. Why can’t I be like others??

But the truth is I can’t, so what’s the solution?? Surely not getting frustrated everytime..so I’m left with two options..

1) minimize my interaction with others to as less as it can get

2) give such type of person a nice punch I his face next time

its really a dilemna

MODERN CLONES

2007-02-21T23:49:00.000+05:30

Well u might be wondering what a weirdo topic for a blog, don't mistake me for a nerd, I'm just another clone, yes u got me absolutely right I'm a clone, not in a literal sense of the word...[:-)].

So, let me get on with explanantion part(boy i'm bad at this).

How in name of god's name am I a clone taking the fact that I'm a perfectly biological child??

Well u might be wondering what a weirdo topic for a blog, don't mistake me for a nerd, I'm just another clone, yes u got me absolutely right I'm a clone, not in a literal sense of the word...[:-)].

So, let me get on with explanantion part(boy i'm bad at this).

How in name of god's name am I a clone taking the fact that I'm a perfectly biological child?? To start with I'm a computer Engineer(does it ring ne bells!!!) ofcourse from a reputed Indian coll(everbody passes out from a reputed coll these days...ha ha), working in one of India's husty-busty cities it can be ne of B'lore, Hyd, Chennai, Mumbai, or in my case it happens to be Noida, and working in a reputed Software Company(again everybody works in a reputed company these days). Well one'ld say that I'm some part human, when Iwas in b"lore I was a living marvel of modern science...a CLONE!!!. every where I used to go, i'ld find my brothers (I wish had there been more of ...[:P]) scattered everywhere bookstores, malls, coffe-houses evrywhere(u must have noticed a clonish feature in me from my choice of places)....

U must be thinking that this guy is another of those frustu engg guys, who have got a better life than majority of their contemporaries, and inspite of recognizing this fact this guys is bitching, then u got my point. why is everybody thinking the same way these days??? what is this blind rush all about??? Of-course this blind rush gets some money into pockets..but is that the only thing that matters???

Wherever i go i find the same type of guys, as if somebody is changing just the moulds....same type of thinking, same type of discussions(a lot of them revolve around......(ya u got this part!!!)), everybody is talking of breaking free from the mould, but we are just talking..when will the action start??? well i'm not concerned about others, I just don't wanna be a clone anymore when'll i break free?? ha break free!!!, soon after publishing this post I'll be back to normally what i'm best at doing..i.e. being a clone

May be u don't agree to what I've written here, but who reads blogs?? but if u do happen to fall upon this one then express ur disagreements...there's a comment portion..[:-)] ..

India Empowered

2006-02-18T23:37:00.000+05:30

I believe that the wall that separates India from its empowered self is the parochial mindset of its people. So, we will have to change the very perception of people (including ours), this will be done through creating more opportunities, and their equal distribution amongst the worthy. So, what’s new in this what I’m saying, actually I believe that a novel or totally fantastic idea is not always required for having good results, the beauty lies in simplicity. Creation and distribution of opportunities may look clichéd but it is the lack of this very basic thing that is plaguing our society. What we need is the application and implementation of this simple yet beautiful thought of makers of our constitution, in the sense they had dreamt of, in the sense every patriotic Indian wishes.

Most of you’ll agree that the basic shortcomings of India are Over-population, Corruption, unemployment, and lack of basic infrastructure. Now let us analyze them one by one.

Let’s start with over-population. Why is our country over-populated? The straight answer being lack of awareness among masses which in turn arises from provincial mindset, let’s see how--- right from our childhood we are taught or made to believe that that sex is very bad, it’s forbidden to talk about it, discuss about it. So, that attitude sticks in most of the cases even after adolescences, I’ve seen people in my college who are uneasy discussing sex, seeing smooches in movies and these are the people in big cities like Delhi, so leave aside rural India, mentioning sex there is blasphemy. You just go on doing it behind the covers without no protection, why because either you don’t know what the hell ‘protection’ is supposed to mean, or you are so ashamed that you cannot muster up the courage to walk to the nearest medical store or dispensary to get some contraceptives. So, we’ve an over-populated India courtesy narrow-mindedness.

Next comes corruption.

To be continued.....
(Keep thinking)