Shutterbug Soul on a chilly night

Last night I picked my gear, put on some warm clothes and rode out in the night to get some photos. I parked the bike over the busy Cadbury flyover and started clicking photos much to the amusement of the other vehicles passing there. One guy slowed his vehicle down and was trying to make sense of me, a guy in the middle of the busy Eastern Express Highway at midnight, wearing a monkey-cap, headphones plugged in, heavily bearded, a big black bag on the shoulder, floaters over crisp white socks and a camera in one hand striking various poses over the flyover. I for sure must have looked like a terrorist doing a recce of the place under lights only to bomb it later. Hah!

The trail of the vehicles rushing by.

Looking towards Upvan - 1

Looking towards Upvan - 2

Took this shot couching over the divider.

The Korum car park in all its glory.

The service road, the trees and streetlights in the midst. 

I disturbed this couple who were busy discussing something serious at this unearthly hour. I felt I was imposing, but my photography was more important.

A burst + panning shot of a tanker. Epic failure due to the bike in front!

The highlight of the night!

Although the photos are not "Skadoosh" types. It was a nice experience and the small much needed push I'd always wanted to get back to night photography. And ate a Maggie at night that was filled with red ants, I think that will help improve my night vision! *muhahahaha* Night photography FTW \m/

The good life...

Again today I've realised that it is 3 weeks since I've updated my blog. The time gap hardy seems that far away. My past weeks have been really eventful. I've been doing things I've not done before and thinking of ideas I dare not think before. This change in me baffles and excites me simultaneously!
A glance at my life in the past 3 weeks!

My personal dossier...

** Poetry Tuesday:
I'd actually subscribed to a person, who blogs only about the news in Thane that many big newspapers fail to notice. There I found about a poetry meet called "Poetry Tuesday" that takes place on the 1st Tuesday of every month at the Utd 21 Hotel in Thane. Was initially apprehensive about being there but once I went there it was fun!

** New friend(s):
The best thing that Poetry Tuesday did was introduce me to a circle of new friends who had greater inclination to literature than me. Among that was a person who has become one of my very dearest friends within a short period of time - "Cartoon sali" :P

**Indimeet:
I received a mail on the 12th saying that there was gonna be an Indiblogger meet in Bombay. I was pretty excited to have received the mail and was all raring to go. Manali also joined in and we had lotsa fun in the famed R.K.Studio in Chembur.

** South Bombay Trip:
After having got my camera, suddenly I was starting to ponder, if me buying that 30 grand piece was a waste or an investment! Then one fine day a trip to South Bombay materialised and viola I realised I still had the zeal for photography. It rejuvenated my love for random photography.

**Movie:
Am not a movie buff. Leave alone watching it in the theatre. I am just back after watching the much-hyped paraNORMAL - ACTIVITY 3. I was expecting some very scary stuff as it was going to be my 1st horror movie in a theatre. Dismal!

My professional dossier...

**Infy closing:
Am seemingly having fun at work. To enjoying working under pressure, having fun and at the same time get results is a rare combination. Got my 2nd career closure and my 1st big one and that too in a company like Infosys is a personal achievement.

**Appraisal:
My boss seems to be happy with my performance and said that I would have my performance appraisal from next month onwards; my 1st HIKE!! To be still in my training period and receive a performance appraisal is achievement of sorts I guess.


I've found my *purple* patch I guess. Looking back, it is actually almost 3 months since joined my work. It has kept me happy and busy. Things have just whizzed past me. But I've managed to captured most of those moments on my camera!!


P.S:- I've decided to try and use only my pictures from this post onwards..
P.S.S:- You can check my photography on Facebook or Tumblr

Polarity reversed

Part - I

Last saturday it was raining cats and dogs early in the morning, and when I woke up I learnt that it was raining heavily all night. That meant only one thing:- "Water-logging". I was happy. That would mean we could take to the streets to play football in the rain. The phone calls started doing rounds and in no time we were out playing in the usually-busy-now-empty street. Suddenly there comes a voice, cold, rude, irritating asking us to stop playing. I was the goalie and happened to notice and respond first. I saw the person behind the voice and It was an old man; must have been 65-odd, retired senior citizen. I asked him what was the matter and he said that we would break the windows and dent the cars parked there. I told him we were not playing rashly and would pay for any damages. We also explained to him that this ain't the first time we playing here and if history has any say we were clean with our record. He was obstinate and was shouting on top of his voice. I went to him and asked him to speak properly; which he refused. I pointed out to him to it was his age and our respect for it that has kept us from back-answering and he should be polite as were also adults; hinting at the cliche "give respect take respect". He dint. And when I pointed out that the cars are to be parked in the parking lot and there was no rule as to park the car on he streets, he threatned to call the police. I gave out a chuckle. I asked him under which section of law will they take action against us; he knew he had lost the argument and he went off, rambling narcissisticaly as he walked back!

I turned to my friends and told them that I was sure at home he must be telling and yelling his grandchildren to get off the computer and go out to play, and he should be thankful that we are the few living examples left to show those children what outdoor activities really are!

Part - II

Yesterday evening when we were hanging-out asusual, my friend S happened to tell me an anecdote that had happened earlier in the evening. S was taking her usual evening stroll when another of our friend and her mother happened to meet her. S knowing them walked up to talk to them. After the exchange of pleasantries, that friend of ours told S that her mom also plays Cityville on Facebook and S could send her an neighbour request in the game. Her mom was very excited and S dumbstruck when she revealed that she was level 70-odd and S only some 60-odd! Her mom was very enthusiastic about the game and S told me. I could imagine the glitter she would have had in her eyes when she would have told this to S. Aunties today are cashing-in on the wow factor using social networking sites and Internet. Kudos!

I was like OMFG when S actually narrated the incident to us. I was amused and pleased for the fact that our friend's mom was so Internet savvy.

Inference:

My concern is that the present generations of kids are not much into outdoor activities but more into cyber-gaming and social-networking. I still remember when we were kids we used to leave the house at 5 in the evening only to return by 8. Full three hours of outdoor play. Now I find the streets empty and kids walking hand-in-hand in pairs! They are maturing way to fast and it ain't a good sign. I still remember, I got my email ID only after my 10th grade boards. Today 10year olds have a Facebook account. Well being tech/net savvy is a welcome move but what worries me is their obsession. The above two anecdotes  are stated just to bring to the notice our current trend.

The adults sticking to age-old traditions and senseless practises (barring a very few like my friend's mom) and the children being utmost (read insane) technology aficionados. Its high time we took measures to reverse the polarity!

Catching a break

Earlier, last week I got my results and cleared my graduation with 70.59%. That was just a single node in the roller-coaster ride of emotions. Then I got a marketing job under my aunt in Thane itself. I was happy but not satiated because somewhere deep in my heart I knew I wanted to do HR. Then bang; on saturday I got a call form the concern I had gone to as my first interview exactly a month ago asking me to join on Monday. I had actually written it off. After I said ok to them I dawned upon me the fact of life. We always get the best of things when we're not expecting them. Also, applying reverse logic it apparently seems getting things that you expect makes them less special per se!

Coming from a Computer science people have always wondered as to why I wanted to pursue a  field that has more to do with the social sciences and completely off-beat from what a normal Comp-Sci grad does. But isn't it home where the heart is? Seems I've finally caught a break from my otherwise irresponsible life as my dear critic mama(uncle) would quote! The fact being; I've always been more irresponsible than he ever perceived and wiser than he has ever deemed me to be.

Today was supposed to be my first day at work and I still remember how I was damn restless; clearly highlighted by the fact that I woke up 7 times during the night yesterday to check the time as I dint want to be late. 0015, 0055, 0135, 0158, 0245, 0320 and 0515 hrs I vividly recall. Duh!
I managed to reach on time.

Reception: Yes, how may I help you?
Me: Hi, This is Achuthan, Am to join today.
Reception: Oh Hi Achuthan, please have a seat.
Me: Ok, Thanks.

After 5 mins.

Reception: Achuthan, were you instructed on what task you're required to perform?
Me: I've absolutely no clue, I was just asked to join. You're the one who communicated with me, right?
Reception: Yeah, Am sorry Achuthan, Abhijeet has gone to meet a client in place of Yogesh Sir who is unwell today. He is supposed to be in charge of assigning you tasks. Please come tomorrow, same time! Extremely sorry.

Inconvenience regretted?? Ouch! I've damn traveled for 2 hours to reach this place I thought. But there was nothing anyone could. People don't fall sick purposely I said to myself. Atleast I got the practice of coming on time. I comforted myself. The very first day in my professional career starts with a holiday, am surely one in a million I thought. It is not a one you took, rather it is a holiday thrust upon you, you moron; the logical self of mine smirked! Fair enough.

Whatever, it is a new beginning from tomorrow. A new role in life, period! I just found this song to be amazingly apt!

Improvisation - Need of the day

We all know that necessity is the mother of all inventions. Well here is a hilarious proof to this proverb and the age-old cliché of  Where there is will there is a way (Link to another topic on the same lines). A friend had mailed this to me long back. Just thought of sharing.

No spoon?

Well, I can fix it!

Seat belt broken?
Well, I can fix it!

Old TV cabinet small??

Well, I can fix it!
 



Electrical socket problem?
Well, I can fix it!

Stereo stolen??

Well, I can fix it! 
 



Book shelf damaged??
Well, I can fix it!

GPS faulty??
Well, I can fix it!

No ice box for party??
Well, I can fix it!

Cant see the ATM screen in the sun's glare??
Well, I can fix it!

Car make of another country??
Well, I can fix it!

Satellite dish getting wet??
Well, I can fix it!

Coffee heater malfunction??
Well, I can fix it!

Exhaust dragging??
Well, I can fix it!

Need to feed as well watch TV??
Well, I can fix it!

USB cables falling behind desk??
Well, I can fix it!

Ran out of diapers??

Well, I can fix it!

Challenges are high,

the dreams are new,

the world out there,

is waiting for you.

dare to dream, 

dare to try, 

no goal is too distant, 

no star too high...

Networking - The Google way.

I've been watching the internet space for the past 3-4 days and in all of them the talk about Google plus hogs the limelight. Even Facebook status of many of my friends says they want an invite if anyone has a spare. My relationship with Google has always been special. I was invited to join Google by my friend Siddharth Joshi way back in 2005 when it was pretty new in India. At that time Google mail was invite only and Internet in India at that time was synonymous with Yahoo. I was given an invite into Orkut by another friend of mine while it was still new and in beta testing stages; and now Sreenivasulu Reddy Varikuti sent me an invite just under 20 minutes after me asking for an invite through the status in Facebook. While many of my friends still are trying for the past 2-3days for an invite. Lucky me!

First and foremost. I've always been a huge fan of Google. Can we imagine a day without it? 

I tried out their G+ and I must say am impressed, as always. The interface is very light and very friendly. Even the newest of the users on the Internet can get around easily there. The circles option is the best part. The interface looks like the old style telephone wherein you have to rotate the dial to input a number. To remove a person you just drag a person out of the dial and it just shoots up in smokes, poof!! IMAO. To top it all, the friend suggesting algorithm is really great. More often than not it shows the right people in the right circle, wonderful. With huddle you can group chat with people via the android and even through SMS. Hangout lets u group chat in video with people, no need of Skype now. The plugin is very small and loads instantly. Sparks is very good for searching the latest news and killing time. All these not in Facebook are in G+

While G+ may be new and not as eye catchy as Facebook, what really sets it apart is the user friendliness, its move to make networking more real and bringing the whole of the internet on your dashboard. The best part is that Google makes everything accessible using one single username over the vast products they offer from searches to maps to images to blogs!! It makes the life of a user easy by not having to through ten different accounts for twenty things, makes more sense, doesn't it? I reckon G+ is not only a better networking site but also the future of networking. I wouldn't be surprised if Google would be accused of killing Facebook in the same way Facebook was accused of killing Orkut! It is vendetta and it is pay-back time..

G+ is here to stay. Way to go G+ make networking real from virtual!!


Note: They will be rolling out the official G+ to the public soon. They are just testing and also its a marketing strategy using the Demand-supply concept. It will eventually fetch them more users... ooh how much I love and admire those Google guys!

The illusionary orb

Imagine getting a remainder on your phone about the birthday of one of your pal or your relative that you had almost forgot it. Just in time you managed to buy a birthday present and pay him/her a visit making them happy. Isn't technology a life saver?

You are lost and stranded dont know what to do; you just pull out the smart phone form your pocket and not only find the way points but also the bus number and the frequency of those buses! aaah elixir...

You are at home alone hungry and you have forgot the number to your nearest restaurant; just go to google and type the name of the eatery and if it happens to be just a tad moderately known you will have its number flashing on the screen.

You are apparently bored and you think to while away sometime with google instant; you are in for a treat. I just entered the words "how to.." and look at the results below. HAHA look at the 3rd and 5th most popular searches! What kind of loosers we have around.. IMAO!

But have you ever noticed? We say technology has simplified our lives; In fact it is the one that has actually complicated it in the first place. Image a world where there were no alarm clocks. You would have listened to your biological clock, slept early and trained your mind to get up in the morning with the 1st rays of sun. You would have not forgotten your pals birthday in the first place for the fear of actually forgetting it and not having a backup to remind you of this. We thank Facebook for helping us catch up with our long-lost friends. But in most cases they are long-lost because we don't have the time or interest to actually move out of your desk and meet them in person. It is uncannily analogous to the use of air-conditioners wherein man had actually raised the temperature of the planet by his mis-endevours and then invented the air-conditioners to save himself from the heat! Or the underworld which strikes terror into the hearts of the people, wrecks havoc and then asks for the hafta to protect people from itself!

To be honest; I absolutely enjoy playing Angry Birds on my friend's iPhone and thanks to technology for spotting my errors and the eventual spell-check! What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a hypocrite before?? 

:P

Fakr hai!

I got an SMS early yesterday morning that read:

Sydney 1992 fakr hai...

Bangalore 1996 fakr hai...

Old Traffod 1999 fakr hai...

Centurion 2003 fakr hai...

Johannesburg 2007 fakr hai...

They have asked us many questions on a Friday, repeated it on a Tuesday, and like always, we'll reply on a WEDNESDAY.

I was much amused as it brought a smile to my lips and made my day! Indo-Pak matches are always fiercely fought ones and have always been a highlight of the cricketing action in the sub-continent. A lot of hype and hula is build up on the run-up to the match and the whole of nations tuned on to their idiot boxes. Yesterday's match was no different. The ever present Sachin fan Sudhir Kumar Choudhary was in his usual best and his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhry Abdul Jalil a.k.a Chacha Cricket was also there to cheer their sides. Interestingly even the load-shedding in the hostel area was rescheduled from 1130hrs for 3 hours instead of the usual 1200hrs-1500hrs!

Walking in to bat after winning the toss was a wise decision made by M.S.Dhoni, which Sehwag later proved by his quickfire runs.He made a mockery of Umar Gul's bowling as he sprayed the ball around. As a Sachin fan I was deeply disappointed as he gave so many chances to the opposition. Such a great player shouldn't give such options for the opposition to make inroads. The review taken was a good move, but I felt Sachin was itchy in the crease which the Pakistanis failed to capitalize on. The others were not that impressive save Raina. Nawab Riaz was the man of the day with his five wicket haul. He was impressive. I felt the target was achievable. But Pakistan faltered. They started off very well but lost steam somewhere in between. The bowling attack seemed unexpectedly well and the fielding impressive. Yuvraj was impressive with the bowling, only in the end was he belted by U.Akmal. Nehra and Munaf held their nerves and Bhajji found his purple patch. Although the Pakistan lineup looked formidable they lacked the consistency and failed at the time when most required. Misbah was left as the lone man to fight as he kept running of partners. The team that held its nerve won!

The usual thing that was missing form the Indo-Pak matches was the aggression and the heated exchanged of words; the verbal volley. Afridi and Sachin had some friendly moments so did Saeed Ajmal against Bhajji. Bhajji once again proved to be immature trying to charge down the track after the intimidation. I missed Shoaib the most. I wanted him to be torn apart by Sachin, a repeat of  2003. He will have lots of time post retirement to contemplate on his folly of bowling to a legend like a school boy on that fateful day. The event was star studded as lots of celebrities came to watch. I particular feel that the Paki Prime Minister was kind enough to come and personally escort the team home. And BTW I guess it was held in Mohali so that they could cross the border directly from there instead of splurging on the flight tickets! xD

Now that Pakistan is out, Shiv Sena can watch the Finals feeling relaxed! Will the 1.2 billion unanswered prayers be answered? Only time will tell...

The Hindu!

 

My blog covered by The Hindu and a small paragraph written about me from the telephonic conversation they took. A special thanks to one of my friend without who it would not have been possible. 

Although this is not a great achievement, a modest step forward. But all great voyages start with a few small steps!

P.S. To read the whole article published in the paper Click here

Indignity galore

The path en route to realising the great Indian dream of a "developed nation" is ridden with thorns. One such prick being the rampant caste system and the INDIGNITY OF LABOUR followed. How much ever we may say that it has been eradicated, the harsh fact is that it is still prevalent in not only the small-time villages but also in the nearby towns!

The caste system in ancient India was conceived with the idea of classifying people according to their profession. The Brahmins were invariably priests, the kshatriyas the warriors and so on. But somewhere in the between the real meaning of the caste system was lost and it became hereditary. In ancient India this was not the case as a person could move to a caste higher, on the basis of his merit or knowledge! Every profession was respected. A washerman was as respected as a sage. Classic cases of it being the great Veda Vyas who was born to fisherman, sage Valmiki who was a hunter and the great India poet and dramatist Kalidasa who was a shepard. Somewhere something went terribly wrong in between.

Sometimes it really pains to see educated people getting into the act of degrading a person on the basis of his caste or social status.

I study in the temple town of Srirangam in Tamilnadu. The famous presiding deity of the temple Lord Ranganatha a.k.a Nam Perumal(our God) on his traditional route to another place stops by in a college. The Lord coming to that college is celebrated with great pomp and with the whole college being decorated with banners. The day is known to all and the staff and student take the blessing of the lord. Locals also come for the annual event. As we were all standing in the line suddenly a sound and a man was shoved back-

Ne ellam inga enna panra?

[What are you doing here?]

The man was dressed in crisp white dhoti and a spotless white matching shirt. The man was a watchman. He had come there early that day only to catch a glimpse of the Lord and take His blessings. He was taken aback as were we, dumbstuck! Poor guy denied the opportunity! All this done by a man who looked pretty educated. why? ...is it because he was just a watchman and came form a lower economic strata of the society? Is it a sin to be a watchman? Where is the  dignity of labour taught to us in schools? Imagine a day without these type of workers? We'll witness the roads littered, the toilets smelling, the gutters overflowing and the thieves roaming freely unquestioned. These people may not be like the beautiful music that appeals to everyone but they are like the silence between two musical notes. Sound of music will have no meaning without the silence. In fact the silence is "eternal" and the sound of music "perishable"! They are like the space in which a beautiful piece of art exists but everyone sees only the art and not the space. But that does not mean it does not exist!

Ironically the watchman's name was "Perumal"!

Morning madness

The other day I got down at Kalyan station from my express train on my way back home and boarded the 5.26am slow local for CST. Don't know what prompted me to not take a fast train to Thane. But that decision proved out to be good indeed, unaware I was of the entertainment coming up!

As I boarded the train I went to the opposite end knowing that the train would come on platform no.4 in Thane. I was loaded with bags. I kept those bags near the door on the side and was standing near the doorway as usual. As the train passed Dombivli, I heard a familiar question from a man in his mid-50's

Oldie: Diva utrayache?

          [Want to get down at Diva?]

Man: Nahi, Mumbryala!

          [No, at Mumbra]

Oldie: Mag side de na.(arrograntly)

          [The give side (way)]

Man: Thamba zara, Vel aahe. Kopar cha nantar yenar na.

          [Wait a little, time is there. After Kopar only it will come]

And they started arguing. At first it was amusing, but then it started to get monotonous as the man was constantly asking for "side". Suddenly involuntarily I muttered,

Me: Konta side pahije, right ki left?

       [Which side you want, right or left?]

That impromptu remark brought smiles to the lips of people standing around me. Those two were busy fighting oblivious of the comment though. 

Oldie: Ha train kai tuzhya baapacha aahe?
          [Is this train your father's?]

Man: Zasta bolu naka, tumi loka gavatun yeta ani amcha jeev gheta!

         [Dont speak too much, you people come from village to kill us!]

I was pretty pissed by then. 05.30 in the morning and people start fighting like small children fighting for that extra candy. I mean, how can you even get into the mood to argue in the morning when you have some many plans running in your head for the day ahead? I said then audibly, sounding bored :-

Me: Chala khup zala bolun, maar-peet suru kara!

       [Enough of the talking, start the blows now!]

People all around started laughing and there stopped the argument. At-last peace restored!

1.2 billion unanswered prayers!

Come any great sporting event and everyone turns a aficionado, an expert, with people in every nook and corner trying to predict the outcome of the event! Suddenly there is an adrenaline rush and people are pumped -up. Ask any person on the streets the importance of today and he will instantly reply about the inaugural match of Cricket WC 2011 is to be held in Dhaka between India and Bangladesh! Hardly anyone will remember Shivaji Jayanti.

Come any World Cup season you cannot fail to miss the build-up and the hype surrounding it. Months before the actual event, inflation in electronics forgets to rise and there is a sudden drop in the prices of televisions and home theatres as they start self-replicating and automatically jump on to the shelves for sale!

Every other person you meet becomes a statsguru and starts predicting the outcome of the contest with seemingly uncanny surety. Editorials all around are filled with tips for the players as everyone tries their hand at being a team manager. Sports column overflow. The attitudes of my fellow Indians towards our ever "PIECE-LOVING" neighbour seems to have changed. Even the most aggressive person around seems to mellow down and take a emotional backseat. Take for example our very own loving politician Bal Thackeray. He has always been taking a non-PAK stance in mumbai, but now feels bad that he will be missing the Pakis till the final, i.e. if they manage to come all the way. He also added that they must come to Mumbai nevertheless, be recieved with great pomp and be made to stay in their much loved hotel, The Taj Mahal! I just love this man for his unpredictability!!

India had last lifted the coveted cup under the captaincy of perhaps the best all-rounder ever produced in the sub-continent, way back in 1983! The men-in-blue now are riding on real high hopes of 1.2billion Indians and many more around the world. Time for the No.1 test team to become the No.1 in ODI. Let's get going!

Game, for life...

"Stop playing games like a kid!", gone are the days when you used to hear the comment as a reaction on finding someone playing games. Gone are the days of Mario, Dave and Contra. The term gaming now is associated with playing on a PSP or computer or a X-Box with highly sophisticated controls and commands.

The games that are developed now by companies like EA, Valve and Blizzard cater to all genres of game lovers from simulation to strategic games to first person shooting. These type of games also come with the option of playing online through a dedicated platform with like minded gamers across the globe with real-time stats! The best known among them are Steam for CS, Garena for Warcraft etc. These gaming servers/ platforms also maintain a forum of their own where they provide troubleshooting service and also discussions for the game play takes place there. The monthly active members on these forums and their servers exceed a million. And more often than not a player is willing to part away with a major chunk of his pocket-money to enjoy special privileges on these servers! When seen most of the games are in the age group of 15-30 years, the youth.

The sites/forums in turn are making money by selling these privileges and by advertisement. The sun is shining brightly and the hardware companies are making hay, big time. Specialised gaming consoles, keyboard and mouse are on every gamers' wish list and u bet, these don't come cheap! Graphic Processing Units(GPU) which were a luxury has now become a necessity. The major brands like Nvidia and Radeon are even willing to sponsor for the tournaments.

These games have always been criticised for being a diversion to the minds of the youth, the pillars of their respective economies Another point drawn flak upon is the amount of obscenity and violence in those games, unsuited for younger gamers! But the point is that these games are not made for them! These games are in my opinion a boon in disguise. These draw the attention of the youth of the nation for anti-social activities at least! These games are played in real time so these require a lot of  hand-eye co-ordination and improves the reflexes of the gamers in turn. The strategy games improves the resource management and improves the analytical ability and makes the mind sharper. Thats why is say, "Game, for life!!"

Love & Beyond

The symptoms exhibited by the teenagers in their so called "love" and its transition form Sin(90) to Cos(90)! xD

Part - I :
Love..


Zombie-ness:
This symptom is usually exhibited in class while sitting in a boring lecture or visiting a place boring like a distant cousins wedding where the specimen doesn't know any one. They walk around the town as a zombie without paying much heed to anything around them.

Melodyo-philia:
The person becomes an avid listener of melodies and instrumental music. The person's play-list may be full of melodies; many-times a decade or two old and sometimes sans all other raunchy tracks/ item numbers. The tune/beat of such songs are reproduced during lectures with seldom rapid swings of the hands and jerks of the heads in tune with the beat!

Fashion Guruness:
The specimens pay closer attention to their apparel and get their wardrobe redone in compliance with that of their mate. They also identify themselves as a fashion guru and go on to the extent of being a self proclaimed critic of the people and their fads. Sometimes the illness becomes so severe that the specimen goes on to try something new and in the process becomes the laughing stock of the town.

Excessive smiling:
The victim will suddenly start smiling without any apparent reason in the middle of a lecture/conversion and when you ask the reason:
      a)35% of the times:-
          Answer:- Nothing. And a looking away/down smile
      b)65% of the times:-
          Answer:- Dont-you-know-what-am-thinking-about sly smile

Communo-mania:
The specimen will have the strong desire to keep communicating their every move to the other end and will have the craving for such communication as replies to their message. It is also accompanied by a smile on the face when looking into the mobile and a "POKER-FACE" as soon as the gaze is out of the mobile.

Renaissance (a guy thing):
"Mein sudhar gaya hoon/ Nan thiruditen da/ Am a better person now" will be the reply to actions such as asking the specimen to join up for a round of drinks or a smoke. It could also be followed by the specimen starting a lecture on philosophy and eventually getting bashed up by his mates!!

Part - II :
...Beyond

The state of a teenager just after breakup!

Devdas-giri:
The victims generally go into the shell and then wear the ever present glum on their face and any attempt to converse with them being futile and ending with in mono-syllabic replies. Guys generally become tobacco and alcohol loving.

Mode - revival:
The specimens more or less go into the mode revival where they are gripped by pangs of insecurity about future and start concentrating on their studies and professional redevelopment. They may also want to divert their attention and get back in touch with long lost friends.

Foxy-ness:
About 80% of the observed victims showed signs of bitching about the other half of their "past"-relation and blaming him/her for the end of the relation and self denial mode shows prominence. The specimens bears striking resemblance to the fox that said the grapes it could not reach are sour!

Moral-ness:
72% of the jilted lovers start spewing out the philosophy of Socrates or Chanakya-niti at regular intervals. It is usually followed by a long lecture and boasting that they have grown apparently mature by their past relationship. This condition can be cured by slaps form friends or by hooking them up with a new person.


Credits:
My sincere thanks to all of my friends for being the specimens mentioned here, in varying degrees :P

Bath

A usual attribute to my sundays; sitting in the so-called internet "Hub" in my hostel the whole day; yesterday was no different. The bell rang for lunch at 12.30 P.M

[trivia] We have a stupid rule in our hostel that one must not access either the T.V or "Hub" during food time [/trivia]

Out came our hostel warden shouting in his seldom-used-unusually-high-pitch...

Tambi enna innum off panalaya?

[haven't you turned it (computer) off yet?]

Illa sir! (pat came my reply with a devilish smile)
[no sir]
Sir 2 O'clock light pogum! (I cried)
[Sir light will go @ 2] (I know, I know. Light instead of current sounds illiterate-ish]

Adu pogatam, ippo neenga ponga! (he replied angrily)
[Let it go, u go now]

I shut the computer down and sat in the same place to give him the impression that I haven't shut it down. When he came to know that I was joking he was pretty pissed and I had to face his music, which I did with my usual innocent smile.

I went on to take bath and had food. I came down after have food and my friends started teasing me as usual and asking me if the sun had risen form the west as I had taken bath.

[trivia] I usually take bath daily at night and not in the day, with occasional breaks from daily baths. The average usually comes to about 0.98537 baths/day. Dont know how I got that stat :P [\trivia]

There came sir form lunch still in a pretty bad mood and one of my friend caught him and asked:

saar mumbai-a enna solli thittunega? avan depress agi suicide attempt pannan!

[what did scold and tell mumbai?(well, that is my name in hostel), he attempted suicide!]

enna? (asked sir with confusion)
[what]

amam saar avan kulichutan, tanni avan mela padarthu avanku suicide madiri!

[yes sir he took bath, water falling on him is like suicide for him!]

And sir burst out into a huge laugh. All this while I was sitting inside abd listening to the conversation outside my room. Am sure his mood must have been good for the rest of the day! :)

My kids will do it differently...

Some years ago I was a kid and it was Christmas vacations for me and my friends from other schools. The day used to start with we cycling and jogging with out friends in the morning at about 7. Did it till we were hungry and came back home for a quick snack and off to play again. But now it is still Christmas and school children are nowhere to be seen but on Facebook. The essence of childhood lost; perhaps redefined!

Back then the only account I knew was a bank account and the word "mobile" was an adjective and not a noun. I first saw a mobile when I was in my 11th Std that to a Nokia 3310. Now people don't even know it existed and those who knew it know it is prehistoric now. Kids now have phone with GPRS and EGDE; almost 3G now!

Travelling from Mumbai to Pune used to take a gruelling 3hours without traffic that too. But now we have the expressway and it hardly take 2hours to cover those 195 Kms of best road in the country. Bandra-Worli sealink didnt even exist and we didnt know whats load shedding. Now we know what is load-shedding and its already history.

15 years back there we no private channels and only DD1/DD2; watching on TV sets that had no remote but a knob to change channels. I grew up watching Ramayan, Mahabharat and Mogli. Now we have at least 5 channels in each of the vernacular languages of India. Hockey and Cricket were the only games the country watched with great fervour. Dyan Chand, Dhanraj Pillai, Sachin and Ganguly were our Gods. Still the fervour has not subdued but we have taken new pride in following Saina Nehwal, Somdev, Narain Karthikeyan nad Force India. Petrol was 20Rs/Lit and call cost 15Rs/Min. Now petrol is 60Rs/Lit and STD call cost is 0.36Rs/Min. Inflation growing at a steady pace while cost of services falling. Has the harbinger of runaway-prices shown its face? No it has just indicated to us that we're living in a world where resources and we have been using things for our greed rather than need!

The time it took for the Radio to reach an audience of 50 Million was 38 years; TV 13 years; Internet 4 years; iPod 3 years and Facebook 2 years. More words have been added to the dictionary in the past 10 years than in the last 250 years. The amount of information a person comes across in a week of newspaper is more than what he would have come across  in 18th century. Times are changing really fast and so are the social norms. 20 years down the line Christmas trees will be there but will be made of holograms instead!! :P

My First Blog

Its 0100 Hrs on the 23rd of May 2010 and i just bugged my cousin bro into helping me understand what a blog is and how do u get started...
and yippeeee am Blogging !!